#there's only 4 originals of this dark ride left in the US and 1 of them is at the Mall of America which I went to a lot as a kid

[andrevasims]

1999 Ghost Blasters | Sally Corporation Dark Ride

[djarins-cyare]

✭ Series Masterlist ✭

Languishing in a dull and lonely existence on the forest moon of Endor after travelling there to help salvage Death Star wreckage, a nearly fatal encounter with a mysterious bounty hunter out in the forest heralds an opportunity to utilise long-forgotten skills and develop something more profound than you ever thought possible.

Second person POV, present tense. Set post-season 2, diverges from Canon events before TBoBF and season 3. This is a novel-length, exceptionally slow burn with an original plot, worldbuilding, and fully-developed characterisation. SWU concepts and lore are accurately researched.

WORDS: 406,560

PAIRING: Din Djarin x Female Reader/You

RATING: Explicit (18+)

CHARACTERS: Din Djarin, Reader/You/Female OC, Original Non-Human Character(s), Original Human Characters, Greef Karga, Cara Dune, Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, Grogu, Peli Motto

TAGS: Slow Burn, Slow Build, Romance, Love, Sexual Tension, Eventual Smut, Smut, Sex, Sexual Content, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Relationships, Healthy Relationships, Canon-Typical Violence, Blood and Injury, Dark Past, Additional Warnings In Author's Notes, Bounty Hunter Din Djarin, Soft Din Djarin, Touch-Starved Din Djarin, Din Djarin Needs a Hug, Smart Din Djarin, Soft Dominant Din Djarin, Ewok Species, Mandalorian Culture, Mando'a Language, New Razor Crest, Thoroughly Researched, Worldbuilding, No use of y/n.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This took me almost a year to write and four months to edit/proof. Each chapter is prefaced with specific tags and (where necessary) warnings, plus word counts. End notes contain translations and comments… this baby is thoroughly researched, so I’m sharing context where appropriate. I’ve also added definitions of in-universe terms so people less familiar with the franchise won’t be left wondering what the hell certain words or references mean. This is a slow burn (adult themes), and although the explicit content only occurs in the latter half, when it does, it warrants the ‘E’ rating. Basically, the first half is a love story, and the second half gets spicy. I hope you enjoy it!

READ THE COMPLETE STORY ON AO3:

(Chapters containing explicit content marked †)

Chapter 1: The Obstacle

Chapter 2: The Interrogation

Chapter 3: The Covenant

Chapter 4: The Snare

Chapter 5: The Strike

Chapter 6: The Groundwork

Chapter 7: The Genesis

Chapter 8: The Progression

Chapter 9: The Hide

Chapter 10: The Beast

Chapter 11: The Adjustment

Chapter 12: The Storm

Chapter 13: The Broadside

Chapter 14: The Intercourse

Chapter 15: The Village

Chapter 16: The Confession

Chapter 17: The Reprieve

Chapter 18: The Fortification

Chapter 19: The Ambush

Chapter 20: The Meridian

Chapter 21: The Homestretch

Chapter 22: The Union †

Chapter 23: The Overture

Chapter 24: The Crescendo

Chapter 25: The Harmony †

Chapter 26: The Cadence †

Chapter 27: The Ride †

Chapter 28: The Veneration †

Chapter 29: The Spree †

Chapter 30: The Tribute †

Chapter 31: The Courage

Chapter 32: The Feast

Chapter 33: The Exhibition †

Chapter 34: The Reward

Chapter 35: The Binding †

Chapter 36: The Synergy †

Chapter 37: The Match †

Chapter 38: The Flag †

Chapter 39: The Foundling †

Chapter 40: The Future †

✨Additional Media✨

@burntheedges has written a spectacular little drabble detailing what Din was up to during the paragraph break near the end of chapter 1 (*SPOILERS* you don’t find this out until chapter 27).

@roughdaysandart has sketched a fantastic study of chapter 33 and it’s absolutely perfect (*SPOILERS* cliffhanger ending for the chapter).

@djarin-desires has created some awesome AI images of a few scenes using Midjourney.

I spent a stupid amount of money on the Hot Toys official Din Djarin action figure, simply so I could photograph him in poses from my fic 🤷🏼‍♀️ This is just a taster of what’s to come, but here he is offering to help Reader climb onto the speeder in chapter 8.

🧡💚 Thank you for reading! 💚🧡

➤ MAIN MASTERLIST

Dividers by @samspenandsword

[hellohimawarihana]

Yu-Gi-Oh Transformations, ranked by me

I did say in this post that Yu-Gi-Oh is no stranger to transformation sequence, but the more you look at it, it's like that all series had this in some degree, so I decided to rank them from least appealing to the most mind-blowing. It was inspired to this post, by the way. Unlike the protagonists ending post before, I'll include Go Rush!! as well, but I'll only include those from the protagonists and their main anime, so no Capsule Monsters or special episodes like Bonds Beyond Time, or supporting characters in that matter.

We'll start with the series that stood out the least, which is...

8. ARC-V

Yes, it’s pretty unappealing even for me. The Awakened version (left) are just him surrounded with aura and his mutated Z-ARC (right) is… not on my book.

7. Original / Duel Monsters

I ranked DM version a bit higher than ARC-V for this list. Yes, it’s the first and longest Yu-Gi-Oh series and therefore it’s iconic but Yami Yugi a.k.a. Atem didn’t really change clothes outside of making a cape jacket from his host. It’s still good that he manages to split into two selves for his partner later in the story.

6. Duel Monsters GX

It’s like Yami Yugi and Awakened Yuya because he spent some time being possessed by Haou / Supreme King (right), but Judai does had a control of his powers after gaining that and Yubel’s (left) powers and abilities, after that he doesn’t actually transforms outside the eye changes so I can’t rank him higher.

5. SEVENS

From demonic look to Sentai hero... Though unlike other series (except number 4 that will be explained later) these came off as one-off forms as he only wears the costumes in one duel with the process akin to early Metal Heroes series. But his roll call of The Yugaman (right) is cool, by the way.

4. 5DS

While the usual preparation before Riding Duel is pretty cool, this part stands out among my brother's favorite Yu-Gi-Oh series. Yusei just turns gold for his ultimate Synchro Summon technique, but it’s still cool. There’s even non-Riding Duel version on his Duel Links portrait too.

3. Go Rush!!

This recently airing series has the protagonist surrounded by blue (sometimes green) aura to turn back into his real, alien form. But it’s just “casual *flash* battle form” so I can’t rank him too high. But I like how he keeps doing this before his own duel, even when he doesn’t use this stock footage anymore starting in Season 2. And he’s unique among the protagonists as he’s one of the two capable of transforming on his own without outside source.

2. ZEXAL

The concept is similar to DM and GX, only this time Yuma merges with Astral and can de-fuse anytime unlike the latter series. Dark ZEXAL (top right) isn’t in my book and just a palette swap between the first ZEXAL form (top left), which is my favorite. But the other ZEXAL forms (bottom) are awesome too, evolving through Yuma and Astral’s bond. I just wish that the other forms appeared in Duel Links as a skill and not just his first form. Normally, this will be all-time favorite for transformation fans for Yu-Gi-Oh, but he’s ranked here because...

Well, you know who will be my top pick:

1. VRAINS

While I grew up with DM series, my interest took at peak after seeing Yusaku’s transformation sequence when he logs into LINK VRAINS or any cyberworld. It’s cool and flashy, and I like the blue background, even though his Playmaker form has barely any blue on it. The pocket dimension where Yusaku transforms fits its technology theme too. I especially like the hair part, just look of his cool face! And he can transform by himself, just like Go Rush!! series!

The only downside is like Go Rush!!, he doesn’t do this stock footage anymore after Season 1 Episode 30, any login after that is just offscreen or the intro survives but he’s just do the login in blue flash of light, which is disappointing, he even lack the double henshin with Takeru! (his adventuring partner who has the same animation when he individually transforms) But I do like the fact that the world unlock scene in Duel Links has this transformation sequence, which is a nice callback for the first episode where Playmaker’s transformation was shown for the first time, especially for the players who had finished the anime since spoiler alert: Duel Links’s VRAINS World takes place after the end of the series.

See more of VRAINS' henshin here.

[mycupofrum]

What can you tell us about while you were sleeping au?

Hi anon! I'm going to quote the original Prongsfoot Fest 2023 prompt by @gracelesslady23 which is why I started to write this fic. I couldn't meet the deadline so I dropped out of the fest but I didn't stop writing the fic.

Prompt:

While You Were Sleeping AU. James has been mostly alone since his parents passed away. He often fantasises about dating the grumpy but attractive stranger (Regulus) who often comes into his workplace. One day, Regulus is attacked and James chases off his attackers but Regulus is already coma and James follows him to the hospital. There's a mix up in the hospital that leads the Black family (who arrive to check on Regulus) to think that James is Regulus's fiancé. They welcome him into the family and James, desperate for family (even one as strange as the Blacks seem to be), can't bring himself to correct the mistake. Things only get worse when James gets to know Regulus's older brother, Sirius, and quickly realises he had his sights set on the wrong brother entirely. But how can James hope resolve his feelings for Sirius, when Sirius still thinks he is engaged to his comatose brother?

With that being said, I've posted many snippets here before. See them below:

Snippet 1 , snippet 2, snippet 3, snippet 4, snippet 5, snippet 6, snippet 7, snippet 8, snippet 9, snippet 10  

Here's another small snippet (because how can I refuse 😆):

__

The Natural History Museum's escalator in the Earth Hall makes James feel giddy. The ride through a giant globe to the centre of the Earth fills him with joy like he's a young boy again. When they get close to the globe's entrance, James looks to his left at the dark wall with constellations. 

"Oh, that's right. Your star is on that wall," James says, turning around to see Sirius standing right behind him. Exactly one step below him. 

James momentarily loses his train of thought because he was not prepared to look into the grey eyes from such a close distance. 

"Just, ah, like Regulus's," James breathes out. 

Sirius's eyes crinkle with amusement as James tries to get him to respond.    

"Is there a reason your whole family is named after stars, constellations and galaxies?" James eventually asks, unable to retain his curiosity. 

The escalator takes them inside the globe, enveloping them in red light. 

"Somewhere down the line, an ancestor became obsessed with astronomy, and the tradition continued to this day. There are some exceptions, of course, like my dear mother Walburga and cousin Narcissa, but most of us can be found in space."  

Sirius's smile is captivating, there's no other way to put it, and James finds himself getting lost in it, until Sirius looks expectantly behind him. 

"You'd better turn around." 

James's eyebrows shoot up. "Oh, right!" He spins around just in time to step out before the escalator ends and quickly shakes off his embarrassment. If he pretends it didn't happen, Sirius will forget about it. 

Sirius smirks but says nothing as they enter the Volcanoes and Earthquakes section. 

__

Thanks for the ask! 💙

[xydamcg]

Newest member 4

Ghost x f character

Cw: childhood trauma, character lore, weird helo pilots, the dark

Summary: Childhood trauma? Check.

Pt 1 Pt 2 Pt 3

The rest of the ride to the RV point was quiet, neither of them speaking a word to the other. The silence was getting too loud so Ty had turned on the radio a song her mother use to sing playing which soon had her changing the channel. “Is it true what they said about your father?” Ghost asked suddenly, her eyes squinted as she continued to look out the window. “What do they say Ghost?” She asked not wanting to talk about whatever he was going to bring up but she felt like something had to give for this unknown origin of hostility to drop between you two. “About him forcing you into the military, how he wanted you to prove his family name worthy, how he nearly traded you for intel.” The usual gossip of her last name fluttered around the base, she had present for 3 days and was being talked about already. Most people liked to talk to her about the great things her father did like she fought those battles with him.

“Yeah all of it is true and they still praise him like he's the greatest man to walk the earth. I know men far greater than him from past squadrons that aren't praised like him. They think i'm a ticking bomb? Well he's a walking land mind." She scoffed her eyes glued to the passing trees. "He's not the hero they say he is?" Ghost asked peeking over at her. "Far from it but that is what he wants everyone to think." She remarked, how did they get on the topic of her dad and why wasn't she protecting the family name? "He's a liar, he's manipulative and worst of all he's an abuser and murderer." She said hissed quietly her grip tightening on her arms. "He trained me for the military since i was 12 he said only reason he wasn't training me younger was because i was a girl and i'm easier to break then a boy, he told me that would be the only thing he gave me a pass for. Everyday since that day was hell until i turned 22. That's when i left his squadron and moved states away. I haven't spoke to him since, i'm afraid that he'll show up one day, take me back and show me a new meaning to the word hell." She hadn't realized her leg was bouncing away until ghost rested a heavy hand on it.

"You won't be going anywhere, Price wouldn't allow it, Gaz and johnny certainly wouldn't allow it." Ty rolled her teary eyes as she laughed a little. Gaz and Soap had taken a liking to their newest Lt which she couldn't say she minded much. She looked down at Ghost's hand that still rested on her leg, she couldn't understand him. He was giving too many different signals, did he like her enough to comfort her or did he enjoy insulting her? Maybe she was reading too much into things. "Wolves don't concern themselves with the opinions of sheep." Ghost said making her look over at him as he pulled his hand away. "Where's that from?" she asked curiously. "My father, another one of these greatest men to walk the earth you'd say." He said lightly, was he teasing? She couldn't tell because of the damned mask.

Ty didn't engage for more, her emotions were going haywire inside of her and she knew the truth behind the mystery of Simon Riley would be discovered another day. Tonight wouldn't be the day, she was growing more and more tired as the minutes ticked by. It wasn't too much longer until they reached their RV point where a helo was waiting. Ghost got out first before walking around and helping Ty out the car. Upon seeing the pair the helo's propellers began to whirl to life..they could have waited until they were inside to start it up. Helo pilots were the worst assholes ever, especially from outside your squadron. Ghost covered her head with the coat of his suit best he could to shield her from the wind, her black hair whipping around like a dark tornado.

Ducking into the helo, she quickly found a seat before ghost took place next to her. She tugged her dress down some as she noticed the wondering eyes on one of the pilots, she crossed her legs and turned her knees toward ghost not wanting to give out anymore sneak peeks unpaid. Ghost draped his suit coat over her shoulders giving her the necessary privacy she needed for the time being. She looked toward ghost and smiled slightly in thanks. A curt nod was given as they began to lift off, Ghost took one of the headsets and pulled one of the earmuffs over his ear. Ty watched as the ground got smaller and smaller until they were flying over the city toward the coast. Ty looked up at ghost noticing he seemed to be saying something to her. "What?! i can't hear you over the propellers!" She yelled cupping her mouth with her hand so he could hear her even though they were right next to each other. Ghost leaned toward her ear as she too leaned in his direction to pick up what he was saying. Ty felt her stomach flutter in a weird way feeling his nose brush against her ear. "You should get some rest, we'll be at base by sunrise!" Hearing him much better than before she nodded giving him a thumbs up.

She shifted slightly as she rested her head back against the netted wall, her eyes immediately closing but not for long as she felt ghost slip his arm under her neck so it wasn't so crooked. Ty yawned as she turned her face toward his chest so her hair wasn't smacking her so much. Being this close to ghost even after a long mission like tonight, he smelled surprisingly fresh. He smelled like home, cedar word burning and fresh mint on a cold day, his manly musk barely making an appearance.

-------------------------

Ty didn't know when she had actually fallen asleep but she was awoken by Ghost, her eyes falling on two familiar figures just off the helo wrap that had lowered. She was too tired to recognize who from where she sat. "Here already?" she asked as Ghost helped her to her feet. Nearly slipping on the ramp going down price and Soap ready to catch her clumsy form. "Welcome home Aves, i trust the mission went well." Price yelled over the slowly propellers, Ty was too tired to process anything simply taking off the earrings and dropping them into Price's hand smiling sleepily. "Got you some socks Ty." Johnny said but again Ty couldn't really hear them so she smiled again taking the socks blowing Soap a kiss. She used both men for support as she put the fresh socks on her cold footies. Ty realized ghost wasn't off the helo, as she turned she noticed him coming down the ramp flexing his hand. The propellers slowly whirled to a stop and she stepped toward ghost. "Everything alright?" she asked peeking behind him at the pilots but Soap blocked her view as they began walking. Ghost simply nodded leaving no room to investigate more.

The cafetria was just opening as the trio entered their building, Soap running for an early snack while saying they have the best stuff this early. Ty laughed at him as her and Ghost continued to the dorms. By the time they actually reached their dorms Ty was walking with her eyes Ghost having to pull her out of the way of something or catch her from falling over. That stupid little giggle would leave her lips as he set her right on her feet again. Ty slumped softly against the wall as Ghost fiddled with her jammed door. "Ghost.." she moaned sleepily her head bobbing as she struggled to keep it up, Ghost turned hearing such a noise come from her. "Let's just go to your dorm, forget the door. l'm so so tired." She whined tugging weakly on his sleeve as she staggered to his door only feet away. Ghost looked at her door before the dimly lit barracks, opening her door without scaring her out of her zombie-like slumber and triggering half the barracks would be futile. Ghost left the door and moved to his own where he slipped the key inside, Ty mumbling incoherently to the wall. As the door opened Ghost guided her inside hoping no one was witnessing this right now. They would be the talk of the base for eternity, Ghost didn't think he was ready for that one. Ty drifted toward his bed absentmindedly, plopping on the edge she sleepily pulled his suit coat from her shoulders holding it toward him. Ghost collected it and quickly traded it for a shirt of his.

Her dark sleepy eyes opened for a moment before registering what it was and standing. "Can you unzip me?" She asked waddling toward him before she turned her back showing off the zipper much too high for her sleepily hand to reach. Ghost pushed all of her hair over her shoulder before peeling down her zipper, a sigh of relief escaped her lips as she was released from sequin prison. "Thanks." she mumbled shuffling back to the bed where the dress dropped down to her ankles and she began to unclasp her bra. Dropping that next to her dress Ghost finally spoke up. "How much more you planning on taking off?" Ty snorted as she pulled his shirt on her head finally, the material stopping just above her knees. "You pay for the show Ghost not the girl." she told him as she drew the cover back before climbing inside moving to the side against the wall. As Ghost came closer she was almost thinking that he was going to actually sleep next to her but as he took one of the pillows and turned toward the couch near the door she internally deflated. Cutting out the light and finally laying her head down she stared at the dark wall. It was unsettling at how dark it was and not being able to see Ghost from she laid made her suddenly restless. "Goodnight Ghost." She called out into the dark. "Goodnight Ty." He responded almost a minute later.

[cardcaptorsakura96]

Sweet Love-Chapter 7

Fandom: Supergirl

Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Alex Danvers/Kelly Olsen

Characters: Kara Danvers, Lena Luthor, Alexa Luthor-Danvers (OC), Liza Luthor-Danvers (OC), Jess, Lillian Luthor, Alex Danvers, Kelly Olsen, Krypto, Mable Longhorn (OC)

Summary: Lena is stressed about family and work decisions that need to be made. Kara believes that a family vacation to the Danvers' family ranch will get her mind off of things. However, the more they find out about the history of the place, the more they realize that the place holds quite a few hidden secrets.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6

As Lena walked through the horse stalls some more, she zoned in on a particular horse. It was chestnut colored with blonde hair. It had white small splotches on its left side that looked like raindrops. Lena’s eyes grew wide when she realized that she had seen these before.

She turned around and asked, “Hey Kara, can you come here?”

She quickly came over to her and kissed her on the cheek. 

“Is everything okay?”

Lena pointed at the horse startled.

“Doesn’t this look like Rain to you?”

Kara looked at the horse more closely and started smiling really brightly. 

“This is her!”

Lena reached out to pet her and the horse’s nose met her hand and nuzzled it. 

“How is this possible?”

“The horses were the only original animals that I was able to get back.”

Lena nearly jumped in her own skin. She turned around to see her mom standing right next to her. 

“A little bit of a warning next time,” muttered Lena as she tried to control back her breathing. 

“So quickly forgot that you guys weren’t the only ones in here?” smirked Lillian. 

“You know that isn’t it,” pouted Lena. 

Lena looked back over to Rain whose nose was trying to nuzzle her hair. Normally, Lena would be irritated, but she smiled and petted Rain instead. She turned back and gave her mom a quizzical look. 

“How were you able to get the horses back?”

“The new owners wanted to make use of the riding trails and offer it as a service to the new homeowners in the area.”

Kara shook her head while patting Rain. 

“They were really trying to milk everything for what it’s worth,” muttered Kara. 

“Would it make you feel better that the horses were well taken care of while away from the ranch?”

“Yes,” said Kara rolling her eyes. 

“Well good. I originally came over to tell you that everyone has picked out a horse and is ready to go.”

Lena looked back and did indeed see the girls, Alex, and Kelly all saddled and waiting on their horses. She looked back sheepishly at her mother. 

“We’ll hurry up!.”

Kara went off to quickly find a horse. Lena let Rain out of his stall. As she saddled up, she began to think about the first time she went horse riding with Kara on the ranch. 

15 years ago

Lena had a lovely night with Mable and Kara. She especially loved that Mable told very embarrassing stories about Kara from childhood. She had never seen Kara’s face get so bright red before. It was adorable. 

The next day Mable suggested that they should definitely do horse riding and then camping. As they walked with their supplies to the horse stables, Lena noticed the other customers as they walked through the ranch. Some of them would just stare at her. Given her family’s history, Lena was used to being stared at, but this seemed different. Usually, people stared at her with judgment in their eyes. However, the people that she has seen so far have been staring at her like they wanted to dissect her which creeped her out. 

There were two people in particular that seemed to be following them. It was two twin ladies. They had skin that almost looked like the color of snow and black long hair. The chilling thing was their eyes. They seemed unusually large with their dark brown irises staring back at you. It gave Lena goosebumps. They had notepads with them and were continuously writing in them without looking down. It was unnerving. Lena quickly tapped on Kara’s arm and motioned her closer. 

“I think we are being followed,” whispered Lena into Kara’s ear. 

Kara looked down at her with concern. 

“Where?”

Lena pointed slightly behind her.

“They are behind us about 30 ft back.”

Read the rest on AO3

[cobaltruff-blues]

[File: It's a video. its title is simply the system assigning numbers to a file. Will you watch it?... excellent.]

[from this point the events occurring are non diegetic]

Mov_22-9-4-5-15_21-14-15_PRAZo

[now loading...]

Jack steps away from the Levincia airport, they take out his Rotom Phone and open the camera app, turning on the "selfie" camera, they look... tired and un-rested. Still, they walk to a less noisy part of the city and begin recording forcing a smile on their face, and yet it looks almost fully narural.

"Here we are in the city of Levincia! This is Jack Aranda starting his report on Paldean Shiny Pokémon and the Herba Mystica 'Sparkling Meal Power' capacity to attract encounters with Shiny Pokémon"

Jack pauses the recording and sighs, their tired face overcomes the smile, when was the last time they slept? ... some questions are better left unanswered. Moving to the center of the city, taking advantage of the currently empty arena, Jack takes out one of his pokéballs and quickly extends his hand into the sky.

"Use fly! ... please!"

The pokéball opens and blue energy is released into the air, the blue light swirls in the air and reconstructs into a charizard with a sparkling dark grey scale-coated skin, who immediately pulls Jack into its back and takes off.

"Towards the circular mountains, big guy, and be careful, it's a big fall from the crater's walls!"

Charcoal nodded and roared, its flame exploding into blue fire while speeding across Paldea, following wind currents to enter the crater with haste. Jack didn't miss the opportunity to keep recording as they flew through the skies of this region, from so high up you could almost see Kalos in the far far distance of the horizon, or maybe it was just a weird cloud formation.

"The Paldea region is blooming with a wonderful and wondrous energy known as Terastal Energy. It's been proposed by Professor Briar of the Blueberry Academy, as well as others before, that the bursts of Tera Energy has a direct impact on the flora and fauna of a region. The most noticeable one is the sparkling Pokémon found across Paldea!"

As if invoked by Jack's words, a small family of Dragonite dashed by on the current that Charcoal was riding. One of them had a glowing aura and almost crystalline skin, it was possible to see a reddish pink heart-shaped gemstone on its head.

"But what many don't immediately correlate is that the Phenomenon of Herba Mystica is, in essence, Floral, rather than Faunal, Teracrystalization. There are six currently known forms of Herba Mystica, five originate from Paldea; Spicy, Salty, Sour, Sweet, and Bitter H.M. One species was only discovered in the Blueberry Academy Terrarium!".

Jack murmurs to himself "though i doubt the Paldean authorities will ever be pleased by Briar's Terrarium Core replicating all of this over at BB." He clears his throat, and is about to continue when a Garchomp tackles Charcoal right as it flew around the ring of the crater. Jack and his Charizard fall towards the depths. Video 1 stops here.]

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

It’s all ok buddy :-) got some more if that’s ok?

1: what lantern corp would the duo join? Chris is total joining the blue lantern Corps of hope XD

2: what’s one movie the duo hates? Like can’t believe I spend money on this hate; wants a refund.

3: in relation to above, what’s one video game the duo hates?

4: since we are in the month of valentine days, does the duo give anything to their families & girlfriends?

5: does the duo give each other anything? As a joke, maybe a kiss on the cheek XD

6: what’s your opinion on the character boy thunder? Superman’s sidekick from the newest worlds finest series, I can see him becoming a red hood type of villain for the super family based on the series happening now

Apologies for the delays but your questions are okay with me

1) For sure Chris is Blue as like with most of the Supers he’s filled with Hope for a better future and tomorrow. As for Jake, I think he wield two Lanterns rings akin to Guy Gardner; on his left hand would be Pink/Star Sapphire as He’s Certainly filled with Love for those he cares about and then some while on the right can be Green as he’s certainly inherited his parents’ willpower and courage

2) I’m leaning on either Pixels (the Adam Sandler comedy about aliens using Video game characters to invade the Earth) or Fantastic Four 2015 (the one that takes Marvel’s First Family in a pitch dark reimagining of their origins and coming together as team which would only be matched by Dawn of Justice a year later)

3) Oh that’s easy…Step Right Up Ride to Hell: Retribution.

What’s funny is that Conner honestly tried his damnest not to have Chris get his hands on it from sheer curiosity so Chris had to sneak the game out of Comner’s locked closest on a quiet night to see for himself and Jake. About midway through the game’s story mode, the two were so utterly grossed out by the game, they were about to destroy the disc before Conner found out and an epic chase for that game ensued

4) Boxes of Chocolates, Cards that Tell How much their respective family members or each other are loved by them as accordingly, and for their girlfriends specifically; Chris takes Thara on a galactic flight to the edge of the Milky Way for a good view of the Andromeda galaxy for a picnic while Jake and Meredith visit Bludhaven’s biggest theme park for the whole day, trying out all its roller coasters and other thrill rides

5) Jake would the one giving Chris a platonic best buddy cheek kiss for sure XD

As for their other gifts, besides the aforementioned box of chocolates and cards and after maybe returning from their dates, they’d visit Jake’s place for an all nighter movie marathon, Chris’ choice. They do it nearly every year with the places and marathons switched up, like last year it was at Chris’ place with Jake choosing the movies

6) So far I hadn’t gotten to reading in depth about Boy Thunder just yet for a complete opinion but I kinda bit doubt he’d take a Red Hood like direction should he appear in the present day unless he feels like Clark completely abandoned him

[a-land-of-shadow-and-substance]

Monsters After Dark fun facts!

Apologies for the delay on the major Tower posts; real life is busy, you know how it goes. But in the meantime, here's some interesting things I just learned/confirmed about the only version of Mission Breakout I like, Monsters After Dark:

Aside from the launch, and the timing of the show stops, the drop profile is the same as original DCA Tower of Terror. This is most obvious in the "final charge" up the drop shaft to the big final plunge. During regular Mission Breakout, "Born to be Wild" also uses this combination of drops.

At least one of the Hallway Scenes is still installed in the ride, just covered over by the screen in front. It's in poor condition, as one would expect, but it IS still there.

In the junk section in front of the old "face shaped boiler", not only are there the King and Queen portraits (although the Queen seems to have been missing from her frame for a bit) and one of the dragon statues from the lobby, but allegedly some of the cables hanging down are actual retired drop shaft car cables from the Tower of Terror era. Supposedly they're near Harold the Yeti.

The interior black paint in the loading/unloading zone is EXCEPTIONALLY peeling. In one first-floor zone (I believe it was far left), an entire section of wall had peeled back to expose the original Tower of Terror beige and teal coloring. Seriously, was there no budget for paint that actually sticks to the wall???

The source for 1-3 was a cast member I chatted with while waiting in line; apparently he's one of the few who's worked there since the Tower of Terror era (he said the combination of the re-theme swiftly followed by covid closures meant many other CMs left). #4 was merely an observation I had while riding the ride. Seriously, there was like a 2.5-foot circle of wall that was just... Tower of Terror's wall.

I'm not sure I'd personally say Monsters After Dark has "the same" drop profile as Tower of Terror--changing the launch and the placement of the show stops IS changing it, in my opinion. However, I did notice it felt similar from my first ride on Monsters After Dark, and from the start felt like the Halloween overlay was very much "let's get as much of Tower back as we can within GOTG constraints." Apparently I was far more correct than I thought! I also thought that Born to be Wild had the drop profile that least fit the intended song--perhaps that's a result of it using a "recycled" profile. Meanwhile, Monsters After Dark fits its drops perfectly, likely because the music was custom-composed for it the same way Tower's score was.

I'm curious about the remains of the Hallway Scene. I assumed that the GOTG elements required all of the space it had taken up, so the fact that at least one is left is intriguing. Unfortunately, we'll probably not get answers regarding that anytime soon.

[theuntitledblog]

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) - REVIEW

SYNOPSIS

When Rocket is seriously injured following an attack by Adam Warlock, the Guardians of the Galaxy recruit Gamora to hunt down Rocket's creator; the twist High Evolutionary to save their friend's life.

The rather disappointing Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has led to some difficult questions being asked of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It would be foolish to say that this represents a genuine crisis, it is rather fair to say that this phase of the MCU has struggled with the overarching story and has left some questioning where is it all going. The Guardians of the Galaxy have always felt standalone in the way that James Gunn has approached their story and he does the same again here. While this doesn't answer any questions regarding the overarching narrative, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 gives the MCU a much needed boost with a crowd pleasing sequel that ticks off everything you'd expect to see on a Guardians checklist. A stylish soundtrack? Check. Colourful, crazy, imaginative and physics defying space locations? Check. Memorable characters and side splitting humour? Also check. Pushing the boundaries of just how dark the MCU has ever gone before? I didn't see this one coming and was definitely not on any checklist I would've had going into this. But it is this tonal shift and bold storytelling that helps set Vol. 3 apart from other entries.

While the trailers suggested a more darker aesthetic than what we had in Vol. 1 and 2, I seriously doubted whether any MCU film, particularly the Guardians of the Galaxy, would ever go to the sort of places that James Gunn takes us here. Let's be clear about it ... Rocket's backstory depicts the darkest, saddest and most horrifying concept yet seen in the MCU. So unsettling is some of the scenes that you would have to question whether it would be suitably for young children to come a long and see it. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bleak film but the horrifying concepts being explored here is only heightened visually with a degree of gruesomeness I wasn't expecting either. Factoring into this also is perhaps the nastiest and cruellest villain yet seen in Chukwudi Iwuji's High Evolutionary who gives off some Kang vibes with his unstable and menacing performance. Rocket's origin steals the movie for me and helps elevate Vol. 3 to upper tier MCU levels but it's also to Gunn's credit that the rest of the film delivers.

The Guardians enjoyed great outings in Infinity War, Endgame and the recent Christmas Special and Gunn's writing builds upon these with Karen Gillan's Nebula and Pom Klemetieff's Mantis in particular getting much more to do this time around. But that doesn't mean that this is an imbalanced affair, in fact one of the things I admire most about Vol. 3 is that each Guardian is given something to do and moment(s) to shine. Yes this is a dark film at times but it is balanced with moments of levity and a strong emotional centre. Chris Pratt and Dave Bautista are as good as they've ever been in both their comedic moments and dramatic moments. Gunn is balancing a lot character threads; perhaps too much as he's balancing all the relationships between the Guardians, Rocket's backstory and Quill's unresolved issues with Zoe Saldana's alternate Gamora. Will Poulter's Adam Warlock doesn't get a lot of screen time and you do wish slightly more was done with him, Gunn gives him just enough to justify his presence in the film. Whilst it would've been tempting to provide a fan pleasing finale, Gunn is true to his word in the sense that this feels like a genuine finale for this set up of characters. Vol. 3 is a return to form for the MCU and it came at just the right time.

VERDICT

Vol. 3 is a fun, character driven thrill ride that also serves up dark and emotional themes that you might not have expected from a film called Guardians of the Galaxy. A complete triumph and perhaps the best film since Avengers: Endgame.

4/5

[papillon82fluttersby]

Fan-made ‘Famous Five’ video

So I wanted to share this little video that I found while I was looking for something else. It’s a fan-made adaptation of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five book, “Five On A Hike Together” or “Le Club des Cinq en randonnée” for its French translation. The episode is 50 minutes long and worth a look for the effort that went into it. It was all made by the members of one family, and shot over 4 days in August 2009. Admittedly the kids’ acting is rather amateurish, and the adults’ just a midge above, but it’s a very endearing endeavor for all that. The filming/directing is actually quite good, as far as I can judge. There’s no director mentioned, but my guess is that the person(s) who directed it (likely one of the adult actors) has/have a background in film making. I particularly enjoyed the spooky moments, like the siren blaring at night and Dick/Mick’s encounter with the escaped prisoner. Very atmospheric!

The story is set in a fictional village called Langonnec, which as far as I know doesn’t exist, but sounds like a place that you could find in Brittany, where the original stories are located according to the French translations. It’s a bit funny because the video was actually shot in South-West France and several details give it away: 1) outside the bakery there’s a poster announcing a local country fair and the town mentioned is easy to pinpoint in Aquitaine; 2) both the baker and the policeman have a slight south-western accent, not very pronounced but noticeable all the same; and 3) something very telling that made me laugh a lot: the kids use the word “chocolatine”, which is a colloquialism found in South-West France rather than “pain au chocolat” used in the rest of the country (“chocolate croissant” to English speakers) – there's actually a whole good-natured warfare going on between “chocolatine” and “pain au chocolat” advocates (count me firmly on the “chocolatine” side! 😉) Anyway, the point is, the word “chocolatine” is a dead giveaway that this wasn't shot in Brittany. These little imperfections are rather funny – definitely not something that you would find in a professional movie - but charming in their own ways.

I usually don’t appreciate when stories are “updated” to a modern setting but the video makers were creative in incorporating their modern environment into the story. For example, Dirty Dick/Mick-qui-pique rides a motorcycle, which adds an element of danger when he chases the kids. It’s also the basis for a joke that made me chuckle: when the kids split up to find help for an injured Timmy, Julian/François pointedly tells Dick/Mick not to lose his way, to which Dick replies “Don’t worry, I have a GPS in my head”; he and Anne then leave in one direction, only to be stopped by Julian who then points the other way. This moment was genuinely funny, and a good setting for Dick and Anne getting lost later on, so this is good film-making at work! It’s at the 6’00 mark if you want to have a look and a laugh!

The video makers were able to shoot in a real bakery, as well as the local police station, which helps ground the story. I was a bit disappointed that they were unable to find a suitable ruined house to provide scenery, but they made do with a shot of an overgrown yard and a line about how there’s nothing left of the house. The lake is what’s important to the story anyway, and they have the kids sleep in what they call a “cave”, but is really more of a rock overhang. They were also ingenious in adapting the treasure location markers from the original “Tock Hill / Steeple / Chimney / Tall Stone” to “pierre blanche / pylône / clocher” based on the available landmarks around their shooting location.

Unfortunately for non-French speakers the video does not come with captions, but if you have a passing knowledge of the original story, you should be able to keep up. As a heads-up, the sound is missing in a couple of places. Also, Julian/François is dark-haired in this video while Dick/Mick is blonde, which can be… confusing at first; and George/Claude has longer hair than her canonical self, but I can’t fault the kid for not wanting to cut her hair just for a few days’ shooting!

If you have an hour to spare, go and give it a look, I hope you’ll enjoy!

(Tagging @sweetsorcery and @majormcnerdy-geekinfantry-blog who are the two people on this site who I know are into this fandom 😉)

[ritacaroline]

New Series

By Ritacaroline

Quips n Blips To Ponder

Episode 1 : 1 800 Dial A ......

Met a man on social network. Things began light and friendly since we had a lot in common. Soon he started offering intimate encounters, so my response to him was -

?? What do you think this is ?

1 800 Dial - A- Slut ??

Eventually, I wrote this description of a possible call with the fictional service.

Phone ringing....

1 800 : Good evening sir. You have reached 1 800 Dial a Slut.

Our services include but are not limited to - evaluation of photos of your personal self. Specifically areas below the waist. We will review said photos and provide you with an official evaluation and documentation of your parts. You may use this document to tempt low class girls that you meet at bars.

1 800 : How may we serve you tonight, sir ? And will that be Visa or Mastercard ?

Excuse us, hold on, another call is arriving.

May we please place you on a brief hold, while we serve another client. ( You will not be able to hear this incoming call. )

Hello ?

You've reached

1 800 Dial and Confess.

Please listen to the following options as our menu has changed.

To continue :

Press one (1)

if you wish to make a confession regarding yourself.

Press two (2)

if you plan on throwing one of your neighbors under the bus.

Press three (3)

if you're a dirty slut. Then, we'll quickly call Father Larry, since he loves hearing about that stuff.

Alright then - We see you have entered one for our standard

Dial and Confess.

Please press 4 to begin.

Cathy : Yes hello ? This is Cathy. ( wasn't sure if 3 should've been my choice, )

Bless me Father for I have sinned. It's been 42 thousand six hundred ninety days since my last confession. Snap on your seatbelt. It's gonna be a long bumpy ride.

Father : Yes, my daughter- please proceed with sin #1. You'll be charged based on both the number and the severity of your described sins.

Cathy : I..., uh oh ? - I hope I've brought enuf cash.

Either way, on to sin one -

yes - I have agreed to and been involved in evaluating photos of unclothed men in our area.

Father : And have you been compensated financially for these services ?

Cathy : uhm, No. But furthermore I have involved myself in sacrilegious conversations with said men. And I'm a dirty slut. (Someone had to say it. )And Father, I am sorry for all my sins.

Father : Ah yes, my daughter - that's a monumental one. In Jesus name - I ask that you contemplate how you've behaved and how you have thoroughly disappointed the Lord. As penance we ask that you pray 3 thousand seventy five Our Fathers and 9 hundred forty six Hail Marys. Feel free to visit our snack bar during your penance - because you're gonna be here a good long while and will most likely become hungry. See it to your left, titled : Sinners Snack Bar.

On a side note - please deposit copies or originals of the photos to which you are referring, into the metal lockbox below, labeled Father Larry.

So that we may see the level of disgust and perversity in which you've been engaging. (This is for scientific purposes only. )

Father : My daughter, Do you promise to never act in this sinful way again ?

Cathy : Uhhhhmmmm , well, .....I uh uh uh.

Father : I see. Either way, Go forth now into the world and serve the Lord.

And please daughter, wear a longer skirt next time you visit. You're inviting Satan into the realm of our Lord.

On your way.

______________

Mandatory

Official Documentation

Provided by sinner :

Please describe and evaluate the content of the photos of the unclothed men, of which you've ogled upon : and please include a copy of said photos for our enjoyment assessment and scientific research purposes.

Cathy : ok ? Well, what I saw was at first difficult to see bc it was very dark in the room in which the photographs were taken. Then once I deciphered the picture, it all became very clear. I thought ? WTF ? MF.

Once I recovered from my initial startle, I took a much better look. For scientific purposes only, that is. And, yeah. It was pretty nice. Delicious looking in fact. Something I could really get my teeth into, but carefully. As to not injure it. Yep. Looks like I wouldn't mind putting my hands around it. And kissing it. Lovingly, yet, with a lot of warm saliva. Yeah, guess I am a dirty slut. But I really like this guy. He's rough but sweet and kind of adorable. And has a really manly but cute voice. And I could see me really enjoying wrapping myself around him. Know what I mean ? Overall, formally speaking now - I'm going to give that photo a 9.8 out of 10. It looks awesome and I predict a lot of deliciousness, but we need to leave 0.2 leeway for improvement. Because there can always be improvement in anything. Nothing is perfect.

Over and out.

[midnightscxre]

Face claim :  Abigail Cowen  

BASIC INFO:

Full Name: Clare Archer

Nicknames: (depends on the role play)

Age: Twenty seven (27)

Gender: famale (she / her)

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Birthday: 8. September

Languages Spoken: English

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE:

Height: 5′4′’

Weight: 61 kg

Hair Color: Ruby red

Eye Color: Emerald green

Skin Color: Ivory

Battle Marks(Scars, missing body parts, etc.): Barely visible scar under behind her left ear

Tattoos: 1. Serotonin molecule on the bridge of her right foot 2. Oni mask on her right shoulder blade, 3. Open ribcage image with tiny demons crawling out of it (left side, ribcage area), 3. Two venomous snakes ‘crawling’ around her right thigh all the way to the hip

PERSONALITY:

Brief Description: Confident, highly capable woman with a hidden heart as a product of her sinister past

First Impression: Temperamental, hostile, intimidating,  argumentative, wild. 

Once you get to know them: Protective, dedicated, attentive, kind, loyal

Intelligence: High IQ, extremely resourceful, ‘book’ and ‘life’ smart, ingenious

Good Qualities / Trait(s):  Staunch, will place well being of others above her own, generous, observant

Vices / Negative Trait(s): Fiery temper,sometimes rash with decisions, distrustful towards others

Strengths: High pain tolerance, martial arts, vast knowledge in the field of biology and chemistry

Weaknesses: Gentleness, kindness, affection, physical touch

Habits: Listening to rock music while working in the laboratory, drinking two espressos on her way to work, feeding stray animals

Hobbies: Reading, playing a electric guitar, volunteers as a substitute teacher for biology and chemistry, helping in animal shelters

Phobia / Fears: Being abandoned, unrequited love, being buried alive

Loves: Animals, Books, Rock music / Playing a electric guitar, riding a mechanical bull, rock parties

Hates: Animal cruelty, abusive parents, gold diggers (reminds her of her mother)

Pet Peeves: Self-centered and self righteous people

BELIEFS:

Religion: Agnostic

Thoughts on government: Corrupted system coddling the privileged

Thoughts on people in general: Selfish creatures destroying themselves and other species for their benefit

Moral: Depends on the situation

Superstitions: None

SPEECH:

Voice Description: Orotund or smoky, depending on the situation

Accent(if any):  None

Most used phrases/words: Nothing in particular

Humor: Dark or teasing

LIFE:

Occupation: Chemist for a prestigious pharmaceutical company

Education: A doctorate in biology and chemistry

Past Relationships: Never had a relationship ( Original / Canon past not including the RP ships)

Current Relationships: Single

Family: Two half sisters (Veronica and Mel) , mother (Elise Strossmyer - Huddson) , deceased father (Patric Archer)

Place of birth: New York

Current Residence: Los Angeles (will be changed based on the role play)

Financial Status: Makes more than she spends.

Source of Money: Legal job at the pharmaceutical company

Physical health: Very good

BACKSTORY

Clare had an extremely difficult childhood, filled with negligence, physical and verbal abuse. Her mother, Elise, was not particularly interested in raising children since she only had them for one purpose : to trap a wealthy man. She was a gold digger, a woman only interested in what a man can provide. Clare was her first “attempt to get a gold American Express”. However, Patric Archer died when Clare was four, so the torment began immediately after that event, since Elise had no ‘use’ from the child no more. Elise would often punish Clare by hand and word, reminding her of how ‘useless’ she is, giving her best to make the child develop the feeling of being unwanted and unloved.

 Forced to learn how to take care of herself from a young age, she was constantly been fed lies from the people around her. While alive, her biological father was a man who pretended to be interested for the show and others around him not to judge him, breaking promises left and right, and sometimes even forgetting Clare’s name, calling her Carla, Catty...After his death, Elise re-married 2 more times, having two more children, Clare’s stepsisters Mel and Veronica, true daughters of her mother as they decided to follow in her footsteps, unlike Clare.

She was disgusted with the concept of being a gold digger and a mindless toy for money, and her love and interest in complicated topics and dark content made her a black sheep in that family, so much that they openly hated her and casually locked her out side of the house, even when she was only 10. But she did not let them get to her, instead, she trained herself for years to shut down emotionally. The breaking point was when her mother took her to see her fathers grave at the age of 6 on Clare’s request, but the problem was that she left her there and it was just getting dark, telling Clare that she can do her a favor and just lay in to a empty grave that was next to her father’s.She quickly developed the belief that gentile, love, affection = lies, and similar things are used as tools of manipulation, to get others to do your bidding or making them just useful for your needs.

Perfecting her craft of giving the people the impression she is a heartless monster with nothing but contempt in her, she built her walls high to protect the pieces of sanity she has left along with her fragile heart. She gazed upon humanity with disgust in general, seeing only the selfish being and lying individuals. Beside her plans and childhood, Clare was always a feisty one. Filled with energy and adrenaline. That is why she trained athletics and martial arts, to get the energy out, and built physical endurance plus be sure she can smite down anyone who stands in her way. She ‘takes shit’ from no one,and even though she will not get physical right away, her sharp tongue will not hesitate to tell you things packed in a nice sarcastic dark humor that will bring you down from your high horse.

Clare is a product of her sinister path, and the pain molded her distrust towards others, along with phobias of affection. However, she is extremely helpful and will not hesitate save someone, however her good did will be masked with her aggressive behavior, to make sure the heart is safely hidden away. The path to her ‘blood pump’ is thorny, but whoever manages to see through all of that, will gain the most loyal, loving and devoted person.

In her collage days, she did manage to get two friends that find her amusing and are not bothered with her flaming temper. Alice and Jake, who stick by her no matter how bad things are. But still, somehow Clare did not show her special good side even to them.

[journeysofpatrickandarchana]

Grenada

Original blog post on - 14th April 2013

The last of the West Indies.

It was only 45 nautical miles from Tobago Cays to Grenada and with the favourable wind behind us for most of the way we once again had to slow down sailing with reefed headsail only to ensure we reached there at the break of dawn rather than having to anchor in the dark if we had travelled there with full sails.

Once again it was a reasonably flat and non rolly bay for our anchorage that was amongst a few other yachts just outside the main commercial harbour in 5 metres of water. Facing the bow was a huge volcanic rock and a beach that looked like it had volcanic sand (almost black) gone was the beautiful white sand from the beaches on Tobago Cays.

We could see the working harbour about one kilometre away on the left hand side and we knew about the Port Louis Marina on the right hand side that existed beyond the rock formation based on the guide books and the navigational program we were using. This is where a few super yachts as well as many other cruising yachts similar to ours were berthed.

After breakfast six of us got into the dinghy to head to Port Louis Marina. Colin stayed on the boat to catch up on some much needed sleep having done the graveyard shift from 12am to 2pm.

Despite some confusing and wrong information given to us, once at the marina we were easily able to locate the customs and immigration office to complete our entry requirements into Grenada. Once again in a cricket loving country, the immigration officer, young Sheldon was eager to talk about cricket. As the skipper Patrick was required for signing the documents but as per previous ports I completed the forms seeing I had made myself his personal assistant attending to all ship paperwork. (Just to inform you Hestia is not officially a yacht or a vessel or even a boat but a "ship" registered with the Australian registrar of ships via our international registration of the yacht and not just a NSW registration since it has now been transferred off the French registry of marine vessels). With both Patrick & I present there, Sheldon started his conversation with a loaded question "so you are from India and he is from Australia, so how did the household cope when India beat Australia 4-Nil in the recent test series?" Neither of us knew about this test series but we played along anyway. Patrick pleaded that he did not understand cricket (tongue in cheek) and I laughed. Sheldon launched on his cricket expertise about how the young Indian team with the likes of Kohli and Avinaash was much better than the old Australian team that needed some new blood and revamp. This while there were 4 other skippers waiting outside the office in the heat to get their clearance!

After a pleasurable conversation and a lot of time in this 2 person sized office we departed as now having officially arrived in Grenada.

It was our first day there but as always Patrick and I had a list of tasks to achieve including buying some more groceries and fresh fruit. One of the main reasons for coming to Grenada was in a slim hope that we may be able to find another LPG gas bottle for the galley that we had not been able to secure in St Maarten or elsewhere along the way.

Mind you this was on a Thursday (day) before Good Friday. The shops would be closed the next day and although we might be able to get things on Saturday we were planning on leaving Saturday evening latest.

It was a day of mixed success, we managed to walk from Port Louis Marina to the town. On the way there we found a decent supermarket, no luck with the gas bottles and a market where we bought lots of fresh fruit and vegetables including some local fruit for the crew to taste.

After a quick break for some young coconut water, the Indian way, we headed back and managed to get a ride in the local transport buses at $1 (Eastern Caribbean) per person. This was a 17 person mini-bus that had about 25 passengers and two crew (driver and ticket seller) cramped in it like a can of sardines....including the smell. Patrick was sitting in the single passenger seat in the front of the bus when a very oversized lady put her arm out to get a lift. I looked in the back and it was crammed already and wondered where this person was going to fit. The bus conductor opened Patrick's door and in moved this giant of a lady pushing Patrick almost onto the lap of the driver and hindering him from using the gears. It was an interesting experience to say the least.

We then got off at the Supermarket and did a big shop, the tough bit was carrying it back to the marina where we had the other crew waiting for us with the dinghy.

We then found a local baker in the Marina complex, an elderly couple from South Africa that reminded you of elderly couples that you read in a fairy tales, hardworking people, proud of their product leading a simple but complete life spreading joy where they can.

We ordered 24 Hot Cross Buns to be picked up in the late afternoon that we could enjoy on Good Friday and hopefully over the Easter Weekend.

Back on the boat, Colin caught trevally was devoured for lunch and we headed back to the marina to get the laundry done and pick up the hot cross buns. Unfortunately there was no coin laundry at this marina and so a decision was made to go by dinghy to the yacht club across the pier after picking up the buns to source options for both laundry and wifi facilities.

The yacht club (RGYC) reminded me of the CYC back in Mumbai a colonial style building with traces of bygone glory and fabulous location and views. Dusty flags from other yacht clubs around the world hung in lines from the ceiling. Unfortunately we were too late for laundry but we were assured that there would be someone there first thing tomorrow if we returned in the morning. While Georges accessed internet he bought me a gin & tonic. Phil, Sibylle and Colin went looking for some tourist information in the meanwhile.

I noticed an interesting and reasonably priced menu here and a mental decision was made to bring the crew back for an Easter treat for dinner that night.

Although the menu for dinner did not match the menu on the board seen earlier in the day, it turned out to be a pleasant evening for all a we sat on the yacht club terrace and enjoyed the Caribbean meal with either fish or chicken options. We had a few drinks and finishing it all with some local ice cream.

Good Friday was a day for seeing the island with almost all official business closed. We had booked a taxi for 5 of us for a 6 hour tour from 10am. The taxi and the rate had been confirmed the previous night via email at US$20 person, total $100 for a 6 hour job. The fellow had been happy to accept our business but seemed disgruntled when he picked us up in the morning, partly because we were late and partly because he had realised that a cruise liner with its wealthy passengers had arrived in the morning and he could have made 50% more money on the same tour. Sadly this set the tone of the tour and although we saw some interesting areas on the day and managed a beautiful walk to Concord falls as a guide he provided us with no commentary on the area and all the conversation revolved around money and time. Not enjoyable at all.

Our most interesting visit for the day was a moderate grade bush walk to the Seven Sisters Falls of which we only saw the Concord Falls. The water fall was amazing or so Patrick tells me but I refused to jump in the water with over 50 local teenagers hosting a barbecue and a day of get-together to meet the local girls. the kids were brave to say the least as they climbed the slippery rocks and got to the top of the falls about 18 meters high and jumped into it.

I found it a bit intimidating to strip to my bathers with all the local boys scanning the foreigners. Just as we were leaving a group of American teenagers arrived with their local tour guides and jumped onto the pool. They were about 10 of them and I wished they had arrived earlier.

Also being a Good Friday we missed out on the rum distillery and nutmeg factory which were both closed due to public holiday.

We viewed a lake created by a meteoroid that had unique eco-system.

We finally managed to buy a second hand 10 pound fibreglass gas bottle from one of the local convenience stores at the marina that was almost full of gas and they accepted our offer that represented a good discount off the new price. So whilst not the size we originally wanted it was at least enough gas to get us to Panama where hopefully we will be able to purchase a larger gas container especially for the big passage from Galapagos to the Marquesas in French Polenesia some 6,000 kilometres away that we plan to sail in under 3 weeks. This is one of, if not the longest passage in world cruising.

Back at the boat Patrick swam 400 metres to the beach with the black sand and volcanic rocks jutting out from the sea floor. Colin was kind enough to ferry me in the dinghy to the shore to meet up with the others. This beach was full of local kids playing cricket, football and practicing karate or some sort of martial arts. Nick and Georges swam there as well. It was a lovely evening with a beautiful sunset.

Dinner was pasta (ghackets und hoerndli mit oephelmues) i.e. minced beef with horn shaped pasta and apple sauce by the Swiss couple. The crew rating was "delicious!". I had the vegetarian version and it very good too. We finished off the meal with some Swiss chocolate.

It was a pleasant break in Grenada and we had an early night in preparation of the early start for one of the tough legs anticipated. We were heading for Bonaire around 420 nm away the next day with anticipated 20-25 knots wind conditions according to the grid file Patrick downloaded from his Maxsea navigation software.

[photographypunk]

Asher Gideon Nygma-Crane

Agendered (bio-female)

Autism ADHD OCD and Tourette's 

Born in Glasgow Scotland

6’4

Eye: dark blue that lightens to ice blue then around the pupil is a greenish yellow (central heterochromia)

Hair: dark auburn red that is mistaken for brown or black in low light 

They often wear punk/goth attire as a civilian but also just dress weird  

They are covered in tattoos : 1. They have four bands of black on each arm and between them are crows in various stages of flying or fighting  2. have a watercolor street of Gotham with a dark figure riding a pale horse that takes up their back 3. On their right side they have a Green and purple sphinx the cat part is a tiger instead of the usual lion that even goes down that leg 4.  On their left leg their upper thigh have a crocodile with a rubber duck for Waylon a playing card and spinning coin for Harvey a jester hat for joker a spade and heart for Harley and roses for Ivy and a kangaroo for George and a Penguin for Oz they have more but those are the more distinct ones alot of the other are more superfluous 

Their bottom lip has a vertical labret and snake bites they also have angel bites they all are black rings (cause they are a dork and like the scarecrow likeness)    

Found by Jon in a warehouse at a year and a few months old after their parents (doctors) were killed for helping the wrong person. 

They are generally unsettling even as a child as they often have a blank expression that doesn't change as they get older. They take this to working in a haunted house with their friends since they were sixteen.

They didn't go to school until middle school as they mostly spoke through mimicry using other people's voices and the school saw it as them being obstinate. 

They eventually craft themselves a voice of their own with Kaz at the age of 7. It's raspy, soft, and they rarely raise their voice unless need be, and they speak with a thick Georgian drawl like Jon because they like the way he speaks. 

The know a few languages Spanish Russian French and Italian they later learn Scottish Gaelic when they learn about their birth parents. 

Harley noticed they had loose joints even at a young age and very soft skin and to help them tighten and strengthen up by teaching them aerial sports their favorite was lyra while doing that they also did gymnastics. That's where they became friends with Barbra Gordon. They also learn electro swing dancing convinced by their long time girlfriend who they met in adult Lyra classes.

How they got their powers 

When they are young they lucid dream on a regular and makes friends with nightmares and dreams. Dream of the Endless meets them and takes them to meet Darkness. Dream of the Endless knows him and his siblings are becoming corrupt and knows the Elementals will bring the apocalypse or actually help.

Darkness is an elemental who is the actual Architect of the world the true creator due to them wanting to keep God and even themselves in check made the world in need of balance. Angered by that God killed Darkness and all of the other elementals. Not knowledgeable in how things are supposed to work he can only make broken copies of worlds. Dark and light was originally more of a balanced dynamic where both could actually be bad should one exist more than the other. Darkness has drifted through dark spaces in all dimensions without a body they settled into the dimension Ash reside in and stays  deep in the Dreamland. Dream takes Ash to Darkness as both a possible sacrifice and as the possible end of the world. Darkness is very old and while not aware of other worlds because all of them are pretty much rip off their work has a general knowledge of many things Asher had to construct a space in their mind so its not a constant stream of knowledge. They cannot be captured in magic circles and are not hurt by holy water they have been shot stabbed and had even been doused in gasoline and set on fire but they heal quickly. They use this ability to scare others letting them believe they have won then scaring them. They can change parts of their body into obsidian they use them to set their fear toxin on fire but also to slash and claw. They can full-bodied shape-shift often turning into a crow, barghest (black dog), and a large Maine coon like cat they can also turn into twisted versions of their alias The Crow. 

As The Crow they wear black pants a white button up and vest with steel toed boots black leather gloves and a black trench coat they wear a leather bandana and if their hair is long enough will braid it with leather ties but they dont really care too much about their hair.They also wear welding goggles a plague doctor like mask.

Gear:

Boots later they have plates of metal like tap shoes to also throw sparks and have rolling nano machines that can help them skid slide and even slightly glide they hate using them though cause they dont act like hockey skates 

Gloves they actually only wear them in the beginning as they later get more used to using their powers. These gloves also use nano tech with magnets that help them spin fling and bring back their large scythe.

Large scythe that can collapse into a eight inch pole their large scythe is actually more of a defense tool to keep people back and fling them and light the toxin on fire with the help of nano tech they also can make it pin people down and also trick people into trying to grab it only to be unable to move it.

Two sickles they use when they need speed and when they actually need to physically fight.

Personality: they are playful and laid back with their family and friends often wanted to help take care of Stephanie Brown and Timothy Drake who also are adopted by Jon and Ed. They are very protective of their family but also to those they see are in need of help and stands by more progressive policies. They join a protest at the young age of 14 when a young boy is shot and killed by gcpd. They love to be a problem for those in power particularly those who abuse said power. They are very self aware of their odd life and how odd it is but also find a lot of humor in their existence. They often make jokes about it saying "I don't have to grow past the emotional range of a 16 year old and can also blame my upbringing" in reality they are also very tetchy of people who assume Ed and Jon are abusive or that they forced Ash to be a Rouge. They decided to be a Rouge at the young age of 8 after they ran across a pedophile who was looking for victims at a public pool they went to and saw him watching their friends. They know that they aren't doing the right thing fully by going after these people but have a lot of anger towards these people. They are often almost immediately liked by kids and animals which they find odd but uses it to protect these beings who trust them so readily. They do commit more regular crimes like Ed and Jon but oftentimes steal to give the money or whatever they stole to those who really need it.....sometimes to their own detriment as they sometimes even give their legitimate pay away as well leaving them on a constant precipice of being kicked from their own apartment at times. They also heavily help Babs PI business also to their detriment. (They are bad with the monies lol)

Relationshsips

Ed: they are close (of course) but Ed is also very supportive in everything they want to try while also being very protective of them. He's a mother hen to Ash in particular as they are very independent and have a tendency to forget to take care of themselves. (just like Jon) They are also reckless and protective of their friends and families (like Ed) They also bond over their love of machinery and general trivia and riddles. Jon often says they are the brick walls each needed in their lives. They are also very interested in ciphers and codes and earned Ed's love to perform but are very shy and like to stay in the dark. Its why they love being a haunted house worker and often using their knowledge and body control they learned in sports to make scaring and fighting a performance in its self. He was very weary about sending Ash to school even as he knew they would have friends and that the school wasn't actually that bad with staff who tried. The elementary school had seen them as obstinate as when they went to the preschool the fact they speak in Kaz's voice instead of their own.

Jon: They bond over their love for reading crows and love to scare the shit out of people. They are more quiet and contemplative when it comes to dealing with people. Jon does feel bad for their quieter nature but Ed often soothe him over it. Jon is also protective of thier child as well but is more willing to let them grow and change on thier own. He had hoped Ash would choose a more normal life but after a fight reconizes that Ash needs to live thier life the way they want. They often spend time together in quiet often each doing thier own thing. They both have a similar sence of humor and while once Ash is 16 darkness and Ash are esstially the same being Ash can become feral and unable to speak if hurt or if they use thier powers too much and Jon reconizes its similar to him and Scarecrow. Jon finds the fact they take a lot of insperation from him funny and flattering and teases Ed over it a little bit.

Waylon: He is uncle Waylon and Ash goes to Waylon for more normal advice. He encouges Ash to try to work through things on more normal ways. If Ed isnt around Ash goes to Waylon for emotional comfort. They have respect for Waylon for being the most stable of thier caretakers and being mentally angile to be able to have a consistant job as they struggle with trying to be a normal citizan.

Kaz: Kaz knew who Ed and Jon where as he saw them in thier Rogues costumes so he threatens them after getting back. Originally he felt like he had to protect Ash (who was two when they 'adopted' Kaz) Ash unconsiously shows the while Jon and Ed kill and hurt people they dont want to hurt the siblings. They grow close being siblings and reconizing thier life is very odd. Kaz like Ed is very protective of Ash since they have a tough time taking care of themselves. Ash is just a protective after Kaz's leg is screwed up and makes him a brace and they remind each other to use thier mobility and braces. Ash does reconize Kaz is both very capable and has his crew to back him up so tires to not worry about him too much but still does. Ash finds Kaz's ability to do close up magic very neat and picks up some of the tricks he learns but isnt as skilled as Kaz is.

Stephine: Ash does more girly things with Steph and acts as a typical older sister type helping her be confident and lets her know her feminity is valid and not weakness. Ash is slightly jelouse of Steph bcause she is actually more inclined for math and enginering and has a more natural knack for it but is also has resepect for her over it and if Ed isnt around will go to Steph for a outliers prospective on projects. Steph's persona is called Syphinx. Steph wears purple and green but wears more civillian like cloths but will sometimes when shes needed a green and purple suit and has a cane with a syphinx handle for her main weapon.

Tim: Ash and Tim both are the more quiet siblings perfering to work in the shadows and arnt concerened for praise or adoration for thier work. They can be both frusrated at each other for it but love each others very much. Tim and Ash oftentimes spends time together doing parellal play often hanging out in Ash's room and listening to music. Ash will call on Tim and Steph to help sometimes with the other variants or when their are civilians involed. Ash like with all thier other siblings is protective of Tim but has a tendecy to hover more as he is also the baby of the family. Tim will often go to Ash for emotional comfort as he doesnt want to be a burden but Ash is quick to put his fears to rest and doenst mind reminding him that Ed and Jon love him very much. Ash is happy that Tim and Steph have much more normal lives than them and Kaz as Steph and Tim may have personas they dont commit crimes and act as more typical viglianties. Tim's persona is called Magpie which was a nikename from Ed and Jon. He wears a plauge doctor like mask like Ash but often wears more punk like attire than Ashers 'suit' look.

Pets: They have a few pets including a horse named Ghost who became close after Kaz got her trust. Ruger was a Rottweiler German shepherd mix who saved them from a Jonathan Crane who got stuck in their dimension and decided to kill Ash believing they were stopping Jon continuing his work on the toxin. They fought and they both got dosed with Jon's toxin but Ash fought it and beat him up with the help of Ruger. Afterwards Ed and Jon were weary of Ruger but finally gave him a chance after Waylon pointed out he wasn't aggressive towards any of them. Nightmare is more of a sibling to them he later gains the ability to fully speak as Ash works on their powers. Ash felt bad but Nightmare wants to be there for Ash and help them in any way he can. Craw is more of Kaz pet but he doesn't like being cooped up so oftentimes hangs out with Ash and Nightmare. Nightmare is the more serious one while Craw often acts playful and social sometimes acting more like a parrot with using his feet more often than other crows. Craw can speak fully as well but oftentimes loves to mostly mimic and speak in small sentences or one words. Later Tim and Stephine 'save' a kitten who escaped the cage he was in about to be taken into a shelter and they jokingly named him Eddie as once they get him to Ash they find the kitten is very smart and curiouse quickly even figuring out a puzzle Ash made for Craw and Nightmare. Eddie winds up staying but Ash still goes to the shelter and explains what happened and paid the dues to officially adopt him as the money goes to the animals. Eddie loves Craw and Nightmare and the crows like him back calling him little brother. Eddie is a orange tabby kitten with green eyes.

I will add more this is just what I was able to jam out send me asks or messages or whatever and I can clarify or explain better.

[dsandrvk]

Monday, February 12, 2024 - Buenos Aires to Ushuaia

We got up around 4 this morning, had a very lovely breakfast at our hotel (best pain au chocolate I have ever had), and got to the airport shortly after 6:30. We had flown from Jorge Newbury Airport last year to and from Iguaza, but for some reason we missed seeing the giant slum that is between the port and the highway, stretching a good ways north towards this smaller airport. It is colorful, although so many buildings are not intact, and one wonders how people can live there. Most of the areas north of downtown Buenos Aires are affluent, but this is an aberration.

Our flight left on time, and we landed in Ushuaia about 3-1/2 hours later, around 11:30. Even though we had had a very complete breakfast, we were still served a substantial second breakfast on the plane. We had a little scenic tour in our bus from the airport, since the idea was not to have everyone on the flight arrive in one pile at the dock. We stopped at the old airport in Ushuaia, which is still used for small planes, and drove past the waterfront where we walked last year.

Embarkation was extremely smooth and quick, and we decided to turn around almost immediately and try to see a bit of town and spend our extra pesos before an earlier than planned departure, although by the time we got off the ship we only had about an hour. Ushuaia is a busy place, with four cruise ships docked and another anchored out in the bay. The line waiting for a tender back to the anchored ship, the Holland America Oosterdam, was about a quarter mile long, and not moving very quickly. Glad our ship only takes about 260 passengers and we were right at the dock.

The Seabourn Venture is less than two years old and is a beautiful ship. Everything is spacious and well-designed, and our standard room (suite) is roomy with a great balcony and lots of storage. We didn't really have much time to unpack before we headed out the Beagle Channel several hours earlier than originally planned, so will try to get better organized tomorrow. We left the dock around 4PM, three hours earlier than scheduled. There are a couple of low pressure systems creating fairly large waves, and it is hoped we can get to the east of the worst of it tonight, and then run south just on the edge. The seas were pretty heavy, with some rolling, but not too severe. Tomorrow may be worse if the system comes faster, but we will see what happens.

The ride out the Channel was beautiful, even with clouds and we were clear just before dark as the land slipped away. We spent a little post-dinner time listening to a really talented piano player/vocalist in the club, and got reacquainted with the Cruise Director, James, who was our CD on our trip this past summer. Also on board was our expedition leader from that trip, Luciano. We feel confident we are in good hands and really look forward to the next part of the trip.

I may not post tomorrow since it will be a sea day, but it looks like we will be kept busy with mandatory briefings on Zodiacs, Antarctica, gear, etc., as well as a lecture on birds, and of course, trivia! We feel so lucky to be doing this cruise and for everything to have gone so smoothly so far. Now if the seas will just calm down a bit and not change into the predicted 5 meter swells. Time for some well-needed rest