cracks knuckles. we're doing this again because the,,,1-2 years ago when i made my last one is very inaccurate now
GENERAL/BASIC INFO
My main name is Felix but Ruix or Robin work as well. My pronouns are he/it but I don't particularly mind they/them or she/her. He/him and it/its are just my preferred pair. I live in Canada, which, in terms of pop culture and [most] slang, is pretty much the same as the US.
INTERESTS
These change all the time, this is still the same. Please do not follow me for a singular fandom as it is unlikely that I'll continuously post for it. I get fixated on something for a little bit and then move on, though somewhat steady fandoms have been the Riordanverse [specifically the mythologies series' and spin-offs] and Genshin Impact. My own PJO inspired OCs are my main interests, however.
CONTENT
Mainly shitposts about my current interest(s), and if I feel confident enough, oneshots about a character or pairing that I enjoy. Reblogs of random things that I enjoy will be scattered throughout, but I generally try to keep those to my sideblogs [which are not yet properly set up but I'll get to them. Eventually]. I might do miscellaneous writing prompts and post them here. Quality is absolutely not guaranteed because most internet things I do are for fun and not serious at all.
TAGS
I use the most commonly used/accepted fandom tags for pairings, characters, and everything else. For my own, I'll use #reblog for reblogs, obviously, and #og ruix for any original posts of mine. I...will try to remember to put the date in the tags, in the #DD/MM/YYYY format. Other than that, I will be tagging trigger warnings for things such as: substances [illegal or legal], depictions of violence/death, flashing lights or eyestrain, etc
hello my eager followers [consisting of roughly 3 people]
i rise from the dead and announce that half-finished going-to-submit-to-writing-contest writing is going to be dumped here because i want to put it somewhere and my tumblr is a wasteland
that is all
also if youve tagged me in things i prommy i read them !! im just a little bit silly right now [has not checked tumblr in ages]
anyway. that is all. possibly getting back into knb and will be going insane over them again, or falling into another fandom and brainrotting there. who knows !
thanks for listening to my ted talk ill be back in approx 3 months
I don't often talk about my past on here but I'm so freaking excited I'm going to delve into my past life a wee bit. I've updated and pruned my pinned post enough times that it no longer even mentions music anymore. It used to mention how I was a retired professional harpist.
I began playing harp pre-puberty and three years after I began lessons I had my first paid gig. I continued performing all through my teenaged years and it paid entirely for my first college degree. My Mom saved up for an entire year to purchase the harp I still have, a Blevins Encore 34 in Walnut with a full set of levers.
He's my most precious possession and my oldest friend. In case of house fire, he's the only thing I'm saving that isn't a human being. When all else fails, he is the life skill that will put food in my belly and clothes on my back. I love him. He's been moved across the country repeatedly and his body bears scars from all kinds of situations.
I retired from professional performance in 2018. While lucrative, I do not have the soul of a performer. I never overcame stage-fright and I got so stressed out I once had to go to the hospital for nothing more than nerves (we didn't know that at the time).
I hated all the preparations for performing even though I actually liked the performances I gave. I liked meeting people and letting little children play the harp. I liked taking photos and answering questions and occasionally getting to network with other harpists. I liked the clients I had who consistently hired me over the years (14 years to be exact).
But I hated being a performer. I hated having to price out the craft and having to deal with skin-flints who didn't want to pay the rates they agreed to. I hated working with people who changed the repertoire on a whim or who flat out cancelled an entire event and didn't tell me until the day of, as I was unpacking.
I was so happy to retire, I do not regret it one bit. What I do regret is that as soon as I retired I stopped playing entirely. That was never my intention. 2018-2019 saw me flying back and forth between the two coasts and it just wasn't feasible to move the harp with me. I am not putting him in the belly of an airplane and taking my chances. Hell no. So, he stayed behind as I traveled.
Then we settled on the east coast but our stuff was still on the west coast. And then, the 'Rona hit. I went through 3 years of lockdown without my harp.
Either harp, I have two.
The one I've had since I was a kid is the Blevins and his name is Alphie. His little sister is a Dusty Strings Allegro 26 (I think she has 26 strings, might be 24) in Sapele (Brazilian hardwood, stunningly beautiful, has an iridescent sheen to it). She also has a full set of levers and detachable legs to make her a wee bit taller. Her name is Aoife.
I did not name either one. And neither one was with me during lockdown. All that stress and terror and I had no harp to play to soothe my soul or nerves. I had never missed music so much in my entire life. I was eventually reunited with both harps but new strings were desperately needed for Alphie.
Mom did buy me a full set of strings in 2021 and it's taken me until today in 2023 to get him fully restrung. At first I was embarrassed because I had forgotten entirely how to do it. I hadn't seen my harps in years, much less touched them. My callouses are all gone along with theory, technique, repertoire, and musculature. Still have strong hands though!
Well, Mom tracked down a Harp Center that's less than 2 hours from where we live. We went there today and the young lady showed both myself and Mom how to tie the strings and then we managed to restring all but the last four. We got some new music books too because my repertoire is stale at this point. I need new tunes for my own personal sanity.
I am not coming out of retirement. I spent the entire time I played harp, playing for others. Playing what they want, when the want, for as long as they want. Now, I play for me. I play what I want, how I want, when I want, as many times as I want.
That was my goal going to the Harp Center. I wanted to string up Alphie and get new music. That was it. My harp bench that I performed on was broken in our move. Thankfully, my trusty music stand George is still intact.
Mom has insisted I get a new bench, which we'll do in two weeks. When we return to the Center to pick up Apollo.
Yeah, I got a new harp. That wasn't on my agenda. Dad had me play a bunch of different ones and he liked one in particular which I also happened to like in particular and he decided then and there to buy it.
It is a beautiful Salvi Concert Harp, which means it has all 47 strings and pedals instead of levers. Gut strings instead of nylon. It's bigger, it's rich in sound, and he's easy on the eyes.
I have wanted a pedal harp since I was a teenager and I resigned myself to never having one because they just cost too much. This harp had been lowered in price twice and people were now afraid to buy it because now they questioned why it had dropped twice. The Center called it a cursed harp.
I got lucky. Everyone liked it but were all too afraid to buy it. My Dad fears very little. He bought it and we pick it up in two weeks. My childhood dream of owning a concert harp is now a reality. I fell in love with the instrument because of Harpo Marx and his guest spot on the I Love Lucy show. He played Take Me Out to the Ballgame and it moved me to tears.
Apollo was made in 1982 so he has a rich, mature sound. I finally got to name a harp, did it on the drive home. Apollo. He is the Greek god of music. When the Romans got their hands on the pantheon, they left his name alone but altered* what he was god of. To the Romans, he is god of the sun. Apollo the harp is the palest harp I'll now own, he's the oldest, he's the richest in sound, and he's a concert harp.
He is a Harp God. Thus, I am naming him Apollo. I then realized that all three harps' names start with the letter "A" and all three names end in vowels. That is just a very happy coincidence.
*The Greek/Roman gods were often patron deities of many things. Apollo wasn't god of the sun in Greek mythology as they had a sun god named Helios. Apollo is traditionally the god of music, poetry, archery, medicine, and disease.
So yeah, my childhood dream of owning a concert harp came true on a whim of my father's. It hasn't fully sunk in because if it had, this post would be riddled with exclamation points.
Favorite Color: Purple, like a deep amethyst but really any purple will do. Runners up are Yellow, Pink, Green, Black. In that order.
Currently Watching: One Piece Live Action (finishing Kuro's arc this Thursday), One Piece (still on Skypiea), Kuroko no Basuke (4th time rewatching), Record of Ragnarok (still on Adam, procrastinating S2), Glow Up, Mermaids (the docu. on Netflix).
Last Movie: All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) & All Quiet on the Western Front (2022). Going to look for All Quiet on the Western Front (1979) too.
Currently Reading: All Quiet on the Western Front, textbooks, two self-help books, Wilfred Owen's poetry, and like 100+ One Piece fics on Wattpad, 6 KnB fics on Wattpad, and 1 Hunter x Hunter fic on Wattpad.
Sweet/Spicy/Savory: I'm a sweets girl but I do like savory and I love me some spicy curries.
Relationship Status: Traumatically Single—meaning, I've been single the last 8 years due to trauma/PTSD
Current Obsession(s): One Piece, Sorin Markov (I will never not be in love with him), All Quiet on the Western Front, Healthy Cookbooks—don't ask.
Last Thing I Googled: Peter Gadiot
Currently Working On: History paper (All quiet on the Western Front/Anti-War), All Quiet on the Western Front fan fiction (yeah, you heard me—it'll be uploaded to @deadpoetsocieteaparty & Wattpad), Slinktober (will be uploaded to @deadpoetsocieteaparty & Wattpad), a Horror Short Story, and because I need to heal, my first ever R-rated fan fiction—still in prepping stages and will be on Wattpad only.
And an equally universal tag to any interested party. As always, if you hate tag games or are shy, you are not obligated to participate even if you got tagged. This is meant to be fun, not stressful.
favourite colour: sierra brown, or a burnt orange. it's...nice i dunno i like it.
currently watching: nothing really? i'm not big on tv shows right now [i'm more of a youtube kinda person], but i've been considering rewatching sherlock bbc !
last movie: iiiiii think it's oppenheimer? either that or whatever movie my brother was watching on tv while i was eating dinner.
currently reading: death and croissants by Ian Moore + an uncountable amount of fanfiction from different fandoms. someone save me my safari is drowning.
sweet/spicy/savoury: savoury or spicy. sweets are pretty chill too, but i like the other two far more.
relationship status: untragically single. @lucesbians might be able to make this change. yk. if she wanted.
current obsessions: genshin impact and hamilton i suppose? they're not quite obsessions though, more like interests that occasionally take my singular braincell. i need to consume more media i haven't had a full brainrot obsession in a while.
last thing i googled: neuvillette amber archive [it's a genshin thing]
currently working on: a disgusting amount of homework. and also possible an article about taylor swift and the scary amount of power she has. [eg. changing the us economy (supposedly) and causing minor earthquakes.]
tagging: @ashmuka and @lucesbians. god i need more tumblr mutuals. i also need to post more. hoping i can start doing that soon !! ty to @/thecrimsonacademic for tagging me :))
#so did they miss the part where gatsby ends up floating dead in a pool and all the miserable deaths in wuthering heights#or did they miss that because there weren’t any chapters titled In Which The Sinners Are Punished For Their Errors#like. even if you require explicit moral instruction from literature it’s pretty hard to miss the comeuppance in those.
Huck Finn is about a white Southern boy who was raised to believe that freeing slaves is a sin that would send you directly to hell who forges a familial bond with a runaway slave and chooses to free him and thereby in his mind lose his salvation because he refuses to believe that his best friend and surrogate father is less of a man just because he’s black. Yes it features what we now consider racial slurs but this is a book written only 20 years after people were literally fighting to be allowed to keep other human beings as property, we cannot expect people from the 1880s to exactly conform with the social mores of 2020, and more to the point if we ourselves had been raised during that time period there’s very little doubt that we would also hold most if not all of the prevalent views of the time because actual history isn’t like period novels written now where the heroes are perfect 21st century social justice crusaders and the villains are all as racist and sexist as humanly possible. Change happens slowly and ignoring the radical statement that we’re all human beings that Twain wrote at a time when segregation and racial tensions were still hugely prevalent just because he wrote using the language of his time period is short-sighted and foolhardy to the highest degree.
I’m really kind of alarmed at the rise in the past few years of the “and we do condemn! wholeheartedly!” discourse around historical figures. it seems like people have somehow boomeranged between “morals were different in the past, therefore nobody in the past can ever be held accountable for ANY wrongs” to “morals are universal and timeless, and anything done wrong by today’s standards in the past is ABSOLUTELY unforgiveable” so completely, because social media 2.0 is profoundly allergic to nuance
please try this on for size:
there have always been, in past times as today, a range of people in every society, some of whom were even then fighting for a more just and compassionate accord with their fellow man and some of whom let their greeds and hatreds rule them to the worst allowable excesses. the goal of classics and history education is to teach you enough context to discern between the two, not only in the past but in the present
My mind just boggles at the “There’s Racism In That Book” argument. Yes, there is racism in that book, because that book is ABOUT RACISM. The message is that it is BAD.
My high school English teacher, who was a viciously brilliant woman, used to say that when people banned Huck Finn they said it was about the language, but it was really the message they were trying to ban, the subversive deconstruction of (religious) authority and white supremacy.
Huckleberry Finn can actually be seen as a powerful case study in trying to do social justice when you have absolutely no tools for it, right down to vocabulary. And in that respect, it’s a heroic tale, because Huck—with absolutely no good examples besides Jim, who he has been taught to see as subhuman, with no guidance, with everyone telling him that doing the right thing will literally damn him, with a vocabulary that’s full of hate speech—he turns around and says, “I’m not going to do it. I’m not going to participate in this system. If that means I go to Hell, so be it. Going to Hell now.”
(I used to read a blogger who insisted that “All right, I’ll go to Hell,” from Huckleberry Finn is the most pure and perfect prayer in the canon of American literature. Meaning, as I understand it, that the decision to do the right thing in the face of eternal damnation is the most holy decision one can make, and if God Himself is not proud of the poor mixed-up kid, then God Himself is not worth much more than a “Get thee behind me,” and the rest of us should be lining up to go to Hell too. Worth noting that this person identified as an evangelical Christian, not because he was in line with what current American evangelicals believe, but because “they can change their name, I’m not changing mine.” Interesting guy. Sorry for the long parenthetical.)
Anyway, the point of Huck Finn, as far as I can tell, is that you can still choose to do good in utter darkness, with no guidance and no help and none of the right words.
And when you put it like that, it’s no wonder that a lot of people on Tumblr—people who prioritize words over every other form of social justice—find it threatening and hard to comprehend.
This is why it’s important to learn how to analyze media, a skill we are apparently losing.
While Huck Finn, for example, absolutely and obviously carries a moral message, not all stories do, because not every story is supposed to teach you something, nor will every story hold your hand and gently walk you to an easy conclusion.
I am so frustrated by the “if media portrays something, it’s saying it’s ok” and “if you enjoy a piece of medoa which portrays something negative, then you’re bad” mentality. Just pls. Stop. That’s not how stories work.
“I used to read a blogger who insisted that “All right, I’ll go to Hell,” from Huckleberry Finn is the most pure and perfect prayer in the canon of American literature. Meaning, as I understand it, that the decision to do the right thing in the face of eternal damnation is the most holy decision one can make, and if God Himself is not proud of the poor mixed-up kid, then God Himself is not worth much more than a “Get thee behind me,” and the rest of us should be lining up to go to Hell too.”
This right here.
If “you should be willing to sacrifice everything, including your soul, to protect your friends when everyone around wants your help hurting them” stops becoming a moral lesson because someone says the n-word, I think people are… a little TOO impressed with the power of hate speech.
Hate speech is a terrible thing, but it’s not witchcraft. It has the power we grant to it.
If you want to say “I know what the point was, but I couldn’t get past seeing that word typed out,” feel free, but please don’t say “typing that word out nullifies the point,” as that is not how anything works.
Thank you @skyrim-forever ! I pass the torch to: @john-liberal @theauthor27 @dynamite124 @kynarreth @rock-pikmin-is-funny @serbiadisturbia @gemsweater72
Last song listened to: Be my Everything (English Version). It’s a solo song from one of the members of a K-pop group named Purple Kiss, and it’s fantastic! Great vocals, even though I do prefer the other song from the single more.
Currently Watching: Nashville (2013) and the new season of The Dragon Prince. I only have one episode of Nashville left and it’s the finale, so that’s pretty sad. I’m three episodes into season 5 of Dragon Prince and really liking it! I’m glad the animation has improved since the beginning.
Currently Reading: Nothing now. I just finished Dear Mothman by Robin Gow and loved it though! It is written for young teens, but it’s a really great queer narrative and is written through some very nice free verse poetry.
Current Obession: It’s mainly Skyrim (liked it so much I made a Tumblr blog for it, after all), but since I talk a lot about that, I’ll also mention Hollow Knight. I’m playing it right now and it’s very hard, but very good! I like how little handholding it does.
last song - im like 99% sure it was jackpot sad girl... im going through the horrors again...
currently watching - nothing necessarily but i need to watch pmmm and i gotta rewatch a playthrough of hello charlotte
currently reading - THAT 1 HERMIT AU FANFIC ON AO3 IM LITERALLY OBSESSED WITH IT (ok i always forget the name its called "we'll leave this quiet meeting place and bid farewell")
current obsession - um. kanamafu... the silly sapphic t4ts...
iliterally dont know who 2 tag um... @averagemafuyukinnie, @averageenakinnie, @ros-sauce, @ssilly--ssadass, @tazdrgaoneyetagain, @meeeeeeeep78, @meowcreature
last song - body damage by hail the sun. this song goes so hard and culture scars (album) has 1 billion grip on me rn
currently watching - i watch things very slow so in the last 3 months i am rewatching demon slayer with my cousin. hunter x hunter also with my cousin. and buffy the vampire slayer (eventually i am on episode 11 and started in may). but now i have etho episode to watch the plane for 27 minutes
currently reading - the sun and the star ‼️‼️‼️ i dislike it. worst book in riordanverse by far i cannot stand these two guys try to be percabeth 2 while also saying #s and talking like therapists. its very hard to get thru but i boughtthe book for $14 so i need to read it at least once!!
current obsession - HAIL THE SUN forever and ever. i went to their show and i cannot dtop thinking about them. also im no lifing dont starve rn so i dont know if that counts. but it does. but it doesnt
tagging @thecureimcoldopensavdemo and @hxneylavendxr ‼️‼️
last song: lovesong by the cure thaat fucking bass and keyboard riff gets stuck in my head at least once a month since uhhh well for as long as i can remember
currently watching: besides link click because it's airing right now im watching noir & hakata tonkotsu ramens :3
currently reading: crimson spell & koisuru boukun but im meaning to start exquisite corpse and finish impulse as well.....
current obsession: i neeeeever get obsessed with something and then become unobsessed all of a sudden so umm excluding the things i've been up to for the past 7 years, i'm most recently obsessed with d4dj...... both learning to play the game and the music has me in a chokehold why are all their covers better than the originals i keep getting disappointed
i'll tag @eerie-asterisks @ashmuka @velveteen-vampire & @neocielism :> if you so please
Hypothetically, you are only able to keep 20 of your books. Only one book per author/series. So what books are you keeping?
Tagged by no one but saw it on @godzilla-reads and this will be über hard to do.
In NO particular order:
Uncle Tom's Cabin ~ Harriet Beecher Stowe
Treasure Island ~ Robert Louis Stevenson
Dracula ~ Bram Stoker
Martin the Warrior ~ Brian Jacques
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas ~ John Boyle (I think that's who wrote it)
Persepolis ~ Marjane Satrapi
Nat Turner ~ Kyle Baker
Paying the Land ~ Joe Sacco
Fahrenheit 451 ~ Ray Bradbury
The Iliad ~ Homer (not Emily Wilson's translation)
Hecuba ~ Euripides
The Holy Bible: The Scofield Study System III
The Oxford Handbook of Synesthesia ~ Simner & Hubbard
Island of the Blue Dolphins ~ Scott O'Dell
The Little White Horse ~ Elizabeth Goudge (again, I think that's who wrote it)
How to Read a Book ~ Mortimer J. Adler
The Arabian Nights ~ Hussain Haddawy
Love in a Fallen City ~ Eileen Chang
The Legend of Huma ~ Richard A. Knaak
A Reading Course in Homeric Greek vol. 1 ~ I can't remember the names of the people who put this textbook together, sorry
Tagging, meant for fun and a bit of a challenge but absolutely no obligation to join in is required, @studium-stardust, @dust-of-fandoms, @beneaththedyingstars, @kairoscelrosis, @missbookworm2, @roentgeniuum, @ruixlonby, @thatstudyblrontea, @melancholical-moss
i think that’s its very on brand of tumblr to first not only scream over benoit blanc, a funky lil gay detective man with a southern accent but also thirst over a wolf that is the personification if death but ALSO hold the beautiful writing of a kids movie that happens to include said wolf dear to their heart and have an actual little meow meow
That was my request! I must have screwed up the URL when I sent in the request and I am so sorry for the difficulty of it all. I love the mini books (I think I sent in 2 or 3) and I haven’t forgotten your postcards, I just have to find where I put the darn things.
We moved last October and have been living in a sea of unpacked boxes since. I found my cards but not my postcards, but if I can’t find them soon, I’ll just buy new one for you.
i think that five should attempt to blink down the stairs and end up falling down and breaking a bone and get intensely annoyed because now he can move even less
