#Thania's Think

[thania-keiji-gf]

the type of boyfriend who likes reading a book but you're not. you are a cuddle bugs-lazy gf and he's smartass-introvert bf. it's perfect combination because most of the time you two will spended together by cuddling—ah i mean, you cuddling him while he reading book seriously. sometimes you also read with him, with head on his shoulder and your tiny hands also holding the page of books to avoid he turn the page before you finished reading previous page. cute.

"hey, i haven't finished reading the last paragraf yet :< hold on, for a second."

-> TSUKISHIMA, Kita, AKAASHI, Ushijima, SHIRABU, Sugawara, KUNIMI, OIKAWA, Iwaizumi

[alchemicaladarna]

by the way what do you prefer to be called? (in my head I’ve been calling you “alchemist mutual” or “chem” skdkgkhm)

OOOHH "chem" is such a cute name!!

However, I think I really like "Chemi" or if you want, you can refer to me by my nickname: Thania! I don't really have a preference tbh XD

[apersonwholikeslotus]

Troy - Miltiades

Etruria - Thania 

Rome - Tarquin or Lulius 

Mycenae - never got a human name 

Ancient Greece - Cassandra

Here it is folks, it's all oc's (minus rome and Greece but they barely show up) it's unfinished, it's based off the Aeneid. it's almost 4000 words long, and it is in fact accurate to my hc I just don't have motivation for it. The poll demanded I post it.

—-----------------------------------

Staying awake had been hard enough throughout the war, peaceful sleep was a rare commodity especially when you can feel all the fighting. When we had broken into the Greek camp and there was no one there I had the foolish thought that it was over, they had given up and everything could finally return to normal.

I'm laying on the deck of a ship, at least I think I am. Everyone around me is yelling, a certain voice rising above the rest ordering everyone to hurry. What's going on? The last thing I remembered was the boy, he was a sacrifice to Athena he told us he was; we had pitied him. Priam had said to bring the horse as well, if we gained the favor of the goddess we would never lose to the Greeks again, that's what they said. I had gone to bed, everything was ending, I could finally rest again... 

"Miltiades!" I blinked trying desperately to respond to whoever was calling my name, mostly to tell them to shut up. My head was pounding, it felt like someone was sitting on my chest preventing me from taking a full breath. Where was I? "Miltiades, wake up!" 

The voice repeated the command a few times, I finally saw whoever it was kneel over me, bringing his face fully into my view. 

I stared up at the man for a moment, there were a lot of people I was hoping it was, someone to explain what was going on but, "who in hades are you?" 

The man looked extremely concerned and mumbled something about it being worse than he thought, "It's me, Aeneas don't you remember?" 

I could swear I had heard the name before but I still had no clue who he actually was. All I could do was make a face and shake my head a little bit, he then took it upon himself to check my memory. 

"Do you know your own name?" 

"Miltiades" why is he asking me this? Out of all the things I need explained, like to start with why are we on a boat, and he's asking my name even though he already knows it. 

He mumbled something else under his breath "Do you know who Priam is? What about Hector? Do you remember the names of anyone on the other side?" 

"Yes, I know my own king's name; Hector is Priam's son, and what do you want me to say? Achilles?" 

He finally went quiet, just staring at me. "So, you don't know who I am?" 

"No." I could be more apologetic about it, but I am in too much pain at the moment to care. "Please explain what is going on" 

"How to say this easily..." He went completely quiet, looking from side to side like he didn't want to say whatever it was. It was annoying me greatly, was the war over? Or did the Greeks return, how had I ended up on this boat, where were we going, why did I think I heard children a little while ago: Because if this is a war ship there should not be children on board. 

Aeneas stood holding his hand out to help me up, I stood, but almost fell to my knees as a horrible wave of nausea hit. I quickly leaned against the side, trying to keep myself together. 

I looked across the horizon, I was taken aback by the boats surrounding us. And the lack of... anything really, where were we? 

"Troy fell" I heard Aeneas next to me, his voice bittersweet as he made his next statement "We should have listened to Cassandra" 

I tried to process his words. He had to be wrong, a coward that had fled too early to know what was really going on. If the city had fallen I would be dead, but Aeneas continued on. 

"We escaped," he gestured to the small fleet we were part of "I think we're the only Trojans left" 

The only Trojans left? 

~~~~~~Approximately Six Years Later~~~~~~

"We still have no clue where Italy is, IF it even exists" 

Aeneas rolled his eyes at me as we pulled into the Phoenician port "We're getting close I can feel it" 

"That's what you've been saying for six years!" I looked over the city, leaning against the side of the boat I thought of Phoenicia, Ashtoreth the personification of Phoenicia, not the actual city. I wondered if she thought I was dead like so many others did; I can't blame anyone. By all accounts I should be long gone. I spent a full year convincing myself I was gone, and Aeneas isn't the best at cheering people up. I heard a splash and looked over to see some of the children looking over the edge; then I heard yelling from below, correction Aeneas isn't the best at anything. I would get him, but someone else will. 

What did amuse me though was watching the kids, it had always been odd to me how the older kids got the more they thought others' misfortune was funny; meanwhile younger kids were helplessly concerned. Once we had been a safe distance from Troy–or the ruins of it–we took a headcount. Seven full families, parents and kids all who had survived somehow. About thirty men, most of whom had seen which way the battle was going and fled with Aeneas instead of dying; whether they were smart or cowards depended on who you asked. Most of our crew was made up of widowed women and their children though, not that surprising, sad, but not surprising. 

Then there was the last group, eleven children all under the age of six who didn't have any adults who claimed them. Six years later the eldest of the group was a twelve year old boy and the youngest a seven year old girl: there had been one younger then her but he didn't make it past the second year. Years earlier I had thought of having children of my own, but it's not that easy for personifications you can't just decide to have a kid. There needs to be the need for one. And the universe never had the need for me to have one. There were plenty of other children between all the boats, but these ten left were mine for the time being. 

I heard men from the docks below saying something, I couldn't hear them but I knew close to what they were asking. "Awn, Simmias, help me with the ropes" 

The two eldest boys came over quickly unwinding and throwing them down to the men on the docks. They were better at it then most, but most hadn't grown up on a boat. I waited for something else but then realized Aeneas had fallen overboard and was more than likely still waiting for someone to get him out of the water; I sighed loudly. 

"Everyone!" I yelled to anyone on the top deck, "We're going to stop here for a while, but just incase for the time being stay close; keep track of each other, Aeneas, I, and some of the other men will go try to find accommodations for everyone" 

There were mumbled responses, most not quite paying attention to what I was saying just anxious to get onto dry land. 

I got off the boat just as Aeneas got to the dock. "How was your swim?" 

He pulled himself up, "You didn't come help me why?!" 

"Not my problem, you survived" I walked away to go look for Ashtoreth. I left for the city, I didn't know where she was, but she has to be around here somewhere I can feel her. As I walked through the streets, trying to follow my gut feeling and find her; and you know not to get miserably lost, I looked around. We had stopped in plenty of cities, but none had seemed as big as this one. I looked around at the buildings, the city was unusually large for one this new. 

I wandered some more taking everything in, she must be doing well for herself if her influence has made its way all the way over here. I had heard rumors saying she was more powerful than any of the greek cities, I would have to make sure to throw that in Mycenae's face if I ever saw him again. 

Every time we stopped in a city I had a moment, ever since my land fell to the Greeks I've been weaker physically, it took awhile but I got used to it, to my new limits. What I never got used to was the empty feeling in my chest, sometimes it felt as if my heart had stopped beating. When we were in cities like this and I saw people going about their days, everything normal for them, I got jealous. I wanted my land back, I wanted the rest of my people. Italy, I had said it a million times over trying to get used to the idea of somewhere new. I needed somewhere new. 

"Miltiades!" I turned seeing Aeneas coming behind me, looking a mix of smugly proud and exasperated. "Hurry! We have an audience with the queen!" 

—------------

I stood in front of Queen Dido, or more accurately I stood off to the side, behind Aeneas as he explained–poorly–what we were doing here. I tried to not let my eyes wander too much, Ashtoreth should be somewhere around here; I'm surprised I haven't already seen her. It used to be that she would find me the moment I appeared in one of her ports, where could she be?

"You should join us for dinner tonight" I looked up, as Queen Dido extended the invitation to Aeneas; I was almost confused. There was no way after tonight she would be able to stomach the absolute stupidity of the man standing next to me. 

I needed to stop him from accepting this, "Thank you bu-" 

"We would love to!" ... we're going to get kicked out of another place. Aeneas smiled at her and I watched something I never thought could happen: she sincerely smiled back. I left following Aeneas out of the palace, going back to the docks. 

"What was that?" I finally asked after a while of silence,

"What was what?" 

"The smile" I told him, it was obvious. The usual response to Aeneas from women was less than enthusiastic. Sure he was good looking enough but he was as smart as a fly, and his lack of brains was too obvious to ignore. How a queen is apparently falling for him we'll never know. 

He shrugged as we got back to the dock. "She just likes me" He waved up to someone on the dock, then got up onto the boat. I blinked a few times, I needed to coach him on how to not embarrass us all at dinner tonight. 

"Miltiades!" I heard yelling from behind me, this though was a woman's voice. I turned around seeing Ashtoreth coming towards me. I smiled, waving to acknowledge that I saw her. "Miltiades, gosh I thought I was going to miss you" 

I tried not to laugh "Even if you did we're joining you for dinner tonight Ash" 

"I heard, he's an idiot" 

"Yes!" I finally let go, laughing hard. "He is," We both went quiet for a moment just happy to be in the company of someone like the other. Being a personification is hard, humans are draining, they don't understand immortality. 

"I thought you were dead" She finally said, "Everyone did" 

I shook my head a little, "Trust me, I thought I was dead too" I took a step back spreading my arms, "As you can see though, I'm here somehow" 

"Oh" she mocked disappointment, even though a smirk was prominent on her face "I was hoping I wouldn't have to put up with you" 

I nodded seriously "The gods are cruel sometimes" 

I went to say something else but before I could, I heard a voice from the boat; "Miltiades!" I looked up to see one of the children waving to me, "Can we get off?" She asked half bouncing, obviously tired of being on the boat. 

I was going to tell her no when I heard Ashtoreth gasp behind me, then yell up "Of course you all can!" 

I eyed her, I knew she loved children but what was she doing. The kids standing on the edge looking over all looked at me, hesitant to get off being given permission by a stranger. I sighed, but nodded and waved them down. They all left from the side coming quickly going to get to the dock.

"Are they yours?" I heard Ashtoreth ask me, as she watched some of the younger ones almost stumbling over their own feet trying to be quick. 

I was quiet for a moment watching them. For six years I had watched over all of them, I had named half of them because they were too little to remember their own; more than once a few had slipped up and called me dad, I wanted to think they were mine. All I remembered though was a warning from my own father "They had no one else" Is all I said.

—-----------

"Marriage?" I looked at Aeneas shocked, "She wanted you to marry her?" 

"I know!" He sounded just as shocked as I was about it, "I told her no, cause I was told I have to leave" 

We had only been here for two months and we already were getting kicked out–there is no way Aeneas would leave otherwise–. I couldn't say I was surprised. This happened at most places we went to, I just thought we had more time here. When Aeneas had said he wanted to leave some had protested saying they were going to stay; then he told them that the Queen would probably kill any Trojans left in the city if we weren't gone soon. Everyone didn't mind leaving so much after that. That left us here, repacking the boats and getting ready to go back out and search for 'Italy' even though still none knew where it was. 

"Have you told your girlfriend you're leaving?" Aeneus asked me, an odd tone to his voice. It took me a moment to realize he was talking about Ash, 

I shook my head, "Ashtoreth isn't romantically involved with men, ever, and she has a wife. You met her" 

"I did?" he looked confused, I tried not to sigh too heavily. He was truly useless sometimes, I sat down on the dock for a moment taking a break. I still hadn't told Ash that we were leaving, I didn't know how to. I'm sure she knows, there is no way she couldn't. I would tell her formally though when I go to get the children later, they had been spending an awful lot of time with her and she was happy to watch them. Ash had always loved children, but over the years none of her wives had seemed too thrilled at the idea of adopting some of their own. This one though... She seemed to want children just as much as her wife and had been thrilled to help watch them. 

"We thought about children" she had told me a week or so before watching Naaila–her wife–with my children. She sighed, "With the new city and all, adopting isn't really an option right now, and we're both so busy anyway..." 

I watched my friend, she was always considered odd. Ash had repeatedly fallen in love and spent her life married to a human. Personifications didn't do that, most of us couldn't handle the heartache after they died; Ashtoreth had always told me though that it was worse to not have anyone and watch humans die anyway. Point is, she wasn't scared to get close to humans and lose them, most of our kind were. I had only heard of one other that wasn't, supposedly there was a man far east who raised housefulls of orphaned children. I was just terrified of losing any of these ten, I couldn't imagine dozens. 

"When do we leave?" I asked Aeneas, hoping he had a day or time in mind instead of just 'whenever we're ready'. 

"In the morning" he said it with more certainty than I had heard from him ever before. But... So soon? I thought I had more time, more time to say goodbye to Ashtoreth, to give everyone just a little more time to get ready. I nodded though, there was no point in arguing if he said in the morning; then we would leave in the morning. 

"Why did you wake me in the middle of the night to do this all?" I gestured around to everyone bustling about getting things ready, "Couldn't we have done it earlier?"

"I had a dream. They said we have to go in the morning" Damn Aeneas and his dreams, can't the gods communicate in different ways? By letter maybe? Messenger boy? Not dreams and random visions? 

"You should probably go get those kids now" I sighed and nodded, I stood and walked away without another word to anyone. Ash would be mad at me, waking her up this late but I needed to get the children. 

I showed up at the house, looking at the house. All the children had been staying with Ash and her wife this whole time; both insisted they didn't mind and it was much more comfortable then on the boat. I hadn't considered if we had to leave at the last minute what I would do, especially if I was trying to avoid her.  I took a few steps more forward, and raised my fist to knock on the door: it flew open though before I could. 

"We heard" Instead of Ashtoreth, it was Naaila standing there. 

"We haven't told anyone" I was confused, how word of a dream Aeneas had spread so quickly, he said himself he hadn't told anyone. 

She rolled her eyes, Naaila was beautiful it was hard not to notice it. Ash and I had always joked that we had the same taste in women, it wasn't far from the truth. "Everyone knows, the queen is throwing a fit" 

I sighed, knowing this would happen. There was no way we could stay here for long without Aeneas making someone mad, in this case it just so happened to be a queen of a quickly growing city who wanted to marry him. Wonderful. I'm starting to accept that if we even do find italy we'll be promptly kicked out by the next woman he disgusts in some way or another. 

THERE'S SUPPOSED TO BE A LOT OF STUFF HERE BUT I NEVER WROTE IT :))))))))

I sat in the garden. My eyes barely scanning the area around me, always returning to rest on a specific spot. The game of hide and seek with my daughter had started almost ten minutes earlier. The girl had an affinity for hiding in the same spot time and time again, so I sat, and waited. I would go exactly to where she was, and make a big deal about how long it took for me to find her after a few more minutes. 

My daughter, my Cassandra, was barely four years old; and I already knew I would raise hell and high water to keep her safe. Some thought it inappropriate, a curse that she was named after a seeress who was doomed to never be believed. I thought it was a fitting name, Cassie was born nine months after the fall of Troy, Cassandra the Trojan had warned them we were coming hadn't she? They hadn't listened, the moment she spoke that prophecy it was clear the gods favored our side. 

I stood, deciding it was time to 'find' her, "Now where is my daughter?" 

I said it loudly, waiting for the giggle that always gave her away. Just on cue from behind one of the bushes that lined the wall moved, a small burst of laughter coming from it before quickly being muffled. The girl shares more of my looks but the laugh, her laugh was her mothers. I walked over, purposefully making my steps fall heavier, so she would definitely hear me. 

"Cassie?" I called in a sing-song voice, "Where are you?" I got close enough and reached behind the bush grabbing her. She laughed even harder as I held her up in the air. I couldn't help but start laughing as well, these are my favorite moments. 

"Let's play again!!" she shouted, already trying to wiggle out of my arms, "You can hide, i'll find you!" 

Some men came out of the palace calling for me, they had some news something to do... with Troy? At first I sighed, the war had been over centuries ago yet sometimes they still brought unnecessary news about it. I called the nursemaid over, she quickly rose from where she had been sitting on the other side of the garden and came over. Taking Cassandra from me without even having to be asked. I told her to take the child inside, that I would meet them in a few minutes. She nodded then disappeared. 

"What is so pressing that you had to interrupt me while I was with my daughter?" I asked it pointedly to one of the advisors I knew. Everyone in the group shuffled at my tone, not wanting to deal with my anger. 

"He brings word from the west" they half-pushed a boy to the front of the group, I looked him over, a commoner no doubt, not from here, and young, Yes, very young. 

"What do you have to say?" I was already bored with the whole thing. Whatever it was could not be as important as everyone was claiming. 

He was obviously very nervous, but started speaking, "Some of the trojans survived, and they escaped. This was decades ago, but a whole fleet of refugees went west, they stopped in many places; they angered many people including a queen who no longer lives." he stopped for a breath, I didn't believe a word he said. I couldn't, I had killed Troy. Miltiades could not have survived. It was impossible. 

"They found refuge in a new land, the personification, one of your own kind, married not long after arriving to a woman named Thania; the personification of the Etruiscans. Not even a month ago she bore him a son"

Impossible.

[tearsasmascara]

If you receive this, you make somebody happy! Go on and send this to ten of your followers who make you happy or somebody you think needs cheering up. If you get one back, even better! ♡☀️🌸

awww OMG ATLAS TYSM !! here lemme just

@momijikazu, @dawndelion-winery, @w4yf1nder, @mccnstruck, @cxlrosii, @ezendoll, @seveninchesfrominsanity, @luvzushi, @thania-keiji-gf, @xingqiusleftearring

[juneviews]

About never let me go, i’m a little scared about the power dynamic between nuengdiao and palm, i’m really hoping the writers are gonna resolve this issue ‘cause it makes me a uncomfortable (i am really hoping that it’s supposed to make us feel uncomfortable, but i’ve been scarred before so i don’t trust medias anymore)

On a completely different note, nuengdiao’s mother, thania, is super fiiiiiiiine! Not be a lesbian but oh my fucking god omg jesus fucking christ she is stunning and yes she is a capitalist but if activist yok can fall in love with (and thirst for) dan the cop, i can go to horny jail for a capitalist milf

.......................................... bestie, don't even speak of milf's, my mom's name is LITERALLY tania iodijcsuhyhusihduoiez 😭😭😭 but I mean, if I only think of the actress & not her character's name, I see your point very very well 😏 you know sometimes it's not about your own values, it's about the plot, and yok, you & I get that perfectly 😌 as for nuengdiao & palm, I do think the show has put a LOT of emphasis on their inequality of treatment, too much in fact for it to be swept under the rug for the sake of their love story, which is why as I said the preview for ep 5 surprised me a bit. but knowing (and trusting) p'jojo, I do definitely think it's gonna be addressed, especially when, since the beginning of the show, nuengdiao has been shown as a "benevolent master" by wanting palm to ride the car with him, helping him with his chinese assignment & all of that. so we shall see how it all goes down, but I have hope this ship will become more equal as the show progresses, since they're clearly gonna run away together in 3wbf fashion lol

xxx

[ourlittleforever]

also thinking abt having a little family w thr/awn... I think we'd have two little girls. Thr/awn wouldn't want to stray from the classic Chi.ss naming system, so their names would start with the family name Mi.tth.

Mitth'ania maybe? Thania as her core name. tbh I was gonna go with -alia but I have an f/o named Thalia so that might be a little weird lmao. I've been trying to use real names as a base too, for ideas, like Mitth'alassa, or Thala.ssa (minor Gr.eek goddess of the sea).

Either way, both the little ones are spoiled rotten by their papa, who adores his daughters with all his heart.

[spider-gets-artsy]

Have I mentioned my friend and I have a pantheon of troll gods for my fanverse

I've been thinking of them a lot lately

Most of them are hella WIPs but I'm trying to change that so I can eventually code some world lore shit for Toyhouse

In order:

Helian, God of Suns and Light, Patron of Rainbow Drinkers (they/them)

Cinder, God of Fire and Blood, Patron of Lowbloods (he/him)

Cerebe, God of Mind and Logic, Patron of Scholars (they/them)

Thania, God of Death and Doom, Patron of Shadow Droppers (she/her)

I added their preferred pronouns, but to be real, gender is a funny little game to these guys, these are just the forms that they take to act troll-like. I imagine their true forms are much more eldritch and primordial.

Maybe I'll post additional lore when I have official refs of all em

[365runesoftheamalgamations]

For the fall asks, 🎃 and 🥧 please!

hello and how are you?

Thanks for stopping by, my dear Cryptic! Wonderful of you to come along, and we will be happy to get these asks done for you!

Ask Game In Question!

We will be answering these questions for Marathon Runners, since you did not specify any specific Work! c:

🎃 Pumpkin: What character continues to light up your mind and inspire you to write more?

For this Work, I would have to say it is our dear Lux! He was very hard to write for at the beginning of this Work, and for a long time he actually made all of us not be able to write at all because he would refuse to really participate in any capacity. He actually was not even the Main Character - that was our dear Ada - until we realized how much of the story he actually lead.

And then we focused on his perspective, and tried to figure him out, and now he makes us want to write all of the time! He is now a lot easier to consider and he can help the story run a lot smoother than Ada ever allowed things to.

Maybe someone was a little jealous. (≧∇≦)/

🥧 Pie: Which of your characters takes care of the others around them? How do they take care of themselves?

This would have to be our beloved Arlow! I think it is both in his nature and just compounded from his career as the apothecary for both the story and for the Towns within the World of Frio Thania.

For himself, I think he is actually quite skilled and aware of his body and wellbeing. He takes his job and his life quite seriously, and does know that if he wanderer off and got himself sick, he would probably end up with a full house of sickly patients as well. （⌒▽⌒ゞ

So he is a man who is very much aware of his physical and mental wellbeing, even if that means he has to take it easy or give himself rest. (❁´▽`❁)*✲ﾟ

Thank you for the ask! :D

🪷 Neal Anderson, the Natsume Rune System

[translationandbetrayals]

Banana Fish destroy me, an essay.

Banana fish has left a scar in my heart for multiples reasons. I start the show only knowing was about gangster in New York and everybody warn me that the final is heart-breaking (but no one mention that almost every chapter will use my feeling like a punchbag).

                     MY FEELINGS                       BANANA FISH

And I think one of the main reasons is I know the context is a reality: The gangs fight with people joins at an early age, the influence’s traffic of the politic, the life of abuses of all kinds. This anime is a cold-water cube of reality in that aspect, but I appreciated that wasn’t work in a superficial way, that the character were humans.

Moving forward, I think Ash is an excellent protagonist. Even when he is show as a prodigy in multiple aspects, his story and actions show a character who has flaws, and even with all his qualities, still have feeling like scary, sadness, guilt, and, what I feel give him more profundity: Impotence. Ash is skilled in multiples forms of battle, have an elevated IQ and excellent physical skills, but it’s still a young boy of 17 years, and can’t do everything, or save people who are important for him, and even when he have a choice, that come with a price he will have to carry forever.

And that same rules apply to every character. Yut-Lung, for example, even when is one of the antagonists and made horrible things, the cruelty of his situation make you empathise with him a little, seeing his struggles and how that revenge path is consuming him.

But even with all this pain, the anime has things that lift the spirit. The trust and comfort that Eiji and Ash find in each other is so precious in all this context, keeping the hope and wishing they can be free. I think the contrast between how terrible everything in the battlefield with the mafia is and how heart-warming are moments when they are supporting each other, and the daily that are other moments, like when they are eating or plotting, or when they find allies in the war for the Banana fish, how slowly they are less lonely in this Odyssey, make you connect in a deeper level with the story, investing all your emotion in the crossing.

   That investment is why I think I was so destroyed with the end. Because I fight for ignore the tragic final coming, desperate for believe in a solution, a good ending. But the story has shown me that isn’t that easy, and sooner or later, fate must be fulfil.

(N.A: I can´t close this blog without recommend all of you the soundtrack. All the song are incredible and contribute a lot in the anime,)

Thania Rodriguez

(Akimi Yoshida please pay my therapy,)

[ruledbythemoons]

Your profile pictures are always more stunning than the last! You're such a pretty and pure soul that it radiates from you in an aura of warmth and light, Thania 💙💙💙 also you have a beautiful nose

You’re literally one of the sweetest people I’ve come across 🥺 you’re an angel! I really appreciate you and your kindness, thank you for brightening up my day ♥️🥺 and thank you! I think so too but I’m still learning to love it lol

[anothermansjeans]

hehe. my name is thania 😯 it’s pronounced tanya haha. i hate the h being silent in spanish. um i had chorizos w beans at 6 am and i like listening to mainly pop and indie music. ariana is queen and we stan little mix. something else is that i think ur an amazing human being, i feel like ur my only, i don’t if friend is the right word, on tumblr n u made me feel at place w the fandom. hehe have an amazing night❤️

hello thania!!! 🥺 okay okay 1.) i love that we have the same music taste ✨ 2.) um thank you sm omg djfkdmd i think you’re also an amazing human being 🥺❤️ AND UM YOU MADE A PLAYLIST AND SHARED IT WITH ME (which i listen to sm omg like i’m obsessed with it) AND WE HAVE LITTLE REBLOG CONCERTS SO UMMMM FRIENDS IS DEFINITELY THE RIGHT WORD!!! fkfkdmmd <- sorry, i’m very ✨passionate✨

[thania-keiji-gf]

type of boyfriend who push his affectionate!girlfriend away, when she need kisses from him during the practice's breaktime, only because he is too embarrased to respond this romantic moment in front of his friends. but when his girlfriend start giving sad face, he can't says no anymore (simps). his eyes will looking for a moment into the court to make sure there's no one of his teammate will caught them about this. then after knowing everyone is too busy about their own business, he will grab her jaw and kisses his gf quickly but leaving soft feels on her lips.

"are you satisfied huh? affectionate baby."

with a lazy-tease tone.

-> TSUKISHIMA, Futakuchi, SHIRABU, Kageyama, SUNA, Kunimi.

[totallyvain]

Vanity Hour: Meet the FRITOGANG

Words by Thania Garcia

Photo by Gabby Arvelo 

Hometown: San Antonio, Texas 

Sounds like: A party in your grandma’s basement 

FRITOGANG is a music collective made up of nine 20-somethings making a blend of sounds sincerely theirs. There’s Adriel, Dubb & Speck (brothers), Marco, Malcolm, Niko, Kue, Tonsoul, and Levi. 

The idea of a team this large is always interesting. First it indicates shared understanding of friendship and business, so that the group’s success relies on a common sacrifice. As musicians it also means working through differences, learning from one another and inevitably growing faster together.

 Adriel: With all the different inputs that everybody has…you can see and hear how it all comes together. That is what makes FRITOGANG what it is. I may sound cocky but FRITOGANG has its own sound, we can’t compare it to other people…it’s like an adjective for the music-making process, we sound like FRITOGANG.

 It’s the individuality of every member involved that makes this team so dynamic both in friendship and in music. 

 Speck: It happened a lot of different ways. Me and my brother Dubb, we started making music with Kue and Niko and one of our other homies…we conceptualized FRITOGANG because at the time no one was really f*****g with what was going on…we felt like Fritos…

 At this point the zoom call erupts with laughter and I eventually learn the story of the FRITOGANG name. I am calling it the Fritos Philosophy which is really just an analogy to the popular chip brand’s underdog qualities. No one was listening to the music when it was initially released but that all changed when the group released their 2018 album “Are You Even Listening?” on Spotify.

 Speck: We had some stuff on Soundcloud and we were uploading there mainly but we used ‘Are You Even Listening?’ to test the transition onto the streaming on [Spotify] and that was a good move for us. The Soundcloud market was kind of dying down. Coming off the platform and onto the Spotify algorithm really does help because it puts our music in front of a lot of people and Soundcloud doesn’t necessarily do that in the same way. From that moment, I started noticing a steady climb on our monthly listeners. People find us and stay and keep listening, which is what you want as an artist. For them to be invested and continue coming back and listening to you.

 Totally Vain: Is that when most of you noticed a shift in terms of numbers?

 Levi: For me…it was packing out local shows

 Buzzing in agreement, the group starts to reminisce on that idea.

 Adriel: To see that we could sell out shows in our city and like people knowing all the words and showing up early, that was when I realized we could make that happen in any city, so it was just about getting the music out there and once people gravitate towards the music…we know what we can do.

 Levi: We actually planned a tour and had to cancel it...the thing is I feel like we do have a lot of online love but the people…well from what I’ve heard is that the people love to come watch us perform because we throw our own shows. We love to interact with the crowd and that experience was something that we haven’t had with the fans this year and us missing that tour was …man f**k corona…

 The pandemic has been an incredibly devastating roadblock on various levels and all over the world. The music industry (much like any industry) is bending and shifting into uncomfortable positions in attempts to find new and innovative ways to combat the blow. When I ask how it effects the group as up-and-comers, the tone of the conversation shifts to anticipation. 

 Adriel: The shows started to become something that we could be inspired by and look forward too. They were bonding experiences for all of us, performing together. Even doing Instagram lives are really cool experiences although they aren’t the same it gave us a taste of how it was and how we will hopefully get through it.

 A couple of weeks ago, FRITOGANG released their fourth album on Spotify called “GOTTA KEEP MY PEOPLE CLOSE,” an accurate reflection of the group’s roots.

 Speck: We just kept at it, making music in the city and meeting people. We met Levi through somebody we were making music with and then Levi introduced us to Tonsoul. Adriel and Mike…I had seen them perform a couple of times and we ended up linking, making music. My brother Dubb heard Malcolm rap on Twitter.

 Levi: It’s not difficult when everybody’s friends. We can sit in the crib together and not make music, but it comes naturally.

 TV: What are we thinking about in terms of label relations? Is that something you guys think or talk about, signing a deal together?

 Adriel: The goal is to get there on our own and as a team. We also have people that are getting our music out to more places and we like the idea of that and how that’s been working for us up until now.

 Levi: It’s people like you who actually like the music and reach out to us and they want to know more. We like that process and the difference is...if we ask for it, it won’t be as interesting and real. 

TV: When I was first digging through your music and content, I noticed you guys had quite a few music videos. How important is the visual aspect of your music for you guys?

Levi: It’s important to have a good amount of videos but also a good amount of good videos. We are nine whole people and it’s easier to know us and our personalities as individual artists through visual scenes and these music videos where we are “acting,” it’s a good doorway into our personalities.

 TV: In terms of inspiration either visually or musically, what kind of stuff were you consuming when you were creating “GOTTA KEEP MY PEOPLE CLOSE”?

 Levi: It’s hard to pick one type of music since we all pull from different places, but I was listening to old 90s R&B and then to some indie stuff like Winona Forever. It comes from everywhere…

 Malcolm: Some songs get made at different times and we’ll kind of just put them together because we do end up making a lot of music.

 Levi: We try to make timeless music because we like to have a full vault.

 TV: What advice would you have for other local artists looking to expand their fanbase?

 Tonsoul: I would tell them to do what they want do and to stop giving a f*** about what’ s hot right now and put themselves in the music so people can love the art for what it is…which is really a piece of themselves.

 Levi: Don’t make music with an audience in mind.

You can listen to “GOTTA KEEP MY PEOPLE CLOSE” on Apple Music and Spotify now. You can also listen to the FRITOGANG curated playlist on Totally Vain’s Spotify. 

Make sure to follow us on Instagram to keep up with our latest coverage!

[harasharaved]

8, 20, 41 for the asks! Love you Sarah! '3'

Thania ur a cutie and I love you to pieces! UwU

8. Best self care tip?

I'd say appreciate the little things! It makes every day a little more tolerable if you take a second to think of a couple specific things that didn't totally suck

20. Super power of choice?

It's a really basic answer, but I'd say flight. Or teleportation. Something with a lot of freedom.

41. Do you prefer swimming in the ocean or a pool?

I spent a disproportionate amount of time thinking about this. If I can use water toys and make a day of it, I'd pick the ocean. If it's just a couple hours, for the ease of it I'd choose a pool.

[warehouse13pod]

Show Notes 105 A and B "Elements"

Hello, Agents, and welcome to the show notes!

As always, you can listen to this week’s episodes while you read along with the show notes by clicking here for 105 A and clicking here for 105 B. You can also click play on the embedded player below, if it appears for you.

I am aware that some content—embedded players, gifs, etc.—is not showing up on some versions of the post that are automatically cross-posted to Tumblr. The main issue seems to arise on Tumblr mobile. If you have issues with that, please let me know! I’m working on fixes, and I want to make this content easy to access for everyone. In the meantime, please know that you can always access any show notes directly on our website.

More important than any commentary or analysis regarding the themes in this week’s episode are the lives of the people that cultural misappropriation affects…

…so we’re putting the link to the Lenape non-profit organization that this week’s expert recommended right here at the top.

There were a whole lot of ~heavy themes~ this week.

But we were so grateful to be able to shine a light on not only general issues of cultural misappropriation but also the misrepresentation and homogenized representation of Native and Indigenous people in media, which is something that is rarely discussed or even addressed in mainstream discourse.

These show notes will address all of the issues we touched on, but don’t worry. It’s not all heavy! We still love Warehouse 13 and appreciate the lighter moments in the episode as well as the ways the episode helped to grow Pete and Myka as a team and as individual characters.

Let’s kick it off.

We started 105 A with an excerpt from the Tracks by Louise Erdrich. The excerpt is copied below. (The chapter is widely available online from many sources, so I feel comfortable posting it here also. Especially as it is for the purposes of quotation, criticism, and review.

C H A P T E R  O N E

Winter 1912

Manitou-geezisohns

Little Spirit Sun

--

NANAPUSH

We started dying before the snow, and like the snow, we continued to fall. It was surprising there were so many of us left to die. For those who survived the spotted sickness from the south, our long fight west to the Nadouissioux land where we signed the treaty, and then a wind from the east, bringing exile in a storm of government papers, what descended from he north in 1912 seemed impossible.

By then, we thought disaster must surely have spent its force, that disease must have claimed all of the disaster must surely have spent its force, that disease must have claimed all of the Anishinabe that the earth could hold and bury.

But the earth is limitless. And so is luck and so were our people once. Granddaughter, you are the child of the invisible, the ones who disappeared when, along with the first bitter punishments of early winter, a new sickness swept down.

To iterate what I already said in the podcast, I highly recommend that you read Tracks. It is fascinating, important, and beautifully written. Also, from a linguistic standpoint (for those interested in such things), it often applies some elements of Ojibwe language in astounding ways to Nanapush’s English-language narrations, which creates a really refreshing and new perspective on language than one would typically find in a novel with influences from only western/European languages. 

While I do recommend it as a standalone novel—and you do not need to read any of the other novels to understand it (because it is set in the earliest part of the timeline of the series)-it is part of a tetralogy of novels. Here’s more information on the novels and writings of Louise Erdrich.

Despite an embarrassing amount of time spent researching this for you, I was unable to find an electronic version of the book to share with you. But it’s worth spending money on this truly excellent novel. Here it is for purchase as a paperback. You can also download it from Audible (with or without a membership) as part of a pair of audiobooks. The other audiobook is Louise Erdrich’s Four Souls, a standalone novel.

So, why include this specific excerpt in our podcast? Well, in addition to the reasons we discussed near the end of our discussion in 105 B, we felt that the points in this excerpt were deeply relevant to the issues we brought up in our own discussion and—more importantly—the issues that our brilliant and generous expert, Dr. John Norwood, brought up.

Let’s break this down.

“We started dying before the snow,” but the rest of the paragraph goes on to describe that they didn’t all die. Nanapush’s people—the Anishinabe—survived illness, Eurocentric colonization, and American Westward expansion. It brought heavy losses, but the Anishinabe (and indeed, native cultures more broadly) continue to survive. That’s one of the things that Miranda and I agreed was among the most vital to impress upon our listeners:

Native cultures continue to exist. It is harmful to treat native cultures as if they are relics of the past.

(Note: I know I spell Anishinabe without the double-a. I went with the spelling in Tracks. If the other is preferred, please let me know)

One important way you can take this to heart is by educating yourself about what native cultures exit in or around your area.

Because I promise there are native cultures that exist around you.

Here is the Wikipedia page detailing indigenous peoples around the world that may help contextualize more specific information that is linked below.

For the United States of America…

Here is a list of federally recognized tribal nations.

For Canada…

Here is a list of Canadian First Nations and their associated languages.

For Mexico…

Here’s what info I could find on Mexico’s indigenous population as well as a thorough Wikipedia page on the subject.

Moving on to South America…

Here is a list of the indigenous people of South America.

Now for Australia and New Zealand…

Here is information on the history and modern life of the indigenous people of Australia and New Zealand.

There are also indigenous populations in Europe!

That’s a complex subject that I can’t provide a single comprehensive page for, but here is the link to the entire Wikipedia category on the topic.

Two-thirds of the worlds 370 million indigenous people live in Asia…

…but they still face widespread non-recognition and marginalization. While I couldn’t find a separate page of information detailing the indigenous groups of Asia, there is a wealth of information on the page of indigenous peoples around the world at the top of this section.  And here is an article about some of the issues facing those communities.

And in Africa…

I’ve gathered a few sources of information on the indigenous cultures of Africa [Link 1, Link 2].

And of course we haven’t forgotten about Island Nations!

There are indigenous people from island nations, as well

Finally, it’s also important to note that many native cultures don’t have official federal recognition, but that does not mean that they don’t exist.

Here is a list of those (for the United States).

This is why we say it is so important to recognize that indigenous and native peoples are still here, living, surviving all around us. It is so, so vital that we do not contribute to a culture that makes them feel invisible, when clearly there are so, so many people who deserve to be seen and heard. 

This week, our Writer Appreciation Corner focused on Dana Baratta. Interestingly, this episode is her only “written by” credit for Warehouse 13. However, she remained a co-executive producer on the series for seven episodes.

We talked about how having so many writers credited for story and teleplay didn’t necessarily do this particular episode of television any favors. However, we also mentioned that seeing multiple people credited for writing an episode isn’t necessarily a negative thing. We mentioned Season 7 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as it provides many examples of well-written episodes with a lot of hands involved in crafting the script.

Those episodes are:

707 "Conversations with Dead People” (written by Jane Espenson and Drew Goddard)

708 "Sleeper” (written by David Fury and Jane Espenson)

710 “Bring on the Night” (written by Marti Noxon and Douglas Petrie)

717 “Lies My Parents Told Me” (written by David Fury and Drew Goddard)

and 721 “End of Days” (written by Douglas Petrie and Jane Espenson)

Other notable episodes of the show that remain fan-favorites include (but are not limited to): 111 “Nightmares” (Story by Joss Whedon; Teleplay by David Greenwalt); 311 “Gingerbread” (Story by Thania St. John and Jane Espenson; Teleplay by Jane Espenson); and 221 “What’s My Line (Part 1)” (written by Howard Gordon and Marti Noxon).

Moral of the story? It’s tempting to think there’s too many cooks in the kitchen, but having many hands on a project is not a reliable indicator of poor quality. It’s all a matter of the writers’ ability to share a vision and work as a team.

We weren’t sure if the language in the opener was accurate (and based on the rest of the episode’s level of cultural accuracy, I highly doubt it would be), but here is some information about Lenape and Delaware languages.

Dr. Norwood also mentioned that many Algonkian tribes came from the Lenape people. There are many Algonkian tribes—among them the Ojibwe-speaking Anishinabe people featured in Tracks—but I’m unsure which amongst them are related to or descended from the Lenape. From what I am able to gather, an Algonkian tribal nation refers to those native groups and cultures that speak Algonkian languages.

When talking about the flute trills in the opening scenes of the episode, Miranda referenced that this is a common pan-Indian filmic trope about which she learned from the podcast Metis in Space—a podcast about indigenous representation in science fiction.

Shifting gears a bit…

I mentioned seeing a piece of art that I really liked sitting in a chair in Leena’s Bed and Breakfast. I tried to screenshot it for you all only to find that—as it turns out—its impossible to screenshot anything from Amazon prime on any device! If you try, you just get a big black square or rectangle saved as a picture! Thank goodness for you, dear listeners—for many reasons—but specifically at this time for coming together to solve this problem for me!

Thanks to the teamwork of @AslamChoudhury and @Zincstoat I can now tell you that the picture looks like this:

The picture is “Ophelia,” by Lyse Marion of Imagine Studio, Montreal, Canada.

Unfortunately for me and for anyone who shares my ~aesthetic~ the picture is no longer available for sale, but many other works from that artist are. Click their Etsy shop to find something that speaks to your soul.

Thanks again to @AslamChoudhury and @Zincstoat! I looked for hours to find that piece of art and couldn’t find anything. For your extraordinary retrieval of this artifact and for allowing me to catalogue it, I’m naming you Agents of the Month!

Speaking of art, Miranda references not understanding modern art and being a pre-Raphaelite type of lady. As for myself, I’m divided. I absolutely love art of all kinds and can spend hours looking at anything from antiquity through to the age of impressionism and surrealism…at which point my brain kind of breaks. I love half of modern art—especially paintings and half don’t understand it at all. I went to the MoMA once and had a great time until I was standing in a room where the lights were dimmed and there was a pole in the middle of the room with lots of heavy cannon-ball sized orbs scattered across the ground. I…did not understand what was happening. I still don’t understand what was happening. Art is vast and ever changing. It’s okay not to understand it all. If you’re interested in learning more about Modern Art, here’s some information straight from MoMA itself! And, from The Art Story, here are some terms to know.

Think that might be too much for you and you might be a Pre-Raphaelite kind of bloke? That’s chill. Here’s some information on what Pre-Raphaelite art is from the Tate Museum! Interestingly, the Tate’s first example of Pre-Raphaelite art is this painting:

This painting is also called Ophelia and is a work of Sir John Everett Millais

This is interesting not only because of the parallel to the painting from the B&B linked above, but also because of the connection to Myka that we’ll see in a future episode. This, my friends, is what we call a motif.

In the episode, Pete mentions wanting to see a Broadway show. As a theater fan myself, I can relate. If you’re one of the lucky people who can afford tickets to a Broadway show (or live close enough to wait in lines for more affordable rush tickets) here’s a list of the shows currently playing on Broadway.

In New York, Pete locks eyes with Lacell for the first time. We can’t blame ya, Pete. We also both found Lacell (or, rather, the actor who plays him) quite attractive. That actor’s name is Caleb Verzyden, and he does…not have an extensive filmography. Now, initially, Miranda and I tried researching him further to see if he was an actual Lenape person cast as a Lenape character. We were unable to find this information, but we did find something awesome, and in the episode we promised to share it with you:

Y’all, he runs a lumberjack company now!!!!! His current hobbies include cutting down trees and sitting in front of the big pile of wood while smiling and wearing a suit. Go on, Caleb. Live your best life! 

That was a fun interlude, but unfortunately, it’s time to return to the rather serious matters in the show.

Dr. Norwood talked about Powwow culture representing a specific cultural exchange within American tribal nations and not representing Native culture as a whole. Here is some information from the Nanticoke tribal nation on the matter and information from the Lenape people on the same matter.

For more information on the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation outside of powwow culture check out their online learning center and museum and their official website.

We also talk a little bit about now the Warehouse itself participates in the oppression of native peoples. Here is some information on the Native history of the South Dakota badlands on which Warehouse 13 resides.

There is a great joke about the band Earth Wind & Fire in the show.

But you know what’s not a joke? The way Artie conflates all Native creation myths as if they’re one thing. Here is some information on the real and multiple creation stories of the Lenape people.

Moving forward, we address the issue that is Jeff Weaver. On Jeff Weaver, I have this to say: Money isn’t a personality and Jeff is boring as heck. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

Miranda wonders in the episode if Jeff is supposed to be some kind of White Savior figure. For those unfamiliar with the term, here’s what that means in relation to filmic and televisual storytelling.

In the Warehouse, Claudia solves Artie’s chess conundrum and Miranda and I talk about the deeply impressive nature of a person who understands chess. There is a beautiful film called The Dark Horse that I saw a few years ago that is deeply relevant to this episode. The movie is based on a real-life man named Genesis Potini who was a man of Maori (Native culture of New Zealand) descent who taught chess to underprivileged teens in Auckland New Zealand while homeless. It is moving and highly worth a watch.

We pick up in the hospital with Pete recovering and Myka dutifully standing watch over him. Myka mentions Jeff asked her on a date…

…and Pete tells Myka she’s pretty when she smiles.

It was a sweet moment (and a funny one when he calls her scary right after).

Miranda and I use the moment to talk about the problem of men telling women to smile (even though Pete was loopy and totally wasn’t the kind of bad guy we’re talking about in this particular situation). Here’s one of many, many think pieces on the subject.

After that, we get back to our super uncomfortable but necessary to talk about ~heavy themes~ where Artie tells Leena that the Lenape “sold Manhattan for $24 of arts and crafts.” The episode talks a lot about why this is such a problem. Here’s some more information on how indigenous understandings of land ownership differed from European views and lead to these kinds of insensitive summaries of complex histories.

Moving on to 105 B (Yes, those were ALL notes from 105 A, but don’t worry! The first part of 105 B involves a lot me talking about how much I dislike Jeff Weaver and—while important, because he’s really, really boring—it isn’t a subject that lends itself to extensive show notes.)

Let’s give Pete a big shout out for pulling himself out of his hospital bed to get to work. Poor guy. In the show, he rips out his IV. Don’t do that. It’s a bad idea. It hurts and is super bad for you.

They talk about an artist named Walter Burleigh in the episode. The one in the episode is fictional for the show. But there was actually a real Walter Burleigh who is relevant, but he’s not an artist.  

Spoiler alert: he was TERRIBLE.

The real dude lived after the dates relevant to this episode and he lived in a different area, but he did deal with native populations in the Dakota Territory and the native populations with whom he interacted hated him. I wonder if that was more of a plot point and was more accurately portrayed in an earlier draft of the episode and, if so, why, how, and when in the writing process it was changed.

In lighter news, Pete made a great I Love Lucy reference.

Fun fact about the famous “You’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do” line from Ricky Ricardo in I Love Lucy: No character was ever allowed to make fun of or imitate Desi Arnaz’s accent aside from Lucy herself (for those who don’t know, the two were married in real life). This is because they were mindful even back then of allowing there to be a real joke that would exist in the lives of interracial romantic partners but also not allowing it to become an excuse to treat the minority character as a joke or a stereotype. You can find out more about that and other aspects of Lucille Ball’s life with Desi Arnaz (and without him) in Episodes 82 and 83 of The History Chicks.

Finally, Miranda and I talked a little bit about ley lines and telegraph lines. If listeners are interested in a great fantasy novel about ley lines, Miranda recommends The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. Bonus! It's queer. Second, the source of her information about telegraph cables and Australia having bad internet is a book called The Undersea Network by Nicole Starosielski.

That’s all I have for this episode.

Thanks for learning and growing with us, Agents.

[workinghardorhardlyworkingb-blog]

24th September

Being a young woman in todays society body image, pre assumptions and perception of us are things we think about on the daily. Creating this piece with Thania Acaron gave us the opportunity to look at these and discover a way of expressing and fighting against todays assumptions. This was eye opening to look around the room and hear some of the most inspiring, powerful and beautiful girls I've met open up about their insecurities and be able to comfort and support and each other.