#can’t go wrong with Lidl

[balrogsbucket]

“Bad” Drawcember ‘23 - Day 3 Prompt - Possum w/ hat

Tag by @fraznik

Slightly late but I had mulled wine with my folks yesterday and it was very wholesome and low-key

Going to the Edinburgh Christmas market on Tuesday too, I hope the tourists are fewer this time (was toooooooo busy on Saturday) - they are everywhere EVERYWHERE

[digital999placebo]

back on my usual shit. Tormenting the one I love. A lidl fanfic snippet beneath cut hehehe (a convo between Gilbert and Roderich on the topic of Germany)

[Somewhere in Continental Europe, 1870]

“You can’t be serious about raising him on your own,” Roderich spits acid, “You have no experience or qualifications outside of war, let me do it.”

“If I can manage an army of men, I believe I’m capable of caring for one child.”

“Children are not trained men, Gilbert.”

“You’re the last person I want to be lectured by on this,” Gilbert cuts in and adjusts his position in the chair. “I mean no offence, Roderich, but I rather have Feliciano beneath me than beside me.”

Roderich makes a strangled sound and opens his mouth to retort that Feliciano is perfectly well-adjusted when Gilbert continues.

“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t doubt your efficiency in raising regular children. You could turn a stuttering fool into a credentialed politician and a tone-deaf cripple to the most renowned pianist. You and your country have a culture that mine does not. Your understanding of music is something I couldn’t even dream of achieving, but what you lack is the ability to admire a well-oiled machine. I want Ludwig to not only be a force to be reckoned with within the political spectrum, I also want him unbeatable on the field. I want people terrified at the mere mention he’s coming… And that is nothing you can provide.”

Roderich nearly laughs at Gilbert’s delusion. The nation before him couldn’t seriously believe that Ludwig, a wiry and mutilated little thing, a walking blasphemy against God and Mother Nature herself, covered in sutures and wrapped in bandages that needed to be changed daily, was going to become anything but what he was created of, dead tissue. He searches Gilbert’s face for a trace of self-awareness and is horrified when he doesn’t find it.

“That– Ludwig won’t even survive that long,” Roderich manages to get out, quiet, angry, and small. He can’t help how his voice shakes and rises. He’s furious, but can’t say why, perhaps because he feels bad for the little thing Gilbert has created, so frail yet already carrying the weight of Gilbert’s expectations, he’s angry because he knows better and he doesn’t know how to make Gilbert understand that. “He’s blind and mute; incapable of even feeding or relieving himself despite his age. You haven’t created a machine, you haven’t even created a person, you’ve created a thing whose only purpose is to suffer a slow death.”

Gilbert’s mouth tightens and he drums an impatient finger against the chair’s armrest, “You’re underestimating him.”

“I’m realistic, one of us has to be. That thing is suffering every day,” Roderich begs. “It’s sadistic.”

Gilbert hits the armrest with his fist and Roderich reels back.

“Don’t call him that! He’s not a thing, he’s the future of Europe,” Gilbert sneers at him, all composure finally lost, “You sit here and speak as though he were to die any day now, yet you beg me to resign him to your care?” –Gilbert wrinkles his nose in disdain– “I can see why Feliciano turned out the way he did, you have no perseverance, no dignity or strength, giving Ludwig to you would be to cut his throat. You’ve never struggled in a way that matters, nothing worth having is easily attainable. Ludwig will be great.”

Roderich trembles with withheld fury and he curls his lips to match Gilbert’s crude sneer.

“Fine,” he spits, “If that thing makes it at all.”

[sebari-1004]

Uk supermarket tierlist because I saw a TikTok and their tierlist was simply wrong so here is mine

1. Lidl, cheap and not as crowded as Aldi. Very similar stuff but with a better overall vibe. Love Lidl <3 Get the app for shopping and get your partner in crime to get the app too but only use one of yours, every season or so they’ll hand out £5 off vouchers if you’re not a regular user of the app. The cat treats are good too. They’ve recently increased their cat food selection to have some more common brands now which is good too. Their own brand licki licks are the best bang for your buck on the market and highly worth trying for picky cats or cat meds.

2. Aldi, go there if you can’t go to Lidl. It’s too loud and crowded for me and the queues are annoying. I’m honestly not a fan. The queues remind me of primarks a Saturday. The stuff is cheap though

3. Sainsburys, go there when you’re feeling fancy ✨ genuinely though I go there once every so often for a special shopping experience. The blueberries are MASSIVE. Don’t get scammed by the garlic chives though, they’ll register as 2.25 but they’re actually £2.00. They have a decent cat food selection, a lot of fancier stuff too like Blink and scrumbles.

4. Asda, you go here when you need some specific and Aldi / Lidl don’t sell it. The vibes are fine, it’s not too crowded but it’s realll expensive for somewhere that used to be affordable, thanks for that one rishi (you don’t deserve my capital letters, you improper noun). The cat food selection here is okay but should be better. There’s not much range here but they have your classics like whiskas and felix.

5. Home bargains, SO MUCH FUN. Like fuck actually getting groceries, this is the trip of a lifetime. Don’t go there too often cause the novelty will wear off but god damn if the shit isn’t cheap and handy. Good for the occasional stroll, recommend going once every 6 months for funsies. You can go more often if you’re rich like that but we can’t afford that in this household. Limited cat food options, a lot of weirder unknown brands and paste texture cat food which hashbrown refuses to eat.

6. Morrisons is here next for sentimental value. Also breakfast was good here as a child and I like how much stuff they have. I like their cat food range but it’s not as good as Sainsburys.

7. Tesco, my fellow brits will hate me for this one but I don’t like the vibes of Tesco. The people there are just as poor as me but give off the vibe of feeling too proud to go to Lidl, like suck it up, the red bell peppers are 59p and the ones at my Lidl are huge. I weigh them sometimes for fun and they’re around 300grams, just go to Lidl. Decent selection of cat food too and they do seem to care about the price and affordability of it.

8. Green Co op, stuffs hella expensive for some reason and you can’t use the green co op card in the blue co op and vide versa which is really annoying but my sister likes going here so it’s eighth. The sweet selection is fine though.

9. Blue co op, we don’t need blue co op

10. Marks and Spencers, bomb cookies and gift stuff. Not much else, too expensive and we aren’t here living the lavish life.

Dishonourable mentions

11. Iceland, decent cakes but why go here when the range sells them too and the range is so much more fun to look through

12. Waitrose, who can afford this and why haven’t we eaten them for sustenance yet???

[theasstour]

a lidl just opened right down the street from my usual grocery store (i live in the states!) and i wanna go visit, are there any products that are like “well known’’ that are worth trying? i dont know what theyll have but its kind of cool ahshssk idk

Omg!!!! I’d defo recommend checking out their bakery! It’s been over a year since I’ve been to a lidl 😭 but defo check out their bakery! Idk if your lidl’s just gonna sell American stuff or if there will be European stuff there and in which case I’ll give you a list AIOJOEIWRJG!

[magpiica]

I was in Lidl today and suddenly thought of a new doctor who headcanon so now I'm gonna share it and also some others because why not?!

- The Doctor has become something like a cryptid in the UK. With various people over the centuries having written accounts of this mysterious character known only as 'The Doctor', a person who wherever they travel, chaos is sure to follow. It's known that they travel in 'The Blue Box', and is almost always seen alongside one or more people they call their 'companions'. People claim to have met the doctor, that they saw a man in a long coat appear from a box that wasn't there a second ago. I also like to imagine former companions(especially Jack)giving fake anecdotes about their time with the Doctor, just for fun. The Doctor sees them and sometimes can't even remember if it's true or not. People from America travel over in hopes of spotting this mysterious Doctor. People see a man in a trench coat and either run for their fucking lives because they know shits about to go down, or they try to follow and join in because?? Magic blue box and chaos?? Fun!! Oh hey, you remember that girl Rose who straight up disappeared from the flat below you? You always think you notice a blue box in the corner of your eye as you walked into the building, and there was always a strange whining sound that was too mechanical to be pipes but sounds like nothing you've ever heard before. Yeah, it's because she was taken by the Doctor, chosen to be their companion, destined to leave one day and never be seen again. The missing posters come down but the people never come back. Peoples opinions vary on this shape-changing being - Parents warn their young girls to stay away from the Doctor, lest they get abducted, stolen away in the night. Teenagers try to find them, desperate to get away from their boring lives and overbearing parents and have a little adventure. Grandparents tell the kids personal accounts - the time their sister was saved by the Doctor, the time they thought they saw a blue box on the corner of the street but when they tried to look for it they couldn't see it.

- Everyone is Very Aware of aliens, it's just one of those things that you don't talk about. It's always bothered me how nearly every time a human sees a Dalek in newer episodes they go 'oh wow, what could this be? I have ever seen this before in my life!' as if millions of Daleks didn't get released above London and then sucked back into Canary Wharf where they magically disappeared from? Or like how Daleks are in the streets...very often. Or when that huge stadium of people straight up disappeared during the London Olympics then came back a bit later and it was never explained? Or how they all lived with what they thought where ghosts for an amount of time I don't remember but it was long enough anyway, and then those 'ghosts' became metal men? And the metal men?? Appear a lot?? Like in that one with Missy and they're all on the streets?? You'd think someone would go 'oh hey look is that thing I thought was my dead great aunt carol a few years back, what the fuck?'. At this point, I'm sure every person in the UK should be related to someone who died of alien related causes. And hey, remember the huge spaceship above London that time? And that other time? And the time the spaceship broke Big Ben? Or the time the Christmas star of death zapped a load of people? I think I've made my point - people know about aliens. So I'm gonna say that everyone is fully aware of aliens, they just...don't talk about it. It's a Thing.

- The TARDIS can control who the perception filter works on. This isn't really a big thing, just a little continuity issue I noticed, and maybe there was an explanation but if there is then I missed it. Please correct me if I'm wrong! But if you remember when Ten created the perception filters using the TARDIS keys for him, Jack and Martha - Martha knew of the effects of a perception filter, but she still couldn't help its effects in her. Yet the companions suddenly gain the ability to always see the TARDIS once they join the Doctor. Even though, using the same logic, they should still have their perception shifted despite knowing it is there. The way Martha puts it, she says 'it's like I know you're there, but I don't wanna know' or something similar to that. So conclusion - the TARDIS can decide if it wants people to see her. We know that she/it is sentient and conscious, so I don't see why not!

- So we know that due to the nature of Timelords, they don't really have a concept of gender like we do. Their biological sex is changeable, and because of that they don't have the same social constructs as we do. So, the reason they refer to themselves as male or female to humans is because of our own perceptions of gender, and the TARDIS translates it to be what would seem natural to us. So a male presenting doctor would call himself he, and female presenting would call herself she, because that is how we as humans perceive them. I imagine in Gallifreyan they maybe don't have separate pronouns, only one. I also imagine that 'Timelord' is just a very literal translation of their actual title, just because...well for one it's in English, which makes no sense, and also it's such an obnoxious title ahshsjsj.

- Sometimes the Doctor checks in on Donna to make sure she's okay. They still feel guilty about wiping her memory, even though it saved her life, so maybe they help her out in whatever little ways they can anonymously. Yaz asks Thirteen who the seemingly unimportant woman she's so interested in is, and Thirteen just smiles sadly and says 'An old friend'.

- The timeless child didn't happen. Pretty self explanatory - I just hate it, so I pretend it doesn't exist! Yay!

- Oh also the way I see Thirteen and her companions in my head is so different to how they're actually written because...Chibnall bad. MY Thirteen would never hand someone over the the bloody N*z*s, no matter what they had done, let alone someone they'd known their (very long) life and had loved? MY Thirteen wouldn't brush of Graham's fear about his cancer returning, nor would she support the hugeass Amazon metaphor (also when she blows up that guy, after giving him like a seconds warning?? What?!?). It actually hurts listening to Twelves goodbye speech and then watching Thirteens portrayal. The basis of their character is that they're kind, they do they best they can and they always help those in need. Twelve wouldn't have gone 'Oh no, I don't know what to say, silly old me, I'm so socially awkward bye' if someone he cared about came to him with their fears, because he can be silly and awkward and 'why are you wearing heels, do you need to reach a shelf?', but not when it's something like that. Also why is she so awkward? The Doctor has always been weird, but the difference is that in the past they have always known that they're weird and literally put it in just to embarrass/confuse people. And yeah, sometimes the Doctor genuinely doesn't understand 'human things'. But they do know how to act normal? The Doctor is perfectly capable of appearing human if they really needed to, but they have no problem saying shit to confuse people. But when Thirteen is awkward, she's just...cringeworthy awkward.

Sorry if my wording is bad and some of my memories of episodes are a bit wrong! I didn't check sources or anything I'm really just rambling here. This got way longer than I intended so well done(!!!) if you bothered to read all of it.

(I know my pronouns are all over the place, but when talking about the Doctor I tend to use 'they' when speaking of not any specific Doctor, and then 'she' for Thirteen and 'he' for the others.)

[slimesidian]

I noticed on Slime's Wormman art that their Zed had robot parts, plus it was mentioned that Zed occasionally joined in on Hermit Debug week as of recent, so when/how did Zed get these robot parts? Or just give Zed headcanons in general! :P

I was actually really really hoping somebody would notice that I gave Zed little robotic face plates so first, thank you for noticing my lidl details :D. Secondly I’m gonna just ramble bout my Zedaph headcanons because oh boy oh boy do I have….a lot. This will tie into my Team ZITS backstory headcanons by the way, as this is Zed’s part of the story. I’ll cover Tango’s if I ever get asked about it don’t worry.

-Mod Slime

Origin

Zed, like Mumbo, is a robot. Now, the thing about this is Zed doesn’t actually know this. He and Mumbo are similar in a lot of their design, actually, as they were made by the same person, Zed being made after Mumbo. The biggest difference is Mumbo was scrapped early, so he was fully aware he was a robot, but Zed was fully finished and thus had this knowledge hidden from him. Zed isn’t a Redstone robot in the same way that Mumbo is.

When he first woke up, he was alone in a survival world, or, he thought he was alone. The only friend he had for a while was a little brown sheep that he met in his first few minutes of proper existence. He didn’t even really know who or what he was at this time, and was actually just walking around shirtless for a while. 

He was eventually found and given shelter by another Player, which, he didn’t think there were other Players in this world. Turns out, said Player is Skizz. He lets Zed stay with him and asks about his life, and Zed admits that he knows… nothing about his life. He has no memory of anything before this world, and Skizz assumes maybe it was a glitch or something when Zed spawned in. Whatever the case, at least he has a roof over his head now.

At some point, the two gently shear the sheep Zed had found, and used the wool to create Zed’s sweater, the buttons ended up being a bunch of mix matched colors and shapes, but Zed likes it.

Eventually, the two go to the End and find Impulse. Zed can quickly detect that Impulse is speaking Galactic and begins translating so Skizz can understand what he’s saying.

(From this point, everything lines up with the Impulse headcanons I gave a while ago.)

Moonlight SMP

While in Moonlight SMP, Zed created a superhero alter ego, aka Wormman. He would supposedly retire this persona for a few years. This comes back later which is why I mention it now.

Hermitcraft Backstory

When Zed showed up on Hermitcraft, he traveled by portal. There was an accidental glitch and… well Wormman manifested. 

Zed pretty much just kinda chills until he inevitably does meet Wormman, and is very confused by the fact that his alter ego is his own person. He rolls with it though, and just kind of accepts that yeah Wormman exists

Also Zed can split timelines. Nobody ever really discusses this fact, but he did do this once in S5. 

Nothing truly eventful happens to Zed in season 5, at least, in terms of backstory, but Wormman on the other hand, is left in the S5 world after the world ends. This is awful because the S5 world is basically cursed and got completely overtaken by the jungle, which means Wormman… yeah you can figure out what happened. 

He gets out though! He kinda… lost his soul, and got possessed by death due to this. Thus Zedeath was born. When he showed up on Hermitcraft 6, Zed did not realize that Zedeath is the same person as Wormman

Again there isn’t really anything backstory wise that’s too important until S7 because that’s when Zed accidentally learns that he is a robot. 

He glitched one day in the first half of the season(probably around November), didn’t entirely know why. He calls Tango over to help, since Tango can access the code, and Tango can’t entirely figure out what’s wrong. He calls Impulse over, and Impulse recognizes that Zed’s code is extremely similar to Mumbo’s, almost identical.

This leads the two of them to realizing Zed is a robot. Now how do they prove that this is true? Well, they remember that Mumbo’s synthetic skin came off when he tried out the uh… I don’t remember the name of it but the spookificating thing that was in the Shopping District.

So Zed pretty much goes into that, and when he comes out it is revealed that he is in fact a robot, and he looks almost identical to Mumbo in basic design(like the chest cavity, the location of the metallic plates, etc…). Zed basically has a breakdown about this because he doesn’t know if his feelings are real or not. 

He ends up asking Mumbo how he copes with the fact that he’s a robot, and they kinda have a sweet little heart to heart about it, and Zed comes out of it being mostly comfortable with the fact he’s a robot. He gets new synthetic skin, but he leaves certain areas uncovered so he can see the metallic bits. He wants to love that part of himself.

This is around the time that Zed starts taking part of the debug weeks. 

And this is basically all for the in universe “lore” stuff. Other important thing is that Wormman/Zedeath has been using Zed’s Void hole to reach Ex in the Void.

General/Other

Zed has pointy ears, he doesn’t know why he was designed with them, but he honestly doesn’t mind. For the longest time it made him think maybe he was some kind of hybrid.

Zed’s eyes glow purple, and so does his robot chest cavity. He doesn’t really know what causes it to glow purple

Zed, being a robot, has a very close relationship with any contraption or mechanism he builds, especially after he learns he’s a robot. 

He doesn’t actually need sleep, which is why the other Hermits won’t really try to force him to sleep the same way they will with Impulse and Tango. 

Being a robot means that Zed can’t handle the Void without dying particularly faster than other Hermits(again save for Mumbo because robots :D). 

Zed is chubby. Fight me. 

His hair is really soft

Wormman/Zedeath Headcanons

Wormman is a clone of Zedaph’s memories, not Zedaph himself. As in, Wormman is not a robot, where as Zed is. Wormman is memories from when Zed thought he was an organic being rather than mechanical. Wormman has every memory that was created while Zed wore the costume. This actually means Wormman has two birthdays, but he considers his true birthday to be the day he became his own person, rather than, when Zed first wore the costume. 

Zedeath and Wormman are the same person. Wormman is technically soulless after being abandoned in season 5 and things….happening to him. He could never really die, though, and the closest he came to death accidentally turned him into Zedeath, which is why his first (and only) s6 appearance was as Zedeath instead of Wormman.

Wormman currently resides under the server with Evil Xisuma/Abyss. Wormman had talked to him at some point in S6 while he was still Zedeath, and even then Abyss probably realized who he was. Since then, Wormman built a platform under Zed's base, and there he and Abyss live. It's not much, just the two of them. Although BadTimes vomits occasionally.

Zedeath no longer really comes around. Maybe it's because whatever caused him to exist moved on to Ren during Demise, maybe he came back and Wormman just doesn’t know.

Zedeath isn’t even that scary, he’s just a mischievous soul(or lack there of)

[bigfatpapas]

Ichiban’s hot salami juice Ichiban x reader

CHAPIEPTER 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was the evening, and Ichiban was busy in the kitchen, trying his best to cook the meal of a lifetime. He made sure to boil the sAAlami for a loooooooooooooooong time, so that it would release all of its complicated flavours.

“oh boy it’s almost ready! And just in time for my guest to arriiiiive~ :D”

A voice sounded from the living room: “Oh are we having someone over tonight?”

“oh yeah Nanba my bro who is so cool and I wish would get some new clothes but for some reason nobody helps him, I’m having a hot sweet date tonight!”

“Wow you get bitches? okay.” Nanba replied after which he just kinda disappeared from the story for no reason other than idk what to do with him.

“haha ok” ichiban quietly said to himself while he continued stirring the pot of juice. The smell of hot sallamer was filling the kitchen and the living room when suddenly a knock on the door was heard. “Oh fuck damn shit ass!” Ichibna yelled really really loudly before taking off his “suck the cook” apron and sprinting towards the front door.

The front door was YANKED open to see y/n standing there, now instead of the lidl uniform they were wearing a *favourite colour* *favourite clothing item*, with matching *favourite shoes* in *another favourite colour*, but no pants that was kinda weird.

“Hi Ichiban! I never learned your name in chapter 1 or 2 but I know it now” y/n said with a giggle.

Ichiban replied sexily: “It’s good to see you! come in! (the house not my a-)”

“The food is almost ready, you can take a seat at the dining table with my good sweet nice friend Zhao, he’s a homie!”

y/n walked over and greated Zhao with a smile while they sat down and waited for Ichiban to come back with the food. After about 14.7 seconds ichiban emerged from the kitchen holding three bowls, a pan of hot salassami water and some spoons and a large ladle. He sat everything down at the dining table and poured everyone some sslllssksmnsadnsbaaananmi water before sitting down himself. “enjoy!”

everyone started sipping away when y/n said “wow it sure has a smack of sllamalmi to it!”

Ichiban simply replied with a “hehe thanks, that’s the salmamali!”

Zhao suddenly stood up straight, sweat on his forehead, and yelled:

“Bro this fucking sucks ass man, it tastes like shit, it tasted like my dead father, it tastes like YOUR dead father. I think I would rather be dead myself than to taste this shit again man. I can’t believe you would fucking put this in front of me I want to kill you so much right now but I’m already being sought by the police and do not want another crime on my list man. I left the Liumang for this? I left the fucking Liumang for this how could I be so fucking stupid. You should be glad you're so sexy or else I would have destroyed you right now for this. Hot meat water??? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR LIFE. HOW DID YOU LET IT GET UP TO THIS POINT. I KNOW YOU WENT TO JAIL FOR 18 YEARS AND GOT SHOT BUT MAN… M A N. I HATE YOU. I THINK I ACTUALLY HATE YOU AFTER THIS. ARE YOU FUCKING HAPPY? YOU DETROYED OUR FRIENDSHIP THAT’S HOW FUCKING TERRIBLE THE FOOD YOU MAKE IS. THIS IS A FUCKING DISGRACE TO THE SALALALAMI. IT’S A GREAT MEAT, VERY FLAVOURFUL, AND THEN YOU DO THIS TO IT? I SHOULD PUT YOU IN A POT OF BOILING WATER AND SERVE YOU TO NANBA, YOU FREAK, YOU’RE A FREAK! I HOPE THE ITALIANS COME FOR YOU AND EAT YOU. I HOPE THEY TURN YOU INTO SALAMI. AS A CHEF AND A FOOD LOVER I THINK I SPEAK FOR ALL OF US WHEN I SAY: I HOPE YOU NEVER TOUCH ANYTHING EDIBLE IN YOUR LIFE EVER AGAIN. I AM GOING TO HIT YOU WITH MY CAR. I’m leaving now, I’m leaving this place forever. I hope I never see you again.” He then walked to the door, and left.

“aw man too bad he didn’t like it, anyway you wanna watch a movie?” The fuzzy man said to y/n.

“hhuhhoouuhhgg yes I would love to!” y/n replied, before they both got up and walked over to the living room.

CHAPTET 3 END

[my-headcanons-academia]

Uraraka friends + friendship hc

• Uraraka isn't "The popular girl" but everyone knows her and she knows everyone because she's soft, comforting and friendly. Also just a people-pleasing extrovert who charges by helping others. I wouldn't be surprised if she knew villains, realises it's them mid-fight and stops everything to talk them down from whatever crime they're doing. And even scarier, the villains listen. • She flirts with her friends endlessly but in a really vanilla way since it's all in good fun and it stays within boundaries, if they flirt back she will get very blushy and her forever-pink cheeks go red, but she doesn't stop, she just ups it while her whole face is blushing until she runs out of things to say and ends up shakily blowing a kiss and winking as she's processing all the nice things said.

• After the Sports Festival she asked Bakugou to spar. She wants to get better and she sees him as a goal, if she can solidly beat him in a fight then she can definitely know she's improved.

And I can easily imagine Bakugou agreeing, he wants to get better too and he respects others wanting to get better too. What he did not expect was she was learning to fight with knives and how stubborn she really is.

Well, he knew she was stubborn at the sports festival, if she could still move, even just barely, then she can still fight. He respects that even more. Both of these bitches need to learn to not push past their limits.

They goad each other so much. Uraraka can be mean when she wants to, saying things that probably aren't true but she knows she'll get a reaction out of it. She is terrified as she says it, but she knows this is what makes it challenging and the challenge is what she's here for. But usually she just says stuff like,

"How did I lose to you before? If you fight like this you have no chance of surpassing even Mineta,"

He is the only one who has seen her swear and no one believes him. It pisses him off exponentially.

• Her love language is quality time but also gift-giving which sucks because she is very poor. She actually becomes friends with Hatsune Mei from the support class as they both like to come up with creative and tailored ways to help individual people and come up with stuff they like!

After they become friends, Mei's latest inventions always have a hint of Uraraka in them, be they pink, somehow more adventurous than anything Mei could come up with on her own, or suspiciously some glitter thrown here and there.

When Mei is building stuff, Uraraka just sits there and listens to her ramble and work, she paints little hello kitty faces on desks, machines and even screws, it's basically her trademark.

• She has multiple alarms on her phone. As well as Iida's "good morning" messages at 5AM, she has alarms for 7am. 7:01am, 7:02am, 7:03am, 7:04am, 7:05am, 7:0- curse living far away so she has to take the train, or she'd be able to sleep in longer. but she always lets Iida know she does appreciate the sentiment. • She absolutely steals from the school cafeteria. Have you seen all that fancy expensive food? She won't steal much, just what she needs and it's the extra food that no one misses. Either she makes a deal with the chef about letting her have some leftovers or the chef would have no idea she's doing it. Even if they noticed some food missing, who's really going to suspect the cute pink bubbly friend-shaped Uraraka? Anyone else who's poor. That's who.

• She's not the mum friend, she's the aunt friend who will make sure everyone is safe and sound before doing something questionably illegal but since it's questionable she can plead ignorance.

• She and Iida get on very well despite being very different. They're both very nice, stubborn, emotional and passionate people yes, but Iida has no idea what the hell she is saying when she quotes memes. She's poor and a teenager, of course she goes to the internet for serotonin

"Uraraka I do not recall locating the barbeque condiment on your chest, what do you mean?"

"who is 'Deez' do I know them? You talk a lot about their nut collection, which is it almonds? peanut?"

"URARAKA THROWING ME THE PRINTER WHEN I ASKED FOR MY LOCKER KEYS IS RECKLESS AND DANGEROUS."

Poor boy went out "on the town" with her and they stopped at Mcdonalds, he looked completely out of place he had no idea what was happening, he just kept looking to Uraraka for guidance why there was a plastic figurine of a character from a recent movie among his food items. • She snorts when she laughs and she used to be really embarrassed by it but one day Mina and Tsuyu heard it while they were hanging out in her room and they found it so adorable they kept making her laugh to try to hear it again. She snorts more now, everyone is happy with this development.

• She has made plans before to mug Iida. In a friendly way of course. She would mug Momo but Momo loves gift giving and gives Uraraka pretty much anything she asks for anyways Momo is called "Sugar-Mommy in Uraraka's contacts. She was planning to mug Shouto before he joined the dekusquad and she found out he has a piece of shit dad and instead steals Enji's credit card.

She pays her bills with Endeavours money.

She also fucks around with it, like orders an entire truckload of All Might merch to be delivered to Endeavour, she changes every password she can, hires people to "re-decorate" Endeavours room to an All-Might-Stans-Fever-Dream and Endeavour was about to hound Shouto about it until he realises he's been inside nearby all day and would never have had a chance to order any of this.

Any money she doesn't spend on her family or herself, she spends on her friends.

• She probably has multiple part-time jobs. She helps her dad at his workplace, floating construction beams when the machines break down and helping where she can. But she doesn't get paid for that.

She does work at a small shop (Lidl is you're British, 7/11 if you're American) by the side of a gas station and she remembers all the employees birthdays and makes them little glittery cards.

• Eventually she works with Tsuyu at a cafe, they actually learn great communication skills there. They make secret signals that mean a certain table needs attention, "this guy is an angry customer, be careful" or someone needs a refill. All of them are of course subtle and it makes them feel like spies with secret missions it's great. These signals carry over into their training too. Everyone, even Aizawa at one point thought they somehow had a telepathic link, that let them know who was behind them or what was a threat the other couldn't have known about, where to go, how quick to go there it was madness.

They also cover each other's shifts without question when they know the other needs the day off. :3

• She makes a point to be soft, it's friendly and approachable, it helps people trust her. Don't get her wrong, she loves cute things, it makes her feel nice and safe, it's familiar and she wants to replicate that feeling, she wants to be able to walk into a room and have people smile because their hearts grow warm. She wants to laugh and giggle and joke with people, she wants to be a walking safe-space people can go to for comfort. She wants to be the hero you go to not only when you're in danger, but when you just need some comfort. She's a rare hero. She's a good one too.

• And when someone makes fun of her for being soft, she can't help but laugh. She apologises for laughing but she finds their ignorance so funny. It takes a lot to be soft and kind, it takes a special kind of person. In this world? In this world villains are a threat to everyone, heroes get corrupt, families are forced out of homes, quirk injustice and discrimination runs rampant, the kids who are too brave, dumb, stupid or desperate for their own good become child-soldiers/heroes, people, good people who try to provide for others the only way they know how, the only way left since legal society won't help them and then get called a villain for it. She's seen it. The fights, the homes destroyed, the families ignored and hushed, the horrible, horrible world. But she won't let that change her.

The world is harsh and cold, that doesn't mean she has to be. She'll be soft in spite of the world, no matter how hard the laws push to divide and destroy and make you rely on them and only them, Uraraka knows the darkness there is in society, in humanity. but more than that she knows she is too stubborn to let that win.

So she enjoys her pink fluffy pillows, enjoys the makeup that she can afford, the sparkly dresses, the cute hairpieces, the hello kitty stationary, her pink rounded hero costume, she'll be friendly to everyone, she'll be nice and kind and thoughtful to everyone, she wants to make the world a safer but also happier place to live in.

Plus when they mistake her kindness for naivety, the best catharsis she gets is when she knocks that smug look off peoples faces for underestimating her..

[mhzking]

Bees in my fucking head

There is a phrase that has been going around the ADHD community on tiktok 'bees in my fucking head' and I think it is the most accurate phrase I've ever heard. I love my bees, they are part of what makes me, me, but recently, good lord do i want to hire a fumigator. It's real. The bees just hover, they are unable to just sit still, they are always looking for more nectar or more pollen and are just generally moving all the time. If you have ever watched the path a bumblebee takes, it's never in a straight line, they are always going off in random directions, and that's what my thoughts do. People talk about a train of thought, which should make sense, the thought progresses forwards, only going forwards, and only every changing direction slowly. A train can't just do a right angle turn, or even do a U turn, but a bee can. My bees of thought just do whatever the hell they feel like doing, and they are CONSTANTLY changing direction. 

Do you know how distracting it is to be trying to write out an essay that barely interests you, and then suddenly your brain is singing 'Keep it Gay' from the hit musical turned movie, 'The Producers' but its only the line "what a wild idea, but it just might work", except the line is actually "it's a wild idea, but it just might work" so you spend the next 20 minutes googling different variations of 'what a wild idea' and nothing is coming up, because that is just a normal phrase, until you stumble upon a karaoke version where someone has mis-transcribed it, and you can finally work out where the line is from. Its seriously fucking distracting, and by the time you go back to the essay, and look over the last paragraph you've written, and it may as well be in hieroglyphics because you've got absolutely NO idea where the paragraph is going let alone the sentence you were working on, and the title may as well be in French because you know all of those words individually but who the hell would string them together to make that monstrosity of an essay prompt?? 

There are lots of other fun phrases and terms that have been going around, rejection sensitivity dysmorphia. It's a really fun one, where if anyone ever tells you that you are wrong or bad or just generally makes you not feel like the sun shines out of you, your brain blows it WAYYY out of proportion. Recent examples include, my friend Hayden telling me that he didn't want to live with me next year, after he had said he wanted to live with me. Perfectly reasonable, especially since he is also neuro divergent, but when I found out, I cried for the next 3 hours on and off. "Normal" people would probably be a bit upset and move on. I found this out 2 weeks ago, and I haven't been the same since. 

"Burnout", this one is a real fucking doozy. I wish I could explain how I have felt for the past few weeks, but this is the only way I can describe it, through explaining what I have managed to do in the last week. It's currently Thursday, and my days have been exactly the same ever since Saturday. In fact, the first time I left Harry French since Saturday, when I went to Lidl, was Wednesday to pick up my meds. All I have spent my days doing is: my embroidery, watching TV, watching movies, scrolling a million miles on social media (mostly tiktok), eating ramen noodles, and sleeping. I feel completely numb, even TV shows and movies that normally leave me in floods of tears only elicited a few lonely drops. I would love to be able to just curl up in a ball and stare at the walls, but the bees make that a little bit hard.  I have burn out, specifically educational burn out. I haven't attended any lectures, watched them on review, or even skimmed through the material. I wake up at 10 am or later everyday, and stay awake until midnight or later. I can't nap, I can't cry, I can't read, or concentrate, or follow the plot of anything with more than about 5 characters before I end up giving up. I can normally watch a TV show for 6 seasons straight before I give up. I couldn't count the number of TV shows I have started and gotten bored of before the end of the first episode. 

I can't sit still, but I can't do anything. I'm considering reminding my mother that I am transgender and gay, so she will scream at me just so I can feel something. Even self harm doesn't elicit the same experience it used to. Sitting in the bottom of the shower with the heat turned up so high that the steam leaves the bathroom hard to see in, listening to sad music, doesn't even make me feel like the main character in a sad teen movie anymore. I just don't feel anything. All the normal little things that would bring me joy, like getting new stickers, painting my nails fun colours, remembering to brush my teeth and wash my face before bed, or even making sweet treats and eating them just add to the layers of numb. I don't even know who I'm writing this to. I'm just done. 

I'm not writing this as a call for help, or even for a response. I'm just writing to try and understand it myself. 

[berlinaura]

Last spring in Finland I attended a course “German for those who are going to have an exchange year”. They told us about the stages which one usually goes through during an exchange. As far as I remember, the stages were roughly somewhat like this: firstly one views everything and everyone better than in their home country and everything is super interesting and fun. This basically means that the everyday life hasn’t kicked in yet. The next one is getting annoyed at everything and everybody. Comparing the country to your home country and maybe even feeling like it would have been a better idea to just stay home. After this comes the stage of adaptation where one gets used to customs and stops comparing everything to one’s home country. Last phase is coming back to home country and seeing it in a new way. And of course telling stories of the exchange year to friends and family until they are bored to death. 

I remember thinking two things when we were taught about this. Firstly, who the hell would go through a phase of hating the country they go to? It seemed so irrational. The second thing was “Now that I’ve heard about this stuff, I can rise above it and use my brain and self-knowledge to avoid it. Yeah... As you might guess, it did not happen. I admit, during last few weeks I have spend a huge amount of my time wallowing in “WHY DO YOU DO THIS LIKE THIS” “Why can’t you do it in the right way” “What the hell is wrong with Germans!”. Mostly my frustrations have been related to my university. The mornings I am usually in a good mood. I drink my coffee, get ready (I have started to care more about what I wear and how I look like now that I am in Berlin hahaha) and go to school. All in all it takes me around 45 minutes to get from my home to university which includes walking, tram and S-Bahn. The way there and back are usually my favorite bits of the day. I enjoy watching people, traveling through Berlin in S-Bahn and listening to music. On the way back from university the people in public transport are usually going to pubs or parties so it’s nice to see happy and lively faces. I try not to overwhelm myself with school even though I feel like I need to be constantly studying to keep up. The thing is, even though the courses seem a bit challenging, partly because I am not used to academic English and partly because I am studying in a new study field, I find all of them interesting and genuinely think they are useful. I think I will shortly find a balance because now I feel super drained after every day and still feel like I have the “responsibility” to do fun things and go to places whenever I am not studying. It’s like a freshman year all over again. 

So, what has happened after the last post? Quite a lot. I was on a Wanderlust trip to Dresden in October. We also visited a famous bridge (Bastei) in Saxony. The views and the scenery were incredible! Dresden was also very cozy and historical city. It was a lot smaller than I expected. We only had a few hours to browse through the city but we could easily reach the most important sights by just walking. On the bus we opened bottles of wines we got from Lidl and played some car games with the people who sat around me. I suggested searching “questions to get to know each other” so on the few hour way back we just simply shared our biggest secrets and fears as if we had been knowing for a long time. The french boy sitting in front of me got  interested as I mentioned we are throwing a sitting here, so he wanted to help. We formed a committee of 5 people for a sittning, planned it in a cafe and contacted international office. Their response was rather dry and due to International office organizing a similar event in December, we decided to postpone the sittning and start planning it again in January.

Wanderlust trip was good because everything was already planned and sorted out for us. We just had to be on time to catch the bus. I already booked another wanderlust trip to Magdeburg in December. They have a Christmas market there. I also want to see the city that was my other option to have an exchange year in. By the way, I am super glad I ended up choosing Berlin over Magdeburg. 

The next day me, the Austrian girl who sat next to me on the bus and her friend went to see a light show in the city centre. There is this light festival held in Berlin where they project things onto famous buildings and monuments. The one projected on Brandenburg gate left me speechless. They projected things like collapsing of the wall, JFK’s speech and techno culture of today’s Berlin.

One Friday evening my friend, my roommate and her friends decided to go to a burlesque show. The bar was super fancy as was the show. I just couldn’t get my eyes of the woman who performed. She danced to a remix of Britney Spears’ Toxic so naturally I had to ask her after the show if she liked Britney Spears. She said they only picked it because they needed something that people would recognize but at the same time something that isn’t the actual song. :( She was amazing tho.

In October I also went to see Prinz Pi live at Columbiahalle. I’ve never been to this venue before and it was so cozy! Man the concert just got better and better and I just had goosebumps for like half of the show. At the encore Prinz Pi said something in the lines of “You know.. The next place I go to.. You don’t want me to tell the audience that the audience of Berlin was dull? Go crazy then!” and I have never seen an audience getting so hyped during a song (”Gib dem Affen Zucker”). I got inspired of this so I already booked a ticket for Sido’s Christmas show in Columbiahalle. Actually I tried to go to his normal tour’s concert which is actually today, but I thought too long and it got sold out. People were asking 200€ per ticket (the original was around 45€) so I gave up. Then I decided to go to his christmas show but AGAIN thought too long because they are held in 20.-22.12. and I needed to sort out my flights to Finland first. But one day I decided to go to eventim’s page to see if someone was selling their ticket (they were, but overprized again) and I saw that there was one original ticket on sale even though it was sold out before. Someone had cancelled their ticket and some forces of the universe told me to refresh that page at a right moment. So now I have my ticket and just can not wait for it!

In the beginning of November I went to Prague to see my friend. The train ride was only 19 euros and I could easily do my homework and watch Kotikatu there. Priorities were sorted out! I navigated to Revnice where we went to a local brewery and shared things about our lives. The beer was the best beer I have ever had in my life which is sad because I literally can’t get it anywhere else than from there. Damn brewery! The next day we played board games, ate well and went swimming. My friend introduced me to a new thing: putting honey in a coffee. At first I doomed the though: ew, who the hell does that? Honey belongs to tea, not coffee. Then I tasted it and... it was delicious. It is yet to discover if it because of the honey or their super fancy coffee maker. Then we went to the brewery again and played a Czech card game called “bang”. I think I got the gist of it and even won the game once. On our last day we were just sightseeing and went to a concert together. The songs were translated to me and for a moment I felt super ambitious to learn Czech. I don’t want to miss out on funny songs just because I don’t know the language!

Last weekend there was a celebration in Berlin due to it being 30 years from the fall of Berlin wall. It was a bit similar to the light festival. We were out with friends two nights in a row and found a super cute place in Prenzlauer berg: Houdini. They have Indian food and cheap cocktails. We continued the evening to this living room looking place that was connected to a Späti. The Späti-drinking culture is something that is missing from Finland. Here Spätis are these small shops that mostly sell drinks (beer, soda, water, cider and so on) and candy.They are open late which is actually where the name Späti (Spätkauf = late shopping) comes from. There are often benches and tables where people can enjoy their drinks which are cheaper than in normal pubs of course. The Späti man asks if the beer is to be enjoyed in the living room and adds a small fee if it is. And there’s a bottle opener on the counter. Everything is sorted out so in my opinion Späti-drinking is a good way to go out and get drunk with small budget. 

Yesterday we had an excursion with my German class. We went to Berlinische Galerie which is a museum of contemporary art. They had an exhibition of Bauhaus, the art/design/architecture Academy in pre-WWII Germany that affected modern design and architecture. We were walking around and filling up a worksheet the teacher gave us. I enjoyed it so much and everything seemed so pleasing to the eye.

 Afterwards we went to a open stage event which was basically a talent show. There were 10 acts of which everyone had 10 minutes to convince the audience who voted for a winner. We also had beer and wine counter there naturally. My favorite was this one dude in tight ballet outfit who preformed a circus act which was funny and impressive at he same time. His background music was swan lake but the dude sang along in a terrible way which made it less serious. Then he juggled with 6 balls and every time he messed up, he cried out in a dramatic way. Then at the end of the show he turned his back to the audience and we could see he was digging something from his crotch and then he turned around and swiped of sweat from his face with a pile of tissues he had as a crotch-filler the whole time. The tipsy audience laughed so much that the winner was pretty much clear at that point. The dude who went after him performed a horrible keyboard improvisation and his face screamed “ I am sorry to be here, I just want to flee!” hahahahah. The act that came second was funny as well, they performed “Let it go” but with a German translation, the google translate type of translation. Conclusion is: the audience wants to laugh at talent shows, not see real talent. 

On top of all the events I have also been attending the hiphop dance class I think I told about. The teacher is super funny (and hot :D) and the dancing is so intensive and so much fun! I look terrible, though but it’s not the main point here. I might continue this hobby when I get back to Finland.

Now I have to start packing my things because I am going to Szczechin (Poland). I heard it is a city where Berliners go to shop because it is cheaper there. I feel like this trip can be either a massive success or a terrible flop. Time shows... 

[loiswolf]

Day 2 May 20 Corinth - Selianitika 101 kms

Day 2 May 20 Corinth - Selianitika 101kms

I can’t remember the syntax to include my location at the bottom so I’m going to start putting in a screen shot of my route instead. I hope that’s helpful if you want to have some idea of where I am.

There was no hurry this morning but I started pretty early anyway because I am still waking up early. My waking time is gradually getting later. The problem is that I can’t stay awake and I end up going to bed far too early.

The sky was a little overcast when I left at 7:30 and the temperature was cool enough for me to have to stop and put on a long sleeved top. I meant to take a different road which hugged the coast more but I kind of missed the turnoff ( I didn’t actually miss it but I thought it was the wrong road so I merged back onto the main road). It was a bit busy during peak hour but the traffic eased off before and after each village where the cars had a chance to turn onto the motorway.

I made a quick stop when I saw a Lidl. I didn’t really need anything but I really like Lidl and I hadn’t had a chance to go in one yet. I purchased some sparkling water ( something to weigh me down just a bit more) and some chocolate ( I can’t run the risk of my supply running out) and moved on. My target before I took a break was at least 25kms. The wonderful smell emanating from the bakeries as I cycled by was awfully tempting and caused me to feel hungry even though I probably wasn’t.

Resisting temptation I pushed on enjoying the view of the ocean? Sea? I don’t know what it’s called! I took a few photos but the sky was a little hazy and my sub standard camera didn’t pick up the snow capped mountains on the other side. 

Here is a clue to why I am going this way. The Greek mainland is extremely mountainous. I have had a terrible time this afternoon trying to figure out which way to go. The motorway is probably the flattest but I don’t think I am allowed to ride it. I am going to try to stay close because there is usually an alternate road running close....although not always. Tomorrow I think I am going to have to take a taxi or something through the tunnel to the mainland although I just noticed on the map that there is a bridge. Maybe I can take that, but I don’t think so because my Komoot app definitely won’t go over there.

Anyway, let’s worry about that tomorrow. Today’s ride was lovely and simple, just following the coast. At 28kms I stopped at a little bakery opposite the beach. Lovely! They didn’t have a huge selection of cakes but I have realised that doesn’t matter. The only thing I want is bougatsa, it’s divine! I had it in Athens and on the road yesterday and again today. It doesn’t look spectacular in a photo because it’s just a very crunchy, flaky pastry filled with custard. They sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar and always seem to serve it a bit warm. It’s delicious and very filling.

My bougatsa kept me going until about 62kms when I suddenly felt hungry again. I cycled through lots of villages looking for somewhere to stop for lunch. All I wanted was a salad roll or sandwich. The first place I stopped at had pictures of sandwiches but when I went in and looked the only thing they had in the little metal dishes were olives and white crap. I jumped back on Shirley and kept going a couple of kms until I saw a bakery. Usual they do salad rolls but not this one. I settled for a piece of pizza and had to sit amongst very loud, cigarette smoking Greeks. Bad choice!

The rather strong headwind which had been gathering strength throughout the morning,  thankfully seemed to drop and the afternoon ride was mostly enjoyable. The villages stopped and were replaced by hills rolling along beside the water. I didn’t mind them at all, I had had enough of the flat road and wanted to give the legs a bit of hill work before hitting the mountains tomorrow.

The last several kilometres were not much fun as I hit some busy areas again. The road became confusing, winding around the motorway in a series of roundabouts. I didn’t want to accidentally end up on the tollway so I had to do several map checks to make sure I took the right exits.

Eventually I arrived at my hotel which is right down on the water. 

The view from my room is beautiful but it’s a 3 star hotel with the usual problems. The fridge is hopeless so I’m going to be carrying warm food tomorrow. The shower wasn’t great ( water everywhere) and the wifi is sketchy. Oh well, I guess you can’t expect too much for €32!

[theluckiestlb]

@whatarubberchicken I usually don’t respond to comments/other responses---but yours in particular were rather condescending. I don’t mean to offend, but they struck a nerve. My apologies for the delay, I was on vacation last week. I won’t respond to each point. So let’s begin!

1. “Marinette is not shown speaking any other language in the show, not even a language her mother might’ve used at home. To have her suddenly speaking a bunch of languages would seem out of character to most people after Kung Food. (You could probably get away with English, since most people know about the translations.)”

I’ll have to point blank disagree with you there. In Kung Food we clearly see her taking time to learn Chinese. As Flavia/ @marinette-buginette also mentioned, most Europeans are bilingual. Being trilingual is also quite common. I can guarantee the kids of the show are taking 1-2 language classes at school, it’s just the norm in Europe. Here in Switzerland, we have four national languages (German, French, Italian, and Romansh)—and children are expected to be fluent in at least two by the time they finish high school. I live(d) in the German region, so we had to learn French starting in elementary school (2/3rd grade). English came shortly thereafter. This doesn’t even factor all the elective languages one can take later as well.    

2. “Great, could you maybe list a few stores that you do have?”

I’m not an expert in regards to France, but there are a number of similarities between European countries. Some fast fashion stores include C&A, New Yorker, Mango, Zara, HM, and Primark is starting to expand from the UK. In terms of (French) grocery stores there’s Carrefour, Casino/Géant, Auchan, Aldi, and Lidl. (Anyone who’s actually french should add more).

3. “Adrien’s rich. He could probably get any of those items with ease if he really tried.”

Yeah I’m sure he could, but the boy won’t have a clue as to what Cheez-its and Poptarts are, so he won’t feel the need to. It’s better to stick with local snacks/dishes.

4. “Teenage drinking holds the same dangers over there as it does here. Our parents can give us some at home too.”

Again, I have to disagree. Studies have shown the rates of teen binge drinking are higher in the US because of its strict laws. I’ve also noticed my American friends tend to go overboard and use fake IDs, while my European friends are more controlled and don’t need fakes to drink a beer. Alcohol feels so much more taboo over there and adults are quick to scrutinize.

5. “Marinette is usually shown taking the bus or train. Adrien has his car. I think Wayham’s the only one I’ve seen with a bike.”

Animating a bike is slightly more tedious, but I can assure you it’s a very practical and popular mode of transport here. I encourage everyone to use it in writing. A lot of Europeans don’t need/own a car, so it wouldn’t make sense for Sabine to drive Mari to the movies for example. Cities in Europe were built before the car came around, so they’re quite walkable/closely knit. Otherwise yeah, the métros, trams, and buses are quite reliable.

6. “Thanksgiving I’ll give you (that one’s ours for sure), but Halloween? We’ve already gotten concept art with Ladybug and Chat Noir surrounded by Halloween-themed monsters. Sorry, I’m gonna give this one to any writer who wants to use it. No problemo. Is canon.”

ML has a large American audience, hence why Zag caters to it. I’m telling you it’s not a thing (especially with older generations and smaller cities). So, realistically it’s best to find some other holiday. There are a lot of parades/costume/mardi gras-esque celebrations in the springtime. Idk about France but here in Basel we have a thing called “Fasnacht”.

Fun but mildly terrifying.

7. In the English translation, they do use miles. I know because I caught it and thought “that’s not right!” But some people won’t know it’s not right. And it’s right there in the show. Gotta let it slide if it’s canon, guys.”

Fun fact the English translation isn’t the end all and be all of what’s canon! Americans can’t handle the metric system (apparently), so the translation caters to that. Every other dub uses the metric system. Do 👏🏻 not 👏🏻 use 👏🏻 the 👏🏻 imperial 👏🏻 system 👏🏻 if 👏🏻 your 👏🏻characters 👏🏻 are 👏🏻 European 👏🏻 and 👏🏻 live 👏🏻 in 👏🏻 Europe

8. “Y'all might not need hall passes, but we do see them asking permission to use the bathroom. Just tell people to stick to the show.”

If someone over the age of fifteen needs still needs permission to use the restroom, that’s rather sad. While attending high school here, I never had the issue. In fact it would actually have been more disruptive had I interrupted the teacher in the middle of a lecture and derailed the focus of the class. Teachers don’t police the halls either to ensure every student has a pass. I’m just pointing out a difference, that’s all.

9. “Prom may not be a thing, but we all love the pretty dresses so EVERYONE PLEASE KEEP MAKING THEM WEAR FORMAL WEAR, I LOVE IT.”

Nobody is stopping anyone from creating work featuring formal attire. Some schools have dances, but it’s not as common or as grandiose as it is in the States. It’s just slightly irksome to see fics featuring it.

10. “Don’t get me wrong, I love that you’re trying to help, but when it comes to research for fanfiction: I say take it easy. The canon show trumps any conception you or I might have of the setting, after that, researching should be for little details. And if they don’t care, they don’t have to care.This is an alternate universe with magical jewelry, after all.”

Nobody is blowing a fuse over someone using the wrong brand of toothpaste. Fiction or not, one should respect the culture being adapted. These things take two seconds to Google—as mentioned it’s rather irksome to see someone Americanize everything with the exception of an Eiffel Tower in the backdrop. Any effort and research are very much appreciated. It’s not your place to dictate how people of other cultures should feel about their portrayals in works of fiction. I’m not here to police anyone, people can do as they please. Just be mindful and take a moment fact check your work. Again, it’s very much appreciated.

If anyone is struggling with regards to writing/finding information, feel free to ask questions! I will try to answer to the best of my abilities. I also encourage other Europeans to add further suggestions.

[brighter-by-the-daly]

Mate my day started so well and then I dropped my baguette at the checkout in Lidl and felt like I couldn’t go get another one cause I was next and I had a coupon for 50% off chocolate so picked up two but they were the wrong ones so now I have no bread for my sausage sandwich and £4 spent on bloody chocolate for no reason. Put me in such an awful mood! And Disney plus isn’t working so I can’t even watch greys or station 19. It’s put me in SUCH A FUNK

[eurovosion]

 some thoughts on this year’s entries

or i guess just a ranking with comments tacked on

albania - this year’s nf season was a let down for me, partly because a lot of the winning songs weren’t the best on offer, and partly because albania picked first and nothing could live up to it. i love the depth this has, the dark, almost tribal vibes, and most of all i love how they didn’t fuck up the revamp like they usually do. if this is staged correctly, i think this could do really well. 10/10

greece - i feel like this has been overlooked in the wider fandom, which is odd because greek entries are usually pretty polarising, for better or for worse. regardless, i really like this. it’s atmospheric, powerful as hell, and katerine is more than capable of nailing it live. don’t count greece out just yet! 9.5/10

portugal - festival da canção was easily the best nf this year and the portuguese public picked wisely. telemóveis is such an intriguing song with a really curious sound, so traditional yet so modern at the same time. i’m not 100% on the staging, but they have time to figure it out. 9.5/10

spain - la venda wasn’t the song i was rooting for in the selection (rip todo bien, never forgotten) but i’m fully on board with it now. this works so well with a big audience, and you just know that the crowd will be on his side. if this doesn’t go top 10 at the very least i’ll be stunned. 9/10

cyprus - this is just as instant as fuego for me. not sure if tamta will do as well as eleni, but the cypriot delegation has definitely found their winning formula. 9/10

malta - malta is not fucking around this year. this is a verified banger, and their best entry in years, perhaps their best ever. take as many youtube ads as you want, michela, you deserve them. 8.5/10

azerbaijan - without a doubt, azerbaijan is back with a vengeance. you can tell they’re determined to set the record straight and prove that last year was just a blip, because this is great and hopefully the live performance reflects that. 8.5/10

denmark - i really should hate this, but i can’t. it’s so innocent and cheerily optimistic in a way that i can only be jealous of whilst humming along to the chorus. this deserves to do well. 8/10

italy - it took me a little while to warm up to soldi, but once i finally got there i really started to appreciate it. i don’t think it’s a winner, but it’s a very good song, and in the end that’s all that matters. 8/10

san marino - yes, serhat is in my top 10, and what of it? you only wish your fave could write a song in ten minutes and have it go off like this. and yes, if he doesn’t qualify you’ll catch me openly sobbing in the streets for weeks. 8/10

switzerland - an unabashed bop with some actual choreography, but lacking lyrically. then again, so was fuego and that popped off live. he’s also working with the same stage director as eleni, which can only be good news for him. 7.5/10

the netherlands - don’t get me wrong, it’s a very polished song and i’m sure duncan’s great but like... is that it? this is the big fan favourite? i’m very whelmed. 7.5/10

armenia - i was expecting something like yete karogh es from srbuk, so this came completely out of left field in the best way possible. i thought we’d lost our token edgy pop song when ukraine dropped out, but armenia saved us at the last minute. the only thing i’m worried about are her vocals, because, from what i’ve seen, she isn’t the most confident performer. 7/10

serbia - another respectable but ultimately pretty safe pick from serbia this year. nevena has a really strong voice and she sells the song well, so i think she’ll avoid another moje 3 style placement. 7/10

germany - first of all, aly ryan was robbed. secondly, thank god the surprise song didn’t win. thirdly, this is alright. nothing spectacular, but it’s cute and the spinning stage was a great stylistic choice. 7/10

latvia - thank you latvia for letting this win and rejecting markus riva’s basic ass for the sixth year in a row WHEW i really love the whole atmosphere that surrounds this. barring a miracle, however, i don’t think it’ll qualify, but it’s still a good attempt. 6.5/10

sweden - i don’t think it’s john’s most solid composition, but it’s a decent entry nevertheless and it’s nice to see sweden picking an entry that isn’t generic pop again. 6.5/10

united kingdom - my only faint glimmer of national pride so far this year is that we managed to pick the only good song from the flaming garbage pile that was our nf. yeah, the lyrics are redundant and it’s a ballad by numbers, but michael gives it his all and it really pays off. 6.5/10

ireland - this will absolutely not do well but who cares, it’s fun and harmless. super chill and easy to listen, and i think sarah’s a big eurovision fan already which is nice. also i’d just like to take this opportunity to thank her for ditching the ylva and linda song she originally applied with. 6.5/10

iceland - hm. this is one where you need to listen a few times to get a full impression of what the fuck you’re hearing/seeing. i really did not like this when i first heard it alongside all the other söngvakeppnin songs (and most of them sucked lbr), but now i’m kind of ambivalent towards it. i still don’t like the screaming or the key change, but it’s something different and i can admire that. 6/10

slovenia - fine, but forgettable. she has a nice voice, but there’s a distinct lack of stage presence from the two of them and i fear that this might get lost in the semi final. 6/10

israel - i’m conflicted here. i definitely don’t think home is as bad as the fan polls and reviews imply, but it’s not great either. a verse or two in hebrew would have really elevated this and i’m a little baffled as to why the writers didn’t include even a little bit considering the contest is on home turf this year. still, kobi’s a very convincing performer and israel probably didn’t want to win again anyway. 6/10

poland - this is an odd one, which isn’t a bad thing at all in a year full of safe entries. not sure if using the bilingual version was the best shout, but it’s clearly still very polish and i’m glad to hear that they’ll be wearing the traditional clothing on stage in tel aviv. 6/10

czech republic - the chorus absolutely slaps, and if i was judging by music alone this’d probably be in my top ten. unfortunately, though, the rest of the song exists. the lyrics are truly abysmal, with some of the lines ending awkwardly and without proper rhymes where they’re needed, and the spoken-word section is genuinely unbearable. 5.5/10

austria - i honestly don’t know where to place this one. very underwhelming when it was first released, but now i feel like there’s potential here. most of austria’s recent entries have been very under the radar only to end up doing quite well. i’m not as optimistic about this as some of those, but only time will tell. 5.5/10

hungary - not a patch on his previous entry, but pleasant enough. he’s a good performer and unless the staging really sucks, he’ll do fine. 5.5/10

north macedonia - it’s a nice ballad? i guess? and, unlike a lot of their recent entrants, tamara is an established singer who we all know can sing live. there are also rumours that the delegation has been planning the performance for a while, so who knows, perhaps this’ll qualify. 5/10

georgia - this has been growing on me lately. the song itself is a bit of a bust, although the revamp helped, but oto really brings it to life on stage. even if you don’t understand what he’s saying, you can tell by the emotion in his voice that he really means it. 5/10

russia - the nightmare dream team hasn’t produced a good song in over a decade at this point, this included. kirkorov needs to quit fooling himself and let someone else have a go. 4.5/10

belgium - belgium’s had quite the glow up since 2014, but i fear they’ve gone for style over substance this year. wake up is very polished, but it doesn’t go anywhere and eliot’s live performances haven’t been convincing as of yet. 4/10

lithuania - i don’t know what was more shocking, him winning the selection or me finding out that he was lolita zero’s real voice in 2017. this isn’t awful, just very repetitive and strangely put together. 3.5/10

norway - sue me, i don’t like this. the bald guy feels out of place and out of tune, it sounds like it was written by a child, and oh my god it’s so unbearably cheap. 3/10 

estonia - eesti laul was such a let down this year. usually there’s a good mix of mainstream and alternative genres, but the new producer doesn’t seem to give a shit about variety, which is a real shame. anyway, victor’s performance is slick, but he can barely sing and the song itself is nothing to write home about. 3/10

romania - when this was first selected i didn’t mind it, probably because i just really didn’t want laura bretan to win, but as the season drags on i’ve really soured to it. it feels like it lasts for a minute longer than it actually does, and the whole ay-ay-ay part was not a good choice. 2.5/10

australia - as someone who was a big fan of estonia last year, this is honestly the furthest thing from that. it comes across as quite cheap (even without the questionable staging), and the chorus really grates on me. 2.5/10

belarus - i didn’t watch the entirety of the belarusian auditions for them to reject the potato monks in favour of lidl’s own brand zara larsson. 2/10

france - this is why delegations should be wary of selecting social media stars for their national selections. yes, they might get the viewing figures up a little, but they’ll probably win and the song will be Bad. i respect his message, but holy shit is this hamfisted as hell. 1/10

finland - if anyone was wondering how darude only ever had one hit two decades ago, here is your answer. 1/10

moldova - they really don’t want to qualify this year, huh. could’ve had ca adriano celentano, but nope. basic tune, painfully simple lyrics, but i guess her voice is nice enough 1/10

croatia - this... is awful. upsettingly so. at least jacques’ last entry had a novelty factor, but he’s doomed this poor kid to failure. 0.5/10

montenegro - i have absolutely nothing positive to say here. honest to god one of the worst songs i’ve ever heard, and no amount of clumsily shoehorned in folk instrumentation was ever going to save this. i can only pray that they’re spending their preparation time wisely and taking singing lessons, but considering that they probably blew half the budget on the music video, it’s unlikely. 0/10

as for potential winners,  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

a lot of the big fan favourites don’t have a winning vibe about them, so we might be in for a shock this year. please let it be albania or greece

also feel free to drop me an ask if you want to chat about last year’s entries since i kind of ditched tumblr for a year or two lmao

[alsjeblieft-zeg]

246 of 2023

What’s the latest youtube channel you’ve discovered and binge-watched?  

Long time ago, Molly Burke and Nik Nocturnal. Also some local, Dutch language channels.

What’s one thing that makes your shoulders hurt? 

Sleeping on the wrong pillow.

Does it snow where you live?

Rarely. We’re usually above zero, so even if it snows, it doesn’t stay for long.

Do you think your hair looks better long or short?

I don’t care, I prefer it short now. I used to have long hair in the past.

Do you look best with or without bangs?  

Lol. No bangs for a guy okay?

What stereotype would you say you fit the most?  

None. I’m a bit of hip hop, a bit of metalhead, a bit of goth. It’s hard to say, there’s alwaqys a twist.

Do you enjoy editing photos on your phone?

No, I have a proper computer software for that.

What’s your favorite thing to do on your phone? 

Browsing the internet, but even this is better on the computer.

Which season do you wish would last longer?  

Summer, definitely.

Do you like the name Eliana?  

I prefer Elaine.

Do you know anyone named Claire? Veronica? Cescily? Marcella? Miranda?  

I used to attend kindergarten with Veronique, but not any others.

Haw many outdoor birthday parties have you had? 

One, I think.

How much taller or shorter are you than your mom? 

10 cm taller.

Who is your favorite sibling?

My sister by default, I don’t have any other siblings.

Do you have neat handwriting?

Not really, but at least it’s legible.

Do you enjoy journaling?

I do. I love making handwritten notes and writing important dates and events in the calendar.

What is your most recent new favorite food you’ve discovered?

I can’t remember. I usually stick to the same foods. But I’d go with mini pizzas/mini burgers from Lidl.

Do you like sushi? 

Yes, I do. Too bad it’s that expensive :(

Have you ever tried seaweed?

I think so, in sushi.

How often do you wash your hair?  

Every two dayds. Washing hair every day is not healthy.

Do you have an actual pig-shaped piggy bank? 

No, and I never did. They’re so tacky.

Would you rather hike a mountain or dive into the sea?  

Dive into the sea.

Would you rather grow wings or a tail?

Lol no, thanks.

Which Barbie doll was your favorite?

I’m a guy lol.

Do you prefer cheetah or zebra print? chevron or polka dots? paisleys or plaid? stripes or stars?

Jeez, this all is so tacky. I would never wear it, even if I was a woman.

Do you like your natural hair color?

Nope, it’s so boring.

What is your natural hair color? 

Brown.

Did you dream of becoming famous as a kid?

Kind of, but as I was growing up, I liked the idea less and less.

What show did you want to be on?

None.

Have you ever been to a gynecologist?

Is there any reason why a person who is male should go to one?

Do you use the Bitmoji app on your phone?

No, I don’t even know what it is.

Do you get on facebook every day?

I don’t even have Facebook and I don’t intend to have.

What is your Instagram screenname?

Here you go.

Do you remember the very first episode of Spongebob when it first came out?

I’ve never watched this shit.

Did you watch the Kids Choice Awards when you were a kid? 

No, I had better things to do.

What was your favorite girl group when you were growing up?

None.

Would you ever consider naming a child after a family member?

I was kinda named after my grandpa, so I like the idea, but there’s one problem, I don’t want to have kids.

List three names that sound similar to your name. 

Can’t think of any, except for alternative spellings of my own name.

List three spelling of your name that you are glad you don’t have.

Lol at this survey. One thing is certain, I’m glad to be Joeri.

What were you almost named? 

Joris. It’s actually the other version of my name (and that’s what my grandpa was named), and I like it as much as *my* version.

Do you like your name?  

Very much so. Even though it’s very common where I live.

What are your top three favorite girl’s names? boy names?

Laura, Sylvie, Monica; Joris, Adriaan, Damiaan. (all the Dutch spelling)

What is something you always wanted to do that your parents never let you?

Go to parties. I was going anyway.

Do you have any symptoms of COVID-19 right now?

No, and Europe doesn’t give a shit anymore. Our lives came back to normal.

Have you made your own mask to help prevent the spread of the virus? 

Does anyone still believe in this bullshit?

Do you know anyone who has the virus?

Plenty of people, even my husband. Spoiler alert: none of them died. Only two were in the hospital. 95% had minor symptoms resembling cold. At this moment, no one has it. But as I said, Europe doesn’t care anymore.

What was the last grocery store you shopped at? 

Albert Heijn.

Name three countries you would like to visit.

Finland, Sweden, Spain.

What does your name mean?

It’s a variant of George, so look it up.

Are you proud to be an American? (if applicable) -

Thankfully I’m not American, and if I was, I’d be rather ashamed.

What countries have you visited?

Belgium (lol), Germany, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland.

Do you have any regrets?

No, it’s pointless. The past is the past.

Do you ever wish you had someone to hug? 

I do have someone to hug.

Do you ever sleep on your bedroom floor? 

Why would I? Our bed occupies all the space.

[destinationuunknown-blog]

Toulouse: The best European Erasmus destination?

By: Caroline Casey

Thinking about spending a semester studying abroad? Do you want the best study abroad experience? Do you want to experience the best food, culture and nightlife? How about a cheap location that offers everything you need? You need look no further than Toulouse, in the sunny South of France. This picturesque location is the perfect destination to do your Erasmus in the right way, and potentially find yourself along the way.  

And if you still need more convincing, let’s look through some aspects that make Toulouse the ideal location for a foreign student to come and study...

‘La Cuisine’

It is impossible to think about France, without considering its food. Known for their incredible selection of cheeses, the quirky snail dishes and the creamy delights, the French really have everything to offer in this domain. Toulouse is no exception. On every corner there are restaurants offering whatever you are in the mood for. Whether that is Italian, Asian, traditional French meals or fast-food in the form of a McDonalds, Toulouse will never let you down. And at a really good price point, you cannot go wrong. Tip: check out L’Entrecôte for the best steak and frites that you will ever taste!!

‘La Ville Rose’

Everything about La Ville Rose is made for students. In 2011, there were 103,000 students recorded living in Toulouse, and this figure has only grown! It is not hard to see why. The location, firstly, is perfect for students who want to travel Europe, and without the living expenses of the larger cities such as Paris. The train station offers routes from Barcelona to Paris and beyond, while the airport is only growing in routes, thanks to the large aerospace industry that exists with the Airbus offices only a stone’s throw from the airport. The beauty of Toulouse’s buildings in the sunset give it the nickname of La Ville Rose, and this phenomenon can only be seen in person to be truly appreciated. This is a picture I took one evening as the sun was going down on my year in Toulouse, that captures the beauty of the Garonne in La Ville Rose.

The Nightlife – Obviously  

Let’s be honest, the nightlife is also a popular factor when choosing where you want to spend your semester or year abroad. With so many students, and such an amazing climate, it is not hard to see why young people flock to this beautiful place. The laid-back attitude of the locals and the wine culture (bottles of wine are so cheap!) attract students to Toulouse like a moth to a flame. Bars line the Garonne river in Place de Saint-Pierre and you will never experience such a wonderful atmosphere. This place is a buzz of activity all day, but it truly comes alive once the suns go down. Music, conversation and alcohol are all in attendance, without ever being excessive. Here is where all the best memories are made, and if this doesn’t convince you to look at Toulouse as your ideal destination, I am not sure what will.  

Cost of Living

The final factor in your decision will undoubtedly come down to how expensive a certain location is to live in. Students from Europe that choose another European country to complete their Erasmus in will be entitled to a grant that is extremely helpful. The French government also have an initiative called ‘CAF’ in place, which offers a subsidy for rent. The general cost of living in Toulouse is very affordable, especially coming from Dublin. Rent is generally cheaper, and with all the great supermarkets such as Lidl and Intermarché available at various locations, you genuinely can’t go wrong. Students can avail of a local transport card that allows you access to all buses and the metro for only €10 a month! (Where else would you find something like this?)

If this hasn’t convinced you that Toulouse is the best place to experience your Erasmus year, I’m not sure what will. No matter where you choose to go, my main advice is to make the absolute best out of this amazing opportunity. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity and coming from someone who is now back to the reality of final year, make the most of it and have the BEST time! The question is, do you want the best study abroad experience?