#inbetween a half hour and 45 minutes

[indigo6f00ff]

he will never be balling

[thelasttime]

for that anon about chewing gum: a lot of professionals use this technique when on stage and practicing! also i know it’s not the same thing but actors/actresses also use gum during their scenes/takes too! i just looked online and it says that it helps to lubricate the vocal chords and it stops the throat from drying out. taylor is doing this for 3+ hours so this makes sense that she’s doing this as she also only has 1 water break i think in the sets so she’s non-stop singing and talking which obviously is going to create the dry throat. hell online it even says that john lennon and bruce springsteen chewed gum while singing. the thing is it’s not a technique for every singer like i haven’t sung with gum in my mouth but it also makes sense cuz i only have singing lessons for 45 minutes and we sometimes get off track and stuff so i don’t always sing for the full 45 mins so i’m not going to have as much as a dry throat as say taylor who is doing these songs for 3+ hours with only a couple of moments where she doesn’t sing/talk. and like by myself i’ll maybe do at most 1 hour and a half of singing which i do take breaks inbetween and i’m not always singing (but also been a hot sec since i’ve done this cuz everyone’s around in my house) sorry this was long lol

for anon!!

[wigglebox]

NYCC The Winchesters - 1x01 screening, panel

Good morning/afternoon/evening people! 

So I had to take a break from art in order to write down my first impressions on things for the prequel pilot and the subsequent panel after. 

Note that I haven’t had any time to watch any interviews the folks did before the screening/panel, so this is just me writing what I experienced in ~*the room where it happened*~. The bulk will be behind a read more! 

** Note, I try to avoid mega spoilers but I do go into my impressions of the pilot and my emotions with it, AND I do outline the characters. I try not to get into the nitty gritty since y’all will mostly be seeing it tomorrow anyway, but if you don’t want even a HINT of a spoiler, just don’t read it lol. 

The tldr; I loved it, it has so much to expand on, and I can’t wait to start speculating with y’all again on something SPN based. 

—

I won’t lie, I was nervous.

Not because I didn’t think this show wouldn’t do a good job, because it’s made it this far — which is a lot considering the last two attempts at a spin-off were dead in the water. I was more or less nervous of the audience reception.

Living in one's own head as a Supernatural fan makes you and your goldfish bowl of friends in your Twitter GC and Discord servers, have a set of parameters of what makes a good Supernatural episode or not. But not everyone else shares those parameters that you have convinced yourself are right.

And I was nervous because, given those parameters, I had to keep reminding myself that this isn’t Supernatural. It is its own thing. It’s its own form, own show, with a connection to the main show. These are new characters, even if we knew the older versions of two of them already. Everything is still basically brand new.

My nerves came from a mixture of anticipation, fearing audience reception after the year and a half wait we had to think about this show, and not knowing if I or the audience can see this show as its own individual self and not just another Supernatural episode.

Suffice to say after like, the first five minutes those nerves were gone.

The Pilot

I’m going to get this out of the way before I continue. Pilots aren’t ever perfect. Even Supernatural’s pilot, which is a pilot that I consider to be top-tier, has some clunkiness. 

Pilots can drag, or pilots can speed — there’s rarely an inbetween. The Winchesters pilot seemed to be a little fast paced, trying to introduce the premise of the show a little too quick. The pacing of events and understanding and dialogue kind of felt like this should have been a two hour episode and not the 40 minute one we’re going to get. 

And, some of the dialogue, just like in its predecessor, was indeed clunky exposition. 

But I’m saying this as someone who yes, understands that’s what that was — but also someone who doesn’t take this into account when it comes to what makes a pilot successful. In fact, I never expect perfection in pilots. 

The Winchesters pilot has a lot riding on it. Not only is it the third attempt at a spin off, but it’s having to perform two duties where the original Supernatural pilot only had to do one.

The Winchesters pilot has to both grab old fans, and intrigue new ones. The original Supernatural pilot just had to attract new fans and build up a new world.

So, given that The Winchesters has to do a little extra work, and given that it’s a network pilot, a pilot in general — for me — the fast-paced nature of the episode doesn’t really affect it negatively for me. I expected it, and I’m sure others did as well.

A successful pilot for me is 1) am I interested in this world/characters 2) did you make me ask enough questions to come back next week?

And, The Winchesters scored on both of those accounts!

The episode opens up with its standard cold open where you mostly see a character you have no idea who they are, doing something that’s going to launch you into the next 45 minutes of adventure with the main characters. But, this cold open also has to launch us into the entire season. It’s the first-ever cold open for The Winchesters and it worked very well.

I’m not going to get too much into plot, to keep this spoiler free, however I will say in my head I described it as the Scooby Doo Avengers. When I say Scooby Doo I don’t mean campy, zoinks, goofy monsters of the week — but that there is this team, that is clearly already close, willing to do what it takes to figure something out. And... they have a van lol. 

In the group there is tension already from the get go, which I love. By group, I mean Lata [Latika but Lata is her nickname], Mary, and Carlos have already known each other.

Small spoiler, but at once point Lata tells, not asks, Mary “You’re still mad at me.” Carlos and Mary have tension and unresolved past things that they gotta talk about at some point probably. And John blends in with them rather effortlessly. I will say I’ll be keeping my eyes on John and Lata right now.

But all four of them had a chemistry that already worked. Not like “Oh we all love each other here, no problems at all!” kind of chemistry, but chemistry where you can tell that interactions aren’t being forced. Almost like they’ve been acting together for years by that point, even though they hadn’t.

That was another thing I enjoyed about this core four, the fact that they’re each their own characters but they’re also not standing out too much from each other. That they both don’t blend into each other, but also they’re not so over the top it feels like a caricature.

Here are my first impressions of the characters:

Lata is a book nerd, clearly the “brains” but she’s also rather timid, nervous about hunts, and finds her satisfying success when it comes to what she’s learned on the page rather than hunting down a monster. She’s softer-spoken, and I can see her being the more level-headed grounded one of the group. However, I can also see where her self doubt can get the better of her, and her fear, and given a conversation she has with Mary in the van — I have to wonder if something bad happened in the recent past that made her like this.

Mary is the kind of Mary I felt like we got with Sam Smith. Marching forward, doing what she has to do, almost “going through the motions” of being a Hunter. She already voices her desire to walk away from this, and it’s hinted in that conversation with Lata, something went wrong recently that caused a big upheaval in her life. But that’s kind of a plot point that can be saved for when you watch it Tuesday. Of all four of the characters, it felt like I knew Mary the most because we got later-seasons Mary for a hot second. However, you can see how Meg Donnelly brings her own understanding of the character to the table. I am so very interested to see where she goes throughout this series.

Carlos will be the problem child (affectionate). When the role was first cast, and you got his description, you saw JoJo getting cast, and then seeing him in the trailer, folks already pinged on him being the fandom favorite and I can see that. He’s sharp, witty, already has some one-liners, and I can easily see him causing but also solving problems for the group. One thing that gets me is that he comes across as almost stubborn, not willing to admit when he’s wrong, so I can imagine that comes back into play. That indication comes with a small conversation with Lata over something that happened in the past. It’s played off as a “ha ha,” but if you think about it deeper, you’re seeing someone who knows what he wants and likely will do what he has to do to get it. There are definitely two Alphas in this group, Carlos and Mary, and I can see them butting heads at some point.

And now we’re at John.

When this prequel was first leaked onto Deadline in June 2021, folks (save for myself and a few others that were on my timeline and Discord) immediately rocketed to their feet to voice their displeasure at John being a focal point.

Accusations of trying to twist the narrative and make excuses for John’s behavior in Supernatural-Prime (neglect, child abuse, etc.), or that the constant reminder that John and Mary’s love story was manufactured so how on earth could you have a story about it — or just the attitude in fandom that’s been in there since I’VE started, back in 2013, that John Winchester is an Asshole.

But, a few pointed out that indeed we don’t actually know anything about John aside from his father, Henry, “walking out” on him and his mother, and… that was it. The flashback episodes we had with Matt Cohen’s John were that of a story that we kinda already figured. “In the Beginning” was more about Mary and showing Dean how that deal was made, and “The Song Remains the Same” served as a lesson for Dean and Sam to understand that they “can’t escape fate” with their bloodline. 

Nothing’s really known about John at all, especially before 1973. 

That being said, I really have to spend this portion completely cheering Drake’s John on because holy moly. 

Drake has, and will continue to have, an uphill battle trying to get the most hardened Anti-John folk on board (a struggle Matt Cohen didn’t have to have as much I think). But, given the life that he’s brought to John in this pilot alone, I don’t think it’ll be too much of a struggle. 

I joked that with them casting Drake that “it’s almost like they want us to love and adore him” but I’m not even joking anymore. I adore him. 

Indeed, it’s important to note that this John is not the John we wind up with in the main show. And the cast and everyone involved knows that and have stated as such in interviews. They’re not erasing or rewriting anything. 

The truth, for me, is far more tragic:

The John in the pilot is likable with an almost puppy-like innocence, looking to get answers but also someone dealing with trauma himself as someone who went into the Vietnam War way too early and suffered the consequences of that. I won’t get into specifics, but there’s a touching moment when he’s describing what he saw and what happened to a dear friend and I almost cried. 

You have a kid, and yes I’m calling him a kid, suffering from this trauma in a way that you see twice in the episode, while also someone keeping his head held high while following orders and the motions from his new group of Scooby Doo hunters that he stumbled into. 

When asked how he found someone so fast, John remarks that’s what he does because he was in the Marines. So we get little glimpses of that. 

His ending moment after the final climax of the action was so adorable I wanted to squish his cheeks and yes, I know that’s weird, but he was so proud of himself. 

But, in my opinion, it also demonstrated something that I think may or may not come back — and that’s that he did what he did down there in the tomb almost a little too easily and without freaking out. And was excited to tell his new friends about it.

John in this show I think will become someone that even the most reluctant watchers may come to find they really like. 

And to me, that’s making him automatically, from episode one, one of the most tragic characters. 

Already in the pilot, I was mentally screaming for John to turn back, don’t investigate, don’t do any of this, because we know what’s waiting for him down this path.

I have to mentally make a line in the sand to separate Drake from Matt from JDM because there’s no way I can continue going with The Winchesters and not completely support and adore John and his efforts to understand the Men of Letters and also being with his friends.

With characters out of the way, I’ll mention we don’t get much with Ada or Millie, however I can’t wait to see more of them in the future and what they have to offer. Millie seemingly already knew about the Men of Letters and Ada — in my head when she was first announced as a character I saw her as a Bobby character, just the know it all that can be their “save us because we don’t know what else to do!” character. However it feels like she can, and likely will be, more than that. 

As for the plot of the episode, this is where my “Is a pilot successful” requirement is filled for “Are there enough questions to keep me coming back.”

The answer is, holy shit yes. 

Particularly two things, which I can’t wait to speculate on when the episode airs. One involves John and his letter with the Men of Letters star on it, and the other of who the big bad is for the entire season. I’m so excited to speculate with people on that.

But also, this hunters world in the 1970s is so different to me than what we were first introduced to in 2005. They don’t have cell phones, they don’t have GPS, they don’t have computers, they don’t have quick ways of communicating with each other. They will have a network, sure, but its the 70s. They also don’t have access to THEE Men of Letters bunker, at least for now, which holds a lot of information as well. 

So I have questions about those too. 

I didn’t want this show to just be about “hey let’s do a case study on John” and it doesn’t feel like it’s going to be that. I don’t mind that, but I also wanted this show to stand on its own.

And it’s clear that they’re looking at it in a way that will provide an actual story that can get folded back into Supernatural-Prime.

The Panel

After the pilot screening, there was a 30 minute panel with Danneel, Jensen, Meg, Drake, and Robbie and holy wow.

I wish I could convey to anyone reading this, especially anyone who had any doubts over anything, just how much this group cares. 

Like, it’s not even just in their words saying it, but you can feel it, and I wasn’t even in the front row. It was this like, almost electrical current in the air that could reach you and make you truly, fully, 100% understand that they’re not doing this just for kicks. 

They’re not just tossing aside whatever they want, that they’re not just doing this as a cash grab or anything — but that they’re a team of creatives that really truly wholly believe in this world that the main show created and wanted to explore that more. 

They do treat the existing material with respect, and that they’re not going to just throw all those 15 years of blood sweat and tears down the drain.

I remember in the months following the Deadline leak, folks online kept stamping their feet about canon this and canon that. We haven’t had much press until just recently about it therefore come comments that would be made at a Supernatural convention by Jackles from time to time would have to suffice, but still didn’t convince many.

I think at the time also, when the Deadline leak happened, a lot of opposition I saw came from younger fans, or newer fans, who started season 12 and onward (or even after the show ended) and didn’t quite understand just how monumental it was that Robbie was brought on board.

Robbie stopped writing for the show in season 11 and I wanted to take an informal survey of fandom asking them if they truly understood the word that he did. Some folks don’t pay attention to who writes what.

His episodes I find tend to be some of the most gif’ed episodes on Tumblr or most talked about episodes in general. Any one of his episodes you’d likely find up in any fan’s top 10 list. He’s given us Charlie, Eileen, and even had a hand in bringing Chuck back both in Fan Fiction and in Don’t Call Me Shurely.

For many folks who were in fandom before Andrew Dabb took over some time in season 11, Robbie was easily one of the top three writers for many people.

And there’s a good reason for that. Between writing snappy dialogue and getting characterizations down really well, he’s also seemingly a master at these unconventional episodes. He’s had more normal ones like Goodbye Stranger, 8x17, and First Born (9x11) among others, but he’s also done Baby, Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo, LARP and the Real Girl, Bitten, Fan Fiction, Meta Fiction and the like.

He’s written episodes that were great for character showcasing while also having unconventional storytelling apparatuses as well. My favorite one of his episodes was Time After Time, 7x12.

Suffice it to say, them grabbing Robbie for this project really stood out to me, which is probably why when Deadline first leaked the project, I wasn’t upset. To me, if Robbie was involved, then that’s really all I needed to feel secure in knowing that whatever, or however, they were going to tell this story, he’ll have fun figuring it out.

And I can’t even begin to describe how much it really does come across how much Jackles cares. 

It’s very very easy for someone with that amount of talent to just peace out from a 15-year show that ended, a show that likely made taking other roles nearly impossible, and just go on to do bigger things. 

But the fact that he stuck around and that even before the show wrapped in Sept. 2020 (due to the pandemic) he was already starting on this? That means a lot to me. Like, no matter what he does, he seems to want to keep one hand on his roots and that can only benefit us because you don’t do that unless you really believe in it and care about it.

It’s also hilarious to me that in these press interviews, he’s basically being outed as THEE biggest SPN brain rot stan and, he’s not alone there. We have jackets, dude!

So yes, up on stage, with them answering questions and describing the process, how they’re viewing this — you can tell there’s a reverence they have for the material and understand truly how much time, energy, blood, sweat, tears, smiles, sadness, chaos had gone into the main show.

--

The pilot was good, it was something that would keep me interested with the characters they presented and the premise of the rest of the season to come. It established that we’re not in 2005-2020 anymore, it established a kind of big bad that we’re not used to seeing*, and it had enough easter eggs that satisfied my little Supernatural heart but not over doing it.

*This is something I can’t wait to speculate about.

On a personal note, I’ve been excited since that night, and had felt almost like I was in limbo for the last year and a half waiting for this moment and it was so satisfying seeing the pilot and understanding that my excitement and enthusiasm wasn’t misplaced in the slightest. 

I went into this with the question of “Will I be disappointed in all of this hype that I’ve helped build up for this, both in my head and outwardly?” And the screening and panel shot back: “Nah you’re good.” 

So I can’t wait to rewatch this Tuesday night, and then I can’t wait to watch it the following Tuesday, and again, and again. 

I’m excited for The Winchesters to grow its wings and fly! 

[begraafplaats]

wrote introduction

thinking abt writing essay makes me physically ill

[darcyolsson]

im gonna see lorde live tonight its gonna be lit

[shiningliive]

7th Stage Set List Speculation 

Tumblr hates tall images so please click to see in higher quality!

I put way too much time and effort into thinking up a possible set list for 7th stage, and I’m sure it’ll be way off, but I’m curious how close I can get. Some clarifications, other ideas, and explanations below the read more. Be warned, it’s very long.

*This is not an official set Utapri 7th Stage list, just speculation.

Basic Layout:

1. This is all assuming they want something similar-ish to Maji Love Kingdom, plus solos and other recent songs. I didnt want to just copy the Maji Love Kingdom set list and whack some solos in there

2. Another order I considered was similar to the 5th stage layout where they did ‘character 1 solo, character 2 solo, character 3 solo, song they did together.’ I do think this is definitely possible for 7th stage, and if they do do this, it could be, for example, Tokiya solo, Cecil solo, Yamato solo, Colourfully Spark. I mainly didnt use this for my primary example because I figured it might be odd if they arent doing Quartet Night Solos. 

3. Not very notable, but I also placed the solos in the order the boys are usually in (Otoya, Masato, Natsuki, Tokiya, Ren, Syo, Cecil) with the matching Heavens order. 

4. I did my best to not have too much focus on one group to the point where you dont see another at all until the second half or later. This happened with 6th stage with Heavens not even being introduced until an hour and 45 minutes in. There is a bit of a gap without Quartet Night as Heavens and Starish do their solos, but I feel like this is a bit unnavoidable, and tried to counterbalance it by having the shining masterpiece songs (no heavens) before the solos. 

5. Of this speculative set list, I consider Setsugetsuka-Michibiki Hikari to be the first half, and Up Down Up-Welcome to Utapri Kingdom (just realised I wrote welcome to utapri world in the graphic but you get me) to be the second half. This doesnt matter too much, but it could be split this way across discs or have an interlude inbetween. There are less songs in the ‘second half’ but it does end up being around the same length when you consider we usually get about 2 20 minute talks at the end.

Explanations:

1. I didnt include Quartet Night songs for a few reasons. Mainly because they dont have any new ones released lately and there have already been two QN only lives with qnlf being the most recent main live since 6th stage. It’s certainly possible that they might include some repeats of older QN solos, but this set list is already at the same length and amount of songs as 6th stage, so it would add enough extra time to make 7th stage too long. 

2. Obviously I didnt include a Nagi solo because Wingu isn’t able to attend 7th stage. I assumed this would not affect other song selections and that they will likely have other members fill in for his parts in group songs.

3. I was unable to figure out which new set of solos for Heavens and Starish they would use. I didn’t decide the ones used for any particular reason, so I wouldn’t at all be surprised if different solos than I wrote are used. 

4. I used Setsugetsuka as the opener song, because I thought it would not only allow for special outfits to be worn by Starish and Quartet Night that could be chanegd after their introductions, but it also saved time (instead of having one starish song and one QN song, theyre combined). It’s not quite an exciting booming start to the live, but it is a very well loved song by the fandom that hasnt been performed yet, and the first few notes are very recognisable. I can also imagine it fading nicely into a Heavens group song  I’m not sure about this choice, but I couldnt quite shake the idea, so I kept it. Wouldn’t be surprised if they started with the same three group songs as Maji Love Kingdom though. 

5. In general, I tried to consider things like outfit changes, the time of each song, having a first and second half that can be split onto two discs for dvd/bluray release, and most importantly perhaps, not having the same seiyuu perform too many times in a row to avoid them getting too exhausted.

6.  I found it very hard to place Encore. Unlike a lot of the other Mamo songs, it isnt exactly a hype, exciting song to start off a live (after the initial group songs) but it also doesnt really work in the middle after the solos, or towards the end. Having the song be called ‘encore’ and being played during the credits of Maji Love Kingdom really give that vibe that it should be an encore song.

7. I don’t think they would want 4 Quartet Night+Starish joint songs without Heavens (as it would cause a bit of an imbalance) so I figure they might do either the Shining CD 2 songs or the upcoming Black/White songs that are released shortly before the live. For now I’ve gone with Wonder Rondo and Dancing Over Night because we dont know the length of the Black/White songs.

 “Things that would be cool but probably won’t happen”:

1. I placed Encore towards the start of my set list, but theres something that I would love to see, no matter where its placed. If the song starts with Mamo singing, as expected, until about 30 seconds in when slowly all other seiyuu would walk on stage and join in. This would allow the song to be used as an encore with all seiyuu, or just help build variety and excitement to an otherwise (albeit intense) but slower more emotional song. It also lines up well with the songs build itself as well as the MV that slowly includes more and more people. 

2. More special outfits for Setsugetsuka and the Shining Masterpiece songs and more special outfits/performances in general. I think this is the reason why previous performances like Koizakura and other Shining Theatre songs are so memorable.

3. Pretty sure this one is almost 100% not happening, but, I want Sawashiro Miyuki as a guest to sing Maigo no Kokoro, Haru’s solo song from the first season of the anime. It’s so often forgotten, but its a beautiful song. This would also serve as a nice interlude for the boys to have an outfit change or change staging etc. 

4. I feel like there should maybe be a third encore song, but I couldnt choose a good one. It feels odd to not have 1000% or 2000%, so a version of them with all three groups is possible. If they are going to have a new version of an older song, I feel like a Mirai Chizu would be a great choice. Not only does it suit an encore (emotionally and lyrically speaking), but they haven’t performed it since 1st stage, and I feel like it could work really well with all groups together. Or it could be some kind of new medley or song entirely. 

5. Of course, there are 3 big things we’d all like to see announced at 7th stage. These being: a 5th season of the anime or some kind of sequel, Dolce Vita news, and a large scale update to shining live (eg, adding Heavens.)

Stats of my set list:

1. The total song time of my set list is 2 hours and 20 minutes with an hour and a half of extra time including a shining dancers or other interlude, introduction video, talks, about 5-10 seconds inbetween songs, audience encore call, and goodbyes. 

2. The final time of this set list would be about 3 hours and 48 minutes. 

3. For the performance on the 18th for example, doors open at 2pm, and 7th stage begins at 4:30. With this set list, it seems like it would end at about 8:15-8:30pm which allows for enough time to exit the dome before 9:00pm.

4. There are 33 songs in this set list (one talk is incorrectly labeled as an extra song in the graphic) which is the same as 6th stage.

For anyone who’s gotten this far, thank you. This is literally essay length and I wrote it in 50 minutes. It was a lot of fun thinking up this set list, so I’m excited to see if im at all accurate, or 100% wrong. Either way I’m so excited to see the actual set list. 

[doinurmommy]

Not to be like oh I’m gonna kms but... and not to assume anybody cares enough to read this lmao tw for suicide talk

Im really honestly straight up on the verge of it. I have lupus, I have severe nerve damage in one of my feet after surgery earlier this year, I’m autistic with severe sensory issues and I’m pretty much constantly in pain. I struggle to make it through shifts at work and according to the government I’m not disabled. I can’t pay off my medical bills at all and I have bad credit bc my medical bills have been piling up since I turned 18 and a lot have been sent to collections. I’ve been taking more shifts on at work but I constantly feel like shit. I went to my neurologist appointment today and my doctor decided to take two weeks off without rescheduling any of his appointments. So my medical issues themselves are piling up bc I can’t get in to doctors to have them taken care of.

On top of that I just have really horrible luck all the time. I cannot stress that enough. I had to replace one of my car lightbulbs 4 times in a month and got a fix it ticket for it on my way to work. I had to buy new tires because I got a flat and my tires were old and one of my tires popped not even a week later and I had to isolate bc I got exposed to covid so I couldn’t take my car back to the shop in time to get a refund for that tire. This car is mew to me, I got in a serious car accident back in March that totaled my car bc some guy decided not to pay attention and run a red light. Due to the shut down in March I went without a car until June, and the hospital won’t bill my insurance right for my hospital visit so that bill got sent to collections when it shouldn’t have. And then I’m June I stepped on a sewing needle and had to have it surgically removed from my foot. I had to wait two weeks with the needle inbetween my bones to get it removed due to covid backing up “unnecessary” surgeries. Then when I got surgery to have it out they couldn’t find the needle even with the portable X-ray machine and dug around in my foot for two hours when the surgery was supposed to take 45 minutes. I went back to work and my manager made me take the people I take care of for walks around the neighborhood bc she was too lazy to take them. This caused my foot to reopen and get infected. All of this caused serve permanent nerve damage in my foot my foot is numb and extremely painful still. I have a 4 inch long extremely hard scar on my foot now. I haven’t been able to get it taken care of at the neurologist. My old manager wrote me up so many times I was on the verge of being fired and I have worked here for two years and never been written up before. That’s despite me having doctors notes. Then I got whooping cough and had to be out of work again.

A lot of other bad stuff has happened besides these things I just have horrible luck in general and today I accidentally cut off half of my fingernail while shaving. Which is just one of a lot of bad things to happen this week and every week. My hair is falling out and I have extreme joint paint due to my lupus and have been having serve memory loss and confusion and very serve sensory problems due to me being autistic. I’ve been through a really rough break up this year. I didn’t get a stimulus check from even though I was supposed to or get paid any extra. I don’t qualify for disability temporary or otherwise.

I also had to quit my apprenticeship and I’m looking for a new one. My old mentor showed myself and a minor pornography and it was a really bad situation.

I just don’t know how much more I can take. That’s not even including everything that happened leading up to this year. Every time I think maybe something good will happen it gets worse. Everyone either says that it hHAS to get better at some point which just isn’t true and not helpful. Or they say shit like “wow you must have been a really bad person in a past life to deserve all of this” which is just so fucked up bc I didn’t do anything to anyone. I’m not a saint I’m not the best person but I try my best and I try my best to stay positive I just can’t take it anymore. I can’t even stand the thought of literally anything else happening to me it’s ridiculous. It’s just getting to the point where I just don’t think I can take it anymore and would rather be dead than have to get up another day ://

[lavender-hemlock]

Aw.. Shit, here we go again. (Questions below the cut because I’m not an asshole like the below.) 

@kazexvoss

Get To Know Me Uncomfortably Well

1. What is you middle name?

Marie

2. How old are you?

23

3. When is your birthday?

October 7th

4. What is your zodiac sign?

Libra

5. What is your favorite color?

Burgundy

6. What’s your lucky number?

7

7. Do you have any pets?

One dog

8. Where are you from?

The US-Tragedy-A

9. How tall are you?

Hahaha.. 5′.  10. What shoe size are you?

Size 6

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

Probably over ten.. and more than half are boots. 

12. What was your last dream about? Asked by breaking-from-grace

13. What talents do you have?

I guess I have a talent for my empathy, art, and writing? Not sure what merits as a talent without being overzealous. 

14. Are you psychic in any way?

I’ve been called a witch because of intuition for emotions of others? Or being scary close to presuming things. 

Sadly can’t bend any spoons, stay tuned. 

15. Favorite song?

Toooo many. Music is too vast to pick just one, but I’ve been listening to Day Dreaming - Jack & Jack a lot lately. 

16. Favorite movie?

Probably the Phantom of the Opera version with Gerard Butler. 

17. Who would be your ideal partner?

Someone who is capable of respecting the flow of my energy. When I need space, when I’m all for being close. It isn’t that I’m picky or moody, but I know what I need and also don’t need them being worried when I’m just being quiet and reading a book. It’s just a mutual respect and understanding. 

Ya feel? 

18. Do you want children?

Yeah. Which is weird to think about. I’m not in any rush. 

19. Do you want a church wedding?

I think it is right for me to pursue it, but kinda no. I want a venue probably really low key done up in lights, curtains, and simplicity that doesn’t need a huge budget. Its about the bond, right? 

20. Are you religious?

Yep, I am a christian. 

21. Have you ever been to the hospital?

I have! I had a piggy bank get knocked on top of my head when I was little and my mom rushed me to the hospital. I think that was the first time I saw stars. Only time though!

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law?

Yeeeeap. 

23. Have you ever met any celebrities?

Yes! I’ve been fortunate to meet a few bands and also see the cast of Fast and the Furious. I got to go on set for the 5th movie! I was lucky. 

24. Baths or showers?

Showers. 

25. What color socks are you wearing?

Black. I hate this question. I’m looking at only one person rn. 

26. Have you ever been famous?

Kinda? Yet I think famous in this way is very subjective? I had my old (and first) RP community for like eleven years. Its not fun when everyone knows your name, I’ll tell you that. You get put on a pedestal or get called terrible things if you don’t respond. It was a whack time. I don’t miss it. I was just famous for the designs I would put for the community and being like a “veteran” member with tons of “powers” (community bling). Blegh. 

27. Would you like to be a big celebrity?

Nope. I admire those that do great things and gain that attention for the work they have put in, but its a double sword. Everyone knows your business and looks at you. Seems like a ant under a magnifying glass analogy.  

28. What type of music do you like?

I like a lot of pop/alternative. I listen to generally everything except some heavy techno/bass stuff isn’t really for me. 

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping?

Nope, don’t plan to. What if a snake bit my ass? How do I explain that to a doctor. 

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?

3!

31. What position do you usually sleep in?

I have to pick one!?

32. How big is your house?

It’s modest. 

33. What do you typically have for breakfast? Asked by Caewen!

34. Have you ever fired a gun?

Yes! I have been trained to use one strictly for defense over the home. What a sad world. 

35. Have you ever tried archery?

No, but I wish!

36. Favorite clean word?

Cleaaaan? 

37. Favorite swear word?

Fuck. 

38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep?

Hahahaha 72 hours. I like sleep. 

39. Do you have any scars? Asked by Sangria-Fangs!

40. Have you ever had a secret admirer?

Yeah! It’s.. okay. Kind of creeps me out tbh. 

41. Are you a good liar?

No. I would psych myself out. 

42. Are you a good judge of character?

Yeah. It took a lot of fuck-ups to figure that out!

43. Can you do any other accents other than your own?

Poorly. All of them. 

44. Do you have a strong accent?

No.

45. What is your favorite accent?

Gosh. British or Australian. 

46. What is your personality type?

INFJ. 

47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing?

Boots! 

48. Can you curl your tongue? Cries. Asked by Caewen. 

49. Are you an innie or an outie?

Innie. This is weird. 

50. Left or right handed?

Right handed!

51. Are you scared of spiders?

Don’t @ me. 

52. Favorite food?

Snow crab.

53. Favorite foreign food?

Italian. 

54. Are you a clean or messy person?

SO fresh and SO clean ~

55. Most used phrased?

”I dare everyday.” She says before she does something stupid. 

56. Most used word?

Ye. 

57. How long does it take for you to get ready?

Anywhere from 5 minutes to over 30 minutes. There is no inbetween in this. 

58. Do you have much of an ego?

Either the biggest in the room or the smallest. There is no inbetween. 

59. Do you suck or bite lollipops?

BITE. 

60. Do you talk to yourself?

When I’m trying to focus really hard. 

61. Do you sing to yourself?

Only to myself, yes. In my car and forgetting there’s someone in the car next to me? yes. 

62. Are you a good singer?

I’d like to think so. 

63. Biggest Fear?

Snakes. 

64. Are you a gossip?

No, but I’ll discuss, not spread. 

65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen? Asked by Hingan-Fox!

66. Do you like long or short hair?

I like both!

67. Can you name all 50 states of America?

Unfortunately. 

68. Favorite school subject?

Literature. 

69. Extrovert or Introvert?

Kinda inbetween. Ask me on a random day, it may be one or the other. 

70. Have you ever been scuba diving?

No but it sounds cool!

71. What makes you nervous?

Confrontation. 

72. Are you scared of the dark?

Kinda. 

73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes?

It depends on the thing. If its not my place, I won’t. If they’re ignorant, it depends if its worth it. If they deserve it- passionately. 

74. Are you ticklish?

I will stab you. 

75. Have you ever started a rumor?

Nope

76. Have you ever been in a position of authority?

Yep!

77. Have you ever drank underage?

Yeeeap. 

78. Have you ever done drugs?

Mary Jane. 

79. Who was your first real crush?

A boy in kindergarten who drew me cards everyday and left them in my desk each morning. ; ; 

80. How many piercings do you have?

None! Needles and I do not work out. 

81. Can you roll your Rs? 

I can’t even curl my tongue and now I get this question. 

82. How fast can you type?

90 WPM average. 

83. How fast can you run?

Fast as fuck boi. I’m just memeing now, aren’t I? Just trying to get through this. I don’t think anyone will get this far. 

84. What color is your hair?

Dark brown!

85. What color is your eyes?

Green-blueishhhh. Depends on the day/lighting. 

86. What are you allergic to?

Wax and bees. 

87. Do you keep a journal?

I used to until someone read it lol. 

88. What do your parents do?

Work? 

89. Do you like your age?

I kinda have to? 

90. What makes you angry? Asked by Caewen! Oo boy. 

91. Do you like your own name?

Yeah, I’d say its just fine. It’s mine.

92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they?

Jace and Claire. 

93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child?

Happy with either.

94. What are you strengths?

Empathy, understanding.

95. What are your weaknesses?

Patience (depends), Failure. 

96. How did you get your name?

They said they just shouted it out until they figured they could say it everyday for the rest of my life and not get tired of it- and the meaning is pretty. 

97. Were your ancestors royalty?

I don’t think so. Never looked into it. 

98. Do you have any scars? Asked by Sangria-Fangs!

99. Color of your bedspread?

White.

100. Color of your room?

White, greys. I like snow and furs and lights. 

Now, after all that- I am clearly no bitch @kazexvoss. Do yours. 

[pluto-fics]

When you need to study

Kim Seokjin

It was that time of the semester again. The big exam time.

Your head was fuming and yet, you couldn’t bring yourself to look away from your books, sprawled across your desk. It’s not like you started to study later than you should have, it’s just that, despite having spent whole days and nights studying, you still felt like you could never pass the exam.

The quiet buzzing noise of your phone atop of your desk seemed like the roar of a wild creature in comparison to the silence in your room. When you checked your notifications, a soft sigh escaped your tense body as it finally began to relax.

Jinnie 💖

[Hey, darling. I’m close to your house right now, would you mind it if I came over in a few minutes?]

A smile played on your lips when you read your boyfriend’s message. Maybe you really should stop studying for today and spent a few hours with Seokjin instead.

You

[Sounds good. Should I make dinner for us both?]

His answer arrived almost in an instant.

Jinnie 💖 

[How about I cook for you instead so you can finally relax for a while?]

This made you giggle. He knew how much you were stressing out because of your upcoming exams. He was also the one to repeatedly remind you to take breaks and eat or just relax. It was sweet to see him caring about your well-being, not like it was a special occasion, though. Seokjin always made sure you were at your absolute best, at least health-wise.

You

[I’d love that. Thanks Jinnie. I love you! 💕]

-

Jinnie 💖 

[Love you too, (Y/N). I’ll get some things at the grocery shop and be there in 20 minutes ❤]

Min Yoongi

Silence filled the air of the Genius Lab around you and your boyfriend, Yoongi.

Whilst Yoongi was clicking and typing away at his several devices he uses to produce songs, you were sat on the couch behind him, quietly working on some tasks your teacher handed out to you and your classmates in preparation for the upcoming exams. A lot of people would have felt uncomfortable with this kind of ‘date’, but for you and Yoongi it wasn’t uncommon to meet up just to seperately work on something. It was the presence of the other that was enough for the both of you to feel less lonely while shutting yourselves away from the world to focus completely on the one thing you wanted to get done.

Surprisingly, Yoongi was the one who broke the silence as he let out a deep sigh and leaned back in his chair before spinning around with it to face you. “Aren’t you hungry? You haven’t eaten all day, (Y/N)” he said, now getting up from his chair. You just hummed in response, finishing the sentence you were writing down before looking up at him and nodding. “I really should eat, huh?” you asked, a smile froming on yours and Yoongi’s lips in unison. He nodded shortly then asked “The usual?” to which you smiled even more. “Yep” you said and patted the free space next to you on the couch, Yoongi immediately scooting closer with his phone in hand and falling down beside you as he called the delivery service and placed your orders.

“Are you done with the track yet?” you then asked after he finished the call to which he shook his head a little. “Not yet, but it’s almost how I want it to turn out” he says, his arm naturally finding it’s place around your shoulders as you automatically lean into him and close your eyes. “Can’t wait to listen to it” you say honestly and, for the first time today, felt the tension leave your body and instead felt the feeling of relaxation taking over you, finally able to focus on something else than your exams. That other something being: spending time with Yoongi.

Jung Hoseok

Thud!

Your forehead met the top of your desk for what felt like the hundredth time today. After having pulled an all-nighter last night to memorize as much of the important notes you took during class as you could, you only took a 45 minutes nap this morning before getting up to run some errands during the day. And here you were, back at your desk to study. Or at least attempt to, but failing miserably due to how sleep-deprived you felt.

“Ugh, I can’t concentrate like this...” you mumbled to yourself and leaned back in your chair, staring at the ceiling for a couple of seconds before you decided to check your phone for messages. 

Thus, you were met with a bunch of notifications, messages from friends and so on. However, one contact name sent a smile to your face and a certain warmth to your heart as you tapped on the messages he had sent.

Hobi ❤

[Good morning, my angel ❤ Did you sleep well?]

[Seems like you’re busy again today... Remember to take breaks and relax a bit, alright~?]

[Hey, how about you take a break tonight and come over for a while? I miss you, baby ❤]

You felt a sting in your heart, feeling as though you were the worst for not having found the time to check your messages for a whole day. So you immediately typed your reply, apologizing to Hoseok for not having answered his texts and telling him about how tired you were. His response followed quick, almost as if he had been expecting your reply.

Hobi ❤

[It’s fine, don’t worry about it. How about I come and pick you up right now and we just have a nice, calm movie night together? Or a nap date, I don’t care as long as I get to see you, baby]

Giggling a little, you replied with an ‘alright’ and honestly began to feel excited to see your boyfriend again as well.

Kim Namjoon

“Argh!”

You were frustrated. Stressed out. Completely devastated. 

Almost a whole hour had passed since you first attempted at solving one of your practice algebra exercises and you still didn’t get any closer to the solution of it. Dropping your pencil and massaging your temples, you closed your eyes and tried to clear your mind of the countless numbers and mathematical formulas.

That was, until Namjoon came into the living room, carrying two cups of hot beverages towards the coffee table you sat in front of. “What’s wrong Babe?” he asked, a sweet smile beaming your way. You grumbled quietly in response. “Still that stupid exercise, huh?” he then guessed in a mumbled voice.

Taking a seat next to you, he then scanned the task given in the exercise and hummed quietly while seemingly trying to come up with a solution as well. “That really is a hard one” he then sighed, your eyebrows furrowing. “Of course it is, I wouldn’t have been stuck with it for almost a full hour if it wasn’t” you almost snapped. Namjoon, however, stayed completely calm, knowing that it was just the stress that was building up inside of you which made you act up like this.

Thus, he simply asked “Have you tried this yet?” and came up with a, indeed, very logical way to solve the problem. Your eyes widened while he explained what he was thinking, your mind racing and your head nodding on it’s own, agreeing with Namjoon’s suggestions. “Oh my god, you’re a genius! Of course, I should have just done that instead of taking the square root.”

Namjoon just chuckled and gently stroked your back while you quickly scribbled down your calculations and result. “Maybe you should take a break, (Y/N). You’ve been studying for hours, of course it’ll get hard to concentrate at some point” he speaks in a gentle voice “Why don’t we order some food and watch a movie together, hm?”

And how could you disagree with the man who just solved that devilish mathematical problem in less than 3 minutes?

Park Jimin

It was completely silent in your room.

You were sat on your bed, well, more like inbetween Jimin’s legs while he hugged you close and rested his chin on your shoulder, quietly watching you write down a bunch of important text passages from one of the books you had had to read for your english classes.

“And... he pulled her in... for... a kiss” you suddenly heard Jimin mumble the english phrase from the book before you felt him pressing a quick kiss against your cheek and chuckling quietly. You immediately giggled, turning your head to smile at him.

“I’m sorry, Jimin. I bet it’s boring to watch me study but I really need to prepare for next week” you spoke. He shook his head slightly and smiled. “It’s fine. You look cute when you’re concentrating so hard” he stated with a grin.

You could feel the blush rushing to your cheeks as you rolled your eyes playfully and leaned back against his chest, resting your head on his shoulder. “Hmm, I wish I could still concentrate but my lovely boyfriend keeps distracting me every few minutes” you then said with a teasing smirk and felt Jimin stroking your sides lovingly. He placed another kiss on your cheek and said “Sorry Jagi, I just really wanted to see you today. I didn’t mean to keep you from studying, though.”

“It’s alright, I missed you too. I just wish we could do something fun instead of... well... this” you replied, glaring at your books and notepad as you finished your statement. To this, Jimin giggled before suggesting to keep studying for an hour or so and then going out for dinner together.

“Sounds perfect, thank you Jiminie” you smiled happily and pecked his lips before continuing your note taking from before as Jimin smiled because of the nickname you gave him and buried his face in the nape of your neck while waiting for the final hour of studying to pass.

Kim Taehyung

“I’m really sorry, Tae, but I really need to study tonight” you said to your boyfriend who you were talking to on the phone.

“(Y/N)~! You can’t leave me hanging like this, we haven’t met in days” was his reply. You sighed and dropped the pen you had used to scribble notes into your notebook with. “Tae... I miss you so much, I really do, but I can’t just go out now when there’s so much that I still need to memorize and revise...” you explained to him, a sigh following your words.

Taehyung went quiet for a few seconds before he then said “Fine.”

“I’m so sor-”

-

“If you can’t come out, I’ll just come to you then. I’ll be there in half an hour.”

And with that, the call ended. You blinked a couple of times before sighing again. You should have known that it’d end like this, but who were you to complain? After all, you didn’t lie when you told Taehyung how much you missed him. You craved his hugs so badly right now since his embrace always helped you to relax. And god, were you tense and exhausted right now.

Your doorbell rang half an hour later, just like Taehyung had promised, and as soon as he entered your home, your arms moved on their own to hug him tightly. It startled him at first, but he quickly returned the hug with a happy giggle. “Aw, I missed you too, Jagiya~” he teased and kissed the top of your head.

Jeon Jungkook

You puffed out a breath after finally finishing the task you had started on 40 minutes ago. Your eyes now wandered from your notebook to the back of your boyfriend’s head, as he busied himself with a computer game to not disturb you while you were studying. A smile grew on your lips as you heard him making fun of Taehyung, who apparently played the game with him online, for almost getting killed by a beginner.

Quietly getting up from his bed, you moved closer to Jungkook and waited for the right time to gently place your hands on his shoulders, not wanting to shock him and possibly making him do something stupid in-game by accident.

But once your hands met his shoulders, Jungkook flinched a bit in surprise before chuckling. “Ah~, (Y/N), why do you sneak up to me like that?” he asked amused and glanced back at you with a smile before focusing back on the screen in front of him as you smiled. “Sorry, I just wanted to surprise you a little” you said honestly and now watched what he was doing in the game, as well. “Taehyung is telling me to say hi to you” Jungkook then said, erupting a giggle from you. You leaned in to Jungkook’s microphone on his headset and said “Hi Tae” before pecking Jungkook’s head.

“Do you want me to stop?” Jungkook then asked you to which you simply shook your head. “No, I like watching you play. I need to take a break from studying anyway” you replied honestly with a smile and gently pulled back his chair a bit, Jungkook immediately realizing what you’re about to do and gently pulling you down to sit on his lap before he continued to play the game with a happy grin on his face.

“I love you, babe” he then said, only to get teased for it by Taehyung afterwards.

[yeonchi]

Kisekae Insights #3: Series Overview (Classic, New and 50th Anniversary Series)

For an imaginary project developed over at least a decade, there’s an ungodly number of series and episodes in it compared to the actual BBC Doctor Who. Even with Doctor Who alone, 17 series were broadcast over six years with 12 being broadcast over the space of three years. Let’s take a deep look into each series.

For the purposes of this project, my main focus is on the Fifth Doctor’s episodes, but I will talk briefly about the other four Doctors as well. In case you haven’t been following this series, everything I talk about will be in the context of this project. I’m bolding it because I don’t want to have to keep explaining this when asked.

Before the Fifth

1999 to 2007 was the classic era of this project’s Doctor Who, with episodes being 25 minutes long until November 2005; following that, they would be 45 minutes long (exceptions aside). Sometimes, we would have one episode per week, maybe two or even four.

The First Doctor had 190 episodes broadcast over 38 stories, covering six seasons and a pilot series. The first actor was in the pilot series and the first two seasons for a total of 73 episodes and 17 stories. The second actor took over thereafter for a total of 117 episodes and 21 stories.

The Second Doctor had a TV movie, then 181 episodes broadcast over 53 stories, covering six seasons and a set of specials. The Third Doctor did have thirteen 45-minute episodes and three specials at the start of 2008 that were considered part of the Classic Series.

In the middle of the year, the show was transferred to another station and the Third Doctor was recasted. This would be the start of the first “New Series”. Each individual series consisted of thirteen 45-minute episodes, which would be the norm hereafter. Unlike his counterpart, the BBC Ninth Doctor, being in only one series, the Third Doctor was in four series. The original BBC Series 1 was split after The Long Game and the remaining episodes were broadcast at the end of the fourth series.

The Fourth Doctor was in three series and seven specials, with most of them being broadcast over a year. Not all the BBC Tenth Doctor’s episodes were adapted. For the remaining five specials, he was replaced by another actor, who also reprised that incarnation for one series while also playing the next incarnation. By that time, the show was transferred back to its original station, paving the way for another “New Series”.

The New Series

Broadcast 2012 and early 2013. Series 1-5 episodes were broadcast twice a week (with an exception during Series 3+4), then once a week thereafter.

Series 1: Based on BBC Series 5 with the exception of Amy’s Choice and with four additional episodes for a total of 16 episodes. Amy and Rory were replaced with Ritsu Tainaka and Kunikida (first name Doppo, not to be mistaken with the character from Bungo Stray Dogs). For the last four episodes, Kanade Tachibana and Yuzuru Otonashi were introduced as new companions. In the Easter Special, The Pony Doctor, the Doctor’s pony counterparts, Doctor Whooves and the Pony Doctor, are introduced.

Series 2: Based on BBC Series 6 with three additional episodes for a total of 16 episodes. Ritsu and Kunikida are the primary companions with Kanade and Yuzuru appearing in the final two episodes, including a crossover in the series finale, A Canterlot Wedding. An additional episode was broadcast following Day of the Moon, which introduced Nayu Hayama from Chu-Bra!! (voiced by Catherine Tate).

Series 3+4: Series are (mostly) original from this point. Kanade and Yuzuru become the main companions after the Doctor left Ritsu and Kunikida behind in the last season. The first five episodes of Series 3 are specials, the first being an adaptation of The Five Doctors (the special edition, FYI). Here’s where things get complicated. In the original version, Series 3 had 9 episodes and Series 4 had 5 episodes, with both series being followed by a special weeknight drama, consisting of 9 and 15 half-hour episodes respectively. Elements of the drama were based from the BBC Series 3 and 4 finales. The main villain of the series was the Kikuchi Clan, led by a renegade Time Lady named Ayaka Kikuchi. In the following years, both series went through a restructuring for home media releases and rerun broadcasts. The loose episodes and dramas (with a two-episode buffer) were condensed into what would respectively be the new Series 3 and 4. A couple of episodes were also replaced. This is how I will be addressing those series from here on out.

Series 5: Based on BBC Series 4, with the Doctor now taking on some of the Tenth Doctor’s character. The first three episodes were set in Equestria and circled around the events that led to My Little Dashie. Following a lone adventure, Nayu joined the Doctor as his main companion for the rest of the season. Don’t worry, her ending isn’t as tragic as Donna’s was. The series finale was a two-hour special and instead of Davros and Dalek Caan, it featured Antoni and Specter. Aside from the free-to-air broadcast version, there was a premium version that was broadcast on a satellite channel. It had an additional 23 episodes and featured more anime crossovers. Oh what the hell, this series was mostly anime crossovers anyway. I didn’t think about putting those episodes in when I made this series, but Kanade and Yuzuru do return in a three-episode arc adapted from the episodes that featured the return of Martha Jones.

Series 6: Based on BBC Series 7 Part 1. This series featured the departure of Ritsu and Kunikida. Following that, we have the return of Tsukasa Hiiragi and Squid Girl, having previously had adventures with the Fourth Doctor.

Series 7: Based on BBC Series 7 Part 2 with a split in the series. The first five episodes, which featured Tsukasa and Squid Girl as companions, were a part of an original story centred around the Salacian Time War and made up Part 1 of the series. Following that, six Christmas Specials were broadcast over the Christmas period before Part 2 resumed at the same time as its BBC counterpart. Part 2 featured Clara Oswald as companion.

The 50th Anniversary Series

Broadcast mid-late 2013. The original plan was for a singular special, but then I just kept adding preludes to it and called it a series instead. After that, I added more sequels and made the series even crazier than it already was. Linearly, there are a total of 46 episodes, along with an extra 26 episodes for the other Doctors and characters featured in November. Oh, don’t worry, I didn’t write those extra episodes. I only wrote like 33 of them. Most of the episodes are 60 minutes long. For most of the series, the Doctor is travelling with Clara, Squid Girl and Takeru Aizawa.

Block 1: The first three episodes, written by me, were centred around the other protagonist and his girlfriend. The last three episodes, not written by me, featured Hackbot and Heavy Metal Monster, monsters from a game I used to play with friends as a child (I’ll explain later), and Reimu Hakurei (voiced by Mai Nakahara who also voiced her in Musou Kakyou: A Summer Day’s Dream), who also had adventures with the Fourth Doctor.

Block 2: Four episodes featuring the return of the Kikuchi Clan as villains. Some characters and themes from Koihime Musou and Ikki Tousen/Battle Vixens (who also appeared in the spinoff series The Kongming Adventures) are also featured.

Block 3: Six episodes written by different writers and featuring different Doctors (including both Third Doctors). They revolve around Kumiko Hayashi and her “mother” as they go on strange and successive adventures with the Doctors. Kumiko accidentally gets an instantaneous MTF sex change near the end of this; from that point on, the name “Kumiko” becomes her real name instead of an assumed name. I also introduce a group of Impossible Girl-esque characters that are explained in Block 6.

Block 4: Four episodes revolved around the other protagonist’s friends thinking that it would be a good to forcibly marry him with another autistic classmate of his. That was also the plot of the first half of Series 4 and I should point out that the classmate has Asperger’s (that’s not why he doesn’t want to marry her btw, it’s because they don’t have feelings for each other).

Block 5: Four episodes of separate adventures (with one written by Steven Moffat). One of the episodes signifies a changing of an era as we see Fifi Forget-me-not pass away (based off a fanfic from EmmaKoeni) and Akari preparing for her wedding. It should be noted that by this point, the protag had already parted with Fifi long before that episode happened. He came back and stayed with her for a day as she passed on, so I dunno if others would consider that cheating.

Block 6: The big one to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who. This is where the extra 26 episodes are set; everyone is in the same episode for the start and end, but they have their own adventures inbetween. The entire thing would have taken up 16 channels (my list has separate feeds for channels because at the time, I was going with what Japan was doing for their digital TV) unless you put them back-to-back or something. I also adapted The Name of the Doctor for the protag; basically, he would make a contract with Kyubey to become a magical boy, then scatter himself throughout his timeline, creating the Impossible Girl-esque characters from Block 3.

Block 7: Two episodes broadcast back-to-back as an experimental format. The first episode just revealed mysteries (most of them didn’t matter after that) while the second features segments with the prototypes and their partners.

Block 8: Five episodes of random stuff circling around the protagonist as he has adventures both with the Doctor and by himself. I took quite a few ideas from other episodes.

Block 9: Another big one with five Christmas Specials. The prologue features the wedding of the soon-to-be Hiroki and Akari Ichigo and the departure of Clara, Squid Girl and Takeru. The next three episodes go full-on as Girl Power teams up with the Daleks, Antoni and the Master in a war unlike any other. There is also a Dalek civil war arc going on with the bronze and gold Time War Daleks going up against the red and multicoloured New Paradigm Daleks (I don’t know why they were so hated, I personally think the BBC should have used them more). The epilogue is Hiroki Ichigo’s first adventure before he officially coins the name by the start of the next series.

Spinoffs

I had little to no involvement in these, but these are the spinoffs that spawned in the two years of my time writing Doctor Who:

The Fourth Doctor Adventures: As I stated before, this series is an extension of the Fourth Doctor’s adventures. Some episodes lay the groundwork for the animes and cartoons that are still featured in the series.

Doctor Whooves/Doctor Who Equestria: Adaptations of Doctor Who featuring Doctor Whooves and the Pony Doctor respectively.

MLP:FiM: Storm Dasher Series: A webcast series featuring new adventures for Storm Dasher. I think it may have been cut short because the last 12-13 episodes are the same as some of my own episodes in the main Doctor Who series.

Torchwood: Basically what it says on the tin. I wrote two episodes for that, then realised that most of it is also the same as the main Doctor Who series. This is getting stupid, honestly.

The Kongming Adventures: Adaptation of The Sarah Jane Adventures, but with Zhuge Liang instead of Sarah Jane.

Pobol y Dinas/EastEnders: I don’t know what the hell I was doing with that one, because these are two unrelated soap operas that came as spinoffs from a sci-fi series. The name Pobol y Dinas is “People of the City” in Welsh and I got the name from the actual S4/C soap opera, Pobol y Cwm.

Puella Magi Takumi Magica: Details Takumi Kamijō’s adventures following his regeneration and the establishment of Torchwood Pleiades, an organisation dedicated to bringing together magical girls around Mitakihara and beyond.

Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb: Different to the actual series of the same name, this details Kumiko Hayashi’s adventures of living as a girl in a boy’s body due to the circumstances she was placed in following his regeneration.

Well, that took a bit of work to get through. We’ll continue this in the next instalment.

[children-ofthe-wind]

Sugar free homemade croissants

Sugar-Free homemade croissants! 

As I said, I’m posting this on Tumblr and on Instagram for the sake of adding notes. 

Notes about this recipe:

I used honey instead of sugar. The reason I did this is because one, I don’t eat sugar anymore. The second reason is because honey has it’s own natural sugar that helps the yeast activate. Though because honey is a liquid and not solid like sugar, it makes the dough more wet, which means you need to add more flour to the recipe I used. 

I don’t remember how much I used but the notes on the recipe I used said if it’s too sticky (mine was), then add more flour. Add 1 tbsp at a time, mix it, if it’s still too sticky, add another tbsp, on and on. 

I had wanted to make it more keto-friendly, but I found the other keto recipes did not look like croissants. They looked different, and it’s due to the flour used. Some flour cannot capture the same consistency as all purpose-flour or bread flour can. 

Notes on my MISTAKES:

I wanted to add this so you can avoid the mistakes I made

Mistake 1) I used a hand mixer. That was a mistake. This dough is too thick for a hand mixer. I found it difficult to mix in the flour well. Especially because I kept needing to add more, it wasn’t mixing it all in properly. Use your hands if you need to, I had to kneed it by hand for some minutes. I suggest using one of those electric mixers. If by mistake you think it’s good but when you put it on the counter or wherever your setting up, add more flour to the place you are putting it on to. Also add more flour to the dough by just slapping some, not a lot, onto it and spreading it with your hand.

Mistake 2) I rolled them the wrong way. The first folds I did, I had determined what would be the longer part and shorter part. The instructions on the recipe I used confused me so I accidentally rolled the shorter part longer and the longer part shorter which could have compromised the texture or tear the dough. Thank god it didn’t. 

Mistake 3) I had the idea to warm the oven to let the dough rise on my final step before baking. I put the temperature TOO hot and it cooked them a little bit. I had to take them out and let them rise outside in the open. 

Yields: I did mine differently. I made some croissants and some chocolate croissants so mine yielded less because the chocolate ones require more dough. The recipe I used claims to make about 20 or 30 if you make them small.  

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups of milk lukewarm (I used almond milk, came out fine)

1/4 cup honey

3 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

3 1/4 cups all purpose flour (probably more if you’re using honey. Remember to mix in 1 tbsp at a time if you add more)

1 tbsp salt

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, cold

1 egg for egg wash

Rolling pin

Measuring tape

RECIPE:

Bloom the yeast: If you’re using an electric mixer, but the following ingredients into the mixing bowl. If you’re using a hand mixer, put it in a bowl you can mix in. Warm the milk on the stove. Make sure the milk is NOT boiling, it should just be warm. You can dip your finger in it and it should be warm. If it becomes too hot, you can let it cool off before moving to the next step. Add the yeast and honey into the bowl, and then the warm milk. Mix it together and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. The mixture should look bubbly or foamy. 

Make the dough: Add the flour and salt to the bowl. I didn’t add the flour all at once, I mixed some of it in then the rest. If you’re using the electric mixer, use the dough hook and mix it on low speed for about 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and soft. Same thing with the hand mixer, but it may take longer. This is the part where if you need to add more flour (you probably will if you used honey), add in one tbsp at a time and so on if you need more. After it gets to the right consistency, take it out and knead your dough for a few minutes on your working surface. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky. Place the dough back in the bowl, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for an hour. 

Prepare the butter: While the dough is chillin in the fridge, prepare the butter. Arrange the sticks of butter horizontally on a piece of plastic wrap. Cover the top with another piece of plastic wrap. Pound on the butter and roll it out on both sides until the butter forms a 8x5 inch rectangle. *NOTE: It helps to get it into a perfect square if you have an all-purpose scraper or even use your rolling pin to make the sides straight. Once these dimensions have been achieved, wrap the plastic wrap tightly around the block of butter and put it back into the fridge for later use. 

Laminate the dough: Flour your work surface and then roll out the dough into a big rectangle that is about 16x10 inches. Place the butter directly in the center of the dough and fold the dough as you would a letter. The way I did this, because the instructions were confusing, was you fold the right side into the center, fold the left side to meet into the center as well. I closed the two together by pinching where they met at the middle together. Then, I folded the top half over where there was still butter coming out, so basically just stretch over the top over the butter. I did the same with the bottom; stretched the bottom half over to cover the cover. There should be no butter sticking out.

This is where I got confused. It says to “turn the dough so that the short side is nearest to you” which basically means put the longer side facing what would be up. It would look like; l l <---- as opposed to == that. Roll it again into 16x10 inches. Once these dimensions have been met, fold it like a letter again. This time, what I did was, with the help of the YouTube video I watched (I’ll link it on the bottom), I folded it the first time like he did. I folded the longer park 3/4ths of the way to the other side. Then, I got the other side and folded it the rest of the 1/4th that was left. I then took the longer side, then folded it in half. This is the first fold. Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for another hour.

https://youtu.be/hJxaVD6eAtc

Repeat: With the shorter side near you again, start rolling it out again until you reach 16x10 inches. I used the videos help here again to fold. This time, you’re folding it so that both sides meet evenly across each other. It’s going to be folded “envelope” style is what he says in the video. This is when you fold one side and then you fold the other side so that it reaches across to the other end of the dough. I highly suggest looking at the video to get what I mean. They meet evenly on both sides; like an almost perfect square. Skip to 8:45 to see the fold. After this is done, wrap and chill is for another hour. This is going to be repeated 3 more times for a total of 5 folds. After the last fold, refrigerate it again and decide if you want to make them today or if you want to leave them overnight. 

Shape croissants: Cut the dough in half, and you can fridge the other half if you only want to make one half. It also makes it easier to work with if it’s a smaller amount. Roll out the piece of dough into a long rectangle. The length doesn’t matter, as long as the width it so at least 10 inches. The thickness in both recipes said have the thickness of the dough to at least 1/4th of an inch. I really needed the help of the video and photos in the website for learning how to cut them. You’re going to want to cut them into triangles. If you want to make them small and make more, I suggest looking at the article. For bigger ones, go for the video. I used the video for cutting them. He suggests, doing this long ways, mark 4 or 4 1/2 inches on the dough. Then, on the other side of the dough (the part furthest from you), mark in between those 4 inch cuts. Cut where the mark on the side furthest from you meets the mark closest to you. 

Using one triangle at a time, stretch the dough out a little bit, not too much where it rips. Start rolling from the longer/wider side to meet the smaller side at the end of the triangle. Repeat this process until all the triangles are used. Put the croissants on an ungreased parchment paper sheet, leaving 1 to 2 inches inbetween. Next, get the egg; whisk the egg and get a brush; brush the eggwash on top of the croissants. 

Let them sit for another hour and a half. Try looking for a non drafty place. 

Once this time has passed, preheat the oven to 390F. Put more of that eggwash over them. Put them in the oven and leave them in for 6 minutes, then change the temperature to 330F and let them sit for 10-15 minutes. *NOTE: I noticed both times I made them, they started to already look ready at about 10 minutes when they were inside at 330F. What I did was, to make sure they were baked through, I turned off the heat and let them sit in there for the last 5 minutes. You don’t have to do this though.

That’s it! 

My two references;

https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/homemade-croissants/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJxaVD6eAtc

[clems-grove]

Pt. 2!

Magnetic glow: As you can guess, this causes the user to glow! Only at night though. The glow attracts people in a 15ft radius, causing them to go into a dazed state for max of a minute and a half. Their max radius would be around 23ft or so. The lowest radius possible for them is 8ft. It’s bothersome, but helpful for getaways if they were a vigilante/villian.

Fuse: The user who’s one of my ocs is the brother to the user of trade-off so the two are pretty similar. They need a strong bond with a living creature to merge with them. This also means thoughts and instincts are combined. They can merge for about 6 hours regularly but they can probably add around 45 minutes to that if they pushed themselves.

Encasing heal: The users hair is a sludge like blue liquid. It, when wrapped around a wound, can heal it. This unfortunately causes the target to become paralyzed in that limb for 30min-2 hours depending on who it is. For weaker bodies it can last for 3 hours. They’re best at bruises and scrapes, but can also do deeper wounds. Deeper wounds usually means the limb is paralyzed for longer, though. I feel like due to the effects on the target the user would probably be bullied for having a villainous quirk, although it is healing one. It’s one of those inbetween ones, and depends on their peers.

Alright y'all from the hc gc, I have a question for you. @todorokitops @no-one-told-you-life-was-gay @delta-the-catboy @treefrog203 @friendly-neighborhood-pan

What kind of non-canon quirks have y'all thought up? I'm really curious

[cleverwordsandsadstories]

Diets and Pseudoscience

I’ve been listening to the podcast sawbones for a bit over a year now, and I love it. but some of the modern shit they cover, oh god.....like it’s one thing for someone in fucking 1850 to not understand science to the point where they do shit like eating ebson salt and chalk and pour coffee into their butt as a way of curing disease, but when I hear about a dude, my age, in my time doing it....like bro, it hurts me.

we have public education, and like, it ain’t great, but it isnt that fucking broken. 

SO their newest episode called bizarro world

link here https://www.maximumfun.org/sawbones/sawbones-bizarro-world

is about a bunch of “millennial” diet nonsense being spewed by 20 something professional influencer style weirdos, I’m talking people eating charcoal, drinking $60 smoothies full of bullshit, and sitting next to himalayan salt lamps to “absorb cancer causing EMF waves” and one dude who is using this thing called a “human charger” that is a fucking LIGHT BULB YOU PUT IN YOUR EAR TO WAKE YOU UP like bro

you got sold some real god damn snake oil, like 80% of their daily routine is doing the do man, like they wake up at 5am after 8 hours of sleep, do yoga, do cross fit, go to work for 4 hours total, go jog, and go home and watch 15 minutes of television....and they blame their super happy rad life on ear light bulbs and kale smoothies. fuck them man 

I wake up at 7ish, drink half a glass of soy milk, take allergy meds, go to work, drink a diet monster, so I can wake up and it wont spike my blood sugar (diabetic) work til noonish eat a light lunch high in protein, without too many calories or starches so I can stay awake and go back to work for 5 and a half more hours, I usually try to not drink soda at work, usually if I do it’s ginger ale for my stomach, or diet coke if I need some more caffeine post lunch. Most of the time though its just some soda stream water with lemon or lime juice in it, I used to drink a crap ton of la croix, so the soda stream helps save some pennies. Out of tax season when I’m not working like 10 hours of OT a week,  two nights a week I go to the gym, lift for 45 minutes, bike for 45 minutes, at home inbetween working on music and gaming I will do pull ups on one of those door bar things, and lift two 30lb weights I keep by my desk if I feel the need to fidgit too much, instead of wasting it on like...fidget spinners and stuff like I do at work...I took the weights to work for a while but they told me to take them home because one of the cleaning ladies knocked one over and couldnt pick it back up off the floor, so now if I get too fidgety I just do pushups inbetween calls. then once the gf gets home from work we hang out until like....ten or so, eat a sort of late dinner, with something sort of high in carbs to make me sleepy and I go to bed listening to meditation stuff or ASMR  LIKE A NORMAL GOD DAMNED PERSON 

like I get that I have a science degree, but I cant be that much smarter than the average bear when it comes to fucking nutrition. just eat food when you’re hungry, drink water when your thirsty. Make sure the food you eat isn’t trash, make sure it’s like a good 1/2 protein, 1/4 leafy greens 1/4 fruits as often as you can, and try to watch your calories, learn your body, and adapt to it. ALSO himalayan salt lamps are pretty, but thats fucking it

they dont do anything

fucking fight me, send me one god damned peer reviewed article ONE 

also, EMF waves from like, wifi, or cell phones, they dont do shit to you, we’ve studied it a lot, I was curious about this when I was younger since I played in a ton of bands and yea having a radio emitter sitting next to your head is one thing, but a lot of musical equipment is so much higher voltage, and often higher frequency bandwidth that I had genuine concerns, because so many people who swam in the circles I did were weird pseudo science spewing nut balls

doesnt do shit, not at all. 

just quit buying into so much fucking pseudo science my dudes. 

quit believing infomercials and conspiracy theorists, and learn to recognize a snake oil salesmen when you see one. if you can recognize the signs of a liar, you might not spot the lie, but you’ll see it coming. 

[mummaandmax-blog]

My labour, not like the usual I PROMISE!

So this is my labour story the pain, the difficulty and all the in between. Max was due on the 1st of June 2016, actually my mothers birthday! He was born three days early, and did I have a whirlwind of a labour to tell all about.

It was 8am Saturday morning May the 28th that I had googled EVERYTHING and I mean everything to get this labour started. Which resulted in a gym ball purchase from Kmart, then watching Rocky Balboa for the ENTIRE afternoon. I cooked dinner, showered and then felt the urgent need to clean and I mean clean everything. Tiles, walls, toilets, skirting boards it was endless I couldn’t stop! I finally went to bed, but woke at 4:30am Sunday morning the 29th of May with what I knew instantly was labour pains. I paced around till 9:30am and decided to wake up my fiancé, his first words were ‘Honey, did you feed the dogs’ 😂 Like seriously!? I’ve just told him I was in labour and he’s asked me that!? ( clearly he was half asleep ) I showered, shaved you know all that fun stuff when you can’t even see your toes? I rang my mum to start packing and get on her way for the four hour drive ahead of her! I laboured at home till 2:30pm in the afternoon pacing, thinking trying to keep busy but the pain by then was crazy I literally couldn’t take it anymore. It was the worst back pain (I had all my labour pains in my back not my stomach) I’ve ever experienced in my life, it came and went but every time it came back it got worse and worse. I knew it was time to go.. But then we had a problem, a big problem. I clearly couldn’t drive and how embarrassing to tell all but neither could Josh. (Thankgod he can now for the next one) Here I am, in labour and no way to the hospital. 😂After hours of labour, knowing I had no way to the hospital I was really starting to realise what the hell am I going to do!? Josh was freaking, I was overwhelmed, anxious, scared and terrified this baby was coming into the world at home! I finally decided I need to ring Taylor, a friend I’d met and I’d worked with while pregnant, her and her partner had to drive 45 minutes into Geelong to drive both me and Josh to the hospital. (Waiting 45 minutes was the longest wait of my life) Finally at the hospital, admitted, and looked over I was told they were going to send me home. I knew something wasn’t right and I had to tell them to please check me I can’t go home! After they finally agreed to check my cervix, LUCKILY THEY DID! I was already 7cm dilated! 😱💪

I was immediately told I would not be going home, and let’s get the ball rolling. I had no waters break, as I had already leaked for weeks! I was sucking on the gas like I was dying, and feeling urges to push. It was 5:30pm and I was waiting for the arrival of mum, I knew I couldn’t do this without her! After just gas, and Josh making the most ridiculous jokes but in seeing that he was incredible so supportive and I couldn’t have honestly asked for anything more from him he was amazing! But, I felt this need for mum she had been through it, she knew what I was feeling and finally after hours she arrived! It was 6:30pm when I seen her face and felt an instant sigh of relief! I started pushing the moment I seen her face, and instantly wish I hadn’t! The burn, the ring of fire, every tear of my skin I felt. I can’t even comprehend the pain you feel during labour, or explain it in words. It’s pain Ive never felt before, but a pain you can handle for your baby. It’s the craziest, best experience of my life. It got to much at one point, and I remember asking ‘I need the epidural now! I can’t do this! Nurses response was ‘His head is coming love, it’s far to late for that’ Funny enough that was the only time I spoke, my entire ‘active’ part of my labour was in silence. I couldn’t speak, scream nothing. I was in my zone and i think it was also to do with not continuing to breathe fresh air inbetween sucking in the gas so to be honest I was very delirious, I could feel everything but I was silent. Josh asked numerous times if I was still conscious! I remember the incredible feeling at that last push, when I felt him come out. I remember Joshs’ face, mums face pure happiness at that very moment. Instantly all the pain disappeared, it was the craziest thing. To feel all that pain, and then nothing but happiness. At 7:29pm Sunday night the 29th of May our little man arrived safe and healthy! I held him so tightly, his tiny little body on my chest and cried, I was so happy. A happiness I'd never felt before, i felt whole. And my heart was so full, the most powerful feeling I have ever felt. I had suffered third degree perineal tearing, but I had a healthy baby and that was all that mattered to me.

I was a mum, who delivered my baby safely and it is the proudest moment of my life.

😘

[thefatnoona]

Monster Woo: 261 (pt. 1/5)

She tapped her feet impatiently. Tucking a stray hair behind her right ear, she checked her watch for the umptieth time. The first day of the student exchange programme had not gone well by her definition, what with missing the one and only bus that went to the university, having to wait another 30 minutes for the next bus, getting lost within campus grounds and arriving 20 minutes late for the first class, being hungry for lunch and realising that she had forgotten to grab her wallet which was right on top of the dresser, getting more and more lost amidst the labyrinth of seminar rooms and lecture theatres for the remaining classes, and now, it did not seem as if she would reach home at all to have her first meal of the day.

Murphy’s Law was clearly at work this time.

She pressed her headphones tighter over her ears, immersing herself deeper into Crush’s mellifluous voice. She glanced at her watch again nervously, aware of the increasing pain on her shoulders due to the backpack that seemed much too big for her body, and of the inner walls of her stomach creating a mini rock concert by themselves. It was a miracle that she survived the day at all, partly due to her trusted red Nalgene bottle and the fact that there were plenty of water coolers located within the university.

“Finally!” she muttered under her breath, as the blue number 261 bus drew nearer to the stop. Scrambling to get to the front of the line (which was really non-existent anyway due to the law of supply and demand: low supply of buses versus high demand from the countless passengers), she managed to get a foot into the bus when she felt a push to her backpack. She just about managed to stop herself from falling flat face down by grabbing the bus railings by the entrance door. Her headphones slipped and rested awkwardly against her neck.

“괜찮아요?” the bus driver growled out in Korean. “Are you okay?” he then asked in slightly accented American English. His voice was deep and raspy, a stark contrast to the sweet and soothing sounds of Crush.

“네, 괜찮아요 아저씨,” she replied hastily. Despite having taken Korean lessons for a year prior to relocating to the Land of the Morning Calm, she still felt anxious in communicating with the locals. “I’m alright. Thank you, 감사합니다 아저씨.” She could feel the blood rushing to her face, a picture of embarrassment for all to see.

“Okay, be careful. 조심해요,” said the driver. The shades that were shielding his eyes, as well as his tattooed hands and fingers, projected a menacing aura that reminded her of the mafia and assassin movies from yesteryears. Having done a compulsory Modern Film Studies module, she could not help the comparison as she tapped her shiny T-money card and picked up her pace towards the back of the bus.

Murphy’s Law seemed satisfied to cease its play, as a single, lone seat appeared to have been saving itself for her right beside the bus exit door. She sank herself gratefully onto the seat and dusted her hands, suddenly realising the pain from seared fingers and slightly torn skin on her left palm. Oh well, at least she would be getting home after all.

***

A week passed just like that. It was amazing how quickly seven days could whiz by inbetween classes, a gazillion homework assignments and tons of notes to read. There was so much to be done in a rush that suddenly, she forgot to feel hungry.

It was on the Friday at the end of her first week, when her “sunset” class had ended for the day, that she was once again waiting for the blue number 261 bus. She had managed to gobble a bowl of noodles as a late lunch cum early dinner prior to attending the 6.30pm class on Advanced Semantics, but trying to stay awake and attentive throughout the entire 3 hours after an extremely long and tiring day was nearly next to impossible. While the other students celebrated the end of their last class of the week by gearing themselves up for a weekend of partying, she was counting down to the moments that she could hit her beloved bed and run a marathon of The Big Bang Theory episodes that she had missed.

A half-crescent moon shone proudly amongst the wisps of grey-silvery clouds in the night sky, pulling her to switch to Dean’s acoustic version of “D” on headphones. Spotting the now-familiar numbers on blue approaching the bus stop, she stood up from the bench and was surprised to see that no one else was following suit.

Boarding the number 261, she recognised the man at the wheel with his tattoed hands and gangster-like shades. If he had felt likewise due to her embarrassing misfortune from the other day, he displayed no indication of it other than simply giving her the usual once-over as she entered the bus. She tapped the fare, thankful for his silence, and headed for a single seat near to the exit. Feeling the wind on a warm, summer night prompted her to give a little sigh to no one in particular. She checked her playlist, added a few more songs to it and braced herself for the 45-minute bus leg of her journey home.

***

She could not fathom the reason for her stiff neck. As far as she had known, her pillow was neither hard nor soft. It had seemed to offer just the right amount of support for her aching head and neck. And why was she unable to stretch her entire body flat on the bed?

“저기요! 일어나! 너 여기서 잠들 수 없어!” someone seemed to be saying over and over amidst Simon D’s unexpected falsetto. “아가씨! 일어나!”

Frowning with closed eyes, she yawned and tried to make out the source of the voice. A gruff-looking man with his shades removed, greeted her sight. The sleeves of his white uniform were folded all the way up just above the elbows, revealing tattoos that fully adorned both of his arms. He was kneeling in front of her, giving the impression of a proposal gone wrong.

She gasped and removed her headphones immediately. “Ah! I’m sorry! I must have fallen asleep!” she rattled off unconsciously in English. Gathering her backpack, she looked around and discovered that they were the only ones in the bus.

“You’re not from around here, are you?” he responded back fluently. “This is the bus terminal. You must have missed your stop a while back.”

“Oh no…” her voice trailed, as she stood up and glanced through the windows at the surroundings out of the bus. There were other buses parked nearby, most with engines off, a few with the headlights still on while their respective drivers did some final inspections before calling it a night. “How do I get home from here?” she wondered aloud, more to herself than to the intimidating person before her, who had by now risen to his feet and proven himself to be quite the fit giant next to her. “Can’t I just take this same bus back?”

“This was the last bus for the night. You can probably take a taxi home,” he replied, crossing his arms, revealing taut veins that peeked out cautiously among his tattoos. “Where do you live?“

“I live at…uh…” she checked herself before giving away the location. Why would she tell personal details to a complete stranger? She was alone in a foreign country and rule #1 from Korea 101 probably stated: Do not give your personal details away to a stranger.

“Look, I can call a taxi for you. It will take some time if you’re okay to wait,” he offered.

“Oh.” Her eyes opened widely and she followed his lone figure as he alighted from the bus. “Thank you. How long does it take to wait for a taxi?”

“Hmmm…says here close to 20 minutes. Doesn’t look good for a Friday night. It’s too early for the clubbers to go home so the taxis don’t like to respond,” he replied, his eyes glued to his handphone screen, referring to a taxi app. “I guess you’re not the clubbing type, huh,” he said, taking in her appearance. Faded jeans, an oversized white T-shirt, Nike trainers, a messy ponytail and a pair of black glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. “You seem like you prefer reading to clubbing.”

“What’s wrong with reading?” she demanded, feeling confident and annoyed all of a sudden. She glared at him from head to toe. It had been a long day, she was tired as hell and she sure did not need any shit from anyone at this point.

“Nothing’s wrong with reading, chill. I was just making small talk. Don’t bite my head off,” he said, raising both his hands, which were large with slender and ridiculously long fingers. “Sorry if I sounded rude.”

She glimpsed to her left and bit on her lower lip. “No, it’s okay. I’m sorry too,” she said, recovering herself instantly. “I’m just exhausted and I just want to get home as soon as I can.”

“Look, would you like a lift?” he asked, eyeballing her with a furrowed look. He seemed pretty intense all of a sudden. “I’m not sure if the trains are still running at this time. Plus, no matter how safe this country may be, it’s not so safe for a girl like you to be out alone at night.”

She inhaled deeply and exhaled rather roughly. Just 10 minutes to go before a new day arrived, according to her watch. She should probably throw rule #1 from the imaginary Korea 101 out the window already. “Alright, sure. Thank you very much.”

“Just wait here a bit while I go sign out.” He motioned a little clearing next to her, then disappeared within the confines of a stuffy-looking single-storey office. It seemed like forever until she heard a whistle and caught him gesturing for her to follow him. Walking a little bit behind, she drew in her breath sharply when her eyes chanced upon the massive beauty that stood before her.

“You…ride this?” Her eyes appeared even bigger behind her glasses. “It’s…huge.”

He gave a low chuckle, grinning. “My baby’s beautiful, huh? Hop on, I borrowed an extra helmet.”

Grabbing the helmet, she fastened it on her head and lingered beside the Harley Davidson softail chopper, unsure of what she was supposed to do next. He was already on the bike, helmet securely in place and tightening on a pair of leather gloves. How was she supposed to get on?

“What are you waiting for? Come on, hold onto my shoulders and get behind me. You want to get home soon, right?” he said as he turned to look at her, again with that intense expression. “Where do you live? This baby will get you there in no time at all.”

***

“Is that where you live?” he nodded his head in the direction of a tall building opposite of where he had just stopped the chopper. Upon hearing her grunt, he held her waist unconsciously while she steadied herself back on the ground. She gasped and swept his hand away. “야! 뭐야?!” he burst aloud in Korean.

“Don’t touch me!” she snapped back.

“I wasn’t doing it on purpose! I was just helping you get off the bike!” he growled. “Is this the thanks I get for sending you home?”

Silence ensued between them before she bowed her head. “Sorry,” she mumbled, her ears going red. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m not…”

“Not used to being touched by strange men?” he cut her off. She stared at him in wonder. Did he just read her mind? “Yeah get off your high horse. I don’t touch strange women either.” He held out his hand expectantly, looking smug.

She was rooted to the spot, just staring at him blankly, wondering what he wanted. He snorted, then got off the bike and stepped up to her up close, towering over her with all of his 6 feet plus stature. Bending down to her eye level, he looked at her squarely. She could smell cologne, stale cigarettes and minty sweets from his even breath. She froze when he touched the helmet strap framing her face. “Stay still,” he ordered softly, his voice coming out low and raspy, before removing the helmet off her head, all the while maintaining eye contact.

“Oh…” she let out meekly. “Th-thanks.”

“I’ll see you around,” he waved a hand coolly. “I’m Woo, by the way.”

[a-soft-fluffy-girl]

Not just a boss rush. Five of them. Five boss rushes all in a row, only unlocked upon beating every boss other than the secret final boss. With the hardest bosses all in the fourth, and the entirety of the game, plus an EXTRA boss, all in their stronger, double-damage “Radiant” forms in the fifth. Which is really the most extra kick in the teeth.

Not only do you have to beat every boss in the game plus one more all in a row with minimal breaks inbetween, but you need to do it all on their harder difficulties directly behind facing the genuine hardest boss in the game.

It may thematically work perfectly due to the Godseeker being an absolute bellend towards you for the entirety of it, but from a gameplay perspective, locking away the game’s supposed “true ending” behind the game’s hardest, and some may say most unfair optional challenge is not the most friendly.

I am not opposed to a game’s true ending being locked behind a difficult or obscure challenge. Figuring out how to turn the King’s Brand into the Voidheart is a perfect example of that being really cool. And all of the Dream Bosses such as the Soul Tyrant and Nightmare King Grimm are absolutely devastatingly difficult, but also are extremely easy to rechallenge in mere seconds.

Not so with the Pantheon of Hallownest. It goes against the key design of Hollow Knight’s properly fair difficulty progression: instead of being able to face the bosses immediately after losing, your method of practicing is in another area, and then you have to reach the boss once more through the Pantheon you failed in. As I said, not only are they forcing you to face every single boss you have faced in their double-damage, higher-hazard arena forms, but to do so all to reach the most distressingly difficult boss the game has ever seen? It took me two and a half hours of bashing my head against the base form of Radiance, do you think I have the gall to go through a HARDER Nightmare King Grimm, Pure Vessel and then face off against Absolute Radiance with her faster attacks and entire extra phase? I will eventually but I only want to for the sake of completion. As it stands right now, I have better things to do than waste 45 minutes to an hour just REACHING Absolute Radiance, then another two to three practicing to make sure that I can even beat her upon reaching her once again in the Pantheon proper, then spend yet another 45 minutes reaching her and PRAY I don’t make a mistake.

I feel as if this was chosen down to the previous hardest optional challenge being the Path of Pain. All you get from that is a small cutscene in the background of the Pale King and Pure Vessel exchanging a look. Many people probably felt as if this was not worth the trouble. What, something lore buffs would like and a sigil? That’s it? So they added in an entire, potentially canonical ending to their next destructively difficult challenge. I get the logic in that, but it just wasn’t done perfectly.

Hollow Knight is a fantastic game with an almost perfect difficulty scaling that’s definitely not for everyone, but does exactly what it sets out to do. Godmaster feels like one step forward with three steps back. It doesn’t make me worry about Silksong in the least, but it does make me curious as to what their final content update will be for that.

wait has it been confirmed that the godseeker ending is the true ending?

It is… commonly accepted as such.

Even if it’s not, hiding content that important behind a boss rush is a shit move.