#1) they explored the tag with stuff that makes them mad (on purpose)

[esteebarnes94]

I dunno, the 'non-men for non-men' definition irks me. Why is it about not being attracted to men instead of about being attracted to women? A woman-loving woman sounds much more accepting and less focused on reiterating how unattractive you find men. Isn't it about loving women and celebrating your attraction to them? Isn't that what people are fighting for?

I suppose it brings up the idea of nblw, but I'd also argue the current non-men definition excludes multi-gender woman-attracted people. What's a bigender person (who in this example identifies as a man and woman) who is only attracted to women? Are they no longer a part of the community simply because they also feel connection to manhood?

What about gender fluid people? Can they only identify with being a lesbian when they feel strictly unaligned with being a man? What if it's blurred? How little 'man' does one have to be to fit in the box?

I often hear, "Just use sapphic!" Just one internet search reveals the definition of sapphic (as defined in dictionaries) as relating to lesbianism. Why force them into the term sapphic when that may not feel accurate to their identity? Why force them away at all? Why not accept them as a member of a community and a fellow queer person? Why not offer them shelter and safety on the basis of community and fellowship?

I guess my question is: why are people so determined to divide others on the basis of their specific identity? Isn't the beauty of existence and diversity that people are, you know, diverse? How can a community be formed and be sustained on pillars of hatred and exclusionism? If you exclude materials from a structure, it's going to crack and break. How is removing fellow community members from the foundation of community any different? I don't expect people to have a personal understanding or connection to others' experiences. I just ask that people start treating other queer people as what they are: people who are going through, have gone through, or will highly likely go through bigotry and hatred from those who cannot stand anyone not like themselves (read: strictly cishet). I ask that the community treat those who do not fit in the box as an equal in queerness, not a rival in a competition of the most 'valid' queer.

Maybe we should just all get on with our lives and stop arguing over this. I really truly do believe in-fighting will only tear the community apart and break down defense and progress. People are regularly killed over liking women in a queer way in the first place. Why make it harder for the vulnerable to find safety? Is taking away the safe space not a piece in needless death?

(I don't expect this to spread far, but just in case: please read my OP tags on this post. This is not said in an angry tone. It's said in a sad, civil, and exasperated one.)

[wuffgang-ameowdeus-moozart]

@flipflapyoutwat under the cut because I'm a rambler <3

okay so this is only focused on the first book bc I don't remember enough of the others tbh

(but the characterization in book 1 is the most accurate anyway, so maybe that's a blessing lol)

So we have the very basic and obvious grumpy x sunshine thing

I take it back I'm just very biased towards book 1 😭 (read @/flipflapyoutwat tags <3 )

Aaron is always smiling

Call has the worst resting bitch face syndrome (click here for more details on that)

That is especially apparent when we look at how they act in highly stressful situations (no quotes bc my book isn't in eng :/ )

When Aaron is put on the spotlight and the entire magic world is expecting him to win a very bloody war that already brutally killed his predecessor, what is his reaction? He smiles and he plays along until Call catches him alone, only then does Aaron allow himself to be angry

When Call has the horrible trials in the beginning that end gloriously with a maybe murder attempt (?) by his own father, he is a...very unpleasant person (to say the least). It is only when he feels comfortable with Tamara and Aaron that he allows himself to be more open and less hostile.

-> Aaron uses his friendliness as a mask, while Call is often rude on purpose until he feels comfortable.

Here is the interesting thing. They have developed opposite coping mechanisms despite coming from a very similar situation:

Both were deeply lonely people

Both were ostracized for one reason or another (fucked leg/no parents)

both have like. the lowest fucking self-worth you can even imagine. it's 25/8 self-deprecation city over here baby

both have no mom :(

both don't know a lot about their past

both found their first real friends in the magisterium

both are very protective people

(and I think that the reason Aaron kept close to Call from the very beginning is because he admired how Call was just unapologetically moody in a way Aaron himself always had to repress)

Another big thing is their relationship with magic:

Call is terrified of his magic. Not only because that was taught to him by his father since birth, but also because even before we find out about the whole Constantine stuff he knows there's something not quite right with him

Aaron on the other hand loves magic. It is the thing that brought him his first real home and family after all. (And of course there is the added layer of "we want you on the front lines of our war" thing on top of that) It is described multiple times in the book how his eyes shine whenever he uses magic, and how he uses every excuse to make use of it

This is made even more clear when we look at how they react to the fire dude Warren leads them to when they get lost in the tunnels (idk the name in English 😭)

Neither have a personal history with it like Tamara does. And yet:

Call is clearly very scared

Aaron on the other hand is extremely fascinated (Especially about the whole being immortal stuff) and is the only one who willingly goes near it

And besides all that there is also the whole: they are the only two Makars + they are each other's counterweight (even though that is unheard of). THEY ARE LITERALLY EXPLICITLY THE ONE THING THAT KEEPS THE OTHER FROM GOING INTO THE DEEP END. THEY ARE OPPOSITES BUT AT THE SAME TIME IN THEIR CORE THEY ARE THE SAME AND IT MAKES ME SO MAD THAT THEY NEVER REALLY EXPLORED THAT AIDJFHSHF

(just quick recap:

- opposite outward appearance (it isn't a coincidence that Aaron is described as this blond golden boy all the time. they knew what they were doing those fuckers)

- opposite coping mechanisms

- opposite views on power/magic

- Call more concerned with himself (yk, with the whole soul deal) vs Aaron always more concerned with others

but at the same time:

- BINDED THROUGH BEING THE OTHERS COUNTERWEIGHT

- only two Makars

- similar values at their core

- both feel like they have to earn affection and everyone around them deserve better bc no self-esteem whatsoever)

isn't it cool how Aaron and Call are two sides of the same coin and yet the authors did basically nothing with that.

[shinayashipper]

Flareship that starts with kaiate and yugi as tag-along / only there because Atem Needs Him Hurts very much too but I hope it gets explored more than just "with time kaiba warmed up to yugi and they start doing Stuff too" like No, I don't want to make it so Easy for Kaiba to just have Yugi Too- or for both Kaiba and Atem to just so Easily have Yugi for comfort while never actually Include him in their little Relationship 😤 Yugi's gonna be there just to be left out because while Atem Likes Him, theres 1. Kaiba who (Yugi Thinks) Doesn't Like Him so Yugi would get wary and overly conscious when he's close with Atem / doesn't wanna get Kaiba mad, 2. Kaiate nature that just takes up all the stage for themselves whether they realize it or not.

Yugi wonders what his Purpose is in this Relationship- he starts to think Atem only needs him there because he feels guilty for leaving and doesn't actually *Need* him. Kaiba and Atem work Fine without him there why does he need to tag along in every little dates they have?? The third-wheel who would occasionally hold hands with Atem and that's it 😂😂

I don't want it to be so easy for them to get Yugi there as they like <3 I hope Yugi starts to leave and thats when those two realized "Oh shit he really would Leave oh NO"

[mintenochian]

what other people want added to Minecraft: g u n s

what I want added to Minecraft

•Birds

-For multiple biomes, but mainly for the forests.

-Songbirds would add SO MUCH life to the otherwise quiet areas of the game

-Ravens and crows would be awesome and could use some of the parrot mimicking AI

-Cardinals in the snow biomes would bring a GORGEOUS pop of colour into the white atmosphere

-Seriously we need something to populate the sky, parrots do NOT fly like they should

-nests in trees, can find eggs in them

-doesn't really add a use but fun new feather types would be cool

•Owls

-technically still a bird but would go really well in covered rooftop forests and snow biomes

-we're already getting larger avians added in the form of vultures so why not more large birds?

•Mice and / or rats

-absolute precious babies

-sadly would go well with owls :(

-with cave update coming we need adorable rodents scurrying around

-lil bastards could make mouseholes inside of blocks

-will they be tameable? idk.

-adds the necessity for cheese

•Deer

-MOJANG this is a MUST, this is a NEED

-You literally have pigs, chickens, cows, and sheep spawning in forests what the fuck

-Deer with spotty baby fawns??? Yes

-Young bucks with different stages of antler growth? Yes

-Fawns frolicking in flower forests bc they feel safe

-Stripped wood appearing on trees where bucks scrape velvet off their antlers

-Being able to collect sets of antlers when they fall off periodically (would NOT be attainable by killing the deer, you have to wait for them to shed)

•Elk and Moose

-Same vein as deer

-Bigger, much bigger, neutral instead of passive, less shy

-Snowy biomes

-Better additions than fucking llamas tyvm

-Sidenote but savannahs could also really use some endangered deer-like species to help raise awareness for their status

•Squirrels

-Mojang plz

-Adds nuts to Minecraft ;)

-Black, grey, red, and mixed colour squirrels and breeding

-Brings life to forests like songbirds and deer

•Bears

-Mojang bby you literally already have a neutral bear in Minecraft why have you not reskinned it for grizzly/brown/black bears?

-Bear caves

-Hibernating mobs

-Brings more use to the beehives and bees, bears could be attracted to any area that has more than one bee hive with honey

•WOLVES AND DOGS

-They NEED the ocelots and cats update

-More wolf types (red, timber, snow, black, etc)

-Actual wolf packs (the AI would be difficult to program but the doges are worth it)

-Please let the howl at the moon, if foxes get to say ringdingding all night long wolves deserve to be allowed to howl

-More dog breeds (I know that there's no reason for domesticated dog breeds in Minecraft but ACTUALLY THERE IS)

-Hunting dogs like springers that can jump and run faster

-Foxhounds :D

-Most Important Goodest Boy: Herding dogs like collies and sheepdogs

-Herding dogs could be found in plains where cows and sheep spawn and create herds

-LET DOGS LAY DOWN FOR FUCKS SAKE

•Herding

-Instead of having to pen up and enclose your livestock you could form herds of cows and sheep

-Your Goodest Boi herding dog would protect them and move around with them when they graze

-Just soft peaceful minecraft tingz

•Salt licks

-Something SO SMALL but would make SO MUCH HAPPINESS

-Drawing new cows into your herd by putting up a salt lick

-I'm soft

-I guess salt would be a new ore???

•Bird feeders

-idk I think it would be cool

-excess seeds used for SOMETHING

•Raccoons

-The coolness of wolves, the chaos of foxes, the cunning of cats

-thumbs

-be gay do crimes

-can open chests (trigger trap chests to catch them?)

-Fantastic little shits

-Not tameable but will trust players like foxes do

•Snakes

-I know it's a lot to ask and it would be hard to make them look good

-But??? Imagine a tiny lil garter snake in your garden

-unlikely but would be so fantastic

•Rope

-climeable

-please Mojang we need this so badly

-imagine the ships? The bridges? The bell towers and everything?

-super easy to add, just reskin vines and add a string crafting recipie

•Butterflies and Moths

-Bflies could be a unique mob to flower forests and friends with bees

-if moobloom is added they would all be BEST BUDS

-get it "buds" ahahaha

-help with flower polination but just gives a TON of life to flower forests

-We literally have lanterns in minecraft why do we NOT have moths? Such a cool aesthetic addition.

-helps fill both the daytime and nighttime sky

•Hummingbirds

-fourth member of BEST BUDS

-just soft baby

-i love birbs okay

-the only avian who does not work for the bourgeoisie

•Fireflies

-10 million of them please

-they give great hugs

-adds so much atmosphere to the night world

•Cheese

-We have milk

-We have, presumably, goat milk

-Quit being cowards and add butter and cheese

-Butter churn job block for villagers

-V funny bc they have no arms to churn with?? Oh well

•Seashells

-Something decorative and beautiful that could 1) liven up beaches and 2) have snails and crabs inside!

-Mojang plz do not add sand dollars to the game people already don't know how to tell if they're still alive before trying to take them home

•Whales

-WHALES.

-Imagine something as massive as the ender dragon but peaceful. Allows you to stand on them (idk how but make it happen Jeb)

-WHALE SONGS.

-Being so deep and far out into the ocean, and when the moon is high in the sky and you're sitting in your boat, you just hear the beautiful melancholy sounds of the whales in the distance

•Jellyfish

-Idk if y'all know this but the glow squid is a bad idea

-Dream buddy you fucked up, please use your influence to get in contact with Mojang and have them redo the vote. People would have so much regained respect for you if you tried to fix your mistake.

-Also why does a speedrunner get to tell millions of people what mob would bring more life to Minecraft? He's only playing the game for 5 minutes smh

-aNYWAYS

-Jellyfish could literally do everything the glow squid is going to and look better for it AND possibly be neutral instead of peaceful

•Orcas

-Not much to say but it would liven up the frozen water biomes a bit

•Penguins

-You already know why

-Imagine giving a new home to all the Club Penguin players? Legendary.

-Gender doesn't exist in Minecraft but we all know penguins would be hella gay

•Lobsters

-I think they would be cute

-You would NOT BE ABLE TO BOIL THEM ALIVE THANK YOU VERY MUCH

•Mermaids

-Never going to happen since passive mobs are generally real life animals but it would be so cool

•Otters

-they can hold hands

-brings life to the rivers

-super cute

•Frogs and possibly toads

-Swamp gods

-Absolute mad lads

-maybe grow from tadpoles

-wouldn't do much but needed

•Fairy Forests

-NOT Twilight Forests. Not a new dimension.

-Just gentle hidden groves in forests

-ADD FAIRY RING GENERATION TO MINECRAFT.

•Big cats

-Tigers, lions, bobcats, panthers

-Literally anything that could finally add a strong predator possibility to savannahs and jungles

•Zebras and Giraffes

-Shy and skittish

-cannot ride (their skeletal structure is NOT MADE FOR CARRYING HUMANS)

-Super cute tho, brings much needed life to savannahs

•Camels

-The better llama

-Can honestly just be a reskin

-brings much needed life to the desert

-spits and wears carpet and forms caravans like llamas

•Lemurs

-Easier to add to "jungles" than monkeys

-it would be really cool if we could just get a Rainforest biome

-King Julian stans awaken

•Red pandas

-we need them

-cuter than normal pandas and you can @ me

-better idea than sloths or koalas

•More Eldritch Horror Hostile Mobs

-Fun fact time

-The enchanting table language already has Lovecraftian references

-"phnglui mglwnafh cthulhu rlyeh wgahnagl fhtagn" is literally a quote from the enchanting table

-translates to "In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming."

-Bet you didn't know that fun fact

-aNYWAYS add the Kraken to Minecraft instead of the shitty guardians. Thanks.

-imagine how cool it would be to see lights slowly extinguish as something terrifying and dangerous slowly moves in for the kill

-torches get extinguished and can get relit

-if not relit fast enough Something will be waiting

•Ice statues

-We have giant fossils and ship wrecks and cool stuff like that but please imagine finding a GIANT humanoid ice sculpture in an ice spikes biome

-maybe bones inside to show you that... That wasn't carved or naturally generated.

•Skeletons

-Not a mob but a decoration block

-Found in temples, mineshafts, and caves

-implied to be the remains of miners and explorers

-rare

-also implies that every skeleton you kill has some backstory since they look the same

•Constellations

-Not real world star maps but completely unique to Minecraft

-chance for LOTS of fun references

-The stars are your only companions in an apocalyptic world where you are the last of your kind

-Space is gay minecraft is gay thus minecraft space is gay

•Corn

-we have butter in this list

-we have salt in this list

-popcorn. That is all.

And finally

•Leeks

-mostly a joke but would be a cool crop

-100% a reference to Hatsune Miku the creator of Minecraft

DISCLAIMER: I recognize that mobs are added to Minecraft to serve a purpose within the game and that many of these mobs would be better in mods and such, but I also feel like many of these suggestions would really bring so much more life to parts of the game that really need it. Even if they don't serve a huge purpose, they would still be really amazing additions imo.

I would love to see the ideas and suggestions that other people have for what they want added to Minecraft, please TAG ME if you make a post like this, I wanna hear and read it!

[terramythos]

TerraMythos 2021 Reading Challenge - Book 3 of 26

Title: Acceptance (The Southern Reach #3) (2014) - REREAD

Author: Jeff VanderMeer

Genre/Tags: Horror, Science Fiction, Ecological Horror, Cosmic Horror, Weird, First-Person, Second-Person, Third-Person, Unreliable Narrator, Female Protagonists, LGBT Protagonist

Rating: 10/10

Date Began: 1/11/2021

Date Finished: 1/20/2021

Area X, a self-aware wilderness along the coast, has existed for decades behind a mysterious border. The landscape itself annihilates humans and repurposes them for its own ends. Hundreds of people have died attempting to uncover its secrets. But no one has yet discovered its origins or true purpose.

Now, Area X has spread past its former borders, perhaps to the entire world. Acceptance follows several key figures through the history of Area X, and their attempts to fight against an impossible threat.  

You feel numb and you feel broken, but there’s a strange relief mixed in with the regret: to come such a long way, to come to a halt here, without knowing how it will turn out, and yet... to rest. To come to rest. Finally. All your plans back at the Southern Reach, the agonizing and constant fear of failure or worse, the price of that... all of it leaking out into the sand beside you in gritty red pearls. 

Full review, major spoilers, and content warning(s) under the cut.

Content warnings for the book: Extreme body horror, altered states of mind, and psychological manipulation, including hypnosis. Several characters lose their sanity, and you see it happen in real time from their perspective. Intentional self-harm/mutilation as a plot point. Some violence and gore. There are brief references to animal abuse and terminal cancer. Not many happy endings in this one.  

This review contains major series spoilers. It’s also super long, as the book covers a lot of material. 

Acceptance is the most narratively ambitious book in the Southern Reach trilogy. While Annihilation and Authority feature a single protagonist/perspective, this one has four rotating POVs and one guest narrator partway through the book. It also covers a broader timeline than previous entries, from the origins of Area X 30-ish years ago to the ongoing present-day apocalypse. Acceptance is one of the few books I've read that utilizes first-, second-, AND third-person narration in a single volume, adopting whichever one makes the most sense for the character and their situation

While this sounds complicated, it's basically just a way to tell four different stories at the same time. VanderMeer also uses each storyline to address the major questions of the series. How did Area X come to be? What happened to the biologist? What was the former director of the Southern Reach trying to accomplish? And perhaps most pressing-- what is the fate of the world now that Area X has spread? Not everything is resolved, but it's definitely a conclusion.

The stories have some unifying connections, containing similar themes and callbacks/references to each other. However, for the purposes of this review I will be looking at each story and protagonist individually.

First up is Saul Evans the lighthouse keeper. He's been mentioned before, but never in much detail. Going in, we know a few things-- (1) he knew the director/Cynthia when she was a child and (2) something happened to him that turned him into the Crawler, the eldritch creature which writes the sermon on the walls of the tower in Area X. In Acceptance, we learn he's a former preacher who had a crisis of faith and left his old life, taking up the role of lighthouse keeper on the forgotten coast. It's implied this is partially due to him realizing he's gay and fleeing the resulting homophobic fallout. His past vocation explains the elevated, sermonic language of the words in the tower.

From the onset Saul is an intensely likeable character. He's trying to build a happier and more genuine life for himself. This part probably takes place during the 70s or 80s, but he's cautiously optimistic about his new life with a local fisherman named Charlie. He also forms an unlikely friendship with Gloria (aka Cynthia), a local kid who loves exploring the coast. However, he is tormented by the "Séance and Science Brigade", a shady organization that investigates/worships(?) paranormal phenomena. They sabotage the lighthouse beacon, which we learned in Authority is a marvelous piece of technology with a mysterious history. Shortly after, Saul accidentally absorbs a fragment of the beacon into himself, and shit goes downhill real fast.

While the catalyst of Area X may seem a little weird, the reader can piece together that part of the beacon has extraterrestrial origins, and Saul unintentionally activates part of it. The gradual shift from a normal life to something deeply unsettling has its appeal. I especially like seeing his logs/journal entries and how they devolve as proto-Area X overtakes his mind. The disturbing bar scene near the end is great as well. We know going in that this story has a bad ending (from a human perspective), but learning specifics about Saul as a person gives this more impact. Saul's is a sad tale of a man who wants to make a better life for himself and gets screwed over by bad luck.

Cynthia/Gloria/the former director is the next perspective character. In Annihilation she serves as the antagonist, but in Authority we learn it isn't that simple. She had ulterior motives, handpicking the biologist for the expedition in order to use her as a weapon against Area X. And, of course, we learn she was the little girl in that old picture of Saul, which means she probably grew up there before the border came down. 

This part opens with Cynthia/Gloria's death as "the psychologist" in Annihilation, but told from her perspective. From there, the pacing is a little slow, in similar style to Authority. We learn how Cynthia lived her daily life, how she infiltrated the Southern Reach, and her interpersonal relationships with Grace, Whitby, and Lowry. However, her storyline ramps up when detailing Area X and the lead up to twelfth expedition. Lots of old scenes/dynamics from Annihilation hit different with the new context. Especially interesting is the interview between Cynthia and the biologist; turns out there was a lot more context that the biologist obscured in her story. On some level we already knew she was an unreliable narrator, but it's fun to have it pop up again in a different book entirely.

I admire how VanderMeer makes someone who comes off as a throwaway villain into the one of the most complex, important characters in the series. This part is also really cool as it's written in second-person perspective, and the story justification for this (Area X examining her memories) is neat. While I like Cynthia's characterization in this part, the additional bits in Saul's story and his interactions with Gloria add helpful context and emotional impact. The end of the book being her letter to Saul is so damn sad.

The third main storyline follows Control and Ghost Bird in the "current" timeline-- exploring Area X in the immediate fallout of Authority. I love this part for several reasons. The contrast between the two leads and how they perceive themselves, Area X, and the current situation is great. Control is very much losing control, feeling "the brightness" taking over (a callback to Annihilation). Meanwhile, Ghost Bird is in her element, seeing and experiencing things the regular human characters do not. There's the sense that she's truly something "new" in terms of both humanity and Area X.

We also learn a ton of stuff about Area X that is hinted in earlier volumes but confirmed in Acceptance. (MAJOR SPOILERS) The first is that Area X isn't on Earth at all; something briefly hinted at in Annihilation, when the biologist doesn't recognize the stars in the sky.  Instead it mimics Earth, or something representative of it. The second big thing is that time works differently here. The uncanny state of decay noted in earlier books isn't actually a direct result of Area X. It's just the passage of time, because way more time passes in Area X compared to the "real" world.

The guest narrator/story is told within the Control/Ghost Bird storyline. The two meet up with Grace, who has managed to survive the Area X attack on the Southern Reach. She took shelter on the mysterious northern island and discovered an old journal written by... the biologist from Annihilation, which details what happened to her over the last THIRTY YEARS (yeah, the time thing) until she finally decided to give into Area X.

This section is sobering and sad; basically a glimpse at how the biologist's isolation slowly made her go mad. She finds an owl (hello cover) that she believes is her husband post Area X conversion and the two live together for decades. When it dies, the biologist loses the will to keep fighting Area X. It's ambiguous if the owl really is her husband, or if she's just projecting, but her heartbreak at the end is probably the strongest emotion she shows in the series. But what is interesting about this part is it confirms a cool detail. Injury and pain can halt the progression of "the brightness" within someone. Which is how the biologist managed to survive 30 years, how Grace survived what turns out to be 3 years, and so on. Even more interesting, when someone DOES finally succumb after warding off the brightness this way, they turn into something more strange and alien. Hence the moaning creature, and Saul/the Crawler. It's also probably why some creatures have incongruencies, like the dolphins with human eyes.

The biologist? She transformed into a giant, oceanic eldritch abomination COVERED in eyes. Just primo aesthetic. We get to see her from both Ghost Bird and Control's perspectives. Ghost Bird feels solidarity and a sort of euphoria meeting her alternate self. Control... basically breaks in the face of something like that, full cosmic horror style. Again, the contrast here is really appealing to me.

Both of their story arcs end in a way that is narratively satisfying, though the ending is open. The future seems hopeful in a bittersweet way, but presumably Area X has destroyed humanity as we know it. Whether that's a good or bad thing depends on your perspective and is a central thesis of the series.

So, I said I'd discuss how this series approaches aliens. While there's an appeal to anthropomorphic alien species one can talk to and communicate with, I think an "unknowable" perspective is more realistic. After all, who's to say alien life formed under similar conditions or has any resemblance to our own? The extraterrestrial element in The Southern Reach is very much this type. But it's a fine line to walk in fiction, because handwaving the weird alien stuff as impossible to comprehend (and thus conveniently ducking any responsibility for explaining it) is lazy writing when done wrong.

The thing I find interesting about this series is the human characters understand lots of the what of the alien elements, but not the why. For example, Area X transforms humans into various plants and animals. We know it instills a sense of "brightness" in humans exposed for too long, which encourages assimilation into itself. Humans infected in this way, even if horrified or resistant, have thoughts of this being inevitable, even a good thing. The biologist takes samples in Annihilation and finds several plants and animals have human cells. Control logically knows what Area X does to people, but he is ultimately helpless to resist the process when he experiences it firsthand.

As for the why of it all... we don't really know! There's multiple ideas presented throughout the story. Ghost Bird probably gets closest to the "truth"; that Area X is part of a machine organism from a dead alien civilization, and that it has a bizarre effect on Earth's biology based on its now defunct programming. Other worlds would have their own Area Xes based on this idea, as it's implied the Earth version is just one piece of many. But it's worth noting that Ghost Bird is a creation of Area X and sees things differently than the other characters. Unreliable narration is ironically consistent through the series. So it's hard to say if this is true or not; perhaps it's silly to think any explanation would be understandable to a human mind. Obsession with finding the answer is a recurring theme that drives characters insane. I think this is an interesting compromise when discussing the unknowable; to have some facts and theories but not necessarily a concrete answer. 

If I have a criticism for this book, it's the role of the "Séance and Science Brigade", especially in Saul's storyline. While they're set up earlier in the series, we only really see them in this book. Our limited perspective via Saul leaves a lot of ambiguity as to their purpose, function, and goals. There's an implication that Control's family influenced the organization's decision to sabotage the beacon and create Area X. But I consider the subplot with Control's mom/grandfather to be one of the weaker ones in the series, and this book didn't help. The S&SB comes off as campy and ineffectual, which is perhaps intentional? But since they're narratively the fanatics who caused Area X to happen, I really wish they felt more sinister and impactful. There's some attempt to make them scary, but it's not very convincing when compared to Area X. Kind of like a Saturday morning cartoon villain vs the unknowable cosmic horror of the universe. This is a nitpick, though.

While rereading the series, I discovered there's a planned fourth book which may or may not star a minor character from Saul's story. I'm interested to see what else there is to explore about Area X and the Southern Reach. As it stands, I still really like this series. Between the horror and general weirdness, it's not for everyone, but it sure does appeal to me. I think this is one of those series that you'll either adore or hate. Obviously I recommend it.

[itskaianderson]

ABOUT + RULES

ABOUT KAI

“there is nothing more dangerous in this world than a humiliated man”

Name: Kai Anderson Age: 30  (universe dependent) Sex: Male (he/him) Birthday: March 26th Zodiac: Aries Sexual orientation: Bisexual Relatives: Winter Anderson (Sister) Dr Rudy Vincent (Brother)

—

ABOUT THE BLOG

This is an independent and semi-selective blog. I will accept anon asks/questions for my character! I will not become exclusive with anyone. I may tone Kai down for RP purposes (in regards to the racist, sexist, and homophobic views he displays) Please let me know what sort of RP you would enjoy, unless you do not mind - I only wish to make it as fun as possible and not boring for you!

This blog does not support any form of hate against any form of RP. Everyone has their own ways they portray certain characters and if you the way they portray certain characters doesn't suit you, it doesn’t mean they’re playing them incorrectly. You do not have to view my blog. Nothing but respect and love here please. :)

I WILL:

- RP NSFW 

(18+ ONLY PLEASE! I AM 21, I AM LEGAL TO WRITE SMUT AND ANY SMUT CONTENT WILL BE UNDER READ MORE. I DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WANT TO RP WITH MINORS. If you are under 18, please do not sexually interact with me and my character. This goes for underaged characters too. If your character is underaged I do not want to be involved. YOU WILL BE BLOCKED IF I FIND OUT YOU HAVE BROKEN THIS RULE)

NSFW POSSIBLE CONTENT: BDSM (any form of harsh sexual content including caning, spanking, slapping, tying up, blood/knife play, sadism/masochism) DDLG/B, ORAL, HYPOXYPHILIA, DEGRADATION, DP, INTOXICATION, JOI, ZELOPHILIA

I will also explore other NSFW content as long as it is consensual! The above is what I think Kai would be into!

- RP with OCs - RP with any AHS characters  - RP crossovers and multiverses - RP AUs (check out different possible verses below!) - RP friendships / enemies 

I WILL NOT: - RP with minors (see above warning!!!) - Participate in call out culture - RP HEAVY fluff (Kai will be difficult to form a meaningful and romantic relationship with as I don’t really see Kai’s relationships being healthy at all. A fluffy and cute relationship most likely won’t happen) - RP incest

UNIVERSES

Cult Verse (Main Writing Verse)

Takes place throughout the events of the canon storyline. I particularly favour episodes 1-6 but will go deeper into madness Kai upon request.

Pre-Cult Verse

Before the events of the canon storyline. Completely up to you how this can play out eg. can be college related, before / after his parents died etc.

Post-Cult Verse

After the events of the canon storyline. Completely up to you how this can play out eg. Ghost!Kai haunts his old basement. More deets coming for this specific Kai soon!

Murder House Verse

Kai either lives in (or haunts, up to you!) the Murder House. More deets coming for this specific Kai soon!

Asylum Verse

Kai is a patient at Briarcliff Asylum. More deets coming for this specific Kai soon!

MORE VERSES EXCEPTED AND EXPECTED, THESE ONES ARE JUST THE MAIN ONES I WILL BE POSTING ABOUT FOR NOW!

WARNINGS AND DISCLAIMERS

I just want to get this across that just because I am roleplaying Kai does not mean in any way shape or form I agree with his actions and or will defend the things he has done or said. I simply enjoy his character and do not stand by any of his bigoted, misogynistic, racist world views and actions.

That being said I want to make it clear this blog will post content relating to drug abuse / addiction struggles, self - harm, mismanaged mental illnesses, suicidal / homicidal ideation, violence, and often bigoted language. I would like to stick to the character as much as possible but in terms of politics I do not know enough about this to discuss in full length, nor do I feel comfortable being bigoted etc. just for the sakes of portraying this character and would like this to be respected :)

I will tag all of my posts as best as possible and would never intend to do harm to anyone through this blog. If something does upset you however, please feel free to message me to discuss ooc!

AUTHORS NOTE

I am Katherine, I am 21, I go by she/her pronouns, I am queer! I am a busy bee and have two jobs and look after my family so there will be times when I hardly post! I would appreciate if this would be respected :) I am new to roleplaying and am super excited to talk to you all! This blog is still under construction but I just wanted to go ahead and get all this stuff out the way!

[banshee-king]

‘Rise of the Ynnari: Ghost Warrior’ Book Review

So I finished this book a while ago, but I’m only getting to the review now because reasons. Anyway, I’m going to split this review into 4 categories; Characters, Plot, Structure, and Misc. Characters is about the people and personalities of the story, plus character grow/arc and all that. Plot is the events of the story. Structure is the sentence/paragraph/chapter/overall structure of the writing. Misc is special details that should be taken into consideration, in this case, it’s the new lore that this book adds to the whole of 40k, but also how this story fits into the overall narrative of the Ynnari. I guess I’ll each a score out of 5, but I won’t do an average for the total score, since each category isn’t necessarily worth the same, and since some of these categories blur together. Anyway, spoilers ahead…

Characters: 2/5

A little less than halfway though the story, every character is put through a hallucinogenic test by the Harlequins. This test probes at each person’s weakness, which they’ll need to pass for their upcoming quest. The Harlequin Shadowseer prophesised that one would fail their test, and this is foreshadowed to be the Visarch who saw the bloody hand of Khaine, which is a symbol for betrayal. This ‘betrayal’ comes near the end of the book where the Ynnari find Eldanesh’s tomb, where the Warshard of Khaine Guards. The Warshards radiates an aura of bloodthirsty madness, which affects almost all the Ynnari army, including the Visarch. But like, there are hundreds of other Eldar present? Was this really a betrayal if the Visarch was forced, and also wasn’t the only one? Also, nothing amounts to this, the Visarch’s character doesn’t learn anything, other than the fact he lacks the same incredible willpower as the other major characters. All he does is momentarily attack Yvraine for bit. They lose nothing, learn nothing, develop nothing.

As for the Autarch Meliniel, in his test he saw Biel-Tan fall and he had to act but couldn’t do anything. Then when facing the Warshard, he resisted the urges and fought the shard of Khaine. As a reward, he gains the ability to turn into an Avatar of Khaine… despite the fact that a wraithlord also fought the Warshard, Iyanna crippled it by throwing her spear into its neck, and Yvraine did the finishing blow. But yay Meliniel? I have no idea how this relates to his test, or why Khaine would reward an Eldar for resisting him. Wouldn’t Khaine reward an Eldar for giving into their bloody urges? Also, Meliniel does very little of importance throughout the book. His defining moment is leading a couple squads of Eldar against some Genestealer cultists and being forced to flee. Yay for Biel-Tan’s greatest Autarch. Overall, like the Visarch, his personality doesn’t change, he learns nothing, and his character isn’t developed.

Now for Iyanna, she is the best character in this book, and the reason why I give the Characters section 2/5 instead of 1/5. If she were to be the main character, I’d give 2.5/5, but she wasn’t, and her underused role doesn’t make up for everything else. Unlike other characters Iyanna has an actual character arc. She has emotional vulnerability, and an actual character flaw. After loosing her family, she has become incredibly isolated and lonely, yet she won’t admit that to herself. She doesn’t want to face her sadness. This leads to her trusting people she shouldn’t, because she yearns for a new family, a new home. In this book she faces the hurtful truth and accepts the feelings she’s been hiding, she realises that she has a home/family with the Ynnari. This also aligns with the Harlequin’s test she faced earlier, so her story is more coherent than say Meliniel’s. I feel like her story could have been done better, it’s not perfect, but in comparison, Iyanna is so much more interesting than every other character in this book.

And now for Yvraine herself. I actually have a lot to say after thinking about this for a bit, so I’m going to put my thoughts about Yvraine/the Ynnari in a separate post. In short for this review, Yvraine lacks personality, an adequate character arc, she lacks chemistry with the antagonist, and she lacks emotionally investment or impact on the reader. Yvraine was present in this story, that’s it, great, but I honestly wish this entire book had been set through Iyanna’s eyes, because Yvraine’s perspective doesn’t add anything and the page space could have been better spent on Iyanna.

Finally, special mention to Iyasta and Telathaus, Azkahr, and Idraesci Dreamspear, for also being in the book, and having very little purpose whatsoever. I almost forgot they existed. As for the antagonist characters, they work well with Iyanna, Sydari was threatening/intimidating and a good foil for her. Yet they don’t really work well with the rest of the cast. The Warshard was important for the Visarch and Meliniel but wasted on Yvraine and the rest, and overall felt tacked on to the end of the book.

Plot: 2/5

The story of this book is better than Fractures of Biel-Tan, yet I still have some major gripes. My first one was that nothing was really gained. Iyanna’s character was grown and developed, Meliniel got the power to transform into Khaine, but that wasn’t the point. The original goals were to find the fifth Cronesword, and to form an alliance between Iyanden and this new Craftworld. Neither was accomplished. Iyanna reconnecting with her family and getting closure was great and all but it wasn’t on the agenda of the Ynnari’s goals, and this book is meant to be about the Ynnari.

This book suffers from the same problem that so many Eldar books do, it doesn’t seem to understand what its audience wants. The only people reading this are fans of Eldar, so a story that feature two groups of Eldar killing each other isn’t great. A bunch of Eldar die in this, as if they don’t die enough already when they’re the antagonists. Like seriously, there’s a squad of Howling Banshees in this book that did very little and could have nearly survived, but just had to die at the end, because we can’t have an Eldar book without an obligatory Banshee killing.

Like this book kills the Avatar of Khaine twice. TWICE! The first one gets corrupted by Genestealers, and the second one is said to be the greatest shard of Khaine ever, and it stills dies. Like BL now has to get creative with how humiliating they kill off Khaine. I swear they’ll make Khaine die of childbirth before they let him be cool. The fact that this mystical manifestation of the concept of murder and strife is now some toy that Meliniel can activate with the push of a button is even more humiliating. Making Khaine serve Ynnead is also degrading.

Additionally, the whole point of getting Iyanden’s Ghost Warriors to go with the Ynnari was pointless, as was the conflict of getting the noble houses to rally their warriors. In terms of worldbuilding and showing their culture it was fine, but the book could have easily been rewritten to not include them. The Ghost Warriors only show up for one battle near the end, but it’s so one sided, that you could have easily changed it so that the Ynnari won on their own. Iyanna tagging along was fine, but how many pages were wasted on the politics of Iyanden, when it ultimately didn’t go anywhere? Too many characters had plotlines that didn’t go anywhere, too much time was spent worldbuilding things that didn’t matter to this story, just too much stuff could have been cut out in general.

Structure: 2.5/5

Again, this book is better than say ‘Fracture of Biel-Tan’, but it’s not great. It’s more coherent/straightforward, the descriptions of things and locations were good, dialogue was fine, but the pacing was a little weird. They don’t reach Zaisuthra until halfway through the book, despite being the main focus, and the plotlines that go nowhere don’t help. The battle between the Ynnari and the Zaisuthrans is also incredibly short and is glossed over too much for my liking. I just feel unsure what this book was trying to showcase. If this book was exploring Iyanden or Iyanna than so many chapters feel pointless. If Yvraine was to be the main focus than why was so much time spent elsewhere. Meliniel feels like he should be a major character, yet he has such a small presence, and none of his scenes seem connected to his final test against the Warshard.

I mean this book is called Ghost Warrior, but it features them so little. Spiritseer would have been a batter choice in my opinion. I just feel like this book was messy, and the overall story would have been so much more concise if it wasn’t trying to show all these characters/worlds, without actually putting the time in to do them properly.

Yet my worst complain has to be the second person intro. I really didn’t like the introduction to this book that spoke directly to me the reader. I want to escape into this fictional world, not have a conversation with the author. When it talks about tales too complex to retell here, or asks if I would doubt the reliability of the narrator, it just annoys me. I don’t need to be told “we join Yvraine in the garden of Nurgle”, just show me it. Another striking moment was when the Ynnari landed on Zaisuthra, and the book basically said “imagine that there was suitable festivities because I can’t be bothered describing it”. Like, this book’s structure is fine, acceptable, but it’s nothing to write home about.

Miscellaneous: 2.5/5

Although I complained about the worldbuilding not feeling like it belonged in this story, or dragged down the pacing, it was good. I liked the snippets of lore we get from this book, I like the portrayal of Iyanden and Zaisuthra. I really don’t like the entire plotline of the Warshard however, I wish it didn’t exist, and I’m not looking forwards to seeing that in other books.

However, this book also added questions to things I thought I understood before, and that’s not good. Although I’m still going to mark it off against this book for complicating a matter that wasn’t complicated before, I’d like someone to answer this for me, do the Eldar still worship their gods? Specifically Craftworld Eldar here, because this book pointed out how strange it was for the Zaisuthran’s to still be worshipping the “Old Gods” like Asuryan, Isha, or Vaul. Yet they don’t worship Cegorach apparently? I know they wouldn’t worship Ynnead because he’s so new, but I’m now confused as to who worships what. Like Iyanna thinks the Gods abandoned them in the War of Heaven, and the Ynnari don’t care when destroyed Zaisuthra about crushed the monuments to dead gods. Yet is Craftworld Iybraesil and Yme-Loc not dedicated to Morai-Heg and Vaul respectively?

I’m so confused. I enjoy the little bits of worldbuilding in this book, but the Warshard and perhaps this… I just… if GW has made the Craftworld Eldar atheists, I’m going to be so pissed.

Conclusion:

This book is bad. I really want to like the Ynnari and Yvraine, but there’s just so many problems. Like I don’t even think this book is that well written. Even if you want to know about the Ynnari, this book doesn’t add much that the others don’t. I don’t even give that much insight into the Ghost Warriors. Read if you want to learn about Iyanna, otherwise just skip in my opinion. =/

[myxcenterxstage]

Meta: Priscilla's Motivation in Survival Mode ... and a whole lotta analysis

Author’s Note: This meta is primarily focused on v: Sail On, but can also reflect her character motivation in other verses.

TLDR; just jump to part 3 for the survival mode motivation stuff. But parts 1 & 2 help it make more impactful sense.

Part 1: A Character Analysis Pre-Franklin Expedition

So, let’s first take a quick look at Priscilla’s “Prologue” - her life growing up under the guardianship of her Uncle Charles Kimbleton.

Priscilla’s personality is slightly different in her verse v: Sail On. SLIGHTLY. She’s still her kind, buoyant and quirky self, but she’s also a lot more badass. She’s not afraid to get her hands dirty and isn’t interested in her debutante ceremony or who she’s going to marry. Nope. In this verse, Priscilla’s free-spirited “Wild Child” side is more prominent with her insatiable sense of wanderlust, wanting nothing more than to indulge her obsession with exploring the world as her Uncle Charles’ second-in-command and record their discoveries as a Natural Historian.

She imagines herself as the heroine of her own story she’s going to write about someday, or at least tag along for a grand adventure with like-minded people until she can accomplish that.

Besides v: Sail On being a great high seas & survival story, I like to think it has an underlying coming of age aspect where Priscilla comes into her own, because, granted, she’s a mess of contradictions.  

She’s afraid of commitment and marriage… but she’s a hopeless romantic.

She’s a bit of a rebel to Victorian stereotypes… but she’s so self-conscience of what others perceive of her even if she claims she doesn’t care.

She’s independent… but is so vulnerable and impressionable and wants to be rescued by a hero that’ll sweep her off her feet.

She knows who she is and what she wants… but keeps seeking validation from others.

She’s insightful and a delight to be around and sometimes wiser beyond her years… but is emotionally immature and has a track record of recklessly foolish & impulsive decisions.

She has the courage to stand up to always do the right thing… but when she’s faced with a challenge she runs away from it.

Do you see where I’m getting at?

(I guess you could leave it as she’s a complex character… or I’m still trying to fully grasp her personality as an OC. I’d love some feedback on these ‘contradictions’!)

Part 2: The Aftermath of Uncle Charles’ Disappearance

So, Uncle Charles. He doesn’t physically appear in this verse per se, but boy does he remain an indirect main character.

No matter where in the world they were, Uncle Charles was Priscilla’s ‘home’. He was her bodyguard, her mentor, her storyteller, her shoulder to cry on, and most importantly her conscience to curb her foolishness as she was still growing up. The Kimbleton family isn’t exactly small, but Charles was by far the most genuine. Charles wasn’t just an uncle - he loved and cherished Pris as though she was his own daughter. (Since Charles was a widower who never remarried, I think that’s why Priscilla maybe even learned to cope with grief in this verse surprisingly well all thanks to him too.)

Uncle Charles was certainly one of the biggest influences in Priscilla’s life, and who encouraged her curiosity and scientific obsessions contrary to other relatives who wanted to repress it in favor of her becoming the stereotypical Victorian house-wife.

Unfortunately, Charles was also someone she lost at all too dependable a time. And it was probably a bigger catastrophe than whatever happened to her parents that brought her into Charles’ custody to begin with. Everything that represented her sense of security was ripped away from her, and she was left with a void she didn’t know how to fill.

Even at the urging of her other relatives, she refused to host - or attend - the funeral held in honor of Charles years after his disappearance. Maybe, just maybe, he would come back. Maybe, even against all odds.

But she didn’t know. What was closure? A part of her didn’t even want to believe he was gone.

And now without him, she became an open target of vulnerability.

This also begins a new, very prominent flaw in Priscilla’s character: her strong sense of denial and running away from her problems given the quickest opportunity. Left to her own devices Priscilla tries to hold on to every good thing her Uncle raised her with, all while struggling to cope with loss and fend off her inevitable foolishness.

{{ Insert Backstory & Priscilla’s Scandal Here }}

Part 3: Franklin Expedition Disaster & Survival ::  From glory... to desperation… to reality.

Okay NOW. Finally to the part we’ve all been waiting for!! THIS is what I had the Eureka for earlier that started this whole meta to begin with!!

So, fast forward to Priscilla running away from scandal and boarding the HMS Terror. She feels she struck gold by being able to follow her dream and her “running away from home” paid off. Fast forward again from the new friendships Priscilla makes and secret crushes and buds of platonic cuteness and everything happy in Baffin Bay etc.

Fast forward again to Priscilla hearing Sir John’s announcement about them sailing straight into the ice pack since they’re so ‘close’. Fast forward again through Priscilla’s impression of Sir John unraveling once they’re stuck in the ice.

At that moment, nothing was more terrifying than the great unknown to Priscilla. She had no place to run.

Parts of her personality she didn’t know existed came out after the ships were stuck in that ice:

Bitterness. Anxiousness. Volatility. Fragility. Restlessness. Fear.

Beneath her thin veneer of mandatory bravery and blind desire to wish things could turn for the better was a mess of emotions she was so desperately trying to suppress. Almost overnight she picked up random nervous habits. Outbursts of skittish laughter, speaking her mind out of place, trivial chatter, zoning out. Sporadic enough to not be of concern, but noticeable to those who knew her well. And all the while she had this gnawing sense of jitteriness to always do something amidst constantly feeling so helpless.

As the tragedy continues, she grows quieter - her radiance dimmer. Her optimism that was fueled by denial slowly comes crashing down into the reality of the frightening dark caverns of her own mind. Writhing in bitterness over Sir John’s hubris that sentenced them all to death, she had begun to realize that she too perhaps had made an impulsively reckless mistake to volunteer herself to begin with.

And once the Tuunbaq attacks begun, she quickly realized they had no place to hide either.

So there was only one option left: she had to fight to survive.

And this, my friends, is when the lioness was awoken. While her struggle between the solace of denial (which still fueled her optimism outside of a genuinely happy moment) was ever-present, and her blind wishful thinking might have helped her to not cripple under from the stress… when backed against the wall of brutal truth she was beginning to realize she had no choice but to unavoidably reckon with herself, which was long overdue. Admit their predicament for what it was, admit her decisions and behavior as a runaway was foolish, admit her feelings of lostness in a cruel world, and admit even though she was not strong enough to face London’s gossip of her she never should have acted so rashly with herself in retaliation. (Let alone other things she may or may not have done on the voyage... to be determined)

But at least in this dead end, she wasn’t doomed to navigating it alone.

After losing her only family, she had gained a new one on this expedition. 129 new family members to be exact, regardless of how well or little she knew them. No matter how many lives she grieved each passing week, she wouldn’t have wanted to trade anything to not know those she especially held dear. And collectively they all shared one supportive notion in common: They needed to survive.

And then, after a burdensome night when she had hit an emotional breaking point and poor medicinal side effects induced a fevered outbreak where she was delusionally mistaking Captain Crozier for her Uncle Charles… the following sober morning she came to an unexpected realization.

Call it the beginnings of madness from the lead poisoning, or her desperation to hold on to whatever threads of hope she possibly could, but a new question of ‘what if?’ became her new obsession:

What if Uncle Charles was in fact still alive? Just like them?

Somewhere, someplace - it felt almost tangibly real to her. The years of disappearing from the face of the earth and civilization - and yet still not dead.

Thus, her own independent motivation to survive against all odds in these Arctic conditions emerged. It fueled the promise she made to her new friends that they’d press on. Ignited the motivation lent her by others. She found a new purpose: not for only herself in the end, but for those who mattered to her. 

And if Charles had the strength to survive wherever he was all this time - then she would do the same. And maybe, just maybe if in these years her Uncle returned home - just like Priscilla knew they could eventually, someday - she would want nothing more than to live so she could run into his loving arms once again.

Come what may, she would march on. She wanted to live. To survive. To love. And most of all, she wanted to make sure her new family would too.

[dailyaudiobible]

07/26/2021 DAB Transcript

2 Chronicles 17:1-18:34, Romans 9:25-10:13, Psalm 20:1-9, Proverbs 20:2-3

Today is the 26th day of July, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible, I’m Brian. July, July, I guess that’s how we say it here in the South. It's the 26th day of July and it's great to be here with you today as we move into this new week, get settled in and make the right choices with the right posture of heart and actually have a wonderful week. If we do that we’ll be oriented to God and so one of the ways that we do that every day is to come to the Scriptures. And so, let's dive in, we’re reading from the New English Translation this week, continuing…continuing our journey through 2 Chronicles today, chapters 17 and 18.

Commentary:

Okay, let’s take a few seconds here to explore what Paul is saying in this letter to the Romans in our reading from today. And let's begin with…with this and I quote Paul “the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness, obtained it, that is a righteousness that is by faith, but Israel even though pursuing a law of righteousness did not attain it. Why not? Because they pursued it, not by faith but as if it were possible by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.” In so many ways those couple of sentences really do explain the rift or the rub, like why Paul gets controversial because what Paul is saying here is a reinterpretation of their understanding of the law and that is a big deal for people practicing Judaism and understanding that…they…the goal, their goal is to obey the law and if they obey the law that that will be credited to them as righteousness before God. In other words, their…their humble obedience to God's law is their service to God and it is how they…how they achieve some form of righteousness. Paul's argument is that that's not really the purpose of the law, which is why this then gets controversial and why people want to kill Paul. Paul is ultimately saying is the law is perfect and if somebody could obey that law perfectly, then it is a…it is a path to perfection. However, it can't be done, which actually is the underlying point, it can't be done. So, everything that you do to obey the law, is an act of righteousness and is a good thing. But if you're trying to achieve righteousness before God, because you obey this, you invariably will fail because you will not be able to be perfect. You will not be able to adhere to it perfectly always, so that on your own, you can claim that you are righteous. Paul's argument is that it is good, but that it also is there to reveal that we cannot achieve it on our own, that we cannot become righteous on our own before God. That is something that is bestowed not earned. That is a gift given, not something that you are earning or getting paid for and that gift is freely offered to anyone who believes through faith which is interesting because we’re sort of preprogram that we gotta go through all the hard stuff we gotta do all of these things to achieve something or another. When this is gift, a very, very different thing. A gift of unmerited favor, a gift that we don't deserve, a gift that the law shows us we can never earn, but it’s given to us. This is controversial for the Jewish people hearing Paul. And…and I quote Paul “brothers and sisters, my heart's desire and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites is for their salvation. For I can testify that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not in line with the truth for ignoring the righteousness that comes from God and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God's righteousness, for Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes.” Right, and so that's exactly what we’re just talking about. Paul is saying that they are seeking by adherence to the law to establish their own righteousness. In other words, they’re building up their alone right standing with God through their adherence to this law, Paul is saying that's not the point. The point is that yes, with all of your heart you should try to obey this law while understanding that you can't do it perfectly. You will not achieve righteousness and that's the point. You try to do the right thing. You will realize that in your own strength you are incapable of perfection, you throw up your hands in surrender and say I can't do it, which is the point or as Paul says Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes. And then Paul unpacks that, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes and thus has righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation. For the Scripture says, and I continue to quote Paul “for the Scripture says, everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek”, right, so the Jew and the Gentile, “for the same Lord is Lord of all, who richly blesses all who call on Him, for everyone calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” So, the bottom line here in the Christian faith is that we need to be righteous before God, but we cannot attain righteousness before God no matter what we do, can do all the right things but eventually we’re going to do something wrong, we cannot achieve perfection and righteousness before God on our own and we don't have to. It is a gift and when we realize this, the utter relief of it all. Like, we’re not walking around wondering when we’re going to get smashed some way. We’re not having to live our lives as if God is in some distant region of the universe so appalled by our very breathing. That's not how He looks at us. He looks at us as righteous. He looks at us like we were intended to be, He looks at us and sees this process of restoration because God is a Redeemer. He redeems what He touches. And when we believe He touches us, it is available. So, we can try our best to be our best and that is a good thing. But if we’re trying to achieve perfection before God, so that He will either do nice things for us, or not be mad at us, we’re after…we’re doing something that's not going to provide those results. We already have them. It's already been given to us; He already sees us that way. He would like it if we would live as if we saw ourselves that way because if we did, then we would be the light of the world and we would be able to show through our very lives, an example that there is another way to be in this world; a way to be true. A way to not be false. This is the invitation of the gospel and so we’ve got it very, very clear in Romans today.

If you’ve been tagging along here at the Daily Audio Bible every day since the beginning of the year because you can't get on board, church culture, but you really do desire to know what’s in the Bible; be confused about the subculture and all the things that are going on the different rifts and battles that just got waged on social media and this kind of stuff. And you’re here just to find out what the Bible actually says, then you've come to this moment. Maybe this is your time. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe that, believe it in your heart believe that God raised him from the dead, and that is what He's going to do for each of us, then you will be saved.

Prayer:

And so, Father, we thank You for that. That is the reality we are supposed to be living into. That is the thing that is supposed to be our normal. You aren’t angry and vengeful toward us, that you are a loving Father toward us, one that we can come to boldly and intimately that we have an intimate relationship like a father and a child would. And we’ve been told all kinds of things about what You will and won't do and who You will and won't do it with and how You will get Your will done. We acknowledge here in this moment that Your will is that we would believe You and that we would enter into an intimate and personal relationship with You where everything that we know about You, isn't something that's being passed around from somebody else. It's what we know of You because we know You. And so, come Holy Spirit into this journey we pray. And we thank You for those who are beginning this journey in this moment. Come Holy Spirit we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it’s the website, it’s where you find out what's going on around here. Totally forgot yesterday, I totally forgot: Happy birthday Ezekiel. Ezekiel, Daily Audio Bible kids Ezekiel, our son. I don’t know how I spaced out, he turned nine yesterday as we began this week. Of course, we didn't forget to talk about it over on Daily Audio Bible kids, but happy birthday Ezekiel, your ninth birthday. And yeah, first time through the New Testament all the way through in your eighth and ninth year and I’m so proud of that little man. So happy birthday Ezekiel. Let’s see what else, well dailyaudiobible.com is where you find out what's going on around so definitely check that out, especially the Community section and this can be accessed from within the Daily Audio Bible app as well using the drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner. But the Community section, that's where all the links are to get connected on social media which is a good idea, even if you’re just following Daily Audio Bible, that way, announcements, stuff like that come your way, but it’s also a place to get connected. But even more, that's where the Prayer Wall lives and the Prayer Wall is always on and never off. You can always go there and pray for your brothers and sisters and let them know, let them know that they're being prayed for, but you can also have a place you can go to matter what time of day or night it is and just ask for prayer. And so, we’re a Community that prays for each other. It's one of our finest distinctives. So, knowing about the Prayer Wall is important, so check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well there is a link on the homepage. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner. Or the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996 Springhill, Tennessee 37174.

And as always if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, which is the little red button up at the top and share from there, no matter where you are in the world, or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that's it for today, I’m Brian, I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Prayers and Encouragements:

Hello fellow DABers, my name is Liz and I live in Stockport in England near Manchester. I was listening this morning and I heard Traded Possession talking about being autistic and being very anxious about the changes that are about to happen in her life with her husband getting a new job and moving away or going out of the household and disrupting her routine. I have a daughter who’s autistic and was only diagnosed when she was 34. She has had loads of problems and I know that it’s always worse for her when there are changes in her life. But I also know that through prayer and her efforts she has always managed to come through to the other side. I now realize knowing a lot more about how hard it is for people with autism to cope in a newer atypical world and I just wanted to reach out to Traded Possession and say that your message really touched my heart and I shall be praying really hard for you, especially on Monday and for the next foreseeable future that everything starts to go okay for you and that you cope and are given strength to cope. Take care. God Bless.

Aba Father I'm calling about your child Treasured Possession. She’s such a blessing to all of us. And now she’s facing some problems on her own. She used to the structure of having her husband around her and her grandchildren. And because of the good news that her husband is able to go back to work and her grandchildren will be able to go back to their normal lives, her structure is falling apart and she's reached out for help, her name is Treasured Possession. And I know she is your treasured possession. Please, Aba, let her feel your presence, fill the gaps that are made by her husband and her grandchildren, leaving. Help her to be able to establish a routine with You and feel Your preference to uphold her and keep her steady. Help her to feel safe and if it be Your will bring a trusted friend into her life to also help fill that empty spot. I know you love her, we love her but you love her more than we can imagine, so I left her up to you in Jesus mighty name. Amen.

Hey fellow DABers this is D in Florida. I’ve been listening for about a year and off and on and heard everybody's prayers. And have held you in my heart. I’m really needing some prayers myself right now. As of five years back I’ve just been in this funk that started with the loss of my husband in a violent motorcycle accident. Followed by losing my mom to Alzheimer's, followed by having an accident that caused me to break bones in my ankle and need surgery to install hardware and it was a long rehabilitation by myself. Then lost my dad about eight months ago. So, really feeling like an orphan don't have any children and I'm dealing with a lot of lack of motivation, lack of energy. My house is just a cluttered mess and I really need spiritual intervention. If you could keep me in your prayers, I’d appreciate it. Thank you.

Hey DABers, this is Katie in Kentucky and I cannot believe that I’m calling to tell you guys this. Back in February I started diligently, consistently praying about my job for this Fall as I was working on my teaching degree. And in the past two months I had interviewed for nine positions, five in the past week and got rejected for basically everything and three rejections on Friday alone. And Friday night, got the call for my #1 choice job that I have been wanting and praying and praying and praying for from the beginning and I’m just in awe of God right now. I am so excited so I’ve called in for prayer about this before, thank you for all the DABers who have prayed for me about my job. I am ecstatic to announce that I will be a Kindergarten teacher at the school that I’ve been at ___ Learning Village and God is just so good. I’ve had so many people praying for me and praying with me and rejection after rejection for all the things that were wrong. So, encouragement everyone out there who is waiting for the right thing and feels like nothing is turning out, just getting constant rejections. If I had been accepted for any of these eight other jobs that I wouldn’t be…then this perfect one wouldn’t be there. So, encouragement to you guys today and just celebrating along. God is so good. Have a blessed day.

Hi, this is Victorious Soldier just calling to pray for some of the DABers. I want to pray for Adrian Graffeson the one who died last night that Laura Lee was telling us about, I want to pray for that family. I also want to pray for the disciple that loves me in Ohio, I want to pray for her 15-year-old daughter who don’t know Christ and also Joe the Protector daughter and all of the young people that don’t know Christ. Because you are our future and we need you all the be guided in God’s perfect will. I wanna pray for those who are going through with … and need assistance and I wanna just pray for all of our DABers who are all having challenges and who have lost their loved ones: Kingdom Seeker’s son and Joe the Protector’s daughter and the Piano Man and bless him in his endeavors. Gracious Father we just ask You to bless our people. Bless those that lost their loved ones Lord, even in my life, my neighbor across the street died on yesterday and I didn’t even know it, I went outside and the family told me today. So many are dying and we need to reach out and lettem know about Christ Lord. We just ask you to touch those families Lord. And love their precious loved ones and strengthen them and guide them Father in the name of Jesus. Those who are having problems getting around, those who are having challenges, they need finances, they need guidance, even my two brothers have Corona Virus, I pray for those that are going through the sickness with Corona Virus and even just sickness period. I ask You to touch Lord. You are the great physician.

[airadam]

Episode 136 : Protection

"I'm a walking heart attack, looking for somebody to happen..."

- Boogieman

Still shut up in the house for the most part, which at least gives me a chance to really dig through my crates, vinyl and otherwise! This month's selection has some great recent records, some older underground favourites, and a mix segment I've been wanting to do for ages - figured this episode was as good a time as any!

Twitter : @airadam13

Twitch : @airadam13

Playlist/Notes

Mac Ayres : Shadows

If nothing else, this enforced time spent in the house has yielded some great musical discoveries. I heard this cut on a DJ Jazzy Jeff Twitch session, and bought it immediately as soon as I found out what it was! Mac Ayers is a singer/songwriter/instrumentalist from Long Island, and if he's already turning out material like this in his early 20s, I can only imagine what it'll be with more experience. This is a highlight on last year's "Juicebox" album, and one that those who enjoy the modern soul sound will almost certainly enjoy!

[DJ Premier] Prhyme : My Calling (Instrumental)

This beat from "Prhyme 2" is so, so good. DJ Premier continues to turn out fresh creations over thirty years since his debut, with more different styles than he's often given credit for. The pianos sound like falling rain, the low end is the solid ground, and everything else fits perfectly around them.

Ski Beatz & Stalley : Gentlemen's Quarterly

Smooth from the lyrics to Ski Beatz' sophisticated production, this is a cut I'd managed to forget about until I rediscovered it in my collection recently. Find it on the "Ski Beatz 24 Hour Karate School Presents Twilight" (snappy!) LP, if you can find a reasonably-priced copy!

LL Cool J ft. Keith Murray, Prodigy, Fat Joe, and Foxy Brown : I Shot Ya (Remix)

A classic from the mid-90s. LL brought in some of the hottest MCs of the time alongside a young Foxy Brown making her on-record debut for a Trackmasters-produced street banger. The "Mr. Smith" album is the source for this often-sampled gem.

O.C. & Organized Konfusion : You Won't Go Far

Unapologetic boom-bap from this all-NYC combination, taken from the second volume of the "New Jersey Drive" soundtrack. Of all the tracks on that release, it's the one that hews closest to the plot of the film itself, which itself makes it a standout in the world of 90s Hip-Hop/R&B soundtracks! OK self-produced this one, and rather than give each MC a verse each, they split each verse between the three of them for more of a tag-team feel.

Rise : Make Sure That We Win

Note: I got this wrong on the voiceover - this is a Beatminerz beat, not DJ Spinna. Spinna produced the excellent "Part of the Game" on the same EP.

Rise is an MC out of Brooklyn and the Demigodz crew, who has a knack for punchlines and quotables within a laid back style - he just seems puzzled by wack MCs most of the time! The Beatminerz provide the beat with the fuzzbox guitars moving all over the soundscape and the classic boom-bap drum style and some sub bass to give it the heft. DJ Evil Dee of Da Beatminerz rounds things out with his cuts for the hook. Grab this and a couple of other great tracks on the 2003 "The Intro..." EP.

Pete Rock : Air Smoove

"Petestrumentals 2" may not become the low-key icon that the first instalment did, but don't sleep on it - it's still Pete Rock on the beats, after all.  I keep going back to it and finding myself enjoying tracks more and more, with this being a prime example.

Above The Law ft. 2Pac and Money B : Call It What U Want

I once nearly got into a fight (the other guy was heated) when I off-handedly mentioned that I remembered when 2Pac had been a dancer for Digital Underground - but it was true, and there was never any shame in it! Anyway, it was also with that crew that he made initial strides onto the mic, and after going solo himself, this was one of his first features, alongside Money B from DU. Above The Law's "Black Mafia Life", from which this is taken, is one of the most overlooked albums that could claim the accolade of "classic" when you listen to how it sounded and how early it was made - I strongly recommend that every listener seeks it out for an end-to-end hearing. It's striking to realise that of the four MCs on this cut, only two are still with us today - RIP 2Pac and KMG.

DJ Quik ft. Pharoahe Monch & K.K. : Murda 1 Case

An absolute stomper from Compton's finest, leading with the piano, keeping the drums hard but simple (kicks on 1 and 3 only, snares on 2 and 4), and three MCs going at it. On this clear standout on 2002's "Under Tha Influence", the underrated Quik holds his own against one of the best to pick up a mic, and shows the confidence and intelligence as a producer to know that this was the man to bring in for the closing verse.

De La Soul : Verbal Clap

Many years after their debut, De La remind you that they can get busy on a state-of-the-art thumping beat with no problem - in this case, a masterful creation by J Dilla, one of two on 2004's "The Grind Date". Dave's rhyme style here is extra raw and he dominates by sheer brute force, standing out even on an album where De La sound highly-motivated overall. If you don't yet know it, it's well worth your while to search it out and have a proper listen.

Mr. Scruff ft. Broke 'n' English : Listen Up

Manchester all the way on this track, with the DJ and producer Mr Scruff getting the drumline mad active with a nice bassline, and Strategy and DRS of Broke 'n' English bringing all the local flavour on the mic. This great cut is on the flip of the also-excellent "Nice Up The Function" 12", which is now available digitally - so no difficulty in finding a copy!

[The Neptunes] Busta Rhymes : Pass The Courvoisier, Part II (Instrumental)

A great party beat, one to get people moving even without Busta and Pharrell's vocals!

AZ : Take Care Of Me

From his very first LP, AZ was flowing over soul/R&B samples, so it wasn't a reach for him to make a track like this for "Aziatic", his fourth. Precision soundtracks it with a "no samples" approach which for the non-Bad Boy producers tended to be the move for the club/radio tracks, and it's aged fairly well. AZ's lyrics are definitely reflective of the time - cellphones are so unremarkable in 2020!

Krumb Snatcha ft. Boogieman : Oxygen

Krumb Snatcha is pretty much as rugged as it gets, but here he shows that while he can give you an underground street classic like "Closer To God", there's still time to have fun! This track from his second LP "Respect All, Fear None" isn't what you might expect from KS but I think he did a solid job here. Nottz' beat bumps and burbles with a solid low end, and the guest MC Boogieman, who's already collaborated with him previously, steals the show with a casually disrespectful closing verse - not a particularly technical one, but entertaining!

Mic Geronimo : Nothin' Move But The Money

This record was hated when it came out, of all the tracks in this section, it was the most blatant pander to the pop audience - after all, Puffy (now Diddy) was the producer! This was amplified by the fact that Queens' own Mic Geronimo was a darling of the underground scene after his excellent debut LP "The Natural", and this is a million miles away stylistically. "Vendetta" was a big change, and arguably a bit of a career killer because of it. Have a look at the video - every so often, Mic actually looks pretty uncomfortable! 

Goodie Mob ft. Big Boi and Backbone : Get Rich To This

This was the next most derided track when it was released - if someone else had recorded it, it may have been received for what it was, but again, this was a serious sonic whiplash for anyone who had heard "Soul Food" or "Still Standing". It was still Organized Noize on production, still the same MCs (plus guests), but definitely not what people were expecting, by and large. I can't front though - I kind of liked it even then! The "World Party" LP is the source for this one.

[Kenny Dope] L Swift : Ride This (Instrumental)

Crispy clean drums and a nice guitar line are the highlights of this beat from a 2000 12" by one of the MCs from the incredible Natural Elements (now reformed, with L Swift as Swigga). The vocal version features A Butta from NE and the B-side is produced by Spinna, so well worth picking up if you see it!

Toots & The Maytals : Funky Kingston

We close the episode with the title track of the 1973 album by the reggae legend "Toots" Hibbert, who passed away this month at the age of 77, and his band. The throatiness of his delivery on this classic cut does bring to mind the American funk godfather James Brown, but the message and the groove is pure yard. It may be almost fifty years old now, but still moves a dancefloor with ease!

Please remember to support the artists you like! The purpose of putting the podcast out and providing the full tracklist is to try and give some light, so do use the songs on each episode as a starting point to search out more material. If you have Spotify in your country it's a great way to explore, but otherwise there's always Youtube and the like. Seeing your favourite artists live is the best way to put money in their pockets, and buy the vinyl/CDs/downloads of the stuff you like the most!

Check out this episode!

[roseverdict]

1) Why did you choose your url?

This one actually goes back to…ohhh, the school year of 7th grade or so, so that'd put it at 2011/2012-ish. Either that or I'm still terrible at math and ages. xD I'm sitting in Spanish class, bored out of my MIND because the teacher refuses to move on until everyone in the class "gets it" and we've been stuck on the sort of stuff you learn from Dora the Explorer for MONTHS (and that's not even counting the previous year, where we got stuck on this same material AGAIN) and it's all because the same couple of kids think learning Spanish is stupid and refuse to do anything when you really really want to learn more than how to say color words and count to ten and WHY CAN'T WE JUST TURN TO PAGE 15 IT'S APRIL FOR GOX'S SAKE-!

Ahem.

The point is, I was bored and ADHD, so my brain went "haha 'rosa y verde' kinda looks like 'rose and verdict'" and then "HAHA ROSE VERDICT KINDA LOOKS LIKE A NAME" and then Rose Verdict as a concept lived in my mind rent-free until I started making online accounts for things.

2) Any sideblogs? If any, name them and why you have them

I have a couple, but the only one I really try to update regularly is @rosie-v-does-stuff, my art/miscellany blog. Haven't, uh…touched it in months tho aosjsosskskdn.

I have a couple of Prince Fluff RP-ish blogs (@patchy-boye-and-co @yarn-prince-suggestions) but the shame of losing my Kirby fixation without warning haunts me to this day and i haven't been able to bring myself to be active on them skdhskdnskdjd

Oh and. I made @disney----official just for a joke wodbsidnskdjsk

Also a vent blog but I'm not sharing the url because it's exclusively for me <3

there are a few more but at this point i just have them for archival purposes so they don't spawn a bunch of dead links sodjskdnsdk

3) How long have you been on tumblr?

I mean, I actively followed the exploits of one blog in particular starting in like 2014, but I never actually made an account of my own until 2016. We're in year 5, folks!

Shoutout to @transcendence-au for being an absolutely BALLER Gravity Falls AU btw!!!

4) Do you have a queue tag?

Yep! #how dare queue! The real question is "do I use the queue tag?"

The answer is no, no I don't.

5) Why did you start your blog in the first place?

Sometime in 2016, my 3DS internet browser stopped being able to access tumblr, and in my first big move of "being motivated by pure spite," I went "screw you, i'll make an account so I don't lose track of this blog I like!" and then I did.

6) Why did you choose your icon/pfp?

IT ME. IT ME AND I DREW IT. :DDD

i will physically fistfight the urge to hate my own stuff

7) Why did you choose your header?

Originally, it was a photo of a brick I thought was funny in my high school choir room- it had been painted by a previous graduate to look like a chain-link fence with a sign on it reading "WARNING: This is a fake brick. The real brick will be delivered shortly" or something along those lines. It has since evolved into, well…this. I found a gif by @xxxsarihartxxx and. welp. if anything could encompass this absolute mess of a blog, it's that. DOSJDOSNDKDJ

8) What's your post with the most notes?

I'm pretty sure it's…actually gimme a second.

YEAH so when my youngest brother Fridge was like 6 he drew some Undertale fanart on his LeapPad (sidenote, as someone who grew up on The Original LeapPad I feel so betrayed by leapfrog skdbsjxbsjxdb) and had me post it online. To this day it's my highest-note-ified post and I can't say I'm mad about it.

9) How many mutuals do you have?

heck if i know lol

10) How many followers do you have?

1915. dear snord where the FUCK did you all come from sodhskdjskdjdl 👁️👄👁️ (affectionate)

11) How many people do you follow?

1387 YEET

12) Have you ever made a shitpost?

A better question might be, when am I not shitposting? (fic and occasional art posts notwithstanding sixjskxdj)

13) How often do you use Tumblr each day?

Currently I think I spend a combined…oh, it's gotta be 4-6 hours between morning browsing, lunch break, and bedtime scrolling. This is an improvement upon my previous "terminally online" status before April and my new job started.

14) Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? Who won?

Sometimes the discourse monsters find me and I try to make my point(s), if for no other reason than to try and convince other tumblrites who might stumble across the thread, but generally, I try not to pick fights.

15) How do you feel about "you need to reblog this" posts?

Not a fan. If it's an important post re:world events or somebody's gofundme or something, I'd probably have reblogged regardless. Posts that're like "reblog if (funny thing)" are neat tho.

16) Do you like tag games?

heck yeah (even if i'm terrible at responding most of the time)

17) Do you like ask games?

HECK YEAH (even though i'm even WORSE about responding to these)

18) Which of your mutuals do you think is Tumblr Famous?

see, that's just it. I DON'T KNOW. i'll think somebody has thousands upon thousands of followers and then they'll post "100 follower special" or the other way around! yall should be tho, you're cool :D

19) Do you have a crush on a mutual?

*smiles in aroace*

20) Tags?

this would be the part where i'd knack my cruckles and tag people but i think my phone's on the verge of exploding as-is so uhhh CONSIDER YOURSELF TAGGED WODJSODNDDKDN

check-in tag!

thank you. @bitnotgood28 for the tag i appreciate it <33

1) why did you choose your url ?

i thought it was clever tbh

2) any side-blogs ? if you have them, name them and why you have them

nope i have no idea how they work

3) how long have you been on tumblr ?

well i’ve had this account for a while but i didn’t start actually being active until probably three to four weeks ago?

4) do you have a queue tag ?

i... do not

 5) why did you start your blog in the first place

i was banned on twitter so i finally figured out how this stupid but lovely app works <3

6) why did you choose your icon/pfp ?

pride month!! rainbow!!!

7) why did you choose your header ?

again, pride month. and larry because they are my loves

8) what’s your post with the most notes ?

this one comparing the umbro shirt to the blue bandana <3

9) how many mutuals do you have ?

um i’m not sure

10) how many followers do you have ?

umm i think almost 80 and idk why they follow me but they do and i love them

11) how many people do you follow ?

247

12) have you ever made a shitpost ?

ummm no? idk osjdidhd

13) how often do you use tumblr each day ?

probably too much

14) did you have a fight/argument with another blog once ? who won ?

i havent i’m afraid of confrontation :)

15) how do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts ?

i’ll reblog it if i feel like it

16) do you like tag games ?

yes i love being tagged in things pls do it more

17) do you like ask games ?

yeah

18) which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous ?

all of them seem tumblr famous to me lmao

19) do you have a crush on a mutual ?

not romantically but if anyone would like to be friends i’m down

20) tags ?

um um @exzouis @whaleharry @quickpauseinconversations @thehornoftheunicorn @halosanchor (sorry if you’ve done it already no pressure!!)

[ireviewuread]

TOO MUCH EVENTS IN SINGAPORE! | I Vlog U Watch 5 & 6 | Extended Vlog + Let’s talk (Updated)

This is a post that I was looking forward to writing for a long time. My extended vlog post and finally a heart to heart post. Finally, I can talk to all you IreviewUreaders and open the door to my life now. Firstly, the vlog I can’t believe it’s been 5 months since I last uploaded a vlog. No wonder my vlog file is exploding. Unlike my other vlogs, in this extended vlog I touched on:

Singapore’s Birthday - National Day Parade

Fort Siloso 

Party Poppers Singapore Event

You can view what goes on at the Party Poppers Singapore launch here. Get yourself some Party Popper while, you’re at it.

Cuauhtemoc, the Mexican Navy Ship exploration

Light bulb drink formation + popsicle

Photo taken from @ireviewureadsh instagram 

The white part is honey dew 🍈 The pink part is strawberry 🍓 The Orange part is rock melon

Instant hot pot testing

Cat Mario

Singapore American School Event

Museum Hopping - Trick Eye Museum, National Gallery Singapore and  Asian Civilisation Museum

Photo taken from @ireviewureadsh instagram 

For more photos like this, do follow me on instagram.

Ukulele and voice cover on帅到分手

In fact, there’s so much in that single video I even created a content page for you to hop around. You can view the content page here or in the description box of the video.

Vlog 5 & 6′s content page:

Attending the National Day Parade – 00:24

NDP (Dynamic Defence Display Part 1) - 01:16

NDP (Parade & Ceremony) – 01:52

NDP (Dynamic Defence Display Part 2) – 2:40

NDP (Show) – 3:08

NDP (Fireworks) – 6:10

Fort Siloso – 7:04

Sentosa Shots (Balloons) – 9:55

Party Poppers Lion Dance – 10:17

Exploring the Cuauhtemoc, the Mexican Navy Ship – 12:31

Instant Sichuan Mala Lazy Hot Pot Testing – 14:34

The formation of the light bulb drink + popsicle – 17:25

Cat Mario – 19:22

Singapore American School Event – 20:01

Trick Eye Museum Snippet 1 – 22:04

Museum Hopping - 22:25

Asian Civilisation Museum – 22:49

National Gallery Singapore; Yayoi Kusama: Life is the Heart of a Rainbow exhibition – 23:03

Trick Eye Museum Snippet 2 – 25:58

Short voice + Ukulele cover on帅到分手 (Shuai dao fen shuo) by NICKTHEREAL - 26:51

Why I don’t produce videos as often?

In simple terms, videos takes 3 times as long as a blog post would take. To breakdown each and every step I take when it comes to video production are: 

Plan script (Optional)

Rewatch some of the footages I have recorded 

Record videos - middle part

Edit videos

Plan narrative

Voice over

Search for suitable free to use music 

Record ukulele for start of the vlog and end of vlog

Write out subtitles

Trouble shoot videos 

Try to input subtitles in youtube and fail

Try again

Write out blog post

Edit cover photo for video - This step is where I edit the craziest stuff to produce the most outrageous photo for the video. I guess that’s why my vlog photos or should I say my video covers often look so bombastic. 

Rewatch video at least 3 more times to determine it’s perfect - In actual fact it’s 20 times. I can even memorize what’s in the video.

Figure out what tags to put

Figure out what to write in description box 

Search previous posts for the links

Figure out the title - immense difficulty

Finally post. 

Embedded video at the sidebar

Edit original video to become a short clip for marketing purposes. 

Add subtitle and other stuff in the short clip

Market through social media and other sites - Time consuming 

Participate in other discussion

Re-market if time permits

Do it all over again

All this takes over a week for I spend my mornings and afternoons doing other stuff. Yes, it is time consuming but I do hope with practice, I would find a way to reduce the time I take to edit and produce a video. 

The Cover for the vlog

Before we move away from the topic of the extended vlog, let me touch on the cover. The nutty cover with multiple me dancing every where and a godly me in the skies. These are all edited in microsoft powerpoint. Amazing! The idea for the cover is trying to incorporate everything in the vlog on the cover. That may be the reason why you can see so many things on my cover. Or should I say on most of my vlog covers. 

Confused is my middle name

Now back to the heart to heart part. For the past month, I’m sure you would have notice a lot more sponsored posts and such on my blog. First of all, I do try to keep a balance of sponsored and non-sponsored posts. However, because of the time constraint that sponsored posts have, I would have to publish them first. Thus, the influx. Do note that although these products, services and such were sponsored, I was genuine in my reviews. I guess the label ‘Note: All my opinion given here are my honest opinion on the product. The fact that it’s sponsored does not change my thoughts about it.’ is automatically applicable to all of my sponsored posts now.

I guess wrote this part as to not only resonate with you but myself on what I’m doing here. I’m blogging full time. Kind of. I mean while I’m waiting for my graduation, I’m blogging full time. Judging by how things are going, I should be doing this full time until the end of the year. Before I find a job and this go back to being a sideline again - let’s all assume people want to hire me.

Comic strip taken from This is 65

I’m not saying, I don’t see the possibility of blogging full time forever. I’m sure there’s hope. There’s a glimmer of light. On the other hand, my degree also costed 27K. Let’s at least try to put it to good use first while I’m young. 

Honestly, I feel that there’s so much to do and not enough time. For those of you who followed throughout the years, you would have know that I like to create side projects. I like to improve things. I like to be busy but I do not know how to judge how full is my plate. I would often pile too much until either I found that my heart is not fully in it or the stack falls over. It is only then I could see clearly what is important to me. This only happens when I’m confused and I’m at the crossroads of my life. I guess the reason as to why I blog so much is because I am running from reality. Putting finding a job off. I have issues. We all have issues. Procrastination and ignoring my issues seemed to be my move now. Not quite sure what my next move would be but it better be good. 

I should get my Sh*t together

Or I can fulfill my wish of being a writer and gather some more stuff for my portfolio. Or so I said. Who knows, I may even go mad and move abroad for a month. That doesn’t seemed like a bad idea right? I don’t know. The future seem so confusing for me. Nothing is set in stone. Everything is possible. I guess it all comes down to if you were to die tomorrow, what do you want to do today? I want to write. For writing never dies.

What now?

I’m trying to finish up what I’ve started. If you remember 2 months ago, I was following a pinterest course. Well. I was attending it halfway. Then, the influx of sponsors came. So, I didn’t finish it. It’s on hold, just like every other side projects in my life. Refer to point - I should get my Sh*t together - for this part. 

In attempts to get my life together, I’ve adopted the habit of incorporating daily yoga in my life. On top of that, I try to wake up at a reasonable time - between 11 to 3pm. I know it sounds ridiculous to call that reasonable time but it’s a huge step for me. As mentioned in my previous post, I sleep at 6am and get up at 2pm but it eventually became 4pm. Time just past so much faster when you wake up when the sun is down. I don’t know what logic is this but it just does. Thus, I’ve decided to lengthen time and experience daylight once again. 

Taken from Inspired By This Feeling Tumblr 

So I’m trying. Little by little, day by day. Additionally, I found a mantra. A simple mantra that made my day a little more positive everyday: 

Today is a good day 

By reminding myself that today is a good day, made me anticipate the day even more. It made me eager to do more things, to be more positive towards how I see things. I am not a very positive person, neither am I negative. I’m more of a meh person. Being the meh person it’s easy to roll into negativity because of the lack of feelings for everything. I don’t want that. I am sick of that. It comes to a point that I was merely surviving and not living. By choosing to live, I have to remind myself everyday why. I have to make an effort. I have to change. With this simple mantra, I am not only reminding myself to ensure that the day ahead is going to be a good day but it gave me the push as well. Although I do cave in to the procrastination monkey at times, I am currently winning the battle against negative Nancy.

I know that there are plenty of quotes out there saying “It’s ok to just breathe today.” For those taking it too hard on themselves, I do agree it’s a quote for them. Whereas for those with the procrastination monkey in them, this quote only ruins us. We keep reminding ourselves that it’s ok to just breathe and we simply do nothing. Sometimes, it’s not ok to just breathe and do nothing. At least not for me. Therefore, I’ve changed to recite this mantra in my head instead for it represents: 

At the start of the day: A positive outlook on the upcoming day

During the day: A gentle and constructive reminder that I should achieve more mini-goals to have the day deemed a good day. In simpler terms, I can’t just roll on my bed all day and wathc youtube videos and call that a good day. I have to actually do something. Be it something small like getting out of my house - I don’t go out much, so getting out is big for me - to writing a page in my journal. Yes, I’m still journalling. I’m looking for the right time to reintroduce my old and new pages on my social media. 

At the end of the day: A positive reflection on what you’ve done during the day

As of now, I’m seeing positive changes everyday. What about you? What’s your go to mantra/ quote?

It was a great 2 months

Mentioned above, IreviewUread have a busy 2 months. My blog posts were going up like rockets. For those of you who’ve missed it, here’s a run down of what I posted the last 2 months. 

Beauty:

Gobdigoun Skincare products review

Gobdigoun Masks review

Althea Sun-Kissed Box Review

Hiruscar Anti Acne Range Review

Food:

Loacker’s Cocoa and Milk wafers review

Others:

A Better Florist’s Flower arrangement workshop 

Baby Goodie Bag from Cradle of Love 

Printcious Intro 

Printcious Magnet Review  

Photo from 45cat

When you wish upon a star

Finally, the last section of this very long post. My wish list! The last time I wrote a wish list was on the blog that I had during secondary school. I graduated 2 times since and I’m approaching my 3rd graduation at the end of the month. I guess that depicts how much time have past. Is stating wish lists still in or is that just a thing of the past now? Either ways, here’s my ever changing wish list or should I say my goals list: 

Looking for hair salon sponsorship so that I can redye my hair - I have a distinct black and brown colour on the top halve and bottom halve of my hair

Source

This is my hair goals kind of hair. Or anything with purple and pink. I’m crazy about those two colours. I’m fine with red too but I’ve done red before so it’s time to try something new.

Will be heading to C3 Anime Festival Asia 2017 if nothing crops up - my plan is to cover  AFA and get some stuff. It’s been long since I’ve wandered into an anime festival. Yes, I’m a closeted Otaku. Ok Kind of. This is clearly a goal. Why is this here.

More cute stuff! I know this blog is not really cutisy kind but I do want to include that genre.

I guess that’s it. I’m more of a follow the wind and make a nest kind of person. So I do embrace whatever is thrown to me in a professional manner. Or at least I hope. 

That’s finally the end of this heart to heart session. Do watch my vlog if you have not and Namaste

Updated - 23 Dec 17

I finally did dye my hair purple/pink, you can see the post here and I went to C3 AFASG. It was so fun and you can view my vlog here.