#life with SALM

[callmebliss-got-swamped]

Against reasonable logics, I got up and went out today with SALM (that wasn’t unreasonable, stick with me) and then we drove up into Boston and hit L.A. Burdick for his chocolate fix (no really stay with me here) and the. We went to Mount Auburn cemetery and walked around for like three hours playing PIKMIN Bloom.

Those of you not particularly new to Blisstopia are well aware that I have sprained my right ankle not once but twice, and before you ask no. No, I did not remember to bring my gorram cane with me.

I walked over 11000 steps today.

We had an absolute blast. It really highlighted how much other things have been preempting us having time together as Us, and I am so, so glad we did it. Afterward he pulled a sharp u-turn in the city because he spotted a pizza place he’d thought lost to the annals of time or whatever and we split a phenomenal muffle trushroom pizza, and hit Lowe’s on the way home to pick up non-slip hangers for Middlest.

Now we are home, and now I am in a bath and used a bath bomb I picked up in Salem months ago, and when the tub was full I got in and then noticed…a little blue pill?? Floating??? In the water???

So I opened the capsule and dropped the blue middle into the water and it expanded into

A fucking

Tiny fucking dinosaur

Just

Just look at it

It has a fucking thagomizer and everything

Today has fucking rocked

Pictures from the cemetery coming in a separate post

[therogueduchess]

I dreamt of him last night.

It wasn’t life as it was, but as it is. I was in an approximation of our apartment that was somehow still the place but laid out differently, and I walked from a sunny front bedroom into the kitchen just as he entered it from the hallway. He had clearly just come in and had things in his arms that for whatever reason he was dropping off. We stepped into each other’s space, and orbited each other a little; I wanted to hug him but couldn’t, and as he slid past me he bent down and kissed the crown of my head.

It was awful

[dgiterart]

Persian Miku!?

In traditional Mazani clothing from persia!  

More info���️⬇️

Mazandaran province  is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Sari . Located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and in the adjacent Central Alborz mountain range.Mazandaran is a major producer of farmed fish, and aquaculture provides an important economic addition to traditional dominance of agriculture. Another important contributor to the economy is the tourism industry, as people from all of Iran enjoy visiting the area.

Language: The population is overwhelmingly Mazandarani, with a minority of Gilaks, Azerbaijanis, Kurds, Georgians, Armenians, Circassians, Turkmen  and others, Mazandarani people have a background in Tabari ethnicity and speak Mazandarni.

Culture( literature) : In the Persian epic, Shahnameh, Mazandaran is mentioned in two different sections. The first mention is implicit, when Fereydun sets its capital in a city called Tamishe near Amol:

بیاراست گیتی بسان بهشت.................... به جای گیا سرو گلبن بکشت

از آمل گذر سوی تمیشه کرد .............. نشست اندر آن نامور بیشه کرد

And when Manuchehr is returning to Fereydun's capital, Tamisheh in Mazandaran (known as Tabarestan), after his victory over Salm and Tur.

Arash the Archer  is a heroic archer-figure of Iranian mythology. According to Iranian folklore, the boundary between Iran and Turan was set by an arrow launched by Arash, after he put his own life in the arrow's launch. The arrow was traveling for days before finally landing on the other side of the Oxus on the bark of a walnut tree hundreds of miles away from the original launch site atop a mountain

Music and dance:

Music in this region relates to the lifestyle of the inhabitants, and the melodies revolve around issues such as the forests, cultivation or farming activities and herding. The most famous dance of this area is the Shomali dance, not forgetting the stick dance that the men perform. Popular music in the province, known as the Taleb and Zohre, Amiri Khani and Katuli.

Cuisine :

The cuisine of the province is very rich in seafood due to its location by the Caspian Sea, and rice is present in virtually every meal. Mazandarani cuisine is diverse between regions; the cuisine of coastal regions is different from mountainous regions, as people in the Alborz usually use the indigenous herbs and coastal people use the dishes of fish and Caspian Mazandaran rice with vegetables.

[qiutls]

TNGDH 005

That bad man.

A man without blood nor tears. A really terrible person. So merciless... I roared into the sawdust, floundering my limbs all around.

― Squeak! [ Give me back my wheel, you punk! ]

I'm not even halfway through the mission!

How can you only look at documents and pretend that you're not interested in this hamster at all then stab me in the back like this, huh? If I knew you were looking, I would have pretended to run moderately.

Indeed, I was stupid to believe that a crazy hamster otaku like him would be indifferent to me for even a minute. I'm the Northern Grand Duke and I'm superior to a running hamster, as if.

Kyle even went on patrol the next day taking the wheel with him. It's absolutely insane. There's no work to do, nor miracles in this cage, and I can't even do other quests.

That enemy-like miracle...

I climbed the slide from the end part to the middle, then let myself slide down, repeating it a few times and then sighing heavily at the end. 

I want to live like a human being until I die. Forget about eating well, or living luxuriously. I just want to live as a human, as defined by the dictionary!

Anyway, time went by against my will.

It was a day filled with playing and eating. Riding down the slide, eating walnuts, taking a nap, eating peanuts, stretching my body at a breathing room, eating sunflower seeds, riding the swing, eating pistachios...

I hear it's a cold neighborhood, are nuts a specialty? It's a great place to build a burum restaurant. It's only difficult to peel the nuts if you try and peel it all at once, but if you put it in a bowl, peel it little by little whenever you think of it...

/burum means assorted nuts, specifically walnuts, pine nuts, peanuts and etc./

...Fuck, what the hell are am I thinking?

I'm already thinking like a hamster.

All of a sudden, I started to fear what if I adapt to the situation casually like this. I'm a human being! I'm an intelligent person!

"Cashew Nut."

Kyle came back long after sunset.

I don't if he came in at a late time since I couldn't see the clock from here, and during winter in Blake's estate, nighttime took up more than half of the day.

He returned to the study to find me, but I pretended to not know. I wasn't in the mood.

Well, isn't this situation pretty.

I crumpled my body into the passageway between the first and second floors of the house that's not easily seen from the outside. He looked around the house for a while before giving up and returning to his bedroom.

He obviously looked disappointed, but....

Well, if you give me back my wheel, maybe I'll meet you face to face for a bit.

The next day, we met with a transparent passage between us. The frustrated Northern Grand Duke visited the study before sunrise.

"I'll be back soon."

He spoke affectionately, with his face close to mine.

"From today on, let's control your diet. Your body seemed to not be able to fit in that passageway."

Wait a minute... What the hell is this guy saying?

I lost my breath for a bit due to the shock of hearing those words.

But Kyle moved quickly, he was already pouring out the contents of my bowl. My bowl full of nuts... No... It's all empty, leaving only three almonds.

"I don't want you to strain your joints. I've still left some, so it'll be fine until the night. I'm busy preparing for the festival, so I think I'll come in late again today."

―…….

"...As expected, is it too little?"

Before I could protest, the man behind him said.

"No, I have heard from the magician that the growth period for the hamster have yet to come, Your Highness. The food is enough."

What are you talking about. What do you mean controlling my diet? Do you not have eyes? It's wrong to eat just one nut for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

It's the first time since school meals, that I'm eating food as someone else had planned. I looked up at Kyle, staring at him ridiculously and kicked the bowl over.

A dirty and cheap life, I can't even eat whatever I want.

I want to eat chicken with beer, salmon with capers, chicken feet, tteokbeokki, pane pasta.... Greasy, spicy, and bad for your health, it's something that only Koreans can eat!

"I guess, I'd better let him exercise a little."

"Yes, Your Highness, it's not good to overdo it, but it's still better than having it gain too much weight."

"Alright."

Kyle nodded his head, and with a grave look, put back the wheel in my house.

Yes! That's right!

I looked up at him, my blue eyes shining. He really looked like an angel today.

Get ready the party will start shortly. I only need to run 800 laps, not a single more and I'm done with this hamster life!

Let's calm down for now, if I ride it as soon as you give it to me, you'll probably take it away again. I pretended to be as calm as possible, and turned my head away from the wheel as if I didn't care that it has finally returned to my arms.

Kyle looked at me for a long time, his eyes were practically saying, "you're so cute, I could die."

Look at him, it seems like he had kissed me a hundred times with just those eyes alone. You've grown a lot, you already know how to control yourself when someone's next to you.

"Do you like that demonic beast that much, Your Highness?"

I heard their conversation as they were about to leave.

"Apparently, it's a northern field mouse type of beast, it's a bit late to give a mana stone for it's heart, so it's physical strength is weak but... It's able to socially interact and above all, it's pretty smart.

"Anyways, it's still young, that's why the size is a bit... It does resemble a hamster, however, if you look closely, it's just golden fur...

"It's just a mouse." /all the dialogue above is from the man accompanying Kyle/

"What do you mean, just a mouse?"

Kyle answered coldly and turned to him. "Are your eyes defective?"

"... Y-your Highness, I-"

"Enough, while I finish the paperwork for the celebrations, fetch me a small needle and some yarn."

"What will you do with it, Your highness?"

"There's no need to know, I'll be using it for important stuff, so only bring high quality ones."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Kyle left the study, while coughing. "This winter is especially cold."

This punk, don't tell me...

You're not going to knit my clothes, are you? Don't be weirdly domestic, Grand Duke, if you don't want to see this fragile hamster grab the back of your neck with just one hand.

The mere imagination of it made my body shiver and I rubbed my limbs quickly. Forget it, let's not think about it.

I quickly climbed onto the wheel. That's right, running on the wheel is best way to empty your mind. Now that I have the hang of it, I'll surely be able to finish 800 laps quickly.

I took a deep breath and began to move my four feet.

With a clatter, the wheel began to move slowly.

Now let's go with the flow, think about something peaceful and pleasant. Pizza, bulgogi, sundae gukbap... I felt my mouth watering and continued to run on the wheel with more force.

[ 0217/1000 ] …… [ 0322/1000 ] …… [ 0445/1000 ]

The numbers went up smoothly.

At this rate, I'm confident that there will be no hamster who can spin a wheel better than me. It's worthwhile to do this and count the number of times, so I think I'm accumulating points.

I just looked at the system window running, the number was between 600 to 700. Look at this, won't I be able to finish it soon.

I was a little hungry, so I was going to take a break and eat, but then I remembered what Kyle and the man discussed earlier.

What? Control my diet? Was I stuck in the passageway with my big body?

No, I won't eat anymore. I'll lose weight, and if I die, then I'll make him regret it.

I turned the wheel frantically with strange enthusiasm, refusing to rest. I was a little bit worried that the screw might fall off at this rate.

So, when I first heard a creaking sound, I thought this enormous wheel have finally met its end.

Huh, but is this really the right sound?

"Does the Grand Duke hide women in the castle?"

"I heard he loves her so much that he'll spend the day cooped up in here."

... A woman?

"You idiot! Why would you hide a woman in the study? You should put her in your bedroom, of course."

"... Really? Well, let's just search here for a bit, then go to the bedroom."

"That's right, by any chance we might get lucky and find some military secret in here."

I stopped turning the wheel and looked down at the men that crawled in through the door, literally.

The approached the desk, in a weird posture, they were wearing black masks. One look and you'd be able to tell, these people were not invited guests.

"Let's catch the woman, or maybe kill her."

"Right, if it's a commoner, then it will be pretty easy."

"Isn't that why he keeps her hidden, because she has no status?"

The masked men, no the thieves exchanged stories amongst themselves and searched the drawers. Documents in the top column, documents in the next, as well as third one. And in the last column-

"What's this?"

One of the men pulled out a bag from the drawer. I sat next to my bowl, eating the almonds as I watched them.

"Macadamia?"

There's one there too? For your information, there's also a bag of those in the small drawer next to the door.

Crunch. Crunch.

The thieves fell silent, and only the sound of me eating nuts could be heard in the study. Only then did they notice my existence and slowly approached me.

"What's this?"

"It looks like a mouse."

"Doesn't it look weird, this fur... it's gold right?"

"... Is it a demonic beast?"

"As expected from the Northern Great Duke."

No, I'm just an ordinary hamster.

I took the last almond and filmed a mukbang. Well? Bring me the macadamias in your hand. Three almonds are not enough for me.

"... Do you think it's expensive?"

The thief moved it's mouth after staring at me for a long time. They exchanged glances and soon began to open the hamster cage. 

You guys really didn't have any plan before coming here huh?

Talked about finding a woman and kidnapping her. But now you're kidnapping a hamster instead?

There's no backbone at all. How could such clumsy people try to steal. It's a miracle they didn't get caught on their way here.

I sighed without looking at the hand coming down from the ceiling of my house. Should I approach slowly? Is now a good time?

At that moment.

Clang! The sound of glass breaking echoed throughout the room.

"W-What's that?"

The three thieves, no, more like meerkats suddenly turned their heads towards the window, like real meerkats. 

"How dare you touch what's mine?"

The voice was like a sharp blade, resembling the wind of the highest highlands of the north. It felt like frost. The cowards, then began to tremble, as if they had already died three times just by hearing the voice.

Ah... I mean, this is karma if you look at it technically. In other words, it's time for the teacher to reprimand you.

[ How dare you kidnap my sweet little hamster! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ ]

I didn't mean it that way. By the way, why are you so excited?

"You won't be able to take another step."

No... Is it really a death penalty for touching a hamster?

Kyle pulled out a knife from his waistband.

... I really didn't think it would turn out this way.

novel ⠀✿⠀ next

[cuppajj]

Sooo…..how will the the story of your beast ancients au end? Like: this question won’t let me sleep or well it keeps me kinda scared for some reason. Like, would the neobeast be sealed or go back to normal selves. And what will happen to the other beasts and protagonists? From all sagas?

Also random shit: my oc, Muerte (straight up death similar to the one is puss in boots), or in crk called Sugar skull cookie, is will be messing with the neobeast in any way possible; because in my story I’m currently writing Muerte is a curios mofo who at the end becomes death itself and a friend, (Salm, who becomes life itself), so Sugar skull cookie will be practically an pain in the ass and soon major problem to the neobeast because they can’t die, can’t kill death right?

You really think id just share hardcore spoilers like that? You sweet summer child

[favescandis]

Proud of our Valter ❤️ (via Eija, 2nd pic)

via Vogue Scandinavia Instagram

'Börje - The Journey of a Legend,' a six-episode series that lands on ViaPlay this Sunday, honors the life of legend Börje Salming (portrayed by Valter Skarsgård)

Eija, Valter, My and Stellan Skarsgård, November 14, 2023, at Södra Teatern in Stockholm at the world premiere.

[bunnywand]

it's called salmon bcos if u "salm" it once, you'll be "on" that shit for life 🤤

[hermitshippingbigbang]

Life Itself

by Samuel/Moonie (@moon1ee)

Relationship(s): Grian/Scar

Rating: Teen and Up

Word count: 13k

Summary: “Man,” Scar said. “I’m going to miss Scott. He was a really nice guy.” Grian wordlessly hummed acknowledgement, eyes closed. Scar’s lips skimmed his shoulderblade. He laughed. “But hey, we’re that much closer to winning, right?” Grian swallowed back bile, and nodded.

Or: Welcome to Life Island, where you’ll be competing to win the love of your life—and 100,000 dollars, all while you're being streamed on live television! Here’s the catch: if you get voted out, you die. It’s just that none of them know that yet-- except for Grian

Read Life Itself on AO3!

This work has multiple chapters and will be finished by March 31!

Full art pieces will be posted with their associated chapters!

Check out the amazing artists for this team:

Salm (@5almm):

Ao3

Bowie (@inkystaarart)

Kaz (@bloodcrownedking)

[callmebliss]

SALM: Life is like a box of chocolates, mostly empty and plastic and filler, with very little sweet left…and covered in fire ants.

Le Me: that’s horrible! Fire ants - where are you getting your chocolate?!

SALM: fireantchocolate.com …No wait, excuse me, .net - it’s a more informal arrangement

[rickchung]

Börje: The Journey of a Legend (prod. Martin Bengtsson).

Crave's six-episode biographical miniseries about the life of Swedish ice hockey player and Toronto Maple Leafs legend Börje Salming (played by Valter Skarsgård) tells his remarkable journey humble beginnings all the way to the NHL.

[growing-cosmos]

Miracle : 기적 by Kim Seon Ho lyrics (Korean, Romanized & English)

Vocal by Kim Seonho

Composed by Seo Jungjin, Kim Doohyun, Keeproots

Lyrics by Kim Jihyang, Kim Seonho

나보다 나를 더 늘 헤아려준 너

내 일에 나처럼 늘 기뻐해준 너

세상 그 누구도 never know

(Never know never know)

매 순간 이어진 느낌

얼마만일까 이런 확신 함께한 시간만큼 행복해

나의 모든 건 너로부터 시작되고 있어

You're my miracle

넌 내 wonderful

너는 내게 단 하나의 기적이야

You're my only one

You're the only one

특별할 것 없는 날 특별하게 해

la la la la la

la la la la la

la la la la la la la la la

너의 그 미소에 나는 안심이 돼

아픈 건 슬픈 건 너에게 주기 싫어서

얼마만일까 이런 다짐 나 항상 너의 자랑이 될게

나의 정원은 너로 인해 피어나고 있어

You're my miracle

넌 내 wonderful

너는 내게 단 하나의 기적이야

You're my only one

You're the only one

특별할 것 없는 날 특별하게 해

넌 내 사랑이야

넌 내 행복이야

서로 맘에 깃들 추억이야

늘 고마운 너야

많이 서툴고 어리숙한

날 사랑해 준 너

시간이 가도 변치 않는 건

너와 내가 주고 받는 진심이야

고맙다는 말

사랑한단 말

하나하나 네 삶에 그려가는 나

la la la la la

la la la la la

la la la la la la la la la

la la la la la

la la la la la

la la la la la la la la la

———

Romanized lyrics

Naboda nareul deo neul hearyeojun neo

Nae ire nacheoreom neul gippeohaejun neo

Sesang geu nugudo never know

(Never know, never know)

Mae sungan ieojin neukkim

Eolmamanilkka ireon hwakssin

Hamkkehan siganmankeum haengbokhae

Naye modeun geon neorobuteo sijakttwego isseo

You're my miracle

Neon nae wonderful

Neoneun naege dan hanaye gijeogiya

You're my only one

You're the only one

Teukppyeolhal kkeot eomneun nal

Teukppyeolhage hae

la la la la la

la la la la la

la la la la la la la la la

Neoye geu misoe naneun ansimi dwae

Apeun geon seulpeun geon neoege jugi sireoseo

Eolmamanilkka ireon dajim

Na hangsang neoye jarangi dwelkke

Naye jeongwoneun neoro inhae pieonago isseo

You're my miracle

Neon nae wonderful

Neoneun naege dan hanaye gijeogiya

You're my only one

You're the only one

Teukppyeolhal kkeot eomneun nal

Teukppyeolhage hae

Neon nae sarangiya

Neon nae haengbeogiya

Seoro mame gittteul chueogiya

Neul gomaun noya

Mani seotulgo eorisukhan

Nal saranghae jun neo

Sigani gado byeonchi anneun geon

Neowa naega jugo banneun jinsimiya

Gomapttaneun mal

Saranghandan mal

Hanahana ni salme geuryeoganeun na

la la la la la

la la la la la

la la la la la la la la la

la la la la la

la la la la la

la la la la la la la la la

———

English translation

You always cared about me more than me

You were always happy with my works like me

No one in the world never knows

(Never know, never know)

Feeling connected every moment

How long will it be? I am as happy as the time we spent together with this confident

My everything starts with you

You're my miracle

You are my wonderful

You are my only miracle

You’re my only one

You’re the only one

Make me special even though I have nothing special

la la la la la

la la la la la

la la la la la la la la la

I feel reassured by your smile

I don't want to give it to you, the hurts and makes you sad

How long will it take for me to make this promise? I will always be your pride

My garden is blooming because of you

You're my miracle

You are my wonderful

You are my only miracle

You’re my only one

You’re the only one

Make me special even though I have nothing special

You are my person

You are my happiness

It's a memory that will stay in each other's hearts

I'm always grateful to you

Very clumsy and immature

You who loved me

What doesn't change over time

This is the sincerity between you and me

Say thank you

Saying I love you

I am drawing into your life one by one

la la  la la la

la la  la la la

la la la la  la la  la la la

Watch Official MV Kim Seon Ho - Miracle here

la la  la la la

la la  la la la

la la la la  la la  la la la

Stream to Miracle on Spotify here

Hangeul/Korean lyrics are provided by Bugs

Lyrics English translation is transcribed from Color+Full Fanmeet in Manila clip

[h0p3theexistingbeing]

uhm more factw

Hidden AU is not related to the Anon Squad or Undertale, or any fandom. This AU is a OC AU, all of this is from the Hidden AU. I wanted to tell you guys this!

some characters (from the Anon AU will be used)

Used characters from the Anon AU

Petal (only mentioned when Myst talks about them)

Myst (this character was originally supposed to be from this AU)

R3set/H0P3/UND3R (me)

Salm/Salami/Salie (My best friend irl)

Craft/Craftey (Other best friend design is coming)

SP1R1TED.T (recently deleted)

ms.bubblegum (recently deleted)

Salm:

Myst

UND3R/H0P3/R3SET

fun facts:

If you were following me in PICSART awhile ago do you remember that my main oc was actually called Myst? Yep! That was my main oc

this looks like Myst…. (Sort of)

Yes I am a furry! Well Catboy…

uhm if you didn’t know but back in 2021 (I wasn’t PICSART or any social back then) I was Emo as fuck. Yeah…… tehee my main OC used to be SP1R1TED.T (what am I doing with my life.)

I believe SP1R1T was this guy (newer)

and there’s another

this is the older ver

cringe as fuck

should I make a pt,2 about these facts and old stuffs?

[dukeofdogs]

Queen Calanthe

Chest 1: As history tells us, Calanthe was the last to ever reign as Queen of Cintra. During the First Nilfgaardian War, Emhyr var Emreis moved to assimilate the neighboring kingdom into his empire. The Lioness of Cintra, as she was fondly known, defended her ancestral home with great ferocity – enduring grave wounds herself. Yet, sensing the castle's imminent ruin, she ordered her courtiers to deliver her a knife with which she could take her own life. None dared comply and play part in their queen's demise. Alas, their defiance was in vain, for Calanthe then simply threw herself from the tower's highest window.

Chest 2: Sadly, the queen's body was never found—likely trampled beyond recognition into blood-soaked mud by Nilfgaardian heavy infantry. Following the war, two glorious monuments were erected in her honor: one in Skellige, where she was symbolically laid to rest beside her beloved husband, and the other beneath the Cintra Castle by the request of Emhyr var Emreis, her conqueror. It seems—for reasons likely known only to him—the Nilfgaardian emperor felt bitter remorse over the queen's death...

Chest 3: Calanthe's veins carried the blood of an ancient Aen Elle line—that of Lara Dorren, one of the Aen Saevherne, or elven sages as they are commonly known. Though the Lioness of Cintra didn't inherit the magical talents of the elder blood, such an affinity did reveal itself in her daughter, Pavetta, and thereafter in her granddaughter, Cirilla. Yet given Calanthe's infamous temper, perhaps such a fate was for the best. To think what she would have been capable of had she been versed in the arcane magical arts...

Scroll 1: Calanthe—or Calanthe Fiona Riannon, to be precise—was oft referred to under two monikers. Throughout the Continent she was known as the "Lioness of Cintra," and on the Skellige Isles as "Ard Rhena"—that is, the "High Queen." Both names fit her better than even the finest pair of silken gloves.

Scroll 2: Calanthe proved as valiant as she was stern. At the mere sight of her, boisterous warriors would fall utterly silent, and even the most vainglorious counts stooped low in bow. Few dared to act against her will, and fewer still would repeat their mistake.

Scroll 3: Calanthe had always wished to rule on her own, hence her longtime aversion toward marriage. Yet when she finally decided to wed, the well of eager suitors had run dry. With eyes like green ice, her fearsome gaze did little to melt the hearts of young princes...

Scroll 4: In the end, Calanthe walked down the aisle on two occasions. Her first husband, Roegner de Salm, gave her an heiress; the second, Eist Tuirseach — true love. It could have made for a beautiful tale... If not for its bitter end.

[catboymettaton]

Here's the intro to Baru at Canaan because I don't feel like waiting till I have a proper first chapter to share it. I may scrap this and start in media res instead but I wanted to mirror Traitor's structure. The first three paragraphs are directly taken from the first chapter of Traitor and adapted as appropriate. So this is the story of Baru growing up on a lush and beautiful Taranoke that soon begins to die. No spoilers for Baru or the Locked Tomb.

Trade season came around again. Baru was still too young to smell the empire wind.

The Nine Houses sent their favorite soldiers to conquer Taranoke: tomes and roses, glittering silk and promises of protection. Little Baru, playing castles in the hot black sand, liked to watch their traders come in to harbor. She learned to count by tallying the ships and the skeletons decorating their exteriors. 

Years later, Baru would recall the stark white of the bones, and her ignorance then about the human form. But at age six, the girl Baru Cormorant gave them no weight.

Taranoke was beautiful, then: Lush and vibrant, with animals of all sorts in the forest and the waters. Baru never saw more of her planet beyond her island corner, but to her the island alone was paradise. 

Her mother Pinion and her fathers Salm and Solit taught her how to gather kelp to burn to ash to grind for glass. They taught her to read the stars, to remember where their ancestors had come from once long, long again. Most importantly, they taught her to remember who she was.

When Baru was seven years old, the fishing season was drier than ever before. Lying awake at night, Baru heard her fathers’ mutters. 

“Pinion was right. These convoys are not to be trusted,” said Salm. Solit said nothing in response, but Baru heard the sound of him running his hands through his husband’s hair. 

Baru didn’t know what a convoy was, and sought out her mother’s dictionary. She squinted in the dim light until she found: convoy—a caravan, or a group of ships, gathered for mutual protection, especially under the escort of a warship. A warship. Why would the silk and rose traders be bringing warships?

The pattern beginning with the fish continued that year. Half the flies that had tormented the marketplace seemed to have evaporated, and Baru didn’t see the harm but her parents seemed upset. Diving in the sea, Baru saw strange patches of white among the colorful coral reefs. 

As winter approached – never too cold on Taranoke – the largest ship yet arrived. All of Baru’s village was called to the market to hear the representative speak. Within was a woman of hair the color of sand and skin lighter than the palms of Baru’s hands. “I come from the Third of the Nine Houses,” she announced, “and I have an unfortunate announcement to make.”

All around Baru people were muttering. She heard people whisper about “treaties” and “lies” and “death” and “doom.” The woman’s guards hushed the crowd, tapping their spears on the ground. 

“Your planet is in the process of being flipped necromantically. This means soon it will no longer be fit for ordinary human life. Fortunately, we have already located a new planet for you to move to!” 

At this, the crowd grew outraged. They loved Taranoke! Why would they leave it? The speaker simply raised her voice and carried on.

“We will be sending ships to help you relocate in three months time. On behalf of the Emperor, I hope that you all enjoy what Sousward B has to offer! Also, given how disruptive a move like this can be to a child’s education, we invite your youth to leave early and enter our special program designed to help acclimate new members of the Houses.”

Baru looked around at her neighbors, her family, her village, her island. She saw the grief in their eyes and the pain in their stances. By the time she’d returned home with her parents, she knew what she had to do.

[francology]

Riding the Wave of Ocean Heroes: Conservation & Sustainability

Hello lovelies ໒꒰ྀི´ ˘ ` ꒱ྀིა I hope you've been doing great since the last entry hehe. I just wanted to express my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you for your ongoing support and interaction with my weekly updates. This post will be my last (at least for a while). I really hope you've managed to pick up a thing or two from my blog. Thank you for being here, and I appreciate all of you (づ๑•ᴗ•๑)づ♡

Now, let's dive into something super cool today – marine conservation and how we can be kinder to our oceans.

Did you know? Around half of the world's population lives within 100 kilometers of the coast. That's a lot of people living near the sea, right?

Coastal places by the sea are like gold mines for our planet. They help out the global economy, and they do some pretty amazing stuff, like storing carbon (which is great for the environment), protecting our shores, and providing us with yummy food (Mcleod et al. 2011; Barbier et al. 2011).

You see, more than 775 million people really rely on the sea and its coastal wonders (Selig et al. 2018). For example, fish is a big deal, giving about 3.2 billion people some of their protein. It's even more crucial in places where people are still developing their countries (FOA 2018). Plus, it's not just food; it's like a vitamin boost in your meal. And, tons of people make a living out of fishing and farming seafood, almost 57 million of them! (FOA 2018).

Now, when we talk about tropical spots near the sea, they're like treasure chests. There are amazing places like coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrasses that are teeming with life, and they help out our planet in so many ways. That's why a bunch of groups and campaigns are working hard to keep these places safe and sound.

Let's focus into how people in Malaysia are doing for a sec. Here are some rock stars doing their part to save these coastal wonders:

ICRI (International Coral Reef Initiative) Malaysia: These people are all about creating safe spaces in the sea for our underwater buddies to thrive. Right now, only 1.4% of Malaysia's waters are protected. They're on a mission to change that!

The Dugong & Seagrass Conservation Project: This one's all about saving dugongs (those adorable sea cows) and the seagrass they munch on in the Bay of Brunei, Lawas, Sarawak East Malaysia. It's a big deal because these seagrasses need some protection from overfishing and other stuff that could hurt them. The locals are getting in on the action too.

Tropical Research and Conservation Centre: These ocean heroes are based in the Celebes Sea, and they're all about saving sea turtles and fixing up coral reefs that got bashed up by fish bombing practices in Malaysia. They're on a mission to keep our underwater world vibrant and healthy.

So, there you have it! These incredible peeps are working hard to make sure our oceans stay awesome. It's all about taking big steps and little steps, but together, we can keep those secret underwater gardens thriving 🌊⋆｡°்⋆

Author's note: One of my all-time favorite YouTube channels recently released a new video that I believe is absolutely worth your time. His videos are like compelling stories paired with stunning cinematography. In this latest video, he highlights the alarming issue of the world's coral reefs deteriorating. It's crucial to shed light on real-world issues that are overlooked.

References:

Barbier, EB, Hacker, SD, Kennedy, C and Koch EW 2011, ‘The value of estuarine and coastal ecosystem services’, Ecological Monographs, vol. 81, no. 2, pp. 169 - 193. 

FOA 2018, The state of world fisheries and aquaculture 2018 (SOFIA), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.

Mcleod, E, Chmura, GL, Bouillon, S, Salm, R, Bjork, M, Duarte, CM, Lovelock, CE, Schlesinger, WH and Silliman, BR 2011, ‘A blueprint for blue carbon: toward an improved understanding of the role of vegetated coastal habitats in sequestering CO2’, Frontiers in Ecology and the Envinronment, vol. 9, no. 10, pp. 552 - 560.

Selig, ER, Hole, DG, Allison, EH, Arkema, KK, McKinnon, MC, Chu, J, Sherbinin, Ad, Fisher, B, Glew, L, Holland, MB, Ingram, JC, Rao, NS, Russell, RB, Srebotnjak, T, Teh, LCL, Troeng, S, Turner, WR, and Zvoleff, A 2018, ‘Mapping global human dependence on marine ecosystems’, Conservation Letters, vol. 12, no. 2, p. E12617.

[canmom]

Animation Night 148: Aeni (애니)

Hi everyone! It’s that time of the week.

It’s been a good while since we covered Korean animation - or ‘aeni’, following the ‘anime’/‘donghua’ pattern - on Animation Night!

As you know, Korea has a lot of incredibly talented animators, but despite that the list of Korean animated films is fairly thin on the ground because South Korea is one of the major hotspots for animation outsourcing in the world, along with the Philippines. Nowadays, nearly all ‘American’ 2D animation is storyboarded in the States and then outsourced to South Korea for all the actual animation; occasionally the work gets passed further down the chain and ends up in North Korea as well.

Even so, there certainly are a number of original Korean animated films...

Korean animation was actually one of the first ‘animation from x country’ themes I wrote about on here, back on Animation Night 20. Back then, I talked about the impressive cyberpunk Sky Blue/Wonderful Days and the films of Lee Sung-Gang - the gentle fantasy of My Beautiful Girl Mari and the Miyazakiesque Yobi the Five-Tailed Fox. I also wrote a little about North Korea’s one major animation studio, SEK, and their war drama series Squirrel and Hedgehog. All those films are worth a look!

(A note on Sky Blue - much of the animation team that directed this movie would go on to create the impressive animation of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, American productions which allowed their Korean animators a much larger than usual degree of creative influence. More on them here and here from youtuber ‘The Canipa Effect’.)

Much later, on Animation Night 77 we had a look at one of the films of Yeon Sang-ho’s film Seoul Station, the animated zombie film which preceded his popular live action zombie film Train to Busan. But before he was a zombie guy, Yeon Sang-ho’s preferred mode was dark, violent animated dramas, beginning with The King of Pigs (돼지의 왕 Dwae-ji-ui wang, 2011). Which is one of our subjects for tonight...

Yeon Sang-ho was born at the end of the 70s, and found the ambition to direct animation while at school, collecting a lot of anime with particular inspiration from Miyazaki. He achieved his ambition towards the end of the 90s with short films like The Hell: Two Kinds of Life (지옥 두개 의 삶 Jiok Dugae ui Salm) in which two people are confronted with the afterlife by an angel, and Love Is Protein (사랑은 단백질), in which fast food is unexpectedly delivered by anthropomorphic animals. You can watch ten minutes of The Hell here on Youtube with engsubs, but the quality is kind of terrible! Still, we can see some of the techniques Sang-ho was using at this time - quite a bit of rotoscoping. Love Is Protein is also available on youtube, though sadly sans subtitles.

The King of Pigs sees the adult reunion of an impulsive murderer Kyung-min with his former classmate Jong-suk. In their childhood, the boys were the ‘pigs’ at the bottom of the class hierarchy - but their fortunes changed when a third boy Kim Chul joined the group, who became known as the ‘King of Pigs’. But something happened to him, which Kyung-min now intends to reveal...

Like Yeon Sang-ho’s other animated films, it uses a realist style inspired by Satoshi Kon and the manga of Minoru Furya, mixing traditional animation and cel-shaded CG that pushes against the limit of its tiny budget. Nevertheless, the film was noted for its impactful, uncompromising depictions of pain, cruelty, and class, and brought international attention to Sang-ho, sending him to film festivals and giving him the chance to make more films.

Sang-ho described the film as drawing from real experiences of sitting by and witnessing bullying at his school, and even put himself in the film as a silent background character. He’d continue this approach with his next film, thirty minute The Window, based on his time in mandatory military service; then his next full-length film was The Fake (사이비 Saibi) about a cult leader challenged by a social outcast. We’ll talk more about that one down the line...

Tonight, at about the last minute, I’ve managed to get my hands on a copy of The King of Pigs. This one fits the harsh, violent model of Korean films about class in common with... well, most of what gets internationally popular I suppose, works like those Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho, or Squid Game. So I’m quite looking forward to it.

Then, for a change of pace, we have Ghost Messenger.

This is perhaps aeni at its most anime, stylistically as well as being full of nods to anime from Haruhi to Bakemonogatari - but it’s also about Korean traditions around death and folklore. The project, created by a studio called STUDIO ANIMAL, began as a cancelled phone game, which goes some way to explaining why the narrative centres on a possessed phone! Since then, it evolved through several formats, initially an OVA and then a movie series.

The story concerns psychopomps called Ghost Messengers whose job is to fetch spirits who refuse to go to the world of the dead. One of these guys, Kang Lim ends up imprisoned in a ‘Soul Phone’ used to capture ghosts, and guess what, it ends up in the hands of a hoodie-wearing blue-haired boy with strong psychic powers. But this means Kang Lim and his new companion are well placed to face a new threat manifesting demons and destabilisng the whole thing.

I’m not entirely sure what to expect from Ghost Messenger, but the wiki article is endearingly enthusiastic and it seems like it’s been something of a long-term passion project for its creators. And it’s definitely got some pretty stylish designs coming from that Korean folklore angle.

And for another, very different dimension we have 소중한 날의 꿈, Sojoonghan Nalui Ggoom (2011) which translates literally as Dream of a Precious Day but in English has the slightly odd title Green Days: Dinosaur and I. This coming of age story calls to mind the films of Hosoda, with elaborate traditional animation on paper and a kagenashi look. It sounds like it was a hell of a project, with the production spanning 11 years under the co-direction of Ahn Jae-hoon and Han Hye-jin.

The story follows anxious high school girl Yi-rang, growing up at a gender-segregated school in a small town in the 1970s. She’s struggling with the pressures of life and competition with her peers, socially and in running, intimidated by the pretty and poetic transfer student Soo-min. But then enters a boy called Cheol-soo, an aspiring astronaut, and their awkward first romance begins to change her outlook. It seems to be a largely low-key, slice of life sort of film, with (once again) a realist approach to animation against detailed backgrounds depicting the 70s rural village.

This film seems to have generally flown under the radar, never gaining a large audience nor much international attention. But the Korea Times is full of praise, and it made it to the Annecy shortlist - so let’s give it a look in!

Animation Night 148 will be beginning at twitch.tv/canmom - going live now, films to start in about 20 minutes! The watch order will be Green Days, then King of Pigs and wrapping up with Ghost Messenger - hopefully that will balance the vibes without going out on a huge downer. Hope to see you there!