December 2008 PDX Portland Oregon U.S.A.

■Calendar of 2024 March

© KOJI ARAKI Art Works

Daily life and every small thing is the gate to the universe ：）

Press conference for rock band My Chemical Romance, who are in town for their Black Parade Tour Live in Hong Kong 2008. Asia World Expo, Chek Lap Kok. 29 JANUARY 2008 (Photo by Jonathan Wong/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)

Britney Spears, 2008

ON THIS DAY — January 27, 2008 — 15 years ago

99.9 KISS Country Chili Cookoff

Fanfic No. 44: I don't think I am special

Type of Fic: Canon divergent, 1.1k words, oneshot, rated K, completed

“Percy is young. Unaware of his status. He notices things happenings, without understanding them. Oneshot story. Review it pleas.”

January 6, 2008

Characters: Percy Jackson

Length and formatting: This fic is rather short and paragraph spacing was plentiful but read as a bunch of lines rather than paragraphs which might be harder for some to read. There were also noticeable grammatical errors. 

Content: The fic reads as a retelling of the beginning of The Lightning Thief with the author’s personal spin. The plot was very limited and this felt like an introduction to a bigger fic that never came. However, despite the fic’s shortcomings, it was still an interesting read because of the interactions between Percy and the monsters and the mishaps that used to follow him before the series picked up.

Characterization: The characterization felt a little one-dimensional. This might be due to the fact that this is a short fic and the author could only include so much characterization in the word count but who is to say. The dialogue was very formal and Percy lacked his humor that has become a core character trait. Minor detail like Percy’s hair color were also incorrect but did not take away from the core value of the story.

Reception: There are 4 reviews that are mixed. Most criticism was given politely and constructively while also giving the author praise for what was done well. There are also 4 favorites and 2 follows.

Author: Author LivingLight006 is a French author who is 15 as of writing this in 2008. On their account, they give a list of hobbies, book series, and other things that they like. There are four stories on their account, all Percy Jackson, this is the first one. In the AN they give the typical disclaimer and asks for reviews. Account has been inactive since 2008 so we can only wish them the best. 

Impact: I enjoyed reading this. Despite this being a shorter read I really like seeing domestic Percy or the more ‘normal’ aspect of his life before or in between Camp Half Blood.

July 27, 2008 —   Jurlique?s Biodynamic BBQ Hosted By Brett Ratner.

Paris Hilton  at Jurlique's Biodynamic BBQ hosted by Brett Ratner at Hilhaven Lodge o  in Los Angeles.

01/05/2008

Varys by TwinSnake

January 2008 PDX Portland Oregon U.S.A.

■Calendar of 2024 January

© KOJI ARAKI Art Works

Daily life and every small thing is the gate to the universe ：）

Vulture - Legacy of Cain

My Chemical Romance in Taipei, Taiwan on January 27, 2008 | cr: pixnet

January 4th 2008

{ A glimpse into Maxim's past struggles }

[T/W: Alcohol Addiction]

His breath was showing in the air. 

Unsurprising considering it was the middle of winter, and he was drenched to the bone. All thanks to the knee-high layer of snow next to the path he was walking on and his lack of balance. Dirt and tiny pebbles painted part of his cheek gray and a bruised shade of pink. A reminder of how he lost consciousness just a few steps ago. Though, the fifteen-year-old just assumed he tripped and decided to take a short nap on the cold floor. Or at least that would be what he’d assume if he wasn’t too focused on taking one step at a time to get back home. 

It was of the utmost importance to him to return in time.  He couldn’t let the events of his last failure to come back repeat themselves. Last time that Maxim didn’t make it home after a night out, his brother took the fall for him. The punishment Boris received was cruel and way out of proportion for the simple crime of trusting that his brother wouldn’t sneak out, get absolutely wasted and in turn neglect to feed the animals.  Worse than the wrath his father unleashed on Maxim afterward was the disappointment of the eldest son.  But this time, he would have his cake and eat it. He had to make sure of that. 

Would his vision not go blurry every couple of seconds and his steps wobble and veer from the path, the demigod would be able to get home within twenty minutes or less. But in his current state, it would take him at least double that time. And that was only if he didn’t collapse or vomit again. 

Bloodshot eyes struggled to stay open enough to look at the spot he was concentrating on. A bench in the distance that was luring him to lie down and end his journey early. He shouldn’t. Right? Surprisingly, humming kept the urge to hurl at bay. His melody of choice was an old lullaby his sister used to sing to his younger siblings. It sounded crooked and raw in his throat, interrupted only by occasional slurred curses when balance eluded him. 

Maxim felt proud when he passed the bench without sitting down and took another few wobbly steps before he grabbed onto the fence post of his farmyard. He made it back home just in time to get up to fulfill his daily duties before school started. Although intoxication didn’t necessarily impact his ability to do his tasks properly, the—then still oblivious to his powers—son of Phobetor was already thinking of ways to get out of school.  If he’d skip, his parents would definitely find out about it.  But if he’d attend classes with the stench of alcohol and his vomit still haunting his clothes or fall asleep in class for the second time this week, his teachers wouldn’t keep quiet about it, either.  Whichever occurred, he’d be fucked and ripe for punishment. An excuse for discipline and corrections that would only push him towards the bottle more, which in turn would guarantee further retributions.

A pained groan ended his humming, before he almost immediately relieved his stomach of something he assumed to be remnants of a not yet fully digested sandwich coated in vodka. 

Soon, a painful headache would almost make him forget about the sweet feeling of nonchalance that alcohol gave him, but for now Maxim tried to convince himself that he could sober up through sheer willpower and water. 

He nearly stumbled again when he passed the threshold of the gate and was greeted by a symphony of animals nagging him for food.

ON THIS DAY — January 22, 2008 — 15 years ago

Grammy Nominee Party in Nashville, Tennessee