#one thousand summers

[torqxx]

stares at you

this is a permanent wip. i am never gonna finish this

[yanqing-aus-daily]

[49] AESTAS YAYAYATYSHSHGSJS

Day 30: Favorite Yanqing!

One Thousand Summers AU by Mikamizun :0

(ALSO 1KS DISCORD SERVER YAYAYAY)

[chiropteracupola]

"...and Ardroy was a dragon's favourite if ever he had seen one. But then, Keith could not blame her."

Another illustration of Luzula's excellent Flight of the Heron/Temeraire crossover fic, 'The Flight of Dragons,' this time of Pràiseach and Ewen Cameron.

[cleolinda]

When I was a child in the '80s, I absorbed some kind of cultural truism that disco was ridiculous, embarrassing, cheesy, a cultural relic to be mocked at every turn. Remember, I'm under ten years old at this time, and I still manage to get this impression. There was another, milder sea change when grunge overtook the hair metal of the late '80s, so I never questioned the idea that disco should be dead and buried. We like silly things, I thought in my 13-year-old wisdom, and then we get over it.

Then I saw The Last Days of Disco (1998) while I was in college, and suddenly I realized that disco was fun, and it was like—it was in the roots of—music I already loved. And the end of that movie also—hints? tells you? I can't remember how explicitly—that disco didn't just fade like most trends; it was killed off.

I watched a lot of VH1 in those days, the late '90s, with a little TV sitting on my tall university-issue dresser, its corner overlooking my computer desk while I struggled with piles of assignments. This was the heyday of Behind the Music, so it was great background TV. And then one day (1999) they ran a Donna Summer—the "Queen of Disco"—concert special. The video up there is the song that immediately became my favorite of hers. It’s just instant serotonin to me, any version of it. I bought the whole VH1 album on CD, and "This Time I Know It's For Real" may genuinely be one of my all-time favorite songs, now, still, more than 20 years later. You can hear the original version (1989) here (the backing instrumental that I just found today is lovely), but the live version ten years later, the video up there, has a really special comeback—joyous, gracious survival—energy to it.

Watching the whole concert, I got it. Why the fuck did I ever think disco wasn't amazing? It was always the kind of thing I loved; we had all just been pretending that it was embarrassing glitter trash.

And then I found out why we were pretending. From densely-footnoted Wikipedia:

Disco Demolition Night was a Major League Baseball (MLB) promotion on Thursday, July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, that ended in a riot. At the climax of the event, a crate filled with disco records was blown up on the field between games of the twi-night doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. Many had come to see the explosion rather than the games and rushed onto the field after the detonation. The playing field was so damaged by the explosion and by the rioters that the White Sox were required to forfeit the second game to the Tigers. [...] The popularity of disco declined significantly in late 1979 and 1980. Many disco artists carried on, but record companies began labeling their recordings as dance music. [...] Rolling Stone critic Dave Marsh described Disco Demolition Night as "your most paranoid fantasy about where the ethnic cleansing of the rock radio could ultimately lead". Marsh was one who, at the time, deemed the event an expression of bigotry, writing in a year-end 1979 feature that "white males, eighteen to thirty-four are the most likely to see disco as the product of homosexuals, blacks, and Latins, and therefore they're the most likely to respond to appeals to wipe out such threats to their security. It goes almost without saying that such appeals are racist and sexist, but broadcasting has never been an especially civil-libertarian medium." Nile Rodgers, producer and guitarist for the disco-era band Chic,

(who survived the disco era to make half the music I loved in the '80s)

likened the event to Nazi book burning. Gloria Gaynor, who had a huge disco hit with "I Will Survive," stated, "I've always believed it was an economic decision—an idea created by someone whose economic bottom line was being adversely affected by the popularity of disco music. So they got a mob mentality going."

The DJ who ran the whole thing, Steve Dahl, complains that it was VH1 itself—you know, those Behind the Music specials I was watching—circa 1996 that labeled the whole debacle as bigotry when it so totally was not, you guys, and he is so tired of defending himself. But I'm gonna tell you, Steve, I don't really care. Maybe Disco Demolition Night was your fault; maybe you were just a part of something so much bigger and uglier that you couldn't see the whole size of it. Can you draw a direct line from the weird bigoted vitriol directed at those dance records to Ronald Reagan, elected the very next year, not giving a single fuck about the AIDS crisis? You probably don't want to, but I will.

And I don't care because I can look around the U.S. right now and tell you, nearly 45 years later, people are trying to demolish a lot more than disco. The Club Q shooter was sentenced to life in prison just a few hours ago. It's Pride Month, and we're all sitting here holding our breaths. That's a terrible way to end a post about a beautiful happy song I love, I guess, unless you turn it around and say, that should have been the whole point of this post in the first place. Listen to this song and think, people wanted to destroy this music, this sound, this joy for some reason. They want to stop people from just living their lives, from dancing. And yet, disco is still here. It was there in 1979, and it was there when Donna Summer released this song in 1989, and it was there when she returned in 1999. The Queen of Disco passed away in 2012, and it's still here. I feel a lot of joy when I listen to this song, but I don't think I'd ever thought about it being the joy of grooving with something just because it’s beautiful, the joy of just being here, still.

[alatushours]

headcanons of the strawhats having a pool party :) au where the devil fruit users can swim, no jimbei bc i’m only on zou arc <\3 def will elaborate on this later with a longer fic hehe wc 298

in the scorching heat of summer, the strawhats figured they need a way to stay cool while at sea.

which is when franky reveals the project that he’s been working on for the past few weeks: adding a pool to the sunny! he built it so that it’ll rise out of the ground on the lawned deck and fill up with water when it secures

of course everyone is thrilled and luffy immediately announces a mandatory pool party. ten minutes later, they’re all in their swimwear and the chaos begins

ussop, luffy and chopper are already splashing around in the pool; the latter two are forced to wear floaties by nami since 1) chopper is too short in the four-feet deep pool, and 2) luffy, to put it simply, cannot be trusted in water…

nami and robin are sunbathing on the lounge chairs with their bowls of fresh fruit and magazines, lifting their sunglasses once in a while to giggle at the rowdy boys.

sanji serves pool refreshments, mixing up cocktails for the ladies (and trying to get a peek at them in their bikinis)

brook acts as entertainment, playing summer tunes while franky operates the mini water slide at the edge of the pool

meanwhile, zoro is minding his own business, doing laps around the pool and then getting out of the water for a break, until sanji decides to “accidentally” trip him back into the pool…

that’s when ussop pulls out his stash of water guns, and things actually get crazy. before long, everyone is wet and shouting and even the ladies decide to join in on the fun

i’ll elaborate on this at a later date but for now let’s just say at least they found a way to cool off, yeah?

© alatushours 2024. please do not copy, modify, or translate my work in any way, nor upload to any other platforms. in the meantime, if you enjoyed, please like, reblog, and consider leaving a follow! it helps a lot ♡

[mumblelard]

the neodymium microcosmos or the anticipation of received forms

last week was the seventeenth anniversary of my first post in this place and after three thousand one hundred thirty-seven posts, i am pretty sure i'm still not doing it right

my kids and my girlfriend came over friday night and we drank pink lemonade tequila spritzers and ate pizza and shared this week's stories. it was a really nice night

yesterday, a cover of thirteen by big star came on the radio, and i was barely able to explain to cassidy how that song always makes me cry just before i lost my voice

last night i dreamt of quitting, i dreamt of a magazine cover with red stars on a blue field and no words, and i dreamt again of walls filled with pastel fauna absent menace or comfort

today, i am spending the day with finn and fall and they have surprises in store!

this week spans bloomsday, the solstice, the full moon, and midsummer

i'm spending next weekend in the mountains up near the gorge and my anticipation grows

[whatwouldmickeydo]

Thinking about them having a summer reminiscent of season 2 except they’re married and they’ve got money and there’s no more hiding and they’re fucking IN LOVE

Jumping on each other’s backs as they head home from a family barbecue, tipsy and feeling silly as they yell the partially remembered lyrics of the song stuck in their head from the radio

Going out to the late night pizza joint down the street because one of them got a craving, sharing a drink while hanging out on the curb scarfing down a slice, pizza grease staining their shirts as they knock shoulders

Racing each other down the street, laughing and hooting wildly before collapsing in an alleyway, giggling into kisses and wandering hands finding their way up each other’s shirts, rings glinting off the light of the street lamp

Playful arguing in the car, no destination in mind but just wanting to get out of the house, windows down and a rare summer breeze ruffling their hair

Sneaking into the movies to cool down for old times sake, Ian halfheartedly protesting because we’re adults now man but giving in without much of a fight when he catches sight of Mickey’s smirk and the way he pulls him forward by the loop of his belt buckle

Hanging out on their porch with a blunt and the AC blasting, making fun of the people they see passing by on the street, giggling like little idiots as they make up dumb backstories and fake names

Spending a lazy day at the pool with the rest of the Gallagher’s, making out in the water for a bit before being roped into playing chicken, Franny and Liam perched on their shoulders laughing wildly

Wandering around the end of summer carnival, lips stained red and blue from the snow cones, hands wrapped around each other’s shoulders as they watch the fireworks

[homosandhomies]

just want to stress this point: being critical of the israeli government is not antisemitic. HOWEVER, if you choose to blatantly ignore why israel is so important to the jewish people and how significant it is to our history and culture, THAT is antisemitic.

[vampelenovela]

International 'lets kill lestat' vamp gc started soundin a little too serious

[vulpinesaint]

the difference that offering a child kindness and compassion can make... one of the kiddos was crying the other morning missing her mom. Sobbing crying. and i talked to her and she wasn't able to say very much from crying so hard but confirmed that she knew her mom was going to be back and it was going to be a good day and it was going to be alright but she was just inconsolable. and we did some good breaths together but she just couldn't get her breathing under control. so for like ten minutes i just had her drink some water and gave her a hug and sat with her while she cried until we were going off to the next activity and she had to go with different counselors. and by then she'd calmed down a little but was still sniffling and obviously upset but the important part is that even though i didn't even get her to stop crying anytime i saw that little girl the rest of that day and now throughout the rest of the Week after just sitting with her and offering some compassion i see her notice me as she goes by and she always looks right at me and smiles and gives me a little wave when i say hi. like we haven't had any other conversations since then but i can see the way that she recognizes me now. i'm not her favorite counselor i haven't spent more than twenty minutes with her tops but that little girl takes the time to seek out my acknowledgement cause i showed that i care about her.... y'know... cause i was gentle with her and that meant something to her... all to say. it doesn't matter if you have extended interactions with kids. it really doesn't. small things can make such a huge impact on children and i really sincerely think it's so important to show them kindness... help them up when they fall. give them a hug. sit with them while they cry. cause even if it doesn't Fix things even if you don't solve the problem or do anything really materially Helpful you will have shown that child that people care about them. and they notice... they remember... they do...

[torqxx]

Yeah!

AUs in order, Abundance Yanqing, Link Click Yanqing, One Thousand Summers

[cowboyshit]

[pearl-kite]

Want to see some neat things about how irises grow?

Remember when I dug up and divided ALL of my irises at my parents' place a few years back? And how I ended up with 50 rhizomes, and I had bought 9 more just a bit before that?

Well, my mom wants to try to amend the soil because it's not great. Most of the irises have just been surviving, but not well enough to bloom, and everything else planted in the area struggles similarly. In order to amend the soil, though, I needed to dig them all up.

Again.

I dug up 44 rhizomes this time, which is honestly a bit better than I expected. I knew that not all of the ones I put in were going to survive, but I was still surprised by how many I just dug up today.

Anyway, the learning bit!

So irises aren't bulbs, they're rhizomes. Each year they put up leaves at one end, and over time they kind of end up migrating in that direction. If they do really well at gathering and storing energy, instead of just continuing forward, they'll fork, putting up leaves on two sides and a stalk with blooms in the center. The following year, the pattern continues, going forward from each side of that fork. If a rhizome does REALLY well, you'll end up with a bunch of forks spreading out.

The one on the left has survived, but not gone very far, and the white at the end shows that I accidentally broke some of the old rhizome off when I was digging it back up. It also happens to be a dwarf variety, so the rhizome is smaller to begin with; all my other photos are of intermediate and tall bearded irises with much larger rhizomes.

The one on the right has done well enough to grow forward for a few years, with the oldest of the rhizome at the bottom (still healthy and full of stored energy!) and the newest year's growth at the top. Looking at the rhizome itself, I'd guess that one is about 4 years (which makes sense, 'cause I think I did the splitting back in 2020).

The one on the left bloomed this year; you can see the flower stalk dried out in the center, and the new fork in the rhizome to the sides. Next year, they'll continue in those two directions, and it won't go forward from the stalk any longer.

The one on the right bloomed a few years back, and though it kept growing forward from there, it hasn't bloomed since. The other side of the fork also died off, and it's now only growing in one direction again.

Last but most certainly not least we have THIS beast. This one has bloomed the last two or three years in a row. I honestly can't tell if the guy at the bottom right is part of the same rhizome or another one I planted too close that got subsumed by this monster, because it took ten minutes to get most of the clay off and there was still more. I'll need to actually rinse it off with the hose to really see if it's all one plant or two.

But I'm 95% sure that this guy is going to bloom again next year because of those nubs down along the bottom. They were below the soil, and they're too thick to be new roots, so I'm guessing that's what future growth looks like. Honestly, this guy should probably be divided, but I also don't want to ruin the chance of it blooming next year, so I'm going to put him back in the dirt as is and maybe divide next year after blooming season.

Anyway, irises are my favorite, and I think it's intriguing how they work. I'm hoping that we can get the soil a bit more balanced and that they'll do better after replanting them, because even though I just dug up 44, we only had 4 or 5 bloom this year. They aren't thriving in the soil as-is, because for as long as they've been established we should have had more blooming than that. It was still the best year since dividing them, though.

I've brought a bunch of them over to my apartment and I'm going to try them out in containers, mostly the dwarf varieties I had. ONE of the dwarfs bloomed this year and it was gorgeous, but I'm hoping the rest will do better in new soil with some extra attention.

[ancientstone]

waiting for the weather to turn cold, for the leaves to change, for the days to become shorter, to wear cozy clothes again

[daincrediblegg]

so seriously I think sam reid has more talent in his pinky than the entire cast of succession combined and if no awards recognize this I will actually burn hollywood to the ground and that is a promise <3

[shredsandpatches]

Every so often I contemplate the fact that the following sentences about my current WIP are both true:

1. Despite the fact that sex is unambiguously stated to occur at several points, the actual erotic climax of the fic involves flaying.

2. Despite the fact that sex is unambiguously stated to occur at several points, the actual erotic climax of the fic involves a contract renewal.

I feel like this makes it possible to identify what canon it's for even if you don't already know.