#like i cannot see that i have changed my icon on mobile yet even though i literally did it

[not-cool-enough-to-scuba-dive]

good morning friends, tis done

[topazadine]

Gas Station Rankings

This is not an exhaustive list (unfortunately) because frankly I haven't visited every single gas station company in America. I know it will sadden people not to see Buc-ee's represented but I can't describe something I haven't experienced yet

Sheetz

Blessed Sheetz. Food is delicious, stores are always incredibly clean, always have a bunch of weird shit I don't need

Love's

Hands down the best truck stop for a very important reason: most of the locations have a dog park :) but they also have incredibly clean bathrooms and their packaged food options are great

All-Time

Met this strange man who promised me eternal youth, and when I said no, the store radio started to play "How to Save a Life" by The Fray, which was interesting. Also had really fresh pineapple fruit cups. That was years and years ago, so maybe it's changed, though?

Pilot

Not quite as good as Love's, but I have never had a poor experience here. It's just meh, though not meh enough that I don't remember visiting

QuickRide

Not bad, per se, but there was an odd animal lurking around behind the back of the store, and when I looked directly at it, I got this horrible headache before it suddenly bolted off on two legs laughing just like my PE teacher from fifth grade

Casey's

Casey's is only this high up on the list because I grew up in middle-of-nowhere Illinois so I have fond memories of here. Also their pizza is really good and simply cannot be replicated anywhere else

True North

Always only has one cashier working, and for some reason, every single location has the exact same guy working and he always greets by name and asks if I've found what I'm looking for yet. Rather ominous

7/11

Not every single one is a gas station of course, but those that are ... okay I guess

BP

Forgettable, can't ever remember going in and having any sort of experience

Vilago

Very forgettable, every time I go in I fill my tank up, then go inside to get a snack or whatever, but as soon as I pay I find myself back on the highway and don't remember even getting back in my car, and there's a strange scent in the car like burnt cinnamon that takes AGES to dissipate

Travelcenters of America

Some of them are a little sketchy and dingy, but it's not terrible, I have seen worse

Citgo

Huge differences in quality amongst different Citgos, like some do not have bathrooms and some just have packaged food and nothing else

Maverik

CREEPY! Every location I have been to has been CREEPY! Also they don't have bathrooms a lot of the time which is so annoying

Ridealong

I could have gone forever about different gas stations and their bathrooms and so on, but now that I'm thinking about Ridealong, it's all I can think about. That one experience.

I should have kept driving. I knew there was a Love's at the next exit but I really needed to go to the bathroom, and I'd also just gotten a text that I wanted to check (no texting and driving ever), so I decided to risk it.

The exterior was ... strange. It looked like it had been scavenged from a bunch of other gas stations, like the gas station overhang thing was clearly from Mobile, but a few of the pumps looked to be from a BP, though the yellow icon had been scratched off. Still kept the green sheathing though. All lit up in the middle of the night, it looked even stranger, all these discordant colors mixing into one another like a giant warning sign. If only I had listened.

The gas smelled off. I know, gas generally smells pretty bad, but it smelled ... sweet. Sickly sweet. I have no idea what leaded gasoline smelled like (am not that old) but I can't imagine it would smell like death. Yes of course gasoline is made from dead dinosaurs but this smelled like fresh death. Cloying and stinging. I had to cover my nose.

Really, this should have been a sign, but the gas was still pumping and I don't know how to shut it off, so I stood there, miserable, not wanting to get back in my car for fear of sparking - especially when the gas smelled like that.

No trash at all. Immaculate. The paving, too, was far too new, as if it had been laid yesterday. No potholes, not even a splash of gas or coolant on the ground. Though the gas pumps were clearly old and scavenged, they looked too fresh, like they'd just come from the factory. Different factories, of course, but all the same date.

I leaned in and tried to see if there was that usual sticker you see on all the gas pumps that said they were checked by some official or whatever, but I couldn't read the language. Not that it wasn't English, I just couldn't read it - like it just morphed in front of my eyes every time I tried to understand it. Maybe I really was just overtired.

Of course the sunk cost fallacy. I was already at the gas station, I might as well go in and get my potty break done because I felt like I was absolutely bursting. I'd been driving for quite a few hours and had been living off Red Bull. I couldn't even remember what state I was in, only that I was still somewhere in the Appalachians, nestled in a valley with the mountains penning us in on all sides. The air beyond the dead gas smelled cold and fresh and menacing, the pine trees indifferent to my presence, to my fears. I heard no animals, and there were no leaves on the ground.

I checked my texts but my phone was off, and I didn't remember turning it off. After all, I'd been using it for navigation the whole time, plugged into my adapter, and it should have been at 100%. I turned it back on and tried to check my texts, but was immediately hit with that obnoxious Amber Alert buzz we all hate. When I looked at the Alert, it said it was for Ohio, which I supposed made sense - it's all Ohio, right? Haha. Maybe I was just picking up what I should be getting at home.

But then I looked at it and recognized my license plate. IUY-7823. 2021 Green Honda Civic Type R. What the fuck? I certainly hadn't abducted any children - I don't even like them.

I kept reading, fingers shaking, as it described the victim. "7 year old white female, blonde hair, 3ft tall, 39 pounds."

Well, I sure as hell wasn't a 7 year old child, given that I was driving a motor vehicle. Nor had I kidnapped any kid that looked just like me when I was 7. Nor had I wanted to remember that one time with a gas station and a strange man smoking a cigarette, who told me I'd lost something and he'd help me find it. I'd run away back to my mom right away - at least I think that's what I did - now everything from that time seemed so strange and dizzy-making. I felt a little sick. I needed the bathroom really badly.

Shaking and putting my phone back into my purse, I stumbled into the door and yanked it open. It beeped, like most gas station doors do, and I didn't even notice anything as I glanced frantically for the bathroom sign. There was one, but it only showed one sign: for men. I'm not a man, but I'm a girl who really needs to pee, so I just prayed it was single stall and booked it there.

The floor felt sticky. The whole store smelled sickly. That scent of death, like a deer left to rot in a field that throws up its perfume from beyond the veil to remind us what comes for us all in the end. I thought of flies. There was an odd buzzing in my ears, deep down in them, a tinnitus I'd never had before. I prayed that some stupid song would come on the radio and drown it out, but everything was buzzing. Buzzing lights, buzzing refrigerators, buzzing flies coming for me and all that I loved.

I ran to the bathroom, but of course it was locked. Not even caring about propriety, I banged on the door and begged for whoever was in there to hurry the hell up. There was no one else there: it seemed like no one else had been there forever, though the store was perfectly clean. It was just a feeling of emptiness. The store had been there forever, in exactly the same position, with exactly the same gas, since it was copy-pasted from whatever hellish universe had spit it up.

The cashier counter was empty. Everything was empty. I couldn't prove it, but I sensed that all those containers in the aisles, all those drinks in the refigerator, had never been filled in the first place. A trap to entice tired travelers who need food and a bathroom and some sign that there is something beyond the highway hypnosis, beyond the empty roads long since drained of people this late in the night.

Finally the bathroom door opened, so slowly. The lights were off inside, and I stepped aside to let whoever was in there out, doing a potty dance like you do when you really have to go. I felt like I'd die if I didn't go within seconds.

Then the light flicked on. I remembered that face. I knew that man. That was the man from every single True North I'd ever seen. A forgettable face unless you see it dozens of times over your life, from age 7 and on, every few weeks or months or years, never changing, never growing, never doing anything but staring at you and asking if you've found what you're looking for. I can't even describe it now. Salt-and-pepper hair, brown eyes, too-large lips, and that's it. That's all I know.

He stared at me for a moment, then smiled. His teeth were off: too white for his face. Too even. Too many of them.

"Ya find what you looking for?"

Suddenly I did not need the bathroom anymore. I felt it gushing down my leggings, a long spigot of utter terror and disorientation. I stood there, drenched in my own piss, looking at him. I wasn't 7 years old anymore, and apparently he had enough manners not to smoke inside the store. But my mom wasn't here to help me. No one could save me from this man, who would certainly finish whatever he'd tried to do all those years ago.

I slipped on my own pee as I ran, but thankfully braced myself with one of the empty-packaged store displays, which went crashing down. Bright yellow bags of air burst to show no potato chips, and a box of what was meant to be Cheezits collapsed when its glue finally came free.

A trap. A trap. True North pointed to this man, this man who wanted to take me on the last Ridealong of my life.

He didn't try to grab me or anything; perhaps he knew it hadn't worked this time. Instead, he grabbed a mop and chuckled.

"Cleanup in Aisle 6."

I started laughing as I fled, that hysterical laughter you get when everything has come crashing down and you find out your whole life has been orchestrated by forces beyond your control. I slammed the door open and ran to my car, the only one resting on the perfect pavement that looked too fresh to ever be laid down. I'd locked my car, so I tried to get to my keys, but dropped my purse on the ground and shortly followed it, scrabbling and crying in my piss-drenched leggings and smeared makeup.

There were all these candy wrappers in my purse that I didn't remember putting there - I'm not really a sweets person anymore. My mom stopped buying it when I was a kid, so I grew out of it.

Finally my keys. I clicked the door open, slammed it shut, pressed the lock button six or eight times, and turned it out. I didn't even bother to check my text message that I'd wanted to see in the first place: I just floored it into reverse and then drive and got back to the highway and kept driving.

My car smelled like burnt cinnamon, so I rolled all the windows down and let it out, but it's never really gone away. I still smell it sometimes when I step into my car for a grocery trip or whatever, but Febreeze really helps.

The Amber Alerts kept coming for a good hour or so, that horrible screech over and over again. I turned on the radio to drown them out because I just wanted to forget.

When I got to the border of Ohio, they stopped abruptly, right in the middle of a buzz. Every since then, I don't get them anymore, even when everyone else does.

This store, this Ridealong, was just so wrong. And what the hell is up with that name? Who is that man? Is he a kidnapping time traveler? Am I really a woman, or am I still a little girl trapped somewhere in a gas station, eating candy to survive? I don't know what anything is anymore. I had to take a week off work, doors locked, phone off, not talking to anyone, drowning myself in booze.

It's been years now, but I still map out my trips so I avoid anywhere that may have been anywhere near that place. I've never seen another of them, though.

Anyway, 0/10 do not recommend.

[mckkachins]

gif cut-out tutorial

ok ok so @subtledean requested a tutorial on how to do stuff like this post with the gif cutouts and the text effects. hopefully this helps aria ;w; i’m not the best at explaining things but i included some screencaps for clarity. i’ve tried to compress all the sample gifs and screenshots down to under 3mb to avoid tunglr compression on mobile so if they look a little different from the actual gifset, that’s probably why!

what you’ll need:

photoshop, i’m using PS 2021 but any version of photoshop will work out

a basic knowledge of gif-making (i’m assuming you already know how to make a gif and color it).

step 0: storyboard

this isn’t strictly necessary but i HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend it. you don’t have to do any photoshopping this first step, but it’s really important to check out your footage and the shots you have gathered to see what works, especially if you’re trying to combine three or more gifs onto the same canvas. like literally take a piece of paper and draw out where you want the character’s faces to be, where you want the cutouts to be in relation to their faces, and think about whether or not there’s enough empty space to the right or left of characters heads for a cutout to be placed. is there too much movement that would be distracting or messy in an already busy gif?

things like that really help, and it also makes you double check on your footage quality and feasibility. if you end up making a gif where you want one character’s face to be on the left side of the gif but it turns out there’s not enough empty space on the right side of their face to place a cutout and you then have to hunt for new footage or start all over, it’s kind of a trainwreck and you just waste another hour of your time as you deepen your procrastination hellhole. that’s not a real story—

step 1: make the base gif

i’m assuming you know how to color it already. and aria i KNOW you know how to color already so :) size it accordingly to your desired dimensions.

as you can see, i left enough space on the right side of abaddon for the knight cutout to be placed.

save this as a .psd file. you don’t actually have to sharpen and do everything that comes at the end of making a gif right away, but make sure your layers are clearly labeled. do NOT convert to video timeline/smart object just yet.

step 2: make the cutout gif

this is critical: make absolutely certain your cutout gif has the same number of frames as your base gif. otherwise it could get really messy! abaddon has 20 frames, so the cutout will also have 20 frames. again, do not convert the cutout gif to a video timeline/smart object. just keep it as a frame animation. here’s my cutout gif. it’s just a simple b&w gif but i added a touch of purple for color consistency sake whatnot.

now for this particular gif i’ve actually cropped abaddon to be roughly exactly where i would want her face to be in relation to the first gif, but that is unnecessary. helpful, but unnecessary. you do NOT need the cutout gif to be cropped exactly perfect in order to make this work.

step 3: combining the two gifs

there are many different ways to combine two gifs onto the same canvas. some people like to do it via video timeline. i prefer to do it by frames and convert everything to a video timeline only at the end (it’s just a personal preference). here’s a tutorial if you prefer working with timelines, but i’m gonna go over how to do it by frames.

first group everything in your base gif into one folder. then group everything in your cutout gif into one folder as well. you can name them however you want to keep track of things.

then, select all of the frames in your cutout gif. in this case, all 20 of b&w abaddon get selected. make sure its not just frames 4-20 or whatever, but all the frames you made. you can click frame one and then shift-click your last frame to double check.

click the timeline tab group options bar and then go to options > copy frames

now go to your base gif canvas. select ALL the frames of your base gif as well (it’s critical that all of them are selected).

now do options > paste frames.

a popup should appear and you’re going to select the “paste over selection” option. do not link layers.

your cutout gif should now be completely or partially obscuring your base gif. however, now you should see two groups on your sidebar of layers. one for the base, one group for the cutout. if you labelled them with names you can tell which one is which.

step 4: creating the cutout

in order to create the cutout, we use my favorite thing in the whole world of photoshop. layer masks.

to make a layer mask, you simply select a layer or group you want to mask and then click this little icon on the row of icons at the bottom of your layers panel.

white on a layer mask means whatever group or layer is getting masked is completely visible. black on a layer mask means that the group or layer is invisible. if there is 50% gray on a layer mask, then its 50% visible. so on and so forth.

i love these so much i abuse them on the daily. i’ve made a few gifs where i’ve masked every frame one by one because i wanted to get some cool effects. admitting that kind of embarrasses me but oh well.

anyway this is simple though. just find a picture or an outline of a knight. i used these boyes:

obviously i cropped out the knight of the bunch, got rid of the watermark, and then i placed it on the canvas where i wanted it to go.

select the interior of the knight with the magic wand tool. should be pretty simple since it’s all black.

now click over to your layer mask. make sure you have selected the mask and not the group. you can tell you have selected the mask when a little white rectangle pops up on it.

when you know you have the mask selected, click command+i or control+i to invert. if for some reason you do not have this keyboard shortcut, just take a brush tool and color over the area in complete black. as long as the magic wand tool is still selecting just the interior of the knight, it should be fine.

now once again, black means a layer will NOT be showing, white means a layer will be showing. so right now after i disable the visibility of the top layer we used as a reference for the silhouette, it looks like:

do not fear the clownery. layer masks are great because they are always non-destructive. meaning that even if you somehow mess up and your canvas is showing something completely gross, you can always go back and edit your layer mask and your original gif would be unharmed as long as you did not touch any layers in the group, only the mask. simply invert the mask (again, make sure your mask is selected and then command+i or image > adjustments > invert) to get:

for a layer mask that looks like:

you could have also just made a black layer mask to begin with and then inverted the knight outline to be white. many different ways to do the same thing.

another tip: if you select your outline and then click layer mask upon a group or layer with no mask at the current moment, it will automatically make a layer mask with your selection as white and the unselected pixels as black. this is normally how i do my cutouts, because it’s a time-saver even if it like. saves a few seconds max. but i typed out the above for explanation and clarity, so hopefully i didn’t just make anyone more confused.

anyway.

now say you don’t like where the cutout abaddon is positioned. layer masks can also be linked or unlinked, depending on the little link icon you see between the group and the layer mask in the image above. if the icon is visible, the layer mask and the group are linked. if you cannot see the link icon, they are unlinked.

linked layer masks will move in conjunction with the group if any type of transform is done upon them. if the group moves, the layer mask also moves. but if a layer mask is unlinked, you can move the mask and the group independently of one another. for instance, i can change where the cutout is located on the overall canvas of the gif by simply moving ONLY the layer mask (and thereby changing where the blacks and whites of the layer mask occlude the cutout gif contents). but i can also transform the cutout gif layers without changing where the overall outline is located relative to the canvas itself. basically, i can transform the interior contents of the cutout independently. so here (make sure all of your frames are selected):

group unlinked. i’m also making sure that now i am selecting the GROUP (ie. the frames of the layers you are actually going to move) and not the layer mask. you can tell because the little white rectangle around the layer mask can no longer be seen.

now i can transform/adjust the contents of the cutout solely “within” the cutout, and i don’t have to worry about changing where the cutout is located in relation to the overall gif. when transforming, make sure all the frames of your gif are selected. like select the whole group and not just an individual layer, basically.

i’ve seen a lot of how to combine and cut out gifs tutorials on this website, and here is a really good one that i know sully also used <3 big shoutout to all the photoshop queens being inspired by each other!! however i haven’t seen anything that mentioned the linked vs. unlinked layer masks, which i really feel like deserves a shoutout. you don’t have to crop your gifs out perfectly every time, you can always adjust them later. for demonstration, i’ve positioned abaddon in a few different positions with an unlinked layer mask.

step 5: creating the outline

so in order to emphasize the shape of the cutout (the knight), i simply delete the white space surrounding the picture of the knight in the original silhouette that i used. magic wand tool + delete. you can also make a new layer, then paint bucket tool it. many ways to do the same thing.

now with only the knight on a transparent background, i double click the layer to pull up the effects. select outer glow. i used these settings:

when you are doing this, make sure you are on frame one of the frame animation and the “propagate frame one setting” is selected, otherwise you might end up only applying the effect to one out of your many frames, which blows.

then i go change the fill setting to 0%, BUT i leave opacity at 100%. fill is basically like opacity, but it doesn’t affect layer effects (whereas opacity does). so you basically get only the outline but not the black. you can also set the blending mode of the layer to screen and get the same effect, etc, etc. feel free to adjust however you see fit, in addition to the outer glow settings.

i move this layer over a couple pixels to give it the little offset effect, but you don’t have to.

step 6: adding the text

okay the two fonts i used are avenir and perla. i think a LOT of gifmakers use them because they’re really pretty.

i make TWO different text layers, one with avenir in a smaller size and one with perla in a bigger size. this is because for the perla one, i’m going to be changing the blending mode whereas i don’t want to be changing the blending mode for the smaller text. i position the text where i want it to be and make sure the perla font is in the color i like:

then i change the blending mode of the fancy text (perla) to difference. ONLY that layer, and again make sure to check “propagate frame 1″ and make changes on the first frame to apply the change to all of your frames.

but i still don’t think it produces enough of a difference. so i right click on the text layer for knights of hell, and then go to: select pixels.

then i click the curves adjustment layer. this will automatically make a curves layer with a layer mask that occludes everything BUT the area you selected. beautiful. i drag the curves around until i get enough of a difference that i like. normally i make the lights lighter and the darks darker. yeehaw.

again there are sooooo many different ways to achieve the same effect on photoshop. this is just want comes easiest to me, and it’s totally okay if you find a different way that works better for you at producing the contrast you want or the colors you want.

step 7: export and cry

NOW you can convert everything to a video timeline, put your video frame layers to smart objects, and then apply your finishing sharpening filters. export, cry, and hope tumblr compression doesn’t screw you over.

hopefully this was helpful! pls like... idk support my edits if you found this helpful or reblog this post. feel free to dm me about how u do some of the text effects as well bc i’m always trying to learn new things and i am by no means an expert on like. any of this.

aria please go write your fucking thesis before i delete this entire tutorial challenge. :D

[dommexbritt]

FONDUE FOR TWO W/ SUE SYLVESTER // Fri. Feb 26th release

Hello, and welcome to the first ever and extra special edition of Fondue for Two on the Fondue Pot Podcast. A show where I, your host, Brittany S Pierce will ask the burning cheese melting questions so that you don’t have to. Today we have a line up of parents to shed a little light on their feelings on campus, school policy, and their terrible children... 

Now, first we have a well known alumni, renowned cheerleading coach, and all around bad guy... according to a whole slew of lawsuits but don't expect her lawyers to say so. 

Hello, welcome, I hope your time here this week has been as exciting as it used to be back in your day. Just as a background on you and to start, can you please introduce yourself to our listeners?. Let us know how many children you have attending the school and because you're an alumni, anything about today's campus that looks a little different now than how it used to....

Sue: It's good to be here, Miss Pierce, and thank you for the warm welcome.  First off, before I introduce myself, let me just say that none of those allegations were ever proven in a court of law. 

To the point, though, if your listeners don't know me then they should.  Sue Sylvester, cheerleading icon, one of the most successful coaches in the history of our sport.  I have two children attending this school, although whether I acknowledge them as such depends on their grades.

As for this campus...well, Brittany, frankly it's hideous.  This used to be a place for the elite.  The best of the best.  Scholarships?  What is this, Communist Venezuela?  I'd be willing to accept the kids who can pay for themselves, because why not let them spend their money, that's the American way.  But a scholarship?  Embarrassing.  Those kids drag this entire campus down.

B: You heard that Devereux? Sue Sylvester herself, coming at you. 

I know your daughters. 

SHOUT OUT TO TEDDY SYLVESTER ON THE TINY ECHO MIC~~   

As far as the rest of the campus and scholarships, that seems like a totally weird thing to be bothered by but I know a lot of people in your generation have a lot of anger issues from the prohibition days. I'll try not to ask too many rage inducing questions, to be accommodating. 

But while we are on the topic of progressive and dynamic school changes... In regards to the retesting that has been and continues to be issued, do you have a stance on the new tests validity? This has been a hot topic on campus for months since the holidays last year, and I'd love to get some parent perspective on it.

S: Prohibition?  How old do you think I am, exactly, Brittany?  That was repealed in 1933, and I certainly wasn't around to see it.  Tragic day anyway, this country would have been far better off it weren't filled with alcoholic louts. 

See, a person might think I'd be against something like that - after all, your mark is your mark and it's as simple as that.  But I am in favor of tests.  If someone really doesn't have what it takes to be a Dominant?  Tell them so.  Make them a submissive, slap some cuffs on them, and go on with your life.  And those people who show that they're more than just a submissive?  Good for them!  Upward mobility, Brittany, that's what this country was built on.

B: 1933. Yeah I totally know. This campus must have been, like, an entirely different walk of life back then. 

That is really understanding of you. I bet a lot of the students who are listening that might of retested feel pretty reassured that you think so. 

Follow up question, if you were still a student and faced with a retest yourself do you suspect it would impact your current role?

S: I...was not here in 1933, Brittany.  I wasn't even born. 

As they should be.  They should understand, like everyone else in this great country, that testing is the backbone of education.  If you test well, it means that you're a good student, and simple as that. 

Absolutely not.  I was born a Dominant, I will die a Dominant, and there is no test on Earth I could take that would ever say otherwise.  Sue Sylvester does not fail.

B: Uh-huh.  All of that is a totally interesting theory. 

It's pretty cool to be secure in your role. Would you like to share a fist bump with me on it?

S: A theory?  Brittany, unlike the president I can show you my birth certificate.

 Yes, of course - much more hygienic than a handshake, I believe.

[ * muffled fist bump sounds ] 

B:  Moving on... 

 Any feelings on the class list not including French courses or modeled under typical French curriculum here at Devereux Academy?

S: It's the best decision they could have made.  What was a student in Florida going to need French for?  I'm sure if they wanted to say "I surrender," or ask for cheese and a baguette, they can do that just as easily in a proper language.  And what did their curriculum ever teach them?  How to cut the heads off of women who were only enjoying a delicious piece of cake?

B: OH! Thank you for saying CHEESE.

 [ * buzzer sound ]  

That is the HOT WORD today and lined up perfectly with the fondue pot being just warm enough. Please help yourself. It's my own cheddar gouda blend and there are plenty of dipper items to dip. I recommend the marshmallows... 

The HOT WORD [ * buzzer sound ] brings the focus in on you personally and I have one very burning question for you that I'm sure a ton of our listers who know anything there is to know about you are on the edge of their seats wondering. 

 Is it true that you are legally married to yourself?

S: I haven't had a proper fondue since the seventies.  And now that I think about it, Dick Cheney never did pay for the vegetables.  

[ muffled chewing sounds ]

 [ loud swallow ] 

That is completely true, in fact.  I have some lovely pictures from the ceremony here, if you'd like to look them over.  Isn't that tracksuit stunning?  I mean, it's more me that's stunning than the tracksuit, but still.

B: Wow..it.. it actually is super good looking. Did you save it for any of your daughters to wear at their wedding?

S: Thank you - I'm glad that you can appreciate how tasteful it was.  I did save it, but not for them - it's in a glass case on a mannequin of my exact proportions in my office at home.

B: Oh, right of course. 

I'd like to also ask, since you're solo-married, would you ever consider entering into a long term claim with yourself as well?

S: Oh god no.  I would never wear a collar for anyone, not even myself.  I can't even stomach the thought of it.

B: Thank you for answering those. That was the HOT WORD [ * buzzer sound ] and a dip into Sue Sylvester. 

Now, we're nearing the end of our time here, there are just a few more things I feel we should cover while I have you here. 

As a Legacy I'm sure you're super aware of the type of pressures that can bring but, do you have an idea or a guess of what it might be like for a child of a well known individual like yourself to be wading through gossip and the literal meaning of the word legacy in your wake?

S: Of course - it's been a true pleasure knowing there are talented journalists like yourself on campus, Brittany. 

I have no doubt that it's the most difficult thing in the world to follow someone like me.  Knowing that everyone who looks at them is constantly comparing them to me, wondering when they'll follow in my footsteps and become more like me, I cannot imagine that sort of pressure.  But I trained them, molded them, just like any legacy parent should do, and I believe they're capable.

B: Thank you Sue, I super appreciate you saying that. I'm going to save it as a sound bite to play later. 

You heard it here folks, one Sue Sylvester believes her daughters to be trained an capable. It totally sounds like you're super proud, that's amazing. Speaking of when you were attending though, there is one more personal item my assistant has pointed out to me that I have yet to touch on and I think everyone would like to hear your side... 

I heard that when you were here at Devereux the then Intro to Dominance teacher reportedly had a public breakdown and resigned. Through the help of school records I have tracked down and reached out to said retired teacher and although they sounded ancient like the skeleton from tales from the crypt. They had this to say about it, and I quote:

"I never thought that the devil walked on Earth, and then I met Sue Sylvester.  How Devereux managed to survive her long enough to let her graduate, I'll never know.  That woman tried to kill me on at least three occasions, and whether anyone could prove it or not I know the truth.  She said on day one that I sounded like a Hippo wheezing in a desert, and from then on she had it in for me." 

 Do you have a comment?

S: Oh, them being capable doesn't mean that they'll actually put in the effort. Only that I gave them every tool possible to help them on their way.  What they do with that is up to them. 

 [ sound of Sue, laughing uproariously ] 

I can't believe that old bat hasn't keeled over in her study, surrounded by her little ceramic figurines and being gnawed on by the eighty seven cats I'm sure she owns.  I do have a comment, actually.  Now that the statute of limitations has expired, I'll say that I actually tried to kill her on at least seven different occasions, and she must have missed the other four.  And with the benefit of hindsight, she sounded less like a hippo wheezing than like the musty specter of death in a Vincent Price movie.

B: Seven.  Well. I don't know if legally I should air that but I bet your lawyers will be on it if there is any trouble. 

I also want to take a moment and add a disclaimer here, this podcast or any part of Devereux administration does not condone the use of violence or bullying against their employees. 

Well, that has been a ride. And I'd really like to thank you for taking the time to talk with me and give us your sizzling take on current goings on of our school. 

Before we go, and last of all... off the top you your head, what’s the hottest dish you have to serve up for us? Any context.

S: I, on the other hand, absolutely condone the use of violence.  How else do people learn? 

It's been a genuine pleasure, Brittany, and thank you for doing the good lord's work and getting the news out to your fellow students. 

The hottest dish I've got for you...oh, I've got just the thing.  I bet no one who goes here has ever figured this out, so consider this a Sue Sylvester exclusive.  If you find just the right brick to press on in the library, you can open a secret door.  Inside is a private gym and training facility that I dubbed "the room of pain."  The first one to find it will find a one hundred dollar gift card for Bullwinkle's Restaurant hidden somewhere inside.

B: WOAH. Completely unexpected dish!! You heard it here first people, a treasure hunt on our very own campus is now afoot. 

That was Sue Sylvester, this is Fondue For Two, and I am Brittany S Pierce. 

Signing off.

[howaminotinthestrokesyet]

Behind The Album: Sticky Fingers

In April 1971, the Rolling Stones released their 12th studio album, Sticky Fingers. The recording of this album would mark new territory for the band in a lot of ways. Sticky Fingers would be the first album that had absolutely no participation from the late Brian Jones. This would be the first album released on their new label, Rolling Stones Records. The record would be the first major effort from new guitarist,Mick Taylor. He had participated on the previous album, but on a limited basis. The timing of the album was important as well because it would be the first major work from the band since the disaster at Altamont Speedway. Many things had changed in music since the new decade began.

An important factor that played a large part in the recording of the album was the fact that the band had tremendous tax issues at the time. They had learned that their manager Allen Klein had not been paying their taxes, even though he told them he was doing so. This meant that each member of the band owed quite a bit of money in back taxes to the government. Mick Jagger would later say, “I just didn’t think about taxes and no manager I ever had thought about it, even though they said they were going to make sure my taxes were paid. So after working for seven years I discovered nothing had been paid and I owed a fortune.” One of the first steps came in the band firing Allen Klein. Yet, this did little to minimize their money issues because unbeknownst to the band they had signed over copyrights in America to all their 1960’s material. Klein’s company Abkco Records now held ownership and received all royalties for their music. This financial catastrophe meant that they needed to release new music in order to make any money from the recordings. For this reason, Rolling Stones records was created to begin the process of getting the band out of debt. They needed to retain ownership of their music in order to maximize any kind of profit. After detaching themselves from Allen Klein, Prince Rupert Loewenstein was hired as the group's new financial manager. Looking back now, they finally found someone that would not rob them blind. Atlantic Records was hired to license all of their music, while Marshall Chess of Chess Records would handle the business side of the label. They seemed to trust his background as the president of a hardworking blues label more than anything else. There was a lot riding on this album financially for the band because if it did not sell, then things would go from bad to worse for each member personally.

The recording of Sticky Fingers actually began during their tour of the United States in 1969. They made a visit two muscle Shoals in Alabama because some of their favorite music was recorded there. During this time, the band recorded three songs, “Brown Sugar,” “Wild Horses,” and “You Gotta Move.” Keith Richards with later talk about those sessions in an interview. “The session] one of the easiest and rockingest sessions we’d ever done. I don’t think we’ve been quite so prolific… ever. Those sessions were as vital to me as any I’ve ever done. I mean, all the other stuff we did – ‘Beggars Banquet’, ‘Gimme Shelter’, ‘Street Fighting Man’, ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ – I’ve always wondered that if we had cut them at Muscle Shoals, if they might have been a little bit funkier.” Yet, the recording of the album would take more than a year. The band did not reconvene for more tracks until March 1970 at Mick Jagger‘s estate, Stargroves. He did not have a studio in his house, but instead they used a mobile recording unit. They would use the same thing on the next album, which essentially carried around in a van all the equipment in the sound booth at a recording studio. This unit also allowed the band to record any musicians that just stopped by for a visit. One reason the album took so long was because the material they made during this period was so outstanding. If a song did not end up on Sticky Fingers, then they decided to use it for Exile on Main Street.

Unlike their other releases, this album embodied straight rock and roll. They did not experiment with country, gospel, or anything else for this record. Looking at it in hindsight, this is precisely why people love this album, while critics had mixed reactions about it. The one thing the band did introduce with this album was their new guitarist Mick Taylor. He became a revelation musically because Taylor stood out as the most technically skilled guitarist in the band's history. Keith Richards even said in an interview that the guitar part on “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” could not be played by him. The guitarist also brought a much more melodic guitar as opposed to Brian Jones previously. This would not be the Rolling Stones, if they did not have any issues at all in the recording of the album. During this time, Keith Richards began to gradually descend into complete and utter heroin addiction. At times, he was so intoxicated during recording they had to abandon completely certain takes. The delay of the album probably had much more to do with his heroin addiction, rather than the amount of material they were producing. Richards would later comment on why he began using the drug. “It was] the periods with nothing to do that got me into heroin. It was more of an adrenaline imbalance. You have to be an athlete out there, but when the tour stops, suddenly your body don’t know there ain’t a show the next night. The body is saying, ‘What am I gonna do, leap out in the street?’ It was a very hard readjustment. And I found smack made it much easier for me to slow down very smoothly and gradually.” At one point during the recording, things got so bad that Mick Jagger filled in for him on the song “Moonlight Mile.” At no point previously would that have even been imagined. This would become quite the conundrum for the band considering the fact that they had just fired Brian Jones for this exact reason. Another interesting aspect of Sticky Fingers was the fact that Gram Parsons did a country version of “Wild Horses” one year before the album was even released for his band. There exist differing accounts on how it all transpired. Jagger and Richards were totally fine with the release of the song. Before his death, Parsons would say in interviews that the song was a gift to him for helping them with country rock songs like “Country Honk” on Sticky Fingers and Let It Bleed. The track is very different from the one the band released, and some critics even argue that the Parsons version is better.

One of the things about Sticky Fingers is that the art associated with the album became just as important as the music. Andy Warhol designed the cover of the album, which was a pair of pants with a working zipper. The first albums had the zipper pull all the way down to reveal white underwear. These albums are collectors items today because they eventually had to switch to a plain photograph. The metal from the zippers was damaging the records when they were stacked in trucks to be delivered. Unfortunately, nobody really knows for sure who the model is on the cover of the album. Some have suspected that it is Joe Johnson, the brother of Warhol's lover at the time. The other iconic piece of art released with this album came in the introduction of the Rolling Stones signature tongue. This has become the most recognizable image for their brand. You probably cannot live in this country without having seen it at least once. The inspiration for it came to Jagger via calendar he owned about Indian culture. “I was looking for a logo when we started Rolling Stones Records. I had this calendar on my wall, it was an Indian calendar, which you’ll see in Indian grocery stores, and it’s the goddess Kali, which is the very serious goddess of carnage and so forth. And she has, apart from her body, this tongue that sticks out. So I took that to John Pasche and he ‘modernized’ it somewhat.”

Upon its release, critics had very mixed reactions towards the album. The main flaw that some found it possessing came in the fact that it underwhelmed. This issue represented what these critics have come to love about the band's more recent efforts. On Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed, the Stones had experimented quite a bit with their sound venturing off into new areas. Yet, Sticky Fingers did not go in those places, but instead stayed fairly close to basic rock and roll. This emerges as an age old story with a lot of bands. You must do something different in order to impress the critics because they will often say I have already listened to that. The album became the band's most popular one to date as it went number one in both England and America. That fact should actually be the true testament on how good the band's album is overall.

[fivegoldpieces]

Talks Machina at Gen-Con Q&A Highlights

Note: This only has the audience q&a portion. Cast answers are transcribed, side-comments and banter are only included if they are relevant to/answer the question posed. Apologies in advance to mobile-users if the read-more doesn't work - this is tagged as #long post if you want to blacklist it.

[[MORE]]

Q: For Matt; might we expect any possible homebrew releases coming out in the next year or so, like dunamancy?

Matt: I have plans. I can't say anything because I want things to be cool and surprising. But I have plans don't worry. It's not that I don't care, it's that I don't have time, but I'm working on it.

Q: For Taliesin; what would make Caduceus really angry?

Taliesin: I will say that he can get angry. It does happen. Juvenile disrespect does eventually get to him. Not a fan of pranking. I mean, you know, everybody's got some layer - there's some stuff. No one's that serene all the time. No one.

Q: For Taliesin; at the end of the Call of Cthulhu oneshot, you mentioned that you had a lot of mouse traps set up. I was just wondering, were the shadow people the most dangerous thing they could've released, or was there a more dangerous horror waiting that they managed to avoid?

Taliesin: I mean, if the cats had been released first, that would have definitely been an interesting thing. The cats would have been a problem. Also, if somebody had died really early, I was setting up a series of rules for dead players to continue to interact, which would have been really really unhappy and bad. And terrible rules for the things that were living behind the glass, and if you were stuck behind the glass, you were right there with them and they could really mess with you. Thankfully none of that happened.

Q: For Matt; you have the Tal'dorei Campaign Setting - I was wondering if you were going to do one for The Mighty Nein campaign?

Matt: I don't have a lot of time. Campaign settings are extensive. I'd like to eventually do something like that. I have materials, it's just assembling them in a way that can be legible by a non-crazy human being that I am. Hopefully! We'll see as time goes on. At the moment, we're consumed with this animated series that you guys helped make happen. Super excited about that. Keep an eye out as time goes on, because hopefully I'd like to get around to that. That'd be awesome.

Q: For Matt; what the hell was up with the undead vibe on Jamedi Cosko?

Matt: Yeah, that's crazy huh? That's a pretty weird thing. Yeah, there was something about him that gives off an undead vibe. Wonder what that means? I appreciate the question, but I don't know if that'll come back into play in some time. Let's see if it gets explored at some point, and if not at least I could tell you at the campaign wrap-up.

Q: For Travis; for the animated series, a lot of the characters have iconic catchphrases so I was wondering how you're going to translate "I would like to rage"?

Travis: Are we going to "translate" that? I think he's just going to say "I would like to rage". Yeah, we are definitely keeping iconic lines, moments, interactions, all those things will be there just as they were.

Taliesin: I'll also add to that - if you want to see somebody doing that and taking things that shouldn't actually work in-game and making them work in-game, Jody Houser is doing a great job in the comic book series of making you feel like somehow Matt is intertwined in everything that happens, it's kind of cool. Check it out!

Q: For Taliesin; a lot of comparisons have been thrown around between Fjord and Percy, and something that I noticed was Uk'otoa is being much more insistent than Orthax was - do you think if Orthax was as insistent and as keen on punishment, Percy might've gone a similar direction as Fjord?

Taliesin: Honest to God, and this is just from watching, I don't think Percy had nearly as strong a will as Fjord does. Watching Travis play Fjord was definitely like, "I did not have the balls to pull that off, oh my God." Percy was never about the hard choice, it was always about "what's the option C that I haven't figured out yet, there's a way to game my way out of this, if I just keep talking I can get everything to work" until the very end. Like chicken? Percy doesn't play chicken.

Laura (using Vex's voice): From firsthand knowledge, Percy does curtail very easily.

Matt: If you actually recall, Percy didn't even make the choice. Scanlan did for him.

Q: For Laura; when can we get a Caduceus tea set?

Laura: Oh, I heard a lot of "ooh's". Who would buy a Caduceus tea set? [audience applause] Well, shit, maybe I should look into it.

Sam: That's so many more people than who voted for me.

Brian: Not to be That Guy, lets just see how long his character lives, before we start making merchandise around him.

Q: For Sam; you are kind of the king of over-the-top and ostentatious whether it be with your character design, or your flasks, or things like that, and especially your outfits at the live events - how do you come up with these over-the-top creations and also how on earth do you plan on topping last night?

Sam: That last part will be hard. I think next year, I'll either come out totally naked or I'll just be so basic - pleated khakis, a polo shirt, I don't know. That outfit last night, it was pieced together from several different stores, I'm sure CritRoleCloset will figure it out at some point. But it was a challenge putting that together. And then, my fellow cast members, like two weeks after I bought all that weird stuff I wore, they were like, "hey let's go goth". So. Fuck you guys.

Q: For Travis; with Fjord's recent decision, do you see him changing outfits to fit his new or old persona?

Travis: I don't think so. Most of Fjord's armor was very piece-mail stuff that he got either from working on the docks, or stuff that he got from Vandren, or items that he was given just as he sort of accrued time and responsibility where he worked. I think that stuff's very dear to him, especially coming from an orphanage where he didn't have any possessions, so all those things that are actually his are very dear to him. He might add to those things, but I think underneath they'll stay there. He might augment them or change them a little bit, in the same way you would draw on your jeans in school or whatever, but that stuff's his so it means a lot to him.

Q: For Travis; after Fjord severed his pact with Uk'otoa, was there a larger fear in telling Beau and Jester what had happened, since he had been traveling with them the longest out of the Nein, or did his journeys with the Nein make that fear equal across all of the party?

Travis: I think actually he was worried about telling Beau and Jester the least, and maybe Caduceus in there as well. He knew he would hear about it from Nott, and Caleb had already sort of started to call him on his shit and saw through a lot of that stuff. He also regards the group as very powerful, so I think a lot of it is turning to his very powerful and talented friends and saying, "I don't have any of that anymore, I hope I can still play with you guys." Legit though, the response was amazing. It was absolutely incredible. Jester is so gregarious and loving and joyful and exuberant that I don't think he was worried about that, I think he was actually looking forward to telling her as one of the first people to know. And Beau is second-mate, so like ride-or-die or right?

Q: For Taliesin; I can totally be wrong for this, but just reading body language and facial features, there do seem to be moments where you're kind of just like, "I'm done with this" - I just kind of want advice, like how do you keep playing when your energy level might be low or you don't like where the story is going?

Taliesin: Oh, that is never "I'm done with this", what you're seeing is the "I'm trying to make sure no one notices that I'm reading my backstory notes". That's me reading, frantically. I'm a big believer in terror, terror is a great way to keep me up. "Oh God, I don't remember anybody's name, oh God how many siblings do I have oh God."

Marisha: Well, also you write your backstories like the Silmarillion, it's like, so intense. I'm like "my dad was mean to me" like that's my backstory.

Q: For Sam; based on the amazing reaction we've had to your DnDBeyond theme and the Critical Role theme, when can we expect a parody version of the 2010 hit "Like a G6" by Far East Movement as "Like a d6"?

Sam: Oh wow, that's good.

Marisha: Not to be that person, it already exists. The Library Bards did it. So, you should check it out. I mean, do a cover, Sam, I don't know.

Sam: There are more songs incoming, just so you know.

Q: For Matt; you say dunamancy can alter the reality and the fate of the person that wields it - is this an affront to the Raven Queen?

Matt: I would say, given the fact that elements of dunamancy deal with the manipulation of probability, destiny, things like that, the Raven Queen is probably not that cool with dunamancy. Just throwing that out there. One of the few things she's probably like, "Really, guys?" So yeah, I'd say you're on the right track.

Q: For Laura and Travis; do you talk to Ronin about your campaign?

Laura: So, Ronin, every Thursday night he stays with a babysitter at home, but he watches the opening of the show. Like, he loves the theme song so much. I sing it every time I change his diaper.

Travis: Same, like I know there's songs that parents sing to their kids - he's heard the damn theme song every day of his life.

Brian: But do you guys change the lyrics though, like "You shit your pants, I'm cleaning it up now", you know what I mean?

Liam: My kids bust into that song constantly. We cannot play a board game or anything. Someone goes "it's your turn" "TO ROLL" every time.

Q: For Marisha; I'm a huge fan of Jocks Machina and hopefully we'll get to see them on the channel one day - will Beau ever join Jocks Machina?

Marisha: What are the requirements, are there prerequisites for joining Jocks Machina? You're kind of the authority on this.

Travis: Guns. Abs. Likes to lift heavy things. Likes to break a sweat. Likes to whoop that ass.

Marisha: Check. Check. ...Check? Check. Hell yeah.

Q: For Matt; this is a rather involved conspiracy theory question, so excuse me - last year when the party was in Shady Creek Run at the Landlocked Lady Inn, they first arrived and there was a doorman named Champ who Keg knew. The next morning, they went down and there was a new doorman who said he'd been working for the Marduns for a few months and had bright red curly hair and vibrant green eyes and acted rather enigmatic and shady and shifty and was saying they should listen more and that he hoped that whatever they were after, they were on the right path. Later, once they recover everyone, Jester is asking the Traveler where he was, and he says he was always there. So my question is this: was that character the Traveler in disguise?

Matt: [several moments of silence]

Matt: That'd be pretty interesting, huh? That's a unique observation. I will confirm nor deny.

Q: For Matt; now that Fjord has effectively broken up with Uk'otoa, what do you think would be a more compelling storyline, or what are you most interested to see: him continue to take levels in warlock, possibly with an Archfey patron, or paladin...?

Matt: Part of what I really enjoy about this game is how the players continuously surprise me. I'm down to see what journey Travis wants to take. I'm curious to see how he takes this next path in his journey and which elements he wants to maintain, what direction he wants to go - he seems to be really finding interest in the Wildmother and talking to Caduceus about that, and that's kind of been an element of breaking that pact at the time, so I'm curious if he's going to continue down that path or see this as a blank slate to continue to grow. I'm interested to see the different decisions that Fjord takes, and Travis does through Fjord, and kind of adjust and build the narrative for that character around that. I can't say I have a specific path that I'm hoping for, because I have no idea what Travis's direct interest is, beyond just the actions he's taken in the game. Yeah, I'm just excited to see where it goes. I really love the idea of not knowing that as the Dungeon Master. As much as it's me building and world-planning, many of you out there who run games as GM know the most exciting part of the game is after all that prep, coming to the table and the players completely surprise you, and you kind of have to think on your feet and go with it. That's the best part of the game for me.

Q: For Marisha; what inspired you to play Beau a bit more shaken about her near-death than some of the other characters?

Marisha: Well, I was at 2 hit points the whole time - Liam can attest to that. So you know, I was kind of role-playing that. Shit's crazy man.

Q: For Liam; so you play your characters, both Vax and Caleb, very emotionally without any hesitation, and you're an experienced actor. What I wanted to ask was, something that people who try to emulate Critical Role don't realize that can happen when you try to put yourself into the character and get emotionally invested is character bleed. I was wondering how you deal with that, if you do at all. Like, if something really emotionally devastating happens to Vax or to Caleb, how does it affect you and how do you deal with it?

Liam: These feel like synthetic memories, so any time the superimposed fantasy friend gets killed or has to leave or whatever happens - that shit we carry around and get upset about. Every time we leave on a cliffhanger and someone's gonna die, we think about it constantly. Vax helped me sort through things, but made me more loyal and determined and willing to take chances - which in life I generally try to avoid conflict. Caleb, I still kind of drive around and think about him and still go, like "why did you do that?" He's really messed up, if I just think like, fireballs and cats like it's fun, and we can make dick jokes and it's fun. But if I really take a minute, I just go "Oh". I feel bad for him, I feel really bad for him. I have fun playing the game, and I love these guys, and I feel bad for my character.

Follow-up Q: Do you have ways that you learned to process that, like if you're at home feeling bummed about something that happened on a Thursday night, and you're like "man I need to get out of this funk"?

Liam: Yeah, I pull my head out of the game. I'll play a game with my kid, or watch a movie with my wife, or go running. Running is great. Not for your knees, but everything else. Or spend time with these guys out of the game. There's lots of ways. We're really invested in their stories, so it sort of drags along like coattails wherever we go.

Matt: To give you examples too, when he says "hanging out with friends", the group that's there, your friends that are in this game that you trust enough? You should all also support each other when those dark moments happen outside of the game. Whenever we lose a character in the game, we have like a wake. We go to an Irish pub that we go to often in Burbank, and we all get drinks and we have a wake for that character. And it's part of that process too. Even though it's imaginary, there's a part of that experience and journey that's come to an end and that deserves its respect as well, and we're all there to support the player. As a playing group, be there for your friends who may be going through that experience, because even though it is make-believe and it's a game, that is still a loss. And that's not a bad thing either. Loss is an important thing to process, because life comes with loss. Part of the wonderful experiences of role-playing games is that it allows us a safe space to explore very positive and very negative emotions in a healthy way and make us better people for it. So just be there for them, be supportive, and be the best friends and co-players you can be.

Liam: Part of the reason, I think, that we get upset when these fictional characters are killed is because we're playing this game of imagination together, and we form a chemistry together where we're like "we get to do this together, and it's always like this, and you're always funny like that, and you're always intense like this" and we really love that chemistry. Then somebody gets killed and they're gone, and that chemistry, which is something that we're like addicted to and love, that chemistry is gone. Like, when Molly was gone. Beau and Molly had this great "fuck you" "fuck you" butting heads thing - that's gone. We're actors, but anyone who plays this game extensively, you love the sort-of second life that you create for yourself and then when the character is gone, you don't have that unique mix anymore.

Q: For Laura; I really love how you play Vex and Jester, even though as two characters, they're pretty different from each other. But sometimes, you have an instance where like, your Laura shows. So I actually just wanted to ask, what was the biggest disconnect you've ever experienced between player versus character? If you've ever felt like, you as a person, as a player, would never ever make a choice in a situation versus what your character would do in that same situation.

Laura: I feel like everything my characters do, I wouldn't do in real life. Like, especially Jester. Travis and I have had these conversations: the joy of playing a character like Jester or like Grog, where you don't have to filter yourself - everybody, I assume, has these random really stupid things that pop up in your brain and you don't say them because everyone would judge you, and they're weird - and as these characters, you just embrace it, and it is so much fun. Talk about character bleed - it is an issue that I deal with now, because Jester has had that effect on me, and so I tend to say stupider things in real life now. No, but I would never deface anything in public, I would never steal anything.

Travis: You're not gonna attach any dicks on the walls.

Laura: I would not attach a dick to a wall in public. Or anywhere. I do eat a lot of donuts though, that's on me.

Q: For Matt; we've explored several places in the multiverse in your games, like the City of Brass, the Feywild, places like that - are there any places in the multiverse like the Astral Sea or somewhere that you, either as a player or as a GM, would have liked to have gone but have never had the time or resources to do?

Matt: Interesting. I do have some places that I really would like to explore, whether in this campaign or campaigns down the road. Astral Sea is interesting, it's a really weird amorphous plane, and I just love the prospect of one day throwing an Astral Dreadnought at these poor guys. He's my second to the Tarrasque. Oh they're fun, they're a good time. I've always loved Planescape. The City of Sigil would be great for obvious reasons of course. So I can be like, "no guys, this is where I learned my wrong pronunciation". But the City of Doors is awesome. Lady of Pain is a great element. Those who watched the Search for Bob oneshot, there was a Lady of Pain reference dropped in there. If you missed it, you can go back and look. Maybe there's a few doors in Sigil that lead to Exandria, who knows. Think about that for your home campaigns, huh? I want to go into some deep Abyssal planes too. We've been to the City of Dis, we've seen a little bit of the Nine Hells of Baator, though maybe not the harsher places. There's so many to explore!

Q: For Sam; Matt has said on Twitter that one of the ways you guys handle the pressures of the Kickstarter and the intense dramatic moments in the campaign is by checking in with each other and checking in on each other's mental health. I know you take on a lot of responsibilities with doing the DnDBeyond ads and the songs that you write and also your characters are often joking around with other characters and giving them a hard time so I was wondering, from your perspective, if you could give some details, without giving away anything too personal, on how to properly mentally check-in with your fellow players and just help everybody and check that everybody is doing okay.

Sam: Well, I'm learning from these guys, as we go, how best to do that. I'm weird in that, as weird as I am on-screen, I don't really talk very much when we're off-screen, or I keep my stuff to myself, more than some of these guys do. But they have, in the last few years, helped me sort of connect more with my best friends here. You know, we do check in a lot with each other, thanks to Matt and thanks to all of us. For instance, yesterday morning we all had breakfast together. It was really nice - we just talked about stuff, and it was just great to just sort of reconnect with everybody. I'm not an expert at this in any way, and in fact, on this stage, I am the least good at it, but I have endeavoured to become better at it. Opening yourself up to your friends and feeling comfortable enough to share your past or your worries for the future with your friends and not getting any judgement back is like, the greatest gift. If you have that with one person, it's amazing. If you have that with all of these people? Holy moly, it's the greatest thing in the world. I've tried to be better at sharing my stuff with them and being there for them. That's all I can do.

Q: For Marisha; in campaign one with Vox Machina, there's a lot of powerful badass lady NPCs, so if by chance, it all worked out timewise, who do you think Beau would be most likely to have a crush on?

Marisha: Kima. Yeah. Keyleth very much emulated Allura, and really looked up to her and kind of looked at her as a powerful female figurehead and took notes for leadership through her. Beau would just wanna fuck.

Q: For Liam; what do characters do in the campaign that you find funny no matter how old it gets?

Liam: Everybody throw in on this one. I'll never get over Laura waggling her eyebrow every third word in the game.

Taliesin: Slow snicker every time there's even vaguely a possibility of a dick joke.

Travis: I'd say every time there's a pain reaction out of Nott. It is hysterical to me.

Liam: I like any time, just the concept of death comes up or Molly - anywhere, in the game, out of the game - one of these people would be like, "Like you, you're dead!"

Laura: Uk'otoa.

Q: For Laura; do you think the volcano would be a good spot for Traveler on?

Laura (using Jester's voice): Okay here's the thing. Like, I totally did at first and I need to talk to him, because I think that now it's probably not, because it wasn't very expansive really, as big as I thought it would be, and there wasn't like a lot of beds, and like, no real good food. So, I don't know how many people are coming, but like, even just getting to the nearest hotel was really difficult, you know?

Matt: I love the idea that half of your sketchbook is Jester's tiny Yelp reviews of locations in Wildemount.

Q: For Laura; with all of the throwback to Vox Machina and Whitestone in the week before, how are you feeling with all of it?

Laura: I'm feeling very nostalgic.

Laura (using Vex's voice): Also, I would love for everyone to come visit.

Marisha (using Keyleth's voice): Me as well.

Laura (using Jester's voice): And also, if we did, I think we would cause a lot of problems.

Marisha: New pitch - Travelercon at Whitestone. We know the food is good, lots of lodging and room and board, no dead people in trees anymore.

Laura: All of the residuum that you could ever hope for.

Brian: And endless booze.

[Panel end]

[boogiewrites]

Choking On Sapphires 90

Characters: Alfie Solomons x Genevieve (OFC)

Title & Song: Right Back Where We Started From

Summary: Genevieve has her Bat Mitzah, a grand celebration with everyone important to her. But Alfie uses the opportunity to turn the already memorable night into something she'll never forget. Song is Maxine Nightingale - Right Back Where We Started From

Warnings/Tags: FLUFF. Bat Mitzvah. LOTS OF FEELINGS. A LOOOOONG awaited chapter. 

Click on my icon then go to my Mobile Masterlist in my bio for my other works and chapters. (Had to do this since Tumblr killed links, sorry.) Please like, comment and reblog if you enjoyed it! It helps out us writers A LOT!

Another Shabbat passes and Genevieve finds herself becoming more and more preoccupied with the planning of her bat mitzvah ceremony. Although simple compared to a traditional bar mitzvah, as she didn’t want to ruffle any feathers with the orthodox and read from the Torah, she still had plenty to plan and worry about. Currently, the location being the biggest concern.

another sigh escapes her, Alfie had lost count of how many now. She hurriedly flipped through the notebook she’d been using to lay out her plans. The little leather-bound book hadn’t left her side for weeks. It was full of speech bullet points and notes for her chosen subject to speak about but she was currently stuck on the list of places left she could choose from. The options were dwindling by the day as they became booked. Every night Alfie would watch her tap her pen on the top line, a sad limp mark through her first pick for where to have her ceremony and party, but she’d been declined.

But he was always the close observer and decided to try his hand at giving her an early bat mitzvah gift. The first of many to come.

“Ya gonna bore a hole in ‘at if ya keep tappin' at it so.” He remarks with glasses sliding down his nose as he side-eyed her from his reclined position.

“I’m feeling so very indecisive about the location.” She sighed out frantically for the umpteenth time that evening. “I have everything else I want but...nothing feels RIGHT.” She clenches a theatrical fist in her conviction.

“You aren’t used to being told no.” He states it as the fact it is.

“I’m afraid I am entirely serious.” She retorts with a frown. “I have full power to customize this but the one thing I want I cannot have. It’s frustrating when this means so much to me.” Her face was round and pouting, pursed lips he thought were rather soft and precious when she was angry.

“I know love, I know. But ya can have whatever you like really. Just gotta know how to get it.” He gives her a pat to her knee in support.

“You would think with how much I’m paying for all this.” She huffs. “This is on par with one of my birthday parties.” She reflects. “Good thing we skipped that this year.” She grumbles. “I’m so perplexed. I’m paying for all this to not get what I actually want.”

“You’re paying for everythin'?” He challenges with an out of place smile.

Gen gives him a look that judges his intellect. “Yes, clearly. I haven’t asked you for so much as a pound have I?”

“I wish someone had told me this before I went and paid for the venue then. Shame, that.” He shakes his head.

“Alfie. I haven’t chosen. My word, have you not been listening at all?”

“You have chosen though. You wanted the museum.”

“And they told me no.” She responds with flushed cheeks. “Repeatedly.” she lets out a frustrated whine.

“Well, I wish someone had informed me of that before I paid for the bloody thing.” He responds to her blustery rant with a confusing indifference.

“Alfie? Are you okay? Are you smelling oranges dear because you are making no sense.” She places the back of her hand to his head.

“I’m makin' perfect sense if you’d just calm down and listen.” He chuckles.

“You said for the museum.” She states again. “But it’s not available.” She insists.

“Say that first part again. Forget the last.” He instructs with high brows as he sets his book aside. The poor thing was so distraught over her rejection she couldn’t see he was handing her the answer to her problems.

“You paid for the museum.” She rushes out.

“Yeah. And again. Slow it down pet, think of the words.” He keeps a fully amused look on his face.

“You paid for the museum.” She repeats slowly. “But…?” Her brows furrowed in question.

“I paid for the museum. For you to have the bat mitzvah ceremony there, love. I asked them and with a bit of persuasion, they said yes. You’re gonna have the museum.” He has to clarify in basic terms for her rapid-fire brain to grasp onto.

She blinks in a rush of realization. “You got the..?” She stammers.

“You have your heart set on it and I was tired of watching you lament every night about not getting it. This is important and I want it to be as close to perfect as it can for ya.”

“You…?” She whispers.

“Yes. With some exhortation, I managed to talk them into it.”

“You…?” She stammers again.

“Oui.” He lets out a laugh this time. “dois-je le dire en français pour que vous compreniez?”

“Oh Alfie, darling.” She coos, one hand to her chest and the other to his cheek.

“That’s more like it.” He smirks, reaching to hold her hand and kiss it.

“Oh bless you Alfie, you thoughtful man.”

“Nah. I just pay attention’s all. Not gonna let me own woman not have the bat mitzvah she wants. What sort of man would I be?”

“You wouldn’t be Alfie Solomons.” She smirks softly and kisses his cheek.

“Fuckin right love” he grunts and nods.

She chuckles against his cheek. “Oh, darling you’ve made me so happy.” She coos and nuzzles her nose into his ear. “Shall have to start calling you, Sweet Solomons.” She grins and kisses his cheek.

“Oh go on Genny.” He puts on a mean face but soaks up the affection. With her hands in his beard and hair, she turns his face to hers.

“Thank you. I love you. This means the world to me, darling.”

“I’m glad you’re happy.”

“And all because of you.”

“Was nothin'.”

“And modest! My goodness!” She chuckles and squeezes his cheeks, giving him a soft and affectionate kiss to his pouted lips.

“Man's gotta have his values.”

“Even a man like you.” She kisses him again and speaks softly.

“Even me.” He answers in a muffled voice before she takes her time, slow kisses to his plush lips that make him hum with content.

————-

Gen stood tall on her pedestal in her closet, Freddie tending to the last minute adjustments for the embellished gown he’d created for her.

“These stones are being little buggers.” He mutters, keeping his thin face focused on the hem of the silk and beaded gown. It fell to the floor in a pearlescent puddle around her feet, Sheer little sleeves and a silver hue throughout that made her skin and hair stand out against its paleness.

“I can’t say enough good fings bout it, Fred.” Alfie captures their attention as he comes in freshly showered, slicked and perfumed with his trousers and white shirt on.

“You could try.” He smirks and Alfies face is kind and amused. The dress fit her like a glove, a band of embellishment around her waist and everything loose and flowing around her, she looked like an angel. He wasn’t one to get emotional about such things but perhaps the significance of the occasion was wearing the old boy down. He’d heard Gen practicing her speech, speaking of growth and change and finding meaning in the chaos of life and perhaps he was swayed to reflect himself. Tonight was a rather important night for both of them.

“Would you think it brash of me to suggest some pieces for you to wear with this, Chanah?” Her only been calling her by her given name all day and Gen couldn’t find it in herself to mind. She watches him looking through the glass-topped drawers at her collection of jewels.

“As long as I retain the right to turn them down, Certainly no.” She gives him a warm smile as she stays still for the sake of Fred’s sanity.

“‘Course.” He says obviously with his usually gruff tone. “I only had suggestions. I saw that dress and thought of certain pieces as soon as my eyes took it in.” He elaborates with a shaking hand as he moves about the circular space and collects pieces in his hands.

“I think that has it for now. I’ll have my kit with me all night. Won't have you looking a bead out of place if I can help it. Tonight’s too important. You’ll have photographs and I refuse to have you look anything short of angelic.” Freddie speaks with a pointed finger as he gathers a small satchel with beads, stones, and thread.

“It is gorgeous and it will be perfect. Thank you, Cheri.”

“Don’t make me cry just yet.” He protests with an exasperated voice as she takes his hand and kisses it.

“Not yet.” She shakes her head and pats his hand before releasing it.

“I’m off to change. I’ll be at the door waiting for you for the last check before your entry.”

“Lovely.” She says softly as she runs her hands down the textured surface of the gown.

Distracted, Fred has a whirling list of things to do in a short amount of time and is muttering to himself as he leaves.

“He’s a mess, bless him. He doesn’t handle sentimental occasions very gracefully.” Gen observes with a fond by pitying expression.

“He has a lot of heart, that Fred.” Alfie nods and agrees. “But I wanted to speak of yours while we had a moment, love.” His voice is cool and even, demanding her to him as he holds out his hand and she steps off the raised platform.

“What of it Ari?” She implores with inquisitive eyes.

“I wanted to give some significance tonight to what you wore. Jewels wise. I wanted to bring a bit of me into the ensemble. Even if it is a bit of a prick thing to say on such an occasion now that I say it out loud.”

Genevieve smiles and insists he’s incorrect with a shaking head, her long hair cascading down her shoulders. “Don’t be silly. You were so crucial in getting to this point. I value your input so please share.” She holds both his hands in hers and gives them a squeeze.

“As you wish, my love.” He gives her a rather formal nod and turns to start with one piece. “I would like to first recommend Sapphires for such an occasion.” Be announces loudly as if he were presenting to a group, But only Genevieve was in his company. “I believe your favorite stone, Yeah?” She nods with a gentle smile as he brings forth a ring she knows well. “I would suggest this first.” He puts the ring onto her finger and holds her hand, the warmth was felt not only through his skin but in the mild crinkle around his eyes as he spoke. “You wore this the first night you accompanied me out. I couldn’t make up me mind if I wanted to stare at you or your jewels and that is sayin’ somethin’ Both for your taste and your beauty, love.”

She leans forward to kiss his cheek and gives him a smile that disarms him as her soft hands rub against his hardened ones. “I’ll always remember that night.” She speaks softly. “Lovely choice.” She praises.

“And ‘is. A bit farther down the line.” He holds the long and weighted large sapphire stone encased in a halo of tiny diamonds. “You wore this the night I took you to the opera.”

“The night I cried like a baby at the show.” She huffs out a laugh to herself.

“The night I found myself truly mesmerized by you, love. Such softness under that wild exterior. Like a weeping angel, you were, yeah?” He gives a gentle pat to her cheek and she nuzzles into it with a soft kiss. “The last. So far the most important.” He begins with the teardrop Sapphires earrings that dangle from Diamond studs. “Our trip to Paris.” He says with a fond nostalgia in his voice. He puts them on her with strong and steady hands. “My promise to never make you cry real tears, only those of stone.” He pauses and takes her hands again. “I’ve not kept that promise I’m afraid.” He frowns.

“We cannot know the future Ari. As badly as we might want to. You know anything that caused me to shed tears that you caused is forgiven. You’ve only ever had my best interests at heart. That’s worth more than the mere falling of tears.” She squeezes his hands and he nods, not fighting her on it and deeply Proud of her understanding of him and their life together. “I recall it as the best time I’ve ever had with a man in Paris. When we told one another we loved the other.” She speaks softly from the heart and puts her hand to his cheek. “Where we danced by the Seine and played pretend like children to be married.” She sighs, her eyes misty at the fond memories.

“Oi, I recall. You becomin' my real-life fantasy of Lily Lafitte.” He gives her a soft smile.

“The only man I’ve ever introduced to uncle as well.” She adds with a nod of her chin.

“Speak of the Devil,” He smirks, “He and your mum will be there today.”

“Really?” Her band drops to his chest and her eyes go wide. “Mother wasn’t sure if she’d be able to, What with George being difficult with her leaving.”

“I believe a promise from Altar Lafitte when I hear it. He and Alma will be here this evening.”

“Oh, Ari.”She tears up and wraps her arms around his neck. “You’ve made everything so perfect already. I’ll be owing you after tonight.” She teases and kisses his cheek.

“It’s nothin if it’s to make you happy Chanah. You know within reason and reality I’d do anyfin' to make you so, yeah?”

“You lovey gentleman. You absolute mensch.” She nuzzles her nose against his. “I couldn’t think of a single thing you could do to make me happier tonight.” She whispers as she kisses him gently.

“There’s always somethin', Chanah.” He smiles and kisses her cheek innocently. “Always more I can do for a woman like you.”

—————

Her entrance was dramatic with musical accompaniment in the grand style she was known for. The lights hitting her gown just right in the golden hour as she ascended the decorated stone steps.  Alfie stood in her shadow and watched as she was received by every sort of Jewish folk in London. Altar brought a few of the French family members and the east end roughians that worked for Alfie got to stay as long as they behaved. The posh wealth were in attendance as well, some out of good wishes and some to see if things would fall apart, either was fine with Alfie if they were giving her money.

Her art of religious text was spotted throughout the room, some for sale and others just for show. Flowers cascaded over columns and tables as the smell of lavender filled the air with their pastel palette warmed by late summer heat. The tall room with its giant windows and painted ceiling were a perfect setting to the important ceremony, stained glass cascading down jewel-toned light as the sun set and Genevieve became a woman.

After being greeted with loud hugs and kisses by some she hadn’t seen since she was a child.  A beaming Altar and a weeping with joy Alma allow her to be pried from their grasp by Alfie who adjusts her jewels and tenderly asks if she’s ready.

Genevieve Chanah Lafitte was formally inducted into the community with a short but praising introduction by her mentor Rabbi Gold. She gave a beautiful speech, all tying back to her studies and Rabbi Golds teachings over the past year or so. She spoke of growth and change, of tradition and finding one’s place in the world. She ghosts over the bad, only mentioning she hasn’t had an easy sort of life. She tells tales of the good with a charming smile. She chooses to focus on her mitzvah project and how they would be continuing after tonight. The teaching of all religions, the scholarships for Jewish girls, the importance of health and education among the youth and women of the community that she was choosing to focus her efforts on. She told of when she was a young girl, lost and lonely, and how the Jewish community embraced her and gave her a life. Altar pretended he wasn’t crying but Alma fully embraces the emotion of the night. Genevieve ends with mentions of donating to her scholarship and the charities she works with, as well as thanking her closest friends and colleges, Freddie, Claire, Aggie and Alfie among them.

Then came the other speeches as she took her seat at the table with those loved ones she’d just thanked on the stage.

Altar boomed and demanded cheers, telling of knowing she was special from the moment he held her. How he could not be more proud of the woman she had become. Alma confesses this night was her most wild dreams coming true as she had always wanted her most special daughter to find her place in the world and know her people and where she came from. She cries and so does her daughter, emotional tears run in the family. Aggie gives a very short speech sharing the same sentiment as Alma, how she thought of her as her own daughter and as everyone else had, she expresses how proud she is. Claire, much to Gens surprise also speaks and keeps it brief as is her way of doing things. She gets as sentimental as Claire can, calling Gen not only a business partner but a life long friend and sister to her, and that she was looking forward to what the next thirty years brought for them. Fred threatens stories of her wild youth but refrains with a laugh. Calling her a friend and confidant and even if he wasn’t Jewish, he was glad to know there was a warm community to keep her while they lived so far apart. Then came Alfie.  

He had been preparing for this night for some time, a lifetime it felt now. He was so gifted at demanding the attention of a room he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make a show of it all.  He stood straight, hands accompanying his endearment and his voice rich and deep and full of affection for the woman of the hour. “I know, as a man, that I am lucky to have a woman like Chanah. And I want you to know that us, as a people, are lucky to call her our own. She has the capacity for tenderness which astounds me every day. Especially with some of the lot she has to work with. I include myself in that. She is brilliant. Smart, fierce, funny and not as important but it is worth mentioning that she is rather easy on the eyes. I have no doubt she will be a pillar for our community. Through her words and actions she is everything a Jewish woman should aspire to be, educated, charitable and strong. A survivor, as we all are and continue to be. I am honored to have a part in her story that brought her to us. Although I will take no credit for any of her achievements. She was already successful when I met her and since she has only grown in leaps and bounds both personally and professionally. We are proud to call you ours, love. And I am even more proud to call a woman like you mine.”

Gen was holding it together, crying but not weeping as Alma currently was into Aggie's shoulder. Altar sat proud and impressed, watching Alfie kiss her cheek and her beam at him with love and admiration. With his hand in hers, he closes out with telling the room to donate, give gifts and eat and be merry. It was a joyous occasion and they’d paid enough for everything so make good use of it. His humor as always comes through and the crowd chuckles and moves, conversations floating about and food being eaten, wine drinking and money changing hands. Gen is embraced with warmth and love, hugs and kisses, thanks and congratulations from all who came across her. She was lost in a whirlwind of praises in English, Hebrew, and Yiddish and was proud to understand each one. Altar networks, as is his way and the women closest to her all huddle like hens and reflect on the hard work they all put in to make Gen who she is. The room is full of life and love and Gen feels full in a way she never had before. A feeling of belonging, of completion and family that made her heart so full it ached in her chest. As the crowd settles into its groups, laughter, and discussions all weaving in and out as she moved about the space, Alfie finds her and takes her hand to pull her from the praising current she was swept away in.

“Might I have ya back now?” He smiles. “I surrendered you to the mob and it seems they’ve all feasted on you enough for now.”

“When the wine kicks in it’ll start back up.” She chuckles and moves to his side without hesitation.

“How about we let them marinate in it then eh? We’ve got plenty to see away from them yeah? And I’d like a moment with you on a night like this. Call me greedy but I rather like Keeping you to myself.” He teases as they lock arms and move to the edge of the room towards some hard looking lads by a velvet rope. “Boys.” Alfie nods and one pulls the rope back.

“Are we allowed back here?” She whispers and looks over her shoulder.

“I got the whole bloody museum love. Just didn’t want no one wandering about, wanted you to have all the attention and have the whole place to yourself. Which is what those rather rough lads were doin' there.” He motions back with his hand as they walk into a dim hallway.

“Never been here with everything so dark. Almost spooky.” She gives a small giggle as her hands rest on his arm.

“I had them light candles for ya love. I thought it’d be interesting to see it in a different light.”

“It’s lovely daring thank you.” She coos at him softly.

“How’s about we go to France eh? Your favorite?”

“Yes please.” She nods enthusiastically.

Only their footsteps echoed as he guided her through the flickering light in the hallways, towards a brighter room that housed the paintings she loved most.

“Monet is the one you like so much innit? The one you’re always on about when you’re out by the pond painting?”

“Yes, I love his work. So dreamy.” She sighs as they round the corner to the room and she stops and stares at the state of the room. “Oh my God.” Alfie stops and lets her take it in. The entirety of Monet's Water Lillie’s in its massive form. But it wasn’t only that that caused her to blink with disbelief. “Alfie.” She exhales softly as her eyes widen and dilate at the splendor of the view around her. The long and tall Water Lillie’s sit center as smaller paintings take up the rest of the space on the walls, but what covered the rest of the usually white space were flowers. Of every pastel color and variation, all surrounding paintings of similar tones as if the colors were bleeding off the canvas and onto the floor.

“I wanted something special for you tonight love.” He spews softly as her eyes flutter shut and she breathes in the floral perfume that filled the space.

“You’ve already done so much.” Her voice breaks, weak and breathy praise as she grips his arm in her hands unconsciously.

“Always more to be done. Like I said.” He fusses back as he moves her slowly into the room as she looked rather overwhelmed. “I told the florists I wanted the whole room covered, wanted it to look like they were coming to life for you.”

“It does. It is. It’s...breathtaking I don’t even know what to say.”

“That you love it and I kept it a surprise.” He smirks and she gives him a huge smile.

“I love it. Adore it. I had...no clue. Not even an inkling.” She enthuses, impressed. “It’s...like a dream. And such a beautiful and artistic take on an installation Alfie, you brilliant man.”

“I wanted tonight to be about your dreams comin' true. You talk about wantin' to get lost in those paintin’s, and I wanted to give ya that.”

She shakes her head and her mouth stays open and stutters. “I don’t...I just.” She stands dumbfounded. “It’s brilliant. Genius. Perfect.” She holds a hand to her chest now to steady her heart. She had been so caught up in her work and planning she had given Alfie room to plan something himself in her whirlwind of plans and appointments. She stood awe struck and speechless in the glowing light of hundreds of blooms. She recalled no other time in her life she had ever been.

“Since I finally have you alone. I did want to say a few things I couldn’t earlier. Or rather I don't fink you’d want me too.” He chuckles and takes both her hands into his as he holds her attention in the center of an artificial field of flowers. “The first time I had to make an apology to you, I used flowers.”

“I’ll never forget it. Just as I’ll never forget this.” She speaks so sweetly, squeezing his hands. “I remember feeling so much when I kissed you. How I didn’t want to stop.” She sighs and swoons and puts her hand to his cheek. “I do wonder often in my moments of reflection of how we came to be how long it truly has been that I’ve loved you. Ari.” She tiptoes and kisses his lips softly. “Sometimes it feels like I always did. I can’t recall a time in which I didn’t at least find you special.”

“From that first night I met you. In that gaudy golden club sitting next to Tommy. You are even more beautiful to me now than you were then, and I would’ve said that was impossible.”

“You were so handsome. So funny and cheeky.”

“You were full of clever wit and a smart mouth. Bold and fearless to put me down.”

“The brown was fucking awful.” She says with a low turn of her voice and he laughs out loud at her.

“And you’ve never shied from telling me a truthful opinion.”

“You’re a strong man. You can take it. Easy to see from the beginning.”

“Aye, but you are stronger, love.” He kisses her forehead. “And of the things you’ve had to face that prove time and time again that you are tougher and more resilient than I could ever claim to be… I wanted this tonight to act as another apology. For all the bad I’ve brought into your life, whether my own doin' or by relation.”

“We’re here now. We don’t have to dwell on it. Always forward.” She insists. “If it means having you and what we have I know I will always find it in me to forgive you.”

“I’m not worthy of your lovely heart.” He speaks softly.

“Luckily for me that isn’t up to you to decide.” She smiles.

“I am so proud of you. For tonight. For tomorrow and yesterday. In all the company I’ve kept in my life, I have never met someone like you before. No one has your spark, your imagination, and cleverness. Of all the minds I’ve known, yours is my favorite and I never tire of knowing you. I’m always left wanting more.”

She flushes in her cheeks and gets an almost bashful look on her face.

“There’s no one else on this fuckin miserable earth that I love as much as you. No one id rather work with or be with. No one else that keeps me interested and always wanting more from them. You are one of a kind, I truly believe that.”

“Ari.” He voices cracks as she wipes at her eyes with both hands and he shifts his weight.

“Which is why I have an offer to make you.”

“An offer?” She asks with soft eyes and an inquisitive voice as she expects papers to come from his pockets, but only a flat and rectangular box held out and presented.

“This.” He opens the box, inside, a bracelet that completes the set of jewels she wears. A row of round and shining Sapphires and diamonds.

She covers her mouth and the stones catch the light and reflect in her eyes.

“An offer of this for a commitment.”

He sees it in her eyes she’s still unsure of everything he was leading up to.

“Genevieve Chanah Lafitte.” He begins with a clearing of his throat. “Would you accept this gift and in return make the commitment to me, Alfred Ari Solomons in the form of marriage?”

He could swear he saw her heart stop for a moment. She choked with surprise. Which admittedly he’d wanted it to be. She blinks rapidly and he sees her mind working behind her eyes in frantic and unexpected chaos. “Y-Yes.” She manages to force out, heart in her throat and frozen there. “Yes. Yes! Of course I would I-YES!” She lets out in an ecstatic expression of joy and laughter as the tears gather in her eyes.

“Then with this,” He puts the heavy stones around her wrist. “You will be Mrs. Alfie Solomons. The other half to my soul, with my promise to love and cherish, to provide for and support you for the rest of our lives.”

She stares in disbelief still. Finally meeting his eyes and looking away from the stones. “Alfie I... this is...it's perfect. I love you. It would be a blessing to be able to join my soul to yours. A pairing no one except God Could tear apart.” Her heart was overflowing, as were her eyes, bless her.  She cries and he holds her, feeling her against him in this perfect moment, acceptance and peace fill his mind. A promise to be joined as one, a partnership that could not be broken, something solid and stable in the life of his that was anything but. She was a constant, a confidant, a friend, and lover and now soon to be officially his other half to complete himself in the eyes of his peers and God. She had him feeling things he hadn’t since he was a boy as she kissed his face and thanked him, whispered of how happy he made her, how perfect the night was.

He dries her tears, a warm smile as she sniffles and gazed up at him with love in her eyes. “Would you like to announce it?”

“It would be a good time to.” She nods. “But could you, I’m a mess.” She laughs and puts her forehead on his chest.

“Nothing would make me happier.” He kisses her head and rubs her back before calming her and heading back toward the stage.

“A final announcement to close out the evening.” His voice books over the room as the happy and mostly tipsy group swung their heads his way. “I must admit my loves bat mitzvah was not the only thing I had planned tonight. And I, or I should say WE now, are very happy and I am very proud once again to announce, that our woman of the evening, Miss Genevieve Chanah here has accepted my proposal and will soon be my wife.” The cheers make her cry all over again. Altar slams his fists on the table he sits and yells in excitement, Aggie and Alma sob into each other’s blouses.  Another wave of love and support wash across the room. “So as we wind down to a close tonight, I would like to thank you all for coming, Thank Genevieve for accepting and being exactly what a man like me needs in a wife and we will be seeing you at the wedding. L'CHaim He raises a glass left on the table and a reply of the same and various mazle tov's jumble in the air.

They are both embraced and congratulated, Altar squeezing Alfie and patting his back so hard he coughed before kissing his head. Gen was certain in that moment, surrounded by happiness and well wishes and those she loved the most that every bad thing in her life had been worth it for this feeling. She’d never known such contentment, such love. And it had all brought her to where she was now, and she felt thankful and hopeful. Knowing this feeling, this love existed made her certain that no matter what life threw her way that she could overcome it. Especially now that she wouldn’t ever be alone again.

Please like, comment and reblog if you enjoyed it! It helps out us writers A LOT!

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[anarchist-caravan]

(My) TOP Discovered Albums of the year 2019 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Here again, for the fourth year in a row! Ready to go through the list of discovered music that I have found this year. It has been quite a long year. The thing that is different from the other years is that I have felt a little bit more stressed about the list. I don’ t know why. Just is. And that is a good judgement of what my year has been about. Stress. Angst. Hardships. Fatigue. And Surprises.

I always think I won’t be able to find any new music each year. But I am always mistaken. Thousands of albums down the road. And ain’t that the best thing. Amidst the times. 

And thus, a lot of the music I found this year, that has been put on this list is of the more chill side. Not anything too harsh. Just.... a stream of consciousness.

As Usual, Albums I have encountered throughout the year are listed below -with only the last five in a true top order:

40.

Mad Doctor X - Picnic with the Greys (1997)

A picnic we should all attend, -don’t forget the Oui’d!

39.

Tomb Mold ‎– Planetary Clairvoyance (2019)

Dang, that’s death metal done well.

38.

Moor Mother - Analog Fluids Of Sonic Black Holes (2019)

Self-explanatory. 

37.

Darzamat - In the Opium of Black Veil (1999)

Good AF black metal. 

36.

karl sanders - saurian meditation (2004)

Darker than you think. Hypnosis.

35.

The Dolphin Brothers - Catch the Fall (1987)

Richard Barbieri and Steve Jansen plays wonderous synth-pop akin to something... I cannot remember right now. But they are good nonetheless. 

34.

Reiko Kudo - Rice Field Silently Riping In The Night (2019) 

(Dis)harmonious multi-instrumental live-recording’easque music with singing and (soft) noise. 

33.

Michael Stearns - M'Ocean

Michael Stearns makes the most chill music in the universe. Except for maybe that one U.F.O. trip album that can be chill in the scary cold sense. 

32.

Henryk Górecki - Kleines Requiem-Lerchenmusik

Classical album of the year. Górecki always delivers. 

31.

VOIGHT KAMPFF - MORE HUMAN THAN HUMAN (2012)

Fast techno-trash metal band. 

30.

Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble Of Shadows - Death And Flamingos (2019)

Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble Of Shadows is a band that will always have a special space in my heart. Their music got me through the most part of high school. The dark ambivalent songs. Yet, never forgetting the ironic twinkle in the eye. 

29.

Earl Slick - Zig Zag (2003)

That edge of the seat feel of rock; next stage to come, just: SLICK.

28.

Kooba Tercu - Kharrub (2019)

You will be grateful I rec’d this jammin’ piece of fast jumping action of absurdity and happiness. :)

27. 

Red Snapper - Making Bones (1998) 

Trip Hop Album of The year. Seeing to what trip-hop releases there were around the time of this album’s release, I am so fucking surprised I had never heard of these before. They are just as brilliant as the all too famous Portishead, if not with an upper edge in a lot of cases. 

26.

Supercar - Three Out Changes!! (1998)

Shoegaze of the year. Lovely. CHILL. Summer evening breathe’

25.

Anna Domino - East & West (1984)

Timeless synth-pop with rich textures of dreamy lyrics that ensnares you into a downtempo that.... goes up.

24.

Troy Gregory - XAVIERA (2018) 

Monumental Prog.

23.

shit & shine - bad vibes (2018)

It is What it Says. Yeah I am on Acid’

22.

Datarock ‎- Face The Brutality (2018) 

Norwegian indie masters. I love Datarock very, very much. I’ve listened to them since the 2007 release Red and I don’t know a band with as much coercive pop in each track. This album was a surprise find, since I was convinced they were out of the loop.

21.

HIZAKI grace project  - Curse Of Virgo (2008)   

Symphonic Metal. Hizaki is a master of the guitar. Such Riffs. If you need to drain your brain to metal and feel energized but still mesmerized, this is it. 

20.

Institut Für Feinmotorik ‎- Abgegriffen (2011)

Coolest Experimental Band of the year. Go check them out on youtube. The making of the music here is truly an Experience.

19.

Deafkids ‎- Metaprogramação (2019)

D-beat, Raw Punk, Downtempo ... band from Volta Redonda, Rio De Janeiro - Brazil. NOISE.

18.

 WipEout Omega Collection OST (2017)

The wipeout games are and will forever be my favorite way of anti-gravity racing. The music to Wipeout Omega Collection is as stellar as ever, a great list of electro and techno musicians. 

17.

Hammer Bros. - Police Story (1997) 

Imagine being at an underground hardcore noise rave party in 1997. Imagine the beat blasts. The speed. The energy. Just the grinding shouts, the beat, and you. Ready to dive. BURN. WATER. REPEAT.

16.

AFCGT ‎– Square Microphone Tapes 

Noise rock galore. Glory. Wonderful. Gnarly. Intelligent. Different. Moody.

15.

Future Of The Left ‎– Human Death (2013)

Great leftist lyrics. Another one of RIk’s rec’s. Just Awesome. Good Music. Hate on capitalism and its endless bringer of deaths. 

14.

Molchat Doma* ‎– Etazhi (2018)

Youtube rec of the year. Darkwave energies en masse!

13.

3.2 - The Rules Have Changed  (2018)

The follow up to the infamous To The Power Of Three album from 1986 by Emerson, Lake and Berry. The first record was hated on by many, but I love it. And this very late follow up is a huge accomplishment and honoring to the late people involved. A record my dad would have liked. I just love prog music. Sigh. 

12.

Saori Kobayashi - Terra Magica (2016)

Ethereal Game Music is not easy to make. Yet somehow, Saori manages it. No wonder really. She was behind Panzer Dragoon. Masterpiece album for what a tribute it is.

“Terra Magica is a love letter from Saori Kobayashi to her fans. Featuring the same rich, melodic tones that defined the iconic soundtracks of Panzer Dragoon Saga and Panzer Dragoon Orta, Kobayashi invites listeners to enter the world she has created, while encouraging them to create their very own story to match the progression of the music.“

11.

ENTROPY CREATED CONSCIOUSNESS - Impressions of the Morning Star (2018)

Symphonic Doom Metal of the year

10.

Sleaford Mods - Divide and Exit (2014)

Rec of the year by @planetsedge​ - Rik has served several discs on this list this year.

9.

Mobile Suit Z Gundam BGM Collection (Vol.1 - Vol.3)  (1985)

The title track to this animé, sung by Mami Ayukawa, and its subsequent soundtrack is probably one of the best I have heard. 80′s animé has the best soundtracks, mostly. 

8.

K2 - Iron Kulture 7' (1996)

Noise artist of the year.

7.

Klaus Dinger + Japandorf (2013)

Surprise find of the year in the sense of knowing the artist in other bands (NEU! and Kraftwerk) but totally missing this somehow. Late late find. Total love. Electronic mists will seep into your ears listening to this. 

6.

Beak - >>>

Pop-like krautrock. Laid back, but with thought behind it. Allé Sauvage is my fave track. Just the perfect amount of mystery and rhythm and synths. First list find of the year. 

5.

The Muffs - Alert Today Alive Tomorrow

20 years ago The Muffs released this album, and I wish... the years had been kinder. This album helped me a lot though when I found it. A lot of nostalgia will arise listening to this. 

Damned if you feel alright ~

4.

BIG STICK - LP (2019)

EARWORM OF THE YEAR!!! Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co ButterCalamari Co Co Butttttttttttttttteeeeerrrrr. 

In the bodega. 

3.

Jesca Hoop - Stonechild (2019)

Indie folk niceties. Chill, interesting blend of rock and singing elements. Not mystical, but still with mysteries. Got third place because I kept remembering it so much. It penetrated my skull. 

2. 

Doji Morita - A Boy (1977) 

This album was an early find and should be my album of the year. Morita’s voice is amongst the softest and kindest I have ever heard. And she has all the wonderful aesthetics to boot! Acoustics with accompanying strings and pianos in most of the tracks. It isn’t, because the N’1 is such an explosion of a surprise. 

The third track, ふるえているネ (One who is trembling) is my favorite. I do tremble at the very thoughts expressed in this track. The bird wings at the end... yeah. Every track on this album is a masterpiece. 

Music as pulling one’ s strings of the heart. That is what this album is about. 

I will keep it at that with the words. No more has to be said. Just listen, you will understand. 

1.

Kagami - Star Arts (2002)

Explosive, Happy, Creative, Constantly Changing Originality.

 Techno. Disco. TeSco.

Toshiyasu Kagami was a genius in his genre. I’ve heard a lot of techno mixes and textures in my life, but not anything like this before. 

Each track slaps you in the head and forces you to the rhythm, only for you to go.... HMMMMMMMMmmmMmmMmMMmmMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMM when the flow enters its synergies of musical delight. What else is there to say when your ears are filled with such pleasant sounds. Just when you think it won’t change up, it will change up. Impossible to predict. Dancefloor killer. Intelligent Mixes. 

No philosophical analysis, only my body moving to the most energetic beat EVER.

Concrete Masterpiece. My album of the year in 2019. 

[japanstopbrawler1992]

READ ME

ZERO TOLERANCE FOR RACIST CHASERS/GAY-FOR-STRAIGHT-CONSUMPTION/OOC TRANSPHOBIA/ANY RACISM WHATSOEVER UNLESS SHOWN AS BAD BY NARRATIVE AND CONFINED TO AGREED UPON PLOTTING

I set Savers in its airing year, so Masaru was born in '92. Can take place anytime after episode 49. However, there just won't be any explicit sexual content regardless of when the thread takes place. I also don't auto-ship: I'm here to walk a character through things, so ships will all be more slow-burn. Also, while Masaru's just pan, I'm actually asexual, so don't even expect me to present beyond a textbook understanding of sexual attraction

Masaru's kind of a jerk. My other two muses are generally at least kind unless the other person isn't, but Masaru's kind of abrasive and gleefully violent. If we're playing, I'll probably warn you beforehand, but Masaru may snap at your muse if your muse isn't a little kid. If your muse didn't deserve it, he'll probably apologise at some point, but yeah, this muse is even less like me than 02's Ken (Bleach's Ichigo is my muse most like me)

I'm on mobile. Period. I can't cut threads. I usually just tag "long post." Can't cut threads.

Seen JP ver only. Haven't seen any others, and I have no reason to bother--the original's in my native. Why would I bother with "orange juice bomb"?

Masaru is mixed race here. In a planned project that's a sister project to my Bleach project I already got a bit of stuff up for, Masaru's mum is Japanese and Russian, and related to Junpei of Frontier, and Masaru's dad was Japanese and Afghani. Masaru actually does speak Japanese, Russian, and Persian.

Masaru's also trans here. He never got puberty blockers, but he finally got testosterone at 13. So his voice changed at a pretty normal age. But he does need a binder and all that. (He loved that black tank top he wears after the memory wipe because it was just the right cut to cover the binder while showing off his arm muscles!) He does someday want kids, and Japanese law, like most US states or most places, requires sterilisation to recognise gender change. His papers also say a different first name. Of course, this probably came up with Satuma. Satuma and payroll at DATS probably know all about it. But being trans isn't *as* hard in Japan as the Anglophonic world. Especially thanks to Kamikawa Aya advocating on outlets like NHK radio since '95, which Masaru would be three then.

I toss the epilogue. Don't like the losing their digimon, and Masaru ditching his family he feels so responsible for and his dad he just got back?

Actually, in my project, ep 48 never happens. Suguru is dead, DATS remains, and Sayuri gets BanchouLeomon as her digimon partner.

Oh, another rule--poor spelling and grammar is acceptable if you are not a native speaker. It infuriates me to no end that I'm supposed to be an idiot for being fluent in three just because English is not my first, but native speakers get to run around spelling "bins" "ben's" and congratulating themselves for "kohnichuwa" but I get beaten/decried for actually knowing the language... And also, ,ZERO TOLERANCE for "garnish my human default English with exotic Japanese uwu" See "zero tolerance for chasers and racism"

Totally available to play in Japanese or Spanish, but you must be fluent.

Masaru lives in Tobechou, Yokohama. I went to the Chinatown in Yokohama once with my dad, but I lived in Koube. And we didn't leave Hanshin region all that much. My knowledge of much outside there being a Chinatown in the '80s (obviously still there, as it was the setting for the Savers movie) and big landmarks like Minatomirai is minimal. I also haven't been back to Japan period since '94. My relatives there are all deceased since the '90s, and flights alone are 1,000$, which, until recently, was definitely over a month of rent. Two for a studio, one plus a couple hundred for a 1 or 2LDK, depending. Might even have had 1.5 baths. By the time Savers was airing in Japan, I was able to keep up with Japanese news via now-gone Japanese-language broadcasts in California, as well as the Web, which is also how I saw Savers. But my knowledge of Japanese things may run the risk of being almost 30 years out of date. Or it might be completely current because I still read Asahi News, the most left-leaning paper I can find. Unsure if related to Hanshin region channel 6, but channel 6 was the best when I was there.

The Daimon family didn't move when Masaru came out, but he came out pretty young. It's just difficult to get trans care for minors. That being said, most peers don't know he's trans. They do know he's mixed, though. That being said, it's not like it's *only* him fighting racist bullies. It's only partially that. Like I said, I fully acknowledge he's pretty abrasive. So he's not completely blameless for all the fights. He could easily someday be the kind of parent who gets arrested for punching a rival dad. Violence is not a last resort for him. It's the best resort.

I do multi-para and don't use icons. But I'm not asking for an exact word count match. All I ask is give me stuff to go off of in replies and for Heaven's sake, do *not* format like House of Leaves when you play with me. Format button abuse looks like a visual panic attack, and is just too chaotic for me to read.

I may go spotty on replies with you. I'll still chat with you via the messenger thingy, and I don't play with people I've never spoken to, even if I've started the interaction, because I need to filter for my sanity, so I need to know the people I play with aren't gonna pull racism or something on me, but when my replies slow, it's because I work on-call at a shelter for seriously physically ill people, I'm also disabled myself, and I don't have the ability to put enough energy for the high-quality replies I strive to give in at the moment. I'm stalling because I want to give you my best. If I want to drop a thread, which is admittedly rare, I'll let you know. I won't leave you guessing.

Some h/cs just for fun

Masaru loves metal. The metal I know is 70s prog and 80s glam metal and stuff. I don't really like much music past about '94, and exactly two albums after 2000 (neither are metal)

Masaru has always had the same kind of attention span I have now even though I completely didn't when I was younger. He's running commentary if you watch an movie with him, his biggest problem with school is the whole sitting and passively listening to a lecture part, he thinks he doesn't like reading because others always talk about sitting there and reading for hours on end (if he's older, he may have realised it's OK to read for 20-minute bursts, something I eventually realised, too). He only really learns by doing. That being said, depending on age, he may not have had the chance to *realise* that yet.

He wouldn't become a sumo wrestler, but he totally watches it. Honestly, any fighting sport, and he's there.

He's very Japanese as far as religion. Sort of takes part and believes in a lot of them at the same time, but none are a overly influential part of his life. This is a thing.

Crossovers with any season preceding Savers are pretty easy with this blog considering my project. The project will eventually merge with the Bleach project, toi, so I also have a thing for that. Overall, I welcome crossovers with most animated media. Live action, I'll consider if you don't use icons with me (it ends up looking like Who Framed Roger Rabbit in my head) I don't do any real person stuff beyond, say, having Masaru listen to real bands or know of other public figures.

There is also a flexibility in playing Masaru in other countries. He could visit family in Russia or Afghanistan, he can be sent over from DATS to help with digimon appearances in countries allied with Japan (coughcontroloverjapanliketheuscough) or I totally ship him with Touma, so he could be in whatever that country is (obviously a Germanic nation in Western Europe)

He's definitely leftist, but his tactics aren't really common among the left. Typically, it's the fascists that will throw the first punch. Except Masaru will, as well. Unfortunately, this means he can take *away* from, say, antifa efforts to counter demo anti-Korean rioters.

He looks down on most weapon use, but probably none more so than guns and other weapons that remove the user from the target. To him, anyone who hides safely behind a weapon and makes the fight so one-sided is a coward. To this extent, he thinks war should be done away with and the leaders of the countries should duel instead of America just wiping out thousands of Japanese (WWII) or Afghani (during his lifetime) civilians (well, in that war, it was definitely not the Afghani government's fault, as that was a radical rebel sect powered initially by Regean, but it was most certainly civilian deaths en masse)

Masaru cannot meditate at all. He's also very reactive. To that extent, he's never really done well with martial arts. There's a lot less focus on self-discipline in boxing and wrestling than in Aikido or karate or what have you. He'd probably love the intensity of Krav Maga or CQC. I just don't know if Krav Maga has a self-discipline component. CQC almost certainly doesn't--it's American.

More when I think of it.

[lovedinapastlife]

Riverdale 3x16 - BIG FUN

BUGHEAD IS BEAUTIFUL~

Oh damn this episode is surreal in a way I’m not entirely comfortable with. But it’s exciting! Everyone’s looking forward to moving on from the craziness of dead bodies, breakups, and…drug trades. Amidst college and running businesses and stuff. Obviously. Normal high school stuff. Kinda reminds me of the nostalgia for season one.

Was the opening Mr. Musical Theater’s big number? Shucks, I wanted more of a sampling. This was mostly talk-singing, which…I’ll take. Kinda like the awkward rocking in the hallway haha.

Lili wearing green makes her eyes pop and my heart go poof. Similarly to Jughead’s adoring fuzzy feelings, I’m sure. DANG. They’re in HIS room now. Are they staying together?! Yay!

Aw I kinda like the idea that Betty and V would help Cheryl look and feel her best after being tossed over (ish)

I love the intros. “Bro it up. Two single straight dudes” like wow.

Chainsaw line is iconic, especially when moving to cut to the title. You think Kevin was subtly trying to dig at Cheryl for forcing him to cater to her?

LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR - another theme of this season

Betty rolling her eyes is amazing.

I love that the girls choreo’d their own fanciness. I liked Cheryl’s batch better but tbh I didn’t enjoy the dance-off and it’s hair-whip noises. Maybe it was so hyped in the behind-the-scenes videos that I found myself cringing at the octopus moves? And Toni’s batch wasn’t in sync so it was that much more awkward to watch. But I did love the “SHUT UP, TONI!” and look B+V exchanged afterwards. Yeah just gonna say up front this episode react is probably not gonna sit well with Toni stans.

Hiram dropping dramatic family stuff and racking up a bill at the Five Seasons. Who would’ve thought he’d be the one to instigate that divorce, right? Veronica cries almost disturbingly well. I’m not sure why she’d want them to be together after the assassination attempts and affairs and general shenanigans, but hey—it’s Riverdale.

Oh god is Betty the only one who notices the death-blue drinks and scary Gargoyle Pig person? These kids are stupid. I did catch Sweet Pea/JD with his slurpee which made me happy. FREEZE YOUR BRAAAAAIN~ Judge away the whole party, Betty. They tend not to be great luck in this town.

“Brainiac?!” Did she just call Reggie that?! HA. Oh geez I hate Evelyn (but I love her flouncy scrunchie and graphic shirts) and I hate Kevin and their stupid cult and drugs. Why can’t brownies ever be normal on a teen show?! Also, HI MIDGE!

I do love the idea of throwing a party to take ownership of Sisters of Quiet Mercy. If only it wasn’t so cult-y. Why are there people in swimsuits in the drowning tub while Archie jumps over them? Also, drugged-up dancing got some good Kevin hip waggles and some yikes s1 arrogant Reggie vibes. But Veggie is on again for 30 seconds? Okay then.

Jughead eating in the background as Betty side-eyes the circle share is such a glorious mood. Aw and then hugs for V. I am LOVING this side-eye mood. How did people not know Archosie was happening when they were always in the practice room, at each other’s houses, and walking in the halls together? So much awkward is happening that the cringe levels are through the roof. Kevin’s hand on his heart was so over-the-top. I kinda loved it? And I’m surprised V didn’t have more of a reaction to the Archie stuff, tbh, even if she’s got bigger things on her mind.

Oh no Toni’s got a solo and it’s here for the color of blood. Literally. Is she pointing at their crotches? Ugh her stripping musical threesome was so insulting it made my stomach churn. They just tried to make it seem like Sweet Pea wants something deep and yet he’s ready for a random hookup again? Peaches hasn’t even had any lines or anything to do but stand around looking smug. They’re trying so hard to make Toni sexy and it’s just feeding the lesbian/bisexual slutty stereotype. Can this show do hookups? Ever? There’s been no sexual/attraction buildup to this “threesome” (honestly Toni hasn’t even been a good friend to SP lately) and there was no fallout afterwards either! She was just like, “COME STRIP ONSTAGE WITH ME and this other person you’ve never talked to but beat the shit out of you one time. Oh wait no I’m good with my clingy yet complimentary ghost gf, you two have fun byeeeee”

Jughead and Betty flirting makes me feel slightly better

OH GOD NO KANGS. At this point the bile I’d been suppressing was legit in my throat. Like, why does attraction/love have to be tied to something awful 90% of the time in this show? Kevin and Fangs could’ve been a cute couple if they built up their connection beyond two lines over the course of two seasons. But no. Cult psychedelic weirdness over Midge, just like Moose and Kevin. Maybe even over Joaquin. DO WE NOT LEARN? I’m not even gonna start with the Farmies.

Archosie scene. Fun spin dance, but I still think they’re cute paper cutouts of nothingness at this stage.

Oh, of COURSE Weatherbee joined a cult. Loser.

I love Cheryl’s Heather Chandler vibe and scrunchie. Good call about making Toni test the tea for poison. Aw, I kinda wanted to see Ghost!JJ.

I have basically a folder full of stills of this scene and narrowed it down to these. Aw baby Jug, Betty understands better than anyone what he’s going through. When Betty was trying to get Jughead to look at her I legit felt emotional. And then they were beautiful. Forever. WE FINALLY GOT THEM DANCING! Oh and on his knees! Proposal vibes! I might’ve watched this scene EIGHT BILLION times for the eyes and hands and general endless soulmate love vibes. Like, this scene made the episode for me. They were so emotional and invested and harmonized like angels and I needed that in my life so thank you, universe. I hope Cole and Lili get to do amazing scenes like this together in the future because it was beautiful.

Ch*ni kinda interrupted my mains with their totally different vibe and zero choreography, even though they did sound lovely. Neither of them have changed their behavior to make their relationship work internally, whereas Bughead are sick of the external forces of the town trying to destroy their childhood icons/innocence and bonding over their love for each other despite their familial madness. I need a Bughead exclusive soulmates cut. Thank you.

Haha um...I think closing the drug lab in general would be good? Maybe not during the musical when Betty might be vulnerable again (and the rest of Riverdale) but hey...it’s entirely possible it’s emotional and not logical of me to say that ;) Sheriff FP seems extremely unbothered by mobile drug labs in town so why should we be, right?

HIRAM! SAY IT LIKE IT IS! I love that he called out Veronica’s shock over Hermione trying to have him killed. Twice. How rude.

I actually really liked Cami’s interpretation of “Lifeboat.” It’s pretty, but I’m not sure it added much to her story? Same with her attempt to have her parents go to opening night together. Maybe that song is more of an overarching theme for her story this season. Ish? But she also distances herself from people? Mehhhh overanalyzing Riverdale hurts my brain. And then her ploy to have one last happy memory is just them not looking or talking at each other and she feels worse. Ouch.

Why is there so much old stereo equipment in their house? I know they worked at a garage/scrapyard, but I didn’t see any speakers? I care too much about set dressings but whatever. Poor FP is dealing with hazards of being on the job. Gladys had hilarious delivery like, “Oh nooooo. Drugs. That’s terrible.” Also, she’s totally drinking beer in front of him, a recovering alcoholic. Classy. And also telling. Jughead and Betty are just side-eyeing in the background.

Did Cheryl send herself all those roses?! XD I did think the “blot” moment was cute but I still don’t understand what’s changed. I don’t even know if Veggie is a thing. Probably not. Okay then. Did love Reggie looking in the handheld mirror totally in-character though.

I KNEW THEY’D BURN THE PLACE DOWN ONE DAY! Omg the puns. The fire extinguisher. The kiss—oh oh my. Arson and tender body touching. All right. I’m down. Do they have a car now? Is Bughead gonna live in it? I cannot handle their passion in the best way possible.

The finale choreography was terrible. Oh my god was that cringe. I mean, couldn’t we at least get them looking at each other for a sec like the adorable Bughead moment of holding hands? Or someone helping V when looking at her parents? I get that they’re entreating the audience to be better (like Betty’s speech a billion years ago), but it didn’t hit the mark with me for some reason. My expression was mostly a mix of the Jones’. Was it just me, or did everyone onstage look like they were in some range of pretending really hard not to feel uncomfortable?

HI CHAD! The cult is terrifying. Also, if all the psychos are there, why aren’t Alice and Polly in attendance? The woooooorst. Was no one else inclined to clap like a normal person? Evelyn in general was interesting, trying to earn her father’s approval and everyone’s trust, but it’s usually so messed up on drugs and stuff that I don’t quite enjoy her scenes. Everything with the Farm is usually deferred, which annoys me, but we’ll get our answers soon, I’m sure. I want more Chad. I’m curious if the buildup is gonna pay off ^-^

And people are going through windows next time?

I really wanted the “hell” line from Heathers when Bughead came back from burning stuff down but I will live. Okay. Put our bids in for next season’s musical now and how long it’s gonna take us to get a promise/engagement ring on Bughead. Thank you.

[thetygre]

30 Day Monster Challenge 2 - Day #1: Favorite Dracula

1.) Castlevania’s Dracula

Iconic lines and wine tossing aside, Castlevania’s Dracula stands out in just how utterly villainous he is, while still blending class and a hint of tragedy into his character. He is bigger and grander than Stoker’s original vampire, and that is slowly leveraged into a broader cosmic role. Dracula in Castlevania is more than just a bad guy; he is the manifestation of evil on Earth. He’s comparable to the Antichrist, but even that kind of falls flat. An Antichrist is supposed to bring about an apocalypse or change; Dracula in Castlevania is presented as a moral necessity, a rebuttal to the post-modern death of a moral center. His presence is necessary for there to be good in the world. In the process, Castlevania’s Dracula has become the patron saint of the world’s monsters. Every kind of demon, fiend, boogeyman, freak, and specter are gathered into his lair and given a home and purpose.

And every now and then, not for too long, depending on the game, a bit of pathos peeks through and you’re reminded that there’s a man behind it all. It’s never enough to make you stop enjoying Castlevania’s Drac as a villain, but it makes you wonder if he could have been different. Is he bound to his role as the Prince of Darkness? Is it his curse, or does it give him power? To me, Castlevania Dracula is the summation of the character in media as he is now; as a man, as a monster, a villain, a tragic figure, and everything else.

2.) Dracula Classic

Over a century later, Bram Stoker’s original Dracula still confounds us and fascinates us. Every generation brings a new lense, a new reading to one of literature’s greatest monsters. He is an idea about superstition, about xenophobia, about masculinity, sexual deviancy, disease, poverty, degradation, and so on and so on for as long as there are people who can read. For all the grandiosity of the other Draculas on this list, Stoker’s still has an air of realism to him, a banality that makes his horror human. Maybe Dracula classic can’t shapeshift into a dragon or summon an army of spears, but his power is more than enough to eclipse the Victorian Enlightenment. Stoker’s characters are human; doctors, lawyers, teachers, a... cowboy, so it only takes a little bit of inhuman evil to remind the reader of how fragile we and our society really are in the face of the unknown.

3.) Christopher Lee

Moving on into the live actors portion, you gotta’ give it up for THE KING. Lee’s Dracula was the first to go beyond horror into terror; that quickened, gut-wrenching primal scare. He was fast, he was bloody, he was dangerous, and still classy as all hell. The Emperor of Metal planted his roots by starting out as The Prince of Darkness. If I had one complaint, it’s that Lee doesn’t really come off as convincingly Transylvanian; Lee’s pretty clearly British, and the closest he’s ever been to being Slavic was that time he played Rasputin. Christopher Lee didn’t die in 2015; he’s just practicing for when the world needs Dracula again.

4.) Bela Lugosi

But you have to give props to the original. It’s hard to believe now that anyone ever found Lugosi’s Dracula scary, but I still remember my dad and older horror buffs talking about how they had nightmares after seeing Lugosi’s Dracula, or were afraid that he was lurking in the dark when the lights went out. What gets me is just how enmeshed with the role Lugosi was. Bela Lugosi was Dracula, no doubt about it. Other men can fill the role, but Lugosi embodied the character. Most actors don’t star in as many movies as Bela Lugosi starred as Dracula. When he died at a ripe old age, he was laid to rest in his cape and amulet.

5.) Duncan Regher

Every actor brings something to Dracula. Lee brought terror and nobility, Lugosi brought charisma and otherworldliness. Regher? Regher brought pure villainy. The Monster Squad is a gem of 80s monster nostalgia. Regher’s Dracula is a hybrid of Lee and Lugosi, blending sheer evil with overwhelming presence. Regher’s performance is a treat, drawing from that same well of post-Darth Vader villainy that brought us Frank Langella’s Skeletor and James Earl Jones as Thulsa Doom; the kind of guys that could convince you to carry them to the moon and be happy about doing it. Also, and I feel this detail to the lore cannot be overstated enough; Dracula-mobile.

6.) Richard Roxburgh

No, this is just a guilty pleasure. Van Helsing is a guilty pleasure. Get used to this, because I love this dumb movie. Roxburgh doesn’t bring anything to Dracula as a character except camp. Cheesy, cheesy camp. Roxburgh’s Dracula is like some unholy hybrid of Bela Lugosi and Tommy Wisseau. He has two emotional ranges, and they are both over-acting. But I can’t not love this Dracula; he takes a lower place because... come on, but he still makes my list.

7.) Fate/Apocrypha

The brief anime portion of this list starts off with Fate/Apocrypha. It’s actually a little disingenuous to call Fate’s Dracula by that name since he insists on being called Vlad Tepes III. I mean one look at his character design next to Castlevania’s Dracula tells you everything you need to know, but it’s still an important distinction. In Fate, Vlad recalls how he is a hero in Romania, a champion of his church and land, noble scion of the house of the dragon. While actually in Romania, Vlad’s power becomes near god-like. It offers an interesting reminder that Vlad Tepes was a real man, and is still viewed as a Romanian folk hero, even after he has become intertwined with Dracula. But because characters in Fate are composed of how they are perceived through time, Vlad can still become a vampire. And, frankly, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t worth it when he finally does turn.

8.) Alucard

The quintessential anime Dracula. I’m putting him beneath Fate’s though because, well... Hot take, but Alucard isn’t much of a Dracula. He’s a vampire monster, but he’s mostly just a kind of edgy antihero with a Dracula underlay. Every now and then something resembling Gary Oldman’s Dracula pops its head up and offers a bit of pathos, especially towards the end of the series. But what Alucard lacks in substance, he makes up for in style; it’s not every Dracula that kills Nazis by bombing themselves from an airplane only to sail back to London to a fairly effective quotation of the original novel.

9.) The Sacred Ancestor

We’re now in legendary Dracula territory; Draculas who lose some points because they don’t make an actual appearance in their series, but still have an impressive presence. It’s never overtly stated that the Sacred Ancestor in Vampire Hunter D is Dracula, but the reader can put two and two together. D’s dad might just be the most powerful Dracula on this list; his powers are nothing short of god-like, and he single-handedly led the Nobility in conquering the world. And yet, from the first novel, there’s an arc present; a Dracula who achieves vampire supremacy, then gains a conscience. What’s left is a mystery that strings the reader and D along through all the novel, presenting a Dracula simultaneously ruthless, brilliant, nurturing, and regretful.

10.) “Someone worse than me.”

You never meet Dracula in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The closest you ever get is a hallucination Mina has in 1969. It’s presumed he’s dead since League is following the novels. But every now and then you’re reminded of his presence through Mina, and the picture she paints is a being of absolute and horrible evil. You already know Mina’s story, but she’s such a strong character in League that you can only begin to imagine what Dracula must have been like. Dracula in League is a trauma, a scar, and like Mina you both dread and hope that you never meet that horrible and beautiful man ever again.

[purkinje-effect]

The Anatomy of Melancholy, 34

Table of Contents. Second Instar II, Ch1. Go to previous. Go to next. The beginning of Second Instar. ‘Choly worries too much.

Melancholy rode Angel past a sign which indicated ‘turn left now to visit Jonathan Emery Historical Site,’ and continued down Route 62 East through Concord. His mind wandered a bit, and he decided that, at least for the time being, donning the vault suit wasn’t so bad. Now that he had found new foundation-wear in the form of the surgical corset, the bodysuit fit acceptably, and contrary to the Vault-Tec staff’s insistence, wearing anything underneath it didn’t seem to have impeded the effects of its technologically advanced lining. He could appreciate its efficient thermal regulation, and also its dry-wicking technology. It seemed to sync up with his Pip-Boy as well somehow, though beyond introducing an additional icon on his health screen, he couldn’t discern how at a glance it even mattered. Of course, he still wore the belt from his dress military uniform so that he could utilize the suspender cases which held his then limited stock of syringer ammunition, as well as his white Pharm Corps coat. To make himself less visible at a distance, he figured the coat would dull out the bright royal blue of the vault suit, and the belt and bracers would dull out the rich gold edging along the bodysuit’s zipper and collar.

His canvas ankle braces didn’t fit inside the short boots that Vault-Tec had provided as footwear with the vault suit, so he stored the boots in Angel’s compartment and continued on with the oxfords from his dress uniform.

Following the road around the perimeter of a quarry property, the route switched to North Road Route 4, and from there it only took a matter of minutes before they finally came upon the junkyard ‘Choly sought. They entered the open double hurricane fence gates, and ‘Choly surveyed the yard with the impression it had been heavily looted in recent years, but knew better than to trust his eyes. The only visible salvage at a glance seemed to be car bodies stacked as many as five high, but he could tell robotics parts lay scattered here as well. Without going up to the piles, he couldn’t tell what robots they’d once belonged to. He dismounted from Angel and kept his syringer rifle at the ready, in case they happened upon any unwelcoming occupants in the office at the South corner of the property.

“Before we get to work, I think we should stop for lunch first.” He opened the metal door with its reinforced glass window, and skimmed the room with his weapon before dropping it.“Guess it’s just you and me as usual.”

“I can appreciate that,” Angel replied, following him inside.“You’ve only the one Melancholia left. What should I fetch you from my stores?”

“You could put on a pot of coffee, and fish out a sweet roll and the deviled eggs.”

“As you wish! Sounds like we’re here for the day. Forgive me for asking something likely quite obtuse, but Sir...What are we doing at the robotics disposal ground?”

“Making use of the facilities to repair you.” The chemist slung his rifle onto his back and pulled up a folding metal chair, sitting at the operational terminal to poke around.“And upgrade you, if you’ll allow it. We can stay here a day or two I think, before rations make it more urgent to keep moving. Getting you freshened up is my top priority today.”

“Beyond refilling my Handy Fuel tank, and reaffixing my laser attachment, I can’t possibly imagine what upgrades you’ve in mind.” It filled the percolator with canned water and measured out the coffee grounds.“There’s only so many different features that General Atomics offered for the Mister Handy line.”

“If you’ll recall, one of your tendrils is a Miss Nanny's, actually. Looking back on it, I’m surprised the DIA let me put in any sort of custom order for receiving you. All kinds of robots got discarded here. Maybe we can find a Mister Gutsy or two, to get you some hardier shell plating. I’m sure there’s some paint laying around, so that you don’t look quite so cobbled together after we’re done.” He looked up from the log entry for what all had been disposed of there between June and October 2077.“This place was a robotics graveyard on the surface. Most of its clients just wanted a place to dump broken or defective robots on the cheap, no questions asked. But the owner made good money by also offering salvage scrap as well as repairs. There’s good equipment here. I was taking a chance, coming out here without knowing for sure, but it looks like it’s survived in tact, unrusted, here in the office space. --Hm. What’s a Robobrain?”

“It doesn’t sound like anything General Atomics might have created... Perhaps it’s a RobCo product?”

“That’s my thought. I’m not nearly as versed with RobCo technologies as I am with G.A.” His head drooped over the terminal keyboard. “You wouldn’t dislike it if we mixed components between Nanny and Gutsy parts for you, would you? My priority is maximizing your hydraulics, to make it as easy as possible for you to carry me. I... I feel bad that you have to.”

“Mister Carey, it’s company-approved to combine any of the parts families you listed. As long as we don’t void my warranty, I want to optimize my performance any way you see fit. Until we find a better option to increase your mobility while out and about in the Commonwealth, you can count on me to provide that service. It’s not your fault that the apocalypse so direly ruined accessibility across the state.”

“You’re sure you’re all right with it? You’re not just a wheelchair. You’re an artificial intelligence.” For a moment, the Handy only replied by handing him a melamine plate with a sweet roll and two egg halves on it, and a ceramic mug of coffee. It observed him as he took these from it, and he ate one-handed with the plate in his lap.“Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure to see you continuing to function and excel, Sir. My behavioral matrices thrive when my owner thrives. Emotionally, physically, financially. ...Spiritually...” It let out a reserved holographic chuckle, then fell quiet.“Did you mean it, that we’re headed up to Chelmsford after this?”

With the question, suddenly the entendred use of the word exceldidn’t sound accidental. Yet, Angel hadn’t been there when he’d spoken to Missus Murphy. It couldn’t have possibly known. He set down his coffee and glasses and screwed up his face with both hands.

“I have to go to the base. I have to know what I was supposed to be working on when they sent me that letter calling me back to active duty. If they meant for me to cook more Psycho for another war, it’ll put my mind and soul at ease, knowing the nuclear exchange prevented any need for military-size shipments of the stuff. In hindsight, I suppose the fact they called me back to active duty two weeks before the bombs fell is all the proof I need that the government had advanced paranoia that something was wrong. I... I wonder if they knew what was imminent, but didn’t know how to stop it in time...?”

“Oh, Sir. That’s not a constructive mental track to get on. It doesn’t change what’s transpired since. If going to the Deenwood Compound will provide you some manner of closure, then we shall do so. But you cannot keep dwelling on a course of events over which you had no control. You have so much more control now than you ever did.”

“That’s part of the problem. Who the hell died and gave me self-agency?” He swallowed half of one of the egg halves and choked a bit, having forgotten to chew it enough. He washed down the musky, salty protein with black coffee and sat a moment to recollect himself.“I’ve made very few decisions in my life on my own behalf. And I feel like every decision I’ve made since I came back into the world has been poor.”

“Ah yes. This misguided worry again. We’re here to repair me,” it offered, topping off the mug.“I know you care about my well-being just as much as your own. It’s just that your needs have been a little more... time-sensitive, shall we say? Things will work out in the end. Just like with the wonderful people who settled into Sanctuary. They couldn’t have gotten there without us. Without you.”

“I’ve gone too long without giving you maintenance. In my own defense, I didn’t have access to the materials I needed to do true repairs and calibration. You really think they’ll be all right?”

“I’m more worried about you doing well, especially with us headed up to the Lowell area. Are you certain it’s wise? You don’t handle memory of your military career very well.”

“You’re here with me. And it’s not like Johnston will be there to put me right back to work. Besides, wouldn’t you like to figure out how Jared knew X-Cell was a Deenwood product?”

“There’s little greater meaning my programming could find, I could imagine. I’m positive that the DIA would love to nip that leak in the bud.”

‘Choly almost reminded it that the DIA likely no longer existed, but he still wasn’t completely sure. He didn’t say so, but he hoped to measure his speculation of the continued existence of the DIA, going by how Angel would react to his navigation of the military base. It ate at him, not knowing for certain whether all his behavior had not only been transmitted to some DIA outpost, but also observed by someone still surviving to this day--whether he’d eventually see consequences to his actions in Lexington. He balked into laughter and quietened himself with part of his sweet roll.

“Was it something I said?”

“It’s nothing. I just realized that the concept of having to answer for misdeeds, and the fact we’re operating on faith alone that the DIA still exists... It’s like with the Christians, and the belief that if they sin, they have to go to hell. Like they have to be held accountable by a higher power, in order to behave. A ridiculous comparison, I know, and without tact or nuance. The DIA is simply... an intangible source of authority that has not yet stepped in and punished me. Or maybe it has. I don’t know. I suppose I’ve sought accountability from others all along, to validate whether I’ve made the right choices in life.”

“Need I remind you that the Defense Intelligence Agency has offices at the Deenwood Compound. You might find those answers there as well.”

“Something in me doesn’t want to know for certain whether it exists. But you’re right, that I might.” He finished off his food and nursed on his coffee while he continued reading the terminal.“There’s something here about a Sentry Bot. Warnings not to let the temptation get the best of you, and to not under any circumstances power it on. It was dumped by government personnel, it seems. Wonder what the fuss is.”

“A shame it’s a RobCo product, isn’t it, Sir? Even if it’s survived in tact, its parts wouldn’t be compatible with a robot in the Mister Handy line.”

“They were hulking things. They had to carry the weight of a tank on their treads, with how heavy their armor was. It’d be a dream, it it were possible to harvest the hydraulics from their wheel-treads.” He glanced to the holotape on the desk, and pretended he didn’t see it was labeled ‘Combat Sentry Proto MK IV.’“It’s probably impossible, though, since mecanum mobility is a completely different mechanism than hover-thrusters. We should focus on locating Handy, Nanny, and Gutsy parts. I never said I was a genius with this stuff, so going wild is probably outside both my knowledge and skill set. Even if it were doable.”

“Just don’t overdo it, Sir. It’s all right to only do what you can manage. Even the most minor of adjustments will facilitate my facilitating you. I’m entirely content with an algorithm scan, a tank refill, and my laser repaired... and if you do feel so inclined, perhaps a bit of fresh polish.”

“First, let’s see what we can put our hands on out there.” He pocketed the holotape surreptitiously, and slung his syringer rifle onto his back while he pulled his cane from his belt. With his free hand, he brought his coffee with him. “That way, we’ll know what we’re working with.”

Go to Next »»»

[sxlverswan]

♡ sparrow’s recommended resources

Hi, everyone. Here’s a roundup of tools and other resources I use when writing, plus a few more complementary recommendations. I thought my mutuals might appreciate these! Feel free to bookmark or reblog this post.

on the laptop

Grammarly → A grammar checker that works in real time, available as an extension for Chrome. While you draft or use an online editor, Grammarly reads your text and searches for grammar mistakes. Just look at the bottom left corner of your workspace and check the Grammarly bubble. If no typos are found, it stays green. If there are mistakes, it becomes red. Clicking on this bubble directs you to extra features available in premium, but Grammarly underlines in red words it cannot comprehend so you can spot typos with ease. It cannot tell context, so it might point out things that are not mistakes, but since I use it, I don’t have to spend so much time revising what I write and that’s a fact.

Noisli  → A distraction-free writing environment that includes a pomodoro technique extension for Chrome. On the website, you can create combos of natural sounds and control their intensity; on the extension, you can set a timer to your combos. To me, the one con with this editor has to do with the colourful background. It’s in constant change, moving to the next colour in a fade that can be paused, but which is still tiring to the eyes. However, Noisli compensates with a great pro my former editor didn’t have — it performs auto-saves, meaning you won’t lose your writing even if your computer (or the draft saving) has a mishap. You can even log off for the day and continue working on your text the next.

Post archiver, part of the New XKit → I’ve started using this extension in XKit just now but already couldn’t be happier it exists. Once you refresh, you can save posts directly from the dash to an archive where you can even keep posts categorised. For rp purposes, it seems to me this is a better alternative to using likes for bookmarking or cluttering your drafts with the same purpose in mind. This way, you can have a fictional location for all those posts you haven’t gotten to yet.

SessionBox → An essential Chrome extension if, like me, you have several accounts to switch between. Instead of having to log out/login every time, you can store your login data in different sessions and open them from the extension button. Meaning? You can open multiple dashboards at the same time and navigate between them as tabs. Fair warning, though — unless you want to pay for the premium version, keep a backup of your data elsewhere. It has happened to me a couple of times, opening Chrome after a bad shut down, and finding my SessionBox data lost! Only premium users can easily recover their data. But this is still a great extension!

Stylish + UserStyles → A library of CSS that overrides the official choices from a number of websites. I use it exclusively for Tumblr and started out with this light theme, which makes scrolling the blue bearable. Recently, I made this one overlap with it. Lastly, because I, as a graphic-maker, also suffered with the sizing changes Tumblr made a couple of years ago, I also use this style to restore things to their glorious normality.

Word Counter Plus → An extension for Chrome that provides you with some helpful stats if you like to control how much you write. Highlight the text you want to check, right-click it and choose the extension for word count, character count, average word length and longest word length. (Mine’s 17. Gotta learn bigger words!)

on the go

Monospace → A clean writing editor for your phone/tablet. Rather than folders, Monospace uses a hashtag system to organise your drabbles. These can be nested, too, meaning you can categorise in different ways. With the free version, you can choose between a dark and a light theme and export your text as plain or markdown to other apps. With the pro version, you can also synchronise with Drive. I use the pro version but honestly, little is gained from it, as you can still format your text in the free version and bypass the synch by going the long export route.

MultipleAccounts → An app that allows you to open a secondary login to an app you have installed. In other words, you can the official app with one account and emulate it with MultipleAccounts to use another one at the same time. The success of this app depends on what app you wish to emulate but Tumblr’s given me no trouble yet. This parallel account takes a couple of seconds to load but a worse con is the fact notifications might get delayed or not work (when compared to the official Tumblr app). Still a nicer way to browse another dash than using the browser.

Tide → A mindfulness app that includes a background natural sounds inserted in a pomodoro technique. I’m a fan of these productivity tools, in case you haven’t noticed.

other utilities

Export Layers to Files → A Photoshop script that saves layers as files for you, faster and with more quality than the inbuilt option. It’s the fastest way to save icons! I used it only a couple of times, so I don’t remember how, but there’s a way for you to save your icons with a colouring instead of them being plain.

OneTab → An extension for Chrome (and Firefox) that keeps a multitude of tabs a click away. It’s even more useful if you find yourself opening the same websites every time you start your browser. Open your websites of always and hit the extension button. The tabs will be stored in a list which can be restored individually or at once. This list can be locked so you can restore the same list every day! Several lists can be stored and locked, which is useful if you’re in the process of doing some extensive research to help in your writing.

Pocket → Pocket’s available for both the desktop and mobile, which is why it appears in this section of the list. As the name suggests, it works as a virtual folder (or pocket) where you store articles, thought for those who want to read previously saved news on the go. Articles you save to pocket can be tagged, recommended or archived and appear in a standardised way. I use mine to store scientific articles rather than as a companion to writing, but it can be used as a library for topics you’re working on. It includes an extension so you can easily add a wepage to your Pocket.

RPThreadTracker → Everyone already knows and uses this tool but I couldn’t leave it out. I admit I do not rely on it as much as my friends do because I prefer to keep a manual track of the replies or starters I owe but this is a personal preference that doesn’t take any merit off the RPThreadTracker. The name is pretty much self-explanatory. In an environment similar to a WP dashboard, you can curate a list of rp threads, quickly see if there are new replies from your partners and more.

[dorkwhowrites]

Wildest Dreams

Group: Bangtan Boys

Pairing: Namjin

Note: This story is inspired by the song/music video Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift.It's one of my favorite songs and the music video is one of the most beautiful music videos ever.If you liked this, do let me know!

“Eunwoo, we cannot see each other anymore,”

“But I thought...you loved me...,”

“I do but sometimes things don’t last...,”

Seokjin had at least two hands working their way into his hair, two hands on his face doing a good job covering his dark under eyes from last night as he tried to go over his lines once again. He was nervous. This was the first day they were having a shoot together and even though it was not the first time Seokjin was working in a movie it was his first time but he was intimidated by his co-star’s presence.

Kim Namjoon was a big deal after all. The highest paid actor in all of Korea, both critically acclaimed and loved by the audience he had played a few of the most iconic roles in the modern cinema. He was what every actor would aspire to be.

Seokjin, on the other hand, worked mostly in your everyday romantic dramas and a handful of movies here and there each of them having the story as the one he did before. But he was still famously nicknamed as the ‘Nation’s Boyfriend’ for his handsome looks and the cheesy romantic characters that he played.

They were like chalk and cheese when it came to their on-screen personas which is why maybe the director picked them but then again he had very slim pickings, to begin with.

After all, this movie was not like every other movie.

Wildest Dreams was about two gay men finding love in the strangest yet normal circumstances. Son Donghae played by Kim Namjoon was the senior manager of a multinational company married to a woman and a son. Shin Eunwoo played by Seokjin was Donghae’s secretary. What started as a professional relationship blossomed slowly into feelings that both of them knew would cause troubles but neither could stay away. Son Donghae was left to confront his sexuality and Shin Eunwoo had to face the emotional turmoil of being in love with a man he could never have.

As soon as Seokjin read the script he could feel tears forming in his eyes and agreed to sign the movie. It was such a simple story yet so full of impact and it resonated so much with Seokjin who was gay himself. Of course, no one knew because Seokjin didn’t want to risk his career like that. Korea was ready for a gay movie but not yet ready for an openly gay actor.

What shocked Seokjin the most was the fact Kim Namjoon would be in the movie despite the clean squeaky image he had. This movie was a risk to his reputation he was bound to lose some of the public adoration he had but he still agreed. But then again Namjoon had always been risqué with his roles and maybe that made him such an iconic actor.

“All done,” the hairstylist smiled at Seokjin. Seokjin smiled back at her taking one last look at the dialogues before he stood up walking to the set.

“Okay, scene 1,” the director said. “Eunwoo bumps into his boss Donghae and spills coffee over his pants, you got this, guys?”

Seokjin nods. This was one of the most cliché scenes ever and he had many coffees spilled onto his pants in dramas and movies.

Seokjin is handed a cup of coffee. It’s quite cold.

“Okay then! Action!”

Seokjin walked at a rapid pace and Namjoon in front of him is walking slowly his eyes on his mobile phone.

Then it happened they bump hard and Seokjin successfully manages to spill the coffee on Namjoon’s pants. It was harder than he imagined it to be.

“What the fuck, can’t you watch where you’re going...,” he says annoyed his voice low with anger. It almost seemed like he is actually angry at Seokjin.

“I...uh I’m so sorry, sir,” Seokjin mumbled.

“CUT!”

Namjoon sighed and walked off as he cleaned up the coffee which also happened to land on his shirt and Seokjin found Namjoon looking at him. For some reason, Seokjin’s heart started beating fast as he looked away immediately.

Kim Namjoon was tall and handsome as hell and even though Seokjin knew he had to be strictly professional about the whole thing his heart wouldn’t stop fluttering each time they got close to each other which was quite a lot.

Donghae and Eunwoo’s relationship was blossoming slowly. There were too many subtle hand brushes, too many times when they both were too close to each other and each time Seokjin’s heart would beat faster looking into Namjoon’s deep brown eyes and that time he wasn’t sure if it was Eunwoo or Seokjin who was falling for Donghae or Namjoon.

One day Seokjin was late to shoot and the stupid traffic was to be blamed. They were supposed to be shooting one of the most important scenes; Donghae and Eunwoo’s first kiss together and Seokjin had spent a lot of time thinking about it even though this wasn’t the first time he was ever kissing someone he was still scared he would mess up something.

Seokjin had been a whole hour late.

“I...I’m so sorry,” he began apologizing as soon as he reached the set.

“Oh, here you are!” Namjoon exclaimed. “And you are perfectly on time”

Seokjin didn’t say anything.

“Some of us here want to finish this damn movie on time,” Namjoon said.

Seokjin felt himself being angry.

“I didn’t mean to be late,” he said. “My manager is sick and I had to drive myself and there was a lot of traffic...”

“We don’t need to hear your excuses,” Namjoon said. “Stop being a diva and show up on time”

Seokjin could feel heat rushing to his cheeks.

“You have no right to say that you asshole...,”

Namjoon rolled his eyes.

“Stop it will you,” the director said. “Any more delays and we won’t be able to finish the shoot today”

Namjoon walked off and Seokjin went to his trailer to change and get his hair and makeup done. He was furious the entire time. Seokjin had always been a stickler for punctuality and today he just happened to get into the worst traffic and for Namjoon to call him a diva for something he couldn’t even control was rude. Seokjin didn’t know what had gotten into him. He was usually nothing but nice, not very talkative and today he had seen Kim Namjoon into a new light and it made him wonder if the rumors about him having attitude problems were actually true after all.

Seokjin went through his lines once again taking a deep breath. He wasn’t looking forward to the shoot at all with a man who had called him a diva not less than an hour ago and still had a stony expression on his face impatiently tapping his feet as Seokjin walked to the set.

“Action!”

Namjoon walked to him tucking his chin upwards.

“What...what are you doing...?” Seokjin asked in a breathy voice.

“I’m sorry...,” Namjoon said. “But I can’t stop myself anymore”

Before Seokjin knew it Namjoon’s lips were on him they felt gentle yet so forceful making Seokjin stumble behind holding the table behind to steady himself.

They kissed for how long Seokjin didn’t know but he found himself melting into the kiss.

“At least, something good came out of the fight!” the director said. “I got a perfect kiss”

“Eunwoo, I have never loved someone as much as I’ve loved you,”

“What about your...wife?”

“She never mattered that much to me...not as much as you do”

Another kiss, Seokjin’s heart was beating dramatically loud as Namjoon’s hands were in his hair deepening the kiss until Seokjin was practically out of breath.

“Cut!”

Namjoon moved away ever so slowly still looking into Seokjin’s eyes.

Seokjin looked down instead before Namjoon finally left and Seokjin’s heart was a complete mess especially under the intense gaze of Namjoon’s eyes.

They had a break of about 15 minutes before the shooting would resume and Seokjin tried to read a book but he was too distracted and the words were a hazy mess in front of his eyes.

“Seokjin,”

It was Namjoon looking down at him.

“Yes,” Seokjin said trying to sound as stable as possible.

“I’m sorry,”

“For?”

“For all the stuff I said that day,” Namjoon said. “I didn’t mean it...I was just angry”

“Oh,”

“So, do you forgive me?”

“Ye...Yeah, I guess,” Seokjin smiled.

Namjoon smiled back.

“What are you reading?”

“Oh...it’s just a...,”

“Tolstoy,” Namjoon said. “Ah, he is one of my absolute favorites”

“Oh...I enjoy his work too,” Seokjin shyly replied.

Namjoon grinned.

“I guess I’ll leave you to the book then,” Namjoon smiled.

Seokjin nodded before watching him walk away and then stand away at the corner smoking a cigarette.

Their eyes met again and Seokjin looked away.

“Do we have to keep this a secret?”

“That is the only way we can love each other...,”

“I don’t like hiding from the world,”

“I’m sorry Eunwoo, but this is how things will be... always,”

Seokjin was lying on top of Namjoon his hands were tracing pattern into Namjoon’s bare chest peeping out of his unbuttoned shirt. Seokjin could feel his firm chest, their bodies closer than ever before and Namjoon’s heartbeat so close to Seokjin’s ear.

Namjoon’s hands reached over to Seokjin’s eyes his hands flicking away the bangs falling into Seokjin’s eyes before kissing him.

They had kissed for the third time now and yet Seokjin always found himself being taken aback maybe because Namjoon was always initiated the kiss. He could feel his stomach full of butterflies his heart fluttering a feeling he never had before kissing all the actresses or the boyfriends he had before.

The line between Eunwoo and Seokjin was getting blurrier each day.

“CUT!”

It took Seokjin a few seconds to realize he should move away and he did his face flushed.

“Sorry,” Seokjin muttered sitting up.

Namjoon chuckled a bit as he stood up before offering Seokjin a hand to stand up. Seokjin gladly took it.

Eunwoo and Donghae had held a hands lot before.

But now Seokjin was holding Namjoon’s hand.

It was stupid to be smitten over a co-star. It was unprofessional, could create so many problems yet Seokjin’s heart refused to be anything but rational.

With each scene the awkward wall between them disappeared slowly and Seokjin was definitely imagining it but it felt like Namjoon was not acting at times the way his eyes would linger longer than necessary on Seokjin’s lips and how he said brown (the colour of Seokjin’s eyes) instead of hazel the colour of Eunwoo’s eyes.

It was a simple mistake to make but Seokjin found himself thinking about it a lot.

But, it was still stupid because Namjoon was a married man.

He was married to Lee Eunbin one of the most beautiful actresses in Korea. She was adored a lot. Namjoon and Eunbin had met on a movie set and they had immediately fallen in love with each other and just two years later they were married to each other. Everyone loved them together. They just looked so in love.

So, to put it simply there was no way Namjoon had any interest in Seokjin no matter how much they had started talking during breaks and how they shared their love of books and classic movies.

“Seokjin,”

“Yeah,”

“Was that the first time you kissed a man?”

Seokjin’s eyes widened at that question. He hadn’t expected Namjoon to ask that and Seokjin decided to be honest.

“No,”

“Oh,”

“Was that your first time kissing a man?”

“No,”

Seokjin’s hands felt sweaty. Today, he was even more nervous than usual and that was saying something because Namjoon’s presence always made his heart go haywire.

Today, it was no different for Seokjin as he watched Namjoon laughing with his hair stylist all wide smiles and a smile spread on Seokjin’s face but it faded away as soon as Namjoon saw him.

Seokjin looked over his lines. There wasn’t much to say today.

Today, they were going to shoot their first and only sex scene or love scene as the director liked to call them.

It wasn’t the first time Seokjin was getting intimate in front of a camera crew but it was only with women and not a man as handsome as Kim Namjoon who would be pretending to make love with him.

Seokjin was wearing only a translucent white shirt and blue jeans. Namjoon was only wearing trousers his chest bare and Seokjin found himself staring more than appropriate. Namjoon seemed to take notice smiling a little making Seokjin flush.

“Action!”

Namjoon was quick to drag Seokjin towards kissing him and it wasn’t the gentle tame kisses that Eunwoo and Donghae had shared before. This was full of passion and lust and Seokjin found himself being pushed down on the bed.

Namjoon unbuttoned Seokjin’s shirt before kissing him again.

They weren’t actually going to have sex or be naked because the film still needed to pass and be released in theatres which meant most of it was Namjoon on top of Seokjin moving his breaths heavy while Seokjin’s dug in his hands in Namjoon’s back their bodies covered with white sheets.

Namjoon sucked on Seokjin’s neck.

“I love you...Eunwoo,” he said slowly.

A low moan escaped from Seokjin’s mouth and it was real and he could feel himself getting embarrassed because Namjoon had to know that Seokjin wasn’t acting anymore.

“Great shot,” the director said as they finished the scene with Seokjin lying on Namjoon’s chest their breaths heavy. “I am very happy with this one”

Seokjin was glad that they weren’t going to have a reshoot because he couldn’t imagine doing all of this again and have the same self-restraint. Each time their bodies touched Seokjin could feel a spark running through his body.

Seokjin moved away from Namjoon’s chest putting on his shirt his heart still beating fast, his legs that felt like jelly.

It was lunch time but Seokjin barely felt hungry and he locked himself in his trailer in an effort to calm his nerves. Seokjin couldn’t wait for this movie to be done so he could get away from Kim Namjoon and be sane again.

There was a knock. Seokjin sighed wondering when his stylists would ever leave him alone. He opened the door and to his pleasant surprise, it was Namjoon.

Seokjin gulped.

“May I?” Namjoon asked.

“Uh um yeah,” Seokjin made way for Namjoon to get in.

Namjoon looked around.

“Nice place you’ve got yourself here,”

Seokjin smiled at him.

“Thanks.,”

There was an awkward silence that followed leaving Seokjin wondering why exactly Namjoon came to visit him.

Seokjin got the answer to his question in the next five seconds as he felt Namjoon’s lips on his kissing him gently his hands on Seokjin’s face. And for some reason, Seokjin did nothing but kissed him back.

When they stopped Seokjin was convinced it had to be a dream but it wasn’t because Namjoon was now looking at him in that same intense way that Donghae looked at Eunwoo.

“I...I just had to do that,” he said.

Namjoon then stood up leaving Seokjin all alone.

“I am so glad I have you in my life Donghae,”

“I am luckier to have you,”

“Let’s run away Donghae...just you and me and never come back”

“I am a coward Eunwoo yah. I am not like you, I can never be as brave as you are”

Namjoon was holding Seokjin’s hands close to his before kissing them.

Seokjin’s hands fluttered as Namjoon touched his lips on the tip of Seokjin’s fingers improvising a little because originally Donghae meant to kiss the palm of Eunwoo’s hands.

The director seemed very happy with Namjoon’s improvisation his praises was unstoppable. He was quite happy because the shoot was ending in about a week but Seokjin wasn’t as gleeful about it.

Namjoon and Seokjin had started dating each other to loosely put it mostly spending time on sets together and sometimes off set but only a limited time at some secluded motel so no one could ever find about them especially not Namjoon’s wife. She kept tabs on him always worried about Namjoon hooking up with some hot actress but she was so wrong.

Seokjin had managed to become Namjoon’s dirty little secret and now that the movie was ending Seokjin didn’t know how they could manage to see each other and every time Seokjin tried to bring it up Namjoon would brush it off..

And even though Seokjin knew what he was doing was so wrong, being a home-wrecker helping a man cheat on his wife he couldn’t stay away from Kim Namjoon not even if he tried.

So, Seokjin decided to stay and let himself be a dirty secret.

It was the last day of the shoot and the director had decided to reserve it for the most emotional scene yet.

Seokjin knew it was going to be difficult to shoot this one.

He looked into Namjoon’s eyes that looked so far away. They had a fight the night before about what things were going to look for them in the future and it did not go well. Seokjin hadn’t spoken to him since then.

“Action,”

“Eunwoo, but we can’t see each other anymore,”

“But...I thought ...you loved me”

“I do but sometimes things don’t last...,”

“Why are you doing this...?”

“My wife...she knows...I can’t risk my life...my family anymore...I’m sorry Eunwoo...I really am and I still love you...I always will...”

“No, you don’t you fucking liar,”

“Eunwoo, don’t say that...you have no idea...how much this hurts me...to let you go...”

“Well, then do something about it...don’t let me go...,”

“I can’t...,”

“Fuck you,”

Seokjin had hot tears leaking from his eyes as he walked off. He had overdone it probably making everyone on the set wonder if something was going on between them actually but everyone was all praises about how real Seokjin’s acting looked.

But it wasn’t acting at all.

It was Eunwoo talking to Donghae.

It was Seokjin talking to Namjoon.

It was the after party a week a later. Seokjin wanted to skip but he didn’t. He dreaded facing Namjoon after a week of no contact whatsoever and there he was talking to people dressed in a suit looking as irresistible as ever but Seokjin knew he had to stay away.

Namjoon didn’t want that as he made his way towards Seokjin.

“Seokjin,”

“What?”

“Seokjin please...,”

“What do you want?” Seokjin asked. “Isn’t your wife around? She might see us”

“She couldn’t come today...,” Namjoon said.

“Good,”

“Seokjin I...,” Namjoon began but he was interrupted by someone and started to talk to them. Seokjin saw this as a chance to get away from Namjoon and also leave the party altogether.

Seokjin walked through the lawn to his car.

“Seokjin, wait...,” Namjoon was jogging up to Seokjin’s car. “Please...”

“I am leaving,” Seokjin said opening up the car door but Namjoon stopped him.

“Namjoon...let me go,”

“I wanted to tell you something...,” Namjoon said. “Not here though”

Seokjin sighed.

“Get in,”

Namjoon got into the car as Seokjin started driving wondering what exactly Namjoon was going to say to him.

They stopped at a secluded spot up in the woods.

“I...,” Namjoon began.

“Yeah,”

Namjoon didn’t speak at all and maybe because Seokjin was acting on impulse from the bit of champagne he had drunk or because he was completely fucking stupid he kissed Namjoon.

Namjoon and Seokjin ended up making love in the backseat of the car and it felt so perfectly imperfect that Seokjin never wanted it to stop.

He kissed Namjoon again but he moved away.

“I came here to tell you something,” Namjoon said as he put on his shirt.

“What is it?”

“Eunbin is pregnant,” Namjoon said. “We had our first scan yesterday”

Seokjin found himself being at loss for words.

“I am going to be a father soon...I don’t think we should be seeing each other...,”

Seokjin still remained silent.

“Say, something will you?”

“I love you, Kim Namjoon,”

The blinding flashing lights were far too bright for Seokjin as he walked down the red carpet for the first screening of Wildest Dreams. His head felt like it was spinning. Seokjin barely got any sleep and mostly survived on coffee and alcohol. It was a relief that he managed to show up and look even semi-decent.

Namjoon was already there, hands around Eunbin’s waist a perfect smile for the photos his gaze dropping upon seeing Seokjin.

The cast took pictures together including Namjoon and Seokjin standing away from each other pretending as if they weren’t just having sex in the backseat of a car about a month ago.

That was the last time Seokjin had saw Namjoon.

The movie screen was particularly painful but it was even more painful to watch Namjoon hold Eunbin’s hands in his the way he would hold Seokjin’s hand pressing a kiss on each fingertip.

Seokjin could barely handle any of it anymore, not the movie nor Namjoon as he rushed outside to leave once for all because he was stupid so stupid to believe in any of this at all because after all;

Nothing lasts forever.

Son Donghae left Shin Eunwoo to be on his own so he could be with his family...his wife and his son only it didn’t last long.

Donghae’s wife filed for divorce only a month later and took the custody of their son.

As for Shin Eunwoo overcome by the grief of being left by the man that he had loved so much Eunwoo became somewhat of an alcoholic and ended up killing himself when he was behind the wheel after an episode of drinking.

Their love couldn’t last.

Nothing lasts forever.

[moonbeammuses-a]

Mobile About

Yeah, there’s a decent bit here, but this is info to help YOU know what to expect from ME. Please, take the time, just once, to read over this. I’m a bit wordy for the sake of clarity and leaving as few unanswered questions as possible.

My Rules and About may seem strict, but I am honestly very chill and happy to chat.

► Mun is of age, so are nearly all Muses. I am 26, and nearly all of my humanoid muses are of age, though I DO have child-verses for several of them. I specify humanoid because I will not ship or smut animal or creature muses that are not capable of giving proper informed consent.

►NO MINORS. I WILL NOT WRITE WITH ANY MUN UNDER 18. PERIOD.

►RP stats

I go by either Kitty or Moon on tumblr, though I prefer Kitty. 

You'll probably never find out my IRL name.

I have a Discord but it is for mutuals only. Please IM me for it

I have been RPing for over a decade in various forms

►I am Selective- I only RP with Mutuals(I say selective, but I follow people back left and right so please don’t be intimidated)

-I am selective for my own sanity, as I am a fairly nervous and generally private person. I have to FEEL the ship/story/roleplay in general to be able to write it well. If I cannot write something well I don’t want to write it at all.

►I am Multi-verse and Multi-ship. Nobody is cheating on anyone. I will “connect” verses(threads) with each other if its discussed and WANTED by the other Mun, but this is rare and I have to be comfortable with the Mun to do so.

►Speed may Vary - If I am really feeling a thread, I might reply in MINUTES

But I may also take days, sometimes several weeks to reply to a thread. It depends on interest, muse, availability, and general life things.

It is not impossible that a reply can take over a month, or that I can lose interest in a thread because I've been unable to write a reply for so long. If this happens, I will tell you, and I will likely feel like shit as I apologize profusely. But I can't force something that isn't there.

I spend more time writing than most any other hobby, but RP is, and will always be, just that. A HOBBY. If you are expecting me to consider myself obligated to you in any way, don't follow me.

►VERY IMPORTANT: 

Regardless of what is going on in my life, @theirvoices is my IRL best friend and I will ALWAYS prioritize replies with them. I may be entirely inactive at times with all other mutuals, but writing with them. PLEASE do not take this personally. I could be sitting in my closet having an anxiety attack and writing with my best friend to take my mind off of it. PLEASE do not make assumptions that I am ignoring you. They are my RP wife and my best friend and will ALWAYS be a priority, even when my activity on other threads is very slow. If that is a problem, I recommend not following me.

►I Drop Ask-Threads- If a thread was started with an ask, I WILL eventually drop it, likely with no warning, unless we plot out and make a defined storyline for it. This is because I recieve new asks and sentence memes EVERY. DAY. and it is beyond unrealistic to keep all of them.

If you want to KEEP an ask-thread, tell me.

►Following

-I will not follow you if you do not have at least semi-detailed Rules, About, and Bio pages. I also will expect to be able to find examples of your writing on your page without scrolling for ten minutes. -I need to know that our writing and posting styles will mesh. -I need to be comfortable writing with you. -I need to know that you are of age. -I need to know enough about your character to write with them. -I need to know that your expectations of other muses mesh with what I do/don't do.

-If I am following you, it is because I feel your muse(s) and mine may have some chemistry or potential for a story.

-IF I AM NOT FOLLOWING YOU, IT MAY BE BECAUSE I DO NOT KNOW THE MUSE YOU PLAY (example: I am not even remotely up to speed on any of the CW shows like the Flash, and have yet to see the Kingsman movies)

-PLEASE don't take it personally if I am not following back. There may be a multitude of reasons. For example, it can take me a long time to read over your blog properly. I don't follow without extensively checking out a person's blog.

-Additionally, IF I CANNOT READ YOUR BLOG I WILL NOT FOLLOW YOU. I have bad eyesight, and if you use tiny ass font or similar colors so that I can't read your blog even after zooming in until your theme is unusable, I will NOT follow you.

►Unfollowing- I will unfollow/not follow you if:

-If you do not tag your posts, I will unfollow you. I will not apologize. 

-You send hate to people. Constructive criticism is one thing, but being a dick is unnecessary and I wont even say anything about this, I'll simply block you.

-You ignore my rules. Depending on the rule, I may warn you, I may simply unfollow, or I may block you. Respect people's rules. We are all here to write and enjoy ourselves, and respecting each other is an important part of that.

-You pressure me. An occasional nudge is fine but if you pressure me to reply i will drop the thread and unfollow. I've got enough IRL anxiety, I’m not here for more.

- You don't cut your posts. Seriously, there are several options, for desktop or mobile. I don't want to scroll for ten years to get to the next post. I'm not a major stickler for this, but be reasonable with your post length

► When I unfollow you for breaking my rules, I will:

Immediately drop all threads/delete all drafts and asks between us.

-Softblock you, so that you unfollow ME as well. This is to help ensure you do not presume we are still writing partners.

-Ignore any correspondence you attempt, including Asks, IMs, comments on my posts, etc. Excepting certain circumstances. 

-If you repeatedly try to interact with me despite this, I will block you on all known blogs.

►Tagging

Personal posts are also tagged: #Kitty whines, OR #Kitty rambles

Smut/nudity/sexual imagery is tagged as #{{ NSFW }} OR just #nsfw . I try to use both.

if sexual acts are insinuated but not SHOWN, I use the tag #{{ nsfw-ish }}

-I sometimes forget to tag. Please remind me if you like, but be aware that this blog IS NSFW-THEMED and NSFW things, including smut, gore, character death, violence, torture, and a variety of other things will occur.

That’s not to say I won’t respect your triggers, because I will, I simply need to know if you need something tagged.

In general, NSFW smut, Death, Rape, and Torture are always tagged. Beyond that, I dont tag blood or gore or injuries, because they are rampant in my threads. Please use your own discretion to decide if this is a blog you should be following, because I DO NOT want you to be uncomfortable or threatened by myself or my content, but I also will not change how I RP.

-potentially triggering content will be tagged: {{ tw: tag }} example: {{ tw: non-con }}, {{ tw: Torture }}, etc.

►Icons

I am 100% okay with icon-less RP. You do NOT have to have icons or special formatting to RP with me ♥

- I use GIFs and Icons in MOST of my replies. Usually sized 100 pixels, I do occasionally go up to 150 pixels for gif icons. I have bad eyesight, and therefore need GIFs I use to be at least 150. If this bothers you, I can refrain from using GIFs in my RP with you. Please let me know.

-I RARELY, and ONLY with certain people will use larger GIFs or stills for specific scenes. I won’t do this without asking, but it does occur on my blog.

-I generally edit all of my own GIFs, unless otherwise stated in tags or a character's bio. If you want to use an image I edited, PLEASE check with me, and if you find that I have improperly credited/forgotten to credit someone please let me know.

Icon Credit

Almost all still 100x100 icons images that do NOT have a PSD come from the Hollow Artists, either at the Hollow Art website, or on their tumblr page, thehollowedartists.tumblr.com

My icon PSD with the crescent moon in the corner was made by @phasiiingxshadow, as was my Harley Quinn PSD.

200x110 icons with the moon in the bottom right corner were made by Snow: @writteninthestcrs

I have also used PSDs from the pack HERE for headers and graphics, and have used other free PSDs from @darkrpsd in some of my iconing ( check them out and see if you can support them!)

[cashappcardhub]

Cash App Card – How to Order, Activate, Cancel, Add Money, Check Balance

Cash App has a unique feature that separates it from most online payment apps. Cash App offers a free Cash Card to its users using which you can pay online and in stores. Cash Card uses your Cash App balance to pay for goods and services. You can also use your bank account balance to replenish your Cash App balance. You can add your Cash Card to Apple pay and Google pay for online payments. To order a Cash Card, this is the process:

1. On your Cash App home screen, tap Cash Card.

2. Press “Get free Cash Card”.

3. Tap continue and pick a color.

4. Check your Cash Card details displayed on the screen.

5. Enter the address where you wish the card to be delivered.

You will get a virtual card number that you will be able to use for online payments immediately. But you cannot receive funds on this card number.

Your Cash Card will arrive within two weeks. Once you receive your card, you will need to activate it and you will be able to view your deposit information in your mobile app.

Redesigning your Cash Card

You can redesign your Cash Card by going to your Cash Card option in your mobile app and selecting to design a new card. It will take you $5 to change the color, signature, and even add emojis to your Cash Card.

How To Order A Cash App Card?

To order a cash app card, you need to go through the below-mentioned instructions:-

1. On your device, launch the Cash App by offering the required permission.

2. Scroll down and tap on the Cash Card icon. The Cash Card icon is found at the second mark on the lower-left corner of the phone panel.

3. Click on the “GET FREE CASH CARD” option.

4. Now, you need to select a color for your cash app card. Select the color and press the continue tab to proceed to the next step.

5. Now you land on the Customize page. Here, you need to choose the enable or disable option for showing your Cashtag. Choose an option and to input your unique signature click on the “Tap to customize” icon.

6. To input your signature, you can use two options:- Draw or Write. In the same section, you can easily add the stamps as per your preference. To input, the stamps, press the smiley face icon. The smile will appear under the signature section and when you successfully input them click on the Next tab.

7. Now you need to present a registered mailing address, review the email address, and click on the Next tab to proceed next step.

8. Before submitting the card request, review your input like- Check the full name of the user and confirm it. Review each input information and when you are confident with the input then click on the Continue or Next tab.

Can you Add Money on a Cash App Card?

Yes, you can add money and put physical cash to your cash app card. There are a few options to add money to your Cash card – Transfer money from a bank and debit card. Add funds at certain retail locations in Walmart and Target with ease of mind.

Cash App Cardis a customizable debit card linked to your Cash App balance. It can be used anywhere Visa is accepted, either both online and in stores, instead of deducting the money from the bank account.

Now you understand that your Cash Card balance is linked and directly affiliated with your Cash App Account. So, if you have funds on your account, your physical Cash App Card will also have access to that money.

For instance, if you have a Cash App card and really like to buy a bag, dress, etc. But, your Cash App Card balance is running low and in need of funding, you need to add cash to your card.

If you have no idea how to put money on your Cash Card, we are here to help you with it.

Where can I Load my Cash App Card?

Where can I load my Cash App Card? You can load your Cash App card at grocery stores, check cashers, and convenience stores. The Cash App can be loaded at Walmart, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, 7-Eleven and CVS. Go to the cash counter and ask to put money in your Card.

Fees may apply for adding the funds to your card. There is no fixed fees that works currently. More on that later.

Where can I Add money to my Cash App Card?

You can add money to your Cash App Card at retail locations like Walmart, Target, Walgreens, CVS, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Rite Aid, and 7-Eleven with cash deposit partners. You can then add money to your Cash Card balance in the app with your bank and card.

If your account is already linked to a Bank Account, you can add funds to your Cash Card with a few steps. All you need to do is go through a few menus and clicks to get yourself a loaded Cash app Card.

Keep track of transaction history

You can download your transaction history from https://cash.app. Simply click on Statements in the top right corner>Export CSV>Check downloads.

Account verification to receive a Cash Card

You will need to verify your Cash App account by your full name, Date of birth, mailing address, and the last four digits of your SSN. You must be 18 or older to apply for a Cash Card.

Add Cash Card to your Google Pay or Apple Pay

Tap Cash Card tab on home screen> Tap Cash Card icon> Add to Google Pay> Follow the displayed steps.

Similarly, just add to Apple Pay in the third step.

Also Read: - How to disable Cash App card

ATM withdrawal limit

You can withdraw up to $310per transaction from an ATM using your Cash Card. The 24-hour limit is $1000 and $1000 per 7 days.

You can Check Your Card Balance on the app, the facility to check it at an ATM is not available yet.

Activating Cash Card using QR code

Tap Cash Card tab on app home screen> Tap Cash Card image> Select activate Cash Card> Grant permission to use camera> Scan QR code to activate. To use CVV just select Use CVV in the fourth step instead to activate Cash Card by entering CVV.

Receiving Cash Back using your Cash Card

You can receive cashback while using your Cash Card as a debit card at stores that offer it. All you need to do is enter your Cash Card pin and choose the cashback amount.

ATM fees while using Cash Card

Cash Cards are functional at any ATM, with just a $2 fee charged by Cash App.

Unauthorized payment or Cash Card stolen

For unauthorized payment, contact the merchant immediately to request a refund on Cash App. The refund will be received within 10 days. If your card is stolen, report so on the app with this process. Tap Cash Card tab on home screen> tap Cash Card image> select problem with card> Report card stolen> enter PIN to confirm the action.

Checking the Balance on Your Cash App Card

As mentioned, if you know how to check the balance available in your Cash App account, the same is the Cash App Card Balance as well. The available balance on the Cash App is available on the dashboard. It is usually seen in the top center of the app’s screen as you open it on your mobile.

You can spend your balance by using your Cash App Card or sending a P2P payment, use it to buy Bitcoin, or transfer it to your bank account through standard or instant deposit.

If you are not sure whether a transaction you made had gone through or not, you can check your bank account to see if it is reflected there. There is always some gap when you use your CashAppCard, and it getting reflected in your bank. Wrong balances can appear due to an odd outage that happens with the system. With millions of transactions going through the app, it can have such issues.

If you have doubts about the balance being shown on the Cash App, you can cancel that particular payment. You have a 24-hour window within which you have to do this if you find that the person you sent the payment to has not accepted it for any reason.

To Dispute A Purchase

To dispute a recent purchase via Cash Card, wait till it is completed, and then contact the merchant. If that does not work, report a dispute with customer support.

Benefits of Cash App

There are no fees for basic functions like monthly fees, inactivity fees, or fees to send or receive money.

“Cash boost” helps you save money while performing a transaction with your debit card with specific vendors who provide offers. Only one boost is applicable at a time but you can swap boosts as often as you want.

An independent ‘Cash Card’ is issued by Sutton Bank to each user that helps you make transactions and withdraw cash. This card is not connected to your bank.

For every friend that joins the Cash App using your referral code, you get $5 and they get $10.

You can also invest in specific companies with any amount of money you want. You can buy stocks with your Cash App fund and if it is less, the remaining sum will be drawn from your linked bank account.

Cash App users can buy and sell bitcoin. This facility comes with service fees for every transaction, and additional fees depending on the U.S. exchanges price.

Also Read: - Why is my Cash App Card not working

Things to keep in mind while using Cash App

The maximum spending limit with your Cash Card is 1000$ per day and week. The maximum spending limit per month is 1250$.

The maximum amount that can be withdrawn from your Cash Card is 250$ per transaction and per day. Per week the transaction limit is 1000$ and per month the limit is 1250$.

Even though there are refund and chargeback policies the sum of money on your Cash App account is not insured by the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). This is why it is important not to get reckless with the ease of usage of the app and make correct transactions. If money is sent to someone by mistake, there may be troubles and you might have to initiate a Chargeback.

Also Read: - How to use Cash App card at ATM

Conclusion:

Overall Cash App Cash Card is one of the most unique online payment systems out there. The offers, ease of usage, and flexibility of linkage from various banks have made Cash App popular among everyone. What’s more is that there are better options for verified customers. Get your Cash App Cash Card today!

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