#white rose week 2017

[pinkslaystation]

Tulips or Roses?

John Price x reader

In which you find John's old diary detailing his love for you his teammate and you begin to question his love for you. Word Count: 3.6k -> blurb - rose meets tulips

Being a civilian to a soldier was hard enough.

And it was even harder when your husband was a commander for one of the most skillful task force. So it wasn't unusual for him to be gone for long periods of time.

So on a random Friday evening, anticipating his arrival in the coming week, vacuuming the floors, cleaning the windows, you found yourself at the door of John's study, with was decorated with a glass name plate, with the words 'Study' accompanied with a painted heart created from blue and pink fingerprints from you and your husband.

John was never the man to tell you off if you entered his study, instead he encouraged it. He's beckoned you to bring him his evening tea to him, to give him a massage, sometimes when you wanted him, he'd allow you to help him under the desk, if you get what I mean. (speaking from experience ;>)

As you stepped into his room, you noticed the ceilings adorned with sizable white cobwebs, cringing at the apparent neglect of his study. When was the last time someone had even been here?

Sweeping his desk, wiping away the dust, you find a box underneath beside his chair, which prompted you to lifting it up and placing on top of the desk. Man, you underestimated it's weight. You struggled to lift a small but heavy moving box, and it caused a few books and papers to fall out.

You cursed at your clumsiness, picking up the loose sheets, until you fingers caught the spine of a red vintage-like book, which had the word 'diary' written on the front. You didn't take too much notice, skimming through the pages until you caught your name being mentioned a phew times.

You giggle, it's a diary probably with John confessing his love to you numerous time! You know you probably shouldn't look through it, I mean privacy exists, but you just can't help it.

So you look through some of the infrequent entries, the oldest dating back to 10 years back, and the most recent one being nearly 4 years, when you and John had first met.

30th February 2010

Suffering in Afghanistan, the lads and I are stuck in the safe house for a week now. Rose is here too, I should ask her if she's okay.

Ahhh you remember this story. When the Task Force was stuck in the city of Kandahar, in the safe house. You also remember John's team, whom you are well-acquainted with, Soap, Ghost, Gaz, Roach, Rose?

You skip through the boring entries, most of which are just John documenting his work-out plan and the places him and his team had visited.

5th July 2016

Gaz's going on and on about his lass. Someone tell him to talk to her at least, he doesn't even know her name! I keep bringing it up but he keeps mentioning when I'll talk to Rose.

You chuckled, assuming the chick was Gaz's current wife. But the last part caught your attention, Rose again? You remember John telling you that she'd retired, went back north to settle with her family now, so you don't think much of it, I mean they are team mates.

19th June 2017

Saw a cute kid and her mama, wishing I had kids, without this lifestyle. Rose wants a son but I don't particularly mind. Soap overheard our conversation and spammed me lols on Whatsapp, but I thought lol meant little old lady? I am a man though.

You raise your eyebrow at another mention of Rose, why doesn't he care if Rose wanted a son? You didn't realise how close your husband was to her.

2nd December 2018

Christmas this month with my boys. Rose invited me over for a smoke. Ghost rolls his eyes when I mentioned it to him, says I need to man up and make a move.

You squinted your eyes, rereading the entry, and hesitantly skipping to the next one.

7th April 2019

Drinks with my men (and Rose haha, she doesn't like being part of the men). It's her birthday and she wants to tell us something. She's got her red lips again. I'm excited, Soap kept nudging me the entire ride, that cheeky bugger.

Then immediately below it, an update: She's seeing someone.

You're slowly piecing the puzzle, though you don't want to assume anything.

21st August 2019

She came into my room crying, seems like it's not going well, good for me. I hope she's okay and she realises there's better fish in the sea. She hugged me, she smells like roses, I love floral scents. I tried leaning in, she says I'm like an older brother to her.

Your heart breaks a bit, sniffing at your freshly washed hair, which smelt like ... like roses.

You thought floral scents were YOUR thing.

You continued, to the next entry which was marked the date you remember meeting John for the first time at the pub. You force a smile, hoping the entry would lighten your mood.

30th November 2020

In the pub and bored. Rose brought her lad... they're back together. What does she see in him? Soap urges me to find someone else but my heart is set on someone, for a long time. Won't change. He keeps gesturing to a girl on the other end of the counter, she's pretty, but like a tulip. Not like a rose. Not like my Rose.

You grip at the notebook and you try your hardest not to rip the papers out of the book and set his entire study on fire.

You remember this day, when you were dragged to the pub by your friends after being dumped by your ex for another girl. You sat at one end of the counter, with tears in your eyes but one look at that buff Englishman on the other end and your mood flipped instantaneously, 180 degrees.

"Kelsey, look at that guy, Mr Army over there." You beckon towards John's direction, to your friend., slightly tipsy after a peg of beer.

Your friend looks at you with a raised eyebrow, then turns to the guy whose piqued your interest, "You should go for it." She encourages you.

So you get yourself 2 drinks and approach the guy, more confident that usual due to your alcoholic state. A beer would do.

"Hi, this seat empty?" You smile at him innocently.

All this time you had recalled a look of fondness towards you, when he'd first locked eyes with you. You remember bragging about how it had been love at first sight for the both of you, but thinking back, a feeling of doubt starts bubbling inside you.

"It's reserve- you know what. Take a seat."

You remember sitting next to him, passing him a drink, and telling him your name, "...and you are?" you question, although you see him wincing. At first you thought it was just an army thing, so guarded that even the slightest of movements would make him twitch.

But now you're questioning whether he really wanted to engage into a conversation with you.

The following hours, as you painfully recall, was filled with you talking about yourself and occasionally asking him after his life, though he gives you one word answers and frequent nods.

But that was just because he'd just come home from a mission right?

"...and he just broke up with me out of the blue! Like was my 12,000 followers on TikTok not good enough for you?" You chuckle, attempting to crack a joke. He smiles confused, and you note he's probably too old to understand what TikTok was.

"Sounds like an asshole, love." He replies.

"Hmm, he was...I- I just don't know what he'd leave me for her...like I gave you my everything, I was always with you through thick and thin and what, that wasn't enough for you?" You trail off, the effects of the 2nd beer hitting you.

"I understand dove, you just give 'em everything and they just find someone else. What does he have that I don't?" He spaces out, his eyes falling on his teammates sitting at a different table. You follow his gaze, smiling slightly when you lock eyes with one of his smirking subordinates, whom you know know as Soap.

"Those people, they're your team?" You question.

His eyes aren't on you though as he responds, "That mohawk, that's Soap, Ghost next to him, tough as steel but soft at heart, Gaz on the opposite, funny lad, Roach, good ol' Roach..."

You look at the woman to the right of 'Roach', taking in her beauty. Though she's sitting down, you can tell she's taller that you by least 4 inches, with a blonde pixie haircut and painted with a dark smokey eye. A deep smirk is plastered onto her plump ruby red lips as she looks at John Price finally talking to a woman that isn't her. She raises a hand, waving to the both of you, which is almost instantaneously reciprocated by John.

"And her?" You ask, head nudging towards the woman.

"Her...That's Rose. You should meet her, you would like her, but who doesn't..." His chuckle fades out and you at how his attention was fully directed to her. A sinking feeling told you that you should have backed off from the married man, but it disappeared when John pointed out her partner, with gritted teeth.

Your hands are gripping the pages at this point, as you recall memories from the diary from his point of view.

You turn the page to the next entry, dreading the words.

19th December 2020

Thought me and Rose would go back to the pub for another drink for the holidays, but she's going back to his place. Seems they're taking the next steps with meeting the families.

Soap's annoyed at how I'm 'ghosting' the girl I met at the pub, I'm once again unfamiliar with the lingo, I'm not Simon?? She's nice but, not sure I see anything further than a friendship. Gaz and him are picking out an outfit for me, she wants to meet up for bowling apparently. I just want to be with Rose...

Clenching your fist, you shut the diary and toss it aside, feeling all kinds of emotions. Upset that John had never truly looked at you the way you'd looked at him. The way he never wanted you, like you wanted him.

Every time you'd seen him online on Whatsapp, but still hadn't opened your messages, he was ghosting you? Sure after a while of being friends, his behaviour gradually changed, accompanied with rapid texts, but you felt like this relationship was built on lies.

Did he even want to go bowling with you that day? Did you win because he purposely let you, because he was bored and wanted to go home, be with Rose instead? When he asked you to be his girlfriend, did he ask you with Rose in mind?

The ding of the oven stopped your trail of thoughts, so many questions swirling around your head. You walk out of the study, slamming the door behind you, the combined mess of dust and cobwebs remaining untouched.

The glass name plate falls to the ground, the edge shattering, with shards of clear glass laying dangerously on the wooden floor.

A couple of hours go by and the doorknob rattles at 8:45 P.M. on the dot. John was never late when he had to come home to you.

He reaches base at 7:30, drives exacting an hour to your shared home, after making a quick pit stop at the florists within 10 minutes to give you a freshly scented bouquet of red roses.

Roses. So that's why he'd give them you every time...

He makes sure to leave him 5 minutes of spare time, which was designated to flipping open a small metal notebook you'd gifted him, and writing his thoughts down. And once those 5 minutes were up, he places the notepad back into his jacket pocket and practically runs towards the front door.

"Dove, I'm home!" He exclaimed, gently placing his belonging on the floor, before walking into the living floor, where you sat on the sofa with your legs and arms crossed. (MY BITCH POSE IS NASTY)

"Sweetheart, you didn't run up to me at the door, you alright love?" He sits next to you, his calloused and freshly bruised arms rubbing your knee.

The silence was deafening and you couldn't find it in yourself to look at him after all you've read.

He takes it as a cue to continue, "I got you some roses, baby. Your favourite-"

"When did I say they were my favourite?"

John blinks at the interruption, "I mean, you don't like them? It's tradition to bring the same red roses for you every time I'm back..."

"And when did I say I liked them? Are they my favourite? Or are they her favourite?" You shift towards him, anger evident in your voice.

"Her? Who? Sweetheart, what's going on?"

"I mean, come on man, you like floral shit that much that now you're making me wear it?"

"You...don't like floral scents? Did you want tulips instead, baby?"

Your eyebrows are furrowed in annoyance by his confusion.

"It doesn't matter if I wanted tulips, John, it's the fact that YOU like roses. In fact you've like Roses this entire time! Don't act like you like tulips 'cos you don't- to be honest I don't think you ever have!" You rant, handing running through your hair.

"I mean I like both honey, roses are just, um, prettier?" He sounds like he's asking you rather than telling you.

"Of course roses are prettier to you- that's all that you're fucking used to you. It's always roses, roses, roses. You're so obsessed with fucking roses, you never gave tulips a bloody chance!"

"Are we still talking about flowers-"

"And when you do give tulips a chance, you're still thinking about roses- how red they are, how pretty they are, how they need to be watered every 5 fucking minutes, even then there's already someone to water those damn. Red. Roses."

"I- I mean I like tulips too, baby-"

"No. You don't. No, you don't. Tulips are just the safest options for you, cos someone already plucked out those fucking roses. Cos roses don't want you."

You're standing up now, and John's attempts to speak are futile with every sentence you shout.

"No. In fact, roses has never wanted you, roses look better with someone else, and ol' poor John has no more roses, so he goes and waters some unwanted tulips instead!"

John stands up, towering over your shaking frame, his hands come up to stroke your biceps, but he's pushed away.

"I mean, did John ever even like tulips? Or was he faking it cos he never got roses? Was tulips just the safe option? Does John still want roses after all the years tulips have been there for him?"

You left out a pained cry, you didn't even notice the tears leaking out of your eyes.

"Does John even like tulips? Does John even love tulips?"

His hands wipe your tears away, and he brings you into his chest, and you don't attempt to push him away this time.

"Does you even love me, John?" You break down into his arms, letting him carrying you into the bedroom, where he places you gently on the bed, while you hiccup through your uneven sobs. He smells the stench of wine through your shaking breath, whilst stroking your hair, and you slowly fall into a deep slumber with your head pressed against his still uniform-clad chest.

The clock hits midnight and John gets up, trying not to wake you up, grabbing his sweats from the drawer and walking to the bathroom across the hall, in order to not wake you up, from what looked like a well-needed rest.

As he trudges out of the bedroom and through the corridor, the reflection of the broken glass catches his eyes and he squints in the darkness, squatting down to pick a small shard. As he lifts the remains of the nameplate, hooking it back to the door, he steps over the mess into the study to retrieve a dust pan and brush.

Flicking the lights on, he's met with what looks like a scene from the reality TV show - Hoarders. So starts cleaning quickly, picking up the duster and bunching up the paperwork from the floor, the pot of pens that had seemed to be knocked down, the diary he'd used to write in...hold on-

Picking up the diary, John flicks through the entries, the book naturally opening to the last open slide.

He begins reading the last entry.

19th December 2020

Thought me and Rose would go back to the pub for another drink for the holidays, but she's going back to his place. Seems they're taking the next steps with meeting the families.

Soap's annoyed at how I'm 'ghosting' the girl I met at the pub....

"Oh...my tulip, I've never loved roses as much as I loved you." He mumbles to himself, whilst simultaneously cringing at his previously written words, immediately throwing the book back on the floor.

It's past breakfast when you wake up, throat and eyes painfully dry from last night's crying session, forcing yourself to drag yourself to the bathroom. You've forgotten that John had come home last night, as your met with a familiar empty bed.

After brushing your teeth and washing your face, you walk downstairs, being face to face with the naked back of Captain John Price.

The smell of chocolate pancakes waft towards your nose, as you look around the kitchen, the room garnished with a variety of different flowered bouquets, with so many variations of plants.

Bundles of dahlias and lotuses, orchids and lilies, carnations and irises, roses and tulips.

John turns to your footsteps, smiling at his perfect woman.

"Baby, good mornin'" He greets you, placing a single rose into your hair, and pecking your forehead warmly.

"John, listen about last night-"

"It was the old diary, wasn't it?" he asks.

You nod, ashamed for your abrupt behaviour yesterday. John lifts your chin up, resting his forehead against yours.

"Rose never taught me how to love like you did."

"John, you don-" His pointer finger is pressed against your lips.

"Reading those words from the past, I can see how it may have painted a different picture of my feelings. But let me assure you, my love, that you are the one I adore with all my heart."

Your stroke his face, heart warming to his words.

"Every rose I brought home was a symbol of my love for you, not because it was her favorite, but because it reminded me of the beauty and grace that you bring into my life. And those tulips, they represent the new beginnings and the fresh start that we share together.

My love for you is unwavering and unconditional. You are my tulip, my true love, and I vow to cherish and adore you for all eternity. Please forgive me for any pain or doubt my past words may have caused."

"John..."

He hands you his notepad from from his back pocket, beckoning you to open it.

You look at the first entry.

19th February 2021

I mentioned how I journal sometimes to her, and she bought me a new notepad, it's cute how she calls it a diary. Things are looking good. Bowling's our thing, I let her win because seeing her smile means I've won too. I'm asking her out tonight, Soap cried real tears when I told him.

You turn the page.

20th July 2021

Our 6 month anniversary. Took her to a field of roses and tulips, though nothing compares to her beauty.

The next one.

17th September 2021

I seldom think of Rose, I have my tulip on my mind now. Rose retired, and the team celebrated last night. She hugged me and thanked me for being a good captain. She also acknowledged my previous feelings for her. Man that was uncomfortable, but I reassured her I'm with my tulip now. I love my tulip.

I've always preferred tulips anyway.

And the next.

5th July 2022

Our 500 day anniversary. I want to propose.

17th September 2022

She said yes!! She may be my fiance, but I've already started calling her my wife, not legally yet at least...illegally?

28rd December 2023

We married 30th November. The day we met. Xmas was amazing, I can't see myself with anyone but her. I'm getting deployed tomorrow though.

You look at the most recent entry, dated last night.

16th February 2024

Missed the valentines day with my missus. Hope these roses are enough, though I wanted to get something better. Tulips for my tulip. They ran out haha. Missed my girl, missed her like I've never missed someone before. Soap's right, deployment suck.

Tears welled up in your eyes, not from pain or doubt this time, but from overwhelming joy and love for the man standing before you.

"I'm sorry, John," you whispered, your voice choked with emotion. "I didn't mean to doubt your love."

He smiled, a genuine and heartfelt smile that reached his eyes, pulling you into a warm embrace. "No need for apologies, my tulip. Thank you for teaching me how to love."

And in that moment, amidst the scent of chocolate pancakes and fresh flowers, it felt like you love story was just beginning, filled with trust, forgiveness, and a deep, unwavering love for each other.

That should not have taken me 2 days to complete what in the world. Also if i was tulip, that old diary is going straight into a fire! Barbecue anyone? <3 Quick Notes: I head-cannoned Rose to look like Sergeant Calhoun from Fix-it-Felix lolololol woman crush fr i get u john boy I've decided to start a tag list! -> lemme know you're interested to be tagged in my future posts! tags -> @lilliumrorum

[maxverstappensflatbrim]

Show Me Yours | Matty Healy [46]

chapter forty-six, act six: be my mistake

masterlist

December 25th 2017

It takes Tommie forty minutes to stop staring at the front door as if he’s going to walk right back through. When she finally does leave the hallway her gaze settles onto the wrapped gift still untouched. 

She’s sitting criss crossed under her green Christmas tree with Button on one side and Allen the other.

The wrapping paper has little dinosaurs wearing cowboy hats, which upon further inspection she realises have been drawn on by hand. She tears it open, then folds it neatly and places it to her side. Her eyes tear up, her thumb traces the leather. 

It’s her book. 

Her lyric book she thought lost forever sits right there in her hands with a blue post it note on top.

‘ Don’t worry, I didn’t punch him, Ross did (again).’

She giggles to herself as she takes the post it note and slots it inside to a page in the middle of the book, the one with the first ever draft of her poem ‘show me yours’.

Beneath the old brown leather book is a very similar one. The exact same book instead this one is a dark green colour.

She flicks open the first page and finds a note has been drawn on the inside cover.

‘The day that I met you I started dreaming. Now I write them down if I remember in the morning

-Yours, Matty’

A few pages have been written on, he writes on one side of a double page then leaves the other blank so she can fill in her own thoughts or change what he has written.

They’re songs. Songs he had written in rehab. About her. For her. She’s not sure yet.

Her eyes scan the pages as she flicks through them all, taking note of the titles scribbled in red ink.

Inside your mind Love it if we made it Be my mistake Sincerity is scary If it’s not with you Mine In love Sometimes About you Playing on my mind

She reads them all. Over and over and over. She only adds to one of the songs he’s written. 

She finds inspiration, she writes. She writes a lot, poetry which turn into songs and songs which become poetry. She finds herself finishing songs from her old book that she’d begun writing years ago. Love songs she’d tried to write about Caleb seem to fall together with a new inspiration in mind.

Matty.

Even in the breakup songs she finds ways to reference him in some way.

She can’t help it. There’s a piece of Matty in everything she does. Not just in her writing, she finds herself gravitating towards clothes of hers that he’d once touched. Like her old The Stone Roses shirt he wore once, or the flannel shirt he’d always ‘borrow’ when he came into her room. She buys his favourite brand of tea bags and stocks the fridge with his favourite pop. She listens to his favourite artist and hums a few tones lower to match his usual pitch. She reads books he had recommended and watches True Romance over and over because she can still picture his happy grin as he mimed the words along to the cinema scene. She finds herself stroking the freckle on her collarbone he once kissed. Touching the part of her hairline he would rest his lips against when he held her close. She finds herself thinking of him. Consumed by him. It’s Matty. It’s always been Matty.

She doesn’t stop writing. The words seem to flow out of her unlike anything she’s ever experienced before. Her hand cramps and even then she continues on with ink stained finger tips delicately turning white pages.

She shifts the book from her knee to the coffee table and as she does something falls out from the back of it. Shuffling awkwardly across the floor and raising the heads of the two dogs who watch her, she reaches for the small photograph.

A smile stretches her lips. It’s of the band a few weeks after she first met them. She was young at the time, thirteen maybe if she remembers correctly. Matty is standing directly behind her with his hand on her shoulder and his chin on her head. She’s smiling so big. She misses it. She misses the band. She misses her boys. She misses her Matty.

July 30th 2007

“You’ll be fine.’

Her cousin's words do little to help sooth her nerves as she clutches his hand. “They’re my best mates,” He continues on as he holds the door open for her, “They’ll love you as much as I do.”

“I’m not sure, Ads.”

“It’ll be fine.”

He promises as he opens the door. Three sets of eyes are on her when she enters and she pauses at the doorway.

It’s the tallest one with a buzzcut that comes to her first with a smile. “Caroline?”

“Tommie.” She says quickly.

“I’m Ross.” He tells her, then with a hand on her back he guides her further into the room to sit on the small two seater they have. 

Before he can settle beside her the space is taken by the long haired guy, he throws an arm over her shoulder and places the other in front of her for her to shake. “I’m Matty. Hann tells us you can play guitar, wanna be in the band?”

Ross shakes his head and pushes Matty away from her by his forehead, “She’s like ten leave her alone.”

“I’m not… ten.” She says quietly. 

Matty shrugs, ignoring her quiet comment, “Well, let her decide, Ross.” He turns back to her then, brown eyes looking right through her, “Would you?”

She shrugs, “I don’t know.”

“Leave her alone.”

The third guy who she hasn’t learnt the name of yet drags him to stand and pushes him away, Ross takes Matty’s spot while the guy in the beanie offers a shy smile. “I’m George.”

She nods back to him and lets her eyes go back to Matty who’s rocking back and forth on his feet, “I’ve always said having a girl in the band will do us better.”

“Better how?”

He sighs dramatically and Adam shoots a sharp look to George, “Really? You want him to give his whole speech again?”

George shrugs innocently as Matty clears his throat, “First of all, a girl can hit different notes than me, having one to harmonise-”

“Matty.” Ross interrupts, “The girl’s just got here. Let’s leave her alone, eh?”

He rolls his eyes then turns them back to Tommie, “Favourite song?”

She looks back to Adam, already hating her cousin for forcing her to meet his friends, “I don’t know, um.” She looks around at the walls of the little pool house they’re hidden away in. There’s posters and instruments all lying around, the floor is covered in wires and through a barely covered glass window she can see the pool. “I like that one of the new Arctic Monkey album.”

“Which one?”

“Brianstorm.”

He nods in thought, “Alright. Sit back, relax and enjoy, Thomas. We’re gonna blow you away.”

He ushers the guys up and Ross leans towards her, “This is him trying to convince you. Don’t give in, he’s pushy but he’ll give up eventually.”

Looking back, Tommie’s glad he didn’t give up.

She clutches the photo to her chest and leans back against her settee with a sob of solitude. 

With tears in her eyes she crawls across the floor to her sofa and grips her phone. With shaky hands she lifts it to her ear as the phone starts ringing. 

“Hello?”

“Can you come over? Please. I just-” She niffles and rubs the back of her wrist against her nose, “I really need you right now.”

taglist

@thereisaplaceintheheart, @indierockgirrl, @sofaritsalrightt, @julezs-bl0g, @eaglestar31, @sophinthealpss, @noacfemcel, @if-my-heart-bleeds, @befrwime, @fallingforel, @sexorchocolateorpillowsorclouds, @3terna15unshin3, @1975sophie1975, @thesocraticjunkiewannabe, @littlesoldierelleora, @procrastinatinglikeapro, @beatr2x, @byyourside28, @plantinghobbies, @sinarainbows

-let me know if you want to be added :)

[ggukkiedae]

MIYA Kicks of Her Solo Tour, and I Went to All Three Days in Seoul

By: Shin Yeseul || 11:30 AM || June 17, 2024

MIYA started her tour “Headliner 2024” with three days in Jamsil Olympic Stadium!

Back in 2017, I wasn’t an ARMY, but I randomly ran into Miya. We talked for a bit, and her personality made me want to check out her music. Since then, I became a fan, and I managed to get tickets to all three days of the Initial Seoul stop with the help of my friend Yongsun (I love you, thank you).

I’m here to share my experience on day 1.

First of all, her stage outfits were amazing! My favorite was her act 2 outfit, which she posted on her Instagram account. I’ve included some photos in the cover of this blog post!

Before the concert even began, music videos were playing! Not just her music videos, but also BTS music videos! Although, as a Czennie as well, I’d have to say seeing the video of Miya and Mark’s SM Station both surprised me and made me sad (I miss them as a couple T.T).

Aside from the usual guidelines and lightstick connecting videos, there was a notice shown on the screens every now and then about 45% of the ticket and merchandise sales from “Headliner 2024” would go to medical and relief missions to help the people of Palestine, just like she said in her live a week prior to the concert.

At 6PM precisely, the lights turned off and the opening VCR started. It was insane, it showed some of the biggest scandals she was victim to from the early petition to remove her all the way to the last name fiasco. Then it showed her solo debut and all her achievements as a soloist and a producer, composer, music engineer, and lyricist.

Then the first act started. It began with “My House”, the first “Oh” playing without music and Miya’s silhouette appeared. There was a pause, and chills went through me as everyone’s cheers grew louder. There was the musicless chant of “Who they came to see? Me!” with the white cloth coming down at the word “me” and revealing Miya. There was another moment of silence. Goosebumps rose on my skin as she scanned the crowd. Then, the moment she smirked, the music started up again. No words can express how exhilarating the opening felt. “My House” is definitely the best song to start off a concert titled “Headliner 2024”.

She gave a ment after “My House” to welcome everyone to the tour, then finished the act with “Picture”, “Play”, another ment, “Drama”, then “Holy Moly” before the lights turned off for the next VCR to play.

The VCR started with news outlets discussing her change in “Blood, Sweat, and Tears”, saying she’d be better off not going into sexy concepts. It was at that moment that we all knew the next act would be the more recent songs. We were right. The VCR showed the reactions to her Chapter 2 Comebacks with the more mature concepts.

Act 2, which had my favorite outfit, began with low pink lighting and “bet u wanna” and “got her own”. Her ment was quicker, joking around about making sure minors who came to her concert had either their parent’s consent or a guardian with them. She continued the act with “7 rings”, “b.i.t.c.h.”, and crowd favorite “bloodline”. This act had her more interacting with the audience in comparison to Act 1 that was solely performance.

The next VCR began, this time showing netizens’ comments about how she seemed to be too different from the other members of Bangtan. It played a clip from an interview for her solo debut of her saying “People said I was different from the oppas, so I decided to actually show them what different is”.

Act 3 started off with a y2k vibe based on the songs “Shooting Star”, “Blue Flame”, and “Thirsty”. After her ment, she picked up the mood with “AYAYAYA”, “Wow Thing”, and “SHHH!”, which got everyone excited.

No one was prepared for the next act.

The VCR was different from the others. The screen was black, and an excerpt from one of her interviews on her solo debut schedules played: the audio of her saying “the members? They’re everything to me”. There was no background music when it showed seven different clips of her hugging each member before they enlisted. At the end of everything, there was a video of her getting into a car, the visuals fading to black while a reporter’s voice played saying “Now that the BTS boys are all enlisted, Miya is officially on her own for a while.”.

The lights slowly went on, showing Miya on the extended stage, guitar in her arms. Everyone’s hearts broke as she performed “breathe” live in front of an audience for the first time. She followed it with “Clued Up” before going into a ment.

She asked us all if it was okay to slow things down for a bit and to take a moment to introduce some people in the crowd who meant a lot to her. The screens behind her shifted to show people in the crowd, seated together and all looking a little confused before waving at everyone and waving their lightsticks around.

It was all seven boys of BTS.

I still remember vividly the smile on Miya’s face when the seven of them were shown on the screen. She smiled and introduced them one by one and asked them what they thought of the concert. The boys showed various versions of approval from different hearts to thumbs ups and head nods. “Glad to hear you’re enjoying. I have a surprise for you, if ARMY don’t mind.”

We all cheered, thinking she would perform “Mikrokosmos”, or “Magic Shop”. She carried her guitar over to a piano that was lifted onto the stage near her and sat there. I can’t explain the rush we all felt when Jungkook’s masked face was zoomed into on one screen the moment Miya began playing the opening notes of “Euphoria”.

Miya performed one of the members’ solo songs each, completely acoustic, and each time, the song owner’s masked face was zoomed into on one screen while she was shown on the other screen, making it look like they were facing each other.

She did “Euphoria” for Jungkook, “Inner Child” for V, “Serendipity” for Jimin, “Closer” for RM, “On The Street” for J-Hope, “Snooze” for Suga, and “The Astronaut” for Jin.

Were we all tearing up? Yeah, but so were the tannies! Once she finished everything, she got up and smiled into the crowd, in the direction of the boys. While walking backwards up the runway to the main stage, she thanked them for coming and for being her strength and her family before she introduced the last song of the concert. She performed “Trivia: Why”.

Of course, even if she said that was the end, we all knew it wasn’t. We had ARMY Time, where we all sang “LOVE”’s first verse and chorus.

Then, the lights dimmed again, and the band started playing “Nonsense”, her collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter. She changed the second verse (her original part in her collaboration) into a rap! Not to mention, she came from the crowd! She walked around while performing, taking photos with, hugging, waving at, and interacting with ARMY the whole time. Yongsun and I were a little sad she didn’t get to go to where the tannies were, but they were on the third floor of audience, so it was understandable.

She ended the song on the main stage where she began “Hype Boy”! She’d dance during the chorus, but interact with fans during the verses. Before the last chorus, the music vamped, and she introduced each of her band one by one. It was an all-woman band! She then introduced her dancers, all of which came from the dance studio that she and Jungkook set up and fund together: “Do Studios”.

After the last chorus of "Hype Boy", she thanked her friends who came. For Day 1, it was the tannies, her brothers Yoonsung and Chan, Chan brought Felix and Leeknow with him, the whole of NCT Dream + Jungwoo, the whole of TXT, Kep1er’s Yujin and Bahiyyih, The Boyz’s Sunoo and Eric, the whole of Enhypen, and Boy Next Door’s Myung Jaehyun.

Day 2 had the tannies, Viviz’s Umji, Red Velvet’s Yeri, the whole of SHINee, Chungha, Kiss of Life’s Julie, Hori7on’s Marcus, Unis’s Elisia and Gehlee, and Aespa’s Ningning.

Day 3 had the tannies and her family members, who had flown in from Australia to watch her. That’s her mom, her dad, Yoonsung (with Eunseol, Yoonseol, and Hanseol), Chan, Hannah, and their youngest brother.

These are just those she mentioned, you can find threads on twitter of other idols who watched her concert. She even reposted some of their stories or posts about it on her Instagram stories!

But she never failed to mention how thankful she was to ARMY, not just for coming to see her, but for also being a part of her effort to help people in need.

With that, she ended the whole concert with “good parts” and “Celebrity” all while roaming through the crowd and interacting with people as much as she could from both the ground and the main and extended stages.

All in all, I would say “Headliner 2024” was an amazing experience, from the song choices to the VCRs to the emotions to the cause and all the way to Miya herself. There’s a reason every location sold out in an average of 2 minutes.

taglist: @sunflower-0180 @seaoffangirling @yourwonderbelle @1-800-enhypennabi @kamiiyou @strwberrydinosaur @uraveragefangirlsposts @caratinylyfe @1-800-minji @one16core @kimhyejin3108 @chansols @akshverse @toriluvsfics @billboard-singer @stopeatread @allthings-fandoms @jammingjaem

drop an ask or a dm if you wanna be added or taken out of the taglist 🥰 requests are also open!

[impandgnomes]

Been working with Tegridy these past couple of weeks!!!!! This took forever to finish - so many ends to weave in lmao. I'm so glad it's done though.

I kind of posted about the Tegridy Farms blanket here like last night, but figured since it's actually done now you all deserved some pictures, alongside a repost of my notes on making it. I really love the overall vibe of the colours and composition and I like to hope that I captured some of that here.

Notes regarding yarn, sizing etc. from previous post for completion's sake under the cut:

My color choices aren't a 1:1 match with the ones in the show. I would still argue them as "realistic" versions allowing for the saturation of coloring on the BG in the show, but YMMV and gatekeeping my technically incorrect choice would be beyond silly. I just really like making stuff I see in cartoons.

I basically tried to make this thing roughly to scale with the one in the show though, as others I saw worked single strands of DK yarn, resulting in a really small blanket.

I did some math by measuring the heights of a square of the blanket and the couch on the screencap given above and cross-referencing it with the average height of a couch (regarding my formal diagnosis and to quote tiktok, "I have this thing, it's ＡＵＴＩＳＭ"). The result was each square measuring approximately 13-15cm iirc.

I just used a basic granny square layout with this method on regular DK yarn with a 7mm crochet hook to work the squares into the ideal size. They sat at just over 15cm and I somehow only just had enough of the gray yarn. I imagine from what we see that the blanket is 7x7 squares with the others hanging off the back out of sight, so I made 42 squares in total.

Most of the yarn (except the white which was just some salvaged stuff) was Aldi UK's seasonally stocked "So Crafty" acrylic Double Knit yarn, so I was certainly sweating bullets re: if I even had enough (not sure how easy substitutes would have been). Color names are Wheat, Grass, Rose Garden, and Gun Metal.

Technically the cushions are also achievable in crochet - they would use c2c (corner to corner) and I think that's 100% the intent in their design due to the blocky/pixelated appearance of the images. There's plenty of charts for images like those, but making your own would work too. I would definitely like to hear from whoever on the design team chose to put these in the BG and if they were inspired by something or someone, since with the cushions especially it feels weirdly specific to me to use crochet in like 2017 for the "homely and rustic weed farmhouse" vibe I imagine Randy trying to force here. Based on eyeballing it and my square sizes, I'd aim for a 30cm² cushion maybe.

[desertdollranch]

Opening and reviewing my first My Imagination doll

I have a new 18 inch friend to introduce and review! And this one has had an interesting journey to me.

I stumbled across My Imagination dolls a few years ago on Dollation, a delightful but now defunct site that cataloged different brands of play dolls as well as collectible dolls (check it out via the Wayback machine). By that time, this particular brand, designed by notable doll artist Robert Tonner, was no longer producing dolls. I looked at a few listed on eBay, but I didn't feel ready to buy one. They were a bit out of my price range, and they didn't really strike me as very unique. Their brand name refers to the line of clothing that was supposed to be produced for them, in partnership with DC Comics, the Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, Alice in Wonderland, and I think maybe Disney. But there were very few of those promised items that were produced, and the brand itself only lasted from about 2015 to 2017 or so.

I have more or less neutral feelings about the partnering brands, so that didn't really sell them for me. So I moved on and put them out of my mind.

Cut to a few weeks ago, when my mom attended a doll show local to her. She's a collector as well, although these days she's almost exclusively into Barbie and similar size dolls. At the show she bought a beautiful 16 inch Tyler Wentworth doll, and when she sent me pictures I was pretty certain that the doll was designed by Robert Tonner. There's just something distinct in the face molds he creates. He also designed the dolls for the Magic Attic Club brand, and I have three of those, whom I adore. They're quite a bit older than My Imagination dolls, though.

(Heather, Keisha, and Rose.)

My mom and I were talking about other doll artists whose dolls are easily identifiable, like Helen Kish and Dianna Effner. I mentioned to her that Tonner had also designed a brand called My Imagination, and I went searching for examples to show her. That's when I stumbled across a listing for a doll that was not only a realistic price, but the particular doll I liked the best.

Since I first heard of them, my doll collection has changed a lot. It's no longer quite so dominated by American Girl dolls--not that I don't love them, I certainly do, but I've also opened my home to many other different brands of 18 inch dolls like Maplelea, Our Generation, Starpath, Healthy Roots, Götz, and Faithful Friends. I love having a diverse collection of unique dolls. It's fun to see how different they all look from each other, and yet they're all pretty much the same size and can be friends with each other.

So when I did see the listing for the My Imagination doll, I felt my heart change towards her and couldn't get her off my mind. I sat on the listing for a while, contemplating, imagining who she might turn out to be, until the seller sent me an offer for an even lower price. That did it. I went for it. And she arrived today.

Click through the cut to see the unboxing ceremony!

None of the dolls in this brand were given names. They are referred to as Brunette/Redhead/Blonde, in either Starter dolls (standard articulation at hips/elbows/head) and Deluxe dolls (bendable knees). The specific doll I got was the Starter Brunette.

She was brand new in the box, and it looks like she was probably never removed from her packaging. She was gently tied in with white satin ribbons rather than those awful plastic straps.

Time to free her from her box and take off her hairnet.

She's in perfect condition. She has a full vinyl body and is very heavy. The vinyl itself is dense and smooth with a matte finish, so much so that she almost looks like she's made of porcelain. Her skin has no shine to it at all. It's a bisque color with rosy undertones.

Her long curly brown wig is lovely but imperfect. It's rather dry on the ends.

Her glass eyes are gorgeous. They do not open and close. She has inset eyelashes.

But I think the side part isn't working for me, so how about we try a center part?

I think this gives her a younger look! Later I'll try to get her wig off and move it over so that she has a center part, but for now brushing it to the side works fine.

Looking at her undressed, I think she looks skinnier than American Girl dolls, but definitely not as slim as my Magic Attic Club dolls. Her head turns, and her arms and legs move outward as well as forward and backward.

Here she is side by side with one of my American Girl dolls, Eugenia. I think I'm right about their size comparison.

They had a fashion show to find out for sure just how similar they are! Eugenia can wear New Girl's dress just fine. It velcroes in the back and isn't too tight. New Girl is wearing an American Girl brand dress, and it fits almost perfectly--it's just a tiny bit big, and definitely not in a noticeable way.

Here's Eugenia wearing the cute sandals that came with New Girl. They're a pretty close fit.

And here she is next to (her cousin? half-sister?) Rose. To my eye, they very much look related.

Here she is in Maplelea brand clothes. I also did some brushing and reshaping of her curls.

I haven't decided yet what her name will be. I do know that she's a modern girl who loves to read, daydream, and play dress-up.

[mariacallous]

Dianne Feinstein, the oldest member of the U.S. Senate and the longest-serving senator from California, has died at age 90, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News on Friday.

The Democrat’s passing marks the end of a boundary-pushing political career that spanned more than half a century, studded with major legislative achievements on issues including gun control and the environment.

Feinstein had planned to retire at the end of her current term in 2024.

Feinstein’s death leaves vacant her powerful Senate seat, requiring Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint a temporary successor.

A San Francisco native, Feinstein cleared a path for women in politics as she rose the ranks of leadership. After two failed bids for mayor, she was elected president of San Francisco’s board of supervisors in 1978, becoming the first woman to hold the title.

Feinstein was made acting mayor of the city later that year, after then-Mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk, her colleague on the board of supervisors, were assassinated by Dan White, a former member of the same board.

In later interviews, Feinstein recalled finding Milk’s body and searching for a pulse by putting her finger in a bullet hole.

Feinstein was the first to announce the murders to the press. She was appointed mayor a week later, again becoming the first woman elevated to the office.

The tragedy had the side effect of jumpstarting Feinstein’s political career, but the trauma of the day stuck with her even decades later. 

“I never really talk about this,” Feinstein said with a sigh when asked about the murders in a CNN interview in 2017.

Her streak of firsts continued at the national level. Feinstein lost a gubernatorial bid in 1990, but two years later won a special election to the U.S. Senate, becoming California’s first female senator.

Weeks later, the state’s second female senator, Barbara Boxer, was sworn into office, making California the first state in the U.S. to be represented in the Senate by two women. 

Their 1992 elections helped define the “Year of the Woman,” in which four Democratic women were newly elected to the Senate — more than doubling the chamber’s female representation.

In the Senate, Feinstein clinched some of her biggest legislative achievements. She wrote and championed the 1994 assault weapons ban, both a landmark bill and a continuation of a career-long effort to enact stricter gun controls. 

The legislation passed Congress and was signed by then-President Bill Clinton, albeit with major compromises including a 10-year sunset provision. The ban expired in 2004 during the administration of George W. Bush.

She also sponsored bills that protect millions of acres of California’s desert, worked to create a nationwide AMBER alert network, helped reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and fought for the release of a lengthy report detailing the CIA’s torture practices, among other accomplishments.

[brunette-barbie4562]

Uncharted (Duff McKagan X OC fic)

Summary: Unsure of her next steps in life, Carreen Joy "CJ" Thompson finds herself taking a job working under the Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan during the Not in the Lifetime... Tour. She faces the fast-paced and foreign world of rock n' roll, touring, and groupies, as well as blossoming taboo feelings for her boss.

-

Posting chapters one and two here even though they can already be found on AO3 and Wattpad. Currently working on chapter three for those who messaged and asked :)

-

2

May 2017

Somewhere over Ireland

CJ had been a lot of places in her 28 years. She had been to more places in the first 6 years of her life than most people had, going from state to state, constantly on the road. But she had never been out of the United States or Canada, especially entirely on her own. After 12 hours of travel time that included one short layover, the plane was finally descending into Dublin, Ireland. Her body was still on Sacramento time, where it was 12:00 in the afternoon. But in Dubin, it was 8:00 in the evening.

As the captain turned on the “fasten seat belt” sign, CJ rolled up the plane window to look out at the foreign landscape. The city below looked like a play set of twinkling buildings, cars, and roads. Despite the beauty of it she felt her anxiety slowly increasing. CJ considered herself an independent person, but this was outside of her comfort zone. Two weeks ago, she would have never thought she’d be on a plane to Ireland. Two weeks ago, she had been sitting in her bedroom, fretting over graduate school applications and the thought of possibly taking out more student loans.

After graduating with her bachelor’s degree in psychology a few years ago, she had been toying with the idea of applying for graduate school for the coming Fall. She had agonized over the idea and gone back and forth about it for months, unsure what she truly wanted for the future. Then, her aunt Mindy had offered her a surprising and unexpected alternative. She could go work for her old friend for the summer, and possibly beyond that if she enjoyed the work. She had warned her it would be a lot of traveling, but it would be a chance for her to see the world a bit, gain some life experience, and think over her options in the meantime.

Back in 1980’s, before her aunt Mindy had settled down, she had spent much of her time on the Sunset Strip, working as a bartender. During that time, she had met the infamous Axl Rose, who had been living off North Gardner Street with his ragtag band of misfits in a tiny storage unit. After Mindy had proven her loyalty, defending Axl in a bar room fight one night, they became fast friends. In addition to this, her aunt was very same sex oriented and had a little substance habit going on at the time, so the girls, the booze, and the drugs kept her in the back Gardner alley. Mindy also allowed Axl and his boys to stay the night at her little studio apartment on and off throughout their time clawing their way to fame.

When things had started to really take off with the band, Mindy had supported Axl from afar, being a soft spot for him to land when things got hard. However, drastic changes were occurring in her own life at that time, and she had had to shift her focus when CJ was born in 1989. This had pulled Mindy away from the seedy nightlife of the Sunset Strip. Despite this, Axl valued loyalty above all else and while they had physically drifted apart over the years, they never lost contact. Even with his long mental health battle and his legendary career as the world’s greatest frontman, they always checked back in on one another, usually by phone.

There was one year that CJ could remember meeting him in person. She had been a young child; it had been sometime after her aunt had been awarded custody of her. She remembered him squatting down to her height, smiling at her affectionately with his shiny white teeth, and introducing himself while extending her a hand. Considering she had been mute for almost an entire year after moving in with her aunt, she had not responded verbally. Instead, she had reached out and took his hand and held it with her small one, not understanding that she was supposed to shake it. There had been something about him that she trusted. He felt warm and sincere. He had a magic energy about him. Little did she know at the time, he had also been an abused and traumatized child. He didn’t push CJ to speak to him or see her as strange for spending the majority of his visit hiding behind her aunt’s legs. He had understood.

Now, she’d be seeing him for the first time since that day. In one of their monthly phone calls, Mindy had mentioned to Axl that CJ was struggling with her direction in life, having graduated years ago. Axl had been eager to tell her there was a position open on the band’s team and it was the perfect opportunity. CJ had worked her way through college as her aunt’s office assistant and continued to do so after graduation. She was very attentive to details, had strong organizational and problem-solving skills, and was adept at keeping track of documents and schedules. Based on this, Axl knew she would be a good fit for the position, which involved being a personal assistant. Other than requiring these skills, as well as knowing it would involve a high level of traveling, CJ was unsure what she was getting herself into. Several thousand feet below, Duff McKagan was unsure of the same.

-

Conrad Dublin Hotel / Dublin, Ireland

“C’mon man, you’ll love CJ! We need some more young people on our team.” Axl followed eagerly after a tense Duff. Duff had asked Axl to help him find some potential options for a personal assistant, considering the short notice in needing one. He had told Axl to tell him about any potential candidates, but instead Axl had just hired one without consulting him. Someone who had no road experience. Now he was regretting not just handling the entire thing himself.

 You remember Mindy Thompson from back on Sunset?” Duff stopped in his tracks and turned to face Axl. He had not heard that name in a very long time.

“I do.”

“CJ is her kid, well her sister’s kid, but whatever, she pretty much did all the parenting.” Duff thought back on Mindy Thompson. She had been a frequent face way back during the Gardner Street days. She was a close friend of Axl’s and spent most of her time running around with him. The memories from those days were hazy, but he did remember that Mindy had always disliked him. And for good reason. Now mildly interested, Duff asked,

“What has Mindy been up to all this time?”

“She’s been in a director position at a cannabis farm in northern California for a long time. CJ’s been her office assistant for years. I think it’ll be a great fit.” Axl laughed before saying, “We could use a spry 28-year-old kid running stuff around here. Just give it a chance.” A 28-year-old with no road experience was not someone Duff would have selected. He knew Axl liked to hire people with personal connections, but that typically did not spill over into his or Slash’s own personal staff selections. The touring lifestyle was rough even on experienced staff. While someone might have the skills to be a personal assistant, the constant traveling and frequent shows put a challenging twist on things. His previous assistant had a family emergency that had taken him away from the tour and back home to the United States for an extended and indeterminate amount of time. While Duff could handle his own business, it took a load off him to have someone else assisting with things like scheduling interviews, vetting potential partnerships, and running social media. Social media. Something he was not great at. Maybe a 28-year-old would help in that department. Even the simplicity of finding a moment to get a decent cup of coffee was difficult some days. An assistant was monumentally helpful with that. Although he still felt skeptical, Duff cracked a smile and jokingly said,

“Are you telling me we’re getting old?” Axl laughed and said,

“I am.” Duff smirked at his response.

“Alright, well in that case, I’ll give it a chance. For you. But if it doesn’t work out you owe me.”

“Sounds like a deal.”

 “So, when is Mindy’s kid getting here?”

“Tonight.” Duff turned to him wide-eyed in shock.

“Tonight!?”

“You told me you needed someone ASAP.”

“I can’t orient a new assistant tonight, Axl, I have some calls I need to make, I told Grace I’d facetime her later, and-” Axl cut him off and said,

“I’ll handle it tonight and introduce you tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?

“Don’t worry about it. The show is not until Saturday, you have plenty of time.”

-

Dublin Airport / Dublin, Ireland

When CJ walked into the baggage claim area it was empty enough that she immediately spotted a man holding a sign with her name on it. He was dressed in a black suit and looked official enough. CJ approached with a small smile and said,

“Are you my ride?”

“Are you Ms. Carreen Thompson?”

“Yes.”

“Then yes,” he said with a smile, “I’m Robert, I’m here to help you get your bags. The driver is out front waiting with the car to take you to the hotel.” They went to stand by the baggage carousel, where she could see her bags drop down to the conveyor belt. CJ had brought what she assumed would be enough clothing to last her for some time in two large suitcases. Mindy had told her she’d have a brief break between legs in July to come home.

Despite trying to insist upon taking one herself, Robert wheeled both of CJ’s bags outside. The street was busy and bustling with people arriving and departing. It was a cool night and fog hung thickly in the air. It was not California weather. CJ had expected to see a four-door car or maybe an SUV. What she did not expect was a limousine. She almost wanted to ask the man if a mistake had been made. She had never been in such a nice vehicle and a wave of unworthiness washed over her as she stood there in a pair of her old gym leggings, a sweatshirt, and sneakers, with her thick curly hair in somewhat of a mess. With the length of the flight, she had dressed comfortably. She had not thought about having to look put together on the other end. For a split second, when Robert opened the door for her to get in, she thought about bolting. This was not her world and far from her comfort zone of academia, the winter slopes of Mt. Shasta, her aunt’s house in Redding, or the little office where she spent her time working. What had Mindy gotten her into here? How did she think this would be a good idea?

“Are you ok Ms. Thompson?” Robert’s voice brought her back to the reality of the cool night air and the busy street. She swallowed and nodded. Pushing back her anxiety, she slid into the limousine.

-

CJ was fascinated and charmed with the nightlife of Dublin as they cruised through the city to the hotel. She could have sat and watched out the window the entire ride. But instead, she was desperately trying to pull herself together to look a little more presentable for whoever or whatever she would meet on the other end. She didn’t have much in her carry on to help, but she did her best to rake her uncooperative hair into a neat-ish bun and apply some quick, light makeup. The clothing would have to do, as her bags were in the trunk of the limo and inaccessible. She thought about calling Mindy and raging at her for putting her in such a foreign situation, but it would only make her nerves worsen.

When the car came to a stop outside of the hotel, CJ felt her heart jump into her throat. She was not ready. Robert came around, pulled the door open for her with a smile, held out his hand, and said,

“We’re here Ms. Thompson.” Just beyond him, she could see two bellhops already rolling her suitcases into the hotel. She took a deep breath, hoisted her backpack up, and took Robert’s hand to step out. She was met again by the cool night air on her face. She could see that the hotel lobby was busy and full of people checking in, leaving for a night out, or lounging around. Inconspicuously waiting by the doorway was a short, dark-haired, and kind looking woman who smiled warmly at her. There was a motherly aura about her that instantly drew CJ in and calmed her nerves before she had even spoken.

“You must be CJ.” The woman spoke with a thick accent.

“I am.”

“I’m Beta, Axl’s mother. He wanted me to come get you to take you upstairs. You’ll have to forgive him for not coming to greet you himself, he does not leave his room much while on tour.” CJ spotted some people milling around in the lobby already wearing Guns N’ Roses apparel and said,

“Oh no, it’s no problem, I get it.” Beta smiled and said,

“Come along then, he’s excited to see you.” Beta turned into the lobby and CJ followed. “It’s been so long since he last saw you. Mindy has sent pictures throughout the years of course, but he’s excited to see you in person.” CJ could not fathom why Axl Rose of all people would be excited to see her. She had been unaware her aunt had spoken some much about her on the phone.

They approached the elevators and CJ could feel eyes upon her. She turned to see a group of women standing in the corner watching her, unsmiling. A chill went up her spine as they glared at her. Beta took notice and said,

“Oh, don’t worry about them honey. They’re just groupies you know?” CJ had heard the term before but did not know what it meant. Beta leaned in and spoke to her in a hushed tone. “Groupies, they’re here for one thing.” CJ understood what she meant. “They know who I am, they see you, a young attractive girl, with me, and assume the worst. Don’t let them bother you.” CJ was confused and before she could filter her response she said,

“For an 80’s band? There are still groupies?” Beta laughed and said,

“Oh honey, you have no idea. Welcome aboard.” The elevator dinged and the doors opened. With one last look at the glaring groupies, CJ walked inside. As the doors shut, Beta said,

“I can tell you’re Mindy’s girl, you look so much like her.” CJ couldn’t help but smile to herself at the compliment. Only a handful of people throughout her life had told her that she looked like her aunt. Every time she heard someone say it, it was a boost to her self-esteem. While they often gave each other a hard time, Mindy was someone she aspired to be like. CJ knew she was nowhere close to resembling her mother in personality, but she had spent a long time fearing that she would resemble her mother in appearance as she got older. That was something she’d see in the mirror every day and wouldn’t be able to change or outrun.

The elevator brought them to the top floor, and they stepped out. Every room on the floor was double doored and undoubtedly suites. This must be where all the rich people stay. She followed Beta to a door at the end of the hallway. Beta took a key card from her pocket and swiped it across the card reader. The door clicked open. While much of her anxiety had dissipated with Beta’s warm welcome, there was still a lingering sense of dread. She felt as if she were stepping into a lion’s den. The room was dark and dimly lit. She rounded the corner and there he was, the world’s greatest front man, sitting in an armchair, smiling at her with an immense amount of pride.

[twistifiedz]

"Like the things that once filled our world with beauty, the dreams we had for the future died."

TW1ST: 180° is the second extended play by South Korean girl group, TWIST. The album was released on May 5, 2017, through JYL Records. Consisting of nine songs, including the three singles, “Come Back Home”, “Triangle”, and “Overdose”. Musically, the album spans between R&B, hip hop, EDM, metal, and dance-pop. The group earned the title ‘self-produce’ group as all members have taken the lead in the album production. “Come Back Home” was written and composed by Chaeyoung and Hyerim, whereas “Overdose” was composed by Sohye and written by Hyerim. “Triangle” is the first track that contains credits from all the members, in which the live arrangement consisting of an electric guitar and violins were composed by Sohye and Chaeyoung, while the lyrics were written by Mina and Hyerim.

As a sequel to their first eponymous extended play, TW1ST, 180° was a commercial success. The album debuted atop the Gaon Albums Chart, with over 400,000 copies sold in the first week, with Twist breaking their own record for having the highest girl group first week album sales, which was previously held by the predecessor album known as TW1ST. By the end of 2017, 180° had sold over 700,000 copies, making Twist hold the top two selling girl group albums of the year.

The lead single, “Come Back Home”, debuted atop the Gaon Digital Chart with other 567,888 digital units sold in the first week of release. The song remained atop the chart for four consecutive weeks. The second single, “Overdose”, debuted at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart with 309,362 digital units sold. In the first week of June 2017, “Overdose” rose to the summit of the chart with a huge increase in sales after the group held a one-time performance at the Apollo Theater in New York City, leading the performance to gain popularity. “Overdose” topped the Gaon Digital Chart for seven consecutive weeks. Due to the sudden traction from the viral performance, “Overdose” peaked at number 10 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100. The third single, “Triangle” peaked at number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week of September 3, 2017.

For the album’s release, a special “TWIST Comeback Show”, hosted by a collaboration of Mnet and MTV, was broadcast live worldwide on May 6, 2017. The show consisted of performances from the following albums: TW1ST and 180°. 

Promotions for the album focused primarily on South Korea and the United States. Twist were apart of the following lineups:

Dream Concert

SBS Super Concert

Incheon Korean Music Wave

American Music Awards

KCON NY

TRACKLIST:

Crush

Like It

Bye Bye

Triangle

Come Back Home

Overdose

Illusion

Mala

Black Widow

ERA HIGHLIGHTS:

It was difficult to follow up to the release of TW1ST, the general public counted them out, but Twist came back FIGHTING! 

Come Back Home topped all the real time charts, earning 50 perfect-all-kills.

Overdose was the REAL hit of the album! It became bigger than Come Back Home and earned 73 perfect-all-kills.

Overdose debuted in the Bubbling Under on Billboard at number 10! 

Sohye had a vengeance. After a winter of taking violin, guitar, and writing lessons, she composed Overdose as her first project. She then enlisted Hyerim to help her with the lyrical material of the song. 2HYE lives on!

Mina joined the cast of Hello Counselor, to give advice to individuals!

As a gift for such a successful first half of 2017, Twist went on vacation to Malaysia!

To get to know the members more, Chaeyoung began her own radio show; Chae’s Clubhouse, where the Twist members and other idols are interviewed every week.

Performance Highlights (Iconic Moments / Popular Performances):

On 050417, the official comeback stages for Come Back Home and Overdose took place at Mnet Countdown. The stage for Come Back Home was rather futuristic, inspired by The Matrix and TLC’s ‘No Scrubs’. Each member had a white monochrome and colorful latex outfit suited for them, as they would dance in unison. The Overdose set in comparison was rather dark, sleek, and simplistic with white greek statues surrounding the girls. The beginning of the performances shows 20 backup dancers in the form of a choir as they surround Twist. Chaeyoung and Hyerim are directing the orchestra before the song begins.

On 050717 at SBS Inkigayo, Twist descended onto the stage from the ceiling via a small shaft and broke the glass wall that is used as an entrance to their performance of Overdose. Notable moments include Sohye opening up the performance with an electric guitar solo which transitions into Hyerim’s opening verse, Chaeyoung and Hyerim’s duo rap at the bridge, and Mina’s high note before the bridge.

At The 2017 Mnet Asian Music Awards, Twist performed a symphony orchestra version of Overdose, which included 100 members and backup dancers on stage performing various string instruments of the melody. At the opening of the symphony orchestra segment, Mina has an operatic vocal solo stage and is followed by Sohye’s electric guitar solo segment. The girls are seen rising onto the stage in a ring of blue fire, which intensifies with every movement of the symphony behind them. Notable moments include a dance break before the bridge, Chaeyoung and Hyerim’s duo rap, Hyerim’s signature hand movement that commands the audience from each direction to sing or scream louder, and a solo Hyerim dance stage. The performance received critical acclaim and is listed as one of the most iconic MAMA stages.

At The 2017 Melon Music Awards, Twist performed a rock version of Triangle with an orchestra live band to enhance the live instrumental of the song. The girls are seen descending onto the stage as angels with fluffy white wings in a ring of pure white light (in contrast to the ring of blue fire they stood in at MAMA for Overdose). Notable moments include Sohye’s violin solo, Hyerim’s runway walk before her bridge (insp @ 3:01 here), Chaeyoung’s screamo rap, Hyerim’s high note at the end (4:30 here), and Mina leading a metal-insp dance break.

[johnica-weeks]

Roger and Sarina

Roger Taylor (26 July 1949) 💕 Sarina Potgieter (18 December 1971)

Married on 3 October 2010

Children: none together, Roger has 5 children from his previous relationships with Dominique (2) and Debbie (3)

Last but not least, here are some info about Roger and Sarina! Sarina Rose Potgieter was born in South Africa and at the age of 12 moved to Johannesburg in order to attend the National School of the Arts where she was accepted into their ballet program. She moved into the Drama program for the final two years of her schooling. Upon leaving the arts school, Sarina turned her hand to studying Make Up Artistry and Theatre Crafts at The Tshwane University Of Technology in Pretoria. She specialized in Prosthetics and special effects, prop making and set design. She then went on to dance professionally for many years in a number of theatrical productions worldwide.

In 2013 Sarina successfully moved into the realm of film, both as an actress and producer, and she's now active promoter of her and Roger's clothing brand "Taylored of London".

Roger met her in 2004 and they married on October 3rd 2010 at their home in Surrey, after a six year long stable relationship: "The 36-year-old bride wore a purple wedding dress and the celebrations had a black and red theme as the pair staged an unusual ceremony at their home in Surrey last Saturday. Says a friend: 'The whole event was very low-key but incredible fun and light-hearted. All they wanted was a really big knees-up with their pals rather than a formal white wedding. 'The reception was in a huge black and red marquee in their garden and all the waiters wore black. The tables were black and they even had black patent leather sofas outside. The theme was almost bondage.' A guest said: 'The music didn't stop before sunrise.'"

Sarina is a young and smart lady, often sharing her life on social media and actively promoting Roger's brand and Queen's activities, definitely bringing a spark of youth into Roger. While Roger got his first tattoo with Debbie, Sarina is also a huge fan of tattoos and both had their collection of tats growing during the years, thanks to the artist Manuela Gray.

She says, "Roger and I have an amazing relationship. We both understand that in order to be happy together, we need to allow each other the space and environment to constantly grow as human beings and to remain true to our individual paths. "We have a lot of fun together. Roger is extremely supportive of everything I do, as I am of him, and we manage to spend a lot of quality time together in between work schedules." (Sarina at Pretoria News, 2017)

Prompts - Day 5: Roger and Sarina (16th April)

This would be a great tattoo!

It's not a matter of age

Touring with Q+AL

Incredible how you can see right through me

Brian & Roger's ships week 2023 rules and prompts

[foxes-that-run]

https://twitter.com/TBGlobetrotter/status/1770907445734355029?t=PC5lfvQ87Zyixv1uxVb2aA&s=19

Larries are claiming this. If it's meant to be a message like Larries are thinking, is there any links to TS? Larries also mention he has carried that hat all week and that Louis' sister wore the same or very similar headphone this week. They are crazy on the timeline saying they are together in the same place too. Are they being delusional?

Yesterday larries took AirPods as a sign….. omg I’m married to them too!!!

Roses are a Haylor thing, there was a time when people thought 1989 would be called roses because they had so many rose hints when they were dating.

That is what I thought about this rose, and white too.. but we will see maybe Harry just wanted the internet to talk about flowers for a day. I like that.

[thec0untry]

I am Sitting under the darkening summer sky drinking irish breakfast tea smoking winston menthol 100s, until we move into our apartment i will probably continue smoking constantly because it makes me feel like i have a forcefield around me, like a foothold in the constantly shifting anonymity of the house i’m living in right now. I think this tumblr page is serving a similar purpose. It is july 7, 8:55pm, i can hear some fireworks echoing far off. I got off of work at 9am, woke at 7pm or so. Bowl of oatmeal and instant espresso. I haven't been able to listen to much other than Advance Base for the past week, owen's lyrics instill in me the greatest gratitude for the incomprehensible size of life, the multitudes of lives happening all simultaneously and the even greater multitudes of shapes those same lives will take on in the future. The shapes my own life will take on, the shape it is now. All of these stories of melancholic loss and change, families and friends, relationships that don't have any easy label. These albums give me so much gratitude for my life and so much sweet, quiet excitement for the future, the places i will live, the people i will meet, the loves that will come and go (or maybe arrive and stay forever). I'm three weeks into my new job, it is becoming monotonous, this isn't a bad thing right now. I think i will value this time greatly in the future, and that makes me value it much more right now. Most worknights i dream of the future and of the past. I think about my old girlfriend, what she is to me now, try to get a three-dimensional view of her place in me. I think of my friends who i love and will probably love more in the future once i am more settled. I think of travel, of going to chicago alone later this year. Maybe i'll fly out for an advance base show if it lines up, i've been wanting to see him since i was 17. After the show, or on the other nights i'm there, i'll go to a bar that i'll find on google maps, one in the university area, i remember walking around there when i was 15 or so, i'll bring a book, i could see something by barbara comyns or muriel spark hitting nicely there, or maybe something more serious. Maybe then i'll read iris murdoch. It is silly to say but i dream of meeting someone there, a new chicago person, somehow we'll hit it off and talk for a long time and be moved by each other. Maybe they're there with friends and we'll all be drunk and laughing and i will lose the handle on reality in the way that only sudden and intuitive social connections can feel. Isn't everyone in a city that is not their own always quietly dreaming of things like that? The last time i was in chicago was with my old girlfriend. It was her birthday, her phone broke and it ended up being sort of messed up but if i remember correctly we had a very nice time all the same. Chicago is my land of dreams, going there to visit family when i was young, going there when i was falling in love with my old girlfriend in the summer of 2017. I was still roaringly medicated then so i can't remember all of it, but there are splashes of walking by the university, and seeing family on some strange farm in michigan. I remember the gray skies and greenery. I remember feeling life expand. There are some other things. i remember thinking of her. Off chicago. At work i dream of the places i will live in the future, of the apartment or house i'll be moving into in a few months (it may come sooner than expected). I dream of setting it up, making it feel serene and exactly perfect for me right now. I will probably be making more money by then, i have these images in my head of different perfume bottles, from tea rose to varying comme des garcons, surrounding the base of an antique lamp (i keep seeing beautiful, inexpensive lamps at antique stores) on a small round dark wooden table. I see a bedframe low to the ground with a mattress in white bedclothes. The way it will all smell, the mess of incense and perfume and whatever candles i'm into by then.

I dream of the cities and towns i will live in. Will i return to new york? The question is always there, but i have very few ideas of what it would look like. The thought can make me feel powerless, the way new york did during my month there this year. But i know to trust the expansiveness and unpredictability of experience. Perhaps if i begin bartending, then such places will open themselves to me, both in expense and in feeling. I will be older. I could go on forever. There is always so much to dream of. I do not know why i have been writing so much on this site lately. But when i begin to feel lost and deflated, it feels very good to come here and write it all out. The screen door just slammed, someone is home. I will go have another cigarette and maybe more tea.

[plantgoodseed]

We are in the business of life! Our 2023 seed production in Ojai, California.

Spring never really got going here in Ojai, and as I write these words summer is nearly here. Between the heavier winter rains (this a 45 inch - and counting - rain year) and weeks of overcast days, moon cycles have been an afterthought.

The plants keep growing through the fog, rain, and cloudy weather. Kendall harvested our Fizz Kale plants two weeks ago, making this our first seed crop of the year. Fizz is a salad kale, with smooth, oak shaped emerald colored leaves and white veins. It was the very first lot of seed we logged for the company back in 2011, and was definitely in need of improvement. We focused on one thing: culling out early bolting plants, prolonging the usefulness and flavor of the leaves as they mature. (Given this kale is harvested young as a micro green, it’s unsurprising this might have been not a priority, as harvest would typically occur long before any chance of flowering occurs) 

Up next is our largest production of Cherry Glow Breadseed Poppy. We did smaller runs of these in 2017 (me) and 2022 (Richard Gambino/Topa Vista Farmstand). The last few of Richard’s packets are still available, along with a bulk size. 

(We also have a new variety we are adding: Flemish Peony Poppy. I first spotted this on Cacia Huff’s Feral Farm instagram feed, and she sent me some seed stock)

We planted 10 pounds of Chimyan Garlic last fall, and harvesting was completed earlier in the month. Hardnecks aren’t always suitable for Southern California climates, but these bulbs look promising, and a quality planting stock would allow us to make this available to our customers in 2024.

New crops of Double White Hollyhock and Krishna Holy Basil are currently in the ground. Krishna seems to be the most temperature sensitive of the holy basils I’ve ever worked with. It really didn’t like this cold, and needs a really long production window for harvest. When it gets established, it’s a sight to be soon. Rama Holy Basil seedlings are also ready to go in, Heavy Hitter Okra seedlings are at the nursery, and I think our first Ojai production of Zanadoo Corn is on the way as well. Another round of Hibiscus was necessary, as we are packing the last of our current seed supply today, and it will likely be gone before the summer is up.

New crops of Silk Mullein, Dense Flowered Mullein, Clary Sage, and Marshmallow are well on their way to producing. Stinging Nettle and Scarlet Bee Balm will likely just increase our planting stock and not be available for sale this year.

After adding Double Black Hollyhock and Madder to the catalog in this past year, and feeling a little inspired by the work of Ride and Dye Ojai, I’ve been wanting to further expand the availability of our dye plants: Japanese Indigo (Persicaria tinctoria) seemed like an easy place to start and is now in production. I also had two other proper Indigo species “True” Indigo (Indigofera tinctoria) - or Guatemalan Indigo (Indigofera suffruticosa) we sent to the nursery, but the germination was too scanty to move forward. Next year!

Steve put a lot of flowers in the ground in this past fall-winter so it’s possible that a lot more will be coming than planned, or just refreshing/replenishing existing stalks. I’m pretty happy to see a new crop of Gaillardia coming on. I’m spying some mixed yarrow and bachelor buttons and a lot of silvery rose strawflower.

I’m continuing to work with my Southern California natives / rugged perennial crops. I planted a lot more Western Vervain this year, and new crops of Black, Purple, and White Sages are nearly ready. I continue to have problems with harvesting quality Hummingbird Sage seed, but after taking a year to experiment with harvesting and timing methods, I’ll give it another go. This is the first year I’ve worked with Cleveland Sage, and it’s looking spectacular.

Elderberry and Matilija Poppy will likely be back in the catalog too. These are quite easy to propagate clonally (root divisions or just straight up branch plantings), but it seems people enjoy the challenge of starting things from seed.

Our network of producers has grown substantially over this past year, and we intend on highlighting their crop production for the company in another blog post later in the year!

-quin

[styleofdiamandis]

     PHOTOSHOOT: MARINA FOR NYLON MAGAZINE

Marina’s editorial fashion back in 2019 was more than amazing. From wearing some of her favorite labels to emerging designers, she gave us everything and more. Here’s what she wore for her NYLON story.

She was photographed by Sacha Perlstein and styled by Jenna Igneri. Both hair and makeup were done by Stephanie Peterson.

For the first look, Marina  kept it clean in a white cross-over jumpsuit with wide legs by PH5 which she layered on top of the Rachel Comey Spring/Summer 2019 Armplus black floral lace blouse with puff sleeves.

To accessorize her look, Marina chose these Lizzie Fortunato Sun Bleached disc hoops in faux pearl and rose quartz stone tops...

...and a pair of Nicole Saldaña's Alyssa lucite wedge heel square toe sandals with wrap-around strap.

Look n.2 brings some more color with a yellow ribbed cut-out crop top from Aritzia's in-house label Wilfred Free. Marina's black leather pants with split sides are signed by Italian emerging designer label DROMe. The most similar thing I've found were these Fall/Winter 2017 pants.

I am frankly OBSESSED with these Alexis Bittar limited edition multicolored lucite and gold metal post earrings on Marina!

Footwear designer Nicole Saldaña makes a return with her Gabi pink leather strappy wedge sandals!

How stunning does Marina look in this 3.1 Phillip Lim look?! She wears his Spring/Summer 2019 sheer white maxi dress with contrasting black cherry appliqués all over which was presented during New York Fashion Week.

Underneath, she rocks a black tank bodysuit by Uniqlo.

A pair of Erickson Beamon’s Temptress hanging crystal statement earrings completed the look.

Time for the last look, which is actually an outtake! Stylist Jenna was sweet enough let me personally know that Marina wore the Rachel Comey Spring/Summer 2019 Agave belted nude leather wrap blazer with large pockets!

The striking red, soft knitted, ribbed crop sweater with round neckline and open back featuring a tie detail, and matching high-waisted briefs are both by Live The Process.

Both her adorable Blanc daisy pearl drop earrings with gold metal...

...and Arc thick domed cuff in marbled "Dune" lucite are signed by Lizzie Fortunato, who we’ve talked about before in this post.

And finally, the Welsh singer sported a pair of these Via Spiga Porter color-block leather mules with block heels!

[archivyrep]

VCRs, virtual communications, and lost records: Archivy themes in Steven Universe [Part 4]

Continued from part 5

There are some other records I'd like to mention before closing this post. For one, Stevonnie (Connie/Steven fusion), after crashing on an unnamed jungle planet in the episode "Lars of the Stars," in the episode the follows ("Jungle Moon"), Stevonnie accesses an old computer system, goes through files and is able to contact Lars's ship, using a code from their "Diamond dream." Additionally, the inside of Pearl's gem, as shown in the episode "A Single Pale Rose," is an internal archives of sorts, with repressed memories, and is organized on the surface alphabetically. It was so compelling that one person even wrote a fan fiction about it where Catra and Adora travel inside the gem, which was described as "memoryscape," which sounds a little like the one shown in Lore Olympus:

With a flash of white light, Adora and Catra opened their eyes. A room filled with drawers upon drawers of file cabinets, and computer monitors, allowing for easy searching of memories in front of them. While digital technology seemed to be the standard of repositories, Pearl liked the feel of card catalogs. Steven had not visited this room when he entered Pearl’s gemstone. The pathway through Pearl’s memories was different then. After that experience, Pearl used her Gem abilities to direct the Pearls inside to reorganize it and create a Memory Core for safekeeping. These efforts would all be for naught if Pearl’s gemstone cracked, as it would be game over for the memories, items, and anyone inside.

Reprinted from my Wading Through the Cultural Stacks WordPress blog. Originally published on Jan. 16, 2021.

There are also Pink's artifacts and such in Homeworld in the episode "Familiar," but that can hardly be called an archive. Even so, there are so, so many preservation questions when it comes to records in this series. It seems that some records are destroyed or lost in time. When structures are destroyed, like in the episode "Cheeseburger Backpack," undoubtedly any possible records are gone, without the possibility of retrieval. The same can be said about the message from Lapis which Steven receives in "The Message," or the message Peridot sends from the communication hub in "Cry for Help."

We know that any recordings that Peridot made on her tape recorder [3] have been lost, as Lapis destroyed it in "Barn Mates" and it becomes a meep morp (a form of art) by the time of "Beta." Additionally, in "Back to the Moon," they can't contact Homeworld because the panel and technology in "It Could've Been Great" were smashed. No one knows what happens to the records and stuff in the control panel shown in 'Friend Ship," the paintings Vidalia made of Amethyst (presumably still in her garage), or the documentary Renaldo made, titled "Rising Tides, Crashing Skies" about the Crystal Gems. Then, there are the captain's logs that Lars does in "Your Mother and Mine" and "Letter to Lars." Where are they being saved?

Despite questions about how this information is being stored, in an interesting connection, the people that Steven told Peridot about in "Marble Madness" are the ones that Aquamarine is looking for in the episodes "Are You My Dad?" and "I Am My Mom." That means it took the message about a year to get to Homeworld, as season 1 takes place in 2013 and season 4 takes place in 2014. The movie takes place around 2016 and the epilogue around 2017.

I think that's about it for this post, but I've covered much more than I expected I would have originally. Until next week when I'll write about another exciting topic!

© 2022 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Notes

[3] Peridot is shown making recordings on the tape recorder on "Back to the Barn," "Too Far," "The Answer" (implied), "It Could've Been Great" (implied), "Log Date 7 15 2," and "Barn Mates."

[mariacallous]

Italy is, notoriously, not a nation of readers, with Italians spending on average far less time reading books than many other Europeans. Yet, lately, a book has monopolized the nation’s political conversation. The author, Roberto Vannacci, is an army general whose political thoughts lean reactionary, to say the least. In the past year, he has become one of Italy’s most prominent right-wing figures. Indeed, he has come close to eclipsing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in domestic media coverage.

Vannacci, 55, also happens to be the star candidate of the anti-immigration party the League in the upcoming European Parliament elections. He was picked as a candidate by party leader Matteo Salvini—despite the opposition of some League officials, who viewed the general as inexperienced—in an attempt to regain the visibility that the League has lost since its main ally and rival, Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, usurped Salvini’s support base and rose to power.

Only a year ago, Vannacci was completely unknown to the wider public. Throughout the first half of 2024, one could hardly turn on the TV or open a newspaper without bumping into his name. It seems almost as if every week the general is at the epicenter of a new media storm: the most recent one about an interview he did with La Stampa in April, where Vannacci declared that “Italians are white, statistics say so,” and accused gay people of “showing off as exhibitionists.”

As soon as his candidacy was announced in late April, the progressive Democratic Party rushed to issue an (inadvertently counterproductive) statement urging Italians to ignore him.

Born into a military family (both his father and grandfather were professional soldiers), Vannacci served in Italy’s special forces in Iraq and Afghanistan in the 2000s, then led the army’s prestigious Folgore battalion, took part in the nation’s anti-Islamic State task force in 2017 and 2018, and served as a military attaché to the Italian Embassy in Moscow in 2020-2022. Yet fame came, unexpectedly, last August, when Vannacci was holding the not-so-glamourous position of head of the Military Geographic Institute in Florence.

In his free time during his service at the institute, Vannacci had written and self-published a book titled Il mondo al contrario (“The World Upside Down”). “I wrote the book for personal satisfaction. I thought it would be spread among my friends and would sell 300-400 copies,” Vannacci said in a phone conversation with Foreign Policy. But, to its author’s own surprise, the book became a huge success—the fifth-bestselling title in Italy in 2023—making Vannacci a better-selling author than Ken Follett and an instant celebrity. Despite being self-published, The World Upside Down had sold 200,000 copies by early 2024. (Italy’s publishing industry is small. By comparison, Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, which was the country’s top seller, sold just over 300,000.)

The views of the book were so extreme that even Italy’s defense minister, Guido Crosetto—who co-founded the Brothers of Italy with Meloni—had to reprimand him: Vannacci was first replaced as head of the Military Geographic Institute and then suspended from the military for 11 months.

Organized into chapters, each dedicated to a specific theme, from environmentalism to multicultural society up to LGBT-related issues and animal rights, the book is a compendium of ultra-conservative personal philosophy, in which Vannacci sees the West threatened by feminism, environmentalism, the LGBT community, and animal rights.

His tirade rests on what he frames as buonsenso (“common sense”), the belief that all these modern ideas are insane, with little need for explanation: “Normality is heterosexuality. If everything seems normal to you, however, it is the fault of the plots of the international gay lobby.” Same-sex marriage or adoption? Come on, it’s just nuts—it’s common sense that a family is husband plus wife. Women want to work outside the house? Nonsense, “even if they work, they don’t feel fulfilled.”

Vannacci presented himself as the voice of the silent majority, which is hostage to some noisy minorities—and he was in some ways proved right. The message resonated with many Italians, who found in his book a manifesto for their own thoughts.

In an interview, Vannacci described himself as a “patriot.” He added that he views his literary endeavor as a defense of “our culture, our traditions, our roots, if only for the respect of our ancestors, our fathers, of our grandparents.”

In his book, the general exalts Italy’s greatest historical figures—going back to Aeneas, Julius Caesar, Dante, Galileo, and Garibaldi—and takes pride in having, supposedly, their glorious ancient blood in his veins, a staple of Italian nationalistic nostalgia.

Political scientist Mattia Diletti, who teaches at Rome’s Sapienza University, notes that his nostalgic discourse echoes Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” rhetoric.

The success of The World Upside Down lies in the portrayal of a world that, being “upside down,” one must “overthrow this morally, socially, politically corrupt elite. We must return to the ancient values that are within Italian society,” Vannacci writes.

This type of rhetoric resonated with Italian conservative voters, especially since Meloni, the head of a party that has its roots in postfascism, ended up being more moderate than her fanbase expected. For instance, she sided with the United States and European powers in supporting Ukraine, despite pro-Russian and anti-European Union sentiment enjoying some popularity on the right. On LGBT rights and abortion, Meloni’s reactionary rhetoric was never followed by major action: LGBT rights (or the lack of thereof) have remained unchanged since the pre-Meloni era, and the country’s abortion law has remained unchanged.

“Vannacci is a sort of rebellion against the thinking of the current times,” said Francesco Borgonovo, the deputy director of the conservative newspaper La Verità. The cultural battles waged by the suspended general, Borgonovo noted, are precisely the same cultural battles that right-wing parties had waged during the electoral campaigns but then did not deliver after they came to power.

“He puts together ideas in a somewhat bar-room way,” appealing to “right-wing people, who now feel betrayed by the parties that are now governing Italy, which they helped to elect,” Borgonovo said.

Diletti of Sapienza points out that part of Vannacci’s success is precisely that of presenting himself as an outsider who tells things as they are. In a country where the political class is widely discredited, Vannacci succeeds by presenting himself as “the non-politician who speaks the truth to politicians.”

Today, Vannacci is at the epicenter of Italy’s political debate, not only due to his EU candidacy. After his first book’s success, he recently published an autobiography.

Paradoxically, being elected to the European Parliament could dim his star: As an MEP, Vannacci’s image could be downgraded from “firebrand general” to mere “politician,” a term many Italians have come to loathe.

Although Vannacci’s fame might be transitory, his message will likely last: According to Diletti, “He put his name and face on them, but the ideas he expressed are part of Italian society.”

[sa7abnews]

Minnesota murder stats rose under Walz's leadership as he tries to tie violent crime trend to Trump: data

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/12/minnesota-murder-stats-rose-under-walzs-leadership-as-he-tries-to-tie-violent-crime-trend-to-trump-data/

Minnesota murder stats rose under Walz's leadership as he tries to tie violent crime trend to Trump: data

Minnesota murder rates have risen under Democratic Gov. Tim Walz leadership as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate attempts to link spiraling crime trends of the 2020 era to the Trump administration. “I just want to set the record straight, because facts do matter and there’s not an alternative set of facts. Violent crime was up during the Trump presidency, and that’s even not counting his crimes,” Walz said at a rally in Las Vegas on Saturday. Walz was named as Harris’ running mate last week, and has since hit the campaign trail to rally support for the newly-formed ticket with less than 100 days until voters head to the polls. His comment on crime sparked critics to call out Minnesota’s violent crime rate under Walz’s leadership, with Fox News contributor Byron York outlining how murders increased in Minnesota after Walz was sworn in as governor. WALZ ACCUSATIONS OF ‘STOLEN VALOR’ PROMPT BATTLE BETWEEN HOUSE VETERANS PELOSI PRAISES “It turns out that rise included an increase in Minnesota. Here are the numbers of murders in Minnesota, starting in 2018, the last year before Walz became governor,” York posted to X. Walz was sworn in as governor in 2019. Data from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety reviewed by Fox News Digital shows that in 2018, the year before Walz took office, the state recorded 104 murders, a figure that increased by more than 12% in 2019, when the state recorded 117 murders. Murders in the state in 2020, when violent crimes spiked nationwide, skyrocketed to 185. In 2021, the state recorded 201 murders, 182 in 2022, and 172 last year. MINNESOTA RIOTS CONTINUED AFTER WALZ TOOK ‘RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE’ THERE WOULDN’T BE CHAOSData from the state shows that in the four years before Walz took office, from 2015-2018, there was an average of about 113 murders recorded in the state each year, which has increased to 171 murders, according to the yearly average under Walz’s five years as governor. Violent crime rates did spike to historic highs during Trump’s final year in the White House in 2020, which has been attributed to the widespread riots and protests that swept the nation following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day 2020. TIM WALZ’S BLM RIOTS RESPONSE LEFT MINNESOTA HUSBAND, DAD OF 2 ‘DISGUSTED’: ‘CAN’T BELIEVE’ PEOPLE SUPPORT HIMFBI crime data reviewed by Fox News Digital shows that homicides in 2017, Trump’s first year in office, slightly dipped nationally from 15,320 in 2016 to 15,312 in 2017. The data shows violent crime again dipped in 2018, at 14,604 homicides, and again in 2019 to 14,678, before skyrocketing in 2020 amid the riots to 18,965 homicides. All in, the violent crime spike of 2020 saw murders increase by nearly 30% compared to the year prior, according to FBI data. It marked the largest single-year increase in killings since the agency began tracking the crimes.TRUMP PRAISED WALZ’S GEORGE FLOYD RIOT RESPONSE IN 2020, AUDIO SHOWS: ‘VERY HAPPY’Experts who have previously spoken to Fox News Digital pointed to an array of variables that contributed to the increases of 2020 and the years following, including: anti-police rhetoric voiced by Black Lives Matter and defund the police proponents, the pandemic, a culture of lawlessness promoted by liberal district attorneys, and the “Ferguson effect” – when police pull back during high-profile and violent crime trends.​​Minneapolis was the epicenter of the 2020 riots, where Floyd, a Black man, died at the hands of a White officer during a police encounter in the city. Floyd’s death was followed by social justice protests and riots across the nation, which came at a time when COVID-19 cases and government-mandated lockdown measures meant to control the pandemic upended society in unprecedented ways ahead of the 2020 election.​​More than 1,500 buildings in Minneapolis alone were damaged or destroyed due to the riots, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.WALZ SLAMMED FOR ‘HESITATING’ TO SEND IN GUARD AS HIS DAUGHTER TIPPED OFF RIOTERS VIA SOCIAL MEDIAThe newly formed Harris-Walz ticket, which secured the Democratic nomination following President Biden dropping out of the race as concerns mounted surrounding his mental acuity, has focused its attention on Harris’ background as a California prosecutor when laying out its crime platform, most notably attacking Trump and his court battles. “As a tough prosecutor, Kamala Harris dealt with men like Trump all the time: Rapists, con men, frauds, criminals – she’s used to guys like Trump, used to putting them in their place,” a narrator for a recent pro-Harris ad says. Meanwhile, Trump has slammed left-wing led cities nationwide that didn’t do more to end the riots of 2020, and vowed to restore law and order across the nation to lower crime rates, including closing the border to illegal immigration.”The cartels will be crushed, crime will plummet, incomes will soar, the wars will end, and the American dream will come roaring back bigger, better and stronger than ever,” Trump said at a rally last week. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.