#that was a detour i wasnt expecting to make

[mushroom-through-the-stargate]

every smart person should be required to have a Dumb Friend purely for the joy of teaching. if you only have Smart Friends they'll most likely already know the thing you're bursting at the seams to tell somebody about like it's new information. but Dumb Friends? Dumb Friends don't know any of this stuff, its all new information to them. and that's beautiful.

[gabessquishytum]

(Based on a combo of someone else’s story somewhere on tumblr and an experience I had at a performance of Twelfth Night several years ago)

Normally, Hob wouldn’t be caught dead at a Shakespeare performance, even if it was at the Globe Theater itself. But thanks to a bet or a bribe or something, tonight he’s found himself attending a production of Hamlet.

Things are looking up though when the titular character appears; the actor, Morpheus Endless, is gorgeous in a bit of a haunting way, perfect for the brooding Prince of Denmark. And when he enters, before he even says his first line, “Hamlet” sweeps his eyes over the audience… and clearly does an interested double-take when his gaze lands on Hob.

Well then.

Morpheus is an excellent actor, and his performance alone might be enough to change Hob’s opinion on Hamlet (though not the rest of Shakespeare!). But whenever possible, he is frequently glancing over at Hob, and every time his looks are heated and intense—it almost doesn’t even appear to be breaking character at all, save for the fact that it’s always in Hob’s direction.

By the end of the show, Hob is already trying to work out the quickest route from his seat to the stage door (also wondering if it was presumptuous if he detoured to buy a congratulatory bouquet at the flower stall he saw on his way in next to the entrance, or if it’d be too great a risk of getting stuck in line and end up missing his chance). But then during the curtain call, someone brings out a bunch of red roses, and though it’s unclear who starts it, a brief little game begins of the cast tossing the roses out into the audience and the audience tossing the roses back onto the stage, rinse and repeat until the cast finally ends it and head offstage. In the midst of this, when Morpheus gets his hands on a rose he immediately tosses it to Hob, and upon seeing Hob catch it, he gives him a small devastating smile and lightly blows him a kiss before exiting.

Well then. Hob just thought he needed to fuck this man, but now clearly he needs to take him out on a date as well (and possibly marry him afterwards, depending on his opinions on Elizabethan drama beyond Shakespeare).

And that’s the meet-cute story of how Hob and Morpheus first met, having sex in Morpheus’ dressing room and then going out for a pint afterwards, talking until the early hours of the morning (then heading back to one of their apartments to have sex again).

And from then on, whenever Hob starts in on one of his Shakespeare rants, his husband Morpheus never fails to tease him about his soft spot for Hamlet.

-🪽anon

I love the idea of them being immediately and equally slutty + starstruck for each other!! Hob definitely has to reevaluate some of his prejudices (he prefers a good, bloody revenge tragedy - Hamlet is usually far too namby-pamby for his taste, but in this case... at least he's HOT).

Morpheus honestly wasnt expecting the hot guy with the gorgeous eyes from the audience to come and find him. He doesn't usually get that lucky with the guys he fancies. But Hob (and isn't that quite the name!) is even hotter when he gets closer, tugging shyly on his ear and congratulating Morpheus on his performance. He ends up getting on his knees for Morpheus right there in the dressing room and giving him the most spectacular congratulatory blowjob in the history of blowjobs. Morpheus has definitely never struck lucky like this before.

Of course, there has to be a catch. Morpheus discovers later that Hob thinks that John Webster was a better playwright than Shakespeare?! Obviously Morpheus has no choice but to educate him on the finer points of good tragedy. They stay at the pub until closing, arguing fondly and sipping on the (quite delicious) Shakespeare themed cocktail. Hob doesn't seem to be letting go of his wrong opinions, but his arm around Morpheus’s waist is enough to make up for it. Hob finally takes him home, lays him out on his sheets, and proceeds to make him cum so hard his legs are still shaking at the matinee performance the next day.

By mutual agreement, there is no drama, Elizabethan or otherwise, at their wedding. Despite Desire's best efforts...!

[lunatic-fandom-space]

Comparing RWBY and YGO DM: The Handling and Evolution of Themes

Hey! Its been a hot minute since I last posted anything RWBY-related but Im laying in my bed right now and Im sick and bored so I guess we're doing this. Today I will do my best to analyze what I percieve to be the main themes and messages of both of these shows, or more specifically, how theyre handled narratively. Im mostly focusing on that part because, while these series do have similar themes and messaging, they are still a few things in which they are wildly different. And with that, lets start with this essay-post-thing!

1. Theres something we need to adress first

Okay so, before we can really talk about this, theres something I feel the need to clarify here: Neither of these stories was "planned from the beginning".

Now, I dont think a story being planned from the beginning or not nesscessarily makes the story any better or worse by default, however, it is still important to acknowledge because the way the story is planned is going to affect every facet of it. Things are not going to be foreshadowed properly, things are gonna be set up only for nothing to come of it, the story might drastically change directions, characters might act differently, etc, etc.

And, this is bit off-topic but, it's much better to just admit that the story was not planned than trying to pretend that it was. Like, there are a lot of reasons why I tend to be so forgiving towards YGO even though its not very good, but one of them is definitely the fact that, as far as Im aware atleast, the guy who wrote it isnt pretending to have had this big master plan all along and neither is the fandom. With RWBY on the other hand... yeaaaah, its kinda the opposite. From what Ive seen of RWBYs fandom, there seems to be this pretty popular narrative that everything was planned even though it clearly wasnt. Thats pretty bad and honestly lowers my opinion of the writers so much more than if they would just admit to not having a proper plan.

Like, I initially consumed YGO like this: Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters, Yu-Gi-Oh (aka Season 0), like, a quarter of the Yu-Gi-Oh manga (I still havent finished it)

In all three of these we have the character of Yami Yuugi, or just Yami. Broadly speaking, he is an ancient egyptian gamer spirit who lives in a magical puzzle that has not been solved for 3000 years until this highschooler named Yuugi Mutou comes along and solves it, thus setting him free and allowing him to possess Yuugi and have access to the vague magical powers of the puzzle.

In Duel Monsters he's perfectly fine most of time, morally speaking. There is an instance of him almost murdering a guy and its a bit unclear what exactly happens to those he mindcrushes but overall he's very much a pretty good guy. In Season 0 most of what he does is set up these games for bad people, where they will go insane no matter what they do. From how I understand this whole Shadow Game, Penalty Game stuff, if you lose a Shadow Game, you get violent and intense hallucinations and you will always cuz yknow, gamer spirit. But if you try to cheat, which most of the bad people do in this show, you get violent and intense hallucinations as a punishment.

Since the two anime are generally considered two different continuities, its perfectly fine that Yamis characterization is wildly different in both of them. But in the manga both of these characterizations appear, basically one after the other with no real arc or consequences, for that matter. Why is that? Simply put, someone thought it was a good idea to try to turn an episodic, very slice of life-y light-horror manga into a more traditional, more plot-driven battle shounen. From what Ive heard, it was apparently largely because of network interference or something, but the point is, it changed directions incredibly drastically with little planning and everyone knows this and I can understand that for the most part.

In RWBY we have the character of Blake Belladonna, who, in the first 3 volumes/seasons atleast, was this aloof, more toned down loner-type character with a pretty strong sense of justice. She's an in-universe marginilized racial minority and she clearly cares about racial injustice. The way its initially framed makes it seem like she had a very hard life and no stable support system, which is what eventually pushed her to join a Civil Rights group/Terrorist organization (good god, the Faunus subplot is so awful, I could write a whole essay about it but Im already de-railing rn so I'll just save that for later).

Then, in volumes 4-5 it turns out her father is actually like, the mayor or chief of this island-place called Menagerie and she grew up in this big mansion with multiple guards/servants. Oh and also, apparently "space is a commodity" on there, so theres that. She still retains large parts of her personality but she's kinda like, worse somehow I think. I cant really describe it in a meaningful way but I hope you get what Im saying anyway. Then in Volume 6 she confronted her emotional abuser Adam (sorry for not mentioning him sooner but yeah, he was like, her abusive boyfriend, which is something that a lot of people disagree with but I wont really say anything about it either way because I dont really feel any specific way) with her friend, Yang, and ended up killing him.

After all that, she pretty much lost the rest of her personality, as well as her arc about all the Faunus stuff. She just kinda became the meek, generically nice, recovering abuse victim. Why? Well, the actual reason is that they didnt plan out shit and are just kinda flying by the seat of their oversized clown-pants and if they and the fandom just admitted it, I would have less of an issue. I still wouldnt be as forgiving towards RWBY as I am towards YGO because the crux of the issue, for me, is just that I dont particulary like RWBY but also like. Do you really expect me to take MKEK seriously as writers after admitting to not have a timeline because iT wOuLd CaUsE pLoThOlEs?

However, since they want us to believe that everything was planned out from the beginning, the explaination would be.... Idk, they deliberately butchered one of their main characters?? Because.. they hate her?? Maybe????

So yeah, that was quite a detour however, I would like you to keep this mind going forward.

2. Themes of the Early Series'

First, what do mean by 'Early Series' for both of these shows respectively? Well, for YGO that would have to be Season 0 or if youre reading the manga, everything pre-Duelist Kingdom. Basically, the part of the series thats a episodic, very slice of life-y light-horror series.

For RWBY that would be the first three Volumes, also known as the Poser-Era. Back then it was just kinda an action series that took place at Anime Warrior Academy (also known as Beacon) with some pretty bare minimum worldbuilding, character-driven plots and developments but now its more of an epic high-fantasy story with more of an emphasis on plot as opposed to just action.

The themes and messages in Early YGO are kinda vague, very confusing to me and if you were to follow any of it literally that would be pretty bad. For now Im just gonna say the main themes are Friendship and Identity and mostly focus on the Identity aspect.

Now, it took me a little while to figure out RWBYs deal but I think the main themes for Volumes 1-3 are also Friendship and Heroism. Once again, I'll mostly focus on Heroism and touch on Friendship more briefly later.

I dont have much more to add to YGOs themes right now, so I'll briefly go over Heroism in RWBY.

In RWBYs setting there are these man-eating monsters called Grimm that have basically infected the planet. In order to deal with that, they have people called huntsmen and huntresses that kill them and protect people. Theyre trained at special academies like Beacon and go on missions there and stuff like that. Our four main characters, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang, are training to become huntresses and one day they go on this mission to clean up a grimm infested city block with one of their teachers. Obviously, that takes a long time so they have to camp out in one of the empty houses. Weiss, Blake and Yang cant sleep because theyve been thinking about this question that their teacher asked them when they were fighting grimm: "Why do you want to become a huntress?"

They have a heart to heart and we find out about their motivations; Weiss wants to bring honour back to her family, Blake want to distance herself from the White Fang (that terrorist organization I mentioned earlier) and as an extension from Adam, Yang wants to have a life of adventure. They also talk about why Ruby wants to be a huntress and it turns out that she judt wants to help people. Unlike the others, she has no motivation besides that. We're meant to listen to that and look at her as a sort-of personification of Heroism: kind, but not naive, strong and most of all, selfless. The others on her team are not portayed as bad for not being like Ruby by any means but we are clearly meant to admire her the most out of all of them.

Okay, now comes the part Ive been looking forward to the most:

3. How did these themes evolve in the Modern Series'?

Alright, before we can really delve into the way they evolved in YGO I'll have to give you a brief summary of the character progression. At the start of DM, during the Duelist Kingdom arc, Yami Yuugi is just that; A darker Yuugi. Hes more confident, bolder, his voice is deeper, hes somehow taller, more ruthless, all that good stuff. Notably, he doesnt actually seem more skilled than Yuugi even at the start of this story, but he's still dependent on Yami. Yami on the other hand, has no identity of his own or even hints at one at this point. He's just The Other Yuugi.

Then during the Battle City arc, they find out that Yami was actually a pharao prior to being sealed in the puzzle, he just didnt know because of amnesia, I guess. So now they need to find out his real name and then send him to the afterlife because hes meant to be dead, but not before saving the world from being swallowed by darkness, which is also a thing they have to do now.

Then we finally get to the Memory World arc, where Yami, Yuugi and the rest of the gang astralproject to ancient egypt via puzzle magic. Yami is trying to figure out what the hell is going on and who all these familiar people are, while Yuugi & Co are trying their best to help him. Then some weird shit happens and it turns out that all of that is not just Yamis sealed away memories, but also a giant D&D Shadow Game that will destroy the world if Yami loses. So now theres Pharao!Yami who is still clueless on the metaphorical and literal playing field and Player!Yami, who is kinda controlling himself now? I guess?? Yamis opponent, The Spirit of The Ring, has something similar to that going on where hes both controlling and properly participating in the game. So Player!Yami is now fighting against Player!TSoTR, Pharao!Yami is now fighting against Thief King Bakura (who is like, the human, ancient egyptian version of the Ring Spirit) and Yuugi is now fighting against Yami Bakura (who is like, the human, modern japanese version of the Ring Spirit). Yuugi gets Yamis real name, he and the gang go over to Pharao!Yami and tell him his name, meanwhile Player!Yami is also somehow helping as well and they defeat the Ring Spirit, thus saving the world. Then they travel to modern Egypt, the Ceremonial Duel happens and Yuugi wins, sending Yami to the Afterlife where he can finally rest and that was the series!

I originally wanted to recount the stuff that was going on with the Ring Spirit and his host as well because they parallel eachother, but this summary is already far too long and I think youll get the point without me needing to explain any more.

My point here is, that the story went from being vaguely about Identity, maybe? to being very clearly about Self-Discovery and Learning to Be Independent. I think this is a very good way to evolve the messaging of your story. How does RWBY track on that?

Well, uh... its not great. I will acknowledge that they have tried to introduce new themes and ideas since, even though I wont really be talking about them in this post. But yeah, the whole Heroism thing really regressed.

Like, I didnt explicitly say it when I was explaining grimm earlier, but theyre not going away. The grimm have always been there and people who sign up to become huntsmen and huntresses are effectively signing up for a job that will never truly be done, no matter what they do. Characters like Ruby and even more minor ones like Phyrrah have shown us that that doesnt matter when youre a hero. No life isnt worth saving, no grimm isnt worth killing, no criminal isnt worth arresting. Then, in volume 6 they find out about Salem. Salem is the Big Bad of the show, shes immortal, controls the grimm and is supposed to be very powerful.

What do our heroes do? They give up. Sike! They were just mindcontrolled by monsters or some shit, of course they didnt give up their mission (which is to bring an Important Macguffin to a city called Atlas, sorry I didnt mention it)!

But then they arrive in Atlas (which is llike, a city thats floating over another city called Mantle) and yknow, they do some plot stuff thats not really important right now until the city gets invaded by Salem and this big grimm army she has.

What do our heroes do? Well, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and some side characters are chilling, drinking tea in a mansion and Yang and the B Team were actually trying to do something, but even those efforts seem incredibly minimal.

Oh wait, I also forgot to mention that Ironwood (a fairly minor, vaguely antagonistic character up until now) wanted to lift Atlas even higher to save Atleasian civilians from danger while leaving Mantle vulnerable to Salems invasion.

What would be the most heroic thing to do?

A) Let Ironwood lift Atlas, get as much support as they can down to Mantle and save as many Mantle civilians as they can from the invasion

B) Prevent Ironwood from lifting Atlas but then split up in order to protect both Atlas and Mantle civilians

C) Prevent Ironwood from lifting Atlas and then dont do anything else

Congrats! If you choose C, you think exactly like the writers!

And I just

This is so mindboggling to me, I feel like I shouldnt even have explain how this is bad. And like, it wouldve been so easy to actually make them seem herokc through their actions, to make it seem like they did try but no.

I have never seen a central theme be this botched, how in the world did they do that? Why did they think it was a good idea for Ruby "The Embodiment of Heroism" Rose to sit in a mansion doing nothing, no planning, no organizing just ..... God, how are they this bad? Like, this doesnt even have anything to do with it being planned in any way, this is just straight up incompetence

4. Very briefly touching on friendship

The friendship is awful and its not solely because they all have the same opinions. They barely interact with eachother outside their designated pairs which leads to it all feeling incredibly hollow. Theyre also practically indistingushable from one another now, which is a shame because it wasnt always like that. Like, I dont think the characters were that well-developed in earlier volumes but they were very well-characterized. But now we've gotten to a point where you can literally copy and paste one characters dialogue onto another and literally nothing changes, it really sucks.

5. Some closing words

Damn, this took way longer than I thought it would and now Im pretty exhausted. I have no idea how yall always write these but props to you! I feel like this ended up a bit rambly but overall, Im pretty proud.

Please let me know what you think of the points I brought up! Id also really appreciate some tips on how to get better at these longer posts because I am planning on writing more in the future (not the near future, probably but yknow).

Thats all I have to say for now, thanks for reading!

[veeranger]

ok here are my thoughts on SPV3.2′s rendition of Halo CE’s first level: The Pillar of Autumn, which i played last night. 

please keep in mind these are my subjective opinions based on my single playthrough of the level on normal difficulty, and that i have nothing but respect for the obviously large amount of effort put into this mod by its creators. 

first of all its great that this level skips the camera orientation shit even on normal difficulty, thank god. 

so basically the level plays out exactly the same as it did in the original game with the exception of the weapons behaving differently, until you get to that one staircase room that was a nightmare on legendary in the original game. its clever actually because the enemies are positioned on the same side as you but above so you run up the stairs and turn around to find yourself face to face with....a brute! not an elite but a brute in the halo 2 style. 

with the brute comes their signature brute shot, brute plasma rifle, a new brute plasma pistol, and a new weapon called the shredder, a brute version of the needler that lacks the projectile tracking of its sister weapon but has a much higher projectile speed making it very fun to use and extremely deadly to unshielded foes including the brutes, who all lack energy shields like the halo 2 and halo reach variants, which makes sense. gameplay wise they’re much less of damage sponges than they were in halo 2 however i did notice that theyre markedly less aggressive again compared to their halo 2 iteration. i have yet to see a brute do its signature charge, but im going to chalk this up to engine limitations and not developer oversight, for all i know these brutes are probably just reskinned elites with no shields. brute chieftains are also missing alongside their iconic gravity hammers, though i assume this is engine limitations preventing something like that from existing. 

 now all this said i am sorely missing the spiker as the brute’s signature weapon because way too many of these bastards are carrying brute shots which can make encounters a bit frustrating at times, while paradoxically making other encounters far too easy due to the weapon’s ability to one shot weaker enemies and carry much more ammo than its halo 2/3 counterparts. it also makes vehicle segments suck sometimes because there are 2-4 brutes with these things knocking your warthog around but thats for the next level.

anyway back to the level, it quickly takes a turn into uncharted territory with a major detour that has you going through large storage areas and a lot more hallways before you finally end up back on track in the original level. i dont hate this per say and it certainly spices the familiar levels up but i can’t say i love how long these new areas are. i think i spent at least 30 minutes on this level and most of that was the new areas. now this isnt bad per say and the areas were not explicitly poorly designed, though i wasnt the biggest fan to be honest, its more so that the level becomes a slog after a while with no end in sight. i also think this addition muddles the intended game design of a tight corridor shooter than blossoms out into a massive open sandbox in the second level but that is not relevant really so i will not actually put stock into that opinion. 

after getting through the new stuff you just drop back into the original level and the rest of it plays out basically the same as it would otherwise, new sandbox notwithstanding. if this level and the second level are showing me any kind of pattern, its that i can expect every level to just suddenly branch into new content before eventually falling back on the original level path and playing out like that. more on this in other level reviews i’m sure. 

all said it was not the best level ive ever played and it dragged on too much but i wouldnt say it was all bad. i had fun more or less and i will say the level ran together pretty organically even with the new additions. oh yeah theres a few extremely minor environmental manipulations you can do like turning gravity down in some areas giving you moon physics and turning on auto turrets in some battles. nothing major but still cool. 

i dont think i want to speak on weapons yet because i havent gotten to use everything yet but i dont like this mod’s assault rifle. it added the smg from halo 2/3 (which i also dont like in this mod) so now the ar is the 32 round variant with a severely nerfed rate of fire which doesnt feel very good to me. the smg has way too much kick to fill the roll of the original ce assault rifle so i feel a little lost without a reliable spray and pray gun, but i suppose comparing and contrasting to the original game is a bit pointless considering this mod really wants to be a totally different experience. still i dont like the ar and im not crazy about the smg. 

i will speak on grenades though, there are two new ones, a clusterbomb which is self explanatory and a gravity bomb, which pulls enemies into it and then weakly explodes, killing weaker enemies and usually dropping elite shields. interesting additions to the sandbox but i feel like the clusterbombs make frags redundant.  

this mod has armor abilities now like halo reach, taking the place of your flashlight when equipped. i assume this has to be this way otherwise i would want to berate them for making me kill my flashlight for sprint or VISOR, which is basically just the detective vision mode from odst but in a really displeasing color pallet. now im nitpicking but yknow. the game is still very dark in a lot of places thanks to this mod still using halo ce’s original lighting engine or just respecting the fact that it was like that for a fucking reason unlike anniversary edition, so losing the flashlight is a real pain sometimes. 

oh also this mod changed the HUD, now your shields and health are where the should be, in the top middle of the screen like in every halo game starting with 3.  

anyway i think thats all i have to say about level 1, not a massively successful first impression but it was not bad and i did not hate it. pretty so-so for me. the next level i’ll have more positives to talk about i think

[dementedgnomicwizard]

i preplanned those tunnel tweets + made a list of specifically what pictures i wanted and finished making the worms earlier this morning so like i wasnt Winging It at all but it sure felt like it! bc weve only ever gone to the tunnels as a group before, but today the only time i could go was in the 25 minutes before my evening class and no one else was free then so i was like whatever ill just go get my pictures and then to class and it’s fine. so i put my little sandwich baggie full of worms in my pocket and went over to the machinery building, which is where the tunnel entrance is, but the entrance is in the basement and there’s two ways to get into the basement both of which are almost always locked so i was like well i’ll just check and see if either of them are open. and it turned out the freight elevator was allowing trips to the basement so i got in and went down

the freight elevator spits you out in like this really cluttered and fucked-up looking storage basement basically which is where the tunnel entrance is and while the tunnel is dark the basement itself is usually lit by these shitty fluorescents HOWEVER! today when the elevator doors opened it was absolutely completely dark in the entire enormous basement. but at that point i was like i made it over here, i have my worms, i have my photo list, i have time before class, and what are the odds the elevator will be working again, ill just use my flashlight who cares. so i turned my flashlight on and started picking my way through to the tunnel entrance, except i stopped and made a detour to take pics in that little office room because i thought it would sorta look like the room where they found gertrude’s body and i could make a fun joke about it  ANYWAY as i’m coming out of the office room i notice that the stairway door directly across from me is open, which is weird because they’re Never open because they don’t want us to go down there. so i was like, shit, maintenance and/or security are down here and my only way out is the super obvious elevator so ill just wait them out so i like turned my flashlight off and crouched behind a bunch of shit

anyway i just sort of huddled in the dark for a while and soon enough it became clear that no one was actually coming so i took advantage of my proximity to the ground to scatter some worms and take that first worm pic where im pointing. and then i was like okay, might as well get the tunnel bit over with. so the area of the basement where the mouth of the tunnel is is closed off with this big metal fence and there’s like a wire-mesh on the front with a huge padlock only years and years of horrible college students have managed to sort of beat the bottom half of the gate a few inches outwards + compromise its integrity enough that its easy to pull far enough open for someone else to slip through. however my problems today were 1) like i said ive only ever gone with a group before, meaning i’d always had someone to hold the gate open for me, and i had never attempted to get through without assistance before let alone back out and 2) the gate is RIGHT next to the stairs that i mentioned earlier were open when they usually never are. so i stood there for a minute like... okay, say i DO try to get through myself, and i get stuck. OR, say that happens and THEN whoever was working down here comes back and im stuck so i get caught and in trouble.

and then i was like actually fuck it we ball so i like. sort of just got down fully on the ground (which was gross btw do not recommend) and like rolled and twisted and pushed myself around until i wiggled through. that was the moment when i sort of started to accept just how much tunnel dirt i was gonna be covered in by the end but it was so far past too late to back out so i headed into the tunnel entrance. it gets TRULY dark like really really soon after you walk in also like i thought the basement outside was dark because the lights were off but the tunnels are like....  DARK. anyway i stopped halfway down the entry tunnel to try and set up the like “worm door outline” thing from after MAG39 and like initially i had thought that i could figure out an okay way to at least temporarily get them on the wall bc theyre made of latex and super light but it was quickly apparent that that would not be the case so i found a patch of the floor that looked smooth enough to be a wall and set it up on there instead. so i’m like. squatting on the floor in this very dark and kind of gross tunnel, and i have my phone laying on the ground next to me flashlight-side-up so i can see as well as use both hands to dig cold little latex worms out of a sandwich baggie and arrange them in a pattern on the ground and the flashlight was lighting up the tunnel in the most fucked up way and it was dead silent and the WHOLE time i was like, and this is the moment when like a maintenance worker turns the corner and finds me and is just like, hello??? theres some clown playing with worms in the tunnel????

anyway that did not happen and instead i got my little doorway set up and then it was time to take the first pic (of the worm door by itself without me in it) which was when i realized that when i open my camera app my phone forcibly turns the flashlight off so every time i wanted to take a picture in the tunnels i was gonna have to turn my light off and just like chill alone in the pitch dark in a tiny tunnel for however long it took me to take each photo and i was like hm okay wig i guess so i took the door pic and then it took me like four tries to get myself positioned right for the cringe ass fail worms one because, surprisingly, it is difficult to position yourself directly in the center of an archway of worms that you cannot see, and while i was doing all those failed tries i got to spend a lot of time laying splayed out on my back in the dark on the tunnel floor anyway i got it finally so i just sort of kicked the worms to the sides and kept going in further. to get to the pit you have to turn left at the first fork and then take a right and then theres this weird like step? thing? in the middle of the tunnel and if youre me you have to do a super awkward crabwalk limbo step thing to get over it because the pipes on the ceiling above it are hot and the step comes up to like 6 inches below the pipe but also i dont like to touch the top of the step because its gross. so its always a production. this time i think they had worked on that pipe recently or something because it was leaking so the step was wet and the pipe dripped hot water onto my neck while i was crawling under it LMAO

anyway from there its a straight shot and it opens out into this like larger room near the entrance to the engine room and the pit is right at the edge of where the dirt of the tunnel turns into the concrete of the room floor. and theyve like half-covered the top of it in wooden planks but theyre not held down so when you have to step on them just for a second to get out of the tunnel its so nervewracking. theres overhead lights in that room though so that was nice idk if i couldve managed the flashlight-camera-transition in the dark AND one-handed. so i took my from-above tunnel pic and then i was like (checks my photos list) “well...... i did say id get two from inside the pit.” i had actually never been in the pit before because the other two times i’ve gone to the tunnels i’ve been with other people and they would barely even let me get near it let alone get on the ladder. so i was like well i guess there is a first time for everything so i put my phone in my back pocket and ducked under the little yellow chain they have up and started going down the ladder and i got like 8? maybe 10? feet down before i thought to look down again and let me just say..... all the times we had looked into that pit from above we had never guessed anywhere CLOSE to how deep it actually was. thats all. so i was like.... um i was expecting to be able to like, stand on solid ground while i take this pit selfie, but that was clearly not going to be an option, but also i had committed this far already to getting these pics from the pit so i was like ugh i guess and hooked my one arm over the ladder so i could get my phone out w the other hand and take the pics from in there. and then i climbed back out. the ladder rungs made my hands SO gross and dirty with rust i was like eugh eugh.

but after that the only picture left to take was the one w my pen and the only way for me to go was back out towards the entrance so i was like its fine im almost done. so i went back out until i got to the tunnel after the first fork and i was like cool here’s a good a place as any so i got my pen ready + went to get my camera out, and literally RIGHT as the flashlight went out and the camera app opened i was like SO sure i saw something move vaguely in the darkness to my right like REALLY close to me shoulder height so i was like uhhh no and took a flash photo more out of reflex than anything and i didnt see anything but also the flash lit up for like,  one second and then it was dark again so i like switched back to the flashlight really quick and obviously it was just a normal tunnel and i was the only one there so i opened the camera app again to try to take the pic again and literally just like the first time right as the flashlight turned off i was soooo sure something moved right next to me like so close but i was like “nell. youre being insane.” so i didnt do anything and i just took like three more possible variations on the pic i wanted and then i turned my flashlight back on and once again obviously nothing was amiss so i was like epic win and went back out the tunnel entrance. and then i was like............. oh god i have to do the gate squirm again. but there was no other way so i just did it really fast before i could really get worked up about it lol and then i went back over to the freight elevator only when i pressed the button it would light up and then immediately go dark when i unpressed it and i was like oh fuck because 90% of the time when you get in on the ground floor this elevator literally refuses to take you to the basement and i was like oh no it re-locked while i was down here and now i can’t get up this way so im just like in this basement for the foreseeable future but then of course as i was going down that tangent the elevator doors opened and i stepped into the fluorescent light and looked down and was like wow i am just so thoroughly, completely, orangely covered in dirt. but i made it home with like 5 minutes to wash up a bit before my evening class so that was a win! i did learn however that i should never take my evening dose of adderall directly after a bit of minor breaking&entering while the adrenaline is still there because when i got to class i almost jackhammered a hole through the floor with my shakyleg

[jennajayfeather]

Before y’all go “IT’S A HACK” or something let me tell you about the hell I went through to get this baby:

So basically in Pokemon Yellow you had glitches known as “Mew Glitch” which allowed players to catch a Mew.  Now they left these glitches in the virtual console games, and while you can send Pokemon over, you can’t send your glitched Mew.

Why?

It’s technically supposed to be an event from “GF”  (Gamefreak) with a trainer ID of 22796, and because PokeBank checks for those two, Mew can’t be sent over.  So in other words, unless your name is GF & you were lucky enough to get the trainer ID of “22796″ you were out of luck of getting your glitched into SM game--

However, through a series of glitches, it is possible to change your name and Trainer ID to fix up your Mew to be sent into SM.

So here’s my tale of my sufferings (my friends called me a masochist):

First I had to start a new save file & to make my life easier I named myself “GF”(this was the easiest part), and then I took my first steps straight into the hell of Viridian Forest so I can get a level 100 Nidoking Before Brock and breeze through the early parts of the game.

So for those unfamiliar with this glitch, basically you have to find a long range trainer in Viridian Forest, hit the start button before he walks up to you, use the escape rope (THESE STEPS ARE WAY HARDER THAN IT LOOKS, TOOK ME LIKE 5 OR MORE TIMES JUST TO GET THE FEEL OF WHEN TO HIT THE START BUTTON) and be sure to go into Pewter City, then find a level 4 Caterpie in the forest (not level 5. Not level 6.  Level 4)  Then Growl at the Caterpie 6 times.  However, sometimes Caterpie will only let you Growl at them 5 times, so you gotta search for the right Caterpie which can take time--

Anyway once those steps  are done you go back to Pewter,  have the guy blocking you from leaving Pewter take you to the Gym (<-THIS IS IMPORTANT) and then walk back to the forest & a message will pop up and then if it works right, a Level 1 Nidoking.

I say “IF” because if the Caterpie you growl’d at had a high special or w/e  you’ll get a Voltorb.  Anyway I had to repeat this several times just to get the Nidoking.  Once that was done though, things went smooth, then I used the “Underflow Glitch” to get less than 54 EXP to automatically get Nidoking to level 100--

However when I got to Cerulean, I took a detour.  I had misunderstood the Reddit Post I was reading & used the Mew Glitch.  So before I could do the Mew Glitch I had to catch an Abra (THIS WENT WAY EASIER THAN EXPECTED TBH) and then I had to do the long trainer glitch with a specific trainer by Cerulean.  I used Teleport to go back to Cerulean, battled the Slowpoke Kid (GROWLED AT HIM 6 TIMES FOR A LEVEL 1 MEW) and the glitch went right. Caught Mew, used the Underflow Glitch to level it to 100, like Nidoking.  Then I did the same process again against a dude with a Shellder and got ANOTHER level 100 Mew.  I later found out it was pointless, but that’s for another time.

Anway. THen, after that I had to make it to Cinnabar Island.  This took a while since you have to clear a few gyms, get Surf, which is easily like beating half the game. 

ONCE I DID THAT, it was time to do more glitches.  So first, just to make my life a bit easier, the first glitch I had to do was the Missingno Glitch.  To get a “safe” missingno. I needed to place my nuggets into item slot 6, have a pokemon with a stat 181,182, 183 (MY NIDOKING THANKFULLY HAD THIS!!) and then do the long range trainer gltch like with Mew--

But this time I had to go into Cinnabar Mansion, find a Ditto, have it turn into Nidoking and then fly back to Cerulean and encounter Missingno.  This gave me over 100 nuggets, and then I swapped nuggets with rare candy, it gave me over 100 rare candies after I caught missingno.

But that wasn’t the end--

Then I had to sell some nuggets so I could buy 73 revives. I bought them, did the glitch over again and encountered that same missingno. to give me exactly 201 revives. 

THEN after that, I had to do another glitch to get this special item called “W SM.”  This item is magical.  But it also comes with great danger for if you use it wrong, your game corrupts and you’d have to start completely over.

Anyway to get this special item, I had to find another Missingno, but this time with a Pokemon with the stat “194″

Well.  Shit.  I don’t have???? A Pokemon??? With Stat 194????  

I really thought I was screwed here.  But I wasnt, turns out Articuno will have that stat if I use some rare candies--so now I gotta get an articuno.

This would have been easier if I had gotten my Master Ball, but I never did so I’m using Ultra Balls.  Anyway I swim to Articuno, find it in the Seafoam Islands and catch it.

I level it up with Rare Candies praying that I’d get Special stat 194.  I got 195.  So, I had to reset, and try to capture Articuno again. Caught it, leveled it up.  GOT THE STAT 194 HOWEVER--

I forgot my escape rope so I was stuck trying to meander around and get out of the seafoam islands. I was frustrated but I marched on and somehow got out.

Once I got that, I did the Long Range Trainer Glitch w/ Ditto again, this time with an x accuracy (or was it speed? Can’t remember)in like my 8th? Slot, and encountered that Missingno so it could turn my x accuracy into the “W SM.”

This, is not where it ends though.  This was just the beginning really. Then I had to go around getting specific Pokemon.  The first Pokemon had to be a Seel with exactly 233 HP—

So I had to go back to the Seafoam Islands, find a seel, catch the seel, and rare candy it till it got 233 HP.  This was more annoying than it seems because you have to feed rare candies at one at a time and every single time the damn thing kept trying to evolve. Anyway ONCE THAT WAS DONE, I got my first Pokemon in a free box.

Then I had to find as follows:  Parasect, Growlithe, Magikarp, Psyduck, Flareon, Tentacool, FEMALE Nidoran, and then three pokemon of my choice.  Once that was done was where the fun, and paranoia again.

So first I had to buy 43 Burn Heals and 53 Ice Heals.  After that I set up my items as:

1.

ws# #m#

Item to get to 255

Burn heal x 43

Ice heal x 53

Revive x 201

(IF YOU DO NOT SET IT UP THIS WAY, EXACTLY THIS WAY, AND HAVE THE POKEMON BOX WITH THE POKEMON YOU GOT, YOUR GAME  WILL CRASH)

 Which I needed: 89 Lemonade, 12 Repel, 211 Carbos, 88 x Accuracy, 115 Water Stones, TM01.

Once I utilized that glitch to get that, it changed my Trainer ID to be 22796.  

 After that, I needed a Mew with my NEW trainer ID. So I have to repeat that first formula, but this time for

 any item

ws# #m#

Item 3: Repel x21

Item 4: X Speed x14

Item 5: Ultra Ball x64

Item 6: TM05 x89

Lemonade x201

 And successfully got my Mew.

 Then I had to repeat the first formula again, so I could make my Mew shiny.  So I had to have:

Any Item

WS M

Lemonade x170

X Accuracy x134

Carbos x209

Pokeball x119

Fresh Water x201

AND THEN, make sure  I had Mew in the front of my Party, use W SM, toss one X Accuracy, then use WS M again.

ALL THE WHILE, FOR EACH OF THESE CODES IM DOUBLE, TRIPLE, QUADRuPLE CHECKING EVERYTHING SO I’M POSITIVE IM DOING IT RIGHT.

ANYWAY, EVERYTHING WENT SPLENDID, AS YOU CAN SEE

 AND

IM

TIRED.

[parkjaewonn]

ₛₑₗf ₚₐᵣₐ  } 불필요한

jaewon’s day has gone by pretty slowly,,  in fact part of it feels like it’s never ending but as soon as he’s out of school it’s easier. it passes by that bit quicker. but he’s at the library until it’s almost dark and by the time he’s done he’s wandering home. he should have really heeded yejun’s words about not being out late at night but it’s not T H A T late right now,, however he also shouldn’t have  his headphones on,, blasting music because anybody could be wandering around but it wasn’t like he couldn’t defend himself. he could. on his way home,, he grabbed some hot food and then took a small detour that would get him back to his apartment quicker.

adjusting his bag over his shoulder,, jaewon walks up the steps towards his apartment the faint sound of whistling catching his attention and he looks up immediately frozen to the spot because he can’t P O S S I B L Y be here. he takes a good hard look before he realises that his father is in fact standing near his apartment door,, head leaning against the wall whistling to himself. jaewon debates whether or not to go straight up to the door go in,, lock it and ignore him. but of course he does the opposite,, he attempts to slowly back away,, he can go to a diner for a while until he’s S U R E that his sperm donor father is gone and he  ALMOST manages to make it to the stairs to get down them but his phone slips from his hand and clatters against the ground.

jaewon cringes and internally does nothing but curse himself out  ( because what idiot drops their phone when they’re trying to be quiet and S T E A L T H Y to get away ? ) the disruption has caught his father’s attention. “ jaewon. “ the boy lets his head fall for a moment as he picks his phone up and he sighs still internally demeaning himself he stands up and looks over at him. “ what are you doing . . . no. sorry. how did you even know where i was ? “ he asks. it’s been almost two years,, and jaewon had no idea that the man even K N E W where to find him and it makes him feel uneasy but he grips his now cracked phone in one hand and the other gripping so tightly against his bag that his knuckles have turned white.

“ it wasn’t hard. most of your stuff was left in your room. “ the elder shrugs his shoulders having moved so he was a few feet away from jaewon,, who’s chest is visibly rising and falling with the shallow breaths he’s taking.  “ why are you here ? “ he asks him and he swallows when his father takes a step closer and they’re just inches apart. his doe eyes wide because he’s really not sure what he’s expecting. “ well i missed you,, didn’t i ? “ he says it as if it were some sort of question,, one that jaewon doesn’t grasp and he slowly begins shaking his head  but before he can open his mouth to speak he’s been pulled into a lung crushing hug,, one that even jaewon knows is forced. he’s stiffened completely because this is the first time in his nineteen years of life that his father has given him any sign or physical sense of affection.

jaewon doesn’t like it, in fact it actually makes him feel physically sick and he’s unsure of what he’s supposed to do until the man pulls back. he’s smiling and god, that smile is so forced jaewon finds it disgusting and he steps back away from him. “ you don’t look happy to see me. “  he states and jaewon doesn’t bother trying to correct him because what’s the point in lying and telling him that he did MISS him when he hasn’t ? “ what are you really . . . here for ? “ he asks and he swallows. dreading the answer but his father just shrugs. “ i know someone around here. then i remembered my boy was here too. “ jaewon struggles not to cringe and make faces because of the way his skin crawls when the man says his boy,, and he knows it’ll piss him off and  the last thing he wants is that.   “ now why don’t we go inside, hm ? “

jaewon frowns deeply to himself once the man takes the box food from him and points to the door. jaewon’s still so confused about H O W his father has found him and he trudges over to the door with a deep crease on his forehead and his cheeks burning hot as he unlocks the door the man moves past him quickly into the warmth that is jaewon’s apartment. frowning still jaewon walks in behind him closing the door over. instead of following his father into the living room,, jaewon goes to his O W N,, leaning against the wall and trying not to bang his head against it in frustration. his hands brushing through his own hair he tugs at it and sighs D E E P L Y because what else can he do ?  he glances at the door briefly before he looks around his room with a slight frustrated quiet groan. 

in the process of removing his hoodie,, he drops it to the floor the moment he hears that initial opening of the bottle, jaewon stiffens. he’s in his own room and his father in the other but he H A S to go back through there. he doesn’t know how long he stands for but he heads through seeing the bottles that have been placed on the floor near the couch and the one that’s already almost finished in his hand  “ what are you doing ? “ jaewon asks,, his voice was supposed to come out quiet but it doesn’t. there’s a slight frantic tone to his words and his father looks over at him.  “ having a drink what does it look like ? “ he asks and he holds one up and out to the younger. “ no. “ he breathes shaking his head. because that’s the last thing he wants to do right now.

“ take the beer, jaewon. “ his voice is stern, eyes hardening as he stares and jaewon swallows hard and begins shaking his head. “ i don’t want it. “ the boy says and his chest constricts when the man stands up thoughts going everywhere almost immediately. “  don’t be a brat. “ he presses the bottom of the bottle to jaewon’s chest who just stares at him,, un moving and unwilling to take the bottle. it’s pressed just that bit harder against him and he almost flinches but he manages to keep his expression the same.  “ i have a test to do tomorrow and  studying to do. i can’t drink. “ that was a lie but he didn’t like drinking often. his father being the main cause of that. his eyes refuse to move,, he can’t think straight let alone B L I N K,, the man before him rolls his eyes and stops adding pressure onto the boy’s chest and when the man turns,, jaewon lets out a breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding in. 

“ always about studying isn’t it ? “ his father asks and jaewon,, in silence moves slowly closer to the door. “ studying isn’t everything. “ it freezes jaewon in his spot and he opens his mouth as if he were to talk because what a contradiction to a statement made by the same man ten years ago. ( you need to study hard,, jaewon. studying is everything. )   then again looking back now jaewon’s convinced it was his way of getting rid of the ‘ little brat ‘  so he didn’t need to be paid attention too. the thoughts in general make jaewon’s temper rise and his blood feels like it’s boiling under his skin and before he can stop himself his mouth opens and he finally speaks.  “ it is to me. “ he snaps  back voice laced with venom as he spits it out. which is his first mistake because before the man can even sit back down he’s stopped halfway. 

 jaewon’s gaze falls quickly because the S I L E N C E is deafening and it’s making him feel uneasy. his throat clenches and he feels the spray of liquid before anything else has processed he’s jamp out of the way of the bottle hitting the side of the wall.  it sprayed everywhere and the glass shattered. his chest heaves and he looks from the shattered glass with wide eyes back to his father who’s glaring at him. “ you should clean that up.  “ is all he says as he sits back down on the couch,, the reaction wasnt one he was expecting yet its not the first time jaewon has to deal with bottles being thrown. his eyes tear up,, because things had been good these last few days and now . . . his thoughts trail off stands motionless for a moment before he turns,, he’s not cleaning up,, not while he’s in the same room so he turns and he rushes out to the front door because being in there is suffocating right now. 

jaewon closes the front door his back pressing to it,, his chest heaves and he hits it a few times trying to regain control of his breathing. he couldn’t go back in there,, he just couldn’t do it. yet it was H I S apartment,, jaewon couldn’t. he swallows hard and pushes the hair away from his face and he takes a few deep breaths. he pulls out his phone only to see that it’s dead and he frowns to himself and moves to sit on the stairs near the door his arms crossed around his knees while he’s tucked them against his chest his chin resting on top of them. it’s then he realises just how cold it is his skin beginning to numb with the cold air,,  without a hoodie or a jacket he’d end up with a cold or a fever but he didn’t care.  

he’d rather freeze to death than go back in.

[siixkiing]

(from crossed-worlds) (Usiku to Wukong)

Creatures born of space had an easy time transitioning worlds, Usiku....was no exception. He could easily move between the realms through shadow, even in his weakened state. And given the state of things between him and a certain monkey back home....well, he needed a break. Dismissing most of his glamours and keeping only the one that hid the number of his ears from view should prevent any mistaking of him for whatever double he had here. He dare not go near Flower Fruit but there were many rock pillars nearby there that allowed him to take a moment to sort out his glamour.

Silver fur from head to tail usually helped him stand apart from other macaques. He chose to hide the scar on his eye and leaving the massive one on his chest as no one could see that anyway under his robes. Golden ears too, even if only two of them were showing. He was relaxed, even his attire wasnt his normal warriors garb but instead traditional Chinese robes for movement and not battle. He was in no shape to fight...

However one of his ears did twitch at a heart beat approaching, he didnt look up, running his paws over his head to neaten out his fur. He wasnt surprised... his shadows made quite the sight swirling around like that. "....Well...that was fast. Hello Wukong. What brings you off your mountian? Hope its not me....I'm in no state to fight with you right now."

☯ @crossed-worlds ☯

It wasn’t often the golden simian came down from Flower Fruit Mountain, it was his home after all and a place where he could get away from the world. Still, he was trying not to be such a hermit — doing his best to keep his promises to his friends, especially MK. It wasn’t always easy but as his kid had taught him just trying was enough at times, he didn’t need to fix it all at once. Baby steps were fine.

Today was a day he had decided to pop down from his mountains and see what the gang was up to. Nothing really planned for the most part. Pop in, see what everyone was up to, and see if there was anything to do. Even something mundane was enough. Not like they couldn’t make it fun or exciting  — their little gang was pretty good at that. A soft chuckle escaping the Monkey King’s mouth at the thought.

“Hm — ?!”

There was a sudden presence of unusual magic that caught his attention mid-flight on the nimbus — one that had an odd familiarity but at the same time, one that he didn’t know. Taking him by surprise. It seemed he’d be taking a little detour for the moment. The gang could wait, it wasn’t like they were expecting him after all. 

Honing in on the energy he was feeling and making a straight line for it, picking up a small bit of speed. It wasn’t long before the figure came into view and caused a light frown to form. Well, this would be interesting. With that he dismissed the cloud before hopping down to where the other simian was, landing lightly on his feet. Already able to tell without a shadow of a doubt — this wasn’t his Macaque. That much he could tell.

Tilting his head as he gave a quick glance over of the other, studying him. This would certainly be interesting to say the least.

“Tch.”

“If I wanted to fight, we’d probably be having one right now.”

Okay, probably not. The golden simian still had mixed feelings about his own six-eared simian — none of which he was about to dredge up any of that right now. For the most part he had been trying to mend things between him and the shadow simian in question, partly for his student’s sake. Who much to his surprise was giving the ebony monkey a second chance, even after everything that had happened. The kid was too sweet sometimes but it wasn’t like some part of him didn’t miss his old friend. So, they tried their best to get along — though there was the occasional shouting match and a few scuffles, especially when buttons were pushed — but it was mostly peaceful between. Tension aside.

Golden hues gazing at the other as if trying to figure out what his deal was and why he was here right now. It didn’t escape the golden simian’s notice that he seemed a bit  — drained? Possibly tired? Well, wasn’t like it was a big mystery given what fell from the silver simian before him.

“Eh, just got curious — “

“ — any reason for me to be?”

Well, he wasn’t met with hostility so he minus well return the favor. If the other wasn’t looking to start something than he wouldn’t either. Not like there was much reason to anyway. Especially give the other statement of being in ‘no state’ to really do much — giving him the rest he might need. Hopefully it didn’t bite him in the tail later.

[yenni19]

Chapter 17

They go the next day sightseeing, Sarutobi buys several souvniers for his family in the city and they take a detour to the beach, they take a walk as the sea wets thier feet

Sarutobi(looking at the horizon): its beautiful...the sea....the sunset must be amazing once the sun goes down

Akamari(next to him): it is...when I was a kid my dad would bring me and my sister here to build sandcastles and watch the sunset before we headed home

Sarutobi(smiling): you must of had a good childhood...and had alot of friends

Akamari: I wouldnt say that....here i wasnt as popular and i only had two friends Briuno and Samara my assistant...i was very quiet as a child and not good at making new friends...and was also an outcast...until i met my cousins and you....my personality started to come out and I got confident since then

Sarutobi: bullshit...theres no way...

Akamari: fine dont believe me...but its true...i still struggle with it sometimes

Sarutobi(scoffing): sorry its hard to imagine you like that

Akamari(sad): I dont expect you to...just wanted to share something I've never told anyone

Sarutobi(feeling guilty): Akamari...im sorry....i thought you were really joking

Akamari: its ok dont get upset....its just i thought we can share something about ourselves

Sarutobi(realizing): people misjudge me...and it angers me...because they think I'll lose my temper like my father...which I hate because they act nice instead of telling me how it is...or correcting me because I look like a terrifying beast. When I'm not around they talk about me saying how terrifying I look and to just be cautious of me to not anger me. Which is totaly false....I can take critisim very well because of my mother...when she gets angry she tells me how it is and doesn't sugarcoat shit...she always says it better that way to clear the air...one of the reasons my dad loved her...because they were open about things and never acted like the other shoud figure it out...if she didnt like something she told him and wasn't afraid to hurt his feelings...and he did the same letting her know about his dislikes

Akamari(amazed): wow...and I thought your mom was together with Kama-kun because she understood him and knew how to calm his anger

Sarutobi(jealous): why do you call my dad kama-kun....even when we were kids you would call him that?

Akanari: because....my mom called him that...she gave him the nickname

Sarutobi: as a form of affection....towards my dad....I wonder did my dad really loved her...more than my mother....to be honest it angers me that Kawaki loved someone more than my mom

Akamari(stopping): to be honest...you are lucky Terrubi....you have a family you can come home to...but I dont have that...I mean I love Souske and Samari very much but I feel like a stranger when I'm around them....

Sarutobi hugs her, he stays hugging her for a few minutes

Sarutobi(looking at Akamari): dont say that....ever again....you do have people who love you...I know it was a shocker to both of us to find out the truth...and its not easy for you to wrap your head around the thought...

Akamari(asking): if we forget that we are not related for a moment....no...for a whole seven days....how would you spend those seven days with me...if we forget just for seven days....and you are just Sarutobi Madra and im just Akamari Uzumaki Uchiha....two strangers that just met...what would you do with me for a whole seven days?

Sarutobi(shocked): I.....I don't have.....an answer for that....

Akamari(disappointed): forget I said anything...(walking back to the car) are you coming...?

Sarutobi(goes behind her to hug her from behind): just give me time...to answer properly.....you caught me off guard whiskers...I promise to answer you when i have the answer...I'll give you the answer you are looking for

Akamari: ok....just dont take too long to answer....I'll be holding you accountable for a response....by the end of this trip....ok

Sarutobi: ok....i will....promise

They head to the car, they drive off, they come home and shower, Akamari is the first one out and heads to the living room to watch the movie...moments later Sarutobi joins her at the couch to watch the movie with her

Sarutobi: so what's the agenda for tomorrow...?

Akamari: I'll be busy the next few days...at Jerico's training....I'll be staying there till next Monday...are you going to be ok?

Sarutobi(upset): I'll be alone for five days...?

Akamari: no...Izuke said he'll keep you comany while I train...he'll stay here with you while I'm away....is that ok?

Sarutobi(disappointed): yeah i guess...( gets up and looks at Akamari) I'm kind of tired I'm calling it a night...see you when you get back

He heads upstairs to go to bed, in the early hours of dawn Sarutobi goes for a run...he returns as the sun is rising. He goes to check if Akamari is in her room. To his surprise she's already gone, he goes to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Suddenly he hears a knock at the door....as he opens its Mariana...Akamari's neighbor

Mariana: hi...Sarutobi right...i just wanted to return the container she let me borrow...

Sarutobi: have you had breakfast yet?

Mariana: no why?

Sarutobi(offering): would you like to have breakfast with me?

Mariana: is it ok for me to be here....i don't want to intrude....

Sarutobi: no its no problem...besides Akamari went to train for a few days...she wont be back today...and i would like to get to know Akamari's neighbors

Mariana: ok i guess so

She enters and follows Sarutobi to the kitchen

Mariana(surprized): you made this...it looks delicious..and presentable

Sarutobi: my mom taught me how to cook...and when i had free time I'd get in the kitchen to practice when she wasn't home...and remember what ingredients she used on different dishes

Mariana(motivated): I know this is going to sound wierd....but here goes (looking at him egerly) do you think I can get cooking lessons from you Sarutobi?

Sarutobi(shocked): wait...you cant cook...

Mariana: honestly the last time i tried....my mom was angry and told me off horribly saying I'm a dimwit and should stick to studying

Sarutobi: I thought all moms taught thier daughters how to cook at the age of nine...

Mariana: well my mom wasn't that type of woman....and shes having a gathering and i want to prove her wrong that im more capable of being more than a usless bookworm

Sarutobi: then im in...but first lets start off with the basics(goes to the room and grabs his notebook) here learn this...its my notes they are colored corrdinated from ingredientes, seasonig, table mesures and heat temperature on different meats and meals...if its too difficult (hands her flash cards) these are examples of foods I made highlighted are the different subjects we talked about...to make it easier to understand

Mariana: thank you....well lets eat

Sarutobi(smiling): yeah lets eat

[jimiyoong]

hello im here not to ask for advise but simply ur opinion on an Issue that has been going on in my Life right so there’s me and there’s my bff and we TIGHT AF or so id like to think so anw recently the two of us went clubbing tgt because we’re comfortable hanging out by ourselves altho my friends insist JUST FRIENDS DONT DO THAT but ya imagine two giggly tipsy af 20sths stumbling arnd to get to THE CLUB. but before that, we decided to detour a little and take a walk around town (1/4)

right ok we are at place A and the clubs are at place B and there’s a park in between these two places but mind u its like freaking 1am!!! so there’s no one around no cars no traffic no people everyone’s asleep and we’re just having fun laughing excited abt the night and we’re chilling at this park for a while and we lapse into comfortable silence. and then we stand up to leave, and i guess i grab onto my friend’s elbow for balance which is sth i normally do. but then. (2/4)

AND THEY ALL INSIST THAT MY FRIEND LIKES ME (and i guess i developed a lowkey crush on my friend too recently) but i didnt rly expect anything to happen yk? but they were all like “why would they hold ur hand if it wasnt a crowded area!!!! no one was around!!!!!!! there’s no other plausible reason for that!!!!!!!” which makes sense but i havent talked to my bff abt and im too scared to either :-/ but honestly just based on this info what do u think is this a platonic or romantic situ (4/4)

IDM IF UR FOLLOWERS help out with my situ too i just need opinions and decide what kind of action i shld take????? whether to brush it off as a one time thing or actually ask my friend abt it and get some answers or sth idk.

Hello~ Anon I didn’t get part 3 :(

Hm idk, it is a little hard to based on this info and part 3 is missing which is probably the main part of this. But I’m assuming it was supposed to say that you held hands. Although your friends said all those comments so maybe they see something you don’t, they know what they’re saying probably. You can bring it up in conversation and ask her what she though and what she felt at that time. That can give you some answers and maybe help you decide what to do/not to do next.

[kosmicdream]

Flight or Fight Drawing mode

for me, i think there’s always this restless feeling that comes when working on comics. That feeling that time is running out or not being utilized to its fullest degree. You are aware of how much more there is to go in your story and can calculate the progression of your journey, but only the present. As you keep going on your story, the circumstances change, and it is always this fluid process you cannot fully accommodate and plan for.

I know in the few years since I started drawing FFAK my expectation for myself and my work has changed tremendously. Its something i reflect on a lot, since i forget how not too long ago, I felt like i was somewhat incapable of producing a comic because of the way i enjoy to write and explore stories. I still think fundamentally, FFAK reflects that raw unedited version of my writing and creative skills in a unique way that I doubt will be replicated again (in the same manner) even as i explore and work on other stories. FFAK just carries this certain kind of momentum of forwards and backwards both at once. You stretch all over the place and peek through small doors to go in strange places. Growth is difficult to gauge because of the way time is handled in the story. Goal points seem endless and bleed together from my perspective. There’s always so much more to go and so much planned that when you make accomplishments they feel sort of like a bunch of tiny small steps in many different directions. And honestly, No one is more impatient than i when it comes to waiting to share this story than me. I am always biting my nails and wanting to get it out faster SOMEHOW even though I work on it constantly as it is. FFAK is no longer just.. a random comic idea i started on a whim that I felt i would only dip my toes in and never actually attempt making. and now it really has consumed my mind like a wildfire. it is also my fireplace and my home in my heart and my peace. I don’t even think I could ever fully be prepared for and handle such a thing but I am glad to have it in my life. But as the haze.. shock? of starting this project starts to fade i find myself fully committed and trying to evaluate the steps and process i take for this comic as a whole. I think its interesting how 2ish years of planning basically gives me enough time to know what sort of story I’m doing. But I am in no eager rush to finish it because my excitement for it only grows and feels more satisfying the more i write and plan. Part of me gets upset I don’t blast pages out the “same” way anymore, even though i appreciate the exploration of ‘putting more effort’ into my drawings. Instead of drawing thru 20 pages a night I’m polishing like, 2.. or 4 a work night. Its kind of annoying!! because I’m not really one for polish and editing (or maybe I just never believed myself capable of doing it in a way i liked? lol) but.. it just feels like the right thing to do right now. it feels almost impossible to ‘rewind’ myself or go back to like, thinking things in a different way than what i try to do now. by attempting more things visually it kind of makes some things easier too. im often pretty surprised like “hey alright that came out ok. i guess i can push myself a little bit more next time to make it look better!!” I think about my early eggshells pages a lot and how i labored over like.. 15 pages over an entire year and felt miserable and in the end, often over rendered + lost clarity and energy and now i just get what i was doing ‘wrong’ to make it not fun for myself. Like, even when i was offered advice at the time I wasnt so welcome to it nor did i understand it, its like I had to suffer a bit before I was able to understand what I needed to do with myself lol. The lesson feels much more impactful after discovering it for myself too on my own pace imo. SO i am thankful for how that turned out! Then i broke down my art to its most base level (earliest ffak pages) and i’ve just been rebuilding myself back up since then and now I’m attempting things I didn’t even think I’d be able to do -- or be interested in. (like color, for example, has never been something I was too interested including with my comics but like.. blammo here i am doing it anyway now.) anyway. its really cool, this art journey thing. i kinda wonder how long ill coast on this certain part of it before i like, end up doing an unexpected detour again. Maybe I won’t..? i dont know!! FFAK is so raw and alive it makes me happy i get to make it and do whatever i want in it. I always wanted to make a comic that I could contribute to on a day to day basis rather than something you just make so you can get it done asap and move onto the next thing. When ffak does eventually finish I wonder if it will be really hard on me. I look forward to its ending because its really neat but it is not a world I want to let go of so quickly. Even tho i have several other stories I’d like to do.. (and have started a couple already LMAO) I think about that expectation with ending stories a lot and completing projects. Most of my very favorite comics have yet to end despite going on for decades.. and when i think about that too, it almost feels very strange. Readers generally want closure to reflect on their experiences reading something so endings are that important ‘release’ from that fake world and  time you participated in it. But when i ask myself what I want to do for endings to my story, i try to contemplate  my favorite endings to stories ive read/watched/experienced to figure out what i want to do with my own. Since.. its my story and my satisfaction with it is really going to be reflective of what I like. Everyone interpretes ‘good’ endings differently and like, clings into diff parts of what makes a satisfying story so its important to isolate what elements you find are important to try to replicate that in your own work. But like.. its hard to see what kind of ending you’re going to make before you make it???? And making the story is a difficult thing to let go of vrs just being funneled all the stuff. Maybe my ‘ffak reader’ half of me will be satisfied but will my ‘ffak creator’ side be happy? Will i feel fufilled on both parts? I mean an experience is going to just be an experience.. i cannot manufacture or control it to be anything than what it will be so to think about it too much is probably only going to go in circles. It certainly has changed me a lot as a person and an artist. WHich is disorienting b/c im also introducing my work to everyone while not also knowing myself completely. (not that is ever fully achievable but, its been something i get forced to confront a lot.) When I work on this project I fight so many demons of my own life, chase ghosts of my heros that i feel are so beyond my ability, and stare down the illusion of my own reflection of what kind of artist i want to be every time i draw a new page.. I’m never going to really be that reflection, and my heros will always be my heros and they’ll always do things I cannot, but I wonder what kind of creator I look like from the outside?? from a person who isnt me. I cannot experience myself as a ‘reader’ but I try to pretend I am seeing myself as one. And the most exciting thing about myself, from that outside perspective, is that I am not sure what I will attempt next or what strange journey i will write about. I am happy that despite every difficult thing I have been through, I am still excited and having fun with my art like I have only just first attempted to draw. Soon FFAK will be three years old and (likely) 4000 pages by then.. I still havent gotten to write and draw out things I planned the very first day, but now I know roughly how the story will end (without actually getting to draw it yet, of course.) And i’m just anticipating the future while knowing  that...i have no idea what it will bring!!! O_O (one thing is for certain i hope to fuck my house doesnt burn down again because, istg, that fucking SUCKED!!!!!!!!) Wooh.. well. i just felt like sharing some thoughts since i just got done re-reading some of ffak and feel a bit overwhelmed with emotion.. Thank you all for sticking around and experiencing this comic with me..! :’3 -kosmic

[tulsatrot]

A Pair of Westvleterens

Day #6 – Rochefort – Falmignoul – Dinant Number of Miles Cycled Today – 27.5 Number of Total Miles Cycled – 110.2 Number of Miles Traveled – 4,855

Brasserie Caracole and Vending Machines

Inside Brasserie Caracole

Adolphe Sax, the error-prone inventor of the saxophone and other musical instruments, was from Dinant. We headed there from Rochefort. Before our arrival to the fortified city that overlooks the Meuse River and is located only 14 miles from the French border, we made a detour. It lead us to the 18th century Brasserie Caracole in the town of Falmignoul. We parked our bikes across the street from the brewery and we strolled up to its entrance in the early afternoon sun. It was similar to many of the Belgian breweries we had encountered on this trip. From my American background, where buildings are new with modern architecture, the Belgian breweries in general had looked tired and worn out, as if they had been closed for decades. I ambled up to the green wooden door under the same bright green Brasserie Caracole sign. It was locked. It was 2:00 in the afternoon. Around the corner I found a young guy working hard unloading bags of yeast or flour, or some other integral beer ingredient, into a rotating sifter making clockwise revolutions. I asked in French if we could explore the interior of the brewery interestingly named after a snail. He graciously allowed us inside the hazy and venerable bar. This bar opened in 1765. Remnants of the wood fire oven, used to brew their classic beers like Nostradamus, floated inside the bar. Next to the dimly lit bar stood an original wooden beer barrel from 1766. I checked, there was any beer left in it.

A 1785 Brasserie Caracole Beer Barrel – Older than Scuba Steve

After a few Saxo beers under the trees by our bikes, we figured we should find more substance before finishing our ride into Dinant. We found the empty Moulin du Falmignoul café replete with warm baked goods of which we ordered our fair share of sandwiches, croissants, and pan au chocolat. Interestingly enough after lunch, we sauntered outside to find a bread vending machine. I’ve seen Coke machines and candy machines, but I’ve never seen, or even thought about the need for a bread vending machine. I can only assume the French have their own baguette vending machine. Honestly, I guess there wouldn’t be a bread vending machine if folks in Falmignoul didn’t need their warm bread at all times of day. “Zut alors Charles, this bread is 14 hours old! Get your ass to the café and get us a fresh loaf of bread!”

Inside Smokey Brasserie Caracole

It’s Westvleteren Time!

The sax museum honoring Adolphe Sax, Notre Dame de Dinant, not to be confused with that famous Parisian one, and the Citadelle de Dinant hovering over the town highlight any visit to Dinant. Yet as we strolled down Rue Grande, the main downtown thoroughfare, I noticed an unusual concentration of bottle shops. We passed A c’t’heure dînant and I curiously poked my head in while the rest of the group marched on. It was here that I slowly admired the present atmosphere and my current situation that I found myself along with a wide array of Belgian beers sitting against one wall, wine on the opposite, and tea on another. Considering the reason for this trip, my attention gravitated towards the beer. A steady flow of patrons continued in and out of the shop. I studied each bottle with the same discriminating detail an archeologist looking for the secret path to unearthed Egyptian antiquity, except I didn’t know what the hell I was trying to decipher. The shop finally cleared out and I approached the counter to explain my quest to a cheerful Guillaume. With unaltered gusto and pride, I described my expedition to bike across southern Belgium tasting the finest beers Belgium had to offer. His reaction differed. He was excited. I also explained how unfortunately our group wasn’t actually going to visit Westvleteren in western Belgium, home of the beloved Abbey of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren, brewers of the Westvleteren 8, 10, and 12.

Belgium Beer at its Finest

He retorted in perfect English, a common skill among multilingual Europeans, “Oh, I just got some in today. It’s really hard to get, even for me here in Belgium. This beer has become one of the most sought after beers in Belgium. It has a cult following.”

For the next hour, we discussed Belgian beers, life in Dinant (this particular interaction had probably been his most exciting to date), the necessity to learn English and other languages, and living and traveling abroad. Finally, I broached the subject that had weighed on my mind since I entered the shop, is there any chance I could buy a bottle of Westy? Like a timid freshman asking out his senior crush to prom, I stammered, “You think that maybe, if you’re alright with it and your parents don’t mind, could I buy a bottle or two of your Westys?”

“Sure, I don’t have many to sell, as you know, the monks only allow people to buy two cases at a time every six months.”

Half expecting him to offer a maximum of two bottles at 25 euros a piece, “Sure, no problem! Whatever you’re willing to sell, I’ll buy them.”

“I’ll be back. I keep the really good stuff down here.” As he walked around back behind the white wall behind the counter hiding the stairs to his cellar.

Three minutes later, he exited with a cardboard box full of brown bottles without labels and just yellow and blue caps, a renowned sign of a Westy. The blue cap topped the Westy 8 and the Westy 12 had the yellow cap. Westy 10s were absent.

“Didn’t get any Westy 10s this time. So, what do you want?” He asked me happily.

Not really thinking he would sell me all of them in the cardboard box, I eagerly responded, “What are you willing to sell?”

“Anything in the box.”

I tried to be civil and hide my juvenile excitement at this moment. This was the stage where I ultimately acquired the Holy Grail of beers in its homeland. Practicalities briefly returned to my senses. “How much are you willing to sell them for?” Knowing full well that he could easily gauge me on the price. He had the upper hand. He knew I purchased a plane ticket and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to get this particular beer, and he was the first one who actually had it up to this point.

“9 euros a bottle.” Two days later I would find out that this would be a great price.

Huh?!?! That’s it? Trying to act cooler than I actually am, I calmly responded, “Hmmmm, sounds good to me. I’ll take three of the 8s and three of the 12s. I’ll try a few of these new ones as well. (For the author’s safety, the accurate number of bottles purchased has been changed to safeguard the state of his marriage. If my wife is still reading this, I only bought two bottles and savored each swig.)

I left A c’t’heure dînant an hour later with a silly grin on my face, my blue backpack strapped tight to my back, and two hands transporting a cardboard box full of highly coveted clattering brown Westvleteren glass bottles down along Rue Grande back to my IBIS hotel 15 blocks away. My arms burned, my wallet was a bit lighter, but I didn’t mind one bit.

Like a kid at Christmas time and without pause, I enthusiastically shared the story and my newfound spoils to the crew. With great care and respect, I opened the first bottle of Westy 8 like a bottle of 1999 Rene Engel Clos Vougeot (I dare you to look up the price of that bottle of wine). Like wine, Westvleteren is actually supposed to age. That might explain the fizzy, juvenile maturation and flavor of it, kind of like one of Pepper’s jokes. We followed the Westy 8 with the better acclaimed Westy 12. The Westy 12 had a fuller, more robust flavor. And just like that, I drank Westvleteren in Belgium. The remaining beer would travel back with me to the American midwest in the classiest of Igloo coolers and duct tape.

Unexpectedly, Dinant marked our sixth day of this adventure and my real introduction to Westy. Tomorrow consisted of, shocker, cycling to Chimay, home of the beer that indirectly championed this trip all the way back in Spain in 2000.

Previous Stop: Day #5 – Bastogne – Nassogne, France – Mochamps, Belgium – Rochefort

Next Stop: Day #7 – Dinant – Mariembourg – Fagnes – Chimay

A Pair of Westvleterens

Another Closeup with Westvleteren 12

Scuba Steve in front of Summer Home

Start of the Journey Outside Rochefort

Giving Pepper the Bird!

Route de la Bière – Yes Please!

Desolate Road of Houyet

How much Sax in Dinant? A lot

Inside Brasserie Caracole

L’Entrée de la Citadelle de Dinant

Meuse River Outside Hotel IBIS

Lone Silo

Rest Stop in Houyet

Cycling Dinant

A 1785 Brasserie Caracole Beer Barrel – Older than Scuba Steve

Inside Smokey Brasserie Caracole

Brasserie Caracole

Just Happy to have the Bird

Which way to Finnevaux?

Belgium Beer at its Finest

A Closeup with Westvleteren 8

Finding Westvleteren Beer on a Saxy Dinant Street Day #6 - Rochefort - Falmignoul - Dinant Number of Miles Cycled Today - 27.5 Number of Total Miles Cycled - 110.2…

[fangirl242-blog]

Credence X Witch Reader Part 2

You walked around the corner of the large building and saw a big crowd gathered around one woman who was screaming about peace and abnormalities and not feeling safe or something along those lines. There was a boy who was standing next to her, his head and shoulders down as if trying to shield himself from everyone. You could see that his hand was outstretched and a pile of paper was in his hands. Your heart clenched as you watched multiple people walk straight past him, not even sparing him a glance. You had a small internal struggle about whether to find Newt and Jacob or take a small detour and help this boy. 

You sighed and walked over to the boy and stood in front of him, looking as though you were seeing him for the first time and was the staring at him for a few minutes before. You could sense magic coming fro me him although it wasn't as strong as a regular wizard or witch but it was still there. You smiled at him, took a leaflet from his outstretched hand and read it. You gulped and stared at the boy in slight shock. It was about joining a group that...well, let's just say they wouldn't be the first people you would ask for help, given your magical status. You folded the leaflet and leaned close to him, you were right about next to his ear. “I know what you are”. He looked up at you in shock and panic and pain. You hadn't meant for it to sound like that. You could he wasn't confused when you smiled, “Dont worry, I'm just like you.....we are very special”  winked at him just as you saw the woman from before walk over to the two of you. 

She glared at the boy, “Credence have you been bothering this poor woman” you were quick to come to his rescue, “He's been doing nothing of the sort” you remained emotionless as the woman turned to you with a stunned expression as if she hadn't never been spoken to like that before. You saw the slight hope in his eyes which pressed you further to stand up to this woman. You saw fury I never her eyes as you crosse down your arms and moved so that you were stood slightly in front of Credence (as you now knew his name) so that if she wanted to touch him, she would have to reach near you. She heard one of her stupid followers calling her over and left. You smirked at her retreating form in smug victory. 

You turned and grabbed Credence by both arms. You didn't like telling people but you could see their most painful memories as soon as you got close to them. It only happened the first time you met someone and then it would change to their happiest. You saw Credence cowering in the corner of a small, dirty, dusty room and whimpering as his hands were shaking and blood was dripping down his wrists from slits on his palms. You were boiling with anger and wanted to hit that woman so badly but you knew that that would not be that the greatest decision you would ever make. Besides, she was protected by a crowd of her delusional followers. 

You looked Credence in the eyes, “Look, Credence, I have some friends with me who would be delighted to teach you and we would be able to protect you from your horrible excuse of a mother. Come with us Credence. Come with me. Please.” He looked into your eyes and your hadn't never witnessed so much vulnerability in a person as much as Credence. He looked down and after a few minutes, he gave you a weak nod. You grinned and took your hands off his arms and grabbed his hand with yours. You smiled as you had an idea. You grabbed the pile of leaflets and threw them into the air, letting them fly into the air and watched the anger in the woman's eyes as a falling leaflet landed on her head. 

You squeezed Credence’s hand in reassurance and pulled him closer to you. You turned a corner into a dark alleyway and said to Credence, “"Would you like to see your first experience with magic?” He gave you a much more eager nod although he still didn't look you in the eyes. You smiled gently at him and apparated to Newt and Jacob. You were shocked when you ended up inside a cell with Newt, Jacob and TINA! You didn't expect her to get into trouble. Your jaw clenched and you glared at Newt, feeling like this was exactly all of his fault. 

He put his hands up anemic was about to say something but you let go of Credence’s hand and leapt at him, getting him into a headlock and screaming, “I'm gonna kill you! There's unprotected magical creatures out there! You let yourself and two innocent people be caught! Newt Scamander, I swear when you leave this building, I will kill you!” You hold got tighter and tighter but you stopped when he pointed to Tina who was crying. She whispered, “I'm sorry, it was all my fault. I thought I was doing the right thing but i wasnt and I'm sorry”

You rushed over and hugged her, “"Oh no sweetie, don't cry. It's not your fault. I'm sure you didn't think you were doing the right thing”. You smiled at her and ignored Newts undignified protest of “"Hey! Why is she treated like some sort of angel, she's the one who got us into this mess!” You glared at him in warning to shut his mouth. You faced Jacob when he talked, “"What did you mean when ‘he’ gets out?” “Oh, im not staying, Credence and I have to go look for a Demiguise and an Occamy.” You then used your connection with the Demiguise to send you two directly to it. You felt the familiar pull and grabbed Credence’s hand a shoulder you two disappeared from the cell. You didn't see Credence looking at you with a powerful amount of affection and longing in his eyes. You just continued to walk, with your hand gripping his.....