#ego iceland

[phantasmagloria]

RÚV English Podcast: New Wave

On this episode we look at the exciting new sounds of New Wave and post-punk that broke along the shores of Iceland in the 1980s.

On this episode of music segment for the RÚV English service, we look at the exciting new sounds of New Wave and post-punk that broke along the shores of Iceland in the 1980s. From the brooding post-punky sounds of S.H. Draumur, Grafík, Lóla, Egó and Taugadeildin, to the synth wave quirkiness of Q4U and Sonus Futurae, we delve into this rather prolific decade that arguably produced some of the…

[melpomenismask]

Ketu Moon Natives and our Ketus 🖤

(an unedited, unrevised, stream-of-consciousness vedic astro note where I understand more of the point i was trying to make as I wrote it.)

Rando thought but I was analyzing my own astro today and if you’re a ketu moon you should especially pay attention to your ketu sign and nak!

I have a little theory that us ketu—and likely rahu— moons are more “susceptible” to the intense energies our destiny points signify—we can conquer using them, or become devoured by them, and I imagine wielding such forces can break those of is who might not have the luckiest charts/best spiritual, mental, and emotional foundations. Thus, it’s crucial we ground ourselves in the present—feel the sun on our skin, feel the time come and go instead of passively watching it, participate in life rather than floating through it. If we don’t put energy towards it we could find ourselves horribly lost, unrecognizable to who were once were or considered ourselves to be.

For an example, I decided to look up Bobby Fischer’s vedic chart—if you aren’t aware of him, he’s considered to be one of the best chess players of all time, if not regarded as THEE best because he just left that significant of a mark. He is a Purva Bhadrapada sun and Ashwini moon, Purnavasu asc, and his Ketu is in Dhanishta. He rose to fame meteorically as a child prodigy and famously broke down after he had won the title of the World Champion and didn’t return later to defend his title; he had a full mental breakdown and disappeared from the public eye—it’s a familiar story about how high and bright Dhanishta stars rise before cruelly plummeting back down to earth.

Luckily, Bobby isn’t a primary Dhanishta placement, as the archetypal Dhanishta story ends in death; Bobby is an Ashwini moon AND Magha rahu. He remained quite eccentric and unstable due to being so isolated as part of his paranoia, but he recovered sufficiently for the most part after he disappeared from the spotlight, but he lived peacefully in Iceland despite his mental and emotional struggles until his passing (I believe he had Saturn in the 12th).

Ashwini is also associated with very high intelligence, according to Claire Nakti’s research, and being one of the best chess players of all time requires a pretty impressive and sharp intellect!

Now, Magha is another factor here that I wanted to take a glance at, just because it also gains more significance through the lens of the Ketu placement/Ketu relationship, also it’s a small note.

Bobby rejects some of the Dhanishta mold in favor or satiating that Magha Rahu. He didn’t fall in line as Dhanishta does as a kind of servant, which is how so many famous natives of the nakshatra are tragically exploited and/or “drained” until it they and are replaced by another. That is his Ketu; Bobby gladly leaned into his Rahu in Magha. Of course a Purva Bhadrapada sun contributes to a bit of edge imho, but Bobby famously threw his weight around. He wasn’t shy about the fact that he was the best, he had a bit of a “Kingly” attitude!

For example, Bobby nearly didn’t go to his final title match for the World Champion title! Luckily he was convinced and he went.

The reason he suddenly refused to participate was because he wanted the prize money to be increased and he couldn’t agree to a location he wanted. He was famous to being this pedantic about game conditions: if his demands weren’t met, he wasn’t coming, so you better get ready to dance. His ego was absolutely huge, no doubt! This is quite a Magha thing to do, as he intends to run the show and “rule” the game, even to the point of where it is or what bulbs are shining over him and the board, because he’s the “King”. He’s the best and he knew it, and he proudly swung this weight around.

Once his mental health declined and he never defended his title, the rest of Bobby’s life became a poignant drift into being forgotten and unwell. In a way, he fulfilled the Dhanishta story—the “King” Bobby Fischer died much earlier than the man himself. He lived peacefully, but very lonely and disturbed. (This is something associated with ashwini moons in particular, of course, but I haven’t looked into that personally.)

It seems to me that the ketu moon’s relationship with ketu is extremely important because after he abandoned his Magha path, he fell into a Dhanista-esque afterlife of emptiness. One thing I particularly remember him for were his words “Nothing soothes as much as the human touch”. Bobby’s Venus was actually exalted in the Nakshatra of Revati, but he had a very anemic emotional life—not much is said about love throughout his life save for after he fell into that Ketu “void”. He married the president of the Japanese Chess Association in 2004, and reportedly had lived with her for years prior, but life had different plans for him: he was a fugitive by the time he had met her, as he had become wanted for arrest by the U.S. government for playing a game against Boris Spassky in Yugoslavia, which violated the President’s UN sanctions against the country. Bobby literally spat on the Presidential order in the match’s FIRST press conference. This was Bobby’s life after he refused to continue onward with defending his title. He was arrested in Japan and sustained injuries because he resisted arrest. He was fortunate to have Iceland give him a visa on Humanitarian grounds thanks to his Title Match in the country (Saturn in the 12th returning a karmic gift.)

He had no children.

I want to take a final moment to touch on an important thought for us ketu natives: it’s extremely important to fulfill those node missions for us. After Bobby stopped acting out his Rahu it turned against him because he had simply let go of his fate—the U.S. government quite literally attacked him and kicked him out of the country, a simple chess player! He refused any of Rahu’s energies after he had left the stage; he was already a relic of chess during the 90’s because he was still playing the chess of his time; he was already a “forefather” in his own lifetime, a mad king with a dulled crown, solitary despite the few connections he did make.

Maybe it’s because I’m a magha moon, but Bobby’s story always tugs at my heart. It’s so saddening and tragic when I think of the greatness he could’ve continued to build if he had more stability available to him. He still tried to act as Magha even when he was no longer in his Rahu path and I think the Martian nature of his Ketu’s nakshatra and the Saturn rulership of Aquarius absolutely ripped him apart every time he did. Magha is of course Ketu, but I also think of the fact that it’s also Leo. The Sun, the light! Bobby seemed to fall into his ashwini moon later in life, and lunar energies are obviously unstable (hence his mental illness), but that connection to his Dhanishta ketu made it even rougher in my opinion. It made everything even more heartbreaking considering he was so deep in shadow that only the smallest slivers of light could reach: his friend’s kids were fond of him; he had safety and security, but Bobby only had emptiness after the ketu energies were no longer being led by him, and ultimately pulled him down and into a time capsule ; the smallest world possible. Another negative effect of Magha is the danger of becoming racially superior—he was notoriously anti-semitic despite his Jewish heritage; he denied this and was also a Holocaust denier. He remained arrogant and proud as if the 1970s had never passed.

Ketu moons, we must make sure we don’t fall into our ketu’s energies helplessly, or we will waste away, and it can happen as quickly and permanently as it did for Bobby if you’re not careful with your mind, body, and spirit. (This goes for 12 housers too!!) I know it’s hard to stay on the ground, keep following the light when you don’t even know where to start to look for it, but you must persist.

Your destiny awaits.

[nordickies]

norway asking sweden for help about anything would feel like a downfall to him, he would feel like such a failure, like the world is ending...he will ask anyone else, Iceland, finland, even denmark if it's really necessary, but sweden? nah. and sweden is just as bad, but his reason is because he doesn't wanna stoop to his level. He doesn't wanna seem weaker than norway, because believe it or not, norway is doing more than good in the modern age, sometimes even better than sweden, and sweden hate to see it. and norway wanna prove to sweden that HE IS good on his own, that he doesn't need him. He is more than capable to take care of things himself😤 a broken table leg? now he could call sweden and ask for help fixing it, but norway is stubborn, he will just go and buy a new one.......at ikea lmao🤍🇸🇪 these two are disasters I tell you. They need to drop the act and be vulnerable with one another, Denmark should just smack them both in the back of the head tbh🤦🏼.

Nodding my head in big agreement. That is how Norway would act. And honestly, he just doesn't want to hear Sweden's condescending comments about it. I think Norway would eventually ask for help - but only once he has prepared his ego to take the hit!

I honestly have no glue whether Denmark's involvement would make the situation better or worse, though

[mostmouse]

The One Chosen by Arceus

Chapter 6, Adaman x F!Reader (suggestive, 6,600 words)

You and Adaman enjoy a cozy night in.

The sounds of dishes and laughter surrounded both you and Adaman. He had come over shortly after you returned from the Alabaster Icelands, and part of you wondered if he was keeping track of you. You hadn’t had time to dwell on it however, as he had come bearing gifts - a recipe book he had been working on during his time as a student with Beni.

The cookbook was set up against the wall, the two of you collecting what you needed and standing side by side preparing the meal. You had worked previously to make noodles, and you couldn’t help how excited you were to finish and try everything. Adaman grinned next to you, bumping you with his hip, “C’mon, don’t let me catch you drooling in the food, you gotta be patient.”

You whined playfully, “It smells so good! I can’t believe you’ve studied with Beni enough to make a little cookbook! And you’re insanely good as a teacher, too!” You hummed happily, leaning over and breaching his personal space to sniff what he was working on. “It smells amazing… I’m so excited for it to be done already!”

The Diamond Clan leader laughed next to you, continuing to whisk the sauce before adding in more spices and oil. “No patience with you… You wouldn’t last two minutes in a lesson with Beni.” At that, the two of you bumped each other, grinning and snickering. Adaman had regaled you with somewhat unbelievable stories of studying with older man.

Apparently the two of them would forage for the ingredients, prepare some aspects of the meal, sit and have tea, finish preparing, and begin cooking. However, Beni apparently had strict rules while sharing his kitchen.

Adaman’s hair had to be tied back into a tight bun - understandable. He couldn’t wear his haori - understandable. No bindings on his arm and hands - odd, but understandable. He had to learn how to cut and prepare vegetables, roots, fruits, and berries while blindfolded, apparently to ‘feel’ the ingredients - dangerous, not exactly understandable. But worse of all, Adaman said, was that he had to watch Beni serve up all the food he had made and only let him have a tiny bit of it.

In the beginning it wasn’t so bad, since they hadn’t been masterpieces, but once he was really getting good at it in the months after the red sky, it became more and more painful to not be able to chow down on as much as he wanted. However, it had been an ego boost to see the people of Jubilife Village enjoy his creations with enthusiasm.

After learning and mastering some different dishes from Beni, Adaman had headed straight back to the Diamond settlement to teach everyone there. He, of course, didn’t adhere to some of the more bizarre rules Beni had enforced, but he was thankful for the lessons all the same, as it also taught him patience in the process of preparing food. Not to mention, he was incredibly talented with a knife now.

You were almost jealous watching him expertly cut up the materials, dicing and mincing as if it were second nature. He had yet to hurt himself as well. You couldn’t help the affection swelling in your heart, your partner was talented in so many ways you couldn’t hope to count them all. Smiling, you hummed quietly and continued your portion of the meal prepping.

Adaman had shown you how to shuck, husk, and peel apart a variety of produce and veggies, showing you how to utilize the side of the knife as well as the blade. You were thankful for his guidance, but had loved how he stood behind you, pressed tight to your back to show you. With your average knowledge from your time as well, you had thought it would be easier than it was.

However, to your disappointment, new aged foods were somehow softer and easier to work with, not to mention all the preprocessing they went through. You had to do a lot more work than you thought with the fruit and veg of this time. You had realized after his presentation, that your signature dish of stew could probably be a lot better. You had also realized that you had a new fear that your friends were only acting like they loved your food. You resolved to do better and knock their socks off the next time they came around.

Blinking your inner monologue away, you peered over at Adaman to see how he was doing. He was responsible for preparing the meat and sauce for tonight's meal. You hopped on the tips of your toes, unable to contain your excitement. It wasn’t the first time Adaman had made dinner for you, but it was the first time the two of you were doing it together.

You couldn’t help as the warmth of domestic intimacy flooded your body. You could see you and Adaman doing this every night, spending time together, preparing dinner, relaxing afterwards, then bathing and sleeping together. You smiled dreamily, humming louder.

Adaman turned slightly, watching you as you got lost in your own world, and smiled gently. You had enraptured his heart, the source of all his thoughts and dreams. There wasn’t a moment that went by in his life now that he didn’t think of you, either directly or just idly. Sighing contentedly, he moved to drop the fish into the pan of oil, frying it while he finished the sauce, moving it to a smaller bowl for easy use.

He admired your work while you grinned proudly. “Hey, this looks good! Thank you so much for helping.” Kissing your forehead, he collected your ingredients, placing them in another pan with less oil. Dumping in some of the excess sauce, he tossed them around a little. You leaned over the counter, openly admiring him with a lovestruck look on your face.

Catching your eye, Adaman blushed slightly, smirking as he made more of a show with his maneuvers. He wasn’t worried about losing any of it, or spilling it all as he worked. He had shown off plenty in the settlement, making all his mistakes there surrounded by his people. No, this show was to impress you, to make you fall in love with him, to realize how amazing it was to be here with him.

The seed of doubt that he had spoken aloud to Melli still haunted him. Once he had returned to his home, he had crafted a plan to make you stay in Hisui. He would love bomb you, show you how amazing everything was, how amazing he was, and how terrific the land was. You had explored every part of Hisui within close range, had gotten to know the people, and had begun a relationship with him.

Adaman needed you to stay when the time came, he needed you to choose him wholeheartedly, without a regret in your heart. With new resolve in his soul, he tilted his head towards you, “Could you hand me the noodles, please?” Watching you blink rapidly, he laughed, your cheeks warming at being caught up in his striking performance.

Grabbing the last ingredients, you held them in the bowl, “Can I put them in?” Smiling gently, he nodded. Easing the pan down, you dumped it over, pulling on the stuck strands so they all made it in. You laughed, resting your head on his shoulder as he used chopsticks to stir everything together. “It smells amazing… I can’t wait! Want me to flip the fish?”

The both of you looked towards the other pan before looking at each other again, Adaman smiled down at you, warmth in his brown eyes, “That would be great, thank you. Make sure you shake the pan up a little, in case the fish is stuck to the bottom.” You nodded, determined to not ruin the main part of the meal.

Once you had a hold of the handle, you looked over to your partner, “Like this?” You shifted it gently in your hands. Adaman smiled, motioning to his own pan.

“Here, watch me.” He gently shook the pan, the food curling up on the edges as he did so. You nodded, serious gaze now directed down at your own pan before imitating him. The fish slid easily, and Adaman inwardly sighed in relief. You looked up at him again, stars in your eyes and fist clenched.

“It's perfect!” Laughing together, he showed you how to pick it up and move it, how to be gentle with it so it didn’t fall apart. Once his demonstration was done, you easily picked it up and finished the dish. “You’re an amazing teacher, Adaman. Thank you for being so kind and patient with me. It means a lot to me.”

Your soft and genuine praise had his face on fire. Smiling, he leaned down to kiss your forehead, but you leaned up a bit higher and caught his lips in a gentle kiss. Breaking away, staying nose to nose, you simply watched each other's eyes, admiring each other. Leaning up, giving him another chaste peck, you pulled away and began setting the fish out on a plate.

Watching you still with a warmed chocolate gaze, Adaman watched you move. Sighing happily, he moved his own pan, finishing up the dish before plating it as well. He couldn’t deny the scent was absolutely mouthwatering. Licking his lips, he grabbed both his dish and the dish with the fish on it, and moved towards the sitting area.

As he moved away, you grabbed some smaller dishes for the two of you as well as some wine and water. Giddily, you followed after him, sitting beside him and setting everything down for the two of you. Bumping shoulders, the two of you served yourselves and chowed down.

You couldn’t help but moan aloud, ignoring Adaman’s blush, “This is so good! Oh my gosh… It’s amazing! Adaman!~” You happily slurped noodles, grabbing bits of veg and fish to quickly shove into your mouth as well.

Adaman sat stiffly, nodding robotically as he listened to your praises. If you were aware of the delicate sounds you were making, you paid them no mind as you wolfed down the meal. Finally relaxing, laughing sheepishly, Adaman also took a bite of his meal. Eyes widening, he exclaimed with a mouth full, “You’re right! Almighty Sinnoh… It's better than I thought it would be.”

You hummed happily next to him, speaking through your own cheeks full of food, “It’s cause it was made with love! We did an extra good job on it.” Your cheeks were flushed in pleasure, the food warming and filling your belly. Next to you, Adaman smiled gently.

“Made with love…” He pondered it, slowing down a bit and eating more carefully. He thought about everything the two of you did together. How you traveled across Hisui, battled, foraged, and swam in the ocean. Everything you two did, you did with love. Smiling in a love struck way, he rested his head on your shoulder, taking a moment to close his eyes.

You sighed happily, eating more carefully so that you didn’t jostle him too much. “So good… Are we gonna make everything in the book?” You felt him nod against you, quietly adding that his lessons with Beni weren’t completed, that he’d soon have even more dishes for the two of you to try and make together. You wiggled in your spot slightly, “I can’t wait! I’m gonna try all the new techniques you showed me with my stew too, I bet it’ll taste even better now!”

Sitting back up, he moved to sit on his rear instead of on his legs, stretching as he added more food to his plate. “I’m sure it’ll be divine, it’s already really good. You making that with different ingredients every time made me want to learn from Beni.” He kept the other reason to himself, that he wanted you to feel provided for by him as well. After all, every good husband should be able to care for their wife and children.

Blush racing down his neck and up to his ears had him coughing slightly, tapping his chest. He mentally admonished himself, it was much too early to be thinking about children with you. But he also couldn’t help it. Every moment he spent with the kids in the settlement, or with Sabi, had him imagining his own little pack with you. He hoped you’d be up to the idea of multiple children. He couldn’t help himself, growing up with just him - and then Mai and soon Melli, had him hoping to surround himself with his own children to love and fawn over him and vice versa.

He wished he could bring it up to you, but he didn’t want to feel like he was trapping you, or moving too fast. Sighing a bit dejectedly, he brought more food to his mouth before looking over at you. You were lost in your own world again, this time swaying in your spot, face perfectly happy as you ate dinner.

Adaman couldn’t help the pride that settled within him at that. He knew, no matter what the future held for the two of you, that you would face it together. If you two did end up marrying, and having children, he would provide for all of you to the best of his ability. He knew his clan would be thrilled as well, the moment he turned 18, they had all begun harassing him to marry, to have heirs who could potentially lead the clan.

Back then he couldn’t have cared less, turning down invites from other clan mates, proclamations of love, and hiding out in the Coronet Highlands with Melli or the Obsidian Fieldlands with Mai. Who could have known that after so long, he’d found himself a suitable partner. Smiling, he polished off another bowl. Sitting back, he sighed contentedly, rubbing his tummy with one hand. He heard you laugh, opening one eye to look at you.

You were grinning, gaze playful as you continued to eat. He watched as you filled your bowl, moving to sit on your bottom as well and scooted to be closer to him. Humming, he rested his cheek on your shoulder blade, body twisting to curve around you slightly. “You’re perfect, you know that? I feel like I could search all across Hisui and never find anyone who could hold a candle to you.”

You bit your lip, his genuine tone stopping you from countering with a joke. Instead, you placed your chopsticks down, holding his knee and stroking your fingers across his clothed skin. “I feel the same about you, Adaman. I don’t think there was anyone quite like you before I came here.”

Your soft admission had his heart pounding. Mentally, he reaffirmed himself in his original plan, to make you realize how happy you’d be in Hisui if Almighty Arceus gave you the option to go back to your own time. He wouldn’t let you slip through his fingers. Turning his face, he kissed your exposed shoulder softly before biting you loosely.

You squealed in his barely there hold, hand tightening your grip as you moved to hold his thigh. “You’re bad! I’m not even done with dinner!” He laughed softly, hot breath puffing over your skin.

“I just can’t help myself when I’m with you, what can I say?” His unapologetic tone had you giggling again, hand stroking his leg softly before returning to your bowl.

“Naughty man. After this you know we have to clean up?” Goaning comically loud behind you, the Diamond Clan leader flopped onto his back. “I know, I know. It's the worst part. But at least with a fridge, we can safely store all the leftovers!”

With a small ‘oh’ behind you, you quickly resumed wolfing down your delectable meal. You were relieved to have rotoms here, especially with the machinery that the Ginkgo Guild provided you with. Well, after you paid them ridiculous sums of money. You turned slightly, loudly slurping noodles as you admired Adaman’s prone body.

Even if he was splayed out, body relaxed with his eyes closed, you knew it was a trap. His strength was admirable, the control in which he exerted himself was something that never failed to make you hot under the collar. You had watched him forge tools in his settlement, lift children above his head, even the older ones, not to mention how he pulled much more than his own weight around his homestead.

Licking your lips, you continued to openly leer at his mostly clothed body, the only thing missing being his bulky haori. You smiled, watching his chest fall up and down as he relaxed, letting his food settle. Polishing off your bowl, you set it down before sidling up next to him, resting your head on his chest and bringing one of his legs between your own.

“I love spending time like this… Not a care in the world, not a rampaging nobel on the backs of our minds… Nothing at all, just us… Living in the moment.” Your words were dreamy, humming happily as one of his arms came to rest against your back, rubbing softly. “Let’s just lay here, yeah?”

He smiled at your sleepy tone, “Filled up and ready to sleep, my little snorlax?” You slapped his chest, laughing.

“‘Little’ snorlax? There’s no such thing!” The two of you laughed, laying there for a while longer in comfortable relaxation.

Feeling your partner move under you, you whined, holding onto his leg between your thighs tightly. He couldn’t deny he loved feeling the power in them, naughty thoughts bouncing around in his head. With a shaky laugh, he pulled away from you, his hands easily spreading your legs and slipping his own out. Ignoring all the other situations where he could be parting your thighs, he stood up and stretched.

“We’ve got to put everything away and clean up. C’mon, I know you still have the energy for it.” He held out his hands for you, and you pouted as you let him pull you up. “After this we can bathe, doesn’t that sound nice? I’m sure we could get your rapidash to warm the water for us.”

You grinned, pep in your step once more. You had used your pokemon to make a man made hot spring a ways from your home. After showing it to Iscan and Palina, you had made one by Iscan’s home as well. Explaining to her growlithe how to heat the water, you had left them to their own devices.

Filling it with fresh water was never a problem either, and soon enough, you had your own little personal hot spring. You had tried different additives to the water as well to make it seem more enriching, but you had yet to nail down something solid.

Moving about the kitchen with Adaman, you bashfully looked up at him. “So… You said ‘we’ could bathe… Does that mean you’d like to bathe together, or still just stay seperate?” Your words echoed in his head as he worked to clean the kitchen.

Mulling it over, you cut off his train of thoughts, “It’s okay if you don’t want to. I understand it’s a big step for us. I won’t be mad if you don’t want to, or if you decide not to once we get to the spring. I want whatever you’re comfortable with.” He pursed his lips in a tight line, still not facing you.

He had brought up once that you always deferred to what he wanted, if he was in the mood for something, or what he thought was appropriate. Asking you why you never said what you wanted, you had been bashful and didn’t meet his eye. Once he finally cornered you, holding your face and forcing you to look at him, you had admitted with a heavy blush and half lidded eyes that you were ready. Ready for anything, whatever he wanted to do with you.

You had also been expressly clear that you wouldn’t allow him to put himself in a precarious position just to satisfy you. And whenever it seemed he was pushing himself beyond what he was ready or comfortable with, you bodily removed yourself from him, telling him that you didn’t want to go further. He was touched that you cherished him so sweetly, that you’d do whatever you could to make him happy.

Adaman was reminded of this once more as you spoke. You gave him all the time he needed to reply, letting him think everything over carefully before he spoke up. “I think… I’d like to try. I mean… It would be casual intimacy. Like how tonight we were intimate in another way. I want to try it with you. But is it okay if we… Sit apart?” He clenched his jaw, feeling as if he were coming up short to what you so obviously desired of him.

However, he sucked in a tight breath as you looped your arms around his waist instead. “Of course, baby. I want us to be happy and comfortable with each other! I would still be happy if the spring was 50 feet long and we were both still on opposite ends!”

The two of you laughed together, his hands coming up to rest on the two of yours sitting on his belly. He smiled, rocking the two of you side to side as you rested your cheek on his back. “You’re amazing.” He felt unable to say more than that, his words stuck in his throat. He wanted to tell you how much he loved you, how badly he wanted you in his life for forever. Instead, he settled on squeezing your hands before turning in your hold.

You closed your eyes as his lips met yours, hands moving up to card through his hair. His hands rested on your hips, pulling you close to him as he slipped his tongue into your mouth. Sighing happily, you moved your mouth with his. Every time you seperated, it wasn’t but for a few seconds, if that, leaning back in and kissing once more.

You pressed your tongue against his, exploring his mouth and licking his teeth. He couldn’t help but moan, pulling you tighter against him as you tugged his hair. Finally breaking away, you swiped your tongue across his lips, grinning. “We’re almost done, I’ll go get samurott and rapidash to prepare the spring. Think you can handle it from here?”

Smirking, he kissed you softly, nibbling your lip, “Who do you think I am? Just some kid?” You both laughed, and as you turned to leave, you yelped as he smacked your ass.

“Pervert!” Sticking your tongue out at him, he lunged forward and snapped his teeth. Squealing, you rushed out to your pokemon, laughing the whole way outside and away from the house. Shaking his head, he laughed quietly, putting the food away and washing the small amount of dishes. You should be back in no time, it wasn’t the first time your pokemon had helped you with the spring.

Stacking the dishes on the counter, letting them air dry, he turned as he heard your footsteps on the porch. Panting slightly, you waved both hands at him, “Hi!” Laughing at your silliness, he waved a hand at you as well. “Ready to grab some towels and head out?”

Smirking, he followed you to the bedroom, “Gone just long enough to avoid the dishes, I see.” You bumped him with your hip, sticking your tongue out again at him. He leaned forward, grabbing the towels you handed to him and picking out loose clothes to change into once you were done.

On the way to the spring, you two held hands and spoke about nothing and everything. You pointed up at the stars, “Do you know any constellations?” He hummed as he peered up as well. Tilting his head, he thought back to all the stories his grandparents would tell him.

Hesitating slightly, he let go of your hand, considering the other was full of your shared clothes and towels, “I’m not sure I’m right, but I think that one there is Gaadi, it’s the shape of a Growlithe. My grandpa once said it represents new beginnings.” He smiled to himself, hand holding onto yours again as he peeked down at you, “I think it’s fitting that that’s the constellation for tonight. Moving ahead in our relationship and giving each other a little bit more trust, you know?”

You made big eyes up at him, holding his hand in yours in a vice. Smiling a bit worriedly, he opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, before your watery eyes closed and you pulled him into a surprisingly crushing hug. Wheezing at the sudden force, he struggled to breathe for a moment. “Adaman! You’re the- the-” Your big eyes met his again, tearful and shining in the moonlight, “You’re fantastic! I see all the effort you’re making, how you hold true to your beliefs and traditions and also helping me fit into your life as well and teaching me so much. Thank you for being with me and thank you for saying that.”

You didn’t have to reach up far to kiss him as he was already leaning down to meet your lips with his own. He sighed softly, your lips remaining closed but still moving against each other in gentle motions. Breaking away, you pecked him one more time before meeting his gaze once more. Smiling, you kissed each cheek and then his forehead. Nuzzling your nose against his, you let go of him, and he tried to be subtle with the deep breath he took.

Spearheading your journey again, you practically dragged Adaman up the hill to the spring, bouncing with every step. He laughed behind you, taking his time to admire your body and the way you made him feel loved and cherished. Once you crested the small hill, the both of you melted at the sight of the steaming water, your pokemon back down towards the house. You knew if you called loud enough, you’d be able to get rapidash to come back and reheat the water again, but you didn’t anticipate being out here long enough.

You slowed to a stop, turning to face your partner. Smiling gently, you swung your connected hands and arms side to side, “Want me to turn around while you undress?” Chewing his bottom lip, Adaman thought hard. He had been obsessing over seeing you but wasn’t quite sure he was comfortable with you seeing him. Would that be wrong of him? Taking a deep breath, he smiled down at you.

“Would it be okay to see how far I can make it, and then if I get nervous I can ask you to close your eyes?” Relieved, he felt his shoulders relax as you smiled and nodded at him. “Do you mind if I went first?”

Grinning, you kissed the corner of his mouth and then the underside of his jaw. “Oh, I don’t mind at all.” Your smile softened as his cheeks turned from rosy to red. Laughing, you look a step back, sitting in the grass and trying to appear as nonchalant and relaxed as you could. Peering up at him from your spot, you tilted your head to the side and hummed softly.

Huffing a laugh, he looked off to the side. Without his haori, there were significantly less layers to shuffle through. Untying his flowy top, he shrugged it off his shoulders and nervously folded it, placing it on a strategically placed rock. Eyes darting to where you sat, he watched as you comfortably played with the grass, pulling strands out, and occasionally looking towards him.

Tense shoulders relaxing once more, he was silently thankful that you weren’t teasing him or making it much of a show. It had his racing heart calming down and he felt much more relaxed as he slowly began to unbind his arm. As you noticed his movement, you looked up at him. You couldn’t help your curiosity, you had never seen him with his wrappings off.

As you watched him, you realized how methodical he was being, almost as if he were in a trance as he moved. Smiling gently, you called out to him in a voice just above a whisper. “Adaman? Are you alright? You don’t have to take it off in front of me if you don’t want to.”

Blinking, he slowly turned his head to face you, an almost surprised look on his face. Peering down at his arm, which wasn’t uncovered much, he looked at you again. “I’m sorry, I guess I didn’t realize. I don’t actually take this off much. It’s not so much that I need it, but… It’s more like a security thing, I think. Like, it just… Makes me feel better when I have it on.”

Matching your soft smile, he walked up closer to you, sitting down in front of you, clothed knees touching yours. You were grateful he didn’t seem too embarrassed about not having a top on, it wasn’t often you got to see his naked chest. Especially out in the moonlight, you could see various scars. None looked too bad, and you hoped he would tell you about every single one of them someday.

Breaking you out of your train of thought, he offered his still bound arm to you, smirking as you met his gaze. “Like what you see?” Squealing, you covered your face with your hands, cheeks hot.

“So what if I like to admire my boyfriend! He’s the most handsome man I’ve ever seen!” You uncovered your face, cheeks still burning, “I’m allowed to appreciate what’s mine, after all I’m lucky enough that you’ve chosen me to be your partner.” You smiled bashfully, giggling slightly.

Soft laughter grew louder as you both sat together, grinning faces and warm cheeks reflecting each other’s expressions. Biting your lip, you reached out for his hand. His brown eyes warmed as you handled him as if he were made of glass. His soft voice greeted you as you turned over his hand to touch his palm gently. “Would you be okay unbinding it? It’s a little awkward with one hand.”

Your surprised face shot up before nodding enthusiastically, “I’d love to! You’re not hurt, are you? I’ll be as gentle as I can.” His other hand came up to rest against your cheek, his smile making your heart feel as if it were about to give out at any moment, pounding in your chest rapidly.

“I know you will. They’re all old wounds, you won’t hurt me. I promise.” Feeling your chest throb, you suddenly felt like screaming. Like grabbing him and rolling him like a feraligatr. Like no matter how close you brought him to your chest, you would still be bursting with so much love and adoration for him that you might pop.

The sudden realization had you biting your lip to keep from grinning like an idiot. You were so in love with Adaman you couldn’t stand it. Laughing softly, you leaned down and kissed his fingertips. Sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, “Hey, c’mon now, you’re gonna make me blush.”

He looked away as you looked up at him, his cheeks already a rosy red. Your laughter died down, and you moved to be next to him as you gripped the bindings he had started to unwrap. “Sorry, I just think you’re amazing. Thank you for letting me do this.” Leaning up, you nuzzled him with your nose, smiling as he returned the gesture.

A comfortable silence surrounded the two of you, the only sounds being that of nature and pokemon around you. As you worked down his arm, you kept your questions to yourself. The scars that wrapped around his arm weren’t so thick, but there were a lot of them side by side and crossing over each other. A hoard of pokemon, maybe?

Getting closer to his palms, you cautioned a glance up at him, just to meet his gaze as he was staring down at you adoringly. Squeaking, you focused on his wrist and hand again. Laughing softly, he kissed the top of your head, admiring how you fumbled a bit with the bandages between the bases of his digits.

Gathering the now loose bandages in your hands, you licked your lips before meeting his gaze again. “There we go! I’ll just, uhm, wrap this up… Into a neat little… ball, I guess.” Your sentence fell flat as you struggled to wind the wrap back up, and instead just held it in a heap. Laughing, he offered you his other hand.

Smiling up at him, you gently unwound his hand as well, the process much faster. Finishing up, you moved to put the wrappings with his shirt but he stopped you. Taking them from your hands, he stood and set them down. Nibbling his lip, he didn’t turn to fully face you as his hands rested on the waistband of his baggy pants.

Sitting back down on your bottom, you put your hands in your lap, watching his profile closely before forcing yourself to look away periodically. He wouldn’t strip down if you were sitting there drooling over him, although you hoped for that to change one day, when the two of you were incredibly familiar with each others’ bodies.

Swallowing thickly, Adaman then cleared his throat, nervously looking at you before clenching his jaw. Tugging his pants off, he let them gather at his feet before stepping out of them. Looking at you again, he watched as you rapidly blinked and looked away, peering up at the sky then down towards the ground and everywhere that wasn’t him.

Laughing slightly, he hesitated a moment longer after folding and setting his pants down. Biting his lip, he looked towards you again, not looking away until you met his gaze. Realizing he was watching you closely, you tilted your head at him. “Want me to close my eyes? I don’t mind doing it. I want you to be enthusiastic and happy with how everything goes! You’ve already given me so much, you don’t have to push yourself even harder, my love.”

A small ‘oh’ fell from his lips as he looked back down where his hands had fisted the front of his boxer briefs. Swallowing thickly again, he sent you an apologetic smile. “Would you mind?” His heart warmed as you smiled softly at him, shaking your head and covering your eyes, then tilting your head down towards the grass.

With a small smile, he tugged off the last of his clothes, sitting on an adjacent rock, and tugging off his socks and shoes. Spinning slightly, he lowered himself into the heated cloudy water. Sighing happily, he moved to the other side of the artificial hot spring and sank lower so his shoulders were submerged. Groaning in content, he called out to you. “Okay, you can look now!”

Head popping up, you easily found him once again and smiled. “My turn!” You grinning, standing up and brushing any loose grass off your clothes. Shimmying up to the rock with all his clothes, you grabbed the hem of your top before looking at him again. “It’s okay if I strip down here, too, right?”

Coughing roughly, he looked away for a second before quickly peeking back. “Yeah!” Clearing his throat, he tried to sound less eager. “I mean, yeah, of course. Besides, this is your homestead, don’t let me tell you, uh, what to do, you know?” His sentence trailed off as his gaze wandered your still clothed body.

Laughing again, you tugged up your shirt, setting it down with his things. “I know, but I want you to be comfortable. I’m not gonna disregard you ‘cause it’s my house, Adaman. You know that.” You looked at him warmly, and he felt his cheeks heat up. Swallowing, he watched as you tugged off your undergarment. You had refused to use the bindings that people usually wore to keep their chests confined, instead opting to still use the garments you had arrived in.

Tugging off your bra, you sighed happily, rolling your shoulders back and stretching your arms up and out. You purposefully had your eyes closed as you did so, not wanting to spook your precious boyfriend. You wanted him to eye you up, to take you all in. While his hands had ventured under your clothing before, it was almost exclusively at night in the dark in the sheets. This would be the first time he actually got to see you.

Sighing happily, you peered down at your hands as you undid the ties around your pants. Tugging them down and off, you stepped out of them and tossed them on top of your other clothes. This time, you peered at your boyfriend as you stood up. Smirking as he jolted, he was soon licking his lips, letting his eyes rake over you in just your panties and slide on shoes.

Giggling, you winked at him, admiring the redness that reached down to his toned chest, though most of it was probably the spring water. Humming contentedly to yourself, you tugged off your last article of clothing, turning sideways so he’d have a profile view of your body.

You didn’t bother to look at him as you straightened up, shuffling to the edge of the pool of water as you tentatively stepped into it, careful of your step on the slick underwater rocks. Once you found your footing on the opposite side of Adaman, you sank down into the water, sighing happily. You didn’t look at him until you were comfortably seated, noticing how he was no longer watching you.

You couldn’t help but wonder if he only looked away at the last moment, or if he had given you some unneeded privacy. Giggling, you stretched out, leaning back and letting your ankles cross his. “Isn’t this nice?” Your voice was a whisper, taking in the relaxation of the heated water and medicinal and aromatic additives you had settled on for tonight. Swaying slightly, you opened your eyes, taking Adaman in as he relaxed in front of you.

He hummed in agreement, still submerged and breathing deeply. “Very nice. Thank you for letting me join you.” You giggled at his admission, he was always formally thanking you for everything. You figured it was a cultural thing. He would thank you for joining him somewhere, for greeting him once he got to your home, for all sorts of things.

Breaking the silence between the two of you, his low voice roused you from your relaxed state. “Do you have any plans regarding your work soon? If not, perhaps we can travel somewhere together.” Smiling, you peeked one eye open.

“Adaman… Are you asking me out on a date?” Humming in question, he picked his head up from where it was resting on the edge of the spring.

“Date?” You stared back at him, equally confused for a moment, before laughing.

“Sorry. I meant to say, are you asking me to join you for a romantic outing?” That had him blushing, but he grinned all the same.

“Yes. If you’d have me.” Sighing dreamily, you relaxed once again, halfway closing your eyes and looking up at the stars.

“How could I ever say no to you? You can take me anywhere you want, my love.” He smiled, kicking his legs slightly so you felt him against yours.

“Perfect. I’ll let you know what the plans are once I figure them out myself.” The two of you laughed, soaking in the heated water under the starry night sky, warm moonlight illuminating you both. You couldn’t help but look forward to whatever he had planned.

[vesper-roux]

WIP INTRO--ANTHEM: INTERLUDE

"You know, we make a pretty good team. Shame one of us is about to die, huh?"

🎶SVRCINA -Who Are You?

Status | Planning / Writing 1st draft (I have a lot of pantser tendencies)

Genre | Sci-Fi / Fantasy, Thriller

Form | Novella, likely to become a novel

Age Grade | New Adult (for language and violence) Characters begin the book as 13 and ~15-17, end as 19 and ~21-23

POV | 3rd Person--slight omniscient?

Setting | Ceador Empire--Vōā and Vērrå Provinces, Cave Cities

Themes | Religion, devotion and loyalty, class struggle, recognition through other, Man vs. Self, Man vs. Man, enemies to allies/friends, anti-heroes

Warnings | Death, body horror, general horror, rabies similarities, climate trauma, human trafficking, physical / emotional / psychological abuse, suicidal ideation

Synopsis | After robbing Lunar Bay Resort, home to one of the most powerful people in the empire, but being seen by a strange kid free to roam the private housing wing, a young rogue from the underground must engage in an elusive game as his witness takes the offense more personally than originally suspected. Their rivalry reveals to them a deeper, grim grasp on their places in society, their own buried fears, how they can understand each other, and hurt and help one another. This intermission in the Anthem series tells the story of an integral bond that forms before the main story's events.

Main Characters |

Galen (he/him) | An overzealous member of a young gang in the Cave Cities, Galen is set on proving himself a trusted and invaluable subordinate to his boss. He is both resentful and overprotective of the only home he has--but not the only home he's ever known.

Willow (ve/they/he) | Training as a monk in the prestigious Yorough Temple thanks to vis pseudo-charge and warrior king of Vōā, Klaus Reitvelt, Will seeks to restore what little of vis pride remains and save vis life. Though none know of this injury to vis ego and why ve perceives this as a threat to vis life.

If you like__, you may like "Interlude"!

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer for the weird plants and animals (the existentialism and metamorphic nature is for the rest of the series)

Heroes, X-Men, or My Hero Academia for "super"powers--everyone has the potential, but not everyone awakens them

NieR: Automata for its existentialism and a lot of other inspiration I took from it

A:TLA for the cat-and-mouse between Aang and Zuko

The dynamic between Leon S. Kennedy and Ada Wong in the Resident Evil 2 & 4 remakes

The complex (albeit non-familial in this context) relationship between Silco and Jinx in Arcane

LotR for its close friendships between men (not in a "what about the purity of brotherhood??!! 😱" kind of way; I am a queer writer who will always write queer stories)

Underground civilizations, figuratively through crime and literally in a mountain

An animistic religion slightly inspired by Shintoism, feudalistic society slightly based on Edo Period Japan

Fantasy languages inspired by Icelandic phonetics

The painting in the moodboard is The Fall by Alan Stephens Foster

[missathlete31]

June 7. I wonder if that confirms no theatrical release? This movie deserves to be watched in cinemas 😭

FEAR NOT! We are getting a limited theatrical release! (these are the moments I am very thankful to live in New York because somewhere in this crazy city should be a movie theater showing it!!!!

But I agree- it deserves the biggest release because Glen Powell is meant for the big screen!!!

Here's the Netflix article:

Hit Man will release on Netflix in select countries* Friday, June 7, 2024 with a limited theatrical release prior. In the meantime, if you’re heading to the Sundance Film Festival you might just be able to catch Gary there.  

*United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam 

[notasapleasure]

Stupidly long playlist to go with the stupidly long fic. In short, it follows a kind of meandering path from Icelandic youth to swaggering mercenary behaviour on the continent, to service in the Varangian guard in Constantinople. It is very much in an order I chose, and should be listened to in order. I designed it to have them coming closer together and parting ways at various points, and it follows a very rough outline I have for three 'books'' worth of adventures.

Bit more info about each track under the cut, but basically it's Weird FolkTM, Icelandic rock, a smattering of prog, and some entirely self-indulgent pop picks.

Sumer is icumen in - you may know from Wicker Man soundtrack? Everyone's go to creepy folk song because it's one of the oldest. Included because of cuckoo theme. Kólbítur - Icelandic term for 'coal-biter', a character type in medieval stories and folk tales. Usually a lazy boy who rolls around in the hearth ashes as a child getting in the way of the women. After some trauma he is usually revealed to be a great hero, who just needed a bit of goading on. Vísur Vatnsenda-Rósu well known Icelandic ballad, full of longing and intertwined personhood: 'mine was yours and yours was mine'. Nitlayokoya - kind of a spoiler for the fic, but Cassian isn't actually a 'skraeling' (Norse name for the American peoples encountered around Newfoundland), he's from...way further south. This song has the same title as poem by Nezahualcoyotl, meaning 'I am Sad', though this wasn't composed until the fifteenth century. Get Out of My House is based on The Shining, so there's the link to Native American land, and there's shapeshifting in the song too. Seems a good angry bb Cassian song. Filthy Game a stranger and a good man gets drawn into the locals' 'filthy game'. The Devil & the Huntsman mainly for the Sam Lee, but also a rollicking banger from the King Arthur soundtrack. Vibes. The Dark general foreshadowing and vibes. Don't Say No - there's a lot of Patrick Wolf on there, this is early Patrick Wolf urging us to run with our instincts :)) and teeth. Shapeshifter there's also a lot of Richard Dawson in various iterations on here because he does Weird Folk like no one else. Shapeshifter so impressive he's even handing out potatos pre-Colombian exchange. Pagan Poetry best fucked up Björk song everrrr. 'He makes me want to hurt myself'. To Try for the Sun just boys being lads, sharing coats and hanging out on the streets, nothing to see here. Teardrop this is how you do a cover. Theseus 'A black sail billows, the sun hits your blade / And you are hungry, you are hungry for you'. Jolly Bold Robber I love the way Nic Jones sings this. A 'jolly bold robber' attacks a young sailor who's just come ashore with his earnings and they fight - moral is don't fight a desperate sailor who wants to spend his shore leave well. But the way Nic Jones sings 'like lambkins they've stripped' sure is something. And the apology in the sailor's voice for killing his attacker. Feels very Cassian. Two Brothers - any folksong 'and they were brothers' me: 'what if they were ""brothers""?' Here with wrestling matches, bruised egos, pocket-knife stabbings and regret. The Best Excuse in the World I remember seeing this live and David Rotheray explained it as being about a gay man realising he has 'the best excuse in the world' for not loving his wife, but the way Jim Causley sings it erases any of the triteness of that, it's gorgeous. Go Your Way classic 'I love you so much I'm letting you go' folk song. Nonantzin another Nezahualcoyotl poem, this one asking mother to cry for her child when he dies. Crown Shyness is just one of my Brassian songs. Growing up together but not quite being brave enough to reach out to each other. Raincatchers ditto, also shut up I love it.

We used to be the raincatchers And we couldn't see what we were running from You made me feel like Nothing really matters Here in my dreams, we're raincatchers Come back to me like it was before You made me feel like Nothing really matters, nothing really matters If we let this run Caught on a river Everything that we left unspoken Will never be said Revenge of the Bear instrumental, for the title mainly. Who could it refer to, you ask? Animalia whaaaat it's from the soundtrack to my favourite film, also fucked up love and animal imagery. Daring Highwayman getting into the Norwegian/continental mercenary/troublemaking part of their careers now, Cassian definitely makes robery seem cool. Hare Spell he also makes shapeshifting seem cool. Because it is. Stendur æva is about nine minutes long but it's essential I'm afraid. Played on a glockenspiel made from Icelandic rock, I usually LOATHE your man from Sigur Rós and his squeaky voice, but he sort of sounds like a seagull in this, and it features the then head of the Icelandic folk singing club, who has a lovely voice. It's all bullshit medievalism about 'Odin magic' but it sounds fucking amazing. VIBES I SAY. Trøllabundin this is tumblr, you all know about Eivør Pálsdóttir here, right? Ogre more Richard Dawson! But this time the community is not so happy with the outsider figure on its edges. Twa Corbies is a pan-European folk song with pretty old roots. Pov: you are a corvid observing the body of a dead knight. Villon Song high medieval roots for this poem about all the cool things you can do to break the law. Bwganod Richard Dawson AND FRIENDS this time. The title is Welsh for 'scarecrow', which doesn't really have any bearing on things, but the following lines are just relevant, ok Always jokey-woking ‘Til the shit hits the fan Spray my face in fertiliser Grow a mos-toosh Hairy pits Super fit Built like a brick shit Wearing leopard-print Fishnet underpants

I’m on the run, Barely began Gathering sun, but I’ll take my time I’m overrun The damage is done Everyone’s gonna sink into the slime Hellismanna kvæði for the 1990s girl rock!! Also it's an outlaw song. Strákarnir á Borginni means 'the boys on the town' and is a camp tango about the hypocrisy of 1980s homophobic farmers in Iceland. I've posted it here before, it's iconique. Fin Cop a more tragic outlaw song. Nobody loves a troll. Escape oh just for the Vibes, because Plunkett & Macleane has the energy I want my outlaw saga to have. The Night Safari much more recent Patrick Wolf about love not being enough to stop self-destructive tendencies. Also shapeshifters. Excuse me While I shift shape The ocelot Slips the bowline knot But soon falls to prey As a boy I worshipеd the thunder Now it's just a sky under I wait for to fall No why only whеn Still Too Soon to Know yes yes blorbo got on the playlist. Pleasingly few pronouns in this. After all they've been through, surely Brasso would know? Á Sprengisandi is a jolly Icelandic folk song about riding across the highland interior on the main path. There's unclean spirits! Outlaws! Elves! All those fun guys. Ten Thousand Miles just another nice travelling song :)) Oh come ye back My own true love And stay a while with me If I had a friend On this Earth You've been a friend to me Dodona more recent Patrick Wolf going through it. Night Ride Across the Caucasus I'm not sure yet precisely what route they'll be taking by this stage but you've gotta have some Loreena on a medievalish playlist. Anyone But Me what pining would be complete without some jealous misunderstandings? This is such a sinister and sexy song of obsession and it's a fave. Ivy to go with the general move towards the cradle of ancient civilisationTM this is more Richard Dawson (and DIFFERENT friends, these ones Finnish metalheads) this time telling Dionysus's story. Hey Matt if you can take me at my best you can take me at my Darren Hayes-est, gay angstiest: Hey Matt The water carried all my secrets Sifting through the muck I saw my dirty little grievances And the memories I killed All the shameful feelings spilled Lay bare on the asphalt Broken parts I thought I'd drowned real good Oops! I Did it Again it's a Cassian song, ok? Nikitoa last of the songs with a title matching a poem by Nezahualcoyotl, this one about the transience of all things :)) Móðir mín í kví kví what if we made this lullaby into a girl screamo track? Vibes, I say again. Feet of Clay more on the topic of not being able to make a move despite wanting to. Whispering Light the version with Willy Mason. Distance, mark of distance Your burden is your brilliance There's a vessel A hiddеn vessel in the stonе Difference, not indifference Your passion marks you different And you wrestle And how you'll wrestle to come to know The Gates of Istanbul more Loreena! Constantinople, but, well, I don't need to quote They Might Be Giants. Shim El Yasmine It might not be Istanbul but let's get some Arabic language angst about leaving your boyfriend behind in anyway. Last Polar Bear it's about the long overdue proliferation of contemporary queer folk singers actually. Also bears. From the north. Make you think of anyone? The Moon Shone on my Bed Last Night sneaking some more Sam Lee in for the 'muckle ballad' about being with your lad no matter what. Stál og hnífur this is what happens when you leave the pronouns out, Bubbi! Steel and knife is my symbol, the symbol of travelling workers. Yours was mine and mine was yours while I lived among men. Fire Light soothing. Good vibes. Hopefuly. Probably a happy ending, through I'm a long way from knowing how I'll achieve it yet. What is the medieval equivalent of a Death Star? Over Again haha is it all a flat circle? Or once free to be together to they just go out robbing and causing trouble again? :)

[educatedinyellow]

Theme: Rec a fic that starts with the same letter as your username.

I spotted this rec theme on another blog and it sounded charmingly random and fun! I had a good time looking through my bookmarks and sorting out this little collection of mismatched seashells :)

Every Man's Got a Right by MollyC (SPN, Destiel, Endverse!Cas, time travel, 78K, E) In this one, Endverse!Cas is given a second chance to stop the world, and the people he loves, from going irretrievably off the rails -- he finds himself, without explanation, dropped straight into Season 2 and the first outbreak of the Croatoan virus. Watching him rediscover just how much Dean means to him and how far he's willing to go in order to change things for the better is beautiful. (Written in first-person, for those for whom that is a deal-breaker. It really shouldn't be, though!)

Everybody's Got a Hungry Heart by PallasPerilous (SPN, Destiel, musician!AU, 18K, T) Distinguished by Pallas's inimitable comedy-prose, this thing is an unhinged delight from start to finish. Dean is jumpy as shit. Why one possibly Icelandic beep-boop specialist has him on edge while Mick Jagger’s own vocal coach barely got his heart rate over 55bpm is a goddamn mystery. Maybe it’s the harp solos from that sample track; maybe Dean’s nervous that this is his last shot and if this guy can’t save Dean from filling out the back end of his contract with “Best Of” and “Live In Concert” compilations he might as well walk into the fucking sea.

Engineering 101 by Mara (Batman, Dick Grayson, early days, 4K, G) A clever use of extended metaphor to take a look at the process by which Bruce trains the first child he raises to be Robin and begins to realize what he risks breaking. (I'd say it largely embraces comic book logic in that it does not try to critique the whole premise of child crime fighting as an essentially bad thing, but it sprinkles in traces of real-life concerns. It doesn't vilify Bruce, but it does add some shades of gray to the creation of the dynamic duo.) "Engineering is about testing to destruction," Bruce said, settling into lecture mode. "You don't understand how you can do things better until you understand when and why they break apart."

The Eleventh Hour by Azdak (Man From UNCLE (TV), Napoleon-centric, 4K, G). OK, so, in the TV series there was an episode called 'The Gurnius Affair' wherein Illya had to go undercover as a bad guy, and -- long-story short -- things went wrong, Napoleon got caught, and in order to salvage his own cover and thereby the mission, Illya had to straight-up torture Napoleon. And he did so. Both of them were aware that he had to, both of them were horrified by the experience, and being 1960s television, there was never any adequate follow-up or emotional resolution. A lot of fanfic writers have tackled the aftermath of that disaster in different ways, and this is a fun and interesting take. Napoleon's narrative voice is many things here -- it's petty and angry in a way he rarely is, because his self-image and his pride have been so hurt and he's on ego overdrive here. But it's also wry, and self-dramatizing, and stubborn, and optimistic against all odds. Meanwhile, the narrative commentary of the femme fatale is a load of fun, too. A prickly, funny, angry, and ultimately triumphant brush with death is just what Napoleon needed, it turns out, to settle back into himself.

An Evening of Little Luxuries by otherhawk (MFU, Illya-centric, character study, 7K, G) Oh, I love this one, such a good look at Illya and what it means to him to live between cultures. Before the war he'd been more or less bilingual. He'd grown up speaking Ukrainian at home to his family and Russian everywhere else. After the war there had been no home left, and Russian had been the only language he heard, the language he thought and dreamed in. Now Ukrainian was simply another language he spoke, no different in his head from German or Japanese. His heart was a different matter, and he regretted that loss, regretted that when he dreamed of his parents, his sister, they spoke to him in a language that was no longer his own. Now, more and more, he found himself dreaming in English, and yes, that bothered him. He had no wish to lose Russian the way he'd lost Ukrainian. And so he let himself have evenings like this – the simplest things that felt like decadence – amid his fellow countrymen, many of whom, he suspected, were here for similar reasons.

Escape Velocity by Vehemently (Firefly, Simon Tam, character study, 5K, G) Such concise and vivid world-building, and a poignant look at how Simon grapples with how to accept the loss of the sister he once knew as he takes small, reluctant steps toward facing up to his own over-protectiveness toward the very different person River has now become.

Enduring, Quiet, and Calm by thesardine (BBC Sherlock, Johnlock, strange tenderness, 1K, G) A little gem of a sick fic -- so odd, so sweet. Has that hazy feeling of very late-night exhaustion.

Empty Houses by PlaidAdder (BBC Sherlock, Johnlock, case fic, 45K, T) A clever and involving case fic and the first story to feature PlaidAdder's wonderful take on Harry Watson. Written in that golden moment between Series 2 and Series 3 when we all imagined our own post-Reichenbach reunions and the possibilities for tenderness and healing were still wide open. This fic is rich in humor, compassion, and new beginnings, while also offering a darker take on some bits of canon than the show ultimately pursued.

Elevator Down by vikki (Inception, Arthur & Cobb, LJ fic, 10K, T) I really like this meditation on Arthur's backstory with the Cobbs. Psychologically interesting and elegantly written, and to me there's something touching about the thought that Dom's subconscious keeps lashing out at Arthur because, on some level, he knows it's Arthur who's working hardest to keep him alive. Arthur dreams up paradoxes. Cobb dreams up his late wife. One of these things is not like the other. One of these things is not safe.

Early Returns by rageprufrock (Inception, Arthur/Eames, journalist!AU, 15K, M) Rageprufrock is another author whose comedy-prose is always a pleasure. I love this one for the grouchy journalism malaise in which the embers of inextinguishable principle still smolder, lovingly described as only an insider can <3 For reasons that don't bear discussion, Arthur ends up at Safeway at a 6:30 p.m. on his way home for the night still carrying his messenger bag with his headphones around his neck, standing in one of the aisles looking at 200 different brands of plastic tableware and double-ply picnic dishes. He's been a journalist his entire professional career, so of course he's been this depressed before, but there's something profound when you mix the sinking misery of mortification with the heady, dizzying blur of self-directed fury, and it makes him feel numb down to the fingertips and toes.

If anyone else would like to play this meme, I'd be glad to see your recs!

[machazer]

Life in plastic is fantastic.

"Be clever///stop thinking""

Another girl who can't set privacy for photos. The sad thing is that you go public and then ruin the fun on Tumblr.

@fisteq

How many times will I receive the same messages about deleting my comments under a randomly selected photo.

Because when someone publishes something, please mark it as public or not for reblog, because it's getting boring when I get messages from women who don't care about such details.

80 years after the war, and I have the impression that Eugenics made sense until the 1970s or 1980s in Sweden or Iceland.

The old Polish proverb says "prevention is better than cure", and the second one "treat yourself to your feet, because it's too late for your head".

36 years on this fucking Earth taught me kindness and mercy for weaker beings, you could say like Fidel Castro "socialism or death".

Which by its nature is a contradiction of my character and personality, but Polish punk and self-search allowed me to feel sorry for the weaker.

I usually press ban and laugh at the jump from Ego to IQ.

Schönes Wochenende in Deutschland bis Mitwoch. 🇩🇪

For rest good evening on Sunday 🙄🤭🤤😋

[clawsofakiller]

Wolverine #49 Sabretooth War Spoilers alert and personal analysis

I am so so so sleepy rn so i can't use my byelingual skill to translate so here we go machine translation! I don't don't know what I'm talking just sleepy. I didn't take meds just sleepland lacks of me.

Try not to argue with me about my opinion as I would not have done the same to others, thank you very much.

Organize your thoughts.

Doug threw Sabretooth into his victims perspective extracted from his memories to make him feel the pain of his victims being beaten, tortured and abused by him, he thinks Sabretooth has been holding on to these memories because of guilty feeling and that guilt shows that there is still goodness in his heart. When he tries to talk therapy to tell him that everyone has a chance to be good, sabretooth laughs and says that he can't feel guilty at all and that he keeps remembering these memories just because they make him feel good, and he's proud of them, and he's so good his ego bursts up, and he says that, Douglas simply can't accept that there are just people who are born differently in the world, and that not every wounded child needs hugs and cookies, and that the evil he did is what hegenuinely wanted, and even if he were placed in the victims' situation, he couldn't understand their fear; he could only explain the feeling as physical: just a racing heartbeat. And their pain, even if experienced by him, only nourishes him.

This is the evil of man. If a tiger were to experience the pain of a deer, it would only feel anger and fear, it would think it was fighting and losing against another tiger, being killed and eaten, but Creed knows that he is dealing with himself, and his narcissism has reached the point where it is horrifying to watch, and he derives pleasure from his lurid image and deeds, even though he can practically feel the pain, and more than anything else, it is pride. He is proud of his overwhelming power, being in the position of the victim makes him more aware of his power, thus he is proud to be the abuser, the one who has the power to destroy others, he knows that being in the position of the victim is only temporary, he still has the chance to go back to his own body and continue his abuse, this is a complex emotion, it's a human emotion. This part I think is sexually suggestive, Creed absorbs the pain of his victims so his body shape becomes bigger and bigger and his power grows, according to psychoanalytic theory at this point he already has an erection(well obviously he enjoyed it so much) because of what he feels, combine this with the line where he says he feels his blood flowing, he feels vigorous, because the carnal feeling is the life force and is also the force of the libido, and at this moment his libido must be bursting at the seams! Until he breaks through the cocoon that binds him, which again is a metaphor for birth, he rips open the cocoon and is covered in mucus and, is reborn, but he rips open the mother's body and is born on his own, and instead of cries he is accompanied by a primal roar. Someone is born differently, Victor confronts his psychiatrist, Doug, and he says so. The text accompanying this panel is taken from Icelandic historian and poet Snorris Thurluson's Norwegian Kings' Saga, which describes Odin's berserkers, and I'll translate it roughly: (I'm sorry I translated those lines into Chinese and it doesn't look quite the same when translated back to English)Odin's men rushed forward without armor, they were fierce as dogs and wolves, they tore at shields, they were strong as brown bears and bison, they could kill their enemies with a single blow, and yet fire and iron couldn't hurt them a bit. This is called the Berserkergang.

I really like how this whole issue shows his psyche, it fits the definition of psychopath in psychiatry, how do they feel regret when they don't repent or have deep emotions, nor normal human emotions? If there was any possibility of getting better it was lost decades ago due to permanent frontal lobe damage in the X mansion. Everything is doomed. Being born as human without the possibility of being human, some people are destined to traumatise the world, they are like natural disasters, compounded by their causes, rare and unpredictable, even harder to stop, and bound to leave broken walls wherever they go. it's nature, it can't be changed.

And Camo died before sharp comment: Graydon and Victor are the same, Victor can not let go of Logan's obsession, Graydon can not let go of his father's obsession, they are not family, they simply have the same bad blood just! His family may have genetic mental illness, after all, chained his mutant children in the basement every day with pliers to pull teeth does not look like a normal person to do things.

[because-its-eurovision]

I'm a huge Lord Of The Lost fan and have been since like 2016 so seeing them in ESC is a massive thing for me, how do you think they will do in the results.

At the moment I'd say around 20th place. It depends on their place in the running order and if Australia qualifies to the final (I'm pretty sure they will).

I considered two factors here: how well rock/heavy entries like Blood and Glitter usually do at Esc and how well Germany has done at Esc in the previous years. Answer to both: not so well.

These are some of the entries Blood and Glitter reminds me of and their results in the final: 2016 Cyprus: Minus One - Alter Ego, 21st place 2017 Ukraine: O.Torvald - Time, 24th place 2018 Hungary: AWS - Viszlát Nyár, 21st place 2022 Finland: The Rasmus - Jezebel, 21st place

There have been some rock entries to do well of course, like Iceland 2019 and Finland & Italy 2021, but they all did better in televote than with juries. In my personal opinion those entries were also all more original and creative rock songs than Blood and Glitter.

I'm afraid Germany might be too middle of the road and formulaic for juries to get excited about it. As for the televote... well, Blind Channel got their televoting 12 points from Estonia, Iceland and Sweden 🙂 Germany on the other hand can't trust their neighbours to give even a single televote point as we have unfortunately seen in the past. I'm still expecting them to gather at least a few dozen points, some of those definitely from Finland 🥰

[aijamisespava]

One Final ESC 2023 Thought: Favorite Songs From Each Country (participating AND non-participating)!

AAAAA I'M SO SORRY FOR DISAPPEARING OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH FOR A WHILE! I just...never got around to my finale before we get to some fun Junior Eurovision 2023/Eurovision 2024 stuff! So here is my finale: Where I share my favorite songs from each country in Eurovision from 2009 to the present.

So, how is this going to work? I'm going alphabetically because it's easier to do it like that. I'm giving you my top 2 from each country, but not the placements. If you want those, they're on the Eurovision website (I will put the year down though). Now, let's get to it!

Albania: "World" by Lindita (2017)/"Ktheju Tokës" by Jonida Maliqi (2019)

Andorra: "La Teva Decisió (Get A Life)" by Susanne Georgi (2009)

Armenia: "Future Lover" by Brunette (2023)/"Not Alone" by Aram MP3 (2014)

Australia: "Promise" by Voyager (2023)/"Sound Of Silence" by Dami Im (2016)

Austria: "Who The Hell Is Edgar?" by Teya & Salena (2023)/"I Am Yours" by The MakeMakes (2015)

Azerbaijan: "Hold Me" by Farid Mammadov (2013)/"Fade To Black" by Nadir Rustalmi (2022)

Belarus: "Forever" by Alekseev (2018)/"Eyes That Never Lie" by Petr Elfimov (2009)

Belgium: "Rhythm Inside" by Loïc Nottet (2015)/"The Wrong Place" by Hooverphonic (2021)

Bosnia & Herzegovina: "Korake Ti Znam" by Maya Sar (2012)/"Ljubav Je" by Jalal & Deen/Ana Rucner/Jala (2016)

Bulgaria: "If Love Was A Crime"/"Na Inat" both by Poli Genova (2016 & 2011 respectively)

Croatia: "Guilty Pleasure" by Mia Dimsic (2022)/"Tick Tock" by Albina (2021)

Cyprus: "Alter Ego" by Minus-One (2016)/"El Diablo" by Elena Tsagrinou (2021)

Czechia: "Lights Off" by Domi (2022)/"My Sister's Crown" by Vesna (2023)

Denmark: Øve Os På Hinanden" by Fyr og Flamme (2021)/"Only Teardrops" by Emmelie de Forest (2013)

Estonia: "Goodbye To Yesterday" by Elina Born & Stig Rastä (2015)/"Rändajad" by Urban Symphony (2009)

Finland: "Something Better" by Softengine (2014)/"Jezebel" by The Rasmus (2022)

France: "L'enfer et moi" by Amandine Bourgeois (2013)/"Évidemment" by La Zarra (2023)

Georgia: "Warrior" by Nina Sublatti (2015)/"Echo" by Iru (2023)

Germany: "Taken By A Stranger" by Lena (2011)/"Ghost" by Jamie-Lee (2016)

Greece: "Die Together" by Amanda Tenfjord (2022)/"Aphrodisiac" by Eleftheria Eleftheriou (2012)

Hungary: "What About My Dreams?" by Kati Wolf (2011)/"Running" by Andra Kallay-Saunders (2014)

Iceland: "Hear Them Calling" by Greta Salome (2016)/"10 Years" by Daði Freyr (2021)

Ireland: "Playing With Numbers" by Molly Sterling (2015)/"That's Rich" by Brooke (2022)

Israel: "Same Heart" by Mei Finegold (2014)/"Rak Bishvilo" by Moran Mazor (2013)

Italy: "La Mia Città" by Emma (2014)/"ZITTI E BUONI" by Måneskin (2021)

Latvia: "Aijā" by Sudden Lights (2023)/"Love Injected" by Aminata (2015)

Lithuania: "Stay" by Monika Linkyte (2023)/"Discoteque" by The Roop (2021)

*can't wait to see Luxembourg next year!!!*

Malta: "This Is The Night" by Kurt Calleja (2012)/"Je Me Casse" by Destiny (2021)

Moldova: "O Mie" by Aliona Moon (2013)/"Run Away" by Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira (2010)

Montenegro: "Adio" by Knez (2015)/"Breathe" by Vladana (2022)

Netherlands: "Arcade" by Duncan Laurence (2019) *CONGRATS ON 1B SPOTIFY STREAMS!*/"De Diepte" by S10 (2022)

North Macedonia: "Crno I Belo" by Kaliopi (2012)/"Jas Ja Imam Silata" by Gjoko Taneski (2010)

Norway: "Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak (2009)/"Queen Of Kings" by Alessandra (2023)

Poland: "Flashlight" by Kasia Moś (2017)/"River" by Ochman (2022)

Portugal: "Amar Pelos Dois" by Salvador Sobral (2017)/"Vida Minha" by Filipa Sousa (2012)

Romania: "Playing With Fire" by Paula Seling & Ovi (2010)/"Amnesia" by Roxen (2021)

*I would like to look into which artists do NOT support the war before sharing my favorites for Russia*

San Marino: "Adrenalina" by Senhit & Flo Rida (2021)/"Stand By" by Senhit (2011) *yes...same artist 10 years apart*

Serbia: "Samo Mi Se Spava" by Luke Black (2023)/"Goodbye (Shelter)" by Sanja Vučić ZAA (2016)

Slovakia: "Horehronie" by Kristina Pelakova (2010)/"Don't Close Your Eyes" by Max Jason Mai (2012)

Slovenia: "Carpe Diem" by Joker Out (2023)/"No One" by Maja Keuc (2011)

Spain: "Quedate Conmigo" by Pastora Soler (2012)/"Dancing In The Rain" by Ruth Lorenzo (2014)

Sweden: "Heroes" by Måns Zelmerlöw (2015)/"Popular" by Eric Saade (2011)

Switzerland: "Tout l'univers"/"Répondez-moi" both by Gjon's Tears (2021 & 2020 respectively)

Turkey: "We Could Be The Same" by maNga (2010)/"Dum Tek Tek" by Hadise (2009)

Ukraine: "Under The Ladder" by Mélovin (2018)/"Time" by O. Torvald (2017)

United Kingdom: "I Wrote A Song" by Mae Muller (2023)/"Never Give Up On You" by Lucie Jones (2017)

Thank you so much for joining me this year! Looking forward to the new year of Eurovision stuff!

[randomvarious]

Today’s compilation:

Volume 15: Technology Alert! 1995 Indie Rock / Downtempo / Alternative Rock / Indie Electronic / Trip Hop

Alright, let's talk about Volume! Volume was a UK music publication that was focused on quality. Every few months or so, between the years of 1991 and 1997, their readership would get supplied with a brand new 192-page-thick issue in the shape of a CD booklet that was packed with biographies and interviews with artists from all across Britain's wide-ranging and very eclectic indie spectrum. And along with each issue came a CD too, but not just some cheap, little sampler; no, these CDs were solely comprised of exclusives. Every song that was included on a Volume album had never officially appeared on any other release beforehand, and every act that appeared on a Volume CD received coverage in that CD's respective issue; proper context was being provided for each artist you were listening to as you perused through the mag itself.

And while sometimes that meant that you were gonna get cutting-room floor material, because artists preferred to save their best stuff for their own releases, it also opened up opportunities for these Volume CDs to come laced with some rare, beautiful gems as well.

And this 15th volume of Volume from 1995 happens to have a handful of those gems on it, while also managing to serve as a neat, little snapshot of a mid-90s UK indie landscape, overall, that was far more diverse than the US' own at the time, due in large part to its complete openness to, and indulgence in, electronic and dance music. A lot of indie fans and writers in the US simply turned up their noses at a lot of that stuff at the time, but the Brits had a history of embracing it, from their late 80s and early 90s days of pirate radio, acid warehouses, and the Madchester scene that soon followed, which saw bands like The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays fusing their alternative rock sounds with psychedelic dance beats.

And as this CD shows, electronic music—either as standalone genres like downtempo, trip hop, breakbeat, or techno, or used in order to be combined with rock— was still very much sewn into the UK's own indie fabric in 1995, whereas in the US, it was far less embraced and much less incorporated by indie bands themselves. It still existed stateside, of course, but electronic music at that point was more or less regarded as its own cloistered off, peculiar, little sideshow, rather than the wellspring of unique creativity and sonic ingenuity that the UK took it for. The only ones who *really* managed to effectively break through that US-made firewall at that time were Björk and Moby. So, Brits really got down with what electronic music had to offer, while Americans largely side-eyed it, and as a result, the UK continues to be, by far, the most musically eclectic country in the entire world.

So, with all that in mind, let's get into some of the sweet mid-90s indie gems that you can find on this ephemeral CD here. First is a song that comes courtesy of the reigning champions of that far-ahead-of-its-time ethereal dream pop sound: Scotland's very own Cocteau Twins. They bring forth an enthralling tune in "Circling Girl," which never ended up appearing on any of their albums, but was included on their single, Violaine, the following year. Then there's a futuristically jangly piece of alternative folk-rock from a band called Babybird, who've now gone on to release gobs of music since, but this "Alan Ladd" song of theirs doesn't appear to have ever been included on any other release, and seems to actually be their debut song 🤔?! And after that is an Icelandic indie-trip hop group who call themselves LHOOQ, whose "Vanishing" predates their official debut album on London's Echo Records by a few years, and smacks deeply of a band like Portishead.

Then in the second half, we're treated to a couple sweet bits of purely electronic music too. One comes from the duo of Ultramarine, whose "Altered Ego" makes for a nice and somewhat minimal acid-dubby downtempo groove, and the other comes from a London duo called Joi, whose "Everybody Say Yeah" gets a remix treatment from another London duo called Spring Heel Jack, resulting in a spectacular piece of Asian Underground breakbeat that feels like it was made for a balmy South Asian summer sunrise 😌.

There's a lot of other fine songs on this comp too, but those five are the absolute cream of the crop to me. And an honorable mention goes out to State of Grace's "Perfect and Wild" as well. It's a new wave-synthpop stunner of sorts, as it lays down a thick slab of intensely glimmering synths in the choruses, but its overall lack of ample audio quality ultimately ends up betraying it, relegating it from what could've been perhaps the best song on this album, to not even making it to my own coveted list of highlights for this post 😔.

Unfortunately, I don't currently have any more of these Volume CDs on hand, but if this particular installment is any indication, then this whole series appears to be a really rich treasure trove of underheard and cutting-edge 90s UK indie ephemera. Rare cuts from critically acclaimed entities alongside super cool songs from acts that only ended up existing for a few fleeting seconds.

Highlights:

Cocteau Twins - "Circling Girl" Baby Bird - "Alan Ladd" LHOOQ - "Vanishing" Ultramarine - "Altered Ego" Joi - "Everybody Say Yeah (Spring Heel Jack  remix)"

[mattydemise]

23:49. September 18th, 2022.

The blank page in front of me, my fingers eager to work. I haven’t been on Messenger in a while so I logged in today and saw that I have a threat against my life which was sent to me on Friday. I almost pissed myself laughing. I’m on a better path. I won’t retaliate tenfold. I will not fuel the flames of that fire. I will be better. I am better. It’s almost Monday and I’m still here. Words are wind.

Come to think of it, the only stressful moment of my week was making a babycino this afternoon. I’m overly delicate when it comes to frothing the milk. I’d rather have a parent ask me to make the babycino a little warmer, than to accidentally scald a baby or toddler.

I’m going to start a new painting tomorrow. If I like the way it turns out I’ll post the finished piece here on Tumblr (forever battling with ego, trying to stifle its just trying to be and live free). I’ve been fucking with mixed media for a while now. Mixing spray paint and more traditional acrylics and oils. I find that backgrounding with the thinner spray paints and then layering with the thicker paints looks best. Maybe I should just say “Fuck it” and not worry about what “looks best”.

Tonight when I go to bed I’ll be thinking about Denmark and Iceland. The stark northern landscapes and clean open skies. Dreaming of different seas.

[are-we-really-doing-this]

do u still do sotw posts? i'm just genuinely curious is all. i didn't see one pinned to your blog and i thought my tumblr app glitched out. your blog helps me find new tunes (haha) and your life updates r fun

Thanks for asking, anon! It means a lot to me that people like those posts because I love doing them.

To answer your question, I did not do one last week but I may have one for you on Sunday. Still not sure yet, I have a lot to get done for the next 2-ish weeks. I do almost all of my picking the night before because I base it on the music I listened to that week and I don’t want to miss something that hits me unexpectedly, but I think I have something in mind.

If you’re curious about my habits as of late, I’ve just been listening to a shit ton of Suburban Noize (I personally recommend Mower if you’re into hardcore rap punk, or their alter-ego Slower if you’re more into lounge jazz) and Psychopathic Records (mainly Twiztid but they’re not signed to them anymore so does that count? who cares I’m still sad about it) acts and anything adjacent, plus a bunch of tracks off of Follow the Leader, The Green Book, Korn (the album) Significant Other, Abominationz (Madrox), and Gold Cobra. Too many good tracks between them all. Also been enjoying some less popular (as far as Tumblr is concerned) nu metal acts like Element Eighty, Dry Kill Logic, American Head Charge, Methods of Mayhem (I swear to god, they have good songs), Genuflect (they’re like a fully nu metal RATM), and Quarashi (they’re Icelandic RATM!).

As for a life update I’ve been struggling BUT, my head is a bit clearer at the moment. I went out last night and it was a nice distraction, and y’all have had some real kind words that have helped.

[dezz111]

Of Man and Twitlet(s): The Twitter Diaries

(Another, slightly older writing assignment from bout two weeks ago)

To be a douche or not to be a douche, that is the question. 

It has to be exhausting being the second richest man in the world. Every second is dedicated to trying to regain your title after making a bad business deal and losing out to a fashion designer. There are no chances for a second thought when putting plans into action. And so we have the perfect breeding ground for a first-generation Twitlet, better known as an Elon Musk. 

Twitlet (as defined by Koneko Dez’s dictionary): a classless, second-place billionaire with Ameri-mania.

Ameri-mania: a warped but persistent sense of grandeur based upon complexion established biases within the United States of America.

Now, Mr. Musk has built himself a nice empire through the back-breaking work of inheriting an emerald mine. Such hardships have created a veil between his eyes and the rest of society. For common decency is for the common folk. I understand that all this pomp may seem like me padding this essay, but I do have a point. I am merely taking this moment to give my own impersonation of Mr. Musk and his roundabout manner of sense. But now that I have taken a second to gather myself, let us begin.

Elon Musk has decided to prove once again why I will always take the opportunity to check his ego and privilege. Ableism. Don't you love it when a rich man who has o idea what he’s doing fires you for a disability? Because that's essentially what happened when Haraldur Thorleifsson was (with an extended term of uncertainty) laid off for apparently not doing any work in the first place. More specifically, “The reality is that this guy (who is independently wealthy) did no actual work, claimed as his excuse that he had a disability that prevented him from typing, yet was simultaneously tweeting up a storm.”(Musk). Now, I’m young, and I may sometimes be dumb but I am nowhere near as socially inept as this Tweet. Or any Tweet that Elon sent during this entire conversation. (Or in general.) And props to Thorleifsson for keeping his composure and keeping it classy. But I would expect nothing less from someone who has become a practical saint through his efforts to make his country more accessible as well as aiding victims of sexual abuse (Pomrenke).   

It may be an “Alpha male” thing but, the seems to be some sort of disconnect from reality. Elon needs to pick a struggle. You cant be a douche, lose money, and still be the disowned “King of Nerds”. Even if you can’t be a genuinely good person, try and fake it for the sake of being the businessman you claim to be. Do it for the poor stockholders, Elon. Because being a tone-deaf white man with an ego is just begging to be on the Daily Show.

Or the subject of one of my essays.

Works Cited

Clayton, James. “Worker Asks Elon Musk on Twitter: Have I Been Fired?” BBC News, BBC, 7 Mar. 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64871183.

Gay, Roxane. “The Audacious Roundup.” The Audacious Roundup - by Roxane Gay, The 

Audacity.,11Mar.2023, ttps://audacity.substack.com/p/the-audacious-roundup-9e2.

Pomrenke, Erik. “Haraldur Þorleifsson Sweeps Person of the Year Awards.” Iceland Review,8Mar.2023,https://www.icelandreview.com/news/haraldur-thorleifsson-sweeps-

person-of-the-year-awards/.

Musk, Elon (@elonmusk). “The reality is that this guy (who is independently wealthy) did no 

actual work, claimed as his excuse that he had a disability that prevented him from typing, yet was simultaneously tweeting up a storm.” Mar. 7, 2023. 2:47 AM

Serrano, Jody. “Elon Musk Laughs at Twitter Worker Who Asked If He Still Had a Job.” 

Gizmodo,Gizmodo,7Mar.2023,https://gizmodo.com/elon-musk-laughs-twitter-haraldur-thorleifsson-layoff-1850196254?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email.