#did I learn by age 7 where the breakers were and how to turn them off before doing wiring? also hell yes. improvise adapt overcome bitches

[platypusisnotonfire]

This is exactly what I want my future hypothetical family to be. This is what I will pass down to my children.

my family is fucking addicted to macgyvering and it's becoming a problem. every time something in this house breaks, instead of doing the sensible thing of replacing it or calling someone qualified to fix it, we all group around the offending object with a manic look in our eyes and everyone gets a try at fixing it while being cheered on or ridiculed by the rest.

it's a beautiful bonding activity, but the "creative" fixes have turned our house into a quasihaunted escape room like contraption where everything works, but only in the wonkiest of ways. you need a huge block of iron to turn on the stove. the oven only works if a specific clock is plugged in. the bread machine has a huge wood block just stapled to it that has become foundational to its function. sometimes when you use the toaster the doorbell rings. and that's just the kitchen.

it's all fun and games until you have guests over and you have to lay out the rules of the house like it's a fucking board game. welcome to the beautiful guest room. don't pull out the couch yourself you need a screwdriver for that, and that metal rod makes the lamp work so don't move it. it also made me a terrifying roommate in college, because it makes me think i can fix anything with enough hubris and a drill. you want to call the landlord about a leaky faucet? as if. one time my dad made me install a new power socket because we ran our of extension cords

[slipping-through-my-fingertips]

Guess I Misunderstood

Part 2 of Not the One series. 

Summary: Kurt's trying a find a way to end things with Adam and Blaine Anderson is one of the reasons why. 

Notes:  Open for more prompts in this 'verse but I only intended it to be 2 parts of a two-sided story. I hope you enjoy.

Read Part 1 here

AO3

The first time Kurt saw Blaine Anderson, he was spying on the bulletin boards. He, like every other Apple, was worried about how many freshmen they could pull this semester. With a majority of the current Adam’s Apples being seniors, they needed to fill those spots with freshmen. Better to round them up this year so they’ll already have a year of acapella under their belts.

He's just standing there reading all the flyers. Kurt’s trying to look busy with his phone to not draw attention. But he can’t help but access this man. 

Firstly, Kurt doesn't recognize him so he assumes this is a freshman, exactly the demographic their flyers are trying to bring in. The second thing that makes this man stand out among the others Kurt’s observed thus far is how nicely dressed he is. It is the first day of school so one would think a little effort would be put in but some boys their age won’t even put on a stain-free shirt to come to school. Luckily, most NYADA students care about their appearances, this freshman is no exception. 

He’s wearing tightly fitted, dark green, capri pants and a crisp, white, collared polo. 

Then his hand is reaching up to the green flyer Kurt designed. 

He takes it. 

YES!

Kurt tries to collect himself when he walks over to the boards. Don’t scare him away is his new mantra.

“The Apples?” He asks. 

The freshman was shy at first probably because he didn’t expect to be approached. Before he answers Kurt, he does manage to meet his eyes. 

Well, Kurt thought, if he sings as well as he looks the Apples could make Nationals. 

In the past, Kurt would’ve berated himself for checking out guys while being in a relationship but he’s becoming less sure about Adam lately. His boyfriend is becoming a bit pushy about things like this. But Kurt isn’t about to stop doing it. If Adam really trusted him, he could see all of this was harmless. 

The guy was gorgeous, no one should really blame Kurt for staring. His bowtie added a dash of adorableness, which would only draw Kurt in closer if he was single. Which he is decidedly not. 

“I love to sing.” 

Kurt could certainly relate. That’s how he got involved with glee clubs in the first place. Hell, that’s what got him to New York. 

“Me too,” he said, “I’ll see you at auditions, break a leg.” 

Only while he was walking away did Kurt curse himself for not catching the man’s name. 

Before he knew it, they reached the point in the school year—day two—where Rachel was would start harassing him about “getting his name out there” and listing off all the auditions she had lined up. The only way Kurt could hear another word of this was over coffee so he dragged Rachel there before his class. This meant she had exactly 35 minutes to talk at him about it until he inevitably came home for the night and had to share the loft with her. Halfway through the conversation, he notices a finely dressed young man in line.

 He’s not ashamed to admit the man’s best asset drew his attention. Though it wasn’t a difficult feat considering Power-Hungry Rachel was his other option. 

Thankfully, her time was running out, “Rach, I’ll see you at home, I have Tibideaux.” 

With one last look at the man, Kurt rushes off to class. 

When Adam’s Apples auditions are up and running, Kurt is fuming. His boyfriend thought the perfect time to discuss their future as a couple was directly before they had to sit on their asses for 3 hours listening to a bunch of freshmen sing their hearts out. 

Of course, they fought over it. Kurt was pissed about the timing, Adam thought he was being careless about their future plans because he refused to talk about it. 

“I’m refusing to do it publicly when we have obligations!” Kurt had told him. 

He had stormed into the empty auditorium at that point, casting aside Adam’s idea to move away after graduation for the moment, and sat in the third row. Unable to take a hint, Adam sat beside him. 

Kurt was barely able to pay attention to the singers until Blaine. Once again, the man was pleasantly dressed. This time in bright yellow capris and a lovely yellow and blue bowtie. Kurt wondered if he had an affinity for them. 

Adam coughed next to him, Kurt reverted his eyes. For the rest of the song, he was trying not to stare because Adam didn’t need another reason to blame Kurt for their relationship problems. When Blaine was finished, they clapped, Adam leaned in, “I’m sorry, you’re right.” In reply, Kurt kissed his cheek. 

Knowing a simple kiss could smooth things over for now. They obviously had a lot to discuss. 

As school picked up, Kurt mostly forgot about his little soft spot for Blaine until he was pulling a tipsy Adam off of the Lion’s Den dance floor Saturday night. 

They knew their potential new recruits would be at Callbacks, Kurt wanted none of that. If they were going to celebrate the first week of classes as a couple, he wasn’t about to be interrupted by a drunk NYADA student begging to know how their glee audition went. So he was here and apparently so was Blaine. 

He almost turned right around wanting to ignore the man. This is the exact situation he was trying to avoid. But Adam pulled him forward, slurring “bar’s this way.” 

Kurt tried to catch his eye from across the bar but instead watched as Blaine slung his drink back and paid his tab. By the time Adam was finished ordering, Blaine was gone. 

The fourth time Kurt thought he’d see Blaine never came. 

Kurt had posted the Adam’s Apples list of new recruits himself. Blaine Anderson was at the top. Alphabetically speaking. Yet, he never showed up to their first rehearsal. Everyone else had come. It was difficult to listen to Adam’s introductory speech when he kept waiting for Blaine to walk through the auditorium doors. 

He never did. Did Tuesdays at 7 not work for his schedule? 

They sat in a circle on stage playing ice breakers, learning each other’s names and special interests in regards to their studies at NYADA. 

When rehearsal ends, Adam tapped his shoulder, “you seem distracted, what’s up?” 

Kurt remembers what Drunk Adam told him on Saturday and lies, “nothing, I’m fine. Just something Rachel said.” 

“Well,” Adam helped him up, “don’t worry too much about her. Before you know it, you and I will be taking on the West End.” 

He smiles until Adam turns away. 

When Adam had first said they should move, Kurt thought he meant out of the heart of the city. Which was something he could understand. If Kurt’s dreams of starting a family someday were to be met, he saw the appeal of a move. It never crossed his mind that Adam meant to move across the ocean. 

When they first started talking, Kurt loved the allure of an older man. Being a freshman at the time, Kurt had been desperate to fit in in ways he never could at McKinley. So when Adam took him under his wing, showed him the ropes of NYADA and New York, it was only a matter of time before Kurt had a crush on him. Initially, Adam was too busy for a relationship, he had told Kurt as much so Kurt keep the crush to himself...and Rachel. 

When NYADA’s spring formal rolled around, Kurt was already planning on going with his roommate. Rachel had been trying him to match in a terrible shade of pink. It didn’t go well with either of their complexions. The text came in mid-argument about their outfits.

Adam: wanna go to formal?

Kurt dropped his phone. Luckily, he was sitting on the couch and it fell onto the cushion. Rachel, of course, knew something was wrong because Kurt paused in the middle of yelling at her about the tackiness of matching when they could complement each other instead. 

“What’s up?” she asked, leaning in to glance at his phone, “it’s not your dad, right?” 

“No, no, no,” Kurt assured her, tilting his screen so she could read the message. 

“OH!” she squealed, jumping up. “Tell him yes!” 

“He probably isn’t asking me, just wants to know if I’ll be there.”

Rachel rolled her eyes, “don’t stupid, Kurt.” 

Ignoring her, Kurt texted back and slumped down. 

Kurt: Rachel and I are going to go together, yes

Instantly, another text came in. 

Adam: Would Rachel be upset if I took you instead?

Rachel was biting her lip excitedly. Practically dancing as she sat on the couch next to him. 

Kurt: I think she’d be delighted. As would I.

The two of them did some jumping up and down together before Kurt settled back onto the couch, holding his phone to his chest. 

 “Guess that means I can wear pink if I want to,” Rachel said before disappearing into her bedroom. 

But that was then. It had been a long time since Kurt felt butterflies in his stomach when he thought about Adam. He never thought they’d completely disappear but these last few months he felt stagnant. When he expressed these concerns to his boyfriend, Adam’s solution was, once again, to move across the pond. 

Like that would solve their issues. 

That wasn’t what Kurt had meant by stagnant but Adam kept going on and on about how New York may be the city that never sleeps but he couldn’t wait to get back to the excitement of London. 

Kurt could never see himself moving so far away from his dad or his friends. New York had become his home these last three years. Maybe Adam always dreamed of going back to the UK but he had never told Kurt that explicitly until the start of this semester. Dating for 2 years and it never came up. 

By the time they were having their fifth fight about this, Kurt knew they were going to have to break up. It was just a matter of when. 

The actual fourth time Kurt saw Blaine Anderson was two weeks before Thanksgiving break. 

He was sitting in a corner of the library. Sheets of music spread across his lap. Titling his head so a single black curl dangled in his face. Blaine keeps blowing the curl away to no avail. It took everything in Kurt to not laugh. 

Adorable. 

Kurt wasn’t really here to study. He finished up his assignments for the weekend. There was a major test next week for one of Rachel’s classes. She was in a study group and forgot her yellow notebook so Kurt offered to bring it to her. 

Wasn’t it just his luck that Blaine Anderson was here? Right in his line of sight. The universe must be having fun with him tonight. He was about to go home to an empty apartment and write a breakup speech for Adam. 

Kurt had plans to talk with his day over Thanksgiving break—Burt insisted on planning for his flight. He just needed someone, not Rachel, to tell him it was the right choice. For so long, Adam, being his first boyfriend, made Kurt feel like he owed it to Adam to continue this. Kurt had just reached the end of his rope. 

He did end up talking to his dad about everything other than the impending breakup. In fact, Kurt couldn’t seem to get Blaine’s name out of his mouth. 

“We had this really talented singer come in for auditions, dad,” Kurt said. “Blaine Anderson, he’s a freshman.” 

“Oh yeah?” 

This was the second time Kurt had brought this up. 

“He’s going to do big things someday.” 

By the fourth time, Blaine’s name was mentioned, which was a lot of times for a man Kurt had only spoken to once, Burt had something to say about it. 

“You gonna ask him out, bud, or just keep talking to me?”

Kurt paused, blushed, and stumbled out a “no.” 

“No what? You won’t ask him or he won’t go out with you.” 

“Dad,” Kurt said, “both of those imply, I do ask him out.” 

“Well, you should.” Burt shrugged. “You clearly like him.” 

His dad did always know how to read him. This wasn’t the time to remind Burt of his boyfriend. Of whom, Burt was indifferent. Dating for years and Adam couldn’t seem to break down Burt’s overprotective walls. 

Now that Kurt was alone in their apartment thinking of those conversations. All of them. Every single time he had asked Burt about Adam or called his dad after a ridiculous fight. How many of those conversations contain happy stories? 

Kurt and Adam had loads of good times but none that he ever shared with his dad, no memories that become inside jokes, nothing like that. 

It was the Monday after Thanksgiving, Rachel was in class, Adam’s professor had let them out earlier, and Kurt had an empty apartment. 

Kurt: let’s get coffee

Adam: Be there in ten

When Kurt came back, he was a single man in New York once again. 

The fifth time, Kurt saw Blaine Anderson was on purpose. He meant to run into him in the NYADA auditorium. Kurt had asked around and found out Blaine had joined a different glee club. Amy said they rehearsed on Wednesdays and Blaine was always there a half-hour earlier to warm-up alone. 

Sure enough, Blaine was center stage pacing in a circle doing one of Rachel’s favorite scales. Kurt is creeping in from one of the back entrances. Slowly, he makes his way up to the stage unsure if he wants Blaine to notice him or not. 

Eventually, he reaches a moment when he has to say something. About fifteen feet from the stage, Kurt speaks up, “you’re very talented, you know?” 

Blaine looks down at him, a quick smile, and blushes, “thanks.” 

“We were sad to not see you at rehearsals but The Singsations benefit greatly.” 

“Yeah, I felt bad about it…” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, “but it just wasn’t going to work.” 

“Well,” Kurt replied, “acapella isn’t for everyone.” 

“Funny enough, it wasn’t the acapella part.” 

At that, Kurt’s not sure what to say. He wants to ask what the problem was then.

“Sorry, did you just come here to ask why I didn’t join the Apples?” Blaine asked. 

“Um no, Amy said you warm up here before rehearsals.” Which was Kurt’s way of stalling. “I…”

This is exactly why Kurt hadn’t had a boyfriend before Adam: he was too nervous to make the first move. 

Blaine is sitting on the edge of the stage now so they’re almost level. Kurt could just push his legs apart, stand between them, and kiss him. That’s all he wants to do. 

“I’ve seen you around campus a lot.” Four times.

“Me too,” Blaine said, which has Kurt smirking slightly. So he did notice him too. Then Blaine continues and knocks that smirk right off his face, “how’s your boyfriend?” 

Well, Kurt should’ve expected that blow. His and Adam’s relationship was pretty well-known. In just two weeks since the breakup, Kurt’s surprised more people aren’t gossiping about it. 

Honesty is the best policy, right? 

“We broke up.”

“Oh,” Blaine replied, “I’m sorry to hear that.” 

“Are you?” Kurt asked, “because I’m not sorry at all. I should’ve done it sooner. We weren’t meant to be together as long as we were.” 

“You broke up with him?” Blaine asked, confused. “But you seemed so in love.” 

“A year ago, I would’ve agreed with you but one too many problems later it was never going to work,” Kurt told him, “but that’s not why I’m here either.” 

“So, why are you here? I was pretty sure you didn’t know I existed.” 

“I definitely do,” Kurt said, “and now it’s my turn to ask if you’re single.” 

Blaine blushed again, “Not sure that’s what I meant earlier.” 

“It’s what I meant.” 

“I’m not seeing anyone right now, I’ve been pining after this upperclassman who was with someone.” 

“Oh yeah?” Kurt asked. 

“Yeah.” 

Kurt took a step closer and placed his palms on Blaine’s knees. 

“Well, I think he likes you too.” 

Then, he pushes his legs open with no resistance from Blaine. It isn’t Kurt who leans in first though. 

[wildlyminiaturesandwich]

🏠 Tiny Living Stuff Pack Review 🏠

Thank you to the EA Game Changer Program for providing me with the opportunity to play with Tiny Living Stuff early!

I didn’t have a lot of time to play around with this pack because I had some real life obligations during the early access time frame and the embargo time was once again at a ridiculous hour of the morning for me (don’t get me started on that mess), but here’s what I did learn about the new Tiny Living Stuff Pack.

I feel like I need to say straight away that this is my favourite stuff pack so far. The reason I feel the need to say that is because when I sat down to go through the notes I’d made during early access and type up this review, the more I got into it, the more it started to sound... aggressively ranty 😬

I was going to try to tone it down a bit, but honestly there are already so many reviews out there that gloss over the glaring bugs that I figured I might as well just leave it. It’s my honest opinion of the pack, and what’s the point of doing a review if I’m not giving my honest opinion, no matter how ranty? lol

I’m gonna put this under a cut, because spoilers.

— What I loved —

🏠 Create-a-Sim:

I’ve been saying for a long time we need more comfy casual clothing for our sims and with this pack we finally got some! LOOK AT THOSE JAMMIES!

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting any CAS items with this pack, but we got some amazing clothing that I will no doubt use on literally every sim I make lol

The hairs are good too, and more options are always appreciated, however I honestly feel like we already have different variations of most of them.

The best part about the hairs is that every single one of them has been made available for kids and toddlers! Apparently one of the gurus found a quick and cost effective way to convert hairs, so hopefully we’ll see this happen more and more with each future pack!

🏠  Buy Mode:

The Buy Mode objects are 100% the star of this pack for me. I don’t think there is a single thing in the buy catalogue of this pack that I didn’t absolutely adore! Some of the objects have issues — and I’ll get into that in a bit — but overall I love, love, LOVE the general concept of everything.

[click for larger]

The objects in this pack were based off the Scandinavian concept of Hygge and I really think they hit the nail on the head! Everything feels so cozy and comfy, with a little hint of Ikea to the furniture and I just... I can’t even really put into words how much I love it all. I honestly can’t remember a single previous pack (expansion, game or stuff) where I have loved every item in the buy catalogue, there’s usually always something that’s like “Meh” or “I don’t like this at all” to me, but the objects in this pack are 10/10.

I also love that they combined so many things. Like the murphy bed with the couch on the front (though I do wish we were also given that couch as a separate couch as well) and the TV unit that’s also a bookcase AND a stereo. And I really appreciate that they went back and redid some of the old book ends to make them functional bookcases. 

— What I didn’t love —

🏠 Create-A-Sim:

I say it with every pack and I’m going to continue to say it even if no one is listening...

WHERE ARE THE KIDS, TODDLERS AND ELDERS CAS ITEMS!?

I know the kids and toddlers got some hairs but that doesn’t make up for the serious lack of CAS content that every age range besides young adults has and it’s getting really hard to make unique sims when there isn’t enough content to choose from.

🏠 Build Mode:

For a pack dedicated to Tiny Living, I was really disappointed to see literally only one door in the build catalogue. ONE. I was expecting some small windows, maybe some sliding doors, but nope; just one door. Hell I would have even been happy to have less CAS stuff in exchange for some build stuff!

I get why they haven’t added bunk beds and spiral stairs yet, those are a lot of work and I’m ok with waiting until they perfect them BUT this would have been the perfect pack to add ladders. We already have ladders in game that are fully animated (pool and island living ladders) it really wouldn’t take that much work to make ladders work between floors. I HATE the idea of having to put stairs outside in tiny builds and ladders are the ultimate in space saving “technology"; I feel like the team really dropped the ball on that one.

🏠 Murphy Beds:

Listen, I love the concept of the murphy beds and the design of them looks really cool but I can’t see myself using them at all as they are currently.

I was almost immediately disappointed with them when I realised they were remote controlled. I know that it makes it easier for the Sims Team so they don’t have to work so hard to animate them, but I really wanted sims to pull them down by hand. The reason I wanted murphy beds in the game was because they would fit better with small apartments and homes of sims who don’t have a lot of money, and to me a remote controlled murphy bed sounds incredibly expensive. 

Oh but don’t worry, because apparently the remote control is invisible?

Now, the version of the game that the Gurus were using for the stream didn’t have invisible remotes BUT they use a dev build of the game that isn’t the same as ours, and many other Game Changers are also saying its invisible for them too, so I dunno what happened but that’s just one of the things that needs to be fixed.

The other issue, which is the biggest deal breaker for me, is that the damn things constantly break! And I do mean CONSTANTLY. You know how when you buy a cheap stereo or sink it’ll last a few days/uses before it breaks? Yeh, not the case for the murphy beds. They break instantly, and they break often.

I was REALLY looking forward to murphy beds being added to the game and I thought if there’s one thing I need to do above all else with this pack, it’s test out those glorious murphy beds! Well... I managed to play for roughly three sim days and here’s what happened during that time:

Bed 1 (never used before) got stuck on first use and squashed Sim 1

Bed 1 got stuck on second attempt and killed Sim 1

Bed 1 got stuck on third attempt and squashed Sim 2

Bought brand new bed

Bed 2 pulled down without issue for Sim 2

Bed 2 broke at 11pm while Sim 2 was sleeping and squashed Sim 2

Sim 2 refused to sleep for 3 hours out of fear while Sim 3 was able to sleep in broken, sparking bed for that time without issue because they weren’t in it when it squashed Sim 2

Sim 2 repaired bed while Sim 3 continued to sleep

After 3 hours Sim 2 went back to sleep and Bed 2 broke again almost immediately

Bought brand new bed. Again.

Bed 3 got stuck on first attempt and squashed Sim 2

Bed 3 got stuck on second attempt and squashed Sim 3

Bed 3 pulled down without issue on third attempt for Sim 3

Sims 2 and 3 slept for another 2 hours before Bed 3 started sparking again but didn’t squash them

Woke Sim 2 up to repair bed and immediately sent Sim 2 back to bed (the fear moodlet only happens if they get squashed but the bed can break without squashing them apparently?)

Bed 3 broke again 3.5 hours later and squashed both Sim 2 and 3

I rage quit.

For the so-called “Hero” object of this pack, this is just unacceptable. The percentage for breakage REALLY needs to be turned down because in my opinion they’re not usable as they are.

And even if it weren’t for all the bugs, I probably still wouldn’t use them in tiny homes because I don’t think they’re space saving at all. They take up exactly the same amount of space as normal beds do; 6 tiles. You can’t put anything in front of them or around them if you want them to be functional on both sides, and you can’t even put dangling lights above them because I guess, realistically, the bed would hit them on the way down?

It’s especially annoying with the murphy bed that has the couch attached. It would have been really nice to add a small coffee table or ottoman in front of it but you can’t because then your sims won’t be able to use the bed. I really wish they had have made at least the little round coffee table and the ottoman from this pack inventory-able. Sims could have them out during the day, and throw them in their inventory when they need to use the bed at night, then place them back down in the morning when they wake up.

I think it’s this aspect — not being able to put things around/in front of the murphy beds — that actually annoys the most; the bugs will probably be fixed eventually but I can’t see this ever changing. I spent most of the three days we had for early access trying to work out how to fit a murphy bed into a 32 tile micro home without having it just sitting in the middle of an empty room and let me tell you, it’s not worth the frustration.

— The Verdict —

🏠 7/10 Would go Tiny again

As I said, this is my favourite stuff pack so far and I will get a lot of use out of the CAS and Buy stuff, but because of all the things I mentioned above I can’t give it a 10/10.

I do love the content of this pack, but right now I’m getting kind of fed up with the issues that keep happening with every pack lately. It’s all stuff that should have been caught by QA testing, stuff that is glaringly obvious to the average player, and stuff that would have only taken two minutes of gameplay to find out was a problem. I don’t know who tests these packs, but whoever it is needs to step up their game in a big way.

Overall I really do love the pack, but some major aspects fell a little flat for me. And the fact that that’s not at all a surprise, and that this feeling of “I like it, but...” has become the norm with new packs is really quite sad.

If you have questions about Tiny Living Stuff, feel free to drop an ask in my box, anon will be on right up until the release 😊

[virginpornstar]

What I Learned From All Of My Hookups In 2020

I knew 2020 would be less slutty than 2017-2019 due to the fact I wasn’t living in ATL. I still had plans to travel monthly, discover new cities and new men, and be a slut everywhere I go. Covid-19 ruined that. So 2020 was far less slutty than I had anticipated, but I still had a lot of fun this year. We have to roll with the punches, and readjust our plans when the plague strikes. I still learned a lot about myself and my sexual interests with each new penis that entered my body. Here’s what I learned from all of my hookups i n 2020! 

1. GUYS THAT DELETE AND CONSTANTY REMAKE NEW DATING APP PROFILES HAVE MENTAL ISSUES

Hooking up with New Castle started off fun, but then he kept acting weird. I asked him why he’d always delete his Grindr profile then make a new one every other week, then he’d go off on me for asking why. I did realize he’d make profiles advertising himself as a top, then ones as vers, then others as a bottom. A clear sign the man didn’t even know what he wants. We had some good times until he started acting crazy, and then randomly blocking men when I couldn’t hookup. 

2. GUYS TREAT ME DIFFERENTLY NOW THAT I’VE LIVED IN ATL

Left Tackle and I had been hooking up off and on since 2016. Yet suddenly in 2020 he wanted to start acting differently, like he’s too good for me. Um what? He also acted grossed out and disgusted after following all my ATL sexual adventures, and I think he started to think I was tainted after reading about me hooking up with a poz guy while on vacation. Oh well. Fuck buddies aren’t meant to last forever. I will not have a guy treating me like he’s too good for me, when in fact I’ve always been too good for him. 

3. I NEED TO STOP HOOKING UP THE NIGHT BEFORE VACATION

I noticed a pattern of when I’m supposed to have a slutty vacation weekend I end up hooking up the night before I leave. Which either makes me dickmatized and not horny on the trip, or I get my hole ripped and then I can’t even fully enjoy hooking up while away. I’m still gonna fuck, just not as much or as enjoyably if I hadn’t gotten fucked the night before. I still enjoyed my encounter with Big D, even if he did rip me. 

4. I CAN’T STAND VIRGOS

Philly Jawn and I had been following each other online and flirting here and there for years. Then when I was staying the weekend in Philly he and I finally made up. it started off well at first, and we even fucked, only for him to act distant and start ghosting me afterwards. Fuck that nigga. I can’t stand Virgo men since they always do this distant shit, and are terrible communicators. If you’re not interested then say so. Don’t waste my fucking time. 

5. FORT LAUDERDALE WAS MORE FUN THAN MIAMI

Miami was my last vacation before Covid-19 plagued the earth. It’s also the last time I flew anywhere. I was so excited to hookup with all these hot Miami men, yet somehow Fort Lauderdale was way better than Miami. The bathhouse was definitely far superior in Fort Lauderdale than Miami at least, and I had way more fun hooking up with guys there than the bathhouse in Miami. 

6. MIAMI IS TO LATINO GAYS WHAT ATL IS TO BLACK GAYS

I hooked up with so many latino men in Miami/Fort Lauderdale. They are the dominant population. It made me nostalgic for my younger years. I didn’t really get with many latinos in ATL, since black men rule that city. I had many latino lovers in the past, so it made me a little nostalgic. Sometimes a latin lover is all you need to give you great vacation sex. 

7. I’M STILL NOT POZ FRIENDLY BUT MAKING PROGRESS

Miami has long been the biggest HiV hot spot in America. Their infection rates are far worse than Atlanta. So it did seem a bit fitting to hookup with a poz guy for the first time while in the HIV capital. When in Rome...granted I only hooked up with him because he was the only cute guy at the bathhouse at the time. If there was anyone more appealing, I wouldn’t have settled for a poz guy. I also wasn’t comfortable enough to do anal, but it’s still progress to have hooked up with a poz guy without penetration. 

8. THE PHILLY BATHHOUSE WAS MORE FUN THAN I EXPECTED

I love checking out the bathhouses in every city I travel to. I didn’t have high expectations for the Philly bathhouse since I knew there wasn’t going to be a pool or hot tub, and those are my favorrite amenities at bathhouses. Yet surprisingly the Philly bathhouse was poppin, and I went on a Wednesday afternoon. It was very diverse, and although I didn’t fuck anyone, I still had a good time. 

9. IT’S FUN TOPPING SOMEONE’S DAD

I always thought it was hot hooking up with a dick that’s created life. I hooked up with this DL divorced father of 2, he was young and around my age, but still hot knowing he had kids. I topped him, and then he became my plug. I do miss the weed provided more than I miss him. 

10. I DON’T MISS THE BUMS IN THE SOUTH

My northern hookups have come bearing gifts. Weed, money, etc...I don’t miss the bums in Atlanta always begging for handouts. Asking for money, transportation, asking for shit. I’ve had so many guys give me shit without even asking like my DL Latino lover. Maybe I should remain in the north, although ATL keeps calling my name. 

11. WHITE MEN LOVE BLOWJOBS

One thing I miss about Atlanta is the men there loved to fuck. Being in the suburbs with mostly old white men and DL guys I’ve realized most of them just want head. I used to be oral only, until I got on PrEP and lost a relationship to never wanting to fuck. So now I love to fuck, but keep encountering guys, like Mushroom Man, where all they want to do is get their dick sucked. Sorry, oral only isn’t enough for me to have a good time. 

12. SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO CATFISH A GUY TO GET THE DICK THAT GHOSTED YOU

Chubby Chaster and I spent hours talking one night on Grindr, then he started ignoring me the next day. Oh hell no! I will not be ignored. I got into the whole anonymous profile thing briefly after my friend encouraged me, and weirdly so many guys are into that. I did end up getting Chubby Chaser to come over, and I kenw as soon as he saw me he must’ve been pissed to realize it was me. Oh well. I still made him cum. 

13. WAY TOO MANY DL BOTTOMS IN THE SUBURBS

When I think of DL guys, at least the ones that turn me on, I think of guys with girlfriends/wives that are masc men you’d never be able to tell fuck guys on the DL. They’re also tops. Yet somehow all the DL guys with wives/girlfriends/baby mamas where I am now seem to all be bottoms. WTF! How can you fuck your girlfriend’s pussy, but somehow can’t use your dick to fuck a guy’s ass? Yet you want to let guys fuck you in the ass? That’s not fun for me. I top like once or twice a year, yet hooked up with so many DL bottoms this year. 

14. I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR OTHER PEOPLE’S TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS

Gorilla and I have hooked up off and on for years. He’s a Scorpio too, and we never get along. Yet the sex is good. He’s been in an off/on relationshp for years, and seems to only hit me up whenever they’re off. Yet we fucked, then suddenly he started being distant afterwards, and then posting his man on social media. Ugh. I can’t stand that shit. I’ve been in that shit where I fuck new guys whenever my ex and I were off, and then when we’re on again ignore the new guys. I hate that cycle, and it’s not fair to the new people I got involved with. So I hate getting involved in that cycle in other people’s relationships since I wanted consistent dick. 

15. NEVER KNOW WHEN YOU’LL MEET YOUR FUTURE SUGAR DADDY

I kinda only hooked up with Gasolina because i’d not had dick in months. I was a little desperate. I wasn’t that attracted to his pics, but he had a big dick, and I’m glad we did end up hooking up. Since he turned into my sugar daddy and I had many fun times this summer with him. 

16. INVITING OVER A THIRD CAN SALVAGE A TERRIBLE HOOKUP

Panty Man got on my damn nerves. We rented a hotel together for the night, even though we barely knew each other and had only texted/talked on a dating app before. I knew as soon as we began talking, this wasn’t going to work, but I didn’t feel like leaving since I paid for half. I invited over New Castle, and then things turned into a threesome. They didn’t touch each other, but both fucked me. I had a good time, because I invited over another guy. I wouldn’t recommend inviting over a third to salvage terrible sex with your boyfriend, but it works for random hookups. 

17. I LIKE CORRUPTING GOOD BOYS

I knew Rocky and I didn’t have any long term potential. He lived too far for me, and his health issues were something I don’t think I could deal with. But we still had some nice times together. He was such a good church boy so I had fun getting him to drink, try edibles, and even wanted him to try poppers. I love introducing men to new things. 

18. I DON’T THINK I’LL EVER DATE A WHITE MAN AGAIN

It’s crazy to think I wasn’t even really attracted to black men until 4 years ago, and now I don’t see myself getting serious with any man that isn’t black. Farmer J was the last white boy I went out with/hooked up with, and he will hopefully be the last for the foreseeable future. I’ve had great encounters with white men before, but I never came close to an actual relationship with a white guy. Now after the ignorant comments Farmer J said, and it’s a lot of the ignorance that comes with dating a white man that is attracted to black people, but knows nothing about black people. His offensive comments that he never would’ve realized are offensive, and his voting history were a complete deal breaker for me. Completely reminded me why once you go black, you never go back. 

19. GUYS ACT SKEPTICAL ABOUT FILMING YOUR SEXUAL ENCOUNTERS THEN GET SUPER INTO ONCE THE CAMERA IS ON

I saw The Reverend again for the first time in 4 years. I wanted to record more content for my OnlyFans. I knew he’d be skeptical due to the nature of his career, but I have masks and know what I’m doing. I’m surprised how into he got when the camera was on. I always turn my tops into the director since I’m too high on poppers to worry about angles, but it was a fun time. We got some really good footage for my channel. 

20. A RANDOM HOOKUP CAN LEAD TO A RELATIONSHIP

Before BMore Bae entered my life I wasn’t looking for love. I had just launched my OnlyFans, wanted to record content, make money, enjoy life, save up before moving to ATL, and then boom. He comes over, he’s cuter than expected, and I caught feelings. I caught feelings fast. It’s been an roller coaster, but it’s so true. Love enters your life when you least expect it. I’m so glad it did. We’ve already made so many beautiful memories together, and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for us. 

[vocaotome]

Interactive Queer Fantasy Novel Review - Moonrise

A couple months ago I was invited to try out Moonrise, a text based urban fantasy interactive novel by Natalie Cannon. Although I usually stick to visual novels, since I had played and enjoyed other choice of games before, I decided to give Moonrise a try and write a review for it.

While the game had an interesting premise with smooth, enjoyable prose and witty modern humor, my overall experience has been a rather mixed bag, probably because I don’t appear to fall into the specific audience for the game. I’ll give a vague outline of the plot and share my impressions while trying to not give too much away. In order to prevent constantly switching between “the player”/“you”/“us” etc, when referring to the character we are playing I’m going to use “Heather” (a name from the list of choices available, you can also type in whatever you wish) and “she”.

Full review under the cut, or on wordpress if you prefer it instead.

Gameplay

The basic gameplay of Moonrise is the same as most games on the choice of games platform, all text with no graphics and only stat based choices. The game offers the option to choose between she/her and they/them pronouns at the very start, but as per the basic game premise (supernatural celebration of queer femininity), player cannot identify as male in this game so no he/his pronouns. Choosing between cis/trans/other/not saying is also available, though I felt that there was an assumption that the player is not cis or at least is someone who is pretty invested in using specific pronouns (early game it's mentioned that "you" talked to Alice about your pronouns).

While the game description claims that the main character may be asexual and there are dialogue choices which allow you to refuse romantic advances saying you are asexual, I felt that the narration didn’t really reflect that since there were many parts in the common scenes (regardless of route or picked choices) where you express strong attraction towards beautiful women. The 3 love interests were pretty likable and varied in their backstories and personality, although I wish all of them got equal amount of screentime (your roommate inevitably gets more scenes than the otherworldly goddess you meet in the last chapter). You can date just a single person or multiple people at once.

The players also get to choose between being “Fierce” (20% initial boost to Bloodthirst, Uncanny, Defense attributes) or “Civilized” (20% boost to Empathy, Responsibility, Snark attributes). The choices throughout the game either raise these attributes further or improve your relationship with the love interests.

For those who are concerned about homophobia, Moonrise very briefly mentions the existence of homophobic people but for the most part all the characters treat LGBTQA+ people as very normal (example: Heather finds Alice's puppy love for a girl in her class very cute), so no need to worry on that account.

 Plot

The pace of the game is pretty fast right from the start, we begin with “Heather” directly being thrown into a situation where the player has just transformed into a wolf. Another werewolf called “Alice” soon finds us while Heather is confusedly struggling between canine instincts and human reason. I really liked the part where "you" still are convinced that you are a 100% pure wolf and are completely operating under that impression, lol. All the wolf related terms also are rather endearing, time to refer to all my close friends as my packmates <3

At first I was a little bit wary of Alice, who is revealed (within 5 minutes of playing) to be the one to have turned Heather into a werewolf, but she grew on me very quickly, especially with her youthful admiration of Heather and the open vulnerability she shows to us. I’m also grateful to her for helping Heather turn back human, the idea of getting stuck as a wolf forever (which Alice mentioned happening to some people) sounded pretty disturbing. (I did giggle at how Heather was like “bleh, wolves have it better, no student loans”)

Alice returns together with Heather to Heather’s home which she shares with her best friend and roommate Rosario, the first LI we run into. I liked Rosario’s character and sense of humor a lot (random: I bust a lung laughing when the narration mentioned them lightly smelling of weed), though I wish the narration used less jargon when explaining Rosario’s lifestyle as an adventurous and dynamic queer person (this issue popped up a couple of times later in the game too, though not frequently enough to be a deal breaker). The below paragraph made me stare for a solid minute before I managed to comprehend everything.

Rosario is super relieved to see Heather safe and quickly warms up to Alice, and in order to develop a relationship with Rosario (also if you’re interested in building up your empathy stat, very useful for diplomatic options) we must be friendly towards Alice and let her stay in our home. To be honest it's hard to be an asshole to Alice, she’s a cutie. I liked it when Alice was described during this scene to have corkscrew hair and dark skin, yay for varied designs!

Anyway, around this time we learn that Heather is a doctor-in-training working for their residency. I laughed at the part where after picking a choice, the prose apologized to me for doubting that I'd call work to inform my circumstances.This is the point where the free part ends.

Regardless of whether we go to our job, meet our coworkers and interact with patients, or go all SCREW U to your job and hang around in a park (irresponsible, imo, you’ve been missing for a day because of this whole wolf business), you run into the second LI, Chika, a seemingly cold and quiet young doctor who works in the same place as Heather and is actually also a werewolf.

She also seems to have harbored a strong crush on Heather for quite a while, even during routes where I've acted very distant towards her so far she pretty much immediately confesses and we get the option to kiss her. Personally I prefer more buildup in romantic relationships in my stories, but I guess this isn’t surprising considering that we have already spent about 2 chapters on the prologue and this is a short game consisting of only 8 chapters.

The next few chapters are a mix of slice of life situations where Alice, Rosario and Heather blossom into a pretty cute makeshift family, with optional scenes of bonding in wolf form with Alice. Alice also gives us a lot of information about the vampire and werewolf lore of this world, and informs Heather about the 2 opposing factions of the supernatural society: the masquerade, who prefer to keep the human and supernatural worlds separate and operate as an organization under strict rules of secrecy, and the rogues, who prefer a wild and free approach in life and wish to go public about the existence of supernatural creatures.

Not gonna lie, the masquerade sounds amazing on paper, being their part apparently means getting your university tuition paid and guaranteed jobs after graduation, that sounds like a dream lol. However they are a bit to stuck up for Alice’s tastes, especially because of her foster parent who is someone high up in the Masquerade and pretty unpleasant. Rogues sound rather bad at this point since Alice mentions being “hunted” early game and they are supposed to be the ones “after” her.

In Chapter 6 we run into Cassandra, a vampire and the foster parent mentioned above, who pretty much kidnaps us to her place. Over the course of a very tense and threatening conversation, she gives us plenty of reasons to NOT consider signing up for the masquerade, though I think that was the opposite of her intention. The game's description of Cassandra's attitude towards young people like they were "particularly ugly vase that begs to be shattered" sounds so accurate to how some old people act lol. We have to escape Cassandra by choosing either diplomacy or violence, and choosing the wrong option that you don’t have enough attributes for can get you killed.

(Random: Cassandra being portrayed positively in some future scenes after claiming to eat her servants is unnerving. I hope that was a joke ;;;;)

If chapter 6 was the one familiarizing us with the masquerade, chapter 7 is the equivalent part for rogues. We meet up with Chika who is relieved to see Heather safe (even out of her route she acts way too familiar when it comes to physical distance with Heather, her cold queen settings vanish when it involves the person she likes, lol), and reveals herself as the leader of the rogues. We get a bunch of information about the rogues’ motivations and plans, and the misunderstanding that they want to harm Alice is cleared up.  (It’s also possible to get some more explanation earlier in the game if you acted all wolf-y right from the start and went on a solo wandering trip which Chika joins)

After the conversation Chika springs a sudden offer for a date on Heather, which made me giggle during the walkthroughs where I rejected her hard. It was extra funny because we had been talking about serious stuff™ right until that point. It is possible to go on a date with her and have a sexual encounter afterwards. All dates in this game can end in sex, but it is optional.

There is a scene with Rosario where we hang out and have some heart-to-heart talk soon after the encounter with Chika, and this can end up being a date depending on our choices, regardless of whether we are already dating Chika or not. I think there is a malfunctioning romance flag here because Rosario talks as if I’m dating Chika even if I have refrained from ALL romantic choices with Chika.

At the start of chapter 8 we are forced to choose between the masquerade and the rogues, though considering the way the representatives from these groups (Cassandra and Chika) have treated us until this point, choosing the masquerade seems like madness.

~~~~~~~

If we choose the Masquerade, Alice and Heather visit Cassandra again to join the society. We meet people other than Cassandra who thankfully are pleasant enough, and suddenly a masquerade member came to seek Cassandra’s help and we ended up being asked to help perform some ritual to teleport somewhere and rescue/steal Dracula's brides??? What? I was very confused during this part because the story flow suddenly became very fast and I was having difficulty keeping up.

During this mission there is a possible dead end (ironic, the people who we went to rescue end up accidentally killing Heather), but as long as things go smoothly, we encounter Ishara, the last LI who a special werewolf from some other far away place (planet? dimension?) and treated like a goddess by the supernatural community because of her special powers and JAW DROPPING BEAUTY. She likes the way Heather treats her casually unlike everyone else, and there is another sudden date offer.

After the rescuing of Dracula brides, we get a slice of life-ish scene with them, Cassandra, Ishara and Rosario in a coffee shop. This is where we finally get some backstory on Cassandra and learn about some of her positive points, being a lesbian Robin Hood of sorts isn’t something I expected from her XD

Although I don’t think it’s possible to keep your relationship with Chika intact in this path, you can talk with your other 2 love interests about the nature of your relationship (open/closed, romantic/queerplatonic). There was one playthrough when I somehow found Ishara sitting on Heather’s lap and kissing Rosario, wild.

Before the final fight, there is a brief scene where Chika meets up with Heather and is quite heartbroken over her choosing the masquerade. Soon after that the day comes where we face off against the Rogues who have decided on a kill or get killed approach.

~~~~~~~~

If we choose the Rogues instead, there is no falling out with Chika (she’s ecstatic to have Heather join them) and we visit the Rogues’ hangout instead. After some socialization we embark on a journey to find Alice’s biological dad who is a powerful but loner werewolf and a possible valuable ally for our fight against the masquerade. This course of option made a lot more sense to me than the Dracula bride thing in the masquerade route.

We manage to locate the man and he joins our cause (I laughed at Alice and his naked reunion, the side effect of transforming between wolf and human forms), not only because he’s annoyed by the masquerade’s way of doing things but also because he suspects them being involved in the death of Alice’s mother and Alice becoming a werewolf (werewolf genes aren’t hereditary). In the Masquerade route Cassandra claims to not have done it, so I’m curious what exactly happened.

We also run into Ishara while on this mission (I’m curious how she is here instead of wherever she was during the other route, how exactly did the butterfly effect work?), and similar to the Masquerade route, get the chances to flirt with her and go on a date. It was interesting how Ishara sex scene has a little more detail than others, and extra text about being trans if your character is trans too (If you are cis she just mentions it during the date).

After the mission there is a party where we can do a lot of socializing, and similar to the masquerade route, confirm with your love interest(s) about the nature of your relationship. Then once again it is the time for the final fight, only this time it’s the Masquerade attacking us.

~~~~~~

I must admit that I was somewhat disappointed with how brief the final fight was. The few paragraphs leading up to the fight are pretty much the same in the Masquerade and the Rogues version, then we simply get to choose between persuading for peace, fighting to kill or to defend. Every one of these choices only have one paragraph explaining the result. During my first playthrough this caught me by surprise as I was expecting to actually read a tear jerking speech about living together in peace, not just a super concise summary. The epilogue is also basically just that, a sentence each about the final fate of the characters who stayed with you until the end.

 Final thoughts

Writing: The prose is where the game shines. The usage of uncommon (but not unknown) vocabulary in the more metaphorical imagery was lovely.

However, there are places where some unfamiliar LGBT terms or custom pronouns caught me off guard and made me pause to look stuff up. Personally I believe using too many technical terms in stories makes dialogue sound a bit forced and disrupts narration, but thankfully such instances weren’t very common in moonrise.

The humor was great, me frequently laughing over random things while describing the plot should be proof enough of that. The worldbuilding was done with a lot of care and the flow of plot was pretty logical for the most part, but towards the end I couldn't comprehend the logic behind some events and even after multiple playthroughs I haven't found any explanations for a couple of things, like the real mystery surrounding Alice's mother's death.

Characterization: Characterization was good but varying in quantity- Rosario and Alice were pretty well rounded character development wise and I loved their cute family-like interactions. I was all AWWW when Heather called the place with them her home ;v;

Compared to that Chika felt more of an enigma, but her date and the optional running off into the woods scene still gave her some chances to develop (though it mostly confirmed that she was a good person wishing for freedom and we didn’t really learn much about her personal emotions aside from liking Heather). Poor Ishara got even less chances, so all I managed to grasp was her loneliness. All three of the romance interests shared the issue of overly rapid romantic developments though, though in varying extents (repeat: poor Ishara).

Some side characters like Cassandra got detailed backstories, but it’s hard to grow to like her after experiencing ends where we got killed at her hand over something small. Because this story is only available in the masquerade path and there is no foreshadowing about her positive qualities before the route split, a lot of people might simply never play this path.

Player customization: I also wish the game description didn’t imply that the player character can be customized a lot. Considering how it was implied that the player had an abusive family and is trying to become a doctor because she wants to do and be “better’, imo the already present backstory is too defined for story to be immersive. I personally don’t seek to self insert so it’s not a problem for me (I PREFER this to a blank slate), but it may be for others who came into the game with wrong expectations.

One more thing I would like to see implemented in future versions is choosing if I was polyromantic/polysexual or not at the start of the game. Regardless of whether the player has locked into a romance route or not, "you" still keep thirsting after the beautiful possible LIs that cross your path. I found that rather distracting during my first playthrough since I was playing the game while planning to develop a monogamist cis lesbian character and I felt a disconnect whenever it happened.

Ending: Lastly, the ending. I don’t mind the short epilogues, but the description of the “final fight” was simply so short that it felt anticlimactic, so I will just hope that the ending will be more extended with detailed scenes in a later version.

In summary? Good prose, interesting worldbuilding but too-short romance and rushed ending. Worth a read if you like modern fiction with fantasy supernatural elements involving lots of queer characters and aren’t overly critical in your evaluation of the flow and logic in a story. The game is really cheap though, the amount of content you get is definitely worth $1.99, so if the game sounds like your cup of tea go ahead and try it out!

P/S: A short guide on maxing out the relationship points: being nice to the LI is a given, go on dates with them, and pick the following choices which might not seem obvious (I might be missing some choices that seem obvious to me but actually aren’t orz):

Chika: Ask Naoki to move but politely, Hold her hand (during date), Ask to come up for “coffee” (sex/literal coffee), Don’t choose the masquerade (duh)

Rosario: Embrace her, We let her (Alice) live here, Yes, spar without hurting

Ishara: Compliment, Flirt Back

[icarusaturn]

Learn about me!

1. Your name?

Maria Lawson

2. Nationality?

American

3. Age?

16

4. Birthday?

November 12, 2003

5. Zodiac sign?

Scorpio

6. Gender?

Female

7. Sexuality?

Bisexual

8. Your looks ( add a picture or describe them)

9. What do you/did you study?

I’m still in high school, but I’d like to study something either about language, music, or helping people/animals

10. What’s your current job like/what do you have?

I work during the summer at a Dairy Queen, a lot of my friends work there so it’s usually pretty fun

11. Your birth order?

Second, third if you count my sister

12. How many siblings do you have?

2, one brother and over half sister

13. Do you have good relations with your family?

Mostly yes

14. How many friends do you have?

Many but only around 5 close friends

15. Your relationship status?

Single

16. What do you look for in an SO?

Honest, kind, loves animals and kids, up to adventure, loves music, loves nerdy things, open to trying new things, good sense of humor, respects boundaries & privacy, not pushy

17. Do you have a crush?

No

18. When did you have your first kiss?

8th grade

19. Do you prefer a serious/meaningful relationship or casual dating/one night stands?

I won’t mind either a serious relationship or casual dating

20. What are your deal breakers?

No common sense, being an asshole, pushy, no respect, derogatory towards others, no self respect, being overwhelming and or annoying, hates animals/is rude to animals, can’t be independent, lazy

21. How was your day?

Good!

22. Favorite food and drink?

My favorite food is probably chicken or bacon cheeseburgers for meat, otherwise I love any sort of fruit. My favorite drink besides water (lol) is lemonade

23. What position do you sleep in?

Usually I sleep on my stomach or my side

24. What was your last dream about?

One of my friends’ sister was working at a Barnes and Nobel

25. Your fears?

Being betrayed, being lied to, everyone secretly hating me, being left alone, being forgotten

26. Your dream?

I want to be successful and happy with a good place to live and good friends

27. Your goals?

The same as my dream

28. Any pets?

Yeah, one cat named Sabrina

29. What are your hobbies?

Art, theater, band, choir, speech

30. Any cool places in your area?

I live in a small town, so there’s many unique things about it

31. What was your last awkward situation?

I was in the car at the local grocery store and someone I didn’t like parked next to me

32. What is your last regret?

My last relationship

33. Language(s) you can speak?

Only English, although I’m trying to learn sign language

34. Do you believe in astrological stuff? (Zodiac, tarot, etc. )

It’s very interesting so yes, I’d also like to learn more about it

35. Have any quirks?

I have synesthesia, the type where I can hear colors

36. Your pet peeves

Lazy people, people touching my stuff without permission, when someone keeps trying to talk to me while I’m listening to music, annoying loud people, obnoxious rude people, people who blurt things while someone else is trying to speak, people who think they’re better than everyone else, liars

37. Ideal vacation

Anywhere where whoever I’m with and I can do what we please whenever we please

38. Any scars?

A few from childhood and some more recent ones from self harm. I’m in a safer space and state of mind now, so there’s no need to worry

39. What does your last text message say?

I just signed up, did it work?

40. Last 5 things from your search history?

Marvel characters

Color block hoodie teddy fresh

Griz and Norm frozen

Everything I wanted lyrics

Kirishima shirt

41. What’s your device background?

42. What do you daydream about?

Movie/show scenes, memories, possible future outcomes, music

43. Describe your dream home

A house in the city with a bay window, an atrium, a claw foot bathtub, and a modern vintage look/feel, clean with nerdy decor

44. What’s your religion/thoughts on religion

I don’t have a religion because I don’t know much about it, but either way I don’t want to attend any holy services, because I’d like to prioritize other things. I do believe that everyone has their own rights to what they believe in, to me it’s like saying people should be able to eat, it’s common sense

45. You Personality type?

Campaigner personality ENFP - T

You can read about it on 16 personalities

46. Most dangerous thing you’ve done

When I was around 12 I flew with my brother alone on a plane

47. Are you happy with your current life?

For the most part yes

48. Some things you’ve tried in your life?

I’ve tried competitive dance, baking, hiking, and woodworking to name a few

49. What does your wardrobe consist of?

The usual stuff, t shirts, hoodies, jackets, sweaters, casual & fancy clothes, dresses, lots of shoes, jeans and leggings

50. Favorite color to wear

Yellow or blue

51. How would you describe your style?

Trendy nerd

52. Are you happy with your current looks?

Yeah mostly

53. If you could change/add something to your appearance - impossible or not - what would it be?

I want freckles lol

54. Any tattoos or piercings?

I have 4 lobe piercings, 2 on each side, and my left ear helix so 5 in total. I’m planning on getting many small tattoos and my septum pierced. Nothing drastic, all simple and small

55. Do you get complimented often?

Yes, almost every day with my hair and a lot with outfits

56. Favorite aesthetics?

Nature, vintage, character inspired

57. A popular trend that you dislike

There were these weird wavy eyebrows, not a fan 😂

58. Songs you’re currently obsessed with?

All of the Frozen 2 soundtrack, For The First Time in Forever and Let It Go from Frozen, Are You Bored Yet by Wallows, Amerika by Young the Giant, Maniac by Conan Gray, Come Around by Papa Roach, Same Damn Life by Seether, and Soarin by Bazzi

59. Song you wouldn’t normally admit you like?

I like mostly everything, so I would admit to liking mostly any song someone brings up

60. Favorite genre?

Pop or show tunes/ movie tunes

61. Favorite song/band/ genre?

My favorite song right now is a tie between Show Yourself and Into The Unknown from Frozen 2 or Are You Bored Yet by Wallows

62. Hated popular songs/artists?

6ix9ine, lil pump, artists like them

63. Put your music on shuffle & list first 5 songs

Prom Queen by Molly Kate Kestner

I’m Born to Run by American Authors

Holding on to You by Twenty One Pilots

Trip Switch by Nothing but Thieves

Swimming Pool Summer by Capital Cities

64. Can you sing/play any instruments?

I sing Soprano 1 and play Flute

65. Do you like karaoke?

Yeah!

66. Own any albums?

No vinyls or cassettes or DVD’s, it’s all on my Spotify lol

67. Do you listen to the radio? What stations?

I only listen to Spotify

68. Favorite movie/series?

My favorite movies are Frozen, Frozen 2, The Lion King, or any marvel movie past iron man lol

My favorite series are My Hero Academia, Voltron and friends

69. Favorite genre movies/ books/ etc.

Action, comedy, and fantasy

70. Your fictional crushes?

None lol

71. Which fictional character is you?

A mix of Elsa and Anna and Bakugou and Kirishima

72. Are you a shipper? List your otps if so

I don’t ship many things but I love Tododeku and Kiribaku

73. Favorite Greek god?

Apollo, Athena is my favorite goddess

74. A legend from where you live that you like?

There’s no legends where I live, but I like state legends like the legend of Paul Bunyan

75. Do you like art? What’s your favorite work or artist?

I like more modern artists, like ones on tumblr lol. These are a few artists I really like

@elentori-art @tecochet @cherriielle

76. Can you share your other social media?

I have Instagram, Twitter and the like but my Pinterest is maria_1820

77. Favorite youtubers

Colleen Ballinger, Joey Graceffa, Trainer Tips, David Dobrik, Molly Burke, Shane Dawson

78. Favorite platform

Everything but Facebook lol

79. How much time do you spend in the internet?

All of the time 😂

80. What video games have you played? Which ones your favorite?

I’ve played the sims and Mario kart and I like the sims more lol

81. Your favorite books?

We are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson and the My Hero Academia series

82. Do you play board/card games?

Not really

83. Have you ever been to a night marathon in cinema?

Nope

84. Favorite holiday?

Christmas

85. Are you into dramas?

Medical/police/firefighter dramas lol

86. Would you use death note if you had one?

I’d like to say no but I probably would

87. What changes would you make in the world no matter how impossible, if you had the power to?

I would have everyone have a good house and money

88. (There wasn’t a question here so I made one up)What was your first word?

Besides mama, my first word was eat

89. If you turned into a paranormal being, what would it be?

A Phoenix

90. What would you want to happen to you after your death?

I’d want my body donated to science

91. If you had to change your name what would you pick?

I like my name so I wouldn’t change it

92. Who would you switch lives with for a week?

Maybe a guy to see what it’s like

93. Pick an emoji to be your tattoo

🪐

94. Write 3 things about yourself + only one of them must be true

I love acrylic nails

I’ve never been on a train

I met Dan and Phil

95. Cold or hot?

Cold because I could put on a sweater

96. Be a hero or be a villain?

Hero

97. Sing everything you want to say or rhyme?

Sing everything because I sometimes find rhyming annoying

98. Shape shifting or controlling time?

Shape shifting

99. Be immortal or be immune to everything aside from natural death?

Immune to everything but natural death

100. Book or movie?

Both

[purplesurveys]

699

Before

When were you born? April 21st, 22 years ago.

Where were you raised? By who? For the first couple years of my life I lived with my dad’s family in Manila, but that didn’t last long because Manila is just so fucking filthy so we moved to my mom’s family in the city I currently live in. Until I was 10ish I was raised by extended family because my parents were still working hard. By the time they were able to climb enough rungs on their ladder they bought a house and they started looking after me and my siblings directly.

Do you have any siblings? How old are they? Yeah, Nina is 19 and my brother is 16.

What were your first words? No clue, I don’t think my parents got to take note of it.

What are your most vivid memories of your childhood? Playing outside, shifting through the three big kids’ channels to watch Drake and Josh, SpongeBob, Pokemon, and Mr. Bean every night, and babysitting my younger cousins. I also still remember the alcoholism issues but I try not to focus on that side.

What were some of your favorite things when you were young? The first thing I was crazy about was Bratz. It was the cool thing to like those days so I had Bratz shirts, lunchbox, pencil case, backpack, boots, etc. The prizes and giveaways for my 7th birthday were mostly Bratz stuff. When I got a bit older I started liking Disney stars (because Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers, High School Musical, and Camp Rock lol), Pokemon, and WWE.

Do you have a lot of photos of yourself from before? Yeah, quite. My dad had a digital camera and a camcorder so he made great use of both.

Do you ever want to go back in time? Only when I find myself strugging in the present. I don’t actively yearn to have my childhood back, because I know it had some miserable parts too.

Or would you rather forget those days? Like I said, there are bits I would rather forget entirely.

Who was your kindegarden teacher? I had three kindergarten years but my very first teacher was named Kathy.

What did you grow up listening to? I didn’t have much of a taste as a kid. The first band I liked was Paramore and the rest is history.

What games did you play in the past? On my phone I had Snake and Space Impact. On my dad’s old laptop I had Insaniquairum, Cake Mania, Diner Dash, a brick breaker game I forgot the name of and a military-ish game I also forgot the name of.

What was the best birthday party you ever had? My parents threw me a grand party for my 7th birthday and it remains one of my favorites.

How about the best vacation? I have different reasons for my different favorites... Palawan’s scenery was breathtaking, our accommodations in Boracay are still unrivaled 11 years later, Batanes’ views were simply something else, Sagada was life-changing, the amount of history preserved in Bataan and Vigan is beautiful, Singapore was a nice glimpse to the modern world LMAO, Bali was super exotic and fun, and my East Asian cruise will always remind me of gaining my independence.

Who was your first crush? Andi.

Who was your first love [if you had one]? Gabie.

When you look back on yourself in the past, do you ever want to laugh? Always. That’s why I don’t look back lol. It’s embarrassing.

What was the best thing about being really young? The fact that my biggest worry was making sure I finished playing outside at the right time so that I can also still catch my favorite shows in the evening.

After

How old are you now? I’m 21, turning 22 in a little over two weeks. I know I’m getting older because the ages are starting to get more and more insignificant D: Who are your closest friends? Gab and Angela. Do you have any nicknames? Just one main nickname. I’m called Byn at home and by relatives. What do you enjoy doing? It depends on my mood. These days I like watching videos, doing a looooot of surveys, and catching up on reading on stuff that I couldn’t read up on because I was too focused on acads while I still had school. But on a normal day I like eating out and spending time with my friends and doing new things together with them. Where do you enjoy going? Coffee shops, chill bars, bazaars, food hubs, my org’s common area. Are you dating anyone? Who? Yeah.

Describe that person? Pretty pissed with them rn so I have no nice words to say, bye.

When you look in the mirror, do you like what you see? Maybe 7 or 8 times out of 10, sure. If you COULD change anything about what you see about yourself, it'd be... My teeth. Name 5 of your personality traits:  1. I’ll be shy with new people at first and whether I warm up quickly to them or not will always be unpredictable; 2. Trust is very important to me and I can easily cut ties with people if I feel like they broke mine; 3. I’m patient in most contexts but can be prrrretty short-tempered in some, i.e. if I have to deal with shitty co-workers or if I’m driving, lmao. 4. I’m scared to do most things on my own and I like having at least one friend with me all the time. 5. I’m quite sensitive and have to work on having thicker skin. What are some of your prized possessions? My dog.

Do you care what others think of you? Some people. I try not to care, but sometimes Personality Trait #5 will rear its ugly head haha.

What's important to you? A lot of things? This is a very vague question. Feeding my dog everyday is important lol but so are people’s political stances because it tells me what they think of the rights of those less fortunate than them.

How likable do you think you are? I honestly don’t think I am at first. I’m pretty aloof and simply quiet at first, but I don’t do it on purpose. I’ve also been told I’m a little formal and intimidating when meeting me for the first time, so I try to do my part in changing that impression and being friendly.

Do you ever have days where you feel useless? Of course.

Do you ever have days where you're very happy with yourself? Yes.

What are you best at? Getting in tune with people’s emotions, reading body language, that kind of stuff. Sometimes I wonder if I’m good only because I’m overwhelmingly anxious and have an uncontrollable need to please people, but I guess as long as I keep making people happy it shouldn’t matter lol.

What do you wish you were better at? Being more assertive.

Do you have any goals you want to accomplish? Yeah sure. I have more traditional goals like having kids but I also have goals for myself, like going to Wrestlemania 50 in 2034.

What song most accurately describes you/your life? I can’t think of any right now but if there is a song talking about having nothing to do during a lockdown in the middle of a pandemic outbreak, that song is it.

Do you regret anything at the moment? Right now, no.

Do you have any secrets you never intend to tell? I don’t think so, there’s at least one person who knows any one of my secrets.

Who do you think you take after the most? I have a fair share of qualities from each of my parents. My temper and attention to detail/neatness/organization are from my mom, and my shyness and the fact that I’m really good at giving gifts are all my dad.

How about the person you resemble the most? My mom. But I’m also told I have days where I look more like my dad.

Do you belong to any cliques/cultures? (preps, jocks, punks, goths, etc) Those days ended in high school.

Are you accepting of people that aren't like you/your own crowd? Yeah, as long as they aren’t being disruptive, bullies, or plain assholes.

What memory would you like to disappear from your mind forever? My grandpa’s one drunken night that went too far. I’ve already talked about it in a past survey and I don’t plan on mentioning it again for a long time.

If you were someone else, would you be friends with the person you are now? Yeah but I’d be pretty intimidated by her lol.

You could never imagine yourself without: My dog.

Do you consider yourself a smart person? Sure.

Can you be very deep sometimes? I can be, but I’m still a bit selective about what I go deep on. I hate talking about philosophy and morality, for one.

What color would you use to describe your personality? Probably like a mellow shade of olive.

Have you ever been "confused" about yourself? Yeah. I’ve been mostly confused about my sexuality until Dan Howell made a video validating me and everyone else who didn’t want to label themselves and it was okay if they just identified as a formless blob. Since then I don’t let the confusion eat me up anymore.

What friend in your life has been the greatest influence to you? Gabie.

What celebrity do you idolize? I hate that word but I admire Beyoncé a lot.

What's your favorite famous saying? Can’t seem to think of any right now. I don’t really rely on quotes.

[lovemesomesurveys]

1. Why did you stop liking the last person you liked?: Over time I just moved on. Nothing was going to come of it and we had drifted apart. He honestly just like disappeared. One day I saw he had deleted Facebook and Instagram and I have no idea what happened.

2. If you were dating someone seriously for a long time and were considering marriage, would them not wanting kids (or wanting kids; if you don't want them) be a deal-breaker?:
 This is an interesting question because I don’t see myself ever getting married or having kids, so it’s hard to answer this. I’m not sure what I would do because I can’t even imagine myself in that situation to be honest.

3. If someone cheated on you, would you give them a second chance?: I don’t know. My first reaction is to be like, “NO”, but again, I think you don’t really know unless you find yourself in that situation (which I hope I never do). I think it would depend on the situation and other factors.

4. What do you think about before you go to bed?: Everything and anything. For some reason my brain likes to go to some weird, sometimes dark, places.

5. Are most of your friends virgins?: Just me.

6. Could you date someone who was a different religion than you? What about be just friends with someone of a different religion?: I could be friends with someone of a different religion, but as for a relationship that could be complicated. I’m not sure.

7. Do you enjoy sexist and racist jokes?: No. 8. What about dirty jokes?: Eh, some can be funny I guess. 9. Could you date someone with a kid?: No.

10. Do you respond to texts that just say "lol" or "haha" or just a smiley? Why or why not? Not usually. I don’t know how to respond to that and I feel it doesn’t need a response.

11. Do you think you're easy to talk to? Are you a better talker or listener?: I’m a better listener. 12. Who was the last person you were "in a relationship with" on Facebook (including anyone you may have put "in a relationship with" for a joke)?: I’ve never been “Facebook official” with anyone, ha. I also haven’t done that for a joke.

13. Do you think a relationship with a 16-year-old girl and a 35-year-old man would work out? Do you think age differences like that (when they're under 18) should be legal?: Uh, well, that’s illegal first and foremost so there’s a lot of issues there. I wouldn’t support any relationship if one of them involved was underage.

14. What's one job you would HATE to have?: Shout out to the janitors out there for real. 15. Be honest. When you hear someone wants to be an artist or musician, do you automatically think "Oh gawd, they're going to fail and be a loser forever..."?: No, I don’t think that, but I do think that it’s going to be hard for them to find work because that’s just the reality of those professions.

16. When you write, what do you usually write about?: I haven’t written anything since I last was in school. These surveys are the only writing I do anymore.

17. Were you ever "the other man/woman"? How did it turn out? How do you feel about it today?: No.

18. Have you ever cheated? What have you learned from it?: No.

19. What do you think of open relationships? If your partner suggested it, what would you say?: I wouldn’t be okay with that all, personally.

20. If you had a girl right now, what would you name her (full name)? What about a boy?: Sigh.

21. Are you crushing on anyone right now?: Alexander Skarsgard.

22. Are you a party animal? Why or why not?: No I'm lame as shit. <<<< Ha, same.

23. Do opposites truly attract, or would you rather date someone more similar to you than different?: Of course I’d like to have things in common with the person I’m with, but differences are good, too. We don’t have to like or do all of the same things. We’re different people. It’s good to have your own interests as well. Plus, when there’s differences you can inform each other of things that you may not know about it and it can be fun and interesting.

24. Could you date someone with no job, no car, and no goals?: I instantly want to say no and then I realize that wait, that someone is me.

25. Would you ever date out of your race?: Yes.

26. When you have old clothes/whatever that you don't want anymore, what do you do with it?: I donate them.

27. Do you still have a landline, or does everyone in your family just use cellphones?: We do still have a landline. We give that number out to doctors and such.

28. Are you religious?: Yes.

29. Do you like the "guys/girls you can't have" or would you rather have someone upfront, honest, and good for you?: Apparently that’s the case because no one wants to be with me.

30. Are any of your clocks set in the 24-hour (sometimes called "army time") format? Do you knowwhat 18:08 would be in "regular" time?: No they’re not. Yes, it would  be 6:08PM.

31. What are five personality traits that would make you instantly not want to be with someone romantically?: Cockiness, arrogance, controlling, disrespectful, and humorless.

32. What about five traits that would immediately catch your attention?: Sense of humor, patience, compassion, reliable, and trustworthy.

33. Ever had a relationship last under a week? Do you even count those as relationships?: Ha, after my first boyfriend and I broke up we got back together at one point for a few days. I don’t count it as a relationship.

34. Do you celebrate "month-a-versaries" or do you just do it yearly?: I would just do it yearly.

35. Is it okay to fool around when you're single?: Yeah.

36. If you're single, do you still mess around?: I haven’t even been talking to anyone in that way for a few years now.

37. What does your work uniform look like?: No job.

38. What's the oldest age someone should be living at home at (if they're NOT going to school or because they moved back in due to a divorce/lost their house/or another tragedy)?: Who am I to say.

39. Is there anyone you know who hasn't changed much (personality-wise; not maturity-wise) since middle school?: Yeah. 40. Are you attending college after high school? Which one? If not, whatcha gon' do?: I did, yes.

41. What curse words do you find to be the most offensive?: The F word when used excessively.

42. Do you have any sexist beliefs?: I don’t think so.

43. A teenage girl wears a revealing outfit to a club and gets date raped. Did she "bring it upon herself" because she was dressed that way? Or is that mindset just sickening?: Wow, absolutely not. That mindset is very sickening. Let’s put the blame where it’s due, which is on the rapist. No matter what someone is wearing, it’s not an open invitation for someone to take advantage of and abuse them. Ever.

44. What kinds of books do you normally like to read?: Young adult/New adult novels.

45. What do you put in your coffee?: Flavored creamer or cream and sugar.

46. Do needles make you pass out?: No, but I do get really hot and weak whenever I have get blood drawn.

47. Do you have any friends who spend all their time with their partner, but when something goes wrong, they come back to you? Even though they ditched you for their partner a bunch of times?: It was like that sometimes.

48. Do you think being gay is a choice?: No.

49. Do you think you're good-looking? Why or why not? Nope.

50. Would you have sex before dating someone?: No.

[tothewaterhq]

ACCEPTED // LANDON BROWNING

district 7 → tribute → amadeus serafini fc

positive traits: benevolent, empathetic, cerebral negative traits:   aloof, detatched, resentful weapon of choice: axe token: a gold ring

tw:  child abuse, child death, alcoholism

did they volunteer? if so, why?:

Yes. Though he hadn’t planned on it. Landon is very against children having to enter the games. He was standing next to a young boy who was about twelve years old. Despite not knowing the boy, twelve was the age his sister would’ve been had she been alive. In an instant Landon realised the boy’s name had been called. He grabbed him by the hand trying to stop him but in doing so a Peacekeeper noticed and pushed him backwards, his strength overpowering the man. Feeling riled up he shoved the peacekeeper and yelled ‘I volunteer’ not wanting another child to die.

biography:

Some women were born to be mothers. They possess a maternal quality from a young age that caused them to cradle dolls as if they were babies and push toy prams around to practice for the inevitable bunch they were going to have when they were older.  They fell in love young and settled quickly. No looking back, no stopping half way through.  There were plenty about in District Seven, Adoring mothers. But unfortunately, Astoria Browning was NOT one of them. If you were to ask the people in district seven to point out one person who should never procreate. Fingers would fall on her.

When Astoria fell pregnant for the first time the entirety of seven prayed for the unborn child. Her little boy was born during winter and he was surprisingly healthy considering he’d had to battle prenatal alcoholism. She called him Landon after his father. Or so she told him at first. Though that reasoning changed the first time he got in to trouble. ‘Just like your father. Waste of space piece of shit.’ He was barely able to walk. The stories of his father grew more elaborate over the  coming years. When he was two his mother pointed out a peacekeeper in the town square.  ‘Him’ she said, to stop him complaining. It wasn’t a total lie. Landon’s father was a peacekeeper. Which one though, that was a different story.  A book Landon would never care to read.

Growing up Landon was a sickly boy who was left inside during the day whilst his mother, lay passed out due to the inevitable night of drinking she’d had. He was thin due to malnutrition and his clothes used to hang off his body. The thing was, the Browning household were not poor. Astoria just often forgot to feed her young child. Until he learned how to feed himself, he went hungry. Landon wasn’t allowed to go to school. Astoria needed him to bring her things. A glass of water, a bottle of spirit. Then she’d lock him in his box-sized bedroom and pass out for the afternoon. However Landon never stayed in his room. As soon as he was able to walk and talk he’d managed to find a way out through the gap in the roof where a window once was. His mother had always forgotten to fix it. No matter how cold Landon got in the winter. In a way, he was grateful for it, his own little escape hatch. Landon yearned to be outside. He wasn’t the kind of kid who got bewildered by stories and books. He couldn’t read or write, but he loved the feeling of fresh air. Every afternoon he would go out and lose himself in the local woods. Figuratively and literally. The woods in seven were so vast and he was such a small boy. One day he’d fallen asleep in the leaves and a local lumberjack had carried him home. Hickory, he said his name was. Landon made it a point to remember that name. Everyday he’d find the man in the woods and watch him work. Emulating him as he climbed trees. He became a confidant of sorts. A friend who, for three years, Landon would smile at every day.  His mother never noticed he was gone.

Then when he was six, he heard a terrified scream from his mother’s bedroom. He’d never heard anything like it before and not coming for her room at night. So it was strange. She was on the bed, screaming, sweating. Yelling out for a doctor. Looking back, people might think it strange that Landon didn’t know his mother was with child. He didn’t see her enough to know. Astoria delivered her baby by herself on her bedroom floor as Landon watched on. He had never seen so much blood. He was tasked with cleaning it up as she left the bedroom with the baby. Must’ve been a monster, his childish brain thought. What else would leave such a mess. Except, she wasn’t a monster, she was his baby sister.  Cecily she was named, after the sessile tree that grew outside their home. A tiny baby who hadn’t been so lucky to escape her mother’s alcoholism unscathed. She was frail, naturally sickly. However she was always a happy child. Her small features making her look like a doll. Astoria never had enjoyed playing with dolls. She got bored quickly and Landon was left to look after his sister in the same way he looked after himself.  He was fine with that.  As they grew up together, he developed life skills that couldn’t be taught in a classroom. So his lack of education wasn’t a bad thing. However as Cecily began to grow up she yearned for knowledge. She’d found an old book and began trying to make out the words. When they’d go out she’d insist they go to the local market so she could match the words to the sounds of vendors shouting out what goods they had. By the time she was six and Landon was twelve, she’d just about taught herself to read. She’d even tried to teach him but he just couldn’t make out the letters. Besides, the boy yearned for experience.

They were both so different. She had dark brown hair, his was sandy beige.  He was a quiet soul, she was outgoing. The thing they did have in common, aside from their failing mother, was a love for the woods. Cecily would lay on her back listening to the sounds as Landon would climb trees.  ‘Y’know, Land-on is a really ironic name for someone who loves being in the trees so much.’  She would smile. The fantasy bliss meant he hadn’t given The Hunger Games much thought, despite Cecily nagging him about all kinds of superstitions. ‘Don’t step on the cracks and you won’t get picked.’  She’d smiled, ‘turn three times and make a wish.’ She’d force him to do. And that morning of his first reaping, she found him a dandelion and made him make a wish. He wished that Cecily would never get picked. Not himself.  

Landon survived his first two reapings, then his third at fourteen. He watched three girls head off to the games. Every time their names were called, he’d find Cecily in the crowd and remember that same wish he made every year. That following year puberty finally finished doing it’s worst and Landon filled out a bit. He grew taller, his bones stronger, his voice deeper. Cecily teased him for months. His mother meanwhile decided to try and be sober for the first time because the money was running out. So Landon was told to find himself a job. If he did that, his mother promised to stay that way. One day they were out in the woods, he was climbing trees as usual when he was called over by another lumberjack. At first, his age was a deal breaker but Landon managed to convince them to take him on. He became their resident tree climber and even received a small wage that hopefully meant Cecily wouldn’t have to take tesserae when it was her turn to face the games. There was another positive, he got to connect more with Hickory, with whom he worked alongside. Of course the down side was he had to leave Cecily at home most days in the winter. Which was fine at first. His mother was sober for the most part.

The day of January 14th started like any other. Landon got up, checked to see if his mother was awake, which she was. Then woke Cecily. His mother tried to made breakfast for the pair of them and then Landon checked the weather. Too cold for Cecily to be out, like she usually was. So he told her to stay in that day. He then gave his mother his usual warning about looking out for her. Cecily would chime in that she could look after herself.  And off he went.  Work was rough that day. The trees were frozen solid and they’d send Landon home early because his teeth were chattering together. The walk took longer than normal as he tried to avoid the frozen path. He opted to take the longer was which was muddier, but less slippery. He should’ve taken the short way.

Six words greeted him when he opened the door.  ‘she drank some of my spirits.’

Cecily was on the floor covered in a dark red liquid. It was in her mouth, on her dress, on the floor beside a broken bottle.

Landon didn’t know what to do. He picked up Cecily in his arms and ran through the cold to get to Hickory. He always knew what to do. Except this time, he didn’t. By the time Landon got there Cecily’s small body had fallen victim to the strong spirits.  She was already frail due to the various undiagnosed medical issues caused during pregnancy, she was as malnourished as he was at that age. ‘How did she not realised?’ Landon sobbed. ‘She was so smart’ but an unlabelled bottle of raspberry spirit was the culprit. Cecily lay frozen on Hickory’s dining table. Then came seizures. Then came silence. She wasn’t dead a local doctor said. She was conscious but there was nothing, a coma. Landon didn’t know what that was. Four days she remained unconscious. Without the ability to feed her she began to starve. Her organs failed. Her heart gave up.

Landon held her hand until it went cold.

Hickory had forced him to stay at his until Landon actually went to sleep. It was for everybody’s good. Especially Landon’s mother. However Hickory had to sleep too and when he woke up after Landon one morning, the male was gone.  Landon had found his mother on their kitchen floor. He screamed but no words came. He yelled but nothing happened inside. So he took every glass bottle in the house and threw them at her one by one as the words finally came out.   ‘ It should’ve been you. ’  However in his mind, it should’ve been him. He’d made so many wishes promises with fate that they would take him first. He never wished for anything else after that. He never prayed or had much hope. He moved In with Hickory for his own good. The man knew about loss. He’d lost his own child in the games years prior, Landon learned as they bonded over death. He became that father figure that Landon had never had. He knew he was angry, so what did he do? He gave him an axe. Believe it or not it worked. Landon found a particular tree that his sister had once fallen from as a child and worked his way through it. In the forest no one heard him screaming with rage. He was so precise that he could hit the tree from yards away. And then once his anger was done, Hickory let him chop the tree down completely and plant a new one with Cecily’s ashes.  As it continued to grow, so would she.

Landon joined the full team of lumberjacks. He became very handy with an axe, as cliché as it was in District seven. He survived another year. Though every birthday became a reminder of another age that Cecily wouldn’t reach. Fifteen. His work began to provide him with muscles, a result of the anger he always channelled when he cut trees down. It was therapeutic mostly. But another reminder that Cecily would never grow stronger.  Sixteen.  The men started talking to him about girls for the first time. A girl had flirted with him in the town. After all, he was a handsome boy who often worked shirtless because heat rose and he spent most of the day in the tops of trees. However Landon was shy. He always had been. Cecily was the outgoing one. Despite possessing the tools could make him very popular with various women, he cared little about then. Love. Cecily would never get the chance to fall in love. Seventeen. He survived his penultimate reaping with little fanfare. ‘One more to go’ Hickory smiled, patting him on the shoulder. Then they drank. Landon wasn’t old enough but a reaping bought out the inner alcoholic in everyone. Though it was painful, tasting the last thing his sister had, it numbed his senses. He went a little overboard and Hickory had to carry him home, like he had back in the day.  The incident taught him how to forgive his mother. Anger and sorrow made people turn to things like alcohol. He wouldn’t let that become him. Maybe he still hadn’t  learned how to read or write ( What was the point without Cecily teaching being there to teach him? ) but he learned a few valuable lessons in those years.

His eighteenth birthday came and went. Hickory bought him a tie, joking that maybe it would help him keep his shirt on. He watched a boy from seven die in the games. Orion. He didn’t get up when the district cheered for its new victor that year. And he realised, they were cheering over the fact that twenty three other children had died. People lost their sons, daughters, siblings. For the first time he allowed himself to think of the games and how cruel were, now he was clear in head. Landon was a kind boy, despite his hard face that was itching with trauma. So when he signed in for the final reaping, he didn’t make any wishes. There was a small boy in front of him that said he was twelve. It hit him. This should’ve been Cecily’s first reaping. He stood next to the small boy and kept his eyes on him until he began to move. Why was he moving? They’d called his name. He grabbed his shirt sleeve. Pulled him backwards as if he were his sister. ‘No.’ he’d whispered. The commotion causing the peacekeepers to head towards him. They grabbed the boy, pushing Landon. He was stronger than them though. He pushed one of the white clad men to the ground and screamed those words. ‘I volunteer.’

He’d experienced a life this boy had not. Ups and downs. He stood a better chance, muscles and all. Landon was an adult, this boy was a child. And no child should ever have to die before their prime. Cecily had taught him many things. That had been the last and the most important.

PLAYED BY // JO

[itsaboutbooks]

Book Club, the novel adaptation

THIS WAS AN EXPERIENCE LET ME TELL YOU. 

I roll on up at 6:55 for the 7pm book club. I walk in and there's an immediate flurry because my presence means we need another table. In point of fact, the new table added two seats and they were all filled by the in so whatever guys, you would have needed another table anyway. 

I sit down and everybody is passing around these treats. There's no escaping Ernie's cornbread. He's VERY serious about the cornbread. But it's good cornbread so it's fine. But I successfully refused salami, mozzarella, oreos, milanos, some sort of ritz mix, and some chocolate covered mini cookies. 

Mary comes in, wheeling in a book cart, upon which is a carafe of coffee, some paper cups and a pint of half and half. Another woman whose name I can't remember walks in right then and Mary pounces on her: 

"Did you get my email??"

"No...? What was it about?"

"About coming at 6:30 so you could learn how to make the coffee."

"Oh," glances meaningfully at the clock where it says it's 7:02.

"GIVE ME YOUR PHONE NUMBER."

So we know Mary is a person to watch.

We're settling in and the last woman comes and sits next to me. She says to the person next to her, who is the one who was supposed to come at 6:30 but didn't, "I wonder if we can have decaf next time, I can't have caffeine this late."

The other woman addresses Mary, at the far end of the table. "Mary, Annette wants to know if we can have decaf next time."

"I'm sorry, I can't really hear you."

The message is passed up to Mary. Mary: "I just opened this container of coffee."

Annette's representative: "Well maybe we can get decaf next time?"

Mary: "Is that ok with everyone else? *I* don't drink coffee," (gestures meaningfully to her water bottle "so it doesn't matter to me." 

Attention turns to the guy who leapt for the coffee as soon as it was wheeled in

Annette's representative: "I mean, we're all old. We shouldn't have caffeine this late anyway." 

Silence. 

Coffee guy: "I don't mind. I'll drink whatever's here." 

Mary: "Well, the library provides the coffee." 

Annette's representative: "But surely we could ask for decaf?"

Mary: "Except I think that they provide coffee for ALL the book clubs, so..."

Annette: "Oh, it doesn't matter, I can just bring my own drink." 

Annette's representative: "Maybe we should just bring our own coffee. Coffee isn't that expensive."

Ernie: "We could run it like a club and take dues." 

Mary: "Hahahahaha. Let's have the new people introduce themselves." 

I fear Mary. 

Anyway, it's me and another girl a little younger than me that are new. She moved her a year ago from San Jose. There were 16 people there, of which about 5 were in my general age demographic, another 3 were my parents age and the other 8 were my grandparent's age. 

Ernie goes first, so I go last. 

Ernie's book is about code breakers in WW2. This led to an amazeball side discussion between Ernie and Stan about their respective WW2 experiences (!) which took a long time for a book club that's supposed to be an hour and requires 16 people to give a book summary. 

Then DeNell goes, she's talking about a thriller that she's only partway through.

Then Stan's wife goes. This woman is a retired physics professor, which is pertinent because this review makes her sound like an idiot. She's also had a stroke and is hard to understand but she goes for it.

Stan's wife: "Do you know how the amazon on the computer lets you have a sample of a book so you can decide if you want to buy it?" everyone nods. "Well, I got a sample of this book called The Master Algorithm and I wanted to read it because Stan and I watch this show, I don't know if any of you have ever seen it, it's called Numbers. It's about these two brothers and one is an FBI agent and the other is a math genius and the one brother gets all the cases and the other brother solves the cases using algorithms, and I wanted to know what an algorithm really was because I never had that in my math classes in school. So I read this sample and what I realized was I should have read the second part of the title which was the search for the algorithm that will unlock learning so it was about looking for a special algorithm and not what an algorithm is. What I learned was that I did not need to buy this book."

Silence.

Someone: "Did you read another book, then?"

Stan's wife: "No. I looked up what an algorithm is and I wanted to tell you because that's what I learned this month and also maybe no one else knows what an algorithm is either. What it is, is a set of instructions you give a computer. The example that I saw that made the most sense to me was doing the laundry. Doing the laundry is an algorithm because you decide if something is a white or not, and if it's a white it goes to the whites, and if it's not it goes with the darks."

Silence.

Then Stan talked about his book, a murder mystery set in the Shetlands.

Mary finally started reading the Agatha Raisin books. But because I fear Mary I do not mention that they go downhill pretty fast from where she's at.

The next lady talks about a book about a woman who went to Syria before the war on a Fullbright to study the Koran, and this is the sequel she read, about her life in Jerusalem with her Syrian husband and their child.

Then Paige, the other new girl, talks about a book she read that was historical fiction set during the Irish Potato Famine. She says, "I had no idea the English were so culpable for that, refusing to provide aid."

I nod because I've read some of that history and that's right.

Stan: "But didn't the Irish refuse help from other countries?"

Silence.

Stan: "I know that England didn't help but other countries offered to help and Ireland refused, right?"

Paige: "I can't imagine why, when they had so many people starving to death."

Stan: "I'll look it up."

Me: side-eyes Stan. I choose not to remind him to cite his sources.

Lois: "I should probably pass because I read two books and then I decided which one I would talk about and I put the other one away, and then when I got ready today I couldn't find the one I wanted to bring, and I don't remember the title or the author. It was ok."

I almost DIED.

Her husband read this book about the guy who created the Ultima video games. He went on and on and wasn't interesting. 

The next guy is the coffee enthusiast, and he read a history of Scotland from 1700-2000, and he gives a ton of detail. Too much, because it's already past 8pm and there's 5 of us left.

The next guy read a book called "Hope Never Dies" an Obama/Biden murder mystery. I laughed out loud.

The next lady says, I should probably pass, I'm almost halfway through Lady Chatterley's Lover but I'll probably be done with it by next month.

And then there's an 8 minute discussion of it vs Bridges of Madison County and whether she should try to continue reading another book her mom gave her for Christmas.

The next woman is Annette's coffee advocate and she read a historical fiction book about an Iranian woman poet who had to live out her life in exile and there was some scandal about her romantic poems and between that more explicit than expected discussion and the conversation about Lady Chatterley's Lover, I have to tell you, I'm full up on my quota of minutes spent discussing sex with random octogenarians.

Then Annette goes and she talks about some random thriller she picked up and then says, "Sometimes I read more and sometimes I read less and lately I'm reading less so I'm also going to recommend a TV show that I've been watching. It's mysteries set in a modern day western setting, which I normally avoid westerns but it's very good, and it's based on a series of books, it's called Longmire. I haven't read the books and I don't want to because I like the show so much but I'm sure they're good."

Buddy: "They are!"

Annette: "And the library has the DVDs so you can get them here."

Stan: "They're streamable, too, I don't know if they're on Netflix or Prime but it's one of those."

Annette: "I don't do the streaming anymore, I only get the CDs because the streaming doesn't have enough old stuff but I like to get the TV shows from the library because you can get an entire season at a time instead of just one disc."

And then I went and it was over.

[smolmccartney]

Questions from @dutchisland)

Far Cry 5 Deputy Ask Meme

The Basics

1. Give their full name, and describe them or post a picture! (Height, build, hair, eye, and skin color, etc.)  Dahlia “Dollie” Collins (Picture included) Height: 5' 5” /165 cm Build: Slim, with slight curves, think ballerina with a slightly bigger chest and hips. Eyes: Dark brown, big. They are the most noticeable feature of hers. Hair: Medium brown, slightly wavy, just past her shoulders, worn in a bun mostly.  (See picture) Skin color: Pasty white Birthday: July 22 Zodiac: Leo (Based on birth time, technically a Cancer-Leo cusp)

2. How old are they?   25 years old

3. Sexuality and gender?   Cisgender Female, Demisexual

Pre-Game

1. How did they end up at the Hope County Sheriff’s Department? How long have they worked there?  After graduating, they were the job that called and hired her first. Besides, getting out of the city seemed exciting.

2. Relationship with Pratt, Hudson, and Whitehorse?  Friendly professional relationship, she will go to bars and stuff with any of them at any given time, even meet up outside of work. She and Pratt are closer, they are on a first name basis (where the others are on a last name basis)

3. Do they have an education? Bachelor degree from the University of Chicago 

4. Where are they from? Did they speak a different language there? Chicago, Illinois, and no second languages (at least fluently). Knows a bit of Japanese and Korean. 

5. Is there anyone outside the valley that might have come looking for them?  Not really, her parents have passed and her relationship with her family was never the closest.

6. Did they have a religious background of any kind? Raised by an Irish Catholic mother, after her passing she became Atheist.

Inside Hope County

1. What was going through their head when the helicopter went down and during the subsequent chase?  During the crash: Well, FUCK.  This is how it ends, I die in a crash?   During the chase she only had one thing on her mind, getting the FUCK out of there at any cost.

2. Were they afraid of Joseph and Eden’s Gate? Angry? Not afraid per say, but he makes her feel unsettled, as most super religious people tend to. Same goes for the Project. Once they started getting violent with her, then that feeling turned into one of utter annoyance.

3. Did they trust Dutch? She neither trusted or distrusted him, but at least he didn't have a gun in her face when she came to. That was a good sign.

4. How did they feel about their team being taken by the cult, did they count them as lost, did they want them back, did they not care?  Of course she wanted them back, and she would try to get them back, but if she couldn't she would force herself not to feel too bad, as she is one person against an entire cult.

5. How did they take to the idea of being part of, if not leading, the resistance?  Slightly annoyed, she never wanted or cared to lead anything, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

6. Which companions did they recruit, and who did they travel with the most? She eventually recruited all of them, but traveled most with Adelaide and Sharky, as well as all three Fangs for hire.

7. Did they have time to find romance amidst the chaos? How did they do it?   She actually did, with Sharky.  It wasn't love at first sight for her, but it was for him. However, being demisexual and spending a lot of time with him led to her making that needed connection on a mental level, and once she realized he actually is a great person, and honestly adorable, she let herself fall for him.

8. Feelings about Joseph?  Thinks he's a maniac, what did you expect?

9. Feelings about the other Seeds?  Neutral toward Jacob oddly enough, she notices his far less obvious religious devotion, in a way respects that he loves his brother enough to do what he does.  Can't stand Faith because she can't be trusted worth a damn.  John, she would maybe sleep with, but that temper of his would send her reeling on a regular basis, huge deal breaker.

10. How did they handle having to kill animals and other humans?  Animals are there for resources, she would always try to make it a one shot kill for humane reasons. As for people, they tried to kill her first, so of course she had no qualms defending herself.

11. Which canon ending did they choose in-game, and would you have changed the ending at all?  She would have preferred not killing the Seeds, and instead get them the mental help they so desperately need.

Personal

1. Favorite weapon(s)?  Sniper rifles of any kind, it's her specialty.

2. Stealth or firepower?   Stealth and sniping.

3. How did they spend their time, when not fighting peggies?  Relaxing at home, playing video games, watching anime, eating at restaurants and shopping. Also, spa and salon days. Despite the stereotypes of her job, she's actually quite feminine and high maintenance.

4. Where did they live during the events of the game?  With Sharky in Boshaw Manor.  He absolutely insisted it would be the safest place for her, and since she didn't mind him anyway, why not? It was during time at home that they really bonded before beginning their romance.

5. Any other facts you want to share about your Deputy! . - She is also quite a fan of disco music, as well as EDM and dance, but she likes a little something from most genres. - She comes from wealthy upbringing and is accustomed to a certain lifestyle, but she learns from her lover that money really doesn't get you EVERYTHING, but she would love to spoil him if they were together aside from the cult business. -She is quite sexually inexperienced for her age.  She knows what things mean but she hasn't actually DONE much, which delights Sharky in being able to be her first for a lot of things. Will add more facts when I think of them

[imjustthemechanic]

Natalie Jones and the Golden Ship

Part 1/? - A Meeting at the Palace Part 2/? - Curry Talk Part 3/? - Princess Sitamun Part 4/? - Not At Rest Part 5/? - Dead Men Tell no Tales Part 6/? - Sitamun Rises Again Part 7/? - The Curse of Madame Desrosiers Part 8/? - Sabotage at Guedelon Part 9/? - A Miracle Part 10/? - Desrosiers’ Elixir Part 11/? - Athens in October Part 12/? - The Man in Black Part 13/? - Mr. Neustadt Part 14/? - The Other Side of the Story Part 15/? - A Favour Part 16/? - A Knock on the Window

Nat and Sir Stephen follow Neustadt home in the hope of getting some clues.

Neustadt returned to the train station, and took transit southeast to the Neapoli district, an area of dense apartments and narrow streets below Mount Lycabettus.  Natasha and Sir Stephen followed him, hiding behind newspapers or a group of young soccer fans, and watched as he descended a flight of steps from the sidewalk on Doxapatri to enter a building.  Nat pulled her phone out, and made a note of their location, then sat down on the curb to wait.

“Are we not going inside?” asked Sir Stephen.

“We’re being spies, not warriors,” Nat told him.  “We’ve learned everything we can from him verbally.  Now we want to see what’s in his home.  We’ll watch, and we’ll wait.”

So that was what they did – and about an hour later Neustadt reappeared, dressed in a suit and tie that must have been hideously hot, even now that the sun was down.  A taxi pulled up, and he got in.  It headed south, and vanished around the corner.

“All right,” said Nat.  “Now we go in.”

Like every other space in Athens, the apartment foyer – small and dim, with the tile floor cracking – was tiny and cramped by the standards of somebody who’d lived and worked in America.  Europe was a small continent, and people there didn’t feel the freedom Americans did to spread out and take up space.  There were no plants or furniture, since there wouldn’t have been room for any, and an ‘out of order’ sign on the door of the elevator.  The only person in the room was a nine-year-old girl sitting on the bottom step of the staircase, playing a hand-held video game.

“Good evening,” Natasha said to her in Greek. “Did you see the man in the suit who just left?”

The girl nodded.

“Does he live here?” Nat asked.

The girl just shrugged.

“Have you seen him before?” Nat insisted.

“Sometimes,” the girl said.  “Not very often.  He visits the apartment across from my mother’s.”

Nat managed to get from the girl that her family lived on the third floor, and then thanked her and gave her a couple of Euros to buy herself a treat.  Since the elevator was out of order, Nat and Sir Stephen had to climb the stairs to the third floor, which was not in any way pleasant.  By the time they got there, Nat’s hair was stuck to the back of her neck from sweat, and even Sir Stephen, who was normally almost immune to environmental discomfort, flapped the front of his shirt in the effort to cool himself.

The apartment the man was supposed to have visited turned out to be number 304. Natasha knocked on the door.

There was no answer.

Nat knocked again, counted to twenty just to be sure, and then pulled out a paperclip and bent it open to pick the lock.  The apartment beyond was a surprise – it was empty.

It was a tiny place, just three rooms: a bathroom, a kitchen, and a bedroom. Each had a couple of items placed in front of the windows to make it look as if somebody lived there – some jars or books, curtains, or a framed painting on the wall opposite.  Beyond that, however, there was nothing.  No dishes in the kitchen cupboard, no food in the fridge, no towels in the bathroom.  In the closet a few sets of clothing were hung, and the shorts and t-shirt Neustadt had been wearing earlier were folded on the floor next to his flip-flops.  This wasn’t his home, just a convenient place to change clothes.

On an empty kitchen cupboard was a pink post-it note, on which somebody – presumably Neustadt himself – had written the words, one atop the other:

MISSED ME IN

 “Missed me in Athens?” Sir Stephen suggested.

“Maybe,” said Nat.  Although if so, why hadn’t he cut the message short?  Had somebody interrupted him?  He hadn’t looked like he was in a huge hurry when he’d caught his taxi. Nat reached up to take the note, then changed her mind and took a picture of it instead.  “It’s not for us.  We didn’t miss him,” she observed.  “It’s for somebody else… maybe Desrosiers.”

“We did indeed miss him,” Sir Stephen said, annoyed.  “In that you wouldn’t enter until he’d left.  What shall spies do next, then?”

“Search the place again,” Nat decided.  “And be very careful to put everything back exactly where you found it.  Bang on the walls, stomp on the floors, look for secret cupboards or hidden spaces, anywhere you could store something you don’t want anyone to find. And then we wait, because if he left this note then he must be expecting somebody to come here.  If it’s Desrosiers, we need to talk to her, too.”

They searched the apartment from top to bottom, and found nothing.  Natasha knocked on the doors of 303 and 305, both of which were inhabited by apparently normal people: 303 was home to an old man who lived alone with a small terrier, and 305 to a family in which both parents worked while also raising four school-age children.  Neither could remember ever speaking to their neighbor in 304 but they were sure somebody lived there – or at the very least watered the plants on the balcony.

Nat rejoined Sir Stephen in the bedroom, which did not contain a bed – just a small bookshelf and chair in a place where they would be visible through the window curtains.  The books were a random assortment of trashy best-sellers from about ten years back, of no interest at all.  She’d flipped through them, and they were all real books, rather than hiding places.

“This is just a front,” she said, sitting down on the floor beside Sir Stephen. “It’s a place he can hide and maybe get his mail delivered to, but I don’t think he spends any more time here than necessary.  Possibly he used to store stuff here.”  There wasn’t much dust on the floor, which suggested it had either been recently cleaned or recently covered.  “If he did, he’s taken it away now.”

“So we have learned nothing,” groused Sir Stephen.

“We’ve learned a lot,” Nat told him.  “We’ve definitely learned enough to pretend we know more than we do, and we might be able to use that to get something out of Desrosiers.”

“And what if we wait here all night and she never comes?” Sir Stephen asked. “We will have spent the night sitting around uselessly, while Neustadt flees!”

He might be right, but Nat wasn’t going to admit it as long as he was using that tone.  “I’m going to call the others,” she decided.

Sharon answered the phone, and sounded relieved to hear from them.  “Where are you two?” she asked.  “We’ve been waiting at the hotel for hours.”

“We’re at an address in Neapoli,” said Nat.  “I think Desrosiers may turn up here.”  She explained what they’d seen, and how Neustadt had left.  “Did you talk to Fury?”

“Yes,” Sharon said.  “He’s gonna see if he can get us a copy of the Voynich manuscript, although he’s not sure it’ll do us any good.  The smartest cryptographers in the world have been trying to decode it for a hundred years, and nobody’s managed it yet.”

“I guess there might be something else in there we could use,” said Nat, although she wasn’t hopeful.  It wasn’t just Americans who were interested in the manuscript – the Russians, too, had tested their best code-breakers on it and come up with nothing.  “Anything else?  What about the address in Australia?  Or Kotor?”

“He’s going to call somebody in Australia to ask,” Sharon said, “but as far as we can tell from a quick check of Google Maps, it’s a shack in the middle of nowhere.  As for Kotor, he says that’s a trap.  I told him we know it’s a trap, we’re trying to figure out whether it’s worth springing it.”

“All right, let me know,” said Nat.

“One other thing,” Sharon added.  “He says he’s got copies of those Newton writings, and he’ll courier them to us. We should expect the package at the hotel tomorrow morning.”

“Then call me when they get there,” Natasha said.  “We’ll stay here, and if Desrosiers doesn’t turn up by the morning, we’ll come back.”

There was an air conditioner in the room, but it didn’t work.  Nat and Sir Stephen, sitting in the middle of the bare floor, had to try to keep cool by fanning themselves with papers or their hands while they passed the time by playing a couple of games of Beat Your Neighbour.  The cards were a pack bought from a souvenir vendor in the street – they had erotic scenes from ancient pottery on the backs, including a very improbable picture of a satyr balancing a cup of wine on its erect penis.  Sir Stephen won both games, and then sat back and yawned.

“Sleepy?” asked Natasha.

“It’s this heat,” said Sir Stephen.  “It makes one want to sleep at the same time as it is likely to render sleep impossible.”

“Having to sleep on the floor isn’t going to help,” Nat agreed.  “So who takes first watch?”  One of them would have to stay awake to see if Desrosiers, or somebody else, showed up.  The question was who.

There was a rap on the window.

Nat jumped, and she could see that Sir Stephen did too.  For a moment she thought it was intentional, then she remembered they were on the third floor… who’d be knocking on the window?  Could it have been a bird?  Then it happened again – three knocks.  That was definitely somebody trying to get their attention.

She caught Sir Stephen’s eye.  He took up a position next to the window, and picked up the wooden chair from under the bookshelf, to use as a weapon.  Nat pulled the curtains back and raised her flashlight.  There was a man on the balcony, blinking in the light and raising his hands to show that he was unarmed.

It was Jim, with his long hair and black t-shirt.  He squinted to see who was holding the flashlight, then recognized her and looked surprised – had he, too, been expecting Neustadt?  He knocked on the window again to be let in.

Nat undid the catch and let him inside.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Jim admitted.  “I just knew this was the place to come.”

Maybe he’d been here before, and Neustadt had ordered him to forget about it, Nat thought.  Or maybe he’d been told to come here but not why.  Or maybe he did after all know more than what Neustadt had told him – maybe he’d somehow picked up some things Neustadt hadn’t meant to transmit.

“What do you want?” Nat asked.  Behind her, Sir Stephen slowly set down the chair he was holding.

“I… I’m not sure of that, either,” Jim admitted.  “I want help, but I don’t know if you can help me.  I don’t know if anybody can help me – he says he can’t, but maybe Mrs. Flamel can… but I don’t know if she wants to.”

Nat had a good idea of what the problem might be, but she wanted to hear it from him.  “Explain.”

[thefudge]

weird theory i might have about rey’s parentage that won’t leave me the hell alone

yeah so bear with me

i do think it’s a compelling narrative if rey comes from “nothing” and her parents were just randoms who disposed of her. yes, it would make a great parallel with kylo’s super privileged origins. 

but i also think there’s another side to it. 

basically, i don’t think he was lying to her at all. her parents did “sell” her, but i don’t think it was for drinking money

so here comes my super tin-foil idea

we HAVE met someone in this movie who seems to fit the description of negligent parent who gave up rey for unknown benefits

and that character is none other than DJ. that’s right, benicio del toro’s drunk-on-his-ass weirdly-accented code breaker. 

HEAR ME OUT

1. we know that he sells out rose and finn to the first order, hence we could say this isn’t the first time he’s done this. 

2. he has this oddly soft moment with rose where he returns the necklace she thought he had taken from her for good. but he was only using it to get them into the order. now, that moment played out to show a different side to him, but it also gave me “father figure” vibes. here u have an older dude being kind to a young girl whose name starts with “r”. and we also see that his initial actions may be misleading.

3. his moment with finn, when he “learns him a lesson” about the order and the resistance. he basically tells him “don’t join” because both sides are obsessed with their own path. so he’s the middle “grey” guy who doesn’t fit anywhere. rey, too, doesn’t seem to fit either with the resistance or with the first order. it’s also telling that he doesn’t wanna join an organization and wants to be free. 

4. scavenger connection. more than anything, DJ seems to share that aspect with his potential daughter. he seems to live his life from one day to the next, no plans for the future, just collecting parts wherever he goes. 

5. he definitely seems like he’s seen some dark shit. he seems jaded in a way that...would make sense if he had to abandon his daughter. NOW my theory is that, he had to PRETEND to abandon her for money. he had to pretend like rey meant little to him in order to save her. BECAUSE he probably found out his kid was strong with the force. and i have a feeling someone came close to taking rey from him. so he drops her off on this nowhere planet and sells her “for money”. that’s his cover-story. so that ppl don’t come snooping.

6. the ezra bridger theory. lots of ppl have speculated on this, but DJ sports this VERY INTERESTING scar on his left cheek that is a faithful copy of ezra bridger’s scar. ezra, of ‘star wars rebels’ fame, was a jedi and a rebel during the galactic empire. it would fit the character, age-wise. something has happened to ezra in the last 20 years to bring him this low. i don’t necessarily think this theory is true,but if he IS force-sensitive, it would make sense that his daughter, rey, would be too. also, ezra has faced sith lords and been tempted by the dark side so he’d have an understanding of what rey is going through. 

7. but honestly, i’d prefer it if he weren’t ezra bridger. even as a random shifty character, DJ makes for a compelling father-figure.  it would be a cool twist imo, because it wouldn’t deny kylo’s words. it’s just that DJ managed to find a way to trick both sides. and u know how rey was so attached to han solo and saw a potential father in him? well, her father is a han-solo type, she just doesn’t know it.

8. it would make for a pretty conflicted, emotional reunion. i don’t think rey would forgive him, and i think it would be interesting if she didn’t. DJ might sacrifice himself for her in episode 9 or he might not. i would just be stoked to see a super complicated father/daughter relationship here. 

9. the cave scene with the multiple reys would make sense too, within this theory. because the story of her abandonment isn’t straight-forward, it’s got layers. and if DJ is also force-sensitive, he might’ve put a mental block for her so she never finds out who he is. 

10. the names. DJ stands for “don’t join”. and people speculated that “Rey” also stands for something.  lol, i may be reaching here but i find it pretty interesting. and also, this could be a message for his daughter too. don’t join the dark or the light, choose balance. 

11. kylo mentions her parents’ unmarked graves. so DJ probably faked his death too. we know his real name is not DJ, so his old self died. again, it doesn’t deny kylo’s assessment.  

12. maz kanata’s words would also make sense. “her parents” are never coming back for her, because DJ doesn’t wanna blow his cover. her only way is forward - finding DJ on her own. 

13. DJ seems to have no moral compass because he had to sell his daughter. i mean, imagine if u had to do that. would it matter anymore what u did after that?

14. ANYWAY. it should happen because it would be dope, imo. but if it doesn’t, i’ll be cool with it. i just wanna reiterate that it would be so rad if kylo’s words turn out to be both true and false. 

(sidenote, rey’s talent for machinery // DJ’s talent for code breaking)

[sallyannthearts]

Hiking for Princesses 2

How To Prepare for a Hiking adventure when You’re a City Princess

Pic: Day One when all was still well and I could still balance well enough on a steep rock to take this photo. 

A real princess is one who lives in fantasy whilst still having her toes touching reality, no matter how harsh it may seem. In that sense, signing up for this trip wasn’t on a silly girly whim. I knew that there’d be tough times ahead but I also didn’t want to think too much about it. 

One thing that I knew I’d be okay with and was ready to do was: NOT TO SHOWER FOR 6 DAYS... and probably crap in a hole in nature. 

I’d signed up before the summer holidays and told myself that I’d be dancing every single day at summer dance camp while hiking on the weekends to prepare for this feat. But just before the summer holidays began, I found myself with a severe ankle sprain after having fallen off a chair during a dance in Cabaret the Musical. I couldn’t walk properly for the next 1 month. Oh Oh. 

Pic: Early stages of rehearsal during Cabaret the Musical by ECM Paris at Theatre de la Variete, Paris. I wore heels to dance in the show. 

So, in total, Andro, reason 1/2 of why I was going for this torture trip and I only trained like, twice for the trip. The first time we did so was around our backyard from Paris 5th arrondissement to Parc Montsouris where we ended up having a tasty lunch with beers. 

Pic: If only she’d known back then what awaited her. 

The second time we ‘trained’ was in Dieppe with 8 bottles of milk in my bag pack and we walked over slippery rocks at the beach with the tide threatening to come in close to wash over us (dangerous thing to do). That was more like it and already, I thought I was dying from lack of stamina. I shivered at the thought of the 110km. But summer was very hot in Paris for the next remaining weeks so... we didn’t train anymore. 

Pic: Day One when we arrived at the first viewpoint/ eating place with LapDonalds hamburgers for sale and I thought this was going to be an easy breeze. 

SO, if you’re going to sign up for a Classic Fjallraven Hike or anything like that, one thing I do advise you is: TRAIN FOR IT or at least have good enough stamina because I have to thank the Gods for my youthful energy and dance background for having saved me by the latter. 

Also, another note that would be elaborated later: LEARN HOW TO USE YOUR EQUIPMENT because not everyone will be lucky enough to have an Andro to help you through it all. 

Pic: This is an Andro. He was the one who helped me and two other girls survive this trip by teaching us how to really set up our tent and to use our bunsen burners amongst other camping tricks.

Photo credit: Michael Mead (a.k.a Jesus because he came to join forces with the Andro to help us girls along the way; to be continued). 

Now question about your packing list, what do you really need in that bag of yours? 

I got most of my stuff from Decathlon and their equipment proved to be very good. My undergarments came from Ice Breaker, full 100% Merino wool of comfort and cleanliness which makes every cringing penny you spend SO worthwhile. 

YOUR HIKING PRINCESS PACKING LIST:  

1) A Waterproof Bagpack (YES WATERPROOF IN SWEDEN!!! You will soon read why.) Mine was a 60L one which was just enough and nice for a little body like mine. Anything lesser would be tough to keep everything in for a 6 day hike like this. It also comes with a waterproof bag cover, worth the buck! 

2) Waterproof Boots (Decathlon, mine came with pink laces!) I remember telling my boyfriend that I didn’t wanna get mud on them when I first used them. HA. Ha. 

3) CLOTHES: 

-Base layer: 100% Merino Wool bra and panties (Ice Breaker) Yes, they’re expensive but they’re well worth it! You’ll smell like roses even after six days of rain and not changing them. 

-Extra base layer (if it’s cold because the weather in Sweden can go from hot summer to freezing cold winter with snow): 100% Merino Wool long johns and top (or sleep naked in the ice cold like me because you love your sister more than your comfort and you gave her your long johns to sleep in whilst your soaking wet pants tried to dry in vain in the rain) 

-Middle layer: A odour-proof, sweat-proof basic T-Shirt (Decathlon) 

-Top Layers a.k.a the dozens of Jackets you’ll put on if it’s super cold: 

1st Jacket: Basic Fleece Polar (Mine was from Uniqlo) 

2nd jacket: Feather down Jacket (Mine was a pink one from Gap, pictured above) Get one that’s easy to pack and very light so that you don’t add more weight. 

3rd jacket: Waterproof & Windproof Jacket with Hoodie (Mine was a green one you see above from Decathlon, a $20 euros deal that saved my life!) 

-Rainy layer: Huge Poncho (Decathlon) that can fit your bag pack inside too. Choose wisely for you will look like hunchback or if you prefer, like my sister, a cute orange spongebob. 

Pic: The Orange Spongebob, nicknamed after my boyfriend when we were looking out for her in the distance.

-Head layer: A beanie because even your ears will freeze if you are blessed with weather like ours. 

-Neck layer: An all purpose scarf/headband (Decathlon) 

-Hair: Bring hair ties to tie your hair up! 

-Hands: Winter gloves that can withstand rain (Or 1 single glove because you love your sister and gave her yours only for her to find hers and lost 1 out of 2 of your gloves and so you continued the hike with one aching hand all the way) 

-Bottom Layer: One pair of Waterproof pants that can be turned into shorts (Decathlon); actually, bring 2 pairs because if it rains, I’d rather save you from the horrors of sleeping in 0 degree Celsius naked. Also, if you’re a less adventurous princess, sleeping in your bed with the same muddy pants may not be your cup of tea as I did during my adventure. 

4) FOOD & DRINKS: 1 Lifestraw water bottle 50ml (You’ll keep passing beautiful streams and rivers of nice fresh water but still this built-in filter assures 99,999% of bacteria and virus killed); 1 pot and pan with utensils, 1 bunsen burner beaker (they'll provide you with gas), 1 lighter or matches (bring your own and don’t make the mistake like us of sharing only one! But hey, now we have a matchbox from Salka as a souvenir!)  !!! Bring your own energy bars and chocolate and all that guilty crap you couldn’t eat back in the city because of well, fat. YOU CAN SNICKERS YOUR WAY THROUGH IT THIS TIME! Hello, guilt-free eating! 

Pic: DO NOT get the Creamy Salmon with Pasta from Real Turmat. Neither do I recommend the beef and lamb stews. Instead, the best were Chicken & Lime, Kebab Stew, Curry Chicken and Chilli Con Carne! 

5) BEAUTY: Vaseline (For your feet blisters), Blister pads & Hand plasters, thick creamy facial cream (with 20SF sunscreen in case you get some sun suddenly popping out), Flip Flops (Even in the cold, to let your feet breath), Toothbrush & Toothpaste (although I only used them twice in 6 days), polarised sunglasses, small microfibre towel, lip balm, hair oil, mosquito stick (in case), 1 roll of toilet paper, 1 small anti-bacteria hand wash. 

6) MEDICATION: Panadol, Diarrhoea pills, Muscle ache roll-ons (DO NOT get the ones that cools instead of heats else you’ll end up feeling intense cold on certain parts laughing in semi-hypothermia like me).

<!!! Contact Lenses: 

I’ve tried looking for blog posts about advice on wearing contact lenses when hiking and camping in the wild but to no avail. So here it is: TO WEAR OR NOT TO WEAR YOUR CONTACTS? 

Yes, YOU CAN WEAR THEM. How? Dailies. Wash your hands beforehand or use a small bottle of eyedrops to wash your hands and then put them on, preferably with the help of a tent if not you’ll be surrounded by three other people like my sister whilst she tried hard to put them on in the wind and rain.> 

7) Walking Sticks (2 of them because you’ll thank the vision of yourself at age 90 walking with these sticks when you’re at 25km and limping in the cold towards the next checkpoint) 

8) TENT (Spend on your tent, seriously! The Green ones most of the Singaporean team got from NatureHike was not suitable for the cold weather at all! Your Tent is your Home. It’ll motivate and help you to stay strong. More to come about my horror Tent story later) 

There goes, my Princess Hiker Packing List. I also brought a book and a packet of Monopoly deal, neither which were ever used. My bag was one of the lightest  from the start because we spent on the newest and lightest quality equipment, all of which your back and shoulders would thank you later. 

Pic: With one of the lightest bag packs at less than 10.5kg amongst the 2200 participants of this year’s Fjallraven that had an average of 15kg to a whopping 25kg+, I was set for a breezy walk, wasn’t I? 

So, with about $500 euros per person spent on equipment. I was ready for the 110km adventure wasn’t I? 

Click here to READ ABOUT THE WORST CLASSIC FJALLRAVEN SWEDEN 110KM HIKING YEAR EVER AND HOW IT BECAME THE BEST. 

[semansan-blog]

DAY 4 -thursday

On Thursday morning we ventured to meet with the New Zealand Breakers administration and see their practicing facility. For those who don’t know, (I didn’t before this trip) the New Zealand Breakers play in the National Basketball League and are the only basketball team in New Zealand. They are comparable to the Toronto Blue Jays, who are the only baseball team in the MLB not from the United States. We had the opportunity to talk to the head coach, Paul Henare, who is also the head coach of the New Zealand Men’s National Basketball League. We also got to talk to marketers and social media people.

There were a few things that surprised me about this site visit.

Basketball is not in New Zealand’s top 7 major sports. Prior to the trip we read and studied the differences in priority sports in a chapter written by Shane Collins. These seven sports include rugby, cricket, netball, golf, equestrian, yachting, and rowing.

Basketball is New Zealand’s fastest growing sport

There are no player trades during the season.

The players are much more accessible than U.S. basketball players in regards to meeting the fans. As we were talking to the head coach, one of their best players, Mika Vukona, walked into the room and said hello to us. He also shared with us that they tell the fans where they are going to eat after some games so the fans can join and meet them.

The facility was small and not in the best condition. The floor was old wood tile, not waxed, and had a lot of give. It was raining when we were there and I felt a raindrop hit my head during the presentation. The small scoreboard gave only the score, time and possession. This goes to show how money really is fed into the more popular sports, and not into basketball.

The team plays at two different locations-- the North Shore Events Centre and Spark Arena. Spark Arena is almost twice the size of the North Shore Events Centre according to their websites. We will be attending a Breakers game this Sunday at the Spark Arena so I’m looking forward to seeing the differences.

The attendance for the games averages around 5,500 people, ranging in all ages.

After the Breakers visit, we had a lecture from Toni Bruce, who talked about the country’s view on rugby, national identity and social inclusion. Prior to this lecture, I knew rugby was the largest sport in New Zealand and believed that most New Zealanders, called Kiwis, were avid fans of the All Blacks, New Zealand’s rugby team. Toni did research and shed light on the opposing and silent side of rugby-- that not all Kiwis love the sport. Although she received heaps of backlash, she also received many comments thanking her for giving those people a voice. It was crazy to me that if Kiwis don’t support rugby, they are sometimes viewed as traitors. New Zealand has a saying regarding rugby that is “A stadium of 4 million.” This means that the entire population of New Zealand (~4 million people) are all fans of the All Blacks. Rooting for the All Blacks is a part of their nationalism. As mentioned in previous blog posts, most companies try to have a hand in the All Blacks by including them in their advertisements-- seen by some as turning the national team into a brand, according to Toni. Making headlines and stirring up commotion in the NZ rugby world, Toni is the reason that non-rugby fans now have a voice.

Toni also touched on the idea of women playing rugby and how it has been a struggle over the years. I found this interesting because although I’m not a rugby fan, I know that  the U.S. has a women’s rugby team. When women play rugby, Toni said that it makes the men seem less masculine, but within the last two years, there has been a significant shift in growing women’s rugby. I found this talk fascinating and thought that the hour and a half presentation flew by. What Toni did was so interesting and brave, and I am happy we had the opportunity to learn about it.

[spacecake00]

Ahhh it’s been a while since I did one of these. Thank you @selphie-chan!

LAST…

[1] drink: Root Beer and Whiskey

[2] phone call: I’m not sure. Probably something work related. 

[3] text message: @selphie-chan

[4] song you listened to: Unwritten by Worriers

[5] time you cried: I can’t remember, actually. 

HAVE YOU EVER…

[6] dated someone twice: Nope. 

[7] been cheated on: Nope.

[8] kissed someone and regretted it: Nah. 

[9] lost someone special: Yeah, but it wasn’t a big deal. We just grew apart. They’re still alive and hopefully doing well. 

[10] been depressed: God, who hasn’t by this point. 

[11] gotten drunk and thrown up: I have a pretty hearty liver so I’ve never puked. It’s the goal of a few people to make it happen though ahaha.

LIST 3 FAVOURITE COLOURS:

[12] Green

[13] Yellow

[14] Maroon

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU…

[15] made new friends: Yes.

[16] fallen out of love: No.

[17] laughed until you cried: Too many times. 

[18] found out someone was talking about you: No.

[19] met someone who changed you: No.

[20] found out who your true friends are: I’ve always known who they are and I love them~

[21] kissed someone on your facebook list: Nope.

GENERAL…

[22] how many of your facebook friends do you know in real life: Most of them. There are a couple of randos though. 

[23] do you have any pets: I have a precious old man cat named Socks. <33

[24] do you want to change your name: Not particularly. 

[25] what did you do for your last birthday: I saw Moana and went out to dinner with friends. :3

[26] what time did you wake up: 11am

[27] what were you doing at midnight last night: Scrolling through tumblr and questioning my life choices. 

[29] when was the last time you saw your mother: Last month. 

[30] what is one thing you wish you could change about your life: I would like to move out sooner rather than later. 

[31] what are you listening to right now: Not listening to anything at the moment. 

[32] have you ever talked to a person named tom: Yeah. I think the last Tom I spoke to was some kid from uni. 

[33] something that is getting on your nerves: Job searching is the bane of my existence right now. 

[34] most visited website: Tumblr or Youtube.

[35] elementary: Mixed bag.

[36] high school: Some pretty good times but I’m happy it’s over. 

[37] college: I would happily relive third year if I could. 

[38] hair colour: Dark brown

[39] long or short hair: Medium currently. 

[40] do you have a crush on someone: In real life? Nah. 

[41] what do you like about yourself? I’ve been told I have a strong “let’s all work together” vibe, and that I’m generally very well spoken. I take pride in my ability to make people laugh. I’m also very stubborn, but I love that too. 

[42] piercings: I have my ears pierced. 

[43]blood type: I can never remember this. I think it’s either O- or B-.

[44] nickname: Jess. Jessie, Jessus, Crazy Cat Lady.

[45] relationship status: Single.

[46] zodiac sign: Capricorn.

[47] pronouns: She/Her.

[48] fav tv show: I don’t have one at the moment. I’m not really watching anything. 

[49] tattoos: None. 

[50] right or left handed: Right.

FIRST…

[51] surgery: The only surgery I’ve ever had was when I got my wisdom teeth removed a couple of years ago. 

[52] piercing: Only my ears.

[53] best friend: I can’t remember. I had some close friendships when I was three or four, and I have pictures of these friends, but I couldn’t tell you what their names were. 

[54] sport: Figure Skating. 

[55] vacation: My family doesn’t do vacations. 

[56] pair of trainers: What??

RIGHT NOW…

[57] eating: I ate a delicious pasta stir fry for dinner not too long ago. 

[58] drinking: Root Beer and Whiskey. 

[59] i’m about to: Get myself ready for bed. 

[60] listening to: Nothing at the moment. 

[61] waiting for: My imminent death when I finally see my queen in the flesh on monday. RIP ME. 

[62] want: To get a good night’s sleep. 

[63] get married: HA! Nooo thank you. 

[64] career: What’s that?

WHICH IS BETTER…

[65] hugs or kisses: Hugs.

[66] lips or eyes: Eyes.

[67] shorter or taller: I might have a bit of a thing for taller women and slightly shorter men. 

[68] older or younger: Around my age is best. 

[70] nice arms or nice stomach: I want to say arms but I don’t really care. 

[71] sensitive or loud: I like a mix of both, but it depends on the person. 

[72] hook up or relationship: Relationship.

[73] troublemaker or hesitant: Somewhere in between is good. 

HAVE YOU EVER…

[74] kissed a stranger? Yes. 

[75] drank hard liquor? Yep. 

[76] lost glasses/contact lenses? I don’t wear either. 

[77] turned someone down: Yes. 

[78] sex on first date? No. 

[79] broken someone’s heart? It’s recently been decided that I might be an oblivious heart breaker. I like this headcanon so I’m sticking to it. 

[80] had your own heart broken? Nah. 

[81] been arrested? No. 

[82] cried when someone died? Yes.

[83] fallen for a friend: Eh. Kind of. Not like a long time friend. 

DO YOU BELIEVE IN…

[84] yourself? I’m learning to, yeah!

[85] miracles? Sure. 

[86] love at first sight? HA...no. 

[87] santa claus? OF COURSE. 

[89] angels? I’m gonna go with no. 

OTHER…

[90] current best friend’s name: WHERE DO I BEGIN. 

[91] eye colour: Green. 

[92] favourite movie: That is not a discussion you want to have with me.