#it's raining and I'm stalling 8)

[starcrossed591]

CDrama Year in Review 2023

I'm still very much a CDrama beginner--I just started watching them in the summer of 2022--but since this is the first year I got into them in earnest, I figured I might as well do a year in review a la @dangermousie (whose lists I have found incredibly helpful in deciding which CDramas I really, really need to go back and watch as part of my CDrama education--so thank you!). So, without further adieu, here is my ranking of 2023 CDramas, in order of least enjoyed to most enjoyed*.

(See also: KDrama Year in Review 2023)

*Disclaimer: *not* a measure of objective quality

10. Royal Rumours: This drama was not great? Meng Zi Yi and Jeremy Tsui were fun, but the story started out messy and got messier. For some reason I still finished it, I think because I had a lingering cold and it was all my brain could handle at the time *shrug*

9. Gone with the Rain: I actually really enjoyed this one! The pacing was inconsistent, but Zhang Nan was fun as the irreverent Mo Xi, and we love a grizzled general. Special shout to the teacher who was not actually evil, just a sad lesbian whose gf disappeared on her

8. Love You Seven Times: Intriguing concept, not a strong enough FL to carry it through. The reincarnation stuff really worked for me at first, especially in their first mortal tribulation (as people, not CGI animals), but I got tired of it pretty quickly. I admit, the gifs of Ding Yu Xi as a sexy cat demon *did* pull me back in, but not enough for me to actually finish the thing, alas

7. Destined/Chang Feng Du: Started out really strong, and then stalled out on me. I think I only got up to about episode 22 or so, after their epic desert crossing and new start in a new state--they lost all narrative momentum for me there. I stopped watching and then just...didn't start again. I do, however, remain a big Bai Jing Ting fan, and will be keeping on eye out for whatever he does next

6. Hidden Love: (Contemporary) Age gap romances are hit or miss for me, but Zhao Lu Si absolutely stole/carried the show for me in this one. Although more fun imo when the main couple are in the the will-they-won't-they phase than in the family melodrama after they get together, still the only contemporary CDrama to get me to give it a go this year--and I'm glad I did

5. My Journey to You: Featuring my favorite murder girlies Esther Yu as Yun Wei Shan and Lu Yu Xiao as Shanguan Qian! Gorgeous costumes and sets, sweeping cinematography, and plot that kept me on the edge of my seat. Full disclosure, I have not actually watched the last two episodes because I got busy and then saw weird chatter about them, so I have no comment on the allegedly weird ending

4. Till the End of the Moon: Look, I know the ending wasn't ideal, but for the majority of its run, this drama owned my entire soul. It also introduced me to Bai Lu as Li Su Su, who inspired my first actual tumblr post (that wasn't a reblog) because I was so obsessed with her. And everyone knows that Tantai Jin is the CDrama ML of the year. 10/10, no regrets at letting it take over my life (and the OST my Spotify) from April to May of this year

3. The Story of Kunning Palace: More Bai Lu is always a good thing, and she's extra fun here as the transmigrated former evil empress and totally-over-your-nonsense Xiang Xue Ning here. The reverse haremness of it all totally shows why Bai Lu is the chemistry queen, especially with the princess (Liu Xie Ning) and cranky, morally grey, would-fail-gym-class strategist Xie Wie (Zhang Ling He). So glad this drama made it out of the CDrama vault and didn't languish indefinitely in censorship hell

2. A Journey to Love: Finished this one two days ago as of this writing and am still not normal about it. Ren Ruyi (Liu Shi Shi) and Ning Yuan Zhou (Liu Yu Ning) lead an exceptionally strong ensemble cast in this wuxia that explores the complicated relationships between love, duty, loyalty, loneliness, and companionship. Ruyi and Yuan Zhou are far and away one of my fave OTPs of the year, but just as compelling are the relationships between friends/brothers/fellow assassins Yu Shisan, Yuan Lu (ugh my heart), Qian Zhou, and Sun Lang. This drama definitely has one of the strongest ensemble casts of the year. And the character growth of Yang Ying from little princess abandoned in the cold palace to who she becomes by the end will stick with me for a long time. Plus another 10/10 OST!

1. Lost You Forever S1: I'm not normally a reverse harem girl, but the longing, loss, and hard resolve portrayed to perfection by Yang Zi as Xiao Yao really did it for me here. This whole drama struck an emotional chord for me, and where TTEOTM consumed my soul, LYF took over my heart. Xiao Yao's relationships with her power hungry, overprotective cousin Cang Xuan; hot snake demon Xiang Liu/playboy archery shufu Feng Feng Bei; and perfectly devoted Tushan Jing are all equally compelling to me, and while I may know who she ends up with in the end, who I *think* she should be with changes based on who's on screen at any given time. And A'Nian, my favorite bratty princess who really just needs some strong parenting, holds a special place in my heart. I know we may never get S2, and even if we do, censorship means it probably won't be what the drama makers are capable of, but I'm so glad for this little piece of absolute perfection. And, again, a top notch OST!

Fave Drama: Lost You Forever, by just a hair over A Journey to Love. See above.

Least Fave Drama: Royal Rumours--truly why did I finish this, what was past me thinking

Biggest Disappointment: 2023 is also the year I read Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir, my very first CNovel! But then I didn't even bother checking out its adaptation, Romance of a Twin Flower, because it got rid of everything that made the novel such an addicting read, including a brilliant, strategic, ice cold FL and an ML who actually kind of sucked at the beginning, only to grow on you very, very slowly over time. I'm grateful that the chatter around the drama is what brought the novel to my attention, but other than that, hard pass.

Favorite Male Character: Lots of good ones this year, but I'm gonna go with Cang Xuan (Zhang Wan Yi) from Lost You Forever. The conflict he faces between getting enough power to protect the people he loves the most and that power making him incompatible with those loved ones is so compelling, and his yearning for Xiao Yao even when she's right in front of him is wrenching. Full disclosure, I also just really love the sound of his voice

Favorite Female Character: This could easily have gone to Li Susu (TTEOTM), Xiao Yao (LYF), or Ren Ruyi (AJTL), but I'm gonna go with Bai Lu's Xiang Xue Ning in The Story of Kunning Palace. Something I really loved about this character was just how jaded Xue Ning really was, even in her second go round at life. Yeah, she wants to make amends for the harm done in her previous rise to power, but that has hardly turned her into a good--or even pleasant--person. Instead, she's incredibly skeptical and still plays most things ice cold, especially with her family. As a bonus, we got plenty of Bai Lu's fantastic side eye as she basically had to do high school all over again when she gets called into the palace despite her very best efforts not to be.

Favorite Ship: Ren Ruyi and Yuan Zhao from A Journey to Love have got to be it. They balance each other out so well, and over the course of the drama, learn to communicate effectively with each other whenever they have a problem. They also recognize that not all problems can be solved by ~love~, which makes their relationship even more compelling when they decide to prioritize each other in a way that respects what the other wants from life.

Favorite Secondary Ship: Little princess Yang Ying and Yuan Lu absolutely broke stole my heart in A Journey to Love. Doomed love even more than the main OTP, these two's youthful romance was such much fun to watch, especially as they egged their respective mentors on in their own romance. Yang Ying's recognition that her first love did not have to be her only love is also something I always love to see, even as it broke my heart that (spoiler) she and Yuan Lu never really had a chance at an HEA. Their relationship really exemplified a key theme of this drama: that you should love the people you love while they're still with you because tomorrow is never promised.

Non-2023 Dramas that I Watched: Two non-2023 dramas I watched that deserve a special shout out are Love and Redemption and The Sword and the Brocade. Love and Redemption prepared me to really appreciate the big swings that Till the End of the Moon took, and The Sword and the Brocade went a little way to filling the Story of Ming Lan shaped hole in my heart. The Sword and the Brocade also had absolutely searing critique of the concubine system, even as it featured one of the most genuinely good-hearted FLs I've seen. Would recommend both!

Most Looking Forward To: Yes, I'm a sucker and the censors (not to mention the characters) will probably break my heart, but I'm still crossing my fingers that Lost You Forever S2 will live up to the promise of part one. See above: still a CDrama beginner, have not yet had all the optimism knocked out of me. Sue me.

#CDrama #year in review #Lost You Forever #A Journey to Love #The Story of Kunning Palace #My Journey to You #Hidden Love #Chang Feng Du #Destined CDrama #Till the End of the Moon #Love You Seven Times #Gone with the Rain #Ren Ruyi #Yang Ying #Yuan Lu #Bai Lu #Meta #CDrama Review

[backwardsheadphones]

mutual 1: I've spent all my money

mutual 2: I want to go on something more thrilling than Wooden Coaster 1.

mutual 3: Help! I'm drowning!

mutual 4: I want to go home

mutual 5: I've been queuing for Monorail 1 for ages.

mutual 6: This balloon from Balloon Stall 3 is a really good value.

mutual 7: I can't find the park exit!

mutual 8: This park is really clean and tidy

mutual 9: I feel sick.

mutual 10: I'm not going on Mini Roller Coaster 2 while it's raining.

mutual 11: It's too crowded here

mutual 12: I want to get off Log Flume 1

[youngveinsworld]

a recap of the take a vacation listening party at angels and kings, 16 october 2009

I was fortunate enough to be at Angels and Kings last night for the listening party! I drove from northern CT through rain and snow at lightspeed after work to beat rush hour traffic, nearly peed myself because there was no time for bathroom stops, made my train by 2 minutes after almost getting back onto the gridlocked highway and being honked at maliciously for cutting people off to avoid this...

...and was it all worth it? You bet it was!!

I got to Angels and Kings at 7:30 and there were literally ten people there, lol, a big difference from when Brendon played in August and the place was jam-packed. So I sat by my lonesome with my two beers against the wall and watched as people slowly trickled in. To those who have never been there before, it's actually a pretty small, laid back place, just a bar with a cool ambience and some comfy seats. The infamous spot for mugshots is in a little inlet that shares space where you wait for the bathrooms, two separate single stalls that ask no gender of you and are so covered in scrawl and marker that you can't see yourself in the mirror.

They played the Butch Walker album first, around like 8:15, at a volume much louder than the stock music they'd been playing before, to my happiness as the number of people had tripled and conversations were getting boisterous. I don't really know Butch Walker, I'd never heard him before, so all I can say is that the music was pretty good. Though his voice was much whinier than I'd expected from a man named Butch!

So I'm just sitting there chilling when I look up (I'm facing the entranceway) and there's Ryan!! With Alex, of course, and a few friends in tow whom I didn't recognize. They just stroll in and it's no big whoop-de-do, which is when I realize most of the people there did not come for the listening party, it's really just their neighborhood bar. Ryan was wearing his little brown suit. He looks healthier, not as skinny as he was last year, with his round cheeks and gorgeous locks :) Alex had his cape on! Loved it. Jon was absent, but I wasn't expecting him to be there as I'm sure he's in Chicago right now...unless he's moved to Cali as well? I can never tell with that elusive man.

It was so hard not to stare at Ryan the whole time! He's just so captivating. But I did my best. He knew lots of people there and spent the time 'schmoozing'.

A little before nine I heard the beginning of "Change" and I knew this was it! So that will be the first song on the album. There were quite a few people there now and I kept re-positioning myself to find where I could get the best sound, closing my eyes so I could hear better.

"Take A Vacation" is a very appropraite title for the album. I felt like I was on vacation! But it's so much more straightforward than the other work he's done. It doesn't sound like they're trying too hard or trying to prove something, it really is just a collection of fun pop songs, GOOD fun pop songs at that! Very, very pop-y. I wouldn't be surprised if critics compared this album to The Beach Boys like they continually compared Pretty Odd to The Beatles...though if that comparison makes anyone feel iffy, I'll let you know I don't particularly care for The Beach Boys and I loved the songs I heard last night. They're not cheesy in the slightest, but they are very lighthearted.

For the songs individually, I don't remember how many there were. There are at least two, maybe three, which are definitely not Ryan's voice- I say that because I cannot ever hear just Jon's voice on anything Panic has done and I don't want to say for sure that it's him, but uh, I'm 99.9% positive, so that's cool! One song was all about Cape Town, very twangy and mellow. All the songs blurred together for me, with the background noise- they are not radically different from each other, but yet they don't all sound the same but they do have the same sound to them, if that makes any sense? The last track, gah, I can't remember what it goes like but there were tears in my eyes. It was just that beautiful. It's an album that will make your heart swell and your hips shake!

And then it was 9:30 and I'd had my four beer maximum and was ready to go home, lol. But not without speaking to him, of course, and I managed to catch him alone as he was waiting in line for the bathroom. He was utterly gracious and so sweet, just as always. I finally got to shake his hand, something I've been waiting for which was a big no-no at meet and greets. Told him how much I loved the album, how amazingly excited I am for the music he makes, what a great talent he has, on and on because I never know what to say and I always want to say so much! I just really wanted to convey to him how much we truly love this music and how excited his fans are for this new band. He seemed very happy to hear all this :) Asked him about being under contract and he's a free man now, so they're really just hunting for labels at this point. He said the album should be out beginning of next year and he's very excited about it!!

And that's it. I apologize I have no media to share. There was no way I could've taken audio without it being completely drowned out by people talking. And I didn't want to take any pictures because, well, it's a dark bar and flash would've been really obvious and I didn't want to look like a creeper, lol. The end.

– from this Livejournal post

#recap #2009 #the young veins #young veins #tyv #ryan ross #with fans #listening party

[mcrmadness]

Do you currently work as a horse groom? If so can you tell us about it? What discipline, what breed(s), what you like most, what do Finnish barns do in winter to keep horses warm, etc. Also why are Icelandic horses popular for trail riding/tourists? Why not finnhorses?

Oh what an interesting ask! Thank you, Anon!

I'm not currently working as one, but I worked as one for long enough to be able to answer to this :D I specialized in harness racing, and in Finland we have only trotters (vs. USA, where they also have pacers, but that's not what we do here and a horse running in pace leads to disqualification as it's faster than trot). I have also worked/been in a training at different riding stables, as well. I'll but my answer under the cut eventually because it will get SO long :D

What do you mean by discipline? It depends on a stable a lot how things are dealth with. Finland also has very strict laws about stuff like the minimum sizes of a stable/horse boxes, the outdoor areas and all that stuff. The stables I have worked at, try to provide as much outdoor time to the horses as possible which I also prefer - horses were made for moving and being outdoors, not for standing indoors most of the day. That is why I disapprove stables that have too many horses for the amount of paddocks and where horses get only a few hours of the day outdoors, or spend their outdoor time mostly in the walkers. The places I've worked at had no walkers at all.

The heating side of stables probably depends on the stable. The harness racing stable I worked at for almost 5 years (but several times within a period of 8 years), had heating only in the blankets/equipment room, washing stall and the break room for people. Some of these had a radiator, some had underfloor heating. The stable had no heating whatsoever - it was in the middle of the building so it had two doors, and then bigger sliding doors at the both ends of the building. The secret was: horses are so warm that their body heat is enough to heat up a full stable. Plus its better for the horses when the stable is not too warm, it remained somewhere abover 0 Celsius, I would say it was around +5C inside the stable in the winter, as I didn't really need my winter jacket there when working. We just kept the doors closed when it got really cold, and kept a horse in every corner of the stable to keep the water pipes from freezing. And when the stable was full of horses at nights, we didn't fully close the middle door unless it was really cold outside, as the stable would just get way too moist from all the heat that comes from the horses (especially after training, as the horses sweat and keep steaming as they dry).

It was also important to take the horses outside even in the winter. Standardbreds wear thick winter blankets, Finnhorses can survive without them but some stallions grow so thin and silky hair even in the winter that we often put blankets on them anyway. Cold doesn't really bother horses who grow a thick fur, but rain and wet snow are worse as it can go through the fur and cause back muscle problems to some horses. I know that at riding stables they often put tons of blankets on horses or clip them to keep them from growing thick fur, but I have never really understood this. I believe in more natural ways, and that horses enjoy being "naked" as often as possible, and I believe in using blankets only to dry them or when the cold or rain can actually make them freeze. So, I believe in using blankets only when there's an actual need because of the horse.

What comes to breeds - in harness racing we usually have warmbloods and cold bloods, latter being Finnhorses. The warmbloods are either American standardbreds, French trotters or mixtures of them two. Russian trotter/orvol have become much more rare nowadays and I have never seen them in my work. Most trotters in Finland are bay or chestnut (or sometimes black), but occasionally there might be grey horses too and that is most likely brought into the genetics by trotters of Russian/orlov origin as there was (or is?) lots of grey orvol trotters.

Riding horses are a different story. Different European warmblood riding horse breeds are very very common, especially German breeds. From ponies Welsh ponies are super common, as well as Shetland ponies. Sometimes you also see New Forest ponies, and Gotlann Russ ponies, and Haflingers, and especially mixed breeds or ponies whose family tree is a complete mystery to everyone. Latter are often bought and brought from abroad, especially back in the 90s and 2000s it was super common for riding schools to go buy cheap horses and ponies from Europe, and later sell them here for higher price. We also have Estonian breeds here often, Estonian horse is very similar to Finnhorse as they're also often slightly more draft than regular riding horses, but also chill and reliable like Finnhorses. But they come in so many sizes and shapes, I've known one whose withers were ar 180cm or something and he was the chillest horse ever. I rode him at least once as it was at a stable where I originally started my horse hobby and horseback riding. Norwegian Fjord horses are also popular here, and I've ridden at least one once.

Icelandic horses are very popular because they are probably the best breed ever for difficult grounds. They are also very chill, brave and co-operative. Finnhorses are good too and really fit for every horse sport ever, but I would say Finnhorses can be a bit more scaredy for trail riding. Finnhorses are also really strong, so sometimes it might require an experienced rider to be able to control one. Riding schools also often get their Finnhorses from harness racing stables after a horse's career is over, and they have this 5th gear built in them. If they enter the "MUST RUN" mode, they just get really competitive and can be difficult to control. Also when driving, Finnhorses are REALLY tough and sometimes even the best of drivers have to work really hard to keep them in control as they just have incredibly strong necks and heads, and they're not as sensitive to the bit as most warmblood horses are. I have driven both, and sometimes the arms really hurt like hell after Finnhorses because they just. Are like that. Meanwhile a standardbred might slow down when you just slightly pull the reins with your fingers. With Finnhorses you pull with your whole weight and body and the Finnhorse just pulls back because they want to RUN RUN RUN. (But of course some standardbreds are also like this, it's so much up to the horse's personality really.)

I have ridden an Icelandic horse once and I absolutely loved it! They feel extremely reliable and easy to control (at least the ones they give for beginners). Plus they have 4 or 5 gaits, and tölt was made for trail riding exclusively. The horse I was riding, was having a hard time finding that gait and she actually switched to it through gallop, but once she entered tölt... it really does feel extremely comfortable! It's something else. It's literally like sitting on a chair, the horse's ass just dropped down and I wasn't moving in the saddle at all and it was incredibly comfortable gait! I definitely want to go trail riding on an Icelandic horse one day again!

This whole short trail riding trip was so bizarre btw, because we went there late on the evening in the winter so it was pitch black, but we went trail riding anyway. Everyone had headlamps (me, my classmate of that time and the person leading the trail ride), and suddenly we heard some weird barking sound coming towards us. A small animal stopped in front of the horses, went completely quiet and was staring at the horses like "what the fuck are those?", and the horses stared at it like "what the fuck is that?" :D It was a raccoon dog! And then it just turned around and started running away and kept barking. It is one of the weirdest encounters ever with a wild animal, and I was told these dogs don't bark, but this one definitely was barking. I will never forget that animal's face when it just stopped there like in cartoons to stare at these big weird animals who were completely chill and just stared at this weirdly behaving and huge mitten-looking thing. That also just shows how Icelandic horses are like, I don't remember my horse even flinching, she just was staring at the raccoon dog and tried to understand wtf is that but running away didn't even cross her mind. Some other breeds could have turned around and ran away in panic. Of course there's also huge differences between horses, I have worked with more sensitive horses who get scared by everything, and then very chill horses of the same breed who don't bother getting scared by anything ever.

I also want to say one thing about Finnhorses: they are a funny breed. Most of them are extremely smart, and some of them are pranksters. I'm convinced that some of them understand Finnish, because I speak to horses a lot and I swear some of them understood exactly what I said. One particular gelding didn't like being caught from the paddock and would always start evading and running away, even when offered carrots or bread. Then one day the same thing started again, and I was not really feeling it. I just said him "[Name], your owner is here, don't you want to go for a walk with him?" as the owner visited there only a few times a year. The gelding waled directly to my lap and let me catch him. I swear he understood what I said, I still don't know how, but he had just been running away from me and then was like "okay well in THAT case, I can come indoors with you" and walked directly to me.

Tho, it's not just Finn horses, all horses have those really smart invidivuals that cause problems by figuring out how to open paddocks or doors and they become the best escape artists ever, driving the humans nuts. Usually the smarter the horse, the more opinions they have over everything. Including what happens in the races. Some days they just don't feel like winning, and they don't. Some days they keep teasing everyone and then go like "ok actually I do want to win today" and then they win the race. You really work together with the horse, and no horse is forced to do anything, because they simply won't run nor win if they are not feeling like it. My then-employer used to say that the horses choose their own career, so sometimes I've seen mares quit their career and become breedmares because they just lost their motivation for running for good, so so be it, then.

Okay, I hope this opened this even a bit now :D Feel free to ask more if I didn't answer everything, or if there's something else you would like to know (more) about! Also forgive me for this long answer, I just love horses so much and I've got so many great memories from working with amazing horses, including that time when I tamed a 3-year-old Finnhorse stallion who had barely been handled at all :D But that's a story for another time.

#answered asks #Anonymous #mcrmadness' random stuff #just horse groom things #finland

[frenziedcrescendo]

(spoilers ahead for splatoon 3 DLC: Side Order. it contains things from marina's dev diaries, so keep this on hold if you want to see the lore with your own hard work.)

Do you guys feel like the first clear ending of side order is kinda confusing? [flashhhhhback-] (Pearl: There it is… Eight! I'm feeling your vibe!) [back to present!] that sentence absolutely explains nothing(TM). what did acht do before the qte? what's eight's vibe? and why did that restore them from greyscaling? It's basically a very poorly done Deus EX Machina, and that's one very poorly done Deus EX Machina too many in my book. so i decide to write a whole essay on what actually happened in my opinion.

some ground work: from marina's dev diaries we know that a palette is basically the template of someone's soul, the one thing left after going through sanitisation a/o greyscaling, and color chips are pieces of memories extracted from memcakes, which one must select the most suitable (aka most connected to themself) to place onto their palettes, before using them in practical battles, a literallization of processing outside world with their own memory, to become themselves again.

but here's the interesting part. if you pause and look at your palette during the Colorful, Vibrant Battle(the one where you become god), You will realize the palette is equipped with the 6 "spectrum chips", or, every single chip of that type. and it makes you FEEL something, according to its description. for red, "You feel like you're brimming with strength!", and purple, "You feel like the world has your back!", so on. these chips effectively, through their collective strength, made agent 8 feel the positive thought in these countless memories.

for power, it's unrivaled confidence. for support, it's the warmth knowing you'll never be alone. for range, it's the motivation to achieve whatever your aim is at. for mobility, (probably)the freeing sensation knowing you're shackled by reality no more. for lucky, the positive outlook that for once, everything will turn out fine. and drone, the trust in they who will never leave you come rain or shine.

(that is so sappy. never again)

All of them positive emotion birthed from the myriad of memories throughout the world. and one thing they have in common: they inspire change. to, with the power these memories grant you, stop stalling in your safety zone. to plunge into unknown. of course order disliked this. of course it pulled the souls with the most vibrant colors with the intent to bleach them so they don't want change anymore. of course they in turn is the only way to combat greyscaling. so of course, when the color chips resonated with the backing track acht played right before everything went to blank, it once again inspired eight to rise up again to change this bleak and inevitable end, and their allies to up the hype enough that even order can see the beauty of variability, randomness, and change.

#side order #side order spoilers #theory #or: why did I spent an hour writing this #alternatively: hire me as a writer nintendo please

[kepesktribe]

Writers game: First sentences.

Rules: post the first sentence of your last ten fics. If you haven't written ten fics, share as many first-sentences as you have.

(I haven't written a fic in a while, so RP's is going to have to do. Luckily I have a few AU's in progress. Also... I may do more than just a sentence for each. Some aren't the start of the AU though, since my rp partner made some of the starters... but they are part of my first reply to the starters.)

Tagged: @elveny Thank you so much! I actually enjoyed this one because I get to show a bit of my AUs and writing. I think I have too many AUs. Lmao

Tagging: This is a lot... so I am going to just say anyone who wants to do it.

The princess and the merman. (Sybil x Abela fairytale AU)

Once there was a prince of the sea who had been lost since he was little. His memories carried the voices of family, grown distant through time, and the glow of light from above.

2. Knightly Memoria (Janlenoux x Adelphel amnesia AU. With the help of Sybil, the two live in Gridania and work for Sybil under fake identities as members of his squadrons. Jan loses his memories after an accident.)

Sybil paced the edges of a newly formed hole in Issom-Har. From above, a remainder of last night's rain dropped from a leaf to slip under his collar.

3. Knightly Memoria 2.0 (Janlenoux x Adelphel. Role reversal amnesia AU. This time Adelphel is the one to lose his memory while out helping Abela in "The Hundred Throes".)

Steel clashed against steel, two daggers against a single broad sword and a shield. Janlenoux spun as he came in with his shield to block a rather well done but slow strike of one of Meuliaire's blades.

4. Blood Dripped Rose (Another victim, devoid of blood. A single card decorated with the stamp of a blood dripped rose. "I'm Sorry." Written in shaken handwritting. {Vampire Florentel/Detective Sorrel AU})

The Jeweled Crozier, ever bustling with life regardless of anything happening elsewhere in Ishgard. Merchants called out to get the attention of possible customers. Tableware, blankets, easy to store foods. Each stall housed unique wares to fit anyone's needs. People haggling filled the air and children ran between one person and another.

5. Beneath the Stars (Prophet Florentel and disgraced hero Sorrel AU)

Fire rained down upon stone and soil, smoke filling the air and choking it. Even the moon hid from the sight below. Lingering monsters prowled the destroyed town, feeding upon inhabitants that had not made it out. Silence followed the sounds of despair, deafening in the night. Yet it was that silence, a bubble around the town, that soon was heard the slow treading of footsteps. The ringing bell of boots, purposeful in making, splitting the air.

6. Wilted Wings (Angst AU Florentel x Sorrel. Literally made this AU for the pain. At least they will get a happy ending... eventually. Can't say the same for Aruktai and Otome in this one though.)

Kazeninotte had stayed behind, lingering as the other void users slowly began to trickle out after their moment with Sorrel. A warm smile tilted her lips as she listened to Zeneroseus complain about the energy used up and his immediate deserving of a nice nap. She didn't argue. He did deserve it.

7. Free Wings (Fluff AU Florentel x Sorrel. Takes place in WoL Sybil's timeline where Florentel (My actual shard of Azem) actually did die at birth and thus was reborn after the events of MSQ where peace mostly exists... and falls in love with Sybil's son, Sorrel. Beginning starts during an Ishgardian Ball.)

If there was one thing he wanted to be doing, it was not this. Over the heads of those gathered, stunning blue took on a veiled mask. It wasn't that he did not like these kinds of things. It was that he attracted the wrong kind of attention during them.

This is where I run out of currently active or finished AUs and I don't remember posting order of my drabbles... so you get drabbles at random from here out.

8. Scars (How my half blind Miqo bard, Mikh'to, got his face scars. Song is "My Ladies Eyes" from the 'The Last Herald-Mage' book series by Mercedes Lackey. My favorite books.)

"The days may speed, and then, I heartward hie, I flee, I fly, To see her eyes again." Mikh'to sang to the sounds of his harp, each word between a pluck of strings. Around him tavern dwellers drank and cheered to one of his most requested songs.

9. Unnamed (Janlenoux had a dream of when he got his eye scar.)

Janlenoux sighed as he leaned back into his pillows, which he had propped up against the wall at the head of the bed. As comfortable as he was, he still didn't like how he was made to rest for a few days. Reaching a hand up, he hovered it over his bandaged eye but refused to touch the still fresh wound.

10. Unnamed (Pasithea, as her Ancient self, while working on a project... a flower whose spores strengthen the gift of soul sight. It.. uh.. fails.)

Bright, curious eyes peered at the oddly shaped, large flower. "Oh, I think I shall have to rework the size. Perhaps remove the sporehead and settle for a more elegant, petal design too. I have created something much too unsightly."

#Sybela: Sybil and Abela #Brightsteel: Janlenoux and Adelphel #florrel: florentel and sorrel #Mikh'to Ruhyah #ser janlenoux #pasithea tehp #misk kepesk writes #long post

[public-school-things]

[This is very, very long. I'm procrastinating on chemistry homework. Also, this is all a true story, as hard as it is to believe. The only things I changed are potentially the order of events and specific lines of dialogue. Some details were omitted, such as the fact that someone at my table was circled by dogs on the way to school, or that someone woke up to a vulture on their doorstep. Also, TW for mentions of car crashes, guns, and a general sense of unreality.]

The date is January 3, 2022. It is our first day back from Winter Break. School starts at 7:18, and there have been three flash flood warnings between 5:00 and 7:00 AM. I heard all of them in real time, as I didn’t fall asleep at all the night before. I’m waiting to get out of bed. Surely, our county will cancel school for the day. They’ve canceled over less in the past. 

Besides--it’s not just the flash floods. It’s supposed to snow at 10:00 today. It hasn’t snowed since last Winter. Our county is known to cancel school at the slightest snowflake. I check my phone. Nothing from the school, but at this point my friends are awake and they, too, are waiting. 

It’s 7:00. I’m running late. Usually, I have to leave at 6:45 to get to school on time. It’s only five minutes away from where I live, but the carpool line is long and slow. I’m stalling.  I’m expecting them to cancel school. It’s cold outside-- forty degrees Fahrenheit, maybe. Rain is pouring down in sheets. I don’t want to go outside. 

They still haven’t canceled school. I resign myself to going, even at risk of hydroplaning. I check my phone. Everyone expects that they’ll cancel, everyone is hovering over the school website, reloading and reloading. 

As we drive up  towards the school, I notice that the traffic lights are out. This is off of a very dangerous highway that has taken many lives. There are teen drivers going to school. This is incredibly unsafe. I check my phone. They still haven’t canceled school for today.  Apparently, the school has lost power. Everyone is in the cafeteria, and it is dark. It doesn’t get light until maybe 8:00 at this time of year. 

At this point, I’m getting excited. I have anxiety, I’m in a car on a lethal highway with no traffic lights, there are teens behind the wheels in the cars next to me, and the road is slick under an inch of rain. I should not be excited. But what the fuck. They haven’t canceled school yet. I want to see how far they let this continue. 

Thunder rolls overhead, rain is still pounding down on the cars. The carpool line--usually slow--isn’t moving. I wonder if someone’s crashed up ahead. It wouldn’t be surprising, given the conditions. But I’ve gotten this far, why would I turn back now? I snap a picture of the ghostly lanes, the traffic lights hanging mutely over the road. 

I check my phone. Apparently lightning struck a pole by the school. Apparently it hit five transformers. Apparently that’s why we don’t have power. Someone sends a photo of the cafeteria; it is dark, crowded with the stumbling forms of slouched-over students and their backpacks, brimming with pairs of glowing eyes.

Eventually, at 7:50, I enter the school building. It is cold, colder than I thought it would be. It is densely packed with people. I wanted adventure. Here it is, served to me on a lead plate.  I start to regret coming to school.

One of my friends spots me. We talk, exchange information. He says some students pulled up a radar in the corner of the cafeteria. He says there’s bad news: there will be hail. 

“Oh.” I check my phone. They still haven’t canceled school. 

Slowly, the crowd around me thins. Students are disappearing. Where are the teachers taking them? Someone tells us to go to the Auxiliary Gym. I’ve only ever gone there for testing. It is a desolate room, grey, boxy and oddly-proportioned. Some say it’s haunted. Still, that is where the adventure is. I follow. 

There is a teacher holding the door open. I have never seen her before, but her hair is greying and she carries a lanyard. She closes the door, staring at both my friend and me. “Once you enter, you can’t leave. You can’t talk, and you can’t speak.” 

I stand there, puzzled. It is her job to lead us to the Auxiliary Gym. It is her job to hold the door open. I stare at my friend, tilt my head in questioning. 

“Too late.” The teacher walks away. Someone else takes her place, and ushers us inside. I follow. My friend trails behind me. 

We enter a hallway. It is empty. The power is out, but we must have emergency generators, because the Exit signs still glow with a desolate red. Small white lamps are nestled beside them, washing the hall in long shadows. It looks like a submarine, or an underground bunker. Oddly, it strikes me as beautiful. It must be the apocalypse. 

As we go down the hallway, there is a palpable hush growing in the air. This gives me pause. Schools are not meant to be this quiet. The last time this happened, there was a Threat. But it is rainy, and bleak, and no one cares if there’s a gun at the apocalypse.

Finally, we reach the end of the hallway. It is colder than it was when I entered the school. I am glad that I wore my dad’s old sweater today. It is warm, and the sleeves are long enough to cover my hands like impromptu  gloves. 

We enter the Auxiliary Gym. It is crowded. I look over the sea of darkened, masked faces, trying to make out the features of a friend. Somehow, I don’t recognize anyone. Faces never were my speciality. 

I wander to the back of the room. I see light at the far corner. A door is open. Wind is whipping inward, rain. Why is the door open? I look down. One of my friends is seated on the floor. When did she get here? 

My other friend sits, as do I. We make a small circle, our backpacks wedged between us like keystones. We exchange information, ask after other friends. They said they would be here, but no one has seen them. I check my phone. They haven’t said anything in a while. 

I produce a deck of cards from my bag, lay two Jolly Ranchers out on the floorboards. We play Spoons. I am proud that I’m prepared. My deck of cards has only ever been used for tricks and Solitaire. We play for thirty minutes. Or maybe an hour. Who knows? 

Halfway through, someone stands up. We all stand up. We all crowd towards the doors and stand there. A minute passes. Nothing happens. We all sit back down. 

We play a few more rounds of Spoons. My art teacher passes. I give her the Vulcan salute, she returns it. A few more rounds. I check my phone. Still nothing. 

Finally, we get ushered out of the Auxiliary Gym. As I put away my cards, I look at my glow-in-the-dark fidget toy. It isn’t glowing. How odd. 

“Go straight to your first period classes. Stay there.” It is my art teacher speaking, but her voice is more hostile than I have ever heard it. The first friend wanders off to a different class. My second friend walks up the stairs with me. As we go up, it gets warmer. The crowd thins. I have walked up these stairs every day--three flights. It has killed my legs and lungs every single time. I have never been more thankful for the climb. When we get up, it is toasty. The windows let in greyish light. They are big. They have always scared me, looking down. Now, they are a lightsource. We are but moths. 

Eventually, we reach the top of the stairs. My friend and I enter our first period classroom. It is quiet. It is grey. Only a few students are here. 

Where is the rest of our friend group? The others from our table? I check my phone. They said they would be here. I check my phone. They said they arrived. I check my phone. They aren’t responding. 

Slowly, our table fills in. We joke that some have been eaten by the school, but eventually they arrive and sit down. All except one. We ask around. Who saw her last? A tablemate says that he was with her when he saw her get taken by a taller boy. He says he couldn’t follow them. “It’s probably her brother.”

I check my phone. Nothing. 

We all take turns checking. Where is she? 

“I should have followed them.” 

Finally, she texts us that she left. Her brother drove her home. 

We are all relieved. 

Boredom settles in. We are all safe, we are warm, the sun is starting to make its way through the clouds. “May we play hangman on the board?” I ask the teacher.

She considers. She doesn’t see why not. I nod. I don’t get up. The last time I played hangman on the board, I was shaking and I couldn’t speak. It was the first day of school. We start off with theater games: passing a story around the circle, sentence-by-sentence. Then we pass a drawing around. It evolves over the course of an hour and a half. It is a mural of our stay at the school.

Finally, we are allowed to stand up. We are allowed to wander the school. We shoot pictures of the desolate hallways, plot horror games to write. Members of the group drift off and are jump-scared. Time passes. We return to the classroom. Almost everyone is gone. “Where are they?”

“You are allowed to be picked up,” the teacher says. I nod. We all exchange glances. Who will be the first to go? No one answers. 

We walk to the window, look out at the students running to their cars. Snow has started to fall. It is 10:00. It is the first snow of the season, as scheduled. 

People leave. It is just us, now. We need to leave, too. It is getting sunny. I text my mom. Message Send Failure. I text my mom. Message Send Failure. I text my mom. Message Send Failure. 

I borrow my friend’s phone. We wait. 

We wait. Time is slow. It is cold, again. Snow drifts down, and we wait. Eventually, we go downstairs. “Be safe,” says our teacher, and we say the same. 

The walk down is quiet. We go outside and wait. It is quiet. It is peaceful. Eventually, we both go home. 

I check my phone. School still isn’t canceled. 

submitted by @abyssal-nights-of-thunder

#submission #abyssal-nights-of-thunder #gen z #high school #public school #long post #public school stories #school stories #community stories

[themysteriousphoenix]

Ooh 8 to protect fascinated by that one...

Touch, pt. 2

Enjoy!! This can also be found on AO3!

Newt knows he would do anything to protect his creatures, but he has come to realize he would do even more to protect Tina.

/OS/

“You’re so excited about this, aren’t you?” Tina giggled as she followed behind Newt. They ambled up the formerly dusty path, their strides uneven as they dodged large puddles left over from the recent rain storm. The air was warm and sticky, the storm had finally moved on making way for sunshine to peek through the patchy clouds above. Newt turned his head to look back at her and flashed a toothy grin toward Tina. She couldn’t help but smile back at him as he reached back to take her hand. His enthusiasm was contagious.

“Come on,” he said as he squeezed her hand lightly.

They neared the barn, the whitewashed wood towering above them and casting them in shadow. Newt grabbed the worn, metal handle on the door and pulled hard. It slid open with a screech and cooler air smelling of straw and dust surrounded them. Goosebumps trickled up Tina’s arms in response as Newt maneuvered a large stone with his foot so that it held the door open.

He glanced over at her and their eyes met. He looked younger here, the familiar surroundings of his childhood home stripped away some of the weight he seemed to always be carrying. The expectations of the outside world didn’t apply here. He stood taller, he smiled more. Tina could see why. His childhood had been lonely, but it must have been spectacular and very different from hers.

She had never seen a hippogriff in person. For all of the interactions he had with them throughout his life, Newt never kept them in his case or his menagerie. He had told her that he had only come across one wild hippogriff in need of specialized care throughout his travels, but had been taken to his mother. Tina could see why. The barn and the vast, lush property on the Scamander estate were the perfect places for any creature to thrive.

Newt dropped Tina’s hand and bent over to retrieve a dented, silver bucket full of various dead rodents. She must have had a disgusted look on her face because Newt laughed as he looked up at her. "You get used to it after a while."

"I'm not sure I could ever get used to handling dead rats on the regular.” She glanced down at the bucket and back up to Newt, “I'm a New Yorker… I see them and I do my best to avoid them."

"There are ferrets in here as well," he said with a joking grin. Tina made a face and stuck her tongue out in mock disgust resulting in a round of laughter from Newt.

“Here,” he said, gesturing to the stall next to the door, “this is Whitewing, the hippogriff I rescued in Cornwall.”

She glided forward slowly, her eyes never leaving the eyes of the majestic beast. Once she had made eye contact, she was enthralled. “Whitewing,” she whispered, both in greeting and as a statement of awe. Newt smiled as he watched her out of the corner of his eye. She had rarely seen a beast of this size, and even more rarely this close.

The creature began to ruffle her feathers in agitation, her talons clicking against the flagstone as she stamped her feet. Tina was too close. Newt, in an instant, placed himself between the two, his body a shield in front of Tina. He reached back and gripped firmly to keep her in place, finding only her forearm. It would do.

“Whoa, whoa, now. Easy…” he said clearly as he bowed deeply. “Easy, girl. You’re alright.” His eyes were open and his gaze was locked with Whitewing’s. He felt Tina stiffen beneath his fingertips, her body was rigid and still. He knew, somehow, that her eyes were just as focused on Whitewing as his own. She had read the book, and though she had never seen a hippogriff, Newt knew that she knew the basics and that eye contact was critical. A small part of him would celebrate the fact that his book had taught basic creature safety and respect later, that his book had done what was intended after all. First, he had to ensure that they both remained safe.

Whitewing hesitated, then bent at the knee into a deep bow. Newt sighed in relief and squeezed Tina’s arm lightly. “Good. Good, so now you bow to her, Tina. Just so…” he trailed off as he stepped aside and allowed Tina to present herself.

“Like this?” she asked, her voice just barely betraying her by shaking slightly. She bent forward at the waist.

“Yes,” Newt replied, his hand sliding up her arm to rest on her shoulder. “Just like that, a little more, now look up and make eye contact.” Tina followed his directions as she waited for the creature to decide if she was worthy, if she could step closer.

It was several moments before Tina whispered to Newt. “What if she doesn’t bow? She’s not bowing.”

“She will,” he said confidently. “She knows you’re with me.” He smiled just slightly to himself. It was still new, they had only declared their togetherness days ago, but it felt like he would always be proud when he referenced it. She had said yes and he was still a bit giddy.

Whitewing bowed and Tina sighed, relaxing just slightly. Newt felt himself relaxing just a bit as well. He knew she would be safe, but the urge to protect Tina, even though he knew her to be quite capable around the creatures, was surprisingly strong. He reached down and grasped her hand, his fingers twisting between her own.

“There, now,” he whispered as he pulled lightly on her hand. “She’s ready.” Tina grinned back at him and he knew he felt his smile widen as he stepped forward. “Now, would you like to meet a hippogriff?”

#newtina #newtina ff #newt x tina #newtina fanfiction #newt scamander #tina goldstein #fbawtft #fbatcog #fbatsod #ashley writes

[the-firebird69]

It's a very big storm they have it now it's a lot of rain and it's really dumping on the area and it's not needed right now and this potential flooding and this warnings everywhere we're going to get out and get the big channels and we did an estimate and it showed him and said the front guys full not too far but it's like 8 ft wide at the driveway in front this is pouring and it's going to pour more so he's he's saying to charge it all and so are on the main channels now they'll be done in 10 minutes and everything is going to drain out. He didn't say to do it I've got the noise to proceed no he's going to send it he said he's having trouble sending it he's getting out there all said he said I can't get out of the house so Bob Marsh said the nose to proceed and he has the authority I'm told Mac he said I got to get out of the house said don't do that kind of thing. So he says use the main switch what you're using it was okay good idea so we'll start dredging and for real it's also pushing it out and the rain goes inland and it's pushing it out and the major part of it won't be here for another maybe 5 hours or 7 hours tell you the truth the water is pushing it out and especially it's kind of a good thing it's raining and it's going up north and it's raining all over the place and it's pressurizing everything expected to start moving in about 10 minutes. There's a lot of people die in Puerto Rico and it was from the storm there's a whole bunch of art about it and it seems drums with these strange hands attached and they're trying to drum for help or something and it didn't work. That goop is going to move. It's going to move in a minute and yeah fabricated a story about New Zealand and it works it started asking about it and people want to delete it and it's going on. About 5 million ships go out each first and that's pretty hefty it's bringing a lot of rain it is it is plenty to clear out those channels and it's heading to the east and the water comes from the central Florida let's go right along the path and it's filling it up and it's going to fill up over there and it kind of doesn't work great that way but it works a little slower a few more passes and it's going to be out.

-we're talking about Kawasaki and how's the 233 sold 300,000 of them and the 400 seats sold 200,000 and over the past week and a half and they're ordering like madness especially at that little dealership and they don't like John remillard and the selling tons of the bikes and the selling like crazy the quads are selling some of the four wheelers are the two gawky looking they drive them around say it's not really that two top heavy they go off the curb and stuff over the exit ramp and figure out it's kind of top of heavy but they can still use it. The condo sunset in Florida is really flat and those tires are good for you could probably even go through a canal with it the water is not too deep they said it got mothers on it it's over sand too cuz I was out glamis they said that's pretty smart. It came in and they're talking about sand and glamis and mud and said these things look perfect for it they have horsepower and some of them have bigger motors and try them in the parking lot and they do so they're going to buy them and if they sold 20 this week 10 of which were sold yesterday and it is not that bad of a vehicle it has a roll cage but really they don't really fall over unless you're crossing around or driving fast and turn fast, if there's a flood and you have to get out of here it's probably one of the only ways you're going to do it and they work in the rain and the reason is that other cars stall out even from just driving in the rain and this one can drive in water that's up pretty high and in mud and sand and all sorts of stuff and through debris you see them on videos all the time so tons of people are buying it the guy is happy you heard our son and our son is saying his backwards and John remillard was saying stuff backwards they said you're kind of a team he knows we're trying to get our people bikes and it's working and I'm trying to brush off something and it was Brad and said no way so you start calling us in and they start selling and it's selling quads just in case and really you put a few gas tanks on there you go 400 miles and there's no nothing wrong with it and you can go down the road during the catastrophe and they don't say it but they don't fuss too much and say our car died I'm going to stuck in the disaster and they might put you in the car with some other people to go to a hotel and common dear with four wheeler they do that cuz he's driving it illegally it's kind of a deal and they actually try and get it back to you or get you the money for it. It's going on now, they have a lot of customers down there and Jeep too is an excellent vehicle for this they have some new doodads but not the engine shut off thing and usually they're electrical is okay and they have all synthetic so it should be fine they're tough vehicles and people are buying those and they'll probably sell out and more coming down the highway and there's going to be several moments like this and a lot of it

We're hoping he gets a better vehicle and we're not really sure what he can get on no money

Other things are happening here and one of them is we're learning that his posture is not good and we need to get him a table and chairs and all sorts of stuff we're not doing as being blocked by the clones and a bunch of asses

-we have about 4,500 people fired from Charlotte county government jobs and they're the top jobs and we were saying $4,000 but just a few more and they're all out the only people that are left are Mayors councilman select men only the higher up sheriffs and police which is ridiculous they have like five police in the police department and they're like four sergeants and one lieutenant and one chief and then in the sheriff they have like 50 sergeants 20 lieutenants for corporals and about 8 like kernel level two or three general level and then there's a sheriff and that's it I think she's king of all these Max and he was that for a while and he says I'm like him they say no you're not she has Force and manipulation and it's also ghost stuff and spooky stuff and he keeps saying it today and saying it say it trying to arrest people and they said no and they keep coming by and saying no and then come in and tell him to move out so they sent three or four cops out of all the lieutenants and there's only about 20 about 10 or fired today cuz their mouth and her ass and I'm behavior. And out of the 50 or more sergeants probably 80 about 40 or fired and people just can't stand hearing them and the cops can't stand it this is a s*** you're trying to hurt us with and you still are in your f****** prick I'm tired of answering all these calls you like 20 calls a day about you so they're firing him and say you can't fire me I'm your boss signed by the commissioner oh please and Jason can't get down there the condorman any of it and he's driving just about anything down here so he's got a load of Honda and everybody wants him he's got 12 trucks. And the competing and that's only about 400 bikes and they're all bikes and they're all the 238 CC and they want to buy them all and they're going to a shop and they're going to tag them and stuff it takes a while so last time they pulled in people just started buying them and they sold them it's raining though. He don't care and people don't care and I don't like the rest of them half of them are getting fired and we heard right now another third so there won't be many of them in the sheriff's office the dick head will be left alone they're going to torment the s*** out of that guy we're going to publish she'll come back in a minute

Thor Freya

Without the things going to record you and I want to get a scooter but I think it's dangerous you say you agree I know you do

Hera

Zues

Olympus

[thoughtsandprayersx]

diary entry 08/09/22

Hi diary,

What a day, the Queen died. But I think I should go chronologically.

I woke up at 7:45 as per my alarm to a whatsapp from my lovely friend from college telling me the timetables are out. I ended up in the same history of art class as my friends but english and chemistry I am alone in, as far as I know. All things considered, not too bad.

I finished topic 6 in Biology - infection, immunity and forensics. It was quite lovely, probably my favorite so far. Let's hope it gets marked in time and is good enough to predict me an A, because the uni people are breathing down my back about this gosh.

Went to work with a good attitude. Jammed out in the shopping centre toilet stall to my emo playlist and drank my redbull. I wore my mum's wide leg black trousers with my shirt tucked in, instead of the jeggings, and I felt a lot better. I looked good.

Started out good, I was alone on food for a while because the 16 year old that's also new was doing his paperwork, the bitch. I talked to another guy for a bit, he was quite nice but he spoke really quiet so I couldn't hear him much. He's going to do engineering at Bath, and he's trying to learn how to cook but it's not going well.

I was doing quite well in food, I dropped two dishes but didn't beat myself up about it, cleaned it up fast. Got confused about taking a dish and annoyed the chefs, but it was ok. I was getting the table numbers right, quite impressive. The 16 year old was not pulling his weight, he did not want to work as a team. We were waiting for food to get put out and the head chef switched on the radio, announcing the queen had died. I made my joke about embalming her, but soon after I saw a bunch of people getting really quite sad and that brought me down too. The kitchen ceased production and texted on their phones. There was a lady that didn't finish her carbonara at all and just stared into space, it was quite upsetting.

Finished cleaning up, spilled candle wax on a table as I was blowing the candle out. Mistakenly began to set up tables in the front, but there was no need as there was no matinee tomorrow. Put the plates and such back. Kept slipping on the wet floor, I should get better shoes. Then I went up to my parking lot roof to have a much needed smoke. It was really rather scenic. It had been raining all day and it still was. It was after 8 so it was dark, the wet pavement was nicely reflecting the orange lamps. It was good colour contrast with the green and blue markings on the floor. Walking past people was strange because we were all probably thinking the same thing. I was feeling quite out of it at this point.

And now I'm at home about to eat my complimentary carbonara for dinner. Thank you and good night,

-Frankie x

#diary entry

[twitchi2]

My piece for the @founders-zine Dreams of Peace is taking all my arting time for a good while now. Entered next stage of the process now~ (Keep an eye on their Tumblr to be up to date if you wanna put your hands on the frankly overflowing with stuff zine & calendar efforts! So many things, so many creators :'3)

#dreams of peace zine #dreams of peace #zine wip #zine stuff #wip #comic wip #workplace set up #tea #I love my daylight lightboard #And it is a flat flat thing so I can't bring myself to call it lightbox #it is _awesome_ #it's raining and I'm stalling 8)

[angelasscribbles]

Savage Love Master List

follows undercover agent Riley Brooks on assignment to Cordonia to investigate the Via Imperii where she finds herself entangled with both the captain of the royal guard and the crown prince’s younger brother.

Masterlist

Premise and Notes

Chapters:

Prologue 🍋🍋🍋

Chapter 1: Trouble

Chapter 2: Cordonia Bound 🍋🍋🍋

Chapter 3: Worlds Collide

Chapter 4: And Then There Were Two

Chapter 5: So There's Hope

Chapter 6: Deceleration

Chapter 7: New York Redux 🍋🍋🍋

Chapter 8: Masquerade

Chapter 9: Acceleration

Chapter 10: Not a Date

Chapter 11: Contact 🍋🍋🍋

Chapter 12: Stall

Chapter 13: Rooftop 🍋🍋🍋

Chapter 14: Derby

Chapter 15: Catching Feelings

Chapter 16: Definitely a Date

Chapter 17: Oh, Father

Chapter 18: Induction

Chapter 19: Revelations

Chapter 20: Rain and Thunder

Chapter 21: I Guess I'm in Love 🍋🍋🍋

Chapter 22: Condottiere 🍋🍋🍋

Chapter 23: Auvernall

Chapter 24: Tension

Chapter 25: Answers

Chapter 26: Squid Whiskey

Chapter 27: After Party 🍋🍋🍋

Chapter 28: Both 🍋🍋🍋

Chapter 29: The Morning After 🍋🍋🍋

Chapter 30: About Last Night

Chapter 31: Bombshells

Chapter 32: Closure

Chapter 33: Finally, a Break

Chapter 34: Plans and Declarations 🍋🍋🍋

Chapter 35: Some Answers, More Questions

Chapter 36: Lost and Found

Chapter 37: Gone

Chapter 38:

Extras:

Memes: Liam and Drake's love languages

Bonus Content: Squid Whiskey Mood Board

Meme and Update (Posted after Ch. 29)

Extra: The Band

#savage love #angelasscribbles #agent riley brooks #liam rys #drake walker #trr #the royal romance fanfic #the royal romance #choices stories you play #choices

[mostly-mundane-atla]

Hi! I'm writing a fic set in the SWT 1-2 years after the war. I'm curious about architecture. In canon, they have a few igloos and lots of tents. Idk much, but I feel like igloos are pretty stereotypical of arctic cultures so I'm hesitant about this. Do you know of any types of buildings they might realistically have, or any trivia/details that might make it feel more accurate? Sorry if this is a lot of work but I'd really appreciate any tips anyone can give, even if they're small. Thanks!! <3

So while most languages understand "igloo" to mean a specific kind of shelter made of snow, in many Inuit and Inupiat languages, iglu just means "house". It's also not pronounced "ig-lu"; the "igl" part rhymes with wiggle and the -u sound (as in truth or too) is tacked on at the end. It sounds like it has three syllables. In modern North Slope Inupiaq, iglu refers to any house. In some other dialects, it's used to mean a beaver dam.

In some of those other dialects, tupiķ (or tupiq, as the ķ has largely been replaced with the q these days) means "house" and in the North Slope dialect means tent. The word for tent in some other dialects is palapkaaķ/q or panapkaaķ/q. There are words for tents of specfic sizes too. Sisamalik means "with four" as in a tent four pannels long (about 8' × 10'). Tallimalik means "with five" as in a tent five pannels long (about 10' × 12'). Itchaksralik means "with six" as in a tent six pannels long (about 12' × 14'). These tents, however many pannels they may have, would be made of skin (I believe specifically caribou, but I could be wrong) and may be insulated with snow. This would be done by building a wall of packed snow around the tent and filling the space between with powdery soft snow, which is full of air and insulates quite nicely.

Ivrulik means sod house. Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of grassy soil. The roots intertwine in the dirt and it's cut in thick sheets or blocks and hung on or built around a frame to make a house. These houses typically dig into the earth and look quite short from the outside as a result. It's easy to think of this style of home as a hobbit hole

I've also mentioned the unique architecture of King Island before. Small homes built of wood and walrus skins on stilts and scaffolding, each with a little hole in the middle of the wall to serve as a door, because that's what it took to make livable houses on the steep coastal cliffside of that tiny rock of an island. Not sure if you intend to write about any steep coastal cliffside dwellers, but there is irl precedent if you want the inspo. Unfortunately, I don't have the traditional word for houses like this.

A temporary lean-to type shelter can be made by turning an umiaq on its side and propping it up on a pole. (Quick rant: I hate to see people translate umiaq as "women's boat" because it's so needlessly gendering and encourages assumptions to be made about cultural gender roles. It literally just means boat, seats multiple people comfortably, and has been associated with activities traditionally considered masculine, such as large game hunting and whaling, as well as travellers regardless of gender. The patriarch of the tribe is defined by his umiaq in his title and the creation of an umiaq requires typical forms craftsmanship of both women and men. Calling it a women's boat doesn't make any sense.) If clothes have gotten wet during travel, they can be hung to dry by the umiaq's frame and possessions may be protected from the elements by this umiaq shelter while a more permanent one is being set up or moved into. If someone has come by sea to trade, this sideways umiaq may serve as a market stall or kiosk of sorts, allowing the trader to show their wares and sit out of the sun or wind or rain. Again, not sure if you were wanting to write anything where an umiaq would be used as a quick, temporary shelter, but there it is in case you do.

Homes would have bedding, a chamber pot, kitchenwares hung up on tentpoles or the wall, a seal oil lamp called a qulliq or naniq which provided light and warmth as well as a cooking fire, a clothesline, a bench against the wall called an igļiķ/q and a chimney or skylight for ventilation. Depending on when in the pre-assimilation history you may also find stoves, tea kettles, tobacco pipes, and other household items from other cultures. Sometimes it would be so warm that the occupants of the home would only be dressed in underclothes (which Christian missionaries took as a personal offense. I'd like to think it sounded something like "nipples? In front of children?!?! ABSOLUTELY NOT!" and then some time after that we had kuspuks). Families might all sleep together both to save space and keep warm. I've read that if a woman had two husbands, they had to be invited to sleep in the same bed with her, otherwise they'd sleep by the wall where it's colder. Outside storage spaces might be underground (dig close enough to the permafrost and you have an excelent cold storage to keep food from going bad before you prep and eat it or even while fermenting it as a preparation) or you might have a cache to store things on ground level or set up on tall poles that you can reach with a ladder (great for keeping bears and wolves out of it). Indoor storage was also an option, especially for sod houses it seems. Racks and alcoves near the entrance or holes in the halways, that sort of thing

This blog post about indigenous trading networks in Alaska has an interesting point you may want to consider if the implications of a culture being brought into a cash economy is something you want to explore. I've transcribed the quote below:

"In order to obtain cash, men and women used new items, such as commercial dye, cotton, and modern metals, applying their traditional skills to make objects for sale. Their traditional homemade tools were replaced with silverware, coffee cans, firearms, and other items. Those new homemade objects became authentic 'Native Art.'"

Another thing to keep in mind is that the Inupiat were a traditionally nomadic people, reflected by the traditional dwellings, who moved into Euro-American style houses as a home base, or fully year round in urban areas outside of the villages, post-assimilation. Tents were made to be taken down and put back up, igluit made of snow and ice may melt when abandoned, sod houses might only be occupied part of the year or lived in by different families throughout the years as they all came back and settled for the season, and the same could be said about King Island's stilted houses. Meanwhile, the Southern Water Tribe seemed to hunker down and fortify their village in ways that restrict movement in response to the war. I don't know how much that would change styles of housing or attitudes toward "home" as a concept. Maybe they were nomadic by tradition but figured their best bet at surviving was adopting a sedentary lifestyle instead. Maybe they feel they can finally be nomads again and maybe some are hesitant to return to that way of life. Could be worth exploring or keeping in mind to add a little flavor and reflect on canon events. Who knows

Let me know if you have any more questions ^-^

#response #eskimo on main #catch me dumping knowledge on people like buckets of slime on old nickelodeon game show contestants

[lyranova]

Hello Lyra I hope you're doing well 🥰 I'm in the mood for some Yami fluff so can I request Prompt no. 5 from the Fluff prompt list (Home stopped being a place when you entered my life) for Yami x female! reader? Thank you!! 💕

Hi Nati~! Here ya go I hope you like it 🥺💕! I had fun writing this hehe🥰!

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 831

Warnings: None

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At first Yami didn’t like the Clover Kingdom, the people were cruel and judgemental, the food wasn’t as good as his country's, and it just didn’t feel like home. He knew what home felt like and this wasn’t it, at all. As he grew older he got better at tolerating the people and the different customs, but he still could just never feel comfortable there. That was, until he met her. Yami had bumped into her one day at the center of town, she was carrying a bag of groceries, her hair up in a messy bun, and wearing probably the most casual clothes he had ever seen someone in the Capital wear. He had to admit, her being different than everyone else was partially what attracted him to her.

Yami remembered after having run into her she had quickly got up and apologized, apparently thinking he would berate her or something since he was a magic knight. But he shrugged and even offered to help her carry the bags to her home, which she declined at first, until she went to pick up her fallen bags and one of them decided to rip open. He remembered the look of irritation on her face when that had happened, she reluctantly accepted his offer and he helped her back to her home. Every day after that, the ones when he wasn’t working of course, he would go to the market in the hopes that he would see her again. Maybe even offer to help her again, but he didn’t see her for a while.

Until one day when it was raining pretty heavily outside, Yami watched as the woman was trying to hurry through the rain with another bag of groceries while using her free hand to hold down her hood. Yami had scoffed and went to offer help, the small glare in her eye made him smirk, she declined his offer and went on her way once again. He wouldn’t see her for three more days after that exchange.

Yami watched as she was browsing through a flower stall, huh, she liked flowers huh? He would have to remember that. When he walked up to her to try and speak with her again she sighed.

“ You’re very persistent aren’t you?” She had asked him with feign annoyance, Yami couldn’t stop the small snort he made at her comment.

“ You could say that yeah.” He shrugged before crossing his arms, he watched her brows furrow before she did the same and crossed her arms.

“ What do you want?” She asked him, he noted the slight curiosity in her tone and shrugged again.

“ Dinner. Maybe a drink if you’d prefer that.” He suggested nonchalantly, he watched her brows shoot up in surprise.

“ That’s it? Just dinner or a drink?” She asked, Yami frowned but nodded.

“ Yeah. What else did you think I wanted?” He asked, this time he was the one that was curious, he watched her blink before she shook her head.

“ Nothing. Fine, if it gets you to stop stalking me I guess one drink wouldn’t hurt. Come to my place around 8, I’ll be waiting.” She told him before she began to walk away, Yami nodded before realizing he never got her name.

“ Hey wait! What’s your name?” He shouted after her, the woman turned and a small smile graced her beautiful features, it nearly made Yami’s heart stop in his chest.

“ Y/N. Yours?” She asked, he scratched the back of his head nervously and a small faint blush crept onto his cheeks.

“ Yami.” He answered, Y/N laughed softly before waving goodbye.

“ It’s nice to finally meet you, Yami.”

That was five years ago.

Now the couple were currently sitting on the couch in the Black Bulls hideout, both drinking a glass of wine, when Yami was startled out of his thoughts by Y/N tapping a finger on his chest.

“ What are you thinking about?” She asked him softly, he shook his head before kissing the top of hers.

“ Nothing. I was just thinking about how you changed my view on certain things.” He told her nonchalantly before finishing his glass of wine and setting it on the table.

“ On what things?” She asked as she moved her head off of his chest and gazed at him curiously. Yami smiled at her before running his fingers through her hair.

“ On Home. I used to think home was the place you were living or where you came from, but I realized that's not the case,” he looked her dead in the eyes before continuing. “ Home stopped being a place when you entered my life.” He watched as Y/N blushed before leaning forward and kissing him gently.

“ So I’m your home?” She asked him, he nodded in confirmation and she laid her head back down onto his chest. “ Good. Because you’re my home too.”

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I hope you like this @clovertitan 💕! If you want anything changed or if you want something changed please let me know ☺️! I hope you guys enjoyed and I hope you all have a good day~!

#asks #nati💫 #yami x reader #yami sukehiro #black clover #black clover fanfiction