#the first one was the entire reason i drew any of these and its def my favourite of them all

[oedipushansen]

rant under the cut abt like. books i guess?

the weirdest thing abt andrea long chu’s article abt ottessa moshfegh and how ppl reacted to it is that like. alc didnt rlly like.. say anything that wasnt already known. like ppl knew that moshfegh put racism and fatphobia and other bigoted or “gross” themes into her work, theres literally no way u could have claimed to read her books w/o noticing that. this isn’t to say that that shouldn’t be criticized—i def think some of it should be, to an extent—but plenty of ppl had already been criticizing moshfegh for this before acl’s article, but the majority of ppl just didnt care at all bc at that point moshfegh was still popular and on social media she was the “super unhinged aesthetic girlboss woman writer” or whatever. it was only when a somewhat popular person said “man this stuff is Weird right guys” that ppl suddenly did a complete 180 and decided that they hated moshfegh bc she was Problematic Now I Guess. like, just a day ago the same ppl were talking abt how much they loved her bc she wrote abt “unhinged women” (a term im glad to see is finally dying out somewhat) and right after the alc article they acted like they were just. completely and totally blind to everything that was criticized, as if it wasnt literally in their faces the entire time, and now they’re totally dumping moshfeghs books bc the general consensus now is that shes Bad.

again i do think there are some aspects of moshfegh’s writing and some things shes said that should be criticized, im not saying shes like innocent or anything, im just saying its weird how ppl’s opinions seemed to flip on a dime overnight. it feels like no one even rlly had like. a real opinion of their own. they liked moshfegh bc ppl were pushing that “unhinged woman” persona onto her and everyone just loved that, but when one popular person is like “erm.. shes kinda problematic and talks abt shit a lot for some reason” ppl are so quick to hate her bc thats how they Should feel. i dont know i feel like a broken record but its just so weird to me. maybe im being biased bc i personally find alc and some of her opinions really weird & annoying, and i do enjoy ottessa moshfegh’s writing (though i also have my own complicated feelings abt it), but like. it still strikes me as unfair. i also found it a bit confusing how alc talked abt moshfegh’s fatphobia in her books but not abt the racism or the ableism, which were also two really big criticisms of her at the time. i dont have any particular horse in that race so i wont say more but like. if ur gonna write an entire article at least mention those two, like id say theyre pretty major

i also dont like the mindset that writing abt taboo or gross things like moshfegh does is inherently bad. now i Know that this wasnt the point alc was trying to make at all, but i feel like its something that ppl on booktok and booktwt or whatever seem to believe sometimes. sometimes ppl just write abt pathetic, bigoted, awful people and use “dirty” ways to describe things, moshfegh certainly isnt the first and she definitely wont be the last. again, i have my own criticisms of her and im not saying that she shouldn’t have been criticized for anything alc mentioned, bc i feel like that did need to be acknowledged a bit, but moshfegh’s unflinching approach to awful ppl and disgusting subjects and her swift and direct writing style is what drew me to her so much. alc wasnt rlly criticizing moshfegh for writing like this, in fact she was actually pretty complimentary abt it, but this was the sentiment that i saw a lot of “booktok” ppl having when they talked abt the article

i probably wont talk much abt alc anymore but like. abt her in general, its a shame bc i do think shes a Good Writer on an objective level. she knows how to word things eloquently and in interesting ways and how to structure her points and just how to Write Well. but i also just think shes annoying and her opinions on gender and transition just dont rub me the right way. i would go looking for those tweets she made and some paragraphs from her book “females”, but im lazy and im not gonna put in extra effort for this post that is basically just a stream of consciousness rant. but it feels like her whole philosophy around transness revolves soley around her personal experiences and how much she hates being trans. she calls another trans woman “a dumb blonde” in her book for acting feminine “in the way she should”, then goes onto say that someone’s personal identity and feelings abt their gender is “on its own, worthless” and that gender is something that “other people have to decide for you”, which is the only reason why ppl transition. she also made a tweet saying how, for political reasons, people replaced the term “real” women with “cis” women, and it wasnt said in a way that was criticizing that, it was said in a “well, this is just the way it is guys, nothing wrong with it, just face the truth” sort of way. there are a bunch of other things i found weird but honestly i formed my opinions abt her a long time ago so i cant remember it all, and again i cant be fucked to find anything right now. maybe if someone asks i’ll link to a couple articles criticizing her work

ANYWAY, back to books and how ppl treat stories abt anything disturbing or upsetting like theyre inherently bad. i think at some point i’m gonna read things have gotten worse since we last spoke. ive heard a lot of bad things abt it but unsurprisingly most of it was from booktok ppl who just. Didnt like that this horror book had horror in it, and that the horror was gross and disturbed them. i guess i cant fault them bc it probably just wasnt the sort of book theyre used to reading or like, which is fine, but dont make it seem like it’s a bug and not a feature. if it disturbed u then. like. it sort of succeeded? thats the point, its horror, it was advertised as gross and disturbing. its a shame bc from what ive heard abt it it seems like the exact kind of book id love, and the concept is so interesting to me. i guess i should hold my tongue before i read it but i feel like it gets a lot of undeserved hatred

[retro-rudy]

Logic- No Pressure Album Review

In summation of Logic's career, the foremost qualities that can’t go unnoticed is the dedication, respect and admiration the man has always had for the art of hip-hop. From the beginning, dating back to his Young Sinatra mix-tape series, in an era where trap beats were overtaking hip-hop, Logic arrived as a breath of fresh air with his conscious driven lyrics and entertaining flow, fueled by the boom-bap style he enjoyed from earlier influences such as Wu-Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest, and Mos Def. Logic lived up to the hype and expectations by delivering a successful debut album and painting a promising future, in which, considering how the industry measures success, Logic went onto surpass by reaching the heights of mainstream play and various award nominations with his next 2 studio albums. Amid the commercial success came the broader spotlight, the very one that emphasized his every move, and drew fluctuated criticism to an all-time high for the Maryland emcee. The challenges for Logic however were not the subjective opinions people had towards his music, but rather stemmed from the more personal jokes, memes, and the non-music related opinions that seemed to overshadow the music he was creating for audiences. In 2019, these unfortunate circumstances led Logic to step away from music and social media for some time with no public explanation to the reasoning of his hiatus. That was until the ever so unpredictable 2020 saw Logic emerge with a staggering album announcement accompanied by an unexpected retirement announcement.

Logic, returned in 2020 as many anticipated, with his 7th and final studio album, No Pressure. The joint announcement of album date and retirement came on July 16th, just one week before the set album release date. While the announcement was abrupt and left many with lingering questions, the 1 week wait would eventually lead fans to the clear reasoning of his decision through No Pressure’s foundation of honest and convincing lyrics.

Right out of the gates, Logic sets the tone and premise of the direction he will take the album on the opening track, No Pressure Intro. Logic applies audio from the famous Orson Wells “The Hitchhiker” introduction, which Logic chops and edits perfectly to bring us into the album. Within the edits, Logic cites No I.D and The Incredible True Story to give the intro a fun twist that adds the thematic touch many have grown accustomed to in Logic’s discography. The fundamentally ear-hitting boom-bap beat produced by NO I.D could not have been curated any better for Logic on the opener. Logic and the instrumental go hand in hand as he delivers bar after bar for over a minute and a half before reaching an abrupt interruption that catapults you into the next track. “B*tch I’m too alive, like twins in a womb, come hither, consume” and “But it cost a fee to be the boss it cost to be, over possessions like an apostrophe.” are some of the more standout bars on this intro.

           On No Pressure, Logic’s overall mood comes off positive, natural, motivated and unforced which benefits each song on this record in its own way. On songs such as Hit My Line, Celebration, and Amen, Logic’s unhinged and unpressed mind state injects everlasting life and validation to the long peace, love and positivity advocate. Logic’s comfort with his current-self shines through on Hit My Line with a confident, worry-free chorus and candid verses as he persuasively calls on god for a fixing of humanity. Logic’s positive drive has been a stapled message within his raps since the beginning of his career and the messaged remains well intact on Hit My Line and the entirety of this project. The confidence he shows when he says, “They say they don’t want messages in rap, it ruins the art. Well here I am people, yeah, now tear me apart.” further endorses his attempt of leaving it all out for this record with no regrets. Even on the track, Celebration, where Logic taps into his braggadocio side of rap to pen out the worry-free mindset he now has and how there is nothing for him to prove to anyone, you can hear the freeing mentality he has as he spits:

“It’s been a minute now; my style is feeling infinite now. Used to people pulling me down, it ain’t shit to me now. Don’t let it get to me now: threw out my phone, they can’t get to me now.”

These tracks dwell on a cheerful and flamboyant tempo that Logic ceases throughout the entirety of the tracks. The same can be said for songs like Dadbod, Perfect, and 5 Hooks, that show versatility in terms of beat choices and the ability of Logic to naturally execute each varying flow that comes off as effortlessly in this stage of his career.

           Meshed in with the collection of the more upbeat and elated-expressive tracks, Logic sprinkles in tracks built off well executed hip-hop samples that serve up a heavier dose of conscious articulated bars. Dating back to the Young Sinatra mix-tapes, Logic has never been shy to wear his influences on his sleeve, and tracks like GP4 and Man i is prove this to the be the case in present day. GP4, a nostalgic tie-in with Logic’s Growing Pains’ song collection, which we last heard on Under Pressure, contains a sample constructed from OutKasts’ Elevators song from ATLiens. Given the track record of various and well-respected hip-hop samples Logic has placed on each of the Growing Pains’ tracks, this one fits cohesively with the bunch. Much like the previous Growing Pains’, Logic leans on his story telling to paint witty and mental pictures of a variety of thoughts floating in his mind. From adolescent memories, to admitting his once determination of becoming the greatest rapper alive now being inessential, Logic goes onto acknowledge how the greatest rapper alive might not even be rapping and is instead stacking groceries at an ordinary 9 to 5 with no care in the world, resembling much how Logic feels at this point in his career. On Man i is, Logic’s maturity and growth flourishes among the inspired instrumental created out of an iconic mashup consisting of OutKasts’ SpottieOttieDopaliscious, Tarika Blues’ Dreamflower, DJ Screw and Pimp C. Logic self-reflects as he looks back on where he came from and what he endured, to which through it all has led him to this point in life where he can confidently say he is sincerely proud of the man he has become. In hip-hop it’s made well-aware that high expectations are to be met when paying homage to classics and Logic absolutely fulfills the task on this one in a form that without a doubt places Man i is among the most prominent tracks within his discography. Open Mic\\Aquarius III keeps Logic on the lyrical prowess and serves as a bridge for fans to connect with the bar for bar artillery the emcee has long had. The beat switch that takes place in this track is superb with the pure hip-hop cypher sound of Open Mic interestingly transitioning into the more jazzy and mellow Aquarius III. The high-volume of bars continues immediately on the following track, Soul Food II. The deserving sequel to one of Logic’s held in high regards track off his debut album Under Pressure. Logic retains the format of spitting a series of bars as he did in the original Soul Food. It’s warming and evident to hear the growth in both, his mentality as a human and abilities of his craft as an artist when you hear both songs in sequential order. In Soul Food II, mentally, Logic remains as humble and passionate as ever while sonically the tone and delivery of his raps resonate with the listener enough to have them capture and break down his every word. This along with the metaphors within this song is what prompts Soul Food II to standout on its own and give its predecessor a run for its money, and dare I say, maybe even edge out the original.

           On the last leg of the album is where I find Logic taking the listener towards the conclusion of the album on a pure, passion driven energy specifically due to the openness of Dark Place, and the spiritually motivating Heard Em Say. Dark Place is the first of its kind for the emcee as it is by far the most personal track Logic has ever released. While Logic has been open about personal situations before, it has never been to the degree and sentiment he lets out on the track. What was meant to remain an unreleased and personal track shares a transparent view of his feelings regarding the real toll the amount of negativity and criticism took on his mental state.

“Writin’ rhymes was easy before the fame. Now I’m constantly overthinkin’ every line, it’s a shame. Rap used to fill me with joy, now it’s nothin’ but pain. I’m stuck in the game, tryna get back from where I came.”

 The entire song contains some of Logic’s most honest and heart-breaking lyrics that transport you directly to the most difficult year he experienced as a mainstream artist. “I’d love to end this on some positive shit. Hit you with punchlines instead of some derogative shit, but it’s okay to be sad sometimes and tired of shit.. I guess.” Logic becomes as relatable to the listener as ever with his sincerity on here. And while the song might show vulnerability, it’s okay. In the end the fan and artist label are irrelevant compared to the human label we all fall under. Another evident example of the earnest connection between Logic and his Rattpack. Fittingly so, the best in my opinion is saved for last. Heard Em Say easily ranks in the top 5 of Logic's entire released discography for me. From self-producing the song, to writing one of his most heartfelt verses, the song sums up as one of Logic’s most range defining cuts from an artist standpoint. The 3rd verse on Heard Em Say is one of Logic’s best verses from his discography, and impressively so isn’t due to the depth of lyricism, but due to Logic’s infinite passion heard throughout the verse. Logic grabs you with every word and instills raw emotion and inspiration with a hopeful send off in quintessential fashion Logic has long been known for.

After Confessions of a Dangerous Mind failed to reach favorable appreciation within hip-hop enthusiasts, and his fan base respectively; the project left many wondering if perhaps Logic’s better days were behind him. With unfavorable reviews and criticism weighing heavily on the emcee, Logic spent the better part of 2019 and 2020 writing raps vigorously on his Louis Vuitton rhyme book as he mentions on the freeing Amen. Logic stated in an interview with Nick Huff Barili of Hard Knock TV, that No Pressure essentially came to fruition out of his essential love for hip-hop no longer being intact, before coming to the conclusion of ending his career and delivering a final project in the form of which he came into the game with, a project he would give his every ounce of love for hip-hop to, to showcase pure hip-hop built on a foundation of bars and verses made up of the emcee’s best abilities. With executive production from No I.D, No Pressure achieves this and sees Logic set the record straight in his place among hip-hop. In retrospect, while the time apart might have been difficult, I believe both Logic and fans of Logic in the long run reached a perfect ending of a prominent and inspiring career. No Pressure serves as a celebrated accumulation and reflection of the inspiring emcees’ hip-hop career, the final chapter that gives the fan closure and comprehension for his farewell. Logic is now free of pressure and has found happiness by obtaining the greatest blessing in life, family. Thank you for delivering us this classic, and the best of wishes on your future endeavor Bobby. Final rating: 10

[brianandthemays]

Marry You (Roger Taylor x reader)

A/N I highly recommend listening to “Marry You” by Bruno Mars cause that’s def what inspired this.

Warnings: UMMM, fluff, slight mention of sex I guess. 

Word Count: 1950 

_______________________________________________

Marriage, something meant for other couples. But not you and Roger. Not that you hadn’t dreamt of getting married to Roger, he just didn’t seem the type. You found yourself thinking about marriage that afternoon, staring at him as he read a book in your living room.

 The sun was hitting his hair perfectly, and his glasses had fallen to the end of his nose giving him cute librarian vibes. You thought about how it would feel to see him reading bed time stories to kids you had together. You rested your chin on your palm as you watched him in the sun light.

             “What are you looking at?” he mumbled, not looking up from his book.

             “Nothing.” You sigh, not looking away from him. He looked over at you with a smirked. When he turned towards you, his back was to the window and the sun created a halo around his hair, his eyes were a darker blue than usual and he took your breath away yet again. But you just smiled at him knowing that, for the time being, this man was all yours and nothing could stop that. “Let’s go out tonight.” You insist, not taking your eyes off his. He raises his eyebrows at your suggestion before nodding at you.

             “Okay.” He said simply, turning back to his book. You grumbled when he turned away from you, the book stealing his attention away from you once again. He knew it drove you mad when he ignored you or brushed you off. Taking matters into your own hands you walk over to his chair and stand in front of him. He glanced up at you, a cheeky smile on his lips “Can I help you, love?”

 You narrowed your eyes at him and plucked the book from his hand. Careful not to lose his place, you place to book down on the counter next to the chair and curled yourself up in his lap. He chuckled deeply, wrapping an arm around your back to keep you from slipping, the other coming to rest on your knee. He rubbed circles into the skin there as you rested your head on his chest.

             “Do you ever think about us, Rog?” you ask taking a deep breath of his scent.

             “Course I do, I’m thinking about us right now.” He replied simply, not getting the depth of your question. You sighed, deciding not to push the question further for fear of the answer. Right now, you closed your eyes and just savored the close proximity and the arm firmly wrapped around you back. You didn’t realize that he had been staring at you the entire time, looking at how your hair perfectly fell into place to frame your face, or how you lifted up and down with his own breath, falling into sync with your own small breaths.

 Later that night, you were putting in earrings to finish off your outfit for that night. Just a simple dress with some wedges, easier to dance in.

           “Beautiful as always, love.” Roger’s voice from the doorway made you look up. In the reflection you could see him leaning against the frame, watching you finish your get up. He smirked and came to wrap his arms around you, placing a kiss to the side of your neck.

             “Thanks, Rog.” You say softly, feeling butterflies in your stomach. He smiled, resting his head on your shoulder. “You ready?” you ask. He nodded, placing one more kiss on your shoulder before taking your hand and dragging you out the door.

 It wasn’t long before you found a bar to go to and you both had a drink in your hand. For some reason, Roger couldn’t keep his eyes off you. As you rambled about something to do with work, he found himself entranced by your voice and your wild hand movements. You stopped when the jukebox finally turned on a song, and you let out a little screech.

             “ROG! I love this song! Come dance with me!” You say setting down your drink and grabbing his hand. He sputtered as some of his drink spilt as he rushed to set it down before you dragged him off. He found himself in the middle of the dance floor watching you as you danced. You had a giant smile on your face as you sashayed your hips and threw your hands in the air and suddenly, he couldn’t hear or see anything other than you. His chest tightened and a pit formed in his stomach. You finally looked back over at him and say the lazy smile planted on his face and you nudged him.

             “What’s up with you?” You giggle, not stopping your movement.

             “I think I want to marry you.” He said nonchalantly. You stopped and your eyes snapped towards him.

             “What?” you reply, your voice barely audible over the music.

             “I mean it, I want to marry you right now.” He grabbed your hands and looked directly in your eyes. Your mouth dropped when you realized he was serious. He squeezed your hands and dragged you with him off the dance floor so you could hear him better. “I know a chapel just down the street. I’ll go buy rings if you want, I just want you to be mine.”

 You didn’t know what to say or do. Everything you ever wanted was happening right now. You took deep breaths as you processed everything he was saying. He wanted to marry you. He wanted to take you to a chapel right now and marry you.

             “Say something, baby.” He begged, his eyes searching yours for some response. Your mouth twitched and you felt the corners twist up, as you came to grips with the reality of the situation. You looked up at him finally and wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him into a deep passionate kiss. He sighed in relief against your lips and reciprocated immediately.

             “What are we waiting for?” You murmur against his lips. He smiled wildly at you and ran out the door with your hand in yours.

You stopped first at a ring shop near the bar. He made you wait outside as he looked for the perfect ring. It wasn’t 15 minutes later he walked out with a velvet case and another smaller bag.

             “I wanted to do this a little more officially.” He laughed. He got down on one knee and your heart froze in time. This picture, of Roger on one knee asking you to marry him, was on you never thought you would see. “You are the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. (Y/N) (L/N), will you marry me.”

 You couldn’t contain your giggle of happiness as you nodded “Yes, you dolt!”. He hopped up and slid the ring on your finger. It was beautiful. His finger lingered on yours as he drew a circle around the ring. “I thought it looked like you.” He explained, looking at you “it’s bright, and elegant, and perfect.”

 Though you were standing on the side of the road, in the middle of the night, you couldn’t think of anything more romantic. You cup his face and place another passionate kiss on his lips. “Well, let’s go get married.” He smirked and dragged you down the street.

 Just an hour later, you were married. Two hours later, you were laying bed with your husband. Naked under the sheets you ran your finger up and down his chest. He had one arm wrapped around your shoulders, holding you to his chest, the other held a cigarette to his lips.

             “What made you want to marry me.” You ask resting your hand and craning your neck to look up at him. He removed the cigarette and looked down at you, a faint smile on his lips.  “Cos’ your so… unique… and perfect, and so… you.” He said simply “and I knew that if I didn’t marry you right then, I would lose you.”

 You propped yourself up on your elbow to look down at him. “You could never lose me.” You murmur, brushing his lips with your fingers. He lightly grabbed your hands and pressed a kiss to each of your fingers individually before pressing a kiss to your wedding ring. He chuckled softly, and you cocked your head at him. “What’s so funn?”

             “Fred’s going to lose his mind when he realizes he got married without telling him”

  __________________________________________________

+bonus

 The next week you joined Roger at the studio, sitting on the couch quiet watching Roger on his drums. John was sitting next to you on the couch and Brian in a chair next to Fred near the sound board. You had brought a book but had long since abandoned it, keeping your hand in to keep it open while you watched him. For just a slight moment, John glanced down at your book, just to see what you were reading but his eye widened when he saw your finger.  You noticed John’s small gasp and looked over to see him wide eyed.

             “what’s gotten into you?” You whisper, trying not to disturb the recording. He scoffed and looked at your finger again. Finally, you realized what he was looking at and blushed.

             “Since when are you” married?” he said rather loudly. You shush him quickly, but he caught the attention of Brian and Fred as soon as he said the word married.

             “Married!?” Fred exclaimed forgetting all about the drum solo he was recording “Of course not, don’t be silly.”  He narrowed his eyes at you as you let out a sigh and send a glare at John. He shrugged unabashedly and raised his eyebrows still waiting for an explanation.

             “What’s going on in there?” Roger’s voice came in over the speaker. He had stopped playing when he noticed that Brian and Freddie had stopped watching.  Brian clicked the button and said “Your girlfriend’s gotten married, it seems”

 Roger let out a loud laugh and made eye contact with you. He leaned back on his chair and motioned for you to explain.  You made a sour face at him before turning your attention back to the other three boys around me.

             “Well, Rog and I got married last week.” You shrug and hold up your hand for them to see. Fred’s mouth opened and Brian just smirked as Deaky let out a short laugh.

             “You’ve been married for a full week and you didn’t bother to tell any of us?” Brian reasoned.

             “Forget telling us, why wasn’t I invited to the wedding?” Fred demanded grabbing your hand to look at the ring.

             “Fred, I think we all would have wanted to be invited.” Deaky pointed out. Fred shrugged him off and continued his ogling.

             “well, it was sort of spur of the moment, to be honest.” You explained pulling your hand back from Fred.

             “I’m going to have a heart attack.” Fred responded grabbing onto the side of his chair to stabilize himself “‘spur of the moment’ please don’t tell me you were drunk.”

             “Light buzz at the most” you defended.

             “I can’t believe this, my to best friends-”

             “Hey!” Brian interrupted.

           “My two best friends got married and I found out a week later.” Fred continued ignoring him.  

             “Aw, don’t feel to bad, Fred.” You began but Freddie just turned around and clicked the button.

             “You’re both dead to me.” He concluded. You just chuckled and looked at Roger who was also smiling at you. You were sure you weren’t going to hear the end of this for a long time, but you knew you could handle it if you were with Roger.

[lovefrozenswan]

The Last Waterbender

So when I saw Frozen II, I was immediately struck by the similarities between it and ATLA. Im sure yall did too. I decided to write a fic and then revive my tumblr to promote this.

Elsa is clearly the Avatar and so im writing a really ambitious crossover. I hope yall like it.

Longfic planned. Not really a shipfic, but there probably will be a F/F pairing eventually. Elsa is def gay or ace to me.

The Fire Nation celebrated its victory over the Avatar cycle when they killed the very last Waterbender in the north pole. With no host to be reborn into, the Avatar cycle ended with Avatar Yangchen's execution.

Until 100 years later, when Elsa found that Ahtohallen was more than just memories.

Prologue

Every inch of me is trembling But not from the cold Something is familiar Like a dream I can reach but not quite hold

Crossing the dark sea was exhilarating. Elsa felt the water spirit galloping beneath her and the air whipping around her. She was aware of the elements in ways she had only ever been aware of the ice before. She had never felt so certain she was making the right choice. Leaving Anna behind had hurt but she could never have survived the water spirit's anger. She only hoped Anna would forgive her.

Elsa would find the truth about Arendelle, the Northuldra, and about her powers at Ahtohallen. The siren sang on.

 I can sense you there Like a friend I've always known I'm arriving And it feels like I am home

The glacier at her fingertips hummed with power the way nothing ever had. At first touch, her mind flicked to the strange people she had seen her entire life at the edge of her vision. A tall woman with painted blue arrow tattoos. A man who could spit fire itself. A painted face, clad in armor and surrounded by earth. They were more clear in her mind than the fuzzy glimpses of her childhood. She needed to meet them. They had to be in here.

 I have always been a fortress Cold secrets deep inside You have secrets, too But you don't have to hide

The ice flowed in her blood. Moved like a frozen river. Elsa was thrown into another vision of bright arrows and wind so strong it could only be Gale's influence. She pressed onward, giddy with power.

 Show yourself I'm dying to meet you It's your turn Are you the one I've been looking for All of my life? Show yourself I'm ready to learn

The teasing light drew her deeper. Elsa thought back to a moment in childhood that she thinks might be her first memory. When the ice had first responded to her, she had seen a woman with a deep blue furred cloak beside her in the snow. She wore beads covered by the elemental symbols the Northuldra worshipped. It was all connected, it had to be.

 I've never felt so certain All my life I've been torn But I'm here for a reason Could it be the reason I was born? I have always been so different Normal rules did not apply Is this the day? Are you the way I finally find out why?

As the glacier opened up, the ice showed her moving dioramas of people she had never met. Impossible visages, moments lost to time. Anna always said her powers were not a curse, they were a gift. Elsa had never once believed her. Here though in Ahtohallen, surrounded by the memories of her people and ice so old it had witnessed all of history, she almost believed Anna.

She saw her mother's face among the ghostly figures and began to cry.

I'm no longer trembling Here I am I've come so far You are the answer I've waited for All of my life Oh, show yourself Let me see who you are

Arendelle's history was laid out now. The truth about the Northuldra, about her grandfather, about the dam. It was more than she could take. She had to get this back to Anna.

But it wasn't enough, where was the voice? The people from her dreams?

 Where the north wind meets the sea There's a river Full of memory Come, my darling, homeward bound I am found

The air was thinner here, everything had an untethered feel and Elsa knew in the back of her mind she should stop. But they had to be just a little further.

The newest icy figure in front of her stopped her dead in her tracks. Another ice magic user. The moving statue was visibly Northuldra, at least in the face. She threw ice spikes in a brilliant arc out in front of her palms towards a man in unfamiliar armor. His face twisted with anger and he held his odd stance, unafraid of the ice. Walking around them, she saw the female figure was guarding a child. The mystery of the moment was overwhelming.

Before she could puzzle any further, a new statue caught her eye. She turned to see the woman with the arrow tattoos standing tall and still. Her eyes met the statue's own, taking up her entire field of view. It lit up incandescently and made a smooth motion unlike anything Elsa had ever seen before freezing cold air washed over her. In that moment, Elsa felt the truth about her power deep in her very bones. She was the fifth spirit. And something else.

She had only moments to get a single message to Anna before everything went dark. She had found the voice inside her.

 "Its good to see you, Avatar Elsa. I have been waiting a long time."

 Step into the power Throw yourself Into something new You are the one you've been waiting for

     All of my lives  

[swainlake]

Hello! So now that got has ended I'm looking for some tv shows that I could watch after I'm done with my exams. Do you have any suggestions? I'm not looking for anything specific, although if you have watched some good period dramas, I'd love some recommendations. Also wanted to add how much I love your blog, it's really beautiful

tysm that’s so sweet!! i love giving recs so i’ve got a bunch that you might like under the cut; i’ve put a ♡ next to my favs

period dramas:

NEW WORLDS (2014)this one is a mini series, only 4 episodes long, but please don’t let that stop you! it’s about anti-monarchism and rebellion and forbidden love in the 1600′s & is set in both england and america. i cried more than once but the ending is so bittersweet and hopeful!! 

POLDARK (2015—)i have a love/hate relationship with this one tbh. i started watching because of the main relationship but i ended up really into it for the side relationships instead?? the actual political plot doesn’t interest me but i love the drama between the family members. also i adore the women in this show, every single female character is well-written and realistic and you’ll love them all (even if at times you hate them). the men tho? the men are pretty much collectively the worst. “what’s wrong with the women in this family?” “the men.”

SPARTACUS (2010—2013) ♡i started watching this before i ever got into game of thrones but if you like the fight scenes in got, you’ll enjoy this! great characters, great fight scenes, great friendships. this one is based on gladiators who are fighting for their freedom.

THE WHITE PRINCESS (2017) ♡okay firstly and most importantly: jodie comer stars in this so you know it’s good. it’s also got michelle fairly (catelyn stark) in it though tbh she wasn’t my favourite character in this and i didn’t find her likeable at all. it’s not very historically accurate ofc but the relationship between henry/elizabeth is honestly the perfect enemies to lovers rep & always lowkey reminds me of book!sansa/jon possibilities

PAN AM (2011—2012)this one isn’t like game of thrones at all but it’s only one season and it’s super cute and has a lot of famous actresses in it like christina ricci & margot robbie. based on the adventures of a crew of pan am stewardesses, this is a good combination of lighthearted fun and chilling cold-war drama. an old favourite. 

THE MUSKETEERS (2014—2016) ♡i’ll be gushing over this for years to come tbh it’s really just that perfect. the relationship between the musketeers is so lovely, the personification of ‘brotherhood’ really, but also the romantic relationships are really good too?? which for some reason i personally hadn’t expected. my fav couple is aramis/anne (anne is played by the actress who played roslin frey!) because the forbidden love & the respect and adoration between those two is just perfect but really every relationship (even the ones that don’t become endgame) are written very well

OUTLANDER (2014—)i haven’t watched every single episode of this one but from what i have seen it’s very good, and has some similar themes to game of thrones!! the sex scenes are epic, the main relationship is lovely, and overall its a very realistic show that features supernatural elements!

THE LAST KINGDOM (2015—) ♡i’m not going to lie: i started this series by skipping straight to 2x7 because i’d seen gifs of the relationship between aethelflaed and erik but it was so good i ended up going back and starting from the beginning! this show reminds me of ‘vikings’ more tham game of thrones but it’s not as gory and the characters aren’t all assholes. side note: if you love sansa stark as much as i do you’re gonna love aethelflaed, lady of mercia! she’s actually a real person but this show is based on a book series that looks super interesting! honestly the main character also kind of reminds me of jon snow

HARLOTS (2017—) ♡oh my gosh how do i describe this show?? the family dynamics are so! intricate! and! beautiful! honestly just stunning. everything about this show is s t u n n i n g. the costumes are colourful and vivid and honestly i’d recommend watching just for that but the storyline really does keep you hooked!! also: liv tyler and jessica brown findlay are love interests in this which is honestly a dream come true

BLACK SAILS (2015—2017)okay full disclosure; i haven’t actually seen this but i’ve heard very good things and it’s on my list!! it’s about pirates, i think there’s some queer rep (can anybody confirm??), and there’s lots of amazing women. again, allegedly. 

dramas:

THE SOCIETY (2018—)i literally watched the entire first season in a single night so it must be alright, right? basically all you need to know about this is that a town full of teenagers go on a field trip & then return to find all their parents mysteriously missing and their town closed off from the outside world. it’s basically lord of the flies but modern! with some kick-ass friendships! and amazing young women (one literally teaches herself to be a doctor can you believe?)! 

SHARP OBJECTS (2018)if you haven’t heard about this one yet idk what rock you’ve been living under but welcome back! this one is a m a z i n g but also hella chilling and the ending is such a shocker if it hasn’t been spoiled for you yet!

THE BOLD TYPE (2017—) ♡i always describe this one as ‘sex and the city for millennials’ but i’ve never watched a single sex and the city episode in my life so i honestly don’t know how accurate that is?? but it’s about a group of 20-something year old women who are best friends and work mates and they love each other so much?? the relationship between the girls is my favourite thing about the show but the show honestly tackles a lot of relevant issues; trump, age gaps, queer rep, immigration, racism, etc. i can’t recommend this enough!

CODE BLACK (2015—2018) ♡you know those episodes in greys anatomy where everything is life-or-death and you’re on edge for the whole episode? that’s basically every single episode of code black. this is hands-down one of my most rewatched shows ever. i love medical dramas and this one balances well written characters with action-packed medical miracles so honestly what’s not to like?? 

A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES (2018—)okay admittedly the only reason i watch this show is because of the main couple but i can’t help it when they’re just so gosh-darn cute!! they love each other so god damned much! i wasn’t completely sold on this straight away but by ep 3 i was HOOKED. if you like supernatural romances/dramas that are more mature than your usual cw show, this one is a good choice!

THE OA (2016—) ♡i can’t even put into words how much i adore this?? but also: it will confuse THE SHIT out of you. no matter how smart you are, this one will leave you scratching your head. basically: a group of people who’ve had near-death experiences get kidnapped and experimented on. it’s not as brutal as it sounds, in fact the show is exceptionally beautiful, but it does deal with some hard themes and the good guys don’t always win. 

12 MONKEYS (2015—2018)do you like time travel? do you like forbidden and yet totally-still-devoted-to-one-another-anyway love? then this is the show for you! this one is dark and gritty and deals pretty realistically with the concept of time travel & self-sacrifice and what people will give up to create a better world. it’s got a happy ending & you wont regret watching!

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE (2018)oh this one will make you cry. in a good way though! long story short a family grows up in a haunted house and it affects them in ways they cannot imagine. it’s hauntingly beautiful and poetic and everybody should watch it at least once imo

comedies:

THE MARVELOUS MRS MAISEL (2017—)okay so this one counts as a period drama as well but it’s about a COMEDIAN so i put it in the comedy section lol. okay so long story short, a woman is left by her husband, she’s worth 1000 of him & everybody else knows it because you seriously can’t help falling in love with this woman but ofc there’s period-typical sexism she has to face as she struggles with being a single woman, a single mother, and an up-and-coming comedian. def recommend.

SANTA CLARITA DIET (2017—2019)drew barrymore is a zombie!! who lives a normal life but also eats people!! it’s only weird for the first couple of eps. the family dynamics are snarky and witty and they manage to make gore funny?? honestly this entire show is legit laugh-out-loud darkly hilarious.

[celestialallstars]

Episode #1: “This cast, fuck me, fuck them.” - Rhys

Ok so my pregame thoughts. It seems like there are a lot of contenders that were threats in their original seasons just based off of placements. I’m really gonna try to use this to my advantage because in my season, I don’t think I was very threatening. Unfortunately I’ll miss the cast reveal, but I’m hoping that doesn’t put me in a bad spot. This game is gonna be tough, but I know I can do it. At least make merge. You need small goals in order to achieve bigger ones. Cast assessment coming up next :)

Y'all I am ANXIOUS! I've had a bad run recently and for the most part I never really care that much. But if I flop on this season I'll die of sadness. Okay but for real, I want to do well this season and idk what kind of people I'm going to be up against, and I couldn't even get my intro to send like i'm such a joke. Ugh y'all how can I be this stressed already.

Just roughly 2 hours before we're gonna really dive into the thick of things. There are so many things I wanna say and so many things I'm just beyond excited about. I really think this is gonna be a Top Tier Season.

I'm vowing to make the most of my stay no matter how long or short. I'm gonna try to drive the pessimist in my mind away and do my best to avoid being that early boot just because I'm a previous winner. Y'all better watch out!

This is gonna be FuCkInG LiT!!!

Getting ready for this season, I'm honored tbh. I feel like it's my first fully-legit-no-strings-attached All-Stars appearance. I was on EMBB All-Stars, but only because I was an alternate for Jake and he decided to be a host instead. Being invited back on my merits exclusively feels amazing, I just hope I can live up to my own expectations in this game and take home the win.

Hi I’m super excited to be brought back to play this game. I’m gonna play maybe a little harder but I’m hoping to keep my gameplay very similar to last season cause it did me well I just need to not freak out. I’m really looking forward to seeing who I’m playing with and I know this season will be fun.

So. This cast, fuck me, fuck them. Like they all seem so much more capable than me. Like bitch bye.

My tribe honestly idk yet. They seem cool,  haven’t talked to most of them yet. So I’ll get back on that.

The only person I’m not happy is cast is Michael. Bitch hated me for no reason last season. So bitch best watch his back cause I’m bringing this hatred back this season.

Also one world can fuck off

So I am meeting everyone and honestly so far this is a nice group. A mixture of old faces like Zach and Loris and new ones like everyone else! Everybody is radical, but I am gonna try and give it a short moment before giving an assessment. Having that said, im gonna get dragged and murdered by this cast....call the police.

Hi so the game has just started and I feel like already so much has happened it has been intense. This cast? stacked. One world? intense. Me? crying.

This entire cast is so iconic and so loved I honestly don't know how to feel rn I am scared as all hell but I'm ready to fight for my fucking life. I'm also quite glad for the one world because I love the idea of being able to socialise with EVERYONE since that's such a strong point of my game for me considering I'm horrific in challenges. I just really hope I can pull things off this season and actually have someone like me and prove that I am in fact worthy of an all star title.

Being on call with people from the one world chat is honestly so fun and I can tell this is going to be a great season and we're literally only like 2.5 hours in. I really wanna make it to the end so I can experience it in it's fully glory.

amazingly, i don't think me being an admin is going to be to a problem??? i wanna thank you three beauts for giving me a wonderful tribe. i love matt, bodhi's hilarious, alyssa intimidates me but she's cute and i love allying strong women, tobi forced me to keysmash, and mo and karthik are kind of blase but its ONLY NIGHT ONE. all in all, think i can survive on this tribe. just get me to merge baby i cannot go premerge in this org if annas not gonna play then I CANT LET US DOWN

So we've officially landed in this ORG, and immediately smacked in the face with a flaccid twist that is One World. So instead of trying to balance 6 relationships I have to balance 20. I'm of course already a mess trying to keep track of it all.

Bodhi and I already have an instant F2, we'll see how that works out given we aren't even on the same tribes. Meanwhile I'm already in love with Bryce as a person and trying to possible Corral all the winners together. Obviously we need to make sure the Winners make it to merge.

I think on my tribe specifically I'm probably getting along best with Mitch, I think Rhys has a similar sense of humor as me but he went to bed too early for me to figure out more. There's a ton more sweet people on the other tribes too I just don't have time to delve into all of them, nor do I have enough substance to any of them to develop opinions anyway.

I have an idea as far as connections go for this tribe but I'm not sure yet if it is strong. Loris is sleeping though I did talk with everyone else. I have a feeling Chloe/Zach would be safest but also that Chloe/Michael might be together. Regardless I think I'll be sticking with Zach if I can help that. Drew seems nice too and Sharky seems it too. Not sure how things will go but I do have to be smart since I would be the easy choice as winner if we lose. I'm gonna be optimistic about it all though :) as for the people on other tribes I'll get to them later. This is going to be fun!

________________________________________________________________

Now that I can see the actual twist (am dummy) I have to try and make some alliances between and in the tribes. I mean making one with the winners shouldn't be too hard but I am gonna want something with a few member here and there from each. I think things are about to get much difficult because I can tell lot of these people are more familiar with each other with their histories and I am just like "hi..." so I def need to wedge myself on in there some way..I've got my work cut out for me

HI ASDDASJKLASDLJK I was so nervous but like.. I feel my victory coming.. I'm pulling my weight in the challenge I think and our tribe's pretty cool!! It's all stars.. so like.. it's no surprise that I like everyone. Sharky seems to be busy so like.. if we lose that could be a good scapegoat.. ALSO?? i was on the blog and i was like wow jones' fairy drawing is so pretty.. so i hovered over it and accidentally clicked it.. and.. i found my legacy advantage again ADSALKDKLJASKLD. and anna said to make sure you search the blog to learn about people and i didnt even see that......... im so lucky :)

So this is so exciting. I’m trying to get to know everyone. Theres one person i was effy about on my tribe and that was Jared. But he’s been talking to me and been nice. But i still have my eyes 👀 on him. Its been nice catching up with Bryce. And been talking to Mitch Rhys and Kori. I hope i can get myself in a good social position where even if im not in their alliance, that im not someone they want to take out. But this time im gunna use my bonds to my advance and hopefully it gets me to the end.

Hi i don't really know what to say right now I just know I wanted to put down some thoughts. So far I'm so fucking in love with this entire cast I'm pretty sure I've spoken to every single person in one way or another which is great, I love to see people fully invested into a season they're playing. I also really love this first challenge, although scavenger hunts stress me the fuck out because i find so many items are so hard to find, I'm just hoping my tribe can pull out a win for us and I'm sure they will cause they're all so iconic and I love them all with my whole heart already.

So I've spoken more to people thusfar and like currently I'm speaking more to people I've spoken to before which like isn't great, because i hate relying on past relations. Like i am speaking to others who are new, its just a bit awkward. So lets push by that and hopefully they aint boring af.

Well so far I've gotten a few items on my list done. Progress is slow but steady. I'm a bit worried about this tribe given it seems like all of us being on at the same time might be unlikely. (That and we're halfway through and only 2 of us have added items to our list.)

I might just be too uptight though, we'll probably be fine. I haven't gotten to talk with people today as much as I wanted as a result of balancing the other ORG and this one as well as apartment hunting and scavenging. I'm beginning to think I planned poorly and have too much on my plate at the moment...

BUT I WILL PERSEVERE! YES SIR'RE I WILL!

CAST ASSESSMENT TIMEEEE Let me start with Orfero Chris- So chris is someone who I think can either go really far as an UTR threat like he did his first season, or be an early boot. I think him and I have a similar playstyle, but he is much more poetic and structured. I am really looking forward to play with him again! We dominated in afvv and im glad he won, but I won't let that happen again. He's too good. ioris- Honestly I see ioris as more of a goat. Maybe that's false perception, but I could easily see him latching onto someone for the long haul and not being respected later on. As of now, I don't think I would work with ioris, but if the situation arises, I wont hesitate. Drew H- OK I LOVE DREW FIRST OF ALL. I am actually SUPER excited that we are finally playing a game together. I really want to work with him, but unfortunately I think he is too threatening to the point where he wont make it far. Michael- Ok so this was definitely a wildcard. I think Michael is someone to watch out for. I don't know how he'll fair in this game, knowing that people recognize his gameplay. He could either go mid merge or permerge, but I dont think he has a shot at winning. Sharky- Sharky is someone I'm unfamilar with, and for that reason alone, I am guessing he makes it deep by flying UTR while winning challenges. Zach- Zach is another sneaky player. I really would love to work with him after our relationship in emvv4 where I voted him out at f10. He is definitely not someone to brush under the rug though, because he is also very threating. I predict a mid merge boot for Zach. Clohie- I personally don't see Clohie as much of a threat,  but I hope she proves me wrong. We have had limited discussion, but I can tell she is here to play. I predict she will make FTC this time, but only time will tell

Alignments: For Orfero, I can see Chris ioris and Zach on one side, Michael Drew H and Sharky on the other with  Clohie in the middle

Tuatha Kori- I've been itching to play an org with kori too and im glad we are on the same tribe because i know how well he can perform in challenges. He is probably my closest ally right now, so I really hope he gets far. My prediction is early merge for him. Rhys- Rhys seems so sweet. We havent had much conversation due to timezone issues, but I'd love to work with Rhys. He is super charming and I think he can go far! My prediction for rise is late merge. Maynor- Maynor is probably the person most difficult to talk to. I have discussed with Kori and he says that his weakest relationships are with Maynor and Jared, so i think its telling that maynor might be an early boot. Jared- I think jared is super cool and he's been a player I have to watch VERY carefully. I do see myself working with him because our convos have been good so far, but I feel like he can be a good talker. We'll see how it turns out but i predict Jared being a premerge boot. He claimed to be a crackhead in confessionals though so we'll see :). Stephen Z- Man i really wish I had better conversations with him!! I think he is super cool, but he does not seem to remember who I am. If our convos improve like I hope they will, I could see Stephen going early merge. Bryce- I really like bryce too but he is soooo unpredictable and sketchy. I think his  cast reveal intro shed bad light on him to other players too, but I know from experience. I see bryce being a premerge boot, but I hope he proves me wrong. I just dont feel like I can fully trust him.

Alignments: For Tuatha, I see myself aligning closely with Kori and Jared. I dont know what the dynamics would be, but I feel like Maynor is already on the outs.

Cyrena Mo- I LOVE MO SO MUCH. What a gem. I met him in TS Montenegro and he considered me one of his closest allies and saved me from elimination at f9 only for me to vote him out at f8. I still feel bad but im hoping we can mend our relationship and go far together. I actually do think he could make a deep run and  definitely get to finale by laying low. Tobi- Tobi and I in games USUALLY don't end up on the same sides. That being said, I'd love to work with Tobi and I hope he makes merge unlike in emvvas. Matt- Matt is another mystery for me. On one hand, I know he is not only a host favorite but a fan favorite as well, but on the other I  dont really know what he brings to the table. Another wildcard for me that I see going early merge. Jack- Jack and I have a history for sure LOL. It feels like we play every game together. I think Jack is a super nice person, and I'd love to work with him again. We dont really mesh on a personal level which makes it difficult, but I learned my lesson of trying to avoid Jack in emvvas (he got me out) Bodhi- I've seen bodhi around a bit, and can be the hero or the villain. He is quirky in a good way. I see bodhi as being the comical relief that goes mid merge for being too likeable. Alyssa- honestly alyssa seems kind of annoying. I dont want to speak too soon but i dont get good vibes from her. I think she might be an early boot on her tribe. but i truly hope im wrong about her. Karthik- I know karthik from em and i really think he could make a loyal ally. His win was well deserved but i dont necessarily think he is a threat. My predicition for him is still prejury because of his timezone. It's unpredictable when he has power and when he doesnt.

Alignments: For Cyrena, I see Mo Alyssa Tobi in one alliance and Matt Jack and Bodhi in another with Karthik out of the loop.

I'm excited to see how accurate my predicition are! I didnt bother including a winner because i still think its too early to tell. Game ON!

Wow a discord call this early in the game!! Strategy? Nope! It's... Alyssa explaining tarot cards to me. Gotta do what you can for social game ig (its ok now we're talking about romcoms)

iz me beech

what a gift, hi im mo. a dumb bottom who treats himself like shit so no one else does.

IM AN ALL STAR ISNT THAT INSANE. I cannot express how excited I am to be playing this game, plus I fucking love this cast. Like my tribe? Fantastic.

Alyssa - The sister I always wanted. I love her she’s so great.

Matt - New good friend and probably who I’m closest to at the moment I get happy when he gets online cus he gets me and my shit.

Jack - He can rap and he’s nice, what an icon.

Rhys - SUCH A SWEETHEART, I’m so excited to play with him again.

Karthik - Also super sweet, he seems like a genuine guy and I’m looking forward to playing with him.

Tobi - I love that I get to play with him again we haven’t talked all too much but we’ve talked a bit. (I definitely have my guard up around him just cus of something he did in Muxloe)

Bodhi - Kinda inactive unfortunately but he seems nice.

Mo - Dumb bitch.

sits. hi. so like. just like elara im gonna do a countdown to when i can play my legacy because yall CRAZY if you think im willing it to someone else... uh...WAIT.. I JUST REALISED... I THINK I COULD'VE SAVED BIG Z WITH MY LEGACY?? if only i knew he was going... sorry big z... you wont read this.. anyways. ok so. it is final 21. so. 15 (or 8 i guess...) people need to be voted out before i can play it.. i can DO IT. and this time i am not telling a SOUL about it. like. NO ONE.. and the beauty of the legacy is that people shouldn't really even suspect it exists.. heehee!

ANYWAYS! let's talk about the game. so. my tribe is a mess. i love zach and chloe... chris is a king.. i played elara with drew h and he's a babe so there's that. michael king. and sharky hasnt been on much because he's busy which is like awful timing n i feel bad especially if we lose because i think he might go? :-(

as for the other tribes.. bryce asked to be allies i said shure. i love rhys.. thats all bye

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UPDATE!! i love BODHI!!!!!!!!!!!! like..... wow. hes such a king. no words at all.

Our tribe has lots of stuff done on our sheet. I hope we are able to get it done. I hope we can win immunity, first tribal will suck.

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Omg. 3 minutes until sheets are locked. Im kind of nervous. I really want us to be immune.

My tribe mates- Rhys: he is amazing and i feel like we get along pretty well. We have been talking. Mitch: also very nice. Was the first person to message me and i really like him. Kori: we talked a bit. Is someone i need to talk to more. Bryce: my marmoreal f3. ❤️ Jared: amazing guy and really like talking to him. Would work with him. Stephen: the person i least have talked to but i need to talk to more.

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I’m am extemely excited that we won immunity. It gives me more time to talk and bond with these people. Im really liking my tribe. I hope we can keep winning immunity. (Knocks on wood)

We won! Yas! It's unfortunate that we couldn't snatch the reward, but we came close and I think that counts for something.

Chloe and Drew definitely carried the Orfeo tribe to their reward, meanwhile Karth practically killed Cyrena himself. I'm pretty happy being that perfectly middle score on my tribe. High enough to be a contributor, low enough to like not be a threat for try-harding or something.

I'm gonna hopefully take this time to get to bond with people more. Chloe and I are getting married apparently which is cute. She's honestly pretty sweet so I'm already a hardcore stan.

Gonna enjoy the time off, and see what this idol system is about. Maybe I'll get lucky this season.

i am OVERWHELMED like ok so most the cast i feel like doesnt like me. my tribe has ppl who arent super active (this is literally marmoreal flash backs) kori is so.. much idk JKFADSHFKJ like he just is rly.. there! jared is my new fave i love that man so much we are going so far KNOW that. rhys.. an angel i LOVE him i just get him and he gets me. maynor? doesnt reply idk its off. stephen.. not here. mitch? ignores me for long time. so ya that sucks but wooh jared and rhys! also LOVE chloe, loris, zach, maybe tobi!!!

YAAAAAAAAS safety is so important right nowwwww, having safety is crucial bc I wanna keep my friends in this game and keep building bridges. I also have a little advantage to help me search for the idol and nobody needs to know about it except me so hopefully soon I’ll have an idol in my back pocket!

The first few days of this game have been fun. I always enjoy getting to know a new tribe of people. Still, all of these people are essentially new to me. I've been in VL's with Kori and Mitch, and I helped host Jared in Wakea, but playing with people is a totally different ballgame. Still these 3 are probably the relationships I'm most interested in investing time in right now.

As for people off of my tribe, I feel pretty good about my old Komnata castmates. Alyssa, Zach and Karth all worked well with me in the pre-merge and I can definitely see myself working with them here as well. Chris is also my BFF I would literally die for him. Jack is also someone I know well and I know he's a good ally, but we're also playing another ORG together at this very moment (SBBB7) and I just made a move there knowing he wouldn't approve of it, so that's something I have to keep in mind as well. I think as long as I can set myself up well on this current tribe, I could be in it for the long hall!

Looking at the challenge results, it looks really bad for my bro Karth. It's gonna suck if he goes first because we instantly connected back in Komnata, but hey, I don't think I have the clout to save him here. It's the first tribal council and there's no basement to hide in this time.

Today is gonna be a big day though. Before Cyrena goes to Tribal Council, I'm planning to reach out to Mitch and Kori about formally becoming allies. Just like my first season, I'll use the idol search as my opening statement!

SO lots to discuss. First off, we got fucking demolished in immunity. Fucking embarassing. Matt Alyssa and I showed tf up with 100+, and Mo and Bodhi weren't far behind. Tobi did not have a good showing but FUCKING. KARTHIK. TWO POINTS? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? That's disgraceful this is god damn all stars you're a WINNER and you give 2 god damn 1 point submissions. Get the fuck out of my tribe. He should be the easiest first boot in history but of course everyone wants to pussyfoot around for the first 12-18 hours of tribal and not throw out a name. But there's no avoiding this. He's inactive, he has a bad timezone comparatively, and he did diddly poo in the challenge. He's. Gone.

Luckily I find myself with 2 quick alliances right out the shoot, a trio with Alyssa and Matt and a duo with Bodhi. I found myself gravitating to these 4 a lot the first couple days, Mo and Tobi are a bit quieter so I like these 3 allies for me moving forward. Sidenote, BoJack has got to be the greatest alliance name in Celestial history. I'd go back and look to compare but I'm lazy.

One World is still kicking my ass, a lot of people want to talk to me and I don't have the energy for it but damn it I guess I have no other choice, I can't just not respond to them.

Ok so fucking karthik made an alliance with Me, Mo, Matt. And spilled his heart out to us. But we left him on read and now he’s super lonely. Hopefully he doesn’t have an idol or whatever.

Also this game started!! I’m very busy with school but I have things to say. I’m close with some people from before, I really like Loris and Tobi and Alyssa. I’m feeling pretty good about my position right now.

Fuck yeah, not first boot!!! Although I would’ve loved to win as were so close, but can blame that on my tribe mates cause me and Bryce pulled through.

So right now, my closest ally I feel like would be Bryce. Primarily cause were on the same tribe and then I speak to him most on our tribe, and most of the other cast. Then would be jarred, so I want to make hopefully an alliance between them, maybe another, just to confirm my spot in the tribe.

Feel like my main goal is to make connection, as it seems like everyone else has some with other people. So like if it comes to me someone they don’t know, against someone they've player with before just looks bad for me. So I’m trying to make up with Michael, just so that’s one less target in my back.

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Also I talk to Zach a lot. But don’t trust him at all. We have been “dating” since the cast reveal. But he asked Mo to be in a showmance too?! Plus Bryce said he talks to zach the most but Bryce wasn’t in who Zach talks to the most.

This sounds like Tween drama but it’s so much more.

Am I being flirted with?????????

https://youtu.be/GBCr-tAsKTc

My slow self. In regards to the other castmates- I didnt realize how much I talked to the members of Tuatha. Bryce, Rhys, Kori all are red but I've probably done most of my talking with Jared and Stephen who I really wanna get together with at some point. I've reached out to other people like Jack and Alyssa and Mo. I may be forgetting some people but I'm just gonna keep talking up a storm with everybody!  If I had to pick my closest people so far, it definitely would be Jared, Stephen, Zach, and Michael.. stay tuned!

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I FLOPPED at this challenge hard. Drew and Sharky I am sorry for sharing you peeps on the low for being MIA when I was here and performed worse! I am happy we won though because I like my entire tribe and honestly I see a lot of good from them! And so the game begins!

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I am just putting gears in motion! I've made it clear with Stephen, Kori, and Jared I want to work with them. I want to get a cross tribe alliance going and it seems Tuatha is my in though I have to see about other people. As for Orfeo...I talked with Zach on starting a majority alliance with Chloe and Loris, we'll see how it goes and if it is legitimate but I definitely hope I can trust Michael enough to keep him. I still am gonna  not get comfortable because I can see myself being targeted but yeah

https://youtu.be/ia3DTwLWMi8

So we’re going to tribal... and honestly I’m terrified bc I was one of the poorer performers in the challenge but the thing is that Karthik got a whole ass 2 in the challenge... a challenge where you get 8/9 points for drinking water... so I would think he’d be the easy vote but everyone was SUPER quiet yesterday and no one wanted to give names but today is looking a bit better but I swear if I go home over karthik.... I. will. call. out. all. of. them. Not only was his score tragic but I don’t think he’s been social at all... people from other tribes think that karthik is definitely going so maybe I’m just crazy paranoid for no reason but idk I’ll have to talk wayyyy more to everyone just to be sure

well here is my first real confessional of the game! Sorry its late been busy.

So firstly my tribe is like super cute. I'm glad i don't know everyone cause then i would be worried, plus i do genuinely like getting to know new people so that is definitely a yay moment. I am also really liking this cast, though more wahmen would be nice but this is all stars, we r not casting wahmen for the sake of it. - anna jane 2k19.

The first challenge? selfie scavenger. a classic if i have seen one. a surprisingly difficult one at that but im glad how well i performed. top scorer on my tribe so i'm really glad about that and how I will be perceived as an asset for a while at least (we will see how that pans out longer down the line). but yay go me! Unforunately, we lost though so like UGH.

During immunity i approached alyssa and jack about a trio, who could control the tribe as i knew we would be high scorers and i genuinely like the two of them. also made sense becuase i sense we are the 3 most active. Karthik, who scored only 2 in the challenge, is probs the target due to inactivity LOL. tobi and mo i also like, but bodhi remains a mystery to me. might be a timezone thing idk but still. a tad worrying that i dont know him as well as i would like.

One World does my head in but im trying to talk to everyone. i've learnt though i need to make connections on my tribe first and foremost as they r the ones who vote, not people on other tribes. god i do hate one world tho. i want to be napping, not messaging people

think im gonna be in an alliance?? on day 3? is this a joke? literally winning...................  wow....

I usually make videos but today I am lazy so hello. So One World is ass because I don't want to talk to everyone but these people are crackheads so like I guess. Uhhhhh I'm in an alliance with Jack and Matt because I adore them both greatly. Mo is on my tribe which is so nice because we have played together before and he has such fun energy and is just a ray of sunshine so I'm very happy (although he makes me nervous cuz the last game we played together I killed him for no reason basically.... But I don't think he's the vengeful type). Tobi makes me nervous because I think he is a social king and I mean like... Idk I guess there are a lot of very social players which makes me nervous that I would be pushed out for maybe not being as social? Idk if that makes sense.

But anyway Karthik is also on my tribe and I was like OF COURSE. Because this is the man from my season who I cursed out via DR video for flipping on me LOL He is a sweetie though. I recently looked and saw he was rooting for me a lil in a game I was in which is really nice of him, especially seeing as I didn't vote him to win our season. I think he's going to be first boot. He was on vacation this weekend somewhere where there's no wifi (that's what he told me) and only sent in two things for the scavenger hunt, dooming us to a first tribal. I feel somewhat bad but have told people on my tribe that if not for Komnata's twist of the season he would've been out pre-merge easily because his overarching challenge performance is not great. So basically just reiterating to people that I'm not so sure that this was a fluke and overall I think it's probably just best for us to cut him.

Yeah that's it. I have so much crackhead energy from the games I've been playing as of late I feel like I majorly need to chill the fuck out. Here's to praying.

so everyone’s kinda agreed on voting out karthik due to him only scoring two points so I’m like ok cool i’m down but then karthik made an alliance chat with bodhi, matt and myself asking to be saved and

https://i.imgur.com/AxCzqxd.gif?noredirect

Sooo im making this last minute confessional to tell ya that I THINK im in a good spot. Im sharing my idol guesses with Stephen Z and Jared which is helping me build trust with them. I also have mutual trust with Kori. Maynor and Rhys are kind of boring tbh so hopefully they go soon. Bryce and I never seem to have good conversations so idk where his head is at. IM JUST HAPPY THAT MY CURSE OF ALWAYS GOING TO THE FIRST TRIBAL IS FINALLY LIFTED. I WONT BE FIRST BOOT YAHOO

Short and sweet, glad to be back, beast moded another selfie scavenger hunt. Got a good tribe, I think, couple of good friends, couple new people, at least one I think obvious boot should it come to that, but here's hoping it won't. Not a lot of players from my season so hopefully there won't be too much bad blood coming into this. Shoutout to Chloe Bryce and Tobi who are apparently contractually obligated to be in every fucking game I play on Facebook and associated communities for the rest of my life. 21 people is a lot to get through so I'm just hoping for merge, then we can go from there.

Well let's give confessing on my phone a try.

So far I feel like I've been making decent strides conversing with everybody. It's kinda weird how much I like everyone on this season. Its gonna make being a snake harder but I cant afford to blind myself I'll have to do whatever I'll have to do to hopefully win again.

I've made a sort of trio deal with Bryce and Chris as we're all former winners. I'd have included Kavish but we're all predicting he's more than likely the first boot alarm Tina. I'm growing closer to Zach and Clohie on the outer tribes. Also obviously still have my Bodhi connection. I'm talking with just about everyone a bit. Though I cant shake the feeling there is someone I've missed.

I am concerned not being in any sort of majority alliance on my tribe, so if we do lose that's worrisome but still not being the first boot is a huge relief for me, and hopefully there is only good for me going forward. (I say as 4 people probably plot my demise.)

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Karthik is voted out 5-1-1.

[survivemiddleearth]

Rites of Passage

-

Crow- Bruh. I thought we were going to be friends/allies in this game but then I hear you were telling the entire tribe how I was not to be trusted and as much as you mock me for my lack of a social game, it sure saved me there! But still love ya and hope things have gotten better, and hey, maybe you were smart for targeting me from the start :P

Dennis- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmc21V-zBq0 

Roxy- runaway with me noww  oh its come away with me fuck

Dylan- king of first boot

Well mine was short lol. but I think Crow has played an amazing game and def deserves this dub :)

Crow- Although I personally trusted you, you were just unfortunately the outsider from the start and with having proof of Drew/Zach sparing me, I didn't want to risk reaching my neck out for you and getting labeled as trying to play both sides. You were robbed though, it was just because our tribe was so garbage at comps...

Dennis- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2WWrupMBAE 

Roxy- We didn’t meet in this game

Dylan- king of second boot

-

Crow- Legendary flop! You were hilarious and completely messy and if there's any way to bond with me, it's that. Unfortunately flops are always targeted for some reason pre-merge (maybe cuz they wreck their tribe average??? no shade, but) but I would have KILLED for your commentary from post-merge onwards cuz I felt completely alone being the only one constantly hogging the spotlight :/

Dennis- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfHHv7yOYX0

Roxy- skinny legend

Dylan- you would have killed the lip syncing comp but these losers flipped the vote

Aah, what a fun time I had during this game (from the little I remember). I still would like to say it was a wonderful tribal, 8-0? wow so great. COuldn’t do it without people hating me <3 jkjk. Anyways! It was fun while it lasted and hopefully was fun for everyone that was in it too.

Crow-  Okay, truth be told, I really thought you were like the social queen of your tribe but when tribal came around and people said your name, I felt powerless, as the only person from Pikachu, to try and sway it, and especially when you seemed okay with it. Thank you for having a graceful exit, not many people can do that nowadays....

Dennis- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CID-sYQNCew 

Roxy- http://sketchtoy.com/68755176 

Dylan- queen of having crazy fast internet. accepted her defeat which was iconic 

This game seemed very fun and I loved the opportunity to play, I wish I didn’t get so busy so I could’ve backstabbed Roxy like I planned. Ah well. Congrats on getting so far I hope the game was fun for you all!

Crow- I know I'm a big reason why you were cut just shy of merge but it was more of a move to solidify Sammy/Johnny (and supposed to be Eric...) and break apart the potential trio I saw in you, Roxy, and Dennis (I mean, now I'm sitting next to both of them in f4 so can't say I regret it :P ) You were a very intelligent, brash guy and I hope you know that your placement was not indicative of your game. Hope the novel turns out well!

Dennis- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1tAYmMjLdY 

Roxy- MY AUSSIE BUDDY UGH/ I wonder how this game wouldve gone with you here. You were fun to talk to and play  with and i loved chatting about the shows we both loved together/

Dylan- king of being blindsided. second season where I watched you get blindsided from a different tribe. 

-

Crow- Thank god you didn't try in this game. I didn't even want to get into the ring with you again and go for Round 3. Thanks for making this one easy :P

Dennis-  You freaking stole my tom bombadil to just be inactive -.-

Roxy- L

Dylan-  making it to merge without doing anything ? queen

That damn bitch Beyoncé got me again huh. I swore I wouldn't let her after last time but she always has to have the last word. Thank god she's been outed as a satanic black witch!!! Thank you to the brave former drummer for walking in the light and exposing her depravity. I will expect my reparations settlement money in the mail.

Crow- Okay I literally feel so bad like comforting you in that round but know that I was completely blindsided by it myself so I really hope that wasn't misunderstood as me trying to make sure you were blindsided asghsgsho but thanks for taking the bullet then! Love a good shiel- bodyguard.

Dennis- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdCslA8xs98

Roxy-  nnnn I remember when I saw you in merge I was hyper excited to play with you. I never really allied with you or met you in games so finally getting to play with you finally a familiar face from your tribe was refereshing and welcoming. I told you to f2 me or im quitting lmfao. That lasted long ... rdfc Your vote off was a mess of flipping multiple names thrown and idols. I feel like we drifted during the day or 2 leading up to the tribal and we didn't really talk game that round which was sad. I really wanted to have you as a clsoe allly that game but it ended up the way it did since I saw jg as a closer ally.

Dylan- literally actually the most robbed person in this entire game. you were missed

This game was pretty fun. All of the people I was close to voting me out and losing on a twist was pretty shitty. I’d just never do these challenges ever again. :P

Crow- You're honestly just a mess. P.S. My beard is now gone because of you.

Dennis- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRh_vgS2dFE

Roxy- hahah hi hi johnny. “Daddy”. You are always a great blast to play with even though we have yet to truly get somewhere together. ALthough in hos we were close it was just a diverging of end game interests that tore us apart. I remember the jokes we made about applying for this org. I had no idea when I was applying that I would make it this far and when I applied for you as a joke haha. My biggest regret is not telling you about the vote and what was going down. Our relationship this game was sort of foggy but it was great while it lsted. 

Dylan- voted for me but you’re so lovable 

-

Crow- We were never on a pre-merge tribe together, then you made the big-ass move to blindside Drew at the first vote (without telling me, which no hard feelings) so when it came down to our mini-tribe's tribal, I felt like it was too little too late for both of us to try and make something happen together? I'd say we just fell on opposite sides rather than being enemies. But I hope you've been watching because I know you're an analytical guy who's obsessed with Survivor so I would love to hear your input as a juror.

Dennis- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YShWLjj1TO0 

Roxy- UGH SO ROBBED!!! We had so much potential to play a fun game together but the unmerge robbed us of that T_T im glad we got to play together for one round at least

Dylan-  you and I have a lot in common, we both put our trust in the wrong person.

Hey y’all! This was game was fun and fresh and I did better than last time so I definitely achieved my goal! There really wasn’t anything shady going on until the night I left and I’m sure that was aired out so I have nothing to spill. Tbh I was just bored and wanted to be messy and have fun. It was a fun last night! I had a great time playing with everyone and good luck to the final 4!

Crow- Truth be told, I really didn't see myself voting you out so soon. I thought we were working together, sorta, but it always felt like you had better allies? Which I don't fault you for, I know I was not the most critical ally, for like, anyone in this game, but that's purely the reason I decided to vote you out over Eric. I might regret it though since Eric pretty much shunned me from there on out and I know you would've really appreciated me saving you.....but it is what it is. (also you didn't swipe on my tinder so im kinda insulted but dats fine!)

Dennis- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfWlot6h_JM 

Roxy- Hey zach!! You seem like a really sweet person. We didn’t really hit if off and we never clicked together. WE had different allies and diff groups so us allyining was never really an option. I recon its just how the game unfolded and you were loyal to your allies while i was to mine and i respect you for that despite the mess of how you left. 

Dylan- why didn’t you give me the legacy idol. I’m kidding I would’ve misused it 

I really didn’t know what I was getting into here, and I REALLY liked it!! Who knew performing arbitrary semi-public tasks with complete strangers could be so much fun? I wish each of you the best, in the game and out of it. May Manwë smile upon those who walk the world; may Mandos rule with steady hand those who rest in his hall.

Crow- Literally, you were the only one I was just like, hey, he's probably not going to lie to me. And so it's ironic that we also never talked game other than the casual vote here and then....you were a very interesting person though so I wish I hadn't got caught up in the game as much and really tried to connect with you as a person, and for that, I take the blame.

Dennis- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE-1RPDqJAY 

Roxy- Ford!! When I first saw you in the scvanger hunt I asked "are you single ?" nnn you seem like a cool dude and you were fun to play with despite the fact we never really talkde game and we werent really aligned this game/ I still promised you to be honest to you and I think i pulled through on that. It was amazing fun to play with you and i hope you luck in yoru studies.

Dylan- you were amazing sweetie as a newbie you made it so far omg 

Hey guys! Like I said before I quit, I have no regrets about the game and how I played it. If I stuck around the community I would have loved to be friends with all of you! Best of luck to you all and may the best player win!

Crow- Hope everything is okay in your real life and I hope you were never offended by anything I did or said. I completely understand your game decisions and you don't ever need to apologize for them. You were a chaotic mess, but genuine and real, so you have my respect. You also proved what I've always thought you were (even back in Great Lakes) as a really go-getter type of player.

Dennis- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrcMMyNeJJs 

Roxy- rip gl with life

Dylan- I loved how we found middle ground during the F7. 

hiii yes i don’t have much to say. i had a blast and made some amazing friends and just goofed off a lot. No hard feelings, you are all icons...I’m rooting for one of you but i wish you all good luck!

Crow- Okay I love you as a person, but like, you also betrayed me for no reason so I'm a little confused as to why or how we stand now, but just know that whatever your reasons for doing so, it doesn't change how I see you as a person. And even through my bitterness in the betrayal, I will admit, you didn't deserve to go out like that.

Dennis- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSvFpBOe8eY 

Roxy- Sammy!! Weve had a very varied ride in our org careers and this game was no exception/ I feel like timezones really got to us this time round and early on our games diverged when I tried to save stephen and you tried to save Eric.  During merge and then unmerge i think you bonded more with jay and that tribe so we never really played as allies. Howveer i think the way you left did not give you justice. Jay letting you get idoled out after you were one of the few who stuck with her and then her quitting just because people were voting her out. You did NOT deserve that. And I was honestly  mad at jay for doing you dirty. 

Dylan- cirie who ? Jay shoulda used that idol on you you were the second most robbed queen 

-

Crow- Well, I had your back. I knew of multiple of your misdeeds in previous rounds and I think you knew that? But game-wise we were very compatible in playing styles (not similar, but definitely compatible - you were the strategic one, I was the......other...one) so although your exit was less than glorious for me, I do hope you find comfort in your gameplay and know that you were really impactful on the game, for better or worse.

Dennis- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXzDu071RdQ 

Roxy- nnnnnn she snapt

Dylan- there’s not enough space to describe anything but the takeaway is that I hope you know that like I actually genuinely care about your well being 

We just want to say a sincere thank you to everyone who came to have fun and played to their fullest extent. Jo and I have worked on this game for months and like we’ve said all along: the goal for this was for everyone to have fun in the chaos and the world of LOTR and Survivor combined. There’s a lot of drama and toxicity in the org community and in the world right now and if this game provided you with any sort of reprieve from either that’s all we could ever hope for. We hope you had a great time, we know we did, and we want to reiterate again: thank you all for bringing this game to life and for participating. Good luck to our final 4!

Love, 

Olivia and Joanna <3

[survivorreelsmagicwithin]

Episode 2 - “Y'all. Vote me out fr cause I'm inactive as fronk” - Joshua (through Autumn)

I hate flag-making challenges. I will not be helpful at all, and I hope that someone else can take the reigns and lead us to victory. I honestly feel safe going into a tribal council, but I do not want to test that theory.

Next morning

With Chips and Jules working on the crest designs, I feel confident that we will do well in the challenge. Maybe not the best, but definitely not the worst. I still have the same anxious feeling that my tribe is not active enough for my taste, but I will just have to live with it for now. Besides, at least this is not immunity because that we increase my anxiety by so much. But, I keep forgetting to search the idol hunt which is my bad, but it is just so hard and long that I do not really feel like searching all the time lol

ART CHALLENGE <333 i love these challenges. Jess made my picture 110% better and its super cute. The note that she wrote with it is also hella cute and I love the whole HP aesthetics bc i never got to go to real hogwarts ;-; but i'm sure most of yall can related. The boys weren't too helpful but nick was better than jacob who is sick. Nick was way more active aka jacob said 3 sentences the entire challenge sooooo…. if we lose idk I might just save jacob anyways bc pregame relations.

Won reward, but now we have to win immunity again. I really hope that this reward helps us continue to survive. I don't want to have to vote anyone out. We've been getting first, but I really just want to survive this challenge, its known to be hard.

I think I have been stuck with the second most challenge inept tribe in the history of my ORG career. I literally said so many answers in my version of the story and Jules just fucked it up. And then they got the girl's name wrong. And then they started mixing up characters. I know I did well, but fuck these people. God. Now we need a tribe to get 0 which is very unlikely. I will just resign myself to tribal. I hope and pray that these people have some common sense and do not want to vote me out

Listen. Listen. Listen. I dang knew this story was going to be Harry Potter based. I knew in my brain and in my heart that I shouldn’t have been the one to start that thing. What do I do? Start the dang thing. Oh well. We did alright. I would be shocked if we won tho but if we don’t I’ll be relieved. I def don’t feel confident enough but I really had a lot of fun with my tribe. I really miss this and really hope that my time isn’t cut short! I feel really good about my tribe mates sincerely. And that’s kind of scary! I would hate to see any of us to go and how it’s going to affect the bond we have if we vote someone out. In this moment with Max sitting out, it may be him who goes if we go to tribal. I hope that isn’t the case. I’ve got my fingers crossed for us. Huff Puff strong!

Honestly Jules dropped the ball sis!! But it’s okay, I love her. She’s really nice and I know she tried her best. Plus she’s in an alliance with me and Owen, so we should have the numbers against Joanna or Miguel if we go to tribal. Personally, I’d prefer Joanna to go. She’s kinda domineering, but she’s also an asset in challenges thus far. She is organized and direct. I’ve also talked to her a bit more than Miguel, so I guess I don’t really care who goes.

I’m happy I didn’t fuck up the reward comp and the shit that I drew got us a win!

I really hope I don't bomb that challenge, I answered everything that Kevin talked to me about.... I think!  The rest of them tried very hard but I am SOOO glad that I asked to do my part at the end because my memory of repeating things is horrendous but I'm usually pretty good at bullshitting test answers... too bad I got some of the multiple choice stuff wrong.

I think that if we do lose I am still in a good spot on this tribe and hopefully I won't be in danger.  I feel like I'm on everyone's good side and Max kind of just disappeared so maybe we could just vote him out this round? Idk.

Hopefully we don't have to worry about it.  I smell a swap coming up pretty soon and I just hope I'm either with Owen or with some of the people from my tribe.  I have no idea if they know anyone or are close with anyone in the other houses.

I'm still feeling the closest to Lily and Kevin but I have been talking to Landen a good bit too these days so hopefully we'll be safe or we can all just agree on Max.

16 minutes later

OOOOOH IS LANDEN PAVING THE WAY FOR A MOVE TO SEND MAX PACKING???

He just told me that me, lily and kevin are precious angels that must be protected and that he likes Max when he's around too so that sounds like something... HMMM...

I can't get cocky, I always go home when I get cocky. But I like this.

my host chat saw this first (shout-out to Drewie and Dennis): Y’all I’m an idiot. I thought I only knew 2 people in this game (Owen and chips). Then I remembered I also know Jess, Autumn, and dan. Literally love and respect each of you my brain just don’t got the strongest memory no more. I’m so sorry!!!! I literally just told landen I only know 2 ppl. I’m just gonna try to not remember it happened.

Ugh.....I need to get it together.

I love my tribe talking to each other now that we have to!! Everyday I'm like damn either I'm on the bottom or I'm not the only one with piss poor social game. Ok so... the moment the hosts said we got 1 point, I started getting ready for tribal lmaaaooo. No sense crying over it either because all the tribes basically just had to show up in order to beat that

Like how could we not go to tribal with a score of ONE? That shit's embarrassing hahaha. That's like when your teacher passes the test back to everyone sitting around you but not you so you KNOW it's bad. But you know what? It's all good cause I'd rather us take the L now and get it out the way and we can all laugh about it cause losing won't be funny after long. The real question is: will Gryffindor do this the easy way or the hard way caaauusse we all know who the weakest link is. I just wanna see if someone puts two and two together without my prodding. Chips already said we voting together right and I'm like yes sir. There's no better place than being on the same page

WE WON OMG!! Jules basically gave me nothing, which is fine, i understand, but i'm so impressed that we pulled that off. Absolutely killing these reward challenges really helps!

"Y'all. Vote me out fr cause I'm inactive as fronk."

Tonight we learned Joshua is a feminist selfless man that I stan because he's volunteering to go home without me having to put his name out, which I was going to do. Like imagine if every guy had that kind of self-awareness, to recognize why he should be the vote and then embrace it instead of wreaking havoc. And wanting to see others succeed more than yourself? King shit! He knew when to hang it up and did just that. Like the number of times I've seen a vote get complicated for no fucking reason because everyone wants a fight to the death. Enough- I'm old, tired, and cannot exert too much energy at once. We got a long game ahead of us, not to mention quarantine. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you Joshua. We need more players like you and I appreciate your service

im back back BACK AGAIN with another confessional! not much has changed but a few updates for the sake of these being required :) 1. max has become even more inactive, he's not reached out to me personally since the first day and any time i messaged him after that he's sent me nothing back that i can build a convo off of, so we just have stopped speaking. Luckily this challenge only required four people and everyone else SHOWED UP!! or at least spoke about their availability, while he did not. However in his defense he said he was having some issues at home and i feel for him but his inability to connect has been an issue before he spoke about anything in our tribe chat with us. I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt but this point my relationships with the other 3 are leaps and bounds ahead of where I am at with Max. Maybe he can pick up some speed if we continue winning challenges but, it's not looking too hot. SPEAKING OF CHALLENGES, well first we lost reward AGAIN, but we won immunity.. AGAIN! thank goodness for not being first or second boot, i always love being able to avoid these early tribals and if i can get to a swap without seeing one that would be ideal, but also if we do go and maybe vote out max? wouldn't be the worst thing. Moral of the story we won and thats exciting! however.. if we didn't.. the first big push of strategic talk came up with landen when he hinted at being frustrated with max's lack of presence which I also share. I do believe if we lost me and landen could have most definitely picked up ruthie and lily to form a four against him, if he even came to tribal. That would be my ideal situation and if we continue on this tribes hopefully it gives me a nice cushion to fall on if we do lose so i dont have to entirely blow up my social game within the first few rounds by voting out someone i've built a connection with. If max can go and the remaining four hufflepuffs can make a swap I would feel good about that, and maybe in the right circumstances we could work together on the swapped tribes because i genuinely like all of these people (yes max too but in this specific scenario he wouldn't be included bc... well..) anyways to close this off i still absolutely ADORE lily, she is fun and our conversations are really good, and same goes for ruthie, hopefully i dont have to see either of them or myself go home before we can really start playing because i think we could do some damage. :) ok anyways this was longer than i thought it would be goodbye

I'm still not over the fact that I was able to answer 7 of those questions right. I have the memory of a plastic fork.  I also love that we are SAFE!

I do kind of hope things get spicy and we swap this round and become two tribes of 9. That'd be cute. I don't want VI to get bored and crack on me. BUT ALSO I think I have solid enough relationships with almost everyone on this tribe... so who knows?!

Also... these hoes really out here trying to search for an idol in PUBLIC. IN PUBLIC. WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON HERE?

Dear diary, seems like we keep winning challenges, which is great but tbh i feel like every time i give a disadvantage to my team because english is not my first Language, and so far its been a vocabulary test and a listening and speaking test. I mean I knew I signed up for school but damn. Give me some macarena  or drinking tequila challenge and I'll crush it

bippity boppity boo im back again with almost no content kdfasjhdskjfh

Ravenclaw working smarter and we keep winning, period!!! Thankful that y'all put Dan and I together....bc truly we will be unstoppable in these competitions. I kind of want to lose soon though to see how things would shake out, but I don't really have bad blood with anyone. Joanna seems passionate enough in the tribe chat and the challenges, even if she's dry in PMs. Miguel still won't give me anything other than a "how are you," but I hope the best for him in life lol

Still love Jules and Dan, and we made a three person alliance, but I haven't talked with either of them much one on one since it happened.... I really need to step the social game up eventually, but right now, I'm coasting, and maybe that's what I need before I find the time and resources in this game to strike!!

The idol hunt is hard but Dan seems onto something. Honestly he's gonna be a big threat sooner or later so he's sticking around as long as I can keep him! The last two games I've been in I've seen "goats" get dragged to the end and locked in final 3 positions, and then these perceived goats have ended up winning. so I want the big players in this game to rise to the top and fight it out in the end!

let’s say i am como we dice.. fed up with a lot :flushed: a lot meaning joshua starting to get on my nerves a bit! he’s genuinely sweet n all but.. the way he complained about us losing by putting down others work HHH pissed me off. which is why i will be voting him out hehe.. but so far my misting has worked because no one wants to vote me out! mwah

Slytherin killed the memory challenge. We thought we were all gonna flop bc all of us thought we sucked at memory stuff. um well we knocked it out of the park? Ravenclaw got 4 and huff/gryff got 1. We got 7 so oops. I do hope things turn out well for Gryffindor but no one I really know/care about is in that house so I'm not too worried. I hope they continue to lose or even hufflepuff since ravenclaw has 2 of my friends in it.

I have been TERRIBLE with confessionals but only because there's really not been much going on? I have an alliance with Dan and Owen, and even though I wrote off Joanna I was DEFINITELY wrong in doing that. Miguel is sort of the outlier. Our team is kinda iconic though? We've done so well on all the challenges. I might be the weakest link? More to come.

it's pretty sad but the whole tribe has agreed to vote max if we lose, basically he's just never around because of what's going on at home and like thats sad but... we gotta do what we gotta do *shrug*. I'm really feeling good about Hufflepuff moving forward, i've never bonded this much this easily with EVERYONE on a tribe and i just feel like if we keep winning or even if we lose and have to vote out max, we could be a great group for the future. especially i feel great about working with kevin, we dominated eve's game after eve came between us in 2020 that dastardly witch... :P (juuust kiddin. love ya!) but now we could totally do well in this game too i think.....

lily and ruthie are just so sweet and we really bond talking about pretty much anything,, especially lily is a great conversationalist and i just find it so natural to talk to them both. i'd love to work with any combination of people from hufflepuff in the future, hopefully i start sucking a little less at all these challenges. i think i did pretty great on memory :D

So here is the summary of what has happened since last time

We had a reward challenge that was drawing. Mine sucked. Apparently 3/4 so no reward.

We played Telephone. My team didnt realize that details are the most important parts of that and didnt share then with Autumn so Autumn didnt share them with me. Then I didnt know them when asked about them.

We scored 1 point and lost. Since I still have no alliance I'm scared that it could be me. So I kind of got an idea how everyone was feeling.

Juls let me know she wanted to vote Joshua and- it's not me so that's fine!

Then I was talking to Autumn about it and - OOP! Josh asked to be voted out. So unless he plays an idol I'm supposing he is leaving after asking to go.

woo my tribe won immunity!! we are safe! i’m glad bc i’m forming good relationships with ppl on my tribe. i think we all get along rly well so i hope we keep winning. the challenge was fun and i slayed bc i’m skinny mwah

Ya know what’s refreshing? Being on a tribe that actually wins!!! The last three games I’ve played I’ve been on flop ass starting tribes.

Now we’ll lose every challenge

10 minutes later

This sickening bitch just found a hidden immunity idol!!!! Good until f6 L A D I E S!!!!!!

HI BARBS SO I WAS GROUNDED SO I MISSED THE CHALLENGE BUT MY HUFFLEPUFF BABS SLAYED SM SO IM LIVING

CONFESSIONAL 2.1 —

Not much strategy has happened this episode, just simply tribal bonding! We are SlytherWINNING, getting reward and immunity this time! How wonderful.

Regarding my tribe mates, I love all three. I pray, pray, pray we make swap, i do Noh want to be a dirty bad guy and have to vote one out.. yet. Haha.

I was drunk during immunity, one full glass of rum & coke, so I am shocked that we won immunity. Honestly, I feel silly admitting I was drunk to my tribe because... if I can do that when drunk, imagine if I was sober. Competition Beast, duh.

I also gave up my run this round for the tribe to use. Was partially social, partially I just do not understand how to do the Hunt, so I might as well help the greater good. Either way, it comes off positively.

Hoping for a smooth journey for a little longer!

x nick

Joshue has basically quit at this point so I have no fear going into tribal

[sparxwrites]

(for someone who asked to stay anonymous: a bit of vax whump and sibling comfort, with gratuitous amounts of playing fast and loose with dnd mechanics stats. massive shoutout to anon, though, for a) giving me an excuse to write something so enjoyable, and b) being incredibly patient, since rl got in the way of this being written for a while. you’re the best. c: )

warnings for severe (mostly non-graphic) injuries, blood, whump

[ao3]

If they’d known when they took the contract with the Slayer’s Take that Manticore by no means meant only one of the goddamn things, thought Vax, viciously, then they might have come a little better prepared. Healing potions, a full night’s sleep, all their spells – rather than no potions, a night out drinking, and half Pike’s heavenly light spent on easing all of their hangovers.

It was stupid of them, really, overconfident and symptomatic of how arrogant they’d gotten in their power, but things were always clearer with hindsight.

Which is how they’d ended up here – with Vex and Vax soaring high above the battlefield, engaging with the manticores on their own turf, and surveying the field. With Grog stuck through with so many manticore spines he was beginning to look like a porcupine, snarling and red-eyed with rage. With Percy stumbling, a chunk taken out of his side by a vicious swipe from a manticore’s paw. With Vex, too preoccupied by the hit her teammate and now-lover had just taken, by trying to alert the others that he needed healing, to notice her surroundings.

Distracted by calling down to Pike, Vex failed to see the danger she was in. Failed to take note of the manticore’s enraged snarl, its gaping maw, the spikes on its tail bristling as it raised a paw to swipe-

It wasn’t a conscious action, putting himself between his sister and the manticore, it just was. With a powerful beat of his wings, he hurled himself between the oblivious half-elf on the broom and the monster, his daggers raised – and he never got a chance to throw them.

The manticore’s tail, already curved high above its head, pulsed, and suddenly there was pain. Dull, and distant, the shocky kind he’d long since gotten used to and had come to know was bad news. When he looked down, mouth half-open around a noise of surprise that didn’t quite manage to make it past his throat, it was to the sight of a thick, purple-black spine stuck straight through the point where shoulder met collar bone.

He’d already begun dropping like a stone, wings skewered through in three separate places and gone cold and numb with the shock of it, when the swipe of the manticore’s foreleg caught him.

The paw slammed into his ribs with an audible thump that he felt through his chest, his stomach, his pelvis. He heard the way it rattled his teeth, even through the ringing in his ears, and the gods-awful crunch of bone beneath heavy muscle. After everything else, he thought, distant and pain-delirious, as the claws raked deep through his armour and dug four ragged, bloody furrows into his skin, it was almost insult to injury. He was already falling, was probably going to be dead the minute half-elf became intimately acquainted with dirt, there was really no need to-

The world went dark long before he hit the ground.

-

Consciousness came back in bits and pieces, patches. The pain came first, dull and throbbing – rising to a roar as he clawed his way towards alertness, his heart pounding in his ears and his breath wet and rasping in his lungs, soft dirt beneath his fingers. It was almost enough to make him let go again, sink back into the blissful, dark silence he’d been floating in before, but surrender had never been in his nature before. He wasn’t going to let a little pain win, not now, not when there was still a fight going on, not when his teammates might still be in danger. Not when his sister might-

His sister.

Sound came next – shouting in his ear, the roar and clash of battle, faintly tinny through the earring, and Vex’s voice, her voice, she was alive – and then sight, red and black pulsing against the insides of his eyelids. They were closed, and he was almost grateful, in an odd way. It meant he had an opportunity to prepare himself, before he opened them, for what he might see. Vax had had his share of injuries in his time, as any adventurer had, but this… this was bad. He could tell that much, even without opening his eyes, just from lying there on his side in the blood-damp dirt and existing.

He dragged in a slow, jagged breath, rattling in his chest, and nearly sobbed with the agony of it. Gods, everything hurt, from his head to his ribs all the way down to his knees and ankles, every inch of him a concerted scream of pain. “…Gods,” he managed, wheezing, the word little more than a copper-wet breath, the sound barely making it past the blood slicked thick and sickening over his tongue. “Oh, gods, that- that hurts-”

It helped, a little, to hear himself speak, the sound of words grounding enough to draw him a little further back into the realms of consciousness.

Or, rather, it helped until someone spoke back. Champion, whispered a voice in his ear, Her voice – and that was a little worrying, that She was talking to him, given… well.

Vax didn’t feel like he was dying, felt like he was probably in too much damn pain for that, but even so. His Goddess, the Mistress of the transitional space between life and death, whispering in his ear as he lay prone and bloodied, wasn’t exactly the most comforting thing right now.

“Fuck,” he rasped, into the dirt, moving his jaw tentatively and tasting iron on his tongue. He spat, trying to clear his mouth of the bitterness, and drew in another slow, careful breath. It hurt just to exist right now, every breath a fight with his body to not choke on it, but he forced himself to keep breathing – slow, measured inhales and exhales, trying to keep them shallow, trying to ease the awful grinding sensation right below the split-open leather of his armour. Definitely broken ribs, then. “Fuck, I’m- alive? Right? Definitely… defi- def- alive.”

Breathing was hard. Speaking was harder.

Yes, my Champion, you are, replied the Raven Queen, despite the fact Vax had aimed his question more at the universe in general – and his own body, specifically, given the fact it was currently, loudly protesting that death would have been the more comfortable option. Really, that should have been a good clue that he was still alive. Death, he was sure, couldn’t possibly hurt this much. It is not yet your time. There is more for you to do. You must live. Stay awake. Do not succumb.

“Trying,” said Vax, tightly, attempting to take stock of the pain. Ribs, back, the join between chest and shoulder… his legs, thankfully, didn’t hurt badly enough to make him think they were broken, so if he could get to his feet, he should be able to walk. Theoretically. He didn’t really want to try, didn’t even want to think about trying, but lying here bleeding into the dirt wasn’t helping anyone right now. “Glad I can- can still be useful. That’s- ah, ah- the- the priority here-”

Manners, the Raven Queen chided him, gentle but cold. Despite the pain, he felt a chill of disapproval run down his spine, and shivered where he lay. …Take care of yourself, my champion.

He grit his teeth, and did his best to ignore her, and focused on trying to get to his feet. Despite the lethargy and pain throughout his body, there didn’t seem to be any other option. If he kept laying here, he’d no doubt pass out again, and then he’d be lucky if the rest of Vox Machina even found his corpse, let alone him whilst he was still alive.

It seemed to take an hour to get himself even to hands and knees, a slow, agonising process where his legs shook and his arms screamed every time he tried to put weight on them. His broken ribs ground horrifically in his chest with every breath every movement. The wound in his side had begun to bleed again, slow and sluggish through its attempts to scab over. He could feel the blood seeping between the leather of his armour and his skin, slimy and unpleasantly lukewarm.

Despite the age it seemed to take, it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes before he was on all fours. He was half-blind with the pain and exertion of it, panting shallowly in a desperate attempt to keep his lungs from being punctured by the moving fragments of bone in his torso, but he was something approaching mobile.

It was obvious, though, from the effort it had taken him to get this far, that walking was entirely out of the question. Even being a foot or so off the ground was making his vision dim alarmingly, and one arm was hanging at his side, useless and oddly icy-numb for some reason he wasn’t sure he wanted to work out. The odds of actually managing to get upright, and then staying that way for any length of time, he suspected, were close to zero.

With no other option, and with the desperate urge to get back to his sister being the only thought managing to make it heard over the agony, Vax began to crawl.

He made it barely six feet before his knees and elbows threatened to give way, his head both swimming and pounding from an exciting combination of – he assumed – blood loss and concussion. Gasping, he leant his side against the trunk of the nearest tree to steady himself, careful not to put any more pressure on the gashes or his broken ribs, and took a moment to consider his situation.

Crawling wasn’t going so well – though, all things considered it could be going worse. But it wasn’t going to get him back to his team by any stretch, not without a miracle. And he suspected that flying, though he hadn’t dared try it yet, would be an even worse option.

His wings were… well, fucked was the first word that came to mind, as he took in the blood streaked through the dark, glossy feathers, adding glints of red to the usual oilstick blue-purple-green. He braced himself, and tried to pull them in, fold them against his spine neat and flat against his back like he usually held them, and-

The resulting starburst of pain down his spine and through his shoulders nearly dropped him to the ground again, and he couldn’t help but cry out at the pain of it – loud and sharp enough that several nearby birds took flight, scared out of their nests. “Shit,” he gasped, slumping even more heavily against the tree next to him. The bark was digging into his open wound, pressing painfully against the shift of his ribs, but he could barely notice it over the overwhelming, ringing agony. “Oh, fuck- that’s- okay, okay-”

Though several of the spines through his wings had snapped off or been dislodged when he hit the ground, it seemed that one had not. It also seemed as though that one had skewered straight through his shoulder to the elbow-joint of his right wing, pinning it open and leaving him light-headed with the breathtaking agony of it shifting.

One trembling, unsteady hand reached up to clutch the earring still hooked through one earlobe, blood-slick fingers slipping on the smooth metal-and-gem surface of it, smearing a bloody streak across one cheek. “Um, guys…?” he asked, when his breath had come back to him enough that his voice was only shaking, rather than barely more than a whimper. “Ah, aha, um. Jenga, I think.”

The brief clarity and sharpness of senses that the adrenaline of getting up had granted him was fading, fast, but he was aware enough to notice that the previous cries of the manticores had gone silent. He hoped that meant the battle had been won, rather than… any of the other things it could mean, each more unpleasant than the last.

For a long, horrifying moment, there was nothing but silence, and Vax ran through all the awful possibilities – they were all dead, they’d all abandoned him, they hadn’t noticed he was gone, they were out of range and he was going to die here, alone, in some shitty forest, stuck through with manticore spines like a porcupine and bleeding out against a tree-

“Vax?!” cried Keyleth, in his ear, and he’d never been so grateful to hear the sound of her voice before, the fluttering anxiety in it only amplified by her post-battle adrenaline. “Vax, oh my gosh, what happened- where are you- we only just noticed you were gone, you’re so stealthy most of the time, we thought you were just sneaking around, I’m so sorry- oh, oh, are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need healing? I mean, we’re mostly out of healing, now, but-”

“Brother!” interrupted Vex and, despite everything, Vax felt a knot of tension in his chest uncurl. His sister was alive, and safe. She was alive. He’d done his job, and protected her. “What in gods name did you do this time, you idiot? Where are you? Please tell me you’re not hurt.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at that – and then regretted the action immediately when his chest seized up, the agony taking his breath away for a long heartbeat. “…I fucked up,” he admitted, voice strained and heavy with pain, smiling lopsidedly though he knew Vex couldn’t see him. “Manticore got me. Or- was gonna get you, but then I… well. Anyways. Had a bit of a crash-landing.” He heard Vex inhale, sharply. “So, ah, like I- like I said. Jenga?”

It was meant as a joke, but it came out small, and scared, and unsteady.

There was, abruptly, ground beneath him, and he wasn’t sure when he’d slid far enough down the tree for that to happen, but it was there all the same. It seemed incredibly appealing, right now, the idea of tipping sideways and curling up on the ground and just sleeping, for a while – despite the fact the ground underneath him was damp, soft under his twitching fingers, and he was fairly sure it was wet with his own blood. The wound on his side had left a bloody streak down the side of the tree as he’d slid, livid and gory, and pulled his eyes away from it with an effort of will to stare at the sky above him instead.

They’d done this often, he and Vex, when they were younger and on their own – slept outside in a forest, under the night sky, in a makeshift camp made of a fire, and a single bedroll, and the two of them squashed into it. They’d cuddled close in the darkness and stillness of the woods, Trinket a pile of warm, snuffling fur nearby, and the stars glittering through the branches overhead…

He pulled himself back to the present with an effort of will. It was getting harder to focus, his thoughts scattering before him like cats, impossible to corral.

“Hey, uh, sis?” he said, faintly, aware that Vex was talking in his ear, asking more questions about where he was, what his injuries were, but struggling to process the words through the slow pounding in his head, and the pain rising up like a wave to consume him once more. “I’m just gonna, um, pass out now, I think. Getting kinda, kinda… hard, to, um, to stay… awake. Just… gonna…”

Champion! whispered the Raven Queen in his ear, insistent and impossible to ignore, even as Vex’s voice rose to a panicked, desperate shout through the earring – but his pulse was drumming in his ears, now, louder than anything else. Vision pulsing red-black and the pain through every inch of him threatening to swallow him whole, Vax couldn’t help but let his eyes slip slowly, slowly closed.

-

For a while, there was nothing but darkness.

Darkness and silence, and the feel of feathers cold and silky against the naked skin of his back, of porcelain arms around the ephemeral vulnerability of his soul, holding him, keeping him, protecting him, from… something. He wasn’t sure what, but he could feel it tugging, trying to drag him away from the peace, deeper into the darkness. The arms and feathers held him tight, though, wrapped in a mother’s embrace like a small child, until-

“-won’t wake up!” The voice seemed a long, long way away, through the heartbeat in his ears and the red-smeared darkness against the inside of his eyelids. There was warmth, though, against his back and shoulder, and a hand pressed to his cheek, his wing, his chest in quick succession. “Vax? Vax, darling, brother, please, please, wake up- please-”

It took everything he had to pry his eyelids open, heavy beyond belief, and drag himself out of the sucking dark he’d gotten himself mired in. But he did, clawed his way out of unconsciousness, because that was his sister, that was his sister calling for him, and he’d never had the heart to deny her anything.

“Oh, thank gods,” breathed the blurry shape of Vex above him when his eyes finally fluttered open, her breath hitching in her chest – though he couldn’t think why that would be. Was she hurt? Had the manticore injured her, after all? He reached a hand up to touch her face, scared by the amount of blood smeared down the front of her chest, over her hands.

“You’re… bleeding,” he managed, the words soft and slurred, blinking a little to try and pull her into focus. “What’d you…” The ending to the sentence escaped him, too much effort, too many words for his tongue – heavy with exhaustion, slippery with blood – to manage where it sat swollen inside his mouth. Instead, he lifted an arm, slowly, with the paltry energy he had left, and let his worryingly numb fingers brush against her cheek. They left a streak of crimson behind, crumbling and drying and smeared across the high flush of her cheekbone.

Vex laughed, watery and scared, and he felt her fingers around his wrist, tugging his arm back down to his side. “No, no, darling, that’s not- I’m not hurt, don’t worry, don’t- don’t move, just stay still, now, stay still, it’s okay. It’s okay. We’ve got you.”

He wasn’t sure why she was trying so hard to reassure him, when she was the one bleeding, but he didn’t have the energy to ask, to pull his scattered thoughts into words. Instead, he just hummed quietly, low in his chest, and tried to sit up, so he could shift into a more comfortable position against her.

Tried being the operative word – he got barely an inch out of Vex’s lap before the pain reminded him of its existence, spiking sharp and blinding and overwhelming. He collapsed back against her with a quiet, wheezing sob, his breathing too choked to manage to scream building in his chest, and scrabbled for her hand with his good one in a desperate attempt to find comfort against the renewed onslaught of the agony.

“Pike?” he heard, over the roaring in his ears, as his vision turned an awful crimson, red bleeding in from the periphery until it had consumed his world. Vex’s voice seemed distant, tinny. “Pike, Pike, please- we need a healer- now- I managed to stop the bleeding, but it’s not enough, it’s not enough-”

She sounded so scared, his sister, so much fear in her shaking voice as she cried out for their cleric, and Vax’s heart ached with it. He wanted to reach out and reassure her, but that was beyond him, now – his limbs weren’t responding to his calls to action, and besides, he could barely see. The red behind his eyes was pulsing in time to his heartbeat, in time to the pain throbbing through every inch of him.

“I’m- Vex, I’m out of healing!” He hadn’t seen Pike, but she sounded so close, as if she were talking into his ear – and, despite everything, the sound of her voice comforted him, through the pain that was subsiding in slow, rolling waves. If Pike was here, everything would be okay. Pike always fixed everything. Always. “I burnt my last spell on Percy, before we realised Vax-”

“Keyleth?” Vex was asking, desperately, before Pike had even finished speaking. “Scanlan? Anyone? Do we have any healing potions left, anything, he’s- please, he’s bleeding out, I don’t know- I don’t know-”

Her breath was hitching in her chest, voice shaking, and Vax could tell she was crying. He wanted to comfort her, but there wasn’t anything of him left to provide comfort, past the chunks of him being stolen by the pain, the agony, the endless, breathless throbbing throughout his whole body. All he could do was lay there, listening to her cry, trying to ride out the starburst of pain until it settled back down into something approaching manageable.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed, lying there in his sister’s arms – probably only a minute or so, but the pain stretched everything out, turned every second into an agonising eternity. He let his eyes slip closed again as he focused on controlling his breathing, stopping the frantic heave of his chest, before finally opening them again at the touch of a new hand against his skin.

Pike was on her knees next to him, gently moving Vex’s hands out the way to get a look at the damage. Her face fell at the sight of him, which was less than reassuring, but Vax managed a faint smile, nonetheless. His mouth tasted of copper-salt, slimy down into his throat, when he gasped out a, “Hey, Pickle,” in response to her fingers pressing gently against the bloody line of his throat, checking for a pulse.

“He’s responsive, which is good,” said Pike, softly, offering him a brief, tight quirk of her lips in response to his words, before looking up at Vex. “But there’s… this. Vex, this is- a lot. Even with magic, I’m…” She sniffled, chewing on her lower lip, and Vax was horrified to see tears shiny and determinedly unshed in her eyes.

Vex sobbed, quietly, and Vax felt the arms around him tighten, almost painfully. “Pike,” she whispered, voice low and wet with tears. “Pike, please. We just- we just need to get him back to Vasselheim, that’s all, please, just- do something, anything. Please. He can’t- he can’t- I need him, I- I…”

Behind Pike, Vax could see the rest of them – Percy, Scanlan, Grog and Keyleth, in various states of mildly to moderately battered – watching with horror. He smiled a little, in what he hoped was a comforting manner, but was probably more terrifying than anything else with the amount of blood in filling his mouth, staining his teeth pink. Keyleth gasped, softly, hands flying up to cover her mouth, and Percy winced, looking away.

Scanlan, though, stepped forward. “I’ve got one healing spell left,” he said, slowly, uncharacteristically serious as he eyed Vax’s crumpled, battered form on the ground before him. “It’s… not much. But it might be enough to stabilize him, at least until we can get him to help.”

“That spike needs to come out,” added Percy, abruptly, his eyes now fixed on Vax, the slow, uneven rise and fall of his chest. He was unnaturally pale, a slightly grey tinge to the skin of his cheeks, and his hands were shaking – Vax hadn’t seen them do that in months. “The one through his shoulder, I mean. It’s- well, it’s stopping him bleeding out, so ideally it should stay where it is-” He looked at Pike for confirmation, who nodded, rubbing at her eyes to clear the unshed tears from them. “-but it also looks like it’s pinning the wing open. It’s going to be hard to move him, like that.”

Pike nodded again, taking a deep breath and pulling herself together – and, as Vex watched, transformed from their friend to their cleric, steady as a rock and in total control the situation. “Right,” she said, determinedly, petting Vax’s hair as his laboured breathing slowly turned wet with the constant grinding of ribs in his chest. “Right. Scanlan, I’m- come here. I’m going to pull the spine out, and then you need to close the hole, and then… then we’re going to need to get back to Vasselheim as fast as possible. Grog, you’re going to have to carry him.” She didn’t wait for a response, but instead turned back to Vax, looking down at him with regret in her eyes. “Hey, Vax. This… this is gonna hurt a bit, okay?”

“Hurts already,” mumbled Vax, the corner of his mouth quirking up as he held her gaze, eyes cloudy with pain. “…Trust you, Pickle. Do- do what you gotta…”

Her hand left his hair as Scanlan knelt down next to both of them, the faint prickle-whisper of his magic already curling around him like a warm, familiar cloak in preparation. “Okay, now, Vax,” she said, gently, her hand curled light and loose around the broader end of the spine where it stuck out the front of his shoulder. Even just that light touch was enough to jar it, shift the spines hooked into his flesh all the way through the wound, and he couldn’t quite manage to swallow the sob of pain and fear that slipped free of his throat. “We’ll go on three, okay? And then it’ll be all over, and we can get you back to somewhere safe, with healing. Okay. On three, now. One, two-” And, before he had a chance to brace, to tense up, she pulled.

Oh, gods, did it hurt.

Vax howled, arching in his sister’s lap, newly-unpinned wing beating helplessly against the dirt at the pain. There was someone screaming, an awful sound, animal with pain and terror. He thought it might be him, but he couldn’t tell – not through the agony of it that had consumed his entire world, narrowed it down to the single point of flame and horror that was his shoulder and wing-joint. Even if it was him, he wouldn’t be able to stop, his everything focused on keeping breathing, not blacking out, as the pain threatened to drag him back down into the darkness once more.

Then there were hands on his shoulder, covering the wound, and a familiar voice weaving a gentle melody as magic trickled into him, warm and comforting, and the pain eased, and-

Finally unpinned, and half-healed, he took as deep a breath as he could manage, and another, and pulled the wings back into him. It hurt, a sharp flash of broken bone and bruised, punctured tissue, but the relief of no longer having them corporeal more than outweighed the pain. “Fuck,” he whined, and he could feel now that he was shaking, fine tremors running through him from the adrenaline comedown and exhaustion and steadily-mounting shock. “Oh, oh, fuck- gods, that- ah-”

Arms slipped around him, broad and muscular and safe, and lifted him gently into the air. “Up we go,” rumbled Grog’s low, familiar voice – and, even through the heavy cloud of agony surrounding him, Vax felt comforted by it. “C’mon, shithead. Let’s get you back.”

His vision was dimming steadily, red-black fog stealing his sight from him slowly but surely, and the pain in his ribs had magnified to the point where he could barely draw breath. Still, despite the shallow, uneven gasps leaving him weak and breathless, and the pain throbbing out from his shoulder in heavy waves, he sighed, and let his lips twitch up into the faintest of smiles, before unconsciousness stole him once more.

-

Vax eventually woke, for the third time, to low light, and warm hands against his chest. “-done all I can,” said a voice, low and familiar and somewhere between annoyed and exhausted. “The idiot’s going to have some fancy new scars to add to his collection, but he’ll live. Unfortunately.”

After a moment of blinking, the blurs of warm colour resolved themselves into a low ceiling, brick walls, a flickering torch – and Kashaw, staring down at him with an expression of unbridled distaste that couldn’t quite hide the relief in his eyes, the stress-lines tight around them and the bruise-shadows of magical exhaustion dark beneath them. “Hey, fuckface. Welcome back to the land of the living.”

Vax managed a dry chuckle, which ended in a cough that wracked his chest and the join between collarbone and shoulder. There was pain there, still, enough to make him curl in on himself with a thin whine – but he could breathe again, no longer tasted blood on the back of his tongue with every exhale, and that in and of itself was a sweet relief.

“Woah, woah, settle down, kiddo.” There was faint alarm in Kashaw’s voice as he pressed warm hands against Vax’s sternum and uninjured shoulder, pinning him to the bed as he rode out the coughing and easing him flat again once it was done. “I’ve given you everything I’ve got, so if you tear yourself open again, that’s on you. Might want to lay still for a while, ‘til you can get a top-up in the morning. Because if you go and kill yourself after all the work I’ve put into keeping you alive, lemme tell you, I’m gonna be-”

He broke off as he was elbowed aside by Vex shoving past him, still a mess of bloodied leather armour and wild hair and fear – and then Vax’s entire world was taken up by his sister, as she threw her arms around his shoulders and dragged him close, curling over him as if she could protect him from the damage that had already been done.

“…Right,” said Kashaw, awkward beneath his gruffness, from somewhere beyond the curtain of Vex’s hair that was currently blinding Vax. “Well, I’m just, I’m gonna… leave you two to your weird twin stuff and pass out, then. If there’s a problem, don’t bother coming to find me, because I can’t do shit right now.”

Vax huffed out a quiet noise of amusement, which was the best he could manage, given laughing had felt like a dagger in his chest the last time he’d tried. “Thanks, Kash,” he managed, voice raw and whisper-quiet, and felt Vex murmur agreement where her face was still pressed against the side of his neck.

They got a quiet grunt by way of acknowledgement, and the sound of a door swinging open and then shut again, and then silence.

Rather than let him go, though, Vex just clung tighter. Without breaking contact, she managed to climb up onto the bed, tucking herself into Vax’s side – gently, so as not to knock him, not to cause him any more pain – until she was pressed as close to him as she could manage. “You idiot,” she whispered, and Vax could feel, now, how she was trembling, the soft hitches of her breathing as she cried. “You stupid, stupid idiot. If you ever do that again, I swear, I’ll kill you myself, you- you-”

She broke off, pressing her face further into his neck, breathing in shuddering gasps. The careful arm she draped over his ribs, so she could feel the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, did not go unnoticed.

Vax sighed, softly, but didn’t comment, despite the dull pain in his ribs at the pressure. “…I’m sorry,” he rasped, eventually, into the sweat-musk warmth of his sister’s hair, where the top of her head pressed against his nose. “I didn’t mean to- it was about to hit you, and I didn’t think.”

Vex snorted, wetly, and when she shifted a little he could feel the warm trickle of tears against his neck. “You never do,” she complained, words muffled by his skin, and he couldn’t help but laugh – and then regretted it, when his barely-healed ribs sent an electric-sharp jolt through his chest and shoulder blade.

“No,” he agreed, voice slightly strained as he laboriously shifted one arm to press a hand to the back of Vex’s scalp. His fingers drew slow, gentle patterns against the skin beneath the hair there as she held him, a silent reassurance that he was still here, still alive. “I never do. That’s okay, though, right? You’re the smart one of the pair, we both know that. Gotta have you around to do my thinking for me, sis.” He smiled, a little sadly, and pressed a kiss against her hair, breathing slow and steady through the low ache in his chest. “Gotta… gotta have you around.”

[victuuriwriters]

Welcome to the VWC’s Weekly Bulletin, where we feature what’s new and exciting in Victuuri fanfic every week. Look here to get a glimpse at new works that have been posted in the fandom, updated WIP fics, works from our Collective authors, and what the admins have been reading this week. 

New Works 

Fields of Gold by Haro: The story in which Yuuri Katsuki wins everything there is to win and retires as Japan's living legend, because he's incredible and beautiful and he deserves it. Aka 'Yuuri wins all the gold', the fic.

Meet Me by the River by c0rnfl0wer: Every Kupala Night has come and gone without his attending, but now that Viktor Nikiforov is getting older and taking over the position as leader of his village, he has to start taking his life in a different direction. He wasn't sure whether he expected anything at all in this way. But when Yuuri catches his wreath, he finds the path he had always longed for. 

Historical/Mythology AU based on Slavic mythology and traditions, specifically Kupala Night - a midsummer celebration involving merrymaking in a few different ways.

Bound to Please by paxton1976: By a small twist of Fate, Viktor and Yuuri meet in the Katsuki's secondhand bookstore 'Bound to Please'. Friendship comes fast as they offer something the other has never experienced before. As they strengthen and grow individually, they realize the other holds the pieces to make them whole.

Canoe-dling: Not Prohibited by primavitya: Yuuri is a seasoned counselor at Camp Okenoko who thought he was in for just another run of the mill, shenanigan filled summer with his friends. But he could not have been more wrong as he’s inevitably blindsided by the newest arrival.Enter one Viktor Nikiforov, who’s got the charms and good looks to woo whomever he pleases, and who’s interest is instantly peaked by none other than, Yuuri Katsuki.

Dawn in St. Petersburg by Multiple_Universes: To some people it’s just another morning, but for two skaters it’s much more than that.

WIP Updates

Like a Fairytale by lucycamui: In which Prince Victor gets swept off his feet at a royal banquet and will go to any length to find his 'Cinderella' Yuuri. (And Phichit is the fairy godmother who has no idea what he's doing).

Fatum ad Momentum by maydei: These are the moments that were lost in the rush for the Gold, and the things that were built within them. A re-evaluation of everything, from day one, the real day one. From, "Be my coach, Victor!!" And how trust, friendship, and love were built from there. Through Victor's eyes, the story unfolds—the journey and experience of knowing Yuuri.

Doveglion by reginar: Yuuri Katsuki would describe himself as a dime-a-dozen poet with a degree in comparative literature from Todai and only a couple of publications due to luck. By some miracle, he’d received an Asian Culture Council grant and a Bright scholarship to help him pursue MFA Creative Writing in America. He’d been so excited because he would be in the same country as his literary hero, V. Nikiforov, writer of countless, innovative poems.

Impostor Syndrome by renaissance: At some point, most people with a childhood crush will imagine meeting their idol, and might even pretend that they're dating. This is the story of how Yuuri Katsuki meets his childhood crush, and how they pretend that they're dating.

counterclockwise by viktyuuri (Empress_Arisu): Life after retirement, Yuuri thinks, is quite a nice change of pace. Although, not so much when he finds himself thrust back into the past.

In which married husbands Viktor and Yuuri somehow end up 5 years in the past without knowing how or why.

Or: Yuuri and Viktor try and fail to keep their relationship on the lie low. (Yuuri tries for a while, but having a clingy husband makes things 10x harder.)

Everyone's suspicious, and really, Yuuri just wants to go back and have some semblance of peace back in his life, damn it.

New in #victuuriwriters

Icicles Melt in Summer (WIP) by dystopiansushi: Victor Nikiforov. Oddly, no matter how many times Yuuri repeats the name to himself, it still sounds beautiful, the r rolling off his tongue and the v melting on the tips of his lips like a mint. But more to the point, Victor Nikiforov, model for the Agape shoe and accessory line and face of Stammi Vicino Menswear, is sitting in one of his chairs. 

Or, the one where model Victor Nikiforov is searching for his raison d'être in Brooklyn, New York, and finds much more than that in a small, jasmine-scented hair salon.

and once upon a song (WIP) by missmichellebelle: A popular high school ice hockey star and a shy, academically gifted transfer student discover they share a secret passion for singing. When they end up accidentally auditioning for the lead roles in the school musical, it threatens East High's rigid social order and sends their peers into an uproar.

Between the Lines by nikiforovs: Victor doesn't have a problem.In fact, he has the exact opposite of a problem if he's being entirely honest with himself. (He's not.) The cashier of that hole-in-the-wall bookstore was cute, but he wasn't the only reason Victor returned to Sweetest Reads early the following week.

Or: Bookstore AU where Victor keeps buying more books than necessary just so he can continue to see the cute cashier again.

Rock, Paper, Scissors by nerdlife4eva: Victor and Yuuri discover the only chore they both dislike is vacuuming and decide to rock, paper, scissors (RPS) each time the chore needs to be completed. Yuuri is an ace at RPS and Chris sends them personalized charts to track their successes. All adorable Victuuri hell breaks loose! (These two have no chill, in basically anything!)

Some Might Call it Fate by Chessala: The Katsuki family moves to Russia after they had to close their Hot Springs temporarily. Little Yuuri (3) has to go to a new Kindergarten where he doesn't know anyone. He sees a picture of an ice skater on the wall of his new Kindergarten and is instantly fascinated. He loved ice skating so maybe he can be friends with the person that drew this picture. But how can he talk to them?

Admin Picks

Of Bright Stars and Burning Hearts (WIP) by Reiya: Viktor doesn’t remember the first time he met Yuuri Katsuki. This however, is what Viktor does remember…Part 2 of the Rivals series and companion fic to ‘Until My Feet Bleed and My Heart Aches’. One small change alters the course of both Viktor and Yuuri’s entire lives, throwing them into a bitter rivalry that spans across many years and creates a world where they both tell a very different side to the story.

so I’m pretty sure all of you have read Reiya’s fic Until my Feet Bleed and my Heart Aches and the sequel is finally here!! This fic, man. If you’re down for hella Victor angst in the form of pining, this is for you. (Although you should def read UMFBAMHA first)

urgent need of gravity (WIP) by RennieOnIceCream (Hitsugi_Zirkus): AU in which Yuuri is a make-up artist working in a small salon when he's suddenly invited to work for big time fashion brand Stammi Vicino right alongside its top male model, Viktor Nikiforov, and love isn't all glitter and perfectly-winged eyeliner.

Model Victor crushing on his makeup artist, Yuuri in badass makeup doing glorious things to a certain model’s face (sadly not kissing. yet.), fluff of epic proportions, need I go on? 

rubato (WIP) by indianchai: Yuri is a psychology major (who happens to play the cello) that moves to Detroit in his sophomore year of college to escape his ice skating past. Through his roommate Phichit, who is in their college’s orchestra, he encounters infamous pianist of the school– an overconfident senior named Victor who refuses to be an accompanist to anyone (until, that is, he hears Yuri play).

Am I obsessed with musician aus? hell yes. I could honestly wax lyrical about this au for a while, but...spoilers. Just, just read this okay.

Russian for Dummies by cutthroatpixie: “Are you a beginner? ”Viktor was not a beginner. Viktor was the TA supposedly in charge of this study session. Viktor spoke Russian. Viktor was Russian. “Sure!”

Need a cute fic to get you through the day? This one is it! Russian for Dummies is truly a fun and engaging fic that will take you five seconds to read, but will make your day 100% better. 

and I feel life (for the very first time) by smudgesofink: “What do you have in mind for the next season?” A reporter asks him during the press conference and Victor shoots them a smile, trying to buy himself some time. I don’t know, he wants to say. To be honest, after winning gold once more, Victor feels lost more than anything. What does one do after finally fulfilling a longtime promise?

In which Victor helps Yuuri with his skating, but Yuuri helps Victor find himself again.

A truly beautiful fic about picking up the pieces after a tragedy. Victor finding hope and love in Yuuri is wonderfully portrayed in this fic, and the writing is beautiful to match. A truly inspiring and gorgeous piece of work that everyone in this fandom needs to read. 

[atommadchen-blog]

Greenhouse Effect (GreenhousEfect) on Twitter – “Manipulation” 1992 Palle Carlson Drummer. SuperNetCelebrities.Com 2010.

89,357 Views – The hillarious but highly Rocking Greenhouse Effect Videos from their “Final band meeting” Of November 1992 at El Segundo California’s Jet City Sound Studio have been spliced into other G.e clips. Four Songs were shot that night; Three Versions of “White Black Thang’, Search and Destroy, Two Versions (Or more) of the Beatles cover version of “Please Please me”, …and ofcourse several for the somewhat uptemp G.e. Rocker “Manipulation”. Clark Hagins calls the Video for “Manipulation” his favourite; “We look like we’re havin’ fun there,..we look silly but one can tell that when we played live – We Rocked,..and we rocked hard,…we were a weird unusual band,..to say the least.” Greenhouse Effect exploded in notoriety in 2007 with some of Google Videos Most watched clips World Wide; “Our drummer died in 1999 in a bizarre Gardening accident (Laughs)” says Clark Haggins. Ofcourse Hagins is only kidding as he is referring to hillarious Danish Drummer Palle Carlson , the Denmark Drummer who resembles Spinal Tap’s first percussionist in old 1965 black and white clips. “Greenhouse Effect was a World sensation for quite a long time,..we attracted alot of attention and 50,000 Twitter Followers,…I never wanted all the internet fun to end,…but I do see things now finally slowing down in 2010” says Clark Hagins. “We only get about two Million looks a day now,…thats pathetic compared to the kind of business we used to do in 2008.” – There are ofcourse no plans for Rock’s most watched band to reassemble any time soon and Hagins sees the 1992 demise of the band as just another bizarre mistake from his life’s journey; “We were around for like 7 years,…Me and Flipper (Phil Keegan Guitarist) had planned to be the biggest Rock Stars in the musical universe – but it never happened,… ,…until I was like 50 years old (Laughs) ” says Haggins. “We watched all those music industry bands like Nirvana and Green Day hit it big while we did things like work in cubes and clean Pools,..its just a damn shame” says Higgins. Hagins says that the tired band eventually grew ‘into futility’ by late 92′ ; “We had all these Great songs and a great live show but we made enemies with all of the biggest wigs in Hollyweird …there was no way I was ever gonna kiss their arsses – I would clean Swimming Pools before I would do that (Laughs).” Hagins calls the Video for “Manipulation” the absolute Last Hurrah for G.E. ; “The End of the video is hella fucking cool – it looks like Ted is trying to fuck me in the ass and then Palle just picks his nose,.. its pure Lame Rock n roll the way you love it,..it’s fuckin’ hella cool ” ================== 148,037 Views – “Ripping Reason” Comes roaring Out of the speakers with sheer Psychedelic Power !! This Track Sounds so Great in this ‘other’ version – A 1992 “Remix” by sound studio engineer Bill Krodel in El Segundo California with Clark Hagins. “Ripping Reason” is a personal favorite of mine” says Higgins. “I was trying to make it a ‘hit’ I remember,…sorta like “Brandy” but it is so much ‘more’ !! It’s not really a hit so-to-speak ,…its just a flat out Good solid song – A Great piece of Songwriting,…and it sounds Great At Jango Radio !! ‘Ripping’ was recorded in the frantic final days of G.e. and it doesn’t rely on gimmicks like punk speed or guitar solos to get by,…it drudges along in pure melody to near abstract rock perfection and brilliance !!! The confused and tortured lyrics make this track a real winner in cyberspace – and a somewhat ‘unusual’ song for the always quirky G.e. !!!!!!!!! =============== Irie Bob. This 1992 Track is a real Winner for Greenhouse Effect Music Online and in particular at Youtube and GoogleVideo.Com “I started SuperNetCelebrities.Com with Homestead Web hosting who I found through Michael Savage’s Website -…to help bands get exposure” says Clark Hagins in 2008. “Its my goal to make sure that Great bands like Los Angeles’s Batlord get seen more,….and man, do I ever get them seen – ALOT”. IRIE BOB IS THE Pixies-Like 60’s Stooges Like track that appears as the second song on the 1995 “Fountain Weird CD” available at itunes and CD Baby. “The Song was originally entitled ‘Yuri-Bawb’ says Clark Higgins; “But when I suddenly saw the Red CD out of the boxes that day – In October of 1994 from Rainbow Records in Los Angeles – ,…I was horrified to see that they called the Song “Irie Bob”,..I just laughed in horror because the CD was all printed and all done !! And it seemed to be promoting all that 420 Marijuana culture cliche crap,….’Something I personally never wanted any part of in my life,….but now after 17 years,..the name has stuck,…and sometimes people email me,..thinking that I am this pot-head,..because I wrote Irie Bob by G.e. !!! (Laughs) – IRIE BOB Has become a cult classic of G.e. lore what with it’s annoying repetition, distorted bassline, fuzzy guitars (Which Haggins feel need to be turned up more in the final mix), and meandering lyrics and singing which yappily tell the story of a guy who “has been too apathetic,…and thus finally ‘approached Gold thats gleaming”….all in a 4/4 beat of some of Hagins’ best dance beat drumming. This 1992 pop emo song would certainly influence the likes of Beck, Weezer, and others; “When ‘Irie’ was all done and recorded, I just loved the whole ‘feel’ of this little tune,..it was so built around it’s beat and chorus,….Recording Engineer Bill Krodel did an incredible great job at Jet City Sound Studios in El Segundo,….I played all the instruments on this thing myself ,..except then, I got Billy to come in and add these keyboards,..which today – turn out to be the ‘key’ as to why this song is so killer !! I would direct Billy on which sound to implement on the synth,….all the keyboards were always my call with G.e. – though there are many in the South Bay today who try to say that Billy did everything for me,…thats NOT true at all,…Bill Krodel let bands do their own thang,…though he did put in alot of input,…I always had the final calls,…the silly 1960’s keyboards here were entirely my doing,….I dreamed up all my songs,…my songs are good ,..not because of alcohol or drugs like many in the South Bay try to say,…they are good songs simply because I am creative,..and I have been since i was four years old when I drew all those ‘paintings’ at 251,…” Irie Bob, Like all G.e. material Would be rejected by the Program directors at KROQ back in it’s day; “Well,..I would painstakenly try to set up appointments with KROQ Radio Fm programming way back then and they would just say that my songs suck,….I would give them all my tapes,…and nothing would happen,…I would follow up and call back but it was pointless,…thats just the way it is in music industry – even way back then in 1992 and 94′,….you simply ‘had’ to have some kind of major label affiliation in order to achieve FM Airplay,…so thus, songs like IRIE BOB and BRANDY,….NEVER saw their potential back in their day,….I couldn’t do it all alone,….nevermind the fact that I had all the shit goin’ on with Bam Magazine and all. Today, IRIE BOB has racked up Great ‘views’ numbers at Google, Mefeedia, and other websites as it is simply one of cyberspace’s catchyest little secrets. – Originally Recorded September – November 1992 and Appears as part of the 1992 “Big Teen Dollar$” album cd. Produced By Clark Hagins and Bill Krodel. Greenhouse Effect Photos – ?µe???? ???s??? Rock s?????t?µa “fa???µe?? t?? ?e?µ???p???” t?a???d?a.Description199,403 Views – ?µe???? ???s??? Rock s?????t?µa “fa???µe?? t?? ?e?µ???p???” t?a???d?a. – “Misogynistia” is the Great Song that is heard thousands of times a day in 2007 for G.e. – This August 1992 Song was recorded right around the same day as “Five Years” (Which sounds nothing like Miso) and the epic classic “Addicted”. These Songs would compile the September 1992 “Big Teen Dollar$” CD that Clark Hagins Would issue through Massachusett’s Label “Rock City Records’ as well as on sale locally in Redondo Beach at Goboy Records and Mark Theodore’s Alternative Groove Store in Hermosa Beach. “BIG TEEN DOLLAR$” Would be recorded in Early September 92′ with Sound Recording Engineer Of the South Bay Bill Krodel at Jet City Sound Studio in El Segundo Ca. “BTD” Would be a cultural and Lyrical triumph for Haggins as he belittled and attacked Music industry Standard Barers from Kurt Cobain to Henry Rollins to Sammy Hagar to Def Leppard and Bon Jovi too; “BTD” is definitely one of my favorite songs ,..just for how silly and retardedly angry and ironic it is” says Hagins. “Misogynistia is like the anti-dote to BTD,…IT IS just like such a cheesey confused song from 1973 by the Who or Chicago ,..or maybe 80’s-like Duran,…the Song is so serious where-as BTD is absolutely toungue n cheek and DEFINITELY ‘NOT’ !!”……”Writing Sarcastic funny songs from “Star” to “Ben is dead” to “Hey Negrita” in early 91′ had prepared me for some of my ultimate Songwriter moments,…and these would be among my final recordings as I had run out of money by late 92″ Says Higgins – “Waiting 4 Your Love 2 Fail!” explodes with brutal anger, punk speed, angry passion, technical guitar and drumming and plenty of Angst from the World’s Most watched band; Redondo Beach California’s Powerful Greenhouse Efect !!!!! Guitarist Phil Keegan (Dr. Phil) blazes a revolutionary hard rock guitar path here that no other band after the Mighty G.e. could quite copy or capture (Nevermind keep up with !!) …. Clark Hagins pours every ounce of his tortured angry soul into the chilling lyrics and bassist Rick Carmody hangs on for the ride !! – “So Much Better” or Simply “Better” is an ‘ahead of it’s time’ G.e. Song From November 1992 that would also effectively function as quite possibly the last ever idea that Greenhouse Effect and Clark Hagins would ever record. “The Bam Magazine Scandal devestated our band, ruined my concerts, and shook our group’s confidence to the core,…Our bassist Rick Carmody left and soon joined up with the South Bay Redondo Beach Punk band ‘The One Handed Readers’ says Clark Higgins in January 2010 from his offices in San Diego’s “North County’ where today he is a full-time Swimming Pool cleaner,…a job that Hagins says ‘pays the bills’ in the household with just him and his wife; “My life is nothing today,…People say that back in the 90’s I shoulda been a huge Star,…after G.e. flamed out,…I turned more and more to alcohol and by 95′,…I felt my life was technically “Over” up there in Bel Air ,..where I was a Professional Landscaper,…people and other organized bands would still call me, wondering if G.e. was ever coming back,..or if I was ever gonna start throwing concerts again,…but I couldn’t get my psyche into it,…in 96′..i took my Swimming Pool cleaning job with A To Z Pool and Spa in Torrance Ca,..when I moved back down there to the South Bay, ..thats when I knew music for me was over,…I tried to get some people into my shit or to help me but no one would,..nobody cared,…I financed the Rock Opera “White Suburban Liar$” all by myself in 95′,…’put it on sale at GoBoy in Redondo,…but I was 30 years old and not in an active playing band,..man, ..it was over,…I couldn’t do it without Carmody,..atleast I knew I had to have him there”. – Today, Greenhouse Effect explode on the internet (and at itunes) with their old tracks like 1991’s “Brandy” but Hagins calls the scene of music today “almost pointless”. “You got bands like Green Day and Foo Fighters and all their songs sound the same,..they are completely boring people who have never suffered or been picked on in their lives,…they are robotic and their music reflects this,…Dave Grohl is like some jock on a football team,…that guy is ‘NOT’ Rock n roll at all,..yet today, he passes for like as if he is Great like Pete Townshend and the Who or Zeppelin or something,…its disgusting,..People today are so fucking stupid and addicted to drugs and video games,…they don’t know shit about fucking piss ass nothing !! Music sucks now,..and thats all there is to it,..I think Rap music is pathetic….People hear my music,..and suddenly, they hear a trully fucked up person who is ‘really authentically’ fucked up,…thats why I work with a large World audience,…people will never understand what i went through as a child,….but when you hear Greenhouse Effect music,…you suddenly hear it all crystal clear !! I’m a Great drummer and a great guitarist who ‘got that way’ because I had no friends,…I had nothing else to do,…I didn’t fucking learn shit in a book like Dave Grohl,….that guy is not the last of 8 kids,…fuck that guy,..he doesn’t know shit about shit !!” Hagins says that his number one goal and desire would be to see Barack Obama impeached from Office; “If me and my music can play a small part in getting Democrats un-elected,..and getting people out there to ‘learn’ about rightwing politics,..and to stop voting for these assholes,..then that is Great and more power to ‘THAT’,…DEMOCRATS ARE ELITEST TYPES OF PEOPLE WHO RAISE TAXES AND STEAL YER MONEY,…I’m not saying Republicans are all that much better or different,…but they are definitely the lesser of two evils,…..I think that drugs are one of the most serious evils of our Western culture,…We need tougher laws to stop people from using them,…People get high on weed and then they simply naturally are gonna vote for evils and snobs like Your typical Democrat type person,…’when I hear some fucker in a suit and tie say that he wants to ‘help’ people out there,…well, to me,…that is an immediate code RED FLAG word for he wants to ‘rule’ and be bigger, more important, and better – ‘OVER’ the people,…!! Because he is an insecure piece of shit !! Used car salesman,..and ,..like some Leo mother-fucker,…he naturally knows how to get over on people,….I DON’T WANT ANYONE FUCKING HELPING ME,….I HELP MYSELF THANK YOU !!” Hagins says that people need to get ‘properly educated’ and learn to stop voting for socialist minded individuals at all cost. “I practically virtually feel that we need to “Outlaw” people from saying that they are running for office because ‘they want to help people – FUCK THAT,…THEY TAKE THE POWER AND CREATIVITY ‘AWAY’ from the individual – thats what they are really trying to do – period – THEY ARE TYRANTS IN SUITS !!” ============================ In September 2009, Greenhouse Effect achieved a very important personal goal for Los Angeles Top Musician Clark Hagins. The Goal you ask ?? 10,000 Twitter Followers. “We got our 10,000th Twitter follower at One of our many Twitter accounts, but in reality, We really have over 63,000 Followers because we have like 33 different accounts,…its hard work” says Hagins. The pressure is always on Haggins because he is probobly Los Angeles’s “Most seen” musician along with his other bandmates Bassist Rick Carmody and others as his band is always loaded at the very tops of all search engines with the Net’s Top tracks of indie music from “Brandy” to the classic “22nd Street” and “Coke Snortin’ Love Boyz”. “We get seen alot – way more than any other band,…its attracted the attention of several Cable TV Networks,..among them Halogen and others,…People want us to go do a brand new album but I am now nearly 50 years old and I am a swimming Pool cleaner kinda stuck in ‘that’ life,..I doubt seriously today that I could pull off another song like “Brandy” in the studio although I am very intrigued by this new idea for “The Famous on TV”,…thats this new track I’ve been fuckin’ around with…” Hagins says that the Potential for the Halogen Tv Show could produce a windfall of itunes mp3 music sales for G.e. that the band badly needs; “Well,..My wife and I ,..we watch alot of Halogen Tv here with our new Cable Company Time Warner Cable in San Diego’s North County,..I could really improve their Tv network,..it needs to be more gritty and hip and there is nothing more hip online with people than G.e.” 10,000 Twitter Followers isn’t a small thing in an era where some of Mtv’s biggest Hip Hop artists only have 900 or so; “We are a big band online,…we are like this huge phenomenon where websites and businesses fight to link and exchange with us or just be word associated with us,…you know yer big when even porn wants to be near you” says Hagins. “I’ve been tryin’ to convince Halogen Tv to let me do it all my way and let me be 100% completely in charge of my project,…They will get big ratings if they listen to me” says Higgins. – Guitarist Clark Haggins Blogs about his band’s ability to get ‘heard’ on the Web and the importance of Jango Internet Radio and other Web Radios such as Pandora. “The key to something Like Jango.Radio or Last.Fm, Pandora, and all these is ya gotta have good songs first and foremost,…..if yer Songs suck, then its really not gonna matter what you do. You gotta have a good recording too. If you have a song or a demo that sounds like a piece of shit,…then Jango and alot of these are probobly not gonna wanna play it,…and even if they did,…a potential new “Fan” or Twitter follower is probobly gonna wanna change the channel,..just like a TV….” – For many consecutive years, the Greenhouse Effect Song “Brandy” (and other songs of theirs) have been able to fight their way to the tops of search engines and into constant rotation at Jango and Pandora. “Our Song sells itself,…because it’s a great song,..we got lucky there when we wrote that one,…alot of people say that it doesn’t even sound like a typical Greenhouse Effect Song,…but then again,..what does ??” says Hagins. “I would recommend at Jango, if yer an artist there,…don’t let people just ‘play’ yer song at yer profile,..instead rather,..let them “add” it,…that way , you will get into more playlists and stations,..you will become ‘preferred’ more,…it will add up to ALOT of Airplay” Hagins and the band’s Management Team say that “Brandy” is responsible for “about 75%” of G.e’s success in cyberspace. “We are known primarily for one song,…but we got other good tunes,..its not like we’re a complete one hit wonder on here,…When people see me in the street, they always comment on Brandy but some have said it’s really not our best Song in reality,..but it ‘is’ the one that the web seems to like and that Jango and Pandora seem to ‘use’ to get listeners to their network sites,….I would advise bands to stick firmly with just one indie radio site,…Jango is the biggest and the best,..it is sorta like a version of Myspace or Youtube in it’s own rite,…Pandora forces you to ‘mail them’ a cd and as we all in bands know – ‘that’ is a big hassel,….at Jango,…you just upload songs,..its easy,…its sorta like i-sound or Sound.cloud ,..or one of those,…all of those millions of little ‘indie’ so called web radio sites are sorta a waste of time,….yer better off just sticking at Jango,…if you get into a zillion different little sites – and i mean places like Echoboost,..well,..if you got alot’a money sittin’ around to burn ,…then maybe,…but i think it’s more likely that you’ll just go insane at night,….just get yer band onto Jango Radio,…and stick with one -‘that’ one !!” Haggins says that Last.FM has in recent years become kind of a hassel. “I used to love LAST.FM but they mix bands profiles together and they do some weird shit,..i admit that i rarely go there really anymore,…there and Pandora”… – Hagins says that if You are an indie band that the odds of getting on to a Real Fm dial Radio Station like KROQ FM or KLOS FM In Los Angeles are at best slim to none. “Alot of those so called ‘real’ radio stations are just shills for the Record Labels , lawyers, and Hollywood,..theres alot of shady shit goin’ on where there are back room ‘pay offs and payola’ no better than back in the 60’s,…I’m sorry but thats just the way it is and reality…..it would be great if you can manage to get your band played on them,…but you probobly gotta be on some major label or lndie label that gets big cred and respect,…but i would say that a good band that likes it’s own independent sound and image would have to adapt and change too much,….and that can be a bad thing,…all in the name of airplay,..its not worth it ,…but….theres really Great good news though now !! – These days in 2009 and 2010, the ratings for real FM Dial Radios have really fallen,…infact many of them are struggling to stay afloat and are going off the air too … ,..EVERYDAY,…..THE REALITY IS now, more people listen to Jango Radio than they do listen to a station like say KROQ FM,….ALOT of new bands are really gettin’ discovered and getting their sound ‘out-there”,….I would say that technically, its probobly more important to have a hit song at Jango than at KLOS, POWER 106, or Kroq FM,….because now, nobody is listening to those three anymore,…not nearly as much anyway,…the web has taken over,..as a vehicle,…plus things like Talk Radio on the AM DIAL in people’s cars – Stuff Like Michael Savage and Hannity,….nevermind the fact that alot of today’s pop music sucks,..I mean just watch the Grammys if ya don’t believe me,…it all sounds the same and it’s boring,…things like Rap music have been a God-send to guys like me,…people get sick of Rap and they listen to Songs like Brandy by Greenhouse Effect – So it all works out well” ———- “22nd Street” is the Soaring classic from G.e’s 1991 epic cd “Going Legit” which was an album Simply recorded by Haggins and Bassist Rick Carmody alone in the studio; “They Shoulda just signed me long ago” says Hagins “Now,..I’m one pissed off hombre,……I won’t stop until i take over EVERYTHING,…..I see my Google Stats n shit at Webilizers,…I get big plays,…it gives me alotta fuckin’ confidence,….I know I got good shit” – Rock City Productions Pro Management SuperNetCelebrities.Com ============== “Big TEEN Dollar$” is the Hillariously ironic Song and anthem from August 1992 that Clark Hagins wrote over the long hot 92′ summer while mowing lawns “up in Bel Air” and “talking to himself” for inspiration and “coaching”; “Bel Air was a very beautiful place,…I worked for this wealthy Arab at Owlwood Estates – thats where Tony Curtis and Sony and Cher once lived,….and Jane Mansfield lived next door at the big “Pink House” on Carolwood,…at the time, Englebert Humperdink lived there next door,….and Marylin Monroe once lived in our Dog House,..where we kept the German sheperds,…Molly, Marko, and Midnight,….Some people suggested that her ghost was in there (Laughs),….I remember those beautiful hot Beverly Hills afternoons and drinking my 40 of beer….I don’t drink now though,..i’m 45 years old,…” – Backing Vocals ; Jeff Crisfield, Bill Krodel, Mark Nathanson – Remainder; Clark Hagins. Idea for Song conceived in Redondo Beach at 251. Lyrics @ www.LyricsMode.Com – SuperNetCelebrities.Com ===================== Hagins admits that websites Like Blip Tv allow Over-self indulgent bloggers like himself to fully ‘create’ their own arenas and that unlimited blogging spaces are a Heaven ; “Vimeo and BlipTV are awesome incredible things,….I can really vent my spleen thoroughly,…and ofcourse many people read,..and thats the goal,…to get them reading,..then they go to my other sites, ..or Youtubes,…and then they go to itunes,..and they buy,….the bottom line is they get interested in me and my music,…and they get to read alot,…it gets them more intelligent,…its way MORE educational than a video game,….Video games are something that Democrats cooked up so you will just sit there and be a moron and smoke pot and be a fucking idiot,….and thats how people like Barack Obama and other Democrats get voters,…they create their own pool of morons THAT THEY CAN EASILY CONTROL,…..I would prefer to get the intelligent, more informed votes of hard working American people ,…People like electricians and or Swimming Pool People,…they tend to be way more informed and intelligent because alot of them listen to Dr. Michael Savage in their trucks during the day as they work – Him and Mark Levin talk radio too.” – “Wilson Phillips” comes barrelling out of the Speakers as a heavy Black Sabbath like G.e. Anthem of hard rock. “Ted told me on the phone one day about 1995 that he thought that ‘newer G.e.’ wasn’t as heavy and was too “Happy”,…man,…I guess he was referring to stuff like “Addicted” and “Irie Bob”…, i just fuckin’ laughed at that shit,…I think Ted just started to smoke too much pot and it fried his head !! Clark Hagins blogs that his ‘ideas’ for society and his ability to ‘copy and re-paste entire blogs elsewhere’ is as important as the music itself ; “Shit like Tubemogul can be awesome,….Everybody knows that I don’t do all this writin’ shit so much for the music,..infact, I really don’t even give a rat’s ass about the music so much as I care about getting my politics and society philosophies across to the general public,…..Greenhouse Effect was always about being political,….We were good irish boys who went to church and who had fears,….but then others in the world would come and try to corrupt us,…and try to make us be like everybody else – to conform,….I say ; fuck that,….I keep the same shit that I was at 16 and 23 today still at 44; I am an old fashioned conservative – what-ever that means,….I’m against abortion and Gay marriage and legalizing or promoting lame drugs that I know destroy great minds,…you can write better shit whilst sober !! I listen to Michael Savage,…and if people don’t like it,..then what the fuck,…they can suck my cock” – Tags – tagcloud, asher roth, politics, lil wayne, eminem, asher roth, susan, mel gibson, brandy, wayne gretzky, kroq most played, paramore, muse, radiohead, tom delonge, weezer, pork, hole tour, hip hop, bmo, brandy, lmfao, sky blu fox, cnn, smokey robinson, michael savage radio ———— ============ The exciting Greenhouse Effect are the New “Nirvana” of the internet for these times of the new millineum of 2008, 09, and 2010 !! Great Songs that evoke melody of the 1960’s and bands like the Mersey Beats to the Sounds of the 70’s and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer to Zeppelin !! High Melody is always G.e’s aim !! This little Redondo Beach three piece band has spread their music all around the World like no other band in History !! They use a tight mix of Jango Radio constant Airplay, Pandora Radio attack with the classic “Brandy”, and millions of constantly running Google Videos and Twitters !! Virtually every person you know HAS SEEN A G.E. VIDEO and probobly Downloaded it !! Clark Hagins considers himself every bit as much a “Politician” as a Great musician; “I can see why all these Arab Countries hate the west and the United States in a way sorta… – They don’t want our shit in their countries !! We despicably take our freedoms for Granted and we abuse and take libertys wrongly,…..Hollywood is a buncha fucking Liberal scumbags,….But Thank God, Our Country is on the right track now,….We have won three key races in a row in Late 2009 and here in 2010,….We won in Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts and even though this Scott Brown character just seems like another RINO,….I will still choose ‘that’ over the Obama-Liberal Martha WTF her name is !! Thank God Almighty that we won that Massachusetts one – that was critical !! I am certain that the angry things that I write definitely play a role with the TeaParty Protesters,…THEY READ MY SHIT – THEY’VE BEEN READING IT FOR YEARS !!,……NOT ALL MUSICIANS are Liberals,…Some of us listen to Dr. Michael Savage and Mark Leven Talk Radio,….We are informed,….but we already ‘knew’ from the beginning,….I’ve been a conservative from birth ,…probobly because I am a Taurus born April 27,…..people say that I am crazy – and I fucking AM !! BUT I know that music is the key,….it takes beautiful music to get people to the ballot booth and pull the lever !!! As the unofficial “Leader” of the Tea Party movement, Hagins blogs are often caustic, terrifying, angry reading – but effective. “People used to pick on me,..back in the South Bay and I figured it out,…it was ‘Liberals’ that WE’RE PICKING ON ME,…..tryin’ to say how I’m so “close-minded” when all along it’s THEM who is really that… Liberal Pot-heads and People who sit around listening to Rap and playing Video Games who DON’T KNOW SHIT ABOUT ANYTHING – ‘THEY’ ARE THE ONES who are always putting other people down,…and usually because they are insecure Gealous Motherfuckers who got no TALENT – ATLEAST NOT LIKE ME !! ” ========= Tags ; tags, tagcloud, asher roth, politics, lil wayne, eminem, asher roth, susan, mel gibson, brandy, wayne gretzky, kroq most played, paramore, muse, radiohead, tom delonge, weezer, pork, hole tour, hip hop, bmo, brandy, lmfao, sky blu fox, cnn, smokey robinson, michael savage radio Likes: 40 Viewed:

The post Greenhouse Effect (GreenhousEfect) on Twitter – “Manipulation” 1992 Palle Carlson Drummer. SuperNetCelebrities.Com 2010. appeared first on Good Info.

[heliosfinance]

“Maybe the life you’ve always wanted is buried under everything you own!”

Got another book recommendation for y’all!

The More of Less, by Joshua Becker. Where that headline came from, and which should be the official bumper sticker of all minimalists, haha…

“Maybe the life you’ve always wanted is buried under everything you own!”

How good is that?? Similar to the book, Essentialism, I raved about the other month, this is another one that helps get your mind right and back focused on finding your MORE out of life by saying no/less to everything else that doesn’t match our priorities. Namely, our stuff.

Joshua sent me an advanced copy of this a year ago (so disregard that “not for sale” label on the cover, it’s def. for sale and can be found on Amazon!), but for whatever reason I just let it languish in my book case until I finally heard its calls over the weekend to pick it up and start reading.

It was the best gift I got on Father’s Day, outside of this gem :)

Most of you already know what minimalism’s about, but just like reading personal finance articles over and over again, the more you soak up the more it motivates you to keep going.

And if you’re fan of Joshua’s popular blog, BecomingMinimalist.com, you’ll enjoy his book even more – especially if you don’t know the story behind his epiphany which led him down this “less is more” track! You never know where inspiration will hit you!

I won’t go into the details of the book here (particularly because I’m only into chapter 5 at the moment ;)), but I did want to share two things from it that I think will strike close to home.

The first is an incredible set of stats on consumerism in our country here, and probably elsewhere in the world as well. This is the bad side of the equation:

We consume twice as many material goods as we did 50 years ago in the U.S.

The size of the American home has also nearly tripled in that same time frame!

(And contains about 300,000 total items each – WOW)

On average our homes contain more televisions than people

25% of people with two-car garages don’t have room to park their cars inside

And 32% only have room to park one car inside

The home organization industry is now an $8,000,000,000 industry (that’s 8 BILLION!), and even scarier – it’s growing by 10% each year

1 out of 10 Americans rent off-site storage – the fastest-growing segment of commercial real estate over the past 4 decades

And of course, we all know by now that most people can’t afford a $400 emergency, and that their average credit card debt hovers around $15,000.

Now on the plus side, there is a way out there to help curb a lot of this. And that’s where this minimalism movement comes in. It’s not the only way, of course, and it means something different to everyone, however it’s a pretty straightforward way. After all, the less you buy the less you need to maintain/declutter/stress out about, and of course spend!

Which leads us to the 2nd thing I want to leave you with – the good part.

The 12 main things minimalism gives you

This is what the entire book revolves around, and why people have been practicing minimalism for thousands of years despite many of us still not catching on ;) Probably because it was buried under everything we own! (See what I did there?)

Here’s what minimalism can give you:

#1. More time and energy — “Whether we are making the money to buy them, researching and purchasing them, cleaning and organizing them, repairing them, replacing them, or selling them, our possessions consume our time and energy.” So naturally, the less we own the more we’re freed up to spend our time elsewhere.

#2. More money — If you’re not buying up the world, you’re able to save the world! (Ooooh, maybe that should be the new motto instead??)

#3. More generosity — On top of being able to save more, minimalism also gives you the opportunity to do more for your fellow man. Whether financially or by giving more of your time to what you find most important.

#4. More freedom — the main thing we’re all going after! FREEDOM!! And the less you need to live off, the less you need to reach it. At least in terms of financial freedom. Remember our Challenge Everything mission? It was all based around exactly this. The more expenses you cut, the more freedom you gain.

#5. Less stress — “Imagine two rooms: one that is cluttered and messy, and another that is tidy and sparse. Which one makes you feel less anxious? Which one makes you feel calm?”

#6. Less distraction — Everything around us competes for our attention. The less stuff trying to steal it from us, the more time we’re able to focus on what matters.

#7. Less environmental impact — This is one trade off that’s often overlooked, especially by me, but it’s a great reminder that the less we consume the less damage we do to our world. Not including chocolate or beer – which are always binge-worthy ;) Another thing that’s pretty cool here is when you sell or donate your stuff to someone who can not only use it, but enjoy it! And how cool is that? Turning something you’ve labeled as “junk” just sitting there taking up space, now off to a good home where someone can appreciate it? It’s beautiful!

#8. Higher-quality belongings — This is another great trade off too, also overlooked by others when they assume minimalism = not having any fun or spending any money. But while you do end up saving a ton of money over time, it also frees up your budget to spend MORE on quality stuff or long lost dreams of yours! And what would you rather have at the end of the day – a dozen cheap things or 1-2 AWESOME things? Even if you spent all your minimalist savings on things you actually care about you’d be better off.

#9. A better example for our kids — If you think marketing is bad now, imagine how it’s going to be when our kids are older! When the internet is embedded in everyone’s eyes and controlled by Amazon! ;) Better to start setting those examples now while they’re young and impressionable (and hopefully listening to you).

#10. Less work for someone else — This one’s turning a more morbid corner, but it’s certainly a concern: when you die, someone will be spending gobs of time trying to sort through all your stuff and figure out what to do with it. And many of YOU out there have even gone through this yourselves and recognized what a boondoggle it was! Now imagine if your loved ones already combed through it all and only left the gems? You’d appreciate that dead loved one of yours even more! ;)

#11. Less comparison — I like this one in theory, but Lord knows we still compare regardless of owning a million things or a dozen things. And minimalists can take it even further and compare/compete the other direction too – seeing how much LESS they own than the other! Comparison can go a number of ways, haha… But yes, wrapping your mind around what’s truly important to you and what’s not will still advance you pretty far in this comparison game, even if it doesn’t completely fix it.

#12. More contentment — The point of it all in the end – to be happier! And to appreciate what we do have/keep without “needing” more and more over time. Just think about all those times growing up how happy you’ve been?? And that was with a lot less stuff or wealth than you have today more than likely too. I don’t know where we got lost along the way, but man – good thing for books and the internet :)

Here’s a picture I drew 8 years ago when I first stumbled across minimalism:

Pretty accurate, eh? ;)

I’ll leave you with one more quote from the book that I think sums it up perfectly:

The beauty of minimalism isn’t in what it takes away, it’s in what it gives.

Something good to think about as we go into the world today… Lots of different ways to achieve happiness out there, but I can confirm this one’s a pretty direct (and relatively easy) path. You don’t have to do anything except get rid of stuff!

(And of course hold onto all which brings you joy :) The point isn’t to deprive yourself of stuff, just not to over do it!)

Happy minimizing!

“Maybe the life you’ve always wanted is buried under everything you own!” published first on http://ift.tt/2ljLF4B

[fesahaawit]

“Maybe the life you’ve always wanted is buried under everything you own!”

Got another book recommendation for y’all!

The More of Less, by Joshua Becker. Where that headline came from, and which should be the official bumper sticker of all minimalists, haha…

“Maybe the life you’ve always wanted is buried under everything you own!”

How good is that?? Similar to the book, Essentialism, I raved about the other month, this is another one that helps get your mind right and back focused on finding your MORE out of life by saying no/less to everything else that doesn’t match our priorities. Namely, our stuff.

Joshua sent me an advanced copy of this a year ago (so disregard that “not for sale” label on the cover, it’s def. for sale and can be found on Amazon!), but for whatever reason I just let it languish in my book case until I finally heard its calls over the weekend to pick it up and start reading.

It was the best gift I got on Father’s Day, outside of this gem :)

Most of you already know what minimalism’s about, but just like reading personal finance articles over and over again, the more you soak up the more it motivates you to keep going.

And if you’re fan of Joshua’s popular blog, BecomingMinimalist.com, you’ll enjoy his book even more – especially if you don’t know the story behind his epiphany which led him down this “less is more” track! You never know where inspiration will hit you!

I won’t go into the details of the book here (particularly because I’m only into chapter 5 at the moment ;)), but I did want to share two things from it that I think will strike close to home.

The first is an incredible set of stats on consumerism in our country here, and probably elsewhere in the world as well. This is the bad side of the equation:

We consume twice as many material goods as we did 50 years ago in the U.S.

The size of the American home has also nearly tripled in that same time frame!

(And contains about 300,000 total items each – WOW)

On average our homes contain more televisions than people

25% of people with two-car garages don’t have room to park their cars inside

And 32% only have room to park one car inside

The home organization industry is now an $8,000,000,000 industry (that’s 8 BILLION!), and even scarier – it’s growing by 10% each year

1 out of 10 Americans rent off-site storage – the fastest-growing segment of commercial real estate over the past 4 decades

And of course, we all know by now that most people can’t afford a $400 emergency, and that their average credit card debt hovers around $15,000.

Now on the plus side, there is a way out there to help curb a lot of this. And that’s where this minimalism movement comes in. It’s not the only way, of course, and it means something different to everyone, however it’s a pretty straightforward way. After all, the less you buy the less you need to maintain/declutter/stress out about, and of course spend!

Which leads us to the 2nd thing I want to leave you with – the good part.

The 12 main things minimalism gives you

This is what the entire book revolves around, and why people have been practicing minimalism for thousands of years despite many of us still not catching on ;) Probably because it was buried under everything we own! (See what I did there?)

Here’s what minimalism can give you:

#1. More time and energy — “Whether we are making the money to buy them, researching and purchasing them, cleaning and organizing them, repairing them, replacing them, or selling them, our possessions consume our time and energy.” So naturally, the less we own the more we’re freed up to spend our time elsewhere.

#2. More money — If you’re not buying up the world, you’re able to save the world! (Ooooh, maybe that should be the new motto instead??)

#3. More generosity — On top of being able to save more, minimalism also gives you the opportunity to do more for your fellow man. Whether financially or by giving more of your time to what you find most important.

#4. More freedom — the main thing we’re all going after! FREEDOM!! And the less you need to live off, the less you need to reach it. At least in terms of financial freedom. Remember our Challenge Everything mission? It was all based around exactly this. The more expenses you cut, the more freedom you gain.

#5. Less stress — “Imagine two rooms: one that is cluttered and messy, and another that is tidy and sparse. Which one makes you feel less anxious? Which one makes you feel calm?”

#6. Less distraction — Everything around us competes for our attention. The less stuff trying to steal it from us, the more time we’re able to focus on what matters.

#7. Less environmental impact — This is one trade off that’s often overlooked, especially by me, but it’s a great reminder that the less we consume the less damage we do to our world. Not including chocolate or beer – which are always binge-worthy ;) Another thing that’s pretty cool here is when you sell or donate your stuff to someone who can not only use it, but enjoy it! And how cool is that? Turning something you’ve labeled as “junk” just sitting there taking up space, now off to a good home where someone can appreciate it? It’s beautiful!

#8. Higher-quality belongings — This is another great trade off too, also overlooked by others when they assume minimalism = not having any fun or spending any money. But while you do end up saving a ton of money over time, it also frees up your budget to spend MORE on quality stuff or long lost dreams of yours! And what would you rather have at the end of the day – a dozen cheap things or 1-2 AWESOME things? Even if you spent all your minimalist savings on things you actually care about you’d be better off.

#9. A better example for our kids — If you think marketing is bad now, imagine how it’s going to be when our kids are older! When the internet is embedded in everyone’s eyes and controlled by Amazon! ;) Better to start setting those examples now while they’re young and impressionable (and hopefully listening to you).

#10. Less work for someone else — This one’s turning a more morbid corner, but it’s certainly a concern: when you die, someone will be spending gobs of time trying to sort through all your stuff and figure out what to do with it. And many of YOU out there have even gone through this yourselves and recognized what a boondoggle it was! Now imagine if your loved ones already combed through it all and only left the gems? You’d appreciate that dead loved one of yours even more! ;)

#11. Less comparison — I like this one in theory, but Lord knows we still compare regardless of owning a million things or a dozen things. And minimalists can take it even further and compare/compete the other direction too – seeing how much LESS they own than the other! Comparison can go a number of ways, haha… But yes, wrapping your mind around what’s truly important to you and what’s not will still advance you pretty far in this comparison game, even if it doesn’t completely fix it.

#12. More contentment — The point of it all in the end – to be happier! And to appreciate what we do have/keep without “needing” more and more over time. Just think about all those times growing up how happy you’ve been?? And that was with a lot less stuff or wealth than you have today more than likely too. I don’t know where we got lost along the way, but man – good thing for books and the internet :)

Here’s a picture I drew 8 years ago when I first stumbled across minimalism:

Pretty accurate, eh? ;)

I’ll leave you with one more quote from the book that I think sums it up perfectly:

The beauty of minimalism isn’t in what it takes away, it’s in what it gives.

Something good to think about as we go into the world today… Lots of different ways to achieve happiness out there, but I can confirm this one’s a pretty direct (and relatively easy) path. You don’t have to do anything except get rid of stuff!

(And of course hold onto all which brings you joy :) The point isn’t to deprive yourself of stuff, just not to over do it!)

Happy minimizing!

“Maybe the life you’ve always wanted is buried under everything you own!” posted first on http://ift.tt/2lnwIdQ