#I’ve wanted to start it for sooo long but I have so many podcasts I start and never finish….

[pearlsdiamondsandvodka]

Hey if I’m gonna start to naddpod, should I start at the beginning? I know there’s several campaigns but are they connected? Or should I start w a later campaign where they’ve gotten their footing?

[musingsoflulu]

Hi Laura, just wondering if you could talk a little bit about how you found your running coach? Sorry if you've already answered this question before! I'm hoping to do my first marathon next summer and considering trying to find a coach because I'm a little wary of just using a plan from the internet. Did you consider any other coaches, how did you decide on the coach you're with, how do you know if they're a good fit/if they're actually going to be a good coach or not? I'm also a little concerned about whether I can find affordable coaching on a grad school budget but idk if you can speak to that at all.

Thanks in advance, I love your blog and I'm always so inspired by (/a little jealous of lol) all the cool running and outdoors stuff you do!

Hi! Thank you so much! There was a time when I was deep in the throes of grad school and I would yearn for the adventures I’m able to have now. Remember you have sooo many adventures awaiting you (even in grad school!) and all things are temporary. You are working hard now for the things you will have in the future. ♥️

I’m happy to answer this question! My path to find my coach is a little out of the ordinary. I first learned of Anna Mae through the documentary “Life in a Day.” It’s on YouTube if you have never seen it. I quickly learned that she was originally from a town very close to where I grew up. We somehow knew all of the same people but our paths never crossed until a few years ago! I later learned through a podcast she was being interviewed in that she was starting up a coaching business and her vision for what she wanted that business to be really spoke to me. She feels super passionate about living a lifestyle attuned to the mountains and training in ways that allow you to really enjoy playing in the mountains. She has a strong background in exercise physiology and a teaching degree. She’s knowledgeable, she’s supportive. She allows me to give myself permission to skip runs if I need to but also knows when I need to suck it up buttercup and get through it.

There are all sorts of price points for coaches depending on what you are looking for but I would expect to pay $100-200/month for personalized coaching. A few things I’d ask about when looking for a coach:

1. How do they set up athletes’ training plans? (I.e do they use training peaks, excel sheets, etc). To add on to this- how far in advance to they plan out? My coach only does 1 week at a time.

2. What is their training model? Do they heart rate train their athletes or is it based on rate of perceived effort? What does a typical week look like for their athletes training for a marathon? (How many long runs, tempo runs, easy runs, speed workouts, etc). Do they incorporate strength training? (Strongly recommended!!!)

3. How available are they for feedback and communication? Are they only available through email or the apps they use for training or are they available through phone or text if needed?

As far as knowing if it will be a good fit, you don’t truly know until you try out working with someone. But those questions may guide you to what it is you want and don’t want in a coach.

I hope this was helpful! I looove my coach and even though I’m planning on taking a little break from training after my 100 mile race, I’ve built a wonderful relationship with her and know I’ll be back to train with her in the future.

[cybertomii]

tomii hi!! hope you're good and i just wanted to know what you thought about the whole hamilton to ferrari thing? i still don't know much about f1 but even i felt like this was really important 😭 and i love reading anything you say too lol so it's better from you than anyone else 🫶🏽🫶🏽 also unrelated but please talk about tennant's macbeth i'll send another ask if i have to, i'm so curious!! love you and i hope you're doing well!!

hii! sorry for the late response

honestly i don’t think the reality of lewis moving to ferrari has well and truly set in. it’s just a bit confusing for me why he’s doing it cause merc doesn’t stink that badly and ferrari isn’t that good either. i don’t have anything insightful to say it’s just kinda like ‘wait is this seriously happening?’

spoilers for david tennant’s macbeth under the cut i guess??? can you really spoil macbeth?

so my drama teacher chose this production for out live performance review and oh my god was it good. like where do i even start

the staging was so good i loved it so much. i liked the like glass enclosure they had behind the stage. it was such an interesting staging decision. the lighting as well was sooo good. it’s such a joy to analyse. the live music they had added so much to the production it would have not been the same without it

someday i wish to be like max webster because only he could’ve come up with the idea to use binaural sound for the whole production. the witches at the beginning??? i jumped i loved them so much

david tennant was so good for the role of macbeth. he’s got a very insane look about him and he plays macbeth really well

on the topic of macbeth, cush jumbo played lady macbeth so well. i loved lady macbeth in this actually. everything about her made her feel like and outsider from her northern accent when the others had scottish accents and the fact she was the only one wearing white. just ugh i love it

malcolm and macduff had bigger roles in this production than others. i wish ross did as well because i love moyo akande but oh well. the time she was on she was really good she’s literally my idol

the actors playing malcolm and macduff must have had bills due during the scene ross comes and tells macduff his wife and kids are dead because that was the make gut wrenching thing i’ve ever watched. noof ousellam (macduff) portrayed macduff’s emotions so well and ros watt (malcolm) really convincingly made himself seem as if he was on the brink of tears

speaking of ros watt, omg ros watt. i loved everything about him. his physicality during the 2nd prophecy, his pleading with macduff, god everything was perfect. ros watt was perfect to play malcolm especially considering he’s smaller than the rest of the cast. just delicious. he’s got those big sad eyes that i love

noof ousellam as well. big massive sad eyes like that’s baby girl (he’s over six feet tall). when he was all up in malcolm’s face shouting, dear god i loved it. my little pea brain starting whirring. something about their height difference does it for me.

this is getting long so let me finish quickly. lady macduff, her screams were fucking bone chilling. the porter was so funny. his actor does really well in comedies. banquo was so fit omg. the child actor they had playing like all the children (and he died so many times poor kid) was surprisingly good as well

i desperately want to write about this version of macbeth/the cast (the guy playing donalbain has a podcast called putting it together and his interviews with the other cast members are really good) but i fear no one actually gives a shit

[dstudiouk]

Weekly Studio Spotlight - Sara Haslam

A fresh week means a fresh feature! Get those fanfares going... it’s Artist of The Week time. This week, we’re featuring Sara Haslam. A traditional artist based in the UK with a distinctively unique style that really separates her work from the rest. We loved getting to know Sara and her work this week, definitely one of our favourites! 

As you know by now, we interview our chosen artists each week with a fun Q&A about them and their work. If you’ve ever wondered what TV series our artists like to binge watch... carry on reading! 

What inspired you when growing up?

My Dad's cousin was an author/illustrator, and there was a book she illustrated that I really loved. So when I was little I always said that I wanted to be an author/illustrator too. I became less interested in the writing part as I got older, but stayed interested in illustration and art. I think I was also inspired by various cartoons and anime that I watched on TV, and I used to enjoy drawing some of those characters.

How did you start your art career? 

I studied art at A level, and then went on to study Computer Animation at university. After I graduated, I went back to a style of art that I first did at school – portraits drawn over torn brown paper. I put a few up for sale on eBay, in the hopes of making a bit of money whilst I looked for a “proper” job. To my surprise, people actually wanted to buy them! From there I did a few commissions, and then decided to start selling prints, so I set up shops on Etsy and a few other online retailers. It took a while to build up a momentum of sales, but it’s now reached a stage where I can make a consistent income from my art, which is amazing really. I never would have expected other people to want my artwork in their homes.

What’s your favourite piece you have created so far? 

I find it difficult to judge my own work, but there are a couple that come to mind. I think my John Lennon portrait might be the piece which is technically my best. I believe I managed to reach a decent level of realism, whilst not getting too carried away making sure every single hair was in the right place. I was particularly pleased with how the highlights on his hair turned out, and the level of detail around his eyes.

Another favourite is my “I May Destroy You” piece. It was quite a challenge for me because it was the first picture I’d drawn in colour marker pens rather than greyscale, and it was much smaller than I had worked previously. I surprised myself by drawing it in just a few days, and managing to get in all the tiny details on her face and clothing. It was really fun to draw something a bit different for a change.

What art tools could you not live without? 

A pencil! I use Copic marker pens for most of my work, so I could say those, but I think I could switch to another medium like acrylic paints or watercolour, and it wouldn't affect me too much. However without a simple pencil, I'm not sure if I would be able to create anything very good. I have to spend a long time sketching everything out before I go over it in pen. For what it's worth my preferred pencils to use are the cheap mechanical ones. Mechanical because they create a thin line which is easier to hide, and cheap because the fancy ones over-complicate things and always end up breaking.

What is your biggest challenge with your work? 

My biggest challenge is just getting into the right frame of mind to draw. I often have issues concentrating and can get quite restless, so I almost need to be exhausted before I can be productive. Consequently I get most of my work done in the early hours of the morning, once I eventually get into the zone. I’m also a bit of a perfectionist, which can make it difficult to actually put pen to paper incase I mess it up - you can't erase pen ink.

Who are your favourite musical artists?

This is tricky because it changes almost every week and I have so many favourites from different genres. Right now I would say Frank Ocean, The Beach Boys and Tame Impala are some of my favourites. I've only drawn Frank Ocean out of these 3 so far, so I should get working on the others!

If you could trade lives with someone for a day, who would you pick?

If I'm honest I wouldn’t like to be anyone famous, as I hate being in the spotlight. I think perhaps I would quite like to be either a professional snowboarder or a buddhist monk for the day. Or even just a normal person with a nice peaceful life on a mountain somewhere.

Other than art, what do you do to relax and unwind?

I do a quick yoga session every morning, which definitely helps me to relax. I try to meditate too, but it doesn’t happen very often and I’m not very good at it. I also love skating and snowboarding, and I go on a lot of long walks whilst listening to podcasts.

What was the last thing you watched or listened to on repeat?

I’m currently re-watching all 121 episodes of LOST, for what is I think the 5th time through.. A couple of those times have been because someone I lived with was watching it, but this time it’s only me watching so I have no excuses, I just really wanted to watch it again.

If you could give one piece of advice to another artist, what would you say to them?

The best advice I can give is to create as much art as often as you can, and not to worry about everything being perfect. (I need to take this advice too)

A massive thank-you to Sara for participating in this, we really loved her answers to these. Sooo much fun and such a fascinating look into turning a hobby into a full time career path. As always, thank-you to you, too, for reading and supporting! We’ve loved working on Artists of The Week, so do make sure to let us know you’re enjoying them too by sharing the love on our social platforms @dStudioUK and make sure you’ve checked out Sara on her platforms to see more of her incredible work! 

Sara Haslam - Instagram

Sara Haslam - Etsy

[festiveferret]

Wipdate

Posted:

A Little Pick You Up - Steve and Tony find themselves alone in a coffee shop.

Updating:

Must Be in Want of a Wife - Pride and Prejudice, modern AU. Up to chapter eighteen! Last update this Friday! Yet I Will Try the Last - Truck Stop Hooker AU with hooker!Steve and flashy billionaire, Tony Stark. Up to chapter two! Hypothesis - Absolutely shameless tentacle porn. With @franzwantscoffee Up to two chapters of fic and two of art!

Beta Queue:

Nothing :(

Wips:

1)  Well, this is a very small wipdate, but not because I haven’t been writing! It’s just that none of my projects are small and shareble right now. My zine piece is one scene from finished and I’m sooo excited by the sneak peeks from my artist.

2) My MTH project this year is an Agatha Christie style murder mystery called The Mysterious Affair At Stark’s. It’s verging on crack taken seriously, but mostly I think it’s just really fun. It’s getting really close to done, just a few more chapters, less than 10k to write, and I’m hoping to start posting it in less than a month. The hope is to post all 9-10 chapters over 2-3 weeks so you don’t have to wait too long for more clues!

3) My big project right now is my Celestial Navigation remix. In this remix, Steve is the omega who is forced to bond with Tony Stark for Reasons. It’s 100% going to be the longest thing I’ve ever written (the sabre effect) and it’s currently clocking in at ~72/~110k. I’m hopeful I can start posting it soon, but I’d like to be a liiiiiitle closer to done before I commit to a schedule. It’s going well, though! I hope you guys will like that one, it’ll have a lot of fun tags and it feels like something we could all use right now.

I must admit, I’m pretty exhausted. My business is really suffering and we’ve had to let all but one of our employees go. My partner and I are working all we can until we inevitably have to close fully. My area hasn’t been hit hard yet, but it will be, eventually, and I’m scared about the long term impact and I’m really scared about money. But I’m just taking it a day at a time and focusing on what I can do. As the business dies, at least I have more time for writing!

Please also check out my new side project, Pod On the Suit, a Steve and Tony focused fandom podcast, hosted by myself and @betheflame. We have two episodes up already and many, many, (many) more in the works. Hope you like it! @podonthesuit or www.podonthsuit.com

Thanks for reading <3 

[ask-sakky-bear]

Journal Entry #2: Ghosts

The second installment for my podcast idea - this is a much longer read!

Also, I don’t recall if I mentioned this in my first post about it, but this is set in a Naruto Alternate Universe - modern setting, no ninjas, but supernatural things exist. That sort of things.

[Sooo, I lied, it’s 4:39 in the morning and I can’t sleep, so might as well do something useful. Without further ado:

Date: July 15th..er, 16th, 2015

Time: now 4:40 am

Subject: Ghosts.

I figured the best way to approach this was to start with the subject I know most about. Or, have had the most experience with, at least. I guess we should start with what a ghost actually is.

According to a quick internet search, a ghost, as it is commonly thought of has...surprisingly many definitions. That definition seems to include the concept of a disembodied spirit. Merriam-Webster, the world’s leading authority on all things needing to be defined, lists seven definitions for the noun “ghost” - only four of them I believe are actually relevant to this discussion:

 The seat of life or intelligence - the soul;

Spirit or demon;

A disembodied soul: especially, the soul of a dead person believed to be an inhabitant of the “unseen world”, who appears to the living in bodily likeness; and

A faint, shadowy trace

Now, I also looked at a few other online and physical definitions, so no one can accuse me of not being thorough here, and they all say much the same thing. The soul of a dead person, a disembodied spirit, a “vague, shadowy, or evanescent form”, a spirit that haunts the living, etc, etc. So, everyone seems to agree with what they think a ghost is. They’re mostly right. Let’s unpack good ol’ MW’s definitions, first, to get a better picture of what a ghost is.

A soul.

...

Okay, to be completely honest with you, I really don’t want to unpack that one. There’s a lot of religious implications, philosophical debates, and shaky science wrapped up in that one word to include in this one entry. I might make a different entry in regards to that later, but for the sake of expediency and to stave off the migraine it’ll give me, I’ll just state this: One could consider the soul to be our consciousness, that...something, which makes us who we are individually. I think this is the simplest way to describe what I’ve encountered with ghosts. Anyway, I'm going to leave this bit for now and come back to it, as I believe it is important for our definition.

Second definition: I’m going to go ahead and explicitly state this on record that ghosts, spirits, and demons are not the same thing. Some might try to argue that a ghost is a type of spirit, but let me tell you, in my experience, they are very different entities and will get offended if you insist otherwise. 

You do not want to offend a spirit. 

Trust me. 

I’ll make further entries to explain myself later, but for now, that’s all I have to say. Back to the subject.

I believe the third definition is important to look at in defining ghosts, because it is the closest to the truth. Particularly in the aspects of “disembodied” and “unseen”.

Typically, a ghost does not have a physical body. This may confuse some people, if you take into account how many ghosts are able to interact with the physical world. I guess what I mean to say is that the body and ghost are generally two separate things, as a ghost can exist in cases where a body does not, be it cremated, or in various stages of decay. (Note: attention should be drawn to some instances where this is not the case; see for instance the entry on ju-on. End note). I am not quite sure what mechanism allows ghosts to physically affect the world around them, but perhaps future entries and study will shed some light.

I particularly believe that the lack of a physical body is what makes ghosts “unseen”. The limits of human physicality make it so that anything nonphysical is almost impossible to perceive. I say almost, because there have been several individuals I have met who exhibit the unnatural ability to see ghosts - myself included. So, to summarize here two aspects of ghosts that are important in its definition: a ghost is typically some disembodied entity that is unseen by most, but has the ability to affect the physical world.

Definition number four, and honestly, the most accurate depiction of a ghost: “A shadowy trace”. At the heart of it, a ghost is really just that. A trace. Or, to give a better word for it, an imprint. 

This is where I want to bring back in the early definition of a soul. Throughout our lives, we exist and experience the world. Our experiences shape who we are, how we think, and how we experience our experiences. I can’t say what exactly a “soul” as a single entity is or what happens to it after we kick the bucket, but I do know that occasionally a soul doesn’t disappear from this world. Like I said earlier: it makes an imprint.

How is an imprint made, you might wonder? Well, that’s where the whole thing with experiences comes into play. If you’ve lived a decently normal life and die without complaint, you don’t typically make a substantial imprint. Sure, I’ve come across the odd imprint of love for a place or person, but it’s usually not something pleasant that causes a ghost to form. Think murders, rights left unperformed, hating one's circumstances in life, that sort of thing.

As you can imagine, this tends to cause a lot of problems for the living. Oh sure, you usually come across the haunted house or temple, where you may get a whiff of cigar smoke or hear disembodied laughter in the room over. Those hauntings are pretty easy to get rid of - either you learn to ignore them or just have your local priest come round and say a few blessings. But sometimes, people die violently and suddenly and the emotions they feel at death are enough to make a stronger imprint. 

Those are your more..cookie cutter hauntings. And usually where I, or you know, an actual exorcist comes in. 

Like I mentioned before, I have no idea what allows these stronger imprints to actually interact with the living, but they can, and usually it’s not very pleasant.

I guess I should talk about how ghosts typically interact with the living, while I’m thinking about it. That’s a little tough to explain, from my experience. Actually, that’s a good way to explain it - an experience.

 Most people think that ghosts talk to people like how I’m talking right now. You know, straight, linear conversations. But that’s not the case. See, a ghost is just a memory the person leaves behind, hence an imprint, yadda yadda. Our only way to interact with them is to experience them. This usually takes the form of memories cropping up in dreams, unexplained scents/sounds, or a physical manifestation of the life or death of that individual. Above all, there’s the emotions that caused the ghost to manifest. Those are typically the worst, since they tend to cause personality shifts, paranoia, and the like.

Umm, maybe if I explain it like this, it’ll make a little more sense:

About 3 or 4 months ago, (Redacted) and I - sorry, my partner and I, came across a haunting. It was your typical set up - a family of four moves into a new house for surprisingly cheap and everything seems to be going okay. The neighbors are nice enough but a bit dodgy and uncomfortable with the house, like they know something unpleasant about it, but you write it off cuz this is a new leaf for you guys. 

Anyway, things are going fine for the first few weeks, when the weird things start happening. Footsteps from the second floor when no one’s there, feeling like something is in the room with you, an odd whiff of cologne that doesn’t belong to the husband, that sort of thing. They do the normal thing, find out that there had been a death in the house years prior and get a monk to come say a few blessings. Life goes on. Only, things start to get worse.

The most notable change was with the family’s youngest, a boy around 12. He was described to us as your typical introverted boy, shy but sweet and considerate. It’s usually like this, for some reason. Perhaps it’s the tendency to be on your own that draws ghosts to you like flies. Or maybe it’s something in your makeup that allows you to see ghosts and that in itself makes you introverted. I dunno. In any case, there’s a big enough shift in the kid’s personality to warrant alarm. The part that alarmed the mother the most, however, was the sudden...marks that showed up on the boy. Bruises that had no explanation and, the worst part, circular burns popping up in places under sleeves and pant legs. 

At first, the husband was suspected. Pretty logical conclusion, really, given all the signs. A husband in a stressful job, the boy suddenly becoming withdrawn, flinching from sudden contact, drawing images of a “monster” that supposedly came in at night to hurt him. Most of the child psychologists came to the same conclusion. A case would have been made, I think, if it wasn’t for two unexplained facts: first, the boy mentioned that there was an older figure who tried to protect him, though his older sister claimed she had no knowledge of anything bad happening, and second, the boy kept insisting that it wasn’t his father hurting him.

Most officers kept trying to explain these things away, but thankfully, the mother was introduced to me before any real litigation could happen and I was able to help. I do, however, want to take a moment to make something clear. I do not want to undermine the importance of social workers and the severity of child abuse. Not every instance of child abuse turns out to be a haunting, and I find these usually tend to be isolated incidents. The conclusions of the officers and social workers would have been correct in any other circumstance. The only reason litigation was withheld in this instance was because of the testimony of the young boy and my ability to sense the ghost in question.

Ah, crap, this is starting to get away from me. Um, alright. Long story short, there was in fact a ghost haunting the house, but only one, and that particular ghost was not the one harming the small boy, not intentionally at least. What had happened, apparently, was that the death in question had happened roughly ten years prior - a 15 year old boy was found hanging in his upstairs room. Ruled a suicide. The autopsy revealed what looked to be signs of abuse, but because the boy's father was some high ranking public figure, it was ruled as self harm in court. There was a lot of back and forth, but eventually, the father managed to get off on some minor charge. He paid a fine, got put on some watch list, was supposed to serve community service but got out of that, too. The suicide ruling stayed in place, however, and for the neighbors, that was the case.

Plot twist: that was absolutely not the case. Unsurprisingly, if I’m honest.

The real story, I was able to find out, was that the father had strangled his son in a drunken rage and then set the body to avoid guilt. While he was still incarcerated, he got away with murder, basically. From what I could tell, the teenager had been subjected to heavy abuse for most of his life, never really speaking up but also not being noticed, even though it was relatively obvious from the outside. His last moments...the boy really just wanted someone to notice what was happening, really. To notice and to hold his father accountable. I know this because I got to relive his last moments.

That’s what I’m trying to get at when I say you “experience” a ghost. I didn’t sit down and have a conversation with the ghost, asking for his backstory. I literally experienced it. I felt his memories as if they were my own, the pain and suffering that stood out to him the most, and of course, his final moments. That’s probably the scariest part about ghosts, if I’m honest. When you experience them, you often find yourself subjected to their final moments. Most people don’t survive them, actually. It’s hard to explain, actually, but sometimes when a ghost is formed, they pull in a manifestation of whatever killed them or caused their deaths. That’s what happened in this case - the boy’s father was such a huge part of the abuse and neglect in his life that the imprint included that terrible memory of his father, even though his father wasn’t actually dead. 

Well, it’s not like I have any other evidence to support what I’m saying. All I have is my word. That’s unfortunately the case with a lot of supernatural entities, sadly. You can’t really prove they exist unless you experience or meet them, so a lot of my work is carried out in secret. Or just because someone knows me and nothing else was working and...well, you get the idea.

Anyway, this is starting to get away from me again. And it’s really late. Early. Whatever, I’m tired in any case. This is probably not making any sense at this point. Then again, these are really just for me, so I guess it’s okay that they don’t make that much sense to anyone else. So let’s wrap this up; to summarize:

A “ghost” can be constituted as simply the imprint of a soul; the ghost is usually the imprint of a deceased individual, a memory so to speak that is formed by some fiercely felt emotion that occurred at death. They lack a physical body, which makes them generally “unseen” by most individuals, however, there are some that are able to see/interact more effectively with ghosts. 

How physical interaction is achieved and why some individuals are more susceptible to ghost encounters are questions I hope to answer in the future. My current theory is that in the “experiencing” of a ghost, the trauma is somehow transferred to the living individual - it is perhaps the strength of the negative emotion that has some affect on the living world. In any case, experiencing a ghost can range from something small and innocuous, such as disembodied sounds, smells, or emotions, to...fatal encounters...

Hopefully, recounting my previous missions that have involved ghosts will be more enlightening.

That’s really all I have on the subject at the moment, between my scattered notes, personal anecdotes, and...admittedly sparse book research. In the future, I’ll try to find better ways to actually test my theories and collect physical evidence of the things I come across. Definitely categorize the types of ghosts. I would also like to be able to incorporate anatomical drawings of some of the things I deal with, though many of the spirits tend to be...secretive. Well, that can wait for future entries. In the meantime, I’ll try to dig up actual physical books on these subjects. That is, if I can dig them up at all...]

[vlogsquadssquad]

THE DAY WE MET - chapter 3

summary: y/n and some vlog squad members decide to prank David while meeting his celebrity crush.

-----

The day had come to surprise David for his vlog. You had this idea since you knew he liked you to act like a typical Hollywood brat. Everyone loved it. You already met Jason, Natalie, and Joe to help you. The plan was to scare him when he came in his room, laugh with him, and take a picture. Then joe would pretend to turn off the camera and you would start being bratty. Jason was out with David on another bit idea and Natalie invited you and your assistant in. Everyone exchanged hellos and they went over the plan with you. You hid behind David's bed and got all the cameras set up. You were so nervous and really didn’t want to mess up any shots. You were an actress, sure, but this shot wasn’t something you could redo. You knew David liked his vlogs to be somewhat organic. You heard David talking to Jason as they walked in the bedroom. David turned on the switch and you popped out and screamed. David jumped slightly back with his arms across his chest, and yelled “oh fuck!” Then you started laughing, joe came out from behind the beanbag holding David's camera and David was dying laughing with his face fully blushed.

“hi, I'm y/n. It's so nice to meet you.” you smiled, slightly blushing yourself. You weren't expecting him to be so cute.

“hi, oh my god, I know who you are, I'm a huge fan.” he slightly choked and laughed. He pushed his hair out of his face and put his arms out for a hug.

“I'm actually a fan of your vlogs,” you put your arms out too and returned the hug. You were much shorter than him and your face buried in his large hoodie. “I've been watching them for a long time, I love your work!” you both pull away and he laughs again.

“no fucking way! Seriously?” you nod and smile but before you can say anything you remembered to look at joe to see if he put the camera down.

“ok, are you done filming?” you drop your smile and look around the room. Everyone is looking at you. “alright, it was great, let me know how many views it gets so my manager can email your manager so I can get my portion. I have to go get my nails done, so, yeah just let me know.” you grab your purse and some sunshades and start to walk out. Jason, being in on the prank, yells out, “oh come on,” David steps in very confused, “jay, its ok, don’t make a big deal.” Jason ignoring David yells out again, “David is such a big fan, won't you just take a picture?”  

“jay stop.” David whispers sternly.

“ugh... don’t you people know what I'm worth? 5 minutes with me is a blessing! You should be kissing my feet for doing your stupid little video, with your stupid little fans!” you yell. As you make eye contact with each one you look to Natalie who is covering her laugh with her hand, and you break character. You start laughing and everyone else follows as David stands there, stunned. He waves his arms out and says, “what the fuck? What is going on?” through the laughter you put your hands out for another hug and hug David again. He hugs you back but is looking around with a slight smile, trying to catch up.  

“oh David, I thought you said you could never be pranked!” Jason teased.

“I'm SO sorry David, but it'll make a good vlog!” you grabbed the camera from joe’s hand and put it in David's face. David started laughing hysterically and pushed the camera down, playfully. “oh shit. You got me so good,” David paused “twice, actually!”  

“everyone give an applause for y/n’s insane acting skills!” Jason waved his arms over to you and everyone started clapping. You did a little courtesy and blew a kiss to the camera that David was now holding.  

Everyone walks out to the living room and David was already making plans to surprise his friends with you. After a full day of meeting everyone and giving out SOOO many hugs, you were exhausted and hungry. You said your goodbyes and exchanged numbers with David. He offered to walk you to your car and since your assistant had left a while ago to get you food and meet at your house later, you and David were alone.  

“hey, thanks for doing all that, that was really cool.” David smiled at you.

“no, it was no problem. It was so fun, I loved it.”

“um, I know this is kind of awkward but I'd really love for you to come back when you have a chance. Everyone loves you, and I think we could do several more bits or even you could come on my podcast, it'll be great.” David was trying to sell you on the idea, but you were already sold. “of course, I'll come back. That sounds like fun. Just shoot me a text whenever.” you smile to him, and hug him goodbye. You get in your own tesla and he closes the door for you. You back out and leave, giddy over the thought that he wants you back, but confused he only wants you back for vlog bits or his podcast.

[lemonlushff-iy]

Do you have plans to write any other inukag stories after a heart’s abduction?

I doooooooooooooo! Not sure how many Saucy will join me for, so eventually I might go solo. 

I haven’t fleshed any of them out TOO MUCH in my mind yet, but the details are below because I can’t keep anything to myself:

I’ve had this line haunting me for so long, but I haven’t put a solid plot to it yet. I haven’t decided if I want to go tribal, Egyptian, ancient Greece, or something else with it yet. 

“They call me the God of death. You may call me ‘Master’.”

It did start out as “They call me Anubis. You may call me ‘Master’.” though...so my gut might be pushing me for Egypt. I don’t have a solid plot for it yet...but it’s just sooo tantalizing to not think about turning it into a thing.

I’ve also always wanted to do one where he’s a “God” in a jungle (apparently I have a thing for Gods....or at least mythology.......) and there’s a lottery system. Every blah blah blah, the people pick a woman from the lottery to go to the “God”, and he will continue to protect their people and keep them safe. Only this time he doesn’t let the girl go. Kinda playing with human “sacrifice”...but no one dies and there’s a lot more romance. Might throw a little English colonization in there. Who knows. 

Another I want to smooth out the plot for is “Killing Him With Kindness”. I listen to a lot of the podcast Lore at work, and I was inspired. I think it will be a Halloween fic (so not another behemoth like Dog Tags or A Heart’s Abduction - both already at 24 chapters, even if not posted), and I’m excited to let myself go with it. 

Another fun one would be a Frankenstein inspired one...But again - no firm plot yet. 

And finally....

Kamikazi. Inuyasha is a Kamikazi pilot in WWII, only he doesn’t die. Instead he becomes a POW and remembers nothing from before the crash. He’s eventually sent back to Japan and one day Kagome sees him. He’s been gone for years, and he knows she’s important but can’t figure out why...and she’s moved on, but has she really? Such angst and drama and only a general feel for how it would go. 

[52nddoor]

Books I Read and Games I Played in 2019

BOOKS - 40

I’m counting novellas in a series as one entry since some are pretty short. I read a few books multiple times this year and I listed them separately but counted each only once in the final total.

Thud! by Terry Pratchett (I’ve read Pratchett’s City Watch series so many times I’ve lost count. I ended last year starting this book, so I finished it up as 2019 started.)

Snuff by Terry Pratchett

The Truth by Terry Pratchett (I decided to branch out with some of Pratchett’s other Discworld books, read some that weren’t about Vimes, and began reading all the books that mentioned Vimes or where Vimes had a cameo. Big step for me.)

Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

Making Money by Terry Pratchett

The Martian by Andy Weir (I took a break from Pratchett to reread what’s probably my favorite book that’s not part of a series. I actually ended up reading it three times in a row? I just like it a lot?)

The Wrong Stars by Tim Pratt (A lady in cryo wakes up hundreds of years in the future to warn of aliens, but humanity already knows about aliens by that time. Except she doesn’t mean those aliens, she means bad ones!!)

The Dreaming Stars by Tim Pratt (The third one in the series wasn’t out yet and I didn’t know that when I started!!)

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells (These four novellas were on my list last year too. I love them a lot and a new novel is coming out in 2020! A security robot hacks it’s own code so that it can do whatever it wants, and what it wants is to be able to watch as much tv as possible in between jobs without anyone knowing.)

Vessel by Lisa A. Nichols

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett (Back on the Vimes-adjacent books train.)

Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett

The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett (Okay look, yes it’s the Watch books again, but my best friend started reading them for the first time, and so when she got to this one I started reading them with her so I could remember every single little detail to talk with her about.)

Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

Alanna: the First Adventure (Song of the Lioness book 1) by Tamora Pierce (Hoo that’s a mouthful. YA series about a girl that pretends to be a boy so she can learn to be a knight. I got a library card so I wouldn’t have to buy so many books but the wait time on this series was sooo long. Because of that I didn’t read them one after another but I’m putting them consecutively on this list anyway.)

In the Hand of the Goddess (Song of the Lioness book 2) by Tamora Pierce

Woman that Rides Like a Man (Song of the Lioness book 3) by Tamora Pierce

Lioness Rampant (Song of the Lioness book 4) by Tamora Pierce

Binti, Binti: Home, and Binti: Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor (A girl gets accepted to the galaxy’s top university, except no one in her tribe is supposed to travel far from home, let alone leave the planet.)

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (The Inheritance Trilogy book 1) by N. K. Jemisin (I only ended up reading the first in the series because the books I put on hold at the library started coming in, and between that and rereading the Watch books with my friend, I kind of forgot about them, whoops. The first one was very good so I’ll definitely finish the series next year.)

The Forbidden Stars by Tim Pratt (Thank goodness! The third book in the stars series! I didn’t have to wait long.)

Thud! by Terry Pratchett (Yes the same Thud! that I already read this year.)

The Vlad Taltos series by Steven Brust (Um, okay look, there are currently 15 books in this series and I don’t want to list them all out separately, but I read all of them in one month. They were so good that I didn’t want to do anything else until I had finished and I haven’t stopped thinking about them once I did. Have you read these books? Please talk to me about them if you have.)

Stay Sexy and Don’t Get Murdered by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark (Memoirs and life lessons from the ladies that do the My Favorite Murder Podcast.)

Snuff by Terry Pratchett

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer (I saw the movie recently and wanted to read the book, and I’ve never seen a movie based on a book that was so vastly different from the source material while still somehow feeling like the same story. A group of people are tasked with studying some weird shit happening in a particular spot of land and, no surprise, weird shit happens.)

Authority by Jeff Vandermeer (The second book in the series. Takes place back at headquarters after the events of the first book.)

GAMES - 18

Like the books I read this year, a lot of these games were replays for me.

Celeste

Detroit Become Human (This was 1/3 of a fun game?)

The Spectrum Retreat (You’re in a hotel, except maybe you’re not? The mystery stuff was fun and the puzzle stuff was cool for a while but I liked the mystery stuff better and the game turned into mostly puzzle stuff.)

Uncharted 4 (replay)

Rime

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Of COURSE I played as Kassandra. #arms #arms #arms)

Tacoma (One of my favorite games of the year. You have to find out why an AI malfunctioned on a space station.)

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Replay, one of my favorite games ever.)

Observation (You have to find out why an AI malfunctioned on a space station, only you’re the malfunctioning AI.)

The Talos Principle (I like puzzle games but the sheer number of puzzles I had to solve made it kind of tedious and the ending felt hmmmm not worth the effort?)

Dishonored (replay)

Dishonored 2 (reply twice, once as Corvo and once as Emily)

Control (This game was so dope and I loved it but also I wanted to throw my controller more than once, so the highs are real high but the lows are real low. That said I did preorder the DLCs immediately once I finished.)

Untitled Goose Game

Link’s Awakening (Typing this made me remember that I’m still on the final dungeon whoops.)

God of War (Holy shit y’all this game blew me away. These games have always been hyper violent and now here’s that protagonist trying his best not to let his anger get the best of him so he can teach his son how to be a good person.)

Pokemon Sword (I chose Scorbunny.)

Red Dead Redemption 2 (Shoar.)

2017

2018

[brokenbowen-a]

@solarecour asked: 1-50-

( quarantine ask game )

i’m putting these under the cut because... it’s a lot. but, thank you riles. 

What’s your go to snack?

as of lately it’s been m&ms but it’s usually any kind of chips. i dunno, i’m pretty basic.

What’s a movie you could watch over and over?

honestly there’s lots of movies i could say because i love movies and have many favorites that i have indeed watched over and over again, but the main one would have to be now you see me. the first one or the second one, to be honest. if you know me, you know how much i love those movies. they’re my favorite of all time. and huge comfort movies for me.

Favorite show to binge?

hm, i don’t binge watch shows a whole ton. i think i’d have to say one day at a time. back when it was on netflix, i binged each new season so easily and quickly and rewatch binged a few times. like it’s one of my favorite shows ever and it’s just very binge-able and yeah.

5 songs that make you want to dance?

ex wives or don’t lose ur head from six. cruisin for a bruisin from teen beach movie. work this out from high school musical 2. hoedown throwdown from hannah montana. pretty much anything from mamma mia 1 or 2.

5 songs that make you feel less lonely?

i don’t know ... how to answer this, so i’m just putting five songs i really love. just for a moment from hsmtmts. lover by taylor swift. i’m still standing by elton john. all you wanna do from six (even if it hurts). every single song from the wicked soundtrack. plus. like, sooo many other songs. i love music. a lot. 

Favorite meal to cook yourself?

i... don’t cook. so... ramen noodles lmao.

How do you “treat yourself”?

i buy myself food lmao. 

Favorite thing to do when doing self care?

i... don’t know? what does self care mean, like, exactly? because if it’s just... taking care of yourself, then that’s what i do everyday? i don’t exactly go out and like take myself to the spa or something? i don’t know, do baths count? if so, then, baths. 

Who have you been talking to the most?

the crow fam, you know who you are.

One thing you really miss right now?

assuming this means because of quarantine, then, going to the movies with my mom. or just, out with her in general. i also really miss my grandparents, which isn’t really because of quarantine, but like, i can’t call them up and see if i can come over because of quarantine so... i guess it technically is?

If you could be self isolated with anyone who would it be?

the crow fam, again. without a doubt.

Do you have any pets?

yes, a calico cat named ruta ann and a goldfish named fred

Favorite videgames?

i really only know nintendo when it comes to video games, but super mario galaxy 2 is like my favorite video game ever. but like any mario game in general, honestly. also pokemon, nintendogs, and of course, animal crossing. also in non-nintendo, if sims counts, then sims. even if i don’t have it installed on my current laptop. and also, i haven’t played it ages and this may shock some people, but i actually like call of duty.

Favorite podcasts?

i do not listen to podcasts, sorry.

Favorite YouTubers?

shane dawson (if you know me, you know this, he’s not only my favorite youtuber but one of my fave celebrities ever and someone who means a lot to me) + all his people (ryland, morgan, garrett, drew). and then also i love drew gooden, danny gonzalez and kurtis conner a lot. and i don’t think anyone even knows who this is but i love deargreyson aka alex cloutier. and also carissa nunez.

Wake up time?

um... that’s a good question. it... changes a lot. lately, it’s been anywhere from noon to like two pm. and honestly it can change at any given moment.

Sleep time?

similarly to the wake up time, it changes a lot and can change at any given moment. lately it’s been like... 2 or 3 am.

If you could go anywhere right now where would it be?

hm. i dunno. maybe to meet my best friend @luthcrandsupcr because i was just thinking about that a little bit ago.

What’s a change you want to keep when self isolation is over?

well, i haven’t really had any changes so... there isn’t really anything to say here.

Have you learned something?

i... don’t know. probably, but i can’t think of anything to say...

Any new skills?

no, not really, i don’t think...

What’s a hobby you’d like to start learning?

lowkey, drawing. even though i don’t think i’d been good at it because i can’t draw but honestly i kind of want to try to learn. also dancing, even though the same thing applies. 

What’s something you’d like to get better at?

does... being active count? like, i mean, as in, on here, writing. not like... athletic wise. lmao. if so, then, that. i mean, to be fair, i mostly have not been active because of everything going on with the world, so i feel like this can count...

What food do you wish you had right now?

cheese wontons. i had some the other day because we had chinese and now... i just really want some more.

Your go to quarantine outfit?

i ... have not changed my style or anything at all. so, my go to, every day outfit, is a t-shirt, sweatpants and usually a hoodie.

What have you done today?

i woke up, went to the store to buy something for mine and my sister’s friend. then went out with my dad and my sister to get dinner. came home, ate, got a bath, and now here i am.

Any plans for tomorrow?

i don’t think so? besides preparing for easter, i think we may be dyeing eggs? i dunno.

What’s on your “to watch” list?

right now, locke and key. my brother just finished it and he and my sister were telling me about it last night and i became intrigued. also, the second to all the boys because i still have not seen that. and i know it’s literally been months but also let it snow because i was reminded last night i still need to watch that.

Any musicians/bands you’ve discovered?

no, not really. i’ve discovered some new songs because of tik tok or video edits on instagram but like, not really any that i’ve checked out the singer’s other music or anything.

Post a selfie right now!!

i would prefer not to, to be honest.

Post pictures of your pets!

i don’t have any pics of them on my laptop :/

When was the last time you drank water?

i don’t know. i ... don’t drink water a lot. rip :/

When was the last time you ate?

like, a couple hours ago?

When was the last time you got up and stretched?

um, not too long ago because i got a bath. i dunno, maybe like an hour ago?

Favorite song right now?

hmm, i’ve been listening to a lot of throwback lately. honestly, anything from avril lavigne. but also because i am still highkey obsessed, anything from six. and also, obviously, hsmtmts.

Favorite social media to scroll through?

does tik tok count? if so, then tik tok, hands down. but also, twitter and instagram. and of course, tumblr.

What’s the last thing you ate?

a burger and tater tots.

What’s the weather like where you are?

it’s been rainy and cold, mostly.

Have you been playing animal crossing?

yes, but not new horizeons because i am very small and i have no money. but i HAVE been playing new leaf.

How are you feeling?

eh, okay, i guess.

Who’s the last person you texted?

my sister

What does your last text message say with no context?

right lmao, fucking sammy

Post a meme that made you laugh recently!

i hope this counts

Outdoor activity you’d like to do right now?

i... don’t do outdoor activities.

Something you’re looking forward to when quarantine is over?

going to the movies with my mom

Someone you’d like to see when quarantine is over?

my mom, lmao

Any new games coming out you want to play?

not really? i don’t think so...

New shows you’ve discovered?

i mean it was like a month ago, but i am not okay with this. if that counts? and also, if i can count locke and key even though i haven’t watched it yet?

Most comfortable piece of clothing you have?

probably my shane dawson hoodie 

[zombee]

@pitirres okay -

WNYC does really good stuff in general, it seems to me they build their products with their hosts (instead of building the products and asking the hosts to adapt)

2 DOPE QUEENS is a comedy podcast. great for laughs, hosted by two black women, and a hugely intentionally diverse line up of stand ups & guests

SOOO MANY WHITE GUYS is the spinoff of one of the hosts of 2DQ. host interviews non cis straight white men, excepting one token a season. i thought it’d be along the same lines as 2dq, peen jokes etc, and those are defo there - but i didn’t expect to connect with these guests so intensely, and be challenged in my worldviews. phoebe robinson is a masterful interviewer and gets better each season.

for pop culture, i like METIS IN SPACE, which is two canadian metis women speaking about indigenous rep of all kinds in sci fi/fantasy media. the definition of this expands as the seasons continue. they’re funny and perfect for someone like me who likes to learn about identity around nerdshit.

similarly PRETTY FOR AN ABORIGINAL is two australian ladies, but it’s much more of a traditional “let’s talk about the issues” podcast. still delightful though, and i picked it up because my novel is set in australia and i wanted to make sure i brushed up on multiple perspectives.

if you like steven universe, tamora pierce, or the queen’s thief series, su has the official STEVEN UNIVERSE PODCAST, tammy has TORTALL RECALL, queen’s thief has ATTOLIAN ARCHIVES. oh, and THE GOOD PLACE PODCAST (the official one) is fucking amazing

for pop culture, i like WONDERFUL!. a husband and wife talk about wonderful things they love. it’s a great pick me up, feel good show.

dunno if you count this as pop culture or politics, but i also am loving OH NO! ROSS & CARRIE where the hosts take on claims of the supernatural, religious fringes, and suchlike. they attended scientology classes and got acupuncture and visited a pet psychic, in the eps i’ve listened to so far, that sort of thing. they’re affable and skeptical in equal measures, and you can defo pick and choose based on your own interests.

similar is SAWBONES, a “marital tour of misguided medicine.” doctor and her comedian husband tackle all kinds of Bad Medical History, so not for the weak-stomached, but still technically rated pg-13 (no swears basically). the back catalog stuck to mostly long-gone ideas & topics, but recently they’ve moved into more, i guess, controversial? topics, and that might scratch your pop culture/politics itch as well.

so those are my more specific recs, but then here are my generals that i just Really Love and Think A Lot of People Should Listen To (originally typed on reddit hence the grammar lol) -

NARRATIVE/STORY BASED -

The Adventure Zone: The podcast that got me into podcasts. Three brothers and their dad, with varying degrees of Dungeons and Dragons experience, set out to fill time so one of them could take a leave of paternal absence from their more famous podcast, My Brother My Brother and Me. What starts as dick jokes somehow turns into this incredible, character-driven, thrilling, mindful fantasy epic. I wept through the last dozen or so episodes. And, they did a 2.5 hour finale, so they could end on episode 69. The duality of TAZ. If you struggle with the more purely sophomoric content on the first arcs, my rec is to start with arc three, Petals to the Metal.

Alice Isn't Dead: A truck driver searches across America for the wife she had long assumed was dead. In the course of her search, she will encounter not-quite-human serial murderers, towns literally lost in time, and a conspiracy that goes way beyond one missing woman. The American landscape is its own character, it's only three total seasons and we're three episodes into season 3. So good.

Welcome to Night Vale: Small desert town radio show, except the town is a hotbed of eldritch activity. Very Lovecraftian, except hysterical and not horribly racist (the opposite, in fact!)

Bubble: post-apocalyptic radio play. hilarious and scathing.

MUSIC BASED -

Heat Rocks - The Podcast: Two hosts interview a third party on their personal "heat rock," an album they have a deep love for, for whatever reason. I despaired that my lack-of-knowledge of albums before 2010 would hinder my enjoyment of this podcast, but then I realized I could just listen to them before the episode.

Dissect - A Serialized Music Podcast: Long-form version of the above. One season, one album; each episode, a song. First season is To Pimp a Butterfly, second is My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Third and current season is Blonde.

BARDIC GOODNESS -

The Myths and Legends Podcast: Writer and host stitches a narrative from myth/legend/folklore etc. Tells you about his research and where the versions differ, and is just generally a great writer and funny and engaging. Really took to heart crit and slowly expanded his repertoire beyond Western/white stuff, so there is some really obscure (for me) stories in there that I love alongside more typical Norse mythology or Arthurian tales or what have you.

Fictional Podcast: Same premise as above, but with classic lit. I don't ever want to read Dante's Inferno, but I for sure want to hear someone dad joke their way through fake arguments about the place of Greco-Roman allusion in a Christian text. Also pretty new, if you're like me and Have To Start At The Beginning No Matter What.

[yoitsalec-blog1]

Review on “Serial” Season 1, “S-Town”, &  “The Horror of Dolores Roach” - What is a Podcast?

   I just want to start this out by saying I’m sorry I haven’t posted a blog in sooo long. I’ve procrastinated because I didn’t know what to blog about next! At one time I was going to make a blog about my Bloom Tour experience and another was a Bloom album review, but I decided to make another on these Podcasts. A week ago I have never listened to any podcasts or knew where to listen to them, I had no interest, BUT, these last few days it’s all I listen to on my phone, in the car, & on my laptop. What are Podcasts? They’re free easy to download audio books in a way is what I think of them as. I KNOW, audio books? Because myself personally am a book reader, I couldn’t listen and focus unless I see it in my hands reading with my eyes bobbing left to read like when you watch a tennis match just reading every sentence. You might not think there’s a difference between these and audio books, but you typically can’t subscribe to audio books as you can podcasts, and podcasts put the story into episodes; series. Every episode can be a different topic or a whole story that makes it into a season, whichever genres you’re into, there’s one for you. Okay enough of this, onto the reviews.

“Serial” Season 1

  Summary -  Season one of this Podcast show called “Serial” tells the story of a 1999 kidnapping and murder case of Hae Min Lee January 13th. This Podcast started their own investigation on this case in 2014, 15 years later, after Sarah Koenig receives an email about this case to try and prove Adnan Seyed innocent. Adnan was found guilty and convicted of murder and kidnapping of Hae Min Lee and was having to serve at first, the dealth penalty but was then changed to Life plus 30 years. (If i remember forgive me if that was wrong) Adnan was dating Hae Min Lee at one time 15 years ago. It’s a story that leaves you always wondering “Who actually did it?” and while you try and come up with your own theory, Koenig works on this investigation for atleast 2 years, reaching to past friends of Adnan’s and Hae’s back in highschool and Adnan’s family and childhood to learn who Adnan was really like. I cannot spoil anything for you in this podcast because it’s just a must-listen.

  Review - I loved this season out of the three “Serial” has produced personally because it’s a murder mystery case with unexpecting surprises throughout entirely. Because of this Podcast as you should know, Adnan’s case in 2016 was reopened for another trial. Nice fitting background music on pauses and suspensed moments. Professionals and experts were used in this series to give better understanding of what might to expect in situations like this. Just having real interrogations and court cases from back in 1999 that you’re able to hear yourself from everyone involved makes this season stand out and grab my attention and I know this deserved the ratings it got. Crazy amount of downloads this Series has received resulting in receiving the Peabody award and #1 on the charts.

“S-Town

  Summary -  “S-Town” comes from the same producers of “Serial” but a different host, Brian Reed. This is a 7 Chapter Series of what first seems to be about an email Reed received from a John B. Mclemore of Bibb County, Alabama, wanting Reed to investigate into a possible murder of a young boy in his town, but that topic changes. The Series follows as Brian travels to this small town in Alabama to learn more about this town, and eventually John. John is a very interesting man, even a genius as most have called him in this series, as the many revealings we learn throughout.

   Review - I have to be honest with you, at points in this series, i was left upset, even teary-eyed at how powerful this is, but that’s not the only feelings I had, no this series came at me at different angles, from laughing and happy and angry and sad. It’s a must-listen guys and definitely free to download. Also lives up to it’s ratings, not to mention how many downloads this got in a short amount of time resulting in receiving the Peabody Award.

“The Horror of Delores Roach”

   Summary -  This story tells of a Woman in her 30s, Delores Roach, just released out of prison after serving 16 years for a drug bust. The Setting: New York. being that she gets released after so long, she has no idea about the new technological world that we live in today. There’s different Broadways and stores around her that took the places of all the old shops there was before she went away. All except one, an Empanada restaraunt that her and her old boyfriend Dominik used to always go. She walks into the store and who does she find? A guy named Luis that used to buy weed from her back then, he’s the owner of this restaraunt. With only having $195 after giving $5 to the homeless man, Luis offers her a place to stay in the room below the restaurant. Since Delores doesn’t have a job, soon Luis and Delores sparks an idea for Delores to be a masseuse, a given trade she was taught back in prison, and man is she good! But one incident with a man by the name of Mr. Pearlman that winds up dead in the restaurant, things are looking badly and the body must be rid of. 

   Review - I felt if I continued onto my summary I could’ve spoiled more that you deserve to find out yourself. Furthermore this story contains adult content for the young ears out there so beware. I enjoyed listening to this story, would also hope for a following story after? Hint hint ;) I love the imagery I was able to produce in my head with sound effects and descriptions used. And the characters? Phenomonal! Well done! It honestly had me just stop in my tracks at times just focused on what’s next. Great acting, great story line and above all a must-listen

   Thank you for reading this review, hope you liked it, you can also like this post and follow me. And also tomorrow I turn 19

[earthvsjazz]

Too Long Didn’t Read.....

                  A Year In Review

This Post took over a week to complete...

 I don’t know how to start this....but I have a main idea of what I want to say...but never how to begin...I’m not good at this stuff..

Why don’t we start with this...

It’s been a long year...but it’s gone by so quickly....I find that as I get older, Time goes by faster and faster every year..

I often compare Time  to the spiral wishing well in the mall that you put your change in and you watch it go around in a circle and is it gets closer to the center it gains more and more speed..that is how I perceive time..

I wanted to post this because I want to show myself, not just you how far I have come in the last year....and to use this as inspiration for myself when I get in those periods of blue...not for humble bragging...

So Last year I was in not the best mental state...

Between Work,Family, Sirens and my own Fuck Ups it was not a good time...

I was in the dumps...I didn’t want to live (What’s New) And I got angry...And when I get angry or hurt....I try to show the demons inside that I am better then them..and that I can show them that I can be successful.

Chronic Schizophrenia

https://youtu.be/3Dn3F5Ad8qQ

And Hurt then turns into obsession..

The First obsession was to get YouTube up and running..to Invest time into making videos and trying to promote the show...

So I started putting more and more into youtube...until I became obsessed with trying to get 10,000 Views....

This was before they changed the rules to YT partnership.....

When they did I was not discouraged...

 I missed the requirement by 27 days.....and after 10,000 views my channel really started to take off...

During that Time...I started a Podcast....

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7vDZuofx6GhZ1DlEQVJmHZqkM9od4fBG

I started Vlogging,...I started making music...I got to meet Doug Stanhope, Kaki King, Joey “Coco” Diaz and Mick Foley all in this year...

I got To See Yanni Live (With The Best Seats I have ever had a Concert) and Got to See Tricot in Orlando...

I had a Road Trip with Matt and Ate Mushrooms on Cast...and Spent Stupid Money on Records this year....

I started to feel better..

I was (Am) Making Goals...and One by One Crossing them off...

I started to get my confidence back...

Let me talk about that for a second...

Here’s the Deal...

I am at an advantage...I have people in my life who look after me...Awesome wonderful friends and family who encourage, who inspire...I have people on my cast who enjoy my show, and give me sooo much confidence...It cannot be bottled, it cannot be sold, And I realize that some people do not have those things in their life...I’m really lucky and blessed to have these people in my life...

I’m just saying that if you are down and out....(I think the word Depression is not a good word...People automatically write it off as soon as they hear it...but everyone understands “Sad”) In fact even a 5 year old can understand Sad...If you find yourself on the “Road to Sadness”, seek out good people in your life. Find people that inspire you...Mimic what works for them...Find Family members or maybe people in your online or real life communities...Seek them out..Learn from them and find out how they can help....People genuinely want to help...At least I think they do...Don’t be afraid to ask...If you were drowning in an ocean and you saw a boat, you would ask for help....

Like Bob Dylan Says

“Stop all this weeping, swallow your pride.

You will not die, it's not poison." - from Tombstone Blues

In March I decided to double down on my cast and took a Large Hiatus from video games...I lost some people, and gained a bunch more in the process....I realized I never was gonna play the games people wanted (I’m Not Getting a F’N Switch) and I felt that I wasn’t honest with people. I’m not passionate about video games and outside of childhood nostalgia....I can’t play new video games without getting dizzy and I’m not interested....My original intention of the show was to focus on music, and to play music live on cast...But if you have watched me before then you know that I take every episode one at a time, and that I’m pretty much making all of this up as I go...

In that time so much has happened....Thanks to @namineackerman I explored Younow...and In the last 6-7 months I have reached over 4,000+ views on Younow...

Mixer has almost 200 followers...and climbing...This still floors me because it blew up out of nowhere...I went from 20 to 163 in whats seems like just a couple of months...The irony was as soon as I stopped playing video games...My Numbers started to grow...

I put up a bunch of Vlogs, and Music Videos....I wrote music...I did what ever I could to overcome my sadness and get back in the game....Sometimes having a distraction or hobby is just what the Doctor ordered...I’ve said this many times....My cast is way cheaper then Therapy....What works for me,might not work for you...but I think there is sound advice...somewhere in here...

I started playing in My Local Community band...I feel outside of the show. that this has been one of the most important things I have done for Mental health...My Old college professor is the Director, and although I’m not Religious...My Old College Band Room is my Church....and after years of being away...my reoccurring dreams I would have where I was late and unprepared for a Concert, stopped. I think my brain was trying to tell me something...Not everyone has this option...but if people are looking for a solution that isn’t a prescription...Maybe some of these suggestions will help....

In this Year I have got two Paychecks from Twitch... All the hard work...all the time, finally started to pay off...and it has given me so much momentum..I started to believe that I could do this...Maybe not a career..but it could become the platform for me and my friends to show the world that we are funny, and that we just needed a chance, and a little momentum...

This has allowed me to Upgrade some Equipment, Get a Logo for the Show, Start Selling Merch, Get a Fivver Account, Clean up the show...and start playing with the Big Boys....

Now here I am...writting on a blog that I started in 2017 and I’m almost to 100 followers...I had a blog on Blogspot back in 2005-2008....It was called “Turtles, Music and Boobs” No one read it, unless you were an Ex, or a Boyfriend of an Ex...Blogging has become so much more than then, and the tools we have now in Tumblr, I would have killed for 2005....I don’t remember what my exact follow count was back in the day, but I’m pretty sure it was under 30...now as I write this I’m at 81 and climbing...

BTW to All My Adult Content Followers:

I cannot follow you back on this account....I check my tumblr on cast (Sometimes), and in public and I would like to keep this Account SFW..Plus I just got a phone, and I’m trying really hard to NOT watch Porn on it.....Good Luck Everybody....you know that gonna last like a day...

I still want to support you and I’m not judging you...Please....The only thing my show doesn’t have is Porn.... I’ve been watching since a young age..and I get it..It’s awesome...Fun for the whole family...

So I’ve tried to come up with a solution for some of my NSFW Followers...

I made a joke Tumblr for the Twitch cast Last year...

http://www.edsmicropenis.tumblr.com/

I don’t really care what size you think I am....but this is just sitting there, and I don’t have time for this Blog, let alone one we made to giggle on cast...

Point is, I will follow all the NSFW accounts that Have followed on that account...

On Most Platforms like Mixer, Instagram, and Youtube...I pride myself on F4F and this is one platform that I just can’t....but hopefully this will be a temp solution till I can come up with a better one....

  It’s Almost Over....

Thats all I really have to say...I use this blog to Support and Showcase the Show, and I try to come up with Original Content...

The main idea of this Post is “Thank you”

Thank you for Supporting my Blog...My Show....My 5 posts every time I go live, My Stupid Youtube Videos...My Obsession with Asian Wrestlers...For making this the most Successful Blog...I have ever made...for being there...For Not Giving up on me...and Most of all Encouraging me to be the best...

When I saw that I was getting close to 80 Followers...I wanted to do a year in Review...If not for me...but for others,so they can know that if you put your heart into something...The Universe knows...and sometimes helps too.

Thanks and Goodnight...

[justorklifestyle]

SBS Spotlight: Inner Calling LLC

Our business relies on small business: that is why we came up with the small business spotlight where we select one small business a month to feature on our website and all of our social media platforms.  We like to find small businesses that have been looking for unique ways to stay afloat, businesses powered by passion and not profits.  The businesses where the owners are truly invested in what they have and only want to see their dreams prosper.  We want to support the real small businesses of America.  To be featured as part of our Small Business Spotlight, please reach out to us either by calling or texting 862-803-0225, by emailing us at sales@justork.com, or by visiting us on our website at www.justork.com.  Our own unique way of giving back to the community we serve; the spotlight is a free post to our website blog and social media channels, with additional paid marketing features available as well for extra promotion.

Justork Lifestyle is back with the Small Business Spotlight.  This Saturday we are featuring a self-inspired self-starter. We have the owner of Inner Calling, LLC based out of NJ. Who she is:

"Amanda Nafash is an intuitive career coach who counsels people of all ages and helps them both interview for and discover their inner calling. She believes in finding opportunities to pursue what you love while also bringing out the best in yourself."

You can find my bio and mission statement at our website, www.innercallingllc.com

1.  Hometown / state / country origins:

My hometown is Ringwood, NJ. We have some of the best hiking spots in the world if you ask me ;)

2.  Where are you located now?

I am still local! But I am looking to spend a lot of this next year traveling and working from the road.

3.  Enneagram number:

I never did an enneagram test, but I do see myself changing over the years as I grow and learn to love certain aspects of myself, so even if I did a test last year, I would probably see different results today.

4.  Zodiac sign:

Leo Sun, Sagittarius Moon, Capricorn Rising

5. Wake up / start your day routine:

I start my day with a cup of coffee (despite trying to kick this caffeine addiction.)

6. First job ever:

My first job was babysitting; I got CPR certified at 12 and started watching my cousin and sister and all of their friends.

7. Your best quality / skill:

My best skill is my ability to talk to people- conversation is how I built my business, grew my network, and established a reputation as a professional and student. I thank my Italian family for that!

8.  Worst habit:

My worst habit is the high expectations I have for myself- though they have led me to achieve great things at young ages, they have also been the cause of a lot of stress and negative self- talk. This next phase of my life is dedicated to being more present and being proud of what I have already accomplished.

9.  Introvert or extrovert?

An extrovert who values alone time

10. Business motto - influential motto? Mine is fall down 7, get up 8:

Sooo many favorite mottos, but something I love to remind my clients is "work smarter, not harder"

11.  3 things you love about being self employed:

TIME FREEDOM!! , getting to choose whose opinions get to impact the final business decisions, infusing my own values into every part of my business so I can truly see my mission in every day's work.

12. Favorite holiday:

Small Business Saturday!

13. Favorite small business you admire:

It's very hard to pick one small business, as I tend to surround myself with small business owners and young entrepreneurs,

14.  Favorite Instagram to follow:

My sister runs a page called @_runningonplants_ where she talks about mental health, physical fitness, and posts pictures of all the delicious food she makes. She inspires me every day, and her posts always put a smile on my face!

15. Favorite vacation / place to unwind and let off steam:

I love the beach- everything melts away when I am swimming in the ocean or reading a book on the sand.

16.  Next place you wish to travel:

I am hoping to go to Colorado and Louisiana in the next coming year!

17.  2021 personal goals:

My personal goals for the rest of 2021 are to absolutely live it up for my 24th birthday, and expose myself to more art, both man made and in nature.

18.  2021 business goals:

My business goals for the rest of 2021 are to host a vending fair and provide an outlet for other small businesses to succeed, to expand my listening network on my podcast, and to incorporate more networking events into my business.

19.  Best business related purchase:

The best business related purchase I have made was my rebrand and website, which I had done by an up and coming entrepreneur! Her instagram is @everythingbybreckel I highly recommend her for all of your web design needs!

20.  Ideal client:

My ideal client is someone who is open minded. When someone is willing to talk about their loftiest dreams and trust that I will be not only supportive, but also an asset to them achieving  their goals, that's when the magic happens.

21.  Your biggest business related failure:

I've come to realize that success is subjective. My old mindset is crumbling and a new one is taking its place, which I feel is much healthier. When things don't go as planned, I consider it a really important life and business lesson, and I analyze what I learned and how I can adjust from it. Failure is currently being phased out of my vocabulary.

22. A mistake that taught you the most / that you learned from:

A mistake I learned from was assuming that I could tell anyone and everyone about my intentions and plans for my business. I've learned after a year of business that it is sometimes best to keep your plans in a more private circle until they are completed or a little more concrete. Unfortunately not everyone has your best interest in mind. I never was one who understood the "move in silence" mentality, but this year I have definitely seen the positive aspects of it firsthand.

23. How / why you chose to work for yourself:

I chose to work for myself as I was finishing grad school in the height of Covid lockdown. While there were delays with the state in getting applications approved for the LSW exam, I decided to start my own business. Once I started, I couldn't look back. I don't think I'll ever return to a cog-in-the-wheel position.

24. Your entrepreneurial summary / journey to how you got here:

My whole adolescent life I was doing a bunch of odd jobs, so I made connections everywhere I went, and I ended up being the connection for so many of my loved ones to network or get jobs in different places. I love to be a listening ear and a mentor to those around me. I was a social work student from my second semester at community college, and every semester I changed my idea on what I wanted to do in the field. Right before graduating with my Bachelor's degree I was required to do some career readiness through our Career Center on campus, and thus began my love of career coaching and college counseling. I talk a lot about this journey in the first episode of The Inner Calling Podcast.

25. Your biggest win:

My biggest win is hard to pinpoint. I think the greatest feeling was on my one year anniversary with Inner Calling when I reflected on how many of my goals I achieved, and remembering that when I started the business I told myself, "I'll do it for one year. Next year if it doesn't seem like it's working out, or if I don't love it, I'll pack up shop and chalk it up to experience." Now I hit the ground running with plans for year 2. It's going to grow so much more, and so am I. I can't imagine giving up on Inner Calling now.

26.  Advice for new business owners:

New business owners, take those opportunities for help people are offering you! Barter your products and services! Making connections is how you stay alive and successful. We are not in this alone. "It takes a village. . ."

27.  Favorite recipe:

My favorite recipe is for snicker-doodles, I learned how to make them in my high school foods class and they are my favorite thing to make in the winter. They make the whole house smell like butter and cinnamon.

28.  Mac or PC?

Mac

@innercallingllc on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inner-calling-llc

website: www.innercallingllc.com

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Justork Lifestyle

Please click on the link at the bottom of the page and fill out our short form so that our lenders will reach out to you for available financing options.

Justork lifestyle is a business consultant and financial advisor. We help small businesses from start to finish; from the funding stage all the way to product launch. One of our consultants is with you, every step of the way, to answer all of your questions and drive your business to success. For more information, please visit our website or reach out to us via email at sales@justork.com. We offer a variety of services, including but not limited to:

Financial:

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Business planning and strategy

Financial consulting

Marketing

PPC campaigns

SEO & back links

Blog publications

Google ranking

https://www.justork.com/business-loan-application

[starryevermore]

Omg I'm such a simp for the same men I stanned literally 10 years ago. So today started the newest season of The Masked Singer Germany and two seasons ago an actor/singer I used to be in love with (kidding I still have a crush on him) won it. They decided to make a podcast with him to comment on the show, so naturally I had to download an app just so I can listen to this man bc I'm still whipped okay like god he's still fucking hot 🤤😭😩. (I'm currently rewatching his old show he used to do, so it really doesn't help with my obsession)

And tomorrow (Wednesday) an episode of a celebrity baking show comes out with another guy I used to stan sooo hard (like really hard my first ever fandom I even have pics with him bc I got sound check tickets to his concert). So the whore I am, I set a timer for it just so I can watch it bc I'm still so far up his ass even tho I'm not in the fandom anymore and don't listen to his music but every time he's on tv I literally drop everything for him. At least this guy is only 4 years older than me so it's "reasonable" to stan him but guy number one could be my dad I'm concerned like when will I stop being in love with him??? 😂 (my daddy issues say hello lmao)

Anyway this is literally the most exciting thing that happens to me in a long long time and I wanted to talk about it bc I don't have anyone else lol (you can ignore this message)

If you think I’m gonna ignore this you’re mistaken 😠

But honestly I feel this so hard 😭😭 There’s so many people I’ve stopped following but whenever I see them again I’m like!! It’s them!! I love them!! Like, I think a year ago a guy that I used to be the biggest fan of had apparently gotten really into the beauty world and I was like!! Omg!! I remember when you were a dancer!! Holy shit!! (There’s also the fact that I’ve been simping for Brie Larson since I was like.. 6, so yeah 😙😙) So I definitely know how you feel 😌

[cypr1anlatew00d]

Going to do a whole book ask meme in one swoop bc I feel like I’ve been getting back into reading and writing fiction but have no real place to discuss it... and pillowfort is down so I’ll probably repost it bc ppl actually comment sometimes there lol....

What book are you currently reading? - Summer of Hate by Chris Kraus

What book did you recently finish? - The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada

What’s a book that’s been on your to-read list for a long time? - The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann

What’s the next book you’re hoping to read? - The Idiot by Elif Batuman

Is there a book you own, but aren’t planning on reading? - The next book whose author I have to interview for the podcast I help with is SO BAD I am probably going to give up on it as soon as I have material for 3-4 good questions lol

What was your favourite series as a kid? Would you still read it now? - I really liked A Series of Unfortunate Events and the Abarat books, as well as, not a series but Robert Cormier’s work in general. I started reading adult books pretty young but was recently thinking about how these would be fun to revisit so yeah sure.

What’s your favourite series now? - Man idk... The last “series” thing I read was the first three of the Legend of the Galactic Heroes novelizations, I guess.

Fantasy or sci-fi? - Sci-fi by a lot.

What’s a book you want to buy? - I’ve been thinking of getting I Want to Believe by A.M. Gittlitz the next time it’s on sale.

Have you ever judged a book by its cover? - I haven’t decided whether or not I want to read a book based on the cover, but it does matter, especially if I want to buy one... If there’s an edition with a cover I like more I’ll go out of my way to get it.

Have you ever bought a book because of who the author was? - If I see an Ali Smith or Chris Kraus book at the used bookstore I do tend to snag it... I was also a dedicated Nabokov collector at one point in my life though I have most of them now!

Have you ever read a celebrity memoir? If so, whose was it? - Peggy Guggenheim’s autobiography is wild.

Are you a fan of autobiographies? - Depends. Authors, artists, or average people who just write about their specific lives in a very interesting way, yes. Celebrities or politicians or athletes, no. (I realize this contradicts the last question, but Ms Guggenheim is definitely in the very top sliver of interesting celebrities lol)

Fiction or non-fiction? - I feel like I read about 50/50 and go through phases of preferring one or the other, I definitely wouldn’t want to commit to one for the rest of my life.

Favourite fiction genre? - Sci-Fi is the most “genre” thing I like but I also have a weakness for autofiction, surrealist-adjacent stuff, and formally experimental stuff like the Oulipo guys, but these don’t really feel like common genre descriptors

Favourite non-fiction genre? - Art theory and criticism.. lol

Historical fiction: yea or nay? - I pretty much am bored to tears by straight regency/victorian era shit which is what most ppl think when they’re asked this question... but I also love the more Pynchon approach to it.

Do you read the book or watch the movie first? - Honestly depends which I hear about or become interested in first.

Paperback or hardcover? - Paperback PLEASE

Do you read e-books? - Sure, especially for research

How many bookshelves do you have? - One tall one and an overflow stack :x

How do you organize your books? - Alphabetical by author then title, with fiction and nonfiction separated.

Do you prefer borrowing books from friends, borrowing books from a library, or buying them? - I like any kind of borrowing or buying used if I can!

How willing are you to lend your books to other people? - Too willing probably, because I’ve lost a few of my favorites this way :(

In what condition do you keep your books? - Fiction, well-read but decent shape. I like how already broken in used books feel. Nonfiction, if it’s for my research area, I will underline and write notes in though.

What’s your favourite book? - This is SOOO hard, my safety answer since high school has been The Trial by Franz Kafka, but I also really love the Ancestors Trilogy by Italo Calvino and Aliens and Anorexia by Chris Kraus

What books can always make you cry? - I dunno if I’ve ever cried at a book to the extent that I reliably cry at multiple points in the final 2 episodes of Gunbuster and also the ending of T2... I really can’t recall an instance right now, I think reading takes up more mental energy so I can’t be as emotionally swept away as in a movie or anime series LOL closest thing I can think of is a few points in the manga Pluto by Naoki Urasawa that reliably choke me up

What books can always make you smile? - The Third Policeman by Flann O’Brien

What’s the biggest book you’ve ever read, and how many pages did it have? - Excluding huge compilations and textbooks which I probably haven’t realistically “read all the way through” anyways,it’s probably Ada by Vladimir Nabokov, which iirc is 632 pages and I’ve read twice to become even more mentally bastardous.

What character do you connect with the most? - UNFORTUNATELY probably the early Chris Kraus hot mess insert character, especially in Aliens and Anorexia. I also really enjoyed both protagonists of Ali Smith’s How To Be Both.