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foxes-that-run · 5 months

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The Lakes

The lakes is about escaping the challenging aspects of Taylor Swift's life with her muse to form an artist community like Wordsworth and Keats had in the Lakes district in the 19th century.

Above, the Lyric video shows wildflowers, LK has referenced this song and Harry also has for a Pleasing campaign. In the vertical video Taylor is on a swing, reminiscent of the swing in Seven, possibly about Harry. Finally a photo with a swan in The Lakes District.

In the Long Pond Session Taylor said (I've shortened it)

'The Lakes is a testament of what I wanted to escape from and where I saw myself escaping to. We'd gone to the Lake District in England a couple years ago. In the 19th century you had a lot of poets like William Wordsworth and John Keats. There was a poet district. They had their own community of other artists, which I've always in my career.' Jack: 'it's not just I've found something worth escaping to it’s a person to escape with.” Taylor agreed "That's a huge sincere statement of hope, everything I'm naming is completely small compared to this love.” “Hoax as the ending song was interesting for a couple weeks but then I wanted the real last song. The Lakes shows you exactly what the overarching theme of the whole album of trying to escape and having something you want to protect, protect your own sanity and saying look they did this hundreds of years ago, I'm not the first person who's felt this way.

Taylor said they had gone to the lakes "a couple of years ago", and she described a poet district with an artist community, meaning fellow songwriters. She had been to the Lakes with a couple of years ago with on her first trip there with Harry Styles on her birthday in 2012. At the time Taylor said it was her best birthday since she was 6. Like Taylor, Harry has a similar experience of fame and is a lyricist. Harry has also sung about being in an artist community with Taylor, in Canyon Moon, which has a very similar idea as The Lakes.

I have seen people refer to the Invisible String Lyric "Our three-year trip / Getting lunch down by the Lakes" to point to Joe. While not photographed, their 3rd anniversary was October 2019, or 6 months before this song was recorded. 'A couple of years ago' rather than 'last year' implies the earlier trip. Joe is also not a lyricist, she spoke about an artist community. He is credited as a producer on Folklore. Taylor described how William Bowery wrote the melody's not lyrics.

Lyrics

Is it romantic how all my elegies eulogize me? I'm not cut out for all these cynical clones These hunters with cell phones

An elegie is the speech at a funeral, her songs, particularly those she is reclaiming are like diary. She lost her eulogie, the story of her life.

The last line refers back to 'I Know Places' "They are the hunters, we are the foxes" where she and Harry ran from paparazzi, now they hide from every person with a cell phone.

Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die I don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry I'm setting off, but not without my muse

Taylor is saying she is not cut out for the music industry life, she lost the rights to her diary, constantly photographed. In the Long Pond she referred to having this plan for years, which she foreshadowed for Lover, and I think Harry's Peace ring. I think they may have shared this plan when they first visited for when she turned 30 and into 2020. Folklore is about communication and how life differs to what a 23 year old planned.

The final line is so lovely, her muse is Harry Styles. No other partner has inspired so much work or so much success, they have inspired and encouraged each other to do their best work. Even when they are with others for years they still write about each other. When they see each other they are prolific. Harry has even sung about how he writes too much about her. I could list what proportion of awards and hits are about this relationship, but let's stay in the Windermere peaks.

Despite their success Taylor does not think they are cut out for this life. Taylor has sung about Harry's anxiety in New Years Day and Now that we don't talk, it's also apparent watching him at award shows in his solo career. This song and many (Mirrorball, I know places, Slut!, You're on your own kid) are about how fame impacted Taylor.

What should be over burrowed under my skin In heart-stopping waves of hurt I've come too far to watch some namedropping sleaze Tell me what are my words worth

The first line I think could have 2 meanings, one that the relationship should be over but it is not and the waves are hurt of not being together. Or, and I think this because of the second half, Taylor cannot let her masters go. The last line is a pun on the worth of her words and the poet William Wordsworth.

I want auroras and sad prose I want to watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet 'Cause I haven't moved in years And I want you right here A red rose grew up out of ice frozen ground With no one around to tweet it While I bathe in cliffside pools With my calamitous love and insurmountable grief

I want auroras and sad prose, refers to Harry Styles. She describes his eyes as “aurora borealis green” in Snow on the Beach. She also describes him as sad boy in Question..?, he does write sad prose.

In the Long Pond Session Taylor said "I could see this you know you you live in a cottage and you've got Wisteria growing up the outside of it and you just why you know of course they escaped like that." William Wordsworths cottage (below) has wisteria growing on the side, which is a slow growing purple plant, almost a lavender haze!

I love the imagery of 'Red rose grew out of rose in frozen ground', because it refers to Rose, which is a Haylor theme. But also because it refers to the track before Hoax: "My winless fight, this has frozen my ground" It also refers to a theme of hiding their love, "I would die for you secret" in Peace, that something beautiful and no one needs to know about it.

The last lines are so poetic and dramatic I love them. Calamitous love refers to a love that’s “built to fall apart (and back together)” in OOTW or "a crooked love in a straight line down” in IWYW. Taylor used a similar word discussing SOTB, calling it cataclysmic love. Taylor describes her dramatic and passionate relationship with Harry rather than staide and safe one described with Joe.

Her insurmountable grief is all she’s lost, her masters, the things she gave up in your own your own kid and things she has to pine about.

Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die I don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry I'm setting off, but not without my muse No, not without you

Love this chorus, such beautiful poetry about poets and love.

#the lakes #taylor swift #folklore #haylor

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bizarrequazar · 11 months

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GJ and ZZH Updates — May 28-June 03

<<< previous week || all posts || following week >>>

This is part of a weekly series collecting updates from and relating to Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan.

This post is not wholly comprehensive and is intended as an overview, links provided lead to further details. Dates are in accordance with China Standard Time, the organization is chronological. My own biases on some things are reflected here. Anything I include that is not concretely known is indicated as such, and you’re welcome to do your own research and draw your own conclusions as you see fit. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or additions. :)

[Glossary of names and terms] [Masterlist of my posts about the situation with Zhang Zhehan]

05-28 → Gong Jun posted four photos of clouds to his Instagram, caption: “Casual shots” and his Xiao Hong Shu, caption: “Watch Clouds” Fan Observations: Lots of candy for this one: - This was the anniversary of the Word of Honor table read. - The “Take a lover’s hand and watch the clouds unfurl” line from Word of Honor. - On 2020-09-29, Zhang Zhehan posted photos of himself in front of a lake with the caption “Watch ☁️”. These were the photos where he’s in the red waffle lovers club shirt that Gong Jun has in black. - Zhang Zhehan once said in an interview that rather than saying it explicitly, he would post a photo of clouds to let his fans know when he had fallen in love. 🥺

05-29 → Nothing of note.

05-30 → Deeyeo posted a promotional video spoken by Gong Jun.

→ L’Oreal posted a promotional video spoken by Gong Jun. They later also posted a commercial to their Xiao Hong Shu.

→ Fresh posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ L’Oreal posted a commercial from Cannes featuring Gong Jun, Elaine Zhong, and Zhu Yilong.

→ Zhenguoli posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ The Instagram posted a video of the concerts. It was noted that this was not posted by any of the “official” accounts on Weibo, likely because of the photos being removed before.

→ Net-a-Porter posted three photos of Gong Jun.

→ Gong Jun appeared at the BAZAAR Icons red carpet charity event. [livestream clip]

→ Gong Jun posted six photos of himself from that day. Caption: “Wearing sunglasses 😎 Thanks to @贵族巴萨 @小莉BAZAAR for the invitation!” He also posted these to his Xiao Hong Shu, caption: “Hold back Can't smile!” and his Instagram, caption: “Out of season!”

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted twelve photos of him from that day. Caption: “The night is getting darker, and the contrast becomes interesting. @ Gong Jun Simon went to the party appointment!”

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted a video of behind the scenes footage from that day’s photoshoot. Caption: “@ Gong Jun Simon is fully equipped 🕶️ ready to execute mission No. 1129 🔛” BGM is Seine Geschichte (X Years Mix) by Alberto Rizzo.

→ BAZAAR posted two photos of Gong Jun from the red carpet. Caption: “Don't be arrogant or impetuous, always have the original intention, and have a hot heart, and enjoy the sun with @ Gong Jun Simon!”

→ #Gong Jun’s phone lock screen is Huahua*# got on Weibo’s entertainment hotsearch, with the lock screen having been caught on camera after the event. *a panda

05-31 → A trailer was released for Hidden Strike (aka Project X-traction), an action comedy movie starring Jackie Chan and John Cena that Gong Jun filmed a minor role for in 2018. 2023 is given as the release year, no more exact date yet.

→ Gong Jun posted a commercial for L’Oreal. Caption: “Sunny heat wave, scorching heat is coming! Dry, red and sensitive skin after sun exposure? Bring the brand new #欧洲雅团安药粉丝# Hydrating for a summer, a piece of soothing redness, a strong barrier, and @巴黎欧光雅入to open up the translucent skin in good condition!”

→ Deeyeo posted two photo ads featuring Gong Jun. [1] [2]

→ L’Oreal posted a promotional video spoken by Gong Jun.

→ BAZAAR posted a photo from the previous evening of Gong Jun and Dilreba each receiving an award for Popular Icon of the Year.

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted a douyin of him from the previous day. Caption: “All departments pay attention ⚠️ Mission number 1129, @ Gong Jun Simon starts to act” BGM is I’ll Do It by Heidi Montag.

→ Fresh posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ Gong Jun posted two photo ads for Tangle Teezer to his Xiao Hong Shu.

→ Tangle Teezer posted a video of behind the scenes footage from the photos Gong Jun posted.

→ Gong Jun commented “[3 shiba inu emojis] Very handsome!” on the singer Fan Chengcheng’s post of photos from the BAZAAR event, one of which included him. The two reportedly started following each other on Weibo.

→ BAZAAR posted a photo of Gong Jun from the red carpet.

→ Fresh posted a promotional “interview” spoken by Gong Jun.

→ Zhenguoli posted a promotional video spoken by Gong Jun.

→ BAZAAR posted a collection of photos from their event, three of which included Gong Jun.

06-01 → A Bulgarian fashion house, On Aura Tout Vu, posted photos from the Zhang Sanjian concert about an outfit they had made for it. They also posted these along with a design sketch to their Instagram. Fan Observation: It’s very odd that they would wait three weeks to post these, it’s suspected that it might be them trying to gain social media attention after seeing how much Jason Wu’s suit for Gong Jun got. At the time they posted the photos they had just over 1500 Twitter followers, which at the time of this post has risen by about 300.

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted six photos from his trip to Thailand back in February. Caption: “It’s the holidays, of course I still want to go to the beach to play ~ @ Gong Jun Simon (working hard to film and not travel version) I wish you all stay childlike forever, happy holidays!”

→ Deeyeo posted two photo ads featuring Gong Jun.

→ Rare posted two gifs of Gong Jun wearing a shirt by them, taken from video filmed by fansites after the BAZAAR event.

06-02 → Several people posted photos of “Zhang Zhehan” at a Mayday concert. Fan Observations: - One of the people who posted photos is an executive director of one of CAPA’s subunits. - The imposter was wearing a conspicuous lace shirt and nothing to hide his face, and in at least one photo he is looking directly at the camera. It’s clear that the intent was to have him be seen.

→ The Instagram posted three photos of a tortoise and six of “Zhang Zhehan”.

→ Fresh posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

06-03 → Bluebird posted about a screenshot that has been passed around several Chinese group chats alleging that at the Bangkok concerts, Zhang Sanjian badmouthed Li Xuezheng. At the time of this post it is unverified if this is true.

→ Gong Jun posted a vlog of his trip to Cannes. [subbed video] Caption: “The business trip vlog that hasn’t been seen for a long time is here!” BGM is Argonauts by The Little Ones, Younger by The Hails, Some Summertime by Olsson & Grant, As The World Caves In (Wuki Remix) by Sarah Cothran, and I Want You Back by The Jackson 5.

→ Zhenguoli posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ Bluebird made a post showing that in the span of eight months, EHz.Z changed recipient companies ten times, with none of these including Zhang Zhehan’s name anywhere. These companies are located in three different cities. (For those unfamiliar: this is evidence of money laundering.)

Additional Reading: → N/A

<<< previous week || all posts || following week >>>

#Zhang Zhehan #Gong Jun #Word of Honor #woh cast #lld timeline

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dungeonsdragonstdelinquents · 1 year

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Hii, saw your post about dps fics being really poetically written, do you have any favourites or recommendations? Have a good day!! :D

Hi thank you for the ask!! Oh goodness my favorite dps fics…I will include in general fics that I liked, but the ones that I have placed an asterisk with are pieces that had me–for lack of a better phrase–crying, screaming, shitting on the floor from how poetic they made me feel. Which really doesn't make much sense, but when i say poetry within me i just mean this strange feeling that is difficult to describe. Also these are all anderperry because i am a basic bitch, so apologies if you were looking for any other pairs! Maybe after finals I will look into some of the other pairs and put together a list for them too :) also I tried formatting this the best I could, I typed it all out on google docs so apologies for any fuck ups.

(in no particular order)

What We Stay Alive For **** by PiscesVanity on ao3, 18/18 chaps, 66,485 words.

Summary: “Do we get second chances in this life, Todd?” Neil asks him like he expects a negative answer. Todd doesn’t give that to him.

“Yes. we do. I know it.”

“Do you?” Neil grins, playfully elbowing him. “Did you at least wait to take it? That second chance? Until the world was more peaceful? More kind?”

Ten years after the death of Neil Perry, Todd Anderson wakes up with a second chance.

My notes: This incredibly crafted piece of art was the first dead poets fic I ever read. It honestly set the bar for me, for future reads. Also i didn’t have the chance to reread this one because this baby is long as FUCK and as much as I love long fics to read, I have to study for finals today so I can’t right now. I’m like 80% sure this is the fic where they confess by the lake and say something along the lines of “if you feel something even similar to what i feel…” but again i can’t be sure. Either way all I remember is that this fic is fricken good. Just for context, this is a time-traveling fic, but the type of time travel that happens in 13-going-on-30. Todd prays for a second chance on the eve of the 10 year anniversary of Neil’s death and he wakes up in his 17 year old body, on the day that he started school at Hell-ton. I think in general I just love the dead poets fandom because it combines some of my favorite tropes in any form of reading–50s/60s time period, boarding schools, and well…being gay. It is a fix-it so there is some angst, but there is a happy ending. But it will hit hard, especially since it comes close in the end so be wary. When I first started it, I was concerned about my own interest dwindling because the fic was going to cover the entirety of the movie, and since I have issues rereading or rewatching pieces of media when I know the end or the majority of it, I didn’t know if I was going to last. But the author of this stunning work (I know it sounds cheesy BUT IT IS) crafted it in a way that didn’t leave me bored. Even though several lines were pulled from the movie due to it being a time travel fic I still felt involved and captured by the story. It was comforting at the beginning to see how Charlie and Todd took care of each other after Neil’s death, and it was also intriguing to see how Todd almost started where he left off with Neil when he went back in time. He was more open than he had been prior, but eventually had settled back into his ‘old’ personality that he had before his first encounters with the poets.

to be alone with you by wordshakers on ao3, 1/1 chaps, 3,602 words.

Summary: “Thursday evenings were, unequivocally, Neil’s favorite part of the week.

On the surface, the explanation for this was simple enough. It was his opportunity to turn his focus entirely to the topic that made him happiest: Shakespeare. He savored the time he was able to spend sitting out on the dock, overlooking the lake, reading and reciting the words he loved so much.

The other reason–perhaps the more prominent one–Neil wasn’t able to explain quite as easily. In fact, he could hardly admit it to himself. Thursday evenings…they meant being alone with Todd.

An anderperry first kiss fic, set in a near-canon universe of the film (minus the death). Fluffy mutual pining.

My notes: I can’t recall everything about this one because my mind has been scrambled the last few days, but it is fluffy, it is cute, and it has Todd and Neil practicing lines together–what more could you want?

letters to my dearest beloved ****by UniversalSatan on ao3, 4/4 chaps, 34,162 words.

Summary:

“My dearest beloved,

It is with great relief that I finally write to you. I think it doubtful for my words to ever reach your ears, but spare me this chance to lend you a piece of my thoughts–and only a piece, for I must write with caution lest I be discovered.

Neil, amidst his own internal emotional conflict, accidentally stumbles upon letters Todd had been writing in secret to an unknown recipient. Neil (an idiot) continues to intrude on Todd’s privacy by reading each new letter in secret, continuously agitating over their purpose.”

My notes: I’m not 100% sure how well this fic is known because as I stated in the post you mentioned I am extremely new to this fandom, I think I only watched the movie the Saturday before last. Let me tell you, my heart was beating all over the place during this. I cannot believe the audacity of Neil! I don’t want to spoil it because it’s literally a masterpiece, like this should be published and printed and given awards to–the letters and the imagery in them were so *shakes author like a squeaky toy* I LOVE YOUUUU RAHHHHH. Anything i have to say just will not convey how fucking amazing this fic is. Please go read it if you haven’t. And also Neil is an oblivious little man in this fic, the best type of Neil.

A Midnight Summer’s Dream: A Story of Hope (chapter 2 specifically) by cc tinselbee (thearchivistonmars)

Summary: (my words) an almost main au that will tear your fucking soul from your body. Beautiful, amazing, life altering, makes me cry in the best way. The bittersweetness of it all is POTENT. It is an Almost Maine au (I am scared to look into almost maine now from how heartbreaking this fic was. I have only read the SECOND chapter, I’m sure the first chapter is magnificent but as of now I am in the midst of finals so I will check it out when I am done.)

My notes: Someone printed out this fic, tied it to a brick, and threw it into the window of my heart, shattering my soul into pieces. How could you do this to be, author? This piece has me able to physically feel my brain putting up barriers to stop thinking about the ending that is implied. Nope, nope, nope. If you are one for incurable angst, please go ahead and enjoy. It’s a wonderful story and it evoked emotions in me that I couldn’t even stand. The author is very talented for this and I’m manifesting that alternative/possible happy ending they mentioned in their notes/comments. I haven’t read the first chapter, so this is specifically about the second one because up until a few moments ago I didn’t realize that there was a first chapter–I clicked on the link to the fic from the author’s tumblr and was sleep deprived and thought it was the beginning of the fic 🙂

Gentle Lover, Remedy ****by violet_sunset on ao3. 1/1 chap, 13,135 words.

Summary: “Todd’s first semester at Welton marks the moment he stops going to church. There are regular Masses offered in the chapel, but whenever Todd thinks about going he’s overwhelmed by nausea and has to hover in the bathrooms until he is sure he won’t vomit. When he was a kid and he thought God was just a pair of arms open in embrace, he would have jumped at the chance to attend, to sing from the hymnal and listen to homily and absorb the sacrament of blood and body. Now, God seems like a distant thing.”

My notes: HOLY FUCK, RELIGIOUS GUILT MY BELOVED. That’s one of my favorite tags to see in a work, and it isn’t often that I have seen it in some of the pairings that I like. Of course, with religious guilt comes internalized homophobia and period typical attitudes–the fic actually made use of words used in that time period that were used to refer to queer folk, so if any of those trigger you please be wary as well. I love, love, LOVE the usage of religious metaphors and words that are littered all around in this piece as well as the descriptions that show Todd’s pathway of his beliefs. As we know Todd has a deeply ingrained inferiority complex and WOW does it shine in this fic. It made me cry feeling the second-hand guilt that Todd feels. Also, the author tackled the controversy of appropriation in the film–meaning Charlie’s preference of the name Nuwanda–and expanded on his ethnic background which was really nice to read. They also touched upon Charlie’s relation to gender and (semi-canonical?) non-binaryness (it's a word because I say so) in a beautiful and delicate way that is very rare in most works that I have seen. In general there are very few fics that I have read that have included Charlie as being anything other than cisgender, so it was wonderful to see it included in this work. As well as this, Todd having a panic attack/sensory overload when a certain ginger starts being homophobic was incredibly well written and it felt like it captured those feelings that you have during an overwhelmingly stressful moment, though that is an understatement. Todd’s inability to realize just what the fuck is going on and being sort of spacey during it all–been there and done that baby. This author is so fucking talented, and this is probably my favorite dps fic of all time. I dont have the words to effectively describe how amazing it is, so if you are able to, I highly suggest reading it to experience it for yourself :)

It’s Rotten Work by cc tinslebee (the archivistonmars) on ao3, 1/1 chap, 2,774 words.

Summary:

“I was hoping…” Neil peered back up at him with those fervent eyes before he broke his inconspicuous character and cracked a smile, “my favorite scene partner would help me test it out?”

In the midst of Todd’s continual crisis of what exactly Neil’s ‘no’ means, Neil asks him to read from a scene from Orestes. You know, for practice.

My notes: Short and utterly sweet. I love reading pieces that just show how much characters love each other whether it’s platonic, romantic, or somewhere in between. I’ve always been one for a slowburn, and it wasn’t until I realized that I was aromantic that the reason I love that trope is because in between the first ‘hello’ and the inevitable kiss, that love that I read about was similar to how I felt. Just a simple fondness that the characters had for each other that made them feel alive and safe etc. I could go on forever about that, but what I mean to say is that this fic captured that feeling of affection in a fleeting moment between Neil and Todd, and I think it’s lovely.

The Pepper Ghost Effect by Anonymous on ao3, 6/6 chaps, 19,472 words.

Summary:

“1964. Todd Anderson, now a successful playwright, whisks away an old flame from a horrifying mental asylum. That old flame, Neil Perry, becomes Todd’s new muse.”

Notes: Beware of the tags. It is a very angst ridden fic that addressed Neil’s mental health and the possibilities of what could have happened if he survived his first attempt on his life. Key word, first attempt. There is period-typical homophobia, past abusive partners, and ableism and abuse stemming from the sanitarium that [spoiler] is placed in for some time. There is a happy ending, so it’s not just angst and I feel that this fic is severely underrated. There are like only 24 kudos on it right now and 4 comments which?? What?? It’s an absolute masterpiece, and effectively captures the feeling and emotion of hopelessness and depression of a situation. Neil’s emotional response and numbness to everything around him resonated with me and I felt like it described my own brush with darkness from the lower points in my life. Read at your own risk and don’t push yourself if any of the tags may be triggering, but if you are able to this is a wonderful read that will elicit all sorts of feelings in your heart.

In the Subjunctive by ghostlin on ao3, 1/1 chaps, 5682 words.

Summary:

“The night the play opens, Neil turns left.”

My notes: This is a sort of fix-it fic with Neil coming back to the dorms after his fight with his father. It leaves off sort of ambiguous–and I do adore a good ambiguous ending–leaving the reader to imagine a happy ending. I consider it a happy ending because Neil is alive, but he is less than well mentally as of what he has endured. It also centered some on Charlie and Neil in the aftermath of it all which I enjoyed because I feel that sometimes fics forget that they are all friends. Todd wasn’t the only one mourning Neil–they all were. Also I liked the way the author captured the surprise of Charlie’s acceptance of Neil’s sexuality amongst the blunt hatred of the time. Often I feel like some fics don’t try to keep the edge of fear or vulnerability that that time period called for–which is totally fine! You do you, boo. I just have a preference for it because I feel that it almost adds to an ambiguous read of a situation. I also liked how the author wrote about Todd’s perception of Charlie and how he perceives him–whether or not Todd is supposed to be unreliable (I think it’s made somewhat clear that Charlie likes Todd–he wouldn't be encouraging Neil to spill his feelings if he didn’t) in his narration.

Also as a side note i love your pfp ive been needing to read the picture of dorian gray but ive been so busy 🙁 and you have a good day too !!❤️

#ask #dps fic rec #anderperry fic rec

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thewholedamnboulangerie · 1 year

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ahhhhh it’s been so long since one of these posts has floated around, i’ve missed them!! tagged by both @kinnbig and @noirbats ilu wizard’s council 🧙🪄💖

❥ name: Emma

❥ sign: pisces

❥ height: gnome-sized!! (...5′3″ 😇)

❥ time: 00:06

❥ birthday: March 11th

❥ fav band/artist: Lord Huron my beloved spooky lake boys!!!

❥ last movie: ...Glass Onion [i am immediately murdered by Alina for not saying Puss in Boots 2]

❥ last show: Midnight Motel - GMMTV really is trying to drown me in Too Many Shows atm huh

❥ when I created this blog: Jan 2013!! the 10-year anniversary is almost upon us!!!

❥ what I post: anything and everything that makes me happy/makes me feel insane (honorific) 💕

❥ other blogs?: none that are still active 😶

❥ do I get asks?: very rarely, and when I do it’s usually Eva come to drag me to within an inch of my life 🥰

❥ followers: assuming another cluster of bots doesn’t sneak in in the next 5 mins, 142! (Which is probably quite low for a blog that’s been around for a decade, but, consider this: I only follow 65 blogs. Of those, 30 are mutuals. I am ALL IN on quality over quantity!!)

❥ average hours of sleep: usually 6, though every so often my body stages a rebellion and gives me a 24h dose of the cold to force me to sleep for like 14h and catch up. i’m sure that’s fine and normal and actually very healthy probably.

❥ instruments: SAD BEEP! NONE! unless you count bits and pieces of piano and recorder from school (i remember none of it) or the time in autumn 2017 when i successfully managed to teach myself how to play The Night We Met, and absolutely nothing else, on the guitar (and then had to stop bc i was fucking up my wrist with my terrible self-taught technique. also i remember none of it ❤️)

❥ what I'm wearing: fluffy beige knee-length jumper, black leggings, slipper boots. am cozy 🥰

❥ dream trip: TOAD TRIP 🥺🥺🥺

❥ fav songs right now:

I’m Not Boring, You’re Just Bored ~ Tilly Birds

Comedy ~ Jeff Satur

Blood Upon The Snow ~ Hozier & Bear McCreary

Why Don’t You Stay ~ Jeff Satur

Ost Ninto Shostya ~ Lorne Balfe

勛章 ~ Lu Han

Just Being Friendly ~ Tilly Birds

The Lily ~ Blanco White

Tagging: @fallen-robin, @youneedtolightenup, @yourrescuemission, @kee-per, @thevorelock, @imaginedmelody, @dragonfly-in-nacre, @pranparakul, @daltoneering, @nangong-shunu and @majestictortoise

#ask meme

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yugonoashiato · 8 months

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Yugo Kochi – It's important to be enthusiastic about what you want to be – Birdman TV Show

Yugo Kochi (29) from the six-member group SixTONES appeared as a studio guest on NTV's special programme 'Bird Man Contest 2023' (Aug 30, 7pm). He watched the romantic flight over Lake Biwa live. The sight of the birdmen fulfilling their dream of soaring in the sky made him realise that "as in our idol work, it's important to have the 'enthusiasm to be a birdman'", and that it overlapped with his own career path. We also asked him about their flight as a group and his thoughts on his last year in his twenties.

This year marked the 45th anniversary of this major summer event and we cheered from a special studio by the lake. It was, of course, the first time he had seen the event live. Watching his friends pray from the platform, he said: "It's a very human documentary. I realised that a four-metre headwind is tough. It was a luxury to be able to enjoy it again on air".

He even visited the platform from which the plane took off. Although his name '髙地' means 'highland', he said: "When I see how high it is, I wouldn't dare to run down 10 metres in a glider by myself. I prefer low ground," he said with a wry smile.

Watching the flight of the 28 teams in the Human Powered Propeller Aircraft category, he was impressed by the division of labour in designing, directing and supporting the pilots in their training. The team's performance was also supported by the lighting crew, the choreographer and others, without whom we could not create a single piece of work. That's why we cry when we succeed and feel frustrated when we fail.

When asked if he would form a SixTONES flying team, he replied: "I would be the leader of the cheering squad. I am the leader of the cheering squad! I don't want to be involved in the design (laughs). The pilot could be Tanaka, who is surprisingly agile. He's also light and has guts when he puts his mind to it," he fantasised.

The group took off on six wings in 2015. It also experienced headwinds. "We were said to be in a fierce junior battleground with Snow Man and Travis Japan, who are now doing well in their generation, and there were whispers that we might not be able to make our debut. But I didn't give up and that was a big part of it. I've got a tailwind too: I'm being challenged by a company with the latest technology." [E/N: I think he meant Sony 😭🙏🏻].

His debut came in the middle of the Corona disaster. "I couldn't do the location work properly and my TV time was short... When you jump before you fly, you have to bend your knees. If you look at it like it was time to bend your knees, it wasn't bad." He also sees the flow as a positive: 'I didn't get tired from being busy, I had a good slow start and was able to keep going without strain."　

Of course, the status quo cannot be maintained. "I have to carry more weapons on my back. It's important to sharpen the weapons in my backpack. I certainly don't want people to think I haven't changed since my debut." His appearance on the current show was also well received for his comments. It must have been stimulating.

He is the oldest member of the group and will be 30 next March. "I joke about it on the radio, but I'm thinking of keeping my age a secret when I turn 30 (laughs). I don't want to be limited by my age. If I don't force myself to look young and do my best to do my own thing, I think I will look young naturally. I don't say things like 'I'm already an old man' when I turn 30 (laughs). I want to greet my juniors cheerfully.” As his surname suggests, he is aiming high.

From Yahoo Article:

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/996487d58a141fb0761ee49c45eae3cc04c4ee8f

#髙地優吾 #SixTONES #Yugo Kochi #Kouchi Yugo #news article interview #translation #japanese to english #erindani #sneak peek post was on twitter

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yatescountyhistorycenter · 1 year

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A hand salute for a coat of arms

By Jonathan Monfiletto

The village of Dundee may be the only community in Yates County – and probably in all of the Finger Lakes region – that has its own coat of arms. The village received this honor from the Scottish city of the same name in 1973 when Dundee, Scotland marked its 300th anniversary and Dundee, New York celebrated its 125th anniversary.

In 1973, the Lord Provost of Dundee – an office similar to mayor – bestowed upon its daughter community the right and privilege of bearing the arms of its ancestor. The movement mimicked an occasion 300 years before, on July 30, 1673, when King Charles II awarded the Royal Burgh of Dundee a deed of proper arms for a fortified city loyal to the crown.

Similarly, the village of Dundee voted to accept this grant and make it effective July 30, 1973, with changes to the arms to fit the village’s location and character. As part of its celebration that year, the village used the arms in flags, plaques, and other decorations. A cluster of grapes against a shield replaces a pot of lilies in the same spot of the ancestor’s arms; a representation of a lake and fingers replaces a castellated helmet to symbolize a fortified town.

It might be time for Dundee to bring out its coat of arms again, as this year the village marks its 175th anniversary since its incorporation. The village was indeed named after the more widely known Dundee, Scotland, but the naming came in more of a roundabout way.

When the first settlers – Isaac Stark and two families named Houghtaling and Harpenduyck – arrived there in 1807, about 20 years after settlers first arrived on the shore of Seneca Lake in modern-day Yates County, the community took on the name Stark’s Mills because of the mill Stark built on Big Stream where it crosses present-day Main Street. The Harpenduyck name was anglicized to Harpending, and the settlement eventually became known as Harpending’s Corners. For many years, though, the settlement was not much more than a small road crossing and an obscure hamlet known for lumber and some general produce.

At the time, Harpending’s Corners was first part of the town of Wayne, originally named Frederickstown, and then part of the town of Reading when Reading was formed from Wayne. The town of Starkey, which includes the territory of the settlement, was formed from Reading in 1824 and added to Yates County a year after the county was established.

Harpending’s Corners – named for early settler Samuel Harpending and the Harpending House hotel he had built early on in the settlement – began to grow in the ensuing years, with the construction of stores, mills, and dwellings and soon outgrew Eddytown – the hamlet now known as Lakemont – which had been the seat of the township. As the settlement became a trading center, the community decided it needed a new name.

First, of course, a few other names were suggested before the current name was agreed upon. There were Plainville, Harpendale, LaGrange, Starkville, and many others. Plainville seemed to win out but was turned down when it was learned that another place in New York State had the same name (there appears to be a hamlet of Plainville near Baldwinsville in Onondaga County). Then along came James Gifford, a local singing teacher, who suggested the name of Dundee.

Gifford didn’t take the name directly from the Scottish city, though, but naturally – being a singing teacher – he took the name from a song. In 1545, Guillaume Franc wrote a famous hymn tune titled “Dundee,” apparently taking its name from the home city of the composer’s red-haired love interest. Interestingly, Gifford eventually moved west and played a similar role in a settlement in Illinois for which people were deciding upon a name. Once again, Gifford suggested Dundee, and once again the people chose that name.

Harpending’s Corners officially became Dundee in 1833, and its growth in population and prominence continued. Fifteen years later, the settlement formally became a village with the support of 250 voters. By that point, there were 75 places of business in the village, including nine drinking establishments in one form or another as well as five churches, two schools with 150 students, a one-horse stage, and daily mail distributed from the postmaster’s kitchen.

But they weren’t all days of wine and roses from the young village. Three years in a row brought three major fires to Dundee – in 1859, the east side of Main Street burned down; in 1860, the west side of the street was destroyed; and in 1861, a blaze started by arson took down 40 buildings and almost the entire village. It took almost six years for the village to recover from these conflagrations; in fact, it is said the Civil War went on with barely any notice from Dundee.

However, a road in the village was renamed Union Street to show the Dundee’s support for the cause. And, from that point on, Dundee continued to prosper throughout the remainder of the 19thcentury, with the establishment of further schools, banks, village newspapers, other businesses, and even railroads and with improvements in infrastructure such as streets and sidewalks.

#history #historyblog #yatescounty #dundeeny #museum #archives

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reasoningdaily · 11 months

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Tron Snow

Published on May 31, 2023

Source: Venla Shalin / Getty / Megan Thee Stallion

It seems Megan Thee Stallion and Pardison Fontaine are no longer an item, and Twitter is befuddled.

Spotted on PEOPLE, the Houston rapper has seemingly moved on from Pardi. Thee Stallion was spotted with Belgian soccer player Romelu Lukaku at his teammate Lautaro Martinez’s Lake Como, Italy wedding.

In the sneaky snaps, Megan Thee Stallion, 28, can be seen holding hands with Lukaku,30, who is also under the Roc Nation management, fueling breakup rumors.

The news is a shock to fans of the Pardi and Megan relationship. Not too long ago, the rapper/songwriter dropped a video of himself doing spoken word, with fans immediately thinking he was talking about the “Savage” rapper.

Pardi and Thee Stallion became official in February 2021 after confirming she and Pardi were dealing with each during an Instagram Live session.

“That’s my boo, and I really like him,” Megan told her fans, “I never said hot girls can’t have boyfriends.”

In October, the couple celebrated their 2nd anniversary with separate IG posts. “Yr 2 with U,” Megan wrote in the caption of her post featuring a gallery of photos.

In a now-deleted or archived post, Fontaine wrote in the caption his post, “TWO YEARS AROUND THE SUN .. SEEM LIKE WE BEEN ON OUR OWN PLANET.. I love lovin you ..GOT 4 EVER 2 GO ..”

At the time, the post sparked engagement rumors, but Thee Stallion quickly shot those down, “Lol as nice as last night was we are not engaged,” she said.

The last time Fontaine appeared on Thee Stallion’s timeline was in an October photo dump. Twitter is reacting to the news, with some fans being happy for Megan Thee Stallion, while others are side-eyeing Pardi no longer being in the picture, while others wonder when the hell did they break up.

All good things come to an end. We wish Megan and her new boo nothing but luck, and we are sure Pardi will be just fine.

#Megan Thee Stallion Spotted Getting Cozy With Soccer Player Romelu Lukaku At Overseas Wedding #Megan Pete #Megan Thee Stallion #Romolu #pardi

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pghbabesonbikes · 1 year

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FBX Results

The tenth anniversary Frigid Bitch was a celebration of a decade’s worth of toughing out any shit the world had handy to throw your way, grabbing your bike and slogging through the elements with whatever ragtag badass crew you managed to scrape together. Vet racers worth their salt noticed that the checkpoints on their home-printed manifests were labeled by year instead of the classic cheesy conundrum codes. What could it possibly mean???

The start being remote, cyclists all over the city strategized their initial locations and prepared their maps, gear, & breakfast buffets. Clogging up cafe floors, squeezing into friends’ conveniently located apartments, or heading to the highest place they thought in likely proximity to a checkpoint; email inboxes were repeatedly refreshed as they waited for the location drop.

Then bam, there they were - in chronological order, the 9 best checkpoints from previous years’ races starting with the heart of the city and cycling down through social hubs, cliffside staircase intersections, riverside punk spots, aggressive cobbles, off road hike-your-bike sites, and of course: big ass hills. The tenth checkpoint was this year’s addition, the crown on the brow of FBX: The House of Raging Women.

The Point

The heart of the city that everyone knows, the only location to have already been used twice before including in the first Frigid Bitch frozen fountain race.

photos by Alex Diese

OTB

Longtime sponsor of the race and the original South Side cyclist social hub, home of the unforgettable Go Red Gold Sprints; the volunteers at OTB set up a Trek mechanic station stocked with all the typical tools of the trade.

photos by Murphy Moschetta

Romeo

One of the best/worst checkpoints of all time, anyone following the hand drawn manifest map found themselves riding down a deserted-lookin dead end street, discovering a set of steps apparently running through resident’s backyards and flowing into a massive staircase culminating in a full-on street-signed intersection in the middle of the urban wooded cliffside and then back up the adjacent staircase to find a host of members of Yinz Run Club cheering and slinging snacks & shots. Anyone clever enough to approach from the other side had to run or ride down and up one of Pittsburgh’s infinite steep cobbled hillsides.

photos by Matt Desmond

Rialto

The best known urban Dirty Dozen hill, clocking in at about a 20% grade average but hitting over 30% in spots. The narrow near-one-lane road shoots straight up into Troy Hill from Route 28. A brand new set up steps was a life saver for the racers not brave enough to attempt the ride up, while others resolutely blocked astounded drivers stuck behind them. Bike Pgh staff met them at the top with a hard cider reward.

photos by Monica Garrison

The Button v2

The last time the actual Button down the train tracks from 43rd street was a checkpoint for the Frigid Bitch, race day had it completely submerged by the icy floodwaters of that winter’s thaw. This year the stop migrated slightly west and featured a mechanic and ride-your-own-margarita station sponsored by SweetWater Bikes in front of a steep gravel descent onto rocky Allegheny Riverbed that only one cyclist dared ride down. A few others bypassed the gravel entirely by scaling the weedy cliff behind the margarita machine. Volunteers waited under the glorious looming presence of the 40th St Bridge, smoke-set with tiki torches and watching to make sure no roadie-shoe-shod babes slipped into the river.

photos by Ben Filio & Joel Levine

Grandview Overlook

The classic photo spot of the city, it is, of course, up a big ass hill.

photos by Himanshu Dedge

The Schenley Lake

Train tracks criss cross all over this town, and racers had to cut through another set in Schenley Park to get to Panther Hollow Lake. Volunteers at this checkpoint made all the early arrivees throw down their bikes and wait til go time before cowbelling them off in a run for their manifest stamps. Many ran, some jogged, a few sauntered, and one was heard to say “I’m not running just because some dude told me to.” Rock on.

photos by Evan Burlew

Melwood Steps

Oh hello, it’s another set of steps. Carrying your bike is a skill, they say. A couple racers self-penalized their time on this one by blasting down the Herron Ave S-bends without catching the turn to the Melwood Staircase just across the street from the RockRoom.

photos by Scott Kowalski

Climax St

Probably the best checkpoint of all time, back again from last year for double the fun. This time the overgrown sidewalks directed riders straight up to a crew of Venture Outdoors volunteers stationed at the apex of the small but mighty cobbled bump in our South Hills.

photos by Valerie Beichner

The House of Raging Women

The premier checkpoint of FBX! The HORW was never before used as a Frigid Bitch checkpoint but was once included in the first alleycat we ever hosted: the infamous Ladies’ Night race. Transformed to a surreal and dada-like celebration of the Frigid Bitch director, Bananna-LenaVille could only be found by the semi-secret back-alley entrance behind a flush of rowhouses under the shadow of Children’s Hospital. One group of riders spent precious clock time sniffing around up and down the hill block on 44th before the local post man hollered “Yinz looking for a party??? It’s in the alley!!”

photos by Keith Watson

The Finish

Back at the Wheel Mill a rush of racers threw their bikes on the ground and their bodies up the stairs to find the race official and fling their manifests into her hands. They celebrated, they chowed down on Revival Chili, they gabbed, changed clothes, grabbed a Necromancer Brew, and hunkered down to wait for the results. When the darling FBX MC picked up the microphone though, it was to announce something else first....

The Pittsburgh Babes on Bikes Racing Team Debut

There’s a brand new team in Pittsburgh and it’s pulled from the crew of women and under-represented gender identity cyclists that make up the massive pool of Frigid Bitch bad-asses. Powerhouse hitters in the cycling scene, the team is ready to rejuvenate racing in Pittsburgh and beyond. These babes are here, some of them are queer, and they’re out to have a damn good time racing bikes and taking you with them.

from left to right: Anna-Lena Kempen, Bonnie Gilbery, Laura Davidson-Brienza, Sara Khalil, Sawyer Sidelinger, and Shequaya Bailey.

The FBX Podium

If the debut of a brand sparkling new team of killers wasn’t enough, FBX was ready to pull out the celebratory stops with the first podium announcement. ALK took over the mic to haul up the best, the brightest, the bitchiest - the longest running Frigid Bitch contenders of all time.

In first place, with ten years under her belt, having booked a back-up airplane ticket just to make sure she had a way to get to the race:

1 - Ngani Ndimbie

In second place, having missed only the first frozen fountain Frigid Bitch, here cuz she cut short a California vacation with her wife:

2 - Katharine Jordan

In third place, holding an 8 race record starting with the 2015 Frigid Bitch that only *6* people raced, the gorgeous MC:

3 - Alexandra Korshin

Honorable mention going to the 8-race record holders starting in 2016:

- Two-time tandem contestant Lauryn Stalter

- Masters category killer Frankie Montenegro

- Uncontested holder of the 9-month pregnant record and half of the banana tandem Alyssa Crawford.

And finally, the moment the crowds were waiting for: the official announcement of the category podiums and results.

Masters 60+

1 - Laurie Plummer 2 - Lynda Stucky 3 - Cheryl Ritts

Masters 40+

1 - Hazel Shockey 2 - Jen Damon 3 - Melissa Celani 4 - Suz Falvey 5 - Courtney Ehrlichman

Single Speed/Fixed Gear

1 - Sky K 2 - Stevie Gallo 3 - Lavender Sedlock

Out of Town

1 - Kirsten Hoogenakker 2 - Adelaide Kelly 3 - Betsy Lewis

Mountain Bike

1 - Natalie Boehm 2 - Jodi Rafalko 3 - Betsy Lewis

Tandem

1 - Sol Moure & Lauryn Stalter 2 - Alyssa Crawford & Mo Riddle 3 - Ru Emmons & Tahel Axel

Open

1 - Acadia Klain 2 - Paige Anderson 3 - Bonnie Gilbery 4 - Eva Kloiber 5 - Hazel Shockey

check out the full rankings at Road Results

THANK YOU to everyone who came out to race, to all the volunteers that are dead set on making sure the annual stoke level chart runs exponential, thank you to the Wheel Mill for being such incredibly gracious and helpful hosts and to Necromancer Brewing for once again slinging our signature can, to Jarrod from Hope Cyclery for running the sag vehicle, to all of the photographers for immortalizing the race in 2 dimensions, and Brad Q for the portaits I can’t show yinz yet, kudos to Courtney E who smashed her bike into a car and broke it but finished anyway, and to Caitlin L who flew in FROM ALASKA and borrowed a bike from a stranger, to Judy D who was that stranger and also competitively raced in a BOOT, to Beth L and Deanna G who met at Frigid Bitch 9 and celebrated their anniversary by winning the SweetWater Bikes’ E-Bike, to SweetWater Bikes for donating an e-bike to raffle!, to Kiki who come in fron Minnesota, the Baltimore Bicycle Works team and all the other out-of-towners, to Christine Y who accidentally took a crew of those out-of-towners up Logan St instead of Rialto, to Two Frays Brewing for hosting all the winter training rides, THANK YOU to all of the sponsors who stack the prize table for us every year and HELL YES TO THE NEW TEAM! We can’t wait to race with you!

see you next year

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dungeonsdragonstdelinquents · 1 year

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anderperry fic rec

hi! if youre seeing this, i actually answered this in an ask but i think i accidentally deleted it bc i literally cant find it, so im repost it here. im keeping my intro of my ask just bc i gave some backround about the fics i listed. happy reading!!

(in no particular order)

What We Stay Alive For **** by PiscesVanity on ao3, 18/18 chaps, 66,485 words.

Summary: “Do we get second chances in this life, Todd?” Neil asks him like he expects a negative answer. Todd doesn’t give that to him.

“Yes. we do. I know it.”

“Do you?” Neil grins, playfully elbowing him. “Did you at least wait to take it? That second chance? Until the world was more peaceful? More kind?”

Ten years after the death of Neil Perry, Todd Anderson wakes up with a second chance.

to be alone with you by wordshakers on ao3, 1/1 chaps, 3,602 words.

Summary: “Thursday evenings were, unequivocally, Neil’s favorite part of the week.

The other reason–perhaps the more prominent one–Neil wasn’t able to explain quite as easily. In fact, he could hardly admit it to himself. Thursday evenings…they meant being alone with Todd.

An anderperry first kiss fic, set in a near-canon universe of the film (minus the death). Fluffy mutual pining.

letters to my dearest beloved ****by UniversalSatan on ao3, 4/4 chaps, 34,162 words.

Summary:

“My dearest beloved,

A Midnight Summer’s Dream: A Story of Hope (chapter 2 specifically) by cc tinselbee (thearchivistonmars)

Gentle Lover, Remedy ****by violet_sunset on ao3. 1/1 chap, 13,135 words.

It’s Rotten Work by cc tinslebee (the archivistonmars) on ao3, 1/1 chap, 2,774 words.

Summary:

“I was hoping…” Neil peered back up at him with those fervent eyes before he broke his inconspicuous character and cracked a smile, “my favorite scene partner would help me test it out?”

In the midst of Todd’s continual crisis of what exactly Neil’s ‘no’ means, Neil asks him to read from a scene from Orestes. You know, for practice.

The Pepper Ghost Effect by Anonymous on ao3, 6/6 chaps, 19,472 words.

Summary:

“1964. Todd Anderson, now a successful playwright, whisks away an old flame from a horrifying mental asylum. That old flame, Neil Perry, becomes Todd’s new muse.”

In the Subjunctive by ghostlin on ao3, 1/1 chaps, 5682 words.

Summary:

“The night the play opens, Neil turns left.”

#fic rec #anderperry #dps fic rec #dead poets society fic rec

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amutheology · 2 years

Photo

Below is a summary of activities for this year’s mission trip to Uganda.

May 12, 2022:

Nine missionaries from Ave Maria University arrived at Entebbe international airport (Uganda). Their residence for the 10 days was in St. Thomas Aquinas National Major Seminary, Katigondo. From the airport, they made a pilgrimage to the shrine of the Uganda martyrs at Namugongo in Kampala. They had breakfast at the Gater’s café along Masaka road, stopped at the equator, and prayed at the Our Lady of Sorrow’s Cathedral, Masaka diocese. While at the Masaka diocesan cathedral, they prayed at the remains of the two servants of God, Msgr. Aloysious Ngobya and Sr. Amadeo Byabyali (the cause for canonization of these servants of God is in process). St. Thomas Aquinas seminary community welcomed them starting with a holy Mass and dinner.

Friday May 13:

Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. Mission at Our Lady of the Rosary school and orphanage. The school and orphanage community welcomed them Prayed and played with the kids. Very fruitful and heartwarming day

Saturday May 14th:

Attended the 25th anniversary of the priesthood of Fr. Peter Paul Ssemakula (treasurer of Masaka diocese). Mission at to the orphanage in the afternoon.��

Sunday May 15th:

7:30 Mass at St. Charles Lwanga parish (home parish of Fr. Joseph). Mass was followed by breakfast and (chastity/ career) conversations with students of St. Charles Lwanga Girls’ High School. They had a traditional dinner with Fr. Joseph’s family.

Monday May 16-Wednesday May 18:

Spent the entire day at Our Lady of the Rosary Orphanage and School. Taught classes (prek- 5th grades), fed the kids, prayed, and played with them. Each of the missionaries was assigned to a grade & teacher to work with. The missionaries taught religion, math, numbers, etc. They built relationships with students of their assigned grade.

On the evening of Wednesday May 18th, the missionaries had a colloquium with the seminarians. They shared their faith experiences. There was an opportunity for questions. Many questions from the seminarians were centered around moral issues (LGBTQ, gender theory) that threaten the ecclesia in America.

Thursday May 19th:

House to house visitation of the elderly and dying at Nabutongwa village. Fr. Joseph administered the sacraments of confession, anointing of the sick, and viaticum to the elderly and the dying.

- The missionaries attended the introduction (pre-wedding) ceremony of Fr. Joseph’s cousin, Clare. On this occasion, the groom ceremoniously visits the bride’s family and village. The bride introduces him to her family, to the clan, and to the entire village that is usually gathered at the bride’s parent’s house.

Friday May 20th:

- Safari at Lake Mburo National Park, located 3 hours away from the seminary. We saw giraffes, buffalos, zebras, baboons, antelopes, monkeys, warthogs, etc.

Saturday May 21st:

Attended the wedding Mass of Clare and Andrew at Our Lady of Sorrow’s cathedral Masaka, and reception at Maria Flo hotel in Masaka town. Fr. Joseph celebrated the nuptial Mass and witnessed the marital vows.

At 11:30 pm of that same day, the missionaries left St. Thomas Aquinas seminary for their flight back to the USA.

“We are so grateful to the Ave Maria University and Mother Theresa project for organizing this mission trip. We thank the missionaries for being the face of Christ to everyone they met in Uganda: the children at the orphanage, the priests and seminarians, the elderly and the dying, etc. The children at the orphanage didn’t want to see them leave. We thank our friends from Ave Maria town for giving us donations of clothes and scholastic materials for the children at the school and orphanage. You have a special place in the hearts of people of Uganda especially our children at Our Lady of the Rosary School and orphanage.” Fr. Joseph Lugalambi

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ironhusband · 3 years

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The first time they celebrate it, it is over a phone call.

He’s 20, and is slowly rising through the ranks at the Air Force. He loves his new job. He loves flying planes. He loves his base. He loves learning. But he doesn’t love all of it, and he doesn’t love how how much it’s different than civilian life. He doesn’t love how far it is from home.

But mostly, he loves it.

Rhodey is the one to call Tony. His best friend had sent him a letter before, reading ‘unless you are horribly mad at me, find a phone, any phone, and call me on August 20th.’

Tony was very careful not to do anything upsetting, so Rhodey calls.

“Happy 5th anniversary!” Tony announces as he picks up the phone.

Rhodey grins, giggling a little. Hearing Tony’s voice is always pleasant and he loves how ridiculous Tony is. He laughs, “what anniversary?”

Tony scoffs, “I can’t believe you don’t remember.”

“Sorry,” he noncommittally says to the phone, amusement in his voice, “jog my memory?”

Rhodey can practically hear Tony rolling his eyes. “Five years ago, today, we met.”

Rhodey pauses at that. He remembers the date on his acceptance letter from MIT. He remembers seeing a standoffish roommate when he came to MIT, a roommate who slowly warmed up after a conversation about Star Wars. Could the dates be the same one as today? Rhodey tries to muffle his beam. “You remembered,” Rhodey teases Tony for his sappiness.

“And you didn’t!” Tony accuses, “I feel betrayed, honeybear. Betrayed.”

Rhodey chuckles, “I’ll tell you what, Tones. I’ll mark the date on my calendar from now on. I will never miss another year.”

Tony softens at that. The implications are clear to them both; they will be celebrating another year of friendship. “I suppose that’s a step in the right direction to making it up to me.”

~~~

Ten years later, celebrating together has become a tradition. Rhodey usually gets leave for the date, and they celebrate together, drinking and reminiscing about their past. Rhodey usually makes an inebriated speech about how much he loves having Tony as his best friend and Tony makes a scrap book (and in later years powerpoint) of their best pictures together. They like their tradition.

When Rhodey was 30, he didn’t have to take leave anymore. They’re celebrating together because they’re always together; perks of being the liaison to SI. Their tradition plays out the same, but this time, there’s even more pictures in the powerpoint and Rhodey is even more grateful.

When Rhodey was 30, Tony had made a realization.

“You know what I just realized?” Tony asks him, his breath smelling of the horrible cocktails he likes.

Rhodey hums to urge him to continue, just as drunk as Tony.

“We’ve been friends for half your life now,” Tony slurs around his words.

Rhodey pauses once again at that. It’s harder for him to do math while not-sober, but he is still a genius after all. “Not yet,” Rhodey corrects, “in one year and ten months.”

“Come on, you were fifteen when we met! What do the specifics matter?”

Rhodey shrugs, “I guess they don’t matter. But if they did, you have spent over half your life being friends with me.”

“That’s right!” Tony exclaims, “why didn’t you mention it two years ago?!”

“Because I’m not as self centered as you.”

Tony rolls his eyes and elbows him.

~~~

They don’t talk much about what they almost missed during Afghanistan. They can feel it, but neither says it.

Instead, for their 25th anniversary, their silver anniversary, Tony gives him War Machine, an Iron Man painted all blacks and grays.

~~~

Rhodey is forty three, and Tony has spent two thirds of his life with Rhodey. They almost didn’t make it that year. The clock could have frozen, like Tony would’ve in space, leaving Tony to spend only 27/41 of his life with Rhodey. They appreciate it more this year. It’s different than celebrations before Afghanistan but after Rhodey’s desk duty. Different than celebrations after that too. They appreciate what they almost didn’t have this year, and they talk about it, for once, too.

“You know, Tony,” Rhodey says, sobs in his throat. His alcohol tolerance has gone down over the years. “I love you, man. I always tell how much I appreciate you, every year, but never how much I love you. I love you so much.”

There are tears in Tony’s eyes too. His alcohol tolerance has only gone up. “I love you too,” Tony confesses through watery vision.

~~~

Rhodey is fifty three and they’ve been friends for 38 years.

“You should retire, man,” Tony tells him, gesturing around the lake, as if showing his kingdom, “look how it’s working out for me.”

“You concerned for me?” Rhodey teases.

“No, I’m not concerned,” Tony dismisses with a hand wave and avoiding eye contact, “you know what you’re doing. But it will be pretty nice if you retire. We could just lay back and do this every day.”

Rhodey shrugs, not promising anything. Truth is, he doesn’t think he will retire. He thinks he will be War Machine until the day he dies. He’s happy Tony got out, but he doesn’t think he could. “Because this party would suck without me, right?”

Tony hides his face behind his non-alcoholic drink. He doesn’t deny it. Instead he says, “I think it will be nice if we get to our ruby anniversary. I have an idea for a gift.”

~~~

Rhodey is seventy eight, and celebrating another year.

He doesn’t go out and get drunk like he used to. He doesn't make a sappy speech as tradition dictates. He doesn’t have any new pictures of him and Tony to look over. He does reminisce over old collages and he does buy a cake and he does pour himself a glass of golden whiskey, Tony’s favorite drink.

The cake has sixty three candles on it. It had taken Rhodey an hour to put all the candles on, especially with the shaky grip he had established with age.

He looks sadly at the cake. Another year passes, he thinks. Another year without Tony.

Rhodey was fifteen when he met Tony. Tony had been gone for the past twenty four years. Today, half of Rhodey’s life was spent without Tony.

“Happy anniversary, Tones,” Rhodey whispers. His vision is blurry as he blows out the candles. He drinks his glass of whiskey and fills up the glass up with tears.

#druwrites #james rhodes #tony stark #iron bros #rhodey #james rhodey rhodes #marvel #iron bros fic #mcu fic #marvel fic #MCU #Iron Man #iron patriot #war machine #this fic forced me to do math and AAAAAAA I hate it

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