#spent the last 3 hours with no internet connection

[bnnywngs]

A young man with a elegant uniform was standing still right in front of the school gate, arms crossed and a stern expression in his beautiful face. By the crest on his chest and the color, it was clear he was from the extremely expensive prestigious private school two streets away from the public one he was currently glaring at - Cloud Recesses Academy. And by his look (the way his shoes shined, his bag looked expensive, and his haircut was very much like a young master) he could see he was from a prestigious family, too.

Yiling High School was an average public institution with it's lack of facilities and funds. It has a quite gloomy vibe around, with dark unwashed outside walls, dirty overgrown lawn and the vandalization that could be seen anywhere you walked by.

"Maybe he came to ambush our Louzu." a student murmured to their friends.

"Eh~? But why would Louzu be close to these rich kids?" one of them asked back "He's always talking shit about them."

"Right? Maybe this one didn't like it." another one laughed "They're quite sensitive, right?"

"Yeah!" they all laughed together, staring at the private school boy as they walked past.

They boy didn't even move to acknowledge the students staring at him not at all discreet, he was just standing there waiting for something or someone.

The ones ready for a good gossip, or who liked to watch their Laozu, the leader of the delinquent group of these school, the fear of the others, fight stayed close by waiting to see what was going to happen.

Some girls got interested in his beautiful face and wanted to get close, but decided to also wait.

They didn't need to wait for too long, because not long after, a boy with the same uniform as them came running out of the building, his long hair flying behind him quite prettily. It was the Yiling Laozu himself, going straight to the private school boy.

"Lan Zhan!" he yelled, a bright smile in his face.

The stern expression have way to a soft look, a barely there smile, and his arms uncrossed to open in wait. The Yiling Laozu jumped and hugged his boy with his long arms and legs, looking very happy.

"Wei Ying." the one holding him with too much easy said.

"Did you came to pick me up?"

"Mn." he nodded, sparing a small look around him using the corner of his eyes "Came to pick my boyfriend so we can walk home together."

Every student around them froze in shock hearing those words. Since when their Laozu had a boyfriend?!

With the happiest expression they ever saw on his pretty face, Yiling Laozu kissed the other boy on the mouth quite shamelessly, putting the last nail on the gossip billboard.

"Then, let's go!" Yiling Laozu said, getting down and walking away with his boyfriend holding hands in a very, extremely romantic way, the sunset making everything look even more surreal.

"Eat the rich, huh?" someone said in the silence they left behind.

It was complete and utter chaos the other morning when Wei Ying arrived in school, a hickey on the back of his neck.

(apparently, someone tried to confess to Wei Ying that week, and couldn't take no as answer and kept insisting and stalking him, so the boyfriend, Lan Zhan, decided to take matters into his own (big) hands)

#spent the last 3 hours with no internet connection #used this time to write this then sleep #am still sleepy #mdzs #wei wuxian #wei ying #lan wangji #lan zhan #wangxian #mdzs headcanons #modern mdzs #i may be reading too much yankee bl #delinquent wwx #jealous lan wangji #mdzs high school au #my writing #bnnywngs writing

[tismrot]

HOW FATAL IS YOUR GOOD OMENS BRAINROT ? a checklist

Give yourself a point for everything that applies to you.

LEVEL 1 [ ] I have seen both seasons.

[ ] I can name at least one character that isn’t Aziraphale or Crowley.

[ ] I know that Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman wrote the book. Points: [ ] of 3

---

LEVEL 2 [ ] I have seen both seasons more than once.

[ ] I know I can write “Aziraphale” without spelling it wrong. Bonus point if you have actually written the name anywhere, for any reason.

[ ] I have had a conversation about Good Omens with a person outside of the internet in the last 3 months. Points: [ ] of 3 + [ ] bonus points --- LEVEL 3 [ ] I experienced any negative feeling beyond "ouch, that sucks for them!" after the ending of season 2.

[ ] I have looked up anything related to Good Omens, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Michael Sheen or David Tennant in the last 3 months.

[ ] I know what #payyourwriters refers to.

[ ] I have had at least one (1) thought about Crowley or Aziraphale (or both). Bonus point if you told anyone (Tumblr counts).

[ ] I read the book before the show came out. Points: [ ] of 5 + [ ] bonus points ---

LEVEL 4 [ ] I have seen both seasons more than three times and some scenes more than that.

[ ] Somebody watched Good Omens because of me. One extra point for each additional person!

[ ] I catch myself thinking about Good Omens when I should be thinking about other things.

[ ] I have listened to Queen more than I usually do during the last 3 months.

[ ] I have read or listened to the book (don’t have to have read/heard all of it for 1 point) after season 1. Points: [ ] of 5 + [ ] bonus points ---

LEVEL 5 [ ] I have analyzed the lyrics of most of the songs and experienced moving emotions.

[ ] I have either made a new account or revived an unused account somewhere ONLY to browse Good Omens related media. One bonus point for each additional new/renewed account. (Renewed = you haven't touched it in at least 2 years)

[ ] I have watched at least 5 videos on YouTube about Good Omens.

[ ] I no longer blush while reading fics.

[ ] I have a stash of saved images on my phone/IG account/Pinterest/other I would very much not like anyone to see.

[ ] I have made any game character look like characters from the show. Three bonus points if you googled 'south downs cottages' while playing The Sims. Points: [ ] of 6 + [ ] bonus points ---

LEVEL 6 [ ] I have genuine, tangible heartbreak due to Good Omens, and I have experienced heartbreak before - so I know what it feels like. (Friend/platonic/aro heartbreaks count, ofc.)

[ ] I have shared my support for the strikers multiple times.

[ ] I know more than I’d like to know about the anatomy of male snakes.

[ ] I have published Good Omens related media - fics, artwork, big metas (spent more than three hours researching/writing it), music, videos. Bonus point if this happened on a recently created or renewed account.

[ ] I have had dreams about something Good Omens-related. If this was a spicy dream, collect 3 extra points.

[ ] Things that shouldn’t remind me of the show, reminds me of the show. (Flies, clocks, ducks, classical music, drinking coffee, anything related to England, biblical references, etc.)

[ ] I have a set of beliefs and theories that I stick to - example: coffee theory, body swap theory, Crowley is Raphael, etc. Bonus point if any of these are genuinely from your own head.

[ ] I have a favorite Crowley (Bildaddy?).

[ ] I have listened to other people’s Good Omens themed playlists/music on YouTube or Spotify. Points: [ ] of 9 points + [ ] bonus points ---

LEVEL 7 [ ] I have experienced a spike in learning/skill after watching the show. (Read Shakespeare, history, philosophy, books mentioned, shown or referenced l, learned or improved a craft and any other neuron connection boosting activity).

[ ] I have experienced an increase in my preferred destructive coping mechanism after watching the show, but I’d rather have it this way than not having watched it.

[ ] I have been sad that I am not an immortal, celestial being fighting for the opportunity to finally be with my soulmate and lover, another immortal, celestial being forced to work for a rival oppressive government, after 6000 years of queer yearning and forbidden desire. I have been sad that I - due to human life expectancy, at the very least - can NOT experience such love. Ever.

[ ] Good Omens has affected my sexuality (kinks, roleplay, thoughts, type of desired partner, etc.)

[ ] I know what the archangel Michael’s ring looks like, and what it’s modeled after.

[ ] I have made my own playlist with music reminding me of Good Omens.

[ ] I have had trouble sleeping because I thought about my fic narrative (even if I haven’t started writing it yet), unfinished drawing, video idea or similar.

[ ] I can, with worrying accuracy, correctly guess the episode when watching a scene from the show.

[ ] I read an insane amount of layered theories and possible references and so on, into every word said by Aziraphale and Crowley, to the point where watching is difficult because I get so many fan theories in my head I have to write down.

[ ] I want to travel to London. Bonus point if you already have been to London pre-brainrot and hated it. If you live in London, you get a point if Good Omens made you visit Soho even though you know it wasn’t filmed there. If you live in Soho, you get a point if you've been to the South Downs because of Good Omens.

[ ] I have thought of or prepared a Good Omens costume for Halloween. Bonus point if you have already found a reason to wear it. Bonus point if you wear it casually. Bonus point if the costume is inconspicuous enough that you can go to work/school without it being too weird. Bonus point if, when wearing your costume, you sat on a bench on purpose. Points: [ ] of 11 + [ ] bonus points --- INSANE LEVEL [ ] I have been a fan of the book since 1990. [ ] I read queerness into the book independently (be honest). [ ] I have made money creating Good Omens-anything. [ ] I have met and/or talked to Neil Gaiman/Terry Pratchett(RIP)/the actors outside of social media (mail and cons count, Tumblr does not) specifically about the book or later, the show. [ ] I have hosted a Good Omens themed event (wedding, birthday party, con, baby shower, etc). One point for each event.

[ ] The amount of text I’ve written (fics, metas, song lyrics, poems, whatever) is equal to or greater than the amount of text in the book. Points: [ ] of 6 + [ ] bonus points --- GOD'S FAVORITE-LEVEL [ ] Michael Sheen retweeted you or referenced something of yours in any way. This one is worth 25 lazerii, which is more than all the other points combined. You only need this one checked to have 100% fatal Good Omens brainrot. --- Total points: [ ] of 48 + [ ] bonus points = [ ] points SCORE 1 - 3 points: Why did you take this test? Go do something better with your life, you don't belong here. Enjoy your freedom, the lightness in your heart and the fresh breeze upon your unbothered, youthful face. 3 - 6 points: I bet you still know how to feel happiness. It's still time, you can turn this around. I suggest you just leave this now, and come back whenever you see an ad for season 3. Let yourself be happy in the meantime. 6 - 16 points: You've ventured into dangerous territory, but none of your loved ones have realized you have a problem yet. And you might not... The lines are blurred here. You can still come off as an adjusted person when you talk about the show or anything related to it. 16 - 23 points: A scan of your brain reveals that almost 20% of your prefrontal cortex has rotted away. Friends and family have a negative kneejerk reaction to any mention of Good Omens related subjects. You spend most of your free time on your phone, browsing Good Omens media. The only possible cure at this point, would be a new hyperfixation. 23 - 36 points: 33 % of your total brain volume has been affected. The rot has infected almost every area, and trying to introduce any unrelated hyperfixation causes anxiety, confusion and depression. Doctors are baffled to discover that there is a fungi growing from the rot - it seems to connect with your brain, allowing for an extreme learning curve should you hyperfixate on any subject in any way related to Good Omens. If you ever wanted to read up on Shakespeare, this would be the time to do that. 36 - 48 points: 89% of your brain is affected by rot and mostly replaced by fungi - the only uninfected areas are the reptilian brain (the words 'reptilian brain' reminded you of Crowley) and the medulla, which means it hasn't affected your breathing and your instinctive reactions. You still flinch when cars almost hit you, as you wander aimlessly roadside - lost in thoughts about Good Omens. 48 - ?? points: I'm here if you need to talk. No therapist will understand this without labeling it as a severe breach with reality. (I mean, excuse me - the show is right there on Amazon Prime, it’s real.) The medical field is far behind, years and years will go by before they recognize your diagnosis; 100% fatal Good Omens brainrot. It controls your breathing, your heart rate - everything. This condition is fatal because it lasts until you die, and then you'll have a Good Omens themed funeral. 25 lazerii: How does it feel to be loved by God?

#crowley #good omens fandom #aziraphale x crowley #crowley x aziraphale #good omens 2 #ineffable husbands #ineffable spouses #ineffable divorce #crowley edits #innefable husbands #crowley good omens #good omens fanart #good omens fic rec #good omens #aziracrow #anthony j crowley #angel crowley #gomens #crowly x aziraphale #good omens brainrot #bildad brainrot #good omens bildad #bildaddy #bildad my beloved #bildad the shuhite #bildad nation #bildad the shuite #a companion to owls

[homomenhommes]

My Sexy Trip - Part 1

The first day, I flew out of Powell River to Vancouver, and took a motel near the airport.

I had met a young man on line 4 or 5 years ago and we had continued to chat but had

never been able to meet in person. I'll call him Alex(andro) for the purposes of this

tale. He is a 35 year old Latino immigrant, with a good, but exacting job in the city.

Today was our first time to meet in person. We had planned to spend all afternoon and

evening together. Unfortunately, my flight was delayed 3 hours, so it was  dinner time

by the time Alex arrived, so we had a nice dinner together, getting to know each other a bit, 

before we went back to my motel. It then took us only moments to get naked, because we

both knew that we anted each other by this time. 

His cock was huge. You can see for yourself in the picture. Mine is about 3 inches. 

Figure it out for yourself. I estimate his was about 10 inches hard, and quite thick.

Like me, he is a touchy-feely person, so we spent a lot of time hugging, kissing, and

rubbing together. He was also very much into sucking cock, and although I could get

much of his cock in my mouth, he could get all of mine in his mouth and worked on it

until the rim started to get sore, probably the most my cock has been sucked at one 

time ever!

Eventually, I asked him to fuck me, which he proceeded to do, very carefully. It hurt

quite a bit going in, but he gradually fed it into me and I relaxed to take it. Little by 

little he inched it in until he was fully inside me, and we started a long, slow fuck.

It seemed to go on forever, until I eventually asked him to take it out of me. My hole was

sore for several days afterwards.

Our sexual encounter had lasted about three hours! The picture I have included was taken 

afterwards.I have blacked out his face to protect his anonymity, but believe me, he 

is very handsome!

We had planned to meet again on my return to Vancouver, but as you know, I got very

sick, and had to cancel. I hope we will meet again someday soon!

My Sexy Trip - Part 2

Twenty-four years ago, when I first got onto the internet, I went looking for other gay men, on all the available sites, using all the available chat groups.

I eventually connected with a man named Joe, a 35 year old American Serviceman in New York State. We started private chatting using some very basic video chat programme. I think it was called icu2 or something like that. It provided us with a very small image of each other and reasonable sound. It had its flaws, but at the time we thought it was amazing. We could see each other, and we could talk to each other. We also used Skype when it became available,  for video calls and phone calls.

Unlike so many of the "I'm in the American Armed forces" phonies you meet on line, Joe was for real. He really was a serviceman wanting to hook up with Mr. Right, and for me he was Mr. Right. Our chats soon led to online masturbation together, which we would do almost ever night, but that eventually led to us just staring into each other's eyes, wishing we were together. Let's face it. We fell in love. But it was a hopeless situation. I was a retired 60 year old schoolteacher in a small town in Canada, and he was a 35 year old career serviceman, still being transferred all over the states. Sadly we both knew there was no future for us. Joe made the choice for us. He stopped answering my calls. I was not angry about it. I knew he had to do it. He had a life to live.

Time passed. It was probably five years later. I got a message on Apple iMessage. It was headed with a telephone number. I recognized it. It was Joe's. All he said at first was "Hi", but when I recognized the number I was so glad to hear from him. We started chatting again. I learned that he had been transferred to San Francisco area, and had met an older man. They had been together for a couple of years. He was happy, but had never forgotten me. 

Over the next fifteen years, Joe and I chatted at rare intervals, maybe once a year, just to keep in touch. Joe married his partner, and they retired to Palm Springs. His partner owned a home in Denver also, so they spend winters in Palm Springs and summers in  Denver. 

Once Brad, my travel companion for the Mexican cruise, said that he wanted to have a couple of days in Palm Springs, I tested the waters to see if Joe wanted to meet in person after  all these years. He very much wanted to, and talked it over with his partner, Bill, who is 89, and after a harrowing bout with prostate cancer  is no longer much interested in sex. Bill has been encouraging Joe to look for sexual release with other men. I even talked with the two of them by phone and Bill gave his approval to Joe and I spending an afternoon together.

So, the day after we landed in Palm Springs, my travel companion, Brad, took off to spend the day at a gay dude ranch, and left me to spend the afternoon with my dream lover of twenty years before. 

I was waiting for Joe in the motel parking lot when he arrived, and suggested we start the afternoon by the motel pool, rather than meeting in a dreary, dark motel room. So that's what we did. Joe was much like I had seen on those tiny screens — older, yes, and heavier than 20 years before. But what I had never realized before because of the black and white screens, and later poor color quality, was that Joe was a redhead – or had been, because now he was more dirty blonde rather than grey, But his eyebrows were still quite ginger — I later found so were his pubes.  And his eyes! They we the same pale blue I had gazed into for hours years before. He was all I had hoped for.

And as he told me, I was still all that he he had wanted and hoped for. We both saw each other as the Mr. Right we had been looking for.

We still had only to try whether we would mesh together sexually. We went to my motel room. In moments we were kissing and stripping simultaneously. It was rather awkward because Joe is 6'2" and I am only 5'4", but we were hot and horny. We had waited 24 years for this. I injected my dick, hoping to get a decent hard-on, but Joe didn't care anyway. He wanted me just as I was. 

We flopped onto the bed, and for the next two hours hugged, and fondled,  and kissed and sucked and stared into each other's eyes just as we had longed to do 24 years before. I fondled and sucked his 7 inch, thick, rigid shaft with a hammer head while he did the same to my tiny flaccid one, which was not responding to the tri-mix today.

Eventually we decided it was time for him  to fuck me, to bring 24 years to a climax. As I have said, his dick was very thick, and shaped like the head of a hammer. My ass was still sore from Alexandro's massive dick three days before, and Joe's cock was just as thick as Alexandro's but 7" instead of 10". Joe was very gentle and as we lay spooned together fed his mighty tool into my waiting ass. It was a long, slow, beautiful fuck for both of us, a taste of what might have been. When he eventually shot his cum into me, we lay locked together for quite a while.

Both of us were grateful for this chance to get together, if only for one time. We don't regret the past. We just relish the single opportunity that we had. Nor do our companions resent or regret the meeting. All four of us went for dinner together the next night, all of us knowing that Joe and I had finally fucked, and everyone was happy for us!--

~~

+

[babylaptop]

setting up an ipod is harder than you fucking think

just spent the last life four+ hours setting up this ipod classic 4th gen. here's a summary of all the problems i ran into:

(1) ipod had files in it. they appeared as gray and un-editable on itunes, so i thought reseting the ipod to factory would be the fastest and easiest solution.

turns out the last step of the process is connecting ipod to a wall power source. i do this. nothing happens for at least an hour. ipod is stuck in "connect to the wall" icon screen no matter what i do. the internet says it needs to connect with an actual apple firewire wall connector, which i do not have. tried using my ipad's charger with a usb-to-usb-c adapter that i own. didn't work. eventually figured it out the problem had to do with the amps it needs to get defibrillated. i remember that i own a pretty hefty power bank with a 5v/2.1a output. it works. ipod is reset. i have a nice fun time adding the 6 or so songs i have downloaded on my computer (:

(2) i had downloaded soulseek a while ago and gotten frustrated with it but decided to give it another spin since piracy experts on reddit sing it many praises. it seems to have a heavy culture of egalitarianism: a pop up window informs you that a lot of people's download's are restricted only to other people sharing files.

__(2.1) it prompts me to enter my account and password but i don't have one. there isn't an immediatly visible 'create account' link. i google this. eventually i find this soulseek forum where a ton of normies are asking questions pretty regularly. excellent. i search my problems and someone else has already made a post and had the question answered. thank you normies. also: google groups is still a thing???????

the inability to create an account is a weird bug. someone's answer tells me how to circumvent it.

__(2.2) i still can't search for anything. there are no files in this wasteland. i turn on my vpn. put my humble six songs in a folder and share it. voila!!!!!!!

soulseek is actually VERY cool. you can browse other people's music folders, which opens an incredible secret world of possibilities re: finding new music similar to your tastes. EXTREMELY exciting. feels like i'm in a cool secret club of the internet. feels like the old internet.

i download one (1) lana del rey song that's stuck in my head. choose .flac (a lossless audio file) because i want to be fancy.

(3) ...........itunes doesn't read .flac files

__(3.1) searches: what files does itunes read? > which of these files is best for lossless audio? > how do i convert .flac files to itunes-compatible file types? > download foobar2000 > click around till i figure out how to convert .flac files to .wav files.

__(3.2) it works! (: the songs are now in itunes! (:

............but the metadata (album cover, genres, artist, album, etc) doesn't transfer. i don't want to manually input it again. searches: how to keep metadata when converting files? tutorial is slightly different from the version of foobar i have, but i eventually find the setting to keep the metadata.

(4) it works! (:

.............but it won't transfer to my ipod ): i get the message: your ipod can't read this file <- paraphrasing.

okay. searches: what kind of files can an ipod classic 4th gen read? (perhaps they are different from the files itunes can read. this is, after all, the last version of itunes ever released, many years and itunes versions after the ipod classic 4th gen.)

this information isn't in the wikipedia page. this isn't in the ipod wiki. can't even find this model in the official apple pages. it's mentioned in several reviews but it's the wrong model. christ almighty. ok. here it is. found it. allegedly it should be able to read it. ok. why isn't it.

read through forum threads. some people say older ipods get fussy with high bitrates. (search: what is a bitrate? oh ok. higher bitrate > higher audio quality. got it.)

bitrates reccomended by foobar: 180-300something. lossless file bitrate: 2000 and change. hm. surely that's a huge difference.

i convert the .flac file to .mp3 instead.

__(4.1) it works! (: the files are in my ipod! (:

.....but goddamnit, i'm stubborn, and this goddamn ipod is supposed to be able to read apple lossless files (basically a .flac file, but designed to be used with apple products. lol.) i don't want a lameass mp3, i want lossless goddamn quality! even if this brick of an ipod won't be able to play it! it's the principle of the thing!

______(4.1.1) okay. try to fuck around with bitrates in the settings of the apple lossless conversion on foobar. foobar is like "you don't have the right encoder pack, bitch" <- paraphrasing.

oooh. surely, this is the problem. i download encoder pack.

______(4.1.2) foobar is like: "you don't have the right encoder pack, bitch" <- paraphrasing.

me: [crying] but i did.

foobar: bitch.

______(4.1.3) search: why is foobar calling me a bitch? > reddit thread: look closely at the sphynx's riddles three: it doesn't say "you haven't downloaded the encoder pack." it says: you haven't installed the encoder pack. (<- NOT A JOKE.)

go to C: > program files > foobar > find the encoder pack i downloaded > click on all the .exe files. powershell windows appear and dissappear. basically: stuff happened. i'm certian.

_____________(3.4.3.1) i'm STILL getting the riddles three message, but the same reddit thread says: if you know you solved th riddles three, you can just ignore it (: so i do.

__(4.2) .flac files seem to have been successfully converted to apple lossless files !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

....but i am back to "your ipod can't read this shit!!!!!!!!!"

do some more searches > turns out it's a weird itunes glitch. the thing is just moody. try turning it on and off. try disconnecting and re-connecting. try resetting your ipod again.

try uninstalling and installing again.

(5) "iTunes Library.itl cannot be read because it was created by a newer version of iTunes"

.......................to be continued. if i don't kill mysuelf first.

#apple #ipod #itunes #i did a couple more things but i am tired and want to go to bed i hate it here #progress report

[reviewsbyliam]

“THE PRELUDE: ACT OF RECLAMATION” A LIVE SHOW BY OSÉ [SOLD OUT]

Headline Show Review - 09/12/2023

[Pictured below; Osé and band]

[Photographer: @bygideooon_ on Instagram]

————————————————————————————-

*DISCLAIMER* All photos and videos from this event are over on @reviewsbyliam on Instagram. Please head there after reading this article to witness the greatness that we did. Thank you and enjoy reading!

————————————————————————————-

I arrived in London on the 29th of November, suitcase in hand, 5 hour coach journey behind me and a now 45 minute Uber journey to Deptford. My boyfriend met me at the coach station, we spent the first evening just settling into the area, getting some food and having a few beverages (as you do), and then some well earned sleep after both travelling from separate parts of the UK.

Experiencing a day of being a tourist in London the next day was bewildering - I wanna live there now.. I'm definitely made for the big busy city life. We headed back to the hotel, and got ready to make our travels towards one of my long time internet friends first ever SOLD OUT DEBUT HEADLINE SHOW!!

The emotions were at an all time high, before we get into it though..

Here's a little backstory..

I've known Osé for 3/4 years now, first meeting on Twitter (now X) and forming a mutual connection through Ariana Grande and our overall love for music. I always knew that Osé loved to sing, I also knew that one day, he'd be on a stage somewhere giving it his all performing his music and not looking back - little did I know how real that thought would actually become.

Shortly after debuting this blog, Osé called me and told me the tear flowing news that was him booking his first ever headline show to debut his first new project. We screamed, laughed, I cried for him because I was so elated with pride, and then he asked me if I would join him in London, interview him as well as review his show, and help write the description for his event. I must've asked him several times if he was joking, following up with a loud !!YES!! and getting to planning..

Fast forward to the night of the show..

Entering the venue and the thought of not knowing what I was about to hear from Osé was anxiety inducing but extremely exciting nonetheless. I'd heard the music from his project prior to the show as he wanted me to be able to catch a feel of what was to come to help my own personal work, which was such a beautiful gesture. So I kind of knew the sounds of the night, but chose to not listen to them like they were the last songs on Earth so I could re-experience my first listen.

On stage before Osé was another uprising artist called Josh Pace, who was a very good musician to have before the main act as he drew the crowd in and the vocals were so raw. His bass tones were unreal.

After listening to Josh melt our ears, we mingled for a little while, grabbed a couple of drinks to calm the nerves, and then realised it was time..

I knew that when Osé took to the stage, it was going to become HIS world. We weren't here for us, we were here to witness a spectacle that can only be described as out of this universe.

Opening the show with an interlude describing who Osé is, some words being uplifting, some words describing Osé in a more vulnerable, judgmental light.. it was very honest and intriguing. The interlude interpreted that many people have things to say about Osé and his character, including himself, but nobody really knows the true him - hence the reclamation of his story.

Osé walks on stage, the room is flooded with screams, claps, hoots and hollers, he smiles and tries to take in the reception he has just received (which was extremely deserving) and starts to sing one of the most ICONIC songs of all time; Creep by Radiohead.

The raw power that exonerated from Osé’s vocal box was like watching a superhero find their power for the first time. The moment he opened his mouth, he was unstoppable, it was Osé’s time.

I just knew he was about to SMACK us in the jaw with this show after blowing us away with his rendition of Creep and my heart was racing, my knees were weak and I had a dry mouth. I was SO nervous for Osé, but one thing I noticed, Osé wasn’t nervous, because he was home.

Osé started singing his songs from his project, including one song that had a very personal meaning which Osé spoke to us about before he performed, allowing us to see that artists we listen to, admire and idolize are struggling with personal battles just like us. I wont be revealing the track names, because the project is still under review by Osé himself and this night was just about getting a feel for whats to come. But when the project is birthed, you'll see. The night was all about the people closest to Osé finding out why this project is in the works and how he is choosing to utilize it to expand his character and knowledge of the world, which in my eyes is a very safe choice to make as an upcoming artist because for you to do well, you have to make sure your work is cohesive and relatable, and that is what Osé's project embodies, truly.

The raw talent that exudes from Osé, whether its through speaking, writing, singing, anything - it is a talent to be acknowledged and afraid of. Osé's vocals were so strong, and the evidence of his ability to explore across genres is even stronger. We went from sad, to funk, to healing, to rocking out. Not to forget that the band which accompanied him on stage were well into their element also. The guy on the drums? I could've watched him go crazy for hours. And don't even get me started on the saxophone, we will be here for eternity.

Stage presence is a HUGE factor into an artists success, because nobody wants to see an artist just stand there on stage like a bowling pin and sing into a mic and then wave and walk off. Thank the Lord that wasn't the case for Osé. He walked onto that stage, announced himself, and just let his inhibitions go. When the crowd hyped him, it was like the funk spirit had taken over his soul and he just threw his hips like there was no tomorrow. He laughed, he jumped, he clapped, he cried but he also joked with the crowd and made it the most safest space I've ever had the pleasure of being in.

At the end of the night, Osé thanked everyone for attending his first sold out headline show, and had to halt a few tears (so did I, many times). I have never heard a room erupt into screams, whistles, chants, you name it, so loudly before. I was watching Osé on stage just taking in the love that he so righteously deserved, which made it a full circle moment for everyone involved. The gratitude displayed was immense and he truly and authentically cracked the egg of success and stepped into the rest of his life as a vocal powerhouse that night.

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Raw vocals, warming stage presence, immaculate band and organisation. Venue was cozy and made the vibe so much more intimate than it already was. Location was easy to find.

OVERALL REVIEW OF THE NIGHT: OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!!!!!

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If you're wondering whether to give Osé a chance when he next does a show, wonder no more because I'm here to tell you that it would be one of the biggest regrets of your life if you didn't attend a show of his or at least take a dive into his socials and hear the heaven that leaves his mouth when he sings. I have an upcoming interview to be released with Osé, and we discuss his early life, career, fears, and so SO much more. We dive into topics about the night too, and just have a good old catch up about how much Osé's life has changed since his sold out headline show. Keep an eye on my Instagram page for more details surrounding the release of that!

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A message to Osé: Thank you for coming into my life and showing me that being creative is okay, it's okay to be vulnerable and show it in your work, it's okay to struggle and share that with people because we are all human and deserve peace. I will be forever thankful for the opportunities you graced upon me surrounding this event and I will forever be in debt to you. You are one of the most intelligent humans I've come across, and watching you blossom as an artist and a friend is a blessing that I will never let go. Never give up on who you dream to be, because the ability that you hold within yourself to make that happen is a lot more stronger than you'll ever know. I love you and I'm forever proud of you! L x

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Thanks for reading! Photos and Videos from

“THE PRELUDE: ACT OF RECLAMATION” LIVE SHOW BY OSÈ

will be posted to my Instagram @reviewsbyliam !

Head over there and check them out!

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Written by Liam Wibberley

09/12/2023

LW

#music #blogger #music review #review #spotify #blog #applemusic #musicreview #independent artist #indie music #interview #new reviews #popular #british art #musician #rock #instrumental #album #guitar #nicki minaj #barbz #new music #alternative #songwriter #singer songwriter

[inthememetime]

Inspired by Teenage Mercenary, a DC × DP AU in which Danny plays the role on Ijin except instead of a foreign country Danny grew up in the Ghost Zone after an ill fated trip wherein Jack, Madeline and Danny entered the ghost zone in the prototype Specter Speeder but failed to return. Instead of growing up with her grandparents, Jazz is taken in by Vlad and then one day an older iteration of Danny emerges from Vlad's ghost zone portal. Jazz bearhugs Danny and Danny hugs her back, in steps Vlad who also hugs his godson adding to the dog pile.

Vlad uses Jazz's preexisting attendance to Gotham Academy to get Danny into the school as a new student and Danny is sorted into the same homeroom as one Tim Drake.

Sorry for the delay on this, Shroud, I wanted to be able to give you something good instead of whatever hot garbage my fevered brain churned out. I mean, it might still be hot garbage, but at least I tried, you know?

Anyway

I LOVE this idea an amount that you probably expected. Let's start with the immediate effects and then push out to when he returns!

Vlad

The objects of his obsession (Maddie and Jack) are gone. Dead. He even goes to the GZ to find them with no luck; just a wrecked Specter Speeder, parts and pieces of Maddie and Jack, and a blood-soaked baby seat.

Understandably, his mental status is completely rocked. If he didn't have the (once minor) obsessions with family and custody of Jazmine, his core would've shattered.

All that to say: this is a Vlad more like the future one in the apocalypse during TUE. He's broken, barely holding himself together for the sake of this broken-hearted little girl, and is forced to move on.

Jazmine

Despite being only 3 at the time of the accident, she has a lot of guilt. She thinks she should have faked being sick, thrown a tantrum, ANYTHING. It takes years of therapy (hence her goal of being a psychiatrist) for her to internalize it wasn't her fault. She was 3. She wasn't even at the house, she was at a sleepover. How was she supposed to stop them?

Despite her (unfair) guilt, she moves to calling Vlad 'dad' pretty quickly. Now, when she thinks of her dad, it's our favorite Green Bay Packers fan. When somebody presses about her bio dad, she has a few pictures, some stories, and a vague memory of a man in orange buckling up her older brother for the last ride he would ever take.

She misses Danny, and often wonders what he'd be like if he lived. Her hardest day, besides the immediate aftermath, was her 6th birthday because that meant she was older than Danny (who was 5 when he died) would ever be.

6 year old Jazz had a very hard time.

Now, at 14, her main concerns are having to move to Gotham and leave her friends Sam and Tucker (not to mention the town she grew up in) behind. She spent the last half year in Gotham, but she thought she was going back to Amity Park

Unfortunately (or fortunately) for her, business is booming, and Vlad signed a contract with Wayne Enterprises that's slowly putting a certain evil billionaire out of business, and he needs to be in city. And she's 14, so she is, obviously, going with him.

Side note, Vlad grew up rich and in boarding schools. He had a Very Bad Time in boarding schools, so that's a no go for him. Also, his existence low-key revolves around his daughter, so he starts going a little canon-level crazy when he can't see her for at least an hour or two a week. (Thank you, Skype! She can enjoy summer camp as long as she has a reliable internet connection!)

Also: Jazz knows this. But her abandonment issues have abandonment issues, so she's totally fine with this: she gets to reassure herself that her only living parent is still (half) alive and healthy.

Also also: thanks to an unexpected vulture visit, she's known Vlad is a half ghost since she was 4.

The Plot Beggineth

Is Beggineth a word? I like it, so it is now.

She sneaks off to say a final goodbye to Fentonworks the week before they're supposed to leave, but Sam and Tucker have a feeling she would do that and follow her.

Most of this chapter would be somber, I think. Jazz visiting the Ops center, the kitchen, and every room to say a final goodbye because, tbh, she doesn't plan on going back here again at this point. She's finally ready to move on.

She tests the lock on the lab as always, and it's locked, but the hinges have rusted and pretty much falls over. Despite knowing how dangerous a maintained ghost lab is, she decends. A last goodbye to the ghosts who never, despite all the wishes and prayers, came to haunt her.

There's the wrecked Speeder, just as her dad found it years ago. The weapons cabinet, the lab tables. All untouched bexause her dad couldn't stand to be here either. She's about to leave when she trips over a Fenton Thermos and lands in the portal.

Despite being very careful standing up, she trips on a wire, and the fact her dad never shut off the power really bites her because she bumps the on button, and boom! Halfa!Jazz.

By this time, Sam and Tucker are there to see her death, and Vlad's not far behind since his wards were tripped when she entered. They're all a little too late.

Not only does the portal activation kill Jazz! It also acts as a beacon to a certain ghost who doesn't remember much, but knows his obsession lies on the other side of the door he can't cross. Until now.

Danny

Immediately recognizes Jazz, though not Vlad.

They don't recognize him either. He's had a multitude of ghost parents, so 4 arms (Pandora), horns (Frostbite), star maps on his skin (Clockwork), and- well, he looks like a neverborn.

Until he switches back, and he's the spitting image of Jack at that age. He knows things only Danny would know. VERY secretive blood tests prove that's Jazz's long (un)dead brother.

Jazz and Vlad are beyond excited to have him back, and so is he! Matter of fact, Vlad's a little confused at how such a gentle, kind boy (admittedly with a lot of sass) has (half) survived the GZ.

All that changes when Luthor does weird mind control on Superman to get revenge (not against Plasmius- he isn't in the know- but against Vlad, who is driving him out of business) (overkill much, Lexy?), and Danny takes him down in like...20 seconds.

Super speed? Well how does your super hearing like that Ghostly Wail? Super strength? Boy, he wrestles with the ghost of the Nemean Lion on the regular.

Lazer eyes? Frost breath. Catch two arms? Jokes on you, he's got 2 more and now you're in range.

Yeah. It's quick. Batman and the bats have to slow down CCTV footage to 1 FPS and it's still faster than the camera could track.

He always went by Phantom in the GZ, so that's his hero name! Vlad still tries to teach him- and learns a few tricks himself. They both teach Jazz.

Tim

With summer over, classes start again!

Immediately, Tim knows something is off. The new kid, Danny, is WAY too nice for Gotham. Yeah, he's sassy, but he'll also make friends with anybody!

Tim tries to teach him the ropes. This causes Danny to believe they're BFFs now, which Tim was NOT aiming for, he just didn't want the cinnamon roll to be murdered.

Only then Danny steps in with a school bully who Tim has just had to deal with because he can't reveal his combat training, and absolutely shreds the guy to pieces. Then, super friendly, gives Tim his backpack back and wants to know if Tim knows any good burger joints in the area.

Detective mode: activated! Tim (thinks he) figures out that this is a Jason Situation. He resolves to keep an eye out on Danny to see if he has superpowers or nah.

Tim: I'll hang around him until I figure him out. Danny: new friend!

Danny starts showing up randomly. A fight breaks out while he's supposed to be in class? Nope, Danny's right beside him kicking ass, but his teacher says he never left the room, and the footage he (ahem) aquired confirms it.

Tim starts making a list of powers and panicking because a meta like this might be able to slow down even Superman! He'd be far more frightened if he knew half of the stuff Danny could really pull.

The Batfam thinks Tim has a crush. There's a lot of 'you can tell us anything!' speeches, Kate reminds him she's lesbian and it's ok with everyone else for some reason, even Jason gets to the point where he's just: Tim. Listen. Bruce is like the only straight person here, and frankly nobody knows about Alfred. It's cool if you want to bring him home.

"He's a meta."

"I'll make an exception unless he hurts you."

Tim thinks: ok, meta is fine. Turn him into a hero! Bruce thinks: ok, going to meet my son's boyfriend soon!

This is, by the way, the while thing. Everyone (but Tim & sweet cinnamon roll Danny) thinks they're dating. It gets to the point where Bruce and Vlad start inviting eachother over for family dinners in the hopes that their sons will just fess up, already!

Everyone (but Tim, Jazz, and Vlad) thinks Danny is either normal, or a meta with some speed and strength enhancements.

Tim tries to explain how dangerous he really is? YES, Tim, we GET IT, Danny is AWESOME and has great hair, JESUS CHRIST.

Hilariously, Tim and Danny keep getting kidnapped, and everyone from the Batfam thinks Tim keeps somehow overpowering metas to rescue them. Ghostfam thinks Tim is now In The Know.

"Hey Mr. Masters-"

"Tim, please, it's Vlad."

"Uh. Vlad? How did Danny get superpowers?"

"Oh, he died."

"WhAt?!"

Phantom and Robin keep teaming up to rescue Jazz, who is doing her best not to show powers so Lex doesn't have a reason to clone her.

Phantom/Robin becomes a thing. Danny/Tim is still not. When they find out, both families are FURIOUS.

"DANIEL JAMES FENTON-MASTERS, WHY ARE YOU CHEATING ON YOUR BOYFRIEND?!"

"TIMOTHY DRAKE, GET DOWN HERE AND TELL ME WHY RED ROBIN WAS SEEN KISSING PHANTOM?!"

Tim starts hanging around the Fenton-Masters more because NOBODY believes he and Danny aren't dating! Danny does the opposite- and both figure out eachother's secret identities.

This leads to further problems because: ok, he likes Red Robin, but he clearly isn't interested in Tim Drake. Ok, he likes Phantom, but Danny probably annoys him.

Tim gets Unmasked by Disposable Henchman #4, and (after getting rid of the others), Danny, to even the score, shows that Phantom and Danny are the same person too.

This leads to further drama. You'd think everything was solved, wouldn't you? Nah. "Dad, please stop yelling at me. Tim IS Red Robin." "Oh, that's a load of licorice, Danny, you're grounded."

"Bruce, everybody- I'm tired of this, so here: Danny IS Phantom." "So now you're lying to your BF AND to us?!"

Finally, they unmask in front of each other's families. Problem solved, right? Right! Except Jazz is kidnapped now, and there's this new scary blue meta looking for a ghost kid, and- shit's complicated.

But that's (realistically) where I'd go with it- romantic comedy/ crouching tiger hidden dumbass style.

All in all:

Danny? Genius when it comes to fighting, the GZ, and math. Dumbass for anything else.

Tim? Genius when it comes to detective work, fighting, and breaking and entering. Dumbass when it comes to human interaction.

Danny AND Tim? Bisexual Disaster Squad for the win!

#danny phantom #inthememetime #danny phantom au #vlad masters #redeemed vlad masters #ask answered #come ask me things! #tim drake #halfa!jazz #tim/danny is wonderful your honor #because they're both dumbass geniuses

[writinginthesecrettrees]

My internet has been weird and frequently spotty for the last 2-3 weeks. This morning, I did battle with the Comcast service line for a good 15 minutes before they would let me talk to an agent.

I spent another half hour letting the agent try all their “we can diagnose over the internet” until they finally set up an appt for a tech to come out and deal with the PHYSICAL issue. There is a PHYSICAL problem with the wires.

And now I had “advance technical support” call and be all “hello ma’am we would like to have you run around unplugging and replugging things on the phone to make certain you need an actual person to come out and fix it” and I just… no.

No.

I have been unplugging and replugging and tightening cables and all of those “easy fix” things the past two weeks. I spent 45 minutes on the phone getting an appointment with a tech to come out - which is what I knew I needed when I dialed the damn number!!! I am not going to struggle through understanding a person who, granted, speaks better English than I speak Hindi, but it’s still a heavy accent over the phone and hard to understand. And I am not going to run around, disrupting my afternoon, unplugging and replugging so that it will give me 5 minutes of connection and Comcast can say “oh, it’s fixed, we’re cancelling your service appointment.

Just.

Just no.

Fuck you Comcast. Your people are fine but your policies SUCK.

#fuck comcast #having issues #thank god for phone data

[isabellehemlock]

Sabbatical

TL;DR I’m downsizing my volunteering commitments in my community by half, because I haven’t made adjustments for the fact that my family’s chronic health issues have meant an increase in medical appointments from about four to a dozen a month in the last two years, and I need some physical rest for my own health. However, I’m sure some days will include guilt as I essentially “nest” in the winter, and I’d appreciate any words of encouragement you might be able to leave me <3

August is always a deep month of reflection for me, there are no less than five anniversaries of lives and deaths that have left lasting impacts in our family. It’s not so much a hard month of grief, because time eases all things, and nothing lasts forever - but in a way that’s the one thing I’ve learned from grief: to treasure the relationships while I have them. To love hard, while I can and where I can, because it’s not always death - sometimes people outgrow something, or move on, or it’s no longer servicing a need - but regardless, August is a month of deep reflections about how I show up in my relationships, and what I can work on and where I can do better.

But this year feels different. This year, after some prayer and contemplation, the word sabbatical entered my heart and I realize it is exactly what I need: an acknowledgement that I have worked hard for my community, and also acknowledgement that I deserve to rest to restore.

The truth is, my family’s health issues - including new diagnosis’ - has meant that in the last two years we went from about four appointments a month to a dozen, and sometimes even closer to fifteen, including ones involving overnights to the Mayo that we now do every six months. It has gone from a part time situation to a full time situation, and there’s simply no way for me to honor my community commitments, with worsening health, and my familial obligations to drive around as much as I am doing. It has unfortunately already impacted both my creative time, and most importantly my spiritual time when emergencies happen (and boy the last ten months of back to back to back - some of y’all have seen my color coded planner, it’s been insane lol). I have spent many more weekends in bed than I care to admit, because I’m exhausted from the week.

So how am I going to go about my sabbatical?

I’m going to downsize my volunteer commitments by half. I’m going to be stepping down as president of a local non profit chapter, and not teach Faith Formation this year, as well as not take on any volunteer commitments with the school district. Instead I’ll be able to pour those hours into both my creative and spiritual time to better nourish myself during the long winter months when my lungs are at their worst. When it is imperative that I’m inside as much as possible - where I can still find ways to help my community (I’ll still be doing various work that involves calls/emails), but not the physical commitments.

My hope is that I’ll also be able to spend the remainder of this month, and next month, focusing on downsizing the house and working on repairs before the colder air in October pushes me indoors. Being able to spend several months running around slightly less (those med apps aren’t going away lol), means I’ll be able to spend quality time with my husband and kiddos. But it also means that I’ll be able to invest time in my spiritual life (have I mentioned I’m making my life promises this month as a Lay Dominican??) and hobbies (both creatively, but also making some niche corners of the internet lol). And I’m excited to have more of a balance between them all.

Because the truth is, if I tried to wipe it all away, my ADHD brain would be LIT lol. I need community, I need things I can do from home, I need connection. But both my body, and my family’s health, means there’s certain limitations and that doesn’t mean I can’t do the things - but I need to acknowledge that I have to do them a little differently. I don’t want to give up even more things that fill me up, so I can do more things that drain me. Nah, we’re going to do it the other way around now :)

Besides, let’s be real, it’s not like I can’t call up my parish, or the school district at any time and ask if they got small projects that’ll will take a day or two for me to work on if I’m feeling up to it. There will always be something to do <3

But my hope is to communicate this all with enough advance notice - and potentially even help with a transition period as needed - because at the end of the day: others deserve me bringing my best to the community and to my family and to my health. And I deserve to listen to my body and rest and restore.

However the reason I’m sharing this all is because I’d love to hear any words of affirmation you might like to pass along my way, I’d be happy to keep them on my phone on hard days where guilt sets it. Thanks in advance!

#personal #reflections #long post #ah that elusive balance lol #but I'm excited for things around the corner! 💗

[lindsaywesker]

Good morning! I hope you slept well and feel rested? Currently sitting at my desk, in my study, attired only in my blue towelling robe, enjoying my first cuppa of the day. Welcome to Too Much Information Tuesday!

Following on from my comment yesterday, I saw a LOT of online messages yesterday from American people who were NOT feeling Independence Day! They’re struggling to hold on to democracy, how can they feel independent?

Having created a new Instagram account recently, I am still amazed what a dodgy place it is! I would say 90% of the people that follow me (hoping I will follow them) fall into three categories: 1) scantily-clad model hoping to lure me into some adult site, 2) financial services ‘expert’ hoping to get me to invest in some ropey scheme, 3) no profile picture bot hoping to adding my name to their list of ‘connections’ or just steal my profile. I do not need a huge list of bogus followers. Delete. Gone.

“Skip was a very nice, gentle man. The way Skip was, every day was just a lovely day. It was a combination of the music and the person and the ambience in the room.” Bill Withers on how 'Lovely Day' was written with Skip Scarborough.

U.S. Special Operations veterans are training Ukrainian soldiers near the front lines in the war against Russia and, in some cases, helping to plan combat missions. The crowdfunded volunteers travelled to Ukraine despite warnings from the Pentagon.

In 2015, it was announced that Mr. T would host a home-improvement TV show called ‘I Pity The Tool’. It lasted for one season.

If you’re feeling up to it, Google ‘Jayland Walker’. It may make you very angry? It may ruin your day? But it’s essential you know his name. It’s essential you know all their names: Emmett Till, George Stinney, Kalief Browder, Sandra Bland, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Elijah McClain, to name but a few.

Marshall Jefferson is suing Kanye West for sampling his 1986 hit ‘Move Your Body’ at least 22 times, without clearing the sample, on the song ‘Flowers’, from West’s 2022 album ‘Donda 2’.

The driver of a truck that could top 350 miles per hour - because it was powered by jet engines - died after the vehicle crashed on Saturday while racing two airplanes at an air show in Michigan.

My nickname for The Trouble is ‘Sky News’. Not because she’s not well informed but because she talks non-stop and, after 15 minutes, starts repeating herself.

‘Music For A Sushi Restaurant’ by Harry Styles is a work of genius!

Nobody will remember: your salary, your fancy title, how ‘busy’ you were, how stressed you were and how many hours you worked, but people will remember: the time you spent with them, how you made them feel, if you kept your promises and if you were there for them.

As the son of a playwright, when I was a kid, the family house was always full of people of every sexual persuasion. Gay people, straight people and all points between. As a result, my gaydar is very sensitive! I know about a person’s sexuality LONG before they’ve publicly come out. If you’re racist, or anti-Semitic or homophobic, then we’ve got a big problem, but what two consenting adults do is none of my business, and none of ANYONE'S business! Who asked for their opinion? The internet emboldens people to imagine we want their opinion!

Thanks for reading all the way to the bottom of my status. Many people don’t like reading. It’s too much hard work. So, I thank you for giving me five minutes of your day. Have a tremendous and tumultuous Tuesday! I love you all.

#mixcloud #mi soul #dj #music #lockdown #new blog #coronavirus #books #democracy #brexit #cronyism #tuesdaymotivation #election

[purplesurveys]

1471

1 - What’s the biggest argument you’ve ever had with a family member? Did things ever go back to how they were beforehand? It happened right after a family vacation. As for the reason, it’s stupid – it really just stemmed from the fact that we were all tired and angry and emotions just happened to boil at the same time for everyone. My mom started the drama by bitching at me, then for some reason my brother chimed in alongside her and started to disrespect me as well...one thing led to another and he struck me across the face. Idk how it is in other places but behaving that lowly towards somebody older than you is extremely disrespectful, so of course I took that personally and did not hesitate to strike him back. The moment it got physical my dad stepped in and started yelling at everybody in the car, and what followed was the quietest and yet most tense car ride home from the airport, lmao. To this day I do not speak with my brother nor do I ever have plans to.

2 - Have you ever experienced some kind of natural disaster? Yeah, typhoons/hurricanes are usual here. Once a year there will usually be That One™ typhoon that will be super destructive, i.e. lead to high floods, widespread power outages, launching of evacuation progrms, etc. But for the most part we’ll have like 10-15 typhoons of a smaller scale every year.

3 - If you have pets, do you feed them human food or do they just get regular pet food? If they do get human food, what’s their favorite thing to have? Kimi and Cooper have human food and we typically give them rice with some kind of meat. Aki is still on pet food and he hasn’t gone tired of it, so we’ll probably continue giving him that.

4 - Have you ever been in a physical fight? Who won? Not serious ones. I play-wrestled my cousin when we were kids but it never escalated to a legit fight.

5 - What were you lighting the last time you used a lighter or matches? My birthday cake.

6 - What’s the weather currently doing where you are? Phone says it’s currently 26ºC; as for how the weather feels – warm and very very humid.

7 - The last time you got up from your seat, what did you go and do? I went to the bathroom to pee and brush my teeth.

8 - Name five things you’ve done so far today:

I drove out to withdraw some cash since I was expecting a package;

I received said package a few hours later;

Dealt with a bad hangover in the morning; 

NAPPED, and napped a lot; 

Watched several mini-documentaries from Asian Boss.

9 - What’s the mode of transport that you take or use the most? I drive my own car.

10 - When was the last time you got caught in a rain or snow storm? Were you dressed for it or did you end up getting soaked? Last time I got caught in the rain...that would be yesterday, when we had a company gathering at this events place. My co-workers and I agreed to step out to take a few group photos together when it suddenly rained and we were forced to go back inside. I wasn’t dressed super appropriately for the rain, but I was still lucky because I did have a bucket hat on.

11 - Did your favorite Disney film come out before or after you were born? Before - Toy Story is three years older than me.

12 - Are you a fan of musicals? Other than Miss Saigon, now.

13 - What the last thing you spent money on apart from necessities? Alcohol and bar chow.

14 - Are there any sequels to things that you prefer to the original? I mean Shrek 2′s gotta be up there.

15 - How often do you lose the remote control? It doesn’t happen a lot. Whenever I can’t find it it’s usually because someone else in the house misplaced it.

16 - When was the last time you had problems with your internet connection? It acted a little funny just the other day but fortunately it didn’t disrupt my work too much.

17 - What games do you play on your phone, if any at all? Rhythm Hive, which is a K-Pop themed rhythm game.

18 - Aside from family, who was the last person you spent time with? How do you know that person? Co-workers! Some of us wanted to get drinks after our company gathering so we ended up as a group of 10 and had dinner at this Mexican restaurant. When we were there, we discovered that one of the doors at the restaurant actually led to a speakeasy, so after eating we headed there to have a little party party time lol.

19 - Are you currently warm, cold or just right? I’m just right. It’s supposed to be on the warmer side but I had the aircon on for a few hours in my room, so I can still feel a bit of the cold.

20 - Do you prefer showers or baths? When was the last time you had either? I took a shower yesterday afternoon before I headed out. As for my preference, I mean it’s not like I have a choice – we don’t own a bathtub, so unless we’re at a hotel or whatever I’ve always taken showers.

21 - Do you spend a lot of money on your appearance? Not at all. I’ll get clothes every now and then but that’s it; I don’t buy products or a lot of accessories.

22 - When was the last time you spent more than £100 on something? Was it a necessity like a bill, or a treat for yourself? Our total bill last night was a little over ₱11k andddddd a quick search tells me that’s just slightly under double that amount. It was most definitely just a treat for ourselves, lol.

23 - Would you rather swim in the sea, a lake or a pool? Sea. I’ve never gone swimming in a lake, and the chlorine in pools is too strong for my liking.

24 - Have you ever had a zoo keeper experience or anything where you’ve been able to go behind the scenes and look after/feed the animals? Yeah, kind of. I’ve been to zoos/parks before where I got to hold up the animals and interact with them.

25 - Would you ever want the responsibility of being a politician or a similar position of power? No, I don’t think I’d be able to handle it.

26 - How many times a week do you go to the grocery store? My mom usually restocks once a week.

27 - When was the last time you got a takeaway coffee or drink? Last Wednesday when we had an office day. I got Starbucks drive-through.

28 - Do you quote films or TV shows as you’re watching them? Like, as in because I’ve memorized the script? Yeah, I’ll do that sometimes with stuff I’m rewatching.

29 - What’s something your parents do that really annoys you? My mom is religious, which is irritating to me in itself; my dad is apolitical for the most part and I find that concerning. How do you not give a shit about what’s happening wrong in the country?

30 - If you had to quarantine for two weeks tomorrow due to testing positive to COVID, would you be able to survive on the things you had in your house? Yeah. The last two years trained me for that, lmao.

#surveys #survey

[the-gayest-tree-you-ever-did-see]

oh my god oh my god, i’m wearing my dress on saturday!! tree we are officially living in parallel universes. also your dress sounds so pretty, go live your best cottage core life bestie! (also we totally took dumb photos at prom that is a thing that happened, it’s now canon in the tree-indi universe)

the world is tiny and there’s are a reason it spins in circles- i’m so freaking happy you got to meet your friend!! and come out to them!!

also at prom i met an acquaintance from middle school who got me into the queer side of the internet. and we weren’t friends or anything but i still cried and hugged her when i saw her. there are just some people in the world who completely change your life.

*also every time you mention coming out to more people, just know i’m rooting for you! ilysm harsha!*

awww tree, you partner sounds so sweet, i’m so happy for you babe!! the only telugu terms of affection i know come from movies lmao, but my favorite is banagru konda- like a mountain of gold! that’s so cute! <3

honestly, leave your mark bestie. also i graduated high school and i wrote my initials on the wall, so i understand the urge to be remembered lol.

*rests chin on top of your head cause your itty bitty* mWah! mWah!

i wrote half of this ask like two months ago and finally sent it today, so srry it’s been forever, but tell me what you’ve been up to! 🥰

- indi <3

grrr this is the sixth time i'm rewriting this tumblr better work now!!

YESS WE MATCH!!!!!! it was super fun, i spent a lot of time on the lake and got to talk to one of my friends for hours so i was really happy. we did take photos and we goofed off in a photo booth and all our pictures look horrible but we love them!! hugging you!!!!!!!!!!!

omg.............. youre so right. how dare you blow mind with only a few words im kissing you rn >:( !!!!!!!!!!!! it was really nice to be able to talk to them after so long and it felt so surreal bc like. we're both completely different people now and its like i know i know you but i dont really know you anymore but i still want to connect with you anyway!!!!!!!!!!!!!<333

awhhh im so happy for you!!!!! imagine how strange it would be if you hadnt known them, we never would have met!! :( that is too scary to think about i love you too much and youre the bestest. truly i am mad the whole world doesnt know you but im quite content to have you allllll to myself 🥰

*awh im rooting for you too!! and also to myself. if it werent for the tiny tree hanging upside down from my ribcage and swearing at me, i would not even be here. thanks spideytree! u r a real one. i love you more*

they ARE and i love them to pieces<33 i completely forgot about bangaru konda!! im adding it to my list. no one has ever used pet names for me so the only ones i know are from movies too!! be glad i didnt start singing bangaru kodi pitta honestly. no hate to jeevi garu, but. that song fucks in ways i do not want it to fuck. also i recently remembered chiluka, like parrot so im going to use that too.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! are you excited to leave, or more nervous about the future? give me ALLL the details ilysm!! with your encouragement i will write tree all over the place! or maybe i will draw little trees everywhere? well i cannot draw. much to think about!

*reaches up on my tippy toes and still barely reaches your shoulders (youre 5'6", right?) and gives you a little kiss on your shirt* mwaH! mwaH! mwah!

dont worry, i love hearing from you no matter what<33 ilysm<3

my internship started monday! we're virtual every day minus thursdays, the first day, and the last day. its really fun, i get paid to sit around and listen, and raid the snack bar every hour!! im living. truly in my gwen stacy era. also one of the facilitators is really hot 😳 he's colombian but he grew up in greece so he's got this cute accent and he told me i had a kind gaze and thats why he's been inadvertently staring at me when he talks to the group of us. we got into an argument over time travel and free will today (plus a couple other interns) and he's super smart and we were literally yelling at each other for 15 minutes straight and the other facilitator had to come break it up bc the five of us were about to brawl lmao. its been really nice!

also im working my way through a ninjago rewatch and im taking more of a liking to cole now, where before jay and kai were my favorites. kai is still top tier but cole is very quickly climbing up. they are so gay!!!!!!!!! *froths at the mouth* IM EATING THEM

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! stay safe and have fun and give the moon a kiss before you go to bed and i will give the moon a kiss before i got to bed and it will be like we are sending kisses to each other!!<33333

#also im craving pani puri so much bc of the ms marvel episode im going to DIE #do you watch ms marvel? #indiphannon #asks #the tree speaks

[missizzy]

A Game Novice's Baldur's Gate 3 Log, 6 1/2 hours in: I might just be getting somewhere

(Note: this will definitely contain spoilers for all I've played through, and probably quite a bit of the later stuff I've also seen.)

I spent the week continuing with my Baldur's Gate 3 experiment, even as the dialog sequences ran excruciatingly slow, due to the animation going at half the pace as the audio. I now suspect the problem is my computer's struggling with our internet connection, which it has ever since Comcast insisted on replacing the modem. Which is part the reason we may finally be doing something about that next week, and I may pause playing until such time as we do. But that depends on how long it takes. I'm kind of getting hooked on this game, despite everything.

After last weekend saw Sara Tully, my barbarian Tav, successfully find Gale, and me fail to figure out how to lockpick, I went and looked up how to do the latter. (Of course it was the obvious way I hadn't thought of.) So first thing when I resumed was to take the party back to the big locked door on the beach to try to get through it. Except Astarion failed two checks in a row, resulting the loss of all our thieves tools. Guess I'm not finding out what's behind that door in this run.

After that I looked up Lae'zel's location and went to find her, and once again managed to go the wrong way, hitting the chapel entrance instead. So we ended up killing Gimblebock and the bandits outside, which made me feel a bit too much like a murderhobo, but at least, at long last, I finally got Sara to rage, marker by her box and everything. I have also now equipped her with a looted goblin bow, so she can even do ranged attacks while raging. Also we were able to get another set of thieves tools out of it. I even happily took Astarion up to the chapel door-except that when we heard the other bandits calling out through it, I decided to just walk away.

He did, on the other hand, successfully lockpick us through the trapdoor outside. Which of course led to another fight, one that felt very much like a learning experience about positioning characters in the game and recognizing when they are and aren't in silence AOEs. But I was much less sorry when we made contact with Withers, whom I hadn't known about, though I've since learned he's a camp follower, and I suspect I'll enjoy having him about. Maybe going the wrong way in this game isn't such a bad thing.

Still I was impatient to get back the Emerald Grove, so I scrutinized the maps a little more carefully (another skill I'm still developing) and finally got to Lae'zel, sent her captors on their way by saying I'd deal with her, and then Gale shot frost on the her cage's bottom to get her down. Then I promptly sent her to camp, because the party was full, and Sara as a barbarian is a tank already. Also, reading some meta about how she probably viewed the druids made me not really want to bring her to the Grove. (And since, I've come to think I'd rather not deal with the druids' reactions to her either.)

I suppose I'm not supposed to ask how we even have a camp, when we've been doing nothing except walk around since landing in the area. Or why, when we finally returned to the Grove entrance and went in, we found Aradin and Zevlor right there arguing as if the goblin fight had still happened only moments ago. Though at least Wyll had found time to go further inside and resume his fighting lessons before we recruited him.

I've heard plenty of how Wyll is hard done by and underused by players. I kept him with the party, partly because we were in the place he knew, and also because Shadowheart was low on health and and spell slots, so it was just as well to send her off. But when leveling him up, it was hard not to observe he really has the same spells as Gale, only fewer of them, which I suspect is one of the major problems. On the other hand, I did give him Beast Speech as an invocation, which will probably result in my using him a lot more, since the animal dialog in this game is really fun.

We ended up wandering around most of the hollow, which meant hearing about the Absolute for the first time,-but I'm pretty sure Sara won't believe in the significance of that for a while. I continued to work on trying to figure the map out, even after seeing the marker for Kagha on it, making a full circuit around the sacred pool, having an important conversation with Apikusis and a hilarious one with Volo (was kind of sorry there were no conversation options for Sara to tell him how much he was pissing her off). Then, finally, I found the entrance to take us to Kagha.

By then, the talk with Apikusis has already made clear she was a bad leader, and I happened to already know about her working with the Shadow Druids. But honestly, I'm not sure who they even are, and that's really more distant fantasy novel villainy. Her introduction scene, on the other hand, where she refers to a Tiefling child as "poison" and terrorizes her for doing as young children will sometimes do? That's something that really will hit the player hard. It hit Sara hard, too, and if she hadn't really wanted to see that healer, she definitely would've tried to intimidate her, or might have even outright attacked her to rescue the kid.

Instead, I ended up going with the nature check option of her saying imprisoning little Arabella would disrupt the balance of nature. Maybe not the best choice either, since Sara has -1 on nature, but luckily she rolled high. I immediately decided that Sara was pulling words out of her ass or possibly just trolling, and Kagha was the kind of narrow-minded arrogant that completely failed to realize this. Whether the approving Wyll or Gale realized this, I am not yet certain.

The last thing I've currently done was the conversation with Gale that immediately followed this encounter. I'm pretty sure I'm going to romance him, and one could even count that interaction as flirting, if you really stretch it.

Now, however, I am looking at next facing a scene I've seen played through twice, and heard comments about, and I think may well end with us having to flee the Grove. Which is even more of a problem when I still haven't even talked with Zorru about the possible location of the Githyanki creche yet!

#baldur's gate 3

[blahandwhatever]

Internet wins/losses

There’s a lot of concern and speculation about how the internet is reshaping life and changing us. Some of it is rightful, but I think mindlessness and conformity are key catalysts for the internet’s more mind-numbing, life-diminishing effects, just as they are for any social phenomenon. I’ve always been a fairly heavy internet user, yet I rarely relate to the crises that incisive journalism and public intellectuals seem to illuminate for everyone. Probably because I use the internet in my own damn way.

The last speaker in a recent TED Radio Hour about the internet made three claims that felt very wrong to me.

1. The internet makes us less appreciative of the world around us. False. It’s never gotten in the way of that for me, and in some ways it’s inspired more appreciation.

2. When we think back on our lives, it’s the parts spent out in the Real World, not the parts spent online, that we remember and treasure. False. I have a lot of genuinely treasured online memories, and often found more real human connection and rewarding interaction online than I did IRL. Of course, people will find different types of experiences rewarding, but I think the world needs to move past this outdated idea that online experiences are inherently ‘less real’ than other experiences.

3. The way you can get online and suddenly find yourself snapping out of it hours later is an example of how fast-paced and mindless the internet is. False. Sometimes this phenomenon does occur with mindless self-indulgence, but it also occurs with flow or any type of absorption in an activity, good or bad, fast- or slow-paced. The fact that it happens with internet use reveals nothing except that internet use is absorbing; within that, there is room for a vast range of experience.

On the other hand:

4. Society at large has become faster-paced in emulation of computers. This is true and terrible. And yet, as someone who has a more limited and selective relationship with society than most, I don’t tend to get affected by this as much as most people either.

And of course there’s all the issues with people using social media to compare themselves to others and seek attention and validation. But again, that’s just not something I really do myself.

[excitingpropertychronicles]

09-27-23

This journey has been an amazing ride so far.. no matter how long M and I last on it. Our plans got changed on this night. I was supposed to spend all night in being used and hurt and serving M at his place. But we ended up having to reroute that. We went to his place and dropped off my stuff. Where I got to see his place for the first time. First time at his place. First overnight. Some of the firsts are amazing some overwhelming. His space is really amazing and I would be honored to serve him in that space very often. It's very unique and kinky and creative. We stopped at his place where I was ordered to strip. Then he proceeded to use my body and treat me like the good fuck toy I am. Which helped me ride the start of the night out in subspace. We then gathered ourselves and went out. He invited me to this goth club. And I hesitantly agreed. The place was nice. The people were nice. The space felt safe. I just didn't very much enjoy it and I felt overwhelmed. Even with noise reducing ear plugs in. And I loved how self aware of that he was. And how we stuck to the timeline we talked about. And I was able to maintain and take care of myself without being attached at his hip which was nice. I need to be more proud and give myself more credit. I made it through something that was a hard no prior. I didn't freak out or cry or have a panic attack. I hope one day I can work up to enjoying being by his side representing him as slave, in the capacity of well maybe this event or instance or scenario is uncomfortable but I'm doing it to serve my Master. And that gives me purpose and the warm fuzzies. It's a big transition, but there is nothing in the world I would rather be doing then serving this man. As scary as it is, nothing has felt more right for me in years. This chemistry is some of the strongest and most instant chemistry I've ever experienced. We got pizza before. He stopped and let me get snacks after. Got home we both snacked. Spent time in his cage. Which I loved. Being in just underwear locked in his cage while he set up his space and toys. It felt right and gave me great joy. Thinking about Gerald's game didn't help though lol it made me a little anxious. The idea of being chained or caged or restrained and him having a medical emergency is very much unrealistic lol but scary. He used me a lot more. I got to kneel at his feet. We stayed up really late. Got into bed. He used me more. I'm getting better at taking his cock already. 😈 I'm such a good toy. My favorite sex him and I have had so far was him fucking me sideways in his bed last night. So deep and amazing. I got to wear his dress collar out last night locked. And he also put a beautiful black and purple consideration collar on me for in person visits. I didn't want it to come off. Which is a healthy sign I'll like his permanent collar. 😈 I know I'm still under his consideration even at all the moments in between. Like right now in my bed the next day writing this journal after a 3 hour or so nap as I wait for food. The collar is a decoration. I just find myself often being clingy to collars and what they mean. One of my favorite memories to date was him washing me in his shower after using me multiple times in the morning. The intimacy of being his property and him hand washing every inch of me was simply beautiful. More beautiful than anything I've experienced in a long time. The deep connection in that M/s space I may like just as much as the sexual intimacy of when he uses me. He had been using changed verbiage, mainly calling me his slave during play last night. And it took me a bit last night but responding with Yes, Master felt so good. And now it just feels so easy and right. I'm not sure if he wants me to use Sir overall and then Master in person when I serve him in that collar. I'll have to bring it up to him.

I just typed like 20 mins of extra stuff and submitted it. And it didn't save and I'm so fucking pissed and crying. It said Internet issues try again or something. And I'm so wiped. I can't retype all of that word for word. I feel so defeated. Now I have to defer eating so I can try to do my best to retype pouring my heart out to M.

I was writing about struggling with the social aspects but being enamoured by our connection. And having never found anything quite like this. And how I loved his space and would be honored to wake up naked next to him often and in his bed chained to it.

I'm incredibly overwhelmed and overstimulated but one of the incredible things I wrote that got wiped was my therapist told me that it's okay to want step 8 which in our case is M/s but recognize and enjoy being at step one or two. I also had written how I don't think either of us desire or possibly could find specific flow and dynamic of M/s with someone else. It's right because it's with him. For him. And I'm so incredibly lucky and blessed that it's him. And I really hope this consideration period leads up to step 8. My therapist also told me it's ok if people are at different social capabilities. And sir is very receptive. And I don't think that he would not consider me as his slave if I kept trying. Leaving early or needing to regroup isn't failing.

[survey--s]

620.

Do you ever have days where you just don’t do anything? I always do something even if it's just housework, having a shower or walking the dog. I used to have days where I never even got out of bed but looking back that was a symptom of some serious MH issues so I'm glad life is no longer like that. Have you ever been extremely tired but refused to go to sleep? It's not that I've refused to go sleep, it's that my mind has been too active to let me sleep. What is your favorite episode of True Life, if you have one at all? I've never heard of that show. Well, I have on here but I don't know what it's about or anything. Have you ever experienced something paranormal? No. I don't really believe in that kind of thing. What’s the longest amount of time you’ve been stuck in traffic? About 4-5 hours on the motorway once when there was a serious accident. Luckily we'd just stopped for food/drink so we just sat and ate McDonald's lol. Everyone was leaving their cars to go and pee on the hard shoulder hah. Best field trip experience? Going to Paris in sixth form. Have you ever been to New York City? I have not. If so, is it all its cracked up to be? ... What is the most amount of money you’ve spent on a meal before? Personally, around £30 a head but I've attended meals where it cost over £300 per person before. What museums have you visited, if any? Hundreds of them. I honestly couldn't list them all. My childhood holidays were spent traipsing round museums and churches lol. Have you ever had a group project and one of your partners bailed on you? Sure. That's why I much prefer to work alone. What’s your worst traveling experience? Probably flying to Australia and the turbulence being so bad that you could feel the plane drop and all the lights were flickering constantly. It felt like it lasted forever but in reality it was probably only 15 minutes. Sims 1, 2, or 3? Why? I never played the third one, but the 1st and 2nd were both good.

Have you ever dealt with noisy neighbors or roommates? How did that go? Yeah, when I lived with Chris out downstairs neighbours were always arguing lol. We mostly just ignored it. Who was (or is) the teacher that gave you the hardest time in school? I have no idea - possibly my tutor in year...9 I think it was? Best muffin you’ve ever had? I love the raspberry and peach ones from Starbucks though I don't even know if they sell them anymore. Otherwise I tend to go for blueberry ones. Have you ever taken a woodshop class? Yeah. If so, was it required? Yeah, it was just part of our Design Technology. How much time do you spend on Facebook, if you have one? I'm logged in pretty much all the time. What area of math are you best at? Worst? I'm not really good at any kind of maths, lol. I mean, I can do basic arithmetic but nothing more complex than that. How do you feel when you meet someone with the same music taste as you? It's great. How often do you “half-ass” things (put little effort in)? Christ, all the time lol. Most people don't care how much effort you put into something as long as it gets done to a decent standard. Do you ever feel self-conscious when you eat around other people? Yeah, with messy foods. Has a teacher ever made you hate yourself/your work? Nope. How reliable is your internet connection? It's been fine since the engineer came out to sort it on Friday. He's moved the connection onto a better wall so hopefully it solves the issue we've been having with damp. Have you ever missed a meeting/event that was required/necessary? Sure. What’s something that makes you incredibly nervous? Driving in new places. What’s the latest you’ve ever stayed up to finish homework/a project? I pulled plenty of all-nighters in university. If you don’t have glasses, how would you feel if you had to get them? .... If you do have glasses, how would you feel if you didn’t need them anymore? My life would be much easier if I didn't need to wear them lol. I've kind of resigned myself to a life with glasses though. My prescription is too complex for surgery and I can't cope with contacts. How many vegetarians do you know? Not very many. I live in farming country and pretty much everyone likes to eat good quality, local meat. Have you ever considered going to art school? Nope. Is there anyone in your life who consistently angers you? Dog owners who let their dogs run up to mine even when they're very clearly fucking terrified. How quickly can you write an essay? It depends on the length and the topic, and how formal it has to be. Have you ever had problems falling asleep in class? No. Have you ever been on the barrier or front row at a concert? Just small local ones. What bug frightens you most? Cockroaches. Are your parents supportive of you? Yes. How often do you take the train to go places? Never. Our local trains are awful - they're always cancelled or delayed and it's just so much more convenient to drive. Do you play with your phone in awkward situations? If I'm alone, sure, but I try not to do it with others. Have you ever participated in a mock trial, or a real trial? No, neither.

#survey #surveys

[jlealyza]

Unveiling the Joy Within

When I randomly decided to apply for the Special Program in Journalism, it was the best decision I've ever made. After years of training and practicing, I am finally back at the Regional Schools Press Conference. So here I am, unveiling the joy that happened during my two-day experience at the RSPC in Punta Villa Resort, Iloilo City.

On Day Zero, we had to travel a day ahead of the contest since it took four hours to reach the venue. As I woke up exactly at 4 a.m., I was filled with excitement. I prepared all my things and got ready to go. Since there were no vehicles available in the early morning, I walked to our meeting place in the plaza. I stopped by the 7/11 to buy some snacks and then headed to the church to light a candle and pray. Afterward, we were off to Iloilo City.

Our first stop was in San Joaquin, and there wasn't much for me to do since I had nowhere to go. I simply stayed inside the van. Then our last stop was the venue. We waited a few minutes at the receptionist and left our baggage at the front desk since our room wasn't ready. We went to the cafeteria/poolside to have our lunch. Since I didn't bring my own lunch, I ordered chicken. Afterward, we killed some time while waiting for our room. (I don't know why I am writing this with so many details)

The first thing I did was explore the venue. Although it was my second time there, I didn't have enough time to fully explore it during my first visit. I talked to my friends, practiced, and read articles. Around 3 p.m., our room was finally ready, so we rested and I continued to practice. At 5 p.m., we had dinner, took some pictures, and visited different areas of the venue. Everything was so beautiful, and I had a lot of fun exploring the place. Around 7 p.m., we went to the rooftop, and that was the best part. From there, I could see the entire city, and it was breathtaking. The lights were bright, although it was still dark on the rooftop. It was a beautiful sight that met my eyes. After spending some time there, we went back to our room, practiced a little more, and then woke up at 3 a.m.

When my roommate's alarm rang, I immediately woke up and couldn't fall back asleep, so I read some articles. The only downside was that I had no internet connection since the Wi-Fi wasn't working, and I had to connect to a hotspot to access the internet. We had breakfast, and I could see a lot of people who would also be my rival (hehe) in writing. However, all I focused on was doing my best. The opening program went well, and I reminded myself to give my best. 

My contest was scheduled to be the first one, so I had no time to review. When it started, I had to rely on the facts I had memorized and trust my instincts. It was challenging, but I didn't hold back and gave it all. After finishing my article, I felt relieved and happy. We had lunch, and it started raining heavily, not just a drizzle. We had to decide whether to run back to our room or head to the poolside. Eventually, we all ran back to our rooms to grab our umbrellas (and it was so funny that we all just ran and had no idea what to do).

I had to prepare for the awarding/Saludo. Although I had a gut feeling that I wouldn't win, I was still excited. I knew that Ma'am Tin would win the Most Outstanding School Paper Adviser because I  believed she deserved it and we actually both applied this year. As for me, I did my best, but maybe this wasn't meant for me (for now, I guess?). As I expected, Ma'am Tin ranked first in MOSPA, and I placed second in MOCJ. 

I didn't feel any heartbreak feelings because I knew I gave my best, and that's all I could do. After the awarding, I spent the night making fun memories. First, after dinner, I went to the election for the writing guild, where I met new friends from different cities/provinces/places. I was elected as the secretary. We played a lot of games at the poolside and ate some pizza. We went to bed past midnight, knowing that the next day would be a tough one at the awarding ceremony. 

And indeed, it was a difficult day. How could I celebrate others' winning moments when I wasn't happy with my own result? It was the first time I cried after finding out that I didn't win. It was hard for me because I had given my best. I never missed a practice session or skipped any meetings/training/sessions, and I knew deep down that I had done my best. But then Ma'am Tin comforted us, and I realized that nothing was wasted. There are things beyond our control, and someday it will all make sense. 

I didn't have the appetite to eat, so I just went back to our room. While waiting for our door keys, I heard my roommate crying over the phone, which made me cry again. The three of us entered our room, and I locked the door. One friend went to the bathroom to cry, while I went to my bed and cried into my pillow. I could hear the conversation of my other friend. Then I set a 10-minute alarm on my phone because I thought I needed to eat and didn't want to waste the meal ticket. The three of us reflected on what had just happened, and I forced all three of them to eat, even though it was difficult.

Eventually, we decided to eat, and we were ready to go home. I packed all my things, and when my alarm rang at 12 noon, we went outside to eat. Afterward, we didn't head straight home because we decided to go to SM Mall to have some fun. I explored the place, bought some food, and then headed home. We arrived in Antique at 7 p.m. I went home and told my family everything. I was happy because they weren't disappointed, and they were happy with my achievement of getting second place in the award. 

The best thing was that I returned the money that I didn't spend. I only took a small amount for buying them some food. I spent a lot using my own savings because my parents invested a lot in supporting me, but I knew we needed money for my mom's treatment and medications. So, I hesitated to spend their money. All the expenses were mine, including paying for the hotel. That's why I cried because I felt like I wasted my money. (yet, NOTHING WAS WASTED). But anyway, as I said, there are things beyond our control, and this is just the beginning. I'll come back again and work even harder (not that I didn't work hard this time). I just want to say that I'll still give my very best, and I hope everything falls into place the next time I join the contest. Nevertheless, I was so happy that I finally experienced those lovely memories and I had a good time writing this one. Until my next Campus Journalism experience, I'll write it again very soon.