#thrifting for those god powers

[m0rninglatte]

Thrifting 4 those god powers yk?

[I have no idea what I'm doing anymore-

Vens holding the list which includes:

- god powers

- Reaver]

[bluebellhairpin]

Anyone else get like. Gender envy from songs. Song don't have genders but when I listen to some of them I can't help but think. I want to look how that sounds. So bad.

[wroteclassicaly]

Fallin’ For His Darlin’

(Gator Tillman x Female Reader)

Word count: 1,062

Pairings: Gator Tillman x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Language, mentions of trauma, wounds, pain, anxiety, and depression, vaginal sex, fluff, hurt/comfort, vaginal fingering, kind of dark!Gator, kind of soft/anxious too, etc.

A/N: So inspired tonight, listened to some mood music, feeling that fall vibe, haha! Hope y’all enjoy? I’m pretty happy with this one! And I can’t wait to see our boy in action 😭 P.S, forgive my shitty graphic making, I’m not good at that!

You’re not sure what time it is. Maybe midnight? You aren’t positive, because when his headlights find your garage door, floating in through your window like his own personal spotlight, his tires skid across the gravel of your lane, his car door heavily thudding closed, his boots crunching heavily over rough ground, signaling him closer… closer — time ceases to matter much. You’re meeting him eagerly over the threshold, his back slammed against the beat up wood, boots falling beside your sneakers on the entryway rug. Nothing can find you here, can harm you here, and what has lifelong permission to touch you, it’s always-only… him.

He smells as good as always. Spicy cologne and cigarettes, powdered sugar from the donuts he’d eaten for dinner (you are always on him to eat more), leftovers from your shared favorite diner — Angelica’s, still pressed into his crisp black t-shirt, as if he’d forgotten a napkin. His hair is usually in its less than pristine condition by the time he arrives at yours in the night hours. Doesn’t matter anyways, not with how you end up carrying on in front of your old fireplace (Gator’s a fan of your new cream rug, intricate floral patterns woven into it, loved by owners before, thrifted, and now yours), or on your couch. You’d never really gone to your bed, learning how those times nearly caused lines to be crossed, one ending with Gator falling asleep on your naked breasts, (the calmest he’s been in years, and you just watching him as the sun came up and cast a glow on his youthful head. he was lost, broken, beaten down).

Sticking to this, here in your living room, it’s safer, saner. But it’s not what you want. However, you’ll have him whichever way he offers. He’s Gator and you’re his sweet darlin’.

~*~

Your legs fall open, one wrapped up in his camouflage pant clad thighs. His fingers press deeper inside of you, thumb circling your curls, smearing the cream around in them, watching how it bubbles. You’re kissing him again, lips so soft on his chest, fingernails scraping through the thick tufts that rest on his chest, occasionally flicking his gold and silver chain overlays. You’d gotten him the gold pendant, something he could wear, a symbol for faith that Gator could attach his own meaning to, not having to wear because it meant what his father wanted it to. But it was safe enough that Roy wouldn’t question its meaning.

Your lips find that patch of skin by his left nipple, sucking it between your lips, before you bite down. Gator throbs in his pants, his spare hand squeezing your neck’s nape. Despite his fascination, he’s still a million miles away. “Why do you let me do this to you?”

It’s a default question, an answer you both know already. Why you let him love you like this, it’s so simple…

“These hands, what I do with them before I come here. I’m bad. And I could hurt you, you know?” He adds a little pressure that travels up your scalp in electric prickles.

You spread yourself wider for him, a third finger stretching you in a welcomed, boundary pushing burn. Your eyes meet the midnight murk that’s woven over his mossy pupils like a blanket to mask, face leaving that cove of his chest. Your finger reaches to rub along his lower lip, his tongue licking out to taste skin.

“You wouldn’t, Gator. You won’t...” Is your answer. As if you believe it more than you believe in any god or higher power.

He’s pushing, as he often does…

“And if I do?”

“Then I’d let you.” It’s plain and simple, your fingers leaving his mouth to wrap around his wrist and correct him to a deeper rhythm. This is not enough tonight. More. Fuck, you want him to swallow you whole, capture you, trap, and hurt you in the ways you welcome — how he can, ever so softly, but painfully blissful, like a fire to your fingertips, flames licking the skin, enough to sting, but never to take away in harm.

He’s fully hard, swollen, and he’s turning towards you, forcing you to him by your nape. Your noses bump into a brushing nudge, his hand leaving your cunt and pressing wet, calloused fingers to your jaw as he brings you into his mouth. He’s so warm, plush, his stubble has a scratching effect. He tastes like sweet sugar and Marlboros. He’s been smoking menthol, you note — what he switches to in the colder seasons.

He’s panting his next declaration over your mouth in a fragile concentration. “Would you let me put it inside of you, darlin’?”

Your thighs tighten together, pussy clicking noisily. You’ve never had penetrative sex with him yet, something so close for two childhood friends. But you’re ready to leap if he is, reaching for his hand on your jaw and squeezing over his knuckles. “What do you think I’ve been waiting for, Gator?”

~*~

Approaching Autumn glides in on the cool September rain of Sunday, leaves and earth filling your room with the harsh scent of two bodies connecting. Your blush curtains blow against the chipped, open window frames. Your nipples have hardened from the cool air, from dragging repeatedly across Gator’s chest hair, his necklaces dipping into your collar bones and the valley of your tits. He’s got your legs held around his waist, your hands pulling in his hair to mess it up, his nose finding yours, foreheads sticking with perspiration. The box of condoms lay abandoned at your bedside, a gamble in you, of which Gator is only ever willing to trust.

Your eyes tighten and close, his size making you feel as if you’ve never been touched or fucked before in your lifetime. Everything aches, everything is too much, all at once.

“Should I stop? You hurtin’?” He’s speaking to you in a way that makes tears gather in your lash line. He brushes them away with a rough thumb, then a trigger finger, almost immediately.

His hands let your legs drop to take your fingers in his own, directing one to his shoulder and the other around his waist. “Hold onto me?”

“I’ll never stop.” And you’re surging in for a kiss.

The rain hasn’t stopped when the sun begins to come up the next morning. And your boy sleeps soundly on your chest, uncaring. And that funny thing called time? Well, it still ceases to exist.

// Eat me paragraph //

[makethatelevenrings]

O Me! O Life! // J.Todd x gn!reader

Requested? Yes!

Warnings: scars, non-sexual nudity, mention of what the Joker did to Jason

Summary: He hates the scars on his back and avoids seeing them any chance he gets. He slips up one day, but you’re there to assure him.

* - denotes lines from O Me! O Life! by Walt Whitman (my fave poem thank u for asking)

The thing about scars is that it’s easy to forget that they’re there sometimes. The raised white pucker along his jaw from a knife disappeared under his five o’clock shadow. The pinched circles of healed bullet holes changed shape when he flexed. But these scars…there was no mistaking it.

Ugly gouges only healed by the Lazarus pit marred his back. He hated looking at them the few times he turned his head when his back was to the mirror. It was as if he was back in that fucking werehouse with the fucking clown and that fucking crowbar.

Today was one of those days where the Gotham humidity felt like a fucking wet blanket smacking you in the face the second you stepped out the door. Sweat practically draped his shirt along his skin as he went for a morning run and by god, the only thing he wanted to do when he got home was take a shower.

You were still spread out under the thin cotton top sheet and even that was almost unbearable in the summer heat. You offered him a smile lined with the lingering sleep that clung to your mind. Jason made sure to swing by and press a kiss to your temple as your hand loosely curled at the collar of his shirt but he pulled away before you could convince him back into bed.

“Gotta shower, sweets,” he murmured as he extracted himself from your grip and made his way into the bathroom.

“Wow, without even giving me a show?” you called behind him. He snorted in response and his shirt landed on the growing pile of laundry on the floor across from the bathroom door. You booed and he sighed but stepped out from behind the door frame. His shorts hung low on his hips, revealing the cut of his abs as they descended behind the band of rayon. You waved your hand to tell him to continue and he rolled his eyes, but a smile grew on his lips as he pushed his shorts down.

“Once more, pretty boy,” you cooed. He tugged off his boxers and raised his arms to the side and spun in a circle like he was giving you a fashion show. You burst into laughter but your laughter faded when you saw his face fall.

His eyes were locked on his reflection in the full length mirror propped up against the wall. He trailed his gaze along the harsh stripes of mottled flesh that stood out against his tan skin. You slipped out from under the sheet and made your way across the room to press up against his chest. One of your hands came up to rest on his bicep and the other wound its way behind his back to start to trace along the lines and scars.

“Lover,” you whispered. “These are signs that you survived.”

A shuddering breath escaped him and you turned to look into the mirror, your motions following you in the silvery reflection. Your finger drew hearts, circles, and words along his skin. Praises, promises, sweet nothings created an invisible diary of your devotion to him and you pressed a kiss to his shoulder.

“What good amid these, O me, O life? Answer. That you are here—that life exists and identity, That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse*,” you whispered. “You are here. Life exists. You may contribute a verse. You are here. Say it.”

“I am here,” he croaked out. “I exist. Life exists.”

“You are here. With me. In our home.”

The home with plants and cats and Wonder Woman curtains. The home with mismatched plates found at thrift shops and dollar stores. The home with his gun safe next to the stack of unread books that the two of you have been pointedly ignoring. The home with the walk to the bodega for breakfast sandwiches and the farmer’s market tucked away at a local park.

He was here. With you. Life exists.

He curled his arms around your waist, delicate and tentative as though he would destroy you with a simple touch, and you leaned into it. You welcomed him with soft caresses and careful kisses and he melted into the arms of the person he loved. He was here. Life exists.

Tag List: @mcrmarvelloki​ @gone-batty-fics​ @someoneimsure​ @perpetual-fangirl900​ @visagebrise​ @cursedandromedablack​ @alexxavicry​ @the-wayward-daughter​ @raging-trash-of-mind​ @kat-nee​ @khaylin27​

[arctic-hands]

Thirty minutes and 9 paragraphs into an excited list of alternatives to Spotify's monopoly re: music, videos, podcasts, audiobooks, for weenies like me who are nervous about pirating, and my app crashes.

Well now I'm on a laptop and I swear to god if this crashes too I'm calling it a conspiracy.

LEGAL ALTERNATIVES TO SPOTIFY:

Music: There are virtually limitless options here. Buy music directly from the musicians/band! If they don't sell mp3s directly from their site, they almost certainly have CDs for sale, so buy those and rip the mp3s to your computer (if your computer doesn't have a CD slot, you can buy an external one for fairly cheap). Go to a new/used music store, they still exist!, and buy albums there. Buy old albums from ebay! Go to goodwill or other thrift stores and browse there collection of cast-off music for cheap, you never know what you'll find. Hell, browse their cheap vinyl if you prefer their sound and get a vinyl-to-MP3 conversion device if you like. They even have conversion devices for cassette tapes, if you find a treasure that was only ever released on tape. Once upon a time I would have said Bandcamp for MP3 or even physical albums (I once upon a time got an AUTOGRAPHED TO MY NAME CD of Lauren Ruth Ward's Well Hell album), but they recently union busted and a lot of artists pulled their stuff from them. I don't really know anything about 7Digital's business practices, but they are another seller of MP3 music, as well as MP4, FLAC, and WAV.

Music DEVICES: If you just want to manage everything on one device, your phone, get the free VLC app! It's open source and is absolutely wonderful. I only ever used it for music, but it's capable of much more than I realized, and it's open source and ad-free! And the audio files are tiny, even when I was running out of room on my sixteen gig old phone, I still had a substantial music library on it before before I got a dedicated music player.

Which brings me to my next point: MP3 PLAYERS STILL EXIST! I own two! My first one is a twenty-dollar SanDisk Clip Jam (an established and sturdy brand), my current is a thirty-dollar Phinistec Z6 (that just came out of nowhere it seems). Each have their pros and cons, and there are so so so many options out there. Some are smart, some don't even have wifi (neither of mine do). Some have expandable card slots for even more music. Some are extremely basic, some have a plethora of features. Some are cheap but still decent in sound, some are high-end for that true audiophile experience. Some have touch screens, some have buttons, some have no screens at all. Some only use wired earphones, some only use bluetooth, some (like the Z6) can use both! There are so many brands out there even in Twenty Twenty-four. Even the random brands cropping up online are some really good shit, and I bought both of mine used bc I have concerns about the lithium industry. Oh, and some are regular battery powered. And you don't need iTunes or anything, I just use the basic Windows Media Player to rip my CDs or put mp3s music on my player. In fact I've been avoiding Apple players because I'm worried they'd brick older devices, especially ones with wifi. But there are so many options out there, it's impossible to name them all.

Audiobooks: YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE AUDIBLE! Libro.fm has a similar business model (an optional subscription fee with a free credit every month, or the option to buy book without a subscription for a little bit extra price), and you can direct the profits to the indie bookseller of your choice! I have mine set to go to Baltimore's anarcho-feminist bookstore, Red Emma's. How to listen to the audiobooks you buy? Libro has an app you can listen to directly from! AND they have the option to directly download from the site (meaning no program you have to install) the book in non-proprietary mp3/mp4 files so you can listen to it on any device that can use those files! THAT INCLUDES MP3 PLAYERS! Almost every music player on the market now not only plays audiobooks, but has sections on the device specifically for them! Some, like the Clip Jam, are even proprietary audible-compatible if you still use or already have books there (check audible's site, and you'll have to go thru a registration process). I was listening to audiobooks on both my CJ and the Z6 (the Z6 doesn't have a section for them, but still played them), but I recently bought an e-ink/e-paper (meaning no backlit LED screen causing eye strain or insomnia) ereader, a Pocketbook Touch HD 3, and that is mp3/mp4 capable for audiobooks, and is easier to maneuver books with since it's meant for books. ALSO: the library apps Hoopla and Libby also have audiobooks you can listen to via phone or computer/browser, depending on your library's catalog. Some ereaders can even have the apps for them, and if they have audiocapabilities you can use the ereader for that too.

Podcasts: There are so many apps for this. I have Podcast Addict (I don't remember off the top of my head if it's on apple, I use android, but there are still so many apps). Literally I only had to sacrifice one podcast when I stopped using spotify, PodcastAddict has everything else I've ever listened to or want to listen to in the future. You can download them for offline use on your phone, and, you guessed it, MOST MP3 PLAYERS HAVE PODCAST SECTIONS TOO. MINE DO! There are still ads at the beginning and end, but I usually skip over them without care.

Video: This one is a bit trickier as YouTube is also a monopoly, but what I do is just watch yt on my phone's Firefox browser with UBlock Origins adblocker installed. Sometimes yt gets into a hissy fit with adblocker, but UBlock usually gets ahead pretty quickly thus far. And if in the periods Origins is losing, I just find something else to do. I'm sure someone else has recommendations for videos, they're just not a big part of my life right now.

Anyway, don't let the horrid beast that is spotify monopoloize the audio industry OR your time! There are options, and even if you're not a luddite like me that hates having everything on my smartphone bc I'm worried about privacy or companies yoinking their stuff off my devices via wifi (like Amazon did once with their copies of, of all things, Nineteen Eighty-four about a decade ago) at the whim of corporations. You HAVE OPTIONS! YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CONTROL YOUR MEDIA AND REJECT MONOPOLIES!

[gffa]

i lost my dad a decade ago and it was the worst six months or so of my life. all the practical stuff that has to be dealt with after a parent dies feels so impossible. you definitely deserve All the back pats

I'm so sorry you had to go through all that, even though I hope you're in a better space now. And, yeah, it's exhausting, because there were some upsides to my situation--this had been coming for a very long time despite that he wasn't really that old he'd had this stuff his entire adult life just about, it was something of a relief that he was no longer suffering so much, I have wanted to clean like this for years, I had a lot of stuff already planned out, re: paperwork and goals--there are other downsides, mostly that my dad was a hoarder. He'd made a lot of progress on going through stuff over the last couple of years, but there's still just. So. Much. And it all needs a decision, because sure okay the food packaging boxes he liked to save to store things in, those can all go, but why throw a perfectly good flashlight even if he had 30 of them? They're little ones! They glow in the dark! I like them, too! They store nicely! (I struggle with hoarding as well, as you can see.) And that's just one thing. Okay, now about the tools. You should have a good set of the basics, you can always use a good screwdriver. But which ones to keep? Okay, now here's another stack of paperwork that he saved, how many bank statements do I need to save? Okay time to talk to the insurance agent make sure you have the original policy paperwork to send in, okay time to talk to social security, oh they don't put the instructions on there correctly and it has to be redone and sent in with another death certificate, okay time to talk to the bank to transfer his account, okay time to decide if mom wants to keep the cable because it's expensive and she really only watches just the one channel, okay time to decide how many pairs of gloves do we need, because there have been times they come in handy (defrosting the freezer needs a pair of gloves oh my god), okay time to decide which of these desk fans to keep and which to throw, okay time to decide do you need this rolly table that is perfectly good it's just kind of ugly and you don't really have an idea for it, other than the one in the laundry area that you store the clothes basket on while you do laundry, okay time to decide if you want to keep this radio in case the power goes out and you want to hear the local updates, okay time to decide if you should save the backup garden hose (not the ones outside, this one is in the house) it's perfectly good but do you need a backup?, okay where did those copies of the death certificate go, okay it's started snowing so is it still time to call the thrift store to come pick up this dresser that's finally empty and can be taken away or should I wait until the second one is empty and they can take both at the same time, okay time to figure out which of these bottles still has cleaner in it and which he kept just in case he could use the bottle, okay time to decide-- And that's on top of the dishes need to be put away, the laundry is still going, and there is so. much. dust. It gives me something to do, which I'm thankful for, but also it's so many decisions. Anyone going through this or has gone through it in the past, line up with me, we're getting some back pats for this RIGHT NOW. ;)

[the-everqueen]

hi!! it’s cold here too. what do you think Lucienne & Rose’s winter wear would look like? 🧣❄️

stay warm! we (the collective city it's just me here) are prepped for potential power outages but i hope you have layers and heating and hot beverages.

this ask is so fucking cute. Lucienne is obviously practical above all else. she's got a thick knit beanie for her head. she's maybe got one of those ear-flap hats if it gets Really Cold. she already dresses in layers in her professional attire, so we know she has a pair of long undies. she CLEARLY owns multiple knit and slouchy cardigans. she's got a long overcoat. she's got one of those head-to-toe puffer jackets. there's a variety of jewel-toned scarves. she sheds layers as necessary and folds them up neatly on her chair or desk. Dream has given her a little magical heater that looks like a pond lily that offers light and keeps her desk inks fluid. (this bitch ain't never switching to digital or even ballpoint pens.) i imagine the Most Daring she gets is a fair isle knit sweater or a beanie with a pouf on top. she's neutrals to monochrome but if she's feeling spicy there's a deep burgundy cape with some gold stitch detailing on the hems.

Rose lived in Brooklyn so realistically she knows what winter looks like. pero also she was presumably a college student so she's got an eclectic thrift wardrobe going on. we know she loves a sweater vest. like Lucienne, she tends to dress in neutrals or deep toned colors, but i bet she found a North Face puffer that's like, lime green at a buffalo exchange for $20 and she snagged that shit. i DO think she'd be into the scrunchy knit leg warmers trend. leggings. midi wool skirt. patterned sweater vest on top of a sweatshirt/pullover. long knit fingerless gloves. any combo of beanies or head scarves to keep her hair from getting snow or sleet in it. none of these things are in colors that "match" but somehow she's making it work.

in the LA guard dog au she has to donate half her winter gear because SoCal just does NOT get that cold. ever. she needs a slicker and some long sleeves and a couple sweaters. probably for the first five years she's one of those transplants who goes out in shorts or t-shirts in January when everyone else is bundled against an imagined ice age.

for some reason i imagine it snows more in the Dreaming when it's Daniel rather than Morpheus. because he's a little cotton candy snowflake man? because children like snow days? because Morpheus walked around tits out for god knows how many millennia and that seems uncomfortable if it's also subzero temps? idk. anyways. imagine Danny and Luce sharing hot cocoa. imagine Morpheus and Calliope making a snowbeast with their kid.

[iosagol]

finished Ragnarok, feeling very warm and happy

so I hated the way Fjord's character was basically just a copy of Vidar for no discernable reason for over half the series, poor boy's entire set of complex ideals and history were all slam dunked into a gutter the moment the funeral somehow switched his entire brain chemistry

were the giants inconsistent in their characterization and intelligence levels, sure

did I dislike Magne basically being Smeagol for most of season 3, yeah

but aside from those three things

Wow I really really love this show

I heard a lot of complaints that there weren't big battle scenes but idk I'm not a battle scene child so I didn't care :)) I was so happy to have a show full of hiking in mountains and cooking in kitchens and going to the Edda Grill, with plenty of character-centric work all the time always

I loved how normal everything felt. The Seier's house looked like my aunt's house. The clothes the middle class characters wore all looked worn and pretty common, I could probably find their clothes in a thrift store.

All the small quirky things were so gooddddd

I love Magne's 24/7 facial expression of complete and utter "No thoughts, what the hell is happening to me, I'm so done with this life" except for the times when he's accidentally knocking over trees and playing catch with his own hammer and then he smiles so much :D Love how he's the mid guy at school, a virgin, nearsighted, internally panicking always and forever. He had some very interesting arcs and asked a lot of interesting questions. Looks like the brother of a friend of mine. Very chill person.

Laurits is such a joy, of course. Head over heels for him watching Finding Nemo twice to cope with Fjor abusing his tapeworm child, having a crying fit while making soup and blaming it on the onions, shopping for boots on Amazon + saying he's busy, and casually working as a double agent between the gods and giants for over a year to earn money so he can feed his child. Beautiful man, beautiful attitude, convinced me to start using mascara.

Jens grew on me. I was kind of annoyed about him while Laurits was just pining over him, but he redeemed himself being the only living creature with a braincell in season 3 and staying sane despite all the insane drama and his boyfriend having a massive scary tapeworm child <33

I love the women of this show and how they're all very beautiful but they're not hypersexualized or dumbed down like women are in the Thor movies in Marvel.

Turid made me think about my own relationship with my mom, 10/10 most complex mother I've seen depicted in media. Love how she comes across as both so worn/tired and so loving/caring. I loved her acting. Beautiful performance from her.

Saxa was very hard to read, I think. Her motivations were all over the place and I could never tell whether to pity her or hate her. But I liked how unpredictable she was, I really did. It was a lot of fun to watch her switch around, and it made sense for her character since she has a lack of emotions. She gave Azula vibes quite a bit.

I was always happy to see Iman onscreen <33 A cute, fun, silly girl who likes to flirt but isn't an idiot? Who wins fights by being precise and conserving her energy? Who uses her powers to get things for free and squeals happily about it? Got so excited that her friend could lift her up and down with one hand? She's either Batman or Robin? A gem. A real gem.

And Isolde. I'm sad she died because she was my favorite character up until then, loved her snark and loved that there was a super chill fun friendship there, but she kind of became the beating heart of the show when she died. Loved that she was this underlying reason to keep pushing forward and advocating for change.

Vidar was super funny to me because he was all fun and horny games when Magne was just learning his powers but then Magne killed Vidar's dog and that man actually ripped off his clothes and swore vengeance on the house of Thor and lost his tiny brain in a split second, he's the funniest man of all time

Ran... I don't know. She didn't really resonate with me at any point? I liked the way she always shifted in the giant family, adopting whatever mindset would keep her family together at all costs. Very much a bitch though :) I really like the Ran Jutul who gave that awesome speech, she was so cool ;D

Erik looked better with a beard, that's all I'm saying, are you really a Norwegian man if you don't grow a red beard fr

I vastly enjoyed that entire thing of "Norse mythology wouldn't work in the modern age because it's all fighting and killing and that's not allowed now" and the show literally was the exact reversal of that, it was all strategy and scheming and laying down weapons :D

The cinematography was remarkably fresh, it felt like it was actually trying to be engaging and interesting. Loved the lighting choices at all times, loved the nature shots, loved the minimal usage of CGI

This show made me get into researching climate change and I'm really grateful for that too

Really intrigued by the negative stance it took towards big corporations manhandling citizens' lives, felt dystopian in an extremely down to earth way

Loved the twists and adaptation choices

THE SOUND TRACK

The SONGS

Love the music to hel and back fr

Loved the finale since I interpreted it as Magne just reconsidering how the final battle could have gone, overcoming his trauma, and moving on from the fight for good.

4.67 stars out of 5. :))

[jfk-blown-away-blog]

Oh my god is that all your vintage gear?

Please, tell me about it.

That is my main HiFi setup. It's made mostly of thrift store finds I've worked on.

The main turntable is a Dual 1229 that was in a very dustcover/plinth. The original cartridge's right channel had a slightly noticeable distortion so I upgraded it to a Ortofon super om 10.

This is the Panasonic 8-Track, AM/FM radio and the preamp for my 78 playback. It was originally my main preamp for a cheap BSR record changer turntable I got as a upgrade to my starting 5 in one no name unit when I was about 15

This Sanyo is probably the piece of equipment that has lasted me the longest. I got it when I was about 14. I'm still surprised that the belts are still good, and I haven't had any issues with it over the 10 or so years I've had it l.

This absolute unit is a fairly recent addition. I kinda always wanted to add CDs to my system but never found a player that stood out to me, that was until a few months ago I came across this 200 CD mega storage Sony unit. The incredible excessiveness of it was greatly comical to me and I had to have it.

The tan kind of brownish one with all those fun enticing knobs is a Raymer 800-35 A solid state amplifier that's used with a very special piece I'll show at the end.

The one on top with the cute iDogs on top is the Paramount Pictures Model 1000 Stereo Sound Decoder. It makes the music go from cool stereo separation to an all encompassing room of sound. It sounds pretty good.

And finally my most priced unit. A very special piece of equipment. One that was a childhood dream of mine to own. I honestly never expected to own one. It's my Rek-O-Kut TR43H Recording Lathe. It's used to cut records. The Raymer amplifier is what I use to power the cutting head as it needs an 8ohm signal to produce audio, similarly to a speaker. I acquired this about 2 years ago. The person selling it was an older gentleman in his 80s. He was just not getting any use out of it and in his old age he needed some extra funds for medical expenses. It's the only piece in my main setup I didn't find at a thrift store and is the most expensive thing I bought for it. It took me about 2 years fiddling around with it before I finally started getting the decent results I get now.

Here's the kind of audio quality I've reproduced.

[downtherabbitholewithlucy]

“I was 12 years old when I started playing guitar and I mowed lots of lawns. I still haven’t gotten good. I’m not a good musician. That’s why I wear what I wear on stage to cover up for why I’m such a terrible guitar player. So they’ll [the audience] go “Oh look, look what he’s wearing!” and they just go “Look how, look how weird that guy looks!” and then, and then they go “Wait a minute, we didn’t even check if he was playing.” ” 

- Wes Borland

________________________________________________________

SPIN Magazine: Why create such an elaborate spectacle?

Borland: It’s like ritualistic war paint I’m the cherry on top, the sore thumb that makes the band stick out. I don’t fit in and that’s just what makes it work. I don’t think I can ever go back to wearing normal clothes on stage. It’s totally a mask, something to hide behind. It’s really easy to get confidence when people aren’t looking at what you are in the mirror every day. I get self-conscious. And if I can shroud my whole body behind a façade. I feel great knowing there’s a shield to deflect any humiliation I might feel. 

________________________________________________________

Guitar.com: You tend to wear bizarre costumes onstage and those wild, black contact lenses. What's the deal with that?

Borland: It just covers me up as much as possible so I don't ever have to ever show all of myself. I've always been into collecting masks and wearing masks onstage. It's more fun for me because I draw and do a lot of art work in the band. It just makes it more fun to be able to do it on myself just to try to turn myself into different characters. To look like an alien or something. I think it makes it more fun for fans too.

Guitar.com: Do you enjoy being a celebrity?

Borland: [Our singer] Fred [Durst] loves it. But I just don't think I'll ever be able to understand the whole human being worship aspect of it. People going, "Man, you're a guitar god," and I go, "Where?" And I'm glad that I'm making an impact on some people's lives, but I'm the kind of person who would rather be respected for what I'm doing than who I am. The masks and costumes are a way of avoiding all of that.

________________________________________________________

The Believer: Did you always dress up onstage?

Borland: Yes. I went to an arts high school, and had always been interested in sculpture and painting and drawing. Guitar kind of became a hobby of mine, and I had seen David Bowie and Kiss and Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson—even GWAR—and so when I started playing in garage bands I started doing little things onstage that were nothing more than a mask or minor makeup, because the stage seemed like such an opportunity to do something outrageous. And it kept growing and growing and growing. When Limp got signed, that changed my aspirations from being in fine art. Being a musician was the job I didn’t expect, and I ended up going, “How can I incorporate this?”

The Believer: By the time we saw you on MTV, you had incorporated it. The makeup was not minor.

Borland: Well, I was bored. There’s so much downtime on tour. I ended up going around and finding thrift stores and costume shops in towns, spending whatever per diem or money I had on makeup and lipstick, and I started putting outfits together. And as the band gained more success—like, suddenly I didn’t have to carry anything or tune my guitars—I had more resources for stage outfits, and I started thinking about the show all the time.

The Believer: On TV you seem to have two personas. The polite, uncomfortable guy on camera feels different than the bunny monster, whose energy is both very aggressive and very engaged.

Borland: It’s what allows me to have that power. And I’ve noticed that the more elaborate the costumes got over the years, the more they developed into characters, the more I felt like someone else. It’s like pulling on a shirt, but having the Superman symbol underneath. There is also a very different character I have in Black Light Burns, my other band. I grow my hair and mustache out, and wax the mustache and then paint it on even bigger. I’ll wear period clothing that looks like Bill the Butcher. But in that band I’m the singer, so I don’t wear any contact lenses, because I feel that takes the audience away from me. When my eyes are dead and black-looking, I lose a connection with people who are looking at the singer to connect with the band, so I won’t do that.

The Believer: How did your bandmates feel about playing hard rock/ rap with someone dressed like a vanilla gorilla?

Borland: At first I tried to get the other guys to dress up, too, but they didn’t want to do it, so that sort of became the thing in Limp Bizkit—you’ve got a bunch of guys who look like normal dudes, and then one guy who dresses like a space alien or a zombie. But soon I started getting into more-serious art and artists, then started going to the opera. I went to The Damnation of Faust that the L.A. Opera put on, like, eight years ago, and was just thrilled by the costumes. So I started researching opera-costume makers and stage makeup, and it just built and built.

The Believer: Your costumes never seem to connote just one thing, like one thing that’s scary, one thing that’s ironic. What comes to mind right now is the Technicolor lounge-singer phantom who’s not wearing any pants.

Borland: Oh, yeah! The prom outfit. The hair for that is made of feathers. But all the characters come from what effect I want to put out. That’s the main thing: everything onstage has to make me feel, in some way, tapped into this little-boy thing, where I want to be a superhero or I want to be a warrior. I want to be filled with all this energy that comes from tricking myself into thinking that I’m more powerful than I am, or have more confidence than I would be capable of in normal clothes. It’s just becoming a monster in some way, and that helps me go out in front of ten thousand people and act like I own the place.

[aria-i-adagio]

Thrift Shop Vikings premise, part 2

@atypicalacademic, @hoochieblues, @motherofqups

The plot edition....

Let’s go back to that map. Specifically, this part of the map. See that nice river basin, surrounded by mountains? This is our stage. I am quite terrible with geographic names. For the moment, we’ll refer to this as the Riverlands. The relatively isolated Riverlands are divided into three principal kingdoms. The real world model is the British Isles post the decline of the Roman Empire, because we definitely needed another fake Britain. Culturally, it's a backwater, but not “barbaric.”

The economic system is primarily agrarian. The more mountainous regions do engage in some amount of mining and metalwork, but the depths which have to be reached to acquire ore limits this activity. Primary exports are animal and plant fibers, a limited amount of metals, and paper, which isn’t really relevant at this stage. Both kinds of hemp are popular crops and the fun kind is the ‘cash crop’ so to speak.  

The surrounding mountains limit outside incursions. The past 2-3 generations have been remarkably peaceful and cooperative within the Riverlands with all the primary ruling families intermarried to a greater or lesser extent. Brivonia (highlighted), in particular, has developed solid economic ties with trading cities along the definitely Not!Mediterranean-esque coast. They have enough goods people want to make it worth the effort of travel, but not enough to bother with invading for land or wealth. (Assuming you’re one of the significantly wealthier countries to the south.) 

All of the above leads to a high degree of complacency regarding defense. And the people of those islands? Yeah, they’re a bit short on land resources for farming (did too good of a job getting those population numbers back up). About forty years ago, this might have been solved quite amicably, as there is more arable land than what is being used in the Riverlands. Unfortunately for the Riverlands, about thirty years ago power within the islands was consolidated by a female alpha named Synnove, who believes that she’s rediscovered the old, true gods and is destined to conquer on their behalf until she reaches the point where the sun rises over the ocean. She has a very high charisma stat and truly believes in her bullshit. Combine that with inadequate resources on the island themselves as motivation for people who aren’t entirely sure about this whole ‘old gods’ thing and fun times can be had by all.

Brivonia is targeted because Synnove, et. al., know that they are in a weak position defensively and were further weakened by two waves of plague in the past six or so years. The relative security of the river basin is also seen as a good place to build a base of support on the mainland, build up resources, and gather information about the geography and politics further inland. (And Synnove is just crazy enough that she might believe she’s going to live until her destiny is fulfilled, so while she wants to get moving, she’s willing to play a long game.)

And this, dear reader, is how Evyn, Prince of Aldenchester, ends up having definitely seen better days because “No surrender, we die like men” only works when you’re consistently classed as man.

...record scratch... Now we’re going to back up again...

Evyn has spent the twenty-odd years since he could form coherent sentences trying very, very hard to NOT BE PRECIOUS. This is very hard when one has six siblings between six to seventeen years older than oneself and then there was another six-ish year gap before the actual baby of the family was born. It is further complicated when one is an omega and therefore, by default, precious. (Two successive wives in this scenario, but the older children actually quite like their stepmother, who had the good sense to let them define the relationship.) Evyn is also the clever, conniving sibling. Not the one you actually want to leave alive to use as a puppet, but how was Synnove supposed to know that?

Evyn is also in many respects, the best connected of the siblings because he spent several years studying in the southern cities. (And he’s a grade A nerd, so studying did happen; along with a lot of ‘frivolity,’ as one does in one’s late teens and early twenties when far from home.) He was recalled home when his father died and has since largely been trying to put off an arranged marriage by being incredibly useful to the eldest brother on the administrative side of running a kingdom.

He also briefly crossed paths with Sindre, who of two sons Synnove has with her, several years, without either one knowing who the other actually is, and rather liked the big, sweet, slightly sad, sailor who was contemplating running the fuck away from whatever was going on in his life. So when he gets the ultimatum of “you’re either letting one of sons take you as a mate, or I’m going to kill in a very creative fashion,” a very clearly extremely pissed about this entire situation Sindre is the obvious best of the bad choices. (To the extent that anyone other than Synnove has any choice in this scenario.) 

Sindre (Asdason,sometimes referred to as Synnovarson) would prefer to be a gentle giant in peace. He is one of Synnove's older children, who she sired on a male omega, Asdi, who was married/mated to her during her conquest of the islands themselves. Sindre's grandfather had enough sway to keep both Sindre and Asdi within his settlement. (Asdi, as a male omega, has specific religious duties associated with protecting the boundaries of the settlement, death rituals, etc.) Sindre recognizes Synnove's depravity, but he has always believed there is nothing he can do about it. She controls Sindre because he believes, correctly, that if he challenges her or even simply breaks away it will be his family and his community that pays the price. He could be described as in a constant state of low key dissociation.

Much of Sindre's internal conflict boils down to pressure to be ‘manly’ or ‘alpha’ and the very meaning of those concepts. His grandfather and Synnove are opposing models. He feels inadequate to meet his grandfather's expectations. Other themes are honor/dishonor/atonement for what he has and hasn't done. Sindre is religious, but his religiosity has been picked up entirely from Asdi. Polytheistic, a touch of animism, a lot of superstitious beliefs. The injunction “Do not offend the gods” is real enough to him that he does somewhat fear Synnove's, even though he doesn't buy into her claim that they are supreme, and he quite frankly thinks they are cruel and unworthy of worship. Worship and fear are distinct.

Synnove thinks that ‘giving’ Evyn to Sindre will give her more control over him.

Now, dear readers, I hope we have a premise for the plot.

TMI/full confession: There’s some kink meme out there with conquering warlord/whoever they just vanquished as a prompt. That notion plus the madness of Nanowrimo are how we ended up here. Somewhere, at some point in fictional character land, Evyn, Sansa Stark, and June Osbourne are asked to leave the same therapy group because they are all a little too into revenge.

[trashbins-stuff]

if you have a lighter, what color is it?

pepsi box blue or cheetos bag orange?

do you like pasta?

how often are you on tumblr?

are you only doing this because you’re bored?

what blogs do you mostly interact with?

can you swim?

have you had water today?

which do you prefer, cotton candy or funnel cake?

have you ever [insert question]?

bass or drums?

favorite tv commercial?

can we be friends?

do you admire the clouds and color of the sky?

what’s the weirdest thing that’s happened to you?

a netflix series that’s your favorite?

an earliest obsession you remember?

do you play video games?

zombies or vampires?

have you listened to [insert musician/band]?

your first celebrity crush?

do you have a collection of cool rocks?

five words that describe you?

what have you learned about yourself?

can you tie a cherry stem with your tongue?

do you believe in aliens?

books or films?

an unusual song that’s your favorite?

the last thing you ate?

do you have a favorite [insert question]?

have you gotten bit by a dog?

do you write better with a pen or a pencil?

a song that gets stuck in your head?

when you hear “ peace ” what do you think of?

a school subject your good with?

how many alarms do you have set?

do you shop at thrift stores?

what’s the meaning behind your url?

is there wise words you live by?

what’s your favorite [insert question]?

you gotta have a favorite beatles song, what is it?

earphones or a speaker?

what do you remember from your childhood?

do you collect anything?

favorite tea?

a christmas song you secretly like?

book stores or record stores?

how weird were these questions?

what scents do you like?

is there [insert question]?

-i dont rlly use lighters but i do use molotov :] my fav is the green one

-cheetos bag orange

-pastaaaa <33

-first place i go to when open my phone, its my comfort place yk,,,

-mybe,,,

-probably a/im-going-to-hornyjail or pepperpep

-mybe

-yes

-cotton candy

-[insert amswer]

-drum

-the cafe commercial where the man (coffe) and the woman (milk) walk to eachother and blend together. Very bigender xoded

-yes

-yeah

-hmmmmmmmmm too much cant rember

-i dont have netflix

-undertale

-yes

-vampie

-[insert yes or no answer]

-i dont have any celeb crish

-*wink*

-silly loyal power-hungry nostalgic bittersweet

-idk

-mybe probably wont stay long tho

-*ring @salachy * r u an alien :0

-book

-messages from the stars by the rah band, god is calling me back home by king gizzard and the lizard wizard and to my enemies by saint motel

-rice

-[insert answer w fav thing]

-naw B]

-it doesnt matter itll still look likr chicken scratcj :'D

-dumb dumb- mazie

-the fruit

- art mybe

-i woke up whenever so no alarm

-yeah i would

-wouldnt u like to know weather boy? (Fuck around and find out)

-"the entire point of my life is to be silly kind and rlly weird btw"

-[answer]

-strawberry fields forever

-earphone

-yeah :D

-plastic bag and straws

-winter melon tea

-humbug by owl city

-bookstore

-theyre kinda weird

-lavender or those scent that remind me of a memory

-[insert the answer here]

[minorhoursmagazine]

Issue 29, containing: Housekeeping (Nondiagetic), An Interesting Method for Skimming Wax, Some Advice for Those Seeking the Northwest Passage, A Partial Guide to Avoiding Casual Poisonings, Letters, Commonplaces, &c.

------------------------------

SOME EDITORIAL NOTES

A new year, and here we are. Welcome. There's fresh bread from the oven, with which I have just eaten a slathering of local maple butter, and with which I will later make a deeply hedonistic grilled cheese.

I will attempt to keep my concentration on the writing of these articles, rather than the promise of dairy yet to come.

------------------------------

HOUSEKEEPING (NONDIAGETIC)

I sometimes think about the inaccuracy of the subtitle of this microzine-- which, if you'd rather not stare too closely at the miniature text in the header, reads in part:

"a newsletter of miscellany, fiction, and art"

(I am omitting my name from the subtitle, as, if I had my druthers, I would not list a name at all, but rather credit this whole venture to an anonymous collective of Editors bravely trying to rein in an errant essayist who seems hellbent on style over substance.)

(Also I have been reliably informed that I should, quote, "get over it.")

Of the numerous things currently annoying me about the subtitle, above and beyond naming conventions, there is also the use of the terms "newsletter," "fiction," and "art."

("Miscellany" may survive the cull, because it is both accurate and also a pleasant word to say.)

(Miscellany. Mys-cell-aye-nie. It looks like Arkham might loom behind it while the scent of salt and cold brine inexorably rises in a grey and creeping mist.)

"Newsletter" is doesn't feel right, though I haven't quite determined what might be closer. "Fiction," regardless of the actual content of some of these articles, doesn't feel accurate either. And "art," even assuming a gentle reader might deem my photographs as such, was always a stretch.

And so while the header remains as it is for the moment, a change is on the wind. I've been spending an even greater amount of time than usual reading through the older magazines and publications that The Minor Hours seeks to emulate, and, to the Editors' horror, I must confess that the feral urge to use the word "diuerse" grows stronger by the day.

------------------------------

AN INTERESTING METHOD FOR SKIMMING WAX

As long-time readers may recall, part of my overall journey toward kitchen witchery and experimental archaeology has involved finding and working out the recipes behind historical foods, cosmetics, and home goods.

The most recent of these that exist within the "fairly complete now, thank you" category is the recipe I've worked out for a pomatum suitable for the lips, variants of which I've found in several old scanned and OCR'd texts, with the mid-1600s being the earliest occurrence so far (and somehow involving-- grapes?) and the latest appearing in and around the 1710s.

I would share that recipe but, sadly, I have done so elsewhere; instead, let me share a stranger revelation: the matter of wax, and its cleanup.

One batch of this pomatum requires an ounce of beeswax. I have lately been made aware that beeswax is not a grease, and therefore dish soap has no power over it; it is also not a fat, but woe be to those who seek to pour it down a drain, lest it solidify just as much as a fat might when cooled.

Following the recommendations of those who have come before me in the modern age, I have instead tried to boil the wax off of whatever objects they come in contact with. This works-- to a degree. Since the wax does not magically disappear, I can at best only transfer the wax from one object (my pomatum-making tools) to another (the large pot I found at the thrift store and am sacrificing for the greater good to the wax gods).

There is, however, an intermediary step: skimming.

As the wax melts in the boiling pot, it leaves its moorings and floats to the top of the heated water. From there, a small mesh strainer, as one would use to hoist out a dumpling or, indeed, skim the top of some liquid creation, can be used in a nice repetitive manner to remove the majority of the melted wax.

--Or.

I found, as I skimmed, that I wasn't truly gathering everything. I knew this to be the case because using the strainer was actually my second attempt at collecting wax. The first was the slow but incredibly effective method I found while hunting around to begin with: that of the Cold Metal Spoon.

Take a metal spoon and, in its bowl, set an ice cube (or however many should fit in it). The metal now instantly chilled, draw the back of the spoon across the top of the hot, waxy water. The wax, hitting the cold spoon, will immediately cool and cling to the metal, allowing you to collect far more wax that the mesh strainer managed.

As a demonstration, behold:

Fig. 1. The back of an as-yet-unwaxed spoon.

Fig. 2. Spoon avec ice.

Fig. 3. Besmirched!

Fig. 4. The lady, half revealed.

I am, overall, extremely pleased with this method, and only seek now to find a significantly larger metal ladle.

------------------------------

SOME ADVICE FOR THOSE SEEKING THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE

Pack a compass.*

* While the pointing Hand of Franklin† has been listed under "Preferred Equipment," it will not be available for the foreseeable future.‡

† No note was made of the properties of the non-capitalized hand of Franklin, and it is therefore excluded from these pages.

‡ This is largely because the body of John Franklin§ is also not available for the foreseeable future.

§ Further, it should be made clear that the Hand of Franklin, regardless of its present location, would be contaminated with lead, botulism, and possibly toothmarks, none of which have been found to be reliable aids to navigation.

------------------------------

A PARTIAL GUIDE TO AVOIDING CASUAL POISONINGS

With the success of the lip pomatum, I've found myself eager to explore historical recipes further. This leads, unfortunately, to two additional concerns: (1) determining the modern-day equivalent of various ingredients, and (2) ensuring that those same ingredients are not, in fact, poisonous.

[Interestingly, the tertiary concern of "is it legal to seek out or possess these ingredients" does not appear to have made this list. -Eds.]

Even the pomatum itself required some of this research.

Fig. 5. A recipe containing two bad ideas and one very good way to explode a fine mist of wax over one's entire kitchen.

Of the bad ideas, let it be said that:

Fresh butter was an English addition to this receipt. The original French listed sweet almond oil, which contains significantly less likelihood of poisoning the users of the pomatum through molds, bacteria, and the general horror of applying butter to one's face.

Orcanet required some study, but revealed itself to be an older spelling of alkanet, or what we now might purchase under the name alkanet root, Alkanna tinctoria, or ratan jot. While it is a popular colorant for the makers of "natural" cosmetics, there is some concern regarding what happens to the livers of people who ingest it, and it therefore seems unwise to include in a lip balm.

(Hilariously, the receipt itself only lists orcanet as necessary for thickening-- and assuming that that was the case, I replaced it with powdered arrowroot and went about my business. However, in researching alkanet, I didn't see any particular mention of thickening properties... but I did see that while in alkaline solutions, alkanet turns blue, in acidic solutions -- such as any that might contain orange-flower water and sweet almond oil -- it turns a lovely shade of crimson.)

(But it was included in this receipt only, of course, for thickening.)

Of the good way to explode one's kitchen, let it be said:

An important lesson can be learned regarding the application of room-temperature hydrosols to a wax-and-oil mix heated to somewhere above 145 degrees Fahrenheit.

The lesson is "don't."

------------------------------

LETTERS

Received by the Magazine via a Dream, Probably, "On the Subject of Mountains":

To the Editors:

While we acknowledge your appropriate appreciation of our regality [Issue 28, "Regarding Mountains" - Eds.], we wish you to know that we of course hold a deep interest in the termination of human lives. We merely do not feel the need to be as obvious about it as our young neighbors to the east. Murder is folded into our orogeny. We cordially invite you to visit again any time to explore further.

Sincerely,

The White Mountains

******

From the Editors, to The White Mountains, "We Had to Look Up the Word 'Orogeny'":

The Editors would like to humbly, and from a distance, like to apologize for continuing to think of you as the Green Mountains, due to the unfortunate necessities of nomenclature and the observances of faith required by certain large and bloodthirsty deities previously referenced.

Having now completed the niceties, we would also like to relate that we have been reliably informed that our mountains are stronger, more shredded, and could kick all your asses if you were inclined to meet in the parking lot after school.

We trust that this letter meets you in good health and with kind regards, -The Editors

******

Received by the Magazine through Diuerse Worrying Methods, "As It Pertains to Sleeping in New Places":

Dear Editors:

Please accept our apologies re: the moving of everything to the Wrong Place. [Issue 28, "Sleeping in New Places" - Eds.] AirBnB guests keep moving things, and we hate it. Our malevolence is restricted only to them, not to guests of the family.

Telekinetically yours,

The Ghosts of the House

******

From the Editors, to The Ghosts of the House, "Ghost Are Often Memories, Accessed in Ways Both Strange and Humbling":

The Editors have cause to remember other guests in the House-- of which one, more kin to you than the others, decided to wander to the familial cemetery to visit a little while with the dead. It was dark out, and the land rolling underfoot, and they declined a lantern for the way.

Being of a narrative inclination, this struck the Editors unwise; being sadly entrenched in a world that rarely requires the services of the genre-savvy, we can only assume that that which returned from the graves matched in all particulars the person who had left.

It is wise, sometimes, to let the ghosts have their way with things, and to have a healthy respect for howsoever they might wish to conduct their business. To that end the Editors would like to assure the Ghosts of the House that they felt as welcome as any traveler could hope, and that they very definitely won't report any strange activities their Kin might engage in of a ghost-like or alternately-revenant nature.

------------------------------

COMMONPLACES

From Jessica Hayworth, "story about a lake I did recently":

>>Woman: A LAKE OPENED UP INSIDE MY CHEST. >> Woman: I THOUGHT WOW, THAT'S NEW. NEVER HAD A BODY OF WATER IN ME BEFORE.

******

From Jessica Hayworth, "story about a lake I did recently":

>>Interviewer: DID YOU HAVE TO INVITE IT INSIDE? >>Woman: I DON'T THINK A LAKE ASKS PERMISSION. >>Interviewer: [laughing] NO. NO IT PROBABLY DOESN'T. >>Woman: [laughing] IMAGINE THAT. >>Both: "HELLO I AM YOUR LAKE. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN YOUR LAKE. >>Both: "OPEN UP PLEASE. OPEN." >>Both: "OPEN SESAME."

------------------------------

ANNOUNCEMENTS

I'm going over-long as it is, but it should be noted that there are New Tiers on the Patreon, which I will probably talk about at some point. I make no promises as to when, however, because time is a lie.

Welcome to 2023. I'm going to go make a grilled cheese.

******

If you would like to write a letter to be produced/answered in the magazine, please email me at minor.hours.magazine@gmail.com with the subject line:

Letter to the Magazine: [subject of letter as you would like to see it printed]

If you wish the letter to be anonymous or under a nom de plume, please state so in the body of the email; similarly, if you'd rather not be printed at all, please also state so in the body of the email. It will otherwise be assumed that mail sent to that address is intended for print.

Alternately, commenting on the Patreon post will get you a similar result, with much less fuss.

******

As always, you can find me at my regular website, katherinecrighton.com, or sometimes via twitter, at @c_katherine.

To support the magazine and get it delivered directly to your inbox, join the Patreon.

-Until next week, be safe.

[moth-yknowtheartist]

I'm sure you can do it. If you can build Acher from scratch you can build Leucas a new body.

> oh!! Will do!!!!

> And yeah, you're right i- I think I can do it!! It'll just be a lot of improvising and getting creative materials-wise and it should work out about the same.

> god and I MEAN improvising HA- I didn't exactly have HUGE resources the first time and that hasn't really changed so y'know, thrift stores junkyards any weird parts I can figure out how to use, they worked with Acher and they'll work again!!!

> Like, as far as Acher- there's some Furby in there, probably some automotive parts, some parts from those silicon coin bank things with the face- I used that for Acher's face-

> video game controllers, especially the circuitboard for the buttons....

× ... and the real brains of the hologram are powered, of course, by a Raspberry Pi!!! Man, those things are versatile, ha!!

× -man, I think I lost connection there for a bit, my internet has been constantly in and out. You guys catch all that?

[foiazoli]

First Silmarillion readthrough - foreword and preface

Okay so! First post actually reading the book, lets go. For clarity’s sake, I have the second edition of the Silm in front of me, the first Copyright date is 1977, and this printing is from 2001 (I got it from a local thrift store)

Foreword -

So, the bits about it being started in 1917 and there being so many contradictory drafts I already knew, but good to get that established early. Also interesting that Chris is establishing that the changing of the texts over time can be attributed to in-universe tales changing over time here, and that’s part of why they don’t quite fit. Definitely helps establish the mythic tone and offers up something for the discrepancies I’m sure I’ll find.

I did NOT realize however that the Ainulindale, Valaquenta, Akallabeth, and Rings of Power are technically separate texts that are just included with the silm. “The number of names that occur in the book is very large” yeah I sure do know that already bud, goddamn. If they had names that weren’t so SIMILAR to each other as well, that sure would have helped too. The number of times I had to look at a fcking family tree to learn the difference between “fingon” and “finrod”......

Preface - 

Of course Tolkein would send letters with footnotes in them. He fucking would. But Chris, if you’re gonna reproduce the letter for us, why omit them once you’ve told us they exist? Commit. 

On the contents of the letter itself, I feel like I hear about a number of authors who have been growing their worlds since childhood but it felt like a more modern phenomenon? Like, the idea that they could make a book out of their fantasy world and its story is something only possible because fantasy books are so popular and accessible, so it's interesting to see that one of the guys who made fantasy what it is today was also like that, even though in his time it wasn’t a done thing to have a whole universe of lore for your stories.

“Myth and fairy-story must, as all art, reflect and contain in solution elements of moral and religious truth (or error), but not explicit…” Oh Boy so, two things to unpack here. 

First, ”must contain moral and religious truth or error” - moral I can agree with, religious, I do not. Fairy tales as we know them today are all about morals and life lessons. Jack and Jill, Hansel and Gretel, The tortoise and the hare, they’re all there to teach us something. Religion also can serve to teach its believers things, and many religious stories serve similar functions of moral storytelling. David and Goliath is similar to the tortoise and the hare in that they both teach you to not underestimate the underdog. (That’s what I got out of David and goliath anyway, if there was anything god-related in that story I have legitimately totally forgotten it) But is religious influence necessary for myth and fairy-story? I argue no, not at all. See Dragonriders of Pern, by Anne McAffrey. First book published in 1969, 27 volumes in total, last one published in 2011. Zero religion in the books. Only mention of religion is by a character who is an outsider who is amazed that the entire planet has no religion. I argue that as it contains a multitude of dragons and stories of characters earlier in time become myths to those who come later (the books span like, 2000 years and the characters are all humans and dragons) it qualifies as myth and/or fairy story despite also being sci-fi.

Second thing, “but not explicit” - so the catholicism isn’t gonna be overt. It’s still gonna be there, everyone’s biases come out eventually, and when you write something for this long you’ve got plenty of time for it. Also, I’ve heard about the dwarves and the anti-semitism, Tolkein's biases definitely will show up at some points and it’s important to be aware of them! That’s why I listed mine in that first post I made; the more aware you are of your biases the easier it is to confront them when it influences your thinking, although it’s not perfect.

Okay, so back to the preface. Interesting that he wanted to create an English mythos at first. Not sure anything in LOTR or the Hobbit ended up particularly english-y other than in that general vaguely-european way that a lot of modern fantasy is, that I suppose can be partly attributed to Tolkein (ah the dangers of reading the classics AFTER a multitude of other works in the genre. This happened to me with 1984 too).

“It should be ‘high’, purged of the gross” - dearly hoping that means that he’s just not gonna talk about slogging through mud or digging latrines or how people piss themselves after they die, and not like, cutting “unsavory” groups of people out of history. Cause the second was my first thought, and it's yicky.

“The cycles should be linked to a majestic whole, and yet leave scope for other minds and hands…” - FANFIC FANFIC FANFIC FANFIC

“All this stuff is mainly concerned with Fall, Mortality, and the Machine” - first thought, thanks for giving me the themes I’m supposed to be looking for before I start reading the book like a high school english teacher. Second thought, yeah that tracks with what I’ve seen through fandom so far. Very anti-industrialist vibes from this guy, and as someone enjoying many modern conveniences only available because of it, I somewhat disagree, but I’ll refute specific points as they come up. Fall as a theme, verrrrrry juicy. Love me a good tragedy. And then the following fix-it fanfic. But sometimes the fluffy sunny snuggles are incredibly boring if you didn’t have to wade through the dredges of despair to get there. It’s the contrast, ya know? And speaking of contrast, mortality. When you stick immortal elves next to mortal men….. Will be waiting to see what Tolkein actually has to say about the matter as I’m pretty sure everything I’ve seen has been filtered through 2-3 other perspectives first.

This next paragraph is fun, it seems to be that elven magic is not magic not only because it is intrinsic to them, but because they are good and use it only for good. An entire race? All fully good? I will have things to say about Eol later I think. But “magic” is evil when used as Power, to dominate and re-form creation. Sure fine, I can accept the premise of that one I guess. 

The Valar have “delegated authority in their spheres (of rule and government, not creation, making, or re-making)” - iiiiiiiinteresting, I think fandom has either lost track of this a tad or decided to throw it out for being less fun. It also doesn’t make much sense. Valar being the embodiment of physics does explain a few things (how the water cycle works when the sun’s a fruit carried by a “person” on a chariot for instance, Ulmo just does it) but like, Nienna? How do you govern pity and decide how it works in the world? It feels like there's a sliding scale of “how much sense this statement makes” correlated positively to “is this Valar’s domain something we typically think of as a force of nature”. So you’ve got like; Manwe, Ulmo, Varda, Yavanna, Namo at one end, Orome, Irmo, Este, Aule somewhere middle-ish, and Nienna, Nessa, Vaire, Vana at the other end. Tulkas fucks it up though, “fighting evil” makes a ton of sense as something to govern but is not a typical force of nature. Melkor and “being evil” also fucks it up but that probably wasn’t his original purpose so idk where he fits either

Hngfdfnhgjfhgfh “This is, of course, meant to provide beings [Valar] of the same order of beauty, power, and majesty as the ‘gods’ of higher mythology, which can be accepted - well, shall we say baldly, by a mind that believes in the Blessed Trinity.” WHAT did you JUST SAY about not liking allegory and including christianity in the story ???? I mean, I understand he’s just trying to make it clear the level of divinity the inhabitants of middle earth view the Valar with, but come on bro.

“The knowledge of the Creation Drama was incomplete: incomplete in each individual ‘god’, and incomplete if all the knowledge of the pantheon were pooled” and he goes on to say they don’t know anything about men or elves other than that they’re gonna wake up at some point, and it’s this lack of knowledge and difference to them that makes the Valar love them and be interested in them. Also interesting in that fandom has lost this a bit somewhere, I feel like the Valar, Namo and Manwe particularly, are typically presented as knowing literally everything involving elves, when that’s the area in which they know the least about anything.

Elves are called “first-born” and Men are called “Followers”???? Favorite child anybody? Yikes.

“The doom of the Elves is to be immortal…..The Doom (or the Gift) of Men is mortality, freedom from the circles of the world” - interesting capitalization and word choices going on here

It looks like the rest of this is just gonna be a summary of the Silmarillion and I’ve written nearly 3 full pages about only 10 pages of text, so I’ll cap this post here and continue with the Ainulindale in the next one!

[yourpalheapass]

You in the MHA universe with the same abilities as Moonknight

let's talk about the quirk or power:

- the way you would gain the power was from some artifact that you saw in a thrift store. You don't think anything if it, it looks like a beetle?

- you ask the guy at the counter how much it was and it was actually pretty cheap like $10

- when you were handed the scarab the lights in the store just flickered

- you just shrugged and put it in your pocket and walked out

- when you got home your parents weren't home...shocker (another story for another day)

- you head to your room and pull the scarab out just fidgeting around with it to see if it does anything and just when you were about to give up it just starts floating and points in a certain direction

- that's when shit starts to fly

Literally

- your stuff in the room starts to fly as if wind were to be flowing in but your window was closed and your lights are flickering like crazy

- you run to your door and try to get out but the door is isn't budging and you panic and pray to the first God you think about to get out of this alive

- that's when you hear a deep and booming voice

- "Who are you? Where is Marc Spector?"

- "uh...well I can tell you that I have no clue who or where Marc Spector is and my name is (Y/N). Who are you?"

- "I am Khonshu god of the moon and night sky!”

- yeah so basically become his avatar afterwards mainly because you were a bit scared and you wanted to do the right thing and since you had a teleportation quirk this would work out fine

Right? 💀

Wrong

- after a week doing your avatar duties (basically vigilante duties to others) this bird became a pest mainly because he keeps wanting to kill people which is kinda unheroic tbh but you (somehow) gotten to agree to not kill people in order to bring justice

- and as time has gone on you have discovered many things about your new abilities

- before carrying a bag of sand seemed impossible but now you can carry at least 3 bags of those fuckers

- before your new found abilities just a minute of running took you out of breath and you gave up immediately but now you can run from your house to the other side of town in under 1 hour?

- you can also heal faster just one deep just will heal in 1 minute with no scars

Crazy dude

- and now you can dodge and block punches like it’s nothing which surprised you when a villain was about to attack you from behind when you were out being a vigilante

- you also notice that your powers work better at night which tbh makes sense because you’re basically serving a moon god 💀

- and you are now more stealthy but it isn’t enough for you to stop hitting the wall in the alley way when you were flying trying to change back into your normal clothes

- anyways

- you have captured the attention of many after a certain incident at a certain museum has caught the attention of the press and unfortunately hero’s

Congrats for becoming a target before entering your dream hero school

But don’t worry bc no one knows it’s you anyways lol

- yeah so after the incident the footage of you kicking some robbers asses in a museum in Tokyo

- and not gonna lie you kinda almost shat yourself after seeing that footage and hearing that hero’s are looking for you oof tough start bro

MOVING ON

- the exams come up and you stand in front of U.A. happy that you are now getting into your dream school

- you use some of your new abilities but not to their full power as to not give away that you are the new vigilante in town

-you manage to hit as much robots as you can

- blah blah blah

- you get in YAY!

- your hero costume is something you had trouble designing mainly because the design had moon related stuff on it and now because you are being searched for you decided to change it to something that is related to your quirk: teleportation

- your avatar suit was given to you and design by Khonsu himself

- so long story short you have two suits one for school and for being Khonsu avatar

- and now you are ready to make new friends and start a new chapter of your life

Ngl I hoped that this could’ve been longer but it kinda sucks rn but I’ll make a part 2 if anyone is interested