#ive fallen into the trenches guys this is all ive been thinking about

[silasplaskett]

had a thought today that any upcoming skam remake has the power to do what no one has done before. let even have a gay past with one of elias' friends and make the plotline not racist OR ableist. it could happen. at any moment. in any country.

[mieanme]

Merman x Siren au

Hualian - (part IV)

Previous part: PART III

First part: PART I

We finally reached the part I've been thinking about for ages 😭 I hope you like the siren, guys ^•^

ALSO, if you wanna know how Hua Cheng looks like, I drew him: here

***

"Well, well, well..." the deep, unfamiliar clicks echo down the trench, causing unpleasant chills to run up Xie Lian's spine. "What do we have here?"

With a racing heart, Xie Lian slowly turns his head upwards, finally facing the creature blocking the daylight.

The first thing that pulls Xie Lian's gaze is the longest tail he has ever seen in his life. If not for the sharp, bloody red scales, he would say it resembles an eel more than any other creature he's ever come across. Other merpeople said that sirens take after reptiles such as crocodiles the most, but those don't usually live in salt waters, so Xie Lian never had a chance to check if their words were true. Not like it matters now anyway - following up the tail, Xie Lian sees the huge back fin, a few smaller ones on the sides, pale yet tough looking body and, the most terrifying for him, arms geared with shining claws.

"I,I... I—," Xie Lian clicks a few times, trying to maybe bargain with the siren, but all that comes out is rather incoherent.

"Hmm?" the creature respondes, arcing its left eyebrow.

When Xie Lian steals a short glance at its face, not daring to stare, he only catches eye contact with the creature's left eye, the right one being covered with long, black hair. From that one look, Xie Lian figures out the siren is probably a male, with a sharp jawline and more or less masculine features.

"Are you inaudible, little merman?" the siren mocks, swimming closer to Xie Lian, as if he wanted to catch his prey this instant.

In seconds Xie Lian in his mind sees the image of the siren getting closer and holding him by his throat to cover his gills. The vision of himself dying slowly and painfully in the creature's hold finally untangles his own tongue.

"N-no, that's not the case!" he exclaims, trying to back out of this situation, but soon enough his shoulders bump into the wall of the trench behind him. Ruoye managed to move onto the merman's stomach, so luckily it didn't suffer the collision. "I-I can explain! I just need one thing, I promise!"

"Interesting," the siren speaks up again, still approaching Xie Lian in a painfully slow and very mocking manner.

The siren knows the merman cannot escape and so does Xie Lian. He's just toying with his meal at this point and Xie Lian doesn't like that thought one bit.

"So you not only ventured into my territory uninvited, but you were also planning to take something without my permission nor knowledge. It's called stealing, little merman. But please, explain away."

Xie Lian grins to himself, noticing that the siren does have every single right to execute the merman here and now. However, he doesn't want to give up just yet. He hopes that the siren will understand him and cooperate.

"I know how it sounds, but I have a good reason, I promise I had no malicious intent coming here," Xie Lian starts, not daring to look up at the siren. "Some of the members of our pod have suddenly fallen ill to a highly dangerous and infectious disease. They are innocent merpeople, gatherers and nursery guardians. They were unable to swim since then and whatever they eat, they vomit out a few minutes later. If they're not granted the medicine for this illness, they are going to die suffering. But there's only one cure to this illness, at least that's what our oldest medic said - it's an algae that grows in almost full darkness, practically only in the ocean trenches. And the only trench we know of is this one! I-it's also not that we all agreed to come here, our leader even forbade us from coming into your territory, so, please, don't hold it against our pod, I came on my own! But I really want to help them, so please, let me take the algae!"

Xie Lian rapidly spits out the last sentence, begging the siren to have some mercy. However, after he finishes his speech, only silence follows. If not for the shadow still remaining casted at him, Xie Lian would think the siren left, since he no longer could sense his presence nor water movement around. Just then, siren finally reacts to his words, but it's not a reaction Xie Lian was waiting for.

The siren bursts laughing, making Xie Lian lift his gaze at him. The creature is way closer to him than Xie Lian thought - now he's able to see every single scale on his body and even some strange marks resembling veins on his torso and neck, travelling down his left arm and even up his face. Only then Xie Lian realises the siren doesn't have the second eye; where it should be, there's an ugly scar covered in the same strange marks that the merman noticed on his body.

Xie Lian doesn't have any more time to think about it though, because when the laughter dies down, the siren keeps staring at him with a mocking smile, as if he never saw anything as stupid and amusing as this very merman in front of him.

"Why... why are you laughing?" Xie Lian finally says, almost clinging to the wall when the siren comes even closer to him. The siren's black hair brush over Xie Lian's shoulders and tangle with his own, painting a beautiful yet terrifying picture.

"Foolish, little merman," the siren sums up, reaching out one of his hands to Xie Lian's face. Ruoye jumps up to attack him, but Xie Lian manages to catch the octopus with both hands and hug it to his chest, not wanting to anger the siren even more. "You won't pick that algae, no matter how much you want to."

"Please, let me go there! I really need it, we will repay you for your kindness if you let me go look for it! I promise! Please!"

However Xie Lian shuts up the second the siren's cold, clawed fingers touch his face. The siren catches his chin in two fingers, the rest slowly brushing over the merman's skin. It's terrifying, but also... it feels quite pleasant. Xie Lian doesn't understand it, but his heart starts beating even faster, but not only out of fear. What's the other emotion - he cannot tell.

"I am not stopping you from diving down the trench. I'm simply stating the fact, little merman. You are unable to pick that algae."

Xie Lian is dumbfounded. He blinks a few times, this time looking straight into the siren's eye.

"What... What do you mean? You're not stopping me? So... Why wouldn't I be able to pick the algae?"

"It's very simple," the siren states. "It grows too deep for any mer to pick it. That's why that disease that has fallen over your pod is called the 'black desolation'. It brings only two things over merpeople - annihilation from the illness and darkness from the places they try to find the medicine and fail. Your elder didn't mention it, did they?"

Xie Lian is speechless once again. What the siren says is even more terrifying than his presence itself.

'It... It can't be,' he thinks to himself. 'So there's no cure at all?'

"I see, you actually didn't know," the siren continues. "That's a pity—"

"But!" Xie Lian cuts him short, suddenly feeling a rush of courage wash over him. "I won't give up until I try! I want to see for myself if I can pick it or not! Please, let me go, I can endure whatever the depth has there for me!"

The siren's eyebrow flies up yet again, visibly not believing in Xie Lian's success.

"So you still really want to start bleeding from all your flesh, lose all your senses and die a painful death, crushed by the conditions down there?"

Xie Lian hesitates, but then he nods. He knows he probably looks like the most pitiful creature in the siren's eye right now, but it doesn't matter.

"I will pick the algae, or I will die tryin—"

"No need," the siren chimes in, letting go of Xie Lian's face. "I will pick the algae for you."

The siren backs away, leaving Xie Lian so surprised that he even lets go of Ruoye. The octopus, still angry with the siren's attitude, charges right at him, but even when it wraps itself around it's arm and bites down, the siren doesn't look amused at all.

"Ruoye, no!" Xie Lian exclaims, but he knows it's already too late.

"Don't worry, it's venom can do nothing to me. It's not the first blue-ring octopus I pissed off," is the only thing the siren says before Xie Lian manages to reach him and gently takes Ruoye in his hands, trying his best in convincing the animal to let go. When the octopus finally admits defeat, it wraps itself around Xie Lian's back again, obviously glaring at the siren.

Only now Xie Lian realises that as soon as Ruoye disappeared from his hold, his hands chose to rest on something else - that happened to be the siren's forearm, right in the place a small bite mark is now visible. Xie Lian blinks, unsure of what to do. Then he feels his cheek being touched by the siren's cold fingers yet again, making him look up at his handsome face.

"I will be back shortly. Stay here," the siren assures, but is taken aback when Xie Lian grips his arm even tighter instead of letting go.

"But... aren't you going to get hurt? I don't want you to risk your own life just because I probably cannot reach the algae. I... I want to do it on my own without putting any more lives on the line."

Xie Lian doesn't expect the siren to chuckle, but it actually happens. The siren only shakes its head, smiling leniently at the merman.

"My body is very different from the one of a mer. I can dive way deeper and endure extreme conditions. I am what your kin calls a 'monster', after all. Only a pitiful monster wouldn't be able to do such things. I'd rather live up to my titles."

With those words, siren suddenly dives down, not letting Xie Lian even think of a response. Within seconds he's totally gone in the pitch darkness, leaving the merman and the octopus alone.

***

Hello~! I feel like this part is a little longer than the previous ones, I hope you enjoyed it!! Lemme know what do you think in the comments ^•^ See you soon!!

PART V

[yellowlobsterarmy]

spork

also forgot to introduce these guys earlier,

shorter guy: debating his name, ive been calling him astaroth as a placeholder but im considering names like albrecht or diederich. hes supposed to represent the corruption of the aristocracy but whether hes a metaphorical monster or actual monster im just going to keep blank. a lot of his features he might not actually possess, some things are just for stylization to represent how people see him(i have some other ocs who are like that aswell, i just think its fun because a lot of them are from the past, so a lot of information of them as a person is just lost to history meanwhile the parts of their character that actually remain are exaggerated as time goes on because they get interpreted over and over again so they just go through a filter of history) especially this guy because not a lot of people know him, hes just another minor nobleman with a somewhat controversial reputation. but who doesnt. hes also his late thirties to early forties im still thinking about it

taller guy: signus. hes one of this universe's few 'angels', assigned to watch over the lands in place of the now absentee gods. hes also there to kill things and thats what his life was repurposed into

now i cant explain one thing without opening up a new topic so in short im just going to say theres a celestial lineage(like a food chain but on a larger scale) and humans sit at the bottom of it, the only way theyre able to elevate themselves is through god offers(another placeholder name), except the celestials dont actually give a shit about humans and the only one who does has been locked in a trench because they supposedly were the only bad refraction that formed when the allfather serpent was shattered and His remains scattered far beyond the comprehensible universe. now the fallen one is making deals with the humans in order to escape and was actually worshipped at one point before the whole religion/cult died out from colonists and the trench closed off but anyway they still figured out a way to interact with humans and that is through their dreams!! and also by moving through vessels of people sacrificed to them when their religion was at its peak. but anyway the people they made deals with are now higher on the celestial lineage, and thats a bad thing. because theyre servants of that fallen celestial and if they're freed thats a Bad Thing. its harder for regular humans to kill them because often times in exchange for their loyalty theyre granted Cool Abilitiestm. so thats where Signus comes into play. most servants are still quite low on the cl compared to Signus so killing them is relatively easy, especially since hes lived so long.

theres more powerful servants though, but they're in hiding because they know that Signus is out there, most of them have never even seen Signus(because all that have have been promptly killed) but they have heard of him

humans in zealousy(the universe name) have a lot of potential tbh, even more than the gods if they play their cards right, and also a lot of luck. an absurd amount of luck but yes it is possible. also because humans have had to survive at some point, so they have that adrenalinelikewhenyouknowyourabouttodiebutwilldoanythingtostopit meanwhile the gods dont. they dont understand struggle because they never been through it, they dont take mistakes seriously most of the time because have they ever been hurt by it? absolutely not.

humans can be corrupted, they have their own motives and their experiences that shape them and they can hate

they can carry hatred so strong that it compels them to look towards the stars and reject all that they once knew because they know this cruelty is all the fault of their gods negligence

but they can also be manipulated

anyway back to signus he was originally a human as well, and his ego is probably his prime characteristic and that was also why he was chosen. his ego makes it so that whatever he does, no matter how horrible or downright vile he sees it has his burden and his burden alone to carry. which makes him easily manipulated because he can never put the blame on the celestials, he'd never let someone else take credit for his work after all, not even his gods. hes also kind of both racist and has a weird thing for humans- or at least the more primitive/carnal aspects of it, thats why hes with albrecht/diederich

i think albercht/diederich knows hes being fetishized he just doesn't care and just uses signus's obliviousness as a way to humor himself as well as religious endorsement so he can at least have some good on his name.

they arent together btw. they just have a mutual agreement lo

also this whole thing hasnt really been cemented yet its just a thing in my head but as a base!! yes i have been using it for a lot o stuff but it is an incredibly rough draft

fyi this is before he sustained so much injury that his form warped into,, whatever this thing is

he does have a fully transformed version too but thats reserved for the later events in the story i have planned. but then again this design is kind of old so i might fix it up a bit

i think at some point after this im going to regret posting this

she sig on my nus till i

[brunchcrush]

tagged by @fancybois (thanks joy!!) and @bergarass

rules: answer these 85 statements about yourself, then tag 20 people.

last

1. drink peach iced tea! yum

2. phone call to my mom??? or to my friend to have her let me in to her apartment 

3. text message to my best friend: “so i saw him again 😍 but he was inside computer lab and i was outside reading but he left and walked in the direction not facing me....wednesday ill try somethjng 😫“ abt the guy i like 

4. song you listened to masterpiece theater III - marianas trench 

5. time you cried i teared up a little last week 

ever

6. dated someone twice? no

7. kissed someone and regretted it never have kissed anyone so no

8. been cheated on i dont think so? 

9. lost someone special yes, family members

10. been depressed i dont self diagnose 

11. gotten drunk and thrown up nope

fave colours

12. yellow

13. orange

14.  peach or a cotton candy pink

in the last year have you…

15. made new friends only online, or very brief friends that i dont keep up with anymore

16. fallen out of love no

17. laughed until you cried yeah ofc

18. found out someone was talking about you senior year? so i guess that was a year ago...so yea, but i was always aware i just found out whomst

19. met someone who changed you mmmmno

20. found out who your friends are yea!

21. kissed someone on your facebook friends list uh no

general

22. how many of your facebook friends do you know irl i dont have facebook

23. do you have any pets yes a cat 

24. do you want to change your name not anymore

25. what did you do for your last birthday went out with my gang to a fancy dinner and we all dressed up then did karaoke  

26. what time did you wake up today 7:55

27. what were you doing at midnight last night trying to fall asleep

28. what is something you can’t wait for summer break!! im seeing dua lipa, harry styles and niall horan

30. what are you listening to right now marianas trench’s “ever after” album in order

31. have you ever talked to a person named tom yea, my old evil neighbor 

32. something that’s getting on your nerves lots of things all the time

33. most visited website likely tumblr or youtube

34. hair colour orange-ish... its fading and im dying it something new friday/this weekend

35. long or short hair on me, short

36. do you have a crush on someone yes but i dont really know who he is i just find him v attractive 

37. what do you like about yourself ooof, uh im learning to like myself. so for now ill say my loyalty to friends

38. want any piercings? i just wanna get my second ear piercing 

39. blood type fuck if i kno

40. nicknames jess, jesster, kanye jess

41. relationship status single as fuuuuuuuuuuck

42. zodiac gemini

43. pronouns she/herself 

44. fave tv shows hannibal, psych, the office 

45. tattoos nah and dont want any

46. right or left handed right handed 

47. ever had surgery yes

48. piercings just the norm ear piercing 

49. sport im learning fencing, but ultimate fave is badminton 

50. vacation when i went to germany for two months

51. trainers shoes?????? my white pumas 

more general

52. eating nothing, but i had a yummy sandwhich today while watching hannibal 

53. drinking peach iced tea

54. i’m about to watch youtube maybe, or the latest ruining history 

55. waiting for *shrugging guy*

56. want money 

57. get married yeaaaa boi 

58. career i mean i have no clue, id like to be a stay at home mom rlly 

which is better

59. hugs or kisses depends.. i norm dont like hugs but ive never been kissed 

60. lips or eyes uhhh eyes 

61. shorter or taller tallllller like cmon 

62. older or younger older, or my age

63. nice arms or stomach lean but toned, all over 

64. hookup or relationship relationship

65. troublemaker or hesitant a good mixture of both 

have you ever

66. kissed a stranger uh no

67. drank hard liquor mmmmmaybe, only mixed with stuff tho 

68. lost glasses i dont wear glasses, but sunglasses yes 

69. turned someone down yea? i think so

70. sex on first date uhhhhh No

71. broken someones heart i doubt it lmao

72. had your heart broken noooo lmao

73. been arrested no

74. cried when someone died yeah,,,

75. fallen for a friend uh no

do you believe in

76. yourself hahhaha im trying bud

77. miracles mmmmm not really? 

78. love at first sight maybe?????? id like to

79. santa claus i wish

80. kiss on a first date no

81. angels yeah, i think so

other

82. best friend’s name abigail , but i have multiple 

83. eye colour hazel/brownish

84. fave movie grease!!!!!!!!!!!

85. fave actor uhhhh colin farrell or jake gylleenhaal

tagging: worth it squad (whoever hasnt done it), @tittypetes @muhdej @stanndrew and @raakxhyr @glitterfeyrac

[roguexunited]

Wtf Star Wars: The Last Jedi, W.T.F.

“Wtf Star Wars: The Last Jedi, W.T.F.”

DON’T READ THIS IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE, IT CONTAINS SPOILERS.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Just coming out of the movie theater I still find myself with a sense of discontent after watching the newest installment of the Star Wars saga. Unfortunately for the franchise, Episodes I-III made me jaded about the whole affair, and I came to expect very little out of it, just with the exception of Rogue One, which till this day I think is the best the franchise has to offer, but more on that later. After the fiasco of the last one ― which was a carbon copy of Episode I, which itself is a carbon copy of Episode IV ― I was not expecting the story to deviate that much from the jewel that is The Empire Strikes Back, nonetheless, I found a very different Star Wars than what I expecting.

           Different is good, it means that we are not getting dealt the same story over and over again and that the writers and producers understand that times have changed. In particular, I think that stories, even Disney stories, have come to understand that even though there is good and evil nothing is as black and white; Zootopia, Moana, and Brave have been some of the examples in which this dichotomy has been challenged and questioned, bringing forth a richer plot. Kudos for Star Wars for realizing that times have changed, but the execution of set change was deplorable, especially coming from a cinematic universe which foundation is precisely this dichotomy, light vs dark, good vs evil. Making the plot askew from this preset would have shifted the entire basis of the Jedi/Sith relationship, and shaken the galaxy as we know it. They tried, they really tried, most of the movie is trying but not doing anything to achieve change, falling Yoda's teachings in every step.

           Let’s begin with the First Order and the dark side. What is up with that? It is understandable that, after one faction has taken out the opposition, the mentality and remnants of the fallen government doesn't just simply disappear, but apparently they didn’t disappear at all but thrived, grew and overtook this new Republic in record time. How? We don’t know. Why? We don’t know either. Mimicking A New Hope, where the story beings a medias res (literally as it is Episode IV), The Last Jedi takes off fighting a force which is not really explained, they are simply the bad guys. There is a rebellion, which should actually be the ruling government, but if it is seen as trying to silence the voices of the opposition then it becomes a new empire. So all the heroes we love needed to be forced into playing the role of the underdog once again. The First Order, with its religious and programed fanaticism, is unexplained and uncontested at the moment. At least, through the second trilogy (Episodes I-III) we so the rise the empire, explained through a political intrigued that showed that the battlefront had two fields: the political one, that was never the Jedi’s strong point, and the actual war, which was just a diversion to take over the Senate. In that regard, the second trilogy was very intelligent in paving the way for the original trilogy. Now, after two trilogies it is ludicrous that they present a villain in such an old fashion way. This is a nod to the original foundation of the Star Wars universe, the First Order represents darkness, and darkness rises from nowhere.

           I also find it hard to believe that history is just that, old tales that don’t mean anything. Having heroes who fought in the original war are still alive and well (although in some cases dying), it is unbelievable that they didn’t see the signs and tried to put a stop to this whole dark side shenanigan. But yet again, they can’t be seen as the oppressors, so once more they are driven to become rebels, repeating the same hubris as the Jedi Knights before them, and so hope can only rise when the safety of the universe is in peril and when the good guys are backed up into a corner.

           Now the same thing happens to Kylo Ren as a villain, just like Darth Vader before him, he was really no backstory, just that he is the son of two of the most beloved characters of the saga, but that for some reason he was corrupted. Unlike Vader, who we had to wait years until the second trilogy to find out the hows and whys of his downfall (which made The Revenge of the Sith tragic but necessary) I doubt Kylo Ren is going to get Episodes VII.I to VII.III to endear him to the audience just to break our hearts with his turn from the light. All we are left with is with some small insights to his character from a very detached set of parents and uncle, leaving Kylo quite un-humanized in that regard. With Rey, we see how they somewhat mirror each other, playing with the idea of the Ying and the Yang, but still a connection that at this moment seems forced and superficial. His struggle is mostly internal, we kind of see hints of grey, or at least Rey helps us point out those hints, but in the end, even when the writers tried to drag Star Wars kicking and screaming into a storyline that questions who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, they just couldn’t shake off the foundation of their universe, and so most of the movie is pointless in that regard, which is one of the reasons this rant was spurred into life.

           Then we have General Hux, who is a cartoon villain with blind ambition, a short temper and a fragile male ego. I really don’t have much to say about him. He’s just there. Serving as an example of why this First Order needs to be taken down, sometimes as comedic relief, but mostly his just there fulfilling his role in this universe of unshakable black and white presets.

           And where Oh! where do these almighty Sith Lords keep sprouting out of? This is a question that has been baffling me for years. Where? How? There was just supposed to be two, a master and an apprentice, yet they have been lying to the Jedi for centuries now because clearly there are more than two. If the Jedi would just admit that fact, then they wouldn’t be so surprised every time a Sith Lord takes over and darkness rules the galaxy. They should learn to be always on high alert because those guys are like cockroaches, they are the proverbial hydra that is invisible and will never be truly dead. But now, they are taken by surprise every time. Well, no, they were not taken by surprise, Luke knew, but what did he decide to do with the knowledge? Hide, that’s what he did.

           Now to the good guys, The Republic/ The Rebellion. As mentioned before, they forced the characters back to the place where we found them back in the 70´s, fighting from the trenches (literally this time), the underdog, the last beacon of hope, and it’s starting to get old. How stupid can they be to let this happen a second time, after those poor folks in Rogue One gave their all to bring Leia hope, and the put everything into action! I am upset in their behalf. One would think it might take at least two or three generations to shift the balance of power, not just a couple of years. I guess what they are trying to achieve if to show that armed rebellions are not rewarded with steady long lasting governments, and then suddenly Star Wars gets too real.

           Rey, Finn, and Poe. They are okay, but just okay guys. I mean, Rey is struggling with both light and darkness within herself, but just like Kylo’s struggle it is just a fleeting moment and ends up being superficial. Finn, was heroic the previous movie as they used him to show us that, against all odds, Stormtroopers can think outside the box! Who knew? His struggle, I think is the one that questions the dichotomy in the best way, as it shows how good and evil blur in the world beyond an individual, and how their balance affects the whole world. It is through this former Stormtrooper’s eyes that we begin to see beyond the Skywalker horizon. Let’s stick to it, let’s see where it takes us. And so all we have left is Poe, AKA, reckless, trigger-happy, stock hero that is just coming to understand those heroics have a human cost. Hurray for character growth (this is sarcasm by the way)!

           Now, unfortunately, I am comparing The Last Jedi to Rogue One, which, in the blink of an eye, became my favorite Star Wars movie, right along with The Empire Strikes Back. In its core, Rogue One showed us the human side to both the Rebellion and the Empire. In the span of a movie, we were introduced to complex characters that were not black and white, but that stuck to their belief, even for a brief moment, which translates into knightly honor and another building block of the Star Wars universe. Their struggle was plagued with character flaws from both sides, we saw hesitation from members of the Empire as the pulled the trigger of the Death Star, we saw Bodhi and Galen Erso, who showed as the reluctance of some members of the Empire and that some had a choice and decided to do something about it, now Finn joins their ranks. We also so Cassian who was not a boy scout and who struggled with the difficult decisions being at war brought him to. We also witnessed that not everyone in the Rebellion’s command was completely trustworthy and good. All in all, we saw Star Wars done well. And now this. THIS.

           The Rebels we found in Rogue One ― whose flaws made them endearing and, to me, even more heroic ―  are lost, all that’s left is the carcass of a rebellion that has lost its light and pins all of its hope on Carrie Fisher, who we literally have lost. I understand why Leia is the beacon of hope, she is the lady of light that has guided the Star Wars universe since the beginning. But now that we have lost Fisher in live all I have to look forward to is a CGI Leia, which breaks my heart, the technology hasn’t been developed to the extent Sim0ne promised. Now, with that beacon of light dwindling, we no longer have a general to guide the way. Rogue One was powerful, their suicide mission to give it all in the name of the Rebellion was pure perfection, but Leia’s appearance at the end just sealed the deal and made it greater. Now all is gone, and we have to wait and see how they will solve this problem now that they literally placed all their eggs in the Leia basket.  

           Now, to the grey areas. The only character that showed an inch of complexity, perhaps a little more profound than questioning of a couple of beats, was DJ as he was the only one that understood that things are not just black and white, but he is despicable because he has no true honor, or so we’ll see. As I said before, knightly honor is another building block in the Star Wars universe, and because he has none, his teachings will go unheeded until he either chooses a side or dies a horrible death, will just have to wait and see.  

           Finally, I’ll write about my pet peeve. There was an astounding lack of decorum in this movie, and some of the jokes (most of them actually), were lame, VERY lame. In past movies, we’ve seen that the comedic relief is up to the droids and the non-humans, and in some cases the heroes, but this time the jokes, to my perception, were very poorly timed. Yes, Luke Skywalker I’m talking about you, you know what you’ve done! I miss the days when Jedi masters were either true knightly gentlemen or completely batshit crazy, but not something in between. Luke, “You are the celery of desserts, be ice cream or be nothing.”

           I will not delve into the rest of what caused me pain about this movie. Although, as my friend WiseCube pointed out, the amount of Pokemon was astounding now that they’ve discovered CG, but that is a rant for another day. All that is left to say is that if Rogue One hadn’t come along this rant would be much shorter and probably more private, what that movie showed me was that there are possibilities for the Star Wars universe, possibilities that can be executed well when their goals are well scripted. And so now, the rest of the saga needs to step up, no more slacking!

[tranquilitybasehotelcasino]

honorable mentions: quotes that didnt make it into my recent "the signs as" post

but wAS THE DOCTOR NOrMAN BATES????? good evening, you dirty homestuck lmo i lunch what are you, a chump welcome to your tape i nominate cordy for bucket duty PENNSYLVANIAAAAAA you got me. i am a cute polyamorous fuck thats allergic to spice "Yahtzee" said Dave. "Oppan Gangnam Style," her brain said approvingly. "Bruh," said Terezi. 🐴esist "i ship it" bb said blankly. the score is now Cordy 826, Jacob Asshole. welcome to scenic Screwup City, population Allison Keith "fuck up", see under "shut the" at least we have memes to dull the pain of existence i once had a dream that the kid who played rico in hannah montana went to our school im allison, from gym class im karina, from hell imagine if all babies sounded like Cr1tikal i think i convinced my moms friend to name her son eridan gay love! bee communism, and robot communism for that matter, sleepless in seattle 2: electric boogaloo yknow i dont think nebraska exists ava and emma are pyromaniacs, more at 11 dont you >:3c at me young man how did you know chess the musical was a musical about chess i hate shakespeare but ive alrready sold my soul to the bard *someone sends me a video of a furry convention* this is cyberbullying okay ive wanted to do this for a while but guys i gotta come out to you im a communist and a lesbian but more importantly a communist "disgusting" beef cheek bernie will pierce me DIE COMMIE FUCKER kisses smorch is a valid fantroll name i sweater god sounds like something a daddy dom would say amelia have you ever heard of a wild concept called church and the redemption of sin my entire body is in tangible pain!!! n'y'all welcome to hellmurder island ill be your concierge LEEEEEEEEROY NJENKINS hatsune malfoy maybe the REAL horcruxes were the friends we made along the way *soccer mom voice* sorry marlene, you arent daddy material pumpkin party in sea hitler's water apocalypse: the real straight agenda I HAVE WEAK THUMBS, LIZZIE my name. is will SHAW. *accidentally flushed my pad down the toilet* well this has gone completely fucking pear shaped, looks like theres no other way outta it. youre going to have to decapitate m no but listen have you ever actually played russian roulette dave strider, hatsune miku, and vlad the impaler walk into a bar, brandon you chicken fried fuck chapter one; old man megido and the freezer of doom STEALING MY PHONE WONT CHANGE YOUR INCESTUOUS FEELINGS ANDREW *blasting metal crusher* fuck me mettaton hey cordy what happens if i snort pop rocks "you die" shit really fuck you and fuck your dog biscuits!! young man, are you suggesting we blackmail batman i identify as an anime character, i promise i am pikachu in my heart im a fucking winner! a winner!!!! oh shit its sans undertale OH SHIT ITS JOHN HOMESTUCK O H S H I T I T S D I P P E R G R A V I T Y F A L L S No Archive Warnings Apply: Aradia Megido/Aradia Megido fucking mc escher YOUVE MURDERED US BOTH, YOU SON OF A BITCH, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN YOU *loudly humming megalovania* "please" sbear ov juddice shes fuckinh whispering the lyrics to funkytown in my ear *ievan polkka blasting* taste THIS rainbow! goddammit janet b-buddy? *dani california blasting* listen. have you ever seen 2001: a space odyssey? "no" okay watch it and tell me being in love with hal 9000 is wrong i warned you about the stairs bro, i told you dog IT JUST KEEPS HAPPENING ELLLLLLECTRIC LEMONNNNNNN *screaming* MARQUISE SPINNERET MINDFANG eat me, lizzie millican! mushroom dance, mushroom dance, whatever could it mean? "it means youve lived a life of sin" *loud and squeakily* aND EVERY TIME WE ToUC H— DOES ANYONE HAVE THE VIDEO OF ME SWALLOWING RUBBER "nah" ha! youre broke! why is beetlejuice mossy WRONG CHAT WRONG CHAT i am the left brain, i am the left brain work very hard till my inevitable death brain you got a job to do, you better do it right and the right way is with the left brains might I L I K E O R E O S A N D P U S S Y welcome to antisocials anonymous *angrily* tHIS is why youre nEVER GONNA BE STAGE MANAGER *someone sneezes* shut the fuck up your blood is like a venetian delicacy also send nudes DIDNT MEAN TO SEND THAT THOSE ARE MY MINECRAFT PANTIES YOU SON OF A BITCH we should all go to comic con as homeless people with aids "no, annick" ITS BETTER THAN UNDERTALE im so sorry mr strizzle "lance lance revolution" please watch less voltron im pretty sure thats called cystic fibrosis Annick DuChateau has changed her name to 4 Entire DQ Blizzards in a Trench Coat on the count of three everyone kinkshame karina thats gay charlotte!!!! thats gay!!!! "and his memes arent funny" HEY NOW babbay pullmd close rin the backerseart of yowizr rofetr WHERE ARE MY HEADPHONES IM GONNA TAKE BLEACH SHOTS i cant believe brandons a directioner "i cant believe jacks emo" cry me a table, linda *groping an undertale body pillow* kama sutra, siena *singing off key* oNE RinG to RULE THem aLL soak me in your finest milks daddy who is our messiah? ... mrs d'angelo (our science teacher) *brandishing a plastic horseshoe* take it back, fuckboy i hate the library. everyone hates the library. you know what? heres your three dollars. ill see you in hell every time you speak, i hear the sound it makes when pac-man dies rey picks up kylo and dunks him in the trash. fucking obliterated are you a parking ticket? the future terrifies me if you cant put an end to moffat's shit writing you cant put an end of my life cake. stick it in your hoo-hah POLICE PUT THE CUMMIES ON THE GROUND oh you love homestuck? name five of his albums your room has posters with the dead eyes of Cameron Diaz boring through the souls of all who enter--- sollux feels trapped in a hell of "Wheels on the Bus" holy shit is that kurt cobain "yahtzee" said dave "ahem. undertale" then im gonna pull out my dads bigass bowling ball like "this is 1/800 the mass of vy canis majoris" only dumbfucks play magic the gathering in his free time, reginald enjoys BODY SLAMMING CIVILIANS WITH HIS WHEELCHAIR YES EGGSY blondie screeches to a halt, another comrade fallen meggers preggers THE HOT WINGS AVA THE HOT WINGS lizzie dont name your kid onomatopoeia annick youre a running joke in my household i can cut fabric lady but if you wanna see a super special skill i can cut human flesh you kids with your understuck and hometale im extra homosexual, but im in love with him. god bless that man. his laugh is my text tone bellybutton fetish KARINA ITS FIVE AM

[thisgeekyteacher]

The months they go so fast, and May disappeared in a whirl of outwith the norm events. What with many comings and goings, a whole week in Cumbria and more train journeys than I’d really like to make in a month, I’ve made it to June more battered and broken than when I started.

I’ll be honest, I don’t really know what to put in here regarding the news. Brexit is a nightmare, Trump is no better, and News the world over is just miserable. So I think I’ll go with something that hit home for me.

My heart broke when I read about the sinking of the tourist boat on the Danube in Hungary. It is all the more heart wrenching as the wounds scored into the psyche of the nation as a result of the Sewol tragedy are still smarting. This has been close to the bone.

It also made me afraid. Afraid that I might know someone on that boat. True, the chances were slim, but I have met so many Koreans who have made clear their wishes to travel abroad, and many of them since have. I didn’t want any of my friends to be on the boat.

I hope that recovery operations in Hungary are swifter than they were for Sewol, and I hope everyone is found.

I’ve mentioned this book in the up-coming Reading Nook post, but it’s that good that I’m putting it here as well!

If you’re fascinated by Jack the Ripper, this isn’t necessarily a shoe-in. If you are fascinated by Victorian London in general, then this is a perfect read.

Hallie Rubenhold has clearly researched into every nook and cranny, digging up every little tit-bit of information relating to Jack the Ripper’s victims, and gives them their names and lives, immortalising them – Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary Kelly – as more than victims, as more than the prostitutes they were always assumed to be.

It’s a heart wrenching read and, and it’s very core, highlights without even having to put into words, how similar women’s situations are now. It is still an automatic assumption that a woman has fallen, that she is lesser, that she is sex worker, if she is in any way perceived to have “fallen” below society’s standards.

We have a long way to go.

I’ve still been slowly making my way through bones, and in the BF’s week of ill, a lot of of the Netflix shows were consumed. I’m now very used to the background noise of people being beaten to a pulp. That or football…

Some of the shows are great, some seem to just dole out the violence for violence’s sake, but as I’ve mostly been passively watching. The roster has been made up of Luke Cage, The Punisher and Daredevil. Luke Cage appears to have a stellar OST, and Daredevil has it’s captivating moments, but The Punisher does nothing for me!

I think we’re nearly at the end now, so hopefully there will be something less noisily violent gracing our TV screens.

More Marvel, this time Endgame.

I know I’m going to get some flack for this, but though I’m satisfied with the ending, the getting there was less gratifying. I could have done with film about half the length, or at least sped up, and I got so frustrated that I nearly left.

I am still deeply unimpressed with how a couple of the characters were dealt with; whilst I understand the point of the exercise, I feel it was handled badly and it left a sour taste. Man it’s hard to write an opinion piece on a movie you don’t want to spoil.

Whilst I would recommend seeing it, because… Endgame, I can’t sit here and say it’s going to blow your mind. It rounds out the Infinity Saga nicely, and sets up the next chapter. I’m going to miss this generation of Marvel, but I believe that what’s coming will be fantastic.

Those in the know are more than aware that I’m not remotely fussy about music genre, I will listen to anything and everything that sings to me. They will also know that I love me a good K-Pop release. What they might not know, is that of some of my favourite Korean artists, the Japanese releases outweigh the success of their Korean ones.

In May, we were treated to Seventeen’s newest Japanese release, Happy Ending. I’ve been disappointed In Seventeen’s recent Korean releases, they’ve just not quite been there. Happy Ending happily bucks this trend.

It’s a treat, being able to consume music from one group in two different national markets. Whilst there are Korean rock groups, and excellent ones at that, you will generally find this sound is more readily accepted in Japan than in Korea.

May has been changeable, weather-wise, and there has been much need for an interim jacket. I’ve not had the greatest of need for one before now – both Hong Kong and Korea are not known for their prolonged seasonal transitions. This year I acquired a second-hand Burberry trench coat that isn’t an colour of cream/beige that makes me look sick, and I have been rocking it (if I do say so myself). It’s a fast way to lift an outfit into something a little more put together.

I was rained upon immediately after this photo, however. The sunnies are a complete and utter lie. Oh, London weather! And now we’re in June and it’s chucking it down outside – a classic British summer. Why did I come back again?

Given this guy a wash, so he’s a wee bit damp!

This months revelation is not a product, but a tool! I have been into sponges for a million-and-one years, and for some reason, in recent months they’ve not been doing the job for me. Personally, I’m going to put that down to my Korean stash has finally run out and those on offer in the UK just aren’t up to par (and no, I’m not going to pay silly money for a sponge).

In light of this, I turned to the make up brushes, picked one that looked like it might be halfway decent for foundation, and gave it a whirl. I haven’t looked back since. Who knows why something that hasn’t worked before is working now,  but it does and I’m loving it.

As I slowly march through the endless collection of recipes at my disposal, there have been two of note this may:

On the right we have a smokey pork and black bean recipe from BBC Good Food, technically a taco recipe that instead had with salad to make a frankensteined buritto bowl. On the left we have a gluten free bread recipe from one of the plethora of LEON books I have. If you’re interested in them, I recommend keeping an eye on kindle prices!

The frankensteined burrito bowl was a huge success, and I enjoyed it for many a packed lunch – I packed my salad and meat separately, heated the meat at work and threw it all together with a smidge of cheese and a dollop of soured cream (technical terms there).

The bread, though no unsuccessful, was odd. It’s gluten free, it was always going to be odd. It looked more cakey than any bread I’ve ever come across, but was also dense, without being heavy. I found this bread to be very enjoyable, just as long as you are of the full understanding that it is not, nor is it ever going to be, regular bread!

Stunning photo, I believe from the press performance

The boy and I managed to get tickets to see English National Opera’s production of Faust, at their home in Covent Garden. The Opera House is a stunning mixture of sleek modernity in the foyer/bar and old fashioned opulence in the theatre itself, right down to the patrons; there were some tail coats spotted, and one lady in the most fabulous, sparking red dress. Opera attendance aspirations right there!

Faust (the French version by Charles Gounod, at least I think so!) was long, funny, long some more, rousing, opulent, disturbing and a spectacle.  Méphistophélès appearance in the second half (end of Act IV or beginning of Act V, I’ll be honest I’m not sure, all the Act’s melted into one) was fabulous; the scene stealer of the evening.

After the opera, we (one of our friends was in the production) headed off to China town for a bite to eat, and had this amazing aubergine number that I can’t for the life of me remember the name or make up of. Let this post serve as a reminder to the boy that we need to go have that again (a test to see if he reads the blog, perhaps…)

This month, the best place I have been is the Garden up in Cumbria. Getting through May felt like a war of attrition. There were highs and there were really, really dark lows. Being able to get home was a saving grace, and I was lucky enough to be able to experience some amazing weather. Here’s a wee photo of Colin  the pheasant strutting about like he owns the place, to a stunning back drop. Who needs filters when you live in the countryside! 

2019 has been a good year for the family. My nephew (hereafter nephew the first) arrived in January, and he is the spitting image of my brother, so much so it’s hilarious. In May, another member of the family arrived, another wee lad, to my cousin. It’s far too convoluted to go through the whole relation nomenclature rigmarole, so I’m just going to stick with nephew the second. He is adorable, with So. Much. Hair (quite unlike nephew the first, who is so blonde he looks bald), and I’m so damn proud of my cousin I could cry. I mean I will, I’m a crier. I can’t wait to go meet the wee lad and get in some of those baby cuddles!

  Re-Cap:

So May wasn’t all bad, despite the low parts of the month. I got some in some solid hours at home, we gained another new addition to the family, the boy and I got a wee trip tp the opera and he got to enjoy some of my food aspiration experiments (though apparently not enough, according to him, which is difficult when he’s more of a savory guy and I am all about that baking!)

Here’s hoping that June is a great month for all of us!

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  Last Month Today | May 2019 The months they go so fast, and May disappeared in a whirl of outwith the norm events.