#which i was going to replace but the one i bought got stolen

[pc-98s]

we do a little chiptune

[ace-of-zaun]

Kiss Me More. Pt 3:

silco x f!reader - 2.8k words - SFW

cw: angst, Silco being the most clueless mf to ever live (but he’s also a sweetheart, so we’ll forgive him just this once), fluff, Vander being lovely, mentions of poverty, arguments, references to sex, Seven is the actual worst, kind of an angsty end to the chapter (thought i'd mention it just in case)

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 4

-

Silco has mentioned Seven and your date with him that many times in the past week, you’re genuinely starting to worry he’s got an unhealthy obsession with the boy. 

In fact, he’s brought it up so often, you can tell just by the way Silco takes a breath that he's going to start yet another rant about your situationship, prompting you to scuttle away from him the second he opens his mouth to speak. 

It doesn’t put you off going on your date. If anything, it makes you even more determined to push back against Silco and prove to him that you can do this, with or without his support.

So, you go on your second date with Seven. 

He’d somehow managed to visit you every single day at work following your first date, which caused a giddy, cherished sort of feeling the first two times it happened, but now kind of irritates you after eight consecutive days of it. 

Now, it just feels clingy and suffocating, and you’re getting slightly worried your boss is going to get mad at you for wasting time at work. 

Luckily, Seven hadn’t asked you to go swimming on your date, (or, skinny dipping, as Silco had told you was his actual meaning, approximately six thousand times). Instead, he’d walked you to one of the little piers overlooking the river, where you’d sat side by side and shared a simple picnic. 

It was nice. Mostly. 

Seven had pretty much just talked about himself the entire time (again), and had even interrupted you the one time you tried to tell him about the new vinyl you’d excitedly bought on sale at the market. (So what if you can’t play it or listen to it just yet, Seven, you’ll be able to afford a phonograph one day, and you can just admire the sleeve artwork until then!)

Towards the end of the date, he’d finally kissed you, softer than you were expecting after the bold way he’d previously tried to kiss you outside your apartment.

But there hadn’t been any butterflies, or that wonderful, little spark you’ve often heard people describing when they speak of their first kisses. (Kinda, sorta like the way you felt when you’d kissed Silco…)

Kissing Seven, you hadn’t really felt anything at all, except, slightly icky and a little bit disappointed.

So now, you arrive home from the pier on your own (Seven had apparently been too busy to walk you back this time) with a strange sort of empty feeling emanating from your chest. Like someone has stolen a couple of your ribs while you weren’t looking. 

But a warm sense of relief and delight quickly replaces that feeling when you spot Vander sprawled out on the sofa, arms spread out across the back, head tilted up to the ceiling. 

It’s rare to see him at home, what with his long hours down the mine and evenings tending the bar. And it shows. Tired eyes and limbs betraying just how shattered he must be after all those hours of work. 

You’re desperate to tell him to give up the extra shifts at the bar. But you’re genuinely not sure if the three of you would be able to stay together without it. Maybe you should ask if you could pick up some of his shifts instead, give him a few nights off. Janna knows he deserves it.

Vander looks up when you gently click the front door closed, sitting up properly while you toe off your shoes to join the line along the wall. 

“Hey, you’re home,” you say. 

“I am,” he replies, easy smile to mask his exhaustion. “How was your date?”

Part of you had hoped he’d forgotten so you wouldn’t have to talk about it. But Vander’s far too thoughtful for that. 

“Ah, you know…” you say, looking down at your feet bashfully. 

“That bad?”

“I wouldn't say bad.” You sigh, dropping down next to him on the sofa.

You rest your head against his shoulder, tucking your feet under your legs in an attempt to get comfortable. Vander places his arm around your shoulder and gently pulls you towards him, until you’re leaning against his side.

You’ve always secretly thought of him as your wise, older brother. The one who always knows what to say and how to say it. The person you can always rely on.

"But not good?" he asks, genuinely. 

This time, the sigh you give feels like it radiates from your whole body. 

“It’s just…I didn’t expect any of it to feel like this, I thought I was supposed to feel…”

You don’t really know, to be honest. You’ve only ever heard people describe their experiences with love or dating, so you’re not completely sure what you’re supposed to feel. 

But something deep down is telling you, ‘not like this’.

“Feel what, lass?” Vander prods gently. 

“I don’t know,” you finally admit. 

Van nods in understanding, gently tapping your bicep twice before rubbing up and down your arm soothingly. 

“Maybe you just need a bit more time to get to know him,” he says, offering you the advice you’d been too nervous to ask for. “D’ya think you’ll see him again?”

You tilt your head to the side, worrying your lip with your pointer finger and thumb. 

“He asked me to go on another date with him tomorrow,” you say, pushing down the fact it feels like a shameful confession. “I said yes but-”

And then Silco storms into the room, looking like he’s spitting nails. 

“You're not seriously going on another date with that greasy-haired freak?" he demands, apropos of absolutely nothing. 

Immediately, you push yourself from Vander’s embrace to sit up and glare at him. Trust Silco to ruin the nice moment you were having. 

“Seriously, what have you got against him?”

Silco ignores you, clearly on a rampage that could only be fuelled by pure insanity. 

“You can't go on another date with him,” he announces firmly. 

"What? Why?" 

You wait, with a truly impressive amount of patience if you do say so yourself, for Silco to explain himself. To present his infallible, incredibly coherent, astonishingly well-thought out argument as to why you can’t go on another date with the person you are currently dating. 

"Because he's gross,” he says. 

You could really, honestly smack him. 

"No, he's not." 

"I don't think you should see him anymore," he continues. 

“Silco. I’m not a child, you can’t just tell me what to do,” you say, feeling the anger beginning to bubble away inside you. Silco knows exactly how to push your buttons and he knows it. 

“Yes, I can,” he argues, arms crossed against his chest. 

You narrow your eyes dangerously. 

“No, you can’t.” 

“Alright, that’s enough, you two,” Vander interrupts before one of you tackles the other and turns the argument into a childish scrap in the middle of the room.

Sil huffs dramatically and uncrosses his arms. Then, clearly not knowing what to do with them as they hang awkwardly by his side, he decides to cross them again. 

“Fine. I wasn't going to say anything, but I spoke to a guy at the mines who knows him and he's… got a bit of a reputation."

"What do you mean, ‘reputation’?"

"I mean, he's dated just about every girl in the Undercity," Silco stresses.

You frown at this new information, but honestly, deep down, you don’t really care. Even the mental image of Seven kissing other people doesn’t spark that jealousy in you that it did when you’d pictured Silco experiencing his first kiss. 

But admitting that to him feels like defeat so instead you say, "Well, maybe he just hasn't found the one yet." 

Silco scoffs obnoxiously.

"What, and you think you're the one?" he says sarcastically. His tone is a little bit on the mean side. Like he’s implying that you’re not good enough for Seven.

And honestly, it stings. It hurts and it makes you angry. You thought after all these years that Silco cared about you, that he wanted the best for you. 

But all he’s done for the past few weeks is question you constantly when all you needed was just a little support from your best friend.

And, gods, you know that you don’t really mean any of it, but there’s a burning, horrible impulse to hurt Silco like he’s been hurting you, so you stand up to face him square on.

"And what if I am, huh?” you begin.

Of course, Silco immediately goes to interrupt, but you steamroll ahead. 

“You know what, Silco, maybe I’ll just go and stay with him if you’re that wound up about it. Actually, yeah.” You purse your lips and shrug your shoulders nonchalantly, before looking him dead in the eye. “No need to wait up for me after my date tomorrow, I’ll just stay at his for the night.”

Silco looks absolutely horrified, face draining at the implication (that you don’t mean at all, honestly, you can’t think of anything worse than spending the night with Seven). 

But Silco doesn’t have to know that.

He steps forward a little and says your name, really quite desperately.

“Wait-”

There’s no way you’re letting him get the last word, so you stalk out the living room and into your bedroom without a backward glance, slamming the door shut behind you for good measure.

You drop onto your bed, desperately trying not to cry as you slap your hands over your face, like it’ll hold everything in. 

You just don’t get why Silco is acting like this. 

And the more time you spend with Seven, the more sure you are that he’s actually quite a repulsive, self-centered person. But you don’t know how to fix any of this mess you’ve gotten yourself into and all you really want is your best friend back. 

You just want everything to go back to the way it was.

Is that too much to ask? 

-

You haven’t spoken a word to Silco since your argument. Even after Vander had carefully explained that Silco probably didn’t mean what he’d said, you don’t want to hear it. The hurt is still too raw to forgive him yet. 

Everything has changed since you kissed. Now, your heart does this breathtaking little flip in your chest every time you see him, and all you can think about is kissing him again. But you're dating Seven and it's not like Silco likes you anyway, so there’s no point in entertaining it. 

Gods, you wish you could just stop feeling like this. 

You force yourself to go on another date with Seven, even though you had originally been planning on cancelling when you were talking about it to Vander. Now, you’re going just to spite Silco. 

So that’s how you find yourself walking through the city’s sprawling market stalls with Seven, kinda wishing you were anywhere else. You’re not really buying any of the products for sale because neither of you can afford much of anything at the moment, which just makes you feel all deflated. 

And Seven is holding your hand as you stroll along, but honestly, you wish he wasn’t. His hands are a bit sweaty and he’s gripping your knuckles just a bit too tightly for comfort. You have to keep letting go to wipe your hand on your leg and it’s starting to get really quite embarrassing. 

Just as you’re on the cusp of deciding whether to fake some kind of horrific illness or whether it’d be too dramatic to just flee Zaun and adopt a whole new identity, you’re saved by a tall figure stumbling into your side.

You only just manage to stop yourself from tripping to the ground, thankfully righting yourself before you can fall, just to look up in confusion at-

Silco. Who looks down at you with the most unapologetic expression you’ve ever seen in your life.

It’s clear he’s followed you because why else would he be in the market, he hates the market when it’s busy. He once said he’d rather run naked through the streets of Piltover in front of the Council building than risk the ‘throngs of dawdling idiots’ on a busy market day. 

"Hey, fancy bumping into you!” Silco acts surprised, completely over the top and almost embarrassingly unconvincing. He’s not getting a job in the Piltie theatre anytime soon, that’s for sure. 

Then, his expression drops when he glances at Seven, like there’s suddenly a bitter, bitter taste in his mouth. “Oh. What’s he doing here?”

You resist the urge to scream, finally letting go of Seven’s hand to step away from him.

"Silco-" 

"We're on a date." Seven finally speaks, looking thoroughly annoyed at the interruption. Even more annoyed than when Silco was rude to him outside your apartment. 

"Really?" Silco questions. He looks pointedly at the distance between the two of you and then stares obstinately at Seven. "Doesn't look like it to me." 

"Look, mate-" 

Silco cuts him off with deadly sharp precision. 

"You know, Six, I think we have a mutual acquaintance," he says, timbre turning positively dangerous. "Her name’s Lia. Works at the mines? That ring any bells in your dense, little head?" 

At this, Seven’s face pales. Rapidly. 

"Never heard of her," he insists, far too quickly to be anything but a lie. 

Then, he turns to you, snatching up your hand again. 

"Let's go, doll, we don’t have to put up with this." 

Silco’s expression darkens immeasurably, clenching his fists by his sides as he steps forward, but you beat him to the punch, ripping your hand out of Seven’s grasp. 

Fuck this. 

"You know what, I've just remembered that there's something that I need to do," you snap, borderline shouting over them when they both jump to speak. "Alone." 

Turning on your heel, you stalk off in the opposite direction, automatically heading towards the River without even really thinking about it. It’s the place you usually end up when you need to clear your head, and right now, you just need some peace and quiet.

You’re only a few streets away from the market when you hear Silco following you, knowing after all these years the loping strides of his gait by heart. When he makes no sign of stopping, you take a deep breath and turn to face him. 

"Please don’t." 

He says your name pleadingly but you shake your head. 

"I don't want to hear it, Silco," you say, a wave of exhaustion sweeping your bones.  

You’re far, far too tired for this.

"But he's-" 

"Why are you going out of your way to sabotage this for me?" you ask, absolutely detesting the way your voice wobbles on the last few words. 

Silco’s expression flickers, clearly torn between giving you space and stepping forward to comfort you. He ends up shoving his hands into his pockets defensively, but not without inching just that little bit closer to you. 

"I'm not trying to sabotage anything, I'm just trying to protect you," he replies, tone soft. An attempt at reassurance. 

"From what?" you ask.

"From getting hurt.”

He bites his lip, determined and desperately worried all at once. 

You sigh heavily, scrubbing a hand over your face.  

"I just don't get it, Sil, I don't get why you're doing all this," you say, letting your arms drop wearily by your side. 

He seems almost startled by your need for an explanation, uncharacteristically sheepish for the briefest moment as you watch him expectantly. 

"I… I just…" 

And then, as you continue to wait, his expression shutters, turning stony and closed off, and you know you’re not going to get anything from him now. Certainly not anything honest or in the least bit vulnerable. 

You bite your lip hard to stop the burning tears from falling. 

"Just go home, Silco," you say. You sniff back the tears, dejected but accepting. "I'll see you later.”

It breaks your heart to watch the way his shoulders slump but his expression still doesn’t crack. And he still doesn’t say a word when you slowly turn and walk away from him. He doesn’t stop you. 

The next few days feel like a haze of misery; a looping, unfathomable rhythm of going to work and returning home in silence, trying to ignore the way he watches you walk through the flat with a terribly lost expression, like you’ve slipped from his grasp.

You can’t bring yourself to talk to him, even though it physically hurts you to ignore him like this, the irony of not being able to talk to the one person who you can always go to. 

And with Vander gone so often, you’re left to just sit silently in your bedroom, staring at the cracks in the ceiling, wondering where the hell it all went wrong. 

PART 4

-

a/n: I’m sorry for such an angsty end to this chapter, lots of fluff and comfort in the next one, i promise!! (and this story will def have a happy ending, i think i’m physically incapable of writing sad endings, it’s just not in my dna)

-

super secret taglist 😎: @oceansssblue, @inolaphoenix , @holographicgarden , @darlingimafangirl , @rainyforest777 , @kikiiswashere , @deviantgamergirl , @miffysoo , @eternallyvenus

[solar-bean]

As an undiagnosed autistic I LOVE talking about my random interests with people and vice versa. So here's what I think the Touchstarved LIs random interests are 😊

Kuras:

Astronomy/ Astrology

assuming that he really is an ancient Angel he probably had a hand in or watched the universe being made so it still fascinates him how it has developed over the centuries

especially what humans have discovered about it

also the meanings they've given to constellations and other parts of the cosmos in tradition and folklore

it's all intriguing and quite amusing to him

he knows all the LIs zodiac signs as well as his regular patients

would sneer and say ' of course you're a Leo ' without any other context and just walk away in that swift angelic manor that he does

has a vintage telescope that he refuses to replace

if you indulge him long enough and let him ramble on about stars he'll stop and be like ' Wait I could just show you'

hope you're not afraid of heights

Leander:

Plants

especially the poisonous kind

he finds them poetic in a sense because of Co he does

like to have a small journal about them and wishes eridia had more nature for him to explore and document

sketches flowers when he has free time and might even color them

he's not the most skilled artist but he good at drawing plant life because he's done it so often

knows the meaning of plants and makes/ buys bouquets accordingly

hints at how he really feels about the person he's giving a bouquet to

has given ones with negative meanings to people he didn't like but needed something from, he knew they wouldn't understand and would just be like "oh a bouquet how thoughtful" " yes this was made especially for you " *wink wink*

has admired the gardens of high town snobs him and his bloodhounds have raided interacted with ( he'll take a few home just because )

is learning how to make teas, medicine, poison and lotions from plants for the fun of it and to help others

wants to have a large garden one day

Mhin:

Fungus/ Mushrooms

they just think they're neat

like how could you not there's so many cool kinds of fungus

they adore that such life can grow from death

will rarely pick mushrooms because they want them to stay where they belong

doesn't want to separate them from their fungi families 🥺

really REALLY likes cool colored fungi that glow

I imagine magical fungi exists in their world so they get really excited when they find some in the wild

they go crazy for those really big mushrooms and will stare at them for hours if they could

has dreamed of sleeping on a mushroom many times like a little fairy but won't tell ANYONE ( ok except Kuras but they didn't mean to, got really embarrassed )

if you gift them a glowing magic mushroom to keep as a nightlight they'll act unfased at first but congratulations you're basically married now

Vere:

Gemstones

eyes dilate like a cat when he sees one

oooo shiny

has stolen found more than he's bought

has a mini hoard of stones stashed away somewhere in his room

he only shows it to people he really likes ( Ais and S/o )

Ais' earrings intrigues him

Ais noticed and took them off so he could see and was more than willing to talk about where he got them

Vere knew exactly what they were made of right away and wanted to tral them as his own to mess with Ais, but lost interest when Ais admitted he wouldn't mind

would lay on a giant pile of gemstones like a dragon's hoard in his full demon fox form if he had the means to ( would put his S/O in the pile too as one of his treasures )

he'll know exactly which gemstones look best on you for jewelry

Ais:

Animals

like alot of animal facts dude

he has a wide range of knowledge because he can't choose a favorite animal. he likes SO MANY

ranging from the scariest of predators on land and sea to the cutest little fellas ( sharks, tigers, bunnies, small birds, sparrows *hint hint*)

if you tell him what your favorite animal is expect to be randomly given little gifts based off of of it ( illustrations, mini figurines, plushies etc )

asked Vere alot of questions about his fox nature ( " does your coat change color in the winter?" " ...Ais I'm trying to get frisky stop asking weird shit" )

was the type of kid to bring strays home so you can imagine how happy he is about having a pack of soulless

he immediately knew which animal/animals they were all based on and knows how to interact with them accordingly

his love for animals kinda messes with his instincts like yeah I shouldn't pet that large predator but what if he's lonely like me 🥺

is totally fine with getting bit and scratched because he overstepped a boundary and will learn from it

I bet eridia's highborn snobs have captured exotic creatures for show so guess who's pulling up with his red eyed soulless gang for a jail break ( he'd give the creatures to a shelter that can relocate and take care of them )

wants to raise alot of pets with his S/o as they grow old. just one big happy family of strays they've taken in: wild soulless, escaped highborn pets, barn animals, alley cats, Vere, etc.

[goodluckclove]

OP: Hey I have a cat and I'm looking to get an automatic litter box! Any suggestions? I'm flexible on price!

Good question - I use The Dyson Poop Sphere Mock 4 and it's pretty good! I'll probably buy a replacement of the same model when this breaks down, but I've had it for a few years and it still runs really well!

you're lying. i bought the poop sphere mock 4 and after i ordered it they sent me an email saying it was already broken and now my five cats hate me. they hate me and i hate you.

Dyson Poop Sphere is fine i guess. The app doesn't alert me when it senses my cats though it only sends texts when it notes a rise in tension in certain international political relationships :(

Oh yeah you have to clean the sensors. Do that and it'll go back to only focusing on shitting cats and also ghouls.

Why do you need an automatic litter box? I use a regular box just scoop it every few days. that works out fine.

If you don't clean your litter box at least three times a day I am legally encouraged to frame you for murder. No excuses or exceptions. i think that's a little excessive, but so are the prices for automatic boxes. so expensive! my cat free-poops and it actually makes him stronger and me better as a person. analogue litter boxes are so much better. the sound is warmer and it produces a way higher fidelity of poops. i didn't truly appreciate "revolver" by the beatles until i heard it while making direct eye contact with my cat as she just pissed vacantly into a box of loose sand. Sand is cruel. Pellets are cheaper and less of a mess. SOME of our cats are AFRAID of pellets! that's why I only use STOLEN BALL PIT BALLS

has anyone suggested the litter box that kills your cat???

I am VERY against The Litter Box That Kills Your Cat, but I had a coupon and bought one because I'm also against not using good deals. No ethical consumption under capitalism and stuff, so whatever. my cat ate the entirety of The Litter Box That Kills Your Cat and got really sick!! but it DOES have a lifetime warranty so they sent me a new one which is cool of them. three stars.

I just sold my Dyson Poop Sphere and used the money I made to buy several Shit Tesseracts. My cats get a little scared because they can only access the Shit Tesseract in the Dream Space so their little kitty minds can comprehend it, but I signed up for the bi-weekly shipment of Cat Prazosin, so that's not as much of an issue.

you have the shit tesseract? did you hear elon musk bought the parent company? he said it was too woke. now it's sold as a metaphysical poop-space for both cats, nazis, and mind goblins. What's a "mind goblin"? MIND GOBLIN THESE NUTS HAHAHA GOT EMMMMM

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

As me and my mom left the pub today, there was a fancy ass car (that looked like a funeral car tbh) pulling up where the driver, who was dressed in a whole ass waistcoat, jumped out and opened the doors for the two passengers which like, genuinely what the fuck?

Like, this pub used to be half pub, half Wacky Warehouse and it's the Wacky Warehouse where the staff had to get bolt cutters out to get the door open when I got stuck in the toilet stall at my uncle's birthday meal. Like to give you a reference for how fancy it is round here.

Anyway, once we drive off, we end up behind him and as my mom's about to pull into a car park that's got a McDonald's and a B&M and like a Heron, like that kind of place, Mr Fancy-Funeral-Car indicates he's turning in there too.

Even more fascinating than outside the pub. As we were driving, we were talking about what the situation is. My mom reckons he works at a funeral home and he's dropping his mates off at the pub and that he has to open the door for them because the backdoors have child-locks because, to quote, "well, they don't want anyone getting out." Meanwhile, I'm working with the assumption that it's like a fancy version of Uber.

And so when he turns into the car park, we're both like "who the fuck could he be picking up here?", especially as he drives towards McDonald's. Like now our assumptions are: 1) someone fancy is sitting in McDonalds, 2) someone bad with money is sitting in McDonalds, or 3) he's going to McDonalds before picking his mates up again.

This is a mystery and we are hooked, but first we have to grab some stuff from B&M, which again, indicates the general income level of people round here. We're buying ravioli and noodles in B&M; this is not an area where people have personal drivers.

Once we're done in B&M, all thoughts of Funeral Car Fancypants have left my brain because I have been reminded of the whole Quite Disabled™ Thing.

But then as we're driving past, we see him leaving McDonalds with a coffee in his hand and suddenly I'm on tenterhooks again, and me and my mom are like cooking at this point, just making up this entire backstory for this guy.

And so by the time we get home, we've basically invented a blorbo who inherited a block paving business from his dad but by stroke of luck won the lottery and decided to hire a butler to cater for all of his wants and needs, but hasn't bought a new house with the money because he's a hustle grind bro who has either invested it all in the stock market and/or cryptocurrency which means he only has a butler (and doesn't really know what a butler is meant to do) and his butler lives in a spare room. He has had his house renovated though so he has an obnoxiously large conservatory, and one of those baths that's up like three or four steps. He also has like the car equivalent of a figurehead for his Tesla, which he never drives by the by, that he is constantly replacing because it's constantly being stolen because he is not going to park his Tesla in his garage, no sir, this is a status symbol, it is on the drive. Also he looks like Steve from across the road. No matter who you are, he looks like Steve from across the road to you.

[whenyourbirdisbroken]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/04/world/europe/paul-mccartneys-lost-bass-guitar.htm

Have You Seen Paul McCartney’s Lost Bass Guitar? Tips Welcome.

By Isabella Kwai

For decades, mystery has surrounded the fate of the missing bass that accompanied the Beatles as they rocketed to fame. A new campaign is trying to find it.

Before Beatlemania, there was the distinctive Höfner violin bass — the first guitar that Paul McCartney bought after becoming the bassist for the Beatles.

That bass can be heard on some of the band’s most famous hits, including “Love Me Do,” “She Loves You,” and “Twist and Shout.”

Mr. McCartney picked up the instrument in a Hamburg music store in 1961, and it accompanied the Fab Four as they rocketed to stunning success, becoming the most famous band in the world. But the guitar vanished eight years later.

A new campaign is seeking to find the missing instrument, and hundreds of people have responded, hoping to help solve the decades-old mystery: Where is Paul McCartney’s missing bass guitar?

“It’s a hugely significant instrument in its own right,” said Nick Wass, a semiretired consultant for Höfner, the guitar’s manufacturer, who has joined forces with two journalists to try and track the guitar down. “It’s the bass that made the Beatles.”

“The bass was absolutely at the heart of the origins of the Beatles sound,” said one of the journalists, Scott Jones, who worked for the BBC. “The smallest pieces of information can often lead to the biggest breakthroughs,” he said of their appeal for tips on its fate.

Mr. Jones’s wife, Naomi, is the other journalist behind what they are calling The Lost Bass Project.

The three Beatles fans have urged members of the public to come forwardwith any information that might help. No tip is too small, they say, and they are promising to keep sources confidential. They say they have already received several credible leads since the project was launched on Saturday.

The instrument’s treasured place in Beatles mythology is intertwined with the band’s story. After the departure of their original bassist, Stuart Sutcliffe, Mr. McCartney, who had been playing guitar, switched instruments to replace him during a residency in Hamburg in 1961. For that, he needed a new bass guitar.

“I got my Violin Bass at the Steinway shop in the town center. I remember going along and there was this bass which was quite cheap,” he said in a 1993 interview with Guitar Magazine, adding that he had not wanted to go into debt and could only afford the Höfner, 500/1 guitar at the time. It cost about £30 pounds, or $38, he recalled. “And once I bought it, I fell in love with it.”

Mr. McCartney took the guitar back to Britain, where it accompanied the Beatles through hundreds of gigs — from the band’s early concerts at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, where they were spotted by Brian Epstein, who would become their manager, to the recording of their first two albums. It was repaired in 1964, according to the team behind the new search, and then used along with other bass guitars.

But the last confirmed sighting of the instrument was in London in 1969, in video footage of the band members writing their final album, “Let It Be.” Rumors have percolated ever since about what happened to the instrument: The Lost Bass Project suggests that it could have been stolen or lost either from the basement of Abbey Road Studios, or from the Apple Corps recording studio on Savile Row.

A representative for Paul McCartney declined a request for an interview. But Mr. Wass said he understood, from previous communications with Mr. McCartney, that he was keen to be reunited with the instrument. “He calls it the ancient one,” Mr. Wass said.

Among the leads they had received, Mr. Jones said, were suggestions that the instrument could have traveled to the United States or Japan. But he added that all the leads need to be vetted. “Somewhere among that information there is going to be the answer,” he said.

Other iconic instruments have been lost and found over the years — one close example being a Gibson acoustic guitar belonging to John Lennon, which was bought in 1962 and then lost the following year. Half a century later, it re-emerged and was sold at auction in 2015 to an anonymous buyer for $2.4 million.

It is unclear what the market value of Mr. McCartney’s missing guitar would be, but the team behind the search insists that the effort is not for monetary gain, calling the guitar “priceless.”

“We just want to know where it is,” said Mr. Wass.

[accidentally-in-fictional-love]

Hey pookie it’s the same anon here

I’m honestly so sorry for what happened to u like I’m so glad ur safe now and that no one got hurt thank god. But that’s literally traumatizing wth

Please take all the time u need to rest and don’t feel pressured to upload anything ur well being is way more important than anything else

Did u guys have any cameras? Or did anyone from outside witness anything? Maybe u guys should get alarms or something just for ur safety

Thank you for the concern, we're slowly coming back from it, but it's a slow process waiting on everyone we now have to hire.

Been doing a whole lot of nothing this week, which I don't really like, but I work again today so I'll be getting back to my friend's bday fic. Also finally got to sit down and work on my s/i's outfits and play some minecraft since I can't concentrate, so that's been nice, I haven't been able to play anything since I restarted this blog since I've been having so much fun writing.

We have one of those Ring cameras, but the battery was dead, so that's now been charged and taken care of again. But we also bought a really bright and loud security system to replace it, so this time if something happens again it'll cause some ruckus and get the attention of the neighbours. Our back door was already kinda hidden by the surrounding buildings since the house came first and then the street filled up with businesses over the century, and we added in a much needed shed that made it even more hidden, so to have this new system installed will be very helpful, which I unfortunately have to say now.

Since this has been going on for so long and they're robbing all over town and the surrounding areas, dad submitted a picture of his guess from our shop's security cams to the cops to see if it goes anywhere, and I also got news yesterday that they caught one of the guys from a different part of the group being just plain idiodic (parked one of the stolen trucks in his parents' laneway or something) so here's hoping they catch these pricks cause honestly, I'm too afraid to leave the house empty now and also too afraid to be in it at the same time. But I slept last night, which is more than I can say for the night before <:) 💗

[theculturedmarxist]

I think what artists, musicians, writers, pretty much every creative person really, all need to understand is that under capitalism, everything they make is worthless. AI, piracy, whatever, they're all just windmills you're tilting at. Even if by some miracle you did manage to defeat it, it would soon be replaced by some other terrible mechanism which alienates you from your creation, because that's how Capitalism works.

This is just the latest iteration of a process that's been happening for over 500 years now. It's just now instead of enclosing a physical commons for the private profit of aristocrats, oligarchs are enclosing the digital commons. Consolidating the public spaces of forums, message boards, webrings, and other democratically driven online spaces into the few mega-sites of Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, and so on has run its course. Now the capitalists have turned to trawling the rest of the internet to try and wring whatever value they can get from it.

And just like the process of enclosure or mechanization or industrialization, there's no putting that genie back in the bottle. They've already scoured the internet for untold trillions of pages of data and images and what not. The damage is done. It doesn't matter what further damage is going to come from it either, because the dirty not-so-secret of the tech world is that this is it. They have no more bright ideas. Pretty much every great thing to Google's name, they bought. All their in house initiatives failed. Google video? Google groups? Google glass? They make their money selling ads that nobody cares about. Same with Facebook. They just spent billions to create a crappy Second Life clone that no one gives a fuck about. These tech corporations are massive, lumbering, doomed empires, especially now that covid has pretty much brought the era of 0%-interest loans to an end. Without the billions of dollars of venture capital being pumped into Uber and Twitter and all the rest, now they've got to actually start making money, which none of them are actually able to do. Now they're desperate for some new gimmick to latch onto to try and turn a profit or attract ever dwindling venture capital. Bitcoin was the last big scam. Remember Libra? NFTs were the big thing after that. NFT images! NFT tv shows! NFT games! Here we are a year later and no one fucking talks about them any more. AI is just more of this magic bean bullshit.

Aside from all of that, even if AI was managed to be beaten back, you can assume that whatever the cure the powers that be settle on will be worse than the disease. Whatever "protections" get put into place will only be used against individual artists. At the end of the day, these big corps are just going to end up keeping all the information they've already stolen, the algorithms they used to steal it, and then will put laws into place legitimizing that theft after the fact. You're simply not going to win that fight, because the battle's already been lost.

The only long term solution to this is to attack the root cause, which is a system that relies upon exploitation in order to accumulate profit. Profits are what feed these massive corporate beasts, and as they're starved by falling profits, they'll only grow more ravenous and rapacious. We're only at the opening stages of this trend now, and things are only going to get worse.

[cookies-over-yonder]

Father-Son Bonding (feat. Hermie Unworthy, Uncle/Brother/Unwanted Roommate)

CO-WRITTEN BY @silverlistenstothings

Nicky comes over to visit Taylor while Cass is at work. Hermie is also there, for some reason.

Part 19 of The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Roommates

ao3

According to Taylor, Nicky is coming over to bring Taylor dinner while Cassandra is out at a work function. This has been in the books for a few days now, and Hermie has been dreading it the entire time. Taylor, on the other hand, has been reminding Hermie every moment he can, practically bouncing with excitement at the opportunity to see his dad. 

Therein lies the problem, Hermie supposes. Despite Taylor and Cassandra’s insistence that they want Hermie around, it’s not something they can believe. It’s not something they’ll let themself believe. Hope only opens them up to hurt, so they’ve given up on it a long time ago. They might think they’re fine with Hermie now , but as soon as Cassandra readjusts to Nicky’s presence in her life, as soon as Taylor remembers how much better Nicky is, they’ll come to their senses and finally rid themself of Hermie. Recency bias is the only thing keeping them around. 

Taylor has spent most of the afternoon in the bathroom, singing and humming and getting ready for Nicky’s arrival. Hermie, of course, has spent the entire day curled up in bed, trying to fall back asleep. They don’t want to listen to Taylor be excited about Hermie’s inevitable replacement, and they certainly don’t want to hear how well he gets along with Nicky. It’s two parts fear of being kicked out, and one part envy. They’re not proud of how often they resent Taylor’s relationship with his parents, but then, they’re not proud of anything they have going on. It’s nothing new. 

The doorbell rings, and Taylor turns the music off before hollering ‘I’m coming, dad!’ and scampering down the stairs. Hermie rolls over and brings the corner of their pillow up over their ears. It doesn’t quite muffle the sounds of conversation, but at least they can’t make out the words. 

They’re about to finally doze off again when Taylor calls their name from downstairs. They very much consider ignoring him, but there’s no real point to it, they suppose. 

Is he really going to kick them out already? Is a single one-on-one interaction all it takes for Taylor to realize how much better he could have it?

Well. They suppose that makes sense, actually. They roll to their feet in no real rush, and step out of their room. 

"Come down for food!" Taylor calls. 

Ah, one last meal before breaking the news. It's clear he's trying to soften the blow. Whatever, they'll take the bait. 

Hermie sighs, straightens their stolen shirt, reminds themself that they really have nothing to prove, and heads down the stairs. Nicky glances at them over the back of the couch, and raises his hand in a half-wave.

“Hey, Hermie,” he says casually, without a trace of guilt. They didn’t want to guilt Taylor into keeping them around, but they feel like Nicky could at least show a little remorse. 

“Nicky,” Hermie greets cooly, tentatively circling around the other side of the couch. They keep an eye on both Nicky and Taylor, bracing themself for their inevitable dismissal. 

“I just got you the same thing as Taylor, hope that’s ok,” Nicky explains, handing Hermie a warm takeout container. 

“… which is?” Hermie asks, sitting down against the arm of the couch, with Taylor between them and Nicky. 

“Chicken fried rice!” Taylor chirps happily. 

Oh. Good. Great. They can’t eat this. But it would be weird to say something about it now, wouldn’t it? Nicky bought them food for some reason, so they should be polite. Besides, Taylor hasn’t said anything, and he should know that Hermie’s vegetarian, and Hermie doesn’t want to make him feel bad for forgetting.

… oh, Hermie never actually brought up their dietary preferences, did they? It’s not even Taylor’s fault. They dug their own grave, so they can’t complain about laying in it. 

“Thanks,” Hermie says, a bit belatedly. They unwrap their chopsticks and snap them apart, before undoing the lid of the takeout container. The scent of chicken hits them immediately, closely followed by a wave of nausea. 

Ok. Well. They thought they might be able to choke some of it down, it’s not like they’re allergic or anything, but they’ll definitely throw up if they try. 

Taylor says something about what they’re watching, but Hermie barely hears it, too lost in their own head. Maybe if they compact the rice enough it’ll look like they ate some? Just enough that Hermie can say ‘I’m not really hungry right now, thanks though, I’ll have the rest for leftovers’ and then Taylor will ask the next day if he can eat their leftovers and Hermie can say that that’s fine and the crisis will be avoided entirely. 

Yes, this is the perfect plan. 

They glance over at Nicky and Taylor. Taylor is digging into his own rice with enviable fervor. Nicky is eating at a more reasonable pace, and meets Hermie’s eye when they look over. Hermie quickly looks away. 

They poke at their rice with their chopsticks, trying to remember how to even use them. They might not be selling it well, but moving the bits of chicken around to one corner of the container is keeping them entertained more than whatever Taylor put on the screen.

Suddenly, a spring roll comes into view. Hermie looks up to see Taylor holding it out to them.

His eyes are wide and there's a slight smile on his face. It's weird.

Supposedly the spring rolls don't have any meat, because they remember the V written on the box earlier. Hermie glances from Taylor’s face to the spring roll and back, before cautiously extending a hand. Taylor places it in their palm with palpable satisfaction, before returning his attention to the screen. 

Alright. They are now holding a lukewarm vegetable spring roll. The longer they hold it, the colder and sweatier it will get, neither of which are traits Hermie especially wants from their food. They should eat it, but also the smell of chicken is still nauseatingly present and just because it’s a vegetable spring roll doesn’t mean there’s no meat. 

… it probably means exactly that, actually, but Hermie can’t be sure . No, they need to investigate themself. They half-close their carton of fried rice and lay it in their lap so they can use both hands. When a glance confirms that neither Nicky nor Taylor are watching, they lift the spring roll to their nose. It mostly just smells like vegetables and Hermie’s awful, sweaty hands, but it warrants closer investigation. They carefully split the casing with a claw, parting it to reveal, to the surprise of no one, nothing but vegetable filling. 

Great. They’re not sure why they did that, actually—

“Hey, uh, Hermie, what’re you doin’ to that spring roll there?” Nicky asks, somewhere between concerned and amused. Hermie jumps, and immediately rushes to hide the evidence.

In their mouth. 

Obviously.

It’s a small enough bite that they’re not at risk of choking, but they probably definitely shouldn’t have shoved it in their mouth all at once when they’re still feeling a little queasy. Their body makes an attempt at gagging, but they refuse to part their lips. They are not going to throw up, that would be embarrassing . 

They chew to the best of their abilities. Nicky is staring, definitely leaning further into concern now. Taylor is sending them worried glances too. After what feels like an impossibly long time, they swallow.

“What?” Hermie croaks, before clearing their throat and repeating themself. 

“Yeah, nevermind I guess,” Nicky says, and that’s that. 

Nicky returns his attention to the screen, and Taylor does as well after a moment. Hermie suddenly wants very badly to go wash their hands, but it’s not like they can just get up and dismiss themself. 

Well, they can, obviously, but they don’t want to attract any attention to themself. As soon as they do, Taylor will remember why he called them down, and he’ll break the news, and it’ll be awkward , after everything he said a few days ago. 

Taylor wordlessly slips another spring roll into Hermie’s hand. To make up for swallowing the other one whole, they nibble at it slowly. It tastes a lot better when they’re not preoccupied with trying not to choke. 

They try to tune into whatever anime Taylor has them watching, but they’re already at the end of the first, maybe the second episode, so they figure it’s basically a lost cause. They already have no idea what’s happening, and they’re not about to ask. Hermie wants to leave to go do nothing in the privacy of their own bedroom, but they’re still waiting on the real reason Taylor called them down here and it also seems like a lot of work, getting up and going all the way up to the guest room. 

They kind of zone out after that, watching the screen in only the vaguest sense of the word. Nicky makes some comment that has Taylor snickering and saying something in response. They’re not whispering, but Hermie can barely make sense of the words anyway. Whatever it is has Nicky grinning and throwing an arm around Taylor’s shoulder, pulling him close and ruffling his hair. Taylor is grinning, leaning into the touch like an affectionate cat when Nicky’s hand brushes against his horns. 

“… growing in!” Nicky is saying when Hermie finally gets their brain to focus on the words. Taylor preens under the praise. 

“Yeah! Aren't they cool?”

“They’re awesome, kiddo.”

“Sometimes I get headaches, but I know it’s just growing pains,” Taylor brags, puffing out his chest. 

“Yeah, I’d get those too. You’re doing well, you little demon.”

The fondness in Nicky’s tone makes Hermie’s stomach twist a little.

Taylor’s horns have grown in quite a bit, considering there was nothing there less than a year ago, but they still aren’t anywhere near the size of Hermie’s, nor do they have the slight gradient to a lighter color near the tip… but then, the coloration is something they very clearly inherited from Jodie, and any amount of pride is shot after that. The shape of their horns is closer to that of Nicky’s, but it’s not like he’s taken any notice. He’d much rather pay attention to Taylor.

Obviously. Because that’s his son. It’s embarrassing to even think about Nicky giving Hermie the same treatment, all casual affection and praise. They don’t want that, at all, from anyone, but especially not from Nicky. 

Which is why they keep thinking about it, and why the thought is making their chest hurt a little. Obviously. 

They shake their head to clear the thought from it, and make another attempt at focusing on the show. It doesn’t get them very far, especially when Taylor leans into Nicky’s side and nudges his foot against Hermie’s thigh, but at least they’re not consumed by that worthless sense of envy anymore. They set the abandoned container of takeout on the floor beside the couch, and settle against the arm rest. 

Despite the fact that Hermie has been laying in bed all day, they still somehow manage to doze off against the arm of the couch. They only jolt back awake when Taylor shifts his feet away from their leg. They weren’t fully asleep, still semi-conscious of the Japanese chatter from the tv, but it was embarrassing to get that close to falling asleep in front of Nicky. 

Not that Nicky is paying any attention to them. Neither is Taylor, actually. Nicky is standing up, stretching his arm over his head and rolling his neck. Taylor, fully sitting up now, bounces to his feet. Hermie watches quietly from the couch.

“Well, I should be heading out soon,” Nicky sys, and there’s a flicker of anxiety in Taylor’s expression—gone as soon as it arrives—”You two think you can finish all this food?”

“Definitely!” Taylor says, smiling once more, “ehe… you’ll be back soon, right?”

His voice raises an octave seemingly involuntarily—it makes him sound smaller. Nicky doesn’t seem to notice, as he pats Taylor’s shoulder a couple times. 

“Of course, kid,” he says, reassuring but casual. God, he really is an idiot.

“Okay, uh-“ Taylor clears his throat. “See you soon!”

“Yeah, see you-“

“Can you like, give him your number or something?” Hermie cuts in, sliding to their feet to approach the door. “Right now the only way we have to contact you is threatening Taylor’s life, so.”

“Oh hell yeah, good thinking,” Nicky says, sliding his phone out of his pocket and unlocking it in one smooth move before handing it to Taylor. “Put your number in, I’ll text you.” 

His eyes slide over to Hermie, but instead of just glossing over them like most people tend to, he smiles a bit when they lock eyes. “You too, Hermie.”

Hermie is unsure of how well they’re able to hide the shock on their face. 

“Pardon?” 

“I mean, you’re around, so like, might as well, right?” Nicky says casually, and Hermie supposes that makes sense. Hermie is merely another point of contact in case Taylor and Nicky can’t reach each other directly. It's not like Nicky has any interest in keeping in contact with Hermie themself.

Taylor hands Hermie Nicky’s phone— his own name is input as T SWIFT , complete with a sunglasses emoji— and Hermie quickly puts in their own number. They hesitate over the last name, before ultimately deciding to leave the field blank. They return the phone, and Nicky takes it back with a nod. 

“Alright, see you soon, kiddo,” Nicky says, ruffling Taylor’s hair before ducking out of the house. 

Taylor watches, only closing the door once he's out of sight. His shoulders slump a little when he does, as if just now stepping off-stage after an important scene. Hermie notes the reaction, but refrains from commenting for the time being. 

When Nicky texts them later, Hermie registers his number, but doesn’t reply. 

[ask-de-writer]

Promised to tell about yesterday's

ADVENTURE.

Day started well, if early, to take advantage of the morning cool. Had a water haul. It was my longest one, of course. Takes three and a half to four hours if all goes well, which it did not.

Got to the water meters place. A contractor was using the standpipe that I needed - - to fill a 3000 gallon truck! Looking things over, I found that I had a trailer tire that was deader than a Dodo. Picked up not one, but two nails. One in a spot that makes it not repairable. At least it is on a warranty.

At least I had a spare in the truck. Got off four of the six wheel nuts. The other two did not want to come off. Grump. Went to a local used tire place. Oly applied pro tools and got my tire swapped. Cost a few bucks but he earned it.

Back to the water meter place. Contractor was ALMOST done. Still wondering why he didn't use the big commercial job standpipes.

Filled up the trailer and hit the road. The pull was mostly routine. Just that the cruise control would not kick in for some reason.

Got to the place and filling her tank and a shallow pool were routine. Hitch was, that she usually gets along with her ex. But not today. He was in El Paso and loaned her his car because hers is presently Kaput. While she was out there, umpteen miles from nowhere, he reported his car as stolen!

She needed to get back to town but could not take his car without risking getting arrested with her kid on board! She parked his car and I gave her a ride.

First to my place to drop off the trailer and some groceries I'd gotten.

She wanted to go to Fabens to meet up with a friend coming out from El Paso to get her. Offered to take her and her kid right on into El Paso to Discount Tire where I am getting the replacement trailer tire. While on the way in, she gets a call from her ex. He has retracted the stolen report and she can drive his car back to his place! Seems he is semi screwed without it.

She sweetly informs him that she is nearly into El Paso and his car is umpteen miles out in the desert and SHE has the only keys for it! If his foot hurts, it is because he shot it himself. If he had not tried to play games on her, he'd have his car!

We got to Discount Tire and their place is being remodeled. Get to wait under a sunshade. Her ride shows and she takes off. All good, I guess.

While I am waiting, the shop employees come around with actually cold bottled water. Then an elderly man shows up with a hand push cart that has a dry ice box full of ice creams. The Mexican sort. Every flavor under the sun except the ordinary ones that we are used to. I got a coconut one first and then a genuine lemon flavor.

They were free. Discount Tire paid for them for all the folks waiting for tires in the heat.

Got my tire and had one replaced on the truck too. It was worn out. In my twenty years out here, that was only the fourth tire that I had to buy. Road Hazard warranties are wonderful.

Bought a sit down dinner and headed home. Got there about eight thirty or nine. Worn to a fraz. Had a cold ice tea out of the fridge and went to bed.

And got UP!! ANTS!! Sprayed down the bed and bedding and actually got to sleep.

If you do get ants almost anywhere, sprays containing DEET work very well to stop the little buggers dead. Not as poison as, say Raid or that ilk. Just don't put it on any fresh food nor use it around pet birds.

I hope that your day was better.

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 115

The Third Man/The Waters of Mars

“The Third Man”

Plot Description: Investigating a case of biblical plagues, Sam and Dean call Castiel for help and learn that God’s weapons have been stolen

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: No. I would not survive having my skin, down to the muscle, peel off and then EXPLODING

And I continue to make the mistake of watching this on my lunch break…luckily I was spared the most gruesome parts by blocking it with my phone

Sam…I’m not saying that you have to be in a relationship to do that, but you can hook up with some one for free, you know. I’m sure there’s someone out there who would…is your personality that dogshit now that you have no soul??

Biblical plagues apparently say ACAB. Which is nice to see

“Were you…racing me?” “No…I was kicking your ass” I’ve missed these sibling moments when the stakes seem low

Um…I know this guy is goin through it but damn. Well, at least we were spared seeing … no we weren’t fucking spared watching locusts digging their way out of this dude’s skull

He gets there when DEAN calls him. Cas’s blatant favoritism and disdain for Sam is amazing. “You like him better or something?” will be so much funnier later

Don’t lie to yourself, Castiel. “You think I came because you called?”

“I think we can rule Moses out as a suspect” I love this show sometimes

“My ‘people skills’ are ‘rusty’” bitch, me too. Cheers. I keep forgetting I have a shirt with that on it that I bought in 2021 for if an occasion that I’d have to be around people would come up outside of work

Cas is that X Files kinda fed I guess. Sam and Dean are trying to play real federal agent and Cas is just asking where this guy has the Staff of Moses

Jesus, Cas. I guess I know this is a HUGE deal but maybe we go about it a little differently? No?

I’m sorry for being SUCH a Cas apologist. I can see that what he’s doing is not great to wrong, but I can see why he’s doing it. He’s not human, he doesn’t have QUITE the attachment to humanity he’ll eventually have

Oooo, I remember Balthazar being fun

Angel fiiiiiiight

You can’t start Who’s On First with Cas…he’s a millennia old baby when it comes to cultural references

Bestieeee, your people skills are not just rusty, they’re rusted, fallen off, and lying on the side of the road

Did we get Balthazar as a Gabriel replacement? “This morning I had a ménage a…what’s French for twelve?”

I’d love to be the kind of person who could hang with Balthazar, but I know I’m more of a sit quietly in a room with Castiel type

Damn, Cas. You are too good at throwing knives…and getting your shit wrecked by your older brothers

You LOT-ED RAPHAEL, Balthazar??

Hmmmm…gonna tuck away the “do you know what a human soul is worth” line for later. There’s some kind of power they hold. So, who’s got Sam’s and why

Sure. You had different hell experiences but…it would still affect you IF YOU HAD A SOUL, SAM

“Been On My Mind…”: does in Dean’s dreams count??? And…I guess there’s confirmation Sam did entirely off screen…

"The Waters of Mars"

Plot Description: In a Mars base the inhabitants are being infected by a mysterious water creature which takes over its victims. The Doctor is thrust into the middle of this catastrophe knowing a larger one is waiting around the corner.

Oh man...I'm trying to not get attached to these characters. I know, like, ONE of them makes it out, but some of them are just....you know?

Like these two in the garden...oop, one's already getting infected. GREAAAAAAT

As the Doctor remembers the crew members and their Great Value Wikipedia pages pop up...Adelaide was born in 1999. The deputy was born in 2008. HE'S FIFTEEN RIGHT NOW. THE TECHNICIAN WAS A COVID BABY

Ah, shit, EVERYONE DIES??

Yeah, I guess that makes sense that they'd link the Doctor's arrival to what's going on

I forgot how horrifying their faces get after they get infected. Ring Corrupted Bilbo Baggins lookin...giving Vincent D'Onofrio in Men In Black but worse and wetter...

I know any acting job's an acting job but the guy who controls the robot is just...he got the short end of the stick when it came to roles

"Water is patient, Adelaide. Water just waits[...]Water always wins." What a terrifying thing to hear

BUT. WHY. DOCTOR. WHY DO YOU GET TO CHOOSE WHAT MOMENTS ARE FIXED POINTS.

Captain, you WHAT.

GOD...imagine being told that the human race WILL travel to the furthest reaches of the universe, and it's because YOU inspired your granddaughter to continue your legacy, but it does mean you and everyone here with you HAS. TO. DIE.

Oh. She...she doesn't think that...she thinks they escape. I mean, of course she does. Doctor...

Stop...maybe stop going to fixed points in time. (I know you're not completely in charge of where the TARDIS takes you, but goddamn)

Imagine loving humanity so much but having to stand there and listen to them die on Mars, nothing you do can save them. Everything you do just causes it to happen anyway

The pressure equivalent of your bathroom shower hitting someone has never been so tragic

God...I forgot that he goes back and goes apeshit. "The laws of time are mine, and THEY WILL OBEY ME" gworl.

OK but how did that NOT kill everyone and destroy the TARDIS??

I hate the way she has to do it, but...he needed to be knocked down that peg. You'd think that he'd learn a thing or two after all the time he traveled with Donna, especially. She was asserting herself having an equally important say in what they were doing, how the people they were meeting would address her... You really would think that he wouldn't see his beliefs as absolute.

[mytwitterisdogtoast1]

Dead Island 2 and the thousand year wait.

I love Zombies. I love Dead Island (One of my favorite games and my favorite shooter) and Riptide was a great follow up. I’ve had a hard past involving Dead Island and how I’ve finished it over 4 times and beaten it getting every character up to the max levels in both 1 and Riptide because of various reasons (Xbox got stolen, ps3 my mom bought got stolen, beat it on ps3 and then got a ps4 which eventually died and had to redo all the data on it). You could say I’m an avid fan of the series 2 main games so I have been waiting for this game for a long time and even patiently waited sitting, waiting, hoping it would get out of hell. My patience has not been rewarded. Dead Island 2 is a tough pill to swallow. The game’s not bad but it lacks something to make it great. The game is a solid experience besides a few things I dislike about it (taking out the entire fact that it is Dead Island and just focusing on the game play aspect). So what do I dislike about Dead Island 2? Let’s start with the gameplay stuff first. Firstly the games got one thing going for it that is fantastic. The gore and damage to zombies in this is great and all the effort put into it shows. The combat is a little bit jankier as they upped the speed of combat a little and it’s not a smooth event when it happens. Hit boxes are a little off too. This can be forgiven if they didn’t bring back the 2 most egregious parts of the first games combat. Firstly guns are just awful in this game. They were bad in the first but had a really important part of the game tied to it. See guns were bad then but they helped kill a specific enemy. Humans. Humans seem to be lacking in this game from what I have played and all we have is the undead. Some of you probably think that I’m gonna say there are not enough zombies in the game but that is the worst take I’ve seen on this game. The zombies fucking spawn often and replace the ones you killed too quickly but that isn’t the issue. Special zombies in this game are just like the last one. Fucking tedious to deal with. The worst part is because everything is faster paced now they just get even more annoying to deal with. It’s not fun having a fatty fat fat vom-zom come at you while 2 big bois try and pound you like you’re the ground. That shit is annoying especially since they are not only all sponges compared to the regular zombies but because they also have attacks that are just annoying to deal with. They also deal tons of damage as well. Sure health is easy to replenish when you can make a ton of health kits but it gets super tedious when you eventually get screamers who call in tons of dead from the surrounding areas who are also big bois and fatsos and runners, and special runners, and walkers, and so on. That brings me to the other point on special zombies. Variants are also annoying. See certain zombies are there that are undamaged by certain effects such as fire, or electric, or damage in general and that shit adds to the tedium of the other zombies who are special. Especially when you have less weapons you can carry in general and they get broken easily because you have zombies who respawn quickly in an area. I had killed 3 screamers and all the people in an area and figured id go into a house since it’d been hours since I looted it, got a few items, came back out and everything had respawned in a matter of moments. All my weapons had become half health and since money is slightly harder to get since picking up weapons is now limited compared to the first game and I can only hold so much I just had to beat them and basically have never looted in the first place since it didn’t amount to much anyway. That also becomes the issue. Dead island 1 is technically bigger in scope in its areas. They are much larger and have more to loot and places to go and not everything that is cool is locked behind 1500 dollars of in game pay wall called fuses. Loot becomes annoying and tedious to deal with when you can’t do much besides break it down. Now I will say this. The game does allow you to remove the additional effects you have on weapons and store them for later use if need be. Giving you back parts to remake stuff later and have it so you can sell weapons and parts when needed. That however is removed with the tedium of going back and forth between each weapon instead of a quick 1 button press to cycle between weapons on a menu. This game is filled with those small details to cause slight annoyance. Hell, as much as the puzzles are low and so on I don’t expect much since the game is a zombie fps. Puzzles aren’t a big deal but the whole dying quickly from things such as electricity and poison and so on based on your character model gets kind of annoying. Which brings me to my actual gripes with the game. Dead Island 1 has a solid - great cast of characters. Not really anyone I disliked out of the main cast. I also love Sam B but who doesn’t right? The thing is this new cast of characters all kind of doesn’t hit the same. Also none of them feel unique. It is difficult to really get behind these characters based on the simple fact that not only are there 6 characters to choose from who all feel kind of samey with their back stories but they also kind of play the same based on your style of play. It means you find one dude who you like and then just build them in a specific style while not really getting rewarded based on that style. Here’s what I mean. In 1/Riptide (I will now basically refer to them both as 1) you have 5 different playable characters. Each one a unique style of play offensively and defensively. You have Logan who is a jack of all trades allowing you to not only use any weapon you come across but also later on in the next game he’s in actually get throwing weapons. His defensive ability is alcohol acts as another easier to find med kit. You have Purna who deals more damage with guns and also pumps up all your stat boosts. Meaning when playing with other people you can pump their healing and damage abilities making it safer for you and even if you’re alone you still get boosts to your boosts because yo dawg insert Xzibit meme here. You get Xian mei who is great with swords and pumping out shit tons of damage and heals better with the rarer harder to find med kits. You have John who is a strange mix of offense and being tanky while doing it and having heals in his offensive abilities which are based on hand to hand weapons and lastly, you have Sam B who is a tank who heals over time as well as has blunt weapons. When I look at these new people there are 6 people who are all a mish mash at the end of the game. Honestly they don’t feel like they do anything because as much as some cards in your skill cards are for 2 people tops they can interchange play styles easily. Which kind of removes the point of having styles  be on a specific person to begin with. Stats kind of don’t matter after a while when one is walking speed. Especially since running no longer costs stamina. In fact stamina feels kinda useless cause sure I can do power attacks which are stamina costing but I can also instead spec my character into fast attacks, slap on corrosive damage, kill everything quick, and also heal when attacked by dodging which can go on like every character.  I’ve been telling my friends for years Dead Island is basically just Borderlands but with zombies and it’s mostly true besides a few small details. The reason why was the skill tree. You can invest in how you want to play a character by either taking fury, or just having no fury skills. I don’t enjoy fury so I never took it until riptide when I ran out of other stuff to take. One of my largest gripes though is kind of how I have 0 interest in the caste of characters. DI2 sure has some characters doesn’t it? You have the dude who does dangerous stuff. Then you have the girl who likes to do dangerous stuff. There is the stripper. There’s the girl who does dangerous stuff. There’s the girl who does dangerous stuff. Lastly there is the guy who is an assassin. Does that sound vague? Here let me try that with the caste of 1. You got the rapper, The girl who is a body guard, the athlete, the hotel girl who is undercover, and the military guy. Maybe that is a little unfair. Let’s try 2 again. You have the stunt person, the stunt person, the person who runs, the stripper, the person who does skate fighting, and the guy who hustles. They sound interesting now but when you have 2 stunt people and then everyone seems like they’re capable compared to the one guy who was a rap artist who just so happens to be here it kind of falls a little flat. Especially since we lost out on “Jack Black”. The loss of the Jack Black character AKA Max. See it’s only under recent events that I had learned that he originally was not going to be a playable character but even then Jack Black impersonators are always cool to have around. They in 10 years could have changed him to be in the game. It’s honestly strange they just didn’t make a better Dead Island. That’s because they just made Dead Island with some changes. We got a game that was in development for 10 years and it did not do enough. It changed tons of things and didn’t do enough to make those changes better the game. Honestly a tighter smaller caste with skill trees (like the first) would have been nice. Shit a proper ending that probably doesn’t hinge on the dlc we are getting would have also been nice. Lastly having characters like Sam B not return would have been nice. I think that’s honestly a misstep since I personally would have rather played him than anyone else. (He also doesn’t feel like Sam B and is just there kinda for like nostalgia pop) I’ve for years envisioned myself playing Jack Black and killing zombies. That’s my fault. I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up. The game being kind of mid is their fault. Next time you let a game be worked on for a decade maybe do better than ok. I just hope you guys can come back and actually make Dead Island 3 a decent game because if you don’t you are going to lose out on a franchise who could have decent staying power.

[bramblewatchescharmed]

I was arguing with a Charmed (2018) fan the other day who tried to claim that the reboot "explored more different types of magic than the OG did".

Sorry, but that claim is untrue, even if you stick to comparing all four seasons of the 2018 reboot with the first four seasons of the original 1998 Charmed.

Just by comparing the first season of each show:

Charmed (1998)

s1e2 "I've Got You Under My Skin" has the Charmed Ones use the Hand of Fatima to vanquish Javna. The Prophet Mohammed (that Mohammed, from Islam) is explicitly referenced in the Book of Shadows, and the Hand of Fatima is used throughout North Africa and the Middle East as protection against evil.

s1e4 "Dead Man Dating" primarily takes place in San Franciso's Chinatown, and the supernatural antagonist is Yama, the Hindu god of death. The mortal antagonists are all members of a Triad gang. Three other episodes later on in the series focus on Chinese mythology.

s1e6 "The Wedding From Hell": demonic villainess Jade de Mon turns out to be Hecate, named after the Greek goddess of magic, the moon, and crossroads.

s1e7 "The Fourth Sister": Kali, the antagonist, is named after the Hindu goddess of death, doomsday, and time.

s1e11 "Feats of Clay" centers around a stolen Egyptian urn and heavily features Egyptian mythology motifs

s1e18 "When Bad Warlocks Go/Turn Good": not the first time Christianity has shown up in the series, but it is the first time the sisters have to save a half-warlock Catholic priest-in-training

Charmed (2018)

s1e1 "Pilot": the triqutra symbol representing the Veras' status as the Charmed Ones has its roots in Celtic (Irish) culture. Books of Shadows are solely used in Wicca, a British religious form of witchcraft. The Veras' BOS even has an entry on Melinda Warren. (Keep in mind that the Vera-Vaughns in this series are supposed to be Puerto Rican, and instead of going with the rich traditions and history of Latin American witchcraft, the producers and writers shoved their Latina witches into a Wiccan framework.)

s1e2 "Let This Mother Out": Spirit boards as they exist today are an American invention. (The Halliwells also had a spirit board that was passed down through their family, but that one did look like a family heirloom, not like it had been bought at Barnes & Noble a few years prior.) Marisol also created the prism world they trapped the Imposter Demon in, so no points there

s1e4 "Exorcise Your Demons": Mel finds a secret spell written by their mother in the B.O. S derived from Santeria that the sisters use to free Angela Wu.

s1e5 "Other Women": Introduces "hellflame", suspiciously similar to Greek fire. The spell Mel and her sisters cast to rewrite her history with Niko invokes the Moirai, the Greek goddesses of fate.

s1e6 "Kappa Spirit": Maggie and Mel briefly suspect that the ghost Brenda is a Banshee, a malevolent spirit from Irish folklore. Mama Roz, a recurring Haitian Yoruba priestess and psychic, is introduced (this kicks off Macy and Galvin's continuing subplot throughout the season exploring Yoruba).

s1e7 "Out of Scythe": Introduces the Scythe of Tartarus and a satyr as a guardian for one of the scythe's pieces, all of which are taken from Greek mythology.

s1e9 "Jingle Hell": episode begins with Hunter and Parker stealing a staff from a Russian Orthodox church, bringing Christianity into play. The episode ends with Harry falling down into Tartarus (again, Greek mythology).

s1e11 "Witch Perfect": music instructor at Hilltowne University (and director for the Hilltones a capella group) is taken over by a set of demonic pan's pipes while on vacation in Greece (once more, Greek mythology)

s1e13 "Maniac Pixie Nightmare": introduces pixies from Central European mythology

s1e15 "Switches and Stones": has Medusa the gorgon as the villain of the week, famously from Greek mythology

s1e18 "The Replacement": new Whitelighter Tessa makes reference to "Western magic" when fighting the Abiku (from Yoruban mythology) that is possessing Galvin

That's *checks notes* seven cultures the original series explores outside of British Traditional Wicca within its first season. The same cannot be said for the 2018 reboot's first season, where the only cultures drawn from are Central/Northern European, Greek, and Yoruba. Santeria (an Afro-Cuban religion) is mentioned once, and the denomination of Christianity shows in-series is very white European. So... yeah, that's three cultures for the reboot compared to the original's seven.

As for the rest of both series over the course of the respective shows:

Charmed (1998)

s2e6 "That Old Black Magic" features the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, which shows up in folklore across the world

s2e7 "They're Everywhere" deals with the Akashic Records, believed by Theosophists to be a compendium of all universal events, thoughts, words, emotions, and intent ever to have occurred in the past, present, or future in terms of all entities and life forms. (There is no evidence the records actually exist, and the religion of Theosophy was founded by a Russian mystic in the late 19th century, but the word akashic itself is from Sanskrit.)

s2e21 "Apocalypse Not" deals with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

s2e22 "Be Careful What You Witch For" introduces genies from Arabian mythology (Genies show up again in season 6)

s3e13 "The Good, the Bad, and the Cursed" touches on racism against Native Americans (via residual energy in a ghost town causing a time loop and Phoebe psychically connecting with Bo Lightfeather, the victim in question)

s4e5 "Size Matters" features a golem, which are from Jewish folklore

season 5 really starts in on expanding the magical community to include nymphs, unicorns, leprechauns, dwarves, mermaids, etc. Season 6 introduces a student at Magic School who's a Shaman, a different species from magical witches (s6e14 "The Legend of Sleepy Halliwell").

s5e6 "The Eyes Have It" introduces and heavily features Romani with magical abilities as a sister species to witches. Specifically, it focuses on a young Roma woman who becomes the matriarch of her family line, has snippets of the Romani language (or one of its many dialects) spoken on-screen, and has Ava grappling with rejecting vs returning to her heritage.

s5e10 "Y Tu Mummy También" again centers on Egyptian mythology

s5e13 "House Call" features a witch doctor who uses voodoo. Witch Doctors are explicitly stated to be on the side of good and good magic, and the one in the episode uses his magic to teach the Charmed Ones a much-needed lesson.

s6e1-2 "Valhalley of the Dolls" transforms the sisters into Valkyries from Norse mythology to rescue Leo from Valhalla (which for some reason is presided over by Freyja, when she's actually in charge of a different area of the Norse afterlife).

s7e1 "A Call to Arms" has Piper and Leo accidentally taken over by Hindu deities Shakti and Shiva (they were attending a Hindu wedding as guests when the deities were invoked to bless the marriage).

The Avatars, the antagonists of season 7's first half, have part of their backstory rooted in ancient Egypt: they were defeated by Anubis, the Egyptian god of death and rebirth.

Charmed (2018)

season 2 draws heavily from the Salem and European Witch Trials for its worldbuilding and backstory for characters: recurring character Jordan's ancestor was a Witchfinder General whose bloodline was cursed by a witch he killed; Whitelighters (and their Darklighter counterparts) are discovered to have first been created as a result of the Salem Witch Trials. The castle where the rite to create new White/Darklighters is held is located in Scotland.

season 3 made shit up whole cloth for its antagonists without drawing on one particular culture, but it finally introduces Puerto Rican witchcraft in the form of the Veras' second cousin Josefina (which is promptly forgotten about the second she's finished her plotline)

season 4 reveals that this universe's "original" Charmed Ones were unrelated brown women granted their magic by the nine clans of magical beings (trolls, leprechauns, hobgoblins, lamias, pixies, etc.) -- all of whom are, again, originally from European folklore.

"The reboot explored more types of magic than the original series did."

Bullshit. It very much the fuck did not. The writers kept cycling through Greek, Irish & British, Yoruba and Central European folklore for their worldbuilding and only gave Puerto Rican culture an afterthought. Which is not a good look when the protagonists being Latina (specifically, Puerto Rican) was the fucking selling point for this reboot in the first place.

[kannagms]

April is killing me, mentally, emotionally, and financially. I make a grand total of $2200 a month. I do get an extra paycheck this month thanks to the way the calendar lines up, so $3300.

April 1 ofc starts with my $1300 rent (cannot wait til my lease is up). At $2000.

I owe $800 in taxes. At $1200.

My cats just had surgery. Low cost clinic, still cost $200. At $1000.

Add in the usual bills, car insurance, rent insurance, internet, electricity, student loan, phone bill, etc. Takes me down to roughly $500.

I had my shipment of cat litter this month (3 month supply), which takes $160 (don't come at me for the price, it's the only litter my pretentious little shits will use. Anything else they'll piss and shit on the floor next to them). That's $340.

The cat food I bought made my cats sick. Had to throw out the $20 bag I got (gave to my mom, her chickens love it) bought a new bag for $30. $310.

Just found out that my insurance no longer covers dental. I have 2 cavities. Basically had to get additional dental insurance just to fix this issue. The first time payment was $90. There's $220 left.

On Tuesday (2 days ago) I'm sitting at work, I have DND on my door because I'm editing video and need to focus. My coworker barges in and starts demanding I do something that isn't part of my job nor do I even know how to do it. Informs me that I'm not entitled to have DND on ever. She could've at least knocked. She scared tf out of me just forcing her way in.

I find out that she's been telling higher ups that I sit in my office and sleep/play video games, which I do neither of. Maybe if I'm clocked out on lunch I'll play some games on my phone. But I'm not on the clock. She's putting my job at risk with her lies.

She also told me I needed to see a psychiatrist and gave me a business card. I'm not in the market for a psychiatrist. Never have been, never said i was. She said it's clear I need to be put on medication.

The Watcher thing happened.

I come home work after the thing with my coworker to find a note on my door. Leasing office is doing inspections today (Thursday). I'm dead in the middle of spring cleaning and my apartment looks like a mess. + my cats are recovering from surgery. I'm just waiting for an inadequate housekeeping charge or something to come onto my account. Plus they're checking blinds and will replace broken ones at a cost to me. I know one needs replaced bc my one cat ripped them up. Additional $35. At $185. And we all know that $185 is gonna go to feeding me, with the bare minimum.

Oh and 2 of my moms cats were stolen and there's no information on where they went. So they're just gone.

[celestialmazer]

ICONIC & LEGENDARY

Loved when a tagline was when we plumb it so does the price 🤣

Connie's firebombed ducks and stolen gorillas - meet the man behind Glasgow’s most bizarre ads

Anyone who lives in the east end would be hard-pressed to miss the ads which are guaranteed to catch the eye. Those passing Todd Street may have even seen the Easter Bunnies which are only the latest brainchild of Glasgow's marketing genius.

By Jordan Shepherd 20:36, 7 APR 2024

https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/firebombed-ducks-stolen-gorillas-meet-28946461

From firebombed ducks to stolen gorillas - this Glasgow company has gifted locals with some of the most unique advertising campaigns the city has ever seen.

Anyone who lives in the east end would be hard-pressed to miss the ads which are guaranteed to catch the eye. Those passing Todd Street may have even seen the Easter Bunnies which are only the latest brainchild of Glasgow's marketing genius.

Glasgow Live went to speak to the man behind Glasgow’s most bizarre advertising. Cornelious Kelly, known as Connie, started as a taxi driver before starting his own plumbing business.

Now 15 years later he is known across the city for his bold and unique way of getting his name and company noticed. Speaking to Glasgow Live, he told us the story behind the ads.

He said: "I've been running Connie's which we recently re-branded to Big Duck Bathrooms for 15 years.

"I used to do the taxis and tile and plumb part-time and my wee girl one day asked me to put this duck on my car. It was an old ex-taxi that I used, so I told her of course I would and I bolted it just above the mirror. The car was getting binned in a year or two anyway so it was a bit of fun.

"Everyone noticed it and I got thinking that I'd had so many ads on cars and vans and no one paid attention. From there it just grew from one duck to another and people were bringing me back ones from abroad and I ended up with a van covered in about 15 ducks."

But ducks aren't the only creatures to become part of Connie's advertising master plan - he's had everything from mannequins in bathtubs to gorillas (that kept getting their legs nicked).

He continued: "We've always had bathtubs on the vans and one day a recycling shop across the road said they had some mannequins and we should put them in them. So I did it and they were a success so I kept them... until they were nicked a month later but they then looked weird without them so I got more.

"It's like with all of my adverts, you either love them or hate them. Some ideas have been a bit stupid, like when I bought Gorillas at £49 each and put them on trailers, the advert was meant to be Go-ri-lax in a Connie's bathroom but It didn't quite work.

"The problem was they kept being stolen and then they were cutting the legs off."

Connie says his favourite ad so far has been of a mannequin of a young girl in a bath which looked like she was on a swing while the van was covered in polka dots. Another he mentions is 'price plunger', which includes his face stuck on 'skinny legs' on a Superman-style body that was placed on a trailer at Glasgow Fruit Market.

Unfortunately on the night he placed it there, someone stole the wheels which cost £250 each. Meaning it is currently stuck there until he can find replacements.

His latest creation was for Easter with him placing huge Easter Bunnies on Todd Street in the East End - something he says has been a huge success with him now booked up for months with work.

However, he admits his adverts aren't always loved but he says that is part of the charm.

He added: "Love them or hate them it doesn't matter. What matters is that people notice them, they tell their friends about what they've seen or they'll complain online.

"You could see a thousand adverts and not remember any. But I bet you'd remember the huge duck sitting at the side of the road or the bathtub bolted to a van.

"I went back on Twitter a couple of days ago and saw a video of some of our old advertising. I had forgotten how mad some of them had been.

"Any advert that gets your name out there is a good one as long as you aren't harming anyone."

However, the love-hate approach has not always been a peaceful one, with him having to secure his vans previously after an unknown person repeatedly slashed the tyres of his vehicles.

Connie said: "We had to carry spare tyres for a couple of years because someone took a major disliking. We had a 16 foot duck we towed about with a taxi - it got firebombed in Easterhouse."

Asked if all the effort is worth it, he said: "The adverts work for us because they are aimed at normal people. I'll admit that people don't want to have mannequins in baths outside their house but it gets seen by thousands of people.

"If less than one per cent of them phone then it keeps us in work and 100 per cent ahead of all of the competition. I've tried to fling money at it with regular adverts and not had one call."

Connie says his next idea will be a large 'magic' box that will be placed where the Easter Bunnies are and if people guess correctly what's inside they win it. Everything from bikes to cash, toilet pans and bathroom suites will be up for grabs.

But growth isn't everything. He says that he was previously busier but downscaled because he had too many jobs and was doing nothing but work.

He continued: "I was doing seven bathrooms a week with no days off. It was getting between me and my girlfriend and then Covid hit and I had to take time off. I liked it and now I only work a couple of days a week."

However, despite being 63 years old he says he has no interest in slowing down or retiring. And despite downsizing, he says he is still tempted to expand, saying he is still 'young at heart'.

He adds that the people of Glasgow need not fear - his adverts will continue as long as he is physically able - and big ducks will continue appearing across the east end.

[nickypoppieandel]

Sunday

oh dear!! I’ve just lost what I have taken the last half hour to write! I want to go to sleep as we have a very early start tomorrow, so I will have to be brief and do it in odd points. Sorry!!

Breakfast will be photographed tomorrow … biggest spread I have ever seen.

We all turned up on time for the bus to leave for our city tour.

One person 20 minutes late …. the guide for the day!!

When he got on the bus and started talking, I assumed he had some sort of cerebral palsy. He apologised for being late (a public transport problem) and apologised for wearing sunglasses in the bus (so much outdoor tour guiding). After an agonising hour or so, listening to his v e r y. s l o w. t a l k I n g and repeating himself, we were outside at the ski jump (about that in a minute) when he was suddenly interrupted full sentence, led away and replaced by a fabulous woman who is a retired teacher. We soon learned my cerebral palsy person was “high”! Silly fella!!

The Holmenkollbakken (I knew this blog would be harder to write than going across the Nullarbor!!) ski jump, now the most modern in the world, was initially built in 1892 and regularly renovated and modernised since. It hosted the 1952 Winter Olympics and is a really popular place for kamakaze Norwegians to spend a winter’s day.

Next stop was the Vigeland Sculpture Park. This beautiful and enormous park is full of granite sculptures by Gustav Vigeland. (A few photos) They are all naked, basically depicting the circle of life and he is one of the few (or only) sculptors who sculpture old people. He is not known internationally. He had a contract with the government to keep his work in Norway and they would provide him with a home, a studio and an income. He shared a mistress with Edward Munch (The Scream) even though he said he and Edward didn’t really have anything to do with each other. Look him up… it’s a very interesting life. When Norway was occupied by the Nazis, he was terrified his sculptures would be stolen. At this stage they were at his studio but he already had plans for them to be displayed at the park but he died before it was completed and it was hastened as the feeling was the Nazis wouldn’t steal what was on public display. It is the most beautiful park.

Because I’m getting sleepy, I’m going to dot point other things I learned today:

Norway appears to be full of helpful, polite people, silent vehicles, wonderful architecture, forward thinking Governments, masses of green spaces and a general care for each other.

he didn’t name any of his statues.

In one street (named after one of the King’s daughters), trees have been planted from all over the world (some needing special underground heating to enable them to grow) so that anyone coming to Oslo will see familiar trees.

The photo,of the 2 chairs is part of a group of 35(?) representing the 35 Jewish people who returned from Poland out of the 700 or so Jews who were taken from Norway to Nazi concentration Camps. They face the fjord from where they left Norway by shop and have no seats to remind people there is no rest or respite for the hundreds who were lost.

Once a hear, the carillon plays John Lennon’s Give Peace a Chance. It appears that the Norwegian government has a much longer-term view of improving the lot of all citizens.

Very few children attend private school.

If you are over 67 and you have a long way to walk to catch public transport, you will be picked up!

The State appears to have the ability to plan for the future.

Generally:

It is estimated that all buses will be electric by 2025.

A Teslar - apparently - can be bought for $AUS 55,000!

37% of the land is covered by trees.

The drinking water is the best in Northern Europe.

To help first home buyers, the State gives the purchaser a loan to get started.

Norway and Denmark were part of the Napoleonic Wars (who knew THAT???!!)

When Napoleon lost, Denmark’s punishment was to lose Norway, which was given to Sweden ( I don’t know who made those decisions!!)

Norway was part of Sweden for a long time (too long for me to remember!!) I think they broke away and received independence in 1905.

I’m sorry it is all in dot points, but I just didn’t have the energy to start again after I’d lost the first effort!!

We had a delicious dinner at the quay, taking with us a woman who is also on the tour and who asked me if she could join us. We met her last night at dinner. I think she’d had a few wines for afternoon tea, but I got talking to her when she told me she used to work for what is now Water NSW. When I say I got talking, she actually got talking! Tonight she was very subdued and seemed a little sad. So I’m glad we said “Yes! Come along!”

Tomorrow we leave early and have two train trips to a village called Flam, famous for its fjords. There may not be internet. The following day we go by ferry, bus and train to Bergen, where will be board the shop for our six day cruise. Hope it’s not like the Magestic Princess!!! as yet, not many trees have turned autumn red, but we are enjoying all the green space. Oslo has been described as a park, with a city in it! Pretty true. Good night!