#i c/p everything straight from my notes app

[loko4koko]

>BRUH i just was skimming through don’t tell me to go away from you and i got to a paragraph and the whole BEGINNING OF THE SENTENCE WAS GONE

>so i just fcking fixed it

>and now i am so EMBARRASSED that you lovely folks had to try and figure out what i meant by this for the past few weeks 😭 like the whole highlighted part was just not there wtffffff

[rawrmeansilyindinosawr]

MARGaRITAVIlLLE TRI3D 2 SCam MEH ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

HelllOOooooo yall it has been A mf minute since i hav posted bloggie cuz i hass been mf IN A Depressiee episode n traveling but also hustling hard afffff n also manically bleaching my hair n then toning it 2 silver then dying it back 2 brown which is now fading in 2 a blondeish reddish copper patchy thInggy.. ;p

whuts been new since i last bloggyedd on like 4th of july or some10... n hung out w ravers on a bender from electrickk forest cafe i meEAN forest rave. speekiingg of dat cafe i hav never been to rainforest cafe ;p lulzz. i updated moi tinder bio to 'NEWLY SINGLE SO KAN ONLY DO CASUAL BUT IF UR ON THE MARGARITAVILLE CRIUSE SHIP.....HMU 0.0 ' ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! n tha Cruiseshipp in west palm bITCH floridA def tried 2 charge me for fuel immisions n 'OPENING A WATER BOTTLE IN THE HOTEL ROOM' WHICH I DID NOT................the only CHAOzszz that i ENSUED THERE WUZ breaking the bathroom door [[[in my defense it was already hanging off the hinges]]] n needing 2 call tha maintence pplzz to cum fixx it while crying under my sheetzz,. tha cruise wuz whatev but shoutout to all the mILFS in the hot tub who were telling me to LOVE WHO I LOVE [[gay advocates]]. ;]] bc 'JESUS LUVS ME.' also Y were there no hawt pplzz in florida except the increasingly short ppl [ex wuz 4'11 n the only hawt person was a 4'9 shawty] .....

WHyyYyyyYYyy IS IT SO HARD 2 ACCEPT THAT THE MF BEAUTY STANDARD FOR CHRISTIANZZ WAS FUKIN LARRY THE CUCUMBER WITH NO HAIR BUT HAD A WHOLE ODE/SONG TO HIM BEING SOOOOOOoooo SAD HE LOST HIS HAIRBRUSHHHHHHHH n YYYYYY am i still replaying in my headdd when tht Gurl fell downwards from trying to jump a cargo train in front of mehh N YYYYY am i still craving ass eating on train trak n makin11-11 wishes on passin train cartz.

yES i hexed my ex and tha nxt day someone got shot outside his house n NO I DONT FEEL BAD AB IT BITCH CUZZ even tho i did get triggered WAKING UP 4 dayzz ago n SEEING HIM PRETENDING 2 B A FUCKING DOG oNLINE ......... i kan sleep in peace knowing i do not pretend 2 b DOGGO n AT THE END OF THE DAY IT IS ALL LUV BITCHhhhhhhh. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !whew. =]

dEFINING KETAMINE CHIC . [NOT CHICK.] having undiagnosed adhd until UR an 'ADULT...''' having 'acute pain of riGHT SHOULDER' as 1 of ur medical diagnoses......ASking FLOWErz if ur crush likes u Back cuz flowerzz nevr LIE,...spending at LEAST 4 hours a day wondering why charlixcx has soOooooo many songs ab carszz.......falling on sidewalk outside of moodring cuz everything lookin like lEGO BLOCKZ N GLITTERRRRRR ... being DEPRESSED cuz the age filter on tiktok makes u look like ur DAD n u kant make urself feel better by downloadng reiMI AI ART 2 C UR FUTURE BBBBBYYY. WLALLOWW. loving EVERYONEEEE but bein reecluse n keeping ur thots to urself meow mEOW NOWWW. always havin ur phone at lik less than 10 percent...,,.holding bloodstones 2 ur hart n googling ab shamanism at 4am cuz ur lik wondering why that Tboy that came over for hot disrespectful sexx ended up saging ur pussy n telling u ab how he got initiated into being a shaman by fighting for 11 eggs....,,.,.....havin tummy problems, nose drip N using toilet paper instead of ACtual tissue paper,..,..flashbacks of being told NO when u asked 2 lick the outside of someoness coffe pot.......DICKTIONARY 2 B CONTINUED

sooOOO many short poems compiled in my notes app tht idk where else 2 share sooo here it is

'it was 2am when we talked in ur kitchen, shoes off n ur face looked different'

'built me up 2 tear me down. sugary sweet cocoa puff u Were a radioactive bomb. whispers in my head u told me 2 never trust my friends,..'

'my sex is my poetry, yet my broad shoulders n straight posture an embodied personality,...i feel like a copy of what i thought i should be, by simply observing those around me'

'u apologized 4 walking in 2 my soul, said u treat ur friendz like tht...but bc of ur brain u kant remember much n i wanted 2 ask u how does it feel to experience everything lik it was the first time, but all the time'

YEepPpppp i defz still am sneaking in2 nowiezz by going thruu tha side door into tha yard/outdoor area N yaaaaa i am still somehow ordering uberzz back to bushwIG from paulsbabygrandd with only 1 percent then moii phone dying rite after ordering itt but then somehow finding the car a block down N tha driver miracuouslyy still waiting 4 uss lik 10 min later....N yaaa i am still almost getting kicked out of the MOxy cuz im being loud wiff moi fWEndzz in tha vintage photo booth........n YA still crushing on moi friendzzz new roomie wiFF terrible social anxiety n i DEF offeredd 2 walk they doggo 4 free cuz ima SIMPPP 4 SIMP. n def am tryna buy dem a plant cuz thts whut gay ppls do when they ask u if u wanna fugg/peace offering. n YASS i am still binge watching trash tv N surrounding moiself w ppl tht wanna 'AIR OUT ' in my room by stripping completly nekkid then takin a shower in moi shower n defz yam still SCREAMING at tha top of moi lungs cuz im ANGRY... n YAAA still sad there is no unique lesbian experience cuzz pplzz still wanna giv u they ex's anime/manga bookz . Vegas bound nxtt week n reddy 2 b outta town yet again n b wiff my best friend. ;] C U NXT WEKKKKKKK

LUV U ALLL xoxoxoxo renny69247 [my old tiktok username i am 1000000 percent still spiteful my old boss asked me to change for tiktok creds for styling jewlery on some bella hadid campaign. WHATEVZZZ.]

[zegumi]

Ushijima Wakatoshi SFW alphabet

alphabet template here

fluff I sfw I gn reader I hcs

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

at first he's quite hesitant on showing affection, wondering if you're comfortable with him being that close to you. he starts off easy: holding hands, letting you rest on him... etc.

once he feels more comfortable with you, he starts placing his head in your lap and giving you little kisses here and there

his favourite forms of affection are: forehead/cheek kisses, back hugs, holding pinkies, and resting his head on your shoulder

when you’re not around he shows affection by talking to you to his closer teammates but subtly, he brings up your name once in a while and a teammate will tease "ooo somebody's in looove" and he starts blushing profusely, asking if they can go back to practice, but the thought of you never leaves

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

being best friends with ushijima seems very rare, he's pretty selective with letting people close enough to earn that title

with you it was unexpected, you weren't afraid or cautious of his stoic upfront. you sat next to him in class and tried to make conversation with him, making sure to include him in conversations and asking how he's doing once in a while. he lets his guard down a little and you guys get even closer, he even invites you over to help with some schoolwork and suddenly you guys are spending more time together outside of school

he's kind of hesitant to call you a best friend, but when he sees that you’re okay calling him yours, he adopts the same title

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

yes yes yes and yes

he is always behind you, resting your head on top of his. if not he'll be facing upwards, lying on his back, your head will be resting on his shoulder and he'll have his arm wrapped around your waist.

he's definitely 99% always the big spoon

but on the rare occasion he wants to be the little spoon, he has both his arms wrapped around your waist, with his head on your chest, your hand running through his hair while your legs are intertwined absolute bliss

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

hell yeah

he's a sucker for the domestic life, waking up with you in your sub-urban house, a train ride away from the city. making cakes with you in your green painted kitchen which took you way longer than it needed to bc you kept messing around

he can cook, oh my, he buys some cookbooks and you guys spend some time with each other

I feel like he wants kids, some mini him and you running around, if not he'll adopt some

him teaching his kids to play volleyball in the backyard, him brushing their teeth and reading them bedtime stories and them giving them a little kiss goodnight cuteness overload

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

definitely depends on the reason why you're breaking up, but in this scenario, let's say he hasn't been home enough and you guys feel like you're not with each other enough pain

he really dreads having to break up with you, but he knows you deserve more than someone who is barely home. he's not harsh about it, he sits you down at a time when you guys are both free and explains why, "maybe the time isn't right, right now"

even though he broke it off, he still thinks about it quite a lot, he really hopes that you guys will find your way back to each other one day even if he knows that it won't be possible bc right now you're happier with someone else :( i love angst

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

his volleyball career kinda gets in the way of him wanting to commit to you, but he wants to show you that you mean the world to him, so i think he proposes in his mid-late twenties

his proposal isn't really that over the top, but he takes you out first for a fancy dinner with the excuse 'can't i treat you once in a while'. it's quite dark outside and you guys are looking over the city, you turn around to ask him something and you see him down one knee lovely

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

he is very gentle... probably bc of his strict upbringing, but he makes sure not to hurt you in any way

he becomes so much more gentle with his words, careful of saying the wrong words because he can't stand the thought of losing you

physically, he tries to make sure not to accidentally knock into you bc this man is so big and if you get ill ushijima is doing anything in his power to get you better, he tries not to get sick in the process, but having you care for him doesn't seem like the worst idea

emotionally, he tries to support you, but he's not the greatest at dealing with emotions, but when supporting you he tries comforting you rather than trying to solve your problems

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

at the beginning of the relationship, i think his hugs are kind of stiff-ish, but once you guys get more comfortable he goes all in

he's such a good hugger. he doesn't do half-hugs, it's all of it or nothing, he engulfs you with his strong arms a little bit too tight but who needs air

if he feels extra clingy back hugs. he loves the feeling of having your figure pressing against his, sometimes his hands grip onto your waist and he'll sway you back and forth while humming to his favourite song

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

as I've mentioned before, you're the first one to say ily in the relationship, but he says it back straight after

i like to think this happens about 5/6 months into the relationship, just when you guys start getting really comfortable around each other

as for using the L-word, he doesn't really say it that often, he believes when something is overused it isn't as special. he only uses it when it needs to be said

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

he doesn't really get jealous easily bc he's kind of oblivious or chooses not to pay attention to it

but when he catches on to whatever's going on, his eyebrows furrow and he'll just give the stare, he'll come near you and put an arm around your waist and slyly try to join the conversation

he knows what he's doing and so does everyone else

the person you're talking to gets a bit intimidated and tries to end the conversation as quickly as possible

you'll try to tease him for his jealously and he'd just change the subject and starts blushing a little, if you try to bring it up later he'd be like 'huh what was that sorry i don't remember'

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

I'm not good with this type of stuff ahh

he's actually pretty good at kissing. he likes soft kisses and little pecks on the shoulder and forehead.

when he's rough or needy, he gets really handsy like hands cupping your cheeks, in your hair, hands pulling your waist in - just very intimate

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

lazy mornings bc who likes being productive all the time

he likes sleeping in on days he has nothing to do, so he’ll be behind you hugging your waist and his head resting on your back, you try to stand up so you can get breakfast done but he pulls you back and says 'come on, just a little more', you know that means another hour but you still get sucked back into his warm embrace

you end up falling asleep and wake up with noises coming from the kitchen. you walk in on him wearing just an apron and his pajama pants, dancing to the radio while making pancakes for breakfast

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

again lazy evening edition bc why not

he comes home early that day, brings home your favourite snacks and asks if you want to watch a movie with him

he grabs a few blankets from your room and you guys decide to watch 13 going on 30 one of my comfort movies

halfway through the movie, he places his head on your laps asking for you to play with his hair, he lies down and you throw some popcorn and skittles in his mouth every few minutes, you tried pouring water but he started choking and spat water all over your shirt

it gets pretty late and cold so he changes you into his hoodie and carries you over to the bedroom. you guys fall asleep to the hums of the city below

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

he's a very reserved person, and i think it's just the way he was raised, talking about feelings wasn't normal in his home growing up

i think with you it takes him some time to open up, he reveals a few things about him and his childhood here and there but nothing major

he doesn't talk about how he feels enough, so it kinda relies on you being able to notice a change in his behaviour which might I say seems extremely hard

i think if you start being more open to him, then he follows on

he gets more comfortable with his emotions around you first and then starts being more open to his team - just give him some time he gets there

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

oh he's so patient, so patient

it takes a LOT to anger him, i don't think you ever have or ever will see this man angry, tbh i don't think you would want to

if you ever lash out at him, he'd sit down and understand where you're coming from, he'd try to calm you down and give you a second to let it all out

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing or do they kind of forget everything?)

he remembers everything, literally everything

you mentioned that you liked mangos yesterday, and boom you've got a lifetime supply in your kitchen /s

he keeps a little note in his notes app just making sure he doesn't forget anything, he has your favourite orders, skin/hair care products you use, and little stuff like your favourite show in there

he does this bc he loves how your eyes beam after realising he remembers the little details

R = Remember (What is their favourite moment in your relationship?)

this one hc is why this took so long, so I decided not to do bc my brain isn’t responding

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

ushijima isn't the overprotective type although he is protective

he doesn't care what you wear or how you present yourself, as long as you’re comfortable, you will have his full support

if he sees someone making you uncomfortable, he is always quick to jump in and say "you're making them uncomfortable can you please excuse yourself". if he sees a situation is making you feel uneasy he will take you and leave, to calm you down or to clear your mind, which ever one is the best choice in that moment

he doesn't feel the need to be protected, he believes that hes strong enough for the both of you sometimes he needs a little help so pls do step in

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

such a big try hard, he puts so much effort into dates, anniversaries, and even mundane everyday activities.

even far into your relationship he still pulls up at your door with a suit and a flower bouquet which he seems to never forget

he always wants everything to be perfect so you'll never forget

he enjoys surprising you with little gifts to remind you that he still cares. he seems like the type to buy you a promise ring, and oh my is it beautiful

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

this is hard bc in my eyes this man can't do any wrong, but its probably how he can't express his emotions very well

everyone gets in a bad mood once in a while, but for ushijima its different, the stress of volleyball gets to him and he just ends up shutting everyone out, including you. he was never taught how to properly talk abt how he feels so he just holds it in with never intending to let it out

if you try to ask him whats wrong then he just grunts and shrugs it off

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

he isn’t insecure for how he looks physically, he works out and maintains a healthy lifestyle, and he was blessed with that beautiful face of his *chefs' kiss

he's always hygienic (bare minimum), he cuts his hair regularly, keeps his hands nice and clean, with his nails well-trimmed

he likes to keep his appearance up and always looks like he should be on the front cover of a magazine but so effortlessly

bonus: he smells so good, he wears expensive cologne and zooweemama its so tasty, you'll hug him and never want to let go just because

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

he wouldn't necessarily feel incomplete with out you, he'd feel a bit empty

he forgets how much he misses you when he goes abroad for matches and he can't see you for a week straight. he makes sure to send videos and voice notes rather than texts so you can send some back. he video calls everyday, no matter the time difference just so he can see you in real time

if you guys take a break in the relationship, he finds his self drifting back into his stoic shell. he tries his best not to bc he knows how much he loves the person you've helped him become

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

doesn't know how to flirt hehe

he tries to use a smooth pick up line once in a while but they all end up with him in a flustered mess before he can even finish a sentence, i think we should leave the flirting to you

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

liars/dishonest people

he can't stand it when somebody lies to him, its agitating when someone he cares for feels the need to lie to him, it makes him feel like they don't trust him enough

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habit of theirs?)

he's a quite a light sleeper and wakes up pretty easily. he also looks dead when he sleeps, for example most days he sleeps pretty early bc he's worn out and you come into the bedroom and see him lying down on his back, his chest isn't even moving like it should be, but you'll get into bed with him and his first instinct is to wrap his arms around you and give you a kiss

i think he sleep talks, omg just imagine ushijima whispering about the weirdest things in his dreams. you recorded him once and showed him when he woke up and he got a bit embarrassed and started laughing

here's the hcs for mornings with ushi

this took me so long omg >o< I really hope I portrayed his character well bc he’s such a lovely person

make sure to take care of yourselves :)

reblogs are very much appreciated <3

requests are open

[readevalprint]

Previewing images in and out of SLIME REPL

As any Common Lisp coder knows, a REPL is an incredibly useful tool. It can be used not just for development, but for running all sorts of tasks. Personally, I don’t bother making my Lisp tools into executable scripts and just run them directly from SLIME. As such, any operation that requires leaving the REPL is quite inconvenient. For me, one such operation was viewing image files, for example in conjunction with my match-client:match tool. So lately I’ve been researching various methods to incorporate this functionality into the normal REPL workflow. Below, I present 3 methods that can be used to achieve this.

Open in external program

This one’s easy. When you want to view a file, launch an external process with your favorite image viewer. On Windows a shell command consisting of the image filename would launch the associated application, on Linux it’s necessary to provide the name of the image viewer.

(defvar *image-app* nil) ;; set it to '("eog") or something (defun view-file-native (file) (let ((ns (uiop:native-namestring file))) (uiop:launch-program (if *image-app* (append *image-app* (list ns)) (uiop:escape-shell-token ns)))))

Note that uiop:launch-program is used instead of uiop:run-program. The difference is that launch- is non-blocking - you can continue to work in your REPL while the image is displayed, whereas run- will not return until you close the image viewer.

Also note that when the first argument to run/launch-program is a string, it is not escaped, so I have to do it manually. And if the first argument is a list, it must be a program and a list of its arguments, so merely using (list ns) wouldn't work on Windows.

Inline image in REPL

The disadvantage of the previous method is that the external program might steal focus, appear on top of your REPL and disrupt your workflow. And it’s well known that Emacs can do everything, including viewing images, so why not use that?

In fact, SLIME has a plugin specifically for displaying images in REPL, slime-media. However it's difficult to find any information on how to use it. Eventually I figured out that SWANK (SLIME's CL backend) needs to send an event :write-image with appropriate arguments and slime-media’s handler will display it right in the REPL. The easiest way is to just send the file path. The second argument is the resulting image’s string value. If you copy-paste (sorry, “kill-yank”) it in the repl, it would act just like if you typed this string.

(swank::send-to-emacs '(:write-image "/path/to/test.png" "test"))

You can even send raw image data using this method. I don’t have anything on hand to generate raw image data so here’s some code that reads from a file, converts it to a base64 string and sends it over SWANK.

(with-open-file (in "/path/to/test.png" :direction :input :element-type '(unsigned-byte 8)) (let* ((arr (make-array (file-length in) :element-type '(unsigned-byte 8))) (b64 (progn (read-sequence arr in) (cl-base64:usb8-array-to-base64-string arr)))) (swank::send-to-emacs `(:write-image ((:data ,b64 :type swank-io-package::png)) "12345"))))

Note that the first argument to :write-image must be a list with a single element, which is itself a plist containing :data and :type keys. :data must be a base64-encoded raw image data. :type must be a symbol in swank-io-package. It's not exactly convenient, so if you're going to use this functionality a helper function/macro might be necessary.

Image in a SLIME popup buffer

Inline images are not always convenient. They can't be resized, and will take up as much space as is necessary to display them. Meanwhile EMACS itself has a built-in image viewer (image-mode) which can fit images to width or height of a buffer. And SLIME has a concept of a "popup buffer" which is for example used by macroexpander (C-c C-m) to display the result of a macro expansion in a separate window.

Interestingly, slime-media.el defines an event :popup-buffer but it seems impossible to trigger it from SWANK. It is however a useful code reference for how to create the popup buffer in ELisp. This time we won't bother with "events" and just straight up execute some ELisp code using swank::eval-in-emacs. However by default, this feature is disabled on Emacs-side, so you'll have to set Emacs variable slime-enable-evaluate-in-emacs to t in order for this method to work.

Also Emacs must be compiled with ImageMagick for the resizing functionality to work.

Anyway, the code to view file in the popup buffer looks like this:

(defun view-file-slime (file &key (bufname "*image-viewer*")) (let ((ns (namestring file))) (swank::eval-in-emacs `(progn (slime-with-popup-buffer (,bufname :connection t :package t) (insert-image (create-image ,ns)) (image-mode) (setf buffer-file-name ,ns) (not-modified) (image-toggle-display-image)) ;; try to resize the image after the buffer is displayed (with-current-buffer ,bufname (image-toggle-display-image)))))) ))

Arriving to this solution has required reading image-mode's source code to understand what exactly makes image-mode behave just like if the image file was opened in Emacs via C-x C-f. First off, image-mode can be a major and a minor mode - and the minor mode is not nearly as useful. slime-with-popup-buffer has a :mode keyword argument but it would cause image-mode to be set before the image is inserted, and it will be a minor mode in this case! Therefore (image-mode) must be called after insert-image.

Next, the buffer must satisfy several conditions in order to get image data from the filename and not from the buffer itself. Technically it shouldn't be necessary, but I couldn't get auto resizing to work when data-p is true. So I set buffer-file-name to image's filename and set not-modified flag on.

Next, image-toggle-display-image is called to possibly resize the image according to image-mode settings. It’s called outside of slime-with-popup-buffer for the following reason: the buffer might not yet be visible and have any specific dimensions assigned to it, and therefore resizing will do nothing.

Here's an example of how calling this function looks in Emacs.

The position of the popup buffer depends on whether the original Emacs window is wide enough or not. I think it looks better when it's divided vertically. Use M-x image-transform-fit-to-height or M-x image-transform-fit-to-width to set up the auto-resizing method (it gets remembered for future images). Unfortunately there's no way to fit both height and width, at least with vanilla Emacs. I prefer fit-to-width because in case the image is too tall, it is possible to scroll the image vertically with M-PgDn and M-PgUp from the other buffer. Unlike other image-mode buffers, this buffer supports a shortcut q to close itself, as well as various SLIME shortcuts, for example C-c C-z to return to the REPL.

That’s it for now, hope you enjoyed this overview and if you happen to know a better way to display images in Emacs, I would be interested to hear about it.

[seenashwrite]

Cards Against Supernatural: Sunday March 31st

◄ SUNDAY MARCH 31st, 7:00/7:15 P.M.-ish* CST ►

(* As always, this is not precisely when the game starts - we take a little time for everybody to get logged in & settled in chat, so feel free to come & hang out at Discord while you wait!)

If you see this? You’re invited. ALL SPN Family members who are at least 18 years & older are welcome!

💡 IF THIS WILL BE YOUR FIRST GAME WITH US, YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE IT’S GONNA BE YOUR JAM & VISIT CASPN HEADQUARTERS 💡

—> This is a mobile-friendly page and contains tons of need-to-knows —> This is NON-NEGOTIABLE FOR NEW PLAYERS

🌟 Post with link will go up closer to start of game 🌟

—> Make sure you are ready to go at Discord prior to game time so all you have to do is click-n’-chat! —> At the game site and on Discord (if you do not already have one), make sure you use your Tumblr name or a variation thereof so we know who you are - this prevents unnecessary confusion. 😁

🃏 Find out ways you can contribute to the decks, the most recent CASPN updates, quick tips for players, & how to join the tag list below 🃏

YOU CAN HELP MAKE THIS GAME BETTER!

Anytime you spot a great quote - and it will probably be on a gif! - that you think may work as a question/answer, shoot it my way and I’ll see if I can work it in.

Please include the season & episode number so I know which deck to put it in. FYI: We do not need any from seasons 3, 5, or 6 - those decks are complete or near completion.

.

UPDATES

On Skribblio…

This is a free online version of Pictionary that allows the host to input custom words - so we’ve been trying our hands at SPN-based drawings before CASPN starts, and it has been hilarious. If you have any ideas for words that are realistically draw-a-ble, feel free to shoot me an Ask with your suggestion. There will be a special chat set up for Skribblio separate from the CASPN chat, so if you decide to play, make sure you’re in the right chat. I believe the room limit is eight, otherwise you can jump in on the game even if it’s already in progress. Head over to the site (linked above) and get yourself set up ahead of time (your cookies will do the remembering from there on out). Recommend you use a mouse if you don’t have a pad/stylus - and be aware that the stylus will typically make a straight line “streak” across your drawing when you lift it from the pad, so I honestly think mouse will be better. * WE DON’T DO THIS EVERY SUNDAY, ONLY SOMETIMES! *

.

VERY IMPORTANT REGARDING VOICE CHAT

If you are going to participate in the voice chat over at Discord *PLEASE* make sure you are in a quiet place, and if you are unable to do so, kindly mute yourself and just listen until you are able.

Also, kindly mute yourself if you need to speak to someone on the phone/someone who is with you in person, and mute yourself if your environment becomes noisy - it happens! No worries! Just jump back in when that’s done/when it’s your turn to read

Have this set up and ready to go prior to game start, and ensure all other apps/messaging on your device of choice are muted.

If you are in voice chat just so you can listen because you can’t/don’t choose to read aloud, that of course is fine, but you need to have yourself muted, please, and communicate via chat that you need myself or someone else to read your hand.

.

TIPS & TRICKS FOR IN-GAME FAQs

(A kind reminder: most everything I/veteran players are asked in chat during games is covered at CASPN Headquarters)

Should your mic go out/no one can hear you in Discord, same thing applies as it does when you get duplicate cards/can’t choose a card over in the game - REFRESH! Just refresh the browser page for Discord, and give it a second, and it should remedy itself.

.

🏷️ Tag Me In The Future, Nash! 🏷️

TO BE TAGGED, YOU *MUST* SEND AN ASK! I will not tag you any other way, nor will I tag you if you’ve never played with us before. Them’s the breaks.

I AM UNABLE TO TAG ON THE DAY OF GAMES, suggest you look out for the post, come try the game on for size & if you enjoy it, kindly send an ask stating you’d like to be tagged after you know you like it & are able to participate in future games

IF YOU HAVE CHANGED YOUR NAME, it is YOUR responsibility to send me an ask - I will not track you down or assume you want to stay tagged

FOR THOSE WITH SETTINGS THAT PREVENT TAGGING, you do not have to follow me in order to participate, however I will not follow you just so I can tag you - I am following some CASPN players, however it is only when I find their content of interest or I was already following them prior to the original deck’s conception -  if you want to be in the know about the game dates/times, I suggest you (a) follow me and/or #CASPN which is unique to the weekly games I run, or (b) make a side blog with standard settings that is purely for the purpose of being on this tag list (ex: “CASPN-[your handle])

Tag team, back again…

@salt-n-burn-em-all @abbessolute @ohio-cnk-80q3 @a-screaming-ghost @ericaprice2008 @butiaintgonnaloveem @idreamofhazel @winchesterprincessbride @bemyqueenofdarkness @revwinchester

.

* The Cannot Tags! *

It either (1) looks like the blog under this name is inactive, (2) you’ve changed your name and not told me, or (3) there’s a setting on YOUR end that prevents it.

- None presently -

.

NOTE: THE LIST HAS BEEN PURGED AS OF 3/31/19

.

❓ WHY AM I NOT TAGGED? you may ask ❓

Reminder: I’m taking roll at games so I can keep up maintenance on the tag list - if you aren’t participating often [read: approx. every 6 wks/6 games] & you haven’t let me know to move you to my “Hiatus” list, then you won’t be tagged on posts, but I’ll keep you on the CASPN tags page, listed at the bottom under the time frame you were removed.

It is possible I made a mistake if I get busy and neglect to c/p the roster frequently throughout the game - all you have to do is speak up. The biggest issue I have with keeping up is when you use some rando name in game that neither I nor any of the other players recognize. If you want to stay on the tags, you need to use a name I’ll know. Otherwise, I couldn’t care less, call yourself whatever strikes your fancy! :)

Want to be back on “active” status?  Want to be removed altogether? No problem! Kindly communicate your wishes with me via Ask.

[kae-karo]

Katie I’m about to fly completely on my own for the first time this Friday and I’m pretty anxious about it. Do you have any advise you could give me about flying/the airport/packing/anything really? Thank you in advance :S x

hi b! ooooookay wow finally the 38 flights i went on last year will come in handy!

packing:

okay traveling by yourself if you’ve never done it before won’t necessarily impact your packing - just be sure that if you have a small carry-on bag that you don’t have any liquids over 2.5oz and remember that like. if you forget something, a lot of hotels (if that’s where you’re staying) will have stuff you can use for free, just ask them. worst case they usually have some stuff you can buy but most places are like really nice. if you’re staying with friends/family, just ask if you forgot something!

most people usually do like a carry-on bag and a checked bag, but just do whatever you normally do, and then make sure your carry-on has your id/passport, your phone, a charger for said phone, your wallet, any meds you have or anything you can’t go for the entire flight without, and then something to do on the plane (book, game, laptop, tablet, etc)

my necessities: phone, wallet, passport if i’m going international, keys cause i usually have to get back in my house after lmao, laptop, chargers for laptop and phone, a portable charger, headphones

here’s the hard tip: acknowledge that you probably will forget something. i literally travel almost every month of the year and i forget one thing every time. but it’s gonna be okay. as long as you have your id/passport/wallet and phone, things will be okay

before you travel:

okay so i have the apps for like all the major airlines and i usually try to check myself in right when i’m allowed to (24hr before). if you’re on southwest, set yourself a reminder so you can check in exactly 24hr before the flight and make sure you get a decent boarding number cause they do it on first come first serve

otherwise, just check in and save a screenshot of your boarding pass to your phone. i usually just do everything with the boarding pass in the app or saved to my photos but you can get a paper copy at the airport as well, and don’t stress if you lose it or w.e once you’re past security cause the gate attendants can print a new one (or you can just use the mobile)

oh the other thing here is you can sometimes choose a different seat whilst checking in? so if you see the one that’s assigned to you and you Don’t Like It, see if any others are available that you might prefer. i always go for the closest aisle seat to the front when traveling alone

and ofc you’ll want to make sure you have some kind of plan for once you arrive at your destination for how you’ll be getting wherever you’re going - taxi, uber, ride from friend/fam, public transport, whatever, just kind of have an idea what you need to do so you’re not stressing once you land

this one is one that doesn’t apply to me, but definitely something to check and look into if needed: if you have any special requirements or needs whilst in the airport or flying, ie wheelchairs or special accommodations or w.e, make sure you know what you have to do when you arrive

leaving for the airport:

okay first and foremost, depending on your airport, you’ll want to be sure you arrive at least 1.5hr early (this is like my personal rule of thumb bc i usually fly in and out of moderately large airports and i have Massive Paranoia about traveling for some reason?? even though i take like 12+ trips a year? but most places require no less than 40ish minutes ahead of time, that’s like super tight though i do Not recommend) - keep in mind like. traffic and stuff, if you’re going to the airport during rush hour or w.e make time for that

if you’re not familiar with your airport and like getting in (bc there’s usually a massive amount of like exits and ‘turn here for this’ sort of things) talk to someone who is familiar with it or like. google maps it ahead of time and street view walk yourself through it, whatever you need to do to feel comfy so if you’re the one driving, you know where to go to park/etc. if you’re ubering or having someone drop you off, just be sure you know which airline you’re on as they’ll drop you off in the right place

checking in:

okay if you’re already checked in and you don’t have a checked bag, you can head straight to security, but if you do need to check your bag, use the kiosks they’re always faster and you don’t have to wait in line. it’s pretty self-explanatory, usually, just enter the identifying info and it’ll probably note that you’re already checked in and just say you have a bag to check. you can also print a physical boarding pass here if you want. the kiosk will print out your luggage tag and just follow the instructions to attach it to the bag. there’ll be like a drop off point (they’re usually p well-labeled) up by the actual people at desks so just head up there and have your id/passport and boarding pass ready cause they’ll want to check them

security:

okay 9 times out of 10 you probably will Not have tsa precheck but if you do, it’ll be somewhere on your boarding pass and you should look for/ask someone about the nearest tsa precheck line. it’s just convenient, cause you don’t have to remove laptops or take your shoes off and it’s usually the shortest line

if you don’t have tsa precheck, just find the nearest (and shortest) security line and have your id and boarding pass ready. if you’re using a mobile boarding pass, lock your screen rotation if you’ll be using the picture you took instead of the app (this is the most annoying thing lmao i’ve done it too many times and usually just try to use the app when i can cause it’ll lock the rotation and go full brightness automatically). then you’ll have to put the phone on the lil scanner and it’ll beep when it’s scanned and done

now, again, if you have any special needs whilst going through security, you’re probably familiar with what you’d have to do if it differs from the standard procedure, but otherwise just go through as you normally would

between security and boarding:

do whatever u want basically. get food, if you need it or if you think you’ll need it whilst on the flight. drinks are usually hella expensive so i try to bring my refillable water bottle (empty!) and then refill once i’m past security

basically how you spend this time is totally up to you. i usually grab food as needed then go chill by my gate, if it’s an airport i’m familiar with and i know how long it’ll take to get wherever i need to go, but you may be more comfy just finding your gate first and then sticking nearby to get anything you need. also i’m a big fan of the charging areas which a lot of airports have now, so if u wanna charge up i recommend

boarding:

every airline is different but there’ll usually be some kind of boarding group or order listed on your boarding pass, so just keep that in mind (ie american has like,,,,6 boarding groups? united has 9, southwest has their whole a/b/c groups, etc etc etc i think one even has like a 2a 2b or something idk that might’ve been in the uk but just look on your boarding pass) if you’re confused or w.e don’t be afraid to ask one of the gate attendants that stand at the front

basically nothing here is all that different if you’re alone, just pay attention when they start boarding and listen for your group, same rule of thumb goes with turning your phone on screen-rotation lock when you go to scan your boarding pass (if it’s the mobile pic you saved)

the goal here with boarding is to go as quickly as you can, but don’t stress if it takes you a second to get in your row! it’s okay, people aren’t as in a rush as they seem. definitely try to fit ur stuff under your seat cause otherwise it’s a pain to get up and get it from the overhead bins

the flight:

honestly just sit back relax and do whatever u normally do! usually there’s no reason this would be any different when traveling alone. aside from sitting near strangers which is annoying sometimes but in my experience if u pop some headphones in everyone leaves u alone

after the flight:

i mean generally just head out into the airport u landed in and look for baggage claim signs - regardless of whether u checked a bag or not, most ground transport out of the airport is near the baggage claim. so just follow signs (and generally the people leaving the plane) and make your way there. if you get lost, again, don’t feel bad abt asking someone to point you in the right direction

if u have a bag, most places have a display board that says which baggage claim you’re at (if they didn’t announce it on the plane when you landed) and you can wait there

once ur done, depending on your mode of transport out, you can follow signs! many of the bigger airports now have designated sections for rideshares like uber and lyft as well 

i hope that helps b! you’ll be fine, don’t stress too much :) i hope you’re traveling for a good/fun reason at least!

[beardyallen]

Well, that went quickly...

What day is it? I’m starting to lose track of how long I’ve been here...

Well, it’s been a week since my last post, and it seems that a lot must have happened, but honestly I feel like I’ve just been cranking through a bunch of comic books.

But I do know that Friday and Saturday involved a good deal excitement, so I guess we had might as well pick up pretty much where we left off!

Last Friday was Orientation for ICB, which meant getting all of the 35-40 instructors, 10 staff members, and the 6-8 people in charge of this program together in a room to introduce us to...basically what we’d been doing all that week. Also, aside from a couple study-abroad-undergrads and my officemate and me, everyone there had probably already heard the spiel.

It was scheduled from 5p-6p with a buffett afterwards, but a bunch of the Communications people from my floor were going out to eat (again?) afterwards, so I made plans with NR. She wanted to try this Mexican restaurant in what I’ll describe as the “international district” of Beijing. Most everything around us when we got there looked like it belonged in literally every metropolitan area in the world. Every major brand you can imagine had a store. Multiple. Too many...

But the Mexican restaurant we visited is owned and managed by a Mexican expat, apparently. He even stopped by our table to ask how the food was, and let me tell you: that quesadilla was the BOMB!!! And the margarita was pretty good (not as good as MHO’C’s, though!). By the time we finished up dinner, it was kind of late, so we wondered around the shopping center, found a bookstore. You know: the usual.

Fun fact: when a store or restaurant wants to indicate to their patrons that they are getting ready to close, they play smooth jazz and turn the lights down. Like for real. Had their not been windows open to the pavilion outside with it’s hundreds of light displays, I would have been seriously concerned when the lights in the place just went out and Kenny G popped up on the speakers.

We entertained the idea of finding the cinema nearby to see Alita Battle Angel, but during the 15 minutes that we spent wondering around in search of the complex, it seemed to elude us. Plus it was getting close to that time when the subway shuts down, and I wasn’t exactly hankering for a taxi ride this early in my stay....if at all.

The next morning, I got up early to meet back up with NR at the National Museum near the Forbidden City. Now, for the most part, the stairs I get don’t bother me. But I will say, if you’re going to stair at the pasty white guy with a hard-to-describe-its-color-accurately-beard, maybe don’t do it when you’re going 15 mph on a bike, facing in the wrong direction! *sigh.....Some people’s kids...

But what really bothered me, especially at the time, was the father-of-three who straight-up filmed me on his phone from 5 feet away for a solid 6 minutes, three hallways, and two escalators! I get it, I’m funny looking. But I really think I a picture would have done just fine...

One of the things that bothered me the most about that experience was that (a) he had a shit-eating grin plastered on his face, (b) his daughters seemed rather embarrassed, (c) he filmed me with the screen aimed at me so I could watch myself on his phone, (d) there was text on the screen, and (e) it went on for a solid 6 minutes.

In hindsight, I was wearing sunglasses and a hat, in a subway system, in the morning, heading to the center of Beijing. Maybe he thought I was a celebrity? I had spoken to a Communications graduate student the other day who happens to be black, and he told me the story of how a citizen here pull out their phone with a picture of Samuel L. Jackson on it, and gestured to him as it to ask if it were him...even though SLJ is for sure at 70 years old and this kid is no more than 35. And he looks 25. #smh

Anyway, after dealing with whatever the hell that was, I got to visit the museum! They, for whatever reason, were not allowing people to bring their charging blocks into the museum (external battery that you can use to charge your cell phone and other devices on-the-go), but more surprising to me was just how many people carried one with them! At least, it was surprising until I took a moment to think about it. As I’ve mentioned before, basically every payment made in Beijing is through WeChat, which needs internet access, so I guess it shouldn’t be too surprising. You also really can’t navigate through the city with some sort of Maps app; there are just too many bus routes, train routes, terminals and stops to keep logged in your head.

As far as the museum itself goes, the gifts to China from foreign governments exhibit and the Ancient China exhibit themselves took most of the day. Also, no surprise: the gift that took up the most floor space was given by a U.S. President. I also got a refresher in 8th Grade Social Studies. Too many small countries to remember all of them, and that space made me feel somewhat moronic.

The Ancient China exhibit was exceptional, though. They broke up the last, oh...750,000 years of human-ish life in China into 8-10 separate eras, the first few cataloguing the life and evolution of Homo erectus pekinensis into Homo sapien, while the latter eras were segregated dynastically. I’ve never seen the progression of human evolution laid out in such detail! The rock tools became better rock tools, then pottery and paper, stamps, buildings and so much more! There were even ceremonial helmets that would put the Juggernaut to shame!

It was strange, though, to have all of this knowledge just beyond my fingertips both literally and figuratively. The literal sense isn’t too shocking, as I’ve been to a museum before and know not to touch the pieces, but to have placards written in a language that would take years to learn was frustrating. Fortunately, NR has a never-ending supply of patience, and she translated much of the text. She even quizzed me on several of the characters. I’ve worked out how to write “rock” for sure.

After the museum, we wondered over to a nearby mall that, honestly, puts the Mall of America to shame. No joke. This place was huge! It just kept going and going and going! There was a particular alley that has all of the “exotic foods” that you might see on The Amazing Race, which I haven’t tried yet but intend to, but the rest is mostly-outdoor shopping center. Our reason for being there was to find food (we had been in the museum for a bit over 7 hours), and then sit our fine asses down in a movie theater to watch Alita.

We found a restaurant that served food traditionally found where NR grew up. It was exceptional. And the beer just made it better. :P

The movie experience was something else entirely. I’ve gotten used to watching television and movies with subtitles so that, when people decide to talk to me, I can follow along with both bits. Or if people are just talking near me while I’m watching television, I don’t have to rewind the show. That helped a lot; the movie was still spoken in English, but there were Chinese subtitles. I recognized the Chinese character for “1″ frequently enough, but that was about it.

The movie itself was way more than I expected. I shouldn’t be surprised, given that one of the primary characters is played by Christoph Waltz. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should definitely consider it.

Also, additional fun fact: I’m thinking that most (if not all) showings of major motion pictures here are in 3D. *shrug* Side note: we’re going to see Captain Marvel tomorrow and I’M SO FREAKIN’ EXCITED!!!!

After the movie, we wandered back to the subway station and parted ways mid-subway-ride to head home. The next day I spent playing Kingdom Hearts 3 and sipping some beer in the 3rd Floor Lounge. All day. It was blissful.

This workweek has consisted of four main things: teaching responsibilities, a bit of dissertation work, trying out another one of the cafeterias on campus, and reading comic books. Oh, and beer. But that kind of goes without saying, doesn’t it? There’s a convenience store on the other side of the building in front of the Guest House that has cans of beer. You can buy them individual for 3 yuan, or roughly 45 cents. I won’t lie to you: I bought 12 of them and it didn’t cost me more than 6 bucks. And it’s really not bad, and even more convenient than the liquor store I lived by in Denver.

Anyway, as I said, I’m going to see Captain Marvel tomorrow, then to “W-Town” (originally Watertown...so glad they shortened it...) in northern Beijing, which sits at the base of part of the Great Wall. More than 20 people from ICB will be heading up to their on Saturday, so I imagine one of them will take pictures. Probably ML or S. So you’ll have those to look forward to since you know I won’t be taking any!

Oh!!! I almost forgot the biggest thing that happened this week! Actually, it might be the biggest news of my entire stay!!!

I did laundry.

And I washed my slippers. I’m not convinced that they’ve stopped smelling, but I’m holding out hope that I’ve finally figured out how to resolve an issue that I know humanity has been seriously struggling with for decades. I’m on the verge of a breakthrough, people, I swear!

Anyway, time to finish this beer, read a bit more of Scott Lynch’s Republic of Thieves (WE FINALLY FIND OUT ABOUT SABETHA!!!!), and head to bed. Big couple of days ahead...

Sláinte,

BeardyAllen

P.S. I bet you thought I was gonna forget! After class on Wednesday, I worked out how to make a phone call from here to the States to wish my Mom a Happy BIrthday. Caught her at work, and we got to chat for a good long while. It really put a nice cap on my evening, and it seemed it gave her a good start to her day. Anyway, I hope you had a great evening, found something nice at C&B and enjoyed that glass of wine you mentioned! Love you!!

[fromthedeskofelizabeththird]

Fracture 7/10

Please note that this chapter references torture, drugging and character death. I sobbed some ugly tears writing this. It honestly hurt me

If you like Juyeon, go love on @yoosungshoodie, since Juyeon is her OC. The banner comes from @kiserusmoke!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Epilogue | AO3| Masterlist

Three months ago

Nari’s train was running late. She frowned at the timetable, muttering to herself that of course it was . She had chosen to take it as an experiment, one that she was careful to lie to her family and friends about. As far as they knew, she was doing it for the environment, when in reality she was considering selling her car. She doubted she would be unemployed for long, but if that proved to be the case, using the bullet train would be easier on her finances than a car.

She took a seat as she waited for the next train, taking her phone from her pocket. She had been checking the business and job listings of three different news sites and loaded up the first, frowning almost immediately when the page finally loaded.

KOREA’S MOST ELIGIBLE BACHELOR: an exclusive interview with the heir to C&R

She could not deny that he was handsome, but the carefully posed photograph inside of his office only added insult to injury. It was difficult not to imagine those stern features dismissing her from C&R.

Nari opened her emails instead, scrolling through the usual spam and lingering over a particularly curious entry.

Paradise awaits you, Nari Song

With a smirk, she opened the e-mail, expecting some kind of shopping coupon or horoscope spam. The actual e-mail was even more cryptic, though, and she read over it several times to try and gauge its meaning.

Don’t you want to escape from this filthy world?

This is an invitation to paradise.

Are you suffering from your past?

We will help the pain go away.

A world filled with pleasure…

A world filled with truth…

A world with no tears….

A world with no rejections…

Accept the angel’s invitation and enter the mysterious messenger.

There was a link at the bottom and Nari clicked it, curious of the messenger and quietly acknowledging the clever marketing at play. No matter how many pretty words an advertisement had, there was no match for a person’s natural curiosity. The appstore entry was equally as vague, listed as the angel’s invitation with no screenshots. Two people before her had offered reviews, claiming their lives were changed as a result of the app, offering no further details than that. Nari read over the page twice before clicking download. She had nothing better to do, after all.

Her train arrived as the app finished downloading and she watched her screen as she gripped the nearest railing. By the first stop, she had created a login and proceeded to the opening screen, which offered no answers either, looking exactly like a messenger platform, with icons for e-mail and some form of texting function. She tapped at each, taking in the empty contact pages and coming to the conclusion that it was some kind of chat room, even if no one appeared to be online.

She was about to put her phone away, deciding to take another look later on, when the screen went blank, displaying green letters of code that she did not recognise.

Three months later

“What foods do you like?” Ray asked, arranging a fresh napkin on a saucer for his guest.

“Hmm?”

Judging from her expression, she was curious of his motives and he couldn’t find it in himself to blame her. The elixir of salvation was, after all, bitter on the senses and he did not want her to suffer any more than was necessary. The very thought of her face crumbling into one of agony left his heart skipping beats and palms clammy.

He had never been able to stand the thought of her coming to harm; had picked her out from hundreds based on that fact alone. She was different to the others: fragile and mysterious and completely out of place in the ordinary world.

“Ah! I’m sorry to ask such a strange question,” he said, “I just wondered if my cooking suited your tastes. If you’d rather something else, I can go and prepare it for you.”

“Oh,” she said, “please don’t worry! Everything here is…”

She gestured at the table, at all of the pastries and soups and other dishes that he had prepared for her.

“This is more than enough.”

“I’m so happy you think so! Although…I must say I am still curious. I’ve never had the chance to cook for someone like you before.”

“Someone like me?”

Ray blushed, realising too late that his words might come across as offensive.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to insult you!”

“You didn’t,” said Nari, her smile softening into one of sympathy. “Hmmm…let me think.”

She never got the chance to tell him, however, for C607 entered the garden and shattered the relative peace.

“Miss Song!” She called, waving and running towards the pavilion as fast as her heels would allow. “Miss Song, good morning!”

C607 had taken to her role as Assistant Park almost too well. Most of the clothes she used when in character came from her own personal collection, which she had abandoned upon her initiation into Mint Eye. The boldness of it made Ray’s toes curl; C607 discarded her beliefs as quickly as her clothes and her love for the paradise was transparently insincere.

“You weren’t in your room,” breathed C607, “I’ve been looking for you.”

She took a seat at the table and helped herself to a cup of coffee, quite deliberately not acknowledging him. He knew it was deliberate; that Miss Park had no reason to interact with him and going out of her way to do so might arouse suspicions, yet he would be lying if he said it didn’t bother him.

“Have you heard from Driver Kim?”

Nari was straight to business and Ray spotted the mean edge to C607’s smile even if she didn’t.

“I spoke to him just a few minutes ago, actually. He’s really sorry about the delay.”

“Is he…” Nari hesitated, thumbs tracing the edge of her cup, “alright?”

“Of course he is! He’s never been better.”

C607 took a sip of her coffee, leaning forward as if to whisper a secret.

“Actually,” she said, “he told me to tell you that we can leave as soon as you finish breakfast.”

Ray pretended he didn’t notice the joy in Nari’s eyes; the way she gulped down the rest of her coffee and dusted crumbs from her lap. He pretended he didn’t notice C607 reaching for her hand and guiding her away from the pavilion; away from him.

And he absolutely pretended he did not see C607 sneering over her shoulder at him.

Nari couldn’t believe her luck any more than she could hide her excitement to go home.

She all but threw her belongings together to the amusement of Juyeon, who lingered in the doorway and pointed out the things she missed.

“At this rate, that Ray guy will think you’re running away from him,” she laughed. “He is a little weird, don’t you think?”

Nari disapprovingly glanced up from her purse.

“He’s a little… enthusiastic,” she said, “but he means well.”

“Haven’t you seen those long lingering looks he gives you? I think he has a crush on you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

“I’m not being ridiculous! It’s clear to anyone!”

Nari sighed, turning to chastise Juyeon, only to freeze at the sight of her swooping forward with a cloth in her hand. It smelled of something, something sweet and artificial, and she writhed against Juyeon’s grasp, digging her nails into the nearest arm and throwing back her head to try and loosen the one gripping her hair.

She realised it was chloroform only moments before her eyes fell shut and her body limp. She stared at her own outstretched hand, reaching and flailing, convinced she would remember Juyeon’s smile forever.

Jumin’s upcoming wedding had had something of a ripple effect on C&R. For the majority of employees it was gossip; hushed comments and carefully hidden tabloids. For the other select few, it was extra work. Almost overnight, the country had grown fascinated with Nari Song, whether it was the clothes she wore, her origins, the hidden truth of her relationship with Jumin; there was some part of her that intrigued everyone.

Suddenly the PR department had not only the prospect of a scandal to deal with, but weeks of careful research into a person that ordinarily would take months. They needed answers for any given official statement and ideas for how best to build her public image, whether it was denying the engagement came as a result of a pregnancy or scripting her replies to interview questions.

On the receiving end of arguably the highest amount of fallout was one Jaehee Kang, who found herself in an endless cycle of adjusting schedules, advising the PR department, passing on memos and more.

She had come to dread it whenever Jumin called her to his office because it never preceded anything good. This time around was no exception to the rule and she mentally reshuffled all of her recent e-mails and phone calls in an attempt to gauge exactly what Jumin was about to tell her. It seemed almost optimistic to wonder if he had a new pet project in mind.

“Mr Han?” She said, after knocking at his door. “You asked to see me?”

Jumin was in the process of flipping through the pages of one of the files from the mountain at his desk.

“Ah, Assistant Kang,” he said and waved her over, though never looked up from the file. “I have a task for you. It’s of the utmost priority.”

“Of course,” she said, pulling out the notebook she had been keeping her pocket. The constant adjustments and additions and reshuffles were difficult to keep up with at the best of times and she had taken to scribbling them down where possible.

“I need you to make a cancellation.”

“A cancellation,” she said, pen at the ready. “Of which particular appointment?”

“All of them.”

Jaehee glanced up from her notebook.

“P-pardon?”

Surely she had misheard, though that hope rapidly dissolved as he finally set aside the file in his hands.

“Sorry…that was vague,” he said. “I would like for you to cancel everything in regards to my engagement. My regular business appointments may remain the same.”

He said it casually, though Jaehee could only stare. He had finalised the design for the cufflinks he would wear on his wedding day only the night before and cancelling months of work in a single day never happened without a good reason. She wondered if she ought to ask about Nari, though decided against it. If the worst truly had happened, then reminding Jumin of the incident would only make matters worse.

Instead she accepted his task and pulled her phone from her pocket after sitting back down at her own desk.

Nari….is everything okay?

Ray had spent most of the evening and some of the morning preparing dishes for Nari’s breakfast. He had chosen each and every one based on things he had watched her eat through hacked security cameras in the penthouse she called home. He had cast his mind back to mornings in which she made coffee and wrapped her arms around Jumin’s shoulders, stepping up onto her tiptoes for kisses as he picked up his cup. He had remembered chefs entering the premises and anxiously waiting at the side of their dining table until dismissed. He also remembered Nari reaching into the back of the kitchen cupboard for sugary cereal: the same sugary cereal that Jumin occasionally reached for when he ate breakfast alone.

Ray wasn��t sure when exactly he had mentally inserted himself into every situation; cooking Nari pancakes instead of Jumin Han. He was not sure when he had decided she was miserable and only he could make her smile. They were selfish thoughts, out of line with the Saviour’s teachings, but his mind drifted nonetheless.

After Nari left with Juyeon, he returned to the kitchen, sinking his hands into the steaming dishwater and scrubbing each plate at a time. Technically speaking, he did not need to undertake such a task himself. Any given believer would happily have accepted any such order. He wanted to clear his thoughts, though, wanted to scrub the scrub the plates clean where he could not his mind. He wanted to wash away Nari’s happy expression at the prospect of returning home.

He had always condemned Juyeon and her selfishness; her desire for approval more so than paradise. The irony of it was clear to him now that he wanted Nari to smile and laugh for no one but him. He wanted her to smooth the creases out of his shirt, rearrange his tie, rush to greet him when he walked through the door. Even the sting of the hot water could not erase it.

The previous night he had reached for elixir, desperate to quieten his mind and focus. It was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the dark thoughts at the back of his mind, though. The whispers that repeated everything he did not want to hear.

The saviour will use her to convert Jumin Han.

He scrubbed harder.

She will choose him at the everlasting party

Harder, he scrubbed harder.

Even in paradise, she won’t love you.

He stopped, the water from the sink spilling onto the floor.

You’re wrong, he thought to himself. You’re wrong and I’m not listening to you anymore.

He squeezed his eyes open and shut, reaching to place the dish he had been washing alongside all of the others. There was no dish, though, only his hands; hands that he had so vigorously scrubbed that they were bleeding.

I won’t listen

His squeezed his hands into fists, the sting of his broken skin satisfying on the senses.

I won’t listen.

I won’t

Posing undercover as an acolyte came with an equal amount of perks and downsides. Nobody questioned Jihyun’s ignorance on the matter of their special guest and he found that some believers had curiosities of their own. It was, however, increasingly difficult to continue feigning ignorance. Even as someone outside of the castle for an extended period of time, he should have known which rooms were normally out of bounds. Twice they caught him at the stairwell and twice he lied about his presence there. Finally, on the third attempt, he changed his tactics and told a half truth.

“I want to see her,” he said, shrugging off the believer’s hand on his shoulder. “The Saviour thinks she is special…I want to see it for myself.”

It was a risky move, considering, but ultimately one that paid off. The three of them climbed the stairs to an empty floor, eerily silent to the point that everything they said and did left an echo.

“I heard her ceremony is tonight,” said one of his group, a woman, whose pretty face lay obscured by her hood. “I overheard Mister Ray telling Miss Jenny that the elixir would be ready once he added the final touches.”

Elixir

Just the word sent shivers up his spine. He knew the implications even if he did not the finer details. Jihyun stopped in his tracks, wanting nothing more than to steal Nari away from that terrible place. He opened his mouth to demand they take him to the saviour; to tell them that he was no believer. Before he could, though, footsteps rang out in the empty corridor and his heart skipped a beat.

A handful of other believers were coming towards them, led by a woman in a magenta uniform. He knew her face, despite the fact that he had only seen her on a couple of occasions.

Back when he was still recovering from his eye surgery at Jumin’s penthouse, he had taken every chance to help Nari adjust to her new role. Sometimes that amounted to describing the personality of interviewers or the places she should avoid if she didn’t want to be swarmed by the media. At other times, his help arrived in the form of making tea and reading through the seemingly endless lists of things that needed her attention.

On a few of those occasions, Nari’s assistant had visited the penthouse, though for the most part he only ever encountered her as a disembodied voice on the other end of the phone. The few times he had seen her, she had been clutching bubble tea or informing Nari of appointments added to her schedule at the last moment. He was sure he had seen her at one of his exhibitions too, though the last time he had had one he and Rika were still together, so he was sure he must have been mistaken.

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense for Rika to plant someone like her so close to Nari and he wondered exactly how long she had been planning such a move. How long had Juyeon known about Rika’s plans? In any case, he realised that she must have been the ‘Miss Jenny’ the other acolytes had spoken of.

He clenched his hands into fists at what followed her; she led a number of hooded believers, one of whom cradled a body in their arms.

No. Not a body. Nari.

The acolyte held her with the same amount of care one would expect of a ragdoll, allowing one of her arms to dangle to the floor as the other lay crushed against their body.

All he could think about was her laughter all of those months ago. The three of them once played poker; Nari setting down her earrings and Jumin a book from his shelf. He had long wondered what to bet himself and ultimately set down an IOU.

“An IOU?” Jumin had said, examining the paper.

“Yes,” he said. “Whoever wins this can ask one thing of me in the future.”

“That’s potentially dangerous.”

“Are you suggesting either of us would take advantage of him?” Nari had laughed and, beaten, Jumin shuffled the cards.

Unsurprisingly, she won, and Jihyun knew from Jumin’s soft smile as she turned the pages of her new book that he was not the only one who had allowed her to win.

Of late, her laughter only left him guilty. It was his fault that she had been tricked into the apartment; his fault that she lay unconscious in front of him. Every time she laughed, he remembered Jumin’s lips against his own and his own deep, dark need to believe she could not be trusted.

He remembered Jumin’s insistences as they sat on the roof of the penthouse that they tell her about the kiss they had shared. He wanted her to know everything, and it was Jihyun who protested. He hated change, yet wanted everything to. He did not want to hurt her even slightly, yet wanted to steal away everything she held dear.

He was the one who couldn’t be trusted; Nari’s bright smile when she returned to the penthouse only serving as a cruel reminder of his betrayal. She was so eager to know if they had enjoyed the meteor shower and he realised too late her full intentions. It was no coincidence that she had left them alone together; that she had orchestrated everything in the hopes that they would repair their friendship.

He could not bring himself to regret the kiss, but he was sure he would regret the betrayal for the rest of his life.

“Juyeon,” he called, dragging down the hood of his cloak.

She seemed surprised that anyone had called out to her by name, though the shock left her as soon as she saw him standing there.

“Let her go,” he said, gaze drifting from her to Nari, his trembling hands breaking any illusion of composure.

“Well, well, well,” said Juyeon, approaching him in the same slow, practised fashion a tiger might. “What have we here?”

They took him to a cell in the basement. Jihyun knew from observations and conversations with acolytes that up until recently, such a thing was rarely done; it was the norm to take prisoners and any intruders before the saviour until they were cleansed and no longer deemed dangerous or, alternatively, died in captivity. For him to be isolated so quickly meant only one thing: he was considered an enemy of the organisation and if Rika came to see him at all, it would be to announce whatever torture she had in mind for him.

The guards draped a hood over his head that smelled mouldy, as if it was designated for drownings, and he choked at the smell as they pushed his shoulder to get him moving. They probably only walked down a couple of short flights of stairs, but it felt like he walked for miles. Finally, the guard tugged the cloak from his head and kicked him into the back of his new prison, locking it behind them with a mutter that they would come back once they had received orders.

“Come back and let me out of here,” Jihyun threw his body against the bars. “Tell the saviour to come!”

They did not acknowledge him, though, no matter how hard he shook the bars. He slumped to the floor despairingly, considering Nari’s limp body in the acolyte’s arms. In retrospect everything was obvious to him; he should never have suspected her, should never have fallen into the trap of questioning her intentions solely because she had won the heart of his friend. He should have told her everything from the beginning instead of succumbing to jealousy.

He wondered if he would ever get the chance to explain her current circumstances; if he would ever be able to take her hands in his and explain how he had kissed Jumin on the roof of the penthouse. The latter scared him most of all and he could not bear to imagine her reaction. In his heart, she would always be happy and smiling, brewing good coffee and pouring bad wine. She would always be the one who laughed at his double entendres and scolded him for missing meals.

And in that moment, just like Ray before him, he realised his love for her like a storm cloud overhead.

“M….Mathter V, thir,” someone mumbled in the adjoining cell, dragging him out of his thoughts. He peered into the darkness to make out the owner and gasped when he saw.

“Driver Kim!”

This was not the Driver Kim of days past, however. This man drooled blood and had cuts across his temples.

“What happened to you?” Jihyun said, holding onto the bars that separated them. “Who did this?”

Driver Kim’s eyes glazed over at the memory and Jihyun regretted asking him.

“I’ll get you out of here,” said Jihyun, seeing the occupants of the other cells for the first time. He recognised them all; had seen their faces in Luciel’s files. They were all members of the agency and all MIA. The ones that weren’t unconscious groaned in pain at their injuries, some even chained to the floor of their cell.

“I’ll save you,” Jihyun muttered. “I’ll save you all.”

Somehow.

Nari’s senses were muffled when she opened her eyes. For a moment, she thought she was back in the penthouse and half expected Jumin to be beside her.

It came as something of a surprise when she found herself tied to a chair in a strange room, arms bound behind her back and someone, whose voice she only half recognised, muttering that she was waking up.

Nari lifted her head, instantly regretting it as a sharp headache flooded her senses. She hissed with pain, leaning over until she could see straight ahead before making a second attempt to sit up.

Juyeon was standing on the other side of the room… or at least she thought it was Juyeon. This Juyeon had on a strange magenta uniform with a rose fixed to her blazer. What’s more, even though that Juyeon stared her in the face, there was no hint of recognition in her features.

“Ju…Juyeon?”

Juyeon did not reply. It was someone else who reached for her face: someone with sharp nails and a black mask that obscured their features.

“Welcome to paradise, Nari Song.”

They reached to clamp their hand down over her nose, clutching a vial of a bright blue liquid in the other. Nari clenched her mouth shut, unable to tear her eyes away from Juyeon, who watched her struggle without a reaction. Beside her stood Ray, who fiddled with his hands and avoided her gaze.

Her chest burned and she gasped for air, giving her assailant the opportunity to force the bottle against her lips. The liquid inside was bitter, burning her throat and insides, through when she tried to spit it out the masked stranger slammed her hand over her lips, forcing them shut until she had no choice but to swallow.

“What have you….done to me?” She asked, trying to spit out the remainder of the liquid, stomach churning so forcefully that she was sure she was going to throw up.  

“Please,” she murmured, the shakiness of her hands transferring into her voice. “Let me go.”

“Don’t look so sad,” they said, so close that their breath was warm against her face. “I would never hurt someone so precious to Ray.”

Nari’s heart skipped a beat and Ray called out from the other side of the room.

“Saviour-”

“You may leave.”

Nari’s thoughts had been muddled and confused even before having a chemical forced down her throat and she dug her nails into her palms in an attempt to stop the room spinning. She remembered Juyeon’s words only a short time earlier:

At this rate, that Ray guy will think you’re running away from him. He is a little weird, don’t you think?

Haven’t you seen those long lingering looks he gives you? I think he has a crush on you.

As Ray and Juyeon left the room, Ray’s hands twitching and his expression one of concern, Nari could not help but think about how comforting it was that at least one part of her stay had been real. Perhaps it was the drug, or her own fear, but when the door closed it echoed in her senses. What was going to happen to her now? She wished Juyeon and Ray would just come back, for even if their intentions were far from pleasant, she would at the very least recognise their faces. There was something strange about their ‘saviour’; a kind of familiarity that she did not understand.

“You have such beautiful eyes,” said the saviour, “I can see why Jumin favours you.”

Nari’s heart skipped a beat.

“What do you know about Jumin?”

“I know that Jumin is the CEO in-line,” said the saviour. “I know that he prefers the finer things in life… Egyptian cotton, aged whiskeys…intelligent women. Most importantly, I know that he wouldn’t let just anybody into his inner circle. Tell me, how do you find my RFA?”

Up until that point, C&R was the most obvious reason she had been kidnapped. She had, of course, forgotten that without enemies to the RFA she might never have arrived in the apartment all of those months ago.

“ Your RFA?” She said, realisation rapidly sinking in.

She finally understood why the masked woman looked familiar. Even with the mask on, her resemblance to the girl in V’s photographs was obvious.

“No,” said Nari. “You- you’re dead!”

“That’s what V told you,” said Rika, “and you must not believe his lies.”

Nari was not so naive as to think V had never lied to or kept information from her. She had watched him play poker, after all. He had an excellent poker face even as he let her win.

“I’m sure he had his reasons.”

“It seems he has already poisoned you,” laughed Rika. “I wonder what sweet promises he whispered in your ear to make you trust him so much.”

“He didn’t whisper anything! I know he’s a good man.”

Rika sighed, clearly unimpressed with her answer.

“Tell me Miss Song,” she said softly, placing a hand on Nari’s shoulder, “what are you afraid of? Shall I guess?”

“I…no…I-”

“Hmmmm,” Rika searched her face. “You stayed with the RFA even after there was no need for you to. You attend every meeting Jumin asks of you… could it be?”

She smiled cruelly, sending shivers down Nari’s spine.

“Are you afraid of being alone?”

Suddenly Nari was fourteen again, sticking pictures of idols she did not even like to the inside of her locker. Rika pressed a finger against her lips, coming to a conclusion before she could confirm or deny it.

“Sssssh, it’s okay,” she said. “In this place, no one will leave you. We will be kinder to you than the RFA. Nobody here will dictate how you dress or what you eat. We will not lie to you or ignore you, like Jumin and the rest of the RFA.”

Nari thrashed, eager to shake off Rika’s touch.

“I LOVE Jumin,” she protested. “I want to make him happy.”

Even as she said it, she knew how it sounded. She would not have believed her either.

“You’re very kind,” said Rika. “And so simple minded. What makes you so sure that he cares for you?”

Ordinarily, Nari would have been offended by such an insinuation. Ever since news of her engagement went public, she had scowled at so many articles about the status of her private life that Jumin had stroked her hair and warned her that she would age prematurely. Now, though, all she could think about was the clatter of her engagement ring against the kitchen tiles and Jumin’s words on the messenger.

Perhaps I only loved you because I thought you were something more. Perhaps you were always meant to be a stranger to the RFA. I think… that if I had not proposed to you so publicly, in such a way, I might never have married you.

Every breath left her mind and body fluttering, as if she bobbed up and down on a stormy sea. She hated herself and her own naivety. How had she never realised that she was being manipulated? How had she allowed herself into such a situation?

“He loves me!” She spat, closing her eyes. She refused to believe Jumin’s affection was a dream; just another stain in her ivory tower.

Rika seemed delighted by her responses, reaching out a finger to catch her tears.

“Jumin…loves me,” said Nari, more to herself than to Rika. “He loves me.”

He loves me.

She remembered Sarah Choi’s horrified expression as he leaned in for their first kiss; a kiss that tasted of pancakes and gave her butterflies.

She remembered how her hand trembled when he fell to one knee at the party.

She remembered the scent of roses against her skin as he sat behind her in the bathtub to wash her back.

He loves me .

She also remembered his expression in their last argument; the sound of him moving around the kitchen as she waited for him to knock on her bedroom door.

He loves me

He loves

He

She repeated it even as everything went black and her head lolled over onto her chest.

“Don’t worry,” said Rika, stroking her hair. “I’m not the same as them. I want you exactly as you are.”

She cupped a hand around Nari’s face, feeling for her breath against her skin. She had made such a powerful elixir and many people were not strong enough to survive the ordinary batches. Those that did came out transformed, butterflies from a painful chrysalis, wiser for their introduction into the truth of the world.

Nari’s breaths did not come, however. Rika’s hand remained as cold as it had always been. With a frown, she pressed her fingers against the other woman’s neck, feeling for a pulse where there was none.

She let go of Nari’s head, then, sighing deeply and crossing the room to pour herself a cup of tea.

Perhaps they were not so similar after all.

Three months earlier

[aquarianlights]

1-10 hehehe c:

*cracks knuckles* AH, I’M SO GLAD YOU ASKED. Heh. Heh. HEH. IT’SSSSSS CHRISTMAS TIMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! (I type this as I’m listening to Enya-esque Gaelic Christmas songs from the 1800′s. My heart. Omfg.)

1. Favorite Christmas tradition?

We have so many, honestly. It’s the only holiday we have traditions with. It’s a seriously significant day for me and would honestly give me hope every year throughout my childhood. If I could just hold out until Christmas, I would be okay. Because Christmas was the happiest day of my life. Always. I think my favourite is watching all the old stop-motion Christmas films towards bedtime with the couch pulled out into a bed in front of the fireplace that had a fire going with the tree off to the side glittering and shimmering. Since I was born, my parents have never lived in a place that didn’t have a fireplace. Not even the house I grew up in in Florida. That’s what I immediately think of when I see this scene in my mind, despite the fact it has taken place other places.

2. White lights or colored lights?

Oh, psh, that’s not even a contest for me. :p You should be able to answer this one for me, actually. Hahaha. ANYONE who has known me for 2 seconds would be able to answer this one. COLOURED LIGHTS, OFC! The more colour, the better!! There’s an app out that can control the pattern of your light flashing to do it in all these different light-show style flashing and up and down movement and stuff and aw, man, it’s so fucking cool! Idk how it works, though. Ergh.

3. Real or fake Christmas tree?

Okay, so, my roommate has as big of a love for Christmas as I do. Well, ALMOST. And we agreed on p much EVERYTHING Christmas and it was so happy and stuff until we went with the family to buy the tree. All four of us. . .in the store. . .Me, my other three roommates, him included. Only missing one member of the family there, but he’s not a roommate of ours; just a friend. So he wasn’t included in the household tree picking. Lol. But anyways. . .My roommate and I have never disagreed on ANYTHING regarding Christmas. Chelle asked us “So...looks like fake ones are less expensive, so...Which one do you guys want?”

At the exact same time, my roommate and I shout out two different answers. Him, “Fake”. Me, “Real”. And we just both stared at each other in sheer horror. And then got into a heated debate. Lmao. I mean, he made some pretty decent arguments. . . So, yeah, we are getting a fake tree this year and that makes me HORRIBLY sad. . .because this will be the very first Christmas I have ever spent without a real tree and the smell of pine flooding the house and to get to feel the texture of the branches when you walk by..... Sigh. Real. Christmas trees have to be fucking real. . .otherwise, what’s the point? :/

4. Favorite Christmas memory?

Oh my god, I have WAYYYYYYYYYYYY too many. I think it’s a tie between when I first got my N64 when it came out. . .along with the game Pokemon Stadium. And Echo’s first Christmas.

Memory 1: When you’re little, you get up REAAAAAAAAAAAAALLY early to open your presents on Christmas. Everyone in the neighbourhood did. And I had that kinda childhood where I was friends with all the kids in the neighbourhood within my age range and on Christmas, I was actually allowed to go out and see them and have them over and stuff. So after I opened my N64 and Pokemon Stadium, we literally had an open door policy. I say literally because the front doors and the back sliding glass doors leading out to the pool and patio were permanently pushed open. I ran around the neighbourhood gathering all my friends and we all came back to my house and got in my living room and there were four controllers and a handful of us so we took turns battling each other in Pokemon Stadium all morning. It was so much fun. Our parents got together, too, while we played and had wine and stuff and when we were done playing, our parents had us make cookies and ice/frost them and it was a lot of fun

Memory 2: Not as elaborate of a memory. . .Simple, but pure and good. Echo’s first Christmas. . .he saw snow for the first time. That’s when I got that picture of him as a puppy of him howling on the trampoline that got really up there in the notes on here (coz, y’know, he was the cutest pupper alive lol and that picture did his cuteness in his puppy ugly years justice). He was SO EXCITED by the snow but also so frightened. At first, he started barking at it. He would get close to it and bark at it and back up. Finally, he stuck his paw in it and SCREAMED and started running (I had his leash and harness on obvs) and the dummy ran straight into the snow. . .snow piles that were taller than him. So he was like. . .hopping like a bunny through the snow. You’d only see him and hear him when he hopped up in the air. Then he’d fall back into a snow pile. And he was screaming the whole time. (Pomeranians are VERY vocal and they will scream at anything that is new to them when they are young. I learned this via absolute horror and shock because he jumped off the couch when he was a pup for the first time and it wasn’t a big drop or anything just a small hop. . .and when he landed, he was perfectly fine, but nonetheless. . .his tail tucked between his legs, he started SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER, and skittered into my mom’s bedroom and squeezed under the bed. I thought he was fucking dying. Nope, turns out that’s just how all poms are. Lol.) I was running after him this whole time trying to get him to pick him up out of the snow but I kept falling in the snow, too, coz it was past my ankles and I don’t have any boots or pants equipped to handle that. I’m from fucking Florida! Lmao. Anyways, I eventually caught up with him and put him on my trampoline to dry him off a bit before taking him back inside to dry him off for real. And that’s when I snapped those two highly photogenic pictures of Echo on the trampoline during his puppy uglies. . .covered in snow. . .but cute af. He also learned that he quite enjoys sticking his snow into snow piles. . .moving it around a bit. . .pulling it out. . .and then immediately furiously digging/burrowing. Lol. ANYWAYS. . .I got him back inside. . .dried him off and everything. . .and since he was kinda wet, he did that dog thing where he skittered around the house as fast as he possibly could. . jumping on all the furniture, knocking things over, running in literal circles. . . When he FINALLY calmed down. . .I had him open his presents. I had wrapped them easily enough to where he could open them himself and I actually have a video of his first Christmas with him opening his presents somewhere but I can’t find it! D: But, anyways, he was SO GODDAMN CUTE opening all his presents!!!!!! He would just tug on the wrapping paper with his snout and put his little fluffy paws on it and push and tug simultaneously. . .and he would slowly rip the wrapping paper off while snorting. And it was the cutest fucking thing. I do this every Christmas for him. I wrap his presents very loosely and make sure to get him a cookie. This year, I’m gonna be getting him an Ugly Christmas Sweater, an LED Christmas Collar, a new year-round collar, a few new toys with squeakers, a special cookie like always, some of his favourite training treats from when he was a puppy in his favourite flavour, and a shiny new dog tag with his new address on it. :3 I’mma put his Christmas collar on with the lights blinking and put his ugly sweater on him before he goes to open his presents this year. And record that. Coz it’s the best sight. c: Our family member who is just a friend and doesn’t live with us works at Petco and he already confirmed they have ugly christmas sweaters in Echo’s size and they have the Christmas collars I’m thinking about. . .So I’m heading over there as soon as I get back and I’m taking Echo into the store and we’re gonna go searching for his presents and let him sniff out which toys he wants and stuff. c:

Okay okay I’m rambling SORRY. YOU CAN’T GET ME TALKING ABOUT ECHO. YOU KNOW THIS. LMAO.

5. Favorite Christmas song?

Of all the traditional ones, Pachelbel Canon. That was actually one of the first two-handed piano pieces I successfully learned how to play in lessons when I was little. I always master Christmas songs quicker than anything else on any instrument because they’re my favourite. The newer ones are okay, I guess. They’ve really got to do it right. . .because writing Christmas music nowadays is just. . .Idk, it doesn’t really catch on. Coz we had that era. We had it. And now we listen to all those old songs even if we aren’t people who would normally seek out older songs (I’m definitely not that kind of person!). But, wow, I love all the traditional Christmas songs. I have my pandora on the Traditional Christmas station. Same with my spotify when I use it. And my Sirius XM radio stays on the channel that they convert to the Traditional Christmas channel for the month if dec

I think the only current group that has done Christmas music correctly in the modern music scene is Trans-Siberian Orchestra, tbh. And their Christmas music. . .all of it. . .actually should come in a tie for first with Pachelbel. Tbh.

6. Have you ever had a white Christmas?

Once. Literally once in my entire life. And it just so happened to be Echo’s first Christmas. I had dreamed of having a white Christmas since I was a little boy. Ofc, I never saw snow until I was like 13 or 14 for the very first time. So I had no idea what a white Christmas really entailed growing up coz I had never seen or felt snow before. But Echo’s first Christmas was the only white Christmas I’ve ever had. . .and it was the most beautiful day. I had such joy with my dog that day.

7. Favorite Christmas treat?

Holiday chocolates. Specifically, those orange-shaped chocolates that only come out during Christmas time that you have to slam against a hard surface to break them into slices. . .and when you open it, it looks like it’s been sliced and pulled apart like an orange. And it’s orange/citrus-infused chocolate. Which happens to be my fave. . .I got three of them as presents so far this year coz everyone knows I freak out when they’re in stores but didn’t have any money to buy them this year. They came out with a new flavour, too! So someone got me that one. Strawberry-infused chocolate. Still looked and sliced like an orange when slammed against a hard surface and broken. . .but it was delicious. And I’ve had two orange-infused ones. I still have a whole orange-infused one left, I can only eat like 1 slice at a time. Very rarely 2. So they last for a pretty long time with me. Lolol. I know there are other holiday chocolates. . .but I can’t think of them. Oh, ALSO, the candy-canes that are fruit flavoured. Specifically, the jolly rancher ones. Mmmmm! Stock up on those. Aw ye. Heh. :p

8. Do you have a favorite Christmas tree ornament?

I have way, way, WAY too many, omfg. I have so many favourite ornaments. And so many of them hold extreme sentimental value to me. There is legit no way possible that I could pick just one. Nope. No way. There’s no way I could pick like. . .just five or ten or something, either, tbh. Lol. There’s so many........ Although. . .if I absolutely HAD to choose. . .like, if there were a gun to Echo’s tiny little head and I had to choose to save his life. . .I would choose my Lady & The Tramp one.

9. Do you go Black Friday shopping?

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOT!!! Lmaaaoooo. Bruh. Never. Never in my goddamn life will I ever go Black Friday shopping. Absolutely not. A) Because I have worked too many black friday’s in retail. . .specifically in malls. . .and it is absolute hell and I have never been so stressed and past my limit at my jobs in different retail stores. And B) Because why the fuck would you go deal with all that bullshit. . .long-ass lines. . .People literally camping outside your store waiting for you to open so they can flood the store and destroy EVERYTHING. . .fighting. . .getting hurt. . .things breaking. . ..getting angry and upset. . .getting stressed past your limit trying to get to the items you want in time before everyone else does in this chaotic every-man-for-themselves race. . .Like, seriously? No thanks. Why the FUCK go to Black Friday when we have Cyber Monday???? It’s literally the same exact thing. . .just online. That;s it,

I’ve always kinda just judged people who go to Black Friday sales coz a) they’re causing the employees hell just by participating and b) where the fuck is the common sense in that when you can do it completely stress-free and from the comfort of your own bedroom or a coffee shop or wherever you want!

Cyber Monday is where it’s at, guys. Don’t cause employees that are forced to work Black Friday even more hell by participating in that chaos and fueling the fire. God forbid you accidentally take out your stress and rage on the cashier without even realizing it. Cannot even tell you how many times that happens on Black Friday. Can’t even tell you how many of us literally had to take 5 minute breaks every hour or so because of how psychologically/emotionally damaging it was. So.....yeah, no. Lol.

10. Favorite Christmas movie?

I actually can’t say I have one, tbh. Like. . .I don’t get super, super excited by any particular Christmas movie anymore. I used to get excited over almost all of them growing up. Especially the stop-motion ones because they were close to cartoons and  I wasn’t allowed to watch cartoons growing up. They were banned in my household. But honestly. . .You could even pop in one of those fucking Hallmark Christmas movies where the plot is exactly the same for every single one of them and I will act surprised every time the plot turns out exactly the same as every other Hallmark movie. Lmmmaaoooo. 

I can’t actually think of one in particular that stands out over the rest. I love them all. Some more than others, some not very much at all. But they all still qualify in the love category.

EVERYTHING Christmas is in the love category for me. FUCK.

Thank you so much, fren!!!! You just literally made my night. I am a hap kit. :3

[dante2568]

The Elite Direto is the latest turbo trainer to come from the Italian cycling company, but the turbo trainer market has changed considerably since their top of the range smart trainer, the Elite Drivo, launched. How will their junior direct drive model fair in 2017? We need a Zwift Gear Test!

Elite Direto Smart Trainer Review | Zwift Gear Test

In the pantheon on smart trainers, there have been thousands of words and discussions about which is “the best” smart trainer. Each of the Elite Drivo, the Tacx Neo and Wahoo KICKR,  can probably lay claim to that title in some way, largely due to the fact they are all direct mount turbos.

Last year, Tacx released the Tacx Flux and caused a bit of a ruckus, by surprising the market, and budget conscious Zwifters; with a direct drive turbo trainer for under £600 bringing that feature away from the big three! Now a year down the line, it is time for Elite to bring their baby direct drive Direto to market. I’ve been testing a pre-production unit since I visited Italy, but have been waiting for the final production unit before releasing a full review…

Not to spoil the ending on this Zwift Gear Test, but I’m going to be REALLY interested to see how the market reacts what Italians has produced with the Elite Direto!!

Elite has been very aware of how Zwift has changed the turbo trainer market, as responsiveness and rider feel is now a much more prominent point for cyclists when it comes to buying, and thus designing a turbo. As such, if you look around the testing halls at Elite HQ, you can see other manufacturers turbo trainers sulking in their holding silos which have been used for reference and comparison during the Elite Direto development – which you can read about during my Elite Factory Trip here

Elite Direto Design

Without a doubt, the Elite Direto is going to polarise opinions when it comes to the looks of this turbo trainer. While the intricate nylon/fibreglass composition drive wheel on one side looks quite compelling…

From the other… with the expanse of plastic on the frame, it can look a bit slab sided by comparison

But before we get into the nitty gritty of the trainer, we really need to take a look in the box – now having moved over to a production unit, we can see the retail box – along with the new Elite mat, which we’ll come to in a moment

The Direto is protected by expanded polystyrene during transit, the unit itself is in a plastic wrap to protect it from any stray polystyrene flakes

So here is the obligatory unboxing picture:

Inside we’ve the three turbo legs, four bolts and allen keys to attach them to the trainer. Power supply, training skewer and paper work including manual. It’s worth while noting that there is no cassette in the box with the Elite Direto, so you’ll have to factor that into your purchase price.

Be careful not to bin the paperwork this time, as it contains codes for one year access to the Elite MyTraining app, which lets you get to the advanced features such as pedal analysis. After the first year, it’s a rolling £10 annual fee.

Once unboxed, the first steps are to  attach the trainer’s arms.

The central arm is fixed with two bolts and doesn’t move. The two outer arms have a single bolt, and then two feet. One that can be loosened to allow the arm to be deployed, and the other, at the far end of the leg, to adjust the stability of the trainer.

The legs on the Elite Direto will be one of the points to which people won’t pay much attention to until they swap to another trainer. This unit is very planted, and might just be the most stable turbo on the market given the width – esp as some people are not keen on the wobble built into the Tacx Neo

When it comes to folding the Elite Direto up, the legs are narrower than the body, so you are not paying a premium for that foldability regarding space.

Although the thumb screws to move the legs, are underneath the legs, which is a minor irritation for me personally, as you have to tip the trainer over on its side before you can access them.

By comparison, I still find the KICKR legs the easier to move and get into place, just push top button, and then swing them into place.

When the arms are deployed, you can see that the Elite Drivo has the widest footprint stance of a trainer to date, a title which was previously held by the Cycleops Hammer.

In fact, the Elite Direto has such a leg span; it was wider than their branded turbo trainer mat! As a result, they have had to release a new, larger mat.

Which does look very similar in texture to the Wahoo KICKR mat… with the old Elite mat on the top

Although the bright red does lighten up a small room, I’m still sticking to my current recommendation on turbo trainers mats, based purely on size alone, as the Elite mat is still a couple of centimetres narrower and shorter

Power is dealt with by a plug socket on the underside of the Direto, above which, we also have the three status lights for BLE, ANT+ and power

We have the same cable management system under the Direto as on the Drivo to stop someone pulling the power cable out mid ride.

  Here is also one of the niggles with the Elite Direto, the power cable is a little short. But because it is a straight plug with wire coming out of it, you can’t even change to a longer kettle lead

To put things in comparison, the KICKR and SNAP power cables are nearly twice as long!

Once the unit has been assembled, you need to add on your own cassette to the Shimano free hub

Finally, add the correct skewer/axle accessory for your bike, and you are good to boot up Zwift and get riding!

Elite Direto Specifications

Communication: Bluetooth, ANT+, ANT+ FE-C, BlueTooth Smart Trainer Protocol – both ANT and BLE can be used simultaneously

Slope Simulation: 14%

Built in sensors: Power, Speed/Cadence (Advance pedal analytics from this)

Max Wattage: 1400watts

Freehub: Shimano, 9/10/11 speed compatible – no cassette in the box

Compatibility notes: bikes with 130-135mm hubs and QR skewers, or 12mm x 142 thru-axle hubs,

Max weight of user: 113kg

Power Accuracy: 2.5%

Flywheel: 4.2Kg (Drivo 6kg)

Weight: 15kg (Drivo 21kg)

Looking at the spec sheet, I think you can see a lot of points where the Elite Direto is going to prove to be so disruptive in the market place.

If we think of a turbo trainer like as car, lot’s of people want to own a Ferrari, but even those who have the money to buy rarely get even remotely close to the limits of what the machine is capable of. The same is true with turbo trainers.

People want the big numbers, but how many people can, actually hand on heart, claim to be able to break 1400 watts? More importantly how many of those people can deploy that during a Zwift race?

Ok, given the huge range of Zwift user, I can actually think of three well known Zwift riders,  that might be able to break that 1400 barrier, Tim Cartwright, Scottie Weiss and Shane Miller. =But even so, probably not during a race, which is basically what we are talking about.

There may be people who initially scoff at the fact that a turbo trainer manufacturer would even consider ensuring their that unit works on a game. But since Zwift came out of beta, the concept that turbo trainers are purely a thing for “training” is well and truly dead. Just take a look at the ferocity with which results are contested on Zwift, and how the community has set up Zwift Power to get an oversight on the races that happen on Watopia.

Heck people are beginning to organise live Zwift races with athletes travelling to locations to compete on Zwift

So even with that in mind, the spec sheet does suggest that there two areas where Elite has “hobbled” the Direto – presumably in order to get people to still consider the more expensive Elite Drivo. So what does the Direto loose out to the Drivo on? The 2.5% accuracy and the 14% max gradient, esp as the maximum gradient on Zwift is currently 17% on the way up to the radio mast.

Ok to be fair the fly wheel and inertial mass are also reduced on the Direto by comparison, but for most people, they are not really going to be aware of that difference unless they are jumping between trainers.

Elite Direto Manual

Currently, there isn’t a downloadable manual for the Elite Direto, but there is a technical sheet here

Zwift Gear Test

Once you have built the Elite Direto, it is then time to install the Elite app. But don’t search for an “Elite app”, as you’ll not find it. You need to look for `’MyETraining” confusingly! Which you can then download from either iTunes or the Google Play store

The Elite app allows you to configure your trainer, perform power smoothing and Trainer Sensor Calibration to ensure that everything runs smoothly

Now I say more advanced features, you can use the MyETraining as a whole standalone app, but the benefit is really seen in one of the premium features – remember I said now to throw away the paperwork that came with the unit, well that allows you to unlock the training features.

However to get to the really juicy bit, the pedal analysis, you need a separate purchase, which doesn’t come in the box!

On the iPad, the MyETraining app takes on a very different feel, as it allows you the larger screen real estate to perform an analysis of your pedalling technique. As you can see I’m slightly weaker on my right, injured leg, but it is really nice to have the kit on a turbo that allows me to monitor this at home, even if I have to pay another £8.99

This pedal analysis feature has trickled down from the Elite Drivo into the Elite Direto thanks to the hardware of the OTS power meter system

So with the Elite Direto setup, installed and plugged and played, time to actually perform the testing for real. First the Sound Test

Elite Direto Sound Test

As I have discussed before, the sound test here is carried out with the same iPhone, in the same room, at a similar distance from the trainer on all the turbos I have reviewed, so at least this is giving some degree of consistency within the tests

Remember that decibels are only part of the story, the nature of the sound is a massive factor in perception, not just volume.

Without out a doubt, we are not talking Neo or Flux level of quiet, not even close. But the Elite Direto is quieter, or certainly less noisy, than the big brother the Elite Drivo. But don’t forget a large part of the sound test is subjective. The Wahoo KICKR 2 is much quieter now, but many people still just don’t like the KICKR scream.

By comparison, to me, the Direto is more of just a mechanical noise.

Power meter

Moving on to the power meter test, which is what many people are interested in on for a turbo trainer. As ever, power meter testing is done using Jon’s Mix on Zwift, so we’ve a consistent benchmark between all the different turbos on TitaniumGeek

One of the good parts of Jon’s Mix, for testing out a turbo trainer, is how the unit responds to the sudden increase in resistance on the three high powered sections at the start. Some turbos like the Wahoo KICKR, the change is like running into a brick wall. It is a VERY responsive unit. But how did the Elite Direto fare?

NB I’ve applied a 4-second smoothing to the data, which can be effective in highlighting subtle issues

On the simple overview, the Direto is aligning very well with old timer power meter test – the PowerTap C1, and the new kid on the block the Favero ASSIOMA. No drop outs to note from the Direto, which to be honest isn’t surprising, turbos with their wall derived power tend to have a strong signal

Although it is worth while noticing in the lower region, about 350 watts, the Direto does seem to be reading a little high.

If we zoom in to look at one of the areas of sharp power being deployed, we’ve a nice smooth ramp up, with the Direto only fractionally behind the two other – crank and pedal mounted power meters, which is entirely normal.

  So that is the straight forward power curves from the Elite Direto, but what is the feel during the race?

Race Feel

Knowing how a turbo reacts during a race can have a major effect on a riders performance.

This is the Elite Direto’s Achilles heal if anything, I found that going through the Watopia Esses, which always prove to be a challenge for a trainer. Needing to apply the resistance quickly on the uphill, and then ease off on the down hill. The Direto falls a little off the pace here but about 1-1.5 seconds.

You’d see the same in other areas of the Zwift experience as well, but less marked. For example, on preparing to attack on a hill, your avatar winds up, but there is the briefest of pauses before the resistance bites on the turbo.

In spite of the lag, one area that the Direto has sorted is when you come to stand up out of the saddle. Given the wide stance, the unit feels VERY planted, and didn’t really object to me giving the handlebars a good tug, which was a pleasant experience!

Elite Direto Review Conclusion

So how does the Elite Direto do over all? I think that 4/5 stars AND a recommendation is an entirely reasonable conclusion for a trainer coming in at £799. For the money, you are getting a lot of features which covers the needs of the vast majority of Zwifters.

That is the key here. The Elite Direto is not the last word in trainers. It is not all singing all dancing. But for the price, I think it is going to be hard to touch this year!

I’ll actually go as far to say, if it were not the momentary lag when hitting the hills, I’d be inclined to give the unit 5 stars!! But as it is, from an immersion standpoint, that 1-1.5 seconds just breaks the illusion that Zwift has managed to successfully create on their platform. Plus perhaps, more importantly, might have a negative effect on a rider’s race

Maybe with feedback over the next few month, Elite will be able to tweak the firmware and improve the responsiveness, we’ll have to wait and see.

Bottom line, if you can’t stomach a trainer coming in over a grand, then you should be giving the Elite Direto some SERIOUS consideration when stock is widely available in September 2017!

As every, any feedback is welcomed!

The @Elite_Cycling #Direto Smart Trainer Review #ZwiftGearTest is now live! Checking it out! The Elite Direto is the latest turbo trainer to come from the Italian cycling company, but the turbo trainer market has changed considerably since their top of the range smart trainer, the Elite Drivo, launched.

[seenashwrite]

Cards Against Supernatural: Sunday March 3rd

◄ SUNDAY MARCH 3rd, 7:00/7:15 P.M.-ish* CST ►

(* As always, this is not precisely when the game starts - we take a little time for everybody to get logged in & settled in chat, so feel free to come & hang out at Discord while you wait!)

If you see this? You’re invited. ALL SPN Family members who are at least 18 years & older are welcome!

💡 IF THIS WILL BE YOUR FIRST GAME WITH US, YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE IT’S GONNA BE YOUR JAM & VISIT CASPN HEADQUARTERS 💡

—> This is a mobile-friendly page and contains tons of need-to-knows —> This is NON-NEGOTIABLE FOR NEW PLAYERS

🌟 Post with link will go up closer to start of game 🌟

—> Make sure you are ready to go at Discord prior to game time so all you have to do is click-n’-chat! —> At the game site and on Discord (if you do not already have one), make sure you use your Tumblr name or a variation thereof so we know who you are - this prevents unnecessary confusion. 😁

🃏 Find out ways you can contribute to the decks, the most recent CASPN updates, quick tips for players, & how to join the tag list below 🃏

YOU CAN HELP MAKE THIS GAME BETTER!

Anytime you spot a great quote - and it will probably be on a gif! - that you think may work as a question/answer, shoot it my way and I’ll see if I can work it in.

Please include the season & episode number so I know which deck to put it in. FYI: We do not need any from seasons 3, 5, or 6 - those decks are complete or near completion.

.

UPDATES

On Dramatic Fic Readings…

If you’re a vet, you know we’ve been having a blast with these, closing out our games with a dramatic reading of a Fic Wreck by yours truly.

For our purposes, to be a Fic Wreck Dramatic Reading candidate, it means:

Features a heinously out-of-character Dean and/or Sam –> this is the core characteristic & is non-negotiable

No smut/kinks/Wincest/ABO –> this is non-negotiable

In the 500-800 word range or less (so, a Drabble or modest One-Shot - we’ve made exception for truly horrid things in the 1K range, as well are series that we’ll split up over subsequent game nights)

Can be on Tumblr or from an outside site (FF.net, AO3, Wattpad, et al)

If on Tumblr, preferably at least a year old/not currently circulating on all our dashes with great fervor

Preferably not anyone’s BFF or whatever - and NEVER someone in our group, though y’all are certainly welcome to volunteer any of your own short fics if you just want to hear it read aloud in my crazy voices

Preferably features an immature/annoying/etc. “Y/N”

Preferably has an inexplicably high note/reblog/kudos/etc. count for what it is, which is a wreck

Preferably has a plot that is objectively ridiculous and/or plot points that are crazy confusing

.

On Skribblio…

This is a free online version of Pictionary that allows the host to input custom words - so we’ve been trying our hands at SPN-based drawings before CASPN starts, and it has been hilarious. If you have any ideas for words that are realistically draw-a-ble, feel free to shoot me an Ask with your suggestion. There will be a special chat set up for Skribblio separate from the CASPN chat, so if you decide to play, make sure you’re in the right chat. I believe the room limit is eight, otherwise you can jump in on the game even if it’s already in progress. Head over to the site (linked above) and get yourself set up ahead of time (your cookies will do the remembering from there on out). Recommend you use a mouse if you don’t have a pad/stylus - and be aware that the stylus will typically make a straight line “streak” across your drawing when you lift it from the pad, so I honestly think mouse will be better.

.

VERY IMPORTANT REGARDING VOICE CHAT

If you are going to participate in the voice chat over at Discord *PLEASE* make sure you are in a quiet place, and if you are unable to do so, kindly mute yourself and just listen until you are able.

Also, kindly mute yourself if you need to speak to someone on the phone/someone who is with you in person, and mute yourself if your environment becomes noisy - it happens! No worries! Just jump back in when that’s done/when it’s your turn to read

Have this set up and ready to go prior to game start, and ensure all other apps/messaging on your device of choice are muted.

If you are in voice chat just so you can listen because you can’t/don’t choose to read aloud, that of course is fine, but you need to have yourself muted, please, and communicate via chat that you need myself or someone else to read your hand.

.

TIPS & TRICKS FOR IN-GAME FAQs

(A kind reminder: most everything I/veteran players are asked in chat during games is covered at CASPN Headquarters)

Should your mic go out/no one can hear you in Discord, same thing applies as it does when you get duplicate cards/can’t choose a card over in the game - REFRESH! Just refresh the browser page for Discord, and give it a second, and it should remedy itself.

.

🏷️ Tag Me In The Future, Nash! 🏷️

TO BE TAGGED, YOU *MUST* SEND AN ASK! I will not tag you any other way, nor will I tag you if you’ve never played with us before. Them’s the breaks.

I AM UNABLE TO TAG ON THE DAY OF GAMES, suggest you look out for the post, come try the game on for size & if you enjoy it, kindly send an ask stating you’d like to be tagged after you know you like it & are able to participate in future games

IF YOU HAVE CHANGED YOUR NAME, it is YOUR responsibility to send me an ask - I will not track you down or assume you want to stay tagged

FOR THOSE WITH SETTINGS THAT PREVENT TAGGING, you do not have to follow me in order to participate, however I will not follow you just so I can tag you - I am following some CASPN players, however it is only when I find their content of interest or I was already following them prior to the original deck’s conception -  if you want to be in the know about the game dates/times, I suggest you (a) follow me and/or #CASPN which is unique to the weekly games I run, or (b) make a side blog with standard settings that is purely for the purpose of being on this tag list (ex: “CASPN-[your handle])

Tag team, back again…

@impandagrl @salt-n-burn-em-all @princessofthefandomrealm @gryffindorable713 @rozadolphin @abbessolute @ohio-cnk-80q3 @a-screaming-ghost @ferferelli @ericaprice2008 @butiaintgonnaloveem @bumbleball13 @idreamofhazel @winchesterprincessbride @bemyqueenofdarkness @revwinchester @growningupgeek @ultimatecin73 @blackcherrywhiskey​

.

* The Cannot Tags! *

It either (1) looks like the blog under this name is inactive, (2) you’ve changed your name and not told me, or (3) there’s a setting on YOUR end that prevents it.

None presently as the list has been purged/updated as of 11/11/18

NOTE: THE LIST IS NEARING TIME TO BE PURGED AGAIN, RE: PEOPLE WHO HAVEN’T SHOWN UP FOR ROUGHLY A MONTH, JUST FYI

❓ WHY AM I NOT TAGGED? you may ask ❓

Reminder: I’m taking roll at games so I can keep up maintenance on the tag list - if you aren’t participating often [read: approx. every 6 wks/6 games] & you haven’t let me know to move you to my “Hiatus” list, then you won’t be tagged on posts, but I’ll keep you on the CASPN tags page, listed at the bottom under the time frame you were removed.

It is possible I made a mistake if I get busy and neglect to c/p the roster frequently throughout the game - all you have to do is speak up. The biggest issue I have with keeping up is when you use some rando name in game that neither I nor any of the other players recognize. If you want to stay on the tags, you need to use a name I’ll know. Otherwise, I couldn’t care less, call yourself whatever strikes your fancy! :)

Want to be back on “active” status?  Want to be removed altogether? No problem! Kindly communicate your wishes with me via Ask.

[seenashwrite]

Cards Against Supernatural: Sunday March 10th

◄ SUNDAY MARCH 10th, 8:00/8:15 P.M.-ish* CST ►

(* As always, this is not precisely when the game starts - we take a little time for everybody to get logged in & settled in chat, so feel free to come & hang out at Discord while you wait!)

* DON’T FORGET - We did the ol’ “spring forward”, if you haven’t adjusted your clocks yet! *

If you see this? You’re invited. ALL SPN Family members who are at least 18 years & older are welcome!

💡 IF THIS WILL BE YOUR FIRST GAME WITH US, YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE IT’S GONNA BE YOUR JAM & VISIT CASPN HEADQUARTERS 💡

—> This is a mobile-friendly page and contains tons of need-to-knows —> This is NON-NEGOTIABLE FOR NEW PLAYERS

🌟 Post with link will go up closer to start of game 🌟

—> Make sure you are ready to go at Discord prior to game time so all you have to do is click-n’-chat! —> At the game site and on Discord (if you do not already have one), make sure you use your Tumblr name or a variation thereof so we know who you are - this prevents unnecessary confusion. 😁

🃏 Find out ways you can contribute to the decks, the most recent CASPN updates, quick tips for players, & how to join the tag list below 🃏

YOU CAN HELP MAKE THIS GAME BETTER!

Anytime you spot a great quote - and it will probably be on a gif! - that you think may work as a question/answer, shoot it my way and I’ll see if I can work it in.

Please include the season & episode number so I know which deck to put it in. FYI: We do not need any from seasons 3, 5, or 6 - those decks are complete or near completion.

.

UPDATES

On Dramatic Fic Readings…

If you’re a vet, you know we’ve been having a blast with these, closing out our games with a dramatic reading of a Fic Wreck by yours truly.

For our purposes, to be a Fic Wreck Dramatic Reading candidate, it means:

Features a heinously out-of-character Dean and/or Sam –> this is the core characteristic & is non-negotiable

No smut/kinks/Wincest/ABO –> this is non-negotiable

In the 500-800 word range or less (so, a Drabble or modest One-Shot - we’ve made exception for truly horrid things in the 1K range, as well are series that we’ll split up over subsequent game nights)

Can be on Tumblr or from an outside site (FF.net, AO3, Wattpad, et al)

If on Tumblr, preferably at least a year old/not currently circulating on all our dashes with great fervor

Preferably not anyone’s BFF or whatever - and NEVER someone in our group, though y’all are certainly welcome to volunteer any of your own short fics if you just want to hear it read aloud in my crazy voices

Preferably features an immature/annoying/etc. “Y/N”

Preferably has an inexplicably high note/reblog/kudos/etc. count for what it is, which is a wreck

Preferably has a plot that is objectively ridiculous and/or plot points that are crazy confusing

.

On Skribblio…

This is a free online version of Pictionary that allows the host to input custom words - so we’ve been trying our hands at SPN-based drawings before CASPN starts, and it has been hilarious. If you have any ideas for words that are realistically draw-a-ble, feel free to shoot me an Ask with your suggestion. There will be a special chat set up for Skribblio separate from the CASPN chat, so if you decide to play, make sure you’re in the right chat. I believe the room limit is eight, otherwise you can jump in on the game even if it’s already in progress. Head over to the site (linked above) and get yourself set up ahead of time (your cookies will do the remembering from there on out). Recommend you use a mouse if you don’t have a pad/stylus - and be aware that the stylus will typically make a straight line “streak” across your drawing when you lift it from the pad, so I honestly think mouse will be better. * WE DON’T DO THIS EVERY SUNDAY, ONLY SOMETIMES! *

.

VERY IMPORTANT REGARDING VOICE CHAT

If you are going to participate in the voice chat over at Discord *PLEASE* make sure you are in a quiet place, and if you are unable to do so, kindly mute yourself and just listen until you are able.

Also, kindly mute yourself if you need to speak to someone on the phone/someone who is with you in person, and mute yourself if your environment becomes noisy - it happens! No worries! Just jump back in when that’s done/when it’s your turn to read

Have this set up and ready to go prior to game start, and ensure all other apps/messaging on your device of choice are muted.

If you are in voice chat just so you can listen because you can’t/don’t choose to read aloud, that of course is fine, but you need to have yourself muted, please, and communicate via chat that you need myself or someone else to read your hand.

.

TIPS & TRICKS FOR IN-GAME FAQs

(A kind reminder: most everything I/veteran players are asked in chat during games is covered at CASPN Headquarters)

Should your mic go out/no one can hear you in Discord, same thing applies as it does when you get duplicate cards/can’t choose a card over in the game - REFRESH! Just refresh the browser page for Discord, and give it a second, and it should remedy itself.

.

🏷️ Tag Me In The Future, Nash! 🏷️

TO BE TAGGED, YOU *MUST* SEND AN ASK! I will not tag you any other way, nor will I tag you if you’ve never played with us before. Them’s the breaks.

I AM UNABLE TO TAG ON THE DAY OF GAMES, suggest you look out for the post, come try the game on for size & if you enjoy it, kindly send an ask stating you’d like to be tagged after you know you like it & are able to participate in future games

IF YOU HAVE CHANGED YOUR NAME, it is YOUR responsibility to send me an ask - I will not track you down or assume you want to stay tagged

FOR THOSE WITH SETTINGS THAT PREVENT TAGGING, you do not have to follow me in order to participate, however I will not follow you just so I can tag you - I am following some CASPN players, however it is only when I find their content of interest or I was already following them prior to the original deck’s conception -  if you want to be in the know about the game dates/times, I suggest you (a) follow me and/or #CASPN which is unique to the weekly games I run, or (b) make a side blog with standard settings that is purely for the purpose of being on this tag list (ex: “CASPN-[your handle])

Tag team, back again…

@impandagrl @salt-n-burn-em-all @princessofthefandomrealm @gryffindorable713 @rozadolphin @abbessolute @ohio-cnk-80q3 @a-screaming-ghost @ferferelli @ericaprice2008 @butiaintgonnaloveem @bumbleball13 @idreamofhazel @winchesterprincessbride @bemyqueenofdarkness @revwinchester @growningupgeek @ultimatecin73 @blackcherrywhiskey​

.

* The Cannot Tags! *

It either (1) looks like the blog under this name is inactive, (2) you’ve changed your name and not told me, or (3) there’s a setting on YOUR end that prevents it.

None presently as the list has been purged/updated as of 11/11/18

NOTE: THE LIST IS NEARING TIME TO BE PURGED AGAIN, RE: PEOPLE WHO HAVEN’T SHOWN UP FOR ROUGHLY A MONTH, JUST FYI

❓ WHY AM I NOT TAGGED? you may ask ❓

Reminder: I’m taking roll at games so I can keep up maintenance on the tag list - if you aren’t participating often [read: approx. every 6 wks/6 games] & you haven’t let me know to move you to my “Hiatus” list, then you won’t be tagged on posts, but I’ll keep you on the CASPN tags page, listed at the bottom under the time frame you were removed.

It is possible I made a mistake if I get busy and neglect to c/p the roster frequently throughout the game - all you have to do is speak up. The biggest issue I have with keeping up is when you use some rando name in game that neither I nor any of the other players recognize. If you want to stay on the tags, you need to use a name I’ll know. Otherwise, I couldn’t care less, call yourself whatever strikes your fancy! :)

Want to be back on “active” status?  Want to be removed altogether? No problem! Kindly communicate your wishes with me via Ask.

[seenashwrite]

Cards Against Supernatural: Sunday February 24th

◄ SUNDAY FEBRUARY 24th, 7:00/7:15 P.M.-ish* CST ►

(* As always, this is not precisely when the game starts - we take a little time for everybody to get logged in & settled in chat, so feel free to come & hang out at Discord while you wait!)

💖 THE VALENTINE’S DECK WILL BE IN PLAY ALL MONTH LONG!!  💖

Starting a little earlier than usual! And yes, I am aware the Academy Awards are tonight, but the people have spoken, no one seems to care this year, and so we play!!!

If you see this? You’re invited. ALL SPN Family members who are at least 18 years & older are welcome!

💡 IF THIS WILL BE YOUR FIRST GAME WITH US, YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE IT’S GONNA BE YOUR JAM & VISIT CASPN HEADQUARTERS 💡

—> This is a mobile-friendly page and contains tons of need-to-knows —> This is NON-NEGOTIABLE FOR NEW PLAYERS

🌟 Post with link will go up closer to start of game 🌟

—> Make sure you are ready to go at Discord prior to game time so all you have to do is click-n’-chat! —> At the game site and on Discord (if you do not already have one), make sure you use your Tumblr name or a variation thereof so we know who you are - this prevents unnecessary confusion. 😁

🃏 Find out ways you can contribute to the decks, the most recent CASPN updates, quick tips for players, & how to join the tag list below 🃏

YOU CAN HELP MAKE THIS GAME BETTER!

Anytime you spot a great quote - and it will probably be on a gif! - that you think may work as a question/answer, shoot it my way and I’ll see if I can work it in.

Please include the season & episode number so I know which deck to put it in. FYI: We do not need any from seasons 3, 5, or 6 - those decks are complete or near completion.

.

UPDATES

On Dramatic Fic Readings…

If you’re a vet, you know we’ve been having a blast with these, closing out our games with a dramatic reading of a Fic Wreck by yours truly.

For our purposes, to be a Fic Wreck Dramatic Reading candidate, it means:

Features a heinously out-of-character Dean and/or Sam –> this is the core characteristic & is non-negotiable

No smut/kinks/Wincest/ABO –> this is non-negotiable

In the 500-800 word range or less (so, a Drabble or modest One-Shot - we’ve made exception for truly horrid things in the 1K range, as well are series that we’ll split up over subsequent game nights)

Can be on Tumblr or from an outside site (FF.net, AO3, Wattpad, et al)

If on Tumblr, preferably at least a year old/not currently circulating on all our dashes with great fervor

Preferably not anyone’s BFF or whatever - and NEVER someone in our group, though y’all are certainly welcome to volunteer any of your own short fics if you just want to hear it read aloud in my crazy voices

Preferably features an immature/annoying/etc. “Y/N”

Preferably has an inexplicably high note/reblog/kudos/etc. count for what it is, which is a wreck

Preferably has a plot that is objectively ridiculous and/or plot points that are crazy confusing

.

On Skribblio…

This is a free online version of Pictionary that allows the host to input custom words - so we’ve been trying our hands at SPN-based drawings before CASPN starts, and it has been hilarious. If you have any ideas for words that are realistically draw-a-ble, feel free to shoot me an Ask with your suggestion. There will be a special chat set up for Skribblio separate from the CASPN chat, so if you decide to play, make sure you’re in the right chat. I believe the room limit is eight, otherwise you can jump in on the game even if it’s already in progress. Head over to the site (linked above) and get yourself set up ahead of time (your cookies will do the remembering from there on out). Recommend you use a mouse if you don’t have a pad/stylus - and be aware that the stylus will typically make a straight line “streak” across your drawing when you lift it from the pad, so I honestly think mouse will be better.

.

VERY IMPORTANT REGARDING VOICE CHAT

If you are going to participate in the voice chat over at Discord *PLEASE* make sure you are in a quiet place, and if you are unable to do so, kindly mute yourself and just listen until you are able.

Also, kindly mute yourself if you need to speak to someone on the phone/someone who is with you in person, and mute yourself if your environment becomes noisy - it happens! No worries! Just jump back in when that’s done/when it’s your turn to read

Have this set up and ready to go prior to game start, and ensure all other apps/messaging on your device of choice are muted.

If you are in voice chat just so you can listen because you can’t/don’t choose to read aloud, that of course is fine, but you need to have yourself muted, please, and communicate via chat that you need myself or someone else to read your hand.

.

TIPS & TRICKS FOR IN-GAME FAQs

(A kind reminder: most everything I/veteran players are asked in chat during games is covered at CASPN Headquarters)

Should your mic go out/no one can hear you in Discord, same thing applies as it does when you get duplicate cards/can’t choose a card over in the game - REFRESH! Just refresh the browser page for Discord, and give it a second, and it should remedy itself.

.

🏷️ Tag Me In The Future, Nash! 🏷️

TO BE TAGGED, YOU *MUST* SEND AN ASK! I will not tag you any other way, nor will I tag you if you’ve never played with us before. Them’s the breaks.

I AM UNABLE TO TAG ON THE DAY OF GAMES, suggest you look out for the post, come try the game on for size & if you enjoy it, kindly send an ask stating you’d like to be tagged after you know you like it & are able to participate in future games

IF YOU HAVE CHANGED YOUR NAME, it is YOUR responsibility to send me an ask - I will not track you down or assume you want to stay tagged

FOR THOSE WITH SETTINGS THAT PREVENT TAGGING, you do not have to follow me in order to participate, however I will not follow you just so I can tag you - I am following some CASPN players, however it is only when I find their content of interest or I was already following them prior to the original deck’s conception -  if you want to be in the know about the game dates/times, I suggest you (a) follow me and/or #CASPN which is unique to the weekly games I run, or (b) make a side blog with standard settings that is purely for the purpose of being on this tag list (ex: “CASPN-[your handle])

Tag team, back again…

@impandagrl @salt-n-burn-em-all @princessofthefandomrealm @gryffindorable713 @rozadolphin @abbessolute @ohio-cnk-80q3 @a-screaming-ghost @ferferelli @ericaprice2008 @butiaintgonnaloveem @bumbleball13 @idreamofhazel @winchesterprincessbride @bemyqueenofdarkness @revwinchester @growningupgeek @ultimatecin73  @blackcherrywhiskey​

.

* The Cannot Tags! *

It either (1) looks like the blog under this name is inactive, (2) you’ve changed your name and not told me, or (3) there’s a setting on YOUR end that prevents it.

None presently as the list has been purged/updated as of 11/11/18

NOTE: THE LIST IS NEARING TIME TO BE PURGED AGAIN, RE: PEOPLE WHO HAVEN’T SHOWN UP FOR ROUGHLY A MONTH, JUST FYI

❓ WHY AM I NOT TAGGED? you may ask ❓

Reminder: I’m taking roll at games so I can keep up maintenance on the tag list - if you aren’t participating often [read: approx. every 6 wks/6 games] & you haven’t let me know to move you to my “Hiatus” list, then you won’t be tagged on posts, but I’ll keep you on the CASPN tags page, listed at the bottom under the time frame you were removed.

It is possible I made a mistake if I get busy and neglect to c/p the roster frequently throughout the game - all you have to do is speak up. The biggest issue I have with keeping up is when you use some rando name in game that neither I nor any of the other players recognize. If you want to stay on the tags, you need to use a name I’ll know. Otherwise, I couldn’t care less, call yourself whatever strikes your fancy! :)

Want to be back on “active” status?  Want to be removed altogether? No problem! Kindly communicate your wishes with me via Ask.