#wahooooo life is good

[fridge-04]

Bigtop Burger giving Chris Fleming the first f-bomb of the series at such a crucial moment. This is why I fw worthikids for all time.

[chericheribaby]

ITS BEACH TIMEEEE

[lunarzomb]

Yellowjackets S3 EP7 spoilers below (just me rambling about my thoughts in no particular order)

GUYS.... I really enjoyed this episode !!!!!! The part at the beginning felt like it went a bit longer than it should have, but that could just have been me finding Joel McHale's character annoying straight from his first line and how he delivered it.

BUY GUYS, I LOVE HANNAH.... I'M GONNA CRY BECAUSE I KNOW THIS DOESN'T END WELL FOR HER. And I saw another one of my mooties guess that Hannah and pitgirl AND I FEAR THEY ARE RIGHT... Something that stood out to me in the adult timeline was when Van said that Gen and Mellissa had gotten close with Hannah, therefore she spent enough time with the girls to form at least some sort of relationship with some of them, and that's kinda making me go crazy. All of the new dynamics her introduction to the girls is going to create is going to be so interesting but I fear so so heartbreaking (Oh yeah and the Joel McHale guy is still alive,,, whatever. I don't really care for him). Hannah :( I need to draw her... she's such a cutie and the fact that she had a kid is fucking me up so much. I just can't even imagine what the rest of her time being alive is going to be like, I'm so scared for her.

OH YEAH AND LOTTIE STRAIGHT UP KILLING THAT GUY WITH AN AXE WHAT WILD... I was not expecting that type of kill at all. Also, I love how almost everyone else's attitude changed to being done with Lottie's shit and are still wanting to be rescued. ALSO I love how Misty barley even hesitated with blurting out that Ben died of natural causes ... I giggled. She is smart for coming up with an excuse that fast, but that part of the scene was still quite funny to me.

Also Misty loosing and possibly breaking her glasses :( ugh my poor sweet girl

Oh and I FUCKING CHEERED WHEN WE GOT CONFIRMED MELLISSA DEATH YESSSSSSS !!!!!! YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA HOW JOYUS THIS MAKES ME. Now, I know there still mayyy be a secret survivor, but AT LEAST IT WON'T BE MELLISSA !!! WAHOOOOO !!!

Ok onto the adult timeline... Misty <3 Hi Misty in Nat's jacket and her silly little grey crocs <3

YELLOWJACKETS ROAD TRIP, WHO ELSE CHEERED !!!!

Also, Shauna's DNA being found under Lottie's fingernails???? Huh??? I wonder how they're going to explain that one, cause I genuinely don't think Shauna killed Lottie.

ALSO THE VAN (ALMOST?) DEATH SCENE ???? INSANE.... I started freaking out and in some ways getting excited because of all the cool visuals we were getting in that scene, as well as freaking out because killing Nat, Lottie, AND Van would be crazy work, but honestly I think her time will be up soon...

On that note OTHER TAI... PLEASE LEAVE TAISSA ALONE, YOU ARE SCARY AND THE REAL TAI HAS BEEN TRAPPED SOMEWHERE DARKSIDED FOR GOD KNOWS HOW LONG SEEMINGLY SCARED FOR HER LIFE IN THAT ONCE SCENE FROM LAST EPISODE... I just... need someone to do something about that. I've never really been a fan of "other tai" in a story sense because I personally don't find it that interesting, but please guys save the real Taissa I love her and miss her.

Also Shauna leaving Misty, Tai, and a dying Van there at the hospital... sigh...

For a second, I started thinking that Hillary Swanks character would be Hannahs daughter in the adult timeline... but the person that Shauna was spying on at the end of the episode did not look like Hilary Swank... so I still don't have a good guess for who she'll be... BUT THANK GOD SHE ISN'T ADULT MELLISSA, SINCE SHE IS DEADDDDD.

Ok one last thing... Callie, my sweet sweet Callie, and poor Jeff. I wish the best for the both of them, but ESPECIALLY CALLIE. I will cry if anything bad happens to her.

If you read through the whole thing, you are my favorite mutual.

OKAY BYE GUYS !!!!

[finelinens1994]

helloooooooooo i'm recovered from top surgery :) i got it the day after i turned 30, so i'm starting the next decade of my life feeling more authentic and happier than ever tbh. obviously still restricted with movement but it's gone super well so far and i'm really happy with my results!! i haven't even cried yet, it's just feels so natural. like yeah, this is what i'm supposed to look like. i miss going buckwild at the gym so much though omg i can't wait to be fully healed so i can get back to it. while i've been away from tumblr i've been watching lots of tv and movies and doing some reading and it's been really nice. i also got into grad school and got my loans set up and stuff so i'm going to start on getting my information (library) science degree in a month! pretty amazing and hard to wrap my head around all the stuff going on for me lately... ahhhhh... hope you're all having good holidays so far :) gonna go take another awesome flat-chested shower wahooooo

[happy-mokka]

Happy birthday to me!!! 🎂

Yeah. Hi. It's me.

Middle-aged Aziraphale fangirl did his next big step in the direction of the big 50.

Wahooooo!

Not really…

I hate my birthdays.

Always did.

Even as a child.

Now as this middle-aged queerish-dude I am still having a hard time, standing in the middle of things and being cheered on by others.

I was born. Great. Get along, people, nothing to see here. Can you all just go home please?

"Well, what the f*ck are you doing here then, right now, with this post, in the middle of an internet platform in front of a bunch of strangers?!?"

some of you might ask.

And rightly so, I must add.

Way more than 12 hours before - it is now past 10 pm in Germany - so this morning after I woke up to be exact, I had seriously contemplated the possibility to call in sick on my birthday, and hide myself from the world, quietly sobbing on my couch.

For the first time in my working life of 24 years. I had always been to work on my birthdays. No exception.

But the past months had been hard. I never really felt in control of things, still don't.

Those who know me closer, know that I like to be in control.

Always a plan at hand. Always prepared…

Only that it didn't really work out…hasn't for quite a long time.

I just never admitted it to myself. Always kept on going.

My family was always good in repressing things.

Don't show weakness.

Keep on functioning.

What will the others think?

People depend on you!

My family also never really considered me being "a success story" by their standards.

I am unmarried. Don't have children. No big career.

Ok, I've put enough on the side to live a financial solid life in a nice appartment.

But the first part really nagged at them, and through them at me.

So I was already unhappy for quite some time.

Together with an ongoing above-average and ever growing work-load at the office, this feeling of unhappiness turned slowly into dread and then deep sadness, until I felt close to breaking with the beginning of today.

Now, almost 15 hours later, I am here, writing this sappy stuff and am genuinely happy for the first time in months.

"What changed?"

Well, I was thinking about this a lot in the past hour. While sitting in the bus and later while walking home.

Honestly? Nothing really changed.

I got my eyes opened and my perspective adjusted by someone very dear to me.

That's what friends are for, and she is the best of them. My bestie.

She is the one who got me addicted to Good Omens last year and pushed me onto this hellsite.

She brought me Doctor Who and the Tardis (yeah, I know, shame on me, coming so late to the game…).

She makes me constantly re-think my opinions and keeps opening new windows to look through on things I had missed or never noticed before.

She is challenging me on a daily basis to be more than I normally would go for or did for many years.

She became the closest friend I have ever had in my life.

Sure, I know lots of people a lot longer in years. Some since Kindergarten.

But none of them digged themselves so deep into the darkest corners of my soul.

Places not even my brother or my parents ever got to see.

She made me, a life long rather shy introvert, open up, despite the fact that she is even more introverted than I have ever been.

I still don't fully understand all of it, but here I am, writing all this to an unknown audience, as proof.

A year ago, this wouldn't have been possible, not even in my wildest dreams.

"So, you didn't realize this before?"

I did. It just got pushed aside by all the negative spiralling. Sometimes you don't see, what's right in front of you.

After work, I walked her home. I like doing that. Sometimes talking all the way. Sometimes just walking in silence side by side.

At her place she handed me 2 presents and just like that, it clicked.

Sometimes, it doesn't take much, if it comes from the heart…

People, meet my new Michael Sheen mug!!!

So, we basically bonded over Good Omens and as faith would have it, we are exactly Aziraphale (me) and Crowley (her) coded.

100%.

It makes me beyond happy, knowing that everytime I'll sip my coffee with my beloved Sheeny, on the other end of town she will sip her hot cocoa out of her corresponding new David Tennant mug.

Good Omens was not the only thing we found out to have in common.

The common ground sometimes is really breathtaking and we still regularly stumble over new things it contains.

So many things that we equally love. Books, movies, music, long walks, just sitting there in silence and taking in a beautiful view…

On the other hand, we are so different in so many aspects, but with the feeling of it rather complementing than dividing us.

She loves to chrochet, I can't even hammer a nail strait into a sponge.

Speaking of which, meet my 2nd gift: Audrey!!!!!!!!!

We watched "Little shop of Horrors" (the 1986 version with Rick Moranis) a few weeks ago. Both for the first time. Loved it.

I immediately fell for "Audrey", the flesh-eating alien plant. Didn't speak anything out loud, still it didn't go unnoticed…and, yes, it is hand-made!!!

*sigh*

"So, what am I trying to say here?"

Good qestion…

Life can be cruel.

Life will be hard at times.

It will make you cry, like, a lot.

Try to not go through all this alone.

Sometimes those that you least expect it from, turn out to become your anchor in the stormy sea or the lighthouse showing you the way.

Build your own little family of friends (even if its just one).

Hold them tight, once you found them.

Love them with all that's in you.

You will get it back ten fold.

Why?

L🥰ve!

@uncleadelheid-will-eat-your-soul , thanks for being all that for me, little introverted geeky metal edgelord office girl, and thanks for enduring my annoying love for bad jokes and even worse puns…

P.S.:

Sorry btw for the storm, lighthouse, anchor metaphors with you hating all that's related to the dark blue sea…I still didn't edit them out…maybe we'll be getting there. At least I left out fishy fish…

🐟🐠🐡🦈🌊🦑

[i-rate-horse-games]

starshine legacy playthrough part 4.3

i had a lot of glitches with the dialogue there… what did i miss… guess i’ll find out! ouch burnt my finger on my poor laptop

Level 3 - The Destiny of the Soulriders

oh ok thanks game!!

lisa referenced her dad but alex’s mom has a Portrait! impressive! and her roots are brown! so alex’s hair probably is also brown! that makes sense bc the Prophecy Fortold that the warrior would have brown hair but only the sightseer has brown hair. been wondering about that

girl WHAT are you planning with a lil kid wearing a soda hat

ah. she’s ransoming him for the horse. ok

i love how anne was all “ugh lisa’s crazy, talking about magic powers and talking to her horse… what’s that? my horse is talking to me? nah, i’m just stressed…” but alex never even questioned it. she just went straight from “oh, that’s my horse whose thoughts i can now hear” to “whoa, just like lisa and linda! cool…” like she just got shown a psychic vision and she’s not at all concerned about the mystical parts of that. good for her!

like she JUST got initiated into secret magic society and she doesn’t even know if mr herman has heard about it or believes in it or anything but instantly she’s like THIS HAPPENED in full confidence that he’ll believe it. alex rocks

FINALLY SOMEONE ADMITS THE PATH IS TREATUEROUSE ! Treah. trecharuous. treacherous . thanks autocorrecet

we just fell off a cliff into the sea… rip alex.

aw rats! fripp says katja is with the baddies…   …wait. wait, was katja the cool emo violinist who made storms who i met in sso? was that her??? i just noticed recently that the four girls in the sso loading image are Those Four… the plot thickenings!!

MURDER POWER MURDER POWER

so funny… big complex explanation to alex on how to use her powers by being in two worlds at once and then he just says “(click left mouse button)”. incredibly dangerous powers that can never be used… click left mouse button

wwwwWWAIT A SECOND! katja’s face is on the GLAMOUR POSTERS!! 

Level 4 - the legend of Garnok

alex just said she would simply Stun the goons with her power, the dangerous power, the power that takes life away,

in this chapter we learn that Garnok exists and is bad & lisa’s dad who works for the dark core just got summoned to the garnok project work site, so garnok is the thing sleeping in the spaceship under the sea and they’re about to be raised! wahooooo

Level 5 - Dark Core Garnok Project

aughh there’s 5 goons to murder without getting caught and i’ve been caught twice so far. this is major because there’s a cutscene and a trail to follow every time i have to restart the mission. murder is hard

wait…     there’s also a tunnel that goes under the sea straight to the garnok project that i’ve been walking past??? so what’s the place with the fight i’ve been going to, then??? mysterious…

ah, ok. gotta fight the goons in order to open the grate they’ve got on the tunnel to keep kids like me from breaking and entering. wah

I JUST ACCIDENTALLY SOULSTRIKED TIN CAN INSTEAD OF MOUNTING HIM

HE SURVIVED BUT EAHSFHKDJHN

i got to the keycard that i need to pick up but i couldn’t click to pick it up because it just kept doing the soulstrike again… guess i need to kill all of the goons first in order to get it…

i have lost track of the number of times i’ve restarted this mission

I GOT THE KEYCARD!!! and only killed 1 goon!

love it when you’re eavesdropping on a guy and he says “good thing that scary girl doesn’t have this book that i’m holding, otherwise she’d be able to defeat us! lmao ammiright lads”

NO I MISSED 

phew! it onlys sent me back to the tunnel!! i don’t have to get the keycard again!! thanks game!!!

missed again

my blast went over their head this time

ok we did all that to get a book about rules that even evil people follow during fights, and using it we can now banish people to the shadow dimension???? isn’t that anne’s thing? oh well

last part

[3000s]

hi speed you seem like itd be so epic nice to be your friend but also i could not keep up with how hot and funny you are to save my life, have a good day

wahooooo, thanks you too

[bailey-the-narrator]

WRITING FIC AGAIN WAHOOOOO

This is based on @insomniphic's Celebrity AU, introducing: Bailey as a celebrity chef!

“YOU FUCKING ASS, WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT CUTTING THE LETTUCE??!?”

Bailey sighs, his concerned eyes watching his Head Chef yelling at a poor Garde Manger who accidentally cut the vegetable not thin enough. He nudges Stanley a bit, letting him know to tone it down a bit, but all he gets is a sharp glare from the other. So he, unfortunately, has to let Stanley do his thing while he slowly collects the lettuce scraps and puts them in the vegetable scrap container.

Well, it’s been a part of his life as an Executive Chef in a five-star hotel, with the whole hotel’s restaurant becoming his playground to explore his vast creativity in food. The owner has been so kind as to let him do whatever he wants as long as it brings him profit in the end. Bailey doesn’t mind it at all.

His train of thought snaps when he feels a hand on his shoulder, and he tenses up, immediately throwing a look at whoever that is before his gaze finally softens at the sight of Mariella, the restaurant’s head waitress. Her expression can be described as frustration. “Chef, a guest wants to talk to you.” Her head gestures toward the opening gap between the kitchen and the dining hall, where he can see guests in front of the bar. “Table 5 is an influencer. She wanted meatless steak and kept insisting we have that as a secret menu here.”

The chef pinches the bridge of his nose, sighing again. “We don’t have meatless steak as a secret menu. We never have a secret menu in the first place.” God, he hates social media influencers so much.

“Exactly. Now tell the guest to shut up for me. I’ll call security in case things go south.” And Mariella takes off before he can stop her, leaving him behind in his increasing anxiety. Dealing with customers isn’t his strong suit, but alas, he often needs to do this as the face of the restaurant and the one who wrote most of the menu and recipes.

But Stanley would fuck it up. He’s too harsh for the guest, and Mariella would chew him out, so he can’t let his assistant do it either.

Yeah, he doesn’t have any choice other than to face her straight on.

He walks out of the kitchen, pulling out the cap that he wore and letting his messy black hair bun out. Blue eyes scan the dining area, spotting the target almost immediately due to a small phone tripod standing right on the table, where it most likely records the woman that sits right in front of it, waiting for someone.

“Excuse me, miss.” Bailey doesn’t waste any more time. He wants to do this fast. “My name is Chef Johnson, and I’ve heard from my waitress that you wanted to talk to me.”

The guest looks up at him, now pushing the phone tripod, camera lens pointing at him. “Yes, I heard from someone that you have a secret menu.” Her tone of voice sounds obnoxious and loud at the same time. He sees a few other guests turn their backs to see the ruckus.

“Apologies, but we never have a secret menu in the first place.” The first rule of customer service; apologise even when the guests are wrong. “We do have vegan options on the main course, like veggie curry and konjac fried rice-”

“Well, I know the owner. He told me about that menu in the first place.” She’s now half-yelling, getting attention from more patrons, making Bailey steps back subconsciously and slowly sink down mentally, feeling embarrassed. He knows she’s bullshitting. Mr Owner would’ve informed him a while ago to make her a different food.

“A good chef caters to every customer. A great chef wants to preserve their art in the food and not let people take the thing that makes it a part of you away.” 

Many eyes are watching him, putting pressure on the chef’s back, and his mind blurs out the woman’s continuous angry rant little by little until it’s nothing but echoes of blabs. He can feel his legs freezing in place, despite his urge to run from the confrontation.

“Be selfish, goddamnit! Don’t let those sous chefs step on you!”

…Huh?

Bailey lets out a small chuckle. Even when he’s alone, Stanley still helps him in his thoughts.

“-and obviously, there’s a saying that customer is king, so-”

“Apologies, but I disagree with that saying.” The chef’s voice volume rivals the woman as his face darkens, and his submissive stance vanishes as he straightens up his back, eyes sharpening with malice. “You are in my restaurant, where my staffs serve you food.” He leans closer toward the guest, expression cold.  “I’d say that staffs are part of the government, and you’re just a mere plebeian.”

A sudden silence encapsulates the whole dining area, with Bailey seeming to be the villain on the other side of this story. “You came here asking for something that does currently not exist in the menu that I wrote myself, and you brought the owner’s existence in this poor attempt of lying to back up your claim of the non-existent menu.” He swears he can smell the fear of the trembling patron in front of him. “You brought up the comparison between you and a head of a monarchy who doesn’t have much power in both political and government works in these modern days. You fucked up on that part, miss.”

The offended look on that woman’s face brought a slightly satisfied smirk to his face. “Excuse me?”

“You’re excused.” From the corner of his eyes, he sees Mariella and a couple of security guards approaching. Guess it’s time for a farewell. “You’ll be temporarily banned from this restaurant for a year or until you change your behaviour in treating restaurants like they’re your servants who’ll grant all your wishes.” He puts up his usual customer service smile. “Thank you, and goodbye.”

Bailey quickly turns around and leaves, letting Marielle with the rest of the problem, wiping the cold sweat on his forehead. The duty is over, and now he can return to his primary task.

He’s one inch away from banning influencers from the restaurant.

————

CAMEO (Luke by @corvidcrows and Narry by @insomniphic):

Ever so often, when the restaurant is closing up, Bailey and some staffs still stay inside together to talk. Some talks were about the guests, the other staff, or sometimes even accidents in the kitchen.

“Wh- TV show?” Bailey hesitantly points at himself. “Me? Got invited to a talk show?” And Mr Owner gives another firm nod, confirming his point. “Why? What did I do?”

Mr Owner gives a shrug. “Dunno. But I got a call from the TV station asking for you.”

His Patisserie, Bucky, grins from ear to ear. “That’s so cool, holy shit!” He jumps off of the counter and gently shakes the Executive Chef. “Mention my Twitch channel, please, so I can get famous too!”

The younger staff gets a shove from a very agitated Stanley, acting as the older man’s protective guard. “No, no touchy the chef. He doesn’t like sudden touches.” The Head Chef proceeds to hit him with a newspaper, albeit not too hard, and the Patisserie giggles.

“I think the TV host's name is Luke? He sounds…interesting.” Mariella shows her phone screens, showing a clip of what seems to be the mentioned man interviewing someone. “He sounds so stiff, but I think he’s alright.”

“In the meantime- Whoops!” Mr Owner pulls out a large box that has been sitting behind his back. “I got you something to wear at the interview because I know your closet is not fitting for any semi-formal wear.”

Bailey pouts, opening the box to see a pair of dark blue jeans and a hooded blue jacket with golden trims at the bottom and around the sleeves, neatly folded inside. The sight excites the chef, now babbling out of excitement as he wears the jacket. The jacket’s weight feels so right and baggy, and the fabric doesn’t make his skin itchy. The hood also covers the back of his head, and he feels a lot safer with the coverage.

“Aerrowpose has a lot of comfy designs, so I’d reckon you’d like that.” Mr Owner’s expression softens, fondly watching the chef’s giddy act. “I keep seeing the CEO wearing his own brand on TV, and I thought that if the chairman himself likes it a lot, then it’s the real deal.”

“Can I buy ten more of this?”

“No, Bailey, you can’t.”

[angelofthequeers]

Ladybug and Reine Nuit: Chapter 2

Origins II

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

If you don’t take the chance to spruce up Ladybug’s outfit, then what are you doing with your life?

Part 1 | Part 3 | AO3 link

For a moment, Alya is frozen, unable to do so much as breathe. The little cat yawns and stretches, then blinks, revealing brilliant green cat eyes.

“Uh –” Alya clears her throat and tries again. “Uh – what – guh?”

“Better than my last holder’s reaction,” the tiny cat drawls in a scratchy voice, then darts over to Alya’s computer. “Ooh, shiny! Can you eat this? No, you can’t,” he gags when he tries to bite a corner off the monitor.

“Um, hello!” Alya says in a high-pitched voice. “Less eating, more talking! What are you?”

This is all just a dream. It has to be. What other explanation is there for a talking cat appearing in her room?

“My name’s Plagg. I’m a kwami,” the little cat says. “I grant powers. Yours is the power of destruction. Got it?”

“Wait…” Something click’s in Alya’s brain and she shrieks and bounces on the spot. “You – powers – am I a superhero now?”

“Uh huh,” Plagg says. Alya squeals and snatches up the silver ring to slide it onto her right middle finger. “And no one can know I exist, you should have a partner to help out, yadda yadda, you know the drill. Seriously, you got anything to eat? I’m starving.”

“Omgomgomg yayayayayayay!” Alya throws herself into her blue beanbag chair, kicking and flailing. “I’m a superhero now! I get to go out and fight crime and save people and be badass and – and – wait.” She freezes and points out the window in the general direction of the giant stone monster. “Does that mean I have to fight that thing?”

“Uh huh,” Plagg says.

“How do I transform? Is there a magic word? Do I like – I dunno – do a dance or something?”

“You just gotta say claws out. Now, first thing you gotta know is –”

“Plagg, claws out!”

“Wait, I haven’t finished explainiiiiiing –!”

The ring on Alya’s finger pulses as Plagg is sucked into it, and she’s enveloped by bright green magic, cold and forceful and powerful. Although she’s not entirely sure why, she runs her fingers across her eyes from the bridge of her nose, then brushes a hand over her hair, then holds her other arm up in the air and does a twirl until the green sparkles fade away.

“Oh. My. God.” Looking down at herself, all Alya can see is shiny black leather. She rushes for her mirror, tripping over herself in her haste, and she lets out a high-pitched squeal of excitement when she catches sight of her reflection – her superhero reflection!

Her hazel eyes are now cat-like and bright green, with the whites of her eyes a paler green colour. Her features are concealed behind a black mask with two points above her eyes and one down her nose, like a cat nose and miniscule ears, and with a thin outline of neon green. She has fake black and green cat ears on her head, while her brown hair is pulled back into a bushy ponytail tied with a green ribbon, and she’s wearing a tight black suit with a high split neck and green trim, elbow-length bright green gloves, and thigh-high black boots with green around the tops. She’s also got a thin black belt around her waist that hangs behind her like a cat’s tail and a bright green cat’s paw on her chest, along with neon green cat paw pads on her black palms and fingers. A quick look at one of her boot soles confirms that her feet have the inverse: green soles and black paw pads.

No. Way. What. The. Heck. She looks just like a comic book superhero!

“This is the greatest day ever!” Alya grabs the baton resting at the small of her back and rushes over to her glass door to burst out on her balcony. She climbs onto the railing, takes a deep breath, then leaps.

“Wahooooo!” Alya shrieks before realising that she’s about two seconds from splatting on the road below. Acting purely on instinct, she shakes her baton to extend it into a staff and holds it above her head so that it catches on a street lamp, then grabs the other end with her other hand. The lamp acts as a hook, leaving her dangling, her vision blurring from the jarring force in her arms that should have dislocated her arms but strangely didn’t.

“Okay,” Alya groans, letting herself drop to the ground. “Lesson one: don’t go jumping off balconies two seconds after getting superpowers.”

She eyes up a nearby building, then looks at her staff, and then gives a rather shark-like grin. Using her staff as a vaulting pole and with the aid of what she can only assume are enhanced physical abilities, she manages to leap from the road to the roof of the building, letting out a hysterical laugh as the wind whooshes in her ears but the locks of hair hanging around her face magically stay put and don’t fall in her eyes.

“What else can this thing do?” she says. She frowns at a building across the street in the next block over, then throws her staff like a javelin and whistles when it nestles neatly against the other building, laid between that one and the one she’s on like a tightrope. “Should I? I mean…I can’t die if I fall, can I?”

There’s no response from Plagg. With a sigh, Alya gingerly places one foot on the staff, then the other, then thrusts her arms out on either side and ever so carefully inches across. Don’t look down, don’t look down…

“Hey, I think I’m getting it!” Alya says. Almost as if in response, there’s a shrill scream that steadily grows louder and louder, and Alya looks up just in time to catch sight of a red figure hurtling through the air before crashing into her. Thankfully, the figure has some sort of string-rope-thing that catches their fall and leaves them dangling in mid-air from Alya’s staff, bound front-to-front, although Alya’s currently too busy trying to coax her stomach out of her throat to really pay attention to what it is.

When they finally stop swinging from side to side and Alya manages to regain a few of her brain cells, she realises that it’s a yo-yo. And the wielder of the yo-yo is a girl who looks absolutely terrified.

“Uh…hi!” Alya grins. “Your first day too?”

“How could you tell?” the other girl says with a faint laugh, finally managing to untangle them. Alya nimbly lands on her feet, but the other girl is a lot clumsier and nearly crashes on her face. “Sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose!”

“No sweat, girl,” Alya says. “At least you didn’t nearly rip your arms out of your sockets.” She finally gets a good look at the other girl, who’s wearing a tight suit that’s red with black spots over her chest and upper arms, with a black abdomen, ladybug-patterned legs, and black elbow-length gloves and knee-length boots. Her jet-black hair is red-tipped and in pigtails, tied with red ribbons, and the eyes behind her ladybug-patterned mask are a brilliant shade of blue.

“Ouch,” the girl winces. “That sounds painful.”

“Oh, you bet.” Alya nudges the girl. “Anyway, you must be the partner my kwami told me about! I’m…hmm, okay, hold up. I gotta think of the perfect name!”

“I take it you’re a fan of superheroes?” the girl says.

“Am I ever! How about…Chatte Noire! Nah, too simple. I’m literally just calling myself ‘black cat’ in French.”

“Well, I’m Ma – er – Mar – uh…” The girl pulls her yo-yo free of Alya’s staff. Alya winces and groans when the end of it slams her on the head, but it also brings her staff down with it, so she bends down to grab it. “Madly clumsy! I’m so clumsy. And sorry. So sorry.”

“All good, clumsy girl,” Alya says. “I don’t have any more of an idea what I’m doing. Hmm…Patte d’Ébène? Ugh, no, that so doesn’t sound heroic. That sounds like some fancy rich meal.”

The ground beneath them suddenly rumbles, causing Alya to nearly trip over her own feet despite her enhanced reflexes. A tall building crumbles to the ground nearby, and Alya immediately starts running in that direction, using her staff to propel her to a nearby rooftop.

“Hey! Where are you going?” ladybug girl cries.

“Uh, to save Paris, right?” Alya calls back, then takes off again. “Dame Lune? Eh, that doesn’t feel right. Ugh, how does Majestia even do this?”

.

The stone monster turns out to be at the stadium, cornering one of Alya’s new classmates – Kim, judging by the monster’s cries.

“Hey!” Alya nimbly lands in front of Kim, shielding him from the monster. “Pick on someone your own size! Oh my god, that’s the actual cheesiest line. Can I have a do-over intro?”

“Huh?” the monster says. Rolling her eyes, Alya lets out a war cry and charges to slam her staff into the monster…and promptly gets her ass handed to her when it just grows bigger after she hits it and then flicks her away.

“Ow,” Alya moans. She untangles herself from the soccer net and runs at the monster again, but it lets out a rumbling, almost bored sigh and throws her into a row of seats around the stadium. Thank god for kwami superpowers, because otherwise Alya’s spine would totally be smashed to pieces right about now. On the other side of the stadium, at the very top, Alya spots the ladybug girl covering her mouth, making no attempt to jump in and help.

Okay, if Alya has to pull both their weights, she’s gonna be super pissed.

“You can do it, red bug hero!” calls a voice from nearby. Once she’s managed to extract herself, Alya pinpoints the source as the Adrien kid, who’s crouching near the entrance to the inside of the stadium, recording the fight on his phone with wonder in his eyes. Why is he even here? He hadn’t come along to P.E.; Alya distinctly remembers him asking to talk to Marinette back in the library.

Apparently, Adrien seems to have no sense of self-preservation, because he doesn’t move when the stone monster growls and rips up a soccer net, then hurls it in his direction. It’s purely instinct – adrenaline surges through her – Alya bounds across the stadium and throws her staff to catch the net above Adrien’s head. At the same time, a yo-yo comes hurtling out of nowhere, wraps itself around Adrien’s waist, and yanks him out of harm’s way so that Alya can retrieve her baton and let the net fall to the ground harmlessly.

“About time!” Alya says to ladybug girl.

“Sorry!” ladybug girl says. “I’m just…really not up to this.”

“You think I’ve had any experience before today either?” Alya says. “Let’s turn this guy into dust!”

“Kick his butt, awesome superhero girls!” Adrien calls from a safe distance.

“Excuse me, but the name’s…uh…Reine…Nuit…Reine Nuit! Yeah, Reine Nuit!” Alya – Reine Nuit – snaps her fingers. “Perfect!”

“Have you noticed now he grows bigger and stronger with every attack?” ladybug girl says. “We have to do something different.”

“Any ideas?” Reine Nuit says. Ladybug girl frowns.

“What’s your superpower?” she says.

“Uh…my superpower?” Reine Nuit says. “I mean, I’ve got super senses, this awesome staff –”

“No, no, you should have a special power!”

Reine Nuit blinks. “Shit. Maybe I should’ve let my kwami explain everything before I transformed.”

Ladybug girl snorts. “You think? I guess it’s up to me. Lucky Charm!” She tosses her yo-yo into the air and catches a ladybug-patterned wetsuit.

“Umm…handy?” Reine Nuit says. “So, uh, what’s the plan?”

“My kwami told me I have to break the object where the whatchamacallit – er, the akuma is hidden.”

“He’s literally made of stone,” Reine Nuit deadpans. “Unless you can figure out which rock –”

“His right hand!” Ladybug girl points. “It’s still closed! He never opens it. It’s like the Russian dolls – the object isn’t on him, it’s hidden in his fist!”

“Huh. Smart and cute.” Reine Nuit winks. “I reckon we’ll get along just fine. What’s your plan, red bug hero?”

“Hmm…”

Okay, Reine Nuit is eternally grateful that she didn’t end up with the Ladybug Miraculous. Ladybug girl’s plan involves sticking a hose into the Lucky Charm suit, yeeting Reine Nuit and then herself at the stone monster to make it drop the akuma, then getting Adrien to turn the hose on to inflate the suit and force the monster to let ladybug girl go. Once she’s free, ladybug girl smashes the dark object to bits, releasing a purple-veined butterfly that goes flapping off into the distance.

“Yeowch!” Reine Nuit cries when the stone monster dissolves into another classmate of hers and sends her crashing to the ground. “That. Was. So. Cool!”

“What’s going on?” the burly boy groans, rubbing his head, “What am I doing here?”

“You were incredible, red bug hero!” Reine Nuit gushes, jumping to her feet. “You did it!”

“Ladybug. Call me Ladybug. And we both did it,” ladybug girl – Ladybug – corrects. Purely by instinct, they punch at each other in a fist-bump, declaring, “Pound it!”

“Uh, what’s that?” Reine Nuit says when Ladybug’s earrings give off a loud beep.

“We’ve only got five minutes after we use our power before we transform back,” Ladybug says. “You should go. Our identities must remain a secret!”

“Yeah, yeah, first rule of superheroing,” Reine Nuit says. She bounds away, calling, “Until next time!” over her shoulder.

In the high of defeating a real live supervillain, Reine Nuit doesn’t realise that she’s forgotten to get one crucial detail from Plagg: how to turn back into herself. It’s not until she’s in her room that it hits her.

“Crud,” she says. “Uh…claws out? Detransform? Back to Alya?”

Nothing happens.

“I can’t be like this forever!” Reine Nuit cries. “I mean, not that I’d hate being a superhero forever, but I have a life and a family, and everyone will know who I am if I don’t turn back and –” She groans and facepalms. “That’ll teach me to rush ahead without listening to the magic black cat.”

Pouting, she slumps on her bed, fiddling with her ring, which is now black with a tiny green cat’s paw. She wriggles it off her finger, then gasps when she’s enveloped in bright green light that devours her suit and leaves her as just plain Alya again.

“Oh,” Alya says. “Uh…that should’ve been obvious.”

“Next time, you might wanna try not rudely interrupting me,” Plagg says when he’s zipped out of the ring and sprawled across Alya’s bed. “Claws in to detransform, by the way.”

“Right. Sorry.” Alya sits down on the bed next to the tiny kwami. “So, uh…what’s my superpower? If Ladybug’s is Lucky Charm –”

“Cataclysm.” Plagg says. “Destroys anything you touch. One-time use before you turn back. I’m so hungry!”

Alya blinks at him.

“What?” he says sullenly. “I gotta keep my strength up somehow. No food for moi, no more superhero for toi.”

“Ugh, fine,” Alya says. “Wait, what do you even eat, anyway?”

Plagg’s eyes light up. “Camembert! Beautiful, rich, stinky Camembert!”

“…Great.” Alya facepalms. “Now I’m gonna stink of cheese. Well…small price to pay for being a superhero, I suppose.” The words send a thrill through her.  

“Damn right,” Plagg says. “Where’s my Camembert?”

“Alright, cat face,” Alya sighs, pushing herself back to her feet. “Wait here. I’ll get your icky cheese.”

Plagg’s cheers follow her out of the room. She pauses outside her door, shakes her head, then smiles and heads for the kitchen. Alya Césaire is now a superhero! Who would’ve ever dreamt that this would happen to her?

[celloyougotabasss]

Benjamin Francis Leftwich

On Thursday 5th April 2019, I had the absolute honour and privilege of watching Benjamin Francis Leftwich in Leamington Assembly, as well as his amazing support acts, Rosie Carney and Joe Dolman.

Bit of context: Benjamin Francis Leftwich (BFL for short) has been in my life (emotionally, lol) since probably year 11 I’d say? His first album ‘Last Smoke Before The Snowstorm (2011)’ tied in perfectly with my love for Ben Howard and Joshua Radin at the time – male acoustic singer songwriter. In hindsight, I think the reason why I loved him so much was because of the depth of his lyrics. It wasn’t just songs that meant nothing or just something on the surface level and you move on from; each song had purpose and a meaning, even if it wasn’t the meaning he intended, you could design it yourself.

Anyhoo – after that we all patiently waited 5 years for his next album ‘After the Rain (2016)’ (SO many good songs on there) followed by where we are now, 3 years later, with his most recent album called ‘Gratitude (2019)’. In between the release of his first and second album, BFL went super quiet on social media and making music. He later released a letter on his website – explaining that in April 2013, he had tragically lost his father to cancer. He said in an interview, ‘I was helpless. Without purpose… It was as if the sun had been sucked out of my sky in the most unfair and unexpected way. It totally broke me.’ (really interesting read the interview actually – here’s the link: http://diymag.com/2016/07/07/benjamin-francis-leftwich-interview-after-the-rain ).

Some might assume that the title of ‘After the Rain’ symbolises healing from the pain of his dad’s passing? Perhaps the title ‘Gratitude’ is a reflection of his past and cherishing all he has now? Who knows. I just think that something so life changing is important to consider when listening to the singers’ lyrics, to gain their understanding of the song.

Okay so, THE GIG! The venue itself was beautiful. I was there with my pal Jim (yes I know, Rosie and Jim hehe) and we were so taken back by the room; sooooo beautiful and intimate. We were eager beavers and fortunately got front row seats - unreal.

Joe Dolman started off the show – a REAL treat to see him! So talented and enthusiastic. He has an incredible song called ‘Close to Home’ with a music video which is second to none. Please take the time to watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBHOl_-357E

Rosie Carney popped up next, and YES, she had a cellist alongside her wahooooo!! My fave song of hers is called Thousand – her voice with Lisa Hannigan’s make me think of melted chocolate. They just blend, so perfectly. I think I would describe Rosie’s voice as haunting, but in a very enchanting and lovable way – she reminds me loads of Fenne Lily and Billie Marten. Big up female singer songwriters!! Again, a real treat to watch her.

This only left the main guy himself. The B F of L. Mr Benjamin Francis Leftwich.

I don’t really know how to summarise or try and describe the evening – it was… sensational? Breath taking? Better than my wildest dreams? Along those lines. After every song, Jim and I turned to each other, mouths open in shock of how AWE inspiring he was.

He created this safe, intimate space for us as an audience and himself. It was as if these songs were his deepest secrets and he was playing them just for us – I felt so lucky to be there, hearing and watching him. He was beautifully accomanpied by ‘Lowpines’ (that’s his insta name and the only place I can find him ☹ ) and he also sang sweet sweet harms as well.

I’ve seen BFL before, but nothing felt as special as this. Being so close probably helped, but it really did feel like a performance of a lifetime. He played songs from across all 3 albums. He even jumped down from the stage for a few songs and his encore to perform which was just precious.

I was uncontrollably ecstatic when at the end of the gig, BFL said he would wait around to talk to any fans who wanted a chat. EERRRRMMM YEP THAT WILL BE ME THANKS!! So yes, I did get to meet an idol of mine and yes he was even MORE lovely and kind and appreciative than I thought he would be! I didn’t know what to say so I  said he was basically Jesus and then I forget the rest. I think I got my point across though!!

As well as this, Jim was able to have a really decent conversation with him about his campaign called ‘Save9Lives’ – representing the statistic that 1 organ donation can save 9 peoples lives. BFL was so touched by Jim and his condition, and gladly took the plectrum and card Jim gave him with extra information on it. Just a proper, warm and caring human being. He took the time to talk to all the fans there and he just seemed so happy and like I’ve already said, but appreciative of what was going on.

So yeah – to sum it up – if you haven’t listened to BFL already, listen to him. If you have already listened to him, then just listen again! I feel so pumped and buzzed still from the gig and it was a week ago!

Long one from me I know, but I just can’t help it when I feel passionate – which I do with music and most definitely BFL.

Thanks for reading guys, I’ll be back Sunday for My Top Notes #2! Ciao xx

[ellewords]

HELLO!! once again it’s been a while since i’ve dropped by and i do apologize ;;w;; school has got me busier than i expected, but i recently finished most of my midterms so i decided to drop by^^ i’ve slowly been catching up with what’s been going on here, and i’m glad that you were able to recover from your sickness!!

OH YEAH i can’t forget the matchup you did for me a while back, and i loved it!! i’m so happy you decided to go with an idol au and i honestly didn’t expect it haha (the fact that people requested MORE of it after my initial request will just always warm my heart) kageyama my beloved…..he’s so cute ahhhhh!!!!

HIM AND OIKAWA THOUGH…….OOGH THAT’D BE SUCH A DIFFICULT DECISION LOL

speaking of idols, i listened to seventeen's rock with you back and it's so good! the music video is so pretty^^ and of course i can't forget the feels from our twice girls WAHOOOOO gosh i can't believe they're already releasing their third album soon?? it feels like just not too long ago i was excited for i can't stop me and now we have formula of love…..eyes wide open was such a solid album and i’m excited to see what their next one is gonna bring to the table!!

anyways, i hope you’re doing alright!! i saw you changed your theme, and though the legally blonde one will always be iconic, we’ve entered a new era!! good luck on midterms!!—🌸💫

HI LOVE OMG IT'S BEEN FOREVER IMY SM!! <33

ah, congrats on finishing most of your midterms! so proud of you- you're doing so well! good luck with the rest of it, I'm rooting for you always!! :D

glad you liked your matchup!! when read your ask, I just knew that I had to do an idol au with some of the best boys...it truly means a lot to me that you enjoyed it <3

ROCK WITH YOU!! oh gosh please all of them looked so so good, coups wrecked me so hard with this comeback-- that 'won't let them break your heart' ugh?? it's a yes from me :> and formula of love too!! 'm so hyped, the feels has been stuck in my head ever since it came out so I can't wait to see what the rest of the album has in store :))

I'm doing alright, just trying to catch up on all the uni work I missed when I got sick + midterms stuff :( and yes yes new theme!! new era, but legally blonde will always be missed </3

finally, no need to apologise for not dropping by. I understand that real life tends to be a lot and this blog (and me) will always be here whenever you need a break <3 take care, lovely!

[whindsor]

all the evens for mika!!!

WAHOOOOO

2: Where does your OC work? Mika works for a thus far unnamed global tech company where she does programming and coding!

4: Does your OC prefer paper or plastic? Oh she’s for sure made some reusable bags out of old tshirts!

6: Does your OC have any supernatural powers? Besides being painfully observant? Nope!

8: What are some of your OCs strengths? She’s very smart and observant, as well as outgoing. 

10: What is your OCs favorite outfit? She has a very soft pair of leggings and a big flannel shirt. She only wears it at home, but it makes her feel safe and comfortable.

12: Is your OC sexually active? More or less, when she’s in the mood and can find a consenting partner.

14: Does your OC have a cell phone? If so, what kind? Yes, the most recent iPhone plus. She does a lot of work on her phone, so she likes for it to be modern and big.

16: When is your OCs favorite time of year? Summer. She lives for the warmth and the sun and the long days she can spend outside.

18: What kind of underwear does your OC wear? Comfortable ones, mainly bikini cut. She has some lacy numbers for special occasions, but she’s more for comfort than style.

20: What’s your OCs favorite kind of pizza? Mushroom and olive. Loves her veggies!

22: Has your OC ever killed someone? Nope! She’s pretty much lived a relatively normal life thus far.

24: What does your OC smell like? She has a new lotion called “Love and Sunshine” that she’s obsessed with. She can’t make out most of the scents, but thinks there’s citrus.

26: Is your OC a human or an animal? (or something else idk) Human.

28: Does your OC like anime? She’s enjoyed the little bit of it that she’s seen!

30: What does your OC choose to do about the, er, hair down there? Tries to keep it waxed, cause she doesn’t want to have to deal with it.

32: Did your OC go to college? What did they major in? She has a degree in computer science!

34: Is your OC religious? Not very. She thinks there’s a God, but doesn’t like how people get wrapped up in the dogma of religion.

36: What turns your OC on? Confidence. Boldness. Honesty. 

38: Does your OC have any pets? No, though she wouldn’t mind moving into the mountains with a bunch of animals.

40: What is the craziest thing your OC has done? Moved halfway across the country without knowing anyone.

42: Does your OC drink coffee or tea? Both! Depends on her mood.

44: What color eyes does your OC have? Brown!

46: Is your OC loyal? Tremendously so.

48: What social class is your OC from? Middle class.

50: Does your OC cry easily? Absolutely. Commercials with dogs - cries. Seeing proposals - cries. Very small kittens - cries. Out of cake - cries.

52: How does your OC feel about insects? She doesn’t mind them as long as they’re outside in nature where they belong.

54: Does your OC smoke? No, she thinks it’s pretty gross. Plus, it’s very unhealthy, and she plans to live to 108 so she can beat her grandmother.

56: What kind of clothes does your OC wear? Mainly comfortable casual wear. She doesn’t have to dress professionally for work, but likes to keep things relatively cute to make good first impressions.

58: Is your OC introverted or extroverted? Extroverted for sure. She has her days where she prefers to be at home, but more often than not she’s happy to be with people and make new friends.

60: Does your OC enjoy nature? She does! She likes to hike and be outside and feel the sun on her face and the wind in her hair.

[redrikki]

Another Word For Nothing Left to Lose!

I wrote this for round one of @jedifest‘s rogue robin challenge. The idea was to write an open-ended story that the folks in the next round could build on. The original story can be found here. DVD commentary under the cut. 

Qui-Gon Jinn’s body burned and Anakin’s future burned with it. The hair caught first, then the clothes. The body had been doused with some sort of accelerant, but the flesh was still slow to burn. The stench of overcooked meat and broken promises turned Anakin’s stomach and made his eyes water.

I’m no expert, but, from what I understand, unless they pre-dried the body, not only will Qui-Gon take forever to burn, he will smell really unpleasant while he does it.

Anakin tried to blink back his tears, feeling sorrier for himself than he did for Master Jinn. The Jedi was gone, all his troubles ended, but Anakin was stuck with all his troubles just begun. He took a shuddering breath, his lip quivering. If only the man had kept his promises. Anakin would become a Jedi and Master Jinn would free him. That was the deal, the whole reason he’d agreed to leave his mom, but it was all just a steaming pile of bantha shit. The Jedi didn’t want anything to do with him, and now Master Jinn couldn’t free Anakin if he tried.

Anakin began to cry in earnest. The Jedi were gonna sell him for sure. He may be too old and too dangerous to keep around, but he was worth a lot of money. Probably even more now that everyone knew what a good pilot he was. If he was lucky, they’d sell him to racing team, but if he was’t he’d end up with someone worse than Gardulla the Hutt. Unless the Jedi didn’t own him at all. Who knew who Master Jinn’s heir was? Anakin hoped it wasn’t Obi-Wan. The man hated him so much he was sure to sell him someplace awful.

After what Obi-Wan said about Anakin being dangerous, is it any surprise Anakin thinks he hates him?

Obi-Wan turned to look at him as though drawn by Anakin’s thoughts. “Anakin, what’s wrong?” he asked like they weren’t at a funeral. Obi-Wan’s eyes were as dry as Tatooine and his face was almost eerily calm. These stupid Jedi were so against loving people they didn’t even know how to mourn properly. Except, come to think of it, Anakin had heard him call Qui-Gon master. Anakin figured he’d have a hard time faking sad if Watto had died.

“Our Master’s dead.” Anakin rubbed his leaking nose with his sleeve. “Who even owns me now?”


One of the defining features of Anakin and Obi-Wan’s relationship was their utter failure to understand each other. They both have entirely different understandings of the world. For Anakin, a Master is the person who owns you and you hate and fear them. For Obi-Wan, a Master is your teacher and you love and respect them. 

Obi-Wan recoiled like Anakin had slapped him, his eyes widening in horror. He swallowed hard, his face paling. “What? No. You-” Obi-Wan jerked his head back around towards the fire. His hood hid his face, but Anakin sensed grief, guilt, and anger. He considered apologizing on the off chance that Obi-Wan really was his new owner, but then the man said “No one owns you, Anakin. You’re free.”

Here, Obi-Wan starts to grasp the idea that maybe Anakin has a different understanding of the world then he does. Too bad he doesn’t get it quite enough.

“Oh.” A slow smile spread across Anakin’s face. Master Jinn had kept his promise after all.

****

Freedom was a funny, hollow feeling, like a day without food crossed with that moment between an engine failing and the start of a fall. For the first time in his life, Anakin woke up the morning after Qui-Gon’s funeral with no master to give him orders. Or at least not any orders he had to obey. Obi-Wan certainly tried to boss him plenty. It was all “do this”, “do that", “go wash up,” and “stop fiddling with that droid and eat some breakfast.”

Obi-Wan is bossy. 

Anakin did most of what he was told cause there was no reason not to, but then Obi-Wan told him to stay in their suite while he ran an errand. Well, that wasn’t happening. Anakin didn’t know much about being free, but he did know some things. If you didn’t have a master paying for your food, you needed to buy it yourself. Anakin would have to get a job for that and he certainly wasn’t going to find one here. He’d miss Padmé, but fancy castles didn’t have much need for pod racers or scruffy mechanics. Besides, as long as the Jedi were here, it wasn’t safe to stick around.

They thought he was dangerous, and Anakin knew how the galaxy worked. He’d found a nest of Sand Strangler eggs in the junkyard back when he was six. Anakin had been all for letting them hatch, but Watto wasn’t having any of it. “You don’t let little dangers grow into big ones, Ani,” he’d said. “You crush them before they can crush you.” Then he’d gotten a big old hydrospanner and done just that.

The Council was afraid of Anakin and the threat they thought he could become and so Anakin was afraid of them. I don’t think either group ever lost their fear of each other. I this verse, I’m sure his escape has them scared shitless about what he might be up to outside of their supervision. 

Well, Anakin wasn’t waiting around to get crushed. The second Obi-Wan was out the door, he abandoned the broken battle droid he’d been messing with and started packing. He’d need his tools, of course. After a moment’s hesitation, he scavenged the droid for some of the rarer, lighter parts. They weren’t much use outside of the droid, but he might be able to sell them for some food if he couldn’t find work. He tossed in his second set of small clothes and extra pair of socks. Lastly, he added the rolls and fruit he’d managed to filch from the breakfast tray while Obi-Wan wasn’t looking. He felt bad about stealing the napkin he had wrapped them in and hoped Padmé would forgive him.

I really like the idea of Anakin feeling bad about steeling a napkin. When you have nothing, that’s a big deal.

Before he had left Tatooine, his mom had slipped a japor snippet in the front pouch of his satchel for luck. Anakin took it out now and pressed it to his forehead. “I’m coming back,” he whispered. It wouldn’t be today, and he wouldn’t be a Jedi, but he was going back to Tatooine. Just as soon as he had a ship and a chip scanner, he would steal his mom and Kister and anyone else who wanted to come. That was a promise. He kissed the snippet and dropped it back into the pouch. Then he went to the door and looked up and down the hall.

In addition to putting Anakin in the same suite as Obi-Wan, Padmé’s staff had given the Jedi rooms right across the hall. They would stop him for sure if they caught him trying to escape. It seemed like the coast was clear, but then he heard it, the tap, tap, tap of the little green troll-man’s cane on the floor. Anakin ducked back into the room just as the troll and the bald, dark-skinned human man rounded the corner. They were talking too quietly for Anakin to hear, but what they were saying didn’t matter. What mattered was that they were blocking his only way out of here.

Or were they? Anakin’s room had a window overlooking the city. It was a long way to the ground, but there were two lower towers in between like steps in a giant staircase. Anakin raced to his bedroom and threw open the window. The air outside felt strange, cool and damp with the sharp smell of ozone. The sky to the west was turning dark. Back home that would have meant a sandstorm was about to blow in, but Anakin had no idea what it meant here. Naboo didn’t exactly have a lot of sand.

Once again, have a moment of missed signals. Anakin doesn’t have the right context to understand what a storm on Naboo looks like. 

After a moment’s hesitation, Anakin hoisted himself up through the window and onto the narrow ledge. He nearly overbalanced with the weight of his satchel, but managed to catch himself on the window frame. “Whoah,” he gasped, his heart pounding. He was a lot higher up than he had thought, and the lower tower wasn’t exactly close either.

Going into this, I had a very clear image in my head of the escape, but I wasn’t really sure how to articulate it. I always feel a bit shy when writing any real action sequences. I think it came out more or less okay. 

Biting his lip, Anakin glanced longingly back at the room over his shoulder. If only the Jedi would leave, but he could sense them in the Force, waiting. He couldn’t just walk out the door, he had to make this jump. It was like his mom said, wish all you want, but work with what the galaxy gives you. Anakin took a deep breath and turned back. Qui-Gon said he had Force powers and Qui-Gon had never lied to him. He could do this. The Force was with him. His focus determined reality.

Anakin takes Qio-Gon at his word without quite understanding what it means. It’s a running theme.

Gripping the window frame, Anakin leaned back to build up some momentum. His hands were slick with sweat. Focus determined reality. “The Force is with me, the Force is with me,” he chanted and flung himself into the air.

“Wahooooo, ugh.” Anakin’s breath was driven from his lungs as he slammed into the dome of the lower tower. He started to slide down, but, after some frantic scrambling, managed to pull himself to the top. The wind had picked up and the sky was a dark grey, but it didn’t feel ominous. If anything, the cool breeze felt refreshing after the terror of the jump. The next tower was even farther away, but Anakin knew he could make it. There was plenty of space for a running start, and besides, the Force was with him.

By this point, Anakin is having fun with the running and jumping and flying. Wheeee!

The last tower was a story-and-a-half to the ground. Anakin fell like a feather and landed on the softest grass in the galaxy. They sky opened up the second he touched the ground. It took him a second to realize what was happening. He’d heard spacer stories about it, but he’d never imagined rain like this. Every drop felt like a wet kiss across his face and hair. It was a welcoming, a blessing. Laughing, Anakin spread his arms wide and let the rain wash away the last dust of Tatooine and slavery.

I loved this image. I’m so proud of how it turned out. 

****

Despite his best efforts, Obi-Wan didn’t make it back to the palace before the rain. It had proved ridiculously difficult to find a child-sized Jedi tunic in Theed. Of course the Council hadn’t brought one, and it seemed that not even Naboo peasants would be caught dead wearing something so plain. The seamstress Obi-Wan had eventually found to make it had asked him repeatedly if he was sure he didn’t want another color or at least some embroidery before finally taking his word for it. Anakin didn’t need a Jedi tunic. They could do the Padawan-bonding ceremony in the same foul clothes he’d worn since Tatooine, but Obi-Wan wanted this done right. He owed Qui-Gon that much.

Obi-Wan took on Anakin because of his love to Qui-Gon. Eventually, he came to love Anakin in his own right, but he’s not there yet. 

Shaking the rain off his cloak, Obi-Wan stepped into the suite. “Anakin,” he called as he dropped the cloak to the floor. Qui-Gon would have made him hang it up to dry, but he could do that while Anakin got changed. Where was that boy? “Anakin?”

The broken battle droid he’d been mucking around with was still sprawled across the sitting room floor, but the boy was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he had taken a nap. Thunderstorms often made Obi-Wan sleepy, maybe they had the same effect on Anakin.

Obi-Wan tapped on the bedroom door, but received no reply. He huffed and knocked harder. “Anakin, get out here right now. I have something for you.” Still no answer, so he opened the door and stepped inside.

Anakin wasn’t there. The cold rain blew in through the open window to form a puddle on the floor. Anakin’s tunic slipped from Obi-Wan’s nerveless fingers. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

You done screwed up, son. In the movie, Obi-Wan tells Anakin straight up that he’s his master now. In this, Obi-Wan assures him he’s free and fails to mention that he’ll be Obi-Wan’s new student. Obi-Wan was planning on surprising him. Jokes on him. 

[abiteofnat]

EATING MY WAY THROUGH THE BIG APPLE SANS ANY APPLES, PART 2

Because even though I don’t live in New York, I seem to be there a whole lot and eat my weight in donuts each time. Spin me in a circle three times with a blindfold on and I will somehow still find a donut in Manhattan. They’re everywhere, and they’re everything to me. In the last 72-hour whirlwind visit I ate at a ton of new places, walked the Brooklyn Bridge, bought a dress at a sample sale that makes me feel like Lady Gaga in her Eh Eh, Nothing Else I Can Say music video and discovered that rose-infused water makes my skin glow like a baby. Who the fuck needs rose-infused water? I don’t, but when in New York, why not! Should you want to embrace springtime NYC, I give you the perfect list of where to eat/drink/delight... WAHOOOOO. 

1. Javelina, Flatiron 

Javelina combines all of my great loves in life. Prickly pear margaritas, TWO TYPES OF QUESO and a loud/busy environment perfect for having entirely inappropriate conversations without anyone else hearing. This casual dig in Flatiron is the perfect no-fuss place to meet a friend for drinks and appetizers, as the menu is geared toward sharing and it is high-quality without being stuffy. Tex-Mex and NYC are an interesting concept when blended together, but that’s what makes this relatively ambiguous place so special- it’s good, casual food and strong, no-frill drinks. Not like an NYC restaurant at all, and entirely delicious. Get both types of queso- they are spicy, full of flavor and can be eaten with a chip or by spoon. I wish I was kidding, but I definitely did that. 

2. Dominique Ansel, SoHo

IT MUST BE SOMETHING IN THE WATER. Whatever the fuck makes NYC croissants/bagels/pastries so fluffy and yet perfectly chewy, Chicago does not have. Our croissants are flat imposters. Should you be in SoHo looking for a pastry sent from God himself, please go to Dominique Ansel and get whatever cronut they have available (the flavors change each month). I was lucky enough to score a blueberry jam and Earl Grey cronut, which is truly the best combination in the world for a pastry. The flaky layers of the cronut paired with the tart blueberry jam seeping through each bite were incredible enough, but add the light layer of icing infused with Earl Grey tea on top? UNREAL. The accompanying cappuccino I ordered was rich and frothy, making for an unparalleled breakfast. I wish I got two of the cronuts- and pro tip, you’re only allowed to order two at a time! So come with friends or get ready to put on a fake mustache and beret and get back in line if you want more. 

3. The Wild Sun, Meatpacking 

You want a filling but healthy brunch? You want a drank that will make you feel like you just did hot yoga for four hours? Go to The Wild Sun in Meatpacking and enter what may be the perfect brunch spot. The food is simple yet entirely original, with breakfast sandwiches featuring cauliflower and pickled onions along with scrambled eggs and cilantro aioli, and smashed fingerling potatoes topped with rock salt chunks, and the drink menu is unlike anything I've ever seen. Charcoal lemonade, bright pink beet Bloody Mary’s and my personal favorite... the house margarita made with green juice and kale. It smells nOT GREAT, but it tastes refreshing beyond belief. The green juice is unexpectedly sweet and masks the taste of the tequila, and the seasoning on the side is finger-licking great. This little botanical garden brunch spot is where you want to spend an entire Saturday, and doesn’t leave you feeling bloated after a few drinks because secretly, you just had 10 servings of vegetables! Brilliant! Additionally, the bartenders are the nicest people you’ll ever meet, so sit at the bar and make some conversation! 

4. Doughnut Plant, Chelsea 

Like I said, donuts are my everything. After a nice three mile shuffle at the gym, I decided why not undo it immediately by eating a donut filled with more jam? Doughnut Plant has been on my list for a long time and it did not disappoint in the slightest. While the cronut from Dominique Ansel was at least two pounds of pure butter, this donut was light as air and glazed juuuusttttt right. I went with this blackberry jam and vanilla creme-filled square, which was fun just because it’s a square donut with a hole in the middle that was STILL FILLED. That means unlike typical filled donuts, each bite was full of flavor and not either pure bread or pure filling. I want to hug whoever came up with this flavor delivery system. All the flavors looked worth a try, so if you’re in Chelsea and need a sweet lil treat head on into Doughnut Plant! 

5. Sunday in Brooklyn, Brooklyn 

This place. How can I even describe. For a place that gave themselves a pretty big name to fill, a 10AM reservation on a Sunday here did not disappoint. The doors open at 9:30AM, and within the first thirty minutes every table was filled and there was a wait out the door. Imagine the ideal brunch spot anywhere, at any time of day: white brick walls, exposed steel, some wood, and some plants. Add in cool clay plates full of Instagram-worthy brunch, and delicious endless mugs of coffee. Free oat milk for the coffee?!? You’re too kind, Sunday in Brooklyn. Order the millennia’s continental- not the real name, but the avocado basically named the plate that itself- perfectly crispy potatoes, wheat toast with butter, soft scrambled eggs and a big ole hunk of avocado topped with spice and salt. Order it, eat it, and then sit and get the stack of pancakes I didn’t order and wish I did. God this place rocks. 

For now, that’s all I got- but it’s a lot!!! Each time I go to NYC I’m blown away by how much magic is around every corner. It’s my favorite place to visit for a weekend of friends and fun, and it never gets old. La Guardia gets old. BUT IT’S WORTH IT FOR THE DONUTS.

Until next time, Happy Eating!

-Natalie 

[technewss15-blog]

Funny To A Point – Super Mario Odyssey Is 2017's Most Political Game

Let's face it, folks: 2017 has been a rough year. From politics to world events to entertainment news, watching 2017 unfold has been a bit like watching Game of Thrones – only every episode is The Red Wedding, and the scene has been going on for 12 months instead of a few gut-wrenching minutes. The worse things get, the more thankful I am for video games, which offer the occasional and much-needed respite from reality.

That's not to say that video games can't or shouldn't address important real-life issues, like war, mental health, and which alien you would sex up if you were captain of the U.S.S. Hornball. It's just that every now and then it's nice to set aside the grueling choices of post-apocalyptic worlds and play something that is unabashedly fun.

Many gamers have pointed to Super Mario Odyssey as the elephant-sized suppository of joy that 2017 needed, including G.I.'s own Matt Miller, who recently made the case for naming it game of the year. After struggling to enjoy Zelda for the past few weeks, Odyssey's light-hearted romp sounded like just the ticket, so I triple-jumped right in while doing my best “Wahooooo!”

What greeted me in Odyssey, however, frankly shocked me. Sure, the mustachioed plumber appears as pudgy charming and oblivious carefree as ever, but beneath the saccharine-sweet visuals lies the most brazenly political game of 2017 – if not ever! I'm not sure why most video game journalists have glossed over Odyssey's outrageous political agenda (I'm guessing it's a conspiracy), but just like the series' previous hidden messages, I'm devoted to exposing the truth to my beloved readers. As such, I personally authorized and performed an all-encompassing investigation into the many political messages that bombard players in Super Mario Odyssey. Here are my findings.

POLITICAL AGENDA #1: CLIMATE CHANGEMario travels to a bunch of wacky mash-up worlds in Odyssey, but one of the first lands he visits beats players over the head with its ham-fisted political message. What message, you ask? I'll tell you right now! Tostarena is clearly designed to terrify players with its grim outlook on the ramifications of climate change. Think about it: A desert plagued by pillars of ice; a local population thrust into turmoil; a frozen-treat vendor forced out of business – we get it, Nintendo, you have an agenda! The only Inconvenient Truth here is that Nintendo has sacrificed fun gameplay to take a political stand. Sad!

POLITICAL AGENDA #2: FRACKINGUnfortunately, the political soapboxing in Odyssey's Desert Kingdom doesn't stop there. While not as blatant as its hot take on climate change, the in-game brochure for Tostarena contains a pointed argument against fracking, warning that “extensive hollowing underground” in the area has led to dangerous pockets of quicksand. Nintendo's goal here is shamefully apparent: Every time a player sinks to their doom, they will be slowly and subconsciously turned against the fracking industry. It's downright diabolical!

POLITICAL AGENDA #3: ENERGYDespite the game's stance on climate change, Mario is still clearly pushing fossil fuels when it comes to energy consumption, which I can only assume is for his own personal gain. The evidence? Not only is the second world Mario visits called Fossil FALLS (hello again, subliminal messaging), but Mario frequently transforms into a bolt of lightning to zap around electrical grids – and there's not a solar panel in sight. If that's not conclusive enough for you, Mario spends the entire game mining precious Power Moons to fuel his ship. That's way worse than fossil fuels! Obviously the fat-cat energy lobbyists of Mushroom Kingdom have Mario in their pocket, and he's more than happy to shove renewable energy to the wayside in order to make them happy.

POLITICAL AGENDA #4: MASS SURVEILLANCE Mass surveillance and personal privacy have become hot-button issues in the past few years, and Mario apparently isn't a fan of either. When he's not using his magic hat to take direct control of sentient creatures (so much for the Bill of Rights!), he's using it to spy on them via surveillance drones. These mobile cameras shoot way up into the sky to give Mario an unobstructed view into everyone else's business. But hey, he's the good guy, so I guess we should just happily hand over all of our private information to The Man, right? Nice try, Nintendo!

POLITICAL AGENDA #5: GUN CONTROLIt may technically be portrayed as bullet control, but Nintendo's stance is still blatantly obvious: The ranged projectiles are an ever-present threat to Mario, unless he controls them, in which case everything is fine. The fact that it's presented in an abstract way might fool you into thinking it's harmless, but trust me: Your brain knows what's going on.

POLITICAL AGENDA #6: GAMBLINGOh look, another pet project for Mario: Pushing gambling on children. Today it's a few in-game coins to win a Power Moon; tomorrow it's your life savings at the nearest casino. How much do you want to bet Luigi is in Vegas right now setting up a Mario Bros.-branded hotel so that the two of them can reap the profits of an entire generation of tween gambling addicts? Wait, don't bet – see, it's already working!

POLITICAL AGENDA #7: INCOME INEQUALITYWho better to try and sell trickle-down economics to the masses than a plumber? Nintendo once again opts for the heavy-handed approach when it comes to advocating its stance on the economy; every time Mario visits a new land, he plunders it for as much money as he can get, despite having already amassed a fortune in the thousands. That may not sound like much, but don't forget these are gold coins we're talking about! Sure, he may spend a few hundred coins here and there on souvenirs and hats, but the bulk of his ill-gotten gains are ferried straight out of the local economy as soon as he decides to resume his elitist, globe-trotting lifestyle – and you just know he's got a tax shelter set up in an offshore bank in Seaside Kingdom. And yet Nintendo wants you to believe that everything is hunky-dory with this scenario: Everyone else is too happy singing and dancing to notice that they're broke. Go figure.

POLITICAL AGENDA #8: JOBSMario's schemes to line his pockets don't end there. He also takes the side of soulless corporations when it comes to job automation. After all, why pay flesh-and-blood workers when you can replace them with robots that will do their jobs for free? Nintendo's rosy stance on automation portrays Steam Gardens as a veritable utopia, with robots merrily wandering around and watering the land's lush flora. All the unemployed gardeners and their now-destitute families? Nowhere to be seen. Funny how that works…

Coming Up Next: More startling examples of how Super Mario Odyssey is shoving politics down our throats…

Funny To A Point – Super Mario Odyssey Is 2017’s Most Political Game was originally published on Tech News Center

[viphalo]

That's awesome! I went back to the gym for the first time in a couple months and I'm so sore, but I did it and I can't wait to go back tomorrow. Keep up the motivation and the drive! 💪🏽

WAHOOOOO let’s do this!! i’m using my harry concert date as motivation, cause it’s roughly three months away?? which is just a very handy deadline, cause that’s plenty of time for really good long lasting progress. and also, i want to be in the best shape of my life when i see him in person for the first time cause he is my main fitspo SO