#i chose butter like the responsible adult i am

[jippy-kandi]

Digimon Adventure: 2020 – Episode 1: Tokyo: Digital Crisis! (Review)

Thoughts on the first episode of the Digimon Adventure reboot series.

Disclaimer: I just want to make it clear that I’m watching and reviewing Digimon Adventure: 2020 in the context of it being a children’s anime -- because that’s what it is. By design, it’s obviously going to be “dumb” to the mind of the average adult. But that’s OK, because it’s for kids. And for a first episode aimed at children? It was pretty good.

The opening credits were 99% Taichi and I don’t like it if it’s permanently going to be this way. But I’m hoping that it will change to perhaps be character-centric to the person being “highlighted” in a particular episode, going through all eight kids, until there’s a permanent one where all eight are equally in it. I also hope the same for the ending credits.

I noticed that Angemon and Angewomon were missing from the opening credits, whereas the other digimon evolutions are shown. So I assume they’re following in OG Adventure’s footsteps and doing the whole “special angel” evolution reveal? I’m OK with that. It seems really interesting how they’re setting up Takeru and Hikari to be included this time (as they were both missing in the ending credits with the other five standing opposite Yamato . . .).

Both the opening and ending songs are fine, but I prefer the original songs, especially Butter-Fly. You are missed, Kouji Wada. <3

The art and animation of this series is really good. Toei Animation are really putting money into this series. I’m impressed.

I have mixed feelings about how they chose to introduce the characters. On the one hand, I think utilising just two characters is great to really highlight them to the audience and not overwhelm them with too much information. But on the other hand . . . I think introducing all eight characters in the first episode would make it appeal to more kids, because they can easily identify with one kid and keep watching the series. But a kid might watch this first episode, not like Taichi or Koushirou, and just switch off from the series completely. But I think what they went for is probably best for how they plan to introduce the characters (particularly regarding what they have in store for Yamato being a lone wolf who joins them later).

Taichi was a bit too generic to me. But, it’s only the first episode, so this isn’t a real criticism -- I’m sure he’ll be fleshed out as the series progresses. He also seems more responsible than OG Taichi. And while I do like his new voice, I think Toshiko Fujita was a lot better; she managed to convey more personality in her voice.

Koushirou was actually quite “cute”. But I’m not sure I totally like that he’s being portrayed as shy . . . he never seemed shy to me in the original series, but just a kid who was super absorbed in his own tech world. But his shyness did make him more endearing? I’m just not used to it so I find it a bit unsettling. But it does “humanise” him more and thus makes him more relatable, rather than just a distant tech nerd, so I guess it’s a positive? I also really like his voice.

I am liking the Taichi/Koushirou friendship a lot. You can tell Koushirou is going to completely idolise Taichi for making him feel included and “useful”. And let’s be real: Koushirou has always been the most underrated character when it comes to popularity, relative to actual impact on the plot, because he’s actually the one who solves almost everything and he doesn’t get nearly as much credit for it as he deserves in the fandom. It’s nice that they’ve spotlighted him with Taichi in this episode.

So apparently Mimi’s family owns a conglomerate because they made both Koushirou’s tablet computer and Takeru’s hat? I always thought the weird “TK” scrawled on his hat was for his name (TaKeru or T.K.), but apparently it’s for TachiKawa! Wow, Mimi is insanely rich this time around (moreso than the first). Princess indeed!

Takeru’s design is so freaking adorable. I still think his clothes are a bit off, but his face is so adorable! And I didn’t really think that of OG Takeru. I mean . . . I guess he was kind of adorable, but not overwhelmingly so like this one! He hasn’t said one line but, OMG, the cuteness. *SQUISH*

Did anyone notice that in Takeru’s room, there is a poster of an ASTRONAUT? OMG I loved that! What a nice throwback to Yamato’s future career in OG Adventure (and thus to the 02 epilogue!). I can imagine reboot Yamato idolising astronauts and influencing Takeru into liking them, too. Awesome Easter egg there!

So the Crests are showing up right from the start. No rehash of finding the Tags and Crests, then! (Or will they find the physical forms later?) I really like how different from OG Adventure it already is, while keeping touches of the old as well. Toei have done a good job with mixing the old and new so far. Keep it up!

I thought Taichi’s meeting with Agumon was super cute and quite “realistic” with Taichi reaching his hand out to “pet” Agumon! Though Taichi is obviously more courageous than the average person, because uh, I would be afraid that dino would bite my hand off, lol.

I thought Agumon’s evolution “sequence” to Greymon was really cool, but at the same time, I did miss an actual evolution sequence like the OG one. It’s probably just nostalgia making me feel that way. I can accept this new version though! It feels very “updated”.

It was very fast-paced compared to OG Adventure. I’m not sure I entirely like that Agumon evolved so easily and so quickly to Greymon in the very first episode, but it also didn’t seem to hinder the episode. But where do they go from here? What do they have planned to pad out this series if things happen so quickly? I’m intrigued to find out!

Oh, remember how I said less than 24 hours ago that I might not even like reboot Yamato? Yeah, well . . . throw that idea out the window, because the dude had two seconds at the end of this episode and HE ALREADY WON ME OVER lmao. He had NO LINES and was still the highlight of the episode for me. My attachment to him is insane. (Of course, I’m hoping he doesn’t turn out to be a super douche, lol.) I like that he was “chosen” before Taichi and was in the Network before him. What have you been up to in there, Yamato?

While I LOVED the ending credits, as I said before, I hope it changes to be central for each specific character (going through all eight kids), before there is a permanent main ending that includes all the characters equally. I really don’t like how Toei Animation seems to forget that there are EIGHT CHARACTERS and not just two. Come on, Toei, do the right thing!

But . . . let’s talk about the ending credits. IT WAS AMAZING. It characterised Yamato so much without him saying a word. I love that he’s still a lone wolf, that music is still a big part of his life (a bass at 11!), and that his love for Takeru is still so genuine. There was also a pivotal scene where it shows Jou, Mimi, Taichi, Sora and Koushirou standing together, and Taichi smiles at Yamato, who hesitantly steps forward to join them. I loved that! It made me think about the discarded plot where “Yamato might’ve separated from the group entirely” -- it seems like this is a reverse version and I can’t wait to see it play out. The scene that inspired that discarded plot idea was when Yamato decides to fight Taichi, and Sora yells at him to stop -- and I just loved her reactions to him throughout that arc. Especially because, if Taichi had turned on the group, I think Sora’s first instinct would be to conk him over the head -- but she gives Yamato a massive pass and then supports him to separate from the group to find himself. My Sorato thoughts are already swirling about how Sora will react to Yamato in this reboot! Will she hate him at first? Will she ask him to join? Oh my, they haven’t even interacted in this reboot and I’m already shipping them, lmao. I hope Sorato still have a connection in this reboot!

Overall, I liked it for a children’s anime. And I never would have watched it if it wasn’t a reboot with the original Adventure cast, as I have only seen a few episodes of Tamers, Frontier and Savers . . . and a few seconds where Yamato shows up in Xros Wars, lol. I’m not interested in Digimon, I’m interested in the Adventure cast. So I’m really glad this reboot exists! I’ll happily watch all episodes of this series because it’s more of my kids goddamnit. XD

Oh, and I just want to apologise that even though the episode was focussed on Taichi and Koushirou, I used screenshots of Yamato and Sora for the episode post . . . I’m sorry, I’m a Sorato blog! XD;

I think I will do a weekly Digimon Adventure: 2020 “review”, because the episodes are only 20-ish minutes long and it’s easy enough to consume and write about. And even if I might not have a lot to say about a particular episode, I can still spam Sorato screenshots, lol. :P

I can’t wait for the next episode! Because: YAMATO. <3

#digimon #digimon adventure #digimon adventure: #digimon adventure 2020 #sorato #yamato ishida #sora takenouchi #chosen children #taichi yagami #koushirou izumi #mimi tachikawa #jou kido #takeru takaishi #hikari yagami #review #screenshots #spoilers #is this tag really needed? #just go watch it!

[even-after-a-millennia]

i was tagged by @moonlightandromache Thank you for thinking of me, Abby!

rules: answer 30 questions and tag 20 (ish) blogs you would like to know better.

name/nickname: Maida

gender: female

star sign: pisces

height: 5′ 7 and a half

time: 10:58 pm

favorite bands: Halestorm and Queen

favorite solo artists: Hozier, Lizzo, Ben Platt, Dua Lipa, Adele, and Billie Eilish

song stuck in my head: Trouble by Valerie Broussard

last movie: Howl’s Moving Castle

last show: 911 Lone Star

when did i create this blog: about a week after The Old Guard came out

what do i post: Old Guard content, including my own fics!

last thing googled: adult swaddling (i blame James)

other blogs: @cap-and-cyborg @bilesandthebeast @stars-mylady @sauntering-downwardsss @lets-go-steal-a-hardison

do i get asks: Yes! I get asks usually in response to ask games I reblog.

why i chose my url: that speech is ICONIC and the fact that Joe and Nicky’s love has existed for almost 1,000 years is beautiful and mind boggling all at once

following: 320

followers: 1,420

average hours of sleep: about 8 to 9 hours

lucky number: 2

instruments: flute and piano

what am i wearing: fuzzy socks, sweatpants, tank top, plaid, ring, and necklace. oh, and my glasses

dream job: YA Writer who works at a library

dream trip: IRELAND. For Christmas, my parents gave me a jar with start up funds to begin saving up to actually go one day.

favorite food: Noodles with butter and parmesan cheese 

nationality: American 

favorite song: either Like Real People Do or Shrike by Hozier

last book read: Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore (it was alright, but not as good as my fav historical romance author, Tessa Dare)

top three fictional universes i'd like to live in: Harry Potter cause i want to be able to do magic, A Court of Thorns and Roses cause I want to go to the Night Court, and Icemark from The Cry of the Icemark series cause there are giant talking snow leopards and that’s really freaking cool

tagging @bookersebastien @nicolodigenovas @steve-is-a-babe @scimitar-and-longsword @oh-ursmari @deepwoundsandfadedscars @hottopicmonk (if you want to!)  

#tag game #about me #personal #moonlightandromache

[nsfwsportsanimebabes]

I Love Your Cookies -I Love you Prompt w/ Kuroo

 Description: “I love you while baking cookies’ prompt list request with Kuroo

Requested: yeppppp. The original request is chocolate chip cookies but cookies are cookies and I may have chose different cookies lolol anyways Y’all know we about to get down with this request. Crow is alllllll over this boy request! 

                            _________________________________

It all started in that stupid Home Economics class. The first day of class and Kuroo walking in to see this class had pre assigned groups. Gross right? not even gonna give the students the chance to choose. This was supposed to be a college class. As adults you would think professors would let you choose your partners... Whatever. Kuroo really didn’t want to take this class to begin with. But seeing as his general credits required a class like this, he thought it was the least boring class he could take. 

Peering at the screen, he found his name and looked to see where it was in the classroom and who his partner would be for what was probably the semester. The class was separated into groups of 4. Each group would be two pairs of students sharing a cooking station. Otherwise it would seem the groups were infact, partners. Finding his seat, he noticed sitting in the seat next to his, notebook out and scribbling something down in the notebook before class could even start, was a girl with H/C locks, brows scrunched up in a cute way at whatever they were putting in their notebook. 

“Hi, my name is Kuroo Tetsurou, it would appear that you are my partner for the semester. And what would your name be?” he smoothly delived as he dropped into his chair announcing his presence. 

Without looking up from your notebook, you pointed to the front of the room where the seating chart was located “If you happened to look at any other name besides your own, you would already know what my name was.” 

“Well Damn...alright then uh..” Kuroo chuckled at the response but paused looking up at the board to find your name before responding “.. L/N, F/N. It’s nice to meet you. If this is how you greet partners all the time I might have something to look forward to this semester.” 

Before you had the chance to respond, class began. 

Being partners with Kuroo wasn’t as awful as it originally seemed like it would be that first day. Sure, the guy doesn’t know when to stop flirting, but it was never anything other than endearing and shameless flirting. It was clear he respected you, and enjoyed the reactions he got out of you with the good and the bad pick up lines, puns, and jokes the two of you shared. The two of you would never admit the budding feelings that was growing between the two of you the further the semester went along. 

Halfway through the semester was midterms. And the challenge for your midterms was ‘baking something in an unconventional way.’ Basically, you and your partner had to find somewhere other than the home ec room to bake something, record the process, show the outcome, and bring the outcome into class for the midterm. The instructions were clear enough, but the two of you had no idea where to even begin searching for a place to bake these cookies. 

After spending hours in the library, doing homework and studying for other classes as well as brainstorming ideas, you were laying sideways in a chair, balancing a pencil on your nose while Kuroo sat on the floor in front of you, all sprawled out nonchalantly trying to blow the pencil off of your nose. “So what are we gonna do then F/N? Where are we gonna go that’s unconventional?”

 Letting out a sigh you threw your hands up in the air “i have no idea. where are we gonna find an oven? Man I wish we could have chosen our baked goods. We totally could have done no bake cookies for this. It would have been so much easier.” 

Kuroo nodded “I mean our cookies are not that difficult. We lucked out with peanut butter blossoms. But we need an oven to bake the cookies in!”

 “I agree. We need an oven. I mean what would be more conventional than a random oven dropped in our laps?” Suddenly you sat up, a grin on your face “Oh my god Kuroo! My dorm has like a mini closet kitchenette on each floor! With an oven! We can totally use that!” 

Kuroo grinned at the excited burst of energy you had at this revelation, but raise a brow “okay but you are gonna have to explain what you mean by mini closet kitchenette..”

~

Cue later that night, both of you with bags of all the ingredients you need, you grinning proudly as you whipped open the door to a tiny room that barely met safety codes to fit an oven and a small sink in there, with a little table on the other end to set and put things on. “See! Told you! This will be perfect for unconventional!” you explained walking in to set things down. 

Kuroo peered into the room and tilted his head at you “uh F/N you forgot one little thing...This is a group effort. We both have to be in the video doing our parts..” he rambled off hoping you would grasp where he was going. 

It was a tight fit for one person to move around comfortably. But adding a 6 foot tall volleyball player in this room? Better hope you are fine with being in close quarters F/N...

You stopped pulling items out of the bag as you realized what he was saying. “Oh you are so right. There really isn’t a lot of room for two people in here..” you turned back to the bag hoping to hide the rising blush that was taking over your face at the thought of having to be so close to this attractive man who you’ve tried to deny having feelings for.

Unfortunately for you, Kuroo noticed the blush before you could fully turn away and a huge smirk formed on his face “Well you know, not having a lot of space to work is definitely unconventional. So we are going to have to find a way to work together with what looks like a janky oven in a closet” 

At that the two of you got to work, setting out the ingredients and bowls, finding the best spot to set up your phone to record and got started on the project. The two of you worked flawlessly together, laughing at the awkward space and dodging under or around each other with ease; as if the two of you had been doing this stuff together for years instead of months. 

When the time came to put the hershey kisses on top of the cookies Kuroo couldn’t help but throw a loop at you. “Hey F/N... I think I’m struggling with getting these to look nice on the cookies. Can you help me?” he teased, popping the chocolate piece that had been in your hand into his mouth. 

You peered over at the cookies he had been working on and noticed that the chocolate pieces really did look...a little rough. “Kuroo you have to be a little bit gentler with the chocolates! They are going onto freshly pulled from the oven cookies, so they are going to melt quickly.” you laughed grabbing a few chocolates and showing him how you placed them on in such a way that made them stay perfectly. 

“wow F/N that’s pretty impressive. Not sure I could do that even if I tried’ he whistled.

Rolling your eyes and taking his hand you guide him through placing them on a few situated directly in front of the camera ‘And for extra credit today, I show my clumsy giant partner here how to properly place a hershey kiss on top of a cooling cookie.” you explained to the camera, but not without giving Kuroo a look that made him snort with laughter. 

When you were done with the presentation, Kuroo hit the stop recording button and turned to you “So do we get to test these cookies or do we have to suffer and wait for class?”

Shrugging you picked a cookie up and took a bite “I think they are crazy if they think I am not gonna test these cookies when they are fresh.” 

Kuroo laughed and leaned down taking a bite out of the cookie directly in your hand “You know what F/N? I like you. You are hilarious, sassy, and don’t really care what anyone thinks about you and you aren’t afraid to put me in my place when I do too much-” he paused waggling his brows at the slightly shocked look on your face before continuing. 

“And I think I am totally in love with you-you’re cookies. I totally meant to say your cookies!” Kuroo blurted, it was his turn to have a blush on his face at that confession. 

After a minute of staring at each other, the two of you both a blushing, shocked, mess; You laughed and shoved the rest of your cookie into his mouth breaking the silence. “You are such a dork Tetsu. But you are forgetting something. You say you love these cookies yeah? Well we made those together. So I guess I should say that I love your cookies too.” 

Kuroo doesn’t know what he did to deserve you coming into his life. But whatever it is he didn’t want to mess that up because he couldn’t imagine what his life would be like if you weren’t a part of it.

I have no regrets for getting carried away with this request. Nope. None. Hope you all enjoy dearies! I am always down for creating content and talking about my man Kuroo here. ~Admin Crow 💚

#Haikyuu Prompt List #Ways I Say I Love you #Kuroo Tetsurou #Kuroo x Reader #Nekoma #Haikyuu!! #Admin Crow #y'all I will never turn down a kuroo request

[noobsomeexagerjunk]

Left Undone

Ted didn’t want to babysit Bill’s daughter. He didn’t like Bill, and Bill didn’t like him. Why did he have to be the only one in the office who was free for the weekend? Alice didn’t exactly want to be babysat either. She’s too old for that!

Little did Ted and Alice know how much fun they were going to have.

(AU wherein Alice has not dated Deb yet, Bill hasn’t divorced yet either; MASSIVE SPOILERS for BoJack Horseman Season 3 and Moulin Rouge! are discussed)

Friday Prologue | Saturday Chapter | Sunday Chapter | Monday Epilogue

Alice woke up fairly well-rested Saturday morning, forgetting for a second that she wasn’t in her own house.

Ted Spankoffski’s house had 3 bedrooms. One was a master bedroom where Ted slept and also did any other non-CCRP related work. Another was a room where Ted’s nerdy brother stayed for the Summer; ever since Ted got himself a house, his younger brother would stay over at his place during holidays and academic breaks.

Then there was the spare guest bedroom Alice was in where Ted had to set up for her the previous evening. It was very plain.

She went downstairs, explored a little, then found no one. She went back up, knocking on Ted’s bedroom door. No response.

Alice then decided to wash up instead, to feel fresh in the morning. She did all the work in the downstairs bathroom (Ted specifically told her to use that particular bathroom), leaving it as neat as it was before she came to the house.

She tried to knock on the door again, the increased strength of her rapping revealing to her that the room had not been locked, or closed properly for that matter.

She peeked in to find Ted who was still asleep, clutching a laptop like a stuffed toy. His shirt, boxers, and socks tied together with his slumped figure, which also seemed intertwined with the bedsheets. There were used tissues all over the bed, some on the floor making a trail to a semi-used paper towel roll. There were an empty bowl and two empty beer bottles on the bedside table. It reeked of Corona and clearly imported Honey Butter Chips.

Alice stepped in to try to wake Ted up, but the floor creaking below her was enough to make him jolt awake.

“Who the fu-“ Ted calmed down from the shock of waking up so suddenly, “A-Alice?!  Shit, I forgot you’re here,”

“I-Is there anything I can eat?”

Ted rose from his position, sitting upward on his bed, “...are you allergic to eggs? Milk?”

“No, I’m not allergic to either.”

“Good,” Ted yawned, getting up and stretching, “because my fridge is fucking empty.”

“I noticed.”

That was hyperbole...sort of. The only breakfast that could be made from Ted’s pantry was egg toast and cereal. There was enough for both of them to finish all of said egg toast and cereal.

“What were you watching last night?” Alice asked Ted, playing with her fruit loops a little.

“Hm?” He swallowed the last bite of his toast with instant coffee.

“You were crying for about thirty minutes; I couldn't sleep-”

“I-It was a sad episode, alright?!” Ted was slightly embarrassed, hesitating to take another sip of coffee, “That fucking baby seahorse will never know...”

Alice raised a brow, unaware of the reference. She ate some more cereal.

“Don’t give me that look, Alice!” That was Bill’s glare, alright, “BoJack Horseman is a very good show!”

“And you binged the whole thing last night?”

“It’s the new season. I’ve got two episodes left before I finish.” Ted then proceeded to chug down what was left of his coffee.

“My laptop died during my binge but it was late and I was just,” He blew a raspberry, “...I needed to sleep.”

“I’ve done that before, not gonna lie,” Alice place down the spoon, done with her breakfast, “Though, the show I watched was kinda...yeah, it was kinda shitty,”

“Let me guess: you’ve watched it because someone hot’s in it,”

Alice blushed, “I-It’s not just that!”

“Hey hey hey,” Ted chuckled, “I’m guilty of that, I ain’t judging.”

Alice hmphed, “Should I watch that—what’s that show?”

“BoJack Horseman?”

“Yeah.”

“Hm,” Ted then began cleaning up by taking Alice’s utensils, stacking them with his, “it starts weak but gets so much better, like real fucking better. Dunno if you’re old enough to watch it though,”

“I’ve seen some pretty adult stuff! Mom makes me watch Tarantino movies with her, at least whenever Dad's not around sometimes,"

Ted nodded at Alice’s mother’s taste in film, “Aight, but that show just...it just hits somewhere really hard when you’re in your early thirties full of regret and with no discernible life direction but, hey! If you can take it, I’d be impressed.”

Alice blinked, “What? Is it like, psychological horror? The kind rooted in some comedically timed socio-political commentary?”

“Well, arguably.” Ted then got up to bring the dishes in his hands into the kitchen.

“...where can I find it?” She asked with mild interest.

“Netflix,” The sound of dishes landing in a sink was heard from Alice’s seat, “It’s a cartoon too, and like, about a bunch of animals, if those kinds of things float your boat.”

Alice never made it past Episode 1 when she tried to watch it herself, convinced Ted’s taste was shit. Personally, she will regret that.

The rest of that morning left Alice and Ted to their own individual devices. Alice typed away some interesting plots and ideas on her phone. Ted went to finish the last episodes of that sad horse show.

An hour before the time Alice would usually eat lunch, she had been cycling around various plotlines for a potential...well, something. Alice knew she just had to write something.

She was in the living area of the house when she heard Ted sloppily walk down the stairs. His eyes were teary.

"Are you alright, Mr. Spankoffski?" She looked at him with concern.

Ted shakily neared her, hesitating to sit on the couch next to her. He instead placed a languid hand on one of the couch's armrests.

"Please don't die on me, Alice, oh my God..."

He broke into sobs. Alice could only stare at this behavior in confusion.

"Did something bad happen in the show, or...?"

"Fuck, it got worse!" He sniffled, "A-And not, like, n-not in a bad writing context--that show's writing is the shit, Alice! But fuck! F-Fuck!"

Sarah Lynn was not supposed to die, but she did die and the fact left Ted devastated. A part of him knew it was gonna happen as he saw the old man, er, horse, and the poor girl in the motel, missing the Oscars. (Then again, that show had a penchant for hollowing, tragic endings per episode.)

Even in entertainment, in his favorite shows to watch, Ted Spankoffski knew better than to hope. It was more realistic for him.

"You can sit down," Alice moved aside to give Ted space to sit.

Ted cried as he sat next to her, "God, I'm sorry y-you had to see me like this,"

"I've...I-I've had worse breakdowns over a show. I-It's all good."

TV and Movie homophobia still haunted the teenage girl.

It's things like that, whether extravagant or subtle in delivery, that prompted her to write and clarify in any way that she could if only to fight. Alice Woodward was the kind of girl who refused to despair.

"Yeah, A-Alice?"

"Mhm," She nodded, quickly writing "character gets sucked into a tv show???" in her phone's Notes app.

"What if we watched something less depressing instead? You can watch it with me, Alice!" Ted breathed, "You're not bored, are you?"

She added "literally? figuratively? ehhh let the watchers decide??? kshfukdhivg" then kept her phone.

"No! N-No, I know how to keep myself, um, b-busy," Alice then shifted herself into a more comfortable position, "What movies do you have?"

Ted paused before answering, realizing he was hungry.

“You pick,” He said, getting up, “You want pizza with that?”

Alice nodded eagerly, watching Ted head for his phone.

“Wait, what am I supposed to pick?”

“There’s a bunch of CD cases in the drawer under the center table—it’s right in front of you!” Ted's voice decrescendoed as he headed upstairs.

“Drawer?” Alice wondered to herself, bending down to inspect the described center table. There was in fact a drawer.

She pulled it open to find bunches of CD cases, charging wires, and what clearly seemed to be unusable gadgets or “e-junk” as her father would, in a terribly corny way, put it.

Alice noticed a notable amount of movie musicals in one bundle of CD cases. The one that got her attention was Moulin Rouge!, unfamiliar with the title and very taken by the red-haired beauty printed on the cover. There was Jesus Christ Superstar, West Side Story, Rocky Horror Picture Show, and a bunch of Disney Princess movies. Upon further inspection of the non-musical movies, Ted had a diverse taste in film, though it was primarily pretty basic in Alice's opinion, minus a few exceptions.

She closed the drawer, further inspecting the Moulin Rouge CD cover by reading the synopsis on the back. An aspiring writer falls in love with a courtesan but other things get in the way? Alice could not blame the writer, in fact, she was quick to identify with him, even if she had not seen the movie yet.

“Alice?” Ted called from upstairs, “Are you allergic to anything I should know?”

“No,” She called back, playing with the CD cover.

“Good! I’m getting us a Bacon Surprise,”

“Alright,” Apparently Ted chose to order from that  Witchwood Ovens Shop downtown.

“What movie do you wanna watch?” Ted asked as he went back down. Alice showed him the CD cover.

“Moulin Rouge?” He mispronounced, “I actually have that in there?”

Alice handed the cover to Ted as he approached her, “I don’t think I’ve seen this one,”

“No shit, Alice. This movie’s got prostitution; if I know your Dad enough,” He stared at the cover, trying to remember when he got it, "he would make sure you'd never see it. God, I remember seeing this in the theater, like, when I was about your—h-how old are you again?"

"Fifteen, but I'll be sixteen later this year,"

"Eh, close enough," Ted then placed the CD cover down, ready to set up the television set in the living room.

"Nicole Kidman, man..." Ted dusted the CD player, plugging the TV into it, "She was the fucking best in that thing."

"Do you even know what happens in it?" Alice asked as she watched Ted at work, "Or were you just hoping Nicole Kidman would step on you?"

"Don't you fucking shame me, Alice!" Ted gasped back as he blushed, "If you had any taste in women, you'd want the same Goddamn thing."

Ted guessed correctly, keeping the girl from returning his snark.

It was around the Elephant Love Medley when the pizza arrived. Ted was kind enough to pause for Alice as he went to get the pizza. Alice was still recovering from the exhilaration of the past few songs, overwhelmed with the crowd-like effect of the cheesy-Jukebox mashups that introduced Christian to that infamous dancehall, the gratuitous use of slow-mo effects, and the ridiculous use of that Can-Can. It was "Spectacular Spectacular" indeed!

Alice almost choked on her pizza during the Like A Virgin scene. It was also very clear to her, as they watched, that Ted must've forgotten a lot of what had happened in the film given some of his reactions. Ted cursed The Duke repeatedly, particularly at that scene when he found out about the true nature of Christian's play.

Ted believed that he should've seen Satine dying coming. He saw this movie before. The movie literally said so right at the start!

Why, as he watched, did he want that happy ending when the opposite was inevitably going to happen?!

Something about Satine charmed Ted, in a particularly nightmarish way. The idea of further thinking about it was repressed repeatedly, refusing to confront the roots of it all. Surely it was just him being a horny bastard, right? Right?

This totally had nothing to do with the fact that Satine had vibrant red hair, cerulean eyes, polished milky skin, and a beautiful figure.

This totally had nothing to do with how familiar this fictional character seemed to be, resembling someone Ted remembered with intense, bittersweet longing.

This totally had nothing to do with the sight of Satine breathing her last breath on a bed of roses reminding Ted of a memory that he swore hadn't happened yet.

Or it did happen?

Why debate when it happened when it shouldn't have happened at all? It wasn't supposed to happen, whatever that thing was that Ted didn't need to remember at the moment. And yet...

She didn't make a sound. Heartbreak was never so loud.

Alice's sniffling brought Ted back to reality. Ted put a hand on her shoulder.

"God, I-I look so stupid," Alice chuckled out from her tears, rubbing her teary eyes, "they literally say it in the beginning, ugh!"

Ted coddled her closer to him so he could hug her but Alice recoiled back.

"T-Thanks, but we both smell like pizza," Ted nodded back in response.

As he cleaned up the living area, he asked Alice, "How was the movie?"

"It was pretty cheesy," She pulled out her phone again, inspired to write, "but kinda fun? Like, you don't get fun movies with this much energy, at least, when I try to compare, well. You know what I mean."

"Yeah," Ted replied absent-mindedly, "It certainly brings back memories of, well,  certain times."

"I think it kinda comes off as an epic-like piece,"

"No need to wax academic, Alice,"

"You asked for it!"

"I asked about how it was, not for an essay about its themes and shit!" Ted straightened himself up with a chuckle, "It's just a movie, after all."

"It hits different though," She spat back, focused now on her phone.

Witchwood Oven Shop pizzas were notably heavier on the stomach compared to their competitors. Any leftover pizza the two had for lunch that day, Ted proceeded to reheat for dinner. He scavenged his refrigerator for any packs of instant lemonade, which were thankfully there, and prepared two glasses for the two of them.

It was a shitty excuse for dinner, but Alice didn't seem to mind. She was very concentrated on her phone.

"What'cha writing about?"

Alice tilted her phone as to hide it, "It's not really much yet. It's all a bunch of prompts so far."

"You can pitch me stuff," He swallowed a bite, "Which ones really get to you?"

"Well," She hesitated.

"Well?"

"I-I've got a traveling adventure in a fancy, cultured but mysterious new town..."

"Anything else?"

"Still deciding whether I should make it a horror or a comedy. Besides that, it's all gonna rest on a foundation of romance between our main character, and, well..."

"Who?"

"I don't know! It's all I got so far!"

"Hey, it's not bad," Ted sipped his lemonade, "You know, I bet with enough time, it can become something really fucking great. I'd be invested if this was a movie or a staged production of sorts, I don't know,"

"Y-You think it's good, Mr. Spankoffski?"

"Oh hell yeah," He placed the glass down, "Not to be cheesy, but romance really gets me."

"Yeah, same."

"Have you considered making it some sort of horror-comedy romance? I would love it if you could pull it off."

#eternal reverie #left undone #kim whalen would make such a great satine #starkid #team starkid #starkid fanfic #starkid au #nightmare time spoilers #ted spankoffski #alice woodward

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

An Unexpected Visitor (Sriracha, Part 40.)

Series description: A problematic college student gets the worst summer job of the ‘83 - Jim Hopper, the Chief of police in your hometown will have you as his secretary since his old lady Flo has two months lasting holiday. It was agreed so Hopper could keep you far away from all the trouble.

Part Summary: Early fall of ‘85. Everything seemed to be going just great - you were married, in love, almost finished with with your university studies, you had your baby back in your home and had some exciting news... Which was why someone had took you by a surprise.

A/N: I am honestly having so much fun, sksksks.

Word count: 3.1K

Tagging:  @nemodoren, @missdictatorme, @ysljordy, @creedslove​, @hopperlover, @btchsm, @rita-lean

Master list: H E R E

Series playlist: Jim Hopper 😠

You gave yourself three more days to accommodate to the new situation. It could be just the post-ceremony stress you were experiencing, right? Jim, as the good soul he was in his core, prepared you some breakfast the following morning, bringing it to your bed. It was obvious what you'll be doing that day since he took a day off and Eleven was staying at your mom's. James jokingly said that no-one will see you for the week following the wedding and look at that, he wasn't wrong.

As time went on, it was more and more obvious that something isn't completely in check with you. Whether it was the fact that almost every morning, you spent at least ten minutes with the feeling of being sick or the fact that you were capable of giving Jim a long lecture just because he didn't take off his shoes as soon as he got in. He was jokingly saying that you put your wife mode pretty early and you, as well, chuckled at that. Not knowing what to think about all of that.

The holiday in Maine suddenly wasn't such a good idea as you thought it would be. It was supposed to be your honeymoon and a family holiday at once since your budget wasn't exactly the highest. You were supposed to visit some ultra-romantic location for three days with Jim and spend a week at Joyce's.

Yet a week before the trip itself, you decided that you want to keep the voucher from Joyce for later, sticking to the kids and Joyce for the whole ten days. Hopper sure was caught off guard with that since you were all over the place for the romantic weekend when Joyce gave you the voucher as a wedding gift, yet he didn't protest at all.

You chose Steve as your co-driver to take a short break from being with Hopper all the damn time and to savor those sweet moments on the gas station. A few years, the kids would be disgusted to see you being touchy-feely with each other. You remembered them grinning every time they were visiting your pace and Jim came home, automatically receiving a smooch and a hug for you. Now, they just turned away and talked about stuff. And also, you didn't want him to see you hyperventilating into a paper bag once vomit comes to your throat again.

Steve, on the other hand, kept you busy while he was driving or even if you were sitting behind the steering wheel. He was choosing some nice jams to sing along with kids, or you played some games like word soccer to keep you, Lucas, Dustin, and Nancy busy. Or, when the car was quiet for too long, Nancy would think of a word, letting you guess what she's thinking about. You chose a good bunch for the car ride. Robin, since she couldn't sit on any of the backseats, was mostly hiding in the trunk of Steve’s car and occasionally, she changed with one of the children.

When you were in the middle, changing with Steve, Hopper asked Nancy if she would drive at least for an hour or so because he needed some rest. She nodded, which meant that you got Mike into your car instead of Nancy - Wheeler for a Wheeler, as Dustin had said. Of course that Jim also couldn't see these two snuggling constantly, that was why he asked you to take Mike to your car.

Even if you were locked up with all of these psychos for a good portion of ten days, the vacation couldn't be better. You visited many places, went to a beach to swim and watched movies in the evenings.

"You don't look healthy. Is everything okay back there?" - Joyce asked worriedly when you, her, and Nancy were preparing some peanut butter sandwiches. You shot your gaze at Nancy, but... Who on earth would this girl tell about your sickness?

"That sounds like you're worried if my grumpy old husband..." - You told her loud enough to hear Hopper chuckle from watching the movie. - "It just came across that you think he's beating me. That's not the case, don't worry."

"Hopper beating you?" - Joyce burst out with laughter, looking at Nance who was also grinning. - "You'd sooner kicked his bottom than him even getting to beat you. No, I mean, are you okay? Since the wedding, you had lost a lot of weight and your hair also looks different. And you seem to be tired all the time since you arrived."

"And let's not forget about your morning trips to the bathroom. It's a miracle that El or Hopper didn't notice yet since you're not exactly discreet about it." - Nancy added from cutting the edges. It maybe came off as a rude comment, but it wasnt meant as one. Both of the women were just worried.

"Maybe it's just the nerves, as Robin said." - You tried to shake it off with a nervous smile and you mixed Dustin and Will’s hot cocoa they ordered. At that, both of the ladies looked at you with a face knowing something you didn't.

"What would Hopper say about another child? Have you talked about that?" - Joyce asked pretty blatantly, looking at the peanut butter jar innocently. You weren't exactly surprised that this was their main concern. It crossed your mind too. What if you were pregnant? Just theoretically? There were a few occasions where you nor James were exactly careful with what you were doing in the bed, especially when he came back from the dead.

A long exhale of yours was more than a thousand words. But when you saw Joyce's shocked face, you shook your head immediately. - "I mean, yeah, I theoretically asked him once or twice if having children is something he would still be up to, but his answer... I don't know, gals, it was... He didn't exactly say no, but he wasn’t jumping around with excitement either."

"See?" - Joyce asked fenced with the butter knife in her hand, having her duh face on. - "He's opened to it, and that is the best you'll get out of Hopper. He wasnt too excited about seeing you at the begging either, don't you think?" - She poked fun of you a bit, having Nancy smile as well. - "And now he proclaims it the best idea he ever had." - She walked up to you, hugging one of your sides, Nancy joining on the other side.

"We’ll be here if you'd need some help, okay?" - Nancy whispered. No matter what, the idea of being an auntie made both the ladies smile. And you as a mom? You hadn't a problem with getting Eleven and the children gange under your thumb, what would the difference with your baby be?

Yet you felt kinda nervous when you gave all of the food and drinks to the kids, sitting beside Hopper. Someone started the movie, but the man couldn't look away from you. - "Why are you staring at me? I thought that this phase is way beyond us." - You accused him jokingly, laying down on the couch to watch The Breakfast Club, which was chosen by the girls for the night. Other nights, you watched movies like The Planet of Apes or Star Trek, so it was a fine compromise. Or ’halfway happy’ as Jim and Eleven called it.

"You're not lookin’ good is what I wanted to say." - Hopper chuckled, watching your mouth open wide. - "I mean, you don't usually look this ugly, so I'm just worried." - Jim finished, teasing the living hell out of you. With a smile, you kissed him, feeling the familiar scratch of a beard on your face. - "Shut up and watch the damn movie, James." - You chuckled, getting into a good position.

You fell asleep on the couch in the middle of the movie, both of you. So even if it was Dustin and Mike’s sleeping place, they decided to sleep in the garden in a tent with Steve and Robin, who were telling them scary stories the whole night. You knew that because around three a.m., back pain waked you up and as soon as you got up, Hopper had conquered the whole couch by himself.

When you went to sit on the terrace with a cup of cocoa too, Steve was still sitting there by a fireplace, looking into it while the rest was dead asleep at that time. These lumberjack slumbers had to be heard miles away. The summer air was colder in the area since you were pretty close to the sea, which was nice.

"Some ghosts on your mind, huh?" - You whispered into Steve's ear after sneaking up on him, freaking him the hell out. With a chuckle, you sat down next to him, pulling your sweatshirt closer. Steve took a sip out of your mug without asking and you let him, watching the flames too.

"Can't fall asleep for a reason. You?" - Steve answered the question, looking at the profile of your face. - "Back pain and Hopper being spread all over the couch. Since I got married, I feel like an old lady with all these back pains and late-night waking up." - You chuckled back at the comment about you feeling old.

Yeah. Steve was just three or so years younger, yet the differences between you and him were undeniable. You were married, possibly pregnant, a mother, almost a college graduate with a psychology diploma, and an adult responsible for a man like James Hopper while Steve was just trying to figure out who he even was. He was single, he was still living with his parents and had a job at a video rental. You both were adults now but in different ways.

"It weirdly suits both of you. I am like... No expert, but you feel right together. Jesus, do you remember when I kissed you when we were playing that hide in seek?" - Steve asked embarrassed, looking at you. At that memory, you started to laugh with him, nodding. - "And I how I have shot the basketball ball into your forehead? You had a concussion or something." - You told him back, having him laughing as well.

"Mom was not letting me see the two of you for the next two weeks. She said that you're too dangerous to be friends with." - Steve smiled and then, suddenly you both slipped into your childhood memories once more. He was making you laugh the whole night. You got back to the couch by six in the morning. - "Where were you?" - Jim asked sleepily once you shoved him off your half of the couch. You didn’t answer him, you simply kissed him without saying a word. Oh, what fun making Jim quiet that night it was.

The other day, Robin, Jonathan, Steve, and Hopper planned some kind of a quest for the kids and no matter how adult they were trying to be, they were happy when the four adults told them. And what a better day to spend with your ladies than peeing on sticks, am I right?

"So, does it like have two strips or one strip?" - Joyce asked through the door, looking at the instructions she got at the pharmacy. She was confused as hell, but she wasnt willing to say it out loud. At that moment, you opened up the door, walking out, having three different pee sticks in your hand. - "Do I look like a gynecologist to you, Joyce?" - You asked ironically, putting them on a paper towel so you could all have a good look at what was in front of you.

The only thing Nancy did was that she opened up her mouth unbelievably, Joyce copying her actions within a second. Only you stood there, not knowing what the hell is going on. - "So, it's negative, right?" - You asked with a peal of horrified laughter only being the single thing you were capable of. And you almost fainted when both of them shook their heads in complete sync.

"All three are positive. So... Congratulations?" - Nancy whispered, still looking at the three pregnancy test in front of you. You, my friend, felt that you were in deep shit since that moment. It was your last day in Maine and the other day, Steve was driving you home again. The whole ride, you were quiet, looking out of the window. When Steve wanted to turn off Baba O’Riley, you stopped his hand by catching it, letting it play. The song was somehow translating to your situation with the lyrics like We’re all wasted and Don’t cry. You were feeling like crying.

Any other girl your age would be fine with it. Well, not fine, but they would somehow accept it. Yet you had a lot to think about. Should you let this one dream go? Should you get rid of the baby before Jim gets to know? What would his reaction even be? Jesus, you weren't that scared ever before. But you couldn't bring yourself to tell him nor to for that abortion. The only thing you did was visiting a doctor to confirm the news. It was too late to let the baby go anyway. The doctor could see you tearing up when they told you... - "Congratulations, you're going to be a mom."

A loud ring bell woke you up from your slumber. Jesus, you weren't ready to go to the hospital as a children psychologist that day. You lower back hurt, you were growling, your tummy was in immersive pain. You were getting real pregnant since the day it was confirmed. Maybe it was time to tell Jim and Eleven - but there was nothing sure until the end of month three, so there was no way telling them beforehand. Your mom knew and she almost went crazy with happiness. Yet the rest, no, you didn't consider it appropriate to tell them just yet.

You were in so much stress, as your doctor said, that you should wait before telling the others the news. There was no wonder - your fucking husband was a stressor at his best, Eleven was now at school in Hawkins, which didn't quite help and your new job as a psychologist in the local hospital was quite a burden too. You wouldn't be even able to finish the semester in time, probably, yet you already told your lector about the situation, thinking about taking something called a pregnancy break or whatever, starting the final semester again after you'd give birth. You'd also had a full right to continue studying while having a child home, taking the exams, and other things.

It wasn’t a big problem since the same man had you under his wings since 1983 and he was still friends with your parents. You already started to work on it with the man - first, you had to prove that you're pregnant for real with some report from your doctor, which you have already done. It was more chill than you'd ever say - you could ask for prolonging your studies without having to pay fees or whatever, but you didn't want to freak yourself out too early about being a real mom and... There was much to talk about.

Nonetheless, even in your first trimester, you felt super-pregnant, super huge and it was a wonder that you somehow covered the constant vomiting. It wasnt happening at that moment mostly, yet when it did, your whole dinner usually ended up in the toilet. You cussed as you ran the stairs down. Jesus, you were gassy as a living fuck. Holy damn. You farted on every step you took and when you needed to burb, well, that was something as well. And you were better at these activities than the boys or even your husband.

"I'm coming! I'm coming, just wait a minute, Jesus!" - You yelled at the door, supporting your lower back with your hand, the other one holding the railing. No-one was at home. Jim was at work and El was with her friends outside, probably having some milkshakes at Murphy’s. You still loved that place and you visited it frequently to talk with Ada and you other co-workers or just to have something ultra-unhealthy there with your family.

When you opened up the door, you felt like if you've run a marathon before that. You still had your palm on your lower back when you smiled at the persons who were ringing. It was a tall woman with a boy standing next to her, smiling at you with a surprise in her face. She expected Jim to open up the door. Instead of her ex-husband, it was a girl who was maybe half his age with a golden ring on her left hand.

"My name’s Y/N Hopper. I'm so sorry I didn't hear you ringing before, I was sleeping." - You smiled at the woman pleasantly, knowing that you've seen her before already. And the boy was just super cute. She nodded and took the sight of you once again. - "What are you looking for? Can I help you?" - You asked, inviting them in for a cup of coffee. Maybe it was the former owner of the house? That was where you knew her from?

"Oh, I'm just looking for James Hopper? His secretary told me he lives here?" - The woman asked while you started to prepare the cattle. She was looking around your kitchen, especially on Sara’s pictures on the walls while her boy wandered off to explore the living room.

"Yeah, he should be home every minute now. Do you and Jim know each other?" - You asked with a smile, making her choose between tea and coffee. She decided to have a coffee.

"My name’s Diane. I'm Jim’s ex-wife." - She told you, and when she did, the mug fell out of your palm, breaking into small pieces. You opened up your mouth, picking everything up before the boy would come there and cut himself. So that was where you knew her from. Jim’s old photos. Of course. - "And I need to talk to James as soon as possible."

#joyce byers #jonathan byers #nancy wheeler #steve harrington #jim hopper imagine #jim hopper x reader #james jim hopper #jim hopper #jim hopper stranger things #eleven stranger things #eleven hopper #mike wheeler #robin buckley #oh no #who is here #guess who

[teddibearclub]

my favourite things kpop boys have said:

eric: a long time ago i dressed up as a princess but now i want to dress up as-

kevin: a prince?

eric: no, geodude from pokémon

-

kevin: i don’t know what a het is

-

20 seconds of silence

jisung (skz): gay!

-

kevin: van gogh was found wigless and shook in his grave, thank you for that narrative.

-

mark lee: i feel like the possibility of those possibilities being possible is just another possibility that can possibly happen

-

johnny: i was thinking we could also go for like frozen yogurt

mark completely changing the tone straight faced: oh i’m not a yogurt fan, i can’t eat yogurt

johnny: no it’s like ICEcream

mark: i know

johnny: ok nevermind

-

mark lee to a random person : excuse me do you know this song “party on the city where the heat is on all night in the beach where the beat is on, welcome to miami”

the person:

mark lee: i’m sorry ok

*later*

mark lee: hey do you guys know this song-

-

mark lee: wow this country music is making this texas feel more like texas, even more like texas

-

mark lee: my fingers aren’t mine

-

jaemin: then i’m jin ramyum

dream: oiiiiii

renjun: i feel like dying

dream:

renjun: what’s wrong?

-

mark lee to a squirrel: check this out hey buddy aw come on man waaeyay

-

mark: woah it’s actually different from santa monica beach because i always thought that all beaches were the same and it actually isn’t

johnny: that’s horrible how you think that

mark: i mean like in a way you know it’s just like water and a shore and then sand but now it’s different

-

renjun: in the case that this works out for me, i am going to go to the moon. i don’t want to live on this earth.

-

ten: *does a cute thing then looks at renjun* why are you looking at your hyung like that?

renjun: i’m scared

-

doni: can you do something like jeno did?

renjun: i don’t really understand korean that well

doni: suddenly? chenle, is there anything you can do?

chenle: i don’t understand...

*renjun and chenle high five*

-

renjun: i have an animal that i’m afraid of and i don’t have plans on revealing what it is

johnny: why? what animal is it

jeno: tell us!

renjun: it’s humans

-

renjun on weekly idol: i’m confident in korean

renjun anytime he doesn’t want to answer something: i’m not good at korean

renjun fluent in korean: korean is hard for me! :)

mr fluent in korean speaking in korean: i can’t speak korean though?

renjun to dream who know he’s fluent: i’m bad a korean you know

-

mark: we gathered up together in the early morning it’s nice

renjun: as we’ve been together since early in the morning, i’m tired of being together now

-

renjun: emergency exits remind me of nctzens

jeno: *spitting out his water*

-

renjun: today though such a fun program like idol room, i learned that the world is a cold and unfair place

-

mark: there’s so much generation difference between us

renjun pushing mark away: let’s keep our distance then

-

renjun: i wonder what it’ll be like when i become an adult, im worried i feel like i’ll have to be more responsible, but seeing mark.. there isn’t much to it, i mean he can drink now but that’s about it

-

yukhei: you see i’m born in the 80s so i don’t know about slang

renjun pointing to kun: what about that guy over there?

kun: *ready to murder*

-

sicheng: the scene where i appear-

renjun: YOU IMMEDIATELY DISAPPEAR

-

renjun to jeno: because you are even less fun than usual i am giving you this award

-

renjun: we’re so boring so fans must be pressing all the hearts out of boredom

-

renjun: so if i don’t win i have to pair up with the mc?

mc: yes

renjun: i should pull myself together then

-

mc: why are you so good at korean?

renjun: i’m not good at korean

doni: *grabs renjun because he’s a lying brat*

renjun: *happily showing the camera he is being attacked* why aren’t you fixing my clothes?

doni: *fixing renjuns shirt because he’s a king and it’s what he deserves*

-

renjun after losing every game: this is like we’re in a movie maybe there will be a big plot twist at the end

doni: there won’t

renjun: as expected from a biased pair of people

-

renjun and chenle talking

jisung: what are you guys saying?

renjun: if you want to know learn the language

-

mark: do we get a prize?

mc: we have an expensive gift prepared

renjun: now it’s worth doing!

-

chenle: wow my chinese is so good

renjun: nice! did you forget you’re chinese?

-

i cant remember who said this probably renjun: i think nct dream, you can say we are kind of a fun team, but when i look at the hyung team i feel frustrated, please gain strength hyungs

-

mark: ive been wearing the shoes renjun made, they’re very comfortable

renjun: i didnt make them comfortable i just drew on them

-

renjun: a spoiler? what if i get fired from the company?

donghyuck: get fired? us? get fired? lmao

-

kevin: jacob i’ve been waiting forever for this moment

jacob: waiting for what? waiting for me?

kevin: honey i see you everyday

-

jacob: the scent of autumn, the scent of leaves

kevin: we’re indoors but okay

-

kevin: kid, mama’s gotta dance

-

renjun: *speaks in chinese*

jeno: wow you are so good at chinese, did u study it a lot?

renjun: yes

-

ten: oh this is not icecream this is butter

-

johnny: there’s this thing too where girls call guys as “oh daddy” but not like a real dad

-

tens birthday note to johnny: i wanna have xxxx with you fatass! love you forever darling

mark: i don’t think we should read that

-

donghyuck: a six-pack is too heavy for me, so now i only walk around with a one-pack. i leave the other five behind.

-

nct: goodnight

mark: don’t let the bed bugs bite

ten: open your eyes

nct: NO CLOSE YOUR EYES! CLOSE YOUR EYES!

-

johnny: my dad knew i likes beans so like he was playing with beans, and he dropped it and then he dropped it on a rock and it slid and then hot water started falling, and then coffee

-

host: wow your english is really good

johnny: i’m from chicago

-

johnny: i chose fried mackerel, mackarol, mackarel, the fish, mackerol, mackerel, mackarel *cute shrug*

-

jungwoo: trip to space

johnny: you wanna go home?

mark: that’s where he came from

jungwoo: my friends are there

mark: that’s his home town

-

jacob: i cant compare to him so-

kevin: it’s okay jacob everyone’s an artist in their own way

-

kevin: fun fact i used to do gymnastics

jacob: SAME

kevin: oh really!!

jacob: and then i quit :)

-

chenle: talking to reporters-

jisung: harry potter

jisung in excitement: ha-REPORTER

-

kevin in distress: jacob you have no beyoncé in your library, what is this? WHAT IS THIS!?

jacob: no i respect her i love her music

kevin making a scissor motion with his hands: you know what this is? scissors. to cut our friendship.

jacob: why are you exposing me like that

kevin: i’m just kidding, if beyoncé can forgive jayz i can forgive you jacob”

-

kevin: jacob came back from canada with a suitcase full of cereal

-

donghyuck: oh canada, this is korea man don’t forget okay.

-

mark lee: wait chips means fries right? 

-

kevin: sam if you’re out there i’m still waiting for you to *cough* TEXT ME BACK

-

jacob: and jeff i love you

tbz: awww

kevin: mY nAmE jEfF

-

chenle pointing at a roller coaster: do you wanna ride?

jisung: hell no i’ll die

-

chenle: jisung which sunglasses are better these or the other ones

jisung: both are mediocre

-

doyoung: that’s a difficult question because i don’t read

-

fan: comments something about renjun stealing their heart

renjun: i don’t know how to react to these types of comments... why are you all like this? everyone let’s self reflect...

-

renjun: pretend we’re close in front of the camera

donghyuck: we’re supposed to be close friends right? this is going to be hard 

-

ten: xiaojun stop being dramatic challenge

-

taemin from shinee: *singing replay by shinee*

yukhei: that’s not it

yukhei *showing taemin from shinee how to sing a shinee song*

mark: *dying in the background*

-

bambam talking about got7’s first album: you know the time we thought we was so cool, we was so good, but then we look back and it’s like what the hell

-

jae: would you rather wake up in someone’s body or wake up without being able to communicate?

brian: i’d rather not communicate

jae: then you can’t sing

brian: i’m fine with that, my parents gifted me this body

day6: ??? the fuck ???

sungjin: what if you wake up in JYPs body one day?

day6:

day6: what about it. i love it. that’s would be lovely

jae: we love you boss 👍

-

jae: what would you forget?

dowoon: i ate some ants as a kid

wonpil: i ate pill bugs

sungjin: i ate soap

wonpil: everyone’s eaten soap, what about crayons?

jae: crayons???

wonpil: they looked delicious when i was a kid

brian: i’ve eaten them

sungjin: they must’ve tasted good

-

dowoon: *stuffing marshmallows in his mouth*

brian: no you can do more STOP CHEWING PUT IT IN

dowoon muffled: i think i’m going to die

brian: you think you’re going to die??

brian smiling: sorry he might die , he might choke to death

jae: *reaching over to stuff more marshmallows in dowoons mouth*

-

brian gets a dare to sing everything he says: dare or dare~

dowoon: oooowwooo~

brian: this is my dare don’t take it from me~

-

q: can you name my bird

renjun: ...if i say to name it “bird” will u want to hit me

#this was not meant to post #im screaming #i hate tumblr sm #if im editing something in my drafts shouldnt the button say save to draft not post? #it always had before #@ tumblr stop updating to make your app worse #im tired #and i hate it here #im deleting this app #i cant take it anymore

[lingthing]

Go To Sleep, Morons

According to google drive, this drabble is three years old! I vaguely recall writing it in the dead of night, which likely prompted the setting. And yes, ^ that’s the title, lolol

There it was again. The faint scent of chocolate. It had started out very small- enough to make anyone think that they’d only imagined it. But now it was strong enough to permeate the air and fill the room. This wouldn’t have been so bad. If anything the aroma would bring about thoughts of a wood cabin on a snowy day, sitting by the fireplace while wrapped up in a quilt. Alas, the setting was not a cozy wood cabin, but a college dorm. And while one of its occupants remained safely nestled in the warm embrace of sleep, the other was not so blessed.

Edward Elric stared up at the ceiling- a grumpy pout fixed upon his face. It had been difficult enough falling asleep considering his mind’s constant wandering through several chemistry conversions and algebraic equations, but now he was being woken up by the scent of chocolate. A few sleepy fumbles of his arm and the occasional groan later and he was squinting at the bright screen of his cell phone. Three A.M. It wasn’t as ungodly an hour as he’d anticipated. This was college after all. There were bound to be students boozing or crying over their textbooks or an unfortunate combination of both. But dammit, he’d been sleeping.

While he really should have focused on ignoring the scent and falling back asleep, he was betrayed by a rumble from his stomach. Great.

Edward sent a glare down at his organ, as though it could feel the burn of his gaze and comprehend the weight of its error. But there was no helping it. So he gave a sigh and sat up.

Fingers combed through the golden haystack that had begun to form atop his head- trying to make it look somewhat presentable. But as he recalled the hour, he gave up trying and took to scratching at his belly instead.

The chill of the cold hardwood floor against his right foot sent a shiver up his spine, but he endured and pressed on to the door leading out to the hallway. As his eyes relaxed after adjusting to the light, he began shuffling toward the common room.

The wheels in Edward’s head began turning a bit more productively now and he was able to weigh the options of what he could indulge in. It was three in the morning. He was a hot mess. Midterms loomed on the horizon. Such a melancholy nighttime atmosphere called for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Truly the cuisine of adults who were up far too late at night, completely alone.

But with a twist of the doorknob and a gentle push at the door, the faint scent of chocolate exploded into a powerful aroma that was enough to make him stop in his tracks. He half expected to be knocked over by a giant wave of hot fudge. But as he dismissed the ridiculous image in his head, Edward noticed that he was not alone after all.

Over in front of the common room’s oven was a young male. He was seated with his legs crossed before him and arms folded. His gaze seemed to be fixated on the oven’s contents- though not for long. Edward’s sudden presence had caught his attention, and Edward soon found his own golden eyes looking at the happy yet somewhat idiotic grin of this rather unusual gentleman.

“Hello!”

Edward gave no response. He certainly hadn’t expected anyone else to be in here- much less staring into a kitchen appliance. His mind- while functioning - was still somewhat inhibited by the not so distant clutches of sleep, and had thus hindered his social abilities. (As though they weren’t already horribly impaired to begin with.) So he simply gave a little nod of acknowledgement before letting the door shut behind him so he could shuffle over toward the fridge. The other male occupying the space let his gaze linger upon Edward for a moment longer before returning it to what lie just beyond the oven door.

Edward continued toward the fridge, encouraged by a low rumble from his stomach. But he was somewhat distracted as he began to take notice of several kitchen items laid out upon the counter. A carton of eggs, a bottle of cooking oil, a measuring cup, a large mixing bowl, and an opened plastic package that read ‘Chocolate Chip’ sat haphazardly upon the tile surface. 

“Are you...baking cookies…?”

“Yep!”

The strange person gave a nod of his head, turning to look at Edward once more while wearing a smile that was so happy and so stupid at the same time.

“...Why?” Edward asked.

“I started getting hungry, and I had a real craving for some. But the vending machine is out and I didn’t much feel like leaving the dorm so...here I am!”

Edward blinked. He didn’t really know how to respond to that. He should have known, but he didn’t. Usually this sort of crazy late night bullshit only happened in the midst of finals week, and even then Edward was too wrapped up in his own studies to be present for any of it.

A sudden beeping snapped him out of his stupor, and Edward watched as the other male hopped about in glee while jamming his eager hands into a pair of oven mitts and pulling out a tray of piping hot chocolate chip cookies from the oven’s interior.

“Could you please take the milk out of the fridge?”

Edward blinked and gave a nod- though his mostly neutral expression morphed into one of utter displeasure as he retrieved the carton and placed it on the counter as though he were handling someone’s dirty laundry. He’d simply complied with this guy’s request without even giving it much thought.

The other male reached into a cabinet and pulled out a mug, then a second while motioning to Edward with an inquisitive look. Edward immediately shook his head. He had never cared much for ‘opaque cow secretions’ as he so lovingly referred to it.

While the second mug was returned to its original place within the cabinet, Edward leaned against the counter and simply stared into space as he began to question just what had occurred in these past few moments. He’d been woken up by the scent of chocolate, set out on a little food excursion and was now providing minor assistance to a late night pastry chef.

“Ling Yao.”

Edward was snapped from his train of thought, and he turned to look as said pastry chef hoisted himself up to sit on the counter.

“Sorry?”

“My name is Ling Yao. You know, in case you wanted to tell your friends all about the weirdo who was doing some late night snack making.”

“Oh.”

Edward couldn’t think of much else to say to that, and his gaze returned to the empty space he’d been looking into before. Yep. This guy was an idiot. But he was a self aware idiot. Meaning of course that he was aware of the level of ‘what the fuck’ that his actions held, but he simply chose not to let the opinions of others keep him from engaging in such things.

“Since I have provided you with ample storytelling fodder, it’s only fair that I hear your name in return.”

Edward couldn’t help but smirk a little.

“Edward Elric. It’s...nice to meet you.”

“Likewise...I think.”

Ling laughed a little and sipped at his milk, seeming to take little to no offense to Edward’s skepticism. 

“Would you like a cookie, Edward?”

“...I would love one.”

#personal #drabble #ficlet #fma #fullmetal alchemist #edward elric #ling yao

[olla-village]

Language biography -My Chinese adventure

1. Here I am 18 years old

So, here I am, 18 years old confused monolingual… Finished my community college just to realize that I hate spending so much time in front of computer screens, writing code at nights, powered by coffee and greasy junk food.

 18 years old meant that I was an adult, at least both I and law of the country agreed on that… I could buy cigarettes, alcohol and tickets to other countries even if my parents were against it. I didn’t need to ask anyone’s permission. It felt like freedom. Freedom comes with responsibility, but that’s the whole different story.

 2.  It was time for something big It was time for something big.But for what? When I was younger I liked to travel to nearby cities by busses and hitchhiking. It was a mixture of being lost, on purpose… and finding something new after every trip. Traveling was my form of learning and escaping from problems at the same time.

 This time I was really lost.No direction. Hitchhiking for a week didn’t help. Yes, I tried. I needed a new medicine. I tried, like many of us nowadays, to find the answer online. Almighty Google knows it all.I didn’t know what to ask. So I decided to look at my bookmarks.

There was a website I read for more than 4 years. Or so. I guess. It is called Magazeta. They also do a podcast. Not some goofy cast, but LaowaiCast. They discuss everything about China through the eyes of laowais, speak Chinese fluently and seem to have all kinds of fun there in the mysterious country.

3. I decided to join them

I decided to become one of them, join this strange tribe. To become a laowai. A proper living in China laowai. And not an expat, who just hangs out with westerners, but a Chinese-speaking laowai. I figured out how much money I needed to study Chinese for a year, found 2 jobs that’d allow me to earn enough in 3 months. June, July and August. I became a taxi-driver, and began to work at a construction site. Not bad for a guy who majored in programming, eh? At least, there were no computers.At all. No screens, not even sunscreen. None of that, nada! I kept researching my new dreamland, China. Almighty Google told me that for my budget and for language learning Top2 options were Tianjin because Mandarin there is very standard, but it is cheaper than Beijing and Shenzhen, the most Mandarin-speaking city in Guangdong. I chose Shenzhen. It’s tropical and close to Hong Kong. I watched many Hong Kong movies as a kid and was interested in Kung Fu.

After working for 14 hours a day for 3 months I hated my jobs enough and was ready to fly to my dreamland. So I did. I kissed my parents and my girlfriend good bye and started my new scary laowai adventure. 4.  I didn’t learn Chinese before went to China I didn’t learn any Chinese before I went to Shenzhen because I read online that it’d destroy my pronunciation forever. So I followed advice of someone Almighty Google led me too. I was proud that I would’t learn broken pronunciation. Stupid. After a few, quite a few days of trains and planes, I arrived in Shenzhen. It was another planet. Humid, incomprehensible, green, terrifying and extremely friendly. No Kung Fu skills required. Beginner friendly.

I ordered a service of an interpreter who would meet me in the airport and help me to get to the hotel, the first and the last time in my life. He was quite surprised when I asked if he has a knife or at least keys when we got to an ATM. It was hard to explain why I sewed my bank-card in my pocket, but he understood that in my country people like to pick pockets. Not the best advertisement for a country, but I was determined and didn’t want to let thieves destroy my plan. 5.  Soon I didn’t go to lessons at all So I got a dorm room, figure out where I can buy pillow and started to learn Chinese in class, but soon I found that I was not able to say tones right and I was late for my writing classes on purpose, to skip that annoying dictation where I’d make a mistake in every character. Soon I didn’t go to lessons at all. I joined Wing Chun classes and hung out with other laowais and Chinese folks instead. My roommate also taught me some Chinese, especially survival kind of stuff or how to ask for cigarettes on the street, his teaching skills were particularly awesome when he was drunk. Sometimes when I met my classmates in campus they asked me why I gave up on learning Chinese, I said that I don’t go to classes, but I still learn Chinese. I hated that one guy who said he learns Chinese just to read stuff and that he doesn’t care about speaking since there’s no reason to talk with Chinese people, what a prick! I don’t hate him anymore. At that time I called my approach “just learn”. It meant learning without homework and tone drills. 6.  Laowai life was fun I spent 4 months like this. I was so busy practicing wing chun, playing football, buying fake shoes, hanging out and exploring Shenzhen that sometimes I forgot to eat for 2 or 3 days. That’s why I sometimes stole my roommate’s sushi that he’d get for free every night. Thanks to well-cooking people who lived in the girls’ dormitory, I was never hungry. I think I looked so skinny they just wanted to feed me on the level of instincts… Long story short, laowai life was fun, colorful and cheap for those who lived in campus. At least, it was for me. For 4 months or so. And then it was over.  The End. Game over. I had to go back home for what I call family reasons. I didn’t finish my 1 year Mandarin course. It was also hard to get my deposit money back, but I did. It was really good for my Mandarin skills. My WeChat was full of contacts. I packed all the tea, gifts I got from strangers in my friend’s dorm and stinky clothes. I was and wasn’t ready to leave. I told my friends that I’d be back for sure, which I doubted.

 The END or To be Continued? That is the question. At that moment, I connected language to living in that country. 7.  I missed China and Chinese Don’t live in China = don’t learn Chinese. So, obviously I gave up learning languages and broke up with my girlfriend. Luckily, I found a lazy job where I could play my phone almost all the time. For several months I just lived in my memories about China and felt some hole growing inside me. I didn’t understand where it was coming from. One cannot go and live abroad and then come back to the farm and pretend it didn’t happen. It is going to change anyone, no matter how hard this naïve person is trying to ignore it. I needed to fill that emptiness. I tried a few things. They didn’t work. Until one day I saw an ad about learning Chinese just by listening. Like literally sitting on my bottom, which I was already doing, I was even getting paid for that, and learning… Chinese! The language of my dream/nostalgia land. I was nowhere near fluency at that moment. Upperbeginner at best. I missed China and Chinese Pod became my new way to connect to the land of rice and cuteness. That emptiness inside was filled. Except for … it wasn’t. But things were getting better, way better. I felt alive again. Or maybe it was that nice Turkish coffee I was drinking while I listened to Chinese Pod? Then I thought that just listening, even good listening was not enough for that hole somewhere inside me. So I thought I need… people! But I still wanna sit on my bottom so if I find people online, I don’t need to spend extra time after job. Multitasking for the win. 8.  I started my new job I found hellotalk and some similar apps with similar names. Hellotalk was the best one, but at that time it was slow, sometimes a message was sent 4 hours or a day later, so I stole people from there by asking their whatsApp number. I started to realize that the missing ingredient in my life, besides people, was Chinese language. I also realized that escapism and dreaming about faraway lands was not an ideal solution. In search of a perfect combination of people and languages, I decided to join a university. I wanted to study Chinese, but they told me that they have teachers, but not so many students want to learn Chinese. Interpretation was not available that year. What a weird year! The only choice was teaching English, which sounded tasty at that moment, since I also wanted to change my job at that moment. I asked for all the details about exams and stuff. It was nice except for the fact that that stinking girl tricked me and I was preparing for master degree entrance exams instead of what I really needed because I was the first one who wanted to join that university that year and she didn’t really know what to tell me. It was a surprise, but I passed it super well, like top2 or something. Probably because I prepared for something way more difficult, thanks to that stinking girl. My score was a big surprise for me, since I’ve never been a top student. At the same time I started my new job. I was a tutor. Teaching kids English.1 on 1. Learning my major by practice. It was awesome. Language became my bread and peanut butter. 9.  I found my jam. It was olla. But I still needed jelly! Peanut butter sandwiches are fine, but they’re nothing like peanut butter jelly ones!

That Sunday I planned to have some rest for my brain and body. So I got a lot of nesquik and scrolled mindlessly through countless web pages full of memes and stupid videos. Until I saw an ad for a language learning app on some page where people who learn English hang out. In comments I read that most users were Chinese. These comments were written in a negative tone, but for me it was pure treasure. Here, I found my jam. It was olla. By that time, hellotalk and its clones were deleted and forgotten for a long time, but I gave olla as much of my precious SD storage and space on the screen as it wanted. I liked it for no particular reason, as I thought back then. Now I do understand that other apps couldn’t provide this kind of sense of community as olla did. It was alive, lively and vivid.

10.  It was addictive

It was a perfect place for me to practice my languages. My way to do it was to provoke people, often it meant arguing with them. I learned to be provocative in many languages. I also learned to pretend to be from different countries. The most difficult one was Australia. Controversy and gossip were my fuel. It was not just any drama, it was international. Better than Argentinian TV series! I tried many ways to catch attention, I hope that psychologists and my future employers don’t read how much of an attention seeker and drama queen I was. A few times I deleted an app and said it was shitty publically, while actually I loved it but was busy studying in my university and knew that I don’t have enough will power to keep studying while olla was still on my phone, it’d be too much of a distraction. It was addictive. Before I deleted it, I posted my email on olla plaza. Jessica was worried or surprised or something of this nature and wrote me an email. She helped me to deliver my messages to my biggest language buddy. It was one directional isolation and made me way more mysterious than I’ve ever been before. Because of me being such a d... dumbass, many people hated me, but many liked me. Many mentioned that they missed me, I knew it through gossip and screenshots. Imagine the size of my ego at that moment… After a while, I realized what other apps lacked completely and why they didn’t deserve my storage and screen space. Sense of community + drama, gossip and controversy (people crave it) + many people from different countries in the same room. Cultures don’t merge this way in 1 on 1 conversations. Other platforms also have many people from different countries,but they try to find you a match, a perfect partner. Perfect is boring. In olla people didn’t match perfectly and it was beautiful. It was colorful. It was my home anywhere I went. 11.  I couldn’t stay like this forever I couldn’t stay like this forever. All of us eventually get boring, also known as serious. I was a university student after all. Gotta be pretentious and stuff. They call it professional. I started to read a lot of SLA (Second Language Acquisition) research, just like people read news or comics. As a result, I realized that my“just learning” intuitive approach to languages was actually consistent with research. Even gossip and drama. But mostly community and compelling input. It is kind of the same thing.

Not only I pretty much filled that emptiness by languages, I also came to the point where my experience met science\research. Like yin and yang.

12.  I started to plan to get back to China After that, I decided to get my life together again and I started to plan how to get back to China. I didn’t get any good idea how to do it, but I started to save money and told my classmates and buddies that most probably I will go to China again. Fake it till you make it works every time. I also told some folks on olla about my plan. I really do consider olla to be my hometown and I did find real life friends there. I think it’s safe to say that I spent more time on olla than with my real life friends. I also spent a lot of time with my offline friends, but they can be less available than something tiny in my cheap phonethat opens the door to my friends. Wait, olla is real, so it’s also real life. People there are real. Language learning there is real as well. Wrong dichotomy. So I spent more time in my olla hometown than in another one because it felt warmer and closer.

My best language buddy who already became my friend decided to help me make my second laowai life happen much faster than I imagined and invited me to join olla team. I pretended that I am so cool and need to think for 1 day or so, like it is not a big deal, when in reality it was dreams come true type of deal, at that moment I was already packing my small backpack and getting ready for the second chapter of China. This time it was Guangzhou.

To be continued.

 You can read my language buddy’s story here

(my story https://wordpress.com/block-editor/post/ollaolla.home.blog/40)

 Bear

2019/10/1

#olla #natural learning #olla talking #easy way to learn Chinese #chinese adventure #story #Language biography

[layaltheblogger2019]

What is your current obsession?

It’s summer in Boston!! Summer!! Sun!! Beaches!! Happiness!! Exploration!! Random road closures*!! Outdoors!! Fireworks!! NO PSETS!! Events!!

So, this is my first summer NOT with my family in Florida and my first summer in Boston. I will say that although I arrived at MIT last year at the end of August for an FPOP (Freshman Pre-Orientation Program), it is not in any way comparable to spending a full summer here. And even though I spent nine months taking classes over freshman year, the warmth and sun of the summer is nothing like the freezing, sun-less, soul-sucking days of winter. You might be asking, ‘Layal, what are you doing in Boston over the summer? Are you taking classes at MIT or something? Why don’t you have an internship or go abroad, yada yada—’ Well to answer your many questions, I chose to be here! (Also MIT doesn’t offer classes in the summer so that we can all actually get a life ;P )

What exactly do I do? I am here as a Residential Facilitator for the Interphase EDGE Program and a UROP in the Media Lab, Personal Robots group. And what does all of that mean? The Interphase EDGE Program is a summer program for incoming MIT students to help ease their transition into freshman fall. As an RFA, I am responsible for overseeing a ‘cluster’ of three first-years/freshmen/frosh, teaching a workshop/recitation section, of which I teach chemistry, and being present as a guide and resource to help the seventy Interphase scholars. This is probably the most fun job you can get in the summer (though I might be a little biased). With it, I get the satisfaction of being a mentor to the incoming freshmen, the experience of being a TA for a class, and if that already wasn’t cool enough, as bonuses I get breakfast, dinner, and a single in Maseeh with a partial river view! There’s nothing I dislike about this job, and the people I interact with make it worth every moment (and there’s really nothing like being in a single, which I could probably write another entire blog post about). And my UROP is a UROP, which doesn’t explain much. I guess it might not be as good of an explanation as I first thought since any time I do any random craftwork/work not on my computer, my friends ask me if I’m working on my UROP. I mean, sometimes yeah, I am ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In actuality, the work I do for my UROP surrounds the idea of designing social robots for older adults. I had started working on this UROP in the spring, designing icons that would be used for the interactive part of the study. This summer, I worked on analyzing transcripts from interviews done by my supervisor with respect to her long-term study and designing tools that could be used to make the interactive part of the study low-cost and portable. As it stands, the icons are stored and used on a very expensive HP Sprout which, from experience, is heavy and very hard to transport to the participants. It has been really interesting hearing older adults’ opinions on technology, their life needs, and the idea of social robots catered to them. The UROP allows me to think creatively to complete assigned tasks, and that is my favorite part of the job.

All of this background is here just to set the tone of my summer, a general what have I been up to sort of thing. What I really want to talk about is my new obsession.

Since getting to Boston last year, I have loved exploring the city, or rather, walking across Harvard Bridge as an excuse not to do psets. I have lived in suburbia my entire life, and as tiresome as some aspects of Boston can be, I have fallen in love with the city. Since nowadays I have much more free time than I do during the academic year, I am OBSESSED with exploring more of Boston. The city comes to life over the summer, with a host of events, food, and fun. Here is a list of some of the fun things Boston has to offer that I’ve done in the past two months:

1.      Travel to New York City!

Okay, this isn’t exactly Boston, but its location is ideal for a day trip to NYC. A friend of mine is doing an internship there, and so we joined her for 24 hours of fun in the Big Apple. A car rental and five hours later, we were exploring the city. We had bagels for breakfast, roamed around Central Park, had food cart food (big yum), walked along the High Line, stared in awe at the Oculus, and wandered through Times Square. New York City is also accessible by train and by bus, and whatever way you get there, it’s a trip I highly recommend! Though again, I might be biased because there is just something about NYC that makes me fall in love with it every single time I visit.

The NYC skyline from the Staten Island ferry

The 9/11 Memorial and the Oculus at the World Trade Center

2.      Watch the 4th of July fireworks (and join in on the                       other festivities)!

If you’re in Boston over the summer, you can’t miss the 4th of July. Like it is physically impossible to avoid this holiday, given that Boston is America’s birthplace. The festivities begin with a flag-raising ceremony at Boston City Hall at 9am, leading to a nice little parade that takes you to the Old State House, where the entirety of the Declaration of Independence is read from the same balcony that it was read from every year since 1776. Throughout the day there are numerous celebrations to get you in a patriotic mood. There is the famous Boston Pops concert that happens across the river on the Esplanade right before the fireworks, which I did not attend but could hear from Memorial Drive.

The fireworks are a very big deal. Large boats that will be lined with fireworks begin to show up on the river from three or four days before the fourth, Harvard bridge is shut down from 4pm the day-of so it can be ready for the show. Rooftops and tall buildings with a river view are lined with people. Since the unofficial best place to watch the fireworks is on the Cambridge side, I collected my work for the day, grabbed a blanket, and sat on a nice, grassy patch of Killian Court when the sun began to set. There were so many people on both sides of the river, an estimated half a million just on the Boston side! And the show was very much worth the wait.

Flag-raising ceremony at Boston City Hall

Minutemen marching in the 4th of July Parade to the Old State House

Fireworks!!!

3.      Go to Maria’s Pastry Shop!

I am an outlier of sorts in that I don’t like the infamous Mike’s Pastry’s cannolis. I really don’t. But I wasn’t worried because the North End has no shortage of pastry shops or cannoli options to try. I heard a lot about Maria’s Pastry Shop so one weekday morning before I had to go in for my UROP, I took an Uber with friends to eat some freshly baked goods and cannolis. And holy cannoli it was good. 10/10, will eat again.

(I have no pictures of the cannolis, I ate them immediately)

4.      Go to Revere Beach!

Walking through Boston, it doesn’t feel like the coast could be so close and accessible, but it is! Just a hop, skip, and jump away from campus is a beach you can visit for $5 roundtrip on the subway. Just take the red line, transfer to orange, and go all the way down the blue line to Wonderland: even the name of the stop expresses how nice the place is. On a really hot summer day, the water is perfectly cool, and the sand is smooth and soft. I’ve made this trip multiple times since I came to MIT, and over the summer I took a trip with a large group of Interphase scholars! It is a very accessible way to get away from campus and return to nature, at the open border between land and water.

Beach Day at Revere!

5.      Eat pie at Petsi Pies (and visit the school down the                     street)!

At the outskirts of Greater Boston is one of the most delicious pie places I’ve ever tried. I was actually introduced to the place by my UROP supervisor when we went to Cohasset to visit some study participants, and I have been enamored ever since. Peach Blackberry with Walnut Crumb. Brown Butter Pecan Pie. It tastes even better than they sound. This would have been a quick trip on the Red Line, but on the day in question, the Red Line was broken :(

After getting there, we walked towards a small park to eat, then to Harvard Square for dinner. While walking there I noticed that the Curious George store was missing from its corner (no! what a travesty!) but then I found out it was moving to Central Square (yay! it will be closer!) so that was fun. Walking through Harvard campus, I felt like I was intruding on the place or something lol. We visited Widener Library to get our complementary Harvard library cards for access to their library and shuttle system, but it was closed for the day. I will be back to Harvard sometime soon for that.

What happened with the cannolis happened with the pies ;(

6.      Take the Commuter Rail!

There is a really awesome deal right now that I believe began around when summer started, and that is the $10 unlimited weekend commuter rail pass, valid on Saturdays and Sundays. Some trips on the commuter rail are $10 for a one-way ticket, so this is actually a very good deal. One Saturday, a large group of friends and I took the commuter rail to Manchester-by-the-Sea (yes, like from the movie) and walked over to Singing Beach, a picture-perfect beach, and the most beautiful one I have visited yet. Yes, I’m from Florida. The waves were the clearest blue, the sand, the lightest beige, and the sky was bright with the heat of the sun. The water was perfect.

We then got back on the commuter rail and spent the rest of the day in Rockport, a little seaside town made infamous by its artists, seafood, and quaint, colorful buildings. We took a stroll down Bearskin Neck, ate lobster rolls at Roy Moore’s, and tasted samples of delicious fudge from the Fudgery. All this was a mere hour-long train ride away.

On Sunday, we took the commuter rail west, all on the same $10 pass, and went to a farm to go fruit picking in Sherborn. We walked between peach trees and enjoyed the warm weather with good conversation and laughter. The day ended back in Boston, with a walk through Chinatown.

There are many more great stops on the commuter rail, including Concord, Salem, and Gloucester. I can’t wait to explore more of the commuter rail.

Motif #1 in Rockport

Rocks at Rockport (I understand the name now)

Peaches at Sunshine Farms in Sherborn

My first summer in Boston has been super fun and overall a great success, and I still have about half a month left of it to go. My next few weekends aren’t planned yet, but I can’t wait to see what’s in store!

*This actually happens way too often in the summer that it's kind of getting annoying. Boston’s commute is already a mess: from the red line derailment, the MBTA fare hike, construction and lane closures everywhere, don’t even get me started on rush hour traffic. Mass Ave is at a standstill for…a parade? A street race? Huh? I mean guess the dance party was pretty awesome. And the 4th of July fireworks. I have to admit it’s cool sometimes :P

[gillianwormley]

More than skin deep

Actually, it's been another good well-being week. I’ve been really drilling down on food, refining natural supplements, cooking more, choosing to buy organic products when I can, and further reducing the use of plastic in the house. Good digestion and gut health have a direct link to my happy skin, and with focus, it is gradually improving. I soothe my working environment by diffusing essential oils...and I have some rescue and renew bath crystals for a relaxing soak in a candlelit bathroom. Thanks, Sophie, for that tip....

To explain, Wellbeing - always accepted as important of course - has become more than a supportive focus for me, because of an ongoing issue I have with my skin. I could just attribute stress to the cause of the problem. Whilst I readily acknowledge that I tend to be a bit of a sensitive soul, with allergies of various types showing up through my adult life, this latest chapter has at times made me so miserable. I am very visible as a teacher and singer and need to feel confident. Rather than fall victim, I chose to educate myself and look at things through a different lens, take action - choose a different path.

At the beginning of February, I partnered up with an excellent brand, and began incorporating safe, pure and beneficial nutrition products into my life AND my Little Soprano & The Voice School business. My particular focus, of course, taking care of my skin from the inside out, supporting a great gut microbiome and efficient collagen production - think of it as the glue that sticks us together - pretty vital as we age. And for us singers, that ‘wellness’ extends to the vital elasticity of our precious vocal folds.

The past few weeks have been so full of making necessary changes because of COVID-19. I mean, weeks are always busy doing business online - no change there. Mixed in with family and 1:1 teaching responsibilities, Virtually Vocalise mentoring and event reconstruction/reconfiguring for postponed workshop weekends at Dartington Hall and The Ashcroft Arts, I make sure to include well-being at the core of all I do. Making milk and water kefir, bread, cooking up nutritious alkaline soups and easy-on-the-digestive-system meals, plus taking in nature and my lovely garden, whenever I can. 

In conversation with a singer student and long-time friend who needs plenty of support and encouragement in his own self-care department, I recently shared a brief account of my well-being day with him, and part of it went something like this:

I began with Digestion Plus.  It's something you take first thing in the morning in any cold liquid to begin the day by supporting optimal digestive health. Full of good things.

Now making my morning shake... With which I take with my multi-vitamin and zinc supplements. It's a start to the day. It doesn't sustain me much more than midmorning though. Sometimes I have a piece of toast to follow ...and, I have butter, because it is a medium-chain fatty acid, which we need for healthy joints and our bodies metabolise it well. Coconut oil is the same.

Sometimes thirst will make us feel as though we are hungry. I choose coconut water because of its nutrients and electrolyte properties. And also, I have prepared my skin elixir drink to sip later, which will support my skin recovery plus enhanced collagen production protects connective tissue....like vocal folds! All good.

Just about to go and make lunch... 

And so the day went. As does every day since, with more and more focus and appreciation to take the time to invest in my total well-being, from the inside out, especially now we are faced with the mental challenge of lockdown and overall uncertainty.

Now for some Tai Chi ... It’s new to me. But - learning a new discipline is a good thing.

#wellbeing #nutrition #collagen #guthealth #microbiome #taichi #skin #discipline

[mfakaye-blog]

Decision made.

So. It took a week past the official deadlines, a lot of tears, a failed come-to-Jesus meeting with Columbia’s financial aid department, a gazillion e-mails and too much peanut butter on spoons like the heathen I am, but

I am happy to announce that I am attending Hamline University’s Masters of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults. This is a low-residency program operating from Twin Cities, MN (for those who do not know) so this means that my first day of school will be in July 2019 and I will be projecting a 2021 graduation date.

I am thrilled. I am nervous. I am wondering if this is real life. It still hasn’t sunk in for me, nearly two years later, that I made it through college and got my Bachelors degree. So this might just hit me over the head with the realness of it all when I’m walking the stage for my second diploma.

Anyway, once the dust settles and I can talk more coherently about this, I’ll try to structure out a proper “why I chose Hamline” post, but here’s the short of it:

✨ Amazing faculty including the Newbery award winners of 2017 and 2019 (with 2018, Erin Entrada Kelly, being the guest author this upcoming residency)

✨ A strong emphasis on craft and mentorship 

✨ Faculty member Laurel Snyder said it best in my phone call with her a couple of months ago so I’ll just quote her: “learning through play” - a lot of encouragement to explore different genres and ways of telling story

✨ A chance to see somewhere different and taste dorm life for the first time ever

✨ I just couldn’t get this program out of my head

On the last point, don’t get me wrong: I still woke up today hyperventilating because I passed up a chance to attend The New School WITH a hefty scholarship and who does that?

Well, this girl does. And it’s going to be good. It’s hard to doubt that it’ll be good when the magic is already showing: faculty members’ gushing responses to my letting them know I’ll see them this summer, kind offers of support and acclimation from current students and alumni who will be around campus alike...it is so validating and I’m really excited to start this next chapter.

#decisions #mfa programs #hamline mfac #first year: pre-residency

[lov3lik3wint3r]

Today I'm bored and having a hard time feeling. I've been being responsible and last week I could get right up and do the dishes and do the laundry but i just feel lazy and nothing else not really hungry though I think of eating. I can't really figure out a reason why. I was smoking a little bit but it doesn't even have an appeal to me i just feel nothing today. I love brian and I'm finally happy with that like he makes me melt like a big puddle of melted butter. And it's so simple so I'll say that i am thankful for that. I don't really think about talking to Ben unless I'm bored it's like he was a big part of my life but he chose to leave it so I don't really feel like keeping up. I am thankful that I don't have to deal with his family. Like I think of how quick Brian's mom has made me a part of the family and I love her she's like a friend/mom to me. And it's so nice compared to Ben's family who had their flaws just like everyone else but would rather of talked behind my back instead like after 5 years they couldn't accept me even I didn't fight with ben. I had a dream last night that Henrik killed himself. It was so real to me i dont care to talk to him but it was still unsettling. And lately I have been adulting and it is hard. Id love to have a second job but i haven't yet. It's like I'm home here bored and have a lot of time on my hands and if I was working it would be better and id have some extra money hopefully it doesn't last long.

[betseykortig420-blog]

Performs Your Hubby Make You Truly Happy?

In the past, the tip from a wonderful little ones' birthday celebration in Cairo would invariably lead to a check out to McDonalds - as well as they would certainly be actually more than satisfied. As a matter of fact, I will say that several of these love quotes possess a lot of electrical power that they can easily also recover a dead connection if you utter these quotes to your passion. To create this that little bit additional special, create some keep in minds in that, birthday parties and tips. Through being positive as well as paid attention to pleased notions, your favorable outlook often tends to attract individuals to you. These may feature some terrific publications to review and also bags that she can make good use of. Enable me to present to you my favored 10 fantastic Adorable Lifestyle quotes and also clatter your day up. That offers some tantalizing foods like Grilled Mahi, Shrimp Jumbo Shrimp Scampi, Spanish Paella, Frying pan Seared Atlantic Salmon, Cuban Braised Fish, as well as Veal Piccata and so on I thought that the methods I carry out will certainly bring in folks ponder and also that is certainly not therefore essential exactly what I point out. I always attempt to instruct people on my blog and also write-ups to be receptive and certainly not to make any type of restriction on their own. If you loved this short article and you would such as to get more details regarding yellow pages uk residential (mouse click for source) kindly check out our own site. Chocolate peanut butter no bake cookies make fantastic grandparents presents, educator gifts, special day presents, thank you gifts and even more. After the celebration has been actually kept, customized fixed is best for thank-you notes. 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By doing this, begin being actually innovative along with your concepts as well as be able to deciding when they are paid attention to exactly what they have actually performed as well as do. Given that this might lead to a revelation that excellence tale, also if you come up along with some ideas of rubbish still talk about this. So this result in bingeing, that made me pleased again like I was actually pulling the woollen over everyone's eyes since I might eat all the terrible foods" that I enjoyed without in fact needing to assimilate all of them. However, along with the improvement from innovation, it is actually right now easier than in the past to earn songs all by yourself. Spanish words are actually filled with alluring expressions yet this is easy as well as extremely expressive. 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Those untamed feelings that you think due to your fears require certainly not define you. Discovering response to these questions and also placing them in to composing was actually not a simple activity, but doing so has create me happier compared to I have actually ever resided in lifestyle. And if you were to inquire if they enjoyed at that time, they could find the condition laughable also when not 6 months just before they believed they had discovered the elixir from life when they were actually continuing along with another lady and also experiencing the highs of an occasion. Hey Belle- You must read through the scientific research as opposed to simply publish this and also create beliefs. You will certainly be actually happy and you have to understand that there is actually no way to happiness as well as that contentment is actually the method if you desire to be pleased. We are happy when our team possess loved ones, our team more than happy when we have buddies and almost all the other factors our experts presume make our company pleased are really merely ways of receiving more family and friends. There is actually a variation, and you could alter all your self-talk to become more good, much more nurturing and even more pleased.

[electricgrasshopper]

Good morning readers,

If you’ve ever wondered what a ‘diabolic shrimp’ is, you’ve come to the right place! Imagine a James Bondy villain type living in his underwater lair, directing sea creatures with his super-duper-gonna-take-over-the-world-tech; Joshua Grant is the self-proclaimed leader of shrimp – I’m kidding, really (or am I?)

Seriously though, American author Josh has created his website under the name Diabolic Shrimp and with pretty altruistic reasons. He not only wanted to create a platform for writers to support one another, but he is giving 10% of his takings from his latest book to charity; one of which is oceanic research. Not such a diabolic chap at all. I invited Josh to share something of his life and his website with you.

                    Josh’s iconic shrimp brigade

1. Tell us something about yourself Josh.

I am a caring, compassionate guy with a moderate imagination and a mild case of misadventure.  I have a huge passion for science (particularly space exploration) and for making a difference in the lives of kids.  My favorite color [sic] is blue, I absolutely hate peanut butter (not allergic, just hate it), and I hope I live to see the day we colonize Mars.

2. Do you ever find yourself ‘flailing through life’?

My walk through life has been a pretty turbulent one (hence the ‘mild case of misadventure’).  I’ve suffered some major traumas in life, truly the worst things that anyone should have to go through, but God brought me through it and has allowed me to land on my feet a wiser and better person.  I’ve also experienced some crazy things in life like surviving a major flash flood, encountering several bears, facing off with a mountain lion while ghost hunting, and weathering a vicious storm while sailing the ocean.  So…maybe flailing? 

3. What is Diabolic Shrimp and what are its origins?

Diabolic Shrimp is my author website that’s also designed to support other authors.  I personally buy a book each week from the list of authors signed on to Shrimp.  I then go on to review that book.  I also buy a book each month to give away to readers for free.

I didn’t originally intend Shrimp to be an author support site.  Shortly after I published, I realized how difficult it could be for authors to connect with readers, and just how many sites and venues out there took advantage of authors without providing much benefit.  It was here that I saw a chance to make a difference for a group of people that needed it.  I decided to step forward and create a free space that authors could come to for concrete support.  It wasn’t very successful at first (I had 6 members for about half a year) but a belief in helping others and a bit of persistence has allowed us to grow to nearly a thousand members in the past four months.  It has honestly been a wonderful experience that has allowed me to meet tons of interesting people and create a truly caring community.

4. Shrimp – why shrimp?!

Haha!  It’s kind of an awkward story actually.  My site wasn’t originally called Diabolic Shrimp.  It had another name for about six hours.  I chose that other zany name on a whim.  It was only later when I was out with my friends that they told me it sounded kind of dirty.  I was moderately mortified, ‘cause I could totally see what they were talking about!  I then quickly changed it to Diabolic Shrimp.

It’s actually my little joke.  The Diabolic stands for my diabolic plan to eventually get every single author on there and take over the world.  The Shrimp is because individually we authors are the little guys, but when we band together we make a pretty impressive swarm.  That, and shrimp are fun little creatures.

5. Would you describe yourself as an environmentalist? And do you believe that people like yourself can make a change for the positive in the world?

I’d say I’m an environmentalist to a degree.  I believe all people have a responsibility to leave the world better than when they came into it.  That applies to everything, environmentally, relationally, or otherwise.  I know for certain I can make a positive difference in the world and will continually encourage others to do so.

6. Your latest publication, Pandora, is about a space leisure cruise ship that picks up the apparent survivor of an accident. Would it be right to describe it as sci-fi horror?

I sort of had a hard time classifying Pandora.  I wanted to have a new take on the classic ‘ghost ship’ trope, but also capture all the actiony thrill of the 90s horror films I used to watch as a kid, and then couple all that with a deep moral heart.  So it’s really more of a Sci-Fi Thriller packed with strange creatures similar to films like Aliens or The Thing, with an emotional twist.

Pandora by Joshua Grant

7. Are there any authors that influence your writing, who are they and why?

Several authors have made a big impact on me over the years.  I always have to give a shout out to JRR Tolkien.  The Fellowship of the Ring film came out when I was a freshman in high school and I became a huge Lord of the Rings fan.  I read all the books (yes, even some of the Middle Earth histories), and that’s what really sparked my writing career.  Then Lois Lowry’s works like The Giver and Number the Stars really taught me the power that books have to inspire emotions.

I came upon the Horror genre only a few years ago.  S.D. Perry really blew me away with her fast paced, heart pounding novels.   I then got onto the Dean Koontz train.  Ultimately, I strive to make my writing a blend of these two masters.

8. What genre do you enjoy reading? And do you have a favourite book?

Oddly enough, Young Adult Fantasy is pretty much my favorite thing in the world to read.  Basically anything Rick Riordan writes works for me (shout out to The Lightning Thief).

The watery theme continues…

9. You’re a teacher I believe, what subject do you teach and do you ever bring your experience into the classroom or vice-versa?

I used to be an elementary teacher, so I taught all subjects.  These days I just guest teach in both elementary and middle school.  I also work with middle and high schoolers at church (more on the emotional side of things).  I truly love getting to share my experience with the kiddos.  It was always a goal of mine to use my writing to inspire the younger generation.  I actually struggled with writing growing up so it’s empowering to show kids who also struggle that they can make it.  The only downfall is that parents keep showing up and saying ‘hey, I bought your book for my kid!’  I’m always a little mortified when I have to explain that it’s more for adults and watch them give me weird looks!  I guess it’s more motivation to finish Silly Tales from Albanon!                        (AP: You have said it, and now it is public Josh, it’s got to be done!)

10. When working on a book, do you have a special place you like to write, i:e: a garden shed, a room with a view, an underwater lair?!!

Ooo, an underwater lair would be awesome!  Oddly enough, my brain only likes to write at the kitchen table.  I can’t seem to write anywhere else.  Maybe I’m just hungry for more stories?  (I know, cringe)                                            (AP: well there goes my image of a watery lair with the high-tech-gadgety-thing going on!!)

11. Who or what has been your biggest influence to date?

I’ve had a few major influences in my life.  My parents are the hardest working, kindest people I know.  I dedicated my book to them for their endless care and selflessness.  The kids I work with always inspire me to be a better, more creative person.  God is a huge influence in making me the functional, altruistic person I am today.  And on the business front, Elon Musk is a major role model.  He likes to help others and is constantly pushing the envelope.

12. If you could tell your 11 year old self anything, what would you say?

I would probably tell myself some lottery numbers. J  But aside from that, I’d tell my 11 year old self that he’s a worthwhile, good person with a heart that has more love and endurance in it than even he knows.

13. And finally – if you could be any sea creature, what would you be and why?!

I would be a…drumroll…actually, not a shrimp.  They get eaten by literally everything!  I’d either be an otter or a squid.  Otters are super cute and squid are some of the coolest animals ever.  Hmmm, maybe I should have called it Diabolic Otter…

Sea otters take over the world?!

Thanks for the interview Josh, and good luck with your secret-domination-world-takeover, ahem, with your writers site.

You can find Josh at:

https://diabolicshrimp.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6179696.Joshua_Grant

  Interview with Joshua Grant – Diabolic Shrimp Good morning readers, If you’ve ever wondered what a ‘diabolic shrimp’ is, you’ve come to the right place!

#Books #Dean Koontz #Diabolic Shrimp #Interview #Joshua Grant #Lois Lowry #Pandora #Rick Riordan #sci-fi #Tolkein #writing #Y.A Fiction