#that being the second half of the song Extraordinary | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kellterntempest · 7 months

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@tyrannysaurusfloof i thought maybe sending you 2,500 words in your askbox wasn't the best way to send this lol and apparently tumblr doesn't let you send documents in DMs, so i have it in separate post here for u!

Stobotnik Subnautica AU fic snippet

Out of all the Earth luxuries Robotnik was forced to live without, he missed music the most. His CDs, his mixtapes, his curated playlists. He missed the deafening pulse of industrial drum and bass, the intricate rhythms of funk and jazz, the comforting pop classics, and invigorating rock melodies that he could dance to.

Robotnik never fully realized just how miserable a world without music could be. He began humming to himself, even sang songs he only half remembered the lyrics to in an effort to stay sane in the deserted, depressing isolation he was surviving in.

And here he was, humming a Tears for Fears tune while he piloted his submarine vessel 500 meters down under the sea. The submarine that Robotnik constructed and christened "The Eggmarine" was holding up perfectly, just as planned. He never made mistakes when it came to engineering, it was just like breathing to him. Physics, math, science, electronics, all of it was second nature.

Robotnik was able to harness the near endless power supply of the blue quill and recycle parts of his prototype – as only an extraordinary genius like him could do – and he created something incredible after losing nearly everything.

The Eggmarine was an engineering marvel in and of itself, but he had even bigger blueprints in progress. His ultimate mission: to construct a space shuttle capable of interstellar travel. He was going to make it back to Earth no matter what. He'd make it home by Christmas. He declared it boldly to himself out loud after barely surviving the crash landing of his prototype on one of the many islands of the alien planet.

Another great feat that the doctor took pride in was the detailed cataloging and analysis of every single new thing about this alien planet. Countless unknown species of flora, fauna, megafauna, biomes and climates, lifeless ruins of what seemed to be some kind of ancient civilization with astounding technology… It was all exhilarating.

Robotnik was at heart a brilliant scientist, and though the circumstances bringing him to this planet were absolutely horrid, he often found himself feeling like a kid discovering the wonders of science again. He intensively studied the new alien technology he found in the ruins – He was so close to cracking the code to their written language – and vastly advanced his progress surviving on the planet. With the alien technology he was able to build a much improved habitat and small laboratory with ease.

It had been 63 days now since Sonic sent him crashing through the ring portal in Green Hills. If there was anything he had now, it was down time. Day 63, and he'd already recorded over two hundred new species, determined multiple theories of their evolution, mapped out the string of islands he crashed on, not to mention narrowly escaping being killed and eaten countless times by the local mega predators – which there were plenty of.

Robotnik had faced an assorted deadly lineup of insects, poisonous animals, scavengers, hunters and predators both on land and under the sea, and the kings at the top of the food chain: Leviathan class mega predators – gargantuan creatures similar to the dinosaurs back in earth's ancient history.

Robotnik learned very quickly he had to create a predator of his own if he ever wanted to get off this planet unscathed.

So he did what he did best, and built a robotic mech suit designed for combat, capable of both land and marine travel, and resource gathering. With it, he was now able to hold his own against most predators, and even fought a few different leviathans in the depths of the ocean and escaped the battles unharmed. But stealth was always the best policy so far – less damage to his precious machine, and less risk of being drowned or eaten.

Robotnik had not found anything that resembled anything close to a sentient life form yet, and the chances of doing so were growing smaller and smaller. He laughed out thinking, was it really that different here from the 8 billion barely sentient monkeys back on earth?

"Passing 750 meters. Pressure stabilized." The robotic voice of the vessel's artificial intelligence spoke, showing the status of all ship systems in green. "Scanners indicate traces of nickel ore below, south west."

Robotnik was currently in search of rare minerals to craft his escape plan. Minerals that he determined could only be found beneath the sea floor in a thermal, volcanic climate.

The A.I. spoke again, this time with a warning. "Detecting multiple leviathan class life forms in the region. Doctor, are you certain whatever you're doing is worth it?"

Of course the exact biome where he needed to go would be crawling with dangerous monsters. The statistical probability that he calculated before was, again, unfortunately proven correct. Of course he had to be right, every time! He thought with a groan. Sometimes, it was worse to be proved right. Even the warm glow of smug satisfaction wears off quickly when you're chased by savage animals out to make you their next meal.

"Shut your trap and keep scanning. I'm not leaving until I get my hands on that ore." Robotnik continued the descent, passing tall black hydrothermal vents – a good sign that he was heading in the right direction.

There was no sound now but the engine's hum, and the steady ping of the sonar system every 7 seconds.

984 meters. Ping. The sonar mapped out the deep trench he was in, and showed a massive crevice opening further down. He was getting readings of small-scale volcanic eruptions in this region, and hoped that crevice was the entrance to his destination.

A loud, organic screech passed through the dark waters, and Robotnik instinctively rushed to hit silent mode.

The internal and external lights went out, and the engine shifted gears. Robotnik sat in the pilot seat, frozen, waiting for another noise.

It was almost worse that he heard nothing.

The artificial intelligence spoke up quickly, casting information in red in the control screens. "Proximity Alert: Threat Detected. Leviathan class life form."

Robotnik cursed out loud, white knuckling the control wheel.

"Proximity: 50 meters." The A.I. stated. "25… 10… brace for impact."

The side of the sub was hit by something colossal, and Robotnik was nearly thrown out of the pilot chair.

Then another uncomfortably loud sound – a roar vibrating through the metallic chambers and utterly harrowing.

A leviathan predator. A reaper - he recognized the horrible sound.

He didn't have any weapons mounted on the Eggmarine, and he couldn't launch his mech suit and fight back – he was in completely unknown territory and what looked to be about 400 more meters to the bottom of the trench. His mech suit couldn't make it up 400 meters straight up back to the submarine, and no way could he safely swim back to his Eggmarine without getting snapped up. Nightmare scenario again. He could only sit tight, stay on course, and hope the predator would lose interest and leave, or kick engines in high gear and make a break for it.

The sub was hit again, and the alarms began sounding. "Hull damage imminent."

The leviathan was not going to leave.

Robotnik slammed the switches and revved up the engine to full speed. He had to get the hell out of here. The only way through was down.

He was sure every creature in the region could hear the Eggmarine's engines and the roars of the reaper leviathan.

"New Threat Detected: Another Leviathan class life form. Proximity: 58 meters."

Oh no.

Ping. The sonar sounded, and the red outline of another large shape was dead ahead of the submarine's path of escape.

Ping. The shape grew bigger, and it was coming straight for him.

"Proximity Alert: 25 meters."

Robotnik jumped out of his skin, his heart beating out of his chest. "Fucking hell!" He shoved the control wheel forward to avoid the impact. "Nononono!"

The submarine descended sharply, and the leviathan behind him roared, but it was interrupted halfway from a second massive sound bellowing through the depths. The second leviathan growled – but it was completely different from the first – like a harsh rumbling of thunder ending with rhythmic clicking.

"Danger: Engine overheating." Robotnik heard a blast coming from the engine bay.

Everything was going to hell. He couldn't leave the bridge to attend to the fire he knew had started, not with two giant monsters about to tear his ship apart.

The sonar pinged, and Robotnik could see the two leviathans grappling together. It was hard to make out the image from the red flash that lasted only seconds, but it seemed as if they were fighting – it sounded horrible, with the two huge predators growling, howling, and snapping at each other. Roars pierced through the darkness, and the top of the vessel was hit again, worse this time.

"Hull compromised - storage bay ceiling."

Robotnik was flung forwards from the mighty impact of the leviathans. “Damn it, come on! Go!” He hissed, reorienting himself on the controls and leaning into them as if it would make the sub go faster. He saw a blink of movement in the glass, a blur of 2 long tails and fins swiftly passing the front of the bridge, so fast he could barely make it out in the dark.

Robotnik shoved the wheel as far forward as possible, plummeting the vessel in a rapid descent. "Not today you hungry mongrels! This snack is out of your league!" He taunted through clenched teeth.

If he could only reach the crevice, maybe he could find a place to hide, buy time to repair the hull damage, and stand his ground against the leviathans in the mech suit. The engines had to burn for a little longer, there was no other choice.

But the universe had other plans.

"Engine Damage Critical. Shutting Down."

"AARGH– give me a big, fat break!!" Robotnik yelled in frustration, still pushing the wheel hard.

The Eggmarine's movement slowed to a halt, floating dead in the water.

Ping. The sonar marked the vast, empty space of his location in the ocean, in a trench about 700 kilometers wide with mountainous walls going nearly straight upwards on either side of it.

There was 1 dot left on his display. 1 leviathan.

Threat Proximity: 20 meters.

There was nothing Robotnik could do. The sub's engine was down, a breach was ripping the hull, and a hungry, territorial leviathan was coming for him.

The creature sounded – a short, clicking rumble. It was the second leviathan, the one Robotnik had never heard before.

It was swimming up from the deep, still chasing him after surviving and presumably winning its deadly fight with the reaper.

The sonar rang out again. Ping.

The creature responded to the sonar with the same short rumble, ending with an ascending trill.

Robotnik leaned forward, brows furrowed at this new behavior. He switched off the sonar and floodlights and watched anxiously for movement.

Something slowly floated up into view of the glass dome of the Eggmarine's bridge.

Robotnik saw scaled and finned limbs coming from the dark, and they gently landed on the glass below him. He counted three, no, four arm-like appendages.

They almost resembled… webbed hands, pressed against the glass. They lifted, and tapped the glass several times, almost experimentally. The bang of the glass nearly gave Robotnik a heart attack.

The creature swam from beneath the glass up until it was directly in front of the pilot's control panel. The leviathan made no noise since the last sonar soundwave, and stayed in its spot facing the front glass of the bridge, its body swishing slowly side to side in the darkness.

Robotnik was almost afraid to turn the exterior flood lights back on, but he had to know what kind of beast was staring him in the face.

This leviathan was an entirely different species from any other he'd seen. It was slightly smaller in length than the reaper, but its body was much thicker and more mammalian. Its underbelly looked smooth, but its 6 limbs, spine and tail were scaled and armored. Its lower pair of arms were tucked into itself, and the top two arms swayed in front. It had two powerful muscular legs that were treading slowly in the water, and its long, spined tail snaked along with them.

Its head was more frighteningly humanoid than he would ever have expected. In its face were multiple sets of eyes squinting back, blinking rapidly from the bright floodlights. Small clusters of bubbles escaped from gills on either side of its neck, and 2 long, thin rays coming out of either side of its head with bioluminescent bulbs at the end.

Robotnik turned the sonar back on. A single ping.

The creature rumbled back, and it almost sounded like a whale's call in an attempt to imitate the sonar's frequency. It made no sudden movements, continuing to tread in place with unhurried motions.

Robotnik breathed out a shaken gasp of relief. This creature, whatever it was, didn't seem to see him on its menu right now. However, he had no time to investigate the intentions of the leviathan, he had engine fires to put out and a catastrophic implosion to prevent.

He left the sonar on to keep the creature distracted, switched the internal lights back on and ran full speed into the engine room to extinguish the fires. A thin stream of water was steadily spraying like a fire hydrant from a small breach in the plasteel ceiling that was getting worse every minute from the massive pressure of about 1200 PSI from the outside.

Robotnik yanked the repair tool off the wall, and clipped his harness to the suspension support and hauled himself up into the air to reach the storage bay ceiling.

He focused on welding the breach as best he could through the low visibility of the water flying everywhere and covering his goggles.

"It's just another day!" He shouted above the noise of the welding. "Just another day in the life of Dr. Ivo Robotnik, greatest man on earth AND planet 4546B! Day 63, boldly going! It's Tuesday back home! Stupid blue alien rat and its stupid magic rings!"

A strange, fuzzy sensation suddenly passed through his head. It was like a soft static of a distant radio, organic sounds garbled and unintelligible within. It was growing louder and louder. Robotnik cursed out loud. What the hell was next? Had he developed some new medical or psychological condition from a dangerous stimuli he'd unknowingly interacted with?

There was a painful pop of pressure in his head, as if the air pressure had climbed steeply in seconds – and the static noise stopped, both his ears started ringing a high pitched drone.

But Robotnik kept welding, he couldn't stop or he'd be dead in minutes, crushed from the impending implosion.

Finally, the water subsided, and the breach was closed.

Robotnik hung suspended in the air in his harness, breathing hard through the adrenaline rush and pain in his ears and head.

He slid down, and landed unsteadily on his feet on the metal floor. Back to the bridge. He was certain that all the noise from the Eggmarine's roaring engines and the leviathan fight would attract other predators.

The leviathan was gone from the view of the glass dome.

The sonar went off, and Robotnik saw the creature was floating in place beside the top of the sub, close to where the hull breach was. And now, it was swimming back into view of the bridge again.

Robotnik swallowed a prickle of fear. What the hell was it doing?

The high pitched ringing was at its loudest now. Robotnik leaned over the console, elbows hitting the metal, and clasped both hands to the side of his head, pushing them hard against his skull in a panicked effort to make the pain stop.

But the agonizing drone faded sharply into nothing, and was replaced with something else – a voice, soft and low pitched, echoing clear inside his head.

"Who…are…you?"

#subnautica au #stobotnik #my fics #Stone takes the place of sea emperor leviathan woooooo lets gooooo scaly giant telepathic monster boy #leviathan!stone

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magenta-embers · 6 months

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My Army Journey

I first heard of K-pop back in 2010 when a friend of mine mentioned being a fan of a group called Shinee, a Korean boyband. We weren't that close, so it's not like she tried to show me anything of theirs. At this time, I was also trying to be less judgy about other people's musical tastes, so even though I found (western) boybands to be cringy, I was pretty indifferent to K-pop out of sheer will.

I didn't really hear about K-pop again until about 2016-2017 as someone in uni. Being chronically online, even then you were bound to come across it on Twitter. I'd see male idols everywhere and they all blended together in my brain, EXCEPT for this one guy named Jimin. I'd recognize him as that pretty one. Didn't even know what group he was from, didn't care.

At this time, my dad also got remarried and suddenly I had a younger step-sister who was into K-Pop. I became curious because this was getting a lot more popular than I remembered it being. My stepsister's favorite group was Seventeen, (cue my teasing: "If they're seventeen, why are there thirteen of them?" "Do they each sing like half a line?" "Which one's Jimin?"). When I brought up Jimin, she did finally confirm he's in BTS. She said BTS and EXO are the biggest, but BTS is overtaking. I asked if BTS are the best, and she no, but they're good. I asked her to show me the gayest music video of theirs (I don't even know why) and she showed me Blood, Sweat & Tears (The Queen herself). The video was cool, Jimin was fkn pretty, but I still didn't delve deeper.

It wasn't until mid-2018 that the rabbit hole shit happened (you know the one. You're all here for the same reason). It was completely on a whim. I saw this photo on Twitter:

I recognized Jimin immediately of course. But this photo got me curious because they all had an interesting look to them and I thought it wasn't fair that I'd ever thought "they all look the same" because they didn't and I felt like I owed it to them to at least do them the respect of learning their damn names (famous goddamn last words, anyone?). Jimin, Joon, Hobi, Yoongi, and Tae (eyebrows man, as I called him) were the easiest to learn in that order. I had a little more trouble telling Jungkook and Jin apart at times. I think I had it down by the time the weekend was over though.

One of the first things I watched was their puppy interview. Crack cocaine. Watched a couple more interviews and then moved onto the beginner guides to BTS, funny and serious. Then, the funny compilation videos set to Nintendo Wii theme music. I didn't even get into the music until way later. The very first BTS song I listened to on my own was Lie. What an introduction lmao. The second was Save Me, and that was the song that made me go, "Yeah okay, they're the real deal" (I also tried listening to EXO and some other groups, but... yeah no). After that, it was just further and further down the rabbit hole.

What was important to me was the quality of lyrical content and the ability to sing live. I couldn't have become a fan if they didn't have those two things down. Little did I know, even that is an underestimation of their abilities and their journey. They constantly blew my mind as I learned about all they do. They're capable of extraordinary things.

Being involved as a fan in a powerful fandom of such a massive group has had its ups and downs, but now I just want them all to come back. I miss them together so much. The fandom's in fragments and sanity is cracking without BTS as a unit.

Next post: Shipping and Jikookery

#BTS #bts army

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weareallstoriesintheend · 7 months

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The Grudge (The Witcher x OC; Jaskier x OC)

Summary: Set between Episode 2 & 3 of Season 2 of The Witcher. Rinah Saov is living with the consequences of saving Vessimer from the Leshy, as the other witchers make her life a misery she decides there is somewhere else her heart and mind need to be.

Words: 2,267

Notes: Just trying something new, writing some new characters/universe that I haven't written before. I know that not many people like OC characters etc. but I really wanted to write this so I hope some of you like it. Just trying something a little different for once 🤷‍♀️

Rinah Saov was the nightmare parents told their children to keep them quiet. She was the stuff of Cintran legend; Redania denied her existence despite her long studies at Oxenfurt - stories and songs and tales of vast pain have been created in her wake.

The last name she adopted was a moniker of her kind, Saov meaning Soul in the elder language. Rinah was a ‘Second Soul’, a creature split in half by ‘good’ and ‘evil’. Equally in control; switching between a strong, extraordinary, but un-magical existence and a being of pure unfathomable power, sporting blood-red eyes and a magic not even the oldest mages of Aretuza know.

She was the origin of it all; the origin of the darkest magic in the continent, older than Chaos itself, a burden she knew all too well.

Their kind had existed before The Conjunction, few and far between, but by the time it was over Rinah was the only one left. Seemingly, she was now one of the oldest creatures on the continent inhabiting the body of a twenty-something year old woman. After The Conjunction, in an effort to placate the many creatures of this new world order she locked away the darkest part of her soul in a cage of her own minds making, vowing that her magic would remain dulled until war ravaged the lands she swore to protect.

A task that she had not been able to fulfill during the first Nilfgaardian war, a war she’d spent mostly unaware of what was happening as she remained locked in dimeritium chains in the dungeons of Cintra alongside Geralt of Rivia.

Geralt had met her by chance, some 30 years previous when he was a young Witcher. Fascinated by his lack of fear Rinah had followed him, irritating him into companionship. Eventually he stopped telling her leave; one day he handed her his sword to fight as hers was kicked from her grasp and that ostensibly insignificant act had sealed a formidable duo that was equally revered and feared across the many kingdoms. Her legends became entwined with his until she was not just two souls but three.

There was however a fourth, one that more belonged to her heart. Jaskier, Viscount De Lettenhove.

Since their chance meeting in a tavern deep in the northern mountains the bard had wormed his way into her heart, a heart she had never once given to another. A thousand years of loneliness came crashing down around her, a feeling she never knew the sound of till she knew him.

Passing each other like flittering nymphs they had flirted with the prospects for years, seemingly only toying with it rather than solidifying any feelings. Geralt dutifully ignored his companion, the most powerful entity he had encountered in all his years, acting like a love-struck child. Swooning every time the loud-mouthed bard would cross their paths.

Then, one night in the woods outside Novigrad, as Geralt had slept, they had spilled their hearts open. Agreeing that the other may do what and whom they pleased, as long as they always made it back to each other.

Rinah was thousands of years old, monogamy wasn’t her style – a fact Jaskier embraced heartily.

Then came the dragon hunt, then Geralt’s rage and an issue neither of them had discussed – the fact that both would follow Geralt’s instructions without question, a different sense of loyalty. Hers to stay and his, with a shattering heart for both his love and his best friend, to leave.

Rinah paced the cold corridors of Kaer Morhern, cracking the bones of her neck in agitation, “Ignore him,” Vesemir said calmly, leaning casually against a damp wall. The silver adornments on his Witcher armor glimmered in the moonlight that shone in from the windows beside them.

The night air around them was peaceful and still, making the echoing thumps of her boots on the stone passageway sound like the walls had a heartbeat.

Shooting a look of daggers his way Rinah snorted incredulously, “I don’t know if you noticed but the little lamb makes it rather hard to do that.”

“Lambert is a feckless brute; he will come around.”

She sighed, halting her pacing and looking at Vessmier much kinder, “What I did to Eskel was…”

“… For the best.”

Rinah’s eyebrows furrowed in sadness, “I would never hurt any of you, but that… the Leshy had taken over, I had no choice.”

Vesemir grunted with a confirming nod, “So let it go child.”

Rinah smiled at his use of child, so tender and yet so incorrect. It had been a long time since she’d been treated like someone’s daughter. Vesemir smiled back as if he knew; his cold-grey eyes watching her curiously for a moment, as he so often did, before leaving.

------------------------

Dinner was noisy as usual, clattering cutlery and mingled voices. The air was thick with tension however, Geralt and Rinah sat at the opposite end of the room to the rest. Ciri sat by Rinah’s side too, side glancing at her every now and again with wary worry.

Suddenly Lambert's voice rose above the rest, “Can’t trust anyone these days!” he shouted in a jovial but pointed tone. His words were followed by a boom of bass-filled laughter.

Rinah rolled her eyes as Lambert peaked over his shoulder intentionally in her direction.

“This is impossible,” Rinah muttered under her breath. Geralt grunted dismissively by her side, shoveling spoonfuls of broth into his mouth, “They’ll move on.”

Sighing, she turned to him, lowering her chin so she could whisper, “They don’t want me here, and who can blame them.”

“You did what had to be done.”

A flash of the Leshy’s face, a mimic of Eskel, blinked across her memory, “I killed their brother! It doesn’t matter.”

Geralt was definitive, “Let it go.”

Rinah pushed herself up, plates clattering as her hips knocked the table as she clambered out from the bench, “I can’t.”

She stormed from the dining room, avoiding eye contact. Her feet carried her forward, cold air whipped her face as she made her way down some stone steps at the back of Kaer Morhern.

Ice filled her lungs as she breathed down, trying to loosen the rope tightening around her chest. Her mind raced like a flood rushing down a hill, pointless to stop. She couldn’t stand their eyes on her, their judgement and rightful emotions.

She had no right to be angry, no right to be upset that they hated her. The only reason not a single one hadn’t tried to take her out wasn’t because of their history together, it was because of Geralt. Her mere presence was faltering cracks in their unbreakable mountain of bond. Geralt would pay a price that wasn’t a debt he owed the longer she held on.

But where would she go? Home was a foreign concept lost on her many thousands of years ago.

Then a face appeared in her mind, a memory that only made the rope around her chest more taut. The string-plucking sound of a lute like a call across the wind.

She’d go to him.

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Geralt heard Rinah before he saw her. The clatter and her weapons strapped to her back, thudding against the leather of her heavy pack.

“Vesemir,” she called out, gesturing him closer. Vesemir's eyes raised to hers casually before he caught sight of her appearance and despite the concerned furrowing of his eyebrows he rose to his feet and crossed the room.

Geralt stood when he saw her dressed in thick armor, his feet getting closer as she asked, “Do you have a horse you could spare?”

“A moment Vesemir,” Geralt spoke, cutting off his answer. Vesemir didn’t move for a split second before a sideways glance from hard, gold eyes encouraged him away.

“What are you doing?” his graveled voice rumbled her way.

Rinah sighed, looking past him to see if Ciri was still sat at the table, she found it empty, “I need to leave this fucking place.”

Geralt raised his eyebrows just a touch, understanding her reasoning but silently questioning it. She huffed in annoyance, “Geralt, you are not my guard I can come and go as I please.”

She pushed past him, making some more headway towards the doors at the back of the room. A gloved hand grabbed her bicep and tugged, “Enough of this,” he growled.

“They do not want me here,” Rinah replied, sounding out each word, “This is only going to get worse. You deserve better… she does too,” she lowered her voice to a whisper.

Geralt rolled his eyes, so used to her constate of quick to reaction, “You’re moving too fast, give it time,” Geralt said, his voice almost lilting down towards soothing as he loomed over her blocking Rinah from the prying view of their company.

“I know where I must go,” Rinah said with tentative words, carefully eyeing Geralt to see if he understood.

“You’re going after him, aren’t you?” Ciri appeared from the darkened corridor at the side of the room, smiling with a dreamy, doe-eyed happiness.

An understanding of a memory passed between them, one night at camp whilst Geralt hunted for food. Neither had ever had friends such as this to gossip about, Ciri asking all the questions with girlish glee that an age-old creature wouldn’t think too. Like sisters, tittering over some boy, Rinah had opened her heart once more.

Softly smiling, Rinah nodded and Ciri bounced on her heels, bounding towards her, “Go after him!”

“We’ll come with you,” Geralt adjusted his armor and looked around, deciding which direction to go first. Armor or to load up Roach with supplies, Rinah could see the cogs turning behind his eyes.

Even Ciri balked at the words, staring up at him incredulously. Had the weight of her decision not weighed her down Rinah may have smiled.

Rinah shook her head, “I will do this alone.”

“Rinah,” his grumbling tone warned her, eyebrows furrowed in frustration and disagreement. She placed her hand against his chest to stop the forward step he was taking.

“You will stay here, for her,” she kept her hand against his chest, a physical stop in his tracks, and tilted her head in gesture, “And for you.”

His eyes said everything his lips did not. Squinted in disapproval as he looked down at his friend.

Rinah rolled her tongue in the hollow of her cheek, swallowing her irritation, “Need I remind you Geralt, it’s your fault he isn’t here. Do not begrudge me this.”

Her heart ached, fear of not knowing what she’d find, but she knew she had to follow this feeling. This was not a habit she made practice of very often, her years were deeply lonely before the witcher had strolled into her life. But this was different, like an invisible string was pulling her Jaskier’s way.

She’d more than likely find him in bed with some wench he’d found at a local tavern but even that brought a twitch of a smile to her lips.

Rinah raised her eyes to Geralt, her expression somewhat pleading. A wave of her forgotten grudge swirled around them, Geralt's nostrils flared as if he could smell the scent of her fear, her pain. “If you knew Yennefer was alive, you’d go after her, am I wrong?”

Geralt stayed fixed in brooding silence as she continued, “Don’t insult me by telling me it’s not the same thing.”

Rinah’s hand reached up and rested against his armored shoulder, “I have to do this,” she urged, “Even just to see him once,” she continued under her breath so only he would hear, “I don’t even have to speak to him, I just… need this.”

She had no way of explaining the ache in her heart, although she feels the level of anger that she threw at Geralt in the months after the dragon hunt may have given him a hint. They barely spoke for weeks as she tried to forgive him. And as she tried to forgive herself for not telling her friend to fuck off and running after Jaskier before he stepped one foot off that mountain.

Geralt spoke in-kind, “This is a bad idea. You don’t know where he is or even what you’ll find, he could be anywh- “

Suddenly arms were around Rinah’s waist cutting off their muted conversation and ice blonde hair smothered her, “You’ll come back?” Ciri asked softly, muffled by her cheek against Rinah’s chest.

Pulling back, Rinah grabbed Ciri’s face, hands cupping her cheeks so she would look at her, “Always, I will always come back.”

Rinah took one last knowing glance upwards towards Geralt before turning her back, collecting her sword from the table behind them. The other Witcher’s watched in silence, it was unusual to hear this hall so quiet. The air felt a little colder in the absence of rambunctious energy.

As she made her way to the door, she passed Lambert; raising an eyebrow accusingly she quietly spat, “You got your way, little lamb.”

“Rinah!” a booming voice echoed after her before Lambert could speak.

Turning on her heels she saw Geralt taking tentative steps towards her, he opened and closed his mouth as if to speak despite his face remaining steely and unfaltering.

As it had done so many times before, understanding passed wordlessly between them.

Rinah smiled tenderly before turning her back once more, calling out over her shoulder, “Our girl better be more skilled than you with a sword by the time I get back Geralt!”

#The Witcher #jaskier #the witcher netflix #geralt of rivia #geralt x oc #jaskier x oc #geralt friendship #Jaskier fluff #the witcher fanfiction #the witcher fic

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manysmallhands · 6 months

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New album: Scarlet by Doja Cat

All things considered, I think that Scarlet will probably end up as my favourite record of 2023. While there have been plenty of others that I’ve enjoyed before now, there hasn’t really been anything else that I’ve obsessed over quite so much and played to absolute death as this. However, i'm not seeing many people who feel the same. While a few have declared themselves fully on board, reviews have often been middling, bemoaning its sharp turns of style and tone. Similarly, it's failed to gain much popular momentum, charting high in the first week but then dropping out of the charts at speed. So far as I can tell, anyone not put off by its embrace of hard rapping and old style beats appears to have balked at the relentless barbs directed at her online stans. Given how lonely my position feels, I figured that I ought make a case for it. No doubt sales will be impacted. Warn the pressing plants. Put Spotify on alert.

First of all, Doja comes out swinging. Megahit single “Paint The Town Red” is surely already familiar but it bears repeating what an extraordinary banger it is. The track appears relatively slight on first hearing, underpinned by a glitchy retro sample of Walk On By, but its real power comes from a bouncing bassline and Doja’s joyously unrepentant delivery - “Bitch, I said what I said” - as she rips into the losers and haters alike. This vibe dominates the front end of the album, with the stakes raised even higher on “Demons” and “Fuck the Girls”, tracks where she goes off at an absolute fever pitch. But while the music on “Demons” matches her ferocity with a heavy 808 attack, FTG feels like a musical harbinger for the rest of the record, its twitchy live bass forming a bridge into some of the easier going material.

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And it’s fair to say that, beyond these harder edged songs, most of the album sounds absolutely gorgeous. Tracks like the high octane pop of “Ouchies” and the warm, swirling RnB of “Gun” and “Go Off” are entirely absorbing, the kind of music that you don’t so much listen to as luxuriate in. If there is an issue here, it’s that it sometimes feels like Doja isn’t letting go as much as the music is. 97 is one of the best examples of the kind of disjointed funk that comes to dominate later on but her claim that it “looks like we don’t give a shit” is heavily undermined by how often she returns to attacking her enemies. When she (hilariously) begins a line with “…in a tweet that I’m probably gonna stand by…”, you start to get the feeling that Scarlet may be one of the most '...and another thing...' albums ever to be released.

And yet, I can’t say that I really mind. Being new to her, it may be that I just haven’t had time to get bored of it, but I’ve heard plenty of hip hop albums where rappers string out beefs like this whilst being far less entertaining. Say what you like about Doja but, a few clumsy rhymes aside, her rapping is generally excellent and she always has a choice insult for her detractors, whether they’re mocking her shaved head on Attention (“boo hoo my n-, I ain’t sad that you won’t fuck me”) or fretting over her mock-‘Satanic’ affectations on “Shutcho” (“got you cussin’ on a Sunday now - GOOD LORD!”). Do we get more of this stuff than we really need to? Yes, we probably do, but even where it wears out it’s welcome a bit, it’s a rare tune where she can’t make me crack a smile.

And in any case, there’s always something else worth focusing on. This continues to be true through the second half, where its softer elements mutate into dislocated neo-soul, full of twisting funk basslines and a strong late night vibe. This is especially so on Skull and Bones, where Doja’s overlapping vocal lines knit into an intoxicating psychedelic sweep, and the slinky sex track “Often”, a rare non-rap tune where she comes off like a huskier and hornier Erykah Badu. In general, the few love songs here feel genuinely touching, especially new single “Agora Hills” where her adoption of a teen girl persona only heightens her vulnerability as she gently pokes fun at it. And while even here the conflict isn’t quite done with (Doja’s desire to “rub it in their face” refers to the media controversy over her new and deeply unpleasant boyfriend), that softening is not just a welcome respite from the fury but a real ace in Scarlet’s sleeve.

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Yet apparently it isn’t enough. And that's a perspective I can understand tbh: the people waiting for a Doja Cat album might be interested in the poppier material but they probably want to hear a lot more singing and they could certainly do without the relentless bitching and sniping. And from the other side, a lot of the people who might be interested this kind of hip hop are fairly unlikely to hear it: Doja Cat is a big pop star, whereas rap is notoriously focused on “keeping it real” and shunning the supposedly commercial (so long as it suits them anyway). Given the pace with which it's dropped out of the charts, it seems a bit late for Scarlet to find a mass audience now, though while its singles remain on the radio I guess that all is not yet lost. Regardless of anything, it’s a record that makes me extremely happy but for Doja Cat, I guess the challenge is to knit this - in all truth - absolutely breathtaking sound into something that makes a little less effort to rub everyone up the wrong way. But with the biggest single of the year still under her belt, I feel like she’s got a few lives left in her.

#Doja Cat #Scarlet #New Albums #Rap #Hip Hop #RnB #New Music #good #not bad #don't listen to that guy #you know the one #Spotify

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sweepseven · 2 years

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Cirque du Soleil: Kooza review

Kooza changed the trajectory of my entire life in April 2008. I can point to no other singular event that has had such undeniable direct impact on me. It gave me flying trapeze, which in turn gave me boundless passion, remarkable trust, countless friendships, and a list of extraordinary sights and experiences far too long to catalog. After thirteen years since last seeing Kooza, three years since my last Grand Chapiteau show, and over two years since seeing any Cirque at all (probably my longest time away from this company in a decade), I had the pleasure reuniting with this show in its home city.

But Kooza also gave me perspective. I’ve seen so much since then, and when I reflect on Saturday’s show, the best comparison I can draw is the feeling of driving past your childhood home and finding it just a little bit smaller than you remember. Maybe you spent so many hours playing on the tire swing out front that you didn’t notice the chips in the siding. Maybe you spent so many summer nights catching fireflies that you forgot how drafty the living room windows were in the winter. Little things like that, all of them easily outshone by happy memories and love. But as an adult you notice those details, and even if I (I am not exaggerating) wept through the reveal of the bataclan, I wasn’t blind to the handful of flaws that made the show fall just short of what I remembered and treasured. In a way the best part was standing outside the tent before the show began, because then it was absolutely perfect. It was still out of reach. Inside it was exactly what it is: a live show full of passionate human beings doing their best for their audience. I adore them for that. And I will always, always adore Kooza. What follows is an honest (and I promise overall extremely positive!) act by act of the show, chipped siding and all.

Short version: see Kooza, have your life changed. That’s my personal guarantee, anyway.

Pre-show and animation: I had completely forgotten the “move away from the stage” bit and right off the bat it knocked the wind out of me. It was one of a small handful of details that aren’t preserved anywhere but the live show. It was the perfect reminder of how lucky I felt just to be in the room. The king bumbles around, one clown is a tourist, and the other is a maintenance worker. Very classic Kooza. The kinda mystical, music box-y version of “Pearl” used during animation and intermission is splendid but it’s the only song they feature like that. I would have loved to hear more arranged similarly!

Opening: It was a tighter opening than I remembered! They cut right to the chase, and I would argue it’s to a small detriment. This was one of my main criticisms of the show overall - that it was almost too tight. I would have liked more time to linger on non-act moments like these to really heighten the emotion. It’s funny since Kooza was so widely lambasted for pacing issues in its earlier years to find that they have overcorrected a little bit. But regardless, Cedric was an adorable Innocent and I have no doubt he would have been even more so if he’d been given more of a spotlight. Trickster was Mitch Wynter for my show and I have a whole other section for him down below, so I’ll just say he was the sharpest, most electric Trickster I’ve ever seen. He wriggles his fingers in a way that suggests he’s tweaking the strings of a marionette, or as though he’s shaking off some invisible static electricity. It’s a fantastic touch.

The reveal of the bataclan was every single thing I have been hoping and dreaming for for thirteen years. It’s huge, it’s bright, it breathes, and the Trickster is the consummate conductor. He almost always moves a half second before everyone else, so when the Red Army jolts to life (literally, they did a little collective jump), you know it’s because he made it happen. The music shook the whole tent, you could feel it in your chest, and then there’s me, one hand over my heart and the other over my mouth, tears rolling down my face. It feels so goofy to write out, but every bit of it was sincere! I felt welcomed home.

Charivari: Again, very tight (pejorative). I would have liked to see more! There was less acro than there was when I saw it last, no balancing on balls - really it was just some dancing, a little bit of Chinese pole, plus the jump off the top of the bataclan and the ensuing parachute throws.

Contortion: We had all three contortionists tonight and they were fantastic. They were introduced by more remarkable, magnetic control from Trickster: you really felt like he was pulling them into the spotlight himself. However! This is the exact same choreography from the show’s premiere! That, I think, is worthy of a little disappointment no matter what. It’s been fifteen years, Cirque. This act has never not been in the show. They’ve had fantastic artists fill this role for years, and not one of them has been permitted to add their own flair to this act? No one saw anything worth refreshing or mixing up for a decade and a half? This is a complaint only someone who has a ridiculous relationship with this show would complain about because the act is objectively phenomenal, as is the trio performing it. But hi. It’s me you’re dealing with. And I would have liked to see some change embraced here, for the sake of innovation and artistic expression.

Aerial straps: I have never in my life seen someone perform straps like Haley Viloria. The strength is one thing, but her flexibility is supreme and so different for an act like this! And the endless spinning! She is a wonder. I have long been feeling stale towards Cirque’s straps act because they’re in like every show ever and so often they’re so similar, but not this one. This is a masterpiece.

And obviously I couldn’t comment on this act without going over the Trickster/Kashmir interaction. ...Except I can, because I’d rather address it when I get to Trickster overall. But I love this implied relationship one thousand percent.

Diabolo: In for unicycle duo, which was kind of a shame because I love Pearl. But! William is so high energy - an absolute blast and delight to watch perform. And I’m obsessed with his costume, so I was very happy to see this act.

High wire: Three artists now, and I’ll be bitchy by saying there’s pretty much never been a high wire act that I have cared about too much. I dunno what it is, I just don’t care for the discipline very much. What I DO care very much for though is Kathryn’s Alambre Alto! Holy fuck! I honestly spent a good portion of the act just watching her dance. Now is a good time to say that she is so fucking good as the Spirit Singer, maybe the best I’ve ever heard, and I am obsessed with her.

Kooza dance: Loved! High energy! Bright! Fun! Camp! What more could you want from this. Joanie as the Soul Singer is a phenomenal time. I will say though that, yet again, everything felt like it was happening on 1.2x speed for no clear reason. We hardly had a moment to appreciate the rats covering the Crooner’s robe before they were being dragged off - he was obscured by haze and then boom, rats, then boom, they’re gone.

I have never had particularly strong feelings for Crooner beyond “cool dude,” but that is no longer the case. He was so much fun. He commanded the stage in a way I felt Trickster never quite achieved, which is curious given that they’re functionally the same character and literally the same actor. I think it’s because of the mask - Mitch just seemed more at ease blowing the lid off as Crooner, and I found myself wishing his Trickster carried the same energy.

Wheel of death: No more skeleton dance! I missed it! Another non-act moment that would have added to the setting. But we did get a very cool new transition interlude instead.

This act... dear god. Always phenomenal. I’ve seen a lot of wheel of death acts by now (even got to try it once lol) and this one remains the best by a mile. They got a little standing ovation at the end of their act (I am obsessed with Canadian audiences, they are the cutest). I LOVE the clawing, stalking walk the artists use for their entrance and refer back to several times during the act. And I need to give a specific shout out to the apparatus itself - that thing gleams with a real wickedness. It’s a gorgeous piece of equipment.

Hoops: I’ve been looking forward to seeing this act for so long and Anna delivered in droves! I did find Verto Divum pretty forgettable, but what was not forgettable was the luxurious feather cape she wears for her entrance and exit. This character is the Underworld equal to Kashmir for certain, with just as much chemistry with Trickster as Kashmir did... maybe even a notch more. Flawless act.

Chair balancing: Here’s an example of tight (complimentary)! This was much more dynamic than I saw it last, excellent pacing, and a frankly magnificent rendition of Prarthana. The crowd loved it. Chair balancing haters take note, you are extremely wrong.

Teeterboard: Man, Hum Jaisa Na Dekha has this way of telling you the show’s nearly over in the most tragic, upbeat way. Let me down easy, Hum Jaisa, I’m begging. Flawless execution of the act and some really big tricks I didn’t expect (was there a triple triple in there??).

And a very lovely detail is, after watching the Trickster conduct the world around him, the Innocent conducts the band himself. It’s a lovely little full circle moment, and an emotional twinge as we approach our denouement.

Finale: Crown confusion - there was an entire clown act dedicated to the king’s crown, which is bigger and different from the one they’ve used in the past, and earlier in the show the Innocent was crowned with the smaller crown from pre-covid, but at the finale he’s crowned with... a pretend crown? Is that normal? Did they lose the prop backstage?? I was confused, I have personally seen two crowns this show and now when we need one the most, there’s nothing. Odd detail. I also didn’t love that the king so casually took the Trickster’s wand to knight the Innocent himself. The entire show we’re shown how powerful and difficult the wand is to control, and we’ve also been shown what a moron the king is. I wish this moment had been entirely Trickster’s, and instead his presence draws even with the rest. It’s a shame.

But. Despite the number of words it takes to describe what was kinda weird about the finale, it’ll take less than half as many to describe how little all of that matters. I was crying again, obviously. My heart soared when the Innocent received his new kite, and I loved that he wasn’t terribly sad to see them all go. Instead he focused on the happiness right in front of him. It was a beautiful sentiment.

Clowns: The clowns were good! Trimmed down, which is for the best, though I am in the slim minority of people who were actually affectionate towards the original ones, irritating as they were. More “childhood house” vibes I think - there was just nothing that was going to diminish the perfection of my first experience for me, so I still have a fondness for them no matter what. No Heimloss (rip, I like that weirdo) but the dog is back, which I was happy to see. And he’s better behaved. 😉

Music: Phenomenal. Kathryn is a star. Joanie is a delight. The band brought their all. Drum solo was a ton of fun. I hope we get some live recordings of them soon (Propel, if you’re out there...)

Trickster: OKAY SO. Here’s the deal. Mitch’s Trickster is good. He’s doing all the right things. But Trickster needs to be excellent to carry the weight of this show in the way its format demands. The Trickster is the show’s only through line. He is the sole character and catalyst, even above the Innocent, that absolutely must exist or Kooza isn’t Kooza. And if he’s not strong enough to draw the eye every single moment he’s onstage, that through line is lost. We forget why all this is happening and the show feels like act after act after act without connection.

That’s what’s at the heart of all my pacing and tightness comments. Despite phenomenal dancing and precision, the emotional through line that the Trickster is supposed to bring wasn’t quite strong enough to string the show together seamlessly. As a character Mitch’s Trickster was electric, sharp, and precise, and he also added a somewhat childishly playful element that lent a Peter Pan flair to the character. It was an excellent detail that immediately sets him apart from his predecessors. But unlike others I’ve seen, I was not tempted to look away from acts in favor of him. I wasn’t consistently aware of when he was onstage. His chemistry with Haley wasn’t as visceral as hers was with Mike Tyus. I was most aware of him when he was Crooner, and I think Mitch danced him more confidently than he did the Trickster! If he brought that energy to every Trickster moment, holy fuck would we be in business. I think it’s very achievable for him. I really hope I get another chance to see him in this role, because I have no doubt he has Top Trickster potential.

I see you, Mitch!! Now just make sure I can’t look away.

Overall: I’m not sure I could say more if I tried. Chiming in for that final “Kooza!!” cheer at the end was such a gift, and I shed a few more tears as we left the tent behind. I hope there’s more. But if there’s not, this is enough.

I will always be grateful to this show. I will always always love it. It’s my childhood home.

#cirque du soleil #kooza #reviews

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gyuyoungarchives · 8 months

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Throwback Thursday: (05092017) Just Between Lovers Casting

"Rising actor Park Gyuyoung is set to appear in JTBC's new drama 'Just Between Lovers.'

In the upcoming JTBC drama 'Just Between Lovers,' scheduled to air in the second half of this year, Park Gyu-young will play the role of Somyi, an illustrator at an architectural firm. Somyi is known for her cute and bubbly charm and excels in social skills, serving as a catalyst in the drama.

Park Gyuyoung is a rookie actor under JYP Entertainment who first gained recognition through her appearance in the music video for Jo Kwon's solo song 'Crosswalk' released last year. She has since worked as a commercial model for brands like I'M MEME, The Face Shop, and Korean Yakult, leaving a mark on the public.

In the JTBC drama 'Solomon's Perjury,' which concluded earlier this year, she showcased her refreshing visuals and stable acting skills. Additionally, she is gearing up for her screen debut with the film 'Monsters' (directed by Kim Baekjun), set to be released in the latter half of the year. Park Gyuyoung's extraordinary acting journey includes being cast as the female lead in her debut film, a remarkable achievement."

as Somi in Just Between Lovers, 2017

#park gyu young #park gyuyoung #actress #kdrama #korean drama #naver article #just between lovers

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ofswannsx · 2 years

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𝚃𝙰𝚂𝙺 𝟸𝟻; 𝙽𝙴𝚇𝚃 𝙶𝙴𝙽.

ATHENA MCQUEEN.

named after the goddess of wisdom, athena lived up to her namesake. while caspian took after their father, athena was more so their mother ( though, the mcqueen surely shines through ) she was a surprise to her parents who were in the middle of divorcing when she came about. feisty, quick-witted and sass to last for days, athena’s a force to be reckoned with. like her mother and brother she was drawn to the water. she enjoyed following her mom on her ventures out on sea. being out there help athena find a sense of self. it was easy to get lost when you had many siblings. she’s just trying to make a name for herself outside her famous parents and giant family. after going back and forth on what and who she wanted to be, she enrolled into walt university to figure that out for herself.

INSPIRED BY : bridget ( total drama island ) , annabeth chase ( percy jackson ) , lagoona blue ( monster high ) , buffy summers ( buffy the vampire slayer ) , stephanie brown ( dc ) , donna sheridan ( mamma mia ! )

𝙶𝙴𝙽𝙴𝚁𝙰𝙻

BIRTH NAME. athena elinor mcqueen NICKNAMES. thena. DATE OF BIRTH. january 2. AGE. twenty-four GENDER. cis female. PRONOUNS. she/her. SPECIES. half-siren. POWERS. amphibious transformation, extraordinary strength, speed swimming, siren song, regeneration. SEXUALITY. bisexual. PLACE OF BIRTH. elias, california. CURRENT RESIDENCE. elias, california. OCCUPATION. studying archeology at walt university. work the aquarium when not in school.

𝙰𝙿𝙿𝙴𝙰𝚁𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙴

HEIGHT. 5'6" BUILD. toned. HAIR COLOUR/STYLE. blonde. EYE COLOUR. brown. PIERCINGS. ears & belly button. TATTOOS. lightning bolt on her rib ( x ), 444 on her inner forearm. NOTABLE MARKINGS. n/a. GLASSES/CONTACTS ? she’s got great vision. FACECLAIM. madelyn cline. VOICECLAIM. madelyn cline.

𝙷𝙴𝙰𝙻𝚃𝙷

PHYSICAL AILMENTS. none. ALLERGIES. n/a. SLEEPING HABITS. she likes her sleep thanks. BODY TEMPERATURE. she runs cold. DOMINANT HAND. right. DRUGS / SMOKE / ALCOHOL ? no / she’ll smoke with caspian sometimes / yes

𝙿𝙴𝚁𝚂𝙾𝙽𝙰𝙻𝙸𝚃𝚈

POSITIVE TRAITS. upbeat, dauntless, natural born leader, determined NEGATIVE TRAITS. stubborn, honest to a fault, hot-tempered, competitive USUAL MOOD. content. LIKES. the beach, surfing, the feeling of the sun on your skin, sand castles, reading in nature, sherbert ice cream, swimming, racing, winning, seahorses, summer, getting lost in something you love, traveling DISLIKES. losing, having her alone time disrupted, people who litter, plastic straws, men ( sometimes, depending on said man ), rude people BAD HABITS. luring men to their death ?? it happens u know.

𝚁𝙴𝙻𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙿𝚂

MOTHER. elizabeth swann, step mom fran bernoulli FATHER. monty mcqueen. SIBLINGS. dante, elise, caspian, nina, stefan, enzo & seraphina mcqueen CHILDREN. none. BIRTH ORDER. fifth out of eight kids // second child to monty and elizabeth. SIGNIFICANT OTHER. who’s to say. CLOSEST FRIENDS. rey hamato, aerwyn hamato-seara & this could be you !

𝚃𝙴𝚂𝚃𝚂

ZODIAC SIGN. aquarius. MBTI. istp. TEMPERAMENT. choleric. HOGWARTS HOUSE. gryffindor. MORAL ALIGNMENT. true neutral.

𝚂𝙺𝙸𝙻𝙻𝚂 & 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚃𝚂

LANGUAGES SPOKEN. english, italian & spanish. DRIVE ? yes. JUMP START A CAR ? yes. CHANGE A FLAT TIRE ? yes. RIDE A BICYCLE ? yes. SWIM ? yes ... she’s a fish PLAY AN INSTRUMENT ? yes. PLAY CHESS ? yes. BRAID HAIR ? yes. TIE A TIE ? yes. PICK A LOCK ? yes. SEW ? yes.

COMPASSION. 8/10.

EMPATHY. 8/10.

CREATIVITY. 10/10.

MENTAL FLEXIBILITY. 10/10.

PASSION. 10/10.

LUCK. 8/10.

MOTIVATION. 10/10.

EDUCATION. 10/10.

INTELLIGENCE. 9/10.

CHARISMA. 8/10.

REFLEXES. 9/10.

WILLPOWER. 9/10.

STAMINA. 10/10.

PHYSICAL STRENGTH. 9/10.

BATTLE SKILL. 9/10.

INITIATIVE. 10/10.

RESTRAINT. 9/10.

STRATEGY. 10/10.

TEAM WORK. 7/10.

( PINTEREST, HER TAG, PLAYLIST. )

#watask #* .・ a curious girl a wanderer » athena.

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scotianostra · 2 years

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On 10th July 1802 Robert Chambers, the Scottish naturalist and publisher, was born.

I wonder how many of you out there have owned a Chambers dictionary? We always had one in our household growing up, mainly for checking words while playing scrabble.

Two brothers, Robert and William Chambers founded the company that published the book also played a major part in the growth of 19th century writing and publishing in Scotland and the development of the city of Edinburgh.

William and Robert Chambers were part of a relatively prosperous Borders mill owning family with deep roots in Tweeddale. William the elder was born in 1800 and his brother Robert on this day, two years later.

Their father lost his business in 1814 and the family upped sticks and moved to Edinburgh. Life in the capital began in a tenement flat in Nicholson Street. It was a “second rate street home to other families with limited means.” They remained there for less than a year before moving to an even poorer area of the city.

William took up a job as an apprentice in a booksellers, his early jobs being cleaning and lighting the fire, preparing the oil lamps and running errands, but it put him in god stead for his oncoming years. He took lodgings in The West Port, his brother later joining him, but was jobless, William helped support his sibling, he then suggested Robert, using the last few books from his father’s house in Peebles open a small bookshop in Leith, the family business was born. Within a short time William also opened a bookshop close to his brother.

A small printing press was acquired and together the brothers turned to publishing. They printed, bound and published a range of books including 750 copies of the Songs of Robert Burns, a best-seller in 19th century Edinburgh.

It was perhaps inevitable that both would turn to writing and together they wrote and published the Kaleidoscope a fortnightly periodical. Half a century later William reflected on the struggle to produce the journal. “The mechanical execution of the literary serial sorely tested the powers of my little press which received sundry claspings of iron to strengthen it for the unexpected duty.” Although the Kaleidoscope didn’t last long, life was getting better. It was, “a small trial of one’s wings.”

Thanks to a commission from Walter Scott William and Robert moved home again as their business continued to develop. By 1832 the first edition of the Chambers Edinburgh Journal was published. It was an immediate and unprecedented success with 30,000 copies sold in Scotland and a further 20,000 in England. As well as publishing pieces by Walter Scott between 1879 and 1895, the magazine published 3 short stories and 1 article written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Initially Robert was only a contributor but after the 14th issue he became joint editor and W and R Chambers was founded.

I really should only be covering Robert in this post, but I have to tell you a bit about William, who rose to become Lord Provost of Edinburgh, in that position he helped save the life of a stray dog that was going to be rounded up and destroyed as he never had a license. Hearing of the poor dog William himself paid for the license, a collar for the dog and feeding bowl that can still be seen in The Museum of Edinburgh. Without this act of kindness we might not know the extraordinary tale of Greyfriars Bobby!

Anyways, back to we brother Robert. In 1844 Robert published, anonymously, the Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation, 15 years before Darwin’s Origin of the Species. It received very mixed reviews. One said that, “there was a fair chance of poisoning the fountains of science and sapping the foundations of religion.” Another took an opposing view by saying the book was like a, “breath of fresh air to workmen in a crowded factory.”

William and Robert Chambers achieved much in their lives but perhaps their greatest satisfaction came from the purchase of their Scottish Borders home 40 years after their father had been forced to give it up.

Although now owned by a multi-national the firm started in 1819, W. & R. Chambers Publishers still trades and is one of the foremost publishers of reference books in may ares including….

Dictionaries

Thesauruses

Language Reference

Subject Reference

School Range

Crosswords

Puzzles

Games

Phrasebooks

Adult Learners’ Range.

Robert Chambers died on 17 March 1871 in St Andrews and is buried in the Cathedral burial ground in the interior of the old Church of St. Regulus, according to his wishes.

A memorial window remembers the brother in St Giles on The Royal Mile, Edinburgh as seen in the pic.

#Scotland #scottish #scottish borders #Edinburgh #author #geologist #history

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kangjaehee · 2 years

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all i've ever wanted is here

title: all i've ever wanted is here

pairing: mcjaehee (more like jaehee x oc... well cmc)

tags: fluff, oneshot, oc meta

word count: 680

OBS: posted on ao3 here

She’s getting more beautiful by the day, Chaeyoung realizes, as if that were even possible. She’s always thought of Jaehee as good-looking, because she is, but only recently has she started to captivate Chaeyoung like a siren’s song, as if there’s this new glow that’s come from within her. She wonders if it’s truly new, or if it’s always been there but only now that love has shaded everything around her is she able to see it.

This morning she’s having coffee on the couch right by the window, the light gold of the sun illuminating the soft lines of her face, shining her eyes caramel. Her hair, chest-length. is tucked behind her ears. She’s serene, an undisrupted lake in the middle of a forest, inviting. It makes Chaeyoung’s breath hitch. God damn it, this being in love thing. She kind of missed it. Looking at a person and thinking “for you, I’d love myself a little more.” She didn’t know she needed that in her life. Wasn’t even looking for it. She was looking for something but didn’t know it was this: someone to color every inch of her world, a sun to shine on her sky, someone to love her with everything they have, someone to care for tenderly.

She goes over to the couch, says good morning to her with a kiss on the cheek. Jaehee smiles, which makes Chaeyoung’s heart stop and scream for a second, whispering a groggy “morning” in the cutest voice possible. Were it not an ungodly hour of the morning right now, she’d bury her face in kisses. But she’s not even half awake, so she sits down, leaning her head back.

Jaehee’s eyes follow her, the smile not yet faded. Her eyes carry the whole world, almost, they feel like that to Chaeyoung. Like they’re about to set her on fire and my God does she want to burn. Like she knows, deep within herself, that this woman is everything she needs (which is stupidly untrue, all things considered, but a nice thing to think still). Like she is, and was, all this time, utterly and completely helpless. Just one look at Kang Jaehee is enough to realize that she’s as extraordinary as it gets.

And the thing is, she’s been in love before but never like this. Never craving a person like an addiction. Never looking at someone and thinking “This is the greatest thing that exists in the world, and I must protect it with all I have.” Now she knows what all the poets mean when they exaggerate the heck out of everything, now she knows why people cry at romance movies. This is love, she realizes, this is what people truly mean when they say love.

It just had to be Jaehee, didn’t it? It could only be her. The girl that came into her life like a bullet train and made Chaeyoung feel truly young again. The girl who taught her how to truly love life with her passion for everything she did, a zest that does not run out. She is fearless, she is grounded, she is unshakeable, determined to find a way no matter what.

The glow has not always been there, she realizes. Or rather, it has, it just wasn’t as strong. But every day, slightly, it began to grow. To bloom like a spring flower. Time really was kind to her, letting the seeds of her dreams sprout, allowing her to become who she was meant to be. Or maybe it’s her hair, luscious and soft and voluminous, that’s making her more beautiful than Chaeyoung ever imagined she’d be. Perhaps it’s both.

“Did you fall back asleep or something?” she hears Jaehee ask. “You’ve been looking at me like that for like… a good minute now.” “It’s nothing,” she says. “I’m just admiring how beautiful you are, that’s all.”

The pink that coats Jaehee’s cheeks at that, paired with the shy little laugh, is everything to Chaeyoung. Kang Jaehee is the strangest thing that’s ever happened to her. Maybe also the greatest.

#mystic messenger #mysme #mm #jaehee kang #kang jaehee #mysme jaehee #mystic messenger jaehee #mcjaehee #mc x jaehee #jaehee x mc #posting this to build my portfolio or wtv #also bc its cute #how do people post fics on here like how do u introduce them #do yall just post them jut go bam or...

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tapedecking · 2 years

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MIXTAPE #1 (25/07/22)

The Universal - Blur

Album: The Great Escape

Year: 1995

Track: Single (Post-Release: 1995)

The song everyone in the UK probably only associates with the British Gas adverts. The Great Escape was one of two albums I listened to on the 24 hour flight to Australia - I would have listened to more, but without something to look at besides the darkened inside of a cabin, I think I would have descended into madness. It seemed like a natural going-on-holiday album, and like most Blur albums, it’s consistently pleasant and harmless, but this track stands head and shoulders above the rest of the album to me - it’s so carefree and positive and to me, it is a perfect holiday track.

We Go On - The Avalanches

Album: The Great Escape

Year: 2020

Track: Single (Post-Release: 2021)

We Will Always Love You was the second album I listened to en route to Australia, because hey! It’s The Avalanches, one of the most notable Australian musical acts outside of Men at Work! It was a great album, and very fun thanks to its eclectic range of guest stars. For example, this track - the track that was most stuck in my head after the flight - features California disco artist Cola Boyy, as well as Mick Jones, guitarist for The Clash. After arriving in Australia, I also managed to come across a limited edition electric blue coloured vinyl release in the clearance section of a JB Hi-Fi - I would have picked it up, but I didn’t believe it would survive the journey home.

Nightclubbing - Iggy Pop

Album: The Idiot

Year: 1977

Track: Album Track

Jet-lagged and not yet adjusted to Australian time zones, I listened to this album whilst doing a 1000-piece jigsaw at 5am when I couldn’t sleep one night. Seeing as I had already listened to the other 1977 album released by Iggy Pop and produced by David Bowie - Lust For Life, I figured I’d complete the set. This track was the standout, but I had heard it before, in the Westworld episode “Genre”. In the episode, Aaron Paul’s character, Caleb, takes the titular genre drug and begins seeing life through the lense of various - get this - film genres. One such film lens features Nightclubbing as a soundtrack, in reference to the film Trainspotting. Like much of Westworld, the genre drug was a fascinating idea that was completely half-arsed and pissed away by the consistently disappointing series.

Strange Overtones - David Byrne & Brian Eno

Album: Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

Year: 2008

Track: Single (Pre-Release: 2008)

I love finding works - albums, singles, compilation contributions, whatever - from popular artists I like, that are a bit lesser known. When it comes to David Byrne, everyone knows Talking Heads, especially ‘77 and Remain In Light, but less people know about this 2008 collaboration with Brian Eno. After finding the album flicking through Spotify (and being drawn in by its simple yet striking cover featuring an isometric red house), I listened to this album whilst isolating with my girlfriend in her basement. We had both tested positive for covid a few days prior, and so she was forced to work via zoom, which in turn meant that I was forced to sit quietly in the corner until she was done! This track was the stand out of the album, and I feel proves my music taste to be based, to anyone out there still unsure.

Perfect Day - Harry Nilsson

Album: Knnillssonn

Year: 1977

Track: B-Side to “Who Done It?” (Release Unsure: 1977)

[BETTER CALL SAUL SEASON SIX SPOILERS AHEAD]

I didn’t watch Breaking Bad as it aired, the unrelenting hype and worship ruined the idea for me. I caught up with the show years later, in 2020, before following by watching through Better Call Saul - the fifth season had just concluded airing. Despite the acclaim, both shows to me were good, not great. Interesting and watchable, but nothing extraordinary. So when I realised that the sixth season had began airing (three episodes in), I figured I’d watch along. I caught up on the episodes I had missed, and after Nacho’s death, I was hooked. Something had finally clicked with me - the pacing was better, the stakes were real, and for once I was actually uncertain and interested to find out as to where the show would go next. The wait between episodes, even when only a week, feels like decades, and I spend the time inbetween so unbelievably excited for the next installment, and when I can finally watch it, it feels like an event - the lights have to be off, everything else has to be quiet, all my focus goes into the show. It’s silly, I know it is, but it’s nice to have something I can enjoy so much. The most recent episode as of writing, “Fun and Games”, began with such a compelling, heartbreaking and haunting sequence: Jimmy and Kim going through their day, pretending like everything that had happened the night before - Howard’s tragic death, everything with Lalo and Mike - had never happened. And it was all set to a cover of this song - this beautiful, unashamedly sweet song.

Suzy - Caravan Palace

Album: Caravan Palace

Year: 2008

Track: Single (Post-Release: 2009)

After an early wake-up and an hour-long bus ride, my girlfriend and I managed to make it to Luna Park, an amusement park she was eager to show me around, and I was eager to be shown around. Before that, however, we had to wait in line to get our wristbands, alongside a million snot-nosed rugrats. Luckily for us, arguably, Luna Park had entertainers at the ready to keep the brats occupied, and deployed what could only be described as a troupe of homosexual slendermen. Dressed in colourful morph suits and clashing waistcoats, the faceless freaks began dancing and waving and soliciting high-fives, all set to this fittingly kooky but undeniably fun electro swing number. As an aside, I think this track would make a great backdrop for a fight scene in a superhero show.

The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song [Extended Version] - The Flaming Lips

Album: At War With The Mystics

Year: 2006

Track: Bonus Track

Back in November, my girlfriend and I went rummaging through a secondhand record and CD shop in Greenwich, and I managed to pick up, for 25p, the special edition of this album, featuring a bonus disk with dozens of bonus tracks, radio sessions and music videos. Unfortunately, this bonus disk was in a DVD-audio format, and I have yet to find anything in my house that will play it… But interestingly (if you're a nerd like myself), the first disk, the CD containing the actual album, features this extended mix of the song in place of the original version, and the extended mix was merely an iTunes-exclusive bonus track. This track recently reentered my thoughts when my girlfriend added it to our picnic playlist. We had put one together as something to do whilst isolating, as going for walks to the park together was one of the few things we could do.

#music #playlist #spotify #blur #the avalanches #cola boyy #mick jones #the clash #iggy pop #david bowie #david byrne #brian eno #harry nilsson #caravan palace #the flaming lips #australia #westworld #better call saul #luna park

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tameila · 2 years

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june week three & four albums.

June 13th: The Rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, David Bowie

favorite(s) before listen: Starman

favorite(s) after listen: Starman, Hang On to Yourself, Ziggy Stardust

June 14th: Ingénue, k.d. lang

favorite(s) before listen: Constant Craving

favorite(s) after listen: Constant Craving, Miss Chatelaine, Wash Me Clean, So It Shall Be, Season of Hollow Soul

June 15th: American Idiot, Green Day

familiarity: @kymal recommended Green Day’s 21st Century Breakdown, but I was an American Idiot girl. i would listen to “Letterbomb” on the bus ride home nearly every day, and that’s all you need to know about what kind of middle schooler i was

favorite(s): This is a no-skip album, but -- as mentioned before -- my favorite song is Letterbomb, followed closely by She’s a Rebel and Holiday. Though, during this listen through, I found myself appreciating Extraordinary Girl and Homecoming extra amounts.

June 16th: 21st Century Breakdown, Green Day

familiarity: recommended by casey and i gotta say...there were multiple times while listening to this album where i thought of you, casey, and went, “yeah, this checks out as their favorite Green Day album”

favorite(s) before listen: 21 Guns, Know Your Enemy

favorite(s) after listen: Another solid, no-skip album, but I would say my standouts are -- [proceeds to listen half the album] Know Your Enemy, 21st Century Breakdown, Before the Lobotomy, East Jesus Nowhere, Peacemaker, Last of the American Girls, Murder City, Horseshoes and Handgrenades

June 17th: Dirty Computer, Janelle Monáe

familiarity: This is one of those albums that has sat on my to-listen lists for far, FAR too long

favorite(s) before listen: Make Me Feel, Pynk

favorite(s) after listen: Make Me Feel, Pynk; Crazy, Classic, Life; Screwed, Don’t Judge Me, So Afraid, Americans

June 18th: MONTERO, Lil Nas X

familiarity: this album was rec’d by @mischiefseven way back at the beginning of this project, but I had obviously listened to this album front-to-back many times as soon as it came out so had been saving to revisit it for later -- aka, Pride Month, babEY!

favorite(s): This is a no-skip, fabulous from the first to last second album, but my particular favorites are One of Me (ft. Elton John) because Elton John’s collaborations with all these young queer artists makes me emotional, Tales of Dominica, Dead Right Now, and That’s What I Want

June 19th: SAWAYAMA, Rina Sawayama

familiarity: I know Rina from her song, “Cherry”, and I’ve had her on my radar since as an artist that I wanted to explore more.

favorite(s) before listen: N/A

favorite(s) after listen: Dynasty, STFU!, Bad Friend, Chosen Family (I also love the version with Elton John too ofc)

June 20th: Expectations, Hayley Kiyoko

familiarity: As a wlw, I have - of course - heard and listened to just about all of Hayley’s discography with this album being no exception

favorite(s): Feelings, What I Need, Sleepover, Curious, Wanna Be Missed, HNLY, Palm Dreams

June 21st: BLUE NEIGHBOURHOOD, Troye Sivan

familiarity: I listened to this album non-stop when it came out, but it’s been a while since I revisited it. In retrospect and with knowledge of his newer music, I can say that this album definitely felt rougher around the edges than I remember it being when I first enjoyed it; however, I still think it stands a great work of art in Troye’s discography and I still genuinely enjoyed each song.

favorite(s): As mentioned, I enjoy each song of this album but I would say that my favorites are Fools, Talk Me Down, Suburbia, Youth, Lost Boy, Blue

June 22nd: Bloom, Troye Sivan

favorite(s): another no-skip album, but my favorites are Lucky Strike, Plum, Postcard, and Seventeen

June 23rd: So Jealous, Tegan and Sara

familiarity: I am more familiar with their other album, Heartthob, but figured I’d start here

favorite(s) before listen: Where Does The Good Go

favorite(s) after listen: Where Does The Good Go, You Wouldn’t Like Me, I Bet It Stung, Speak Slow, Fix It Up, I Can’t Take It

June 24th: Heartthrob, Tegan and Sara

favorite(s) before listen: Closer; Goodbye, Goodbye; I’m Not Your Hero, Drove Me Wild, Love They Say

favorite(s) after listen: added to the aforementioned...How Come You Don’t Want Me

June 25th: If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power; Halsey

familiarity: this album was recommended by @theoh-raeken back when I first started this project but, like Lil Nas X’s album, it was one that I’d listened to when it dropped so I wanted to wait a while to do another listen through. Compared to the rest of her discography, I wouldn’t say that I enjoyed this album as much as her other ones, but it’s still a solid album.

favorite(s) before listen: Bells in Santa Fe, Easier Than Lying, honey; I’m not a woman, I’m a god

favorite(s) after listen: my favorites did not change

June 26th: Superache, Conan Gray

familiarity: new Conan album!!

favorite(s) before listen: People Watching

favorite(s) after listen: People Watching, Disaster, Best Friend, Family Line, Footnote, The Exit

standout lyric: All that I did to try to undo it / All of my pain and all your excuses / I was a kid, but I wasn't clueless / (Someone who loves you wouldn't do this)

June 27th: Good at Falling, The Japanese House

familiarity: I have a passing familiarity with a number of her songs

favorite(s) before listen: Wild

favorite(s) after listen: Wild, We Talk all the Time, You Seemed So Happy, Marika is Sleeping, Worms

June 28th: BADLANDS, Halsey

familiarity: it’s been so long since I’ve listened through this album that I just had to come back to it. might relisten to their other albums later on as well.

favorite(s): A solid, solid album but I would say my favorites would be Haunting, Young God, Strange Love, Roman Holiday

June 29th: White Noise, PVRIS

favorite(s) before listen: You and I

favorite(s) after listen: You and I, Holy, White Noise, Smoke, St. Patrick, My House

June 30th: RINA, Rina Sawayama

favorite(s) before listen: N/A

favorite(s) after listen: Ordinary Superstar, 10-20-40, Cyber Stockholm Syndrome

#one album each day 2k22 #once again wilding cutting corners wherever i feel like just trying to keep this part of the project afloat

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veefuls · 22 days

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2024-04-05 16:40

I have for almost 3 weeks been putting off finishing my English assignment for no real reason, I'm just for some reason not doing it. It's easter break so it can wait.

I've been meaning to watch "Tell Me That You Love Me" which is a South Korean remake of the Japanese show "Say That You Love Me". I made it through about 2 and a half episodes, but it started buffering and I couldn't bother reconnecting to the internet so, that's where I've ended up. I usually don't really enjoy shows about adults adulting, but this one seems good and emotionally loaded to the point where I'm partaking in it.

I have literally nothing scheduled for a while, but I'm excited for Japan's GP on Sunday. Will have to wake up at 7 in the morning, but it's fine I guess...

ALSO on Monday next week "선재 업고 뒤어" (Lovely Runner is the English title I think they've settled on) is premiering the first episode and I'm stoked. It's based on a WebToon that I would like to read, but I'm saving it for afterward to spare myself from any dissapointment while watching the show. Byeon Wooseok is in it (damaged Russian-Korean drug smuggler CEO in Strong Girl Nam-soon (shit show btw)) and my bff Kim Hyeyoon (of Extraordinary You fame). They have a 30 cm height difference though... for some reason Hyeyoon is always casted with guys five times her height. Anyway it's about this girl whose favorite singer dies, she goes back in time and has to find a way to reroute his path. Seems promising, will be watching because my favorite actors are in it lol.

Speaking of Byeon Wooseok, he has caused me grave emotional distress due to that gut wrenching movie "Soulmate" from 2023. You know, I was genuinely excited as he was getting more work after 20th Century Girl, but the actual heartbreak Soulmate caused me is unexplainable. I think about it all the time, anyway never ask me to watch a movie about two girls being friends I can't take it. I will not ever discuss 20th Century Girl so don't even bring it up.

On the 11th, the second season of Heartbreak High is coming out. I don't honestly know what I thought about the first season, it was too messy and not messy enough at the same time. Will be tuning in for this season though!

I've been thinking that I need to buy stuff. I've become too stingy. I put stuff in my cart and leave it there until it's gone out of stock. It's horrible I need to spend money. Either a vinyl or like an album of sorts, maybe a pair of jeans idk. RIIZE aren't releasing a physical album until June I think, so I have nothing to do on that front. Might check out Beyoncé's vinyls though...

Anyway, to wrap up, I'd like to recommend "Better Days" (2019), one of my favorite movies ever. I've watched it so many times, and each time I finish it I've learned something new. Music wise... Hikaru Utada's One Last Kiss. No reason just good song :) Will be having Chinese food for dinner.

Take care~~

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