#that’s like 3-4 normal sized books for reference

[ofliterarynature]

One of my goals this year was to read 6 previously unread classics - I’m behind and only at 4, and I promised that one of them would be another Frances Burney if possible, since I loved Evelina. Well, the library does have one other book on audio, and it’s…over 37 hours. Lord save me.

[theglamorousferal]

Persephone's Binding Part 4

AO3 Prompt Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Jazz guided Jason through the halls to the library, it seemed to be in a different wing of the castle from where the living spaces were. When they reached a split between a hallway and a set of stairs she hesitated, placing a hand on one one of the banisters and turning to face him. She looked at him considering before nodding to herself and picking up her skirts to go up the stairs.

"We'll take a shortcut over the wall, because you're death-touched you can safely breathe the air without it overwhelming you with intense emotions and obsessive behavior." She said absentmindedly to him as if air that could cause such things were normal.

"Uh, glad for that then?" He said following her. She opened the door at the top of the stairs and strode outside, not even glancing at the absurd sky.

It was eerie to say the least, swirling Lazarus and emerald green with purples and blacks making the sky look like an oil slick. He expected the air of the dimension that contains all the afterlives to be colder, but it was pleasantly warm with a gentle breeze blowing by. If he closed his eyes he could imagine standing on a hill watching the clouds go by. On one side of the wall they were atop was a courtyard containing plants that Ivy would drool for, it was nearly as overrun as her greenhouse.

He noticed one of the towers had what appears to be an observatory, though he wasn't sure what besides doors, floating islands and general terrifying shapes they would see through it. "What's with the observatory?"

She glanced at it and gained a fond smile on her face. "That's Danny's. He always wanted to be an astronaut but circumstances prevented that. That telescope can connect to any telescope in our home universe. Even the ones in deep space. He's going to IRU right now for aerospace navigation. There's a dimension he was hoping to spend a couple years in before he has to take the crown that has intergalactic space travel as the norm." She seemed to light up when she spoke of her brother, obviously proud of him.

"Wait, Danny's who you're Regent for? Not a son?" Jason wouldn't have minded if she had a kid kicking around, but to find that the kid he met earlier is the future King of Everything In-between was surprising.

"Oh, yes, Right, I'll explain everything I can once we get to the library, it's just through here." Once inside again, she took brisk steps forward to doors directly across the hall. "Here we are, my favorite spot is just this way."

They stepped out onto a second floor balcony of a three story high library. Books spanned from floor to ceiling in a room the size of a small stadium. Shelves and tables made from a purple wood polished to a shine. Deep red velvet seats on all the chairs and couches in each of the reading spaces. Jason stood flabbergasted at the sheer volume of books present. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to see a conspiratorial smile in teal eyes. "I had the same reaction when I first came here. Come on, my favorite spot to talk is this way."

They made their way to a corner of the library that had a pair of chairs, a tea table between them and a small fireplace, lit with a ghostly blue flame. They sat and she looked at the fire, then at him, then back at the fire and sighed heavily. She closed her eyes, gathering her thoughts before she spoke.

"Once upon a time there were three scientists in college who wanted to build a portal to the 'Ghost Zone' as they called it so they could study an research entities they referred to as 'ghosts'. Their definition being that any entity that produces, metabolizes or consumes the substance ectoplasm is a 'ghost'." She paused here, clasping her hands together and looking down at them. "There was an accident, I'm not going to go into too many details for now, but just know that one of the scientists became something more than human. The first of his kind in a millennia, a statistical improbability. Some things happened and he believed that he lost the only woman he could ever love to the man that caused him to become something other than human, to become partially one of the creatures they sought to capture and experiment on.

She glanced up and stared into the middle distance, remembering. "Twenty years pass and the two other scientists are now married with children. They've had a lab in their home since they graduated college at the top of their field in ectoscience. They have a daughter and a son, both are born ectocontaminated though they don't know for years later. They've been working on a new portal, this time bigger, large enough to fit a car through." She laughs lightly. "I remember coming down and shoving granola bars and thermoses filled with soup when they were on work binges, determined to get 'just a little bit more done Jazzy-pants, then we'll go to bed'" She gazed wistfully at the fire. "They usually did once they finished whatever food I brought to them, not wanting to have a repeat of the last time they left something with old food in it and it gained sentience and mass enough to chew a few hazmat boots."

She seemed lost for a moment before she cleared her throat. "Sorry, um, where was I?" She blinked before raising a hand up pointing at the ceiling. "Right, the portal. So they spent a good decade start to finish on it. It was going to be their crowning achievement, but when they plugged it in they saw some sparks, but nothing else happened." She folded her hands together on her lap. "They left for a weekend. Went to search for some cryptid they had been meaning to go find for years, but had put off to work on the portal. I was in charge for the weekend, a thing I was used to from whenever they were on design binges. Danny had his friends over and I was in my room studying. I had my headphones on, I don't even remember what band was playing, and I think I was working on chem homework?" She shook herself from the thought. "Anyway, there was this power surge, I remember just thinking that I was mad that it happened right during my favorite part of the song and I was singing into my pencil. When the lights went out, I had the usual expected dread in the pit of my stomach, but something felt especially frightening in this moment. I didn't have time to dwell on it, shaking it off as just being paranoid. I was more concerned with getting my music back on after that. I should have realized something had happened." She tightened her hands until the shook, pale knuckles stood out.

"I'm not telling you details, but there was another accident with a portal, this time it was Danny. He became something more than human. He became the second halfa in a millennia."

"Halfa?"

"Yes, Half human, half ghost. An anomaly, a myth, a statistical outlier. He walks the line between life and death. He will have many titles once he takes the throne, and one of those will be the Balance."

"Damn, that's a lot to put on a kid. How'd that happen?"

"I found out all of this second-hand mind you. I may have known his secret when it all happened, but he didn't know I knew yet."

"How'd he hide suddenly having powers? I don't expect he had particularly good control over them at first, I know several supers who didn't."

Jazz hung her head in shame. "I was too deep in my own head at that point. I was neck-deep in research on how to parent troubled teens because while I missed all his slips for power usage, I did not miss his decline in grades. Especially when the chemistry teacher approached me about the fact he kept 'dropping' equipment." She held up air quotes. "Turns out not being able to control tangibility can cause mass amounts of property damage, who knew?" she shrugged her shoulders.

"So basically, the original halfa guy from earlier managed to gain wealth and power using his powers in increasingly shady ways. He also grew obsessed with my mom and blamed my dad for turning him into a halfa. He wanted revenge. He invited us all to a college reunion where he found out about Danny. Things happened and they became nemeses with Vlad wanting Danny to denounce our father and become his son with my mom at his side. You're allowed to say ew, it was very ew for a long time." She laughed at his scrunched up face. "Anyway, he finds out about ancient ghostly artefacts that are supposed to give the user unimaginable power, and finds out where they are. He finds out they are locked away with the former King of the Realms, and he expects to be able to just grave rob the ruler of the Infinite. He manages to get the Ring before Pariah wakes up, and somehow manages to escape back to out home dimension. All ghosts flee the Realms through the most stable portal available; the one in my family basement. This causes alerts to go out all across the town and my parents put up defenses for people to huddle under during everything. Some stuff happened and it ended up leading to Danny taking a suit our parents had built and defeating the former King Pariah Dark and sealing him away in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep.

"Infinite Realms Law dictates that if the leader is defeated in single combat, and the combatant continues after said encounter, then they are to be crowned High Royal and any family members gain royal titles as well. Danny is, however, too young for his classification. He is too young by human years, he must be twenty-one for that, and too young for halfa standards, he must be a halfa for a decade. He won't be of the majority for at least another five years, and then he must have it on the following solstice. Until that time, he is High Prince and must work on learning leadership and combat skills." She gazed calmly at him, resigned for her brother's fate.

"So how'd you end up Regent?" She sighed and closed her eyes, shoulders dropping.

"We had a council for a while, the Council of Ancients, new and old working alongside the Observants. It worked for a little while, but something happening in my home dimension was causing issues. You see, the ghost problem in our town after the portal opened became a pretty big issue when property damage resulted in the thousands and you can't bill the dead. Danny was doing his best to fight off as much as he could, but he wasn't trained and was very new to his powers. It didn't help that our parents were shooting at him while he was trying to save people." She grumbled and Jason's hands tightened to fists.

"What do you mean they shot at him?" He asked as evenly as he could. He could feel the tinges of old hurts coming to the surface. A Batarang to the throat.

"They never hit him, he dodged every time. They didn't know it was him. They thought it was just a ghost, and to them, all ghosts were evil. They had a lot of bias in the majority of their research, but as soon as they found out who he was they immediately changed tack. They had Danny stay at Vlad's for a weekend, which was it's own can of worms, while they disarmed the house and set everything to ignore his ecto signature." She looked thoughtful. "Apparently Vlad wasn't a complete jerk that weekend either, Danny told him what they found out and Vlad, worried for the second of his species, actually helped him through some emotions and helped him train some. I think it's what started on his redemption actually."

Jason breathed out heavily letting his rage dissipate. "You keep saying 'the second' instead of the 'the only'. There are more?" He quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, yes, there's Ellie and Dante. Ellie is my younger sister, she's a clone of Danny Vlad made, and Dante is an evil alternate timeline version of Danny and Vlad that fused together and is inhabiting a clone of Danny Vlad wasn't able to pull into consciousness." She let him digest that for a moment.

Jason choked out a laugh. "Man, and I thought my sibling situation was weird."

Jazz's eyes narrowed, appraising him almost like a predator eyeing prey. "Hmm. We'll discuss your family situation later." She cleared her throat gathering her thoughts. "Anyway, so the property damage led to the government getting involved. More specifically a branch known as the Ghost Investigation Ward or GIW for short. They were founded on the first research papers my parents produced which were heavily biased against ecto-entities on a whole. They were extremely prejudiced against ghosts.

"They started out as a nuisance. Someone easily distracted by getting their suits dirty or faulty equipment. Then the Anti-Ecto Acts were ratified. Then they got bolder. They paid my parents a fake amount of money to buy the house as-is with the portal. They planned to send a nuke in to destroy the Realms believing it to be full of horrendous monsters. Thankfully the nuke was a dud model and someone definitely got fired that day in ordering. But after that they just started to get worse and worse. They were starting to go after anyone who pinged on their detectors, which were just getting more and more precise as time went on.

"Here's the thing about Amity Park, my hometown. It was founded by witches fleeing the witch trials. It sits at the crossing between ley lines, and it's always been a spot that the veil was thin. Ectoplasm would leak through natural portals that popped up from time to time. Add a stable portal to the mix? The entire town was now ectocontaminated. They were now classified as liminal. They were now death-touched enough that they pinged on the GIW's equipment. They began raiding people's homes, accusing them of harboring ghosts. Danny's entire home room got taken in for questioning one day, they had set up little interrogation rooms like a blood drive in the gymnasium." She chuckled darkly. "They got so close so many times, too many times." Her left hand clenched into a fist.

"My parents found out about Danny when the raids first started. He'd decided it was time to come clean because it was only a matter of time before they came knocking at our door. Thankfully, they came while Danny was at Vlad's and they never had the guts to storm the billionaire's house. I managed to avoid detection by wearing a Specter-Deflector and my parents were always in their hazmat suits so they didn't ping either. Things got worse, Danny had to beg the Council to make an edict to not come through the portal for the foreseeable future.

"It didn't work, various beings saw it as a challenge. They began to lose faith in their future ruler. If he couldn't protect his little town and the people in it, how was he supposed to protect them? It was a common sentiment. It was something I grew tired of hearing during one particular fight." She stared at the blue flames of the fireplace, not seeing the flickering light. "Danny was down. Mom and Dad and Vlad were fighting together to both capture the ghost before they could do more damage and stop the GIW from capturing another ghost to experiment on and dispose of. The ghost was the fourth one that week spouting the same bullshit." She spat the word out like a curse, growling before looking into the middle distance with sad eyes. Softly, she spoke, "There was an explosion." She blinked, coming back to focus. My parents were down. My youngest siblings were now fighting. I made a decision." She squared her shoulders and tightened her jaw, determination filling out her features. "I had been helping Danny study to become King, I had read up on all the important laws. I took the Specter Speeder to the council chambers. I stood before them and declared as the eldest and therefore heir and head of the Nightingale family, the Royal family, and that I was at the majority for my classification, I would be taking the title of Regent until Danny reached his majority. I took the Crown and the Ring and my own suit and went to the fight.

"I told Dante and Ellie to get Danny and go, there was nothing that could be done for our parents. I subdued and contained the ghost and then beat back the GIW until they were at the borders of Amity. Then, using power I had just gained, I pulled the entire town into the Infinite Realms." She held out her hands, gesturing to the general vicinity.

He sat with that for a moment. "Wait, wait wait, you're just gonna skim over the fact your parents died?"

Jazz's eyes hardened. "Never." Her eyes glowed yellow for a moment and her hair seemed to float a bit when she said the word. "I just met you, and it's still a sore wound, I'd rather not get into it if that's alright with you." She held herself rigid as if expecting him to press the issue.

"Whoa, it's okay, nevermind, touchy subject, I get it. Most people I know have their parents as a touchy subject. Especially dead ones." He kept his posture open, slouching a little to show he didn't mean to pry.

She hummed thoughtfully, appraising him once more. "So, I told you my story, earlier you told me some of yours. I think that's enough sharing for one day. I don't know about you, but I am very tired. If you like, you may stay here. Just ring the bell on the mantle and Jeeves will be here to assist you. If not, I'd be glad to walk you back to the guest rooms, they are down the hall from the family rooms." She stood and waited for his response.

"Um, yeah, let's walk back together. I had a couple questions about some of the books in my room?" They walked and talked together as they made their way towards the bedrooms. They parted ways with a promise to read the same book and give each other feedback on it in a week.

"Well, this is me." He said awkwardly indicating the hall his room was in, hers was in the opposite hall.

"Yup, I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to see you tomorrow, I have a full day up until dinner, but I'll see you then?" She looked inquiringly at him.

"Yeah, definitely! See you tomorrow!" He said and turned down the hall. He jogged until he got to the door, opened it and then leaned against it falling to the floor. "Okay, so I may not have entirely screwed this up, but man, she's been through a lot already. Do I want to add my shit to it?" He thought to himself, spiraling until he was clutching his hair. He growled and stood up, then stalked towards the bed and flopped down on it, back first this time.

"I mean, I might be stuck here, so would my baggage really matter that much?" He laid there for a moment before deciding to get ready for bed. Once laying down again, he kept thinking of all the different ways he as a person could fuck this or her up if he pursued a relationship. He worried himself to sleep that night.

[lilliths-httyd-blog]

Summarising every single HTTYD movie, short and episode in roughly one sentence:

HTTYD 1:

ADHD incarnate befriends Death: The Dragon and with the power of friendship they OH GODS OH FUCK OH HOLY SHIT WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT

Legend of the Boneknapper:

Gobber likes to tell campfire stories

Book of Dragons:

DreamWorks attempts to write a reader POV fanfiction

Gift of the Night Fury:

Critical series lore in a Christmas special?? Yeah seems normal for this franchise

Riders of Berk:

1. Mildew tries to get a bunch of teenagers executed or some shit

2. Solidifying Gobber as a total madlad: The episode

3. Hot take: You can skip this episode, it's arguably the worst one in the franchise, but you WILL miss a penis joke so there's that going for it.

4. Toothless develops an Older Sibling complex over Beyblade: The Dragon™ and HOLY FUCK WHAT IS THAT???

5. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU, MILDEW?? I mean I knew you were an ass but I didn't expect THIS??

6. "The films aren't anything like the books!" UM, ACTUALLY- (aka the episode where Hiccup goes full-on Book!Hiccup mode and Alvin is nothing like his book counterpart but the rest of the outcasts are)

7. "Look at this super dangerous dragon I found! I'M GONNA WRESTLE IT!!"

8. Hiccup has body image issues

9. Mildew gets bitten in the ass (SATISFYING)

10. The Mary Sue: Part One

11. The Mary Sue: Part Two

12. Oh yeah Snotlout's dad is an abusive cuck who can go fuck himself I'm not even joking. Love Snotlout tho I gotta say.

13. "IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT?! STRIKE ME DOWN, ZEUS!! YOU DON'T HAVE THE BA-"

14. Toothless has a mortal enemy apparently and it is fucked up

15. (Dagur fanboys start screaming in the distance)

16. Snotlout fixes his mistakes (they were very big mistakes)

17. VALKA??? VALKA MENTION??? HICCUP HAS A DRAGON PLUSHIE??? (silently weeping by the end of the episode)

18. Fishlegs and Snotlout piss off some helicopter parents who are also Invisible Acid Dragons™ (ohhhhhh no)

19. Are there... other Night Furies????

20. Lol no BUT I'LL TELL YOU WHAT THERE IS-

Defenders of Berk:

1. Fight Club reference

2. That one time Meatlug became magnetic and almost died

3. Dagur is gay for Hiccup but like in a yandere way

4. Whoever designed the Screaming Death must have been on a particularly fucked up slice of magic mushroom because I've never seen something more in need of holy water than that dragon (my childhood favourite :D )

5. Snotlout's dad is a fucking asshole but I never thought he'd stoop that low

6. Behold: My second favourite dragon who canonically killed Astrid's uncle

7. They tried to train Terrible Terrors in this episode, guess how that went lmaooo

8. (grabs more holy water) IT'S BACK.

9. Hey remember Tiny Beyblade Dragon? Yeah now he's kinda sorta the size of a house. Meanwhile everything is on fire (twin's fault)

10. Behold: My favourite dragon's frozen carcass preserved in ice- I mean my favourite dragon is hibernating in ice- I mean OH SHIT OH FUCK HOLY FUCKING SHIT OH NO-

11. Dagur subjugates my favourite dragon and then karma bites him in the ass

12. Snotlout and Gustav are an anxiety/adhd wombo-combo

13. Ruffnut cuts her hair short to save the life of a really cute dragon and Dreamworks was too pussy to keep it like that for the rest of the season.

14. (darude sandstorm plays)

15. The dragons get high and try to kill each other

16. Toothless is on drugs (I'm not even joking, during the Toothless POV shots you can literally hear stoner music playing)

17. Dagur with helmet hair Dagur with helmet hair Dagur with helmet hair

18. THORNADO NOOOOOOOOO T-T

19. ALVIN, DAGUR, SNOTLOUT AND THE SCREAMING DEATH. HOW IS THIS SUPPOSED TO GET BETTER THAN IT ALREADY IS???

20. IT GOT BETTERRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!

Dawn of the Dragon Racers:

The gang got new fits and invented a sport

Race to the Edge S1:

1. Oh shit, Dagur's out of prison, better go chase him down and OOOH, SHINY TELESCOPE THINGY?? (Hiccup is a magpie apparently)

2. Gothi once again proving herself to be an absolute madlad

3. Hiccup and the gang move out of home because telescopy thingy told them to. What could possibly go wrong? (GONE WRONG)

4. Welcome to our new home on Dragon's Edge! It's been years since we've been able to function effectively as a team, and Tuffnut's been smoking way too many hallucinogens lately OH FUCK HE WASN'T HALLUCINATING OH FUCK ME

5. Snotlout is gay for Fishlegs

6. NOT GUSTAV NOOOOOOOO

7. Basically what happens when you put me in charge of anything

8. "Look at this super dangerous dragon I found! I'M GONNA WRESTLE IT!!"

9. Fishlegs and Snotlout are gay

10. THE MARY SUE IS BACK AND I LOVE HER SO MUCH

11. WELL THAT PLOT TWIST CAME OUTTA NOWHERE

12. (darude sandstorm vocoded to running in the 90s plays)

13. they made girl dragon pink

Race to the Edge S2:

1. Astrid becomes that "SHOW ME YOUR WAR FACE" guy basically

2. SCOTLAND FOREVER!!! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (new villain alert and he is AWESOME)

3. MARY SUE IS WORKING FOR THE VILLAINS NOW???

4. Dreamworks introduces Dragon Werewolfism and does NOTHING with this concept after this episode?? What a ripoff!

5. Fuck Snotlout's dad so much

6. Hiccup punches Snotlout in the face and knocks him out which is no surprise considering he is God of Dragons

7. MARY SUE WAS SPYING ON THE VILLAINS ALL ALONG NOW???

8. Two people and a singular dragon try to fight off an entire armada

9. They succeed somehow

10. Oh hey it's a HTTYD 2 dragon (Free Willy parody? You couldn't have done anything more original?)

11. SKRILL!! SKRILL!! SKRILL!! SKRILL!! SKRILL!! SKRILL!!

12. Prepare to thirst in 3... 2... 1: (Viggo appears)

13. If you thought Dagur was homosexual, you aren't prepared for how gay Viggo gets

Race to the Edge S3:

1. Dagur did WHAT NOW???

2. Fuck Cavern Crashers so much but SNOTLOUT SNOUTLOUT OI OI OI!!!

3. Sword in the Stone parody?? Are all the Fishlegs episodes story parodies now??

4. Did... Did they try to portray Snotlout's dad as being in the right in this episode?? Ew fuck that.

5. Viggo almost caused Covid-19

6. Hiccup forgets that not everyone has ADHD and the dragons go completely fucking feral

7. This show loves to force romances, doesn't it?

8. I think these people took HTTYD/Pokemon crossover fics a bit too far

9. A musical episode which has a reason to exist. Sarah Z was right all along?

10. Favourite Fishlegs episode :)

11. DAGUR DID WHAT NOW???

12. My go-to introductory episode for non-fans. It's got everything. Including Viggo.

13. OKAY BUT THAT CLIFFHANGER WAS METAL

Race to the Edge S4:

1. OH THAT FINALE WAS METAL MALA IS JUST SO METAL I LOVE DEFENDERS OF THE WING

2. If you listen closely you can hear TJ Miller in absolute hysterics in the recording booth

3. At this point in time Viggo only values Hiccup as being worth 1000 gold coins

4. I love Snotlout so much... Spitelout can go suck a bag of rocks

5. Oh fuck yes Dagur's back

6. Viggo throws a hissy fit and kisses a man and Toothless is willing to die just so Hiccup doesn't have to die alone (sobbing)

7. Everyone is high in this episode

8. "You didn't think after all we've been through I'd expose myself without some... added protection?"

9. Jumping into a volcano on purpose: The episode

10. Viggo takes a sip of water in this episode (very important)

11. It took Hiccup and Astrid over four years since their first kiss to officially start dating, but they finally did it and it was one of the best episodes in the whole show

12. Ryker has had enough

13. Viggo confesses his love for Hiccup and then fucking dies (or did he?)

Race to the Edge S5:

1. "The volcano on Dragon's Edge is a dormant volcano" THINK THE FUCK AGAIN, FISHLEGS

2. How the fuck did Gen Z: The Dragon get ahold of Viggo's sword?

3. Savage needs therapy

4. Snotlout's casual sexism almost gets him killed: Lesbian Island edition

5. If you've ever watched an elderly person try to escape a nursing home then you've seen this episode before. Just without as many bones and corpses

6. The Gays Are Back In Town ft. Gay Snotlout, Gay Fishlegs and Gay Viggo

7. "my city now" - Krogan

8. You cannot watch this episode and tell me that Viggo isn't in love with Hiccup

9. Krogan insulted Viggo's hobby and Viggo got mega salty about it

10. Astrid punches a dragon with poisonous scales and almost dies because Save Stormfly Make Anditode™, turns out she did this for no reason whatsoever because Stormfly Wasn't Dying

11. Tuffnut fakes his own death in order to make Ruffnut happy

12. Dagur not-so-casually finding his fathers dead body

13. Rage.

Race to the Edge S6:

1. My blood has never boiled so hard as it did watching this episode

2. Stoick gets played like a cheap kazzoo and regresses back to how he acted in HTTYD 1 out of sheer stress

3. THIS SHOW LOVES TO FORCE ROMANCES, DOESN'T IT?

4. Fishlegs can't believe that his ancestors were Dragon Hunters as if he wasn't once enrolled in Dragon Killing School

5. Nothing solves a sibling rivalry like teaming up to kill the annoying cousin

6. THIS EPISODE GOT AGE RESTRICTED ON NETFLIX BECAUSE ASTRID SHOOK HER TITS AT HICCUP AND DAGUR AND MALA HAVE A MUTUAL PAIN KINK

7. The twins are just. So ride or die for each other it's not even funny.

8. Viggo confesses his love for Hiccup and then fucking dies for real this time (Viggo fans start sobbing as The Winner Takes It All by ABBA starts playing in the distance)

9. Snotlout writes a book

10. What if the gang had never left Berk? What if Hiccup never shot down Toothless at the start of HTTYD 1? What if Spitelout actually loved his son?

11. Protecting an island filled with a bunch of dead dragons

12. The satisfied smirk on my face knowing what the characters don't

13. The most satisfying death in the history of mankind.

HTTYD 2:

Way to straight up ruin Hiccup's life, am I right?

HTTYD 3:

Ruining every character and spitting in the face of all that I love

Homecoming:

20 minutes of my life that I'll never get back

Snoggletog Log:

Half an hour of a fireplace and the wrong voice actors. This shit plays like a DVD menu.

[kimono-daisuki]

I recently saw this book on 100 kitsuke tips by Sunao on Amazon JP and thought to try it out, purely for this one page - tips for wearing kimono as a plus sized lady!

はじめてさんからベテランさんまで使える 楽しくなる着付け 100のコツ

ISBN 978-4046058850

Some very roughly translated kitsuke tips for the larger lady:

1) Wear your obi wider in the front. (Fold the tesaki to show more than half, if able)

2) Widening more of your juban collar (away from the neck) will make your face look narrower.

3) Taper your skirt to make your legs look slimmer.

4) Neaten the sides of your kimono so that there is no overhang above your obi - this has a slimming effect.

5) If your obijime is too short to wear normally, you can tie a knot in the middle of the obijime and then tie the rest behind like you would for obidome. (From the referred page, another alternative is to link two too-short obijime together and tie them together to get a longer obijime.)

6) Stripes make people look taller, but it can make us look wider if the stripes are unevenly matched up when worn.

7) Wear similar colours for kimono and obi to avoid a horizontal divider that makes us look larger.

8. Wear larger obidome to be more proportionate to size.

9) You can combine more than one too-short obi to add length!

I find this book quite useful, and hope sharing this review and table of contents will also be useful to others!

[tweedlebat]

Part 14 of A Treatise of Embroidery, crochet, and knitting with illustrations

By George C. Perkins, Anna Grayson Ford, and M. Heminway & Sons Silk co circa 1899

Please note, this book was written in 1899, and as such uses a racist term to refer to the dyes that were used for the thread. If you'd like to read more about this period in time, the term, and the stereotypes that the Victorians had, I've actually linked the wikipedia article here that goes more in depth. It's not the end all be all of it, but it's a good starting place for anyone wanting to educate themselves on the topic.

An indepth description of the diagram is as follows:

The rose stem starts off angled diagonally to the right and is done in H with a pair of thorns, one on either side along the way, done in M. There are three rose leaves in a cluster that have a football sort of shape with squiggly edges. Starting from the base of the leaf and moving in rows to the tip:

Leaf 1 (Leftmost Leaf): S, E D, S C, R(tip).

Leaf 2 (Topmost leaf): R, R N I S, O N R O, I, N(tip).

Leaf 3 (Rightmost Leaf): R S, O S E R, N (illegible but possibly R) O, N(tip).

Moving along the stem upwards beyond the leaves we hit the fork leading off to the second rose, however continuing up the rightmost past leads to the first, larger, and more fully bloomed rose.

The stem connecting to the larger rose on the right is done in E with another thorn done in M. There are three sepals emerging from the rose. Left to right their colouration is as follows:

Left Sepal: D, C.

Center Sepal: D, C, B.

Right Sepal: C, B, A.

There is a small section they adjoin that the underside of the rose is visible and done in K.

The rose itself is yellow and starting on the left of the bottom center petal that is almost the width of the blossom and moving upwards in rows towards the center of the bloom:

Petal 1,Row 1. Each of these numbers has a divot in the petal between them forming a scalloped edge:

1, 3(the petal has flipped to reveal it's underside), 3 (the petal has turned back to normal, there is a gap here due to a scallop in the rose petal, 4, 5 (underside), 4(topside), 3 (underside), 3 (topside).

Row 2: 3, 2, 4, here is a continuation of the gap from the previous petal that has shrunken slightly and terminates in a v shaped point in the next row, 3.

Row 3: 2, 4, 6, V point, 5, 4.

Moving clockwise to the next outer petal which is about half the size of the previous one and curves slightly upwards so the rows are now columns:

Petal 2, Column 1: 3, 2 (underside), 3 (topside), 3, 4.

Column 2: 3, 4.

Petal 3, column 1: 1, 1. Column 2: 2, 2.

Column 3, peeping out from behind the largest front facing center petals edge: 3.

Petal 4, row 1: 1, 1. row 2: 2.

Petal 5, row 1: 3, 4. Row 2: 6.

Petal 6, is the last petal for the outer ring and butts up against Petal 1 on the right side. Column 1: 3.

Column 2: 2 (underside), 5(topside), 3, 4.

Column 3: 2, 3, 4, 5.

The inner petals are all held in by two larger petals, the left overlapping the right like a jacket.

Both have the petal lip turned over much like a jacket colar as well, and it's done in 1's.

Left Petal Inner, done in rows from bottom to top. Row 1:

3, 8, 1.

Row 2: 4, 3, 2, 9.

Row 3: 5, 5, 3.

Row 4 is the petal lip on a diagonal slant.

Right Petal Inner, Row 1: 6.

Row 2: 5.

Row 3: 4, 2.

Row 4: 3, 4.

Row 5: 4.

Row 6 is the petal lip also on a diagonal slant but smaller than the left one.

The last 4 petals are arranged with one in the center v of the outer petal "jacket" and the other 3 fanning out behind it.

Starting with bottom petal and working clockwise in rows from bottom to top. Row 1: 6.

Row 2: 5.

Row 3:

4 (topside), 2 (underside), 4 (topside).

Petal 2, Column 1:

3, 5.

Petal 3, Column 1: 4.

Column 2: 3, 6.

Petal 4 is done entirely in 5.

Back down to the fork of the stem, the leftmost fork is done in E that transitions to d with two thorns done in M.

This stem also forks at the top, but the left fork is a set of 5 leaves. There is one on either side that form a matched pair, and then a second matched pair above that, and the stem terminates with a single leaf emerging from the tip.

The Leaves will be in pairs from left to right, from the bottom of the stem to the tip.

Pair 1, Left Leaf:

Tip is done in C, and then gradients to D, then E, and ends in a touch of H on one side of the leaf at the base.

The Right leaf goes under the stem leading up to the smaller rose and has no lettering, so you can pick one of the colours you used from the other leaf to make it match.

Pair 2, Left leaf.

Tip is done in I, then B, Then splits along the center into two different colours, A for the one side and D for the other, before going back to E, and then splitting again into C and K.

Pair 2, Right Leaf. There is no letter at the tip, instead the leaf is split with the top going from B to A, tip end to base, and the bottom going, D, B, E respectively.

The Top Leaf Goes from A at the tip, to I and B, then to B at the left edge and C, before ending at D at the base.

The stem for the rose passes under Pair 2 Right Leaf and is done in R. With 4 sepals, done in O, R, O at the tips, and R, S, R, at their bases respectively from left to right.

The flower bulb base thing is done in D and K. The rose itself has the front petals left, over right, and thenthe rest of the petals emerging in an alternating fanned fishscale sort of arrangement behind bottom center "jacket" V petal once again.

Starting with the outer left petal, Row 1 from the bottom up: 6.

Row 2: 5, 4, 3.

Row 3: 2, 3, 2(underside).

Row 4: 2.

Outer right petal, row 1: 4, 3.

Row 2: 4, 1, 1.

Row 3: 2, 3.

Row 4: 3, 5.

Row 5: 3(underside), 4(topside), 2.

Center Petal: 5, 1(underside), 6(topside).

Above that is the row of outer petals, the left done in 4 and 3 at the base with 2 at the tip, the center done in 3, and the right done in 4 at the base with 2 at the tip.

Behind them are two other petals in the gaps between the layer in front of them and they are both done in 1.

[sodaquail]

Dude I’m so hyped for your werewolf AU, you have no idea. I’m the biggest werewolf!Chip fan out there. Anyways, if you want asks (sorry if I misinterpreted your post):

What type of werewolf are we talking here? Classic bipedal or twilight style giant wolf? Somewhere in between?

Are any of the other characters werewolves, and/or does Chip know any others?

Is lycanthropy a known thing? How do people react?

One of my D&D books has a section on lycanthropy, and while you can play player characters affected by it, it goes hand and hand with the Evil alignment (it’s an older book, not sure about lycanthropy in 5E). Is this similar in your AU, or are werewolves misunderstood?

Don’t feel obligated to answer any of these haha, I understand that they could definitely lean into spoiler territory, I’m just so excited!! :D Werewolf world building is the best.

Im sooooo glad to see you're excited!!! I can totes add you to the tag list ^_^

for the TYPE of wolf... I totally leant more into mythology rather than werewolf movies. ive never actually watched a werewolf movie (although, a friend said wolfchip would be like the wolves from twilight so now im planning a marathon with IRLs.... oops) I'm doing a lot of worldbuilding into the nature and magic of werewolves and that stays hidden but.. - physically they are BIG. like twilight wolf sized... big big. - They have no tail (a mythology thing for werewolves!! common for creatures rumored to just be witches in disguse actually) I was VERYYYYYYYY much not going to pull the werewolf pop culture thing and have some 'weird human-wolf hybrid cross' because i did not like the idea tooooo much..... would rather be taken out back and killed with bricks than make chip bipedal wolf-man hybrid thing.... noooooooo...... also in human form werewolves are distinctly inhuman!! Won't go into TOO MUCH worldbuilding of mine but essentially, among other things their wolf form and traits fluctuate with the lunar cycle. on new moon they're indistinguishable from human, on full moon they're fully wolf, and all inbetween is a mix of traits. It all depends on when you catch em, whether it's day or night, whether it's new moon or close to full moon.... you might not know what you're signing up for if you find a normal person on the full moon only for them to change as the lunar cycle goes on, lol. but from mythology these are the traits which often identify a werewolf in human form - unibrow (not giving chip this one. no dice) - low, swinging stride (yes!) - lower set ears (also yes!) - when the skin is cut, there is fur under it! (yes, but i felt might be too obscure for people.... not included in common werewolf pop culture sadly...) as well as a few special things of my own!!! I ALSO HAVE A PHOTO OF WHAT WOLFCHIP LOOKS LIKE!! i found this on a dog grooming video on tiktok and went 'thats wolfchip."

2) Yes! I have one confirmed werewolf NPC (of my own making for the purposes of the story) and am toying with the idea of making another character a werewolf. It won't be too big of a deal though... just a neat little reference!! 3) now THIS is staunchly spoiler territory!! sorry dude!!! 4) this is also spoiler territory but what i will say is that I did not go off of DND modules (although it wouldnt hurt to give them a read...)!! I play BECMI and 5e as my DND modules among other TTRPGS but i did not lean from any of them. Honestly, I didn't take much inspiration for my werewolf worldbuilding outside of some mythology shit (and not a lot, anyway). I think i just went off the general, well known werewolf myths and said 'ok what can i do with this' and i sewed and cut and now it is a new beast. it is MY beast. TYSM for your questions!!! Hope you enjoy the final project ahhhh...... seeing the answers for the spoilers in the fic will be SO much better than reading them here i swear :3

[doggiedayoutnc]

Tips for Traveling with Your Dog Under the Airplane Seat

Traveling with your dog on a plane can be a smooth and enjoyable experience with the right preparation and planning. If your dog is small enough to fit under the seat in front of you, they can often travel in the cabin with you, making the journey less stressful for both of you. Here are some essential tips for ensuring a comfortable and safe flight for your furry companion.

Pre-Flight Preparations

1. Check Airline Policies

Before booking your flight, check the pet policies of various airlines. Each airline has specific rules regarding pet travel, including size and breed restrictions, fees, and required documentation. Some airlines may only allow a limited number of pets per flight, so make your reservation early.

2. Visit the Veterinarian

Schedule a vet visit to ensure your dog is healthy and fit for travel. Obtain a health certificate if required by the airline. Discuss any concerns with your vet, and ask about calming aids or medications if your dog is prone to anxiety.

3. Choose the Right Carrier

Invest in an airline-approved pet carrier that fits under the seat in front of you. The carrier should be well-ventilated, comfortable, and large enough for your dog to stand up, turn around, and lie down in. Familiarize your dog with the carrier well before the trip by letting them explore and spend time in it.

4. Acclimate Your Dog

Help your dog get used to the carrier by using it during car rides and at home. Positive reinforcement, such as treats and praise, can make the carrier a pleasant place for your dog.

5. Plan Your Flight Schedule

When possible, book direct flights to minimize the stress of layovers and transfers. Aim for flights during less busy times to reduce your dog’s exposure to crowded, noisy airports.

At the Airport

6. Arrive Early

Arrive at the airport early to allow plenty of time for check-in and security. Most airlines require you to check in with your pet at the counter rather than online or at a kiosk.

7. Exercise Your Dog

Give your dog ample exercise before the flight to help them burn off energy. Take them for a walk and allow them to relieve themselves before entering the airport. Many airports have designated pet relief areas.

8. Stay Calm

Your dog can pick up on your emotions, so remain calm and positive. Speak to them in a reassuring tone and keep their routine as normal as possible.

On the Plane

9. Comfort Your Dog

Place the carrier under the seat in front of you as required. During the flight, avoid opening the carrier unless necessary. Reassure your dog with a calm voice and occasional gentle touches if they are anxious.

10. Hydration and Feeding

Limit food intake before the flight to avoid motion sickness. Offer water in small amounts to keep your dog hydrated, but avoid over-hydrating, as this can lead to discomfort.

11. Monitor Your Dog

Keep an eye on your dog for signs of distress. If your dog shows signs of extreme anxiety or discomfort, discreetly comfort them without disturbing other passengers.

12. Post-Flight Care

Upon landing, take your dog to a pet relief area as soon as possible. Offer them water and a light meal, and give them time to stretch and relieve themselves after the flight.

Additional Tips

Documentation: Keep your dog’s health records, identification, and airline documentation handy throughout the journey.

Pet-Friendly Amenities: Research pet-friendly amenities at your destination, including parks, pet stores, and veterinary services.

Training: Basic obedience training can be incredibly helpful during travel. Commands like “stay,” “sit,” and “quiet” can make the experience smoother.

Conclusion

Traveling with your dog under the airplane seat requires careful preparation and a calm approach. By following these tips, you can ensure a safe and pleasant journey for both you and your furry friend. Happy travels!

For more detailed information on airline-specific pet policies and additional travel tips, you can refer to resources like BringFido and GoPetFriendly.

[theindietrumpeter]

Got The Horn?

Actually, have you got 2 horns? 3? 4? If not, why not? Horn sections are the way forward! Legit, quite a lot of the session work and live work I have done has been as part of a horn section. I know you’re thinking ‘well, of course, it’s obvious’ but if it’s that obvious why haven’t you got your own horn section yet??

Synthesised sounds of the 80’s not withstanding, horn (or brass) sections have been around in popular music since 1959 - give or take a year or two. Ray Charles’ song ‘What’d I Say’ is generally credited as the first recorded use of a horn section in pop music. If something has stood the test of time then it makes sense to get in on the action.

Just in case you aren’t aware, I’m not referring to a section of French horns like you have in an orchestra - however awesome the sound - I’m referring to the other sort. Horn is a generic term for any brass or woodwind instrument in the popular music world…

In this post I’m going to talk a bit about different horn section set-ups, give you a few examples of horn sections, maybe some songs with horn sections in and a few other useful bits of information.

Generally speaking, if you play trumpet you will know someone who plays sax and someone who plays trombone - get in touch with them and get practicing together. Here’s why:

Horn sections come in different shapes and sizes and can look like any of the following:

1-Horn:

Saxophone (normally Alto but could be Tenor)

Trumpet

2-Horn

Trumpet and Saxophone (could be either Alto or Tenor)

2 Saxophones (normally an Alto and a Tenor)

2 Trumpets (not the most common although I have played in a 2 Trumpet section when I worked with the rapper E.N.V.)

3-Horn

Trumpet, Saxophone (Alto or Tenor), Trombone - this is the standard 3-horn line up.

2 Saxophones (Alto/Tenor, Tenor/Bari or, the less common Alto/Bari), Trumpet

3 Saxophones (A/T/B, A/A/T)

There are other 3-horn combos but these are the 3 most common.

4-horn

By the time you get to 4 horns it can be any combination of trumpets, saxophones and trombones. My favourite is trumpet, alto sax, tenor sax and trombone with 2 trumpets, tenor sax and trombone a close second.

Within these groups I would expect the trumpet to double flugel (which 99% do) and saxophone to double flute, possibly clarinet but I’ve never seen it in a pop setting.

If you want to have a look and listen to some horn sections check out:

The Killer Horns

Blackjack Horns

The Air Horns

Komodo Horns

The Horny J’s

The Regiment Horns

The Muscle Shoals Horns

The Phantom Horns

These are just a few but a bit of an internet search should turn up some more….

Once you start working as a section, you will probably definitely need to start doing some arranging. If you are doing standard charts there are plenty of sources, free and paid, of horn charts of differing qualities which, again, an internet search will turn up. You can use your own judgement on how good the charts are…

If you’re new to arranging then you need to check out the following books:

Stickley, F., Jazz & Rock & Roll Horns - an e-book with written and audio/visual examples. It’s a bit of a quick start guide rather than an encyclopaedia but it’s a great starting point.

Runswick, D., Rock, Jazz and Pop Arranging - not horn specific but, nonetheless, a great resource focusing on popular genres.

Gates, J., Arranging for Horns - published by Berklee, this is my favourite on the list, it’s not perfect but it’s got good examples and is more in-depth than the others.

Of course, the other way to learn about arranging for horn section is to listen, listen and listen some more. Horn sections play various roles in songs so try and cover as much as you can. I’ve played on tracks where the horns have been part of the ‘ambiance’ and not really heard in the mix, tracks where we played pads (long notes) and stabs (short notes) or a mix of both, and tracks where we’ve had solos or a horn soli (think Sir Duke). Once you’ve listened to examples of all three you’ll have a better idea of what the horns can do to a song, how they can elevate it. Hal Leonard have released a series of Transcribed Horn books so you can follow the charts through, see how they’re written and how they fit. There’s 5 in all - Jazz/Pop, Jazz/Rock, R&B, Pop Hits and Pop/Rock - with 15 songs in each to keep you occupied for a while.

If you want to think about exploring working in a horn section but you’re not sure where to start or what to do, Rockschool now offer horn section grades 1-8 with repertoire suitable for each level - all the info is on the Rockschool website but I believe it’s the same rep for all three instruments so you can play together with the backing tracks.

I’ll finish off by telling you a little bit about my horn section. Called The In-House Horns, because we specialise in remote recording (although we do live performance and studio recording), we formed in 2011. We have played on a number of tracks and albums including a UK Top 10, appeared in music videos and live on stage. Officially there’s 3 of us but actually there’s been 6 of us in various forms over the years, all of us multi-instrumentalists. Roughly speaking we have 2 trumpets/flugels, 2 reeds, 2 trombones/tuba but us brassers can actually play all brass and, as a section, we can cover pretty much everything. Versatility is key to a good horn section!

Hopefully, this little bit of generic advice has piqued your interest and has maybe encouraged you to think about starting your own horn section…

[phrootsnacks]

jjba thursday: part 4 ep 13-15

I have so much homework to do and I'm behind in my classes and I dont really feel like a person and I think someone has a crush on me (I am oblivious to these things but still) and I dont know how I feel about it and my prof didn't finish the letter of recommendation in time for the application deadline. but I have been thinking a lot about jojo's bizarre adventure

so now I'm gonna watch. jojo's bizarre adventure

episode 13 - We Picked Up Something Crazy!

man I love this show. its cringe but I love it

hey why does. why does old man joseph have a cheetah pattern hat.

hey. why does. why does josuke always turn his back on the things / people he's supposed to be watching.

those handprints are so small..... BABY STAND?????!?!

BABY STAND BABY STAND BABY STAND

.... INVISIBLE BABY STAND

what. what did old man joseph

oh. my god. lol

ww. w uh

old man joseph. all on josuke's card. wh

god forbid someone from class sees josuke with. an invisible baby

no no no no oh my god do not put makeup on the invisible baby stand that is so much worse wha

?????

oh my god. and you just spent all that money on baby stuff!

uhhhhhhhhhh

WHHHHHAAAAAAAAAA

im sorry that was. wow. ok

is. is the invisible baby gonna be a recurring character

episode 14 - Let's Go to the Manga Artist's House, Part 1

these guys. why do the look more chibi than usual. or have I gotten used to characters built like jotaro and this is just what normal sized people look like in this universe

what do we think the manga artist looks like. and is it a self insert character?

oh. ok

they're being so cute

hes definitely a stand user right

I really like that his earrings are pen nibs. thats so cute

um

sir????

"mangaka are not normal!" lol

heaven's door?????? that's not... thats not a heaven's gate reference is it......?

oh wow

ok so I don't think you need to turn people into books in order to get realistic experiences into your manga. you could just write gender bent versions of your friends, like what nozaki does

this guy doesn't have friends does he

dude I dont know what to tell you. you live in a town FULL of stand users why is everyone so surprised when they learn there are other stand users

I like this rohan guy, and his stand is interesting

WHOA ok um. hazamada, what the fuck

never mind I remember now he's an incel

read him to filth!!!!

rohan. hes just like me fr (in the sense that I too am always anxious about what people think of me and then I get depressed about it)

seriously is heaven's door supposed to be a reference. again I dont know much about 80s music but it feels like a reference to heaven's gate????? but it doesn't seem to be actually referencing heaven's gate?????

uhhhhh . w. what just happened

he just ripped off pages of koichis face. I dont feel like that was necessary but uh now it's uhh. what

hes just like me fr (in the sense that I too forget really important things. but then I get really anxious about forgetting things)

episode 15 - Let's Go to the Manga Artist's House, Part 2

I love that the manga artist (araki) made the manga artist character (rohan) so epic at drawing manga.

new intro!

I also love that the house itself is like. part of the horror of the stand

lol

read him to filth!!!!!!!!!

hey so how does. his editor read his pages? is the editor.... under the effects of the stand too??

oh wow

why is okuyasu on fire and screaming on the floor so funny lol

going for his hair..... oh boy...........

josuke's ego is too strong for him to join a death cult

oh lore? oh shit!

wh

who is that???????

thats actually kinda sweet. but why did that guy have that hairstyle????

lol. I love this show its so funnyyyyy

this show is great. and all of the enemy stand users have been pretty fun and interesting. and none of the side characters are really pissing me off yet either? like I fucking hated polnareff in part 3 im a polnareff hater. but the cast of characters is pretty large so the annoying ones dont get too much airtime yknow. and I like the emotional beats too, between josuke and old man joseph. and we have another baby stand lol

[lesfeldickbiblestudy]

  Through the Bible with Les Feldick LESSON 3 * PART 2 * BOOK 79 PART 5 of the MESSIANIC PROPHECIES – PART 2 Psalms 68, 69, and 72 Okay, good to see everybody back from your break.  For those of you joining us on television, if this is your first experience, we’re just a simple verse-by-verse Bible study.  I’m not a pastor.  Please don’t write and say Reverend so and so.  I’m just a layman.  I always say I’m just a glorified Sunday school teacher, if anything.  We’re just lay people, and we’re cattle ranchers; and you’ll see we refer to that from time-to-time.  But the Lord has given us this ministry, and we just praise Him for it. All right, for those of you in the studio, you’re already where we left off in our last program.  For those of you out in television, we’re going to continue on in Psalms 68 and finish our book number 79—which is all in Psalms, if I remember right.  Then we’ll move on probably to the Book of Daniel in our next taping. But for today, Psalms 68 and we’re going to continue on from where we left off.  But I’m going to back up a verse or two, because we kind of ran out of time in the last lesson.    Remember we’re talking about the Kingdom that’s coming over which Jesus the Messiah will one day rule and reign.  Hills and so forth and mountains in the Old Testament usually refer to earthly kingdoms. Psalms 68:15a “The hill of God (In other words, this kingdom that’s coming.) is as the hill of Bashan;…”  Now I have to stop and explain that a little bit.  Bashan is the mountainous area just east of Galilee and the Jordan River through which the River Jabbok flowed. If you remember the story of Jacob, it is quite mountainous.  Not like the Tetons in Wyoming, of course, nor like our Rocky Mountains—but nevertheless, for the Middle East they’re pretty good sized mountains.  All right, so the analogy here is that this kingdom that’s coming will be as much higher than the normal kingdoms of the world as the mountains of Bashan are above the other hills and mountains of the Middle East.    In other words, it’s going to be so glorious and so complete in its control of the planet.  Now verse 16: Psalms 68:16 “Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill that God desireth to dwell in; yea, the LORD will dwell in it for ever.”  In other words, this Kingdom is going to go right on into eternity.  Now let’s drop down to verse 18.  This is where we get the connection that this is a Messianic Psalm, in that it is tied also to a New Testament reference—in this case from the Apostle Paul.  And that is in verse 18. Psalms 68:18 “Thou (speaking of the King) hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.” Now let’s just go chase that down in Ephesians chapter 4. This is exactly what Paul is quoting from.  Now for the skeptics and the scornful, they probably say, well, he just went back and found that.  No.  That’s not the way the Scriptures came together.  The Scriptures came together as the Holy Spirit inspired these writers to write.  They did not go back and try to find another Scripture that would fit where they’re writing.  This is just one of the supernatural aspects of our Bible.  That even the Apostle Paul by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit refers to this verse in the Book of Psalms. Ephesians 4:8-9 “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, (In other words, from His post-resurrection and His 40 days with the Eleven from the Book of Acts, we got the account of how He ascended back up into Glory.) he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?”  You see, now this wasn’t in the Book of Psalms. Here we have an extension of what the Psalmist does not tell us.  He not only ascended, but He first descended.  And I think we’d better take the time to explain what Paul is talking about. Ephesians 4:9-10

“(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?  10. He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all the heavens, that he might fill(or fulfill) all things.)”  Now, the only way I can explain that is by the use of the Scripture itself.  Come back with me, if you will, to Matthew chapter 12 verse 38. Now what we’re talking about is where did He descend to, and what did He take from where He descended?  We’re going to chase this down from Scripture. Matthew 12:38 “Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.”  Now you remember the Scripture tells us the Jews always required a sign. (I Corinthians 1:22)   So this is typical Jewishness of these people.  Show us a sign.  Verse 39: Matthew 12:39-40 “But he (Jesus) answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah: 40. For (Now remember, this is Jesus Himself speaking.  So what does this tell us?  Jonah is not just a legend.  Jonah is not a myth.  Jesus puts His stamp of approval on it as the Creator of everything, and He says-)  as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”  Now that’s not a play on words.  He’s speaking of the place to which He will descend and take those who are there in captivity out and ascend up into Glory with them. Now the only way we can explain this lower region of the earth is, again, to let the Scriptures do it.  And that would be in Luke chapter 16 where we have the account of the rich man and Lazarus.  And most of you here know it.  But remember, we’ve got a lot of people listening out there who have never heard these things before.  That’s the kind of mail we get, “I’m hearing things I’ve never heard before.”  Had a letter yesterday, “Been in church all my life.  Caught your program three months ago.  I’ve learned more in three months than I did in the previous 60 years.”  Well, they don’t hear it.  So that’s why I have to use the Scriptures. Luke 16 and we can’t take it all verse-by-verse, or it’d take all afternoon.  But we’ll just hit the highlights. Here we have Jesus again speaking.  And if He isn’t an authority, I don’t know who is.  And He says: Luke 16:19-20 “There was a certain rich man, (Now this is not a parable.  It doesn’t call it a parable.  It’s, I think, a reference to a real scenario.) who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: (on the other side of the coin) 20. There was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate, full of sores,” He was poor.  Destitute! Luke 16:21-22a “And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. (In other words, he was a sad, sad piece of humanity.) 22. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom:…”  In other words, into the Paradise side of this place of the departed. Luke 16:22b-23a “…the rich man also died, and was buried; (Verse 23, now this is unfortunate in our King James anyway.) 23. And in hell he lifted up his eyes,…” Now, the first thing people think of when they hear “hell” is fire and brimstone.  But you’ve got to understand that in the three words—let me put them on the board.  That’s the best way to get them cleared up. We have three words that all mean the same thing—Hell in the English, Sheol in the Hebrew, and Hades is the word in the Greek.  Now this is unfortunate, because Hell is also described later as the Lake of Fire.  But in this instance, we’re not talking about the Lake of Fire.  We’re talking about the place of the dead, the departed—saved believers as well as the lost—before Jesus died on the cross. So when it says, “in hell he lifted up his eyes,” we’re talking about the Hebrew Sheol or the Greek Hades.

  All right, so in Hades, in this place of the departed dead, which included both Paradise and torment—got that?  It’s divided, and we’re going to see that in just a minute. Luke 16:23 “And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”  In other words, Abraham and Lazarus are over there in Paradise.  The rich man’s in torment.  Verse 24: Luke 16:24-25 “And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime received thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.”   The two totally different scenarios, and now here comes the clue. Luke 16:26-28a “And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would come pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldst send him to my father’s house: 28. For I have five brothers;…” And so on and so forth.  All right, so what we have here is this place of the departed in the lower regions of the earth as Jesus said in Matthew chapter 12.  On the one hand is Paradise—Abraham.  On the other side is torment. Now in order to understand this concept of why did the Old Testament believers have to go down into this place of the departed instead of up to Heaven is a theological one.  Hebrews tells us that the blood of animals and goats and bulls could not atone for men’s sin.  All they could do was cover them.  So, since these Old Testament saints did not have their sins totally atoned for, they could not go into Glory.  They had to go down to Paradise and wait for the True Atoning Blood, which was Jesus Christ. So when Christ shed His blood on the cross, then that was now sufficient for the whole human race provided they appropriated it by faith.  So after His death and during the time of His three days in the tomb, His Spirit went down into this place of the dead.  Not to the torment side, but to the believers’ side.  And what could He tell them?  The Atoning Blood has now been shed, and I can now take you with me up into Glory.  Whereas the lost are still going to the same place.  That hasn’t changed. Now then, with that in mind, we have to come back again to how Paul puts it.  Because like I said, he carries it a little more in detail than the Psalmist does.  But it’s still the same concept.  That the Old Testament believers went down into Paradise waiting for the shedding of the True Blood of Atonement.  Whereupon, then, Christ could take them out and up to Glory with Him after he had spent His three days and nights down there. All right, come back to Ephesians once again.  Hopefully now it’ll make more sense, especially if you’ve never heard these things before.  So after His death on the cross, while His body is up in the tomb, His Spirit goes down into Hades or Sheol.  And He announces to those believers from the Old Testament that He had now accomplished that which they were waiting for.  Now back to Ephesians again. Ephesians 4:8a “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive,…” In other words, those souls and spirits of believers confined down there in Paradise in the center of the earth, because they couldn’t go into the Glory of Heaven until their sins had been atoned for.  Verse 8 again: Ephesians 4:8b-9 “…When he ascended upon high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.   (Which, of course, was poured out at Pentecost.) 9. (Now that he ascended, (up to Glory) what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?”  Exactly as Jesus spoke of it concerning Jonah—that as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so must the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.    Same identical language.

Now I imagine everybody has the same problem I do.  And for me it’s not a problem, because I certainly believe the Scriptures.  But if we understand the makeup of planet Earth, what have we been taught is at the center?  The core of molten, molten material.  That’s our concept of the center of the earth.  But you see, we have to overcome that and realize that God is still able to—in spite of all that, there had to be a place that He was able to describe as we’ve seen here—where the departed believers were on one side and the departed unbelievers were on the other.  And, of course, they’re still there.  The unbelievers will be there until the Resurrection of John chapter 5.  Now verse 10: Ephesians 4:10a “He that descended (the same Jesus Christ) is the same also (Jesus Christ) who ascended up far above all heavens,…”  Well now, the Psalmist used it as “above all the highest hills.”  He is above and beyond everything that man can think of.  And then, of course, Paul goes on how that He gave gifts to men which were apostles, prophets, evangelists, and so on and so forth.   All right, let’s go back and pick up our account in Psalms 68 verse 19. Psalms 68:19a “Blessed be the Lord,…” See all these references to Deity as we come through this chapter?  It’s just over and over and over.  It’s either God or Lord or Jehovah or whatever.  All right, verse 19 again: Psalms 68:19 “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.” Now you remember, I’m always stressing what is the main theme of Scripture?  Salvation!  The whole Book is constantly trying to bring lost people to a knowledge of salvation.   You remember the very verse we started with this afternoon in Peter?  “Of which salvation the prophets searched…”  Well, it’s the theme of Scripture. It is to bring lost people to a place of God’s salvation. Psalms 68:19b-20 “…even the God of our salvation. 20. He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death.”  But now we step in again to the wrath of God that’s going to precede this glorious Kingdom.  Now He comes back to the Tribulation experience. Psalms 68:21-22 “But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses. (speaking of lost humanity.)  22. The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea.” In other words, He’s still going to bring His people Israel from wherever they are in the planet to be ready to come into this glorious Kingdom that is being promised.  All right, now verse 23, yet another picture of His wrath and the horrors of the Tribulation. Psalms 68:23 “That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in (will lick) the same.”   Now let’s go back and compare this to Revelation 19. We have the same scenario, the horrors of these final days of the wrath and vexation that’s coming on the planet. Now I know that I have people listening to me, not in here, but out in TV land that just ridicule this.  They just can’t imagine that the so-called God of the Bible is going to bring on such mass death and destruction.  Yes, He is.  And I’ve been giving the reason in all the programs lately.  Why?  Because during these last 6,000 years of human history, God has been merciful and gracious and offered salvation at every turn.  And when the mass of humanity rejects it, then, yes, His wrath is going to finally fall.  Hasn’t happened yet, but it will.   All right, Revelation 19 and let’s see how that compares with Psalms 68:23.   Now look how Revelation puts it, chapter 19 verse 17. Revelation 19:17a “And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven,…”  Now, I’ve got to stop again.  Can’t help it.  People get all hung up on simple terms of Scripture.  And they say, “Well, Les, you speak of three heavens.  What are they?” Well, here’s one example.

  What is the heaven in which the birds fly, for heavens sake?  Oh, our atmosphere, the air around us.  Get a bird in here and he can fly.  What’s the second heaven?  Well, outer space.  The Space Program is penetrating deeper and deeper into space.  And then Paul speaks of the third heaven, and what was that?  The very Heaven of the heavens, the Presence of God.  Those are your three heavens of Scripture.  All right, that’s why I had to think of it.  The birds of the heaven—that just simply means the birds of our atmosphere. Revelation 19:17b “…saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;”  What is it?  To clean up the death of the human race that’s laying on the surface of the earth. Revelation 19:18 “That  ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, small and great.”  That’s going to be the end result of this final seven years. Now, I’ve got time.  A verse comes to mind, I don’t think you’ll find it in the margins of your Bible.  But, Jeremiah, I think it’s 25.  Now see, some of these verses I don’t even think of while I’m preparing.  It’s a good thing the Lord brings them to mind while I’m at it.  But here it is—Jeremiah chapter 25.  We’ve used them before, and the Bible is full of these kinds of descriptions for those final seven years, especially the closing months and days.  And I think it’s going to be nuclear war.  You’ve heard of the “nuclear winter,” where everything is just barren.  Well, I think it’s coming. In fact, they’ve been advertising—you know, the only TV I watch is pro-football.  Forgive me, those people that think it’s violent, but I love my Cowboys.  But what have they been advertising lately?  A movie is coming some time in the month of December, “The Last Days” of some sort. And as I looked at that preview, I just said, Lord, you’re getting them ready.  They’re going to see all that stuff that Hollywood dreams up.  It’s going to become a reality, and it’s going to be beyond human description.  Now look at it.  This is what the Scripture says.  It’s not what Les Feldick thinks.  It’s what the Book says.  Jeremiah 25.  I’ve got time.  Go all the way back to verse 30.  Jeremiah 25 and I know some of you see me use these more than once.  But again, there are people out there that have never heard this before. Jeremiah 25:30 “Therefore prophesy (or speak forth) thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD (Now that’s God the Son in the Old Testament, or Jesus Christ of the New.) shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.”  Not just Israel.  This is going to be for the whole world’s population, all seven billion of them. Jeremiah 25:31a “A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations;…”  Why?  Because of their rejection of everything that He’s ever said or done.  Their hatefulness and their rebellion toward Him.  Their corruption, as we’re seeing every time we turn around lately.  The corruption.  And don’t think it’s confined to America.  My, you get into these Banana Republics, and corruption is what everybody thrives on.    Well, God is putting all that on their account. Jeremiah 25:31b “…for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations; he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, (that is to death) saith the LORD.”  Now, here’s where it’s going to come.  Compare this with the Psalms and compare it with Revelation and it all fits.  Verse 32: Jeremiah 25:32 “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the (borders) coasts of the earth.”  That to me is nuclear power being exercised.  Now here it is.

Jeremiah 25:33a “And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth:…” My, we thought the tsunami a few years ago was horrible, but that was just a little, just a little speck of planet earth.  This is from pole to pole and from east to west. Jeremiah 25:33b “…from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried;…”  How did Revelation picture it?  As food for the birds of prey.  Well, birds of prey don’t go six feet deep to go find a corpse do they?  It’s lying on the ground.  This is what’s coming.  It’s going to be total death and destruction. Well, we only have one more minute?  Two.  Let’s go back to Psalms 68, and then maybe we can move on from there in our next program. Now we come back again to the joy of the Kingdom—the Glory that’s going to follow the horrors of the Tribulation.  Verse 24 back in Psalms 68: Psalms 68:24-25 “They have seen thy goings, O God: even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.  (The King in the sanctuary—that’s the Nation of Israel.) 25. The singers (in other words, all the celebration of this coming King and His Kingdom) went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels.”  Can’t you picture it? Psalms 68:26-27 “Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel. 27. There is little Benjamin (down on the south part of Israel’s geography) with their ruler, the princes of Judah and their council, the princes of Zebulun, (who is a little further north) and the princes of Naphtali.”  He’s on the north. So what have we got?  We’ve got a picture of Israel from south to north. The whole Twelve Tribes are all going to enjoy this glorious heaven-on-earth Kingdom ruled by their Messiah.    Now I’ll take one more verse, and I guess it’ll be time to wind her down. Psalms 68:28-29 “Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.  29. Because of thy temple at Jerusalem (See that?) shall kings bring presents unto thee.”

[ashly-29]

Top 10 Types of Ninja Weapons

Ninja weapons are tools and weapons used by ninjas. The ninja might use weapons such as shuriken, darts, or smoke bombs. A weapon can be anything that the ninja uses to inflict harm on the enemy, from daggers and swords to bows and arrows. There is no limit on what kind of weapon the ninja can have because it is up to the imagination of the creative person.

They are tools used by ninjas to inflict harm on enemies. 

There is no limit on what kind of weapon a ninja can have because it’s up to creativity. 

Some examples would be different types of daggers, swords, or bows and arrows. 

These types of weapons are great for combat to be used against the enemy. 

This is because if you were to be hit by them, it would hurt you a lot. 

The ninja can use these weapons from when they were young and get into the ninja life. 

But some people say that these weapons are not effective for combat and that you would need to be trained in martial arts or combat to use these kinds of weapons. 

This is a good idea because then when a beginner wants to become a ninja they will learn how to use their weapon safely and effectively so they can defend themselves without hurting themselves or their opponents.

Types of Ninja Weapons

The word "ninja" has come to represent both a type of warrior and the acts of stealth or fighting that they do. What many people don't know is that there are a variety of weapons ninjas use, depending on their rank. These types of ninja weapons include long swords, katana, wakizashi, tanto, sai, and shuriken. Ninja weapons are nothing to be confused with samurai swords (katana)that have been popularized in movies, television shows, and books alike. 

The fact is that these weapons are very different from samurai swords. Samurai used their swords for slashing and cutting, usually against other samurai. These weapons on the other hand were made for stabbing and thrusting. Samurai might find it very hard to kill an enemy with a ninja dagger or sword because the length of the blade is not long enough to cut through vital organs or muscle tissue. Here is a list of names of ninja weapons and their functionality. 

1. Katana

A katana is a Japanese sword that has been characterized in many different ways. One way is to think of the blade as the part of the blade closest to the handle, which typically ends with a sharp point for stabbing and cutting through opponents, and it curves sharply back towards the hand, where it meets a flat section called "habaki", or tsuba. The length of the katana sword varies depending on its purpose. Smaller katanas are used by children while adults use larger ones.

2. Wakizashi

The wakizashi is a Japanese sword (?) traditionally worn by samurai along with the katana, usually on the left side of the body. A wakizashi is not a full-length blade but as long as one's forearm, about 22 to 60.5 cm / 8.7 to 23.6 inches long with a handle about 1 inch (3 cm) wide and 25 cm (10 inches) long - odachi size. These blades were also used for close combat battlefield dispositions and no single-combat dueling.

3. Tanto

Tanto is a Japanese kitchen knife, which is typically around 18 cm (7 inches) in length. Tanto blades are normally single-edged with either a curved or straight edge. The blade style has become popular among Westerners looking for an alternative to the typical chef's knife and can be found in many ranges of quality and price.

4. Sai

Sai is a sword-like implement with a blade on one end and a handle on the other, which can be used in physical combat. It has been used by many different cultures, including Middle Easterners, Europeans, East Africans, and North Americans. In North America, sai is typically referred to as nunchaku.

5. Shuriken

A shuriken is a traditional Japanese concealed weapon that was mostly used for throwing. Some shuriken is also, in effect, small grappling hooks. The name "shuriken" comes from the characters for "sword" and "pen", indicating that it is a concealed sword rather than an open one. The literal translation of shuriken would be something like a hidden hand knife or dagger. The history of the origins of these ninja weapons can be dated back to the start of Japan's feudal era.

6. Ninjato

Ninjato is one of the wooden swords with a curved blade that accompanies the Japanese warrior class of ninjas. It was typically carried behind the back to prevent detection, wrapped in cloth, and hidden in, among other things, a bush or tree. 

The ninja sword had no guard to protect the hand and fingers from an opponent's arm, so this meant that one had to rely on stealth and maneuvering over speed for combat effectiveness. Ninjas were trained extensively in hand-to-hand combat skills as ninjato exercises were considered useless when compared to karate or jiu jitsu.

7. Nunchaku

Nunchaku is a pair of sticks connected by string or chain. Originally from Japan, the nunchucks are now often associated with Bruce Lee. Nunchaku is an Okinawan word that means "two-pointed staff." You can use them in your hands like a hard martial arts weapon or tie them to your feet for an extra advantage. This weapon is also called nusanji and okubi as well as shuriken jitter (lit. "shaken short sword") on Okinawa and the Japanese mainland, respectively.

8. Kunai

Kunai (tengu-no-to) is a Japanese throwing dagger with a serrated edge and sharp point. The word kunai literally means "edge" or "sharpened." Kunai have existed since the Middle Ages. They are still used in modern martial arts such as ninjutsu. 

The kunai throwing knives were originally used for hunting but became more widely known and developed during the Edo period (1600-1868) when they became popular among samurais on the battlefield because of its ability to penetrate armor, which made them crucial tools in combat.

9. Blowguns

Take a minute and think about what you know about blowguns. You probably remember using one as a child, or someone else might have told you about them but it's likely that you don't know too much about these fascinating weapons. Well, that's why this post is here!

Blowguns are typically made of wood with a tube-like shape to propel the dart (or in some cases the arrow) by puffing air out of one end. They are most often used for hunting small game and self-defense purposes because they can be shot from concealment - perfect for stealthy hunters and assassins! These types of ninja weapons are also used by tribes practicing traditional rituals.

10. Crossbows

Crossbows have been used to launch projectiles at great distances since ancient times. Crossbows were used by the Romans as well as the Chinese, both of which invented some of their own unique variations. 

Variations such as a matchlock, flintlock, or being drawn with a crank were also implemented over time by different civilizations in order to make crossbows more reliable and accurate. The simplest crossbow design is a longbow that has a set of fingers or other hand grip attached to an over-shoulder stock for support to help steady it when firing.

[gertlushgaming]

Ninja JaJaMaru The Great Yokai Battle +Hell Deluxe Edition Review (PlayStation 4)

 For our Ninja JaJaMaru The Great Yokai Battle +Hell Deluxe Edition Review, we go Back to the 80s, Jaleco first released one of their most-known franchises Ninja JaJaMaru-kun, spanning several sequels over the coming decades, some of them never released in the West before! We are now bringing three amazing Ninja JaJaMaru collections from the great developers at City Connection to Europe and North America! Restored with love, additional features, and English language support, different editions, including various titles of the series, are heading to your home screens.

Ninja JaJaMaru The Great Yokai Battle +Hell Deluxe Edition Review Pros:

- Brilliant pixel art graphics. - 650.8MB download size. - Platinum trophy. - Own in-game achievements. - Button settings - normal and rotate. - Online leaderboards. - Local two-player multiplayer. - 24 characters to unlock, you get 2 initially. - Chapter and level selection. - The soundtrack is modern or retro (unlockable). - Battle platformer gameplay. - At the end of the level, earn unlocks from the gotcha machine. - The presentation is excellent with pixel art graphics, fireworks, etc. - New unlocks show next to the menu it pertains to. - The best score is shown on each level. - You can replay levels. - Earn medals for each level like no hit. - In the game it's platforms that you jump between, smash blocks to stun enemies, and shoot enemies. - You can see enemy health bars. - Shoot enemy projectiles to destroy them. - Awesome power-ups like invisibility or riding giant frogs! - The collection includes - - Ninja JaJaMaru-kun (1985, NES) - Ninja JaJaMaru’s Big Adventure (1986, NES) - Ninja JaJaMaru: The Great World Adventure (1990, Game Boy) - Ninja JaJaMaru: Operation Milky Way (1991, NES) - Super Ninja-kid (1994, SNES) - Ninja JaJaMaru: The Great Yokai Battle +Hell (2020) - All characters have unique attacks, stats, and movements. - Really addictive. - Tutorial signs within the levels. - Near instant loading times. - It is fantastic fun. - Plays like an updated version of the original Mario Bros game. - Boss battles. - Challenge mode is a harder leaderboard-based mode where enemies come at you faster and harder. - Collect 3 blossom leaves to get a bonus game at the end of the level. - Combos for killing enemies fast. - Ninja JaJaMaru: RPG Collection has two games that take the series in a different direction: - Ninja JaJaMaru: Ninja Skill Book (1989) - Ninja JajaMaru: The Legend of the Golden Castle (1990) - Stun enemies by jumping on them or by hitting the Breakable bricks under them. - You get retro games and a modern game all bundled into one. - The museum shows off collected images of box art, promo items, cartridges, and anything else. - The collection is what you fill in with the gotcha machine and each piece gives a brief description. Ninja JaJaMaru The Great Yokai Battle +Hell Deluxe Edition Review Cons: - No actual tutorial and the signs are far and few between. - Cannot rebind controls. - No reference for what to do. - Takes a bit of getting used to. - The older games are harder to get into with little help, Tougher gameplay. - The collection comes down in separate downloads. - Each character is different and if it's a character you have never seen then you go in blind. - The collection and museum menus are not clear. Related Post: Tetris Effect Connected Review (PlayStation 5) Ninja JaJaMaru The Great Yokai Battle +Hell Deluxe Edition: Official website. Developer: City Connection Publisher: ININ Games Store Links -  PlayStation Read the full article

[beautyclinicblog]

5 Things You Must Know Before Getting Your First Lip Filler

Are you recently curious about lip fillers? You might be thinking of booking a consultation already, but reluctant on whether or not this might be the right move for you. Don’t worry, there’s a first time for everything. With the right preparation, there’s really nothing that could go wrong. 

Ageless MD explains that it’s completely normal  to feel some level of anxiety. Questions around what the experience will be like, any potential discomfort, and results might linger in your head. But by learning more about your procedure, you’ll be equipped with a good level of knowledge to help you feel at ease. 

Essential Truths to Know About Lip Fillers

1. Decide on Your Lip Goals and Decide With Your Provider

You’re probably looking for a more subtle look or you’re looking to truly accentuate your pucker. Lip fillers in Orange County come in a wide range of options. An easy way to help clarify what you want is by bringing photos to your provider. You can look up photos from Facebook, Instagram, or other sites so you can have a reference that will help guide the conversation with your provider about the results you want. 

2. There Will Be Discomfort, But It’s Manageable

Some people are particularly bothered by the sight of needles. However, you shouldn’t let that keep you from trying lip injections. There are multiple ways your provider may be able to prepare your lips to help control pain and discomfort. Upon arriving at your appointment, ask your provider about numbing options, which could help temporarily reduce sensation around your lips. During the procedure, there might still be that occasional pain, but it typically feels more like a pinch. 

3. Schedule Wisely

Typically, lip injections are administered quickly. However, you still need to be strategic about the timing. Swelling, tenderness, bruising, firmness, lumps, are the potential side effects you need to consider. Remember, your lips might look a little swollen after the appointment, but the swelling will usually subside within 30 days or less to reveal your new pout.

4. Expect Natural-Looking Results

Some people stay away from lip fillers because they think it might make them look “unnatural.” But unless you’ve opted for something dramatic in size, people will just assume you have naturally beautiful lips. Hop over here for more information. 

5. Schedule Your Follow Up Appointment Before Leaving the Clinic

A follow-up after your procedure is important, ideally, two weeks to one month afterwards, to ensure any side effects have subsided. During this moment, you and your provider can assess your results and determine if you’ve hit your aesthetic goals. Sometimes it takes more than one treatment to achieve your desired outcome, so talk to your provider about a treatment plan. 

Remember, the result still ultimately boils down to your provider. So be very particular about whom you choose. Search through the web on your local providers and do some background checks on each one of your candidates, making sure to read the reviews left by their past clients as well. 

[thecreaturecodex]

Wrenganan

Image © Kenzer and Co.

[I don’t know if this piece is by Anthony Carpenter or not. It doesn’t look like his style, but matches a few other pieces in the book. There’s some additional art credits in the frontmatter of the Hacklopedias, but none that refer to specific illustrations.

In the original Hackmaster, the wrenganans just drink the corpse juice they collect. I wanted to give it some sort of mechanical effect, so I went with Brew Potion. After all, undead NPCs in Pathfinder often have potions of inflict X wounds in their equipment--who makes them? Also a head’s up: this one is gross.]

Wrenganan CR 7 NE Undead This humanoid appears stretched out, standing almost twice as tall as a man. Its face has sunken, somewhat bat-like features. Its hands are oversized with spidery fingers, and it stinks like offal and bile.

Wrenganans are vampire-like undead that feed not directly on blood or life force, but instead on the fluids of decay that drip from a rotting corpse. These vile effluents they collect in urns and brew into disgusting potions, as well as drinking them fresh from the source, so to speak. A wrenganan’s potions are prized by other undead creatures, and some wrenganans work for more powerful undead as a supplier in exchange for ample access to victims. Anyone living who drinks these brews find them foul tasting but surprisingly invigorating, acting as a necromantic drug.

A wrenganan usually hides during the day, as they despise the light of the sun. At night they go abroad to hunt. They work well in groups, cooperating to isolate prey. A wrenganan’s typical strategy is to attack from ambush, grab a foe by the neck, choke them unconscious and then snap their spine with a coup de grace. They know that their constant stench is able to give them away, and so attack sleeping targets, from upwind, or attempt to conceal their aroma with spices and perfumes.

A wrenganan’s lair is truly horrific to behold, as they string their victims up to rot in the sun and collect the juices that flow from the corpse. The stench often attracts scavenging animals, whose presence is tolerated to a certain extent—urine, feces and maggots are incorporated into the accursed potions, and any beast that presses its luck and feeds too heavily ends up killed and rotting for a later batch. Wrenganans can be found in any habitat, but prefer moister climates to facilitate decomposition.

Wrenganan             CR 7 XP 3,200 NE Large undead Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., lifesense 30 ft., Perception +13 Aura stench (30 ft., Fort DC 18) Defense AC 20, touch 11, flat-footed 18 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +9 natural) hp 85 (10d8+40) Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +9; channel resistance +2 DR 10/magic; Immune undead traits Weakness light blindness Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee 2 slams +11 (1d8+4 plus grab) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks constrict (1d8+6), crushing pin, strangle Statistics Str 19, Dex 14, Con -, Int 15, Wis 14, Cha 16 Base Atk +7; CMB +12 (+16 grapple); CMD 26 Feats Brew Potion (B), Combat Expertise, Magical Aptitude, Stealthy, Toughness, Weapon Focus (slam) Skills Climb +15, Escape Artist +12, Knowledge (arcana) +13, Perception +13, Spellcraft +15, Stealth +15, Use Magic Device +15 Languages Abyssal, Common, Necril SQ accursed potions Ecology Environment any land and underground Organization solitary, pair or clutch (3-7) Treasure double standard (potions) Special Abilities Accursed Potions (Ex) A wrenganan gains Brew Potion as a bonus feat, and treats all cleric spells as being on its class list for the purposes of crafting potions. Any potion it makes is infused with rot—it functions as normal for an undead creature, but a living creature treats it as a dose of mumia as well as gaining the potion’s benefits. Crushing Pin (Ex) A creature pinned by a wrenganan must succeed a DC 19 Fortitude save or be knocked unconscious for 1d8 rounds. The save DC is Strength based.

[bryan360]

Here’s my note before I’ll get started….

(DON’T YOU EVER COPY FROM MINE OR MY FRIEND’S WORK, CHARACTERS, AND STUFF IF ONE OF YOU ARE IMPOSTERS WHO HAD HABITS OF PLAGIARISM! I WILL BLOCK YOU FROM MY BLOG IF I SEE YOUR POST WITH MINE OR MY FRIEND’S ORIGINAL WORK BEING EDITED ALL OVER! I’LL EVEN SHARE IT ONTO MY BLOG SO IF EVERYONE WILL SEE THAT YOU TRYING TO COPY MINE OR MY FRIEND’S THINGS FOR NO GOOD REASON WHATSOEVER! That will be all….I mean it.)

🇵🇷Me: Hey there! Today that I got a special art trade order for my P-Pal, but also his OCs of Spot, Riya, Cude, and Murukir to enjoy. This month of August before Summer comes to an end, here's something I've been working so hard of what I feel like it. So much so, I'm completely fresh out of big sheet of paper from my Simply A+ Sketch Pad. The 20 sheets kind that I originally brought it from the store back in 🍀March 2020; though before staying in houses during the pandemic.

Link Here #1

🇵🇷Me: Since now I'm run out of big sheets, I needed to take time with one huge sheet of paper when making room in doodle art form. This is exactly I'm going for as my P-Pal 's request, but forgive me that there's some marks and coloring mistakes I've tried to covered up. Nevertheless, here's my latest secret art trade request for him; by having my squirrel character Brown while wearing his clothes in bagged size!

🥜Brown: Yeah! It wasn't the first time I'm doing this since I had with EStar99 Jason's clothes, but it'll be an honor to have this for your P-Pal and our friends. We had a good time having our sleepover at my house last month with all snuggled up of my clothes of theirs; including mine. So here I am again wearing my bagged sized clothes, but this time while doing some normal activities....well almost everything is normal. Anyways, here's what I'm talking about in this 10 part doodle art that our creator friend made.

1st through 3rd Part

Doing yoga exercises, reading CN's comic book, and eating peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. References from my April 2020 artwork I've posted on DeviantArt. Link Here #2

4th Part

Putting his chef's hat on and doing some stirring. He's making a cake with his mother like any parent and children do together.

5th Part

Hugging with Pibby and Bun Bun; especially last time where he made them during my P-Pal's previous art trade I've requested him. Link Here #3

6th Part

Accidentally got a Happy Horn on his head; causing him to change his personality and color of happiness. That’s goes for another reference from my previous artwork I’ve posted back in August 2020. Link Here #4

7th Part

Vacuuming the floors with his electronic vacuum cleaner. Do hope it’ll never caught his bagged sized clothes while he cleaning around here, though. 😅

8th Part

Putting his wireless headphones and dances to the rhythm of his favorite songs. Though I wanted to draw his dance pose a bit similar to the Cow and Chicken intro that I seen from my childhood. Just wanted to boost up his interests of CN stuff, ya know. Link Here #5

9th Part

Just a random part of holding a huge pencil. Don’t know why, but something to do with interests of drawing animation? At least that’s what I’m going for.

10 Part/Final Part

And finally here’s him having a relaxation time, but no surprise to included this for last. My P-Pal asked to draw Brown while he’s in resting his pillow bed; especially both wearing in bagged sized clothes. He does enjoying this like the same way he’s had a sleepover with his friends. Link Here #6

🥜Brown: That really takes me back about a month ago, but worth to remember how we getting along just right. As for snuggling our clothes in bagged sized? It’s perfect when snuggled up together. 😉👍

🇵🇷Me: Indeed as always, Brown. Hope that you enjoy this doodle art post I’ve made for my P-Pal. Though again forgive myself that it had some coloring mistakes when doing on one big sheet of paper I had left.

🥜Brown: That’s okay. At least it does looks good that you worked hard for. Anyways, here’s to your P-Pal and friends where I do some activities; while wearing my bagged sized clothes to remember for. Hope you’ll enjoy this as well.

Brown created by me; BryanVelasquez87 (Bryan360)

Pibby and Bun Bun - Pibby (also known as Come and Learn with Pibby! and Learning with Pibby: Apocalypse (TBA) © Adult Swim

A Happy Horn item - Unikitty! (2017-2020) © Ed Skudder and Lynn Wang, The Lego Group, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Bros Television Distribution. Cartoon Network

@murumokirby360 @carmenramcat @alexander1301

[she-who-fights-and-writes]

Hey, do you have anything on how to describe bodies? :D

Some Tips on How to Describe Bodies

Bodies can be really hard to get right. Humans have got to be one of the most complicated things to describe, since we come in such a variety! Unless you’re an identical twin, no one person looks exactly the same. 

Describing bodies has a lot to do with timing and putting the important things first, while spreading out the rest over the course of your story to piece together more and more of your character like a jigsaw puzzle. Though this can seem like a daunting task, I’ve provided you with a list of tips and tricks that can help you out!

1. Don’t dump all your information in one go

Info-dumping about how your character looks the moment they walk through the door isn’t going to go over well for the rhythm and the pacing of your story, and will completely interrupt the flow.

Think about what you FIRST see when you meet someone. 

Your attention is drawn to their face, their body, their clothes, or any distinguishing characteristics— it isn’t automatically drawn to a small birth mark on their neck that looks like a skull. Even though it’s super cool and might be a very important aspect of your character, it’s a small detail, and noticing things like that usually comes later during conversation, when you’re sizing people up and trying to get a read on their personality.

When you get a glimpse of a painting at a museum, the first thing you is the picture it’s making, and only when you get closer and start to analyze it, you begin to see all the individual brush strokes. That’s what a first impression is like.

Things You Can Describe During a First Impression:

Hair color/hair style

Age

Skin color

Height

Body type (Willowy, stout, muscular, scrawny, round, etc.)

Clothing (You can find my post on how to describe clothing here)

Assistive devices they may have if they’re disabled

Any distinguishable characteristics (scars, acne, tattoos, horns, wings, etc.)

(Note: Eye color is NOT on this list for a reason! Think about your friends and family. Do you even know what color eyes they have? Eye color is should only be described if it’s distinct, like red or completely demonic black or glowing, etc.)

2. Weave It Into Your Narrative

I didn’t want to say “show don’t tell” because I hate saying that on every single post I make........but yeah, it’s basically show don’t tell.

Using association to describe your character will work a lot more effectively after the first impression than a huge paragraph shoving details in your reader’s face, and it’ll also help you reveal certain aspects of your character’s personality on top of that!

Some examples you can use for association:

Your character’s hair sheds a lot. People find [color/texture] hair all over the place.

Your character runs their fingers through/plays with/twirls their [color/texture] hair.

Your character gets sick/injured and their [color/texture] hair is falling out.

Your POC character is wearing Black hairstyles, such as cornrows, locs, twists, etc.

Your POC character is the Vice President of the [Race] Student Union at school.

Your POC character has several aspects from their culture that affects their daily lives. 

Your POC character experiences a microaggression.

Your white character can “go pale” or “white as a sheet” when they’re surprised or scared. 

Sweat can glisten on your character’s [color] skin. 

Get creative! There are more ways to inadvertently describe how people look than you think!

3. Educate Yourself

Make sure the words you use to describe someone’s body isn’t going to make anyone upset or offended! Hurtful language can be very off-putting, especially for communities that don’t get much representation in books. 

Try your best to avoid stereotyping, and if you’re worried about it, don’t hesitate to ask someone! Tumblr has a very vibrant user population, and I know many blogs that would be happy to help!

For reference, here are some pitfalls that you should make sure you don’t fall into when describing bodies

1. Comparing the skin tones of POC to food (i.e. mocha, chocolate, coffee, etc.) 

This makes many POC very uncomfortable and is rooted in the constant hypersexualization of POC in books. Don’t shy away from the word brown! It’s a widely accepted descriptor, and definitely more widely accepted than food comparisons. However, brown can be vague (since a color can come in all different shades), so make sure you specify! Don’t be wishy-washy. 

Check out @writingwithcolor‘s FAQ!! It’s a big help.

2. Describing Black hair textures as “kinky,” “wild,” “unkempt,” “wooly,” or “nappy”

These descriptors automatically put a negative connotation on the appearance of natural Black hair, so steer clear! 

3. Reverting to white as default

This is when you describe all of the skin tones of your POC characters but don’t describe the skin tones of your white characters. In doing this, you’re making white the default, and that your readers should automatically assume a character is white unless it’s stated otherwise.

4. Describing a character as ugly or unattractive just because they don’t meet unrealistic body type expectations

This is a big no-no! Imagine you’re reading a book and the author insults someone who looks just like you, claiming that because of how much they weigh/how their face or nose is shaped/ how they have a disability that they’re ugly! Imagine how much that would hurt your self-esteem. Be nice!!!

5. Describing boobs an unnecessary amount

I’m looking at you, men. Sure, if your character is wearing a very low-cut shirt and wants people to see their boobs, then fine. If your narrator is flirty and hyper-sexual, than maybe I’ll let it slide. If they’re meeting under promiscuous circumstances, then okay. 

But if your character is just meeting a woman under normal circumstances, don’t describe her boobs! Don’t spend more than just a quick sentence and go on and on for paragraphs talking about their shape and size and UGH. Stop sexualizing women’s bodies please, and stop sexualizing girls and minors, too, or I’ll steal your kneecaps. 

6. Do your research before writing characters from a group that you’re not a part of!

Hope this helped, and happy writing!