#so i actually pretty much never eat pie (i.e. the last time was as a kid)

[eightyonekilograms]

Someone on the Discord brought up fertility

Just like last time I'm lazy and just going to dump it instead of editing.

[5:10 PM] Me: Oh boy, I have thoughts about this

[5:12 PM] Me: I haven't brought it up here but demographics has been one of my covid obsessions. I got a couple books about it (What to Expect When No One's Expecting, One Billion Americans, etc.), read all the articles, etc.

[5:15 PM] Me: I agree with you about a couple things: namely that if we had "infinite free energy" we'd be a a lot better off in many ways including demographically, but I disagree with most of your other points.

[5:18 PM] Me:

Also we need not assume decline in population growth is chronic.

This is a tricky statement because there's a social aspect and a mathematical aspect. Socially you're correct in the sense that whatever trends are driving the current decline could, in theory, reverse at any time. But mathematically, population decline is exactly symmetrical to population growth: it's exponential (technically it's logistic, but that's the same as exponential in the short term), because having fewer people means fewer people to make more people later on.

[5:20 PM] Me:

Infact there is some evidence to suggest that we actually did more science when we had 4-6 billion people.

I disagree with the implication here: we used to do more science because there was more low-hanging fruit, which is now plucked, and further discoveries require more resources (human and financial). Actually one of the big reasons I disagree with Ray Kurzweil and the other singularitarians is that when they show these impressive-looking exponential curves about scientific progress, they quietly hide under the rug that these increases are requiring ever-more investment (again, in both people and money) to accomplish. Just to pick a random example, every time chip manufacturers go to a new process (14nm -> 10nm -> 7nm -> 5nm -> 2nm etc.), the cost to build the fab basically doubles. I remember a couple years back Intel had to spend $5 billion to hit a new process shrink; now TSMC needs to spend $28 billion to hit their next target: https://www.wsj.com/articles/tsmc-to-spend-up-to-record-28-billion-in-advanced-chips-capacity-11610623587)

[5:23 PM] Me: I will try to find it but I came across a paper a little while ago laying out in detail that the cost of new scientific discoveries has been steadily increasing over time. It's not that there's anything necessarily going wrong with the scientific process, this is just what you'd expect as we pick low-hanging fruit: the later discoveries necessarily become harder. But if you extrapolate that trend out forever you eventually hit a point where every single person needs to be a scientist, and every dime of capital in existence, needs to be used to make any new discoveries.

[5:26 PM] Me: (In most fields we're a long way from that point, but it actually is here or nearly here in e.g. particle physics. What I have been hearing from leading-edge particle physicists is that we've got maybe one or two more generations of particle accelerators left before we reach a point where, to probe any further (e.g. to see if string theory is true), we'd need to build accelerators the size of the Solar System, which would take more raw material than the mass of the Earth. Barring some new theoretical breakthroughs, we might actually nearing the "end" of high-energy physics.)

[5:30 PM] Me: Fortunately most fields aren't at that point, but my point is that the more we discover, the more human capital is required to make further progress. That's a tricky enough proposition with a growing population, never mind a shrinking one.

[5:36 PM] Me:

I don't think it is safe to assume lowering population growth is a biological disorder so much as a conscious choice most people in the younger generations are making for a variety of obvious reasons.

I agree with this, but it's important to dig into that a little and understand the reasons. For example, I'm not yet convinced that there is a mass epidemic of people choosing childlessness because of anxiety about e.g. climate change. In internet comments sections you certainly see lots of people making that claim, but talk is cheap and randos on the internet can say whatever they want. In terms of the actual reasons, the data I've seen shows that number of children continues to track closely with a couple data points, mostly housing costs, expected lifetime income and uncertainly about future income flow.

[5:40 PM] Me: Third, I think you should give more weight to the concerns Rhys brought up than you currently are. The environmental stresses of more people is certainly a big issue, but I think it's one that can be dealt with without too much struggle with increased deployment of clean energy (one of the few optimistic data points lately is that there's a staggering amount of wind and solar power being deployed every year) and a couple of lifestyle changes like eating less meat. Not to say these are easy, but contrast with the pretty serious problems of population decline, particularly the social safety net.

[5:41 PM] Me: And I don't just mean the explicit ones like Social Security, but even market-based, privatized ones like retirement savings have a hidden reliance on a growing population.

[5:42 PM] Me: When you "save for retirement", you're not stockpiling food and water to live off when you no longer work, you're collecting financial assets that you expect to sell to someone else and live off that income. But if there's no one to sell to, that doesn't work.

[5:44 PM] Me: This is a problem that's starting to show up at the top end of the income stack: see this WSJ article about retirees who can't find anyone to buy their $3 million homes: https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-growing-problem-in-real-estate-too-many-too-big-houses-11553181782. It's easy to have schadenfreude here at those poor rich people who can't unload their huge mansion, but remember that this is inherently a problem which will start at the top of the income brackets and gradually make its way downward.

[5:46 PM] Me: You can push this problem back for a while by increasing taxes on the rich, and I do indeed think those should go up, but in a declining population that only buys you a little time. Remember that "money" is nothing but a claim on some fraction of total economic output. e.g. when you hold a dollar bill, you're essentially holding a note entitling you to one-zillionth of American GDP.

[5:47 PM] Me: At a certain point once population falls then total aggregate output necessarily falls too, and at that point taxing the rich hits rapidly diminishing returns: you're just claiming a bigger share of falling output

[5:49 PM] Me: One thing to keep in mind here is that most economies, but especially the U.S. economy, are primarily driven by consumer spending, i.e. normal people just buying and selling stuff to each other.

[5:50 PM] Me: This is why e.g. mass immigration isn't as huge a deal as a bunch of nativists like to think: immigrants get jobs, but they also spend money on goods and services just like anyone else: they generate labor demand as well as taking up supply

[5:51 PM] Me: But what I'm driving at here is that, again, a consumer-spending-driven economy with a falling population is going to get poorer pretty much by definition: fewer people buying stuff means fewer jobs to produce that stuff.

[5:54 PM] Me: Or to put another way, to use a ridiculously simplified model, GDP = Population X Productivity, and so if you take the derivative, then GDP' ~ Population' + Productivity'. So in a falling population environment, you need a lot of heavy lifting in terms of forever-increasing productivity in order for economic growth to be positive. And while there might be improvements down the pipe, frankly we kind of seem tapped out on productivity growth already

[5:55 PM] Me: Now, one possible response here is that we should work out how to have an economic system which delivers prosperity without endless growth, and I do agree we need that. But just saying that doesn't fix the problem that right now we don't have it and people will be poorer in a world without growth.

[5:56 PM] Me: And in such a world, I think it actually becomes harder to successfully transition to whatever post-scarcity economy can fix the problem, because people will be caught up in fighting over a shrinking pie.

[5:58 PM] Me: The neoliberal capitalist mindset of "a rising tide lifts all boats" isn't totally true and has been used to justify all kinds of nasty plutocratic behavior, but it isn't entirely false either. Without growth, at least in the system we have now, wealth distribution inherently becomes a zero-sum game. And that could get really ugly.

[5:59 PM] Me: So, that's most of what I have to say about why a falling population would be bad. But that's the easy part. Where this gets really complicated is why it's happening and what to do about it

[6:00 PM] Me: Now, I think one of the reasons I've been so fascinated by this is that it's been a pessimistic year, and falling birth rates are kind of the perfect pessimistic problem because I don't really see an easy way out. Also I'm just annoyed by partisans in general, and this is a perfect problem for that because it sort of frustrates partisans on all sides.

[6:02 PM] Me: e.g. the left mainly talks about the economic causes and proposes a variety of policy solutions, but an ugly little secret here is that government policy to increase birth rates has basically a perfect, unbroken track record of total failure

[6:03 PM] Me: All kinds of countries (mostly in Europe, but also in East Asia) have implemented all kinds of pro-natalist policies, and for the most part they have accomplished pretty much nothing. (Amusingly, this even goes back to antiquity: in the first couple centuries AD Roman Emperors were also concerned with falling birth rates, and implemented a variety of reforms that didn't do anything)

[6:03 PM] Me: You could always say they didn't go far enough, but at some point you're making an unfalsifiable hypothesis

[6:06 PM] Me: Meanwhile on the right, they're constantly talking about cultural factors, but this runs into two problems: it's again a set of mostly unfalsifiable hypotheses, but even worse since they're all tangled up in the Right's usual rants about The Way Things Ought to Be, but even if they turned out to be true, it seems like a hopeless cause because we basically have no levers to change culture.

[6:07 PM] Me: "Why does culture develop in the direction it does" is one of those huge questions I'm not sure we'll ever have a complete answer for, but I think it has to mostly involve technological determinism.

[6:08 PM] Me: https://www.sciphijournal.org/index.php/2017/11/12/why-the-culture-wins-an-appreciation-of-iain-m-banks/ <-- this is a great article explaining what I'm talking about, as well as explaining why you should read Iain Banks

[6:09 PM] Me: But my point here is that all the cultural changes the Right laments as causing people to have fewer children, assuming they're even correct which I am definitely not granting, are pretty much all products of industrialization. You can't roll them back without undoing the Industrial Revolution. At least not without an insane level of authoritarianism

[6:10 PM] Me: So on the policy side we have a bunch of levers which don't do anything, and on the culture side there are no levers at all.

[curioussubjects]

Journey into the Basement: Loving Yourself and Your Lamp

One of the many reasons to love Supernatural is that even when we get silly fun-filled episodes we always come out of them with some pretty interesting realizations. “Hero’s Journey” wasn’t any different, but the realization wasn’t so much novel as a confirmation of what season 15 (and Dabb’s run as a whole) has been quite loud about: Dean’s increasing embrace of the self. 

I know we’re all hype about the destiel implications of some of the work done in 15x10, and I will absolutely delve into that goodness, but I wanted to talk about the larger impact on Dean’s character beyond romance first. I want to talk about the demise of performing!Dean. 

Despite the risk of preaching to the choir, I want to emphasize that performing!Dean is not Dean living a lie, exactly. What he has actually been doing all these years is neglecting parts of himself he has seen as less valuable, while uplifting the parts that are more acceptable. All of this occurs, too, in an environment of self-effacement: Dean puts himself last. Performing!Dean is a coping mechanism for “social acceptance” as much as it is one for Dean’s continuous disregard of his own needs and wants beyond the trivial. That is, the stuff that would bring fulfillment to the parts of himself he keeps stashed away. Because, sure, part of Dean’s front face is pie, beer, and classic cars....but, my god, Dean gets a lot of joy out of that. They’re just as part of who Dean is as cooking, cowboys, Dr. Sexy, and horror movies. I guess what I’m trying to get at here before jumping into “HJ” is that both parts of Dean (the one he shows and the one he hides) are equally important. The struggle is for Dean to learn to care for all parts of himself regardless of what derision he may or may not get in return. 

Which leads us to Garth. You know what Garth is? Unabashedly himself. He doesn’t care if it’s weird to hug people or say shit like “Garthed.” He embraced being a werewolf! You know what Garth is? He is the embodiment of what self-love and acceptance can do. Garth is living his best life at all times. Unrepentantly. And damn anyone who dares to stop him. And what did that get him? Everything. The whole goddamn kit and caboodle. He has the dentist job he gave up to be a hunter, he’s an ethical angst-free werewolf, he still does the hunter job and save people, he has a home, a family. He’s happy -- you know, the thing we’ve been hearing was impossible these past 15 years. Garth is really here looking at all that bitter die bloody hunter fatalism and saying rip y’all but I’m different.  What Garth is is a beacon of something else. Something other than pain and suffering without end. 

Y’all wanna know what else Garth is in our fairy tale “Hero’s Journey?” Dean’s tooth fairy godmother and guide. Sure, there are no glass slippers, and pumpkin carriages, but Garth gives Dean the path to happily ever after just the same. It involves a scary journey into the depths and there’s pain and fear and dancing. Garth’s appearance in Dean’s dream serves the purpose of encouragement. Go ahead, Dean, you can dance, too. Don’t be scared, I’ll show you how. When Garth disappears, Dean is confident enough to keep on dancing. And Dean comes alive. He’s scared and shy at first, but eventually he’s his charming adorable self. And he’s on top of the world. Not only that, he’s tap-dancing on top of the world. Carefree, honest, and so so happy. What Garth offered Dean through this particular journey was the promise that Dean can, in fact, lead a fulfilling life if only he would honor who he is. Frees himself from the fear of discomfort, of judgement, and, perhaps most importantly, the fear of vulnerability. 

Dean understands what Garth is telling him. Take the shift from “aand we’re done” to “you smell good, too.” Did Dean sound awkward when he said it? Yes, but it was a gesture, a signal that he could change. Could take a turn for the better. Could embrace even the parts of him that he finds dismissable. Also, take the conversation they have earlier in the episode about Garth’s life being good and Dean watching Garth and Bess dancing at the end saying he always thought he could dance if he tried. IF HE TRIED PEOPLE. Dean knows what he needs and wants to be happy. It was in him all along, he just needed a push. He just needed to be shown the way, and to be open enough to accept what Garth offered and modeled. Incidentally, part of the plot utility of hero!Garth is drawing more similarities wrt him being a model Dean (and Sam) can follow. 

Before moving on to another look at the dream scene, it’s worth noting that while the basement is usually a space for the subversive, the shameful, and the criminal, Garth has completely transformed the space. In true Garth fashion, he shone a light into that basement and turned into a space that is just as integral to his life as everything else his home contains. In fact, since his dentistry practice happens there, it’s not unlikely that the basement is open to a lot of people. 

Alright, then the dream scene is a love yourself routine at large. It encompasses all of Dean’s character and pretty clearly posits that for Dean to be happy he has to accept all parts of himself. @occamshipper and others have touched on the choice of “Let’s Misbehave” as the song Dean’s dancing to, i.e., as another notch in the Dean is queer checklist. I’d also add, though, that the song is an apt choice not only for Dean’s queerness but the entire issue of self-acceptance. “Let’s Misbehave” is essentially a song about behaving outside of norms, and that misbehavior leading to one’s happiness. Yet, while the song operates in being able to misbehave when select people are watching, and not the world, the imagery of the scene defies that restriction. Dean won’t wait for the world to slumber, he’ll tap dance on top of it. Indeed, Garth’s invitation for Dean to misbehave takes a critical view of misbehavior, such as it is, being something to hide. It’s not. The song is clear on our take away, too: “ If you'd be just so sweet / and only meet / Your fate, dear...” Unlike what Chuck means by fate, the show, through Garth, seems to be telling us that fate is the end result of self-knowledge and truth. To misbehave and go against order is the path to self-fulfillment, and misbehavior here requires the discomfort of vulnerability. It’s no wonder either that the scene happens in the bunker. The bunker is a glorified basement, but it’s also a home. Why, then, treat the bunker as something to hide? (here’s some resonance with legacy, with letting others into your life). 

Finally, I want to talk about that lamp. First, though, let’s take a quick moment to remember how a significant portion of the deancas drama has been about absence (you left/you didn’t stop me, the glaring negative space left behind by Cas after “The Rupture”). Fittingly, Cas is not in this episode, which is quickly ~~lampshaded by Sam as well as being characterized as another aspect of their bad day. So Dean has no Cas to dance with, but unlike previous episodes, he has more than just a gap. Say, an empty. He has this lit up lap. This almost right but not quite placeholder. And Dean is charming to that lamp, y’all. It’s not the whole of his character arc, but damn, that lamp is important. It’s a key feature. But maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s move ahead to the end of the episode: Gath and Bess are dancing in their home. They’re happy. Outside, Dean and Sam look on, with that longing in their eye. Dean’s take is that he’d be good at dancing if he tried. So Garth dances with his wife, so Dean dances with a lamp. Dean, of the wanting to experience certain feelings, people, in a way he never has before. Dean who just last episode was very afraid of losing Cas, who was sobbing because of it. The same Dean we saw lose it after burying Cas in the Ma’lak box -- and grief arcs, and Colette, etc etc and so it goes and goes. Last episode we also saw a little version of endgame: Dean, Cas, Sam, and Eileen. And lest we discount it as Chuck nonsense, it’s important to remember Sam was happy with that vision. When Sam thinks happy, he thinks that (the Same Sam whose dream last season was him, Dean, Cas, Jack, and Mary eating pizza and laughing). Long story short, it’s always Dean and Cas. No matter what. So Cas, the lamp. And yeah, all of this destiel deliciousness is heavily draped in romance (even in dancing lamp form) between connections of Saileen and Garth/Bess. It’s SO SO LOUD. 

Dean would be a great dancer, if he tried. Just like Garth is. 

ps.: remember that car convo Sam started with Dean about setting down with someone who understands the life. Yeah. [dies in garth/bess]

[kangtaebins]

Weird Asks That Say A Lot

I said I was going to just answer all of these bc of boredom,, and so here I am

1. Coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans? Teacups are aesthetically pleasing idc what anyone says

2. Chocolate bars or lollipops? Lollipops

3. Bubblegum or cotton candy? Cotton candy supremacy

4. How did your elementary school teachers describe you? I was told that I was a leader a lot, and was told that I was very intelligent. Ah yes, I suffered from gifted kid burn out in high school-

5. Do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups? Look, plastic cups are the best. Specifically the ones with the lids and reusable straws

6. Pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear? It truly depends on the day bc some days I would say goth and other days I’d say grunge, but most days- pastel

7. Earbuds or headphones? Earbuds

8. Movies or TV shows? TV shows bc- idk actually I’m just not a movie person

9. Favorite smell in the summer? I have a weird obsession with the smell of cheap sunscreen and I have no clue why

10. Game you were best at in p.e.? I hated gym in high school and rarely participated despite the teacher being irritated with me (truly she gave up after a few months bc I really did not care at all) HOWEVER- I went to town in volleyball and still enjoy playing volleyball v much

11. What do you have for breakfast on an average day? I don’t eat breakfast often,,, 

12. Name of your favorite playlist? Probably my Navy or Indigo playlist

13. Lanyard or key ring? Key ring 

14. Favorite non-chocolate candy? Anything green apple!!!

15. Favorite book you read as a school assignment? I actually genuinely enjoyed Romeo And Juliet tbh

16. Most comfortable position to sit in? I always curl up in a ball on the couch, but in a chair I manspread ngl

17. Most frequently worn pair of shoes? Nike slides <//3

18. Ideal weather? Between 50-70 degrees, sunny but not warm, being able to wear a hoodie and not be hot or cold

19. Sleeping position? I usually either sleep on my left side or on my stomach (my back once in a while when it’s hurting bc I’m a hag)

20. Preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)? I write on my phone more than anything

21. Obsession from childhood? Hm- I was really obsessed with High School Musical as a kid. My friend and I would put it on and lip sync to the songs and pretend we were the characters

22. Role model? Is it- wrong to say myself? Bc I feel like that sounds arrogant but genuinely it’s bc I’m constantly trying to better myself mentally and learn and grow. Idk I just am proud of who I am and look to myself when I need to find motivation

23. Strange habits? Strange? Idk if it’s strange but I’m constantly twiddling with the hem of my sleeves bc I love the feeling of it

24. Favorite crystal? Citrine 

25. First song you remember hearing? WH- bitch idk tf

26. Favorite activity to do in warm weather? Stay tf inside in the air conditioning

27. Favorite activity to do in cold weather? Stay tf inside in the heat

28. Five songs to describe you? To describe me?? Girl idk I'm all over the place. How about songs that resonate with me instead,,, Alive by Khalid, Paranoid by Lauv, Phobia by Dvwn, Fake Smile by Ariana Grande, and Breathin by Ariana Grande

29. Best way to bond with you? Truly I'm not very difficult to get along with, just don't be an asshole. Talk to me about psychology, current events, say Soobin is the cutest to exist idk it's not that hard

30. Places that you find sacred? I- hm. I'm not like a church person or anything so idk. Maybe just anything really old or places with very detailed and unique architecture

31. What outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names? I don't own many clothes,,, let alone nice clothes. I also don't really dress to impress I'd much rather be comfortable

32. Top five favorite vines? Oh god if I h a d to pick???? The lipstick in the Valentino bag, they were roommates, it's an avocado- thaaanks, jared 19, and uh,,, zach stooppp you're gonna get in trouble

33. Most used phrase in your phone? Tbh it's probably "girl what-" or "no bc"

34. Advertisements you have stuck in your head? That 877-CASH-NOW ONE JFC

35. Average time you fall asleep? Between 11pm-1am

36. What is the first meme you remember ever seeing? Probably the troll face one or smth

37. Suitcase or duffel bag? Suitcase

38. Lemonade or tea? I mix them together!

39. Lemon cake or lemon meringue pie? Lemon meringue pie bc I don't really like cake

40. Weirdest thing to ever happen at your school? Y'all I- went to a hs/college mixed school,, I've seen it all. Weirdest?? Idk but one weird thing I remember was when we were making whistles in art and some dude made a penis whistle 😭

41. Last person you texted? My best friend :))

42. Jacket pockets or pants pockets? Jacket pockets

43. Hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket? Hoodie 100%

44. Favorite scent for soap? I love soaps that smell like soap. Like ok duh I know that sounds dumb but yk what I mean? I don't want lemon or mint or whatever, I like the plain soap smell

45. Which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero? Fantasy

46. Most comfortable outfit to sleep in? Oversized t-shirt, no pants. I question anyone that is comfortable sleeping with pants on-

47. Favorite type of cheese? Feta!

48. If you were a fruit, what kind would you be? I feel like I'd be a pineapple and I have no clue why

49. What saying or quote do you live by? Not necessarily a quote but more of a thought: live for yourself, enjoy each day, do what gives you joy

50. What made you laugh the hardest you ever have? I have had so many instances in which I have laughed so hard I peed and to even attempt to name one is impossible

51. Current stresses? Making sure my family gets their vaccines and stays safe

52. Favorite font? I don't think I have one? Anything except comic sans

53. What is the current state of your hands? What does this even mean 💀 I mean,, they're holding my phone, cold, and my nails are unpolished

54. What did you learn from your first job? That people are assholes but I'm capable of not giving a fuck bc life is not that damn serious

55. Favorite fairy tale? Is The Three Little Pigs considered a fairy tale?

56. Favorite tradition? Putting up the Christmas tree with my mom :( it's always a lot of fun

57. The three biggest struggles you’ve overcome? Depression, grief, and hopefully one day- smth I'm currently dealing with

58. Four talents you’re proud of having? Makeup!! But also: singing, crying on command, and tying cherry stems with my tongue

59. If you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be? Sick of these bitches

60. If you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be? I don't watch anime so idk

61. Favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.? It's this line from Eleanor & Park: "Eleanor was right: She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something."

62. Seven characters you relate to? Holy hell, 7?? Probably won't get that many but hm,,, Darlene from Roseanne, Hermione from Harry Potter, Emily from Pretty Little Liars maybe?? Idk I suddenly blanked

63. Five songs that would play in your club? As if it's Your Last by BP, anything from SHINee, anything from Ariana, also anything Rihanna, just a bunch of women tbh

64. Favorite website from your childhood? FUCKING WEBKINZ BRO

65. Any permanent scars? I have a few on my arms idk where they came from tbh, I also have one on my hand from my sister 🧍🏻‍♀

66. Favorite flower(s)? Sunflowers!!! I also really love lilacs 💔

67. Good luck charms? My dog's collar that I wear as a bracelet

68. Worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried? Licorice-

69. A fun fact that you don’t know how you learned? It takes repeating a piece of information 12 times at random to memorize it completely

70. Left or right handed? Right

71. Least favorite pattern? Fucking chevron- and realistic camo, and anything with the American flag

72. Worst subject? Yall im awful at history. American history, world history, all of it-

73. Favorite weird flavor combo? Either pickles and peanut butter or cheese and grapes

74. At what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen? I'm stubborn but also always in pain so I've become numb to a lot of body pains. I have to be at like a 7-8 before I take smth otherwise I'd always be taking it

75. When did you lose your first tooth? I was probably like 5 I was definitely in Kindergarten

76. What’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)? I fw baked potatoes

77. Best plant to grow on a windowsill? I have a love for succulents

78. Coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store? Oh my- I don't drink coffee but coffee from a gas station

79. Which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo? Driver's license for sure

80. Earth tones or jewel tones? Jewel tones

81. Fireflies or lightning bugs? I say both,, but I think I say lightning bugs more

82. PC or console? PC

83. Writing or drawing? Both

84. Podcasts or talk radio? Podcasts definitely

84. Barbie or polly pocket? Barbie

85. Fairy tales or mythology? Fairy tales

86. Cookies or cupcakes? C o o k i e s

87. Your greatest fear? Losing people I love

88. Your greatest wish? To live comfortably and be a great mother

89. Who would you put before everyone else? My family

90. Luckiest mistake? Guessing on 90% of a test and getting an A 💀

91. Boxes or bags? Bags are easier to carry-

92. Lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights? Fairy lights!!

93. Nicknames? Sam, Sammi, my sister calls me Sams, my best friend calls me Bub, and my gf calls me Baby if that counts- 👀

94. Favorite season? Fall omg it's gorgeous and has perfect temperatures

95. Favorite app on your phone? ✨tumblr✨

96. Desktop background? Its literally a pic of Soobin, Taehyun, and Beomgyu

97. How many phone numbers do you have memorized? Like 4-5

98. Favorite historical era? The one where white people learn their fucking place and stop being racist, homophobic, classist, sexist, all the -ists and -phobics,,,, so none. Fuck history :))

[notbecauseofvictories]

Hi Sarah! You seem to be quite enthusiastic and well informed about cooking, and I was wondering if you had any tips for students at uni? I feel it's so difficult to keep a healthy diet and cook for yourself on a low budget. Do you have any good recipes you could share? Or ideas? Thank you so much if you are able to answer, no worries if you don't feel like it.

This is...kind of a difficult question to answer, given that I approach cooking as a decadent, pleasurable thing, rather than something functional. (Some people shop online when they want to splurge. I make 48 coconut macaroons hand-shaped and dipped in chocolate, and a parmesan-garlic cream sauce to drizzle over my steamed brussel sprouts.) If all I need to do is consume calories, I’m much more likely to cut corners---seriously, store-bought sauces, simmer pastes, and salad dressings are a godsend---or buy something convenient. I could probably survive on deli sandwiches, if I really put my mind to it.

However, I do want to suggest a couple tips I think are helpful:

1) Know what you like, know what you need.

What it says, because food is always a balancing act between getting the kinds of nutrients your physical, calorie-consuming body needs and the sugar/salt/fats you want. Personally, I will eat literally anything if there’s bread or cheese or both involved. (This is not a joke---I have eaten a lot of creamed spinach and deli sandwiches.) However, having discussed my diet with healthcare professionals, I know what I need is proteins and vitamin d. So when I’m preparing my schedule for the week, I force myself to think about both: what will I eat, what should I eat, what can I make that satisfies the difference? And then, what’s my timing? (i.e., do I need to stay late at work? do I have other plans that night?) 

Like everything with my life, I review it vaguely sometime Monday and plan out my week. Though I do know enough about myself to build in some flexibility, because sometimes a bitch is walking home desperate for a burger, and shouldn’t have to apologize.

2) Google with abandon.

I do not have any private store of family recipes. My mother was a functional cook, and my grandmothers were either of the “hors d'oeuvres and martinis” generation or the “jello(tm) with colorful sprinkles is an actual dessert” generation. (The difference there, by the way, is class. But that’s a whole other tumblr post.) The point is that at the end of the day, there’s no secret treasure trove of recipes for me to delve into.

Which means I google everything. Every recipe I post here, every time I have spare ingredients I’m looking to get rid of. “Unsweetened chocolate recipes” is one of my latest searches, because I accidentally bought 4 oz of it instead of semi-sweet and don’t know what to do. (I’ll probably end up make brownies.) I have also googled in the last few months:

Reduced milk recipe

Quinoa recipe

Bean recipe

Dark corn syrup recipe

Pie crust recipe 

Apple pie recipe

Scallion pancake recipe

The point is, just because you don’t know what to do shouldn’t keep you from making good food! Personally, I love Epicurious, and always check their suggestions first, but the internet is wide and deep and full of people who will suggest cooking times, oven temperature, and spices you can add to stuff to make it taste good. Don’t be afraid to scroll through 4 different recipes on different domains, even if it’s the same dish; or to add “simple” to you search terms. You have more cookery knowledge at your clumsy fingertips than anyone before us ever has---use it.

3) Store it, freeze it, stick it in a tupperware.

As someone who’s now been cooking for herself for at least 5 years, I am here to tell you that there’s no “cooking for one.” Cooking for one is a lie. What you do is cook for 3-4 people, and then freeze or refrigerate the leftovers. So it’s important to consider how well your various ingredients freeze and how you’ll reheat them when the time comes.

Meat and seafood freeze well when you get them from the grocery store! Unfortunately, if you cook something or marinate it, and leave it to sit in the fridge, it will get very tough or break down entirely. (This is especially true if you use a particularly acidic marinade.) Unless you get them already frozen, fruits and vegetables do not freeze well at all—water expands as it freezes, and your fresh fruit & veg are so watery that the ice completely ruins the cellulose structure and defrosting will make them mushy. If you have leftover cooked vegetables, those should be used in scrambled eggs or eaten with a sauce within the week. Cream-based soups and sauces freeze pretty nicely, you just have to be careful not to leave them long enough to get freezer burn. Freezing bread arrests the yeast and mold processes, so if you’re looking to keep your loaf from turning, stick it in the freezer in an airtight bag.

(I haven’t had a microwave in two years, so most of what I make is the kind of stuff I can reheat on the stove—or eat cold!)

Also, most food isn’t ruined by temperature---you can leave a lot of stuff out on the counter after cooking without fear of bacteria. However, too much exposure to the air will ruin just about any dish: creams curdle, meat toughens, vegetables soften, starches harden. If you’re going to store something at room temperature, stick it in a ziploc bag, plastic wrap, or aluminum foil quickly, and it’ll last longer even without the refrigerator.

4) Occasionally, try something new.

Obviously, as a uni student you should try lots of new things---but as a uni student cooking for yourself, I encourage you to occasionally experiment. Make bread, if you’ve never made bread before; try a desert if you’ve been focused on single-serving chicken breasts. Once every few months, try cooking or baking something you’ve absolutely never tried. (For hard mode, pick something completely out of the ballpark---for example, a couple months ago I tried to make a meringue and failed miserably. But I think I understand why I failed and that’s made me a better cook in the interim.)

It is, of course, very important that we eat in a way that serves our body and its needs. But at the same time, making food has always struck me as serving more than just need---we make food to show our love and appreciation for others (isn’t feeding an act of service?), to articulate desires we can’t verbalize, to satisfy unreasonable cravings, to demonstrate capability, to prove our worthiness, to offer something that isn’t-sex-but-is, etc. etc. etc. Food is very rarely ever just food. Which means that sometimes, we should sequester ourselves in the kitchen and see if we can make that....thing from the Great British Bakeoff.

As a footnote, I hope my coworkers enjoy haphazardly baked alaska.

[no-no-no-ahhhh]

I'm having bad anxiety so I'm just going to answer these questions rn

Okay so when having anxiety I over think and I barely have any friends so I thought if using these questions to keep my mind off things and it kinda works it's also why some are long because I'm trying my best to think about other things then my stress. Maybe some of yall can try this if you want. Could help idk

Questions belong to @tr33-g1rl

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?

Soda cans

2. chocolate bars or lollipops?

I LOVE chocolate bro

3. bubblegum or cotton candy?

Cotton candy because let's all be honest bubble gum doesn't even tast good so that just leaves texture and cotton candy dissolves abs you could always have normal gum

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?

Some would say nice hard working smart and dyslexic but that's what they say not actually think

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?

I've never really had the soda bottles but for now Ig soda cans because I feel like it keeps it fresher then the plastic and plastic is bad

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?

Umm out of all these ig tomboy my style that I try to go for more rn is kinda like bille eyelash baddie style

7. earbuds or headphones?

Def earbuds cuz headphones if left on too long start hurting and squeezing my head

8. movies or tv shows?

TV shows 100% I cant consum media for long (my anxiety)so cartoons are the best for me because they're usually 11 minutes and light hearted

9. favorite smell in the summer?

Hmm this is good question in my head summer looks so good ahh but I've never really had a sent for it cuz the past few years I've been in my room but I love the sun oh and you know when your about to go in the pool and you can smell the Clorox mixed with the sun block and that smell just smells like a soft nice energy and there is this one tropical sent havent really smelt it in years I remember the one time I got to smell it was in middle school in the girls locker room so ig it was a perfume idk if it was really associated with summer or it was just tropical perfume my mom could spray on anytime of the year

10. game you were best at in p.e.?

Lol none I hated p.e I was also pretty tall at the time so people expected me to play but I just wanted to hide in the corner

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day?

Well I don't really like breakfast that much I think food in the morning makes me nauseous but I have to eat it cuz I can't eat school lunch food cuz that shit is nasty but breakfast school food is 😉 so I usually get banana bread and good ass duch chocolate milk

12. name of your favorite playlist?

Por Vida is one of my favorite albums if that counts

13. lanyard or key ring?

I hate things being around my neck so key ring

14. favorite non-chocolate candy?

Mexican candy

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?

The outsiders

16. most comfortable position to sit in?

Your butt relaxing ig and not hunched over idk how some people do their work not hunched over like how do you see what your working on

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?

These white Adidas with 3 halo strips and tan boots

18. ideal weather?

To wear you can soak in the sun but not have it burn you right when you go outside and kinda breezy not a fan of the cold and whatever weather that isn't effected by global warming is the best

19. sleeping position?

I always try not to sleep on my back cuz then they say that the demons come for you

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?

I have a lot of journals and books to write

21. obsession from childhood?

My little pet shops, barbies, fnaf, teen titans, monster high dolls, beanie babes, never brats or the ever after high dolls cuz I had a fear of big heads as a kid

22. role model?

Em their are not many people to look up to these days but Quenlin Blackwell is even though she struggles with depression and seasonal depression she still is a qween love her

23. strange habits?

24. favorite crystal?

Hmm maybe amethyst one of the only ones I have

25. first song you remember hearing?

No idea

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?

Be in the sun

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather?

Not have the seasonal depression come for me

38. lemonade or tea?

Lemonade bro tea is kinda weak and for BrItish blocks , but today I did have a bunch of lemons and they got me sick cuz I dont have a healthy balanced diet if anybody knows simple healthy recipes that have little to no cooking pls share

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?

I've never actually have had lemon pie but I have been thinking about making pie. I've had peacon pie and water burger apple pie and McDonald's apple pie and I think another fast food pie but I can't remember the flavor. I know the other flavor exist because my mom order a different pie flavor from me once and she said we can both try each others. Maybe it was lemon. I think lemon tast is quit forgettable thow idk I always put other things on my lemon and lemonade has all that sugar and speaking of Britain I think they carbonate their lemons . But I think I've only had lemon cake 2 times , so if the cake

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?

School is lame and that's on period pooh

41. last person you texted?

Umm this girl I barely know and I'm going to leave it at that cuz this story makes me kinda sad and worried and I'm answering these questions to avoid that

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets?

Hmm good question , I think jacket because they are bigger and girl Jean's have the pockets different to make the booty look better and sometimes that leads to uncomfortable pockets and front pockets barely exit for girls and jackets sometimes have those secret pockets only you have assess too like the ones on the inside and jacket pockets are bigger

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?

1. hoodies are good for when you dont have a bra on and they come with one BIG pocket and you dont need to worry about a shirt

2. Leather jackets are for cool kidz and carry a nice vibe and still thick enough to keep you warm , but you can't really get them wet I think so you can't wash em , but they can come with cool designs on the back but their better fitted on perfectly on a person and if you grow they just look odd on you then you have to buy another and that's not fun

3.Bomber jacket , it's a whole style but one I try to pull of but just cant do it well

4.Cardigans kinda umm not a fan but good if your wearing a dress that's shows your shoulders and you are insecure about that being shown. Remember when somewhere in the 2000s they told us that cardigans where so easy to put on and throw more into your outfit so people bought quit a few. I do

5.I feel like jeans jackets aren't warm enough maybe their more for the summer?

44. favorite scent for soap?

Hmm maybe something tropical or just those cool lavender ones that have oats that's cool I like oats in my soap

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?

I hate sci-fi uhhhg and super hero kinda ties in with that so fantasy and when reading fan fic just sweet simple domestic fluff

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?

Hmm not sure but the shirt has to be soft. I only experience soft shirts like that few times in my life

47. favorite type of cheese?

Mexican cheese and blue cheese uhg and mozzarella with that crust, yum🤤

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be? Errrum maybe a watermelon cuz they are very hydrated. Oh and watermelon with the big black seeds is better then that soul less watermelon

49. what saying or quote do you live by?

None dawg I really need to find one but I do have a lot written down In a book

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have?

Omg my aunt had some funny looking ass dogs I couldn't stop laughing. One of her dogs hate me tho now

51. current stresses? I dont want to talk about it cuz I dont want to worry but I was crying for more then 6 hours probably 8 when I think about it and then today as well and it's so bad I'm not even going to school

52. favorite font? I like the one kali uchis uses in one of her albums I think it's called fairy tell or something

53. what is the current state of your hands?pretty dry cuz I wash them alot and kinda long nails cuz of genetics

54. what did you learn from your first job?

I havent had a first job

55. favorite fairy tale?

Hmmm something with the tooth fairy

56. favorite tradition?

Idk holidays cuz I get school off

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?

Depression and I would say anxiety but no

58. four talents you’re proud of having?

I dont have any talents

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?

Uuuuyg idk too stressed to really think that I dont even know what type of video game I would be in

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?

nothing stressful maybe something calm like a farm anime, some light magic, pokemon things like that

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?

I was never ment to live life like a sim - megan the stallion

62. seven characters you relate to?

Anybody with anxiety, kinda pearl from Steven universe, the nerdy part of dipper from gravity falls , Roman from sander sides if virgil too sense he has anxiety okay and that's all I can think of I think early I said I dont really watch media or stuff so yeah

63. five songs that would play in your club?

Gosolina kali uchis songs and bank account that's all I can think about rn

64. favorite website from your childhood?64. favorite website from your childhood?

Y8 brooo oh and there was Disney or Nickelodeon websites you know that show with the hands and they had the googly eyes they had a g as new for that loved it and for Disney they had zack and cody games on their website and it's not a website but the one thing on windows that would work without wifi you know and you could make cakes and give them faces and try matching the cards

65. any permanent scars?

One time a cat scratched me more the like 8 years ago and I can still faintly see the mark

66. favorite flower(s)?

The one that grows on the cactus

67. good luck charms?

I know a rabbits foot is one and 4 leaf clovers,and markipliers flannel. I sadly dont have any personal good luck charms

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?

I don't want to talk about bad foods rn cut the cameras

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned?

idk I think I can vaguely remember every facts orgin that I know

70. left or right handed?

Basic right handed but my dad used to be left but then the school forced him to be right

71. least favorite pattern?

Anything 80s uhg that shit is disgusting and terrifying

72. worst subject?

Chemistry but I just got out of that so that's fun

73. favorite weird flavor combo?

People day hot cheetos and sour cream is odd but I like it . I would wat some rn but I think I got sick cuz of my poor diet so I'm not. Someone pls suggested simple easy foods for your girl who can cook

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen?

1 I am big baby

75. when did you lose your first tooth?

I dont know

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)?

Tater tots are good and fries

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?

Idk no green thumb

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?

Idk ig coffee

80. earth tones or jewel tones?

Jewel tones

81. fireflies or lightning bugs?

Theirs a difference?

82. pc or console?

Console it's just simpler

83. writing or drawing?

Uhhheg ig drawing I'm bad at grammar

84. podcasts or talk radio?

Podcast, podcast are just more plans out then talk radio and talk radio is a morning thing and I'm not the biggest fan of mornings

85. fairy tales or mythology?

Fairy tales mythology kinda ruff ya know

86. cookies or cupcakes?

Cookies their just more sturdy and their is always normal cake

87. your greatest fear?

Tooo many things and I'm having an anxiety attack right now so like no

88. your greatest wish?

Well it's cute and all idk to live peacefully is one part the other parts a secret for now

X.o.x.o gossip girl ya know ya love me

89. who would you put before everyone else?

Umm maybe myself Idk

90. luckiest mistake?

One time my mom ordered a foam sord for my brother and a real one came. It was some anime sword

91. boxes or bags?

Bags cuz they look cute and you can take em every where with you. Disposable I would have to say boxes tho because its less damaging to the environment

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights?

Sunlight is so warm and it fills something inside of me makes me feel cozy

Lamps are great for when sleeping and your scared of the dark

Fairy lights are cute but are they neccessary

Overhead lights are good for when you just need light in your life

Am I the only one who gets sad and sometimes cant clean if it's dark in the house?

94. favorite season?

Summer I think. I know it's harder for me to function in the winter cuz depression but then summer is anxiety sometimes ya know

95. favorite app on your phone?

Littetly no idea I don't really love/like the things on my phone if their more distractions or time wasters but I do love how I can search up useful things on YouTube to try to calm down my anxiety and I was definitely not a fan of tumblr at all but I kind have made it my safe place a bit

96. desktop background?

Well the computers my dad's so it has deadpool on i

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized?

Barely 2 ,I am kinda a dummy sorry unggv

98. favorite historical era?

Well idk heehaww cowboys?

[weirdlizard26]

For the ask meme? All of them.

jay,,,

give me a sec to edit this post ok

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?

wine glasses are like reading glasses except you wear them while drinking wine

i’d say water bottles but only the ones that can handle heat and stuff and not poison your drink with plastic or whatever

2. chocolate bars or lollipops?

i havent had a lollipop in a good while so thats my choice

3. bubblegum or cotton candy?

havent tried either but boy i’d love to try just a little bit of cotton candy at leastonce

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?

bro,,,,,, that was like 10 years ago, how am i supposed to remember that,,,,,,,

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?

i usually drink soda from plastic cups but honestly? nothing beats the experience of sipping that sweet sweet ambrosia from the bottle,,, but also i’d love to try soda in a can some day!

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?

idk what half of these would look like but sportswear always wins in my book

7. earbuds or headphones?

ok i actually googled whats the difference and im more of an earbuds person! theyrejust safer i think and it makes me kinda anxious when im home listening tomusic and cant hear anything going on around me

8. movies or tv shows?

tv shows! well, unless the episodes are like 40 minutes or a full hour because its hard to focus for that long kfjsndkfs

9. favorite smell in the summer?

pavement after rain and also. grass.

10. game you were best at in p.e.?

haha thats a funny joke you made there *starts crying*

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day?

just a couple of meat+cheese+mayo sandwiches! if its summer mom cuts tomatoes or cucumbers for us and as they start getting more and more expensive we replace them with pickles!

12. name of your favorite playlist?

sorry i couldnt choose!

13. lanyard or key ring?

key ring!

14. favorite non-chocolate candy?

aaaa i love fruit flavored ones!

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?

aaaaaaaa i dont remember if it was elementary or middle school but we were assigned this really cool ukrainian book that ive actually read before they assigned it. well, nobody here will recognize it but it was Тореадори з Васюківки by Всеволод Нестайко and it was about 2 boys who were best friends growing up in the countryside and they went on adventures and had fun and their friendship made me so happy,,, i guess i was all for cool friendship portrayal even back then! it was mostly laughs and jokes but some moments were actually serious and hit me really hard and i remember them to this day actually

16. most comfortable position to sit in?

its a myth, sitting was created as a personal attack on me

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?

my trusty old sneakers!! theyre all black and the sole is very soft and nice

18. ideal weather?

when the sun is out and its just warm enough to show off your new graphic tee and also very soft and nice

19. sleeping position?

i just lie on my left side like a fool

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?

notebook!

21. obsession from childhood?

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES!!! AND DANNY PHANTOM!!!! i even made a ghost fighting costume once,,,, tho it wasnt much of a costume, it was just fingerless gloves i cut out of paper. they were extremely uncomfortable. but very effective in fighting ghosts!

22. role model?

kfjsdnfk i have a bunch! might sound weird but one of them is bdg i think??? and the other 2 are some online acquaintances whom im too afraid to interact with more often than i do

23. strange habits?

repeating silly lines i hear on tv / in anime/cartoons? and also i never touch food with my right hand unless its plums?? and there are more but. you know. bad memory.

24. favorite crystal?

all of them!!!!!

25. first song you remember hearing?

my grandma used to sing this to me over the phone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUPnqqPXQsw

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?

go for a walk!

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather?

slep

28. five songs to describe you?

we are the people by empire of the sun

home by cavetown

strawberry blonde by mitski

smile like you mean it by the killers

afterlife by arcade fire

29. best way to bond with you?

wash your hands very thoroughly and make jokes

30. places that you find sacred?

i see nature i go crazy from how much respect i have for it

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass andtake names?

*wearing hinata cosplay* im here to play volleyball and kick your ass and as you can see ive already played today’s match

32. top five favorite vines?

road work ahead

a avocado!! thanks!!!!!

REBECCA THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK

i fell can you help me :(

that vine where ukulele sounds like human voices and people sounds like ukuleles

33. most used phrase in your phone?

idk how to check that??? sowwy

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?

the stomach meds ad they keep showing on tv

35. average time you fall asleep?

3am? 4am? idk for sure

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing?

t-trollface…

37. suitcase or duffel bag?

havent used either (cause ive never traveled anywhere too far away) but the latter looks pretty and i feel like it would fit more stuff

38. lemonade or tea?

depends on my mood!

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?

dont kick me but im not sure if ive ever tried either ;w;

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?

the school’s cat who hates most people actually kinda warmed up to me even tho im terrible with animals

41. last person you texted?

jay uwu

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets?

afabs cant have both huh

but i want both. please give me both.

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?

all of these sound nice but my lazy ass will always go for hoodies

44. favorite scent for soap?

aaaaaaaa im allergic to a lot of soaps but i like flower scented ones

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?

i love all of them dearly but lately ive been more into superheroes i think. im not sure really sure what exactly i feel

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?

something really really long

47. favorite type of cheese?

there are different types????

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?

i hope im a pear

49. what saying or quote do you live by?

become a good person. thats all.

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have?

i dont remember what it was but i remember i was with my friends and we couldnt stop laughing for several minutes and ive never felt happier

51. current stresses?

UNIVERSITY FUCK OFF!!!

52. favorite font?

i like comic sans

53. what is the current state of your hands?

they arent doing so hot tbh, my dermatitis is back again

54. what did you learn from your first job?

i dont have one!

55. favorite fairy tale?

gonna be honest chief, i dont remember too many of them ;w;

56. favorite tradition?

on new year’s we turn the lights off, light up a candle in the kitchen, laugh at president’s speech and only then starts eating

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?

getting over a lost friendship, passing high school finals and uni entrance exams and coming out to my best friend

58. four talents you’re proud of having?

singing!! being able to learn how to do most things pretty quickly!!! and i cant think of anything else but honestly these two are quite enough for me

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?

uh oh! guess what! i dont have a catchphrase and im very self-conscious about it!

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?

im torn between sports anime and slice of life

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?

because humans dont have wings we look for other ways to fly

from haikyuu

obviously

62. seven characters you relate to?

tsukishima kei from haikyuu

mae borowski from nitw

apollo justice from ace attorney

flame princess from adventure time

donatello from tmnt

sokka from atla

kageyama shigeo from mob psycho 100

63. five songs that would play in your club?

mr brightside, bohemian rhapsody, smile like you mean it by the killers and allof haikyuu ops and eds

64. favorite website from your childhood?

if social media counts, vkontakte i guess?? i didnt really go anywhere else and it still exists and i thriving so im not sure if it should count fkjsndkjf

65. any permanent scars?

yeah, the one from my very first vaccination from when i was a few months old i think and also some traces of when i had chickenpox

66. favorite flower(s)?

idk a lot of flower names but i really like tulips

67. good luck charms?

dont have any at the moment but i’d love to get one!

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?

whatever fish mom used to buy when we were kids >:(

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned?

bro my memory isnt good enough to remember those,,

70. left or right handed?

im a righty but i had to become a lefty for like a month when i broke my pinkie

71. least favorite pattern?

i like traditional ukrainian ornaments

72. worst subject?

history :P

73. favorite weird flavor combo?

ice cream + fries

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen?

idk how pain levels work but i try not to take meds unless the pain is interfering with studying

75. when did you lose your first tooth?

idk but i had a box full of my teeth for so long they turned to dust and i had to throw it away

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)?

RHNGRHGNRHGRNH EVERYTHING except for freshly made mashed potatoes

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?

if its green it can stay

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?

have never had either of those and i hope i never will cause they sound gross!

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo?

i dont have a license, so.

80. earth tones or jewel tones?

kfjsndfks depends on the mood tbh!

81. fireflies or lightning bugs?

fireflies!

82. pc or console?

i WISH i had a console but this is too broke for that,, i played a couple of times tho and it feels more fun than pc!

83. writing or drawing?

please dont make me choose, ive abandoned both and its making me feel bad

84. podcasts or talk radio?

podcasts :O

84. barbie or polly pocket?

idk what polly pocket is but barbie rules!!!

85. fairy tales or mythology?

i feel like sometimes fairy tales are kinda like watered down myths so i have a right to say i like both

86. cookies or cupcakes?

my heart goes to cookies

87. your greatest fear?

finding out im faking any part of my identity

88. your greatest wish?

get through whatever’s going on right now

89. who would you put before everyone else?

mom

90. luckiest mistake?

when i recorded an undertale medley and got a few notes wrong but it actually ended up sounding better than originally

91. boxes or bags?

boxes!

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights?

fairy lights……

93. nicknames?

never really had many? my bff calls me mr smith sometimes but thats all i can think of fkjsdnfs but also! steve used to be my nickname before i decided my life my own and i get to choose my name

94. favorite season?

spring ;w;

95. favorite app on your phone?

sudoku

 96. desktop background?

 97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized?

my own and my mom’s

 98. favorite historical era?

eh im not very fond of the past because not every time period had soap

[whaleyoufeedmenuggets]

Im too lazy to look at the questions so DO ALL OF THEM. (if you dont wanna then go on a random number generator and get 5 random numbers)

ITS REALLY LONG BUT I DID IT KJSHADJS HERE GOES i love oversharing my lifealso im putting a read more line bc its hella long

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?

water bottles

2. chocolate bars or lollipops?

ehhh depends on my mood. i’d say it’s (dark) chocolate most of the time (love that 70% dark chocolate mmMmMm)

3. bubblegum or cotton candy?

cotton candy!! except when it gets all over my face and hair o no

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?

common report book comments included

- very active

- bright

- “the live wire of the class”

- usually distracted but still does well

- mischievous

- playful

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?

bottles so that i can close it and save the rest for later and not have to chug it yeet

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?

sportswear #sweatpantsalldayeveryday

7. earbuds or headphones?

def headphones but they’re inconvenient sometimes :/

8. movies or tv shows?

tv shows!! (also, my adhd ass can’t get through a movie without zoning out oops)

9. favorite smell in the summer?

i haven’t experienced /real/ summer (thank u singapore’s tropical climate) but i rly like the smell of rain :”)

10. game you were best at in p.e.?

making up excuses to skip pe

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day?

belvitas before morning practice

croissant sandwich and chocolate milk after practice

if there’s no practice, then scrambled eggs from the dining hall lolol

if i’m too lazy to go to the dining hall, then cereal

12. name of your favorite playlist?

it’s literally called jams and the description is “a clusterfuck of stuff i’ve jammed to at some point”

13. lanyard or key ring?

key ring

14. favorite non-chocolate candy?

gummy bears/sour patch kids

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?

death of a salesman - arthur miller

16. most comfortable position to sit in?

with one foot up on the chair and the other leg sitting normally

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?

a pair of asics sneakers

18. ideal weather?

15ºc/60ºf when its like cool but not too cold but also not ridiculously hot and also when theres no insane wind (a light breeze is fine)

19. sleeping position?

on my left side and hugging a pillow/bolster/soft toy

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?

i like the feeling of pen and paper but im disorganized as hell so an apple pencil + ipad makes a good enough substitute

21. obsession from childhood?

frogs (i’ve loved them since i was 3 hehe)

22. role model?

a dude i used to train with for a while in 2014. he retired last year but he’s always looked out for me like an older brother since we trained together (he’s 8 years older than me lmao) and even thought i’m so far away rn he still checks in on me and stuff and idk he’s probably one of the swimmers i respect the most.

23. strange habits?

i cant fall asleep at night if im not hugging something.  like. it could be a pillow. or a soft toy. literally anything. once on a school trip i hugged a pair of sweatpants to sleep bc i legit cant fall asleep if im not hugging something.i have no problem falling asleep in class/on buses/cars/planes though.

24. favorite crystal?

idk i never really paid enough attention to crystals to actually have a favorite and know their names. they’re all rly pretty tho.

25. first song you remember hearing?

uhh h h i honestly can’t remember. probably some classical music bc i played the violin and that was my first experience of music that i was actually aware of????

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?

switch on the aircon and take a nap / sit in bed on netflix/playing on my nintendo switch. and swimming outdoors i guess.

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather?

switch on the heater and take a nap / sit in bed on netflix/playing on my nintendo switch.

do u see a pattern here

28. five songs to describe you?

jet lag - simple plan (bc time zones suck and i miss my fam & friends)

avalanche - bring me the horizon (pretty much sums up how tf my brain feels)

high hopes - p!atd

astronaut - simple plan

the reckless and the brave - all time low

29. best way to bond with you?

doing dumb shit with me

also Quality Time™️ like idk even if we’re chilling and doing our own shit i like just spending time with people im comfortable enough with

30. places that you find sacred?

idk

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?

a hoodie and sweatpants

for no reason other than that’s what i wear 90% of the time

32. top five favorite vines?

I AM CONFUSION!!! AMERICA EXPLAIN

this bitch empty. yeet.

im in my mom’s car VROOM VROOM

the one of that dad playing the saxophone (???) and the kid slamming the oven door open and shut

road works ahead “haha yea sure hope it does!”

33. most used phrase in your phone?

either lmao or lolol or LMFAO or yeet

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?

gOD i had spotify ads stuck in my head all the time before i switched to premium and now i cant remember any of them (thank god)

35. average time you fall asleep?

i’d say 12:30-1ish

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing?

the tROLL FACE MEME LIKE those rage faces idk what they’re called but BASICALLY THOSE 2010-2012 era memes

37. suitcase or duffel bag?

suitcase!!! i like sitting on them and yeeting myself around on them or getting people to push me around and then falling off

38. lemonade or tea?

lemonade

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?

ngl i havent had either of them before

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?

so in jc2 (aka 12th grade), for some reason PEOPLE WERE PUTTING PRE-PACKAGED HARD BOILED EGGS ALL OVER THE SCHOOL. like they were still in their wrappers and all but u could open ur schoolbag and find like 5 eggs in there. and no one knew where they came from. i think at one point there were even eggs hanging from the pull-up bars. all i know is that they were everywhere and people in my batch still remember it as the egg invasion of acjc.

41. last person you texted?

my mom

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets?

def jacket!!! especially when they have zips hehe

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?

hoodie

44. favorite scent for soap?

idk man depends on my mood

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?

sci-fi bc im a fricken nerd

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?

shirt and sweats

47. favorite type of cheese?

cheddarrr also i like mozzerrella sticks

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?

a fineapple B)

lmao jk ummmm maybe a watermelon bc when u hit it it sounds hollow, just like how my skull would sound if someone hit it (h a)

49. what saying or quote do you live by?

here for a good time not for a long time

never give up without a fight

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have?

idk probably some dumb meme. i laugh at a lot of stuff like i laugh anything even mildly funny. some that i can think of off the top of my head are:

- i was tryna type ducky but typed fucky instead and sOmEOnE (could be the person who submitted this ask, idk tho) changed my facebook messenger nickname to fucky and the notification was like ”poopy butthole changed your nickname to fucky” and i think that’s still the funniest sentence i’ve read in my whole life

- one time we went to mcdonalds and a friend said mcfluffy instead of mcflurry and idk why but i laughed so hard at that

- once @doduo and i spent half a chinese lesson cutting out random faces from the chinese newspaper and sticking them randomly all over the classroom and idk. it was the funniest thing ever. until the teacher came over and confiscated my scissors rip.

51. current stresses?

- an essay draft (that i am procrastinating rn by doing this, oops)

- CANADIAN TRIALS (but thats a good kind of stress)

- submitting a proposal for a group project but none of my groupmates are freaking replying my texts ugh

52. favorite font?

avenir next!! i find san serif fonts way easier to read than serif lolol.i like helvetica neue too.

53. what is the current state of your hands?

dry af but also i just got my nails done so they pretty rn hehe

54. what did you learn from your first job?

i…havent had a real job yet

55. favorite fairy tale?

idk i was never rly one for fairy tales even as a kid.

56. favorite tradition?

chinese new year when we get CASH and we spend 3 days just eating junk yEET im rly sad im gonna be missing it the next few years tho

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?

hh h h hh hhh hh hh they’re pretty personal i don’t /really/ wanna put it out here but i can text you the answer to this if you want (i’m perfectly fine with that!!)

58. four talents you’re proud of having?

- i think i’m pretty intuitive!!! i can guess anyone’s mbti if i’ve spent enough time with them/gotten a detailed enough description of them /winks/ and i can read people pretty well in general and i can draw links to themes/symbols in lit pretty well….???

- i’m somewhat decent at lettering…i think

- i’m good at pull-ups and also vertical jumps i’m secretly a froge

- i’m decent at photography…i guess….

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?

yeet

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?

pokemon !!

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?

/sweats/ i’m not very good at remembering lines from books/movies/shows WELP

62. seven characters you relate to?

JAKE PERALTA - b99

rosa diaz - b99

linguine - ratatouille (he’s permanently confused and he let a ratto take over his job bc he had no idea what he was doing like damn what a big mood)

dory - finding nemo/finding dory (i relate to the forgetfulness)

percy jackson

kale bae /winks/

mitt (during bad phases) /winks again, but sadly/

63. five songs that would play in your club?

idek man i wouldnt even be at my own club i’d be at home taking a nap i’ll just ask someone else to handle my playlist

64. favorite website from your childhood?

club penguin !!!

65. any permanent scars?

yE one of them was from jumping onto a treadmill going at 13km/h 2 years ago bc i thought i was a good idea

66. favorite flower(s)?

i dont have any

67. good luck charms?

i eat pancakes for breakfast on meet days!!!! altho i think this is more of a habit than a good luck charm tbh lmao.

also i guess pip???? he’s my emotional support narwhal :’)

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?

durian. i cant stand the stuff or anything flavored like it ugh.

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned?

red food coloring is derived from beetles

70. left or right handed?

right

71. least favorite pattern?

overly-floral patterns i guessssss. also i hate wearing stripes.

72. worst subject?

chinese

besides that, math and physics

73. favorite weird flavor combo?

i rly like vanilla ice cream and fries

also i would eat ketchup with nearly anything

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen?

i usually just suck it up and go to sleep when it comes to pain but i guess an 8??? idk. i usually take advil/ibuprofen only for fevers

75. when did you lose your first tooth?

i got my first loose tooth on january 11 2005 and it fell out on january 18 2005 & it was a tuesday (pls don’t ask me how i remember this bc i dont know)

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)?

tater tots

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?

cactus i guess. idk im not good at plants.

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?

grocery store sushi (it was pretty decent in singapore so yeeeee lmao also i ate a lot of that as a kid)

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo?

its the same photo for both so yeAh

80. earth tones or jewel tones?

earth

81. fireflies or lightning bugs?

idk i always called them fireflies

82. pc or console?

console I LOVE THE FEEL OF BUTTONS

83. writing or drawing?

drawing (more like doodlign for me bc i cant draw for shit)

84. podcasts or talk radio?

neither but if i rlllllly had to choose then podcasts i guessss s sss

84. barbie or polly pocket?

neither LMAO i gave all my barbies haircuts when i was a kid bc i didnt know what to do with them

85. fairy tales or mythology?

mythology for sure!! i love greek mythology (may or may not be bc of percy jackson lolol)

86. cookies or cupcakes?

cookies

87. your greatest fear?

losing those i love and care about (could be drifting or actual death it goes both ways)

88. your greatest wish?

rn, for my essay to write itself

for the short-term, to make the olympics (and WUGs…and worlds…and sea games…and asian games…and commonwealth games lmao)

for the long-term, uhhh idk. i just wanna live a life i’m satisfied with and to have a job i actually like and to be able to support my parents

89. who would you put before everyone else?

my mom

90. luckiest mistake?

i always say that i regret doing a year of college in singapore instead of coming here for freshman year but if i’d come in a year earlier like i was supposed to, i proba wouldn’t have made it past swim team tryouts and i made some pretty great friends in my first year of college soooo it all worked out i guessi cant think of any others rn

91. boxes or bags?

bags

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights?

fairy lights are rly pretty!!but i like natural light :”)

93. nicknames?

deb

debs

debo

debbo

alpha childuhh h h i think thats about it??? i cant remember any others

94. favorite season?

spring’s pretty great rni like fall too (before it gets cOLd)

95. favorite app on your phone?

insta/tumblr/telegram

96. desktop background?

a photo of me looking rly cool at the starting blocks before a race B)

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized?

4 - mine (singapore & US), my mom’s and my dad’s

98. favorite historical era?

uhh h h idk the ice age seemed pretty cool haha sike it was actually coldmedieval times seemed pretty cool too like damn i want a suit of armorWHEW I SPENT WAY TOO MUCH TIME ON THIS but i had fun so yeet

also if you read all the way down here ily and you’re cool

[scuandrea]

Sex & Green Witchcraft: Getting Down & Dirty

Witchcraft is all about dealing with issues in life and creating change in those areas through the movement of energy resulting in manifestation in the physical world. Sex is one of those whopping big issues, or it can be if things are not all hunky dory in the bedroom. Whatever the issues might be, whether it’s not enough passion, an overload of sex drive, infidelity, or a desire to catch your prince charming, you can find what you need to cast spells for hot sex, no sex, or only-with-me sex in the world of herbs and green witchcraft.

Fidelity “Forsaking all others” is not something our culture takes lightly. Even in the 21st century, ancient marriage vows and tradition are serious matters, and cheating is frowned upon. After all, don’t we all want to be special, to be ‘the one and only’? This is probably the most popular topic on which I receive emails asking for magickal help and advice. Following are some of my favorite herbs for dealing with issues of infidelity: Chili Pepper…If you feel your mate is getting restless and may be plagued with a straying eye, obtain two dried chili peppers, cross them and tie them together. Add these chili peppers to a red flannel bag containing your man’s semen, a slip of paper on which you’ve written the length of his penis, and a photo of the two of you together. Place this charm near your bed, but make sure that it’s well hidden. Cumin…When cumin is given to your lover, either carried upon his person in some way, or fed to him, it will promote fidelity. I’d vote for feeding it to your target. It’s much easier to make a tasty meal and slip it into the food, than to have your beloved wonder what the hell all those little seeds are in the bottom of his pockets. J Licorice…(We’re talking the herb here, not the candy, just to keep things straight.) Gnawing on the root will put you in the mood for a little lovin’ with a lot of passion; and to keep all this passion between you and your beloved, use licorice in spells for fidelity. Magnolia…This is another one of those magickal herbs that are kept in the bedroom, near your bed, to insure fidelity. Hide it in the mattress, in a box beneath your bed, along with a hoard of other innocent items, or in your bedside bureau drawer. Quite frankly, if your lover is use to having flowers and herbs around the house, both live and dried, they really aren’t going to think anything about one more piece of flora. Nutmeg…Nutmeg is the mother of fidelity herbs. You can feed it to your target, include it in original fidelity spells, add it to mojo bags, voodoo dollies, or trick your partner into carrying it somewhere on their person by sprinkling it in their shoes, hiding it in their pockets, sewing it into a hem, etc. Combine this herb with any other herb you use for fidelity or love spells. This is the jealous “you-are-mine-and-mine-alone” herb. Rhubarb…Bake your sweetheart a delicious rhubarb pie, adding generous amounts of sugar, including at least three spoonfuls of powdered sugar (Drawing Powder). To make sure your target stays faithful, add a pinch of nutmeg and the ultimate in personal effects-- a teaspoonful of red wine that you have taken in your mouth, swished around good, like a mouthwash, and spit into the pie filling. It‘s best to do this while you‘re cooking the pie filling over the fire in a hot pan, heating it-- and heating your passions and intentions right along with it. Scullcap…Ladies, it’s said that if you wear this herb somewhere on your person, you will protect your hubby from the charms of other women. I think I’d add to this magickal endeavor by creating a mojo bag for this purpose. Add skullcap and two whole nutmegs to this bag, along with a photo of you and your husband together and some intimate personal effects, like body fluids, that sort of thing. Attracting Love, i.e. Catching Prince Charming Apple…Hold an apple in both hands, imbuing it with your magickal intentions: to bring to you the one you desire. Sleep with this apple for three nights. On the morning of the fourth day, hand this apple to your target, having them take it from your hands. Watch them eat it, making sure that they take at least three bites that are chewed and swallowed. Then ask if you can have a bite, taking it from their hands. Take a bite, chew and swallow, then hand this apple back to them…for the second time, they must take this apple from your hands. Aster…Grow this plant in your garden with the intention that it shall draw to you your true love. Beet…Use the juice from a beet as a magickal ink to write out your love spells. Beet juice can also be used as a substitute for blood, particularly in love spells. As with the apple, the story goes that if a man and woman both eat from a single beet, they will be joined together romantically. Cardamom…Bake your target muffins, to which you’ve added cardamom. Serve them this delectable treat with a hot cup of apple/cinnamon tea, or hot chocolate. Cinnamon…As with cardamom, the easiest way to use the magick of cinnamon to draw your true love to you is to feed it to them in something that you’ve baked yourself, something that you’ve put your time and energy into, something that you have mixed and blended and created with your own hands. To enhance this energy, serve them, along with the cinnamon, a drink of hot coco or chocolate milk. Hibiscus…Use the blossoms of the hibiscus to create love sachets and incenses. You can also steep a strong tea for your target, and just before serving it, stick your finger into the tea cup, stirring three times deosil (clockwise). Mistletoe…This is an all purpose love spell herb. Kiss the one you love beneath a sprig of mistletoe and the love shall last forever, so the old saying goes. To draw your true love to you, sleep with a sprig of mistletoe on the night of a full moon. The next day hide this charm somewhere in your target’s personal space-- on the grounds of their property (okay, that’s pretty good); somewhere inside their abode (this is even better). If you can get them to carry it-- in their purse, in their pocket, etc., without revealing what it is or what it’s for, you will have hit the jackpot in magickal checkmate. Strawberry…This delicious delectable morsel shrieks of passion and lust. Eat it with your chosen target. For the best effect, don’t bother baking it into anything or including it any recipes, just go straight for the kill. Eat the berries together. You can also add to the experience by rolling it in melted chocolate. (Chocolate also has properties that magically spice up love and lust-- the coco bean-- but I suggested this mostly because I love chocolate and the combo is delicious.) Increasing Sex Drive The following herbs can be used, magickally speaking, for increasing your libido, or that of your partner. Celery…ingest both the stalk and the seeds for a burst of passionate energy. Beans…to cure impotency, carry a mojo bag on your person consisting of dried beans; a personal effect belonging to your mate, the more intimate the better; and an object which will be a phallic symbol, but something that is not an outright image of a penis. It has to be subtle and only suggestive of what it actually represents. This could be a stone with the correct shape, a stick, a small piece of statuary, glass, or any number of things. Look around you, you’ll find something. And the more energy you put into finding this item, the more energy you are putting into this mojo bag. Ginseng…Ginseng is all about lust and desire. You can carry the root on your person, or you can drink a cup of ginseng tea. Either way, it’s reputed to get your motor going. Carrying the root may have more of a gradual and ongoing effect; drinking the tea may unleash more energy than you were expecting in a sudden burst; and if this is the case, you should make sure your romantic rendezvous is all set and ready to go before you take that cup of tea. Licorice…ingesting this herb is the best way to utilize it’s potency as a libido booster. Olive…olives not only increase sexual potency in men, they also increase fertility-- just something to keep in mind. Eat it and enjoy. Patchouli…mix patchouli, chips of Queen Elizabeth root, catnip, and red rose petals together. Make a tea with this mixture and add it to your bath water. Light a red candle during this bath and enjoy a nice long soak. When you’re finished, you can add a bit of this water to a small bottle and carry it in your purse to enhance the lustful and passionate effects, drawing it out. Better yet, bathe with your partner. Vanilla…eat it, preferably in ice cream, preferably with your partner. Better yet, feed it to each other, in bed. Deceasing Sex Drive Remember the old saying, “You can never have too much of a good thing”? Well, actually, yes, you can. Here’s a few herbs and a few things you can do to tone it down, or shut it off. Black Cohash…add a cup of tea that’s been made with this herb to your bathwater. It’s said that by bathing in this water you will kill any passion that your mate may have for you. Camphor…This is another one of those herbs that are to be used in a mojo bag for this purpose and hidden somewhere very near the bed. You could add to this bag personal effects belonging to both you and your partner-- nail clippings, hair, or more personal items-- and a separate photo of both you and your partner. It’s also said that the scent of camphor will dampen the libido. In that case, I’d prepare a lovely little bowl full of camphor for the bedside table, and I’d refresh this when the scent disappears, or on a waning moon. Lettuce…to squelch the libido of another individual, write their name on a slip of paper and place it beneath a single large lettuce leaf. Place this leaf where it will receive full sunlight and cover it with an inverted clear glass bowl. As it withers and rots in the sun, so shall their sexual potency wither and rot away. Vervain…according to an old tradition, by drinking a tea of vervain, you will shut down all sexual desire for seven years. (You might want to think on this one, whether you plan on using it on yourself, or another individual.) Witch Hazel…this will cool passion. This is the perfect herb to use in a mojo bag if you just need to cool things off for a while and give yourself time to think clearly about entering a relationship. Add to the bag a stone of black onyx, black hollyhock petals, black pansies, and a piece of black licorice (the candy, not the herb) that you’ve had in your mouth. Once your mind has cleared…think, think, think. Hints & Helpful Magickal Tips: If you’re a male and you think that someone’s been magickally tampering with your sexuality- your desires, your sex drive, and your free will, you can uncross the condition by steeping a whole burdock root in olive oil and anointing your genitals with this oil to restore your personal power and desires. To break a hex or jinx placed upon your sexual nature boil calamus root in a a quart of whiskey; boil until the liquid is reduced by half. Strain out the roots, add another pint or two of whiskey to the mixture, and take a teaspoonful once a day to restore your sexual nature to normal. (*note: don’t confuse calamus root with blue flag) Use the power of dill to manifest successful love spells by steeping the seeds in water for three days and adding it to your bathwater, or your target’s bathwater. To break a love spell, prepare a tea of dill leaf and ginger root. Strain the herbs, and anoint your entire body with this tea. Allow it to dry. This is to be done for nine days, creating a new batch of tea each day. Increase the speed and intensity of love spells with ginger. Add dried ginger to love potions, powders, and oils. It can be burned with other spell ingredients, or added to foods imbued with magickal intentions. Add white mustard seed to mojo bags created to attract love, along with red rose petals, a pinch of catnip, and personal effects: preferably an item from your target (hair, fingernail clippings, a button from their clothing, a business card, a name paper, personal body fluids, etc.) Sampson snake root (Echinacea purpurea, or purple coneflower) is a versatile herb for love magicks: men who have lost their virility through jinxes or hexing can reinstate their prowess and sexual functionality by making a tea with this herb, or soaking this herb in whiskey for a week and taking a teaspoonful twice a day. This also restores good health that has been stolen through magickal means. A bath of Sampson snake root and Wahoo root bark will also restore male virility. A mojo bag to increase a man’s appeal to women will include Sampson snake root, high john the conqueror root, and bo’ hog root, all of which are dressed with commanding oil. Queen Elizabeth root is considered the ultimate in love herbs. This herb works it’s magic on men, and it’s used for good luck in all types of love situations, including affairs. To attract a man’s love make a mojo bag containing Queen Elizabeth root, rose buds, lavender, lodestone, spikenard, and any personal effects you are lucky enough to get your hands on, all dressed with commanding oil. If you want your true love to propose marriage to you, add a powdered from of this herb to your bathwater just before meeting with your target. To enhance your feminine power and charms soak a whole root in water for nine days, strain this and add it to your bathwater. There is a powerful magickal concoction that is reputed to give you complete control over a man. This magickal potion includes scrapings of dry skin from your feet, or your toe nail clippings, which you will add to a bottle of water, along with a whole root and your own urine. Let this all soak for nine days before using it. You should use this liquid sparingly, adding it to your target’s food and drink, and by doing so he will develop a very docile nature and remain under your control. (I think I can actually hear a collective ‘ewwww’ from my readers J) Have fun, and enjoy your magick…as well as the manifestations that result.  

[junker-town]

A Thanksgiving sides draft, because we are a sports website

Photo by: Anjelika Gretskaia/REDA&CO/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

2 sides, 1 dessert, 1 drink. Whose Thanksgiving reigns supreme?

Thanksgiving dinner has never been about turkey.

The focal point of the biggest meal of the holiday season can be brined, roasted, or fried, but it will never escape its fate as lean, bland bird meat. On its own, it’s more of a lowkey punishment than the centerpiece of a celebration.

That’s why we have side dishes. The heart of Thanksgiving is the supporting cast that soaks across your plate and imparts a little extra flavor to the day’s starring attraction. Good sides are a meal on their own, reduced to complementary status in the name of an hour-long gorging. They even get their own stewards thanks to the presence of desserts and beverages tasked with cleaning the whole mess up.

Put all that together, and you’ve got one hell of a meal. And, for the dads of the nation, a prelude to the greatest recliner nap they’ll take all year.

In the interest of celebrating the one celebration of America that doesn’t involve hot dogs, we turned the perfect Thanksgiving meal into a competition. Five SB Nation writers joined forced to draft their ideal meals. The ground rules:

everyone starts with turkey and gravy

everyone drafts two sides, one dessert, and one beverage (adult or otherwise)

sides must be fundamentally different from one another to be considered a viable alternative to an already-picked food (i.e. sausage and herb stuffing vs. Stove-Top is good to go, but pumpkin pie vs. pumpkin pie with whipped cream is not).

Our four-round draft was a randomly-assigned snake draft, and our managers could pick sides, dessert, or beverage in any round of their choice. These are the results:

1. Stuffing — Louis Bien

Easily the MVP of every Thanksgiving dinner. Stuffing stands up well on its own, but it pairs with everything else beautifully, too. Stuffing complements everything around it, and everything complements stuffing. It just tastes like Thanksgiving. And it saves amazingly well for next-day sandwiches. Some people like to add sausage to their stuffing, but that’s one job too many for what is essentially the do-it-all point guard of any feast. Let stuffing be the giver that it is.

Christian D’Andrea: Cool man. You took breadcrumbs cooked inside a bird anus No. 1 overall.

Alex McDaniel: If Stove Top is No. 1, let’s give up now.

2. Mashed potatoes — Christian D’Andrea

An easy choice. Mashed potatoes are the glue that you dip your turkey in so that other, better foods (stuffing, cranberry sauce, corn, etc) will stick to the bird and thus make it taste like something. It’s also instrumental in the post-meal leftover sandwich, which is easily the best part of Thanksgiving (old man naps while seating completely upright aside).

Fooch: I’d like to continue shit-talking Louis on this one. Forget stuffing — mashed potatoes is the go-to side. Mashed potatoes is the Orlando Pace of this draft. The offensive tackle prospect that you know will turn into a Hall of Famer. It’s not a sexy pick, but like Christian said (when he wasn’t trashing my old man choices), it’s the glue of the Thanksgiving meal.

Louis: Boxed fake mashed potatoes >>>>>>> real mashed potatoes. I will take no more questions at this time.

3. Cranberry sauce (Ocean Spray) — David Fucillo

I’ve learned to enjoy fancy cranberry sauce, but nothing tops the gelatin version! Some will mock me for my distaste of gravy, but this actually serves as my choice of gravy. I combine all my sides together with the turkey, and the cranberry sauce is what keeps it from turning into a lumpy mess.

Louis: This is high for cranberry sauce, but I get that people really love it, and I like the gelatin version over the Real Stuff, too. But I will NOT abide this gravy slander, sir.

4. Cornbread dressing — Alex McDaniel

Aside from being the Thanksgiving dish most likely to start a family fight over the right way to make it, cornbread dressing is the quintessential side-that-could-also-be-a-meal holiday food. (It’s also way better than stuffing in that we don’t shove dressing up a bird’s ass.)

Louis: Y’all know you don’t have to cook stuffing in the turkey’s butt, right?

5. Pumpkin pie — Eric Stephen

In theory I probably should have picked a side dish here, but since I had two picks back-to-back I wanted to give the Thanksgiving dessert its proper due as a first-round pick. Pumpkin pie is not something that should be eaten year round, but it is a Thanksgiving staple. There was no way this was lasting until the end of the third round, so I had to make sure to grab my dessert — the dessert — right away.

Fooch: Every draft requires someone forgetting that a selection already happened. I was psyched to take pumpkin pie in the third round, only to realize I missed Eric taking it with the fifth overall pick. Pumpkin pie with whipped cream is what Thanksgiving is all about. I probably should have taken it over cranberry sauce, but such is life.

6. Green bean casserole — Eric Stephen

I have to be honest here: for the overwhelming bulk of my Thanksgiving dinners, I’ve had fairly standard green beans, maybe spruced up with bacon here and there. But green bean casserole is the ultimate comfort food, and perhaps more importantly it’s one of the easiest sides to make — green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and fried onions — which is important for those of us who aren’t hosting but rather bringing something to the table.

Christian: Easily the worst kind of bean. I appreciate the casserole’s commitment to making a healthy food so capable of bringing on a stroke.

Louis: Is there any part of green bean casserole that actually tastes good other than the French’s fried onions sprinkled on top?

Fooch: The fact that Christian shit-talked my Brussels sprouts the way he did and doesn’t offer nearly enough hate for green bean casserole is just unacceptable.

7. Sweet potato casserole — Alex McDaniel

I’m not sure why I didn’t make this my first pick because it’s undeniably the most on-brand example of Thanksgiving indulgence in existence. How do you make sweet potatoes, a naturally tasty and good-for-you food, more appealing? Mix them with a shitload of butter and brown sugar and eggs and vanilla before topping them off with marshmallows and EVEN MORE butter and brown sugar. Plus, it’s the only dish other than boring-ass cranberry sauce that counts as a side AND a dessert.

Christian: A dessert as a side dish? You really are from the South.

8. Brussels sprouts (with balsamic glaze) — David Fucillo

A vegetable I would never eat as a kid I have grown to love as an adult. I’d be fine with just a basic sprout dish cooked with some salt, pepper and garlic. In reality, a balsamic glaze and potentially some bacon takes this side to a whole other level.

Christian: Of course the guy who picked candy corn and raisins at Halloween wants Brussels sprouts, the villain food from every Nicktoon from 1992-1998. Enjoy your tiny cabbages, old man.

9. Sausage and herb stuffing — Christian D’Andrea

How do you improve on stuffing? Add a bunch of pig fat to it. This is effectively a breakfast sandwich, blended down into spoonable form. I love every word in that sentence, so that’s an easy pick for me.

Louis: Talks shit about stuffing then takes the frozen Jimmy Dean’s version of it eight picks later. OK.

10. Spiced peaches — Louis Bien

It was slim pickings for sides at this point of the draft outside of [Insert vegetable] and [Insert starch]. But spiced peaches are a nice curveball on the plate — sweet and tart and delicious. Who cares that they don’t actually go with anything.

Alex McDaniel: It’s hard for me to talk shit about such a delightfully Southern dish, but I’m guessing spiced peaches in Wisconsin just means throwing some cinnamon on a Del Monte fruit cup and calling it a day.

11. Rye old fashioned — Louis Bien

A simple, noble, delicious cocktail that tastes like the embodiment of crackling fireplaces, cozy sweaters and fucking off from work.

Christian: You went to the University of Wisconsin and chose rye over brandy for your old fashioneds. The city of Madison will judge you for this. Harshly and drunkenly, as is tradition.

Louis: Do I get to rebut in the comment section? Listen, I hear you, but brandy hurts, man.

12. Cheesecake — Christian D’Andrea

A top five dessert after any meal. Can be topped with literally any fruit in order to make it healthy.

“Healthy.”

Louis: Yes, that’s exactly what I want after my 20-pound meal, a sugar bomb with the density of a red dwarf.

13. Roasted potatoes — David Fucillo

Gotta have a starch and I couldn’t justify scalloped potatoes. Mashed potatoes are the easy choice, but a quality toasted potato can bring a little something extra.

Christian: How difficult was it for you to pass up “rolls” or “water” here?

Louis: “Mmm, pass the filler please.”

Eric: This is a great side, but missing only one step: mashing the potatoes.

14. Hot bourbon cider — Alex McDaniel

Adding bourbon to apple cider is a) delicious and b) more socially acceptable than drinking straight whiskey from a Solo cup at the Thanksgiving table. Or so I’ve heard.

Christian: The only thing I don’t like about this pick is your Solo cup bias. Next you’re going to tell me everyone sits on chairs that don’t fold up at your house and the kids’ section isn’t just a three-legged card table.

15. Mac n’ cheese — Eric Stephen

The gamble in picking my dessert first meant that most of the good sides would be snatched up by this time of the draft. But what could be better to add to Thanksgiving than one of the best side dishes for any meal? Mac n’ cheese is delicious whether out of a box or made from scratch, and for an extra touch maybe through some bacon in there since I didn’t get to add them to my green beans above.

Louis: I am probably very, very alone in this, but I love mac n’ cheese in pretty much every context except Thanksgiving. Here’s a sumptuous banquet of Earth’s bounty, and also cheddar noodles.

16. Boring-ass regular cider — Eric Stephen

I suppose I could have just picked a beer, or even tequila here (man, that would hit the spot right now), I picked a beverage I have in my kitchen at this very moment. Yes it’s relatively plain, and non-alcoholic, but the spicy warm beverage is just perfect for the holidays, and hit the spot.

Christian: Warm Dr. Pepper was RIGHT THERE.

17. Salted caramel pie — Alex McDaniel

Listen. If you eat a bunch of rich and/or sweet stuff at dinner, maybe DON’T make this your dessert choice. Eat some Jell-O and go lie down. But if you kept things dry and boring, salted caramel pie is the dessert you DESERVE, not to mention a hell of a lot more creative than standard, boring, embarrassingly un-salted pies.

Christian: Is the recipe for this just “salt, sugar, butter, milk” and then a shrug emoji?

18. Hot buttered rum — David Fucillo

I’m not a big holiday drinker, but this just seems like a quality option during a cold, winter evening. Why get complicated?

Christian: OLD. MAN. PICK. Fooch drafted himself a Thanksgiving meal he read about once in a Dickens novel.

19. Porters/brown ales (like say, Tyranena’s Rocky’s Revenge?) — Christian D’Andrea

A good warming beer to ease in the oncoming winter. Nothing sets up the 4 p.m. hibernation break quite like a couple beers to wash down the week’s worth of carbohydrates you just ate.

(Tyranena, please send me stuff.)

Fooch: I love a good porter or brown ale, but I can’t even begin to imagine trying to drink this during or right after a huge Thanksgiving meal. I’m a glutton when it comes to this meal, but this would knock me on my ass before I even finished eating. I at least like to make it back to the television and pass out while watching football.

20. Ritz cracker pie — Louis Bien

I think this goes by mock apple pie in some circles, but we usually make this with pecans and/or walnuts in the mix, too. Ritz cracker pie is light and fluffy and sweet and perfect after over-gorging on everything else. I almost always end up having some for breakfast the next day.

Christian: I ... have no idea what this is?

(Ritz, please send Louis stuff.)

Our final results:

So who won our inaugural Thanksgiving sides draft? Throw your vote in below. The winner will earn a smidge of pride. The loser will be mocked relentlessly for having terrible taste.

If you can’t see the poll, click here.

[moosefrog]

100 Questions

@pkoceres tagged me, tagging @medusinestories, @tea-blitz, @pangur-pangur , and anyone else who wants to (if you already did this just ignore me lol)

1. Coffee or tea? Tea (so much tea. I prefer loose black teas.)

2. Black and white or color? Color

3. Drawings or paintings? Both! I’ve actually sold more paintings than illustrations

4. Dresses or skirts? Neither? I suppose dresses. They’re easier to put on.

5. Books or movies? Books (And movies when I go to a theatre! I have a hard time sitting through a movie at home.)

6. Pepsi or Coke? Neither. They bloody well discontinued Coke Zero so no more cola preferences for me. It all tastes terrible.

7. Chinese or Italian? Food? Are we talking food? Cuz.. both? XD Uhh... Italian, I suppose. I probably eat more Italian than Chinese. 

8. Early bird or night owl? Is there a bird who sleeps in until nine or ten then is in bed again by eleven? Because that would be me. The reasonable duck.

9. Chocolate or vanilla? Vanilla (Chocolate triggers migraines so it’s been a couple of years since I last had it.)

10. Introvert or extrovert? Extroverted introvert. People drain me but that doesn’t mean I can’t perform when expected.

11. Hugs or kisses? If I can only have one, it’d be hugs.

12. Hunting or fishing? Fishing. I rarely catch anything but it’s nice to spend time outdoors.

13. Winter or summer? Ugh.I suppose winter because I'd rather be too cold than too hot.

14. Spring or fall? Spring. The winters are long here and it spring means the end of seasonal depression!

15. Rural or urban? Urban but in my heart of hearts there’s a wee cabin in the woods waiting for me.

16. PC or Mac? Mac. I used to be PC but omg. I’m never going back.

17. Tan or pale? Pale.

18. Cake or pie? Cake

19. Ice cream or yogurt? You can’t compare! Unless we’re talking frozen yogurt... then probably ice cream. Specifically Natrel or Island Farms ice cream. 

20. Ketchup or mustard? They both have their uses.

21. Sweet pickles or dill pickles? Sweet pickles!!!

22. Comedy or mystery? Comedy

23. Boots or sandals? Sneakers! But I suppose sandals. I only wear boots when it gets to -40C here.

24. Silver or gold? Silver

25. Pop or Rock? Both! XD I guess I’ve been listening to more pop lately. I go through phases.

26. Dancing or singing? Singing and awkward dancing at the same time

27. Checkers or chess? Either is good with me but I used to belong to a chess club. =p

28. Board games or video games? Video games because I don’t get together much with friends but when I do, I like board games well enough.

29. Wine or beer? I can’t drink alcohol. (I mean, I could? But it’s a huge IBS trigger so unless I want to run to the bathroom and get stuck there...)

30. Freckles or dimples? Freckles

31. Honey mustard or BBQ sauce? Honey mustard!

32. Body weight exercises or lifting weights? I do both on a regular basis. I hate using machines and prefer free-weights!

33. Baseball or basketball? I’ll play either but I also hate watching either. So boring.

34. Crossword puzzles or sudokus? Crossword!

35. Facial hair or clean shaven? It depends on the person in question. My partner is clean shaven.

36. Crushed ice or cubed ice? Crushed

37. Skiing or snowboarding? Cross country skiing

38. Smile or game face? Smile :D

39. Bracelet or necklace? Necklace. I don’t even wear a watch because I hate things on my wrists when I’m coding. And I’m coding every day.

40. Fruit or vegetables? Fruit

41. Sausage or bacon? Sausage

42. Scrambled or fried? What? Eggs? Over easy so... fried?

43. Dark chocolate or white chocolate? Neither.

44. Tattoos or piercings? Neither

45. Antique or brand new? Both! Depending on the item.

46. Dress up or dress down? Down, down, doobie do down, 

47. Cowboys or aliens? That was a not bad movie. =p Aliens.

48. Cats or dogs? Neither. I love both but I’m allergic. (But cats are inherently superior.)

49. Pancakes or waffles? Waffles. Big old Belgians.

50. Bond or Bourne? Bond

51. Sci-Fi or fantasy? Both. Definitely both.

52. Numbers or letters? Letters

53. Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings? Both but LOTR/Hobbit is what I’m interested in atm.

54. Fair or theme park? Mehhhh... crowds. Disney at Christmas was pretty magical.

55. Money or fame? Money

56. Washing dishes or doing laundry? Laundry

57. Snakes or sharks? Snakes

58. Orange juice or apple juice? Apple (But I don’t drink juice very often)

59. Sunrise or sunset? (They’re kinda the same!) Sunset.

60. Slacker or over-achiever? Over-achieving slacker. 

61. Pen or pencil? FOR WHAT? Sheesh. Context. Uh... pencil.

62. Peanut butter or jelly? Peanut butter.

63. Grammys or Oscars? Not interesting to me.

64. Detailed or abstract? Both! Which is why I’m a good coder.

65. Multiple choice questions or essay questions? Meh. I don’t care. 

66. Adventurous or cautious? I would say I used to be more adventurous. Now I’m a bit more cautious. SHE CAN LEARN! XD 

67. Saver or spender? Auto-saver likes to spend. (i.e. I have my finances arranged so the bank automatically saves money for me. I get to spend what is left.)

68. Glasses or contacts? Glasses

69. Laptop or desktop? Laptop! I haven’t used a desktop in at least a year.

70. Classic or modern? Context? I like a mix, generally speaking.

71. Personal chef or personal fitness trainer? I already have a personal fitness trainer. I would loooove a personal chef but seeing as I did go to school for culinary arts... I should just not be so lazy and cook for myself.

72. Internet or cell phone? Internet

73. Call or text? Text

74. Curly hair or straight hair? Curly

75. Shower in the morning or shower in the evening? Evening. I hate going to bed when I don’t feel scrubbed clean.

76. Spicy or mild? Mild.

77. Marvel or DC? Marvel all the time

78. Paying a mortgage or paying rent? Neither! Paid off the mortgage this year!

79. Sky dive or bungee jump? Bungee.

80. Oreos or Chips Ahoy? Golden Oreos

81. Jello or pudding? Pudding! (mmm butterscotch...)

82. Truth or dare? Truth. I have no truths too shameful to reveal. Mostly because my shame-tolerance is so high.

83. Roller coaster or Ferris wheel? Ferris wheel

84. Leather or denim? Denim

85. Stripes or solids? Stripes

86. Bagels or muffins? Bagel

87. Whole wheat or white? White

88. Beads or pearls? Beads

89. Hardwood or carpet? Carpet

90. Bright colors or neutral tones? Bright colours!

91. Be older than you are or younger than you are? I’ve ben thirty years old since I was twelve. So I’m both. =p

92. Raisins or nuts? Raisins

93. Picnic or nice restaurant? Restaurant

94. Black leather or brown leather? Brown

95. Long hair or short hair? Short

96. “Ready, aim, fire” or “Ready, fire, aim”? Pfft. Aim twice shoot once.

97. Fiction or non-fiction? Fiction (Although I enjoy reading sciencey non-fiction)

98. Smoking or non-smoking? Non-smoking

99. Think before you talk or talk before you think? Constantly talking before I can slap a filter on what I’m saying.

100. Asking questions or answering questions? Answering.

[beyondthetemples-ooc]

“Telling” Asks

Because I’m relaxing today and I’ve never answered some of these before.

From: https://beyondthetemples-ooc.tumblr.com/post/185158056997/weird-asks-that-say-a-lot

--

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans? Teacups would be ideal, but the reality is more water bottles.

2. chocolate bars or lollipops? Honestly? Neither. (Unless it's a really good chocolate bar, like 85% dark, or Cadbury's~)

3. bubblegum or cotton candy? Both are too sweet for me. (Though, maybe once a year, I'll indulge in one of each.)

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups? Bottles, if it's not soda! (Good for multi-tasking and not spilling!) But otherwise, glass cups. Unless the plastic ones are really pretty or have a very nice grippy shape to them.

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear? Oh always goth, all the way. Technically a more "formal" goth (romantigoth is the label i'd choose if i HAD to pick one),

7. earbuds or headphones? That depends. When I'm active, or when it's hot outside? Earbuds. But when travelling, trying to work in a loud environment, or generally needing sound cancellation: definitely headphones.

8. movies or tv shows? Oh, that REALLY depends on the content. Movies are easier on the ADD, and most TV shows are paced TERRIBLY in the long-running format, but then there's, like... cartoons, basically, that have satisfying stories in each episode AND a great overarching plot.

9. favorite smell in the summer? Pre-Thunderstorm Static.

10. game you were best at in p.e.? I wasn't the best at ANY game in PE... ;P Honestly, my best "game" was probably....... tag, but the kind where they're running away from you as a form of bullying, so you just embrace it and "touch" them just to mess with them.

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day? I don't. (I don't feel hungry most mornings.) "First lunch" is usually a piece of fruit and maybe a granola bar.

12. name of your favorite playlist? I don't do "playlists", I do "play every album by this artist in chronological order"! But I guess my Epica and Evanescence stations on Pandora come pretty close, huh?

13. lanyard or key ring? Neither actually; I use those bungee-like things you can stretch to hold my things. I literally attach my wallet to my bag's handle with those so I don't lose it.

14. favorite non-chocolate candy? Peppermint? Candied ginger? Do s'mores count?~

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment? Oh DAMN that's hard... Let's see. If AR Summer Reading projects count: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire? The Invisible Thread (by Yoshiko Uchida)? Fahrenheit 451? And if those don't count, maybe The Scarlet Letter (by Hawthorne, of course).

16. most comfortable position to sit in? Your classic lotus position. I'm essentially in it right now.

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes? Work shoes, but outside of work? Black flip flops.

18. ideal weather? Realistically: 65, light breeze, and lots of clouds with a little rain. But my absolute FAVORITE weather was something I've only ever seen ONCE, and that was a thunderstorm in the middle of a snowstorm. It was incredible and the image of lightning against the snowfall is forever seared into the core of my soul as one of the most gorgeous things I've ever experienced.

19. sleeping position? Varies night by night. Safe to call it a general Flop.

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)? It depends on the draft! First drafts are best done for me in notebooks (usually, unless it's a scene with No Chronology Yet, it's in the notebook meant for the story)! But also, anything that's on hand whenever a new scene strikes me works too. I've written on napkins, calendar pages, doctor notes, and Greyhound bus tickets.

21. obsession from childhood? Ooh, Teen Titans, still to this day!

22. role model? ...Rrrraven? (And/or, my Actual Mentors. But it's very much a "don't be me, just let us try to teach you some things so you can be the Best You".)

23. strange habits? ...oh gods, where do I even begin. I meditate and practice energy work on the daily. I touch things almost any time I'm walking anywhere, like just reach my hands out a little and touch whatever's closest. I tend to ask a lot of questions when I'm talking to someone, lots of "why is that". I compulsively read Every Single Ingredient on every box I buy and research anything I'm not familiar with. Does taking like 15 pills and vitamins every day count? And also my "nesting" behavior, any time I'm somewhere I feel it's not rude to re-arrange, I grab pillows and blankets for support.

24. favorite crystal? Damnit, all my favorite stones are actually not "crystals"?! But crystalline azurite is close enough. (It kind of depends on the day and what energy I'm looking for. Stone/crystal work is another one of those weird habits. ;P )

25. first song you remember hearing? The "Arthur" themsong. I remember going to my mother and being like, "They said A! A is a letter!" And it wasn't for another, like, 3-5 years that I'd realize, they're saying "hey", not "A".

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather? Stay inside. (Anything that counts as "warm" rather than "cool" is too warm for me....) But if I had to pick ONE thing, definitely swimming, in a lake (because I have a mild chlorine allergy).

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather? ALL of them! Just being outside as long as it's not too sunny! Hiking, meditating, I used to do all my spiritual rituals outside, reading, walking, hell even at work when we have dogs to take on walks, I love walking in the park with them. Being outside when it's snowing. And then curling up in my room, on my soft bed, with a cup of tea and a book (or a great fanfic) after...

28. five songs to describe you? Teen Titans themesong, Bakura's Theme, What's the Use of Feeling (Blue) 1. End of the Dream, by Evanescence [ x ] 2. My Demons, by Starset [ x ] 3. Underneath, by Tarja [ x ] 4. Paradise (What About Us), Within Temptation ft. Tarja [ x ] 5. Reality Fringe, by Alex Dalliance

29. best way to bond with you? Talking, communicating, while respecting boundaries, with patience and sincerity.

30. places that you find sacred? Honestly, the biggest answers are a part of the Nexus and I don't think I'm ready to talk about that here;; Let's just say, astral adventures have gotten wild enough that my spirit guide and I have meeting places that are sacred, my leader-goddess has shown me a few places, and there are some "places" within my own mindscape that are sacred enough.

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names? Oh honey, that depends entirely on my mood. And the situation. I have multiple cloaks, some closet cosplays, I wear skirts every day, business jackets, and I can mix and match them however I please. It REALLY depends on whose ass I'm kicking.

32. top five favorite vines? I know I really like Thomas Sanders? But specifics-- Oh. Oh crap, wait I have to visit my vines tag to remember my favorites. DEFINITELY "This bitch empty. YEET" because I didn't know the vine OR exclamation before I saw a fanart that had me DYING OF LAUGHTER, thinking someone just made Blue Diamond yell the word "YEET" for no reason. "FREE-shuh-VAH-cuhdu" makes me die every time. "There's only one thing worse... A CHILD" is TOP QUALITY, genuinely hits at least 3 critical notes of my sense of humor. I love the one with the guys playing the piano (I don't know what genre but it's old-school and chill) and the guy comes in and starts club dancing to it. And the umbrella one with, "Run".

33. most used phrase in your phone? ...probably "if you want"?

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head? I haven't seen an ad in literally years. (get uBlock Origin, it works way better than adblock! also, i don't Internet on my phone.)

35. average time you fall asleep? 11pm? (Work nights: 9-10:30, depending on my exhaustion levels. Not work nights? 1-3am.)

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing? The actual LOLcats website!

37. suitcase or duffel bag? Neither; I actually use a mid-sized messenger bag and only use Personal Item Sized Bags for airplane trips. Free baggage, y'all. ;P

38. lemonade or tea? Oh tea, definitely tea. (Unless it's too-sweet iced black tea; then that watermelon mint lemonade wins.)

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie? Iiii actually can hardly eat either one, but Starbucks' lemon loafs were addictive (but really bad for my system) and I do love lemon meringue flavored things~

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school? M e . (I did weird shit like practice reading auras, accidentally warp the moodscape of everyone around me, and get an A on a pop quiz the teacher didn't lecture about for more than five minutes.)

41. last person you texted? An old high school friend I recently reconnected with.

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets? Jacket, since I don't wear pants (unless work forces me to, ew).

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket? I have no idea what differentiates them. =w=;; Cardigan probably, because I know they have really long flowy elegant ones I like to wear sometimes.

44. favorite scent for soap? ...ooh, that's tough... Lavender's always a good bet, rosemary-mint was a delight, I cucumber-eucalyptus was nice, and I have no idea what scent it was, but a local soap-maker at the farmer's market in the city I lived in for a couple years had this one that was made with, like, honey and red clay, and it felt AMAZING.

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero? Damnit, don't make me CHOOSE like this! I mean, for writing obviously Superhero because I write fanfics like hell for that genre, but I guess my Pokemon fanfics count as fantasy? And, come to think of it, most of my stories center around metaphysical weirdness is some way or other, so... straddling the line between fantasy and superhero.

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in? Nudity.

47. favorite type of cheese? ...provolone maybe? ??

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be? Pomegranate, probably. Gotta do some work to get to the good stuff, strangely unavailable most of the time, and once you get past all the drawbacks, it's just absolutely loaded with compartmentalized goodness.

49. what saying or quote do you live by? Bold of you to assume I only have one quote! Here's just a small sampling. ~ "Don't you want to feel? Don't you want to live your life? How much longer are you gonna give into the fear?" -Disappear, by Evanescence. ~ "Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." -Edgar Allen Poe ~ "Be yourself, everyone else is already taken." -Oscar Wilde ~ "Guilt is a powerful motivator. Redemption, even greater." -The Unforgiving, by Within Temptation et al. "When you know in your soul who you are, you can never be corrupted again." -Raven, from the Games graphic novel. + Various quotes from my organization, along the lines of things like "Any Tom, Dick, or Harry can do your job, but only you can be there for your friends, family, and accomplish your dreams", and "When you understand WHY we do what we do, WHAT we do makes more sense".

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have? My girlfriend? Most of those vines I mentioned? "OH TITS IT CAN FLY"?

51. current stresses? j o b

52. favorite font? Arial, simple yet elegant. Easy to read. I write all my stories in Arial, so I'm biased. l3

53. what is the current state of your hands? They're in Ohio with the rest of me? 8F No, but seriously, lowkey aching a bit around the finger joints from constantly dragging dogs around for a whopping 60 hours this week, but they're not burned and there's only one Tiny cut I got at work, and I still don't know why, but that's almost gone already. I like my fingernails too, they've been breaking at the corners lately but they're still Decently Long.

54. what did you learn from your first job? "Turn tables" are not, in fact, the name of a band, but an item of musical arrangement. (I worked at the Exchange and someone asked if we had anything like the turn tables. I thought they meant musically similar to a band named Turn Tables.)

55. favorite fairy tale? Does the epic poetry of the Kalevala story count? (Finland's national epic!) But I'm not a big fan of the Grimm style fairy tales.

56. favorite tradition? Going to Evanescence concerts at every single available opportunity? Wearing a bracelet my gf gave me and a ring my mother gave me any time I travel? I'm not one much for Generational Tradition at all, I do kinda like forming my own though~

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome? Literally just, myself. 1. Overcoming my doubt in myself. 2. Overcoming my social anxiety re: Starting Conversations. 3. Overcoming my phobia so I could, you know. Eat food.

58. four talents you’re proud of having? ?! How do you even define what constitutes a "talent"? 1. WRITING! (Creativity re: characters and the plots they're in. Descriptive writing. My mother always acts blown away whenever she reads my writing re: "how you get into the character's head".) 2. I can speak very eloquently and articulately, most of the time. And not just via verbiage; I know how to say things that Matter. 3. I can cook a fantastic stir-fry! And, apparently, really good soup. 4. I'm proud of my (non-numerical) eidetic memory, sometimes. It's kinda just There, and I'm not, like, ACTIVELY proud of it, but it sure makes things easier re: remembering friends' triggers, fandom trivia, etc.

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be? What makes you think I don't create each response on demand? (There's... really not something I think I say often enough to count as a catch phrase. So I legitimately have no idea.)

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be? Is "dark magical girl anime" a thing? Because that'd be MY thing.

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.? See above quotes.

62. seven characters you relate to? 1. R A VE N that's it that's the list Theeee only other ones I relate to are kinda awkward answers to give for this (re Synpathy and such related topics), but then again there's hella sympathy for Raven too, so.... 2. Ryou Bakura 3. Blue Diamond 4. Lapis Lazuli 5. Malachite (it's Complicated) 6. Sucy 7. Crona

63. five songs that would play in your club? Just insert any five Alex Dalliance songs here, I don't listen to a whole lot of Club Style Music. (Unless.... does, like, Cascada and Caramel count? Because I still kinda like their styles.) My "club" would be more like orchestrals by Danny Elfman and Evanescence instrumentals and/or live music from local rock bands.

64. favorite website from your childhood? TitansGo.Net! Screenshots, transcripts, even the forums... I browsed that site on the daily.

65. any permanent scars? Oh boy, are you sure you're ready for this? My scars fade quickly, but you'll see them if you know what to look for. One on my forearm from when I fell off a bed onto a broken fan grate at age 5 (it's a 3-inch long gash), on my left pointer finger from being bitten by an angry rabbit, scars on my heels from my comic!Raven cosplay shoes, scar on my right hip from using rubber cement to attach a scar prosthetic for a Kary cosplay (at my supposedly practical-effects-knowledgeable father's advice-- not good advice at all, for the record, don't put that shit anywhere NEAR your skin), tiny spot on my right hand from the time I became too emotional at my girlfriend's house and scraped it on her carpet, tiny dot on my left shoulder from a protruding nail in an old (pavillon without a roof thing?) we once had in the backyard, tiny line on my right ring finger from the time Belle nearly fell from right next to me and I caught her (she tried to grab something and wound up scratching me), and a scar on my right elbow from cleaning the tortilla press at Chipotle. (They didn't tell me there were protective gloves to use. They really should've told me that.)

66. favorite flower(s)? Oh gosh, I don't know. I like almost all flowers, really. I love the scent of lilac and magnolia in the air. Rose and hibiscus make lovely teas. Seeing mint and lemon balm in bloom always makes me feel contented. Willow and basswood flowers remind me of happy childhood memories at the nature reserve. Pink hibiscus flowers have Very Special Meaning to me (for the other blog, really). And of course, flowers with energy or aromatherapeutic effects like lavender are favorites, too.

67. good luck charms? Look, I don't NEED good luck.~ Confidence, strategy, and being alright with whatever happens are my "good luck charms". (And throwing a little magic at it never hurts when I REALLY want something...)

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried? ....I'm not comfortable answering that (phobia memories, just not gonna think about that okay.)

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned? ...Remember that eidetic memory I was talking about? Every single little tiny fact I'm thinking about, I can remember how I learned about it.

70. left or right handed? Ambi, actually! 55% right. 45% left.

71. least favorite pattern? That depends on what it's for. Wallpapers? Floral (it kills my ADD, but floral patterns can make some very pretty dresses and blankets). Furniture? Paisley (but some people rock it in clothes). Furniture? any kind of fur trim (but again, it looks good on clothes). Clothing on me? Leopard and zebra (but I like it on lots of other things). My room? Checkered and tartan (but again, good patterns for other things, esp. clothing and interior styles that AREN'T associated with my room in particular, my room's just so noncomforming and cluttered that Busy Patterns like that aren't). I guess overall I'm just not a fan of highly stripey or square-y patterns?

72. worst subject? Math. Always has been. Probably always will be.

73. favorite weird flavor combo? The weirdest and actually not the grossest I tried was, out of curiosity to see what Tamaranian food might ACTUALLY taste like, I mixed sushi with ice cream. It really wasn't that bad! That one's my favorite for fandom reasons. 8P I don't do a whole lot of "weird" flavor combos otherwise.

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen? (Those... those are the same thing, buddy.) 8 or 9. NSAIDs, especially naproxen and ibuprofen, really irritate my stomach, so it has to be worth a week or two of Lowkey Constant Nausea to take it. For example, the last time I was waking it, I had dry socket. You know, that thing that happens when you get a tooth extracted and the blood clot doesn't form, so YOUR ACTUAL BONE IS EXPOSED for two FUCKING weeks..... and before the dental stuff, I would only take it when Monthly Stuff would get so bad, it could leave my crippled and crying on the bathroom floor for an hour. (Might've been longer if stepmom hadn't gotten me n0aproxen.....)

75. when did you lose your first tooth? Hell if I know what age that was, I think I swallowed it.

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)? Potato soup, especially my mother's! But I also like BAKED fries (actually fried fries tend to be... Really Badly Received by my system;;), kettle chips are pretty good in small amounts, and I love those criss-cross cut fries at Mr. Hero (I just can't eat more than, like, five at a time, guh).

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill? I absolutely LOVED having my lemon balm. But it got the aerial blight from my peace lily, and it died with all the rest of my houseplants. :c

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store? Sushi from a grocery store, just because this place called Giant Eagle makes some fairly good sushi for like $5 on certain days of the week, and I think they make it every 3-4 days. Fresh, like you can see them making it right in front of you.

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo? My passport is actually my best, I think~ Though my college ID didn't look bad, either.

80. earth tones or jewel tones? Depends on what they're for. Clothes, I guess jewel tones because I like blue and purple. But for interior decorations, earth tones like deep rich browns and black are my go-to.

81. fireflies or lightning bugs? They're.. the same thing? ??? I've used both interchangeably.

82. pc or console? PC, mostly because that's all I've had most of my life, and of course DC Universe Online was on my PC so maybe I'm biased. 8F

83. writing or drawing? Oooh, writing for me, all the way~ (Though I gotta do SOME drawing now and again!)

84. podcasts or talk radio? Neither, they're both too long for my ADD. And I don't... really care about most people on them? The only one I've ever seen was Amy Lee on short talk show interviews and the Steven Universe podcast with MKAtwood of course.

84. barbie or polly pocket? Neither. (I had both. Played with Polly Pocket because it came with a lot more animals, but those got lost way too easily, and I never got into the Barbie.)

85. fairy tales or mythology? They're both equally important and equally fascinating! Mythology has more Spiritual Resonance, and fairy tales have more Societal Resonance.

86. cookies or cupcakes? Depends on what kind! Oatmeal raisin cookies beat chocolate cupcakes, but red velvet cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting beat chocolate chip cookies.

87. your greatest fear? I have emet*phobia. You can look up what that means yourself because I don't even want to type the word, thanks.

88. your greatest wish? Just, freedom.

89. who would you put before everyone else? Damn it, I'm too compassionate for that answer. Whoever needs it more at that very moment.

90. luckiest mistake? Being so antisocial that the people running the ALP program made me sit with my girlfriend. I asked "Do you like Teen Titans?", and the rest is history.

91. boxes or bags? Boxes for long-term storage, bags for the daily.

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights? Lamps, generally. Candles trump them all, but LED lamps are a lot less fire-hazard-y when you might fall asleep. lD;;

93. nicknames? RHS, RWT, Shadow, Zira (means "Shadow"), closest friends call me Rae.

94. favorite season? Winter~ It's the kindest to my easily-overheated sensibilities.

95. favorite app on your phone? Prooobably the voicemail app my or/ganization uses? I don't do much else on my phone besides, you know. Phone stuff (talk/text).

96. desktop background? PC: A shot of Raven meditating in the forest from Justice League vs. Teen Titans, with the incense and glow and her head bowed and focused and everything. Laptop: The sky as Lapis looked up at it, the gorgeous Homeworld constellation from "Ocean Gem".

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized? Three. Mine, my girlfriend's, and only because she had the same phone number since I was like 8 years old, my stepmother's. Everyone else's keeps changing.

98. favorite historical era? The answer I want to give is Nexus-related, but I don’t think I have a real favorite era. I know too much about the history of misogyny, racism, colonialism, variation between eras around the world, and generally fucked-up shit in every era I've ever learned about.

[rannadylin]

Time for a questionnaire meme

Tagged by @fangmich and it’s been a while since I did one of these so…why not!

Also I was just starting to type up my answers to these last night when a crazy thunderstorm hit and the power went out for over four hours. :-( Then this morning the internet was still out for a couple of hours after I got up, more aftereffects of the storm no doubt. So I might be tempting fate by again attempting to answer these but here we go anyway!

Rules: Answer these 92 statements and tag 20 people.

LAST:

1. Drink: Durance’s tea blend, Magran’s Fire! (Yesterday it was Eder’s Sun God Cider and it would have also been Kana’s Rauatai Sweet Pie but I am almost out of that because it’s so good. I have a reorder of it coming today, if the tracking info is correct…) 2. Phone call: Frontier support to report my internet being out. :-( (Fortunately I got a very nice customer service lady who took care of everything more swiftly than expected, and hey, internet’s back now!)  3. Text message: to my mother telling her I might be visiting her today if the internet didn’t come back on… 4. Song you listened to: Technically the Pillars of Eternity soundtrack while playing the game yesterday, but if we’re not counting that…my local radio station does this thing they call Bluegrass Wednesday where they play I Saw the Light to wake us all up on Wednesday mornings and that was going on while I drove to the grocery store. This week they played two versions and asked callers to vote – David Crowder which they usually use, and the original Hank Williams Sr version. 5. Time you cried: Probably at church? I tear up a lot at certain songs. Although usually not when I’m one of the ones playing them, so it would be one of the Sundays that the youth group worship team led the songs instead of Team Pastor’s Family (i.e. my mom on piano, my sister on drums, me on flute, plus an organist and some singers unrelated to us, plus my dad, the pastor, usually singing also).

HAVE YOU:

6. Dated someone twice: I have not really dated someone once unless we count going steady in junior high and when you’re too young to actually go out somewhere with the boyfriend, I’m not counting it… 7. Kissed someone and regretted it: I’ve kissed no one, so, nope 8. Been cheated on: This is also beyond my experience 9. Lost someone special: Oh certainly. Two grandparents so far, and a few years ago a very dear friend who wasn’t a teacher, yet was a sort of teaching mentor to me in our state JCL (Latin club!). Here we are getting ready for the annual trip to JCL convention in a week (!!!) and it still hits me once in a while, when I see the state t-shirt from the last convention trip he was here for and so on. 10. Been depressed: I am fortunate to have not had to deal with clinical depression. Life has its ups and downs (getting diagnosed with diabetes five years ago was one of the lows for sure…) but I’ve never felt hopeless, stuck in a low that would never improve. Honestly my faith is a big part of this – God is my hope and comfort when life is overwhelming. 11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: Alcohol, like dating, is beyond my experience. This is what life is when you grow up as a pastor’s kid with a pretty much lawful good alignment in RL. :-D

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS:

12-14: PURPLE AND GOLD! Well, that’s JCL colors, anyway. Purple is one of my favorites, also dark green, and…for a third…well I think I have more handknit socks in the blue range than anything? I am very mardi gras here.

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:

15. Made new friends: Sure! Mind you, I don’t tend to form deep friendships very often but I do form firendly acquaintances pretty easily. I’ve made friends on tumblr and with some Latin teachers I met at the conference I went to last month. 16. Fallen out of love: Not really sure I’ve ever really fallen in; see above re: dating. Crushes and falling out of crushes, certainly. 17. Laughed until you cried: I’m sure I have? Probably at family gatherings. I have goofy relatives. 18. Found out someone was talking about you: Hello, I teach high schoolers? They are always talking about me. I usually assume there’s a base level of complaining about grades or discipline going on (some of which the offended student makes sure I can hear, yay), but I’ve also been pleasantly surprised by people (a fellow teacher as well as friends of current students) in the past year telling me they’ve heard good things about my teaching. (Current students’ friends who said so are taking my class next year, I think…Yay!) 19. Met someone who changed you: Sure. E.g. I’ve grown a lot more confident from hanging out with my very outgoing (and bossy :-D) best friend (and fellow teacher until we both left that school within the last few years… 20. Found out who your friends are: I am not at all sure what this is asking. 21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: Nope, see above re: dating

GENERAL:

22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: I don’t generally make or accept friend requests unless I already know the person. Some are just acquaintances through work or the network of Latin teachers, or former students who were on trips to JCL convention with our group, etc. so I don’t often see them in person, but there’s only a handful I haven’t actually met at some point. 23. Do you have any pets: Alas, no, the apartment complex doesn’t allow pets. I had a cat at my last place but she went to live with my parents and she’s more my Dad’s pet than mine now. 24. Do you want to change your name: In true Anne Shirley fashion? :-) I used to be less content with my name than I am now. Now, I’m like whatever. 25. What did you do for your last Birthday: Taught? Probably? Was it even a weekday? 26. What time did you wake up: Around 7 today, eager to see if the power had come back on (it had!) and also the internet (it hadn’t!) 27. What were you doing at midnight last night: Finally asleep by then, I think, after hours of waiting for power to come back on. 28. Name something you can’t wait for: Deadfire (Gotta agree with you on this one, @fangmich!) 29. When was the last time you saw your mom: On the way home from family trip to see Grandma on Monday 30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: Not being diabetic would be swell! 31. What are you listening to right now: Silence 32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: Had a great student by that name years ago. 33. Something that is getting on your nerves: It was the lack of internet but now we’re good. Students interrupting class will ALWAYS get on my nerves though… 34. Most visited website: Definitely tumblr these days.

RANDOM INFO:

35. Mole/s: Nope 36. Mark/s: A few stray freckles? 37. Childhood dream: Teacher. Or writer. Went with the first, now I don’t have time to professionally pursue the second! 38. Hair color: Brown and ridiculously curly. Yes, curly is a color. 39. Long or short hair: Long 41. What do you like about yourself: I might actually sound pretty arrogant if I seriously started listing things. I’m just a “look on the bright side” sort of person and I like a lot of things about myself as an active choice. *shrug* Most of the things I’d list have to do with creativity – writing, knitting, fluting. 42. Piercings: None 43. Blood type: You know I should actually know this by now, huh? I know my most recent A1C (6.4, not bad for diabetic) but have no idea my blood type. 44. Nickname: Besides forms of my actual name? Well, students call me Magistra… (Latin for teacher) 45. Relationship status: Confirmed Old Maid :-) 46. Zodiac: Virgo  47. Pronouns: she/her (but actually I’m pretty fond of ipsa, and eadem gives me headaches as it does all Latin students…sorry sorry, I know this question is about gender but I see “pronouns” and I think of grammar and those chapters that throw all of the pronouns at the kids at once so we call it the Death By Pronouns unit...Look y’all, I’m female but also a grammarian. That’s right, my gender is Grammarian.) 48. Favorite TV Show: Don’t have an actual TV so I watch things on the Internet. Does Critical Role count? If not, I’ve also watched Doctor Who recently. 49. Tattoos: None 50. Right or left hand: Right 51. Surgery: Had a pilonidal cyst removed in my teens. 52. Hair dyed in different color: Never. I do not mess with my hair. The curls would take revenge. 53. Sport: Marching Band totally counts and apart from that I am the least sporty of humans. 55. Vacation: Would love to spend it in Italy more often (yay Latin teaching perks) if I can get enough students to go. Otherwise – JCL convention! And other school-related trips… 56. Pair of trainers: Skechers? Does that count? 

MORE GENERAL:

57. Eating: Like right now? I…had a muffin and yogurt and strawberries for breakfast? Lunch is TBD. 58. Drinking: I am a water drinker (so I guess I don’t write poetry) but also, lots of tea! And recently I have started drinking coffee (gasp!) because Mom has been providing coffee & breakfast for our Sunday School class and I enjoyed the coffee that first Sunday so I guess she has corrupted me now. 59. I’m about to: Catch up on everything I missed (tumblr, the Deadfire Q&A, etc.) while the internet was out.  61. Waiting for: My Adagio tea order with the rest of my Pillars of Eternity tea samples and a reorder of Kana’s and Iselmyr’s delicious blends! 62. Want: A teaching salary that makes it more likely I could afford to actually retire someday?  63. Get married: Used to assume I would, but see above re: Confirmed Old Maid – I’m content with being single, these days. A potential spouse would have to be pretty awesome to outweigh how fond I’ve grown of my solitude. 64. Career: I’m content with classroom teaching, most of the time. Not really interested in administration. Doubtful I could make a living as a writer, especially with my insurance needs nowadays. In my first teaching job, I was certain I’d be there till I retired. Then they had budget cuts and I had to switch schools if I wanted (I did!) to keep teaching Latin. Second job was burnout waiting to happen – after five years I switched to my current school, and once again I could see myself retiring here. If, of course, my deadbeat pancreas and I can afford that.

WHICH IS BETTER:

65. Hugs or kisses: Hugs have a wider appeal, but see above re: dating/kissing status, so I’m not really one to speak to this 66. Lips or eyes: Eyes 67. Shorter or taller: Shorter, I guess, for I am short and am not really as amused by height differences as most of tumblr appears to be? 68. Older or younger: At my age I’m not sure it matters so much 70. Nice arms or nice stomach: WELL you know that post celebrating Aloth’s arms… 71. Sensitive or loud:  Sensitive. Loud would totally fail to outweigh my fondness of solitude. Introvert here needs her quiet time, please. 72. Hook up or relationship: Relationship 73. Troublemaker or hesitant: Hesitant, I guess?

HAVE YOU EVER:

74. Kissed a Stranger: No 75. Drank hard liquor: No 76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: In all my years of glasses…probably? Not that I recall? 77. Turned someone down: Yes 78. Sex on the first date: Wouldn’t if given the opportunity 79. Broken someone’s heart: Unlikely 80. Had your heart broken: My heart has generally avoided the risks that would lead to breaking, see above re: Old Maid 81. Been arrested: No 82. Cried when someone died: Of course 83. Fallen for a friend: …Temporarily? Never went anywhere

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

84. Yourself: To an extent – I mean, I know my limits. 85. Miracles: Absolutely 86. Love at first sight: Not my style but I’m sure it happens 87. Santa Claus: I like stories but I know they’re stories… 88. Kiss on the first date: Probably not

OTHER:

90. Current best friend name: Amanda! (Which is Latin for She Who Must Be Loved and it’s true) 91. Eye color: I’d like to say Grey but I think they’re more of greyish Blue. 92. Favorite movie: Star Wars. Or The Princess Bride. Or Lord of the Rings.

I’m going to just leave this with an open tag instead of naming anyone. If you want to answer these, go for it and tag me so I can get to know you better too!

[lins-fandom-hub]

weird asks thing

from this post

okay here we go

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?

Tea cups and coffee mugs! Not that I’m a firm collector. I just happen to have them is all.

2. chocolate bars or lollipops?

Chocolate bars.

3. bubblegum or cotton candy?

Cotton Candy!!

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?

Hyper, not very cooperative, loud

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?

Soda bottles, though I wouldn’t mind glass cups.

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?

Huh? I...tend to go casual, and the colour scheme doesn’t matter to me much. I’d say tomboy if I have to pick from this list though.

7. earbuds or headphones?

Headphones--if I could find a nice pair.

8. movies or tv shows?

Movies. I don’t know any TV shows.

9. favorite smell in the summer?

Freshly cut grass after mowing the lawn.

10. game you were best at in p.e.?

Don’t even talk to me about P.E. The only thing I remember from it was the stress that dodgeball brought around.

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day?

Eggs, bread, oatmeal. Nothing too fancy. Sometimes I actually make a breakfast sandwich with avocados and cheese, but if said items weren’t in the fridge...

12. name of your favorite playlist?

Windows Down 2k18. Has tracks from many different artists and eras that I actually like to listen to. No classical though, that’s another playlist.

13. lanyard or key ring?

Lanyard. Can’t get enough of them back in university.

14. favorite non-chocolate candy?

Fuzzy Peaches.

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?

The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis.

16. most comfortable position to sit in?

Mermaid pose? On the floor, at least.

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?

A pair of black Adidas shoes my mom recently bought this year for me and my sister. Turns out that my sister wears the white pair more while I wear the black. Not that I mind.

18. ideal weather?

Sunny with no chance of rain.

19. sleeping position?

Mostly on my right side all curled up.

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?

Depends on my mood. Sometimes my computer for fanfic novels. Sometimes my notebook if I have secrets to spill.

21. obsession from childhood?

Does Disney count?

22. role model?

Idina Menzel.

23. strange habits?

Talking to myself (a lot), singing at my desk (or humming), twirling my pencil too much. 

24. favorite crystal?

White Calcite.

25. first song you remember hearing?

Ummm...the wheels on the bus? I can’t remember.

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?

Walk around the park and catch Pokemon (in Pokemon GO).

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather?

Go ice skating!

28. five songs to describe you?

“Speechless” - Naomi Scott

“Blown Away” - Carrie Underwood

“I Dare You” - Bea Miller

“Bless Myself” - Lucy Hale

“Can’t Be Tamed” - Miley Cyrus

29. best way to bond with you?

Walk through the park with me. Or talk about stuff with me. Anything, really, so long as it doesn’t bore either of us.

30. places that you find sacred?

Any place that holds a tall temple.

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?

a pair of denim shorts and a black t-shirt. or if it’s in the winter, a pair of jeans and a comfy hoodie.

32. top five favorite vines?

I don’t watch vines. Welp.

33. most used phrase in your phone?

Welp.

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?

For a while it was this Liberty ad I remember watching while I was in the States, but that’s pretty much it...

35. average time you fall asleep?

On school nights, 12 am or so, maybe 2 am at latest. Right now, about 10 pm or so.

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing?

anything involving grumpy cat.

37. suitcase or duffel bag?

Suitcase! Makes things feel more official. 

38. lemonade or tea?

Lemonade.

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?

Lemon meringue pie!

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?

At least once a term it’s turned into the biggest Humans vs Zombies war zone ever.

41. last person you texted?

my mom

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets?

jacket pockets!

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?

Hoodies!

44. favorite scent for soap?

Anything floral works.

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?

Fantasy.

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?

my pyjamas!

47. favorite type of cheese?

Havarti. But that’s because I eat it so often.

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?

Probably a grape. Or a bunch of grapes.

49. what saying or quote do you live by?

“When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.” ~Thomas Jefferson

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have?

Any GIF from Hamilton the Musical.

51. current stresses?

Job searching and updating stories on Wattpad.

52. favorite font?

Comic Sans--NOPE. Tahoma or Verdana, I guess.

53. what is the current state of your hands?

Fairy smooth, I guess? Though the nails are misshapen due to my horrendous attempts at cutting them, and my pinkies are curved due to genetics passed down from generations past. Whee.

54. what did you learn from your first job?

I learned that not everyone will treat you with the same respect, and that you have to look past that flaw to give them a chance.

55. favorite fairy tale?

The Goose Girl.

56. favorite tradition?

Anything Chinese New Year related.

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?

Depression in the wake of my grandfather’s death; lack of confidence after my parents’ condemning; lack of concentration following a head injury

58. four talents you’re proud of having?

Playing the piano, playing the violin, singing on pitch, and opening bottles with lids screwed on too tightly.

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?

“Don’t even try to mess with me.”

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?

I don’t even know the first thing about Anime, so I don’t even know how to answer this.

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?

“That’s my girlfriend, you numpties!” ~Ron Weasley

62. seven characters you relate to?

Anna - Frozen

Rapunzel - Tangled

Katniss - The Hunger Games

Tris - Divergent

Rowan - HPHM

[insert 2 other characters here]

63. five songs that would play in your club?

“Turn Down for What” - DJ Snake ft Lil John

“High Hopes” - Panic! At the Disco

“Dance, Dance” - Fall Out Boy

“Victorious” - P!ATD

“Kill This Love” - BLACKPINK

64. favorite website from your childhood?

Webkinz.com or Poptropica.com

65. any permanent scars?

One on my right knee from an unfortunate slip on ice in the winter four years ago.

66. favorite flower(s)?

Daisies, lilies, or tulips.

67. good luck charms?

depends on whatever holds more sentimental value. For now, it’s a little Niffler that I crocheted off a YouTube tutorial (and its name is Nuggets.)

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?

I typically don’t like anything too spicy, but I really hate the taste of mushrooms. Not the Asian ones--Baby Bellas, specifically. Just...no.

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned?

Currently not applicable.

70. left or right handed?

Right handed.

71. least favorite pattern?

Huh?

72. worst subject?

Gym.

73. favorite weird flavor combo?

I’ll get back to you on that.

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen?

7 or 8.

75. when did you lose your first tooth?

I was...five or six? Still fairly young.

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)?

Anything that’s a mix of fries or tater tots! Those are just--mm.

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?

I’m not much of a plant-grower but any small plant works fine. 

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?

Sushi from a grocery store, please.

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo?

School ID photo.

80. earth tones or jewel tones?

Jewel tones.

81. fireflies or lightning bugs?

Fireflies. What are lightning bugs??

82. pc or console?

Console--and here I wish I still had one!

83. writing or drawing?

Writing. 

84. podcasts or talk radio?

Talk radio.

84. barbie or polly pocket?

Barbie--mostly because I didn’t know Polly Pocket existed until I was like 10 or 11.

85. fairy tales or mythology?

Fairy tales. 

86. cookies or cupcakes?

Cupcakes! Cookies! Can I say both???

87. your greatest fear?

People stabbing me to death with nothing but words of betrayal on their lips.

88. your greatest wish?

Hey, if I told you that, it wouldn’t come true.

89. who would you put before everyone else?

My little sister.

90. luckiest mistake?

Haven’t had any recently.

91. boxes or bags?

Boxes. 

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights?

Sunlight!

93. nicknames?

Never had any, though someone in an old English class I used to teach thought it’d be funny to call me Crayola. 

94. favorite season?

Spring!

95. favorite app on your phone?

Pokemon GO for now.

96. desktop background?

A picture I took last summer of a monarch butterfly landing on a pink flower.

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized?

None? Okay, like, 3, but mostly because they’re really important numbers.

98. favorite historical era?

Music speaking, the Classical era. Otherwise, I don’t know, I haven’t studied that extensively into history.

[nanalikessurveys]

Breakfast! 1.) Have you ever eaten a “balanced breakfast” like they show in cereal commercials (I.E., bowl of cereal, fruit, glass of orange juice)? I have but i don’t do that as often as i should

2.) When’s the last time you made someone breakfast? Couple weeks ago i guess

3.) What’s your favorite cereal? I don’t eat cereal

4.) What’s the highest calorie, most terrible for you breakfast you’ve ever had? I don’t remember. but it had been somewhere in a hotel, i love hotel breakfast buffets

5.) Would you rather get breakfast from McDonald’s or Burger King? Mcdonalds

6.) Waffles or pancakes? I love pancakes, waffles not that much

7.) Eggs or cereal? Eggs

8.) Milk or orange juice? I would prefer someting else but i guess i would pick orange juice over milk

9.) PopTart or Toaster Strudel? I have not tried either of these

10.) Do you even eat breakfast? Every morning 

11.) Do you take vitamins with your breakfast? I take those multivitamin gummy bears lol

Lunch! 1.) When do you usually eat lunch?

If i eat it, at about 12-1pm

2.) Did you get notes from your parents in your lunch when you were little? Haha no

3.) If you had one, what did your lunch box look like? Never had, we have free lunch in schools here

4.) What’d you have for lunch today? I didn’t have lunch, just a snack

5.) Do you like to go out for lunch? Where? Yes but i don’t do it that often, i like to go for sushi lol

6.) Do you have/want any cute sandwich cutters? (They decrust your sandwich into a shape) Nope

7.) Do you sit with/meet with anyone for lunch often? Not really

8.) Have you ever had a peanut butter and butter sandwich, or does it sound appealing at all? I don’t think i have

9.) Is your lunch usually a hot food or a cold food? I think cold

10.) Has the word “lunch” been repeated so many times it’s a meaningless word by now? Hahah no

Dinner/Supper! 1.) Do you follow the health rule of having a small dinner and big breakfast? No, all of my meals are pretty big lol

2.) Do you ever say a prayer before eating dinner? No

3.) What’s your favorite take out dinner, if you have one? Idk, pizza?

4.) Have you ever been taken out to a nice restaurant for a dinner date? Yes

5.) Did you grow up eating dinner with your family? How do you think that affected you? Yes when i was a kid and my dad still lived with us we used to eat together, but when my parents separated and he moved away we just kind of got more chill and started to eat whenever and wherever we wanted. I don’t think that affected me tho in anyway?

6.) Do you have “nice” dinner plates for special occasions? Not really

7.) Do you ever eat frozen dinners? Rarely

8.) What dinner foods can you cook? I can actually cook alot of foods if you just give me a recipe

9.) White or red meat (or their vegetarian substitute counterparts)? White

10.) Soup or salad? Salad

Dessert! 1.) Do you ever get dessert at a restaurant when they ask? Yes if my mom allows me LOL

2.) Is there a dessert food most people like that you hate? I don’t like cream cakes

3.) Cupcakes or real cake? Cupcakes

4.) Ice cream or pie? Ice cream

5.) What kind of birthday cake (or other sweet birthday type thing) do you usually get? No-bake cakes are the best and i always ask for those

6.) What was your favorite childhood birthday cake?

Ice cream cake

7.) Do you have a favorite foreign (to a Westerner, anyway :P) desserts? (Baklava, biscotti, churros…) Yes i love churros and creme brulees

8.) Do you bake sweets? Which are you best at? Sometimes. i make pies and cupcakes

9.) Have you ever had a good “diet” dessert, like something endorsed by Weight Watchers? What was it? No

10.) What’s your dream dessert? Some fancy ice cream bowl like a banana split lol

11.) Do you watch shows like Cake Boss or Cupcake Wars? No

Snacks! 1.) What’s the best candy in the world? i like liquorice and haribo candies

2.) Do you eat more snacks or full meals? Meals i think

3.) Is there anything you find yourself eating when you’re bored? Anything i can find lol

4.) Do drinks with calories count as a snack? Sure

5.) What’s your favorite food that’s usually served at parties? I don’t go to parties so i don’t know whats served in there lol

6.) Do you eat in class? If so, what is it, usually? Never

7.) Honestly, are your snacks healthy or bad for you? Unhealthy usually

8.) Potato chips or trail mix? Potato chips

9.) What do you usually get at the movie theater? EVERYTHING literally, we bring the whole grocery store with us lol

10.) Did you get fruit snacks with your favorite character on them when you were little? No

11.) Do you remember any sayings from conversation hearts? Which is your favorite? I don’t know what those are

Food in general! 1.) Do you buy generic brand food? Sometimes

2.) Is there a common food you find repulsive? Pickles

3.) What’s your favorite “ethnic” cuisine? I’d say chinese

4.) If you were stranded in a zombie apocalypse with only a full, run-of-the-mill and full-of-junk vending machine for food, which items would you eat first? Chocolate maybe

5.) Are you a candy fanatic? No i wouldn’t call myself that

6.) Do you like any weird food combinations? No i don’t think so

7.) Are there any foods you shouldn’t eat because of your religion? No

8.) Would you eat a bug if it was covered in your favorite food? Haha no

9.) Do you think being a vegan would be/is really hard? I don’t think it would

10.) Do you eat in the car? I rarely travel by car but yeah

11.) Do you pay attention to serving sizes? Sometmies

12.) Fruit or vegetables? Fruits

13.) Mustard or ketchup? Ketchup

14.) Does mayonnaise disgust you? Nooooo i love mayo

15.) What’s your favorite holiday, in terms of the food you get to eat during it? Christmas obviously

16.) Are you hungry? (: What do you plan on eating next?

I am not, i just ate mushroom soup lol

[tales0fthenugget]

Asian Food (part 2)

(Updated in Jun'18)

So here's the second part of the never-ending eating adventure. Lol. I'm having some regrets doing this because I would suddenly crave for these yummy food while writing. Sigh. But anyway -

CHINA (2) (3)

My first legitimate backpacking was China. I know it's a little weird because I could have chosen one from Southeast Asia instead. My trip was well prepared and planned except for food. I thought it should be easy because I frequently eat Chinese food in the Philippines. Ah, of course I was mistaken. Language barrier was difficult, especially in Beijing. The food menu would not have English translation. Such horror, I had to resort to charades and guessing game. Not everything I ate made me happy because I have not guessed it right, but at least it was super cheap.

I had a little difficulty coming up with the list for China considering I've been to Beijing, Xian, Shanghai and lately in Guangzhou for business trip. I thought about it to understand why. I think it's also because I've already had very good Chinese food from my home country and the other Asia ones. I have a lot of Filipino-Chinese friends and we often go eat at Chinese restaurants. So I tried hard to think for anything uniquely yummy there so here it goes anyway:

1. Peking duck! One of the perks of business trips - you get to eat at not so cheap restaurants and our associate director paid for it (technically it's the company). I didn't try this during my backpacking trip. I am not a fan of peking duck as before I tasted this authentic one, the ones I tried are fatty, served warm only, and worse with cucumber (here in the Philippines), lol!! I hate cucumber. Too bad I was too shy to take a photo, not just of the food but also while it was cooked in the oven. Uhm, not a sight for vegans though. Anyway, there were small containers with fire underneath when it was served in our table. Even the wrap had that container so everything was hot. But also very delicious. The duck that was served to us was not fatty. Also, I learned that the crispy skin is dipped in sugar and not just the hoisen sauce. Lastly, the other ingredients were served separately so I didn't have to worry about the cucumber. Hahaha. I'm going back in January. Let's see if we can eat there again and if I can already take photos.

2. When I finally had more time to explore. I bought jianbing for breakfast. I am not very sure if I got the name correctly. Back in the time I was enjoying this yummy crepe-like sandwich thing, I had no idea what it’s called. All I know is that there's a long line in this stall. For only 5 RMB, I am already full and happy with my breakfast. I could have chosen other meat that’s cheaper, actually, but I’m fine with this. It’s one of the food that I’m definitely looking for again when I return to Beijing in the future.

Here's my jianbing from 2011.

And then I did return to Beijing in 2018, and bought a bigger jianbing for RMB 11.

3. I had to try and find if I have a photo of the Schezuan spicy pork we had somewhere in Xian as we took a break from exploring the Terracotta warriors. I recall this dish swims in so much oil but I remember I like how spicy it is that it's perfect to eat with rice. See the reason I had to recall is because that was from seven years ago. Hahaha. But I would definitely like to try these Schezuan dishes again.

3. I have to replace this with the drink below from Hui Lau Shan. So I don't really know what is its official name but we're calling it mango pomelo sago with coconut milk. After discovering this I almost had this drink daily. Lol!! So this is obe of the things I am looking forward to when I go back tk Guangzhou this year :)

4. There were meals when I had to eat alone. This translates to eating somewhere already familiar as much as possible. So I went inside a restaurant, not really looking at its name. My basis was looking at their menu from the outside. I saw a yummy-looking noodle soup so I was attracted. But then the other page had a variety of xiao long bao! I walked in Crystal Jade! So this is familar. I liked the pork and cheese xiao long bao. For some, it might taste a bit weird because there's a hint of sweetness from the cheese but the natural sauce and meat were awesome! I ended up eating here again after the first night.

5. I’m also adding this breaded prawn wrapped in red rice noodle. Okay so like the mango pomelo sago, I don’t know the actual name of this yummy food. Maybe I will learn about it next visit.

6. I am so sorry (or not really) for extending the list but Grandma’s Kitchen’s chicken (I think boiled in some tea) is awesome. This restaurant actually has become a favorite for me ever since I tried last November 2017. Not only is the food yummy, they have English menu and affordable prices too. I liked this too much that I tried this in both Beijing and Guangzhou last January.

CAMBODIA (1)

It's a little unfortunate that this is one of the trips where I was not too conscious yet of ensuring only yummy food goes into my tummy. Also, we tend to sacrifice yummy food if we have a jam-packed while-day itinerary. This is because we could have been stuck somewhere within the tourist (or sometimes unknown) area where we only aim to eat at least decent food. So with Angkor Wat so big, we spent the whole day - from sunrise to sunset, roaming around. Thus, few opportunities to try a lot.

1. I dunno if we were just hungry but this steak from some grill restaurant along Wat Bo road filled our stomachs. I added the photo of the other food we ordered which are just as yummy.

2. Blue Pumpkin has a full menu but I was only able to try its bakery where I immediately had a favorite in the form of chocolate chip cookies. Too bad because I only learned about it on our last day and so sadly, I didn't get a chance to eat a meal.

HONGKONG (3)

Similar to Thailand, my challenge in HK is to come up with a short list only. HK has a little "disadvantage" though because even the non-HK foodies in HK are so good too. I don't know why! You'll see what I mean from my list. Hahaha. It was only in my second visit that I had full appreciation of the food because we had intense itinerary the first time. I didn't really want my stomach full riding the roller coasters, right? Hear, hear!

1. Ichiran ramen is the bomb! I know, I know. I would transfer this to Japan when I get the chance to finally be there. Coincidentally, I also tried my first legit ramen during my first i.e. Ramen Nagi. Then there was influx of ramen in Manila. But I like Ichiran's the most. Simple and straight-forward it won't confuse your taste buds, lol!! - > yep, to be finally transferred to Japan list :D

2. Australian Dairy Company's egg pudding. We made sure we line up early because loooooong line! It doesn't look special but it's simplicity will take you away.

3. Pineapple bun from Dimdimsum - everything yum here also (and relatively cheap if I may add). But I am calling it out because I hate pineapple buns but I love this pineapple bun! I didn't know it's possible but Dimdimsum made it happen.

4. Delicious Kitchen's pork chop rice. I admit it was a bit oily but it's yummy and in relatively generous serving.

Sometimes I'm okay to go back to Hongkong even if I don't have much to do but just eat. I still have a long list of to-try food! Oh gosh, I wanna come back now!

SOUTH KOREA (1)

Going back to my post about my Seoul trip, I shared how we didn't eat a lot. Like Chinese food, we have a lot of legitimate Korean food in Manila that it's not too far away from food in Seoul. Also, there are numerous Korean stores here that my favorite Korean snacks are so accessible. So I pretty much have a short list:

1. Banana milk is a weird choice but I had a better appreciation after last month's Guangzhou trip. Banana milk there was USD 2+ and I just thought that's expensive. Imagine my happiness when S&R (our local Costco equivalent) started selling banana milk. I would buy a box with a dozen tetra paks that would translate to roughly USD 0.60/piece. I've been addicted ever since.

2. Authentic and cheap bibimbap here. My friends said this is relatively cheap because ee bought this in the university area.

3. Home-made "Choco Pie" from a random stall just along Myeongdong streets. I never really liked the commercial ones. But the home-made version of chocolate-coated marshmallow sandwiched by two cookies is just the bomb! My friends who again do bot like food in general, didn't really understand my fascination why I buy this daily. One even said, I should just buy a several for our whole stay there. But why would I - twice I bought it while it's still warm, and it's winter at that time!! Nothing beats fresh, my dears.

So I actually have more but still on the snacks and noodles. I'll definitely update the list when I get a chance to go back. No plans yet but I might as promo fares permit.

[ggeorgetteh]

THE WEEK I WAS MIA WALLACE

By Grace Halliday.

SCENE 1- MONDAY

INT. Mia’s house in the afternoon, Albury, New South Wales, Australia

MATILDA (MIA’S MUM):

Rory! Rory! I know you can hear me, come here this instant!

  RORY runs down the stairs

  RORY:

  What is it?

  Matilda holds her son by the cheeks.

   MATILDA:

  Please my darling angel; tell me that Goode was lying!

  RORY:

  Mum, what is it?

  MATILDA:

 (Looking deep into Rory’s eyes)

  … have you been taking drugs.

  RORY:

  Mum! No… of course not.

  Rory and Matilda continue to fight in the background. Meanwhile, Lucy sits at the kitchen counter eating an ice-cream sandwich. She is reading a trashy gossip magazine of her mum’s, her ice-cream dripping all over her fingers and the magazine pages. She tries to wipe it off, making it worse. Her mother enters preparing tea.

                                                                                         LUCY:

 (Whispering)

 I thought everyone at school loved him? A few girls definitely do. I heard him on the phone last night, signing off with goodnight kisses to them all.

  MATILDA:

 What are you doing? Don’t you have something better to do? … Your brother is going through a very difficult stage at the moment.

  Her mother in cheap lingerie lights a cigarette and turns on Hank Williams top 40.

  MATILDA:

 Well? Where are all your friends?

  Lucy shrugs.

  EXT. On the street. Lucy walks along the pathway when she is pulled back by Rory. Their mother opens the lacy curtains and watches from the kitchen window.

  RORY:

 Lucy!

  LUCY:

  Hmm?

 RORY:

 I need you to do something for me

  LUCY:

 No, I mean… what are you doing, dealing drugs. I don’t know if you’ve been taking them, honestly I wouldn’t be surprised. You know Mum doesn’t endorse drugs. She just gets stressed sometimes... I know what it does to you, I LOVE YOU!  I know that it -

  RORY:

 Wait!

(Whispers) How do you know?

  LUCY:

 It… it doesn’t matter. I’m sorry but I have to tell mum

  RORY:

And give her another problem child.

  LUCY:

 At this rate, you just as much a problem child as I am, maybe even a little more.

  RORY:

 Well, it’s too late now anyway. That was Woods on the phone. Someone dobbed me in. Snakes.

  LUCY:

Do you know who it was?

  RORY:

  It was Johnny

  LUCY:

 Why would he do that?

  RORY:

  Something… something came up

  LUCY:

 I’m worried about mum… this is probably reminding her of Uncle Dan. You messed up again

  RORY:

 (Rolling his eyes)

 Hey! You’re not as innocent as you seem either! What about mum paying for all those sneaky piano ‘lessons’.

  LUCY:

What are we going to do?

  RORY:

We? Its mum’s problem not ours. You don’t know anything about it anyway

  LUCY:

 What about expulsion? Juvy? Paul said he’s been there. He said there was shit on the walls.

 RORY:

  God, no wonder why no ever calls you Mia Wallace, your nothing like her at all! Maybe you should try some. Don’t have any magic mushrooms on me though

  LUCY:

 It’s cocaine

  Rory sneers at her.

  LUCY:

 Your still holding onto my arm.

  RORY:

  I know.

  LUCY:

 Why?

  RORY:

  I need you to do something for us.

   SCENE 2:

 EXT. Mia and Rory walking to Johnny’s house, Rory pulls his sister along by the arm. They suddenly stop as they notice their mother on Johnny’s porch interrogating Johnny and his mother.

 MATILDA:

Now, I know you don’t think much of me Iracabeth, but I will severe our friendship even further in order to protect my son!

 IRACABETH:

My son had nothing to do with this! Even if he did, it was your son that corrupted him in the first place! He was never the same since that first day of kindy. Devil eyes! And what about that strange daughter of yours! Now she looks like a real stoner… wearing that stupid wig and petting MY cat.

 The mothers notice Mia and Rory.  Johnny smirks at Rory. Rory looks down guiltily.

 MATILDA:

(Running down the veranda steps)

Rory! Did Johnny convince you to take drugs? Tell me the truth sweetie pie.

 IRACABETH:

(Waving a photograph in the air)

I have evidence!

 RORY:

I don’t know who put the drugs there. It was proabably just someone pulling a prank. It was probably Johnny just scaring me, because, well…. Because of our fight.

 MATILDA:

Fight?

 RORY:

Johnny has been making up rumours about me because I’m not letting him date Lucy.

  Johnny tries to hide his chuckle.

  Mum looks at Mia, Johnny, then back to Mia, and then Iracabeth.

  MUM:

 Well! My darlings why didn’t you say so! Young love can be so challenging in our age. Why Iracabeth, you remember when Leonard was dating me and Kylie at once, myself completely oblivious!

  The mother’s chatter fades into the background. Rory steps onto the veranda and whispers something to Johnny. They both smirk and look down on Lucy.

  LUCY:

 I need to think for a moment.

  JOHNNY:

  I’m rescheduling piano practice for four o clock tomorrow.

  LUCY:

  Oh, umm, I think I’m busy tomorrow afternoon…

  JOHHNY + RORY:

 (lLaughing)

 Doing what?

  LUCY:

Me and Paul were going to go for a walk in-

  JOHNNY:

  You are coming to your piano lesson with ME honeycake.

  Johnny + Rory snigger.

  JONNHY (talking to Rory):

 Now let’s go smoke weed.

   SCENE 3- TUESDAY

EXT. THE NEXT DAY. 4:00pm. Mia sits in her tree anxiously, holding on awkwardly. She has her earphones in listening to Fernando by Abba. Keeps on looking up and down the road for Paul. Her wig itches. Walks up to the diner, then the drive in, and walks back, anxious. Climbs back into her tree.

 JOHNNY:

 Pumpkin? Come down its time to play pianoooo.

 Lucy looks down. Then fingers the carving of ‘fox force five’ to distract herself.

 JOHNNY:

Please. Please come down. I want to tell you about this new vinyl I found. Francois Hardy, 1963.

 Lucy makes her way down, when she trips and Johnny catches her. Piggy back rides her back to the house.

 Fast forward to them at the piano. Lucy sits in Johnny’s lap, playing the piano as Johnny kisses her. Lucy kisses him back.

 LUCY:

Wait was it this note? What finger goes on F sharp?

 JOHNNY:

hmmm?

He continues to kiss her.

 LUCY:

Johnny?

 Lucy tries to get out of his hold, accidently hitting the low keys with her arm making a terrible sound.

 Lucy turns to face him, still on his lap.

 LUCY:

I’ve had enough! You promised me piano lessons and all I’ve learnt is ‘Strictly Strauss’.

 JOHHNY:

Darling you don’t have… the proper fingers for piano.

 He strokes her cheek with his fingertips and pulls her chin towards him. Mia pushes his shoulders back. Johnny laughs.

 JOHHNY:

Well, luckily for you, that was our last lesson.

 LUCY:

Why?

 JOHNNY:

I have better things to do of a Thursday afternoon.

 Johnny walks around the living room picking things up and putting them back down, looking at her mother’s collection of Knick knacks.

 LUCY:

Like take drugs.

 JOHNNY:

He sells them.

 LUCY:

Pardon?

 Johnny collapses on couch and rests his chin on the ledge, looking at her.

 JOHNNY:

Rory, he’s selling. I’m his new business partner. You wouldn’t believe how many junkies there are at school. Paul is a regular customer of ours.

 LUCY:

No he’s not.

 Johnny smirks and lies back down.

 Lucy walks to the foot of the couch.

 LUCY:

Does Rory actually take them?

 JOHNNY:

Yep.

 LUCY:

And you do to.

 JOHNNY:

Yep.

 LUCY:

Please, make him stop.

 MIA:

Please. Or I’ll tell mum the truth, and you’ll have to go and live with your dad again.

 JOHNNY:

Listen.

 Johnny looks around to see if anyone is in the room.

 JOHNNY:

Go and close the door.

 Lucy closes the door and kneels next to couch.

 JOHNNY:

Next week, we are getting our biggest sale yet. Everyone in the school knows about us and everyone wants some. Till Friday next week you leave me and Rory to it. During that time we continue the fighting over you charade, and Friday night, I’ve broken up with you and Rory and I finish of the stuff we’ve got and we’re done.

 LUCY:

Why do you have to pretend that you are fighting over me though?

JOHNNY:

One, it eliminates suspicion that the two of us have hatched some plan, i.e. possession of drugs. The parents know that nothing happens without the other involved. And two it explains our stoned behaviour.

 LUCY:

Oh.

 Lucy looks embarrassed.

  JOHNNY:

I’m going to miss your kisses Mia. Thursday afternoons will never be the same.

 Shouting can be heard in the background: “JOHNNY!”

 RORY:

JOHNNY!

 JOHNNY:

Yeah! I’m in here!

 There is movement down the stairs.

 RORY:

Let’s go practice.

 Johnny gets up and walks over to the door.

 RORY:

(whispering)

What did you tell her?

 JOHNNY:

Just explaining what’s happening.

 RORY:

She’ll tell mum.

                                                                            JOHNNY:

Well you’re the favourite child, aren’t you?

 LUCY:

Keep your promise.

 RORY:

What promise?

 JOHNNY:

(Muttering to Rory)

I’ll tell you later.

 Rory and Johnny go upstairs for a band practice. Lucy spreads out on the floor, releasing deep breaths. Spots a cigarette packet that must have fallen out of Johnny’s pocket when he jumped onto the couch. She puts them in her pocket and leaves through the door.

  SCENE 4- WEDNESDAY

EXT. PARK TRAIL, Lucy and Paul.

 PAUL:

Mia? Why do you call yourself that? Like, what about your real name.

 Paul walks across the rocks on the stream, Lucy following behind.

 LUCY:

Well, I guess it’s much more fun being Mia Wallace than Kate. Kate sounds so ordinary you know? I wish I had her confidence. And her hair. Sometimes I think it upsets mum though, that I don’t use my real name.

 Lucy and Paul sit on Pauls jacket on some wet rocks above a stream. Australian rainforest sounds.

 LUCY:

Look what I found in my living room this morning.

 Lucy takes out the packet of cigarettes.

 PAUL:

Awesome.

 LUCY:

Do you smoke?

 PAUL:

Once or twice.

Lucy:

Should I try?

 PAUL:

If you want.

 Lucy watches as he picks a cigarette.

 LUCY:

What If I die though?

 PAUL:

Aww damn! No lighter.

 Lucy giggles.

 LUCY:

Maybe it was a sign from God.

 Their legs dangle over the edge of the rocks.

 LUCY:

I think they are Johnny’s.

 There is silence as Paul’s eyes widen. Paul flicks her leg.

 PAUL:

Hairy.

LUCY:

Hey, I’m going to shave tonight.

 PAUL:

Most girls wax.

 LUCY:

( in a jokingly condescending tone)

What do you know about girls.

 Silence.

 LUCY:

Close your eyes and you can hear the water fairies of the stream harvesting water droplets.

 Paul throws his head back and laughs.

 Paul turns to Mia.

 PAUL:

You’re pretty cute.

 LUCY:

Do you have a lighter at home?

 PAUL:

Why do you ask?

 LUCY:

Maybe I can come over to your house and you can watch as I taint my lungs with my first cigarette.

 Paul laughs, however goes silent when he realises she is serious.

 PAUL:

I dunno… actually I gotta go… do homework

 Paul gets up and pulls the jacket from under them, making Lucy stand up. Paul moves quickly back to his bike, Lucy trying to keep up behind him.

 Paul rides on his bike home. She walks the rest of the trail back by herself, smiling to herself in a melancholy sort of way and stumbling along, picking daisies as she goes. Paul and his gang of boys on bikes zoom past. She goes to the diner and sits staring at nothing for hours with a five dollar shake. She gets a notification on her phone, a text from Paul that reads: “hey, if you run into Johnny, don’t mention us going to the stream, okay? I’m not busy, do you want to go to moonlight?”. She sits and Paul picks her up on his bike and they ride to the drive in movie. They watch the movie and giggle awkwardly. Bloody and gory film plays.

   SCENE 5- THURSDAY

INT. Lucy’s bedroom with the morning light shining in. You can hear drumming and guitars and shouting. Lucy gets out of bed and opens her brother’s door. Inside her brother and Johnny are playing with their band, performing Richard Hell, Love Comes in Spurts. They are red eyed and sweaty, dancing in a deranged fashion. Johnny winks at Lucy in her pyjamas. She slams the door quickly and runs downstairs. She sits by her tree. Paul and his friends ride their bikes past her. Paul pretends not to see her. She walks around the town, sits in the diner for a while, runs across the field that is the moonlight drive in, and pretends to be goldilocks in the woods. She walks around the shopping mall and notices Paul and his friends lazing around in the food court.

 (Approaching cautiously) LUCY:

Hey Paul.

 PAUL:

(Looking up shocked)

“Oh… hey Lucy.”

 His friends look up and smirk.

 LUCY:

I…I am-

 FRIEND #1:

Yeah, we know all about you.

(He laughs under his breath)

 All eyes are on Mia. It is silent.

 PAUL:

C’mon, let’s go do something.

 FRIEND #2 whistles the other friends yell profanities as they walk away.

 PAUL:

They were just messing around.

 LUCY:

Oh.

 A silent tear runs down Lucy’s eye.

 They walk silently around the shop. They find themselves in a chemist.

 PAUL:

Hey Lucy… look at this.

 LUCY:

I don’t know… the colour is perfect… and the outfit will be complete once I finish sewing the pants, but, mum will get angry.

 PAUL:

(In mocking tone)

“I am an anarchist and I hate the establishment but I don’t want to upset my mummy by dying my hair a perfectly normal colour!”

 LUCY:

Alright, let’s get it.

 PAUL:

Hey, I’m kidding, I don’t want to pressure you into it (he winks suggestively).

 LUCY:

No, I want to. But only if we go to the diner tonight.

 PAUL:

Like a date?

 LUCY:

…um… no… I guess it doesn’t have to be.

 PAUL:

Cool. I’ll stop by your house with the bike at 8:00?

 LUCY:

Yep. I’m just going to go pay.

 PAUL:

Its only $12. Just slip it in your bag.

 LUCY:

No, I can’t do that!

 PAUL:

Fine, I’ll do it then.

 LUCY:

Fine, you’ll be sent to the police.

 The scene fast-forwards to them walking towards her home.

 LUCY:

I always think I’m cool and gangster wife like Mia Wallace, but really I’m pathetic at it. I could never steal something and make it look cool.

 PAUL:

It’s a gift from me then. Use that crazy imagination of yours to pretend I paid for it and wrapped it up.

 LUCY:

Cool.

 They continue the walk in silence, awkwardly bumping in to each other.

 LUCY:

You’re my best friend Paul.

 Paul laughs to himself and blushes.

 PAUL:

Cool.

  SCENE 6- FRIDAY

EXT. afternoon. Johnny, Rory and Lucy sit outside under the tree, their mothers chatting on the patio. Lucy’s head is on Johnny’s lap, and Johnny leans against the tree playing with Lucy’s new black hair. Rory lies on his side next to them, blowing daises.

 JOHNNY:

I hate it.

 MIA:

It was for Mia Wallace. It makes me feel good

 JOHNNY:

It’s horrible.

 Johnny tries to make some go in her mouth.

 LUCY:

How much longer do I have to lie here?

 RORY:

Until we say so.

 JOHNNY:

You know, I’m really enjoying this relationship. I get to come over to Rory’s twice as often now without being accused of ‘being up to no good’.

 Johnny laughs to himself.

 Johnny looks towards the mothers.

 JOHNNY:

Look at them, so naïve and peaceful.

 RORY looks up scheming at Johnny.

 RORY:

I don’t know, I think they need some more convincing.

 Rory looks at Lucy.

 JOHNNY:

(Sarcastically)

Why… What were you thinking Rory?

 RORY:

Kiss him. C’mon do it, on the mouth. 10 seconds. In front of Mum.

 LUCY:

No.

 JOHNNY:

Awww don’t be a party-pooper. Nothing to be scared of. I’m sure you’ve had a lot of practice on your little boy toy Paul. Anyway, you used to love my kisses. You should have seen her Rory, the minute I’d sit down to teach her a piece she would jump onto my lap like a little slu---

 LUCY:

(Raising her voice)

Don’t you dare say a bad thing about Paul. He’s my best friend! I’ve had enough of this stupid game. I’m telling mum the truth.

 Later on

 There is knocking at the door.

 JOHNNY:

Knock, knock, knock?

 Lucy lies on her bed crying silently.

 JOHNNY:

Mia? Mi Mi?

 Johnny sits on the edge of the bed and puts his hand on her back.

 JOHNNY:

I’m sorry Mi Mi. I was just trying to make you laugh. You need more laughs honey. Paul doesn’t give you the attention you deserve. Does he make you laugh like I do?

 Johnny lies down next to Lucy, spooning, holding her tight, with his large body encasing her tiny one. Sniffling and whimpers can be heard. Lucy turns her face toward him.

 LUCY:

Johnny?

 JOHNNY:

Oh Lucy. I’m so fucking depressed. All I have is me pills. You’re not going to tell your mum about it are you? I don’t want to ruin our friendship or me and Rory’s friendship. If you told now my mum would be heartbroken. I’ll be taken in. Rory too. Then I won’t even have my pills to comfort me.

 Lucy runs her fingers through his hair.

 LUCY:

You’ve gotten yourself into a lot of trouble.

 Johnny moves his head and kisses her palm against his mouth.

 JOHNNY:

I know. I’ll get rid of it. I’ll never use again. We keep it a secret and I’ll get rid of it. I promise pumpkin.

 Lucy nods and turns around again, and they fall asleep.

   SCENE 7:

INT. Paul runs up the stairs two at a time, and carefully opens Lucy’s door so he doesn’t wake her. He creeps in, ready to surprise her, when he sees Johnny and Lucy lying together, Lucy’s head furrowed in Johnny’s chest.

    SCENE 8: SATURDAY

EXT. Lucy is walking home in the afternoon/ evening when she receives a call.

 LUCY:

Mum?

 MATILDA:

Hello Darling. Just letting you know that Iracabeth and I are having a ladies night out, so I thought it would be lovely of me to invite Johnny to stay the night with you and keep you company, now that you two are so close.

 LUCY:

Why can’t Rory look after me?

 MATILDA:

He has to urgently visit a friend tonight. Now please don’t make trouble! You should be thankful that I am such a modern woman, letting your boyfriend sleep over! Goodbye dearie, and please, do not call me. I don’t want my night interrupted.

 LUCY:

What if the house goes on fire?

 MATILDA:

Then we shall all ‘Unburdened, crawl toward death’.

 Lucy walks forlorn along the street, when she walks past her tree. Stapled to it is a poster of Paul, declared MISSING.

 Later

Upstairs in Lucy’s room, 8:30. Johnny lies in the bed playing with her toy bear and plane, making the bear terrorise the plane.

 LUCY:

He’s not answering.

 Johnny sighs dramatically and turns on his side, facing Mia in the bathroom.

 JOHNNY:

Why do you still give a shit. Now come to bed (patting the bed seductively).

 LUCY:

Stop it! Get out if you’re going to act like that!”

 Johnny collapses back on the bed.

 JOHNNY:

C’mon baby. I’ll tell you what makes a lethal mob wife crack addict? Not caring about anything. You should try not caring. Its makes life so much easier.

 LUCY:

Stop it! He is missing!

 Lucy begins to cry hysterically. Johnny looks up at her.

 LUCY:

We have to go and find him! I can’t leave him out there! I can’t

 JOHNNY:

I thought you had finished with him!

 LUCY:

He’s my best friend

 JOHNNY:

Why would I want to help him? He was the one who snitched.

 LUCY:

Please. You know it’s the right thing to do. Rory is going to get rid of the stuff tonight, isn’t he? He told mum that he was going to a friend’s house. That is what he’s doing right?

 JOHNNY:

…. Yeah, yeah… I um, bumped into him on the way up.

 LUCY:

I’ll be your girlfriend forever.

 JOHNNY:

I don’t want you to my girlfriend forever.

 LUCY:

Why?

 JOHNNY:

Frigid, virgin face.

 Mia holds onto him, hugging him. Johnny is squashed in an uncomfortable position.

 LUCY:

Please help me, I need your help. You don’t have to be depressed anymore, I know you’re a good guy.

 Johnny and Mia stare look at one another deeply. Johnny tries to pull back.

 JOHNNY:

Ok... You said Rory is at someone’s house? Whose house? (siting up very alert)

 LUCY:

Uh I don’t know mum didn’t tell me.

 JOHNNY:

Is it Matthews house?

 LUCY:

I don’t know, I don’t know anyone called Matthew.

 JOHNNY:

Ok, bub I’ll be gone for 5 minutes, I need to check it out.

 LUCY:

Check what out?

 JOHNNY:

Devils food.

Later- 12:30/. INT. Lucy lies in the bath, cold and singing to herself, writing in the condensation on the wall.

   SCENE 9 SUNDAY

INT. Lucy wakes up to le temp la mour by Francois Hardy. The following is a montage. She is in the bathroom putting on eyeliner, red lipstick, wig, shirt and pants, dads army hat and packing her backpack with water, tim tams, torch, phone, lighter and book.

She goes on the train, stopping off at random places, hiking, walking through shopping centres. The wig is sticky with sweat. She has trouble with her train ticket so she decides to detour on a hike in the local parks.

It is 8:00 at night by the time she returns to her town. She stops to rest at the tree, and notices that the missing poster has been torn and is flying in the wind, holding on by a thread.

Johnny’s car stops in front of the tree.

 LUCY:

(Tearing up)

You said you would help me.

 JOHNNY:

Sorry, something came up.

(his eyes and red and tired)

He’s still missing huh?

 JOHHNY:

Are you hungry?

 Lucy doesn’t answer. She cried silently to herself.

JOHNNY:

Come on, get in.

 Lucy doesn’t.

JOHNNY:

Lucy, come on!

Lucy doesn’t listen. Johnny gets out of the car and guides Lucy to the car. He takes her to the moonlight cinema where they watch a cheap horror film.

Johnny rests his head on her shoulder.

 LUCY:

What are drugs like?

 JOHNNY:

I don’t know… there nice I guess.

 LUCY:

I want some. She has so much fun. You’re cooler with drugs.

 Johnny looks at her. Lucy stares at the screen.

 JOHNNY:

You’re really hot… have you had any water today?

 Johnny passes her a plastic bottle of water.

   SCENE 10

 JOHNNY:

We’ve been walking for hours.

 LUCY:

It’s okay, just think, we’ll find Paul soon.

 JOHNNY:

Yay.

 The trees branches magically move away revealing a silver lake.

 LUCY:

Paul? Paul! There he is! Paul! Paul it’s me! Paul! Paul!

 Paul has a ghostly look about him, he is very pale.

 PAUL:

Lucy? No… no its not Lucy.

 Lucy:

I’m right here!

 Johnny stands behind her his hand on her shoulder, looking at Paul.

 There is a whispering noise in the background:

WHISP CREATURE:

(Whispering)

Paul, Paul, its night-time Paul. Time to say goodbye and go to sleep. Into the woods, that’s it.

  A wood creature in the form of a white ghostly girl appears out of the wood, transparent, her dress and crown made of spiderwebs, dew drops and abandoned plastic bags and coke cans.

 LUCY:

Wait, what’s happening?

 WHISP CREATURE:

Leave!

 JOHNNY:

C’mon, C’mon Lucy! Let’s go!

 Lucy stays in the same spot. Paul is just beyond her reach. The whisp creature slowly transforms into a gooey mass, her limbs moulded from soft drink cans and her skin turns a icky swamp green.

 The following occurs in slow-motion, videogame style:

The whisp draws a sword.

Lucy draws a gun.

The whisp is dead.

 Paul moves a little from behind the trees, cautiously.

 LUCY:

I’m dead without you.

SCENE 11

Lucy wakes up in Johnny’s car. She hits her head on the dashboard. Johnny is outside, peeing behind a bush. She sees him and runs out of the car down to home. On the way she passes the diner. Paul is inside, but she doesn’t see him. He looks out, illuminated by the pink diner, his face pressed against the glass. Lucy runs down past her tree; however she sees Paul standing right there with his bike. He is sweating and has a large old Tshirt on, with on it and holes in the knees of his jeans. Mia runs into his arms crying harder. He holds on to her tight.

   SCENE 12

INT. Lucy and Paul sit on Lucy’s window seat, windows open and looking out into the summer night sky.

Lucy’s turn table plays.

Paul wears an old ACDC shirt and Lucy wears a suxie suouix shirt. They smoke cigarettes, and look dreamily out into the sky, awkwardly looking at one another when the other doesn’t see.

Lucy holds Pauls arm out and unfurls his hand; he takes his cigarette out with the other.

 PAUL:

MMmm?

 Lucy says the following, he fingers walking up and down his arm, outlining his veins and random little freckles, the softness of his wrist.

Paul giggles.

The camera zooms out as you hear pots and pans crashing from next door and a flickering street light.