#honestly sunsets in this game are gorgeous!

[notallthosewhowanderarelost812]

The group watched the sunset on the very summit of Mt Komorebi. It was a marvellous sight to behold, watching the sun go down from such a height. Dylan felt like she was on top of the world!

[seagreenkey]

just finished wave 5. hoooooooooly shit i love this fucking game tho i do have some thoughts™

[cinnbar-bun]

Ace x Reader General HCs

Rating: SFW + NSFW (separated)

GN Reader

You can read on my AO3 here!

SFW

A loveable goofball who is like a puppy around you. It’s adorable but also, everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates roasts the hell out of him for how whipped he is for you. 

He has many different ways of reacting to you, depending on his mood, but there are a few sides that are common. 

Puppy Dog: Full blown puppy, golden retriever energy. He’s at your every beck and call and with a dopey smile on his face as he stands beside you. So happy and eager, and nary a frown in sight as he wants to cuddle and hug you lots. 

Flustered/Shy: This happens occasionally when you act forward with him/he’s caught off guard. He will turn the prettiest shade of red and his jaw will drop as he looks at you. Often mumbles and whines while covering his mouth. His face burns brighter if you or the other members bring it up. 

Smooth Operator: Unlike the other times when he turns into a tomato or suddenly becomes a dog, this is when he decides to “play” with you a bit. Sometimes teases you and whispers sweet-nothings in your ear. At this stage, he’s at his A-game and can handle whatever you throw at him (whether it’s your cute smile or flirting). Super into PDA and doesn’t react much besides laughing if the others tease him.

But regardless of what “side” of him appears, it’s always obvious how much he loves you. Marco jokingly asks when the wedding is and Whitebeard gruffly says he will host the biggest celebration for your wedding. 

Side note: if you two do actually go through with a wedding- Whitebeard doing his best to stay composed while a singular tear drops down his cheeks as you and Ace get married. He’s the proudest papa ever. 

Ace gets pouty and annoyed often if your attention is elsewhere. It’s never obsessive or intruding, but more like a “aw, and I thought you loved me,” type of joke where he wants a kiss on the cheek to “make him feel better”. 

Loves when you wear his hat and pose with it. 

Ace, despite his free nature, really does appreciate how you take care of him and ground him. Lord knows he jumps headfirst into things without thinking, so having you there is his reminder to take his life a bit more seriously. 

Sometimes, Ace questions how he got so lucky to have you in his life. It was just by chance you two met, but every day he feels blessed knowing he’s got you. Occasionally, he wonders if you’d ever leave him for someone “better”, but then you give him that smile and all his fears melt away.

Seriously, not joking, Ace’s favorite part of you is your smile. Your smile is gorgeous. Your smile is everything. Especially when you two are sailing together, or watching the sunset, or under a starry sky, he’s entranced by you. You have his whole heart, and when he sees you smile, he’s reminded of how badly he wants to explore the world with you and protect you. You’re his reason to keep fighting and living. 

NSFW 

When it comes to sex, Ace is eager. He’s not Sanji-levels of desperate, but if you’re offering, he’s taking it at any opportunity. 

Does not mind if it’s in public, on the floor, outside, in the back of an alley- if he’s having sex with you he doesn’t care. 

Ass man. Loves ass, loves your ass. He wants to bite your ass, spank your ass, eat your ass, fuck your ass- he just loves your booty. 

Also, if you wanted to eat his ass, hey, he ain’t complaining, either. You can do him in the ass as well! 

Major switch energy. He doesn’t mind being either the top or the bottom, because sex with him honestly just always ends up becoming you two mindlessly and energetically moving against each other. 

He’s very sloppy when it comes to sex. Not exactly in a bad way, but Ace is so eager to get it on with you that he’s just so wild and crazy in bed. Will go round after round just thrusting wildly into you. He loses some of his brain cells whenever he has sex with you, and just reverts to his base desires. 

The “sides” to him from the SFW portion apply here, too. Sometimes he will happily go at it with you and make stupid jokes. Sometimes he will be a blushing, whimpering mess as you have him on all fours, other times he will be whispering in your ear how good you feel while his fingers are caressing your lower half. 

Ace truly brings the heat during sex, no part of you will be untouched or unloved when you’re with him. He’s in love with your body and every part of you.

He does like certain aspects of roleplay, but he’s not too big on it. If you wore an outfit or made him wear one, that’s probably as far as it goes alongside a few quips before he’s moaning and yelling how amazing your ass feels. 

Also not too heavily into complete domination or submission. He doesn’t do well with mixing kinks into your daily lives, so he’s not going to be one to establish or follow “rules” or demand any expectation from you that you must follow outside of the bedroom. He’s pretty go-with-the-flow so he’d rather just have sex whenever ya’ll feel like it whatever way you two want it. 

Not too into heavily degradation. He can use some basic words like “whore” or “brat”, whatever, but he doesn’t find degrading you enjoyable for him. He loves you too much to truly degrade you, and most of his dirty talk is lewd praise. He also doesn’t care for being heavily degraded back. 

Now, praise? This boy has the biggest praise kink ever. Call him a “good boy” or compliment his body and he’ll have a proud look on his face as he continues to pleasure you. Seriously, praise him- you won’t regret it!

[tafferling]

Dying Light: The Beast Demo Impression

Imagine, if you will, a Taff who finds a life saving sort of affection in a game named Dying Light, followed by nearly ten years of dedication to one Kyle Crane. If you’d told that same Taff she’d get to go to Techland HQ after Crane’s return was announced in Dying Light: The Beast, she’d have called you silly. 

And yet.

I had the privilege (the WHAT ON EARTH, how) to watch about forty minutes of Dying Light: The Beast today. It was prefaced by an in-person intro from Tymon Smektała (which was about the most heartfelt thing I’ve ever heard, genuinely), and shown to us on a big-ass screen. 

During those forty-or-so-minutes I might have shuffled in and out of this here physical realm a few times. 

The demo covered an early mission in the game. Here’s what happened:

We start in a small village and tightly forested woodland, a fading day around us. Crane is off to follow a lead, given by the new voice in our ear, named Olivia. The lead will take him to an industrial area. Eventually. But FIRST I get to feast on a gorgeous sunset, lots of smooth as heck parkour, and honestly when we ducked through a small apartment on the way, I wanted to say “Babe, pls stop I GOTTA TAKE PICTURES!”.

I don’t kid. Techland was not fibbing when they mentioned handcrafted; the attention to detail I was criminally denied the chance to rub my face all over has my hopes so far up, they’re tap dancing in the clouds. And then those very same hopes were given wings when two insanely talented artists walked us through how these environments have come together.

Seriously. I can’t wait to get absolutely nothing done in the game because I Must See All And Perceive All.

Anyhoo— back to the demo.

Night falls—as it so likes to do—and we’re warned about how the Volatiles and Freaks (at least I think I remember this right, I was often distracted by, you know, I mean, yeah) are difficult to avoid out here. All that dense woodland makes for shit sight lines and all. But Crane can be subtle and that means I will finally get to hide in the bushes with him come game release. Yay me!

One sec. Spacing out.

What was I saying?

Oh yeah. Stealth. Volatiles. 

OKAY, LISTEN— the sound design in the night-time section of the game was sublime. The snuffing and clicking of the Volatiles. The snap of twigs. The rustle of leaves. Stealth is the jam I like to put on my various bread-adjacent baked goods and this was delicious.

And pretty. Crane’ll be craning (hehe) his head up a lot ‘cause those stars need gazing.

But it’s also a night full of creepy crawlers and so we head towards the nearest safe house, which, in good old Dying Light fashion, needs a bit of TLC. Secure. Remove Infected. Find a spare fuse. Mess with a Charger and his buddies (the handgun came out at that moment and while I do not approve of wasting bullets, I approve of the reload animations). And, finally, plug the newly acquired fuse in and Let There Be Light.

The layout of the safe zone and the tasks to complete brought me back to Harran. I loved the safe zones there; each had its unique look, unique vibe; and was just different enough in what you had to do to secure it to make them their own little experiences. I hope we’ll see this make a comeback.

(Yes, I have not yet mentioned much about Crane. Stick with me. I’ll get there.)

After a snooze (well deserved), we continue to the industrial area, where the demo shifts to showing off guns even more so than before. Honestly, I liked the Dying Light (1) guns. I liked Crane with a gun. He’d always struck me as the type of man who’d know about 500+ ways to kill his fellows; and firearm mastery would’ve been right at the top. So. Yeah. I do like their inclusion.

I also fucking know he’ll keep them holstered for the majority of my game time, because pssst, the bow is right here, darling. We’re using that, quit pouting.

(Hey, she’s still not talking about Crane, is she okay? you may ask. Ha. No.)

We fight our way through a bunch of the Baron’s men, which eventually leads to one of those idiots shooting out some sorta electrical box. There’s a bit of a ruckus over something escaping, a few angry roars thrown in from a distance, and as we decide to investigate we run into a— scientist type? At least I think I’m remembering this right. 

And now I’ll talk about Crane. 

Beware: loads of personal thoughts here; not based entirely on canon. 

Kyle Crane might have once been a man who thought murder is still a big deal. Kyle Crane also might have once been a man who’d roll with the punches, always coming up swinging, but, you know. First he rolls. Then he swings. 

Now? After whatever happened to him between the Following and his capture, leading to thirteen years of being experimented on in what I suspect’ll be a cage of sorts? 

First of all, is murder still going to be a big deal? (No, henchmen don’t count; ludonarrative dissonance wants a word).

Yeah, he doesn’t straight up kill our new scientist friend. Just threatens him. Effectively. But there was a bit of disconnect in how Crane behaved leading up to the solution of the interrogation (him getting what he wanted) and what he eventually did. Namely punch the guy out, rather than kill him. 

I expected our scientist friend to die. I was surprised when he didn’t.

And I expect Crane to no longer roll, but to swing first and not give the narrative the chance to get the first lick in.

All of which I’m deducting from how they’ve leaned heavily into giving him the voice of a man who’s been thoroughly wrung out by that very same narrative. His tone is dark. Clipped. Gone are the expletives; the colourful fucks; and how everyone’s an asshole because that’s just a mood and a half.

And honestly? I don’t know how I feel about it. Yet. Sure, I’m all for the pent up anger we hear whenever he swings a weapon, but—

I love Crane because he wasn’t the moody, broody post-apo dude. You know the Imma chew some nails for breakfast and then get all growly over my (insert trauma here). The Joels, basically (and I gotta hell to the no on him). 

So, no, I don’t know how I feel about this yet. I’m approaching this with trepidation over how they might have removed what made Crane Crane; all in the pursuit of being darker and ‘more mature’, as it’s been said.

BUT— this was just forty minutes. That’s not much. And even if it ends up being true, I’ve still got, like, I dunno— at least another ten good writing years in me to bring that man back to the light. 

. . .

You know what, I am beginning to warm up to this idea. Please. Carry on.

EDIT: Since I’ve originally written this, the new dev blog came out and through that (along with what I’ve heard on site) have made me a lot less anxious about Crane having gone the way of the Complete Grouch. And just as I’ve been getting ideas.

ANYWAY

Our scientist friend got punched out, though not before he’s given us intel in how there’s a Freak here—the thing that just escaped, I presume, I was too busy collecting all the marbles I kept dropping whenever Crane opened his damn mouth to be sure—and how we can lure it.

Next stop(s): get freaky science gas, hop into a truck, drive freaky science gas around the countryside, and then jam it into a freaky science apparatus! 

(I have theories.)

But wait! Ambush! By more of the Baron’s men, no less. They, much like any other good collection of henchmen, have not learned from their rag-dolling buddies’s endless corpses and continue to think attacking Crane is a Good Idea.

Ah, well.

Then, finally, boss time! A Behemoth enters the arena (which is a junk yard, by the way) and it’s bringing with it a certain 10/10 Demolisher vibe paired with more freaky science. Someone’s obviously been tinkering on this gentle-boulder, leaving it with tubes attached to its body that give it this wonderful bioengineered look I’m so endlessly fond of. 

We fight!

It’s not going so well. 

Now I’m suspecting we’re seeing a method on how to build Crane’s fury up enough to unle— 

No. I am not writing that. You can’t make me. You cannot make me say the line, I refuse. I’ll just use increasingly silly alternatives, how’s that?

We get run over one too many times and Crane finally pops the lid off his fury. This applies the same orange filter as the one we got whenever Aiden redlined his biomarker (during a scripted sequence) and allows Crane to literally pick up a concrete barrier and lob it at the Behemoth. 

(You know, I bet that feels really good; delicious payback after getting car after car after car and fridge after fridge after fridge thrown at him before.)

Then he goes toe to toe with it, only to wrap up the fight by pulling the Behemoth’s head off its shoulders. Not cleanly, I’d like to add.

Soooo— what? We’ll be building fury in a number of different ways, then get unhinged and unlock the opportunity to finish with a flair? Cool cool. I’m in. Or so I’m thinking this’ll go. I genuinely do not know the ins and outs. 

What I do know though is that I lost all my remaining marbles after the fight. The camera fucking zooms out and I get to see the whole Crane. And, look, you can’t expect me to go to this event and be perfectly reasonable about this; about seeing this man I’ve dedicated nearly a decade to and remain normal. If you do, why are you even reading this. HAVE YOU MET ME?!

I have no clue if this means we’ll get third-person cutscenes or if this is a cinematic choice done solely for the demo, but a Taff may dream. Right?

The cutscene ends with Crane extracting something from the Freak into a jet injector. 

(Again, I have theories. Fury Power Progression? Fury Power Suppression?)

But anyway. Third-Person Cutscene. Taff is on the floor (not literally, but metaphysically) and the lights come on again and I SWEAR TO GOD, I will play this game at day one come hell and high water, and I am so, so, so unbelievably grateful to every single person ever involved in creating this franchise because you’re all a bunch of heroes to me.

:exhales:

Thanks for reading.

EDIT: I forgot to mention the weather. How did I manage to forget to mention the weather. We got so sopping wet in the rain. It reminded me of the heavy rainfall out in the countryside which I missed so terribly. Cannot wait to see how they've improved the weather system in this one.

From The Following:

[maybank-archives]

dating jj maybank would include

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

warning: none, just a fluff canon.

word count: 0.5k

author's notes: i got carried away, it's kinda messy but it was a draft that i had here so it can be altered and improved later :)

mastelist

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

feeling like you couldn’t live without his love

feeling safe

feeling like everyday is an adventure

waking up with cuddles

jj's love language is for sure physical touch

whenever he has the chance he is touching you.

while driving, watching or hanging out w/ the pogues 

he would always find a way to have his hand around you.

he also loves to be touched by you.

he felt so peaceful when you hugs him

or hold his hands.

or when you play with his hair.

he’s shy and romantic

but also very protective 

gets easily jealous when guys look at you.

he always has a eye on you

god forbid if someone makes you feel uncomfortable in front of him

you’re the one that puts some sense into his head

whenever he’s a fight, you’re the one the he will listen

you’re always aware 

and always scared for him

when the two of you are alone he always apologies for the fights

and let you take care of him 

and eventually lecture him.

he’s very sincere, has 0 filter.

he has no shame on being known as the bunnies of the crew

he only gets shy when he’s trying to do something nice

and romantic for you.

but that’s all a little bit rare

because of all the physical affection you’re the one who is always shy

“everyone heard you”, “stop with the looks”, “get a room” “you’re hickeys are popping y/n” are common phrases for both of you

you wish you were dead when they caught you.

jj plays it cool but can’t stand a joke about others staring at you

especially in the beach

because just thinking of you in a bikini drives him crazy.

you’re honestly a couple that makes people jealous

you always win at games as a duo

you even has a matching bracelet that he made you

being called princess, babe and hot stuff

late night walk on the beach

kissing his neck and smelling his fragrance

borrowing his shirts and hoodies only to have his perfume stuck in you

falling asleep in the hammocks

cuddling literally everywhere

having him hyping you all the time

“who is the gorgeous woman, oh wait, it’s my girlfriend”

he would be the most supportive boyfriend ever

he always picking flowers to you

he’s constantly taking pictures of you

at sunset or just candid pics

and you loves snapping pictures of him too

or having him “ruin” you photos

he loves spend time with you

and honestly he would do anything for you

and you for him

he never knew he could love someone that much.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

© maybank-archives 2023 — no one has permission to copy or translate any of my works, if you see any of my work being reproduced in another platform please contact me! :)

[bepisbee]

Heey here's a stardew valley au (vidow ofc)

would anyone be interested in a part 2? (or a spicy oneshot about it?)

~~~~

By the end of the week, poor Vio was exhausted. He wiped sweat off his brow as the dark oranges and reds lit his hard work in a gorgeous sunset. This was certainly a change, but not an unwelcome one. When he had learned his inheritance he was skeptical. Honestly he didn’t think it was genuine, more of a jab at his recluse behaviors.

But here he was. A few thousand gold and a farm richer. Hell, Mayor Falon seemed alright enough and not concerned with property tax or anything. It would be too soon if he ever saw another tax document again.

Vio hummed in thought, walking a bit sluggish towards town. The skies turned, opening into darker hues; the reds muddling into purples and midnight blues. He pulled out a small notebook, turning to a page of names. He’d been given them by the mayor as a little task. Get to know everyone in town, settle in, make a few friends. Friends go far in a small town like this. One name not crossed.

Shadow.

Determination fueled his gait towards the Din Tavern. According to Blue, the adventurer’s guild leader, he was returning today. And most likely would be found by nightfall in their tavern. A creature of habit he was, and a creature for sure. The darkness fell quickly around the town, a warm spring breeze making it just a bit chilled. The smell was enticing, between grass pollen, fresh flowers, and a yeasty bread smell that grew as he gained ground. Red was clearly baking tonight. He wondered if their partner was already there to help. The thought of Red’s rose tinted excitement talking about him made him slip a smile momentarily.

As he opened the heavy wooden door, he was blasted with a bubble of warm air and the smell of a perfect hearth. The stools, tables, and games were bustling with the majority of the townsfolk. A few looked up with a friendly wave or nod, which he returned.

Vio looked around. Tucking his blonde braid behind his back, he scanned the rooms.

There he is.

Time seemed to stop as blood rushed past in his ears. Just starting to turn his direction, a man sat leaning on the bar. And damn was he a man. Vio gulped. He was in a casual gray undershirt and leggings. Clearly part of an armor set, perhaps chainmail, that would have normally covered some assets. Despite the mild inappropriate display, no one paid him much mind. This must be usual for him. He clearly hadn’t had time yet to shave the dark purple stubble across his jawline. Thankfully the hair framing appeared freshly washed. Vio was suddenly a little self conscious of his own, covered in today’s dirt and work.

As he turned, gorgeous mismatched eyes in a red and blue greeted him. Freckles smattering everywhere on each inch of visible mocha skin. Vio couldn’t help it, as his brain supplied: delectable, dangerous, and desire.

Shadow’s incredible face wove into a smirk. He motioned an invite to sit with him. It took Vio a second to come back and immediately obeyed.

“Hey there,” Oh he was done for. That velvet voice was going to be the end of him. “Must be the inherited farmer,” he leaned in close. “I’m Shadow. I clear out the mines northa here and in Gerudo Desert,” like most of the town, he gives a name and small job introduction.

“I-m” he clears his throat of the small crack. “Violet. But please call me Vio.” He was so focused that he never noticed Red place a drink for him at the bar. Shadow was not afraid of eye contact. He felt like those eyes were swallowing him whole.

“Pleasure to meet you darling.” An award winning smile makes him melt. “Now, this might be a little out of nowhere but I have a favor to ask you.”

“Hm?”

“Usually I’d use Red’s spare room between runs…” he begins “But it’s a bit too much for me for so long, I don’t always get a good haul.” Shadow swirled his drink stein. “If it’s not too much trouble, I could help around the farm in exchange for staying there awhile?” awfully bold of him, Vio thought. Considering it took daylight to nightfall to work most days, he was tempted. As Shadow’s eyes traced over him, he decided.

“I don’t see why not.” Vio looks away and licks his bottom lip. “As long as you’re fine sharing a bed. The floor isn’t exactly comfortable.”

A devious glint sparked in his eyes. “Of course, with you? Who wouldn’t,~” Shadow finished his drink and left some gold for Red on the counter to cover both. “Shall we?” he stood and grinned. Vio nodded dumbly and followed.

Shadow grabbed a pack that had been on the floor and slung it over his shoulder. “Lead the way darling.” Vio got caught admiring the back end of his shapewear as he bent and flushed.

“Er-right! yes.” he held the door for him and they walked into the cooled night. It was refreshing. Crickets joined the background, making the pleasant walk less silent.

He couldn’t believe he was letting a total stranger stay with him, just because he was drop dead gorgeous.

Vio let him in, with a short tour. Small cabin, heat and water, mini kitchen, little couch, old crtv, and bedroom. Tiny bathroom with only a tub, no shower, connected. Shadow put his things in the corner.

“I’m.. um, going to wash up. Feel free to make yourself at home. There’s coffee and tea in the second cupboard if you’d like.” Vio internally berates his awkwardness and desire to invite the man to his bath. Shadow looks at him as if he knows.

“Don’t have too much fun without me,” he teases as the other closes the door. Vio’s heart pounded.

What has he gotten himself into??

[prototypelq]

Having a blast watching an Alan Wake 2 playthrough, but it is honestly infuriating how all the players just Don`t. Appreciate. The. Scenery.

This game is GORGEOUS. Remedy clearly put an immense amount of work into making their forests, moss, trees, water, lighting and every environment honestly come to Life. The reflection of a mountain peak in the lake, the sunset light, the moss that hangs from the trees like overgrown hair. All of this is so beautiful, but I have seen no playthrough where the players stop to appreciate the beauty. Tragic, really.

[zee-reviews]

Cavern of Dreams (Steam)

First time?: Yes

[Note: this review will be as spoiler-free as possible, though some minor things from later in the game may be brought up in passing.]

If you're not aware of what Cavern of Dreams is, it's an N64-inspired exploration platformer by Bynine Studio. I've been following the creator on Tumblr for a while and this game has been on my radar since it released, and now that I've finally played it, I can honestly say I enjoyed it a LOT.

The plot of the game is that you are a young dragon named Fynn, and you are trying to rescue your siblings (who are eggs) from a bat artist named Luna. The cavern's guardian, Sage, helps you out by watching over your rescued siblings in the hub world, and giving you new powers when you reach certain milestones.

One of the game's defining traits is that there is no true "combat", to speak of. There are hazards, and you have attacks that interact with the environment, but there's no enemies or bosses to defeat, and no health or lives system. This works out well, as the focus of this style of game is exploration and platforming, so the experience doesn't feel lacking for the omission.

The movement in the game is somewhat unique, as Fynn doesn't quite have the jumping prowess that a Mario or a Banjo would have. However, he does have a roll ability that allows him to go very fast and even ramp off of sloped surfaces like Sonic. The roll controls similar to the roll in Yooka-Laylee, or the Spongeball in Battle for Bikini Bottom; it can be a little tricky to control, but you can carry the momentum into your standard run when you need more precise movement at higher speeds.

Fynn does get more abilities later on, such as a tail whip to slap objects, a glide, a bubble projectile, and perhaps most usefully, a bounce ability that can not only attack the ground, but also gives you more height than your standard jump. The sense of progression you get with each new ability is very satisfying, and towards the end of the game, you'll find the movement to be very complex and rewarding.

Now for the aesthetics. This game was designed primarily by a visual artist, and my god does it show. The game is GORGEOUS, and does a great job at paying tribute to the bold colors and lighting of games like Banjo-Kazooie or Spyro while also having a unique artstyle of its own. Different areas can have different moods; a wooded lake area in a cozy autumn sunset, the metallic interior of a sentient airship, the creepy black-and-white basement illuminated only by the occassional lightning strike, and so much more. I have so many screenshots just of areas I thought looked visually interesting.

My only criticisms of the game are nitpicks, really. For one, the sound design could be underwhelming at times. According to the credits, many of the sounds were grunts made by the people working on the game, or were sourced from freesounds. Nothing was egreiously out-of-place or anything, and it is a passion project by a very small group, so it's easily forgiven.

The only other thing is that I had my camera set to inverted, but the camera in first-person mode was non-inverted, and it would throw off my muscle memory when switching. Though, there aren't a lot of times where you need to switch to first-person mode, so it was never that big of a deal.

This isn't a particularly long game, it's maybe 2/3rds the length of a game like Banjo-Kazooie, but there's still a lot here to enjoy, especially considering the game is only $13 on Steam (even less if you get it in a bundle). I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who's even a little interested.

[uhbasicallyjustmilex]

luluuuuuu that arctic monkeys ask game you made is so cute!!! 🥹💞 i'd love to know your answers to questions 9, 18 and 19, please!

(also, i'm so sorry to hear about your flare up 🥺 i hope it passes quickly and that you'll feel much better very soon!! sending all the love and hugs and warm blankets in the meantime, lovely 💖🌷💫)

awww minnie thank you so muuuuuch 🥺💗 (and thank you for your kind words re my flare up, don't worry i've got my hot water bottle and i've been comfort watching endeavour all evening so i'm doing okay! 🥰🥰)

9) what's the first song you heard that made you fall in love with the band? where were you when you heard it?

like a lot of people i think i'd probably vaguely heard a few arctic monkeys songs here and there over the years but for some reason never really tuned in and *listened* to them. so the first song i really heard and which made me fall head over heels into their entire discography was there'd better be a mirrorball, and, in wonderful irony, i was sitting in a car when i heard it. i had like an hour to kill waiting for a friend to come out of an appointment, and there was this gorgeous rainy pink-skied november sunset and i was just watching the rain pour the colours down the glass of the windscreen and having my mind absolutely *blown* by mirrorball (and then a bunch of other tracks: dance little liar, arabella, you're so dark, 505, and don't sit down 'cause i've moved your chair). i'll honestly never forget that afternoon, it's seared so vividly into my memory because hearing them for the first time just felt like some kind of epiphany i'd been searching around for forever and it's so special to me ✨

here are some photos of my view from the car while i was falling totally in love!

18) if you could ask each member of the band something and have them answer honestly, what questions would you ask them?

matt: i'd LOVE to know more about his photography, eg what catches his eye and makes him want to capture something (i’d also love to ask him to show me some of the photos of the band he hasn’t shared publicly, i bet he has some wonderful gems)

nick: he never seems to get spoken to/get the chance to speak in interviews which makes me so sad, so i'd love to know what question he'd actually like to be asked about his creative process/what’s most important to him about it

alex: i mean, part of me wants to ask him something like exactly what went down with him and miles or when the next tlsp record will be, BUT i think ultimately i'd want to ask him to describe his internal process of creativity, from the moment something sparks a little flame of thought to the finished piece, and how he feels as he's moving through the different stages of creativity. basically i just want an insight into how that wonderful mind of his words and to know what his own internal experience of his creativity is (or i could be really cruel and ask him what his favourite pudding is. he never did reach a consensus on that during that radio interview did he 👀)

jamie: either if he really threw his trowel into that pond or why he chose the name arctic monkeys. he truly is a man of mystery

19) what's your favourite quote said by someone in the band? feel free to share a link/clip?

oh god, SO many to choose from, but it's got to be this one by the one and only wonderful nick o'malley:

[eggs-can-draw]

Anyone here play oxenfree?

It was cold.

Not freezing cold per say, but it was definitely a shock in contrast to the warmth of the beach outside. Hell, why was he even in here? He should be outside, watching the gorgeous sunset with his friends and drinking shitty beer and playing dumb ass games but no. He just had to follow Hiro’s dumb as rocks idea of “Tuning into ghosts” or whatever and now he’s trapped in a cave.

Letting out a sigh, Naegi pulled his jacket closer as he made his way deeper inside. At the very least, he could probably find something worth his time in there. He could hear an echo deeper into the cave and remembered from a map at the docs that the cave system had another exit on the other side of the island.

Ignoring how fucking tiring the treck across the entire fucking island would be, Naegi continued on. At least the drip of water hitting the rocky ground hadn’t gotten grating yet, and it’s not like he was alone in here, Kirigiri had run in earlier and was ALSO one of the dumb reasons he was stuck in here at all. She just HAAAAAD to check out whatever weird light she saw in the cave which, after spending half an hour in the dark as shit cave, clearly turned out to be either her actually losing it or something not worth all this trouble.

Naegi stopped. He really didn’t like thinking badly of his friends, but he was also frustrated and cold and honestly pretty tired. At least the cold kept him awake. He was already nodding off when his friends had finished playing truth or dare earlier, and if it weren't for Hiro he would probably be asleep next to a bonfire right now. At the very least, he found a pretty cool rock a little while back that he could give Komaru when he got home. Naegi couldn’t help but feel his spirits lift a little at that. It was small but seeing his sister smile at the honestly dope as hell rock made him feel pretty proud.

Holy shit what is that.

The sudden glowing light ahead of him made Naegi double take. Passing the honestly cryptic as hell graffiti on the walls, Naegi found a large cavern, a small waterfall flooding the space with noise as it echoed through the dimly lit cavern walls. Junk littered the space around him, from telescopes to entire ass wardrobes. As he got closer, he couldn’t see any sign of wear or any real evidence that it was meant to be there.

“Makoto! Get out your radio I wanna try something”

Ripping Naegi from his slow inspection of his surroundings, Naegi found Kirigiri standing on a rock not too far away. Her leather jacket sat wrapped around her wait and she was wringing what was HOPEFULLY water from her hair.

“Wow, Kyoko, what happened?” Naegi asked, rushing to his friend’s side

“I thought an exit might be on the other side of the water…” Kirigiri started, pointing a gloved hand across the water “… but it seems like the only exit is out of our reach”

“Well shit.”

“Yeah. Shit.”

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Naegi put his hands into the pockets of his jacket

“What did you want with my radio?”

“The island has several different radio accessible areas, I think this spot used to be one of them”

“So you want me to hook up to a glorified mini documentary?”

“No, I want you to tune in to that”

With that, Kirigiri once again lifted one of her hands and pointed to a…triangle. Hovering there.

“Kyoko. What is that.”

“Makoto just try”

“Kyoko please”

“Makoto.”

“ALRIGHT”

Pulling his small shitty radio out in a huff, Naegi began to tune it at random, making his way from station to station almost absentmindedly. He was about to give up when a loud buzz began to come from the mystery triangle.

Kirigiri rested a gloved hand on Naegi’s shoulder

“Keep going”

“Kiri, I don’t think-“

“Keep going this might get us out”

Letting out yet another sigh, Naegi continued to tune in the radio. The closer he got to the right frequency the louder the triangle began to buzz. The buzzing quickly turned to shaking and Naegi soon found the cave collapsing in on itself.

“MAKOTO, WATCH OUT” Kirigiri yelled, pulling Naegi away from falling debris.

“KYOKO I REALLY DONT THINK THIS IS A GOOD IDEA”

“ I CAN ALMOST SEE AN EXIT”

“DOESNT MATTER IF WE DIE BEFORE WE CAN USE IT”

“HOLY SHIT MAKOTO”

And then everything went dark

[thenightling]

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio Review

I just watched Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and... I wanted to like this movie. I really did.  I usually love the work of Guillermo del Toro but... I did not like this.

The animation is gorgeous and you can see how much hard work went into it.   But...  I didn’t like it.  The songs are annoying and forgettable.  And it preaches that obnoxious moral that human life only has value because it ends.   Frankly, I always thought that was bullshit.  I hate that moral.  To quote Hob Gadling from Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman. “Death’s a mug’s game.”  

There are many things we value and appreciate even though we take them for granted that they’ll long out last us.  Mountains, stars, the ocean, the sunsets coming every day.  Personally, I feel if you only value something because it will end that’s not truly valuing it, that’s coveting it. I’m mortal.  I’m human. And I have lost many people who were very dear to me.  Being mortal doesn’t protect you from losing those you love.  It just gives you more opportunities to heal and to love again.

There was something bitter and hopeless in this version of Pinocchio.  It’s meant to be bitter-sweet and suggests it was meant to be hopeful about the human world accepting him but honestly it comes off almost half-hearted.  There are aspects of the story that feel like Guillermo del Toro actually wanted to do Frankenstein and if you’re familiar with him you’d know that yes, he does want to do Frankenstein.  And it really shows here.

There’s a subtle ugliness to this version of Pinocchio.  The animation is gorgeous but there’s this ugly undercurrent in the heart of it.   

I like the idea of Pinocchio possibly being the reincarnation of the deceased son (something Disney obviously “borrowed” for their own live-action Pinocchio.  Even though theirs came out first, this one was in production much longer).   Also having Pinocchio never become flesh and blood has become an odd trend this year.     

There are moments in this that are genuinely cute and sweet or touching but they are few and far between, such as when Pinocchio notices that Geppetto's nose didn’t grow when he hurts his feelings by calling him a burden. And Sebastian the Cricket’s speech to him about how sometimes people say something that they think they mean in the moment but ultimately really don’t mean it.  And all the subtle hints that Pinocchio is the deceased son reincarnated, right down to his desire for hot chocolate, is also adorable.  But there are lots of things I don’t like. There is a darkness too this. Too much darkness. 

It’s good.  It’s just not to my taste.         

There’s also blatant fascism visuals and themes that did not exist in the original novel as Pinocchio was first written in 1883.  It’s jarring and doesn’t fit and a lot of the original story’s ideas and plot points were removed in order to incorporate it.  It is almost like the 1940s The Canterville Ghost (which I hated) which made it about an American soldier having to prove himself by standing against Nazis, in order to save the “cowardly ghost” who was starved to death by his own father for refusing to take part in a duel that wasn’t even his. I seriously hated that version of The Canterville ghost. The original novella was published in the 1880s. I loved the 1996 version starring Patrick Stewart.

I really wanted to like this but it left me feeling depressed and a little empty. I loved The Shape of Water, Pan's Labyrinth, both Hell Boy movies, and Crimson Peak.  But I did not love this.

[beyond-icelebrities]

Week 10- Digital Detox Experiment

1. DIGITAL DETOX Experiment: Leave your phone at home for one hour to take a walk in your neighborhood. Write down your observations when you return and draw a map of your path. (This is a hand drawn map, not a screen shot of Google or Apple Maps.) 

2.  Afterwards, take a photo of your hand drawn map to include in your book review. What did you observe? Did you notice animals, trees, sounds and sights that you'd never seen before? Did the experience provide any revelations? Were you anxious, relieved, inspired? 

To be completely honest, I do a one hour minimum walk EVERY SINGLE DAY to simply disconnect from the game of life and find space to breathe and be alone with my own thoughts... Getting to do this for an assignment was simply refreshing and natural. Because of my extensive walk history in my area (home away from home while I am working on an acting contract), I didn't necessarily see anything I hadn't seen before; I did however notice some beautiful birds (ducks, irises, and geese), a gorgeous sunset, and most importantly I noticed how at PEACE I felt.

2. What is your favorite quote from the book and why do you find it meaningful?

“Our very idea of productivity is premised on the idea of producing something new, whereas we do not tend to see maintenance and care as productive in the same way.”

This quote really resonates with me because as an artist this is truer than ever, in an economy where creation is the mere basis of not only our livelihood but "success". It isn't spoken about enough how productivity can look more internalized than what's usually expected.

3. Why do you think this book, released by indie publishing house Melville Press, became an unexpected bestseller during the height of the Covid19 pandemic? Her book was so successful, she recently released a second title, Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock.

During COVID times, society's idea of productivity kind of got turned on its side as people found themselves unable to go about their normal routines; the idea of comfort also became more individualized and niche because everyone was seemingly doing the same thing: everything but NOTHING. I think this book became an unexpected bestseller because honestly people definitely had more time to read as it is, but also I think there was a spiked interest in self-care and mental health during the pandemic. This was a time where people collectively were acknowledging how hard it can be to "spread yourself thin" especially in dire times.

4. How does the attention economy benefit from our social media activity and media streaming consumption?

The attention economy has a severe chokehold on people of all demographics simply because we now live in a world where not feeding into media consumption and social media algorithms is seen as abnormal. Because we are seemingly all so connected all over the world through social media platforms and applications, not only is the demand for content high but we can clearly see how life online can impact the real world in the form of "trends" which continue to feed into that exact economy.

5. How does this book relate to the topic of celebrity culture?

"CELEBRITY CULTURE is an essentially modern phenomenon that emerged amid such twentieth-century trends as urbanization and the rapid development of consumer culture. It was profoundly shaped by new technologies that make easily possible the mechanical reproduction of images and the extremely quick dissemination of images and information/News through such media as radio, cinema, television, and the Internet." -Encyclopedia.com

This book acknowledges that celebrity culture is inevitably growing, becoming wide spread and accepted.

6. Do you take digital detox breaks regularly? If yes, describe them. Were they more challenging during the quarantine era? Why?

I take one every single day, and they are my "escapes" even though in reality these moments end up being where I feel most present and comfortable with myself, so often times I just look at it as a necessity. I have to admit, during the quarantine era it was slightly more difficult to truly disconnect from the digital world when again, that was singlehandedly the way information was shared and seemingly all I COULD do was open my laptop or scroll on my phone for example.

7. Do you sleep with your phone or computer? Are you aware of the impacts on your sleep cycles and relaxation caused by 24/7 proximity? Have you experimented with leaving digital devices in a drawer or another room?

When I am on my own schedule I tend to fall asleep with my devices kind of carelessly to be honest. I have frequently fallen asleep with headphones on for example, connected to either my MacBook or my iPhone and haven't given much thought to it. It doesn't seem to affect my sleep cycle or relaxation as I actually have a form of codependency with music, leading to using electronics as my form of intaking as much music as possible. I could even argue I feel more at peace with my phone playing a random playlist vs. silence in the air. But I have experimented with leaving my digital devices say in the kitchen or something in a past relationship of mine... This habit lead to more one on one focused time with my partner which was the goal.

8. What does Odell mean by 'doing nothing?' Are we capable of doing nothing? 

Odell defines "doing nothing" as avoiding the constant need to feed into the attention economy and instead focusing one's time and energy on what they need as an individual. I think it is extremely hard to convince certain types of people in this day and age to truly do "doing nothing" justice, as many many people actually revolve around consumer culture, so as a whole I am not sure if "we" are capable of doing nothing if that makes sense.

9. What is the role of nature in Odell's book, in particular the role of birds? (P.S. Did you know that birdwatching became a HUGE pastime in the Covid era?)

Odell genuinely shares the same appreciation and love for nature as I do as a human being. She and I see beauty in the simplest of forms such as grass, trees, bodies of water; And we both see birds as symbols of freedom and easygoing.

[immortaldarkpassion]

Hi bby <3 Here are my asks: 6. A series you’ve enjoyed since your early days of gaming and still enjoy to this day whether it still has games coming out or is one you return to 11. Do you prefer ‘blank slate’ main characters you make yourself or otherwise project onto, or characters with a set personality and backstory? 18. A game location you really like 23. A “Wow” moment of awe

Hey honey <3 6. Hmm. I guess Legend of Zelda? When I first started playing games they were typically one-offs; I didn't start getting in series until I got older. 11. Honestly I most adore blank slate characters so that I can project myself into the story, but I do enjoy some main characters with their own personalities. 18. Snowpeak Ruins from LoZ: Twilight Princess! (there are so many locations I really like though)

23. When first roaming around as Aloy in Horizon: Zero Dawn, the sunset caught me by surprise with just how gorgeous the game was, add on that giant machine in the distance and I immediately fell in love.

[lightadarttomendyourheart]

i am so in love with my new flat. it's everything i've ever wanted.

i cant believe i'm finally here in calgary. in my own place. everything seems to be falling into place so perfectly. i love my new job. i love my flat. i love the location, it'll take me 15-20 mins to walk to work. i love that it's west facing, i get so much gorgeous evening sun and i have a clear view of the sunset. it's insane. i can't believe it. i really cannot believe how well my life is going right now.

getting laid off and then breaking up with jake were honestly the best things that could have happened to me. the layoff was such a blessing in disguise. and then having that time to organize my move to calgary. it was serendipitous.

i'm so fucking happy. this flat was so worth the 3 month wait. i wanna live here FOREVER LOL. but actually. i've been very much a hermit since i've moved in cause there is just so much to do at home and i'm obsessed with it. but i do need to go out and go for walks and explore what's around me and go fricken grocery shopping, i've really been putting that off. but i have so much to unpack and organize and ive also been so exhausted. ive had to force myself to leave to go get something to eat it's bad lmao. but tomorrow maybe i'll go grocery shopping before indy comes over. even though i'm so exhausted and running on fumes i'm so wired. i want this place to be perfect and i want to start organizing and making it mine right away. i can't live another day in a home that isn't me. i did that for almost 2 years with jake and i'm over it.

god i am just in such a fucking good place. i hope this never ends. i dont remember the last time i was this happy. especially with my home AND my work AND being single. it's wild. i feel like i'm starting a bit late but it's never too late to be happy and figure out what you want in life. i'm gonna be a fucking old ass mom i just know it. even thinking about having kids right now is terrifying and makes me anxious. i dont want them. not yet. not for a long time. i need to enjoy this part of my life. and if that means i have my first at 35, which is only 7 years away, that seems long enough. 5 seems too soon. but 7, i can work with.

i need to live more in the moment. stop spending all my days at home playing games and watching shows. but i know with indy and sarah so close to me now, i will. we're going to have the fricken best summer. 2023, baby. 28. THIS IS MY YEAR.

[seungkwan-s]

hello heather! i've been assigned as your gift giver for the caratblr gift exchange, and i wanna get to know u a bit!

im a fic writer, so that's what i'll be making for u so i wanna know some of ur favorite tropes, aus, s/o pet names, etc!! and generally just what you like, dislike, etc (colors, foods, activities, movies)

and aside from the fic i'll be writing for u, i read your carrd and we have a bit in common! i also am a criminal minds fiend hehe and i think we like a lot of the same groups <333

so excited for the gift exchange xoxo! 💚

AAAAAA i've been waiting so patiently for you to appear!!! 💞 HOW ARE YOU? i hope your day went well!!!! 🥰

lengthy response !!

oh do i have a list for you!!!! i absolutely love enemies to lovers tropes, they're just so so fun to read and you get hooked on them SO quickly 💖 i love the bickering between the characters and the little sarcastic remarks 😍 everything about it....I LOVE 💕 i do love best friends to lovers but i kinda need the angst + the fluff but i need happy endings!!!! i do love a little angst drabble but i need happy endings for my poor heart to function <///3 soulmate aus are SO cute 💞 i read one where it was when your soulmate dyes their hair and your hair turns that colour too, it made me laugh and i think that would just be one of the funniest ways to find your soulmate 😭

s/o pet names!!!! i'm not entirely fussed but "darling" is such a precious thing to be called 💖 if it's used too much, it wears off quickly but once every so often, my heart goes !!!!

i love music, gaming, fishing, reading, writing. i love cows, MY BED 🛌 i love a good netflix horror and a big ass cup of tea!!! 😍

i love pink, blue, black, a sunset orange (you know that gorgeous warm orange as the sun sets YES THAT 🧡😍) and probably a pastel green 💖

i'm such a fussy eater, it's ridiculous :( i probably dislike more foods than i like food and i'm very fussy about food i like <3 some foods have to be cooked a certain way for me to eat them which is why i just cook my own food 😭

i am OBSESSED with crime shows, real or fake, i will watch them all one day. i grew up watching serial killer documentaries & crime shows with my mum and my granny. there's a british tv show called silent witness which is AMAZING. it was my favourite show to watch with my granny 💕

i kinda wish i never started criminal minds bc it's just everything i never knew i needed and because my s/o and i are watching it together, i can't binge it unless he wants to because if i watch it without him, he'll be quite upset (which i understand bc we're watching it together), we have JUST reached season seven 😍 EMILY AND JJ, MY GIRLS ARE BACK I LOVE THEM but my heart belongs to reid 💔 oh my god he's beautiful, why is he so beautiful 😭

i'm honestly so so nervous!!!! but so so excited :))) i'm so sorry for the big message, i like to talk........a lot....... 💖

PLEASE tell me about you !!!!!!! 💞

[thesimoni-blog1]

Two weddings, a funeral, a spot of van trouble and a ferry trip

It’s been six weeks since we last published a blog, so it’s about time that we brought you up to date with the latest leg of our travels.

After the Beautiful Days festival, we spent a further 3 days and nights in the Ottery St Mary and Honiton areas of Devon. The first night was spent on the same small farm we had spent the night before the festival, where we were visited by Sarah and Matt (and their two gorgeous golden retrievers). These were folks we’d met at the festival, who like us were working and who lived a few doors up from the site. It was certainly nice to meet up and find out more about their lives – away from the madness of a festival.

The following day we moved on to a small site on a dairy farm just outside Honiton. The weather wasn’t great whilst we were there but it gave Jo the opportunity to complete the reading she needed to do for her work, and it gave me a chance to tinker with the van. Whilst in Honiton, on the recommendation of Sarah and Matt, we stopped at the Yellow Café, which is operated by the Twelve Tribes (a fundamentalist Christian Sect) and sampled their famed steamed sandwich – which was very nice.

On our last day in the Honiton area, we visited Sidmouth, which whilst very pretty and in a stunning position on the coast can only be described as a tourist trap catering for the middle classes – lots of art galleries, jewellers, ice cream parlours and restaurants. I personally thought the village of Sidbury, which you drive through to get to Sidmouth, was far prettier.

That night we waited till late then drove to the White Cross Viewing Point which is above Ottery St Mary. The car park was recommended on search4sites but on arrival we discovered that the Forestry Commission had erected no overnight parking signs in the car park. As we had arrived late and the car park was virtually empty, we decided to ignore the signs and stay overnight. We were rewarded with a beautiful sunset and sunrise, looking down over Ottery St Mary and Exeter. We were reminded of home by the strange looking clouds on the horizon, which when I checked on our maps and compass revealed themselves as plumes of smoke or steam from the Port Talbot steel works.

The next morning, we moved onto another dairy farm (Berry Barton), this time in Branscombe, in south-east Devon, a random choice. Branscombe, which is reputed to be the longest village in the UK, is smack bang in the middle of the Jurassic Coast, which of course has jaw droppingly gorgeous coastal scenery and along which, a coastal path runs. The village itself is beautiful with many stunning old buildings, a large proportion of which we guessed are holiday homes. Whilst we waited for Tom and Vickie to arrive, I got out on the bike to ride to the next village of Beer. I can honestly say that I’ve never experienced gradients and single-track roads like the one from Branscombe to Beer.

Tom and Vickie arrived later on the Friday to spend the Bank Holiday weekend with us. Highlights included the walk to and from Branscombe Mouth, visits to the local pub, games of cards (which I seemed to lose) and a day trip to Lyme Regis (another beautiful and historic town). Tom and Vickie left us at lunchtime on the Bank Holiday Monday to drive back to London. We’d enjoyed hosting them, they were great company and we only hoped that Vickie had enjoyed her first experience of camping (despite the fact that Jo and I slept in the tent and Tom and Vickie had the van for the weekend).

As Jo and I had enjoyed the campsite at Berry Barton so much we decided to stay for another night and that afternoon had a lovely walk along the coastal path to Weston Mouth, a mix of coastal scenery, steep descents and climbs and woodland – very lovely and hot.

The next day we visited Exmouth, which has nice sandy beaches and I think it would be safe to describe it as a more traditional, working-class sort of seaside town. That night we parked up on the esplanade (free of charge between 18.00 and 09.00). Over the course of the evening the tide came in and we went to sleep to the sound of waves lapping on the seawall, about 5 metres from Toa, Toa, Toa.

The next day we headed for Wells in Somerset. We arrived there at 11am and the city was bustling, as it was market day. We managed to park Toa, Toa, Toa in a car park next to the bus station, giving us a two-minute walk to the Cathedral. We loved Wells - compact and full of beautiful, historic buildings such as the Cathedral and the Bishops Palace. It was a sunny day so we enjoyed a leisurely wander round the town and Jo started to look for outfits for the two weddings we’d be attending in the coming weeks.

The next day we explored Frome, after a morning visit to the Clarks Shopping Village in Street. Frome is a very quaint and hip town, full of coffee shops and bars doing a brisk trade and quite a number of fashionable boutiques for a small Somerset town. We left Frome at about 5pm to drive to Backwell, which is just outside of Bristol to park Toa, Toa, Toa in the driveway of friends Pete and Max. We and had a lovely evening with them and their daughter Corinne.

The next morning Pete and Max left early to head to Cornwall to house sit for friends for 6 weeks. I went out on the bike, whilst Jo and Corinne caught the bus to Bristol to shop. My bike ride wasn’t as expected as one of the spokes in my rear wheel broke soon after the start of the ride and I had to divert to find a bike shop, to replace the broken spoke. After my much-shortened ride I caught a train into Bristol to meet with Jo and Corinne, who I’m glad to say had bought an outfit for the first wedding and had a preferred number for the second. We met at the Apple a cider bar on the river. We were joined by Corinne’s friend William and then by Tracey, Zak and Alice. Zak had booked a table at a restaurant in the centre of Bristol and we left Corinne and William and we headed off to the Bocabar, where we were joined by more Bristol friends, Roman and Nicole and their son Xavier. We had a good catch up before catching the penultimate train back to Backwell.

Jo and I were up early to catch the bus into Bristol to buy the final outfit for the wedding and meet up with Tracey and dog Smithy. That afternoon we had a lovely walk in Knowle with Smithy and then met my niece Chloe (who’s at college in Bristol) for a meal before moving onto to see Dizraeli at the O2 arena, meeting another set of Bristol friends Mark and Linda in a pub beforehand. We’ve seen Dizraeli many times before but we all agreed that this was the best we’d seen him perform. After the gig we’d intended to get the bus back to Backwell, but as we’d both had a little too much to drink, we got an UBER back to Tracey’s and spent the night there, which was eventful to say the least!

The next morning, we drove back to Backwell, borrowing Tracey’s car (she lent the car to us for three days) to have a quiet evening in Toa, Toa, Toa and preparing for the next two nights in an Airbnb in Portishead, whilst Jo completed her work.

The next day after dropping Jo at work I drove to a village south west of Weston Super Mare to purchase some spare parts for Toa, Toa, Toa in preparation for our travels – spare fuses and a water pump (which was ordered and we returned to collect it at a later date). Jo finished work earlier than expected so we had a leisurely afternoon and evening in Portishead, which included packing all of our gear to return it to Toa, Toa, Toa in the morning.

On the Wednesday after dropping our kit back at Toa, Toa, Toa, we returned Tracey’s car to her and caught the bus back to Backwell, to spend the late afternoon and evening getting our gear ready for our trip to Sevenoaks, Kent, to attend the first of two weddings – that of Harriet and Mark (Harriet is Vickie’s oldest sister).

To get to Sevenoaks, we got a bus into Bristol, a coach from Bristol to London and the train from Charing Cross to Sevenoaks. Tom met us at the station and dropped us off at our Bed and Breakfast accommodation (Stable Cottage – a lovely place right next to the town centre) our home for the next four nights. After settling in Tom collected us and drove us to Roger and Margret’s (Vickie’s parents) house and from there we, accompanied by Tom and Vickie, visited Vickie’s grandmother Nancy for wine and nibbles. Nancy is quite a remarkable woman incredibly bright and spritely for her 90 years and great company. Later we were joined by Roger for a rather nice meal at a Turkish restaurant in the centre of town.

On the Friday we helped out a little in terms of preparation for the wedding as well as having a guided tour of Sevenoaks town centre from Tom and Vickie.

The wedding itself on the Saturday was a spectacular event held in the grounds of the St. Clere’s estate, a beautiful and historic house near the village of Kemsing. We spent the late morning early afternoon at Roger and Margret’s house watching the bride and the bridesmaids get ready – they all looked beautiful and radiant.

At the ceremony and reception there were over 100 guests who were treated to canapes after the ceremony, free drinks throughout the afternoon and evening, a three-course meal, a 6-piece wedding band (who were very good and got the place bouncing). It was delightful to spend some time with Margret’s siblings Kurt and Karen and Kurt’s wife Janine as well as members of Mark’s family.

The Sunday was a day of recovery, with a takeaway buffet brunch, a lovely walk to Knole House and Park and a barbeque in the evening.

On the Monday we travelled back to Backwell, to collect Toa, Toa, Toa and then returned to Swansea to attend the second wedding - surprise, surprise our own.

Jo and I have been together since November 1988, created and raised a beautiful son we’re both proud of, and built a life together but finally saw the sense in getting married. Our wedding was a small intimate event; arranged at such short notice that, special friends Gill, Bob and Tracey were unable to make it due to pre-arranged activities.

We spent two of the three nights before the wedding parked at the Marina car park – a free camping spot which is quite busy as its close to the beach but a peaceful spot at night. The day before the wedding itself we moved into a house in Southgate that we rented for three nights and were joined by Jo’s sister Gillian and her husband John, and Tom and Vickie. Unfortunately, Jo’s Dad (Big Tom despite being the fittest 83-year-old you’ll ever know, didn’t feel up to travelling from Cumbria to Swansea) and then Aunt Margaret (Jo’s Mum’s older sister) died and her funeral took place the day before our wedding, making travel impossible for Ada (Jo’s Mum).

On the day of the wedding, we were joined by Tom, Vickie, Gillian, John, my mother Rosemary and one of our oldest friends Drew. After the ceremony in Swansea’s Registry Office, we had canapes and champagne in the Marriot Hotel and then went for a slap-up meal in a nice French restaurant.

The following day we hosted a barbeque for a few friends – a relatively quiet event.

On the Sunday morning Tom, Vickie, Gill and John left us and we spent 4 more days in the Swansea area, seeing friends and doing admin tasks, which included both getting our COVID and flu jabs. On the morning we left Swansea I managed to brush Toa, Toa, Toa, up against a tree whilst parking, which resulted in a part of the awning coming off. When we realised that we’d lost it we returned to the spot to find it in many hundreds of pieces, smashed either by ourselves or by the cars that had subsequently parked in the space. As the van is approaching 20 years old getting parts for it can be a challenge but after enquiries on the Facebook Hymer Owners Group page, we managed to track down a supplier who posted it on to Max and Pete in Crackington Haven, our final stop before catching the ferry to Santander.

We left Swansea mid-afternoon on the 22nd September and stopped for one night at the Cardiff Council site on Pontcanna Fields (we’d highly recommended it if your visiting Cardiff). We then spent the weekend at North Mort Farm campsite in Morthoe, which is between Woolacombe and Ilfracombe in North Devon. What a beautiful site and the views from it on a good day are outstanding. Lundy Island to the west, the whole of the south Wales coastline from Pembrokeshire to Aberthaw to the north and in the very far distance to the north west you can make out the outline of the top of mountains in Southern Eire. It was strange to have driven for 3 ½ hours to be able to see the lights twinkling in Swansea directly across the Bristol Channel. On the Saturday we had a fantastic walk along the coast path into Ilfracombe, stopping at the delightful village of Lee for a drink and a nose around.

That evening when we returned to the van – disaster struck. The drop-down bed above the driver and passenger seat, came away from one of its 6 mounts. No matter how hard Jo and I tried we couldn’t quite get the bed high enough to align the bolt and the two holes it needed to pass through. After further conversations with members of the Hymer Owners Group, who provided suggestions on how to approach the repair, repairers in the area and the reassurance that whilst the bed slumped on the passenger side, that the van was safe to drive, we set off the next morning to spend the night in a car park beside the harbour in Ilfracombe which had dedicated spaces for motorhomes. We spent the Sunday exploring Ilfracombe, which could accurately be described as a seaside town down on its luck but has some absolute gems within it, such as the beautiful Georgian homes on hill overlooking the harbour, the harbour itself and the Damien Hirst statue “Verity” which guards the harbourside. It was amusing to be in the town at the same time as a scooter rally. The smell of two stroke engines wafting in the sea air and watching old mods – some in their late 60’s and early 70’s dancing at a disco in a harbourside pub. Jo and I remarked that would be us two in a decade’s time. In the evening we got a bit of culture and watched a play in a canvas dome outside of the Landmark Theatre – “Caste-ing”, which was excellent.

We spent a further night in Ilfracombe and on the Tuesday morning the kind folk at Mullacott Caravan and Motorhome Centre undertook the repair. It took three of them and me to do it and it required the removal of one of the hydraulic pistons which support the lifting and lowering of the bed. (Fortunately, we only use the bed for storage so that shouldn’t be too much of a problem on our travels). From Ilfracombe we then drove down the Atlantic Highway (A39) to spend the night with Max in Crackington Haven, on the North Cornwall coast collecting the part for the awning before setting off for Plymouth the next morning. We didn’t get to see any of the area because the weather was not good when we arrived or for the duration of our stay, so we spent a pleasant evening in the company of Max, Pete (for some of the time – he had to drive back to Bristol that evening) and the Basil Brush lookalike they were taking care of.

The next morning, we set off for Plymouth arriving in good time for our journey that afternoon.

The journey itself was pleasant, we got a cabin upgrade, enjoyed a nice meal with wine in the restaurant and enjoyed the entertainment in the bar. We arrived in Santander at 2.30pm local time on the 29th September, in the middle of a torrential downpour.