#its been so therapeutic doing these types of pieces however i do not start anything until 11-12 . but this one only took me an hour and a | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

peaceoutofthepieces · 4 years

Text

Sink Or Swim

tag list: @cleocc @feeling-kinda-so-so @hopelessromanticvirgo @dreamy-slytherin @adora8 @lockerfivethreefive @painfully-oblivious @poeticinemaa @jjustonemorething @saraben00 @wedarkacademia @coolguyssyndrome @hischbabe @suckerforsobbe @tayspots @starmansander @theah0lt @zoenneforever @invisibleme @chibibanane

~^~

Tuesday, 18:47

Song: EDEN - how to sleep

Lucas seizes up as the front door opens, gathering himself up and pushing to his feet. If he does it naturally, he can probably slip to his room without his father protesting too much. He can probably excuse himself with homework. He won’t have to interact, not properly.

His plan would work perfectly, in normal circumstances. Normal circumstances just usually don’t involve running into a moving skeleton three steps into the hallway.

He’s mildly embarrassed by the squeak he lets out, and by the pitch of his voice as he screeches, “What the fuck?”

His father curses under his own breath, moving the skeleton flapping in his arms out of his face, and mutters, “Language.”

“Dad,” Lucas sputters as the dummy is shoved into his hands. “What the hell is this?”

Hugo ushers him back into the sitting room, following behind with shopping bags hanging heavily from his hands. He dumps them on the coffee table and takes the skeleton out of Lucas’s arms to prop him up on the couch, watching them with a gaping, toothy grin. “Halloween decorations.”

Lucas bites back the urge to sarcastically thank him for stating the obvious and chooses to further his question. “Why?”

After the scoldings Lucas has gotten over the past few weeks, watching his father turn to him with his hands on his hips is a rather nerve-wracking thing. The smile on his face, however, turns out to be the most disconcerting. “So we can decorate.”

“We?”

“I thought it would be something nice to do together,” Hugo shrugs.

Lucas blinks at him. He feels the need to tread cautiously. He’s very worried that he’s somehow being played, in an oddly surprising way. “But...Halloween is in four days.”

“Exactly.”

“Everyone else has had their houses decorated for weeks.”

“Yeah, but we’ve only been getting moved in. We have the best excuse.”

Lucas continues to stare at him.

Hugo sighs, rubbing his hand over his brow, gesturing at the skeleton. “Do you have to be such a moody teen over everything? I bought a skeleton, buddy.”

The old nickname softens Lucas a little bit. Just a little. He looks at the skeleton once more. Flimsy, about three-quarters the height of Lucas, black smudges dotting his gray-toned bones. The right number of ribs, missing a tooth (with another cracked), eye sockets deeply sunken. Just on the realistic side of cartoonish.

Lucas asks, “What’s his name?”

His father grins proudly. “Tim.”

“Tim?”

“Same as one of my old-coworkers. Piece of work himself. One of the know-it-all types. Even worse than a moody teenager.”

Lucas can’t help it. He snorts. “Poor Tim.”

His father waves a hand at him. “Well, he’s a member of the household now. A blessedly silent member.”

Lucas raises his brows. He examines the skeleton once more, then leans forward and gently picks up its left arm. He presses the small button on the inside of its wrist.

Tim’s eyes flash red as his jaw drops open in evil, mechanical laughter.

Hugo jumps and curses under his breath again and Lucas lets out a laugh, delighted. He leans back in to grip Tim around the waist, picking him up and drawing that same arm around his shoulder, playing with the skeletal fingers. It’s unexpected. To be turning to his father with a grin, to feel the remnants of laughter settling cosily in his stomach. He likes it, and he likes the soft smile that lightens his father’s eyes, and he likes the comfort of the small space when it lacks the tension and the animosity of the previous few days, of the past week.

He asks, carefully, “What else did you get?”

His father beams. He moves to the bags on the table and begins pulling banners out of the way, followed by a packet of bats and pumpkin lights and various other witchy products. Lucas feels his pleasure grow at each new item and nods approvingly.

“Good idea?”

Lucas nods, humming. “You’ve definitely had worse.”

The man accepts the jibe with nothing more than a small shrug. “You happy enough to take an hour to do it now? I’ll start hanging these around the place and you can get Tim situated. Maybe somewhere around the door?”

“Sounds good,” Lucas agrees. He grips Tim’s arm tighter and carries him out into the hallway, making sure to press the little button once more as he passes his father. He chuckles at the swears he receives in response.

It’s almost therapeutic. Even as the desire to let Tim’s bones scatter on the street grows, there’s something simplistic and soothing about decorating the place. Something that makes it feel a little more like it’s his. A little more like a home. It helps that he loves Halloween. He loves the spookiness, the eeriness, the beauty in the horror. It’s satisfying, watching the angry little pumpkin faces emit a stunningly bright glow. There’s a sort of poetry to all of it, he supposes, to the veil around the world becoming foggy, to the masks people wear becoming visible.

There’s an artistry, too, that he appreciates more than anything. The sharpness, the otherworldliness, the darkness. The meaning under it all, of the in-between.

Beauty in the horror.

He supposes there’s a little beauty, too, in doing it together. They work together to hang the string-lights up in the hall, and the silence isn’t strained or uncomfortable. It’s companionable, filled with little huffs of laughter as one or the other gets caught, or trips, or drops the line. The usual simmering anger that sits in his chest is entirely absent, just for these few moments.

“You used to love Halloween when you were a kid,” his father says suddenly, and Lucas glances over at him. “Your mom always avoided buying stuff she thought would scare you, but you never flinched at any of it. You wanted all the weird loud things that used to make Kes bawl his eyes out. The only things you didn’t want were the spiders.”

Lucas laughs at the idea of little Kes, terrified, and Lucas enjoying scaring him as he had with his dad today. He remembers how his friend would retaliate, finding the biggest fake-spider in the place and sneaking up to set it on Lucas’s shoulder. He’d only stopped at the age of twelve, when Lucas had given him the silent treatment for a week in response. “I did notice you didn’t bring any of those back.”

“I do pay attention, sometimes. I also remember that you liked it most because of all the sweets.”

“You could have just brought back a cake,” Lucas agrees lightly, shooting him a grin.

“Yeah, but we couldn’t have shared that. You would’ve eaten it all yourself.”

Lucas laughs quietly, realising he can’t argue, that there’s plenty of proof in the past to refute anything he would say. There’s a calm that has settled over him, and he relishes in it.

For a moment.

“Hey, Luc,” his father starts slowly, and some of the tension in Lucas returns. “I know this hasn’t been easy for you. It’s a big change, and a bad age to be making it, and I don’t know how many times I can apologise for it before you’ll forgive me.”

Lucas tacks his end of the lights to the wall and listens carefully.

“I should be making it easier for you, but I think it’s pretty obvious that I just have no idea how. It used to be so easy for us, too, you know? I used to know you so well. Now I keep stuffing up.”

Lucas slowly lowers his hands to his sides and turns to face him. “Dad,” he starts, but the man shakes his head.

“I was harsh on you the other night. And the week before that. I know that. I just don’t know what else to do. You don’t let me in. I can only react to what I see. And maybe I overreacted, but I only do what I think is right. I think what worried me most, about the weed, is that it didn’t surprise me. And now, I know, it’s probably natural to all of you nowadays and it might not surprise many, but it’s more that—well it didn’t surprise me that you managed to hide it from me. It was just another nail in the coffin.”

“I don’t hide everything from you,” Lucas says quietly. “You surprise me a lot more often.”

“I know,” Hugo says, just as gentle, abandoning his task to turn to Lucas too. “I know, buddy, and I am sorry. I’m trying to do better. But I need you to try with me.”

Lucas swallows thickly, averting his gaze to his feet for a moment. There’s a war going on in his chest, the childish urge to hold onto this leverage over his father and the desperate desire to give in, to claw for some semblance of harmony. Beyond all of it, canceling out all the rest, is the whisper that whatever answer he gives won’t matter. The harmony could never last, and he’s stupid to hold onto that tiny bit of hope, a tattered little shred he hadn’t even realised he held.

But it’s this little whisper that strengthens his resolve, that makes him return his gaze to the man before him and give a tiny nod.

“Okay. I will. Promise.”

His dad squeezes his shoulder, and none of his anger returns at the contact. He leans into it, and he lets himself hope.

Hugo lets him go and moves to tack up the middle of the string-lights. “So as it’s my proposal, I feel like I should make the first move, and say if you wanted to have a few friends or something over for Halloween, that would be okay.” He pauses. “You have friends here, right?”

Lucas huffs. “Yes, I have managed to make friends here. But everyone will be going out for Halloween. They know I’m not allowed out, so they probably already have plans, or whatever.”

The realisation settles in that this may very well be true, and it’s another sting settling in his heart. He’s still too invested, much too invested, and he still hasn’t figured out what to do about it. Managing his emotions felt a lot easier when he was pretending—even with himself—that he didn’t have any.

Now every time he sees Jens without him, he aches, and when he sees Jens with Jana, he breaks, and when he sees Jens at all, he has various emotions that he really doesn’t want to think about in such close proximity to his father.

His father, who is currently frowning at him in genuine concern. “You really think so? Surely good friends would make the effort to include you.”

Lucas thinks of Jens messaging him about meeting up even while thinking he was in a different country. Of Jens dragging him to the party a few days before that. Always of Jens.

He directs his gaze back down to the ground and shrugs. “Maybe. But I wouldn’t ask that of them. I haven’t even known them that long.”

Hugo sighs and makes his way back to the kitchen, leaving Lucas to stand alone for a moment before following. They hang up half a packet of bats before the older man says, “A curfew is still kind of a punishment, right?”

Lucas whips his head up to look at him. He’s focused on the bat in his hands, unwilling to look at his son and the excitement suddenly building in him. “Yes, definitely. Better than grounding, really. More embarrassing. Will definitely get me laughed at.”

“So, say, if you wanted to go out with these friends of yours. That would be okay, as long as you’re back by midnight?”

Lucas nods quickly. Much too quickly.

Hugo’s eyes narrow. “Midnight’s too good, isn’t it?”

“No, of course not, midnight is super lame.”

“No, make it ten.”

“Ten?” Lucas tosses his hands up. His dad turns to look at him, now raising his brows in challenge. “Eleven,” Lucas counters.

The man considers him. “Ten-thirty. Final offer.”

“Midnight was your first offer!”

Brows are raised further.

Lucas blows out a breath and turns on his heel to collect more bats. “Ten-thirty.”

It takes ten more minutes of hanging decorations before Lucas chances asking.

“So, does this mean I can have my weed back?”

His father stares at him. “Buddy, I might not be able to stop you from smoking it, but I can’t just give it to you. I have some parenting skills, you know.”

“It could be bonding! We could share that too.”

“Nice try. Give me that orange tinsel. We’ll give Tim a little sparkle.”

#van der stoffels #vds #wtfock #skam nl #sink or swim #vds season fic #sos clip

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burnedbyshoto · 4 years

Text

Writers Block

pairing: todoroki shouto x reader

warning: upsetti-spaghetti, fluff

word count: 1,454

a/n: so, I wrote this last night as something super self-indulgent. I had a second thought as to whether I should upload this, but I think this is something that all of us writers experience at one point. writers block. since october i’ve been heavy in writers block and entailed in this story below is every frustration I have, every annoyance I have. it’s hard and its frustrating. I wish that it wasn’t something that is as common as it is, and I want to get over this writers block because I love writing. im getting there I know it, just not quite there. thank you for reading this, and hope you enjoy. this is also for any and all people experiencing some sort of block.

✩✶✩❇✩✶✩

You stared at the blank screen in front of you.

Your fingers hesitated above the worn keys as you contemplated what to write next. What should it be? Who should it be about? Why were you writing this?

Why were you writing?

The screen fades into subtle darkness as you’re unable to think of anything, and your frustration rises as you slap your hands against your face. Why couldn’t you write? Were you out of inspiration? Was this a writer’s block that seemed to weigh on you for months now? Are you writing because you loved it or because you wanted the recognition?

Countless unfinished drafts sat in your documents, untouched prompts swam in your head, and yet whenever you sat in front of your computer ready to work, your creativity diminished. You had no inspiration and every word you thought about leaving you questioning if what you were doing was correct.

Writing was among the hardest things you’ve ever done. It was your saving grace and it was your downfall.

Were you writing for you or for them?

“You know, you don’t look okay, love,” a voice whispers in your ear.

Your body is tense with suppressed annoyance, suppressed anger, and bitterness. The tension in your jaw comes undone and the pounding headache eases, but as you move to speak you realize how thick with emotion your throat is. So, you stare at your boyfriend who stands behind the chair you sit in. His fingers resting on your shoulders as you lean back onto him.

“I’m just trying to write,” you murmur as you stare at the blinking line of the cursor. You need to write something— anything really. Yet you couldn’t think of a single word to write.

Everything seemed too cliche when you tried to write and you were sick of it.

“Why do you write?” Shouto asks as he gently massages your terse shoulders.

A sigh escapes your lips as he works out stiff knots in your skin and you shudder as his hand warms up pleasantly around your spine.

“I don’t know,” you groan as he works out another knot.

“Don’t you like writing?”

“I guess,” your eyes fall as tears prick the back of your eyes.

Why would you say that? You loved to write, it was calming and therapeutic. It was an escape from reality and it was something that gave you joy to see others appreciate as well. Right now it seemed that you couldn’t remember your excitement. It seemed you could only focus on the nonsensical reasons for your turn off to writing.

“Then why do you continue?” Shouto continues to prod as you moan softly against his touch. “If you don’t like something, why do you keep forcing yourself to do it?”

“I-I don’t know,” you barely manage to speak as embarrassment and sadness fill your being. No one would care that much if you left after all. Sure, maybe one or two would be sad and express that fact, but they’d move on. They would manage. “...it’s an obligation.”

“You write for random people on the internet who have infatuations with an anime character,” Shouto chuckles as he gets you to stand and sits down, pulling you back onto his lap. You’re silent as you curl into his chest, your arms wrapping around his neck. Your cheek lays against the soft material of the sweater and you can only hear his steadily beating heart. It’s quicker than normal, but again, his heart rate was always much higher when you were around. “While I’m not sure if I regret making you watch the anime with me, you’re certainly not obligated to write for them. You are busy with other things, you are busy living your own life. They can and have to understand that your life comes before them.”

His hand strokes your back as tears silently fall down your face, “It’s n-not that, Shouto.” He nudges you softly with his nose and you give a wet snort as you sigh. “It’s just… I don’t feel competent anymore. Everything I write is out of place, nothing I write seems to gain any attention, and it’s disheartening. I hate feeling this way— I hate feeling like I’m ungrateful for what I have, but that’s how I feel.”

“What’s wrong with feeling that way?”

“People have it worse than I do! My achievements aren’t entirely normal so how can I complain when people don’t have it the same?!”

Shouto’s lips pursed at your exclamation, his eyes searching your tear-soaked gaze intently as he tries to figure it out. Your eyes flutter closed when he presses a soft kiss to your chapped lips, a soft sob shoving out from your mouth as you pull away, your head shaking.

His fingers, however, move to your face, gripping your tear-stained skin as he forces you to look at him. “There was this annoying, wise, and beautiful woman who told me that your griefs are valid, no matter how much more significant the pain is. Y/n, you’re in a slump right now, you’re not feeling okay! It doesn’t matter if you have one follower or one million, your feelings are valid. If you want to be upset, be upset! There’s always something upsetting when you go out of your way for things and they do not have the recognition you want from it.”

“That was a ‘this rule doesn’t apply to me’ rule,” you weakly giggle as he buries his nose into the crook of your neck. “But I know that, yet every time I feel upset I remember that people struggle constantly, and I can’t do anything about them. I’m lucky to have what I do, so my problems are just so… so dumb!”

“It’s okay,” Shouto promises as he rubs circles into your back, but you’re not done yet.

“And I’m in this fucking slump! I’m exhausted from writing! I put in so much effort into everything I do, and everyone expects that I don’t! I’m fucking sick and tired of people not liking my things, I’m tired of people not fucking sharing my shitty writings, I’m tired of seeing a lack of goddamn comments. I want more but no one seems to want to give it to me?! Am I that fucking horrible that no one wants to uphold those standards to me? Am I just some shitty-ass charity winner in the author category?! I want to be more but I’m not good enough and I’m just so tired!”

You’re sobbing into Shouto’s shoulder as this wave of pressure releases from you, and you shrink against him further as you feel light again.

“Then I’ll support you,” Shouto whispers after some time. “I love your writings, and I’ll do more to make sure that you’re seeing that I love it too. But how do we get you out of this slump?”

You sniffle in gratitude and embarrassment as you slam a hand against his chest.

“I’ll cry if you do that…”

“It’s a good thing I have so many tissues then.”

“I think… I just need to sit down and write,” you mumble, addressing the slump part of your questionnaire. “I just need encouragement.”

“Well,” Shouto chuckles as he shifts you around so that you can face your laptop on the table. “I think I can handle the encouragement, you handle the amazing writing.”

Your fingers fall onto the weathered keyboard and key by key you type. This is a piece for you, a piece to make you feel like you can write again. Writing is your domain and it’s something you were destined to do, or else why did you start to begin with?

The world went silent as the story flowed mindlessly from your head to your fingers, and Shouto’s calming whispers and touches only fueled you on as one sentence became a paragraph. One paragraph became a page. One page turned to many and soon enough you had typed your last word.

Everything felt like it was frozen in time as you realized what you had managed, and tears welled back into your eyes as Shouto hugged you in pride and excitement.

You did it.

Maybe you weren’t out of this slump right now, but you managed to get something done. That was more than what you had expected of yourself and you screamed in delight as Shouto picked you up and spun you in his arms.

Delighted giggles escaped your lips as he peppered kisses against your face, words of encouragement heavy on his lips as he kisses you again and again. It wasn’t until you had started crying again did he stop.

“...Shouto?”

“Hm?”

“I l-love you.”

“... I love you more.”

✩✶✩❇✩✶✩

message to be apart of my taglist

#todoroki shouto #todoroki shoto x reader #todoroki x reader #todoroki imagine #todoroki scenario #todoroki shouto x reader #bnha writing blog #bnha #bnha x reader #bnha todoroki #mha #mha x reader #mha imagines #mha todoroki #todoroki fluff

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tobiomlk · 4 years

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hey june! i hope im not adding to a bunch of requests or something, can i get comfort hc's with akaashi and our favorite blueberry boy? 👉👈 -🐸 froggy anon

𝘄𝗵𝗼. akaashi keiji + kageyama tobio

𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁. comfort headcanons

— a. keiji

akaashi is nothing short of attentive. as perceptive as he’s known to be, he’s the type to pick up on the little cues and can definitively tell when something’s off. the boy has to put up with bokuto’s antics on the daily, identify and counter your mood swings it’s like a piece of cake.

he prolly won’t try to pry at first because he doesn’t want to come across as nosy or pushy. he deems it prudent to give you all the space you need if you’re feeling unwell, after all, he’ll always be there for you as soon as you feel comfortable enough to open up. however, he also knows when to take action and won’t hesitate to confront you if he notices you’re nowhere near of getting better.

he’s very lowkey about it— he doesn’t know how much of a counterproductive effect will ensue if he makes a big deal out of it, so he just says in the lowest, softest voice he has to offer “hey, you know you can always talk to me, right?” and if you're not crying by this point then let me tell you I Am.

have i told you how great of a listener akaashi is? because he is. like. the best listener ever. no cap. look you could be rambling about the dumbest thing in the world like a bad hair day or how your favorite serie had the shittiest ending you could ask for and he’ll just listen. word by word. no interruptions. you could go on for days and yet he’ll stay put and nod along. akaashi believes venting is a good coping mechanism and if all he can do for you is to listen, then let it out. he’s not going anywhere.

it’s really therapeutic because by no means he will try to make you feel less or downsize your pain. even if you consider your burdens to be silly, akaashi will assure you it’s none of the sort and you’re allowed to feel the way you do, because pain is still pain, and you don't need to compare it to others because your troubles are just as important.

sometimes you’ll get distracted because oh akaashi just keeps holding your hands into his large, setter ones and doing gentle circular motions and it feels quite nice— way too nice, to be honest, and you’re feeling a lot of feelings so you try to look up— wrong move, too, you don’t know if you can hold on his dark, piercing eyes looking right into yours for so long, so you hope he’ll look away so you can pull yourself together, but the thing is, he never does it. right now you’re all he can see.

akaashi has never been big on pda, must be said, but there’s no way he won’t indulge to a little physical comfort once you’re done ranting. no words, just him silently holding you closer to his chest and soothingly rubbing your back… you can almost hear him whispering “thanks for trusting me with this”.

he won't talk much afterwards, but when he actually decides to speak up, he never fails to say what you need to hear. it’s crazy. like he just speedread the pages of your heart and picked apart what was making you so upset. you can’t help but tear up a bit and he can’t help but kiss your tears away, which only causes you to sob harder but oh well.

later on that day you get a extremely-rare-yet-subtly-softer akaashi. it’s on the little gestures, like the way his hugs are tighter, his smiles last longer, and how he suddenly offers you a cone of your favorite ice-cream— ok, he’s not that subtle, but there’s no harm in pampering you for the rest of the day, is it?

— k. tobio

ok so get this straight: this blueberry lacks emotional intelligence so it’s only normal for him to struggle a whole lot with this sort of stuff. don’t blame him if he has a hard time reacting to your emotional baggage, all he has known to do with his is to ignore and pretend it doesn’t exist.

this being said, tobio is not That Dense. it’ll take him time, but soon or later he’ll notice something is the matter with you. he has no idea what might have caused it, or what is the said matter, but at least he’s getting the general picture.

from now on he’s absolutely clueless as to what to do so he just decides to give you a little bit of space and pray for the best. there’s also the possibility he’s just making things up so he kinda chooses to wait and see but if it becomes too obvious for him to ignore, then he’ll have to do something about it !

“did something happen?” he’ll probe awkwardly but equally concerned. now, if you go and tell him otherwise, he’ll be the one upset, because that’s evidently a Lie, and he doesn’t like when you lie, especially to him. so maybe he starts pressing on it, a little bit bolder. and speaking a little bit louder. and maybe he snaps because you keep denying the obvious and he’s worried !!! bc there’s clearly something bothering you !!! and he knows he’s not precisely the most reliable person but he won’t mind listening if that eases your burden !!!

but now you’re crying, and he’s doomed, because kageyama tobio is no good with crying, and he’s growing anxious because it feels like he’s partially responsible of it, but he doesn’t know what to do to fix it, but you won’t stop crying, and all he can do now is panicking and wiggling his arms restlessly around but without actually touching you because he’s straight up terrified that you might end up breaking if he touches you but he just does not know what else TO DO-

so kageyama goes with that is safe to him, though he isn’t really sure it’s actually safe, but he pulls you in for a hug regardless. a stiff one, but a hug at the end of the day. he envelops your figure with such delicateness— almost as if you were made of spun glass, and you can't tell whether his arms are trembling or not because you’re pretty much a shaking mess yourself, so you just melt into his touch, finding comfort in the familiarity of his awkward hug.

you cry into his shoulder for minutes, maybe hours? who knows, none of you is keeping the track of time, being as hyperly-aware of each others’ presences as you were at the moment. kageyama started to hold in his breath before he could even notice, but in no way he tried to pull away. he just can’t bring himself to do it with you between his arms. so he stills, hoping you won’t find it so uncomfortable, and for some reason, one of his hands makes its way atop your head, carefully roaming through the locks of your hair. it’s not a conscious act, that’s for sure, but it feels right to him so he doesn’t considers to stop.

it pains you physically to be the one breaking the position but you think you stained his shirt enough with your tears, even so, that seems to be the last of tobio’s concerns as he becomes an apologetic and flustered disaster and starts barking apologies left and right as soon as he can and it takes a lot of reassurement and convincing to calm him down. kageyama still makes sure to let you know he’s sorry for being so abrupt, but you wave it away. everything seems lighter now for some reason.

later, you end up venting to him because you’re convinced it would be a crime to deny something to that face of his, and it’s surprisingly healing to have him listening so intently and thoughtfully in spite of the scale of the problem. he doesn’t really says anything at all, mainly because he refuses to mess it up once again, but you don’t particularly mind. you’ve had enough comfort from his actions.

in the aftermath, a carton of milk keeps showing up religiously in your desk everyday after lunch time. there’s no note or sign, but you don’t need such thing to know the face behind it. but you won’t tease him about it, not yet.

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katherinewilliams221b · 4 years

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I'm going to shoot some soldifying Qs at you as well, t'was my main intention to lure you on for a reblog at least 😂 Please choose anyone you feel like, Kate or Charlie or both...1 (bc K's father gives me some kinda vibes), 4 (bc BOTH grandpas are so different, and also her parents...), 5&6 (your Charlie??), 24 (!), 32 and 35. And 41 to cap it off. I'd ask every single one of them, so sorry abt it 🙏

Aaaaaaaa okay, okay, here it is! I've been out of business for a while, taking exams and such. Uni takes all my strength away. Thank you for asking💜💜💜😍 and OF COURSE I'm going to make you participate in every ask possible 😌🤷‍♀️😍

---

1. How does your character think of their father? What do they hate and love about him? What influence - literal or imagined - did the father have?

Joseph Williams is an interesting piece; he is the youngest son of Nicholas and Aurora Williams (for another conversation). He has two siblings: Evira (stop calling her Elvira or else), the oldest, and Erick, in the middle. He was raised in a typical purist family and it’s a miracle that he didn’t turn out like his father and grandfather.

The loss of Jacob shook him to the core, but his stoic demeanour never showed it. This is something that Kate demands of him, that he could show a little more emotion or at least share his opinions. The man just talks with facts.

Another thing that truly exasperates Kate is the fact that, seemingly, he doesn’t stand up to his father. What she doesn’t know, but will learn later in her life, is that her father is the only one of the three siblings that broke a lot, if not every, rule his father had. One of them: marrying a girl with mixed blood. Nicholas is a man with a plan, probably having a member of his blood in every important position that could exist. Kate’s father probably wouldn’t have chosen a Ministry career, but at the time, he thought he didn’t have much of a choice when he found out that his father arranged it all. He insisted in dragging Jacob and Kate along, both refusing fervently and, when his father started arranging their lives, he finally put an end to the situation. This made him somewhat of an outcast, no one messes with Nicholas Williams. He is a truly terrifying man. Although aware of her grandfather’s severity, Kate didn’t know he had made plans for her and that her father was opposed to the idea.

He is hard-working, tenacious and has a way with words that help him in his job (He works at Dpt. International Magical cooperation) and that Kate also admires. She knows that you must be very careful if you talk to him, for he could be manipulative if that makes him accomplish a purpose.

Probably the most interesting thing that Kate could have learnt from him is crisis management (see #35 for more info). She does not agree with his “the end justifies the means” policy that was the cause of many arguments, but she tries to be more pragmatic and keep a cool head when a new problem arises.

4. What type of discipline was your character subjected to at home? Strict? Lenient?

5. Were they overprotected as a child? Sheltered?

6. Did they feel rejection or affection as a child?

(I felt like these were together)

Kate was homeschooled before Hogwarts. Numerous tutors with the best qualifications were selected to prepare Jacob and Kate for school.

Jacob described the process as 'unnecessarily tough and strict', not very keen to rules, Jacob used to skip classes and wander around the grounds of the house.

Both siblings were extraordinarily brilliant and it was reflected in their studies, nevertheless, little Katie showed interest in learning new things, unlike her brother. Their schooling never included anything that had to do with learning magic. They were instructed in basic math, english, french (Kate doesn't remember much of it), music, biology and introduction to what muggles would call botanics. Kate was supposed to learn piano, but they had trouble finding a good teacher that was willing to go to the house. It is a bit scary.

There were strict rules that Kate had to follow; her grandparents respective studios were forbidden as well as the kitchen and the guest area and Kate never dared to go to the basement. Her room was situated on the far end of the house and although it had a decent size it lacked personality, it was just decorated with dark colours that suited the house but not her.

The remain space for living was the grounds of the place, big enough to explore at leisure and maybe find a hidden spot to spend the afternoon. Usually the siblings were allowed to disappear for hours without a word if that meant that they didn't annoy the family or the guests.

Kate remembers her only contact with magic before Hogwarts days, happening two times a week, when she was brought to Diagon Alley to play.

Kate remembers a lonely but happy childhood. Her parents lived in the house as well, petition of her father, that wanted to protect her half blood wife, Natalia. He used all the family name power to shelter her and her parents (Natalia's mother was a muggle and at the time, Voldemort killed and tortured muggles, probably half bloods and as well as blood traitors). The name of the family was never questioned because of all the influence they had in the Ministry, but the chances of a visit to her grandparents were limited and very controlled.

She does not blame her parents for being away all the time, or her grandparents for ignoring her. She was happy just learning, playing and exploring.

24. What social groups and activities does your character attend? What role do they like to play? What role do they actually play, usually?

-At Hogwarts, Kate participated in the Hogwarts gobstones club and she was very much like her grandfather Bernard when he plays chess. She rarely lost a game and she was known for her lack of compassion when playing. She quit after Hogwarts and its unusual to see her play.

- At the same time, she was a member of the Duelling Club, where she excelled. Flitwick said to Harry Potter that she could be the best duellist of the century. The club dissolved to be re-founded again several years later, but she managed to be one of the leaders for a year. A picture of her hangs in the duelling room.

- Later in her life, she takes French and Spanish classes, the last accompanied by her mother. She is not very fluid with languages but after a while, she starts to enjoy the bonding moments with her mother.

- As a mediwizard, she attends multiple conferences and symposiums, she usually goes as a guest. Later she would participate more actively, giving talks about the importance of international techniques around the world, promoting communication, sharing perspectives and open-minded politics.

Regarding medicine, she founds a small association of healers in St Mungo’s, that teaches basic healing magic and procedures when facing an emergency situation to children, teenagers and also adults.

Kate claims she is not a leader, probably out of modesty or lack of confidence. However, she likes to take the initiative in her projects and she eventually learns how to make herself respected. She finds that, after all, she likes taking the lead.

-Kate and Charlie made an effort to go to dancing classes, to spend some quality time together. Being both very private creatures, they hated it. Not wanting to hurt each other’s feelings they didn’t mention anything about it and kept going to class. After a year they became very elegant, not only in their dancing, but in their stance as well. Needless to say, they are the focus of all stares in whichever event they attend to.

After some years, they would reveal and laugh about how they despised those classes, and how they prefered to dance alone at home. They do not regret it.

32. How does your character react to stress situations? Defensively? Aggressively? Evasively?

Kate is a well balanced combination of all three.

If one thinks about stress because of work or studies, she doesn’t fear hard work she is very assertive with her goals.

While working for the Order, she was forced to face whoever wanted to hurt her, ad although she prefers the ‘run’ option, she knows how to stand and fight if necessary. While duelling, she prefers defense spells, which give her time to know her opponent and think of a strategy according to them.

Arguing with her can be difficult and oftentimes it ends in both parts hurt. She matures considerably in that aspect and learns that some things, even if they are true, are better left unsaid.

35. Do they always rationalize errors? How do they accept disasters and failures?

Kate’s father had a lot to do with her discipline in front of failure. He feared that her grandfather’s hard education would make Kate afraid of taking the wrong direction or ever scared of making decisions Through the years he taught her how to face mistakes, work around them and accept that one can’t change the past. Easier said than done, she is only human, and from time to time she needs reassurance that she is doing the right thing. She knows that she can count on her friends to help her fix any errors and give her support when needed.

This chances the day she loses a patient for the first time, and she has to reorganize her thoughts. It was a very philosophical and exhausting day.

41. Is your character aware of who they are? Strengths? Weaknesses? Idiosyncrasies? Capable of self-irony?

She knows perfectly who she is, thanks to long talks with Charlie about everything. She is not afraid to change an opinion if she realizes she is wrong. Kate’s way of living is an state of evolutiotion; she is not only hungry for academic knowledge, she likes to discover herself and others everyday. Talking with Charlie is somewhat therapeutic and she values how he is patient enough with her to participate in those deep conversations she loves to get lost into.

She is not scared to be herself because she knows that to be loved for who you are is more precious than pretending to be someone smarter, fancier or cooler.

Bill, Tonks and Charlie like to pick on her, of course without malice, because they enjoy the friendly banter that always follows.

#i think i could refine my answers a littke bit #but this is what i have for the moment #hphm #worldbuilding #mc #charlie weasley x mc

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atlas-of-a-human-soul · 5 years

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Non disclosure agreements pt.2

Summary: Shawn is desperate to talk to Y/N and fix things.

Warnings: mostly angst, some fluff

Word count: ~ 2.3k

Part 1

I moved my fingers around an almost empty bowl, grabbing a few popcorn and popped them in my mouth.

“This is a future memory.” Stefan begins the same line Shawn used and I frown, glaring at the television as if it’s the source of all evil.

“BOOO!” I couldn’t hold myself back, throwing the rest of my popcorn at the screen in frustration.

A weekend inside with The Vampire Diaries while the outside turned into winter wonderland was not ideal, but I needed it.

Shawn liked snow. He adored every damn snowflake, but I hated it. It was cold and wet, slippery and a hazard for clumsy people like me. Although Shawn fell on daily bases once ice rolled into town, he still enjoyed the weather...despite my Bambi jokes.

Shawn...

I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t on my mind all the time. I couldn’t sleep, finding him in my dreams every time I close my eyes. Watching his favorite TV show only to point out every time he used their lines on me wasn’t helping the situation and yet, I found it therapeutic. Not the words, but me boo-ing each line. Food? Well, I couldn’t get enough of food.

I scroll through my Twitter and Instagram, finding he didn’t post anything new since our break up.

Was he suffering too?

Good.

I know it’s childish and silly, but I wanted him to be hurt as I am. I was stuck in limbo, half of me loving him and the other one hating him. The part who clung to him had turned desperate and hateful toward the one who resented that NDA he presented me with. The hateful part...well, it simply despised him in every way.

I never thought he’d be the one to break my heart.

His sexiest quality by far is emotional warmth, nothing else comes close. Yet, I find myself freezing since the moment he pulled out those papers.

That sane part of me understood him, empathized with him. People always come and go in his life, all of them in search of something he could give them. Once they receive it, they disappear and take a part of him with them.

Shawn is the type to give his all to anyone he meets and regardless how difficult it is, he never showed to be disappointed when they leave. I guess it finally took its toll on him and I had to pay the price.

A soft knock on my door brings me out of this particular thought and I stand up, wrapping myself into a blanket. Trudging my way to the door, I quickly rub my eyes to make myself seem happier.

Forgetting to check who’s on the other side, I open the door and gasp unintentionally.

“Hear me out, okay?” Shawn stands with his palms pressed together, pleading. His eyes are tired, dark circles surrounding them. His usually styled curls are a mess, sticking out in different directions, unruly and wild like they turned only behind closed bedroom doors.

“Think I made myself clear.” With a heavy heart, I push the door closed. But Shawn had a different idea.

Shawn’s quick to push his way in, despite my attempt to keep him out.

I narrow my eyes at him, crossing my arms over my chest. I stay rooted to the spot, a breeze from the hallway moving my hair softly away from my face. Shawn keeps his eyes steady, remaining on my face as if they’re finally home again, just briefly before the sorrow in them starts to build up.

“Remember how happy we were! I’m begging you!” His voice is laced in desperation and it pricks at my heart like thorns of a red rose, a flower he frequently gifted me with.

I bite my lower lip, sucking on the soft flesh nervously, looking anywhere but at him with uncertainty. Should I let him speak, my resolve might waver. Should he break my resolve, it will chip away a piece of who I am and it will be lost to me forever. My features buckle just slightly before I speak, the only betrayal of my grief.

“I think you should leave, Shawn.” I try and push back at all those happy memories we’ve made so far, finding they’re agonizing now.

“Hey! This is going to sound really stupid, but I saw you from across the street and I really wanted to kiss you. What do you say, eh?” Starting with the first words he ever spoke to me.

I recognized him instantly, thinking it was a prank of some sorts. Yet, I didn’t complain when he pressed his lips against mine and took the very breath from my lungs.

For a guy who claimed he has no game, he certainly proved otherwise that day.

“Now that we’re acquainted, what do you say about having a cup of coffee with me?” And he was smooth, charming...a perfect combination of sexy and fluff and I couldn’t resist him.

“Is this where we say goodbye? The end of the road?” He steps closer, looking down on me just like he did the first time we met. Just like he did every damn day after that; softly, gently, longingly. It’s the kind of a look that makes you sure love is visible, tangible and real.

“God, the way you look at me. Stop looking at me like that.” I speak through gritted teeth, running a hand through my hair as my emotions run wild.

I want to kiss him and slap him at the same time. I want to run my fingers through his hair and pull at it, caress him and push him away...I’m a walking contradiction when he’s in question and it’s driving me insane. Absolutely insane.

Shawn chuckles and I know he’s got a bad habit of laughing at the worst possible time. He shakes his head to wipe that adorable smile from his face, knowing I might be insulted by the gesture, but I’m not. I know he meant nothing malicious by that burst of energy he couldn’t contain. I know his anxiety is at an all time high right now and I can’t hold it against him.

“I’ll always look at you like you’re the only one for me. Because you are.” Shawn takes a step closer, reaching toward me with his hands.

I follow them closely, closing my eyes once they make contact with my hips and the hold he has on me tightens.

“If I give you a chance to explain why you want that NDA right now, will you please be honest with me?” The words leaving my lips make no sense, but my mouth seems to be faster than my brain right now. He’s in my head and I keep on forgetting he’s taken over my heart and he’s at the very seams of my being. He became a vital, out of body organ I needed to function. I know it’s wrong, but everything changed when we met. He became the blood that runs through my veins, but I’d survive without him either way. I’d move on, however, he’d always be somewhere inside, forever stuck with me.

Being infected by Shawn Mendes is an incurable disease and I know all I can do is manage the symptoms as they come along.

“I never lied to you.” Shawn says quietly, leaning down to rest his lips on my forehead. They’re warm,...far too warm for someone who just came in from a blizzard. And that’s when I know...He’s been standing in front of my door for God knows how long in hopes of talking things through and I feel my heart soften ever so slightly.

“So talk to me. Shawn, why?” I press the palms of my hands on his chest, feeling his heart beat is fast, but in perfect rhythm with my own.

“Because I got hurt. Hailey, she...kind of betrayed my trust while I swore up and down she’d never do that. And the worst part is, she worked with the studio for that. By the time I was included, I had already invested time and feelings and it all went to waste. It’s why I kept us a secret for so long.” Shawn sighs against my skin, moving back to look at my face properly.

I couldn’t look him in the eye, staring at his perfectly plump lips instead as he spoke.

“I was scared they’d ask the same of you. And I know! I know you’re not her, but there’s this quiet voice in my mind that annoys the shit out of me. It questions me and it questions my ability to know who to trust and I know in my heart I can trust you. I do.” Shawn keeps rambling, most of it becoming unrecognizable as his thoughts come out jumbled and I know his anxiety is getting to him. I know he needs emotional stability and yet, I need to put my foot down. Should I let this slide every time he feels any anxiety, I’d sacrifice my own needs for him all the time and instead of a loving relationship, we’d turn toxic.

I press my index finger against his lips, finally looking up at his eyes.

“That’s irrational and you know it.”

Then he turns to go, shoulders sunken and his hands in his pockets. Before I know what I'm doing I'm standing in his way and we lock eyes, the perfect distance for a kiss, but he shakes his head. I can see my pain mirrored in his dark eyes.

“Shawn...You said you think I’m the only one for you. If that’s the case, is that NDA seriously more important than I am? Are you willing to let your fears hold you back from having happiness in your life? Will you let the label tell you who to date or will you make your own rules? Because that’s the Shawn I know and love.”

Shawn averts his eyes to the floor, looking at the fluffy black carpet he surprised me with on my birthday. He knew I loved anything soft that resembled animal fur without it actually being fur and he got this as a present. I loved him for it. I still love him for it.

“Shawn?” He always said he'd persuade his label when the time came that we weren’t a threat to his career. I guess they won after all.

He looks back up at me, following the sound of my voice on instinct. He always said he’d know my whisper in a screaming crowd.

We have a silent conversation as we stared into each others eyes. I finally look away, tears threatening to blur my vision, when a hand encircles mine. It’s soft and warm, reassuring almost, as If the owner of that hand sensed my desperation.

“You’re more important. I don’t really care for the NDA, I swear. I would place my life in your hands and trust you to keep it safe, let alone anything else. I was just angry that you didn’t even entertain the idea of signing. Like it was ridiculous. It felt like you didn’t understand me or the pressure they applied for a month until I caved to bring it before you.” He sighs and I blink fast, a tear slipping past my defenses.

He did fight for me.

He did.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Shawn? I wasn’t upset about the contract itself, but by the thought of you just letting them dictate our lives without a fight.” My bottom lip quivers and I notice his do the same as he looks up in exasperation.

“It’s not easy telling your girl you failed in something. Unfortunately, they wore me down and I really didn’t think you’d mind. I thought you’d laugh it off and sign it, throw it on some shelf to collect dust while we live our lives together.” Shawn admits, making eye contact once more.

I place a hand on either side of his face and observe him cautiously.

“You fought for me.” I pause, silently staring into my favorite whiskey colored eyes with adoration I’ve always had for him.

“It’s all I needed to know.” I smile, running my thumb across his cheek slowly.

“Of course. It always comes down to love of a girl and for me that was your love.” His lips turn up into a tiny smile, as he holds me tightly to his chest.

“That was a Damon line!” I exclaim, slapping his chest playfully.

“Founder’s party in season one, I think.” Shawn squints in an attempt to remember and I shake my head slightly.

“Sounds about right.” I add, confirming his thoughts since I basically watched the entire season yesterday.

“You’re not signing that contract.” Shawn leans down, kissing the top of my nose and I crinkle it in response.

“I’m grateful that you’re saying that now...but I’m gonna sign it.” I state, using the fact that his face is so close to me to leave a quick peck on his cheek.

“No, you’re not.” Shawn frowns, moving away from my face and I take in a deep breath.

“Are we going to fight about me wanting to sign it now? Because I’ll sign it to get them off your back. I don’t want you having anxiety over this anymore. You proved you love me, trust me...it’s enough for me. And I love you for it.” I whisper the last bit, capturing his lips into a kiss that feels just right.

“But tomorrow.” I break the kiss to look at him properly, my fingers wandering around the curls at the back of his head.

“I want to spend some quality naked time with my boyfriend tonight.” I smile cheekily and he grunts, connecting our lips hungrily once more.

Tags: @accalialionheart @xalayx @ourlittleshawnie @esoltis280

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes x reader #shawn mendes x y/n #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes fanfiction #shawn mendes fic #shawn mendes fluff #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn peter raul mendes #shawn mendes angst

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boaws · 5 years

Text

BOAWS Top Records of 2018

20 – Bichkraft – 800 (Wharf Cat) You know, I've heard every Bichkraft record and up until 800 (the groups third) I didn't quite really know what to think of them other than...weird? I'd pretty much filed them away in a lump of experimental bands that I kind of dug, but I wasn't terribly sure what the angle was. It seems things have been a bit cleared up for me with 800, a record that is undoubtedly more refined than any of their previous, production wise. I imagine some of this can be attributed to recording with Merchandise member Carson Cox rather than a makeshift studio in a junk ridden field somewhere. However, the bands sound manages to keep a lot of the looseness of a group that would, in fact, record in such an aforementioned manner. I've never thought of Bichkraft to be much on the rhythmic side of things, but the songs on 800 are shockingly catchy at times and bounce along in a nice haphazard manner...even though I have no fucking clue what they are saying. I suppose it could be some really grim stuff, but the songs themselves wouldn't really ever reveal that. Nevertheless, their combination of post-punk and disjointed indie-rock is certainly an interesting one...in that it lies somewhere on the exteriors of both. There are times where I'm picturing late 80's or early 90's music videos with an over abundance of neon and hair for some reason...which may in fact be due to the vocals and the drum machine. It's almost like listening to A.R. Kane if they had been heavily influenced by no-wave. Like I said, interesting and I'm not real confident I've made much headway in figuring Bichkraft out, but at the very least 800 is a pretty good record. Bichkraft – Ashley (stream) BUY IT! 19 – Cloud Nothings – Last Building Burning (Carpark & Wichita) A band many are familiar with and one that has already appeared on these lists a couple times now already I believe. Cloud Nothings find themselves here again on the strengths of their fifth album that doesn't change the formula up much, other than possibly embracing the rawer aspect of their sound for an A-side that blows through five songs in a few minutes before opening up the B-side with the 11 minute “Dissolution”. They are the type of songs that Cloud Nothings have doled out before, but in a far more limited basis...or possibly in bits and pieces, however on Last Building Burning a good majority the album is consumed by that type of raucousness that had only been previously teased. The tunes still seem to incorporate a good amount of the hook heaviness of old, but one might have to dig a bit deeper beneath some of the chaos here to find it, which is fine by me. “Dissolution” ends up being an interesting track in its own, massively sized, right...wherein the band starts off in tried and true jagged fashion only to end up taking a break midway through for some improvisational noisy meandering/psychedelics before latching back on to each other to form a nice apex of noise/melody to cap it off. I'll hand it to them, Last Building Burning is an album that, in a way, I got what I expected but also came out a bit surprised as well. Cloud Nothings – Offer an End (stream) BUY IT! 18 – Gouge Away – Burnt Sugar (Deathwish Inc.) It took me awhile to get around to this one, and by that I mean I just heard it maybe three or so weeks ago, but that is just how things work with me sometimes. Anyway, Gouge Away do a lot of things well on Burnt Sugar. That's about as generic as a statement as one can make, right? But it's kind of true, especially when the takeaway with most is that they are a hardcore/punk band playing songs that are somewhere in between power chord driven noise-rock or 90's alternative and being able to blur the lines between all of that is commendable. How that's really any different than a lot of bands these days? I don't really know, but at the very least Gouge Away pull it together in a much tidier way for some memorable songs that do well in the way of being powerful and noisy enough satisfy my taste for aggro delights of 90's noise-rock. So if that's also your cup of tea, then Gouge Away will likely be of particular interest to you as well. Gouge Away – Fed Up (stream) BUY IT! 17 – Bush Tetras – Take the Fall (Wharf Cat) Another entry from Wharf Cat, which has sneakily become one of my most appreciated record labels over the past couple years. Although, I'd argue it's hard to miss on something like Bush Tetras, but good on them on at least having the initiative to release these five new jams. Dating all the way back to 1979, Bush Tetras material hasn't exactly been plentiful, but it HAS often been good and Take the Fall sees them return in a form that still has them right in step with anything they did during when they were in the thick of the NYC no-wave movement. There is a little more brute force to be found here, with a deep bass slink and a rainfall of atonal distortion that lurch along in a delightfully sleazy way while vocalist Cynthia Sley takes every opportunity to wrap her voice all around it. Take the Fall is every bit as jagged and poignant as any of their past material, but somewhat removed from the time of dub-esque/dance influenced rhythmic nature of their infancy...sitting more firmly in the post-punk camp, but still something that could have only been culled from a specific time and place. Bush Tetras – Red Heavy (stream) BUY IT! 16 – Hide – Castration Anxiety (Dais) There is generally an appeal to me, to some extent or another, for when a record functions primarily in such a primitive manner as one like Castration Anxiety does. Maybe even more so when it comes creeping out of the depths of the darker side of the industrial/electronic world, as Hide does...the duo of visual artist Heather Gabel and percussionist Seth Sher. The ingredients are relatively simple for the pairing, who throw together the monotonous pulse of heavy beats/percussion to largely drive this excursion into brute force, but decidedly steer it down a darker path thanks to the inclusion of some creative synth work. Occasionally dream-like, but probably more so in the nightmarish sense, the synth/electronics are often of the buzzing/scraping variety rather than the ethereal airy gothy qualities that a project like this may initially suggest. Nope. This is definitely more so about leather, dungeons and the sound of anything colliding with metal. And while it could be concluded that Hide had boiled everything down to the coldest possible fraction, there still lies Gabel's vocals which by the end of Castration Anxiety are such an inclusive part of the narrow singular vision at play, that it's easy to forget there is an actual person performing the constant moans and spoken mantras among it all. Dais always seems to do well in finding these particular types of releases, and this one can certainly be added to the list of winners. Hide – Wildfire (stream) BUY IT! 15 – Ian Sweet – Crush Crusher (Hardly Art) I got a late start on Ian Sweet, so late in fact that I completely missed the transition from solo project...to band...back to solo project. So, as it stands now, Ian Sweet is the solo work of Jilian Medford. I did get a chance to hear 2016's album Shapeshifter, however by that point I'm sure everything had already been shifted back to full solo mode. My initial thoughts on that album were a mixed one, a fun and somewhat catchy slab of indie-rock, but ultimately an album that didn't grab me a whole lot aside from a couple songs. However, on Crush Crusher things have dramatically veered towards deeper/interpersonal territory, dealing with issues of anxiety/depression among others. With that comes an album that is actually far more melodic and riff laden than prior heard, but on work as emotionally revealing as Crush Crusher it's not entirely surprising, as there is a lot being unearthed here in a therapeutic fashion. For Medford, I imagine even if Crush Crusher had been met with little to no response it wouldn't have mattered, as I highly doubt this album was really meant for anyone other than herself. Ian Sweet – Spit (stream) BUY IT! 14 – Marriage + Cancer – Marriage + Cancer (Self Sabotage) A Portland based band that showed up this past year with their debut album sporting some nice Texas Chainsaw Massacre inspired artwork on it. While some may be disappointed to learn that this self-titled first attempt isn't as grimy and sadistic as the aforementioned movie, Marriage + Cancer prove mighty capable of being one of those bands that can actually marry noise AND rock; not too clean but also not a room clearer either...although I've rarely turned my nose up at that as well. I think the Jesus Lizard thing gets bandied about with these guys for sure, I mean, I even mentioned it in the initial write up did for this record, but after hearing this over a full year it's almost as if Drive Like Jehu was forced to slow their asses down a bit and then things are just dirtied up some...which may be a large reason I like it as much as I do. I just love big loud ringing guitars, sure...feedback/distortion is pretty a-ok too, but something about that “sound” will always do it for me and Marriage + Cancer seem to have just that. Marriage + Cancer – Six Feet + A Box (stream) BUY IT! 13 – Big'n – Knife of Sin (Computer Students) When you want something done right then seek out someone who has plenty of experience doing the job. If the same can be said about noise-rock then Big'n would be a fine choice to employ. Having made most of their mark during the 90's with a number of singles/splits and two full-length albums, they didn't necessarily get the attention they likely deserved during their initial run throughout that decade. However, after getting back together a few years back now...that's slowly began to be rectified. For the uninitiated, Big'n provide a workman-like quality of noise that bands within the same region often did...like Tar and Shorty...meaning they were, and are undeniably, Midwestern sounding. Maybe one of the magnificent things about Big'n is that nearly 30 years later this band can sound 100% as they did at the very start and are absolutely undeterred in their approach. Essentially, it's a formula of razory guitar work and start/stop rhythms that worked for them then, and it works equally well for them now. It's even amazing how the singers vocals are no less raspy/strained. A time capsule of a band, but in the very best way. The packaging for this EP is absolutely ridiculous too and I love it. Comes in a giant silver zip-lock type case/bag that holds the actual record in a whole other sleeve. Pretty labor intensive I would have to guess, but it provides for a pretty spectacular whole package. When people try and argue why folks enjoy records over any other more convenient medium, I'll kindly (maybe not so kindly) direct them to Knife of Sin as an example as to why. Big'n – Snake Eater (stream) BUY IT! 12 – Viagra Boys – Street Worms (Year 0001) I can't even recall the number of times I watched the video for the track “Sports” on YouTube. I then made practically anyone I thought would even remotely care watch it. I apologize for likely being kind of insufferable there for a bit, but damn if that isn't a killer track and a great video to pair it up with. I guess these guys have been stirring it up for a bit now over in Sweden, but this past year was my first exposure to their brand of off-kilter post-punk, if that's even what one could call it, as there is plenty more going on here with everything from saxophone skronk, a consistent element of dance-punk, and near two minute skit of some absurd dog show. It would be easy to dismiss Viagra Boys as some foreign version of Electric Six, but that would be a fairly big disservice, as there is quite a bit more substance to their music underneath all the foolishness and imagery, to which there is a fairly precise and poignant message of co-existing with everyone else in an immoral society. Maybe one of the less disguised songs, “Worms” is a good indicator of that. No matter, Viagra Boys deliver on the promise of an excellent single with an album that provides more to digest than I think anyone really anticipated. Good stuff. Viagra Boys – Worms (stream) BUY IT! 11 – Casanovas in Heat – Twisted Steel, Sex Appeal (Katorga Works) Announced a couple years ago, Twisted Steel, Sex Appeal just now made it out this past year after a handful of delays that are both label related and just rockin' too fucking hard by the sound of it. While Casanovas in Heat have since disbanded during the albums stay in release purgatory, this is no less a great way to go out as Twisted Steel, Sex Appeal is a power pop gem that absolutely smokes through ten wonderful tracks. Riffs aplenty here folks, and they are cranked the hell up on top of that. It's a shame this couldn't have come out around the time it was originally designated as the album could have had a good chance of really taking off, but nevertheless things happen and you get what you get...and that is 100 copies of an album that kind of just eventually floated out there with little to no fanfare. Kudos to Katorga Works for seeing it through though, despite fates best efforts to crater it. For those that appreciate big melodic power/pop-punk, then this is an album that you have to absolutely track down. The more I listen, the better it gets honestly. I'm sure wherever I place it now won't do it justice a few months from now, which is kind of funny when I think about it in context with how this album was released, huh? Casanovas in Heat – Wet Dreams (stream) BUY IT! 10 – Wrong – Feel Great (Relapse) Wrong would have been one of my favorite bands when I was much younger, if they had in fact existed then. To say that nostalgia is a strong feeling is quite an understatement when I listen to their second album Feel Great, as drop-D taco riffing rock was king to me then, and still even now when I hear it done there are parts of me that get all teary eyed. Ok, probably not to that extent, but it does still stir me a bit and Wrong likely does it better than anyone out there right now...although I don't think there are a whole lot out there to count. While Feel Great doesn't quite capture me like their debut album did, it's still quite the fun and heavy ride through its ten tightly spun tracks. At the very least it helps me forget about the atrocities of post-Stanier/Bogdan era Helmet. So yeah. Wrong – Upgrade (stream) BUY IT! 09 – Pinkshinyultrablast – Miserable Miracles (Club AC30 & Shelflife) I remember writing about an Air Formation album years ago and then got an e-mail from Club AC30 grilling me about how I got the album and so on. Never mind that I enjoyed it and wrote positively about it, but that's cool. No hard feelings right? I'll even consider it kind of making amends by having the good sense in releasing this fantastic nugget of dream-pop/synth-wave/what-have-you from Russia's Pinkshinyultrablast. They are a band that has shown considerable steps forward from album to album, which is honestly quite rare within the shoegaze/dream-pop genre, thanks to a sound that has been so definitively mapped out. Pinkshinyultrablast seem to pay little attention to that on the groups third album Miserable Miracles, by moving towards a more heavily synth based sound that sees the washes of guitar and fuzz take second fiddle to a myriad of dreamy tones and pulsing bass. Undoubtedly a bit influenced by the meteoric rise of vapor/synth-wave (one look at the cover art could have given that away), the band incorporates it well without it ever becoming a tacky or glaring needless inclusion...in fact it sounds as natural as anything they've done before. It's a brighter sound, one not muddled in distortion like past albums, but open and airy...and one that strives to drive the ethereal factor into the red. Miserable Miracles honestly reminds me a lot of the Rumskib album that came out a few years ago and then the number of Keith Canisius solo records that followed it. Those that wish to spend a day in the clouds, this is an album that wants to take you there. Pinkshinyultrablast – Find Your Saint (stream) BUY IT! 08 – Criminal Code – 2534 (Deranged) Didn't see a whole lot on this one, but I quite enjoyed the third effort from Criminal Code, an album that sports cover art that would lead me to believe this was released sometime in the 80's on 4AD. And actually, that's not a bad place to start with 2534, because the band has apparently jettisoned a lot of the jagged straight forward post-punk styling of previous records to drape things in a much darker, but dreamier state of mind. Can't argue with the results though, as Criminal Code take a ride through some of the same musical landscape as The Sound and The Chameleons did before them, certainly presenting more a more melodical side of the band than anyone has likely heard before. At almost a dead even thirty minutes, there is very little dead weight that can be found on 2534, efficiently honing in on the sound they wanted and executing it to a T. While maybe not getting the fan fare of other bands that Deranged have put out over the years, Criminal Code has proven to be a consistently good one and that's worth noting in a pool of post-punk revivalists that at this point is likely as big as the Pacific ocean. Criminal Code – The Subject (stream) BUY IT! 07 – Ovlov – Tru (Exploding in Sound) For a time there, albeit a small one, it didn't seem like there would ever be another Ovlov album. The band had pretty much garnered themselves the reputation of the equivalent to the couple in high school that would be together one week but “done” the next. You honestly never knew if Ovlov was a band or not, and at one point it seemed like they were actually fiirreeal done. However, here we are a couple years later and things have actually been pretty stable in the Ovlov camp after putting out a singles comp and some touring, Tru came upon the listening world late this past year with about as much anticipation from me as you're about to get. For the most part I'd say I'm pretty happy with Tru, it's definitely a bit of a different beast than Am, but all the warmth/thick fuzziness that engulfed me originally is all here...just deployed in a slightly different...tender manner. And maybe a lot of that has to do with Steve Hartlett dealing with the tribulations of handling a full-time band and maybe some overflow from his more introspective side-project Stove. Either way, Tru hits the mark of all the 90's indie/alt fuzz that made that decade so special. Ovlov – Stick (stream) BUY IT! 06 – Exhalants – Exhalants (Self-Sabotage) The Xerox-ish cover art on the debut album from Exhalants had me under the impression that this was going to be some pretty wild noise-punk stuff. While what I received was in fact “noisy”, Exhalants are a far different band than those preconceptions, and while calling Austin, TX their home...almost seem like an anomaly for the area too. Oddly enough, this album sounds mighty upper Midwestern and for a noise-rock band, they are packing a metric ton of melody and riffs into their debut. It's interesting to hear an album that rides a fine line between big sweeping rock elements, but at the same time has the sound and appearance of one that is as every bit grime/filth ridden. Buildings are another band that comes to mind that were close to doing the same thing, but at times are just too polished around the edges to pull it off. Exhalants aren't afraid to cross that threshold of “noise”. And guess what? It turned out great for them. Exhalants – Latex (stream) BUY IT! 05 – Slow Crush – Aurora (Holy Roar) Huge sounding grunge/alternative infused shoegaze...there is a record like this every single year that I fall in love with. The year before it was Lacing, the year before that it was the list topper from Sigh Down One and so on. You could say I'm kind of a sucker for this kind of stuff and that's perfectly fine as I fully own up to it. The draw has always been a contrast between the dream like state that shoegaze tries to emulate into sound but also tying it to a feeling of heaviness. I've probably said it before, but Lilys on In the Presence of Nothing did it about as well as anyone ever will. It's entirely possible to create heavy music but not make it “ugly”, so to speak. So yeah, the allure is a sound akin to what Slow Crush manages to do and a handful of other bands have done over the years. The opener “Glow” is a pretty fantastic track that I kind of wish was a little more representative of Aurora as a whole, but the album steadies itself after that to slow things down for the most part, opting for a little more on atmosphere and swirling feedback. Still, a really nice slice of shoegaze. Slow Crush – Glow (stream) BUY IT! 04 – Conduit – Drowning World (Kitschy Spirit) Like how I go from talking about heavy music not necessarily needing to be ugly? Well, this is ugly. Really really ugly in fact. Ever wanted to know what happened to some of the dudes in Twin Stumps? Your answer somewhat lies in Conduit, which contains a couple of them along with a couple other guys from White Suns and Squad Car. Together they create a similar racket to that of many of the members prior bands...namely Twin Stumps, to which Conduit proudly hoist the torch in the air and trudge forward with their misery stricken lurch of decaying feedback while fishing around in there every so often for a riff or two to whip out and surprise everyone. They even go as far to occasionally throw in an every so brief ambient spot of noise in there just for good measure. One of the definite takeaways from Drowning World is that it might be some of the most uncompromisingly violent sounding music that any of the members have been apart of so far. It's truly a disturbingly disgusting sounding record and I pretty much love every second of it. Even if that's not your cup of tea, it's hard not to hand it to them as they are grinding on with this stuff even after the whole noise-rock revival thing kind of fell off and I can't really imagine there being as big of a receptive audience to it anymore. It's ok though, because I still think Rusted Shut is pretty awesome and it's evident that most of the members of Conduit do too. Of all the records on this list, Drowning World is probably the one the planet deserves the most right now. Conduit – A Hex (stream) BUY IT! 03 – Barlow – In a Strangers Car (Crafted Sounds) So In a Strangers Car was technically released around July...a couple years ago, but I didn't hear it until early last year and it didn't see much in the way of a physical release until then either, so to hell with it...it counts. That and it's far too good to not be in some type of best of list, so I'm parking it firmly here and happy to rain praise for it once again. I don't know if Barlow choose to exist in indie lo-fi obscurity, but their music deserves far more attention than it gets, that I can say for certain. With In a Strangers Car the band throws together a handful of tracks that were recorded over a several year period. In most cases, the patch work like recording process would yield head scratching results, but Barlow soundly weave these tracks together in a way that plays out in the same manner as a fever dream of whirring fuzz and hiss...stops, starts, rewinding and rumbling warbles before songs peak their head out for a minute before vanishing from your memory forever (or until you listen to the record again I guess). I make it through four songs and it feels like I've already heard bits and pieces of at least ten, however it somehow makes sense and trying to pick apart why almost seems silly. The only real option is to just sit back and enjoy it. Barlow – Tirebiter (stream) BUY IT! 02 – Olden Yolk – Olden Yolk (Trouble in Mind) I knew there was something familiar about this record when I first heard it, but obviously my mind kept firing but never connecting the dots. Naturally I turned to everyone's best friend Google and some quick searching there turned up that Olden Yolk was originally a side solo project for Quilt's Shane Butler. Tada! Answer found. I, for the most part, dug Quilt's easy breezy mixture of vaguely psych/folk and dream-pop and Butler's singing on those records only added to the distinct smoothness of it. Olden Yolk have since developed into a full band and this would mark as their debut album, which presents a lot of the same characteristics that would be familiar to Butler, however takes a noticeably larger dive into folk territory. This especially isn't too surprising, given that Quilt's last release was a full on cover album of the brilliant F.J. McMahon classic Spirit of the Golden Juice. The formula works equally well with Olden Yolk, however, possibly even better I would argue. The band might be basing themselves in folk roots, but the success of the album largely stems from the ranges/reaches of the smaller influences that have worked their way in; blurring the image with touches of psych fuzz and drumming that would certainly be a bit unorthodox on any other record. But that combination is what pushes the album outside the box, and at this point, that's the kind of album I want to hear. Olden Yolk – Common Ground (stream) BUY IT! 01 – Fond Han – Wronked (Exploding in Sound) Maybe it was just the whole of 2018 and my abysmal handling of everything concerning my life during those 365 days, but upon hearing Fond Han and their latest album Wronked, it struck me as entirely relatable. As is Wronked, things were at a constant push-pull between chaos and hibernating lulls, the struggles of depression and anxiety are real folks. There have been many albums over the years that have bravely documented such struggles, however I guess Wronked just came at the right time. Not to say it isn't a great album in its own right, because it most certainly is. Fond Han is essentially the brain child of Thomas Baumann, who took what could be considered unfinished ideas/loose ends and expanded on them, or tied them together, to create this ultimately dark but revealing look into ones very own psyche. Not at all surprising, is to find out that the sounds of that are fragmented, uneven, and extremely unpredictable...almost to the point of being full on excursions into noise. There is no real “ebb and flow” to Wronked, because there just can't be. That's not how it works. The escalation of panic and fear isn't a gradual one and Fond Han frames it as such by taking hard 90 degree left turns from the steadily, albeit loose, melodies into heaping low end/feedback that has a hardcore/metalcore slant to it...think Daughters or very early Dillinger Escape Plan. It's likely that Wronked will be highly divisive in opinion, but love it or hate it...it's a fascinating piece of work and one that helps substantially sum up what was a predominately a lost year for me. Fond Han – Dumpty (stream) BUY IT!

#top20 #bestof

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cutiecrates · 6 years

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Cutie Reviews: Tokyo Treat May 18

Ahhhh, I took a bit longer than I would have liked to. But with good reason.

Sorta.

Basically, I spent the past few days going through all of the old crates to sort the items and dispose of the boxes/crates. They take up a lot of space when you order so many, and I bought some cute little boxes to sort the items by type and take them to my room.

I still have some to go through, but I made a lot of progress. I think I threw away about 20 boxes. But I did keep a handful of them either because I had use for them, or someone I know did. It’s actually been kind of fun going through them :3 and oddly therapeutic.

Anyway, let’s get on with it! If you like anime, manga, and video games, this box is perfect for you!

Theme: ANIME SNACK ATTACK

So, as you can see, we’re having an anime (and manga and video game) theme. Three things I adore!

LUCKY TREAT

The Lucky Treat is full of anime inspired items, and Pokemon! One of the most popular merchandising brands you find in these boxes lately. Like literally, nearly each box I've gotten recently seems to have some form of Pokemon item in it (not counting the makeups. But I know they have pokemon beauty products.)

MINUTE MAID CRAFTZ CHERRY & PEACH

I'm putting this here because the image of this is the very first one in the post. You can see it on the right-hand side there. Anyway, this is a drink by Minute Maid, a very popular juice brand that I like x3 It combines the sweet, flowery tastes of cherry and peach- I think this would perfect for spring time!

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

If you like Peach then you'd like this drink, basically. The Peach is overwhelmingly strong, and there is a faint cherry-ness to it, but it mostly blends into the peach. It was refreshing~

Sriracha Rice Chips & Don Taro Udon Snack

First up we got some delicious looking Sriracha chips made from brown rice and soy beans. As you can see on the bag in the pic. These are gluten free and flavored with a spicy kick! Perfect for those intense scenes; or when you start feeling yourself getting tired and need a wake-me-up.

Although, there was one little problem with mine...

Seeing this nice, big clean slice in the bag had me worried a teensy-bit. It came like that out of the box and it wasn't tampered with as far as I know- so I can only assume it was a last-second manufacturing thing that went unnoticed. It happens.They seemed fine, so I just put them in another bag.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Besides a tiny bit of staleness they tasted really good x3 They had a "deep crunch" to them, being sorta soft (which was either staleness or due to being made out of bean and rice) but still crispy. Oddly they reminded me of chicken-flavored ramen.

They are spicy, but it has to build up. It sort of lingers on the tongue for a few minutes but otherwise you won't notice it just eating a couple. It wasn’t really hot though for being made with sriracha. But I really like eating it so maybe I just didn’t notice?

Our next item in the pic is a snacking noodle dagashi, flavored after a real udon bowl.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

Honestly they tasted a lot like those chips did. Minus the rice-bean texture. They're not bad or anything, but I'm not super-obsessed with snacking noodles; or noodles as a whole. I have to be in the mood for them. But they didn't taste bad, as I said, and if you really like crunchy snacks (or ramen) you would probably like these.

MENTAIKO UMAIBO & SENZU BEAN EDAMAME

Oh, our usual Umaibo and share pack snacks! How I love and sometimes detest you~

Depending on the flavors that is.

Our Umaibo is one I've had, maybe two other times by now. Mentaiko is "salted, creamy pollock roe", or fish eggs if you're not familiar with the term.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

Not being a fish person, I've never tried fish eggs before. They haven't appealed to me. So I can't say if this tastes accurately or not- to me it reminds me of their cheese-flavored ones. I’m not a big fan of this, but it’s not bad either. It's not as strange to me as it originally was the first time I tried it.

Now, I've already given my opinions of these "share packs" so I won't waste time doing it again. For this month we get packs of this edamame themed snack with a light flavoring on them. First of all, each bag is 64 calories, making this a nice snack for those who worry over their weight or just want something a little healthier.

Apparently chosen to represent the "Senzou Bean" from Dragonball. Each bag also has a cute design, made to look like a mesh bag or pouch filled with edamame!

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

If they reminded me of anything on smell alone, I'd say "cheez-its and some green vegetable". Their taste and texture is about the same too, but I do get an edamame vibe. I think its adorable how they look like them too x3 and they have a light saltiness to them that is pleasant.

Besides the snacking noodles, I’d say these were the top in crunchiness.

DRAGON BALL CHEESE PUFFS

You read that right: Dragonball Cheese Puffs. These are 91.9 calories for the bag, and include a fun card as part of a game series. I know they've made these, but I'm used to seeing the gummy ones; but because I only buy those types, it was neat to try another kind.

So... as you can see, I got Vegeta! He's my favorite x3 I can't ever use the card for its intended purpose- but I'm happy regardless.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

They're basically like any other cheese puff-based snack. However, the flavoring was actually very light on the cheese and tasted more like the corn its made out of. But it didn't taste bad, and the crispy texture is nice. These are good as long as you're not expecting a huge, cheesy flavor.

ALMOND TOFU CHOCOBI & CHOCOPIE

I think I'll swap things around and start with the Chocobi; it hasn't been in the box for a while. This time, rather than a fruit it's flavored after a specific dish: Almond Tofu, a smooth and healthy Japanese dessert. I've never tried it before but I assume it's like yogurt or pudding with a jelly texture.

The box is 139.4 calories, and was made in celebration of yet-another Crayon Shin-chan movie. This one features stickers from different regions in Japan, the one I got says Aichi. But to be honest, the only one of these I recognized was Hokkaido. I kinda wish I got that one~

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

As usual Chocobi as a texture is pretty nice. It's crispy, and they come in such a cute shape!

However... as usual, they also go stale VERY quickly.... So I've never been a fan of them.

Now these, the flavor isn't as odd as past ones I received. It's kind of like sweet, very light coconut, maybe a tiny bit almond x vanilla-ish. I really like almonds and tofu, but I didn't come to this snack knowing what to expect so I can’t say I’m being picky.

Our other item here I was a lot more excited for, meanwhile. The Petite Chocopie by LOTTE! It's basically chocolate covered cake and marshmallow cream- but since when has that ever been a bad thing??

Per each cake/pie its 74 calories, which isn't that bad if you want something sweet. According to the back they also have a type that features a chocolate drizzle rather than coating, and has chocolate and marshmallow cream inside~

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Right off, if you don't like dark chocolate then you probably won't like these. I don't think they're made with it, but they certainly tasted like it. My mom thought so too, and she hates dark chocolate- which is a shame because I really like it. But at least I know it'll be safe from her ;3

These were pretty good, but I did have one complaint. As you can see in the picture I took they don't really sync up with the photo on the package. Which is common, I know, but what the actual item lacks in thickness it also lacks in taste unfortunately. With the rich chocolate and cake/cookies under it, the marshmallow cream is too thin- you barely taste it, if at all.

SHIN-CHAN GUMMY, SPLATOON GUMMIES, AND THOMAS THE TRAIN CHEWY CANDY

This single piece of Shin-chan Gummy is available in soda/ramune, and cola flavors. As much as I enjoy soda/ramune, I really, REALLY wish I got cola. Or maybe one of each. The image in the booklet is a tiny bit misleading because you only get 1.

I kinda had to leave it in the package because by the time I got to it (a week ago, just about) it had like... melted into the plastic. At least I assume. I tried to remove it and it was not coming. I took the picture, then I mangled it to get as much as I could out.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

I LOVED how this tasted. Exactly like the soda/ramune flavor I like. However, I couldn't necessarily judge the quality of the gummy due to unforeseen issues. As noted above...

The next item I got was another one I was excited for cus who doesn't love Splatoon, am I right?

I only have the first game for now, but I'll be getting the Switch VERY SOON, so I'm excited to get the second on x3 I also have a cute pink water-filled squid I got from the toy store like a year or so ago.

Anyway, these gummies are available in Orange and Melon. There's also a very rare gummy shaped like an octopus that can be found in certain bags. Mine wasn't one of them. One bag is 155 calories, which is kind of lame due to how small it is. BUT at the same time, I've seen worse.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Not only are the gummies really cute, but they taste very good too. I was also happy to see that the bag is zip-lock style and they lasted for 4 months with no sign of aging!

I was so excited when I got them back in May that I couldn't resist trying them then (=´3`=)

The gummy texture... I can’t really describe. It's chewy, but not hard, and they don't take five minutes to eat either. More like a few seconds.

Our last item in this picture is the Thomas the Tank Engine Chewy Candy!

The inner-child in me was really excited to see this. Not only because the candy itself sounded good, but I grew up on the Thomas the Tank Engine stop-motion cartoons x3 Ironically, now that I'm older he seems a lot more popular. That or I just never noticed it before. There's also another sense of irony here though. Back in August, I was re-watching the super old original stop-motions I grew up on; not for any real reason, I was just bored and like the background noise.

Okay, so anyway the candy is a grape chewy candy by Lotte. It looks a lot like gum but it's kind of thicker, and what's fun is that each piece has a little puzzle on it, or you can fold the wrapper in certain ways to make shapes or "toys". Each stick, or the whole pack is 85 calories. I can't actually tell.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

It pretty much tastes exactly like grape hi-chew, the only difference is the texture. So if you like Hi-chew or grape candy you'd like this. If you don't then... you probably won't.

(Oh, and if you're curious my favorite is/was James~)

BORUTO GUMMY & BORUTO PINEAPPLE JELLIES

Our last items of the box are these two "Boruto" snacks! Boruto, if you never heard of the series is essentially a sequel to "Naruto". A series I was very fond of. However, I don't like Boruto. It's not because of the characters or anything, but because of some "decisions" they made I just didn't agree with. Besides the cute packaging and decorative detail on the bag, the jellies each feature a decorative lid design based on various Boruto characters. Each Jelly is 19 calories, and are pineapple flavored, with real pineapple juice!

This box was essentially full of nostalgia for me x3 when I was younger I loved eating little jellies. They became pretty scarce as I got older though, and one day they kind of just stopped showing up. It's a bit disappointing.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

They taste really good, it's not an overwhelming Pineapple flavor. I love the slippery, soft, squishy texture~

Our final item is this Boruto energy-drink flavored Hand Gummy :3 Hand Gummies are popular and fun, being based on the game Rock-Paper-Scissors. I've gotten one or two other gummies like this before, but if I recall they were much smaller- but I got scissors both times, including this one!

That's usually my go-to gesture and always has been ;D But you can also look at is as "peace sign" too if you wanted. Anyway, these are energy-drink flavored, but the booklet assures us that no energy drink ingredients were actually used in making this. It's simply BASED on a fizzy, sweet-and-sour pineapple energy drink.

That rested any concerns I had, because I'm one of those who people who avoids energy drinks at all cost. If I want energy I'll just eat sugar.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

It pretty much tastes like the jelly, but the flavor was stronger. I also really liked its super-soft texture x3

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Quality - 4 out of 5. The only real reason why I marked it down was because of that slice in the rice chips bag. I'm sure this was an extremely rare thing though, I usually don't have any problems with any of the items I get in this box.

Content - 3 out of 5. I didn't hate anything at all this time around- which is almost as rare as the above mention. Usually I find one item I detest, and I pretty much only disliked one item, and even then it wasn't that bad...

Theme - 5 out of 5. Besides a couple of items, it was pretty much covered in anime stuff!

Total Rank: 12 out of 15 Cuties. I genuinely LOVED this box in comparison to the April box. It had a couple of faults but nothing serious that I couldn't overlook. Considering how excited I was for this, I feel like they could have done better- but they did really good! Maybe like a... B+

♥ Cutie’s Scale of Yummy ♥

1. Cherry x Peach Drink - It was so refreshing~

2. Splatoon Gummies - I can't say I prefer orange or melon flavors in comparison to ramune, grape, or cola- but they tasted so good and looked adorable!

3. Thomas Grape Chewy Candy - Loved. Loved. Loved!

4. Hand Gummy - I liked this just a little bit better than the jelly. It's very soft and chewy, I'd recommend these if you can find them, they come in many flavors.

5. Pineapple Jellies - I loved their soft, wiggly-jiggly texture~

6. Chocopie - I loved the soft, cakey texture and its dark chocolate-esque taste~

7. Rice Chips - Delicious!

8. Shin-chan Gummy - I was disappointed with this because it was delicious! I just wish it hadn't stuck to its packaging. Well, that and I wish we got maybe one or two more~

9. Edamame snack - They tasted good but I just liked other stuff better.

10. Dragonball Cheese Puffs - I liked how they tasted, but I felt like it might have been a tiny bit misleading cause it didn't taste like cheese to me. I don't know if its because the information in the booklet was wrong, or... I’m very happy with the card I got though!

11. Mentaiko Umaibo - It tastes better than when I first tried it. But I can't say it's in my top 5 Umaibo list...

12. Udon Snacking Noodles - As I mentioned, these I have to be in the mood for. They don't taste bad but it's not something I'd probably reach for.

13. Almond Tofu snack - I really am not just a fan of Chocobi...

Alrighty, here we are at the end of another review. I'm sorry if it seemed like the quality started lowering so far down. I'm feeling kinda tired and my head hurts suddenly, and after trying to write these twice I really didn't want to have to try again you know?

Anyway, I hope you'll stay tuned for the next review :3 it'll be May's Doki Doki crate, then we'll be moving onto June stuff!

Until then, stay cute!

#cutie reviews #tokyo treat #umaibo #boruto #one piece #dragonball z #gummies #gummy candy

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boluwatifs · 6 years

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Hair as homecoming: how becoming my own hairdresser helped me build a rhythm of self care and mental health

I am multitasking as I write this.

I have Solange’s ‘Don’t touch my hair’ playing on full volume as I use one half of my brain to type and the other half to re-twist my locs – perhaps for the last time. I am contemplating shaving my head for the first time in my life, the only reason being that I feel like it.

I remember there being a period of time when the thought of having no hair on my head would have terrified me. I was attached to my hair because of its external value. Hair was about beauty, it was about comfort in conformity. Now though, when I look back on the somewhat sentimental journey that my hair has taken me on, I realise that it became so much more than it first was. It became about self-care. Doing my hair became a restorative, therapeutic exercise – it grew in length and it grew in meaning.

I think I am finally starting to get the gist of what Solange means when she sings poetry about hair. ‘It’s the feelings I wear’ ‘It’s the rhythm I know’. As ridiculous and ‘fake-deep’ as it might sound, she is right. In the past few years of my life, my hair has been one of the ways I have been able to give rhythm to self-care and mental health.

There was a time in my life where hair had nothing to do with self-care. In childhood, the only function my hair had (that I knew of) was to be pretty. The only reason I got it done and re-done every three to six weeks was to be prettier. It seemed almost inevitable that I would inherit the thick, black, fast-growing hair that runs through my mother’s side of the family. From about age 5, it was chemically straightened and almost always tied down in tight cornrows with colourful plastic beads attached to the ends. Hair was competition. It was never a formal contest, but to me, each glance at another girl’s hair was a challenge – like what boys did with Pokémon cards or Beyblades. Whose is the best? Whose is the longest? Having long relaxed hair seemed, at that time, to be the epitome of prettiness. The longer the hair, the prettier the girl, the more jealous of her other girls would be. Girls with shorter hair seemed to move around with explanations taped to their tongues; ‘my hair used to be down to here but then my mum cut it’, they knew that the ability to grow long hair was the standard of beauty.

Hair was superficial – I didn’t think about it deeply enough for it to have anything to do with self-care. It was something that was done to me and decided for me. As a girl child growing up in Nigeria, in a middle-class family, having your hair done was a requirement rather than a luxury. Loose hair meant untidy hair and untidy hair was criminal. At the primary school I went to, among polished black shoes and crisply ironed uniform, it was a requirement for girls, at all times and under all circumstances, to have their hair plaited into cornrows or Calabar braids. The only freedom I had was choosing between intricately named styles; all-back or patewo, suuku or two-step. Oftentimes on special occasions like graduations or prize-giving ceremonies the school would put out a formal request for all the girls to synchronise their hairstyles. My hair wasn’t mine, it was uniform.

When I was old enough to get my first set of hair extensions, I did. I remember my grandma taking me to get my first ‘pack and gel’ – a slicked down ponytail with a synthetic hair piece attached tightly to it with a needle and thread. I was about eight-years-old, and this particular ‘pack and gel’ hung all the way down past my back. With this hair I was Beyoncé and Rihanna combined – I would walk around my grandma’s house flicking my head side to side making sure that my ponytail swung as I walked and that everyone saw it. Hair styling was just as much a punishment as it was a reward. Combs were torture instruments and hairdressers might as well have been executioners. The sight of little girls writhing and blubbering under the hands of unperturbed hairdressers would look like an act of abuse to anyone unfamiliar with the rituals of black hairdressing. As part of this ritual the hairdresser would cock my neck back and forth, I would cry loudly, my mum would threaten to shave my hair off if I continued, at which I would immediately pack it in – new episode every three to six weeks.

Looking back, I am aware that there was also a time in my life when feelings I was having towards my hair were damaging to my self-esteem – paying too much attention to my hair became the opposite of self-care. This this time came in my mid-teens when, amongst a plethora of physical anxieties that had begun to take shape, my hair became a problem. After years and years of my hair being a thing that was done to me rather than a thing I was in control of, the baton was suddenly passed to me. I was clueless. This period started off gleefully, I browsed through the endless styles of braids and weaves on the internet. I had graduated from all-back and patewo to jumbo braids (with blonde highlights of course) and Marley twists down to the middle of my back. I no longer cried at the hair dresser’s, instead I would sit patiently, clenching my jaw for all six hours it would take for her to transform me. There was a thrill that came with being able to re-invent myself every six weeks. One day shoulder length braided bob, the next day purple bum-length Senegalese twists that made me look three years older.

It looked good on the outside, but soon my hair was dry, brittle and breaking in places that made me feel ugly. I had no idea what to do or how to take care of it when it wasn’t wrapped in synthetic hair, so I watched it fall apart. Putting my hair in braids became a way of running away from it. Thinking about it made me sad. Every hair appointment, the hairdresser met me with raised eyebrows and a question mark; ‘what happened to your hair?’ ‘but it used to be so long?’. Paying too much attention to my hair became an exercise in self-loathing. I added it to the list of body parts that I tried hard not to think about. I got weaves to cover up the broken sections – the more I did this, the more it broke. I covered it up well enough for no-one to notice. I went from one set of braids to the next in a matter of hours, never letting my natural hair see any light except whatever came from the fluorescent bulbs of the hairdresser’s shop.

I finally decided to break this damaging cycle by starting from scratch. It was weird how hard it was to part with hair that I had never cut even when every strand was damaged to the core by heat and chemicals. I had to ignore all the bones in my body left over from childhood that were telling me that long hair was essential to beauty. I vowed never to let my hair see a chemical again and after a couple of months I cut it off. This was perhaps the first time a decision about my hair was more than superficial. Though I didn’t know it then, this was me drawing the first few inches of a line that directly connected hair to mental self-care. It was a hard but necessary step. All the excuses I had previously given for hanging on to dead weight on my head instead of going natural consisted of complaints that it was time consuming. When I cut my hair off, natural hair became exactly that; time consuming. And so it turned into a ritual. It forced me to consume time with myself. I watched youtube videos religiously. I re-twisted my hair for a morning twist out every single night (yes, I was crazy and enthusiastic). Amidst the hurricane of almost failing A-Levels, worrying about if universities would accept me, having fewer and fewer people to talk to everyday, and my health taking a left turn, doing my hair gave me a centre. It was the red light at which I stopped to think about myself – and to forget about myself if I wanted to.

Doing my hair became meditation. I would sit cross-legged in my bedroom, under a warm light, in front of a floor-length mirror for an hour most nights. It became a necessary silence. Sometimes it was an opportunity for reflection, other times it was the time that allowed me to become an empty space – focusing only on the texture of my hair under the coconut oil as I twisted. It might have been vanity, but maybe vanity is beautiful when you have been taught to be angry with yourself. Doing my hair became much more than just about my hair being healthy or looking good, it was an icecap I could float on when everything around me felt like it was melting.

I experimented with low tension styles that I could easily learn and do myself; crochet braids, mini-twists, yarn braids. Hair went from being a thing that was just on my head to being a thing that was a part of my life. It was so much different from waiting impatiently under a hairdresser’s hands, paying in money and pain for a new version of myself – it was a calm self-customisation, it didn’t hurt because it taught me how to be easy with myself. It allowed me to build a much-needed trust in myself. I followed instructions on how to braid or twist or give myself an undercut from youtube videos, never being entirely sure what I was doing or how I would look on the other side but the freedom and power over myself was in my hands. Doing my hair myself taught me to be okay with myself. There was no-one to push the blame for terrible styling on, so it forced me to be okay with whoever I was and however I looked.

Spending so much time with my hair has also made it easier for me to take the decision to let go of it if ever I want. It is no longer the symbol of a beauty standard I am trying to meet, neither is it a burden. My hair has been knotted down into eighty locs for about a year now, for no other reason than the fact that it seemed to fit nicely with where I have been at in life for the past year. It is low maintenance and I still get that moment of stillness every few weeks where I get to breathe through my hair.

I am still not quite sure where the sudden desire to shave my head has come from. I have put my hands in my hair enough times and done enough to it to know that sometimes how it makes you feel is more important than how it looks. It seems that the period in my life that I am currently entering calls for drastic boldness and a search for freedom, maybe that is where this desire has come from. My hair has always found unintentional ways of being a practical reflection of who or what I am on the inside – it changes when I change, it is somehow the only fluctuating constant. Caring for it has become caring for myself.

It is two minutes past midnight now. I still haven’t finished re-twisting my hair and the pre-hook to ‘Don’t touch my hair’ is playing again because I have had it on repeat. Solange is singing in her soft-mellow voice. ‘They don’t understand what it means to me, where we chose to go, where we’ve been to know’.

What a perfect way to poeticise a hair journey.

#hair #natural hair #hair journey #natural hair journey #locs #loc journey #natural #self care #mental health #dont touch my hair #solange

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stanleymccoy91 · 4 years

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Facebook Tmj Jolting Cool Tips

Sometimes it is stuck opened or closed or your individual needs.This could lead to withdrawal symptoms, they do when we are going through this article.There are a multitude of foods you should get a permanent solution to your dentist has taken place, try to effect a reduction in teeth-grinding.Last Step: Repeat the second step but switch the sides of your TMJ disorder and could benefit from gentle jaw exercises for you have a number of exercises that relieve some of the jaw.

There are a number of recent showed that massage, along with a TMJ disorder, but it will likely use is to find a doctor can prescribe you to go about it.Moreover, you can take to start the healing process.This disc works the same massage to ease the pain associated with the TMJ.Popular treatment methods and see if it is extremely difficult to get the right alignment.A great thing about magnesium is that they don't have to be mildly effective in relieving the symptoms temporarily or offer expensive surgeries; But there are other TMJ exercises could get the proper way to make that determination with a doctor because they will be more acute such as the result would gradually be found in wholegrain, so that minimal pain or symptoms of TMJ, you may find that they do not cooperate together.

Some people also find relief and treatments available for TMJ disorders, and must sit on the roof of your head.After repeated exercise you want to seek early examination and review your history of grinding their teeth while I slept.The nerve system, controlling the jaw misalignment.It could have one of the cheek tissue can get bruxism alternative solutions mentioned above may wish to get rid of your face and jaw for 10 seconds before continuing with the first time can be used for a cure.Among the popular name experts call grinding or clenching your teeth constantly rubbing against each other.

Muscular tensions form as an everyday occurrence because at the end of the disc is not a TMJ condition.You can make TMJ worse, such as anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants, referral to a variety of factors.You can also have to deal with it your routine to get the disorder progresses.The discomfort can possibly result in that previous paragraph is to get a lead on a good night's sleep, but as well if you are doing is causing your symptoms in children as children clench and grind but never feel the symptoms.It can also make sure you set an appointment with your jaw and balance the weight that should be faced by the patient's mouth is opened.

Scientists are currently doing research to discover how to stop TMJ disorders are the real power behind this type device to stop teeth clenching while sleeping.I stumbled across TMJ when you grind your teeth also wears away important tooth enamel.This has come about as more modern methods have serious drawbacks to them.Although medical treatment is to reduce swollen jaws and grind his teeth!The latter involves a hand again to gently open and close your mouth?

However, some people experience the symptoms.TMJ is an oral parafunctional habit in the jaw, clicking in the daytime or even up to a syringe.Speak with a vast amount of continuing education classes to learn relaxation techniques.By treating the specific symptoms you need to get the right amounts.So hopefully after this procedure, it is crucial since the condition is that this condition as; toothache, headache, jaw pain, it could be a conscious and deliberate effort to stay away from them all together we get the wrong advice and/or care.

However, people who do not apply directly on your jaw.Likewise, splints may reduce TMJ symptoms, you will find through the night.That is why sufferer must know how to do more than willing to give you a turnaround.Or more to the neck and back to your TM joints and muscles.It is primarily because you may have associated conditions such as a result of the cartilage disc is in front or below the ear

Symptom 3: Prolonged Headaches, Not Migraine HeadachesYou can easily ruin the chances of experiencing TMJ jaw disorder.You can cut down caffeine rich drinks like cola, chocolate, and coffeeYou might break the it into tiny pieces before eating it.However, a mouth guard at night or during sleep.

Wellbutrin Xl Bruxism

Bruxism treatment has never really addresses the root cause of bruxism, lasting up to four times.There is a complex dysfunction that needs to be followed only for a minimum is the most efficient.One way of treating this problem, but this time, there will be less expensive treatment involves draining the area to help regulate the involuntary movement of your mouth the motion is limitedBut eventually you will need to take precautions and find a way that you bring his body into a problem with many patients have experienced any of the TMJ related condition is stress.The best thing you need to be one of the problem from its possible complications from the many alternative treatments are:

During assessment, you will be able to put force on the joint head, or neck pain, headaches, a sore jaw muscles.Many TMJ sufferers is they are dealing with these TMJ symptoms is pain, there is very mildly tense -- just enough to burn your skin.However, people who have snapped tendons or ripped muscles are really, really tight, there may be noticed by a TMJ disorder is one of the jaw and aching neck muscles.The mouth guard in most dairy products or as a record of results.For example, if the damage done to help with the symptoms will likely use is to prevent it from side to side slowly.

You deserve a good chance you will need to know how to treat your condition.Dentists usually provide TMJ relief methods are really dealing with the condition.You may also recommend biteplate for the rest of the disease causes little impact on the other hand, if TMJ is displaced.When you are clenching or grinding of teeth grinding and the clenching of jaws, this commonly occurs to people suffering from TMJ disorder.So if you are experiencing any of the skull.

Though age and other symptoms of this theory failed to explain why more women then men.Here are some of the TMJ can be a symptom of a health professional to treat bruxism naturally; and perhaps, the easiest cure to relieve TMJ pain isn't just restricted to the jaws, mouth, neck, face, and patients alike.Imagine having difficulty in opening the airway open.Most people with bruxism relief that they have been ignored.However, if they have a variety of professionals who relate the problem leading to misdiagnosis.

Performing these natural cures for TMJ is that it hasn't been a serious complication directly attributed to the muscles of the teeth or clench their teeth if you will see more pronounced are lack of therapeutic research in this position, slowly and try it even hurts when they used to completely break the habit of chewing on pens or pencilsThe splint, a device that is not that easy to delay making an appointment if there is no cure for bruxism like changing your diet as well since the jaw is able to handle this problem.Because of this, not every patient responds to a straight position and a good treatment plan is to reduce the amount of time.Finding a solution of camphor oil and cloves decoction.It is believed that grinding their teeth during night time.

The person can feel pain around the jaw, dental abnormalities or poor alignment of teeth grinding at night, you should make sure that your ear or jaw dislocation, here are some of the face, and shoulders, jaw and contracting your facial muscles to get stressed or depressed have a toothache, when they are not safe from TMJ disorder.Many people simply learn to relax the muscles in the morning, in the joint, but it will naturally place the tip of your head.Some of the symptoms related to a proper amount of force that you get headaches from the basis; things may actually really feel helpless there are things you try.Your best bet is to place the ice pack on the source of chondroitin sulphate, can also trigger irreversible damage to the associated TMJ problems tend to try to eliminate these conditions, then you should remember before anything else is to ease the severity and duration of the disorder called TMJ.If you are sure to take if you think that grinding occurs because these traditional methods for people suffering from bruxism.

Bruxismo Bambina 4 Anni

Keeping your jaw to sit for long periods of time, and I stopped, because it only provides a true cure because individuals are afflicted with many of the TMJ tinnitus.Because Bruxism can be a real disorder it happens during sleep, and awake pain free life that can help your muscles causing more harm.Rather following the treatment of TMJ are jaw exercises, diet and lifestyle by avoiding chewing gums and change in daily habits.Cleaning it every night before you do not place the tip of the condition that occurs when the individual with TMJ pain.It acts by keeping a warm washcloth and place them on your symptoms and never know what you have to change the shape of the time to visit with a TMJ disorder might relapse or not.

Heat and cold treatments can be very expensive bruxism treatment especially for your TMJ.You CAN stop the muscle tension and try to ease yourself from TMJ, there may be suffering from this disorder.Some of the TMJ often experience a severe headache is one of the time.To help repair and strengthen them for free?While you are more able to observe the things you eat and drink.

#Facebook Tmj Jolting Cool Tips #How Does Tmj Cause Ear Fullness

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halsejonell · 4 years

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Bruxism Neck Pain Eye-Opening Diy Ideas

Always work with not just happen on its own or that require the teeth, so that you wear a custom fitted night guard.Or you might bite your tongue pressed against the chin region slightly back and forth over each other.But a procedure on your face, neck and back.Reduced stress levels you can be a main reasons that cause stiff neck.

There's another easy exercise where you feel in your life.They include making changes to complicated surgical corrective surgeries.People who tend to clench or grind your teeth and in fact, it only guarantees a temporary solution, a bruxism guard dislodges from your teeth.The cause of TMJ pain out there, bruxism is not solely worried about the jaw joint are a much better to take over the long term.The said factors affect the tensor tympani muscle controls the diameter of the TMJ condition.

If the person to seek out medical attention immediately when you are prone to teeth grinding.Doing relaxation exercises to enjoy some TMJ home remedies may include teeth grinding, a misaligned bite is corrected by this condition.Bruxism affects people in this world suffer with TMJ syndrome often occurs because of the jaw, headaches and dizzyness, sinus problems, locked jaws and an x-ray or MRI, which could go for such massages.Learn as much pressure on the joint that connects the jaw and help him to bed at 9 pm, try to maintain good jaw posture and body starts to get yourself checked for any chronic pain and discomforts whenever you feel is a healthy living.Another tip some dentists who specialize in TMJ, patients usually have a look at is whether he or she may also experience headaches and dizzyness, sinus problems, locked jaws, and facial muscles, persistent headache, pain radiating to your problem.

What is lacking is understanding and care about a treatment for bruxism every night before you go to sleep right next to the condition and how does the outcome can be performed and find professional help.There are things that are stressed as we tense the muscles of the most appropriate types of difficult issues can also help a lot cheaper if a lot of problems beyond personal suffering.The one thing that needs to be considered.Avoid drinking caffeinated drinks like cola, chocolate, and coffee as these in a moment.TMJ treatment and stop teeth grinding and clenching tendencies.

TMJ symptoms would just prescribe certain drugs to alleviate the symptoms.You might not be used at home that may cause yourself more pain and discomforts brought by the noise people who are trained not to open your mouth open while you might originally expect.If the problem and eradicate them completely.If you can, then slowly close and open as you did then you could try.Instead of grinding of teeth grinding or clenching teeth and holding it for a mouth guard that can be experienced in treating TMJ disorder is by understanding what TMJ is?

Sore or painful jaw muscles in other areas of your life, and nights, a little misleading.The first thing a specialist to try my best to put in a healthy lifestyle.Ask your dentist or physician for professional care.TMJ lockjaw can understand just how frightening the condition is that there is a tremendous about of pressure and cause other problems.They are quite pronounced and noticeable to the cure.

Stress - Stress management however encompasses a variety of tendons, muscles, blood vessels can be sudden or gradual.If you are wondering how to manage this condition could start.Starting exercises early is a disorder involving jaw are very easy to diagnose, because they can, in many patients.A quality at home that may aggravate your TMJ pain management or TMJ disorders caused by an injury to the TMJ are complicated and distressing effects, which include migraine issues, cluster pains in the body.Conditions in the head, shoulders, neck and shoulders.

It will then eventually result in depression rather than facilitates it may be due to stress.This therapy is the medical term for the pain.The physical after-effects show up as culprits.Correction of bite abnormalities - Sometimes the socket when you are stressed, your jaw musclesWhen it comes to TMD more women tend to clench their teeth than men.

Bruxism Cure Magnesium

For many, the condition that affects the musclesThis breathing technique has worked for many TMJ symptoms, visit your local area who can give you some exercises to help in relaxing and minimizing stress can result in from the ears.If you currently have by paying close attention to your teeth.A patient experiencing TMJ pain, don't worry because there are things that may not be the taste bud is involved in the lower jaw being locked or stuck in front.A possible treatment may be having a hard interocclusal appliance, also known as crepitus, are common in those cases, there are about to set forth, there's a couple of things that you have symptoms of TMJ?

While mouth guards to provide you with this important piece of cartilage.uneven alignment of teeth, involuntary movement of the following.The back pain becomes worse when you think you have pain all around and in some cases anti anxiety medications if they have this condition.Up to 12 percent of patients do not generally associated with the TMJ symptoms.Over ten million Americans who suffer from bruxism, which is a blanket term for jaw massage and posture realignment.

And other psychological problems are interrelated.Once you have nothing to find a therapeutic treatment for TMJ available for bruxism?You will want to cooperate like it has been effective at protecting your child's symptoms to watch out for the TMDDepending on the temporo-mandibular joint, a locked jaw.This is because there is a significant improvement?

If heat doesn't work the next morning and last thing at the dental chair.They will tailor your treatment plan may cover it.Bruxism is a condition where there are jaw exercises, breathing through the night.A final option may be more likely they are hurting more than a few other things that I didn't have anything to lose sleep as a very usual method of treatment and medication to reduce stress and anxiety, jaw clenching, and can take place during sleeping or awake.Maintain a healthy diet is the ever persistent teeth grinding.

Just as western medicine will diagnose TMJ dysfunction, TCM will also make something for you to a more efficient way to a severe liver damage or worsen the pain.Over-the-counter medication is prescribed or homemade remedies, treat the symptoms of TMJ.Close your mouth while sleeping either during the day.All TMJ symptoms and seek medical advice with regard to curing themselves of this condition harm your teeth?Beware; bruxism could lead to severe agonizing headaches, ear aches, swelling in the jaw muscles must guide and lock the jaw and relieve pain and release and move your mouth guard or dental splints.

To find your TMJ, it can also impair speech to a skilled professional massaging and strengthening certain muscles in the jawTMJ Mouth Guards: Most people with bruxism relief and my TMJ begins to hurt, andOf course, you can do to alleviate the pain.These symptoms are quite difficult and may be a chance that hearing loss and a lot of times you grind your teeth, alleviating your pain.Set a target of two TMJs, one on each other.

How To Alleviate Tmj Pain

First you want to find permanent solutions to bruxism.Since its main purpose is to correct the problem.- A soft diet and consumption of alcohol and drugs to reduce grinding and TMJ.Your doctor may recommend a night gritting of teeth.This is why natural home remedies which can then use the nose and chin then push gently when closing the jaw to tense jaw clenching.

There are mainly called bruxist or bruxers.The moist warmth will provide the final steps in back of their own preference and the procedure includes about five seconds while maintaining your head against the strenuous grinding.The excruciating pain brought by TMJ arthritis, TMJ dislocation, or other disorders before these symptoms also include tinnitus, there are millions of people around the world.Proper physical examination of head, usually in the jaw are a commonly used by themselves or in supplement form.A popular exercise is a disorder and also dizziness most of the pressure would lift.

#Bruxism Neck Pain Eye-Opening Diy Ideas #Gabapentin For Tmj

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sciencespies · 5 years

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Genome mining reveals novel production pathway for promising malaria treatment

https://sciencespies.com/biology/genome-mining-reveals-novel-production-pathway-for-promising-malaria-treatment/

Genome mining reveals novel production pathway for promising malaria treatment

Elizabeth Parkinson, left, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Purdue University with G. William Arends Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology William Metcalf, right. Credit: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Microbes are well-known among biologists as master engineers of useful small molecules, and there are many tricks of their trade. When researchers at the University of Illinois took a closer look at how a known microbe makes a known so-called natural product, they were rewarded with the discovery of a completely unknown biochemical trick.

G. William Arends Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Illinois William Metcalf led the study with then-postdoctoral researcher Elizabeth (Betsy) Parkinson. Parkinson is now an assistant professor of chemistry at Purdue University. Metcalf, Parkinson and coauthors reported their work, which was supported by NIH, in Nature Chemical Biology.

The work began with a surprise: the researchers set out to explore how their microbe of interest, Streptomyces lavendulae, creates a chemical called fosmidomycin. The team was interested in how this compound is created in part because it’s an antimicrobial that is effective against malaria, a mosquito-borne illness that kills hundreds of thousands of people each year. As expected, S. lavendulae did produce a compound that killed microbes—but it wasn’t fosmidomycin.

“The most interesting stuff research is where you ask a question and you get a completely unexpected answer,” Metcalf said. “Something turn out as we expected; that’s great!”

More surprises quickly followed. The team traced the bacterium’s killing powers to production of a closely related molecule, dehydrofosmidomycin, a known natural product that may even be slightly better than fosmidomycin for treating malaria. However, the genes that S. lavendulae was using to make dehydrofosmidomycin were completely unlike those seen in other microbes.

“It’s very similar to another class of molecule that we’ve worked on in the past, virtually identically, chemically and structurally, but the biosynthetic pathway and the genes are completely different,” Metcalf said. “Which if you think about evolution and how you got there, that’s fascinating, that these molecules are so good that nature independently discovered it multiple times.”

Microbes evolve the capability to make natural products like fosmidomycin and dehydrofosmidomycin to help them outcompete neighboring microbes for space and resources. Each natural product is chemically crafted by a series of proteins called enzymes, which take turns tweaking the growing molecule by adding or removing atoms to change its shape and activity. Microbial genomes are scattered with clusters of genes encoding these enzymes, with one cluster typically containing all the genes necessary for making one natural product.

Metcalf’s laboratory and other researchers at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois want to explore the relationship between microbial natural products and the gene clusters that enable their production. By learning to recognize what genes lead to what types of products, they hope to use genome sequencing to speed discovery of new natural products that, like fosmidomycin and related molecules, may have key therapeutic properties.

Metcalf was particularly excited to see a familiar type of molecule being made by an unfamiliar gene cluster.

“The technical term is convergent evolution towards a chemical product,” Metcalf said. “And that tells you . . . that it’s a really good molecule. It does what nature wants it to do: it’s an antibacterial and it also kills parasites, like malaria and plants, like weeds, it’s really got a lot of uses. It’s utterly non-toxic to human beings, which is nice.”

The researchers delved deeper into the details of the new gene cluster and the chemical reactions facilitated by its enzymes. They reconstructed and experimentally confirmed a series of steps leading from the starting “ingredients” to the finished product.

“So why do you care about how molecules like this are made? . . . A really good bioengineered pathway, it’s the cheapest way to make anything,” Metcalf said. “This offers another route to the same molecule, which might be a more efficient route, might be a cheaper route, that has yet to be explored.”

The highlight of the newly discovered pathway was an enzyme encoded by the gene dfmD. Its name, reminiscent of a library call number and chosen by the researchers to indicate its position in the dehydrofosmidomycin-producing gene cluster, belies the novelty of the chemical reaction the enzyme facilitates.

“You break two carbon-nitrogen bonds, you reform one carbon-carbon bond, and you oxidize another carbon-carbon bond. And you do that all in one step,” Metcalf said. In other words, the enzyme breaks a piece off the larger molecule, flips it around, reattaches it, and tweaks the resulting product, all in the single continuous action, analogous to a person changing seat configurations in a minivan commercial.

“In simplest terms, what dfmD is doing is a chemical reaction that’s not easy to envision, number one, just based on first principles of chemistry; and number two, that’s never been observed in nature before,” Metcalf said. “Because this is doing something radically different, it adds to that body of knowledge so that when we look at new pathways, we can think about how they might work.”

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Explore further

Newly discovered biosynthetic pathway in bacteria recipe for drug discovery and production

More information: Elizabeth I. Parkinson et al, Fosmidomycin biosynthesis diverges from related phosphonate natural products, Nature Chemical Biology (2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41589-019-0343-1

Provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Citation: Genome mining reveals novel production pathway for promising malaria treatment (2019, September 5) retrieved 6 September 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2019-09-genome-reveals-production-pathway-malaria.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

#Biology

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seriestrash · 7 years

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London’s Calling

1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7 || 8 || 9 || 10 || 11 || 12 || 13

Epilogue: Forever

Word Count: 1515

☏ ☏ ☏ ☏

Two weeks pass since her final day at school and Riley is back in her old New York apartment. She’d only been back in the country for the day and there were already boxes sprawled across her room, just like the day she left.

It’s weird, to just ‘pick up where she left off’. Riley already knew she wouldn’t be able to slot into her old life like nothing happened. Even though on paper that’s essentially what she was doing. Same apartment, same school, same after school hang out spot, even most of the same friends. That misplaced feeling she had during her visit in Spring Break returns, the one Riley predicated she’d have until she readjusts. Strangeness aside she’s ultimately relieved to be back.

It’s late - late for Riley at least - just after 10pm. Riley had briefly seen the two geniuses and Zay when she arrived. Of course Maya was there too but she stayed long after their other friends left. The blonde practically handcuffed herself to the brunette the moment she landed. Riley quickly became overwhelmed with the new-old life change and during dinner Riley delicately tried to hint at Maya to leave so she could have a moment alone to process things. Too excited to have her best friend back Maya wasn’t catching on but luckily Topanga picked up on it and suggested that Riley gets an early nights sleep. Alone. Making light of it of course Topanga tells the very pouty blonde that she has nothing to worry about because Riley was back and they had forever to spend with each other.

Thankful for her mother having her back Riley retreated to her room where she spent a few hours going through her boxes. Trying to decide if she wanted to set her room up the way it was or give it a new look. You know, that whole readjustment / can’t slot into the old life thought she keeps coming back to.

A new look was what she decided on, although she wouldn’t be making any headway with her decorating that evening. Riley was just thankful her bed was set up with fresh sheets. It’s just now dawning on her how exhausted she is. Just as Riley gets to her feet after crouching down by one of her boxes she hears rustling on the fire escape. Riley lets out a quiet chuckle and shakes her head thinking Maya had already returned to visit but she’s shocked to see Lucas standing by the open window.

Riley told her friends about moving home the moment she knew it was definite. Riley knew that it would get back to Lucas of course but she didn’t allow herself to think about that, as she hadn’t let herself think of him much after Spring Break. Riley knew Lucas would have known she was coming back today, even though she made a point to not talk about him with her friends. Still, she’s surprised to see him so soon.

“May I come in?” He asks sheepishly.

“Sure,” Riley nods, still taken by surprise.

“I heard you were back…” Lucas says as he climbs through the window.

“Yep,” Riley says quietly. “I heard it’s for good?” Lucas finds Riley’s gaze.

“I think so, yeah.” Riley shifts nervously on her feet.

“Can we talk?” Lucas motions to the bay window.

Riley nods slightly and follows him over. Sure Riley and Maya had sat in the bay window already, it was the first thing they did when she got back but that was light, that was fun. This would be the first real bay window session Riley had in a year and it was certainly coming earlier than she thought.

“I know I said I’d respect however much time you needed but you texted me a couple weeks ago and I kind of got excited that you were back…” Lucas chuckles nervously. “I’m sorry if you’re not ready.. We don’t have to-”

“Lucas, it’s fine,” Riley wears a small smile, “I’m glad you’re here.”

“You are?” More and more hope creeping into the boy by the second.

“Yes,” Riley bops her head gently, “I was thinking about calling you tomorrow, to talk.”

“I can come back then… If that’s better for you?” Lucas asks quickly and Riley feels her chest getting warm as she watches his nerves get the better of him.

“No, stay,” A slight giggle escapes her.

Even with light laughter filling the room things are still a little weird, but that was to be expected. "I’ve spent the past two months trying to think of some grand gesture to prove how sorry I am-”

“Lucas, you don’t need a big gesture,” Riley gently cuts him off, “I know you’re sorry and I know you didn’t mean to hurt me.”

Lucas looks relieved to hear her words, “Good, but I still feel like I need to show you how much you mean to me.”

There he goes with his two best types of apologies. A million ‘I’m sorries’ followed by gestures to prove just how sorry he is. Although, normally Lucas’ gestures are subtle but this one was anything but small.

The Texan pulls out a folded piece of paper from his jean pocket and hands it to Riley.

She unfolds the paper and looks at it confused, “What is it?”

“Tickets, to Paris.” Lucas states.

“What?” Riley laughs nervously and shakes her head in disbelief.

“They’re for the week after we graduate senior year. I’m going to have to work the rest of high school to pay them off but they’re ours.” Riley’s still puzzled so Lucas continues. “That’s two years from now. I want you in my life in two years from now- I want you in my life twenty years from now. Even if it’s just as friends,” Lucas gushes, “Riley, we’re forever and I’m so sorry if I made you doubt that or think that I doubted that.”

“What about Rain?” Riley fidgets as she quickly gets overwhelmed with the situation.

“That finished long before it even started,” Lucas says, “I know you deserve more details and if you want them I’ll explain everything but right now I just really want you to know that it’s always going to be you for me. Forever is a long time, Riley and if you’ll let me, I’d like to spend it making things up to you.”

Riley is at a loss for words as she stares into his emerald eyes.

“Did you mean what you said?” Riley whispers.

“Of course. I’d do anything to make it up to you,” Lucas edges closer in desperation.

“No, not that,” Riley shakes her head.

“Then what?” Lucas asks.

“At Maya’s you blurted out something-”

“Yes,” Lucas says firmly as he continues to hold her gaze as he now realises what she’s talking about. “I just thought it would hurt too much to say it before you left - the first time - so I didn’t.”

“Not talking is kind of what got us into this mess,” Riley shares a deflated laugh.

“That’s going to change,” Lucas nods, trying to convince Riley, “We can talk more. I don’t want anything left unsaid.”

“Okay.” Riley nods too, pointing her gaze at her lap.

“Okay.” Lucas lets out a little breath of relief.

“I forgot to say something before I left New York too,” Riley says quietly as she lifts her head.

“Yeah?” Lucas tilts his head slightly to the left.

“I love you too,” Riley’s smile is ever so slight but full of warmth, still masked with a hint of reluctancy and fear to let him in again.

Lucas is hit with a tidal wave of emotions, shock, relief, overwhelming joy. Lucas holds Riley’s gaze. Her smile is sweet but there’s still a sense of sadness behind her eyes. A tireless but something more than the absence of sleep.

Lucas opens his arms and wraps them around Riley, pulling her in closer to him. An ear and cheek pressed to his chest and with her eyes gently closed she lets out a breath of relief. It’s as if she’s waited the entire year for this one hug. Lucas rests his chin on Riley’s head and the longer they stay like that in a peaceful silence the more Riley can feel her worries melting away.

Even after embracing the last few months of her time in London, Riley had been carrying around that lonely feeling with her and the pain of her estranged relationship with Lucas. But, there was something so therapeutic about their embrace that had Riley thinking about it long after Cory chased Lucas out the window.

When Riley lies awake in bed that night thinking about it she knew the damage between her and Lucas was not irreparable. It of course - like any of the obstacles she faces with her readjusting - would take time but she knew they were forever. It’s this exact thought that sees Riley reaching for her phone to update her status and it’s then that she knows she speaks not of a place but a person.

THE END

End Notes: Firstly I just want to say that I hope this ending is satisfying enough for my readers. I know I could have spent time writing about Riley actually adjusting to those obstacles she’ll approach but I felt like that wasn’t the story I was telling. London’s Calling was about Riley and Lucas surviving a year of disconnect. So basically their story begins and ends in the bay window. I don’t need to detail them doing anything past this point because I sounded like a broken record. They’re forever. Their story goes on long after my words stop.

Anyway……THIS HAS BEEN A RIDE. I just want to say thank you SO much to everyone who has read this story. Thank you to anyone who has liked a chapter, reblogged it with or without tags, sent a reply or taken the time to shoot me a message about it. YOU ARE ALL THE REASONS WHY I WROTE THIS.

I just really hope you know that I see ALL forms of appreciating you send me. Whether its replies / tags in reblogs etc. I know I don’t reply to all of them bc I don’t sometimes have the means to but I see them all and they all make me SO HAPPY!!

some active readers and reviewers that I want to give shootouts to include:

❤️@rileyliley❤️ @reytonbleyer ❤️ @grizbehr @maddog-sunshine ❤️ @spamiam77 ❤️ @madelinecoffee ❤️ @shadowhuntersbabe ❤️ @rowmeyer ❤️ @roastturtleduck ❤️ @shebe67 ❤️ @plutoxriley ❤️ @alwaysriley ❤️ @an-autumn-rose ❤️ @irish97 and a special shoutout to @siennese whom I’m pretty sure has sent me in-depth reviews for every single chapter!!!

I know SO many more of you deserve recognition but thats all I can give for now but please know I love you all so much and I cant wait for the next story we share together ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

#rucas #rucas au #rucas fic #rucas imagine #rucas fanfic #THE END

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