#countdown to spring 2021

[jules-has-notes]

Friends on the Other Side — VoicePlay music video

VoicePlay have always delighted in collaborating with friends, and tend to bring the same folks back again and again. Before he was a full-time member of the group, J.None was a featured guest in their live shows and videos for more than a year. So after he left for the Navy, the remaining guys were eager to have him return for a visit as soon as possible. This bouncy Disney villain song was the perfect way to welcome him back into that familiar space, as well as kicking off their Halloween content for the year.

Details:

title: Friends on the Other Side (feat. J.None)

original performer: Keith David as Doctor Facilier in The Princess and the Frog (2009)

written by: Randy Newman

arranged by: Layne Stein

release date: 15 October 2021

My favorite bits:

Eli, Cesar, and J.None's fantastic acting in the intro section, particularly Eli's startled yelp

the spirits of Geoff and Layne emerging from the dark corners as the rhythm begins to flank their summoner's chair

Cesar's little placating hand gesture as they sing ♫ "Re-lax." ♫

passing the lead melody around more by having Facilier enchant Lawrence and Naveen so he can speak through them

J's big old descending riff on ♫ "things I ain't even triiiiied" ♫

the constrast between Cesar's sweet, airy timbre and J's deep, gravely tone as they duet ♫ "I got friends on the other side" ♫

the light, jaunty ♫ "doot-doo-doo" ♫ harmonies

all the breathy sounds Layne put into his percussion, representing both the spirit world and the living characters' anticipation

turning the languid singspiel in the fortune telling section into more of a brisk rap

everything cutting out for Cesar's chuckle and Eli's affronted glare

that smooth scoop at the end of ♫ "poor sinnner's ha-aaand" ♫

Layne and Geoff dropping a snippet of the beat from Taylor Swift's "…Ready for It?" in advance of J asking ♫ "Are you ready?" ♫ (I see what you did there, Layne. Very clever.)

J.None's deep, satisfied ♫ "Yeeees." ♫

the lighting on the back curtain and around the proscenium arch shifting in time with the beat as Facilier gets his way

Geoff's subtle descending slide under the trio's wailing ♫ "transmografication central" ♫

Eli's powerful belt of ♫ "Can you FEEEEL it?" ♫

the high, plaintive cries of ♫ "You got what you wanted" ♫

J deftly navigating through his break into that soaring falsetto

giving the final ♫ "I've got friends on the other side" ♫ to Geoff for maximum spookiness

replacing the chorus's ending "Hush" with J.None "blowing out" the lights to leave just his glowing eyes

Trivia:

This is the first video featuring J.None as a guest singer since he'd retired from full-time membership in the spring. When they promised in their farewell video that he'd be back, they weren't kidding.

They had included an excerpt of this song in their "Aca Top 10 – Disney Villains" countdown two and a half years before, and fans had been asking for a full version ever since.

J.None wore the Facilier costume from the first season of PattyCake's Villains Lair series.

The bone necklaces made another appearance in VoicePlay's video for "Be Prepared" three years later.

Layne took a fair bit of amusement from the clip-on bone piercing in his nose, as did J.None.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by VoicePlay (@thevoiceplay)

Layne's initial plan was for Geoff to play Facilier, since he's their usual villain voice, but Geoff insisted that it should remain J.None's song. Fortunately, they were able to coordinate the filming with J's scheduled leave from his Navy Band duties.

Geoff did eventually record a solo short three years later as part of his own Halloween roster for 2024.

During the YouTube premiere chat Eli complained about having to have Geoff looming into his personal space and rumbling in his ear about cards all day. (Which, yeah, would probably get annoying after a few takes.)

Layne had previously included a portion of "…Ready for It?" by Taylor Swift in PattyCake's "Look What You Made Me Brew" music video for Halloween four years earlier.

[edupunkn00b]

For all the events that you run, what sites do you use for the graphics/designs? (Private answer works too :))

Hi Sentient-Stove (can I call you Steve? 🐶🩵) What a cool question!

For @intrulogicalweek and @intrualityweek , I now primarily use Procreate for banners and images and such, and have used a word cloud generator at wordclouds.com for the colorful prompt clouds.

For the very first Intrulogical Week I ran back in 2021, @whatishappeningrightnow created the wonderful banner and countdown graphics.

I tend to source images from either Wikimedia (with the m) or Unslpash.

I can't claim any graphics credit for my work with @tsspromptmonth and @tss-storytime.

@typically-untypical has created all the awesome graphics for events like the Sleepy Bean Fanfic Café, The Sanders Sides Spring Clean, and Rare Gifts. They use Canva for that and we're sourced some images from Unslpash, as well.

We used a piccrew for the Managers posting.

For the last two years, @the-princey-pie has created all the wonderful graphics for the Big Bang event on @tss-storytime.

Events are one of my favorite things about this community, as it gives us so many chances to collaborate, exchange ideas, and work together to create fun stuff!

[moochilatv]

Caligula presents: This Alchemy

Nice comeback to the sound of the 90's

Sydney electro rockers Caligula recently released the latest taste of their goth-flavoured groove with new single “This Alchemy” .

Emerging from a dark corner of early 90’s era Sydney, Caligula’s take on alt rock added more of an electronic sound to their walls of guitars. Their most excellent cover of Tears Of A Clown saw them nominated for a ‘Best New Talent’ ARIA Award, become a staple on Triple J and Triple M, and tour with the likes of Depeche Mode, Pop Will Eat Itself, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin and The Beastie Boys.

In 2018 Caligula kickstarted their engine again and knocked out a couple of tours with old mates Pop Will Eat Itself, The Mavis’s and Defryme. 2023 saw Caligula hit the road with DEF FX for a sold out national double headline tour.

Always a popular live act, the boys toured through 2024 with some huge festival appearances at the Spring Loaded Festival juggernaut as well as shows with The Machinations and Jesus Jones. The band have released 5 new singles forging forward with a new sheen to their unmistakable goth groove sound.

“Having first formed in the early ’90s, Caligula quickly found fame around their native Sydney, with a handful of EPs peppering their early years together, before finding mainstream radio play thanks to their cover of Smokey Robinson’s “Tears of A Clown”, which hit #25 on the ARIA charts.

In 1994, group unveiled their debut album Rubenesque, which not only reached #13 on the charts, but also saw their track “Before” beat out the likes of The Lemonheads and Alice in Chains in the inaugural Hottest 100 countdown.

In 2018, Caligula reformed to support grebo icons Pop Will Eat Itself on their Australian tour, and later joined the Spring Loaded festival lineup in 2021.”

Stream This Alchemy:

[keeyasnowtail]

Countdown to Spring #10: Sunset

A beach sunset in a lovely orange sky. The ocean resisted my vision a bit despite my best efforts to make reflections in it without lighting up the rest of the scene. I wanted a high contrast with mostly black silhouettes.

[coffeekeyboardsss]

Halloween Spring aesthetic for anyone else in the Southern Hemisphere

*none of these images are mine

[kingfakey]

may haul 🌷

an assortment of my favorite pieces from may including the @sentate spring/summer 2021 collection, the pretty savage collection from @arethabee, @clumsyalienn ‘s sincerity pack, and the countdown jeans by @trillyke

not taking wcifs for anything else shown, thx!

[nerevar-quote-and-star]

Happy New Year! As the final day of 2021 wraps up (and is already thrown in the bin for those of you who've already had a midnight ball drop), I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who's spent time on my blog, who's followed it or even just liked or reblogged a post. You're all amazing! 💛

And now, since New Year's Eve is all about countdowns, here's my top ten posts, cos screw Tumblr Year in Review for only giving me five.

10.

Miraak: What are we now? We used to be amazing, glamorous mega-villains. And now?

Alduin: We have depth and character.

Miraak: *look of disgust*

Lord Harkon: *laughs in unredeemable twat*

(September 6th, 2021)

9.

Nerevar Indoril, when Sotha Sil bursts into the middle of a meeting of the First Council: Why are you late?

Sotha Sil: A technical error occurred, causing an unexpectedly long bought of unconsciousness.

Nerevar: Overslept?

Sotha Sil: Overslept.

(July 21st, 2021)

8.

Alduin, after Akatosh sends the Last Dragonborn after him: I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask for that “World’s Greatest Dad” mug back.

(September 15th, 2021)

7.

Brynjolf: Okay, yes. I may be morally corrupt.

Brynjolf: But I’m also incredibly hot and I think that makes up for it honestly.

(August 28th, 2021)

6.

Mephala, on entering her brother's realm to find a sad pile of tentacles mourning the loss of not one but TWO Dragonborn: Are you having another depressive episode?

Hermaeus Mora: A depressive episode?

Hermaeus Mora: I'm having a depressive series and we're just on season one.

(October 26th, 2021)

5.

Sanguine: *drunk* I love your name.

Sheogorath: *even more drunk* Thanks, I got it for the Greymarch.

(July 2nd, 2021)

4.

Sheogorath: Old Herma Mora thinks he's so smart!

Sheogorath: He said that onions are the only food that make you cry.

Sheogorath: So I hit him in the head with a watermelon.

(November 25th, 2021)

3.

Sheogorath: Have you noticed that technically onion is an infinite word? Onion doesn't stop until you decide to stop saying it.

Sheogorath: Onionionionionionionionionionio

Sanguine: STOP!

(September 25th, 2021)

2.

Lucien Lachance: *wears a slightly lighter shade of black*

Vicente Valtieri: I see you have your spring colors on.

(May 17th, 2021)

1.

Serana: Oh, so it’s “do what makes you happy” until I start crawling on rooftops dressed as a gargoyle and shrieking.

Serana: Then, suddenly, it’s “not a useful skill” and “scaring people” and “illegal”.

Serana: I see how it is.

(May 9th, 2021)

[flowercrusade]

Another Cleo Inspired Set (Formal/Party)

Links below-

Hair:  Luutzi: Josipina

Gloves: Serenity: Mistica Gloves (SxC Pumpkin Soup) 

Eyeliner: Pralinesims: Ava Eyeliner (Eyeliner Dump) 

Eyeliner: Pralinesims: Lithium Eyeliner (Eyeliner Dump) 

Eyeshadow: Virtygo: skybath redux 

Lipstick: Pralinesims - Prime Lipstick

Outfit 1

Dress: Joliebean:  Trophy Wife Dress 

Heels: SENTATE : Polly Sandals (Till Death Do Us Part) 

Outfit 2

Dress: Serenity: Maddy Akna Dress (Euphoria Collection)

Heels: SENTATE : Polly Sandals (Till Death Do Us Part) 

Outfit 3

Necklace: Pralinesims: Countdown Necklace 

Bodysuit: Trillyke: Monster Bodysuit  

Skirt: Serenity: Orseund Iris Skirt (Euphoria Collection)

Heels: Jius-Sims: Leather Mules 03 (Party Collection Part 2) 

Outfit 4

Necklace: Pralinesims: Countdown Necklace 

Dress: Serenity: Lush Chemise V.2 (SxC Lovebirds Collection) 

Boots : Sentate: Alex Boots (Spring/Summer 2021 Collection) 

Outfit 5

Necklace: Pralinesims: Countdown Necklace 

Dress: Sentate: Lousia Dress (Spring/Summer 2021 Collection) 

Shoes: Jius-Sims: Platforms Leather Sandals 03 (Party Collection Part 2) 

Everyday Outfits Version

[barrygeuse]

come from away: my retrospective

now that come from away has ended, i've decided to collect my thoughts and put them all together in one (not-so) little post for myself and anyone else who wants to to read.

lots of emotions below the cut and a long story about how this thing came to mean so much to me!

if you stick around and read, i really do appreciate it. this is my favorite musical (my second favorite piece of theater!) and my second biggest special interest.

tl;dr — come from away is a beautiful show about the best of human nature, about people healing from a collective trauma. it will be a part of me for as long as i live, and i couldn't be happier to have it nestled right next to my heart, keeping me warm.

i first saw the show when it visited my local theater on tour in 2019. despite being a musical theater kid, i managed to skip over it entirely—i feel like that wasn't uncommon—it wasn't exactly targeted toward the middle school crowd! my mom and i went to see it (we went in knowing literally nothing at all, and i mean nothing besides the title!), and we left that theater crying and absolutely gushing about how beautiful it was.

it became a pretty common staple to play over bluetooth when we were in the car together for the years to come.

at that point, besides having seen it and loved it immensely, i moved on. it was another piece of media to add to an ever-growing list of adorations, and it wasn't until december of two years later that it grabbed my attention for a lasting period of time.

in september of 2021, the proshot released, a day before the 20th anniversary of 9/11. i didn't end up hearing about this myself until later in the season—i was busy with college and had a lot of other things on my mind—but i was ecstatic nonetheless when i did find out.

i got my hands on the recording and watched it. something changed that day, even if i hadn't realized it yet. i showed it to my friends, new ones every time, over and over again. when i was home for that holiday break, i showed it to my parents, and put it on in the background in my free time.

as i got back to school and february came to an end, come from away became the thing that i watched whenever i felt poorly. it was a feel-good show about wonderful people. i've always loved stories, especially stories about the beautiful nature of humanity, and it got me through some pretty rough times. over the winter months i started to learn the dialogue, since i already knew the numbers.

for spring break, i took a trip to florida, and watched the proshot probably over seven times during the course of travel alone. i fell in love with the characters, their mannerisms, the stories, the reality of people coming together to heal from trauma. it was a beautiful thing to make a part of myself.

time pressed forward. sharon wheatley released her second book, which i bought, and then had the honor over the summer to send to her and have her sign for me (not to mention read my annotations and write alongside them!).

the news that the show was closing devastated me. at that point, i had no hope of going to see it, which didn't upset me too badly. i was happy to just have the professional recording to watch and to celebrate the show from afar!

summer flew by. i got back to school, settled in, and started going to classes. at the beginning of september, my parents called me and surprised me with the news that we would be going to new york city at the end of the month to see the show. i was absolutely floored. my pupils genuinely grew two sizes (it was funny, i looked like i was on drugs but it was just concentrated autism in the bloodstream) and i made a countdown for the trip as soon as we got off the phone.

telling you the details of my time in NYC could be a whole post on its own. with the broadway flea happening at the same time, i got to buy some things that i really wanted (hello, beetlejuice obc signed playbill!) and i had the insane opportunity to meet sharon, who actually recognized me and my book when i went to the table and gave me the sweetest hug.

we had front row seats, which i could never thank my parents enough for, and i silently mouthed along to the show the entire time. the actors smiled at me, i was ecstatic, i was flying, i was there and a part of the show. it was more than anything i could've ever dreamt of. i laughed, i cried, i had the time of my life.

i was lucky enough to meet jim, astrid, and jenn at the stage door, alongside seeing sharon again, who spoke to me briefly and gave me another hug before leaving. it is an experience i will never, ever forget.

come from away is something that means so much to me. more that i could ever describe, really. today, the day of the final performance, i watched along to the proshot at 3pm while the matinee played in new york. i cried nearly the entire time.

i am so proud of everyone who was a part of this amazing, amazing production. it changed lives, it put newfoundland on the map, it told real life stories about real people and did everything endless justice. i could not thank everyone involved enough.

"you are here at the end of a moment," and "you found your heart but left a part of you behind," and "you're gonna be okay," and a dozen other lines that would make this already long post too much longer.

come from away: thank you for telling stories. thank you for doing something beautiful. thank you for the tears, the laughter, and the endless joy. thank you for everything you did for me and for millions of others.

this is not the end. it is only the beginning of a tale that will be told for years to come, one that will live on in my heart and in so many others.

thank you.

[bluebudgie]

10 YEARS OF GW2 – A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

Hello peeps! As a little countdown to GW2's launch anniversary on August 28 I decided to dig up some old memories and take a small look at my personal journey through the game. Each day I'll make a post about another year.

DAY 3: 2014

This will be a short one, since 2014 was pretty much a hiatus year for me. I did make sure to log in for April Fool's day though, to be greeted by this:

The origin of the bobblehead.

Alas these are the only screens I can find of that year.

2014 was the year I dipped my toes into FF14. I had played all main (and some spin off) singleplayer Final Fantasy games and was naturally curious to try out the multiplayer game, now that I wasn't entirely unfamiliar with the concept of MMOs anymore. I did have a good time for a year and enjoyed some aspects of it, but ultimately had to realize that for the most part the game wasn't for me.

....can we steal the dodo mini for GW2 though? Please?

The return to GW2 in spring 2015 is imminent....

Links to all posts: 2012 // 2013 // 2014 // 2015 // 2016 // 2017 // 2018 // 2019 & 2020 // 2021 // 2022    

[hallmark-movie-fanatics]

New on Hallmark Movies Now - January

January 

Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Heist and Seek (2020)  Starring Candace Cameron Bure, Niall Matter, Marilu Henner, Lexa Doig, Peter Benson, Miranda Frigon, Dylan Sloane, Ellie Harvie, Catherine Lough Haggquist, Oliver Rice, Brendan Zub, Michelle Harrison, and Jay Hindle  Hallmark Movies & Mysteries / Movie 13 of 18 

Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Reunited and It Feels So Deadly (2020)  Starring Candace Cameron Bure, Niall Matter, MariluHenner, Lexa Doig, Peter Benson, Miranda Frigon, Dylan Sloane, Ellie Hervie, Catherine Lough Haggquist, Matthew MacCaull, Toby Levins, Tegan Moss, Iris Quinn, and Brad Harder Hallmark Movies & Mysteries / Movie 14 of 18 

One Starry Christmas (2014)  Starring Sarah Carter and Damon Runyan  Hallmark Channel / Countdown to Christmas 

Christmas Song (2012)  Starring Natasha Henstridge and Gabriel Hogan  Hallmark Channel / Countdown to Christmas 

January 2 

Hearts of Winter (2020)  Starring Jill Wagner, Victor Webster, Rukiya Bernard, Michael Karl Richards, and Brendan Zub  Hallmark Channel / Winterfest 

Winter in Vail (2020)  Starring Lacey Charbert  and Tyler Hynes  Hallmark Channel / Winterfest 

The Wedding Veil (2022)  Starring Lacey Chabert, Kevin McGarry, Autumn Reeser, Alison Sweeney, Fiona Vroom, Catherine Lough Haggquist, and Karen Kruper  Hallmark Channel / New Year New Movies 

The Wedding Veil Unveiled (2022)  Starring Autumn Reeser, Paolo Bernardini, Lacey Chabert, and Alison Sweeney  Hallmark Channel / New Year New Movies 

January 5 

The Wedding Veil Legacy (2022)  Starring Alison Sweeney, Victor Webster, Jordan Largy, Matty Finochio, Michele Scarabelli, Paula Shaw, Toby Levins, Lacey Chabert, Autumn Reeser, and Kevin McGarry  Hallmark Channel / New Year New Movies 

Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: How to Con a Con (2021)  Starring Candace Cameron Bure, Niall Matter, Marilu Henner, Lexa Doig, Peter Bernson, Miranda Frigon, Dylan Sloane, Ellie Hervie, Brad Harder, Matthew Kevin Anderson, Rhiannon Fish, and David Lewis  Hallmark Movies & Mysteries / Movie 15 of 18 

Winter Love Story (2019)  Starring Jen Lilley, Kevin McGarry, and Mary-Margret Humes  Hallmark Channel / Winterfest 

A Country Wedding (2015)  Starring Jesse Metcalfe, Autumn Reeser, and Lauren Holly  Hallmark Channel / June Weddings 

January 12 

Always Amore (2022)  Starring Autumn Reeser and Tyler Hynes  Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 

January 19 

The Way Home (2023) - New Episodes available every Thursday  Starring Andie MacDowell, Chyler Leigh, Sadie Laflamme-Snow, Alex Hook, and Evan Williams  Hallmark Channel / Season 1 

January 26 

Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted by Murder (2022)  Starring Candace Cameron Bire, Niall Matter, Marilu Henner, Lexa Doig, Peter Benson, Miranda Frigon, Dylan Sloane, Ellie Hervie, Julia Benson, Brad Harder, Lynda Boyd, Natasha Bure, and Mia Shanks  Hallmark Movies & Mysteries / Movie 18 of 18 

A Second Chance at Love (2022)  Starring Gloria Reuben, Eriq La Salle, Alvina August, and Jarod Joseph  Hallmark Channel / Spring Into Love 

And many more....

[carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory]

Milestones at Powdermill’s Banding Lab

by Annie Lindsay

On the morning of July 11, 2001, Powdermill’s bird banding crew knew that was the day they’d catch the program’s 500,000th banding record (which includes new birds and recaptured birds). With only 10 birds to go, each person on the field crew guessed what species #500,000 would be, then set out on a net round together. As we checked each net, our eager anticipation grew with each bird we extracted. It turned out that I, a young, green banding intern, guessed correctly: number 500,000 was a Gray Catbird, a very common species at Powdermill during the breeding season, and a charismatically sassy species that endears itself to many banders and birders.

Bob Leberman, founder of Powdermill’s bird banding program, with the 500,000th banding record, a Gray Catbird, caught and banded on July 11, 2001.

We released #500,000, celebrated with sparkling grape juice, then continued the banding day with a demonstration for children attending Powdermill’s summer camp. The catbird was made famous in the local newspaper, and because we’d each wagered a dollar on our guesses, I earned a $5 bill with the catbird’s band number on it for correctly guessing the species. That year marked the 40th anniversary of Powdermill’s banding program, and another milestone about two months prior: the 400,000th new bird banded.

Over the next two decades, the number of birds banded continued to creep up. Before spring migration this year, we determined that we needed just over 5,000 birds to reach 800,000 banding records. The countdown was on, and by mid-summer we knew that we could expect to reach that number by early- to mid-August, perfect timing to celebrate the banding program’s 60th anniversary.

The morning of August 6 was the day! With 45 birds to go after banding on August 5, we knew 800,000 was within sight. We opened the nets at 5:50 a.m., but the first two net checks yielded surprisingly fewer birds than we expected. At the 7:50 a.m. net check, we still had 20 birds to go, and given the pace of the morning we assumed The Bird wouldn’t be caught until the following round, so the banding crew set out in different directions to clear the nets. About five minutes later our long-term volunteer and colleague, Nick, radioed back to say that he had 11 birds in the second set of nets he was checking! The nets in the other directions had only a few birds, so we all converged on Nick’s location, and the final countdown began with five birds to go.

Kevin Chumpitaz and Nick Liadis, part of Powdermill’s banding crew, extracting birds #799,993 and #799,994.

The next three sets of nets were empty, but Long Lane, a series of nine nets connected in a long line, delivered a Black-and-White Warbler, a Black-throated Green Warbler, a Gray Catbird, and a Canada Warbler. With number 800,000 just ahead, Mallory, PARC’s Motus and banding assistant, called back to the rest of us, “It’s here!” Our milestone bird was a young Cedar Waxwing, a species that is quite common at Powdermill during the migration and breeding seasons, and often is spotted in nomadic flocks during the winter.

Powdermill’s 800,000th banding record, a young Cedar Waxwing, caught and banded on August 6, 2021.

Just beyond the waxwing was another Gray Catbird, which concluded the net round. We all made our way back to the lab where we banded the celebrity waxwing, recorded the usual data (age, sex, measurements, and mass), snapped a few photos and a quick video, and then released the bird.

Based on the waxwing’s plumage, we know that it hatched this summer, and it displayed an interesting plumage characteristic that is relatively common in young waxwings in southwest Pennsylvania. Cedar Waxwings have a yellow terminal band on their tails, but if an individual eats invasive honeysuckle berries while feathers are growing, the pigment from the berries, called rhodoxanthin, is incorporated into the yellow parts of the growing feathers. Honeysuckle berries are plentiful at Powdermill, and are ripe when young Cedar Waxwings are still in the nest and growing their first set of feathers. If they’re fed these berries, their tails have an orange tail band instead of the normal yellow! Adult waxwings molt when the berries are no longer ripe, so their tails have a yellow stripe. This phenomenon is a great example of how introduced plants can affect their environment.

Annie Lindsay with the 800,000th banding record.

In keeping with previous milestones at Powdermill, #800,000 is a common species: Cedar Waxwing is the sixth most banded species at Powdermill, with over 24,000 of them banded in our 60-year history. We often like to attach meaning to notable events, and Cedar Waxwings lend themselves to this one in particular: the aberration in tail stripe pigmentation was described by Powdermill banders in a paper published in 1992, and the species was a favorite of the founder of Powdermill’s bird banding program, Bob Leberman.

The commemorative $5 bill for guessing correctly what species the 500,000th banding record would be.

I still have the $5 bill with #500,000’s band number on it, and feel honored to have been part of both milestones at Powdermill. The crew didn’t place bets on what species #800,000 might be, but several had guesses, and I was sure it would be another catbird. Cedar Waxwing was an excellent surprise, and we’re all looking forward to #900,000 and #1,000,000 in the coming years!

Annie Lindsay is the Bird Banding Program Manager at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

[cyhyr]

The Tenth Day of Whumpmas

Sleep Deprivation

Fandom: Naruto

Rating: M

Pairing: implied past Kakashi/Iruka

WC: ~1960

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Additional Tags: hospital, i don't know how hospitals work, let alone nurses, Danzo comes with his own warning, angry Iruka (who knew, right?), I'm very tired so I'm having a hard time coming up with tags

A/N: This is another installment in the Lights verse, set up to directly follow Countdown and lead into Reunion.

A/N2: I know I'm a day behind but I'm tired and I'm hoping to get the last two fics up within a week or so. The last one's looking like it'll be a long one, so it's definitely not getting up tomorrow unfortunately.

EDIT 12/12/2021: AT THE POSTING OF THIS STORY I INCORRECTLY WROTE THAT THIS HAD A WARNING FOR RAPE/NON-CON. THERE IS NO RAPE/NON-CON IN THIS STORY, LET ALONE IN THIS INSTALLMENT. I APOLOGIZE PROFUSELY.

Tagging: @atereal, @kelkage

~

Exhausted, Iruka bounces Hikari as he paces around the room. She’s crying softly against his shoulder as he begs her wordlessly to go to sleep so that he can try and get some sleep. But she’s new to being alive and doesn’t know how to fall asleep so she just cries that she’s tired. He can’t blame her for that; she’s only a day old.

“Umino-san,” a nurse knocks on the doorway. “Would you like to have her brought to the nursery? We have staff who can hold her and help her fall asleep.”

“I can do it,” he very nearly growls.

“I don’t doubt it. But you need to rest, too. Labor is no joke even when done in a hospital; you gave birth in the woods with no assistance. Please, you are a patient here, too.”

He can’t.

She’s too precious. What if Danzō comes to take her while he’s asleep and unable to protect her? No he just… he has to stay awake.

“I appreciate the offer, but we’ll be okay.”

Her cry changes from tired to hungry, and Iruka moves to a counter to make her a bottle. While his instincts very much call out for him to let Hikari feed off his body, it makes more sense to bottle-feed her. He sits down and arranges her in his arms and brings the bottle to her mouth.

There are really two options he can foresee happening once Kakashi comes back: he’ll either reject her, in which case Iruka needs her on the bottle so he can put her in a daycare and return to work as soon as possible; or Kakashi will claim her as his own and reject Iruka, thereby also requiring Hikari to be in a daycare and on a bottle.

It’s sad, he knows. But he’s hoping that Kakashi will reject her, so that Iruka can keep her.

Once Hikari finishes her bottle, he burps her, changes her diaper (thank the gods the hospital provides diapers), and lays back down on the hospital bed with her against his chest. She turns her head so her ear is pressed to his heart, grizzles a little bit more, and eventually, finally, goes to sleep. Iruka holds her with one hand on her back and the other curved around her bottom, tips his head back, and closes his eyes.

He can’t sleep. It’s been over twenty-four hours since he last woke up, but he can’t sleep. What if Danzō…?

But he can rest his eyes. Just… for a moment…

~

Iruka wakes feeling lighter than he has in months and initially feels well and rested and then realizes—

He fell asleep.

And Hikari’s not on his chest, where she had been when he’d fallen asleep.

He springs up and runs out the door into the hallway. The nurse’s station is hardly a few paces from his room, and he stalks up to the counter and growls, “Where is my daughter?!”

The nurse at the counter—Chisato, by her name tag—snaps her head up and narrows her eyes. “Umino-chan is in a blood test. Weren’t you alerted of this?”

“Clearly not! What do you mean she’s in a blood test?! I wasn’t informed of this at all! I woke up and she was gone!!!”

“Iruka-sensei.”

Iruka turns to the side. Tsunade stands at the other end of the nurse’s station and stares him down, arms crossed. He snarls at her as she releases pheromones meant to try and calm him down. He can smell them and feel their efforts, but he’s got much stronger hormones of his own that override her calm down—namely, the where the fuck is my pup drive.

“Hikari-chan is fine,” Tsunade says, still trying to talk him down. “I oversaw her test myself.”

“If she’s done with the test, then where is she?!”

Tsunade crosses her arms and frowns. “The nurse mentioned that you hadn’t been sleeping. She said she was taking Hikari to the nursery to allow you a few hours of uninterrupted sleep.”

“Without getting my consent?” Iruka snarls. “Give. Her. Back.”

“Deep breaths, sensei—”

“Don’t call me that,” he snaps. “I haven’t been a teacher for three months. Where’s the nursery; I need my pup.”

“You need to sleep, too.”

“I’ll sleep when I know she’s safe—maybe.”

Then the nurse from before he fell asleep comes around the corner and he points at her and growls, “You! Did you take my pup??!”

She stops and everyone who has gathered around the nurse’s station turns to watch her reaction. Iruka scents the air and determines that she’s a beta, around his age, but medical training or no it’s common knowledge that a pup should not be removed from their mother’s side without fucking consent. She looks to the Hokage, who has also turned to her with interest.

“Well? Kaede-san??” Tsunade snaps.

“I… she’s in the nursery, sleeping. Umino-sensei was exhausted and she needed her blood work done, and I figured he’d appreciate the rest—”

Before Iruka can advance and rip her throat out, Tsunade holds out an arm to catch him and seethes, “You didn’t even tell him?”

“I left a note!”

“Where is she?!” Iruka keens.

“The nursery! I just dropped her off, I promise!”

“Are you sure?! Because I’ve been fighting the fucking Council over custody rights and I don’t—”

“Iruka, go back to your room. I’ll collect Hikari and bring her to you myself,” Tsunade says, leaving barely any room for argument.

He growls low under his breath and turns back to his room, but a quick scent of the air tells him that the nursery is just down a hall to his left and so he follows the scent of new pup. He arrives soon enough, and looks in through the window at the rows of pups sleeping peacefully.

The door is locked though, and he doesn’t have any of his gear to pick the lock. Through the window he can see a door on the other side of the room open and Tsunade step past all the pups until she comes to the only silver-haired one in the lot.

Iruka whines and presses his palms to the window. She’s so close and he needs her back—

Tsunade wheels her cot down the row and to the door to Iruka’s right. He’s right there as the door opens and, ignoring Tsunade’s protest, picking Hikari up out of the cot and scenting her deeply.

She’s real.

She’s his.

And exhaustion hits him like a tsunami and he is just able to set her safely back in her cot before he collapses.

~

He wakes groggy and disoriented, but with the fresh, clean scent of his pup happily on his chest. His hands are comfortingly around her and she’s calm and quiet and he nearly goes back to sleep right away.

But then he realizes that he and Hikari aren’t the only ones in the room, and he growls at the old Councilor sitting on the chair at the foot of the bed. He tightens his embrace around Hikari and says, “What do you want?"

Danzō says, “I have the obligation to act in the best interests of the Village. And the village has the right to claim pups who are born to an unmated mother, to see that they are properly cared for. Therefore—”

“If you touch a hair on her head I will rip your throat out with my teeth,” Iruka snaps.

“Is that a threat, Umino?”

“It’s a statement of fact.”

“The pup will be raised to become an asset to Konoha,” Danzō continues. “They will receive the highest caliber training and serve—”

“You’d like to do all this, but you have no power here until Kakashi rejects her,” Iruka says. “I’m invoking the right to have her alpha parent have first claim on her. Call him back.”

Danzō curls his lip. “No. This must be done now.”

“Why? So you can rip a pup from her mother’s arms before she can properly imprint on me?” Iruka scoffs, “I’ll bet you never even told Kakashi that he had sired a pup.”

“That is not—”

“And of course you want it done before Kakashi comes back because you don’t want to take the chance that he’ll claim her—”

Danzō stands up. “You will hand over that pup.”

“Over my dead body.”

“We’ve discussed this before; that can and will be arranged, now—”

“What is going on in here?!” The head nurse steps inside and frowns at the Councilor. “Sir, if you’re not going to maintain the calming atmosphere, I’m going to ask you to leave.”

“This doesn’t concern you.”

The nurse—Hitomi, he remembers; he needs to remember this one—snaps, “The fuck it doesn’t. Get out. My patients need their rest and you are preventing it.”

“You don’t tell me what to do.”

“You’re not in your tower, and you’re not talking to one of your ANBU,” Hitomi says. “The only people who boss me around are those on the hospital board and Tsunade-sama.”

Iruka grins smugly at Danzō as he stands up and goes to leave.

But then Danzō turns back to him and says, “Children have a tendency to go missing when they are so prized. You’d do well to keep one eye open, Umino.”

Hitomi snaps, “OUT.”

And Danzō leaves, but the damage is done.

Iruka vows not to sleep again.

~

Two days into his vigil, the nurses begin threatening him with narcotics.

He passes out briefly on the third day, and wakes up in a panic until he collects Hikari from her cot and scents her and rocks them both back and forth.

Tsunade comes by on the fifth day and offers to watch Hikari herself so that he’ll sleep. To his credit, he tries to rest; and he knows that his daughter is safe with Tsunade-sama. But the eight hours go by slowly and he watches the shadows creep across his room and he’s unable to find any rest because his anxiety keeps asking what if?

What if Hikari cries too much?

What if Danzō finds a legal loophole and snatches her away?

What if Kakashi comes back and takes her? What if he doesn’t?

She brings her back and frowns as he’s clumsily holding her and just barely avoiding nodding off. She doesn’t bother again; it clearly wasn’t as restful a day as she had been hoping.

By two weeks, he develops a rhythm of sleeping for only about three hours each day and staying hypervigilant the rest of the time. He’s exhausted and on edge, but he won’t let Hikari become a statistic. Tsunade-sama tells him that they won’t let him go home until he’s rested enough to care for Hikari, and Iruka responds by curling around his daughter and ignoring everyone else.

A month and a half and Tsunade-sama tells him that Kakashi should be home soon.

“I’ll believe it when he’s here,” he murmurs, and plays peek with Hikari.

~

Two months in and fucking Kaede shows back up—he’d been assured by Tsunade that she wouldn’t work in this unit again, what the fuck??—and asks if he’d please be reasonable and let Hikari sleep in the nursery.

She doesn’t get a chance to really finish her sentence because he’s already snarling at her to get the fuck out of his room and to not come back.

Finally, it seems that she gets the hint.

However, not ten seconds after she leaves, his door slides open again and he tightens his hold on Hikari and says, “I will rip your throat out if you come near us again.”

Then Kakashi comes around the corner of his curtain with both palms up and says, “Iruka-sensei, it’s me. I’m… I’m here to claim the pup?”

[keeyasnowtail]

Countdown to Spring #8: Cherry Tree Bonsai

A tiny cherry tree for a tiny bit of spring.

This was by far the most complex tree I have done. It's not done with Blender's generators but created from curves manually plus sculpted and then textured in Substance Painter. The blossoms were modeled as well instead of using photos. Finally I hope I've matched a correct color for the pot. :3

[exoplanetupdates-blog]

2021 : EXO at Festivals

FEBURARY 2021

210211 - CMG 2021 Spring Festival Gala - LAY

Preview [1]

Preshow Cut [1]

Spring Festival Gala in Progress [1]

Gala Live [1]

LAY singing Chinese Opera [1]

CCTV4 Interview [1]

Performance - Picture Scroll

Behind the Scenes [1]

Baidu Interview [1]

Baidu weibo update [1]

Sina Music Interview [1]

Youku Interview [1]

Sina Entertainment Interview [1]

iFeng Interview [1]

Legendary Chinese holidays - Spring Festival Interview [1]

MAY 2021

210504 - Youth Day Countdown Show - LAY

Preview [1]

My Motherland and Me [1]

Behind the Scenes [1]

JUNE 2021

210610 - Grand Mint Choco Festival - KAI

Talk Segment [1]

Kai - Don't Fight the Feeling [1]

210626 - Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Centenary Celebration - LAY

Performance - The Song of Seven Sons [1]

DECEMBER 2021

211203 - Votiz vol.2 'Prayer' Showcase - SEHUN

Full Showcase [1]

211231 - Dragon TV New Year's Countdown - LAY

Greeting [1]

Rehearsal Video [1]

Countdown Weibo Update [1]

Interview [1]

Performance Cut - Flying Apsaras + The Motherland Will Never Forget You [1]

Bee With You [1]

Full Concert [1]

211231 - Bilibili New Year’s Countdown - LAY

Promotion Message [1]

Performance Cut - LIT + Flying Apsaras [1]

Ascetic Monk [1]

Full Event [1]

211231 - CCTV NYE Concert - LAY

I Have A Dream [1]

Xlog Blue Lay Zhang NYE Rehearsal [1]

[torchwoodfanfests]

The Torchwood Bingo 2021 Masterpost

The masterpost for our first ever repeated fest is here! Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2021 Bingo Fest, and congratulations to all of you who got bingo! Enjoy browsing through 104 creations from 18 wonderful participants!

You can also read the fics submitted in this fest’s AO3 collection!

If one of your works should be in this post but isn’t, please let us know and we’ll add it ASAP.

@adhd-jack-harkness

FANFICTION

<3 + me = ?

Team bonding 

Five Times Sam Hated John Hart and One Time She Didn’t

John Hart, Anger 

Our Second Time Dipping Went Better

Hub goes into lockdown, Under the influence

Team Torchwood & Flowers moodboards

Plants/Vegetables

Slumber Party

Camping, Femslash, Team bonding

Alien Outfits

Clothes/Outfit

CyberSam

Anger

Ianto and Jack’s Fabulous Date Night

The year that never was

Frozen

Animal transformation

META

Sam’s perfect future

Backstory

@bashir-one-alpha

FANFICTION

Grieving (for the living)

Clothes/Outfit, Blue, Exercise

so much in love (& yet so far apart)

Immortality, Bullet wounds, Death/Dying

@celstese

FANFICTION

Home is where the Hart is

Amnesia/Memory tampering

The Cardinal

Doubles and doppelgangers

Countrycide AU

Camping

ART

Yvonne Hartman

DW crossover

Timelord Toshiko

Timelord AU

PLAYLISTS

Ianto

Hurt/Comfort, Domesticity, Bisexuality

Yvonne Hartman

Fantasy, Mission related trip, Betrayal

Jack

DW crossover, I had a boyfriend who used to do that, John Hart, Set between s2 and s3, Twelve and Frobisher confusion

Gwen

Set between s2 and s3, Family, The ghost machine/The resurrection gauntlet

John

Alien tech/Future tech, Stars, Exposed

@greendreamer

ART

Pony!Jack and Pony versions of Jack and Ianto

Animal transformation, Crossover of your choice

King Gender

John Hart, Gold

“Excuse me. Have you seen a Blowfish driving a sports car?”

Weevils/Blowfish/Hoix

The Bisexuals of Torchwood and Suzie watercolour

Bisexuality, Purple, Blue, Suzie Costello

Gray and Wynn and Wynn Reference sheet

Old friends/Chance meetings

Captain Jack Harkness

Black and White

Tosh and Sherbert

Canon character is an alien au

Shopping trip

Friendship

Naughty Time Agents get chained up for their crimes

Angry, Handcuffs

“Where the heck are we?”

Mission related trip

@haventacluewhatimdoing

FANFICTION

The Beauty Of Being A Teaboy

Neurodiversity

Nothing Like A Birthday

Surprise

How many whisks does one girl need?

Misunderstanding

The End of Time

Waiting, AU where Jack came back later

@horselover107

FANFICTION

The Stories We Tell Ourselves

Prison/Prison Break

Changing Tides

“I’m fine”, Nightmares

The Great Welsh Cookoff

Cooking, Red

Mark It With A T

Torchwood Logo

Cat’s In the Cradle

Kids

Untitled Undercover Mission

Pets

Together in the Dark

Dark

Pub Quiz

Bar/Karaoke

Untitled World Tour

Missing, Day off work

Should Stay or Should I Go

UNIT

On moving in

Pink

A Good Man

Trying to change the timeline

Beyond the Veil

Cybermen/Daleks, Paranormal powers, Future fic

Myths and Legends

Harriet Jones/Mickey Smith/Face of Boe, Soulmates, conspiracy theorists, Boeshane

PLAYLISTS

Undead Owen Playlist

Came Back Wrong

Cyberwoman

Lisa Hallett

Torchwood Outbreak

Weapons

@iantojpg

ART

Flower symbolism

Plants/Vegetables

Favorite Torchwood outfits

Clothes/Outfit

That’s okay

Dead/Death

@iantosboyfriend

ART

Geo-caching date

Date night, Exercise

FANFICTION

in a mirror, dimly (or, remembrance and other troubles)

Friendship, Amnesia/Memory tampering

what you leave behind

Torchwood One

@itneveroccurredtomeatall

FANFICTION

Look For The Light That Leads Me Home

Amnesia/Memory tampering, Time travel, Dead/Death

@my-ghost-monument

FANFICTION

(un)seized opportunities

Episode tag/Missing scene, Weddings, Yvonne Hartman

inconvenient situations 

Rhys Williams, Trapped together, Red, Missing

old refrain

Future fic, Boeshane, Summer, So, there’s two of me in the current timeline

date interruptions

Trust, Prison/Prison break, Rules

@roselees

FANFICTION

Up Under Pressure

Trapped Together

@searching-for-arcadia

ART

Actaeon

Animal transformation

@shejustcalledmeafish

FANFICTION

It’s Wrong to Take What Is Given You

Harriet Jones, Mickey Smith, Face of Boe, Rules/Bending or Breaking the Rules, Outer Space

Know Your Hearts Like My Own

Genderbend, Paranormal Powers

Stay, Sit, Squish

Pets

In for a Pound (of Flesh)

Everybody Lives AU, Sweet/Sour, DW Companion Cameo, “I’m fine”

Sharing is Caring

First Kiss/First Date

Spice of Life

Cooking

@sweet-sammy-kisses

FANFICTION

I Won’t Let Your Light Dim

Stars

Tears of Phoenix

Fantasy

Thunder and Fire

Polyamory/Consensual non-monogamy

Love Drunk

Under the influence

Blue Bird of Torchwood

Blue

@this-is-quite-homoerotic

ART

LISA/IANTO MOODBOARD

Lisa Hallett

JANET THE WEEVIL EDIT

Pink, Janet the weevil

TIME LORD!JOHN HART MOODBOARD

Memories

TOSH/RIVER MOODBOARD

Outer space

FANFICTION

ALL WE DO IS TO DIE FOR

Con-man/Grifter, Autumn/Spring, Day off work, “Bloody Torchwood!”

@toshsato

ART

jack’s pink bisexuals gifset

Pink

rhys holding anwen gifset

Rhys Williams

bi!gwen cooper gifset

Canon-compliant

jack and john parallels gifset

Con-man

FANFICTION

Love So Soft

Pets, Food

they can’t believe I made you weak

Surprise, Miracle Day

friends are something that we were (before me sleeping in your shirt)

Genderbend, Pining, Bar

giving me everything

Team TARDIS, “I’m fine”, Daleks

shorking responsibilities

Alternate universe, Water

Is It Insensitive For Me To Say

Outer space, Authority, Sweet

The End is Where We Start From

Canon-divergence, Grief, Episode tag

I Don’t Do Fake Love

Prison break, Autumn, Conspiracy theorists

@twincityhacker

FANFICTION

In the Dark

Dark

@ultraviolet-eucatastrophe

FANFICTION

Pulling strings in your heart

Dreams, Anger, Myfanwy/Untitled the dog/Steve the rat

Second hand warmth

Past conquests, Cold/Warm, Suzie Costello

Picking up the pieces

Set between s2 and s3

Gwen and Ianto's Excellent Wine Night

Mission-related trip, Meeting the family, Torchwood One

Catch like fire

Historical figure

Laid Bare

Exposed

And to be shared on this night

Werewolves/Vampires, Exercise

Countdown to Destruction

Martha Jones, The Hub goes into lockdown