#I’ve also learned parts of several German songs because I like them

[hacked-by-jake]

Hey Ho! :D

You will always find this post in my blog description.🥰

(Well, since there’s not really much information about me, here’s a post of things you’ve been interested in and some facts about me.)

(Thanks to the Anon for the motivation to do this here! <3)

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So, Hi! You can call me HBJ! I don’t want to mention my real name and age here. 😁

I started publishing my fanfictions here on Tumblr a little over a year ago and haven’t left since. xD

My mother tongue is not English, I am from Germany. So if you find some mistakes, please excuse it, I’m doing my best and still learning. <3

I honestly have no idea what to write here so, have fun, if anyone reads through this here. 😂 At least that’s a little bit of me. :D

>The Ask Box is always open. So feel free to ask a question if you are interested (but I want to warn you, I am not answering everything, but I will let you know in this case) < <3

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Let's start! ❤️🌹🎭

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First of all 10 Random Facts about me. This was asked by an anon. Here is the original post.

I’m a giant nerd, there’s no place in my room that’s not full of merchandise.

I prefer to read stories that are self-published, for example here on Tumblr or on other sites, rather than real books.

I have a problem with jackets, I have tons of them.

I usually dye my hair according to the colors of characters I like.It all started with green/purple - because of the Joker. And the last color I have at the moment is all green because of Joker / Loki from Marvel (Oups)

Almost all tattoos I have are about fictional characters (also Oups)

No one, really nobody knows what books/stories I read because that’s something very private to me.

I listen to music 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Also, it’s hard for me / I don’t like to talk about the music I listen to because this is very intimate for me for some reason.

When I watch a series, it’s at least 2 times behind each other, sometimes more often. But never just once.

Films that I watch for the first time and that excite me, I watch every second that I have time. When the movie is over, I start again unless there are several parts. But then I always watch my favorite one 500 times.

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Random questions from you.

(Asked by @procrastinatingrobin) -One place that you'd like to travel at least once in your life?

---- One of my biggest wishes is (what a cliché xD) New York. For example the “Joker Stairs”, which is one of my biggest dreams. *-*

I would love to travel to a lot of locations from my favorite movies/series.🤭

America in general is a dream for me (a German potato 😂😅).

But there are so many beautiful places to which I want to go. For example, I would love to travel to Tenerife. I know someone who lives there and every time I see pictures I get very jealous. xD

Unfortunately, I’m incredibly afraid of flying, so if that doesn’t improve, I’ll never get anywhere near these places.😫😂😂

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(Asked by Anon) How many tattoos do you have?😄

I love tattoo questions. 😂🤭At the moment I have eleven tattoos🥰

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(Asked by Anon) -What's your favorite animal?

Hmmm I don’t really know, I think they are dogs because I have a dog now. *-* But to be honest, turtles are so cool.🤔 My brother has a turtle named: Schiggy (based on Pokémon)🤭

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(Asked by Anon) -The stupidest thing that ever happened to you?

Ohhh hahaha there I have something good!😅Story Time with Hbj xD

Okay: As some might know, I’m a big fan of The Joker by DC.🃏Well, in 2019, the Joker movie with Joaquin Phoenix came to the cinemas and I was at the cinema premiere with my best friend. And the movie was absolutely amazing. I really wanted to watch the movie again..Aaaaand I was lucky because my best friend’s boyfriend also wanted to see the movie in the cinema so I went back to the cinema 5 days later to watch the movie again. I was so excited and so extremely happy that I trembled and could not stand still. xD And for these two reasons, I accidentally dropped my not really old phone. It just fell straight down on the stones in front of the cinema and the display was completely broken..Well, what can I say? I needed a new one.. 😂😅But the movie was still fantastic!😍🤭This is actually one of the stupidest things that ever happened to me. xD

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(Asked by @kyras-things) What are the little things that make your day happiest?

Oh that’s a really nice question! *-*Well, I have really little things that can make me happy. :)-It is enough for me when I wake up tomorrow and see my merchandise shelf😅 (This is right in front of my bed)This is for most something really small but for me really great and makes me happy. <3Other things are music, stroking my dog, messages on my phone, my hair color, my tattoos, when the sun is shining in the morning, coffee, riding longboard and of course (yes this is my absolute serious and not only so therefore said) tumblr and thus at the same time Duskwood. 💕I think these are the most important things. 🤭All I need is to see something that matters to me.😅🥰

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(Asked by @leetjep) Seriously....Do you ever sleep?

Very rarely😂 Last time I slept was in fall.😂

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(Asked by Anon) Ios or android?

Only related to the phone: Android.Yes, I stand by it!😂

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(Asked by @booklover-01040) Hello!I was wondering have you got any paranormal or creepy experiences? If no, then a nightmare that you will never forget.

Hey Ho! In fact, I haven’t experienced any paranormal things. Which is probably also because I don’t believe in that and I’ve found a rational cause for everything so far. (Important: I don’t believe in it, but I don’t say it doesn’t exist, I don’t want anyone to feel attacked)

And a nightmare I’ll never forget? In fact, I can’t think of any one. There’s a dream I’ve have since I was a kid: It’s about two little wolves trying to eat me. xD And I can even tell where that came from.

The movie to blame for this is: Twilight xD

Yep… When I first watched this movie, I was way too young, and as a child I was always very anxious. Just such things and horror movies in general were terrible for me (today it is actually no longer so) (Even the dream is no longer bad today and yet it has a bitter aftertaste of childhood.)

In any case, I was much too young and that did not let me go back then. xD But a really unsettling dream I had was: Well.. Do you know the Pink Panther? 😂

I once dreamed that the Panther “chased” me through an endless long corridor. It was an endless corridor in pink with countless doors. He sang the theme song and threw clocks at me…😅 And that went on all night until I woke up.

(This, by the way, had a trigger too. A German song (the rapper only took the melody of the title music and wrote his own lyrics. The text isn’t really cool though and that’s the reason)

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(Asked by @dreamer-writer-fangirl) What color is your hair?

Well, at the moment my hair is green🤭

Check HERE and HERE for pictures.

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(Asked by Anon) Is your brother younger or older than you?🤗

My brother is older than me.🥰

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(Asked by Anon) Do you have a nickname?

Yes, actually I have one. I can even say it because it has nothing to do with my real name. :D But please don’t laugh at me. 😂Well, I have the loving nickname: Little Onion. yep…My mom gave me that name for some reasons. 😂

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(Asked by Anon) some information about your dancing?😄 you mentioned it a few days ago💃

Yeah, well, I danced for 13 years, in different groups, also several groups at the same time. :D It was the hip hop/breakdance direction. But at some point I stopped because I didn’t enjoy it in the groups anymore and time was getting tighter. :/ Unfortunately, there was and is no real other groups here, which is why I stopped completely and now only dance for myself and just for fun.🤭

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(Asked by Anon) What's your favourite food ?

Uhhhm, I think everything with pasta is my favorite food.😂 I can eat noodles all day. 🤭🍝🍜Well, and of course, Pizza!🍕Pizza is adorable. 😂

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(Asked by Anon) What type of video games do you like to play?

I don’t really have a favorite type / genre, I don’t play video games that often. I’m actually playing what looks exciting to me without any particular genre or type. 😁🤭

But if I do, I guess I’m the most Nintendo type. So most of the games I play are related to Nintendo. <3

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(Asked by @mirajane01040-duskwoodmemes) Do you play... Minecraft?

I used to play a lot of Minecraft, but nowadays not so much, and if so, then only the mobile version. This is fun for in between and dispels the boredom. I even started building Duskwood several times, but never finished it. xD Well, yes, sometimes I play Minecraft.

Answer a few days later: Yes, I do!

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(Asked by Anon) If you could be a fictional character, who would it be and why?

Oh, there are a few. xDBut the three main characters for me: Evey Hammond because of V for Vendetta. Harley Quinn because of The Joker. And, of course, my MC because of Jake. 🤭I know, very superficial reasons but I hope they are enough for you, because these are the main reasons xD 😅🤭

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(Asked by Anon) Hey hbj i'm curiousFamily or a career? 😋

I choose the career.🤭 After that, there is still enough time, and who says that not both work?😉

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(Asked by Anon) do you like alcohol?🍷

No, absolutely no. Not a little bit.

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(Asked by Anon) What is your favorite drink?

If I don’t drink coffee, I only drink sparkling water, my entire life. I very rarely drink something different. Water for life! 🧊

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Either/or questions from you.

(Asked by @duskwood-legacies) -What would you rather see, Northern Lights or sky lanterns?

That’s easy for me🤭 Northern Lights! If you ask me.. that is magical! *-* (Well, unless it’s like “Tangled” and I get a Flynn Rider.. then sky lanterns xD)

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(Asked by @duskwood-legacies) -Strawberries or raspberries?

Definitely: Strawberries🍓 *-*

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(Asked by@duskwood-legacies) Do you prefer angst or fluff?

I think it depends on the general mood I’m in.🤔 I think the best is angst with happy ending.😁

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(Asked by@duskwood-legacies) Milk or cereal first?

Obviously: Cereal first! 😂🥣

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(Asked by @justubi) Would you rather have a nosy neighbor pr noisy neighbor?

Unfortunately, I have both. xD But if I could choose, I would opt for the noisy neighbor as I wear headphones all day anyway.😂

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(Asked by @justubi) Would you rather be poor but love your job or rich but absolutely hate your job?

One hundred percent and without having to think about: poor and love my job!I could never have a job I don’t like. This is a real horror imagination for me😂

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(Asked by @kyras-things ) Prefer to write fanfics or read them?

Oh that’s a really hard question for me! 🤔 I can’t really make up my mind, but I think I’d rather read than write myself. With stories of others I can better dive into another world and relax. 🤭Because when I write, five hundred other thoughts always fly around in my head and I have to decide how to write something etc.I love writing but sometimes I wish I only had to think about a story and it would be written on a sheet right away. xD <3

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(Asked by @leetjep) Would you rather have one eye in the middle of your head or two noses?

I take the eye in the middle of my head. 😂Then I would make the Jake eye as a tattoo around it, which would be really cool.🤭

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(Continues on new asks)

#It's me :) #personal #hbj talks #about me #have fun lol

[spiritus-sonne]

"Celesvogel"

Details about my angel 'kintype

Honestly, I expected to wait at least several weeks, if not months, before making this writing, as I figured I’d have to do so much introspection and a lot of letting the thoughts just sit and simmer for an extended time before I would feel at all confirmed about saying I have a sixth ‘kintype. But I also realized that I can trace back feelings and experiences of this ‘type for over twenty years and I’ve actually been thinking on and off for the past few months what kind of alterhumanity I experience in regards to angels, especially since angel-hearted just didn’t seem to fit enough (though I may be angel-hearted, too, or it could just fall under the larger “monster-heartedness” I experience in relation to animalistic humanoids). Once I actually stopped to question why I wasn’t ever considering myself to have an angel ‘kintype and realized my reasoning basically came down to it “being too symbolic” in origin and that now I don’t see that as a valid sole reason to exclude it as a ‘kintype, a flood of thoughts came in and occupied my mind for the better part of a day relating to this angel aspect and why it may be a ‘kintype for me.

I did question if it’s really even an integral, deep part of myself and my identity and I realized the experiences I’ve had that provide a “yes” in answer to that. This is rather different than the processes I went through to figure out my other ‘kintypes (as either what kind of animal/creature they are or in just verifying to myself whether they were ‘kintypes or something else), but I feel like I sort of ‘blocked off’ part of my angel self, I created a kind of dam from recognizing it as the level and type of aspect it now seems to have always been, or at least developed into many years ago. Sure, I fully admit I could be wrong about this and maybe months or years down the road I will change my mind and realize this aspect isn’t a ‘kintype. But for now, I feel comfortable and good about believing it is a ‘kintype.

Because this kind of angel is so different from how most angelkin describe being such, even though it does hold notable similarities to popular and historical concepts of angels, so I’ve decided to coin my own ‘species’ term for it: celesvogel (based on celestial and the German word for bird, “vogel”). Heck, I already coined a species-specific term for my vampire ‘type and theropod ‘type, so this is basically right in line with that and allows me to more easily specify what kind of angel I’m talking about in my writing. Although it does seem to be largely based on my personal symbolic associations with the concept of angels, the experience itself is more than just symbolic. I’ve put together information about celesvogels based on my experiences and on, essentially, noemata I have of them--an intuitive knowledge that I pieced together through questioning different attributes and such of them.

I read what various other angelkin described as being the main attributes of what makes angels actually angels and found that though I related to and agreed with some of it, there was a lot I didn’t. In particular, most of them I read had largely Abrahamic, especially Christian, concepts of angels which I don’t connect with. I do not view celesvogels as being “servants of a monotheistic God”, or probably to any deities--they aren’t servants, at least not as followers in service to something. They don’t act the way they do because a higher power commands them to, they do it because that is how they are mentally and instinctively wired to act. They do hold some similarities in mind to that of humans, but they are far from mentally (let alone in body or power) being humans and shouldn’t be thought of as needing to act in a way that is “more human”. Due to their total lack of want, need, or ability to reproduce (they don’t have reproductive organs, for one, nor any other means to reproduce), I deciphered that they are probably created by some form of deity or other powerful entity, but not in the sense to be servants to that entity. Rather, they fulfill a purpose intended by the deity through their acts, behaviors, and instinct because that is just how they are as creatures, even without them having any knowledge or concept whatsoever of that particular deity or any deities, let alone them having conscious knowledge that what they are doing is specifically because a deity *wills* it. They are as much servants of a deity as whatever organism, including humans, are servants to evolution. They don’t act as they do because they are commanded to, they do it because it is in their inherent nature.

This, however, makes the concept of their free will kind of grey. I feel like they do have the ability to make at least some choices freely while others they do because that’s just how they are wired and they don’t even have the want to go against them. Again, this goes back to what I mentioned earlier to not try to “humanize” them--just because extensive free will is so important to us as humans, that doesn’t mean it holds the same weight for all creatures, and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. A creature doesn’t have to be oh-so human mentally and behaviorally in order to be “valid”, let alone good or even helpful. I feel that, ultimately, they still choose to make the actions they do toward or about a charge or whatever is in their stewardship--they still have to balance complex situations with questions of morals and ethics, including in ways that, honestly, I don’t fully understand right now--I feel I am part celesvogel, not fully one, when it comes down to it. Their actions have consequences, whether good, bad, or otherwise, and the actions of their charges have consequences, too, which the celesvogels have to weigh what to do or not to do. They have the ability to think and reason, and to learn from circumstances. To my understanding, they can’t “fall” since that would kind of go against what I described above.

The concept of angels as messengers of the divine doesn’t resonate to me for celesvogels, at the least not in any kind of direct sense of being messengers. Again, technically they may ultimately be tools, instruments, of a divine being to do whatever work it sees fit, and through that they could be seen as ‘delivering divine messages’ to their charges. Their duties involve things like stewardship to things, such as environments and ecosystems, as also being guides and/or guardians to charges (whether human or not), and even act as inspiration/creative muses. I also wouldn’t really call them warriors, but they can be very determined and fierce, especially when it comes to protecting something or someone. They aren’t mindless creatures of instinct either, nor are they devoid of emotion and personality--they have a spectrum of emotions, and such helps them bond further with and protect their charges, and they each have their own particular personality. I don’t think they have things like rank/hierarchy, including archangels, though they seem to have different roles based on the particular kind of duty they are doing (sentry, caretaker, guide, steward, etc.) that can vary over the course of their lives. Celesvogels also aren’t “fluffy” in what they do--they aren’t perfect beings, nor are they totally benevolent, and if anything they act as helpers and possibly balancers.

In regards to their bodies and appearance, they have incorporeal bodies rather than physical ones and have mental and spiritual abilities to allow them to communicate with physical beings. They are also capable of flight. I’m unsure what their forms would look like, beyond having feathered, bird-like wings on their backs, though I tend to think they have some level of shapeshifting ability--to what extent I don’t currently know, but their body form except for their wings seems to me almost arbitrary and not a big part of who, what, and the way they are. I think they aren’t particularly social with one another either and they are totally asexual and aromantic. Gender is also either null to them or fluid in the sense of changing based on shifting their forms. They also sometimes vocalize in what sounds like song--kind of like language-less choir singing. Perhaps they do it as one form of communication with their charges or even for the sake of self-expression.

Even though I don’t consider celesvogels to be “warriors” proper, I feel like they were still fierce protectors against incorporeal threats and with that they at times wielded swords or perhaps other melee weapons to use. I sometimes feel like I should be skilled in some kind of melee weaponry, and can feel the weight of a sword or some other weapon from my hand or sitting across my shoulder along with some objects evoking that sensation more when I hold them. I don’t feel remotely similar about ranged weapons, especially guns, and have retained a strong preference in fighting games toward using certain kinds of melee weaponry (particularly fond of the “Soul Calibur” game series). I remain unsure for now about whether celesvogels would receive any weaponry or fighting training or if they would just have innate knowledge of good ways to fight. I know when it comes to me in fighting games I am a button-masher who doesn't take time to think carefully about the opponent's moves and blocking or parrying them, but this is probably a lot because of my slow cognitive processing, so I actually can't think fast enough to react to the opponent's moves properly. I would like to think I could think and react faster as an actual-in-body angel. This weaponry aspect is also why the few original characters I have are wielders of melee-style weapons even though they live in a time similar to our modern era of technology and advanced guns. Though I don’t have the money nor great enough reason to seek out training to use some kind of melee weapon in real life.

Also on the subject of my OCs, my main one possesses some qualities of celesvogels. Actually, one of her names is “Angellore”, which was based on a Tristania song of the same name in which I first envisioned her. She’s a shapeshifter with a human, partially human, and fully nonhuman form, and she is a mix of human, domestic cat, and crow. In her partially human form, she has white (or mainly white) feathered wings on her back, a cat’s tail, claws, pointed ears, fangs, some feathers on the upper portion of her face, and solid black eyes. She wields a bladed staff and sharpened sais as her weapons. Angellore is also able to fly in that partially human form and is basically an “airbender” (to borrow a term from the “Avatar: The Last Airbender” universe). But it’s really just certain aspects of her personality and behavior, and the mix between feline, avian, and human which make her feel kind of “angelic”-based to me, especially a similarity to celesvogels in particular. My own experiences in being angel are marked by a similar such mix of avian, human, and other creature (perhaps feline--I already experience that from my cat theriotype and from my vampire ‘kintype, so it’s too hard to decipher currently); a blend of human and nonhuman animal.

Knowing all this, I honestly don’t even think these beings ever actually existed in this realm/universe, but heck, perhaps they could have or do. For me, this is a psychological experience, like my other ‘kintypes. As I have read and skimmed over various posts and forum threads about angelkin I feel a lack of a sense of belonging amongst them, for the most part. I can’t relate to the religious nor deity-based things, but even still, I’ve never actually found a notable sense of belonging in the therian and otherkin communities either, despite my care for them and irregular activity within them (I’ve always mostly lurked rather than been active). It’s interesting though that both my vampire and angel ‘types in some way keep me connected to the therian and otherkin communities--through my vampire ‘type I get times of being filled with wanting to have more of a voice and confidence in myself, and through angel I feel like trying to help others in some significant way.

#otherkin #angelkin #alterhuman

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Anonymous asked: I noticed you did post to acknowledge the death of Uderzo, the co-creator of the Asterix comics. I have to ask Tintin or Asterix? Which one do you prefer?

It’s like asking Stones or Beatles? I love both but for different reasons. I would hate to choose between the two.

Both Tintin and Asterix were the two halves of a comic dyad of my childhood. Whether it was India, China, Hong Kong, Japan, or the Middle East the one thing that threads my childhood experience of living in these countries was finding a quiet place in the home to get lost reading Asterix and Tintin.

Even when I was eventually carted off to boarding school back in England I took as many of my Tintin and Asterix comics books with me as I could. They became like underground black market currency to exchange with other girls for other things like food or chocolates sent by parents and other illicit things like alcohol. Having them and reading them was like having familiar friends close by to make you feel less lonely in new surroundings and survive the bear pit of other girls living together.

If you asked my parents - especially my father - he would say Tintin hands down. He has - and continues to have in his library at home - a huge collection of Tintin comic books in as many different language translations as possible. He’s still collecting translations of each of the Tintin books in the most obscure languages he can find. I have both all the Tintin comic books - but only in English and French translations, and the odd Norwegian one - as well as all the Asterix comic books (only in English and French).

Speaking for myself I would be torn to decide between the two. Each have their virtues and I appreciate them for different reasons.

Tintin was truly about adventure that spoke deeply to me. Tintin was always a good detective story that soon turned to a travel adventure. It has it all: technology, politics, science and history. Of course the art is more simpler, but it is also cleaner and translates the wondrous far-off locations beautifully and with a sense of awe that you don’t see in the Asterix books. Indeed Hergé was into film-noir and thriller movies, and the panels are almost like storyboards for The Maltese Falcon or African Queen.

The plot lines of Tintin are intriguing rather than overly clever but the gallery of characters are much deeper, more flawed and morally ambiguous. Take Captain Haddock I loved his pullover, his strangely large feet, his endless swearing and his inability to pass a bottle without emptying it. He combined bravery and helplessness in a manner I found irresistible.

I’ve read that there is a deeply Freudian reading to the Tintin books. I think there is a good case for it. The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure are both about Captain Haddock's family. Haddock's ancestor, Sir Francis Haddock, is the illegitimate son of the French Sun King – and this mirrors what happened in Hergé's family, who liked to believe that his father was the illegitimate son of the Belgian king. This theme played out in so many of the books. In The Castafiore Emerald, the opera singer sings the jewel song from Faust, which is about a lowly woman banged up by a nobleman – and she sings it right in front of Sir Francis Haddock, with the captain blocking his ears. It's like the Finnegans Wake of the cartoon. Nothing happens - but everything happens.

Another great part is that the storylines continue on for several albums, allowing them to be more complex, instead of the more simplistic Asterix plot lines which are always wrapped up nicely at the end of each book.

Overall I felt a great affinity with Tintin - his youthful innocence, wanting to solve problems, always resourceful, optimistic, and brave. Above all Tintin gave me wanderlust. Was there a place he and Milou (Snowy) didn’t go to? When they had covered the four corners of the world Tintin and Milou went to the moon for heaven’s sake!

What I loved about Asterix was the style, specifically Uderzo’s visual style. I liked Hergé’s clean style, the ligne claire of his pen, but Asterix was drawn as caricature: the big noses, the huge bellies, often being prodded by sausage-like fingers. This was more appealing to little children because they were more fun to marvel at.

In particular I liked was the way Uderzo’s style progressed with each comic book. The panels of Asterix the Gaul felt rudimentary compared to the later works and by the time Asterix and Cleopatra, the sixth book to be published, came out, you finally felt that this was what they ought to look like. It was an important lesson for a child to learn: that you could get better at what you did over time. Each book seemed to have its own palette and perhaps Uderzo’s best work is in Asterix in Spain.

I also feel Asterix doesn’t get enough credit for being more complex. Once you peel back the initial layers, Asterix has some great literal depth going on - puns and word play, the English translation names are all extremely clever, there are many hidden details in the superb art to explore that you will quite often miss when you initially read it and in a lot of the truly classic albums they are satirising a real life country/group/person/political system, usually in an incredibly clever and humorous way.

What I found especially appealing was that it was also a brilliant microcosm of many classical studies subjects - ancient Egypt, the Romans and Greek art - and is a good first step for young children wanting to explore that stuff before studying it at school.

What I discovered recently was that Uderzo was colour blind which explains why he much preferred the clear line to any hint of shade, and it was that that enabled his drawings to redefine antiquity so distinctively in his own terms. For decades after the death of René Goscinny in 1977, Uderzo provided a living link to the golden age of the greatest series of comic books ever written: Paul McCartney to Goscinny’s John Lennon. Uderzo, as the Asterix illustrator, was better able to continue the series after Goscinny’s death than Goscinny would have been had Uderzo had died first, and yet the later books were, so almost every fan agrees, not a patch on the originals: very much Wings to the Beatles. What elevated the cartoons, brilliant though they were, to the level of genius was the quality of the scripts that inspired them. Again and again, in illustration after illustration, the visual humour depends for its full force on the accompaniment provided by Goscinny’s jokes.

Here below is a great example:

There’s a lot of genius in this. Uderzo copied Theodore Géricault’s iconic ‘Raft of the Medusa’ 1818 painting in ‘Asterix The Legionary’. The painting is generally regarded as an icon of Romanticism. It depicts an event whose human and political aspects greatly interested Géricault: the wreck of a French frigate, Medusa, off the coast of Senegal in 1816, with over 150 soldiers on board. But Anthea Bell’s translation of Goscinny’s text (including the pictorial and verbal pun ‘we’ve been framed, by Jericho’) is really extraordinary and captures the spirit of the Asterix cartoons perfectly.

This captures perfectly my sense of humour as it acknowledges the seriousness of life but finds humour in them through a sly cleverness and always with a open hearted joy. There is no question that if humour was the measuring yard stick then Asterix and not Tintin would win hands down.

It’s also a mistake to think that the world of Asterix was insular in comparison to the amazing countries Tintin had adventures. Asterix’s world is very much Europe.

Every nationality that Asterix encounters is gently satirised. No other post-war artistic duo offered Europeans a more universally popular portrait of themselves, perhaps, than did Goscinny and Uderzo. The stereotypes with which he made such affectionate play in his cartoons – the haughty Spaniard, the chocolate-loving Belgian, the stiff-upper-lipped Briton – seemed to be just what a continent left prostrate by war and nationalism were secretly craving. Many shrewd commentators believe that during the golden age when Goscinny was still alive to pen the scripts, that it was a fantasy on French resistance during occupation by Nazi Germany. Uderzo lived through the occupation and so there is truth in that. Perhaps this is why the Germans are the exceptions as they are treated unsympathetically in Asterix and the Goths, and why quite a few of the books turn on questions of loyalty and treachery.

Even the British are satirised with an affection that borders on love: the worst of the digs are about our appalling cuisine (everything is boiled, and served with mint sauce, and the beer is warm), but everything points to the Gauls’ and the Britons’ closeness. They have the same social structure, even down to having one village still holding out against the Romans; the crucial and extremely generous difference being that the Britons do not have a magic potion to help them fight. Instead they have tea, introduced to them by Getafix, via Asterix, which gives them so much of a psychological boost that it may as well have been the magic potion.

I re-read ‘Asterix in Britain’ (Astérix chez les Bretons) in the light of the 2016 Brexit referendum result and felt despaired that such a playful and respectful portrayal of this country was not reciprocated. Don’t get me wrong I voted for Brexit but I remain a staunch Europhile. It made me violently irritated to see many historically illiterate pro-Brexit oiks who mistakenly believed the EU and Europe were the same thing. They are not. One was originally a sincere band aid to heal and bring together two of the greatest warring powers in continental Europe that grotesquely grew into an unaccountable bureaucratic manager’s utopian wet dream, and the other is a cradle of Western achievement in culture, sciences and the arts that we are all heirs to.

What I loved about Asterix was that it cut across generations. As a young girl I often retreated into my imaginary world of Asterix where our family home had an imaginary timber fence and a dry moat to keep the world (or the Romans) out. I think this was partly because my parents were so busy as many friends and outsiders made demands on their time and they couldn’t say no or they were throwing lavish parties for their guests. Family time was sacred to us all but I felt especially miffed if our time got eaten away. Then, as I grew up, different levels of reading opened up to me apart from the humour in the names, the plays on words, and the illustrations. There is something about the notion of one tiny little village, where everybody knows each other, trying to hold off the dark forces of the rest of the world. Being the underdog, up against everyone, but with a sense of humour and having fun, really resonated with my child's eye view of the world.

The thing about both Asterix and Tintin books is that they are at heart adventure comics with many layers of detail and themes built into them. For children, Asterix books are the clear winner, as they have much better art and are more fantastical. Most of the bad characters in the books are not truly evil either and no-one ever dies, which appeals hugely to children. For older readers, Tintin has danger, deeper characters with deep political themes, bad guys with truly evil motives, and even deaths. It’s more rooted in the real world, so a young reader can visualise themselves as Tintin, travelling to these real life places and being a hero.

As I get older and re-read Asterix and Tintin from time to time I discover new things. 

From Asterix, there is something about the notion of one tiny little village, where everybody knows each other, trying to hold off the dark forces of the rest of the world. Being the underdog, up against everyone, but with a sense of humour and having fun, really resonated with my child's eye view of the world. In my adult world it now makes me appreciate the value of family, friends, and community and even national identity. Even as globalisation and the rise of homogenous consumerism threatens to envelope the unique diversity of our cultures, like Asterix, we can defend to the death the cultural values that define us but not through isolation or by diminishing the respect due to other cultures and their cultural achievements.

From Tintin I got wanderlust. This fierce even urgent need to travel and explore the world was in part due to reading the adventures of Tintin. It was by living in such diverse cultures overseas and trying to get under the skin of those cultures by learning their languages and respecting their customs that I realised how much I valued my own heritage and traditions without diminishing anyone else.

So I’m sorry but I can’t choose one over the other, I need both Asterix and Tintin as a dyad to remind me that the importance of home and heritage is best done through travel and adventure elsewhere.

Thanks for your question.

#question #ask #comics #tintin #asterix #personal #arts #culture

[theelliottsmiths]

Could you please liveblog the making of Sonne?

I got a few of the same request yes hello

Fun fact everyone already knows Sonne was my first Rammstein experience (that I remember). The video was played at least once a day on kerrang and my dad would play it to help me sleep when I was a bairn.

Okay was it a fan added thing or was Oli stoned when he had the idea? It seems like a stoned thing to do

Maybe it's because I grew up around mining towns but... Hot.

They all look so cute schneider looks like a Rat

"did touring in the US have any influence on the album?"

"Nope" the most adorable twisty smile I've ever seen

"I hope not"

*very strange noises from Richard that I have never heard before or since* "it wasn't an influence"

Does till drink super strangely out of that cup or am I overanalysing?

This hair is what immediately comes to mind when I think Till Lindemann

Rat. Rodent man.

It's interesting that they're all saying such soft lovely things about making the album as if nothing happened and everything was fine the whole time. I guess it's nice they didn't just sit and complain about each other though. Love and solidarity.

Richard. Looks very nice :) good shoulders. Next person who meets him say good job growing those shoulders. More people should wear tank tops I feel.

God they're all so adorable I have to keep replaying bits.

He does say Glück auf right? Why did they have to completely soot him up is it because the truth looks a little silly?

The grin at Richard will end me one day.

@struwwelzeter I think? Once pointed out that he says irgendwie a lot and ever since I've been unable to not hear it when he says it in the last minute he's said it at least twice. I mean I get it I too have things I say a lot but god it's worse than "you know?"

It's just such a long sound to make as filler? It has three syllables

I love the way he's talking and would like a full documentary of him just discussing things like this just ask a vague question and let him run with it

It's so nice hearing from Oli always I think he does it on purpose. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that. A treat

Schneider is a dumbass yes but his intelligence also. He's right, you don't actually have to do what you're supposed to as long as you're doing good work

"we tried to make songs we'd still like in two years" smart move, they're playing several of those songs still not far off two decades later

I can really feel Paul's accent when he talks right after someone else it's so round and I love it but I do worry that if I ever decide to properly learn German I will accidentally develop his accent

Schneider doing the pounding will be the death of me actually that's what'll do it

Why does Richard just kind of lick the spoon I can almost hear the found of his jaw clicking shut

I like Jörn a lot. Im tempted to hit him over the autistic thing but in his defence that was fifteen years ago

It's really cool actually that they use the same few directors for the most part, I love seeing how their ideas and techniques have evolved even though I don't know very much about that kind of stuff. Sonne vs Ausländer.

It doesn't help that they made Paul look MINISCULE next to till in this shot. Why does he seem to like the short jokes? I suppose he gets them a lot he has known flake since he was 18

Till is so ! giggly ! In this video ! He is enjoying this so so much! Like a proper big laugh teeth fully out

The boys slow motion headbanging together gets me in my feelings for some reason it's just very sweet and fun

They too look high

The entire "we wanted to name it Herzeleid" bit almost always has me cry-laughing for some reason it's just so Him and so Funny and Cute and you can see his own amusement building inside of him as he prepares to deliver the line

There is already a Herzeleid album and unfortunately it is also by us

He's a pretty man I love when you can see that glint in his eyes

Did Paul mispronounce synthesiser?

Till eats like he's the youngest of six children have you ever noticed that?

The Cain Instinct rising within Paul and nobody moving to stop him. Flake and Schneider just stare and wait to see what he'll do looking just a little concerned. He looks like he's trying to explain and demonstrate something to Schneider but I don't know what he's saying just before he does it

It's funny that their objectively best song was written for and seemingly rejected by a boxer. It's obvious if you know but if you don't you'd have no idea

That sounds very silly im sorry I still have ok stick in my head

Till is flirting. I think Till is flirting. Too many little genuine smiles.

Have any if you played Skyrim? Schneider is sitting in that chair like a Jarl in a bonnet

I think Paul just picks random numbers any time he needs numbers. What was it, 37 extra new songs after the untitled album was finalised? 27? I don't trust him.

Oli is refusing it seems to take credit and also talking like a sub just saying don't @ me

Ways the dwarves. Were right.

A little bit indignant? Yeah rather shocked

Poor Robert hhh

I'm not saying Paul seems excited about being spanked but what I am saying is

He can't explain it but I think we all can

God till is pretty in this tree bit

"eins, zwei, drei, oh!" Typical Schneider behaviour and I truly do adore.

Putting Paul on Olis side was a choice that was made

I really do appreciate just how much work they put into all the details of this, I don't know what professionals think but I for one think they did an amazing job. No wonder they kept hold of Jörn

The boys doing their cuddles! I wonder why there isn't more fic based on Sonne, I think I've only read one or two? Is it because you guys don't know enough about mining because I don't think anyone would mind

I would do many things for a documentary with Paul as the David Attenborough type figure

There's something so charming about Till arguing about the logic of finding out snow white is dead(?) and whether or not Schneider needs to inform them of that fact

Of course they'd put Schneider first look at his little suspicious face

Okay this but they go into way more detail about their favourite parts.

Flake likes to grumble but he is also the most genuinely content man I have ever layed eyes on. If he's with the band he's happy.

Olis little gesture is the cutest actually?

Okay yeah you can totally tell they made up and it's all water under the bridge they worked it out and are happy

Nevermind, Flake just had to do it. "Perhaps in time we'll learn that not everyone has to concern themselves with everything" honey you can say Richard, Paul and Schneider it's okay

They learned to trust each other, basically. They accept the support and help and recognise the expertise of the others. A lot of bands never find that. A lot of people in general never find that, actually.

I still cannot tell whose laugh is the fucking ridiculous one, it's either Richard or Schneider and I think it's Schneider despite Richard looking like a yawning dog

Oh that's Paul's partner next to him right? With the red hair?

Who is the dude till is cuddling with? He looks familiar is he in the ITDW making of?

I do love to see a gaggle of giggling boys

Okay no it's schneider, the fool. His laugh is completely unrestrained and cascading and barking and odd and its glorious to behold.

I would love to see them watch and reach to their older making ofs because so much of it is mirrored. What Paul says about it needing to be fun, the Keine Lust thing that. Actually that's also about it needing to just be for fun. Hm. Still, do it.

Tills joke about getting to that point in the next twenty years how did he knowwwwwww

Fortunately I can knock on wo—thats not wood

Alleth gut, he says.

#me rambling #rammstein #liveblog #complete liveblog

[sortavibing]

I’m requesting a matchup, please. I am bi, I use she/they pronouns, am an intp, and horribly confused about what’s going on most of the time. While I spend most of my time roller skating, I’m also really into baking, my strengths being in the form of butter cookies, pecan pies, and brownies, but that doesn’t stop me from being a couch potato and playing the occasional video game. For fun I love makeup, whether it’s glam or gore makeup, because I enjoy being able to express myself no matter how I’m feeling. Reading and crocheting are some of my favorite pastimes, as well as embroidery and puzzles. I have 17 piercings and 2 tattoos, my hair is currently bleached to pale blonde and cheekbone length, but I’ve dyed it several colors. I love animals, I own a dog and a snake, used to have a horse, some chickens, and a goat. I listen to most every kind of music, especially pop punk. I’d like to think I’m a chaotic neutral person, but sometimes I feel like I lean more towards chaotic good. I’m 5’4, a lil chubby and curvy, blue eyes, freckles all over, and a mild case of rbf. I don’t really have a lot of things that I dislike, except for overly confident/cocky people who think they’re better than everyone because no one has told them otherwise. I speak a little French, a little German, and a little American Sign Language. Please and thank you!

hi! thank you for requesting! omg i aspire to have more piercings because they all look so fucking good- i’m thinking trying a septum or an industrial bar (if my parents let me). anyways, here’s your matchup!

generating matchup...

matchup: complete

i match you up with tendou!

what first drew him to you was your tattoos and piercings, he saw them and was lowkey obsessed, and he knew that he had to get to know you. he walked up to you and immediately started talking. at first, you were a little confused about why he was talking to you, but you soon warmed up to him, and you guys became really good friends, and he asked you out soon after.

(timeskip spoiler) since tendou becomes a chocolatier in the timeskip, he loves to make desserts as well. you guys often have lowkey competitions over who can make the best dessert, and sometimes you even bet things on it (the bets are ususally bragging rights or that the loser has to accept the dare that the winner gives them). if you guys work together, you and tendou can literally make the prettiest, best-tasting things ever, and tendou is sure to share it with his teammates.

he really wanted to get a couple of piercings, and seeing you have so many just pushed him over the edge. he asked you which piercing he should get, and after much deliberation, he decided to get a snug piercing and a vertical labret. it looks so good, and he likes to get you guys matching jewels so you guys can have something else in common.

he loves to help you dye your hair, and he always comes up with the most crazy color combinations, but they always turn out really good, so you let him be your lowkey hairstylist, and he has gotten really good at dying people’s hair because of you. once he dyed some strands of his hair black and blue, and it looked so good, but he liked his normal hair better.

since he saw how much you liked roller skating, he wanted to try it out, so you guys went out to the local skate park at like 1am and he tried to skate. at first, he was really bad, and you got so many videos of him falling, but he learned quickly, and after a few hours, he was mediocre, and even attempted a few tricks, and failed (for the most part). you guys still go out to roller skate, and now he’s pretty good, but definitely not at good as you are.

tendou loves your makeup, and while he was chilling at your house one time, he asked if you could do some makeup for him as well. he stayed very still (surprisingly), and it turned out super nice, and he was literally in love with the look. he took so many pictures of you guys, and even attempted to do your makeup afterwards, and it didn’t turn out good at all, so he leaves the makeup artistry to you.

he has developed a spiritual connection with your snake, so whenever he goes to your house, he will always say hi to it, and if you let him, he will hold him, and just watch him wrap around his arms or shoulders. you are starting to suspect that your snake likes him better than you, but you won’t mention it, because tendou loves your snake so much as well.

you guys have the same music taste, so you and tendou share a playlist with both of your favorite songs, and everyday it gets a little bit longer. the playlist is really good, and all the songs fit together pretty well, and tendou will always listen to it when he is missing you. you guys have had late night karaoke sessions, just blasting music while screaming the lyrics so everyone can hear you guys.

you and tendou love to emotionally wreck cocky people, and if you ever see an overconfident person who is being a jerk, you guys literally turn into a god tier heather chandler and regina george level duo. tendou loves when you guys do this, and he will not hesitate to be the bad bitch that he truly is.

overall, you guys are chaotic, but in a chill lowkey romantic way that everyone aspires to be. most of the dates you do are pretty spontaneous, and you guys always make so many funny memories with each other, and tendou wouldn’t have it any other way. he just loves to be around you, because he knows he will have a fun time when he’s with you.

i hope you enjoyed!

#haikyuu #haikyuu matchups #haikyu #tendou #tendou satori #satori tendou #satori tendo #haikyuu!! #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu imgaines #haikyu headcanons #haikyu imagines #tendou imagines #tendou headcanons #tendou x you

[betweenthetimeandsound]

Three Minutes to Eternity: My ESC 250 (#210-201)

#210: Joy Fleming -- Ein Lied Kann Eine Brücke Sein (Germany 1975)

“Hör auf zu spielen und lerne zu fühlen, Wie viele Menschen Freunde sind, Lerne zu singen, vertraue so wie ein Kind,”

“Stop playing and learn how to feel, How many people are friends Learn how to sing, trust just like a child”

For an older and low-placed entry, this German entry has become a fan favorite! Despite this, I wonder if I really like this enough to make my top three of 1975, because I don't go back to listen to it often.

But when I do, it just takes the conductor's stomping to get me into the mood. It's just a great way to start a song~

While the chorus somehow bugs me a little bit, because of how jarring it is (Joy shouts it all out, in comparison to the verses where she has a somewhat lower register), how it builds really helps with getting the party started. The orchestration also helps with the joie de vivre of the song, and Joy manages to live up to her name on stage.

Personal ranking: =3rd/19 Actual ranking: 17th(?!)/19 in Stockholm

#209: Muriel Day -- The Wages of Love (Ireland 1969)

“There will be bridges to be crossed And there'll be teardrops to be lost...”

Ireland’s first upbeat song is a diversion from their first four entries in more ways than one. Not only it’s performed by a woman for the first time, but it also warns about the pains of love—while it’s a great experience, you have to pay a lot in the process. (This actually reminds me of one vintage Eurovision blogger talking about how Horoscopes incorporates a more liberal sound with Ireland's conservatism at the time--maybe it was from the same lines?)

And Muriel has an absolute ball on stage with her uber-high lime green dress. She twirls her microphone around when arriving, bounces up and down like she just got a can of Red Bull, and dances as if it was for the last time. The orchestration really helps out on giving out this vivacious vibe (though the lyric "it can make you live/it can make you die" in context is quite horrifying behind the upbeat track).

Basically, this was an upbeat track which I would've switched out for one of the upbeat winners.

Personal ranking: 3rd/16 (though here, it's 4th/16. A mismatch in rankings, which you can see again in the future) Actual ranking: 7th/16 in Madrid

#208: Alenka Gotar -- Cvet z Juga (Slovenia 2007)

"Moj beli cvet, moj daljni svet Daj, vrni se, moj bodi spet”

“My white flower, my faraway world Come, return, be mine again”

I've never been a big fan of opera--not just in Eurovision, but also in general. I recognize they have beautiful voices and worked on them for the performance, but I never really like the instrumental or the actual song.

Cvet z juga, however, managed to incorporate opera in a way which is actually enjoyable. Not only because of Alenka’s powerful vocals, but also the nostalgia created with the poetic lyrics and the instrumental. It’s a combination of classical and modern--it's not a dance-floor bop (despite the percussion in the background), but it's definitely out of the ordinary.

Combined with a subtle but effective gimmick (Alenka's light-up hand at the end), and you have Slovenia's first qualifier in the semi-final. Definitely deserved.

Unfortunately, Alenka's gone off a bad path since then...)

Personal ranking: 6th/42 Actual ranking: 15th/24 GF in Helsinki

#207: Giorgios Alkaios and Friends -- Opa! (Greece 2010)

"Έκαψα το χθες, νύχτες μου παλιές Κι από το μηδέν αρχίζω όσο κι αν δε θες Δάκρυα καυτά ψέμματα πολλά Πλήρωσα όσο χρωστούσα και τα δανεικά"

"I burnt the past, my old nights And I start from scratch even if you don’t want me to Hot tears, too many lies I paid what I owed and borrowed"

"Motherf---ing testosterone!"

The Scandinavia and the World recap for the 2010 contest basically sums up Opa! as this, with all the tribal cries and torn up shirts. I've also heard it described as the "Love Love Peace Peace" of Greek entries, with the prevalent cry "Opa!", strong ethnic influences, and Cretean lyre to boot.

But beyond that, there's a deeper meaning behind the lyrics. By late 2009-early 2010, Greece was facing the burden's of the Great Recession, which would envelop the country in many years. Their GDP would drop by 26% between 2008 and 2014, and unemployment rose up to 25% at the same time. This economic maelstrom led to public uprisings and an exodus of the highly educated.

Opa is a cry for joy--not just to party, but also to fight against a wave of despair considering the circumstances. It strives to give life and inspiration by those who need it, even if it means starting over. And while economics will trump national pride in the end, one asserts themselves as stronger than they think. And that's what makes it an important part of the Greek Golden Age at Eurovision.

Personal ranking: 6th/39 Actual ranking: 8th/25 (GF) in Oslo

#206: Boris Novkovic feat. Lado -- Vukovi Umiru Sami (Croatia 2005)

"Do zore je ostao još koji sat A vani nemir, k’o da je rat Oblačim kaput i odlazim Da sve zaboravim"

"Only a few hours left till dawn And outside unrest, as if a war is on I put my coat on and leave To forget everything"

Balkan ballads are one of the main joys out of Eurovision; obviously from that region, they feature folk instrumentation and sad lyrics about love. Vukovi umiru sami fits into this mold well, but I only managed to put this in tenth place because of the variety of songs on offer, ranging from glam rock to a wholesome peace ballad.

Over time, however, it has grown on me.

The poetic lyrics stood out the most for me--they tell of an end of a relationship on the Danube (which really grounds the song in its origins, despite the fact I associate it with Central European countries as a whole) and the loneliness of the man in it. There's a mournful nature about it, especially with the choir in the background.

And the way it build is so fantastic, amplifying the story and the stakes. The "Dunavoms" between the last two choruses are well-done and elevate this song to greatness.

I planned to rewatch 2005 to see how my rankings change, and thought it would get to be in my top five. Because of a typo on my list, I needed another song to fit the overall order of the list.

And finally, Vukovi umiru sami is in my top five. :)

Personal ranking: 5th/39 Actual ranking: 11th/24 GF in Kyiv

#205: Marlayne -- One Good Reason (the Netherlands 1999)

“Give me one good reason and I will give you two Say: "I love you forever", say you will, say you do...”

The guitar intro made me think this would be a song I would listen to outside of Eurovision. It reminded me of Michelle Branch’s songs in the early 2000s (of which, Breathe is my current all-time favorite song); her debut album, The Spirit Room, would only be released in 2001!

Alternatively, it has a very country-pop vibe, but it still has a sense of optimism which continues through the entire song. I love how sunny and earnest it is, and it got a really solid result out of it! Unfortunately, it would be the Netherlands' best placing until 2013, but at least it was a jolt of quality in a mediocre year.

Personal ranking: 4th/23 Actual ranking: 8th/23 in Jerusalem

#204: Niamh Kavanaugh -- In Your Eyes (Ireland 1993)

“Love's been building bridges between your heart and mine I'm safe here on my island, but I'm out on the edge this time”

One of the most nail-biting votes in Eurovision came in this particular contest: because Malta's phone connection malfunctioned, they had to wait until the end to give their points. At that point, Ireland was 11 points ahead, which means if Malta gave the runner-up their twelve, the latter would win by one point.

The Maltese jury ended up giving Ireland their twelve, which would give Ireland their second consecutive win in the 1990s, along with a point record which would only last a year.

I’ve never felt the vulnerability of falling in love, but I love the narrative arc in the lyrics, which crescendos with the chorus. Niamh’s voice is a bit harsh at times, but delivers on it with a stately grace in a choice suit.

What also seals In Your Eyes for me was the graceful orchestration thanks to Noel Kelehan. It's especially prevalent in the chorus--the studio cut doesn't do it justice...

Personal ranking: =6th/25 Actual ranking: 1st/25 in Millstreet

#203: Sonia -- Better the Devil You Know (United Kingdom 1993)

“I'll give you my heart and my soul if you give me your love..”

...not unlike with the song Ireland was competing with for the win! While the studio cut is decent enough, Better the Devil You Know wouldn't have gotten so close to victory without the live music aspect of it.

It’s not only the orchestration here, but also Sonia’s fun performance and her cute moves. The track is reminiscent of SAW, but it feels like being at a sock hop in a diner and dancing the night away. The backing vocalists do a good job too; I like how they harmonize the in the chorus .

That all being said, would've this made a better winner? It's hard to tell--it would've been more upbeat than most of the 1990s other winners, but In Your Eyes has aged quite well. And I have several other favorites, so I'm not the best one to comment on it.

Personal ranking: =6th/25 Actual ranking: 2nd/25 in Millstreet

#202: Serebro -- Song #1 (Russia 2007)

“Gotta tease you, nasty guy So take it, don't be shy Put your cherry on my cake And taste my cherry pie”

Unfortunately, song #1 neither placed on top of the 2007 class, nor was it the first song performed that year So, in more than one case, Song #1 is a misnomer.

Nor are they particularly unique amongst bands--Serebro has some similarities to tATu in 2003, in that they are a girl group with a sensual aesthetic. But while tATu's Eurovision entry is more dark, Serebro's has more attitude and edge.

Such saucy lyrics are what makes Song #1 such a total jam, albeit one the fandom overlooks. The dark production increases the attitude of this song, and I love the girls’ stage presence too! Especially those costumes (again, going back to the tATu comparisons, in that they were best known for their school uniforms, hehe); they never fail in adding some sexiness to the performance.

Personal ranking: 5th/42 Actual ranking: 3rd/24 GF in Helsinki

#201: Severina -- Moja stikla (Croatia 2006)

“Zvrc, zvrc, tražit ćeš moj broj, Kuc, kuc, kucaj nekoj drugoj, Jer još trava nije nikla, Tamo gdje je stala moja štikla!”

"Ring, ring, you'll search for my number, Knock, knock, go knocking somewhere else, For the grass has not yet sprouted, Where my high heel has stepped!”

There’s a lot of silly lyrics in Moja Stikla. From mentioning “sex” to “Afrika Paprika”, it’s easy to suggest that this is nonsensical. I’m reading over the lyrics again myself, and they tell quite a different story—of a woman who just wants men to stop hitting on her.

Even now, I'm still confused on how Zumba and African paprika make sense in avoiding men. Or high heels.

But it all doesn't matter when the music starts. Severina's backing vocalists add to the performances, with their solid harmonies and fun presence. Combined with Severina’s own high energy, it’s a good example of turbo folk (even though there was a bit of controversy about whether it actually sounds like Croatian music), and it’s all kinds of fun!

Personal ranking: 4th/37 Actual ranking: =12th/24 GF in Athens

#esc 250 #esc top 250 #esc germany #esc ireland #esc slovenia #esc greece #esc croatia #esc netherlands #esc russia #esc united kingdom #vintage eurovision #three minutes to eternity

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

get to know me tag

I was tagged by @ammocharis! thank you! :)

answer questions / tag blogs, u know the drill :)

nickname: Jade

gender: [dial-up internet noise] but she/her pronouns are fine

height: p much everyone I meet (online OR in person) assumes I am taller than I actually am, which is intentional. 

time(zone): its mountain time baby

song stuck in my head: the Orpheus & Eurydice song from the Hades soundtrack because my friend sent me a post about Orpheus 

last movie: Wolfwalkers!!!!!! It was so beautiful and charming. I recommend every movie Cartoon Saloon puts out this one included!

last show: some netflix competition show about glassblowing, as background noise while working. I’ve watched a lot of that sort of thing lately because I’ve been too busy to really devote my attention to anything :(

when did you create this blog: hm, I don’t actually know how to look that up. Sometime in 2016 after I’d been obsessed with DA:I for a while and decided it was enough content to merit its own sideblog off my main account. I would guess maybe March? 

what do I post: most of my Bioware reblogs go over here now, both Dragon Age and Mass Effect :) plus my original fanric, fanart, and bioware-themed crafting! Also some general writing advice/memes/etc since this is the account I interact with more fanwriters through. My non-fandom art, writing, and crafts go onto my main blog, @songofsaraneth!

last thing googled: “kinds of fruit spiky” becuase I was trying to remember the name of a new weird fruit I have eaten. My 2021 resolution is a continuation of my 2020 resolution, which is to eat more strange fruits! As in if I go to the grocery store, and there is a fruit for sale I have never tried before or not eaten in a long time, I buy one and sample it :) The fruit in question for this googling btw was “rambutan”! It was good, pretty sweet and sort of like a juicy gummy in texture. 

do I get asks: every now and then I get a fit of inspiration and reblog a bunch of prompt lists in a row, and then when people actually send them and I look in my inbox, I go “Hmmmm” and vanish for a week becuase writing is hard. so sorry if you have ever sent me a prompt, i promise you i made a word document with the prompt copied and pasted into it before i got moody and went out for a hike instead. No one wants to know what the inside of my WIP folder looks like...

why I chose my url: I was just desperately searching for any DA/Solas related url that wasn’t already claimed, at the height of the DAI fandom heyday. I’m sure many are free now.

following: 503... and so many dead

followers: 648 it looks like

average hours of sleep: depends on how early I have to be awake the following day. If I have no obligations I’ll sleep for ~7 hours or so. But if I do then usually less since I’m fairly nocturnal and it’s really hard for me to fall asleep. I’d guess 5-7 on average, but sometimes with bad nights of only 3-4.

instruments: I spent the last several years learning Taiko Drumming from an amazing group of older women in the town I lived in. I was heartbroken to move and no longer be able to drum last summer. I could still practice on my own just with the motions/no drum, but losing the group energy element of it really makes me too sad to do so. I also grew up playing classical flute from grade school through the start of college, and once in college transitioned a bit to tin whistle instead. I’ve collected a variety of flutes/whistles/piccolos over the years in different styles but am not good about playing them on my own.

dream job: literal dragon, but i’d settle for mermaid astronaut

dream trip: I’ve been recently obsessed with Greenland. Also, anywhere tropical. 

last book I read: I’m currently almost done with of A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner

favorite food: cheese... like a really nice charcuterie board with a nice variety of cheeses + cured meats + jams + fruit + crackers. though Charis’ answer for this was homemade pizza and oh boy am I craving that now

nationality: All 4 of my grandparents were 1st generation americans! So I’m a mix of Lithuanian, Irish, Italian, and the other 1/4 is a German/Belgian/European mystery 

favorite song: gosh so many. I’ve recently been in a country/country-gothic/folk/folk-rock mood because of a D&D game I’m a part of, so here’s a link to the playlist for my character that fits that vibe

top three fictional universes: hmmm i’m going to go with besides the obvious DA/ME universes (which I love to play in even if i wouldn’t want to live in them)... so I’ll pick Middle Earth, Star Trek, and Animorphs :)

i will tag: @nug-juggler  @raposabranca  @thebookworm0001  @m-m-m-myysurana ohhhhhh thats all my brain will give me off the top of my head right now but everyone feel free to play along & tag me :)

#ramblings #tumblr games #not bioware content

[fandomshatelgbtqpeople]

mod a’s lgbt musicals

Hi there! I’m a big theatre kid so I thought for pride month I’d put together a list of LGBTQ musicals. Despite its association with queer people, musical theatre is not known for its amazing representation. I’ve put together a list here of musicals I know of with queer characters. I’ve tried to avoid those where the queer characters are incredibly minor roles or those where the representation is just not good enough to be salvageable (*side eyes Legally Blonde*) I know there are many musicals I will have missed out but these are the ones I am most aware of. Feel free to add more! So without further ado, here it is.

Fun Home

The big Tony winner of 2015! Based on Alison Bechdel, a butch lesbian cartoonist. At the age of 43, she looks for new material by trying to explore her past and her relationship with her closeted gay dad. Looks back at a version of herself when she was 10 and a “tomboy” and at 19 when she came out and got her first girlfriend. Has very cute lighthearted moments as well as very sad moments. Has a beautiful song where small Alison sees a butch deliverywoman. Problems in that since the original broadway cast, Alison’s costume has got less butch. Content warning for suicide.

Here’s their Tony performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMAuesRJm1E

The Color Purple

Based on Alice Walker’s novel about black women in the 1930s. Follows Celie who has been abused by men her whole life who discovers she is a lesbian but also makes a journey of self discovery and learns to love herself. Her love interest is a bisexual woman. Won best revival at the Tonys in 2016. Content warning for discussion/implied sexual abuse.

Here’s their Tony performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k2xzQyT2bk

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

A teenage gay boy in Sheffield wants to be a drag queen and go to prom in a dress.Also a nice touch that is does not focus on him having a relationship (since he is sixteen) and him having to come out as he is already out. Focuses on his close relationship with his supportive mother. Has a diverse cast. Jamie is currently played by a black actor and his best friend wears a hijab and has a very diverse ensemble as well. Unfortunately has a part where Jamie responds to a homophobic bully by calling him a bunch of ableist and classist slurs.

Here’s a clip of the most popular song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7C3FuFWDdw

The Prom

Emma is a lesbian teenager in Indiana whose prom is cancelled by the PTA after she requests to bring her girlfriend to it. A group of Broadway actors come down to help her campaign to be allowed to attend prom, as well as styling her, helping her work on her confidence and educating the town’s people. What ensues is basically a two hour musical episode of Queer Eye. Cheesy and fun with so many musical theatre references crammed in. My one issue is that the show is rather harsh on people who are closeted since Emma has conflicted with her girlfriend Alyssa because she is not ready to come out.

Here’s a clip of their Tony performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGcG_r5xv3E

Rent

Probably the most well known on this list. Artists in New York during the AIDS crisis. Two of the main couples featured are queer: Maureen is bisexual and in a relationship with Joanne who is a lesbian, and Angel is a transgender woman of color in a relationship with Collins, a presumably bisexual man. However, she tends to be played bi cis men and there are instances of her being misgendered by the main characters uncritically. In Rent Live (2019), all instances of her being misgendered were removed and her gender identity was confirmed. She was played in this by Valentina, an nb drag queen and has also been played by Pose’s MJ Rodriguez, a trans woman. Very diverse with Jewish characters and people of colour and in the live show, only 1 of the 8 main characters was white. Has been criticised over the years, mainly for its biphobic portrayal of Maureen who is promiscuous and implied to cheat, but in the 90s did a lot for the LGBTQ community and is more progressive than a lot of media even now.

Here’s a clip of Maureen and Joanne from Rent Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06oCfKYYPTY

And here’s some Angel and Collins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hl-M94o_x8

Falsettos

Marvin comes out as gay in the late 70s but decides to move his ex wife and son in with his boyfriend. Addresses AIDS crisis in Act 2. Has “lesbians from next door” in act 2. F Revived on Broadway in 2016. All of the characters are Jewish. Unfortunately, in revival casts, very few actors tend to be Jewish.

Here’s the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjnAHOdMQVk

Come From Away

In the aftermath of 9/11, 38 planes are diverted to a small town in Canada called Gander. Shows people of different races and nationalities bonding in a scary time. Addresses Islamophobia. Has one song called Prayer where prayers from different religions overlap. Has an interracial gay couple called Kevin and Kevin. They break up in the end but are very important characters. Won best direction of a musical in 2017. The Broadway production starred Jenn Colella who has referred to herself as ‘mostly gay’.

Here’s a clip of Jenn Colella singing a song from the musical: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8ukgH6U-d0

Head Over Heels

Honestly I don’t quite know what this musical is about, even by reading the plot summary and listening to the soundtrack. I know it’s set in a Tudor fantasy world and that there are wlw couples as well as an explicitly non binary character, played by Peppermint, a trans woman, and that there are interracial couples and plus sized actors. It is a jukebox musical using songs by the Go-Gos and yes the wlw anthem that is Heaven is a Place on Earth is one of them. The soundtrack is fantastic even if you can’t follow what is going on.

Here are some show clips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx2qQ7QAPm0

Spring Awakening

German school kids in the 19th century discovering their sexuality. Two of the schoolboy supporting characters, Ernst and Hänschen, have a romance when they have a reprise of an earlier song in Act 2.  A BIG content warning as it has graphic discussions of rape and songs about it and a sex scene with very dubious consent. However there was a very wonderful 2016 revival using deaf actors and sign language.

This is another one you can very easily find the full show of on YouTube which I won’t link. However here’s the Tony performance for the revival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSagsMcak4Q

If/Then

A woman named Elizabeth (originally played by Idina Menzel) moves to New York after a divorce and contemplated how different her life would be if she took two different paths. Four supporting queer characters. Her ex-boyfriend is bisexual and played by Anthony Rapp (who is bisexual in real life) and he gets a boyfriend in one timeline. Another of her friends is a lesbian called Kate who marries her girlfriend in the musical. Problems occur as in both timelines, cheating goes on in the lesbian relationship although they stay together in one. Elizabeth also says she doesn’t believe in bisexuals, a view no one ever challenges her on, however Lucas is very clearly bisexual which is some proof for the audience that she is wrong.

I’m not going to link it here but there are many very high quality bootlegs on it on YouTube if you want to watch,

Ghost Quartet

A bit of a weird one. This is more of a concept album. There are four performers who each play instruments and they tell the stories of many interconnected timelines. It is very hard to explain but there are souls travelling through time who keep being reincarnated as different people with different relationships to each other which usually end with one woman killing the other. In the song Soldier & Rose, the ghosts Rose and Pearl are lovers as Rose seduces the soldier for her honey.  In the song Four Friends, for one chorus the men sing “I like to put my hand on a pretty girls’s knee” and the women sing “pretty boy’s knee” and then they switch for the next chorus so they’re all bisexual. In general, a lot of fun if you like weird musicals and I mean really weird.

The full show is online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJSaEJm8pCE

Mean Girls

Yes there’s a musical of it. I was not looking forward to it when it was announced but have actually grown to quite like it. It’s hardly lyrical genius but the songs are fun and a lot of the problematic aspects of the film have been fixed. Damian is more explicitly gay in the musical and sings about an ex boyfriend in one song. Janis is heavily implied to be a lesbian (confirmed by actress offstage) and she doesn’t end up with Kevin Gnapoor. She is played by a queer actress in the tour cast. Both queer characters are much bigger roles than in the movie and get several songs each. I’d consider the musical to be quite white feminist but it does address issues such as the sexualisation of teenage girls and the notion that to be ‘sexy’ is ‘empowering’.

Here’s a clip of one of Damian’s songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-zM6QKkxEQ

& Juliet

An English jukebox musical about what might have happened to Juliet in Romeo and Juliet if she had not died at the end. I haven’t seen it but I’ve listened to the soundtrack and it is mainly comprised of 21st century songs by women. One of Juliet’s best friends is non binary although is played by a cis man as far as we know. Also I went to the same school as one of the actors which is a bonus for me. Very diverse cast.

Here’s a trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm2k9nS3o20

In Transit

A capella musical about several people’s adventures on New York public transport. Two of the main characters in this ensemble cast are an interracial gay couple where both are pocs. They are engaged but one of them is having trouble coming out to his mother. I found it refreshing in that his fiance for the most part was not upset with him at his struggles in coming out and they were both able to live fulfilling lives despite this. I am always astonished by the talent of a cappella singers.

Here’s a trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhvik6qoass  Another one where the bootleg can be found very easily on YouTube

Firebringer

Remember A Very Potter Musical? Well, the company that did that are still putting out new pieces of theatre on their YouTube channel. In 2016, they put out their ridiculous comedy musical Firebringer, about a group of bisexual cavewomen. I won’t spoil the ending but trust me, it’s great. You may know it from the viral clip of one of the main characters singing ‘I don’t really wanna do the work today.’

You can watch the full musical here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmVuNlu0LCk

Special Mentions

Company

Musical by Stephen Sondheim about a man unable to commit to a relationship, surrounded by his friends who are all in couples. However, the award-winning 2018 West End revival chose to change the genders of some of the characters. The main character Robert became ‘Bobbie’ (although all of her love interests were gender-swapped as well). One of the originally M/F couples became an M/M couple. It opened on Broadway for about a week before the Covid outbreak so that will be one to look out for.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtDK03y4gT0

In the Heights

A musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda about the Latin American community living in Washington Heights in New York. The original theatre production has no explicitly queer characters. However, in the upcoming movie version (that was meant to be released this summer but has been pushed back to next summer) it has been confirmed that the characters of Daniela and Carla (Daphne Rubin-Vega and Stephanie Beatriz) will be explicitly a couple.

I absolutely love this musical and the trailer for the movie looks beautiful check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0CL-ZSuCrQ

#mod a #musicals #theatre #lgbtq rep

[daemadness]

1, 7, 9, 12, 16

Thanks!!! :D I’ll also put the rest under a cut because one just does not simply write short texts.

***

DIE ÄRZTE ASK GAME (click to the ask game!):

1. Wie & wann bist du auf DÄ gekommen?

It was in April 2009. My dad was on a German course and the book had “Männer sind Schweine”. The teacher (who was also later my German teacher!) liked dä so she played the song to them and my dad who’s very much into music, liked what he heard and at home of course searched for more. He then asked me (and my siblings) to come downstairs to his room because he wanted to showe us something - and it was the music video of Junge because he found it hilarious and the music really great.

At first I wasn’t sure what to think but said I could try listening to them, so then my dad started downloading and bringing me music on USB sticks all day every day until he got everything downloaded, and I just added stuff to my mp3 player whenever I got more songs. I did not speak German at all so at first I was pronouncing the name very much incorrectly (you know, “die” as in English), and sometimes I kinda miss it how I just saw a bunch of gibberish on my mp3 player screen. I still remember being in a work training at a horse stable and shoveling hay to a wheelbarrow, and my strongest memory is about the album Geräusch and I will always associate Anti-Zombie with this one horse box I was cleaning and it’s possible that I got obsessed with this album so that I started the day with it and was always cleaning the horse boxes in the same order. But I only remember Anti-Zombie and how I just suddenly realized that this song is one of the best I have EVER heard. (It still is! And Geräusch was my favorite album for a very long time and it’s still my favorite 2000s album.)

***

7. Lieblings-Bandmitglied?

I don’t really have a favorite? Like, musically I like Farin’s songs the most but some of my ultimate favorite songs come from Rod, too, like Anti-Zombie, T-Error, Geisterhaus (I think the best Rod songs are on Geräusch and those are some of the best dä songs overall as well), Mondo Bondage, Morgens Pauken, Sohn der Leere, Bang Bang (Instrumental)... I bet there’s also great 90s songs but I just forgot about everything again. Anyhow, I’ve never been that much into Bela’s songs. He has many really great ones too, but usually my favorite Bela songs are those that Rod has written with him. Which also explains why I’ve never been that fond of Bela’s solo music (I own the first two albums) and why I like FU/FURT the most from these two. I can’t say anything about Rod’s solo stuff or other bands as I have never listened to those, but I’m very much into movie scores and kinda interested in hearing what his movie scores sound like but I’m lazy and have memory issues and motivation issues so I don’t know more than that. (But I wish he did more songs for dä, I miss the times when he still had more than just 1-2 songs on an album. Although, I never witnessed the release of those albums but still :D)

But if this question is about them as people, then I guess it’s Bela and because I’ve just always been so amazed by his open-mindedness, you know? Like, he seems so genuine and caring and that he has had his feet on the ground at all times? (Or if he didn’t when he was younger, then he has learnt from that and can see that now, at least from what I have read from the books.) A while back I had an ask (to an ask game) on my mainblog, to choose between Bela and Farin and that post got a bit longer and you can find a deeper answer to this from that one. But let’s just say I tend to get super protective over Bela if anyone dares to claim he hasn’t always been as open-minded as what he now seems to be :D

Farin is way too similar to me and even tho he’s very relatable, especially what comes to the sense of humour, I still don’t agree on everything he says or does. And too much is too much. About Rod I don’t know enough because he doesn’t speak much and when he does, I usually don’t understand what he says because he (and Bela) is sometimes really bad at articulating and as a German learner it’s very difficult to make sense of anything he (or they) say sometimes. AN ex-friend once claimed I don’t know anything about Rod because I simply just don’t care about him and like..... no??? Also I don’t control it what my brain finds interesting, but I swear that one day I’m gonna read both dä books from cover to cover and I’m not gonna skip anything and then I’ll know more about Rod too.

***

9. Ein Lied, mit dem du viel verbindest?

“Allein”, definitely. Do you know that feeling when you listen to music, an album or song you have listened to so many times before, and then suddenly something just... hits and you hear a song the way you have never heard it before and you’re overwhelmed and mindblown? Yeah, that’s what happened to me with Allein. I don’t remember the exact year when that happened but I remember I was sitting in my car at a grocery store’s parking lot, listening to music and waiting for someone from my family to come out of the store.

Wait I actually found a post from my old Finnish blog from April 2010 about this song and the moment when it hit me!!! The post says the song became my favorite from Jazz ist anders! when I heard it for the first time, and this moment^ was the first time I read it lyrics and the first time ever I felt that lyrics also meant something to me. I was not able to translate anything myself yet but I found the song with English subtitles form youtube (now deleted) and that’s how I understood the story in the song.

So, I was almost 19 and relating to “Allein” a lot. Now it’s almost 11 years later and I’m (still) 29 and I STILL relate to this song so much and now also to the career part because I literally have been working with horses for over 10 years and have been studying them and I’m not sure why and now I don’t know if I even want to do this for the rest of my life or not. Idk, maybe it’s a bit sad too that for the past 10 years I have related to this song this much when it’s about loneliness... but it just doesn’t seem to end, idk if it will ever end, to be honest.

***

12. Findest du die Musik von vor oder nach der Reunion besser?

I would say the music after the reunion, but I’m also really fond of their 80s music, especially the self-titled album. I was lucky enough to find the original -86 release on vinyl, in perfect condition even, and you don’t understand how much that record means to me. I hate the song Geschwisterliebe and I will always skip that (especially now as I am able to follow lyrics from audio somewhat) but I still refuse to own a version of the album without that song. So that record really is very dear to my and my treasure and I sometimes take it out just to look at it and to be happy about the fact it’s MINE.

But anyway, to answer this question, I think I have to answer that I like the post-reunion music more because the 90s is my favorite dä time of all times. Planet Punk is still my fave dä album EVER, 13 is also a favorite, and I love Die Bestie, and all the interview and live and other video material from the 90s is also something I never get tired of watching. Maybe it’s because I was born in 1991 and 90s was my childhood so it feels familiar and safe? I don’t know. But I tend to be drawn to 90s music with all bands I like and if those bands have had a 90s phase. I guess there’s something about the 90s punk rock that I just like that also dä has.

***

16. Was macht Die Ärzte besonders?

Does this mean “what makes dä special”? Well, I’m gonna answer to that anyway even if it doesn’t mean that :D So I would say it’s the variety they have in their songs. They have loads of songs and albums and I still haven’t heard one song that would sound like some other song of theirs. (Apart from Hell, it has several songs that remind me of their older songs and I haven’t decided yet if that’s good or bad.)

There’s also pretty much something for everyone - which might also backfire because I actually knew someone who likes dä too but somehow we happened to like the opposite songs only. Like, you both can be fans and still not agree on favorite songs or even favorite albums or eras. It’s weird. So it feels like “yay we like the same band!!!” but in the end you don’t have anything in common because you don’t like the same things even within one band’s music...

For me dä is special because when I found about them, I was no longer actively searching for new music to listen to. And still they did and somehow all that diversity in their music was insane. Like, the singer’s voice is super important for me and I have turned down so many bands just because I don’t like the singer’s voice or singing style, and somehow this band has three singers and I like ALL OF THEM. Like, what are the odds??? So after getting used to their songs and learning song and album names and other stuff, I literally felt that I had actually found the music that has everything I need from music. I didn’t need to look for the best band ever because I already found it, no other band can top them, a band that would make better music than die ärzte just simply does not exist. And I’m totally happy with that which is why it took me years to even start listening to new music and new bands because I just didn’t need them anymore, I already had dä, you know. I was told (by the same ex-friend who said I just don’t care about Rod) that no band is superior than others but this person refused to understand when I tried to explain that they are superior to ME. And they are superior to me and I don’t give a fuck if others think I’m wrong, it’s my opinion and my favorite band and I have a right to say that they are the best band ever if they are the best band ever for me.

#answered asks #ask games #mcrmadness rambles

[pluviophile-bookworm]

Ask game: let’s get to know each other better (personal questions)

Answer the questions (as long as it doesn’t make you uncomfortable - you don’t have to answer all of them) and tag people you want to get to know better:

1. How old are you? 20

2. What are your pronouns? she/her

3. What’s your sexual/romantic orientation? aromantic asexual

4. Hair colour: light brown

5. Eye colour: dark brown

6. Favourite colour(s)/ colours you associate yourself with: purple, any shade of it; also grey - I feel like they’re middle grounds between two extremes (red/blue - I see them as opposite ends of a scale, and black/white)

7. Where are you from? Varna, Bulgaria. I sometimes live in the capital, Sofia, though, because I study there. 

8. What’s your dream career? translator. I’ve known it since I was ten and translating a big thick book from Bulgarian into German. 

9. What languages do you speak beside English? Bulgarian (native), German and Spanish. I’m learning Italian at the moment and I sort of understand Russian but can’t speak it. 

10. Favourite book (series): Harry Potter and the entire Riordanverse. I’m also fond of The Three Musketeers.

11. Favourite movie(s): Catch Me if You Can and The Sound of Music.

12. Favourite series: Anne with an E, Tangled the series, Full House and Doogie Howser MD among several others.

13. Favourite fandom you’re in: the Riordanverse fandom.

14. Top 3 OTPs: Solangelo (Riordanverse), Romione (Harry Potter), Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth (Pride and Prejudice)

15. What’s your Hogwarts house? Hufflepuff, but I’ve got some Ravenclaw traits as well. 

16. Top 3 favourite songs (you can name more if you feel like it): Bigger Than That (Tangled the series), Little People (Les Miserables), The Room Where it Happens (Hamilton)

17. What are your hobbies? reading, drawing, singing, colouring, going to see musicals

18. Do you believe in higher powers? Yes, I am a Hellenistic pagan and I consider Apollo and Hermes my godly fathers. I also believe all other gods from different religions exist, I just don’t worship them. 

19. Things that make you happy: chatting with my internet friends, performing crowd songs from musical and playing every part, Jeremy Jordan’s voice, translation classes with my favourite prof., the smell of very old or brand new books, random music unrelated to the current situation, dark chocolate with orange peel shavings

20. Any unpopular opinions (on anything you can think of)? I don’t avoid spoilers, I enjoy them because it’s nice to smile knowingly when things happen that you knew would happen and because they’re a good trigger warning that prepares you for the worst. For example, I haven’t yet read The Burning Maze from the Trials of Apollo series, but I know about the one big thing that happens in it and it won’t hit me as hard when I finally read the book. 

I’m tagging @whereeverythingisnew, @summergirl2408 and @ellakay69

[szivtalan]

1, 2, 3, 4, 19, 26, 32, 34, 36, 38, 41, 43, 44, 47, 53, 54, 69, 72, 80, 83, 84, 92, 105, 107, 112, 113, 115, 118, 132, 135, 136, 137 for the ask some question thing please?

Oh shit this will be so long and I can't put a line break anywhere yells I'm Sorry

1) 3 Fears

- living at my hometown/country for my entire life and not seeing nor experiencing the rest of the world at all

- not making any impact on this world, leaving it as I found it

- needles

2) 3 things I love

- friends, my brother

- laying down on the ground on a sunny day and staring up at the sky, watching the clouds roll by

- dogs

3) 2 turn ons

- someone making an effort to talk to me and basically letting me know they think about me

- I think homiro said gentleness and I agree yeah, being kind-hearted and soft spoken and attentive to people around you,,,,, Yeah that shit good

4) 2 turn offs

- people feeling the need to express superiority over others at any given moment

- general intolerance

19) How I feel right now

Kind of really sad.... Annoyed that I can't sleep, a whole lot anxious about things, worried about the ringing in my ears being back

26) The reasons I joined Tumblr

I genuinely cannot remember, maybe it was to look at inumog doujinshis in my Shizaya days

32) Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level?

Depends, low when I need to focus on something else, loud when I want to just let it get to me and dissociate

34) Am I excited for anything?

My binder!!! I want That,,, also, the things I ordered for me and a friend, my date tomorrow, meeting my friends on Tuesday (maybe), and on a long-term, I think starting school again, moving out and maybe traveling a lil.

36) How often do I wear a fake smile?

I think I do it a lot, especially if I'm not getting something or just want to be nice. Honey I work in customer service, being nice is part of my contract

38) What do I think about most?

If I made/am making the right choices.

41) Do I perfer talking on the phone or video chatting online?

I think video chatting is nicer bc u don't just hear people, you can also see their faces and therefore interpret their words better

43) Do I believe in magic?

No fam

44) Do I believe in luck?

Uhhh I don't think so? I just think things have consequences and everything is interconnected. I believe in happy coincidences.

47) Do I have any nicknames?

Vicki, Vic, Viku, Vee, Vitya, Shinai (notice how one of these doesn't fit w the rest) and yeah I guess Vamos

53) What's my favorite word?

Maybe szerelmeskedés (it's hungarian for lovemaking, but we have two words for love: 'szeretet' which is more on the platonic side, and 'szerelem' which contains the infatuated aspect of it. The stem "love" in this word is based on the latter, whereas the more common 'szeretkezés' has the first sort of love in it)

54) My top 5 blogs on Tumblr

JUST FIVE? Ah fuck @homiro @kuwoko @transbucky @incorrectbballboys @takao-au-lait

69) Gotten my heart broken?

Several times. You know, you'd think once you get through the first couple of heartbreaks you stop hoping and harden your heart, but mine's still plenty delicate and I just...keep getting my hopes up all the time.

72) Learned another language?

Yeah I mean adgj I've been learning English for over 14 years (give or take), learned some German in first grade and high school, Latin for 4 years and French for one and a half. I also tried Russian and Swedish in duolingo but it's just not the same u know

80) What do I want for birthday?

My friends to be happy and safe.

83) Have I ever got caught sneaking out or doing anything bad?

Mmm one time we as a class got caught drinking hard liquor, we were like 14 and some of us were seriously sloshed. Like near alcohol poisoning. We were all scolded harshly lol, but as an individual I think I've evaded being caught with shit so far. Which is incredible. I did so much stupid shit

84) What I'm really bad at

I suuuck at playing the guitar. My hearing's kinda wonky anyway, so I don't even actually know if my singing voice's nice or not, but I cannot carry a tune on guitar for dear life. I've been trying to learn this song, and it's a total of 4 chords, and the progress is terrible

92) What kind of people are you attracted to?

Sweet people who turn out to be sort of damaged, uh. Tall dudes with kind smiles and ropey muscles, and every girl ever probably. I can't really explain, looking back on my dating/crushing history, I do have a range dang

105) What do you do when you wake up?

Ideally, I lay in bed for a few more hours, have some adult fun time by myself, go out of my room, get washed up, make coffee, eat breakfast, get dressed. When I don't have time to do all this, I get half-dressed, eat, wash up, and dress up the rest of the way.

107) Do you ever want to get married?

....ha. As a child of divorce, I don't exactly believe in the sanctity of marriage, but like dude, who knows what will I think when I get there with a partner.

112) Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?

Some do, when there's willingness to change and grow. But it's better to be wary if you do grant them second chances, because they might go down the same path unconsciously - sometimes it's just all they know, you know?

113) Do you smile at strangers?

Yeah, at everyone who seems nice to me. Shit, I do fake-smile a lot.

115) Ever wished you were someone else?

Only pfff all the time?

118) Ever won a competition? For what?

I don't think I have, but we did get a gold medal with our drama club at senior year of high school at a big nationwide event. I mean, we weren't the only one with a gold, it didn't exactly mean first place, but it was stil very cool!!

132) Do you type fast?

I think so, yes? One time my brother's best friend asked me about how fast I typed so I opened a new Facebook post and typed "[his name] is a butthole that's how fast" and he laughed sgfjd

135) Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt?

*aggressively sighs* YEAh a lot of folks okay!! I'm sensitive and I feel a lot

136) Is cheating ever okay?

No. It isn't.

137) Do you believe in true love?

I mean, I want to, but I think my ability to fall for someone in a matter of seconds kind of cheapens the whole love thing for me. I believe it exists, and that it's out there, but knowing it is and believing that I won't really experience it makes me really sad.

#ask and i shall answer #long post #meiyanaalexia #i'd reread but its so late and my eyes are tired just looking at this #holy fuck i wrote a lot #i even typed out the questions by hand instead of copy pasting #but yeah anyway its late im pining this was a good distraction thank

[obligatorylangblrblog]

What Intentional Language Study Actually Looks Like

I have the great privilege of being partnered with/living with a pretty fantastic German teacher who is endlessly patient with me. In an effort to be more organized with my language learning, I stumbled onto the graphic below in a reddit post and she helped me turn it into concrete actions I can take when I want to put in the time. I wanted to share it with Langblr because I’m grateful with the inspiration it provides me and I hope if people have concrete steps they can take then more people will post in this tag to keep me inspired! Selfish I know. :P

(Click on it to enlarge it, it’s easier to read that way)

Language Course/Language Grammar Study

For people looking to learn using completely free materials, this is the section that will be the hardest from what I can tell. 

Her recommendations for me were to use a book we have on German Grammar Drills she found for cheap at Half Price Books. Each section opens with a little bit about the grammar rule in question and then is followed by several exercises. She recommended I take notes on the grammar section as if I was trying to explain it to someone else. Then perform the grammar drills on a separate page or make a copy so that I can redo the drills later if I need. 

We also have other books on Verb, Pronoun, and Proposition Drills that she’s picked up over the years and she recommended a similar course with them. 

After doing the exercise, she recommended using a German graded reader (mine is Cafe in Berlin), a song, or a German book and looking for examples of the grammar rule in action. I can copy the sentence, underline the relevant part and label it. 

After that she recommended producing sentences with the grammar rule itself either with vocabulary I’m learning or as a part of language journaling - where you journal about your day in another language (maybe using a site like lang-8 or by hand).  Language Core Vocabulary

Here again I’m very lucky because my partner found a frequency dictionary at Half Price a while back and it is unendingly helpful. But frequency word lists can also be found for free online. 

Here I’m slowly working through making flash cards both digital and physical for the first 1,000 most common German words. 

I am also collecting words from my reading/listening practice and turning them into flashcards too. 

She will occasionally give me vocabulary lists for related topics when I ask her to. They’re usually related to conversations we have the most frequently. And I turn those into flashcards too. 

Basically, make flashcards and review them.

Making labels for things in your house in the target language helps too.  

Reading Practice

I have a graded reader I’m using called Cafe in Berlin. It’s an ebook and it’s fantastic. I highly recommend looking for something similar in your target language if possible. 

We also have some German children’s books that I’ll be using eventually. She got me The Little Prince in German for Christmas since it was a text I’d read in English and French. 

My goal is to someday be able to read through Siddhartha in the original German as it’s one of my favorite books. 

I also use German news sites to get used to reading that style of writing in the language. I’ve got a few German comic books on my wishlist. 

Basically find texts in your target language that aren’t super outside of your level. Note grammar rules used. Write down vocab you don’t understand well and add it to your vocab system. Review it when you do your vocab time. 

Listening Practice

If you’re studying a fairly well used languages, a lot of times the government of the country most associated with the language will put out learning materials for free online. Germany is amazing with this and is honestly the best out of any language I’ve studied. 

One series I’m using for listening practice is called Nico’s Weg that follows a guy who speaks next to no German (with an inexplicably perfect accent) who lost his bag and his passport when he came to Germany and his trials and tribulations to get the bag back and reunite with his aunt who he came to visit. It’s kind of bizarre but it covers a lot of good ground. It’s got German subtitles and people speak slow so it’s perfect beginner’s practice. 

Try to find a graded video series in your target language. It might take some googling but many have them. 

I also will use News in Slow German when I’m slightly further along since being able to listen to that kind of information is important in a language. 

For my french, I found Le Petit Prince on youtube as an audiobook and I’ll be using that to review. Look for children’s audiobooks, especially classics, on YouTube. 

My partner is also a big fan of song dissection where you listen to a song through and try to write down as many of the lines as you hear them. Then look the song up and try to sing along with it as you’re able. 

With all of these, translate the words you don’t know and add to vocab. 

Speaking Practice

Here I’m very lucky, I usually just strike up a conversation with my partner and see how long I can last. 

But for reviewing French where I don’t have a conversation partner anymore because of my mom’s stroke, she recommended reading aloud. 

For people who are further along, she recommended finding questionnaires (her suggestion was specifically for RPG characters and the like) and answering them out loud as if someone has just asked you it as a question. 

Another option is to read a text and have an imaginary conversation with someone about it out loud. You could ask a character questions, perhaps make up their answers. 

The point is to practice spontaneously producing the language out loud. 

Conclusion

I hope this helps other people like it’s helped me. So often language learning just felt so vague and I had no idea what to even do. Having concrete actions like this along with how much time to spend on it and what to focus on has made a big difference. 

#langblr #langspo #studyspo #how to study a language #studyblr

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

I’ve lived in Canada all my life, and one thing I’m enjoying about watching all these British panel shows is the longer I watch, the more cultural references I get. I’ve actually found that, when I go back and watch British shows I’ve seen before, I get a lot of references that I missed before (that’s happening with The Thick of It right now, which is a show I’ve seen so many times over the years that I have the lines just about memorized, so it’s very cool get something new out of it this time around).

Anyway, I Google some of the references I don’t understand (I currently have a four-page document of words/phrases that mean one thing in North America and something else in Britain so I can keep track of it all), but I also like how much information I just sort of absorb unintentionally. I’d like to use this post to catalogue what I have learned about three important British institutions. These are all things I’ve learned just from watching panel shows; I haven’t Googled any of this.

Spice Girls

What I knew before 2020: I was about seven years old when the Spice Girls were big. I was in elementary school, and my best friend and I both identified as tomboys. The popular girls in our class become obsessed with the Spice Girls. Some of my earliest memories involve sitting on the playground with my best friend, watching the popular girls choreograph dances to Spice Girls songs, and talking about how stupid the Spice Girls were and how stupid those girls were for being into such silly things. Looking back, my friend and I probably both had a bit of a childhood crush on them (the popular girls, not the Spice Girls - I would not have been able to develop a crush on the Spice Girls because I refused to listen to their music or learn anything about them and I didn’t even know what they looked like).

What I know now: Posh Spice is really named Victoria Beckham (her last name may or may not have been Beckham when the Spice Girls were a thing, depending whether she was married then) and she is married to David Beckham. They might be tangentially involved in Scientology or something through Tom Cruise? Sporty Spice is Mel C. She showed up on 8 Out of 10 Cats and seemed like a relatively normal person, as far as celebrities go. Baby Spice is Emma Bunting (I probably got the last name wrong but I’m not going to look it up) and she’s the blond person who was on that episode of Not Going Out that also had Susie Dent. Scary Spice is Mel B.; she was paired with Mickey Flanagan on the 2014 Big Fat Quiz of the Year and she did not enjoy it. There is also someone named Ginger Spice.

James Acaster once tried to drown himself because he couldn’t have their album for Christmas.

The Royal Family

What I knew before 2020: There is a queen named Elizabeth. There is a prince named William and he married someone named Kate a bunch of years ago. He has a brother named Prince Harry, and he married someone named Megan Markle slightly fewer years ago. Megan Markle is half black and there are a bunch of racists who take issue with that. When I was seven years old, I was allowed to stay up several hours past my bedtime one night to watch the funeral of someone named Princess Diana, who had died because her car ran into a wall as she tried to drive away from some paparazzi reporters.

There is some German blood in the British royal family (I learned that fun fact from Blackadder season 4).

What I know now: Queen Elizabeth is married to Prince Phillip and they’re both approximately 300 years old. She has corgis and he’s a racist (I mean, I'm sure she's a racist too, that's just not part of the cultural running joke). They have a son named Prince Charles. Charles was married to Diana, and they had two sons named William and Harry. Some people think Charles is not Harry’s biological father. I assume this theory is related to the fact that it sounds like there were problems in Charles and Diana’s marriage before she died. Another conspiracy theory that’s related to that is some people think the royal family had her killed on purpose. After Diana died, Charles re-married a woman named Camilla.

Prince William married Kate Middleton. She has a sister named Pippa Middleton and Pippa apparently has a very nice ass.

Prince Harry has red hair. He married Megan Markle, who is an American actress who used to be in Suits. Earlier in 2020, they quit their jobs as royalty and moved to North America. Harry dressed up as a Nazi when he was younger and was once photographed playing strip billiards. Harry was also in the armed forces in some capacity or other. He may gone to Afghanistan or something.

William and Harry each have one or more of their own babies now, and one of those babies is named George.

There’s also a person named Prince Andrew and he hung out with Jeffery Epstein and therefore is probably a pedophile. I don’t know where he fits into the family tree though.

Soccer

What I knew before 2020: Some bullshit I had to play every summer until I got old enough to tell my mom to stop signing me up for it. Kick ball around field (though they call it a “pitch” in Britain) and into net, do not touch ball with hands (unless you are a goalie). Outside of North America, people call it football and think it’s a big deal.

What I know now: Well I knew before that soccer is big outside of North America, but I have a new appreciation for just how big it is now that I’ve seen these shows and realized how often it gets talked about. I’ve also learned that a lot of the British shows I watched when I was growing up had far more soccer references in them than I realized at the time.

In 2010-2011-ish, basically all the soccer players in Britain were fucking each other’s wives and/or sex workers. This was big news in Britain because, and I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this, soccer is a big deal over there.

In news that is related to the above paragraph, there is a person named Wayne Rooney and no one likes him.

[aurorxbanks]

hello my friends !!! it is i, chelly, once again to throw my babie at you all :~) i hope y’all will love miss aurora just as much as i do, bc she holds a special place in my heart and i’m really excited to have her here! i think she’s gonna adore all of y’alls muses so :~) please don’t be shy, hit me up, i’ll be around in an inbox near you soon too to plot and chat! okay, before i ramble too too much, here is her way too long bio. love youuu

             * : ･ﾟ･✧･ meet aurora marlowe banks ･✧･ﾟ･ : *

tw: ptsd, trauma, construction accident, panic attacks, hospitals

TL:DR: oof, i struggle with coming up with a too long, don’t read for miss aurora BUT at her core, she’s just this sweet child who grew up in a really close family in maine. the banks got thrown for quite the loop after her father suffered from a massive accident, leading to many medical complications and hardship for her family. she suffers from pstd and panic attacks as a result, but she’s been blessed with a strong support system too and she manages well enough, all things considered. at the hotel, she’s a vet tech and is in her final year of becoming a veterinarian at the university of illinois - chicago. so naturally, a huge animal lover but food is also her love language and those of her two favorite ways to bond with new people. she’s timid and shy, a little naive and gullible, but a truly amazing friend and someone who loves and cares with her entire being. a good little egg and i hope y’all will love her as much as i do.

wanted connects: bc i don’t want them to get lost in the novel abys ... i’d love for her to have some vet pals, or rlly just pals who work in the pet daycare with her! if you’re a fellow cook, she’s going to ask you what your favorite recipes are with a pen and pad in hand so ... get ready for that one! she’d love a running buddy, or someone who’d spur of the moment sign up with her for marathons and such so like, bring them on, she’s an early riser so will motivate you to go train with her at 6 am - you have been warned! she’s only ever been with a few people in her life sexually and romantically, but she is very very bisexual so having an ex partner or a once upon a time crush/unrequited love could be hella !!! oof i cannot see aurora hating anyone, but something of a frenemies situation could be angsty and fun. they first met bc aurora almost ran them over while she was rollerblading and changing her song so the phrase ‘don’t text and skate’ came to exist askdf i’ve also got it in my head that her sister natalie’s fc is alycia debnam carey and her sister winifred’s fc is katherine/josephine langford so ... okay  i’m just going on and on here huh okay i’ll shut up

now, onto the WAY too long biography i wrote for her ... but here we go :~)

tw: ptsd, trauma, construction accident, panic attacks, hospitals

*:･ﾟ･✧･ who am i?: the coastal town of kennebunkport maine, tucked into the southern half of the state, was what aurora called home for most of her life. it’s a tiny little town with a population just under four thousand people, but it was during the summers that the area would come to life. her father, artie, was an architect per his degree but was a contractor by trade so he was constantly finding work to further develop what was becoming more and more of a tourist attraction each summer. so he had gotten to know the people in the town well, was often working construction jobs as he had a relatively small crew, and that meant aurora and her mother emilia were always out and about. whether they were bringing artie a bagged lunch on his break, or going down by the shore to collect sea shells even if it was the winter season, they’d become quickly and easily acquainted with everyone. and aurora wasn’t their first daughter, either, she has two older sisters: natalie and winifred aka natty and winnie. both of whom are named after their grandmothers, but winifred will tell you she got the short stick but thank god for hocus pocus because winnie is far cuter. anyways. so for the three little ducklings to be following their mama emilia, the town knew the banks family well and they were very well liked. they spent a lot of time on the beach as soon as the weather was warm enough, but they also liked driving the rv out onto the sand when it was too cold, too. they’d wear gloves and bundle up and the big fluffy german shepherd named scout would frolic along with the girls chasing after him, too. aurora spent just as much time chasing after her two older sisters, too, just wanting to keep up with them whether it be in school, or at home, or wherever. artie and emilia were high school sweethearts, moving to kennebunkport after they got married, and they were just exceptionally close and in love, maintaining their family wasn’t difficult. aurora was always a little quieter than her sisters, shier and slower to jump into conversation about whatever book she was reading or joining in on the chalk drawing all over the sidewalks with the neighbors, but she was every bit as present as her sisters were, too. it was truly a community, and one that aurora didn’t ever realize that she was going to be needing as desperately as she did after the accident.

*:･ﾟ･✧･ a new reality: when she was ten, her father was in a massive accident on one of his worksites as he was building a new beach house on a newly developed property. which was more of a mansion, truly, and the landscaping was still being mulled over. it left for some interesting scaffolding, even fault in some spots, and it was one wrong step that left her father falling a few floors down onto a bed of hard gravel below. as a result, he was in the hospital for the better part of a year as he suffered from a severe head injury as well as a broken back that took too long to heal as he was especially susceptible to complications given his type one diabetes rendering him immunocompromised. needless to say, aurora and her family spent a lot of time in the hospital during that beyond difficult year. emilia, the champion mama that she is, kept it together as best she could but the banks were truly a broken family. what they were going through, the way in which three young girls were being tested, and the medical bills that stacked up quickly … it was honestly a miracle that they had any sort of sanity at all. as a sort of escape, aurora spent a lot of time in the children’s unit of the hospital, because she tried making friends with some of the other kids her age ( since being around her sisters all of the time was also difficult for her ). she was there often enough, and they’d play tag when the nurses weren’t looking, and would eat in the caf together on the good days, and there were a lot of wholesome memories that aurora got to make when she wasn’t by her dad’s side. there was, however, the heartbreaking nights where a nurse would stop by and take aurora aside, tell her that one of her friends at the hospital had passed, and it was never news that she stomached well. of course, how could any kid? but aurora feels everything, all of her emotions, with her entire being. a lot of it just became too much all at once, and that’s when her panic attacks began. when it all became too heavy, in the stark white halls of the hospital wings, aurora would find herself curled up in herself barely able to breathe let alone think … the nurses, the doctors, they were incredible of course, but truly it was being surrounded by her family once more that allowed for little aurora to center herself again.

it was a little over a month before artie came out of his coma, and it was an even longer and slower recovery than was expected. seeing her father in the hospital bed, unresponsive, unsure if she would ever get to talk to him or sit in his lap as he read her a story, wondering if he was going to get to see her play soccer in the fall on the a team … for a young kid, it was a lot. it was a lot of trauma for a long time. but artie did wake up, which was a miracle in his own right truthfully, but so was his recovery. it was a long ten months of intensive rehabilitation, repeated fMRIs, and pitfalls but god was it a well-needed moral boost for the banks family. and even though there was still so much work to be done toward artie’s full recovery, if there was to be one, at least he was alive. at least aurora still had her daddy, and that made all the difference. as head injuries can be difficult, and unpredictable, it was uncertain what brain functioning and part of his brain would be affected fully. and as aurora had come to find, her father’s personality, the frontal lobe? he was still that very same person she had known her entire life, and emilia wholeheartedly agreed. the main differences came from his body, as he couldn’t move in the same ways anymore, he had to essentially re-learn how to sit up, stand, walk, but he did. in conversation, the recall on certain words, phrases, experiences .. it comes and goes, some things are there and others need a hefty amount of prompting, but the banks will live with that over the alternative every day of the week. it’s been nearly ten years since, and artie has come such a long way. no longer working on-sight anymore, he still works alongside his partner in their architecture consulting business. so to put it lightly, the recovery was better than even the doctors had come to expect. but the trauma, well that has always lingered with aurora. all that she had seen, had heard, the beeping of the monitors that her father was hooked up to, the sterile scent of the sheets that would replace the bed her friends in the pediatric ward occupied … it still haunts her. every night before bed, and every morning when she’d wake, she’d have to make sure her parents were still there, alive, breathing, able to respond to her when she’d reach for their hand. if mama was napping and aurora couldn’t hear that faint snore, she’d have to check on her. if dad fell asleep at his desk from exhaustion, she’d poke him awake with a few tears in her eyes. and even if it’s been ten years, it’s still something she’s likely to do with whoever she’s living with. luckily, when the time came, her college roommate understood.

*:･ﾟ･✧･ years to come: just to make it through the recovery year, and the rehabilitation years that followed, aurora leaned heavily on her sisters. they were three little peas in a pod and aurora’s never been closer with anyone else in her life and she never will be. they were, and for the most part still are, iseparable. they’ve got a groupchat that’s active at any hour of the day, has been for the past decade, hell even before unlimited texting they were on aim - and aurora wouldn’t have it any other way honestly. the only reason she did decently in school is because of her sisters’ influence, as they’re a few years her senior. they always kept aurora in the right spirits, along the right path, and a lot of that probably came from emilia’s request but aurora didn’t mind. she wasn’t ever looked at as the annoying little sister, but as an equal, and she truly appreciated that and them more than she could ever express. their bond is unbreakable, and it’s been tested time and time again, but it’s where aurora’s strong sense of loyalty comes from. it’s also a huge contributor to her endless ability to care for others. which, that particular trait has been responsible in getting her heart broken on more than one occasion, as aurora was the type to fall hard and fast especially when it came to any beautiful person glancing her way in the halls. but again, she had her sisters to protect her, to nurture any broken hearts or help mend any rocky friendships that teenage girls can have. if she ever accidentally hurt someone else, or if she was the one who got crushed, that ability to feel every little thing with her entire being would do a number on her, but natty and winnie were always right by her side. artie and emilia give the world’s best hugs, and always know when something’s up with their daughter. it allowed for aurora to grow, to express herself fully, to feel accepted despite her niuances. she’s found it difficult at times to connect with people her own age considering her mature experiences, but she’s done her best and the people who truly care for her have remained, and others have faded into the background, and that’s okay. aurora knows that not everyone is meant  to be in your life forever, but those who are, are held closely to her heart.

*:･ﾟ･✧･ onward: it was a difficult enough decision for aurora to venture out beyond her small town in maine for the big city .. truth be told, she likely wouldn’t have if it weren’t for winnie having made the move first. natty, the eldest, attended colby college in order to stay close to the family and for awhile there, aurora likely dreamt of doing the very same. but winnie was offered decent aid northwestern university, and she really wanted the opportunity to branch out and get out of the small corner of the work that the banks had been occupying for so many years. and while aurora and natty were a little heartbroken, that only lasted for a few weeks, before they got on the same page as their very supportive parents and knew that it was going to be one of he best things for winnie. and for the last two years of her high school experience, without her sisters being in the same building or the same house, aurora started to grow more on her own. she liked being able to make the roadtrip with natty to visit winnie on the weekends, to see what life was like outside of their hometown. illinois was exciting, and chicago was rich in diversity, and it greatly attracted all three of them. aurora especially, and she was constantly in her guidance office discussing the different colleges in the area and degrees she could be going after. she was a particularly good student, got a lot of tutelage from her support system, and the sciences were her favorite. she even made her parents buy her a special set of goggles for her chem lab and yes, she got made fun of for it, but aurora didn’t care. the concept of medicine was attractive to her, considering all she had been through and where her interests led her, but she couldn’t bring herself to envisioning MD at the end of her title … working alongside a human population, it just felt a little too overwhelming for her, perhaps even triggering, but she still felt that pull. and her guidance counselor knew that, also knew how often aurora volunteered at the local animal shelters and fostered as many as she could ( or rather, as many as her parents would allow ) so the topic of veterinary school came up, as did the university of chicago and their program offerings … and honestly, it was like overnight, aurora had made her decision.

*:･ﾟ･✧･ decision day: just shy of her eighteenth birthday and aurora was already enrolled and committed to attend the college of veterinary medicine and the school of public health at the university of illinois-chicago. it’s a five year program that she’s just about ready to finish, with only her clinical hours to go, before she can officially call herself a vet. and it was just last summer that she finished her vet technician credentials to be able to practice as a vet tech legally and outside of the scope of the college’s intern hour requirements, which is how she got herself a free place to live at the malnati. because while aurora loves her school, she’s always had a tough enough time fitting in with classmates who are her age, with kids who just wanted to goof off and fuck around. because aurora’s never been that girl. she’s quiet, timid even, and it takes her awhile to warm up to people - especially new people. she got to live in her little slice of the world in maine where her family were her biggest supporters and the rest of the two just knew her. aurora rarely had to introduce herself to anyone, ever. so it was a whirlwind of a new experience, and she was lucky to have winnie in reasonable driving distance, but it still made it difficult for aurora. the party scene was never hers, in fact being in large groups of people can occasionally overwhelm her, so she tested it out a few times before deciding that it wasn’t gonna be for her. she didn't like how her panic attacks seemed to get worse if she was around far too many intoxicated people, so she decided against them for herself personally. aurora much prefers the, let’s go get sushi and then roam around the art gallery, type of weekends. so needless to say,  she stuck to the few good friends in her program, some outside of it too, and just lived. she would run 5ks to support local causes, attend street markets and festivals on the weekends, run around hopping from one train to the next to get to work and then back onto campus so she could afford everything. but in her last year, it’ll be more than nice to have the malnati as it’s one less bill and one stable job to maintain on her resume while she completes her degree.

*:･ﾟ･✧･ love languages: which - that honorable sushi mention up there? well, food is one of aurora’s love languages. once her dad was able to come home, the girls became avid chefs. emilia was always a good cook, but more than that she taught the girls all kinds of recipes and techniques and it just created this type of burning, lasting memory in aurora’s mind and honestly being in the kitchen is just her second happy place. the first? well anywhere she can be surrounded by animals - that’s her first happy place. because she’s the biggest animal lover, but she’s also a huge foodie. she doesn’t cook as much as she used to being in chicago, as she did back home in maine, but with the suites having pretty incredible appliances considering the size, she’s excited to get back into it. handwritten recipe cards fill a few binders that she’s put together, and nothing makes aurora feel more at home than her dad’s handwriting, cause he’d scrawl down whatever emilia would tell him to as she was cooking, and it’s just a little shaky from the brain injury but it’s perfect. it’s him. it’s her dad’s. and she really loves the little hearts that’re on every card that her mom would add at the end, so she’s excited to start using them again. which means that she will feed you, she will share tupperware and accept new recipe cards with a lot of excitement. but also now, getting to live in a place where she is able to take care of all these beautiful pets in such a glamorous daycare? well, aurora’s somewhere between heaven and heaven - cause she’s got this big heart that’s filled with floof balls, and gorgeous birds, and reptiles with textured skin - and don’t get her started on the cutest ferret that one of the guests has lodged at the daycare for weeks and she cannot get enough of. so she’s fully ready to make just about any excuse to show up and hang out with you and your pets, because she vehemently loves quality time and as this also being one of her love languages, she can never get enough.

*:･ﾟ･✧･ four wheels, two legs, a paintbrush: but amongst other things that aurora enjoys? she’s a big rollerblader, like actually owns inline skates and will use them to get around chicago if she pleases and 100% takes those very aesthetic tiktoks wearing her bellbottom jeans and hair all blown out … it’s one of the very few instances of aurora being vain, but she just enjoys it too much. very much into running, it’s the only other form of exercise she willingly participates in ( unless it’s swimming because of course she loves to do that ) and she swears one of these days her knees are gonna be the end of her but she keeps up with it anyways. she signs up for 5k’s without question and half marathons take a few extra moments of consideration but she’ll do those too - she’s determined to do her first marathon soon and she’s really looking forward to it. she’s also not very good at it, but she loves to paint. she’s gotten a lot of those ‘paint by number’ watercolors that she saw ads for on instagram for way too long before finally placing an order but she really loves those. she’s got a vintage polaroid camera from her grandmother’s closet that she is very protective over but she’s highkey in love with it. that one stays in its case in the trunk at the end of her bed, but she’s gotten a less sentimental polaroid to use as more of a decor piece on her dresser. and literally no one is surprised at this point, but she’s got a record player and a bunch of vinyls from her dad’s collection and her sisters make fun of her for being 'that bitch’ but she doesn’t care - it’s just all a part of what makes aurora authentically herself.

*:･ﾟ･✧･ empath: of which, she’s exceptionally kind. to a fault, mostly. she’s gullible and naive, which caused her to be manipulated growing up but she had support to get her out of those situations when she needed it. because aurora is trusting, and trustworthy, but she mostly wants to see the good in other people. but she’s also learned from the moments in her life that burned her, and she tends to keep to herself a bit, and is very slow on the open up, but she liked to have friends. very much a social person, actually, she’s just gotta get used to the new and exciting and feel people out before she’s her most honest self. which is a bit of a goofy, smiley, supportive gal who very clearly grew up in a tight knit family because she’s quick to pull people into her circle who want to be there, and who care enough about her to be there in the first place. her favorite people are good people, and all she ever tries to do is her best. once she’s open to someone, she’s with them 100% of the way and holds the people in her life very close to her heart. she feels with her entire heart and soul, whole body, and sometimes that can be emotionally exhausting and even physically draining so she may need to step back from time to time, but she’s still always gonna be there. aurora will talk through emotions and isn’t afraid of having the deep talks either, which is probably one of the things that makes her such a good friend. being in chicago, she’s a wide eyed gal with a big heart, whose experiences have shaped her, and she is unapologetically herself.

#malnatiooc #+ ( introduction * . ) #i'm BACK

[frenchibi]

top 5 books

Hello friend!!!! This is areally really tough question bc I read so many different genres and have SOMANY FAVORITES so I’m going to cheat a little bit… I’ll give you Top3 or 4 (I have no impulse control) for several genres so you’ll get more than 5total but not like.. an inordinate number of books, ok? xD (Who am I kidding I’mgoing off the rails, no apologies)

Fantasy

The Name of the Wind(Kingkiller Chronicles Book 1) and sequel(s) by Patrick Rothfuss. Has beentalked about loads in fantasy circles and I have nothing to add other than“this is the best fantasy book I have ever read, and probably in the top 3 ofbest books I have ever read, period.” The style blew me a way, the characters are fantastic, the system of magic/power in this world is the coolest I have EVER SEEN and… yeah. I’m invested.

Howl’s Moving Castleand sequel(s) by Diana Wynne Jones. Y’all remember the ghibli movie? This isthe book this is based on and it is way, way better than the already fantasticmovie. It is ridiculously charming and witty and lovely and I recommendeveryone read it. You will not regret it. This is my ultimate comfort book, if that makes any sense.

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett – a hilarious bookabout the apocalypse with absolutely amazing characters and incredible styleand wit. We’re getting a TV series this year and I am beyond stoked. Pleaseread this. It’s… just… yes. British fantasy is SO GOOD.

Honorable mention: Die Stadt der TräumendenBücher by Walter Moers. Theremight be an English translation of this, but honestly I only recommend you readthis if you can read it in its original German – I’m not gatekeeping, it’s justthat so much of its brilliance relies on in-depth knowledge about German culture,history and language and it’s inevitably gonna lose that in translation. It’sone of my absolute favorite books ever and it pains me I can’t share this withmy English-speaking friends :/

YA

The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking Book 1) by Patrick Ness. It’shands down the coolest YA book I have ever read and it doesn’t even… feel likeYA at all, more like sci-fi? It could just as easily have gone in the “experimental”category and I don’t wanna give too much away but… the typeface of this book ispart of its charm? Different characters have different fonts and shit? Definitelyread a physical copy of this. Also, the narrator is illiterate so he writeswords by sounding them out – and I know that sounds like that would bedistracting but trust me it’s fantastic??? Please please PLEASE give this atry.

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley. Y’all want a good queerstory that’s not romance-heavy but instead has intricate worldbuilding and really cool magic? Pleaseread this, you will not be disappointed. This is a more “adult” version of YoungAdult Fiction and I absolutely love it.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. Is this fantasy, actually? Probably. Does it haveissues? Yes. Is it still a very fun ride with a cool magic/power system? HELLYES. Also the characters are a bit older, which works very well. It’s like YAafter you’ve kind of outgrown YA.

Murder/Mystery

The Strings of Murder (& sequels in the “Frey & McGray” series) by Oscar de Muriel –listen, the main character is a little SHIT and that’s absolutely fine? Themysteries are kind of convoluted but not in a distracting way, it’s just a funseries with fun characters that I really enjoyed!

The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie (and honestly pretty much everything she has everwritten) – I have nothing to say about Agatha Christie that has not been saidbefore :’D

Phantom bySusan Kay. Now this is kind of also a drama and it’s been a while since I’veread it so idk how well it fits into the murder/mystery category but it’s aboutthe Phantom of the Opera before he became the actual Phantom (or rather, thepath to how he became the Phantom), and I have endless love for this verydramatic and mysterious and misunderstood character so… yeah :D

Collections of Short Stories

Topics About Which I Know Nothing by Patrick Ness. Yes, this is the author of “ChaosWalking” (see above), and this is a collection of a VAST variety of shortstories he has written, all of which are insanely creative and so, so fun??This man has an insane imagination and I love it, instant recommendation toanyone honestly.

Dear Life byAlice Munro – another one that I read a while ago and don’t remember that muchabout, but I remember absolutely loving this book, and that it’s one of thebooks that made me want to read more short story collections :D

The Refugeesby Viet Thanh Nguyen – an interesting bit of perspective, this book centersaround different characters who are Vietnamese or of Vietnamese descent in theUnited States. I loved how eye-opening it was tbh?? I love reading books byauthors from cultures vastly different from my own and this was wonderful.

Poetry/Experimental

Milk and Honey / The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur – two collections of very personaland touching modern formless poetry that honestly blew me away. I’m not a bigfan of classic poetry, or poetry in general, but these two books are justincredible.

Good morning, Good night by Lin-Manuel Miranda – a collection of Lin’s “good morning”/ “goodnight” tweets that, idk, give me hope for humanity? Ideal for perusing if youneed cheering up and just an all-round wholesome book to own.

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn – a “novel without letters” I wouldn’t know where to placeexcept under “experimental” because its premise is basically… an island thatslowly bans more and more letters from everyday use? It’s told in the form ofletters between the characters and it’s just… such a FEAT of writing, the waythe author forces his characters (and himself) to get by with fewer and fewerletters of the alphabet? Fascinating, from a writer’s perspective, and anabsolute recommendation!!!

Sleeping Giants (Book 1 of the Themis Files) by Sylvain Neuvel. This is a sci-fi book,but it’s under “experimental” because, well – it’s told through interviews. Iwas a little confused/put off in the beginning by this style, but the jaw-droppingstory pulled me in and hooked me. It’s a sci-fi EPIC… don’t get too attached toanyone because the apocalypse is coming for them all - and you’ll be at theedge of your goddamn seat. This is a fantastic series.

Drama

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Honestly, anything by Khaled Hosseini, unsurpassedauthor of dramas that will rip your heart to shreds, and you’ll never be thesame after reading them.

Everything I never told you by Celeste Ng. This is one of those books that will never leave you afteryou’ve read it. It starts with “Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet.” –unravelling the mystery and consequences of the death of a Chinese-Americanfamily’s teenage daughter in gut-wrenching detail. A family story that willleave you sobbing on the floor but also filled with such profound hope forhumanity – I don’t even know. This book eviscerated me.

Homegoing byYaa Gyasi – the story of two sisters, one a slave and the other a slave-owner’swife, and their descendants. A family history of choices and consequence thatis… raw and personal and a very, very important book.

Home Fire byKamila Shamsie. The story of a British-Pakistani family – more specifically,the story of three children whose father was a terrorist. I am weak for familystories, and this one is politically charged and relevant and gut-wrenching aswell.

Novels/Fiction

The Hours byMichael Cunningham. The first book I read in a stream-of-consciousness style,and I still really enjoy the plot of it, too: The story follows three women;Virginia Woolf writing a novel in the 1920s, a woman reading this novel in the40s, and a woman basically living the plot of this novel in the 90s. It’sfascinating, really? I highly recommend it.

The History of Bees by Maja Lunde. Another story told in three time periods – a man whoinvents a new type of beehive for beekeepers in the 1800s, a beekeeper whosebees are dying in approximately present day, and a woman 100 years in thefuture who pollinates plants by hand because all the bees have vanished. It’s…fascinating, again, and a really good story. I also feel like it was quiteeducational? I enjoyed it a lot.

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. Technically this is a drama too (but shh) – it followsa black delivery nurse who is charged with a serious crime after an incidentinvolving the baby of a White Supremacist couple. It’s an explosive topic butit’s handled with a lot of nuance? Reading this book will frustrate you greatly,but I think it’s… idk, important? It shook me.

Eyrie by TimWinton. I have never seen depression portrayed more accurately than in thisbook. I was highlighting passages on almost every page – also the style ispretty cool? Snappy? Sharp? I’m not good at describing it but… yeah this leftan impact.

Non-Fiction (listen I knowthese are all by youtubers but hear me out)

So Much I want to Tell You by Anna Akana – letters written by Anna to her sister, who committedsuicide when she was 13. It’s raw and personal and important, stories aboutpersonal growth and lessons learned, about grief and regret and moving on. Irecommend this 100%.

Secrets For The Mad by Dodie Clark. A collection of charming stories and anecdotes and songlyrics and doodles – a book that reads like what watching dodie’s music videos andvlogs feels like. Safe and soft and personal. I love this.

Doing It byHannah Witton – a book about sex education that honestly everyone should read.Hannah blazes through taboos like they’re nothing more than hot air – as theyshould be. (Also, watch her videos.)

Bonus

The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho. I don’t even know what category to put this in? It reads like a fable and it is just... so beautiful and enchanting. Please read it, you will not be disappointed. It’s a story of chasing your dreams and self-discovery and it’s... just wonderful.

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Did I make this entire listas a means of procrastination? Yes. Am I sorry? No.

Listen I have been wantingto blog about books for the LONGEST TIME but I never took the time to because…idk, I am not involved with the book reviewer community on any platform andhonestly I’m intimidated? But I do have a lot of Thoughts so if you’ve read anyof these and want to yell about them with/at me please dm me??? Or send me anask if you want to hear more detailed opinions about any of these from me????

…yeah. Thank you for this question,man. I love books.

Send me “top 5″ of anything and I’ll respond with my favorites!!!

#French speaks #books #book recs #rec #answered #ask me stuff

[illusionoftransience]

repost, don’t reblog. Yadda yadda-

1. Nicknames: Fa, Shou

2. Zodiac Sign: Capricorn!

3. Height: Too tall honestly, 1,80m in normal units and almost 5′11″ in american units...

4. Hogwarts: No clue honestly-

5. The Last Thing I googled: Conversion from normal to inch and feet. Before that, reconfirming the english name of the story ‘Suppenkaspar’ for the x’th time

6. Favourite Musicians: I mostly listen to video game music of my choice, really. For ‘actual groups’? Mili and Daoko mostly.

7. Song Stuck in My Head: There’s always several which alternate, really.

Fillmore from the game Actraiser The piece called “Largo” from Dvorak’s 9th symphony ‘cause my gramps loved to sing it Utopiosphere by Mili Extension of You by Mili

And basically everything I’ve heard in the last few days, which includes The Heritors of Arcadia from FE: Shadows of Valentia but also Singular by Sanity’s Fall.

8. Following Now: 263

9. Followers: 228

10. Do I Get Asks?: As much as my activity warrants, really- I would like more, even if they are just nonsensical, but I should also send out alot more if I just knew what, ha! I wouldn’t want to tick anyone off with my peculiar way of weirdness.

11. Amount of sleep?: At least 6 hours, normally towards 7. I try going towards 8 hours alot but something about going to sleep before midnight irks me.

12. Lucky Number: Luck is a myth, I don’t even know. 16-bit?

13. What I’m Wearing: A thick sweater with angels printed on and crosses on the sleeves. Hmm-

14. Dream Job: I don’t really think about jobs as long as I can be happy doing them, I suppose?

15. Dream Trip: Seeing some remnants of ancient civilisations would be nice? Angkor Wat especially.

16. Favourite Foods: Good ol’ Wiener Schnitzel or Lasagna. Austria has lots of good regional foods tho!

17. Instruments: Learned a bit of Guitar from my father, but other than that nothing.

18. Languages: English & German

19. Favourite Song: What my predecessor on this meme described made me think of a particular part of Terranigma’s ending theme, a melody that lasts for like 1 minute. Which just has me close my eyes and reminisce about... lots of things, really. A more traditional favourite song would be Extension of You which I linked before already-

20. Random Fact: Mentally, I’m usually either in too many places at the same time or none at all. I sometimes think my mindset of equality is being misinterpreted as niceness, pah! Random facts are hard, I mention Yuki alot because we’re living under the same roof. Should start calling her my wife already, there’s little difference-

21. Aesthetic: For once, a dark atmosphere, medium cold large rooms with stained glass windows. Yes, maybe a church of some kind. Bonus points for attached crypts or mausoleums, looking like your average wine cellar, where the air is this weird stagnant kind of humid-

For another, a flying fortress, the ground so far below that you get vertigo just by thinking about it. Attached large chunks of land, maybe smaller chunks and rubble flying about. Below and all around are the clouds, massive pillars and pieces of the ground missing, it’s warm, albeit a little chilly. Occasionally you hear the Overlord Deity try playing their organ which’s sound dissipates off into eternity.

A massive area which balances between heat and cold, iced crystals and rivers of lava merge into a gigantic landmass. It’s here, the center of earth. Gravity works differently on the inside of this globe, the sun shines ever stagnantly, reflecting light and heat of the seas of lava below, there is no horizon, just a wall of the inner earth’s curvature, if the artificially formed atmosphere allows as much. Crystals within the air shimmer slightly but make it a hazard to breathe, when you are not within a sealed perimeter.

Heh, maybe not the kinds of aesthetics most people expect, but it’s certainly designs which I’d like to see more often in games or other media.

Tagged by: @geisthonoredferry​

#outofempathy #about me!