#this is a callback to one of the first pictures I took for this blog but I can’t find the original to do a proper comparison 😭

[rosefinnigen]

Hm, this seems familiar somehow…

[retellingthehobbit]

Retelling The Hobbit Chapter 15: Unattached First chapter / Previous / Next Read full comic on: Webtoon/A03 

Other blogs : Instagram/Tumblr Sideblog

Thank you for reading! The next chapter of this comic adaptation of The Hobbit will be titled (drumroll)....The Song of the Lonely Mountain!

Check under the cut for notes on the callbacks to previous chapters of this comic, and to Tolkien stories like the Unfinished Tales! —-

—-

One of my guiding ideas for this comic is that the story is being written/drawn by Bilbo Baggins, an  “unreliable narrator,” who has a biased way of recounting events. As the comic goes on, parts of the story get retold through new perspectives (or through the eyes of other characters), and you realize the initial version you read was incomplete. 

A lot of you probably noticed that this chapter features a ton of callbacks to the earliest chapters of this comic! We saw child Bilbo and Gandalf's friendship told from Bilbo's POV in Chapter 3.....but in this chapter we see it retold from Gandalf's POV. However, Belladonna Took is our biggest instance of that!   Not to overexplain my own writing, but Chapter 1 is an older Bilbo painting an idealized happily-ever-after fairytale picture of Belladonna, while Chapter 15 features a younger Bilbo telling a far less optimistic version of her life.  While there's truth to both of them, neither of them is the full truth.

In the Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo tells Frodo that ‘books need to have good endings,' like endings where everyone "lives happily ever after." If I were to continue this comic to the end of the novel, Bilbo’s habit of “rewriting things to be happier" would become a whole Thing. 

Second: Much of this chapter is taken directly from “The Unfinished Tales: The Quest For Erebor.” That story was Tolkien’s attempt to unite the tone of The Hobbit with LOTR, by having Gandalf explain what The Hobbit looked like from *his* perspective. The gay line about Bilbo feeling incapable of settling down into a Traditional Marriage with a Wife And Kids is taken almost directly from the Unfinished Tales. So are all the lines where Gandalf reflects on what Bilbo was like as a child, and the moment where Bilbo reflects that all of his desire for adventure has dwindled to a private dream.

Third: Obviously, the other big influence on this chapter (outside the original novel) was a similar scene in the PJ film. The little bit where Gandalf reveals the lore behind Bullroarer took monologue is the only dialogue I’ve directly lifted from that scene. ;3

Fourth: some of you may have caught that I used a quote describing Frodo’s wanderlust in the Fellowship of the Ring to describe Bilbo. The bit describing "the maps that only show white spaces beyond their borders" is also why I emphasized Bilbo’s canonical nerdiness around  maps in earlier chapters (chapter 5 especially, but also in Chapter 6, Chapter 7, and a blink-and-you-miss-it moment in chapter 14.) 

Fifth: one of my favorite things in the original book are all the scenes where Gandalf does fun Whimsical things with smoke/smoke rings. In the book he usually makes them change color or race around; in my comic he usually makes them turn into butterflies (he also does this in chapters 3 and 11.) you may have noticed that Butterfly Symbolism is a big thing in this comic.  But yeah, in another callback: Gandalf finally had time to blow smoke-rings with Bilbo, which he said he 'had no time for' in Chapter 2!

Thanks again for reading! I tentatively plan for the next chapter to arrive on November 13th.

[canonicallyobserving911]

Buck & Eddie and Thomas & Mitchell: Wardrobe Parallels

Some of the clothes Buck and Eddie wore in 7x1 "Abandon 'Ships" parallel with some of the clothes Thomas and Mitchell wore in 2x8 "Buck Actually". Reminder, the ages Thomas and Mitchell were during Thomas' flashbacks parallel with the ages Buck and Eddie are now👀.

I've completed two other posts on the parallels between Buck & Eddie and Thomas & Mitchell (linked here and here) but the more parallels I find, I've come to realize the show has ALWAYS been paralleling them since 2x8 aired. And it's not just one thing, it's multiple things like their clothes, their ages, their height differences, the one who always drives (Mitchell and Buck) along with the way they look at and touch each other. Also, after Bobby taught Buck how to step into a relationship in season 1 (which didn't work on AC by the way) it appears Thomas was the one to tell Buck about true love more than a year before he learned about not solely dedicating himself to the LAFD (Red) and four years before he was told not to live his life like everyone else or it'll go by in a blur during the happiness convention (Lev) because he had ALREADY MET the person (EDDIE) weeks earlier that he is going to spend the rest of his life with.

Back to the regularly scheduled program...

Before 7x1 aired, TM (showrunner) released the above still and I posted about the ugly ass shirt Buck was wearing (linked here) but I also noticed the jean shirt Eddie was wearing and I wondered why he was wearing it because IIRC, Eddie hasn't worn a jean shirt since 3x3 after the Tsunami.

After I watched 7x1, I found so many parallels, callbacks, hindsight and foreshadowing and to this day, I'm still finding more that pertain specifically to Buck and Eddie that I plan to blog about but today, I remembered the other person I saw wearing a jean shirt similar to the one Eddie wore in 7x1 and it was Mitchell in 2x8 when he rolled up on Thomas at the club 🤪😜💕. It was the night they met and if you haven't seen 2x8, you should watch it because IMO, it gave the audience a glimpse into Buck and Eddie's future as a romantic couple.

I have to admit Eddie wearing a jean shirt was JARRING because he usually wears softer fabrics for his shirts like when he wears Henley's, button-downs and t-shirts so there's that. Also, the fabric looked rough and coarse, so I tried to figure out why he was wearing it in the first place but I digress (I'm going to do a separate post on why I believe he was wearing it the same way I posted about the plaid suit he wore in 6x13 and the plaid flannel shirt he wore in 6x18 (post linked here).

In addition to Eddie's jean shirt, Buck's multi-colored checkerboard whatever the "F" ugly ass button-down shirt/ jacket he wore has the same colors (white, blue, yellow/brown) as the shirt Thomas wore in 2x8 after he locked eyes with Mitchell from across the room while he was sitting at the bar.

Reminder, Eddie put his hand on Buck's shoulder in 3x3 (when he was wearing a jean shirt) the same way he did in 7x1 🤪😜🤪.

There are other similarities in the clothes they wore but they were more so for Buck.

Since he's worn different variations of the infamous striped shirt he wore during the shooting, when I saw Thomas wearing a similar one, I had to look them up.

During one of Thomas' flashbacks, he was wearing a shirt that's practically identical to the one Buck will be wearing in a future episode in season 7 (I can't remember when OS posted the picture below but IIRC, they were filming 7x5). Now since the photo of him and Brenna Malloy is in black and white, it's difficult to tell what color the stripes in his shirt are but the size of them are practically identical to the ones in Thomas' shirt. Reminder, Thomas wore his shirt when he took a selfie with Mitchell on their Polaroid camera right after they bought their home in the Hollywood Hills.

Additionally, later in 7x1 when Buck went to talk to Chris about being a player, he was wearing his "looking for answers" uniform but his shirt was the same color as a shirt Mitchell wore after him and Thomas got married and they were celebrating Mitchell's birthday.

IMO, it's safe to say 9-1-1 doesn't do anything on accident and it appears every word that's said and every piece of clothing the characters wear are done on purpose. Therefore, since they've been paralleling Buck and Eddie with Thomas and Mitchell for 6 years, the question is, what does it all mean? CANON Buddie... maybe??? Hopefully???

Reminder, Buck was the one who saw the pictures of Thomas and Mitchell that fell out of Thomas' "Love, Life & Adventures" photo album (post linked here) and he was also the one Thomas told, "You don't find it son, you make it!" and isn't that what Buck and Eddie have been doing for 6 years, making it?

That's love! (post linked here).

Will Buck and Eddie FINALLY become a CANON couple in season 7 or will the show keep delaying the inevitable by shoehorning one-dimensional love interests in and keep wasting screen time? Only the showrunners, writers, actors and producers know the answer to that question.

[hjcoolartnerd]

Continuation of the episodes! Now we have the Moon madness episode, there is more interaction and a few more callbacks to the other seasons.

Previous Episodes:

Food Fright

Episode 5: Moon Madness

Recap:

Chris: “ last time on total drama all stars! after swapping teams Courtney Eric, Daniel and Duncan were stuck living with the enemy *laughs* Eric quickly made a lip lock alliance with Scott right after Jo’s elimination, to then get Jealous when Scott was the only villain to not give Courtney the cold shoulder, to reassure Eric with another lip lock. That’s more disgusting than the powdered gruel. Daniel saw this exchange and bowed to break those two up while he worked his charm on Sierra and the rest of the heroes. Duncan began questioning his own bad boyhood when the heroes give him the biggest welcome to the team that it could warm up my cold heart. At challenge time, gigiant pancakes were gobbled down and in a few cases thrown right back up, thank to a barftacular obstacle course. *laughs* way to re swallow bro. The heroes finished first but an uneaten chunk of cake in Sam’s pocket sent heroes to loserville and Sam took a particularly awkward flush of shame. Only 12 players remain, which one of them I going to take a circularly swim in the big porcelain bowl find out right here! Right now! On Total! Drama! All Stars!”

———————————————————————————————

Heroes at The loser cabin:

Daniel: “So Sierra How is my phone treating you?”

Sierra: “OMG Daniel this phone amazing! I get all the notifications from my blog readers! I can update them on everything that’s happening *she smiled as she took at picture of Daniel* this picture is to update your good guy folder”

Daniel : “Oh? Thanks I guess.”

Sierra: “Also I got messages from Cody! Wishing me for luck!”

Daniel: “that’s nice! *he smiled as he pulled out his own phone* my girl Anne Maria sent me good luck video too”

Daniel’s confessional: “Yeah my girl is the best! I’m winning for her and for me! Here let me show you! *he plays the video* “ Anne Maria: “hey Danny! Hope you Win the money for me! I miss you so much! Be sure to punch Chris in the face for my boot last season! I love you my wolf! Also I hope you are taking care of your hair like I thought you!” *happily sighs “isn’t she great!”

Sierra: “I owe you one for the phone!”

Daniel: “funny that you say that, right now I have something I want to do. It’s about Eric.”

Sierra: “you saw him doing the alliance with Al?”

Daniel: “Al? No He kissed Scott!”

Sierra: “Wait Eric making alliances with Al and kissing Scott? What is he playing at?”

Daniel: “now we got to be more focused on Eric and Al. * he got worried* If watching WT taught me anything is that , Al was a player, and Eric is gullible. So he might be played by both Scott and Al. I hate that he let guys play him again!”

Sierra: “so what do you suppose we do?”

Daniel : “Let’s have an alliance Sierra! Eventually we’d have to vote off Mike, Zoey and Cam, no matter how good they are. If we loose, they are the tightest alliance.”

Sierra: “that’s true… as much I hate to admit it, you, me and Duncan are on the chopping block. Unless we make the villains loose.”

Daniel: “yeah Eric is at a disadvantage. Courtney, Heather, Al, and Scott, Eric will be voted off for sure.”

Sierra: “not if he convinces everyone to vote off Heather or Courtney. But that’s hard to pull off. The villains know Eric is a threat to keep, he always makes it far.”

Daniel: “yeah”

Sierra’s confessional: “So I need to confront Eric, I want to know if he got a plan in case the villains loose. Daniel, is being too nice, and you can’t trust people like that. Cody even sent me a video I haven’t had the time to see, it’s one that says See when alone. And I’m rarely alone Daniel, or Zoey are always near. But I’ll have the chance to see it soon”

———————————————————————————————

Villains at the spa hotel:

*Eric eating stakes with Heather and Al*

Heather: “Do you have to whistle through your Nose while you eat Windy?”

Alejandro: “*sighs* typical Heather” *walks away*

Heather’s confessional: “ he calls that a comeback!? It’s like he’s not even trying! It’s like he’s lost interest on me! No one has ever lost interest in me!”

Alejandro’s confessional: “To get the upper hand I must throw Heather off her game and so far soy bueno. Muy bueno.”

Eric’s confessional: “I need to have Heather trust me fully! So she doesn’t suspect me of doing anything to betray her. So I must help her to throw Alejandro off his game. Hey I may be allied with Al but it doesn’t mean I can’t have fun!”

Eric: “looks like Al is not liking your mean girl attitude Heather.”

Heather: “what?! as If!”

Eric: “he usually has a comeback, right now he said nothing.”

Heather: “*she hesitate* you might be right but how can I…”

Eric: “next challenge you must try to play nice! Be different, throw him off his game! Just be unpredictable.”

Heather: “why are you helping me?”

Eric: “right now I need allies and you and I have been in ever season, so we know how to play the game well, and I was thinking, we should just help each other. And in my eyes Alejandro is a threat for both of us”

Heather’s confessional: “Eric is trying to get me as an ally? He is that desperate to gain voting advantage in the next elimination? This is totally not expected, this will be fun!”

Eric’s Confessional: “I can’t depend on Al or Scott so I need to bring my social game to the table. I know I have Scott and Gwen’s votes for sure to get Heather of al out but I need someone else. And Courtney hates me for obvious reasons so Either Al or Heather. But seeing them fight with eachother is fun! Yes I told Al to blank Heather or act indifferent to Heathers mean comment now Heather is going to try a different approach. Who knew this was fun! No wonder they like manipulating * laughs* hope I’m not becoming a villain”

———————————————————————————————

Scott in Boney Island:

*he has been searching the island for the immunity idol since last night and hasn’t been able to find it instead finding a beta before chef came to get him*

Scott’s confessional: “Eric’s plan the best thing I’ve heard! Playing Courtney. I didn’t know the good boy had that in his brilliant head! He might be a little villainous after all! No wonder I’m attracted to him! But I should still play the act of dumb farm boy to get Courtney to fall! She likes being bossy. So I’d used that to my advantage! I still have to find the immunity’s Idol to same me or my dear Eric! He can prove to be a villain if he keeps this up.”

———————————————————————————————

*everyone is gathered in front of the cabins in the dark since Chris announced they had to do a night time challenge*

Eric: “Cam What happened to your glasses?!”

Cameron: “They broke today”

Daniel: “oh don’t worry! I’ll help you navigate the challenge Tonight Cam!”

Eric’s confessional: “Is Daniel trying to win them over? After all the crap he pulled last season? Yeah that’s Going to work! No one is gullible to fall for that”

*scott is dropped in front of them*

Courtney: “Oh my gosh! Are you okay?” *erics tried to not get jealous*

Scott: “Why wouldn’t I be! That was nothing. *his bones crack*”

Courtney: “Well good! Because we have a challenge to win! Get it together.”

Scott: “yes Ma’am!”

Scott’s confessional: “Maybe cause pappy and My brother are in the army and mamma’s a waitress but I kind of like taking orders *he shruggs* but I like just as much Giving them too! And the reason why Eric’s is Perfect for me is because he can give orders and follow them we are perfect! Courtney is more bossy than anything”

Courtney’s confessional: “my only interest in Scott is as an ally! Really, sure he’s cute but in a sloppy rustic sort of way. Like a shack with nice curtains! Or a donkey wearing a wig!”

Eric’s confessional: “yeah it’s hard seeing them flirt. But I have to control myself. After the two kisses Scott gave me yesterday, I’m sure I’m in Scott’s mind all the time. Besides I need to get my magic working with Al and Heather… also I haven’t talked with Gwen since I joined the team”

Eric: “*walks to gwen* ready to win this challenge!”

Gwen: “I thought you were mad at me! Haven’t talked to me since you joined the team!”

Eric: “sorry Gwen! I just was trying to get allies before I got comfortable. Right now you were the only vote I could count on, Heather and al are trying to play me and Scott is flirting with Courtney. So if I didn’t get an ally I could be flushed in the next elimination”

Gwen: “right. You and I are in the chopping block… so who did you ally with?”

Eric: “well I’m still trying to see who’s option is better Al’s or Heather, they are both backstabbers but if I just keep them close enough to think I’m fully trusting them then they’ll think I’m a good sheep they can manipulate”

Gwen: “seems like you’ve learned from the past “

Eric: “yep fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice shame on you but if you fool me a third time, flush of shame time for me. *gwen laughs*”

Chris: “Good news you guys! As a special treat it’s time for a extremely dangerous nighttime challenge”

Gwen: “ how is this? ‘ good news ‘ “

Chris: “ entertainment, values hello! This one is going to be rating gold. In a nod to season four buried treasure fiasco.. challenge is to raise to the far end of the island team to get every member across the finish line wins and Someone from the Loosing team will be taking the big flush”

Duncan: “ sounds easy enough”

Chris: “ it does doesn’t it? Tonight’s full moon is an extremely rare, blue harvest moon, and let’s just say it has an unusual effect on the islands animals *laughs* villanous vultures you won the last challenge, so you get this map with the fastest route across the island. Heroic chumpsters you get to wear nifty bacon, hats, and sausage tails, which when you come face-to-face with the islands, friendly creatures, and by friendly, I mean hungry. *laughs*”

Mike: “*whispers to mike* if the villains have a map of the quickest, route…”

Cameron: “we should follow them we should follow them! Great idea Mike!” *zoey whispers to cam “he did what!?”

Heather: “ this will be a piece of cake”

Chris: “on your marks!”

Alejandro: “ *sighs* do you mean a piece of pie?”

Chris: “get set!”

Heather: “listen you! *air horn blows*”

*teams begin running at the sound of the air horn the forest sunset turned into night*

Daniel’s confessional: “okay Sierra might be in my corner I just have to keep working magic with her and now I help Cameron thought the challenge and maybe, just maybe I can get a second ally. The hero’s team isn’t a good place for me, so right now I need all the help I could get”

———————————————————————————————

Heroes:

*Mike, Cameron and Daniel running close to each other*

Cameron: “Mike why did you break my glasses?”

Mike: “What. I didn’t! Who told you that? Daniel?”

Daniel: “Hey! I -“

Cameron: “ Zoey made me promise not to say she saw you do it!…. Ooops. Sorry Zoey”

Mike: “Seriously! Oh man I don’t know what’s been up with me lately I haven’t been able to to summon my other personalities for days, and now I think I might be sleep walking and. Breaking things things and …. Ah I’m so sorry cam “

Cameron: “it’s okay Mike I forgive you and I promise I’ll help you figure it out whatever it is!”

Mike: “you are a great friend cam!”

Daniel : “Me too! Cameron look out! Three!”

Cameron: “Thanks Daniel!”

Cameron’s confessional: “that’s awfully nice warning from Daniel”

Daniel’s confessional: “point one to the Dan guy *chuckled and takes a selfie* ugh my hair is messy! *pulls out a spray and and starts spraying until it blows it* what the?! *coughs*”

*a camera shows last night when Daniel went to sleep as Mike but being controlled by mal broke the spray can before he laughs*

Sierra: “*gasp* you guys! Look *she points to the moon*”

*the moon turns blue as the gentle animals turn aggressive and the aggressive ones turn gentle*

Zoey: “what was that Mike?”

Mal: “uh ah sweet moon!”

———————————————————————————————

Villains:

*a gator Stan’s in front of them wagging its tail a dog. Scott hiding behind Courtney, Gwen doing who knows what, Alejandro glaring at him Eric confused Heather panicking.*

Courtney: “um since when go gators do that”

Alejandro: “this moon is like no other , it must be causing The animals to become their opposite”

Heather: “Wow Alejandro you’re so smart!”

Alejandro: “*concerned face* excuse me?!”

Heather: “*hugging the gator* who’s a little fujifuji boo, you are yes you are”

*alejandro cringes, Courtney Gwen and Scott are scared Eric is trying not to laugh*

Alejandro’s confessional: “I’ve never seen Heather be so sweet and kind and it is terrifying”

Eric’s confessional: “*laughing* I can’t believe Heather is actually doing it now!? I mean I know I gave her the idea but Wow talk about timing”

———————————————————————————————

*eric being chased by squirrel, Daniel being. Chased by a duck along with a Bird who was chasing Heather. Eric separated from the villains.

Daniel: “run for your life Sierra! These Birds are out of control!”

Sierra: “I never thought I’d be chased by a Little bird and a duck!”

Eric: “Run the other way! I’m being chased by a very mean squirrel!”

Daniel: “Heck now! The squirrel is lest threatening that these birds now Move!”

*the three of them run together still being chased,by the animals*

Eric: “this stinks! I’m my team!”

Daniel: “oh right like you’re so important Eric!”

Eric: “at least you aren’t in the chopping block if your team looses, they can vote of Duncan if you convince them I for one have no allies!”

Sierra: “That a lie! I saw you talking with Alejandro! They day we played leechball and I know you two are in an alliance!”

Eric: “Thanks for blowing my cover Sierra!”

Daniel: “And I saw you kissing Scott which means a relationship type of alliance “

Eric: “what?! No I”

Sierra: “yeah two villains and I know that you are keeping Alejandro’s secret of him being able to walk!”

Eric: “crap! What else you know huh?”

Sierra :” that you have 3 allies and you aren’t on the chopping block! You are lying !”

Eric: “*rolls his eyes as he trips Daniel and by tripping Daniel it causes a domino effect and both Sierra and Daniel fell down. Goes the other way*”

Eric’s confessional: “I need to warn Al. Sierra and Daniel have to go like now! They are going to blow my cover… I could convince ther hamsters to vote Daniel out, so Sierra won’t have allies and now we have to get Sierra go coookoo crazy so her teams vote her off.”

Daniel’s confessional: “ oooh it is so on Eric! I can’t believe you are turning into a villain *laughs* this is going to be a fun season! And I know I’ll make it to the merge”

Sierras confessional: “why didn’t Daniel warned me when he stopped, we fell down and probably lost our only way to have a win! If Eric found the villains then we could had kept following him”

———————————————————————————————

*Cameron was backing away from the bunnies that were going to attack him just when they pouced a rolling Sierra and a Daniel saved him*

Cameron: “aaah”

Daniel: “yeah I meant to do that *laughs nervously * Sierra can you basket weave something so we can carry Cameron?”

Sierra: “you got it! *Sierra makes a basket made of weaves to carry Cameron and gave it to Daniel Daniel placed Cameron in it*

Daniel: “this way we won’t loose you Cameron!”

Zoey: “let’s go!”

———————————————————————————————

*eric keeps running and running until he finally sees his team standing near a rope bridge*”

Alejandro: “there you are amigo! If we lost because of you, then you’d be going to flush town”

Eric: “*panting* I was chased by a squirrel!”

Gwen: “This is nuts I’m not.crossing this rope bridge! It’s obviously a trap. We should go around”

Courtney: “That’ll take three times as long!”

Gwen: “Well I’m not crossing that thing! And anyone with any brains will follow me *walks away* you comming Eric?”

Eric: “I’m not running again!”

Alejandro: “what if you get lost? Every member of the team must make it over the finish line for us to win”

Heather: “besides, if you don’t come with us, we’ll miss you so much!”

Eric: “*panting* yeah what Heather said”

Courtney: “if you take that detour you’ll cost is the game. *gasp* that’s your plan isn’t it! Admit it! That way you and Eric will vote me out! *eric and scott exchanged glanced and both shrugged*”

Gwen: “I’ll see you in the other side! You know if you make it!”

Heather: “ good luck!”

Gwen’s confessional: “talk about gullible, anyone who’s ever seen a movie knows that the rope bridge always breaks . Also, I’m pretty sure Heather has rabies”

Eric’s confessional: “she is getting paranoid!… but I’m still thinking of kissing Scott again! I just want another kiss! Also Season 1 Gwen would have yotally stayed with the group, this has horror movie written all over it”

Scott’s confessional: “I never noticed Eric looked so handsome under the moonlight”

———————————————————————————————

Heather: “come on guys! Nothing to be afraid of” *Heather walks forwards towards the brigde*

Alejandro: “except you” *she stops*

Heather: “maybe someone brave should cross it first and make sure it’s safe”

Eric: “*nudges Alejandro’s legs* well you heard her Alejandro”

Scott: “*quick glare at Alejandro* I’ll do it! Back home we have a special way to cross these bridges *runs the bridge screaming like a lunatic* like I said, nothing to it!”

Scott’s confessional: “No I’m not jealous that Eric nudged Alejandro and not me *crosses arms glaring at the camera*”

Eric’s confessional: “did he cross the bridge because I nudged Alejandro or because he wanted to prove he was an asset to the team?”

Scott: “*notices a beaver * are. Beavers normally nice or normally evil? *the beaver bites his hand before he drops it on one of the ropes with causes one side of the bridge to fall*”

Heather, Courtney, Alejandro and Eric: “No!”

Courtney: “Not Helping!”

Scott: “ahhh ouch my butt is not a chew toy”

Alejandro: “good job! Keep it busy! Shall we go?”

*the other four start crossing what’s left of the bridge in order, Courtney, Heather, Alejandro and Eric. As they cross the bridge shakes*

Courtney: “if I don’t die on this bridge I’m going to kill Gwen for taking the long way around and costing us the challenge”

*Heather slips almost falling but Alejandro grabbed her hand*

Heather: “Heather I knew you still cared!”

Eric’s confessional: “yeah right you were doubtful if he still cared or not”

Heathers confessional: “now who is typical? Sucker! As if the moon affected me! Eric’s idea worked like a charm! So as long as I keep Alejandro guessing I’ll always have the upper hand!”

Alejandro’s confessional: “how dare she trick me! I should have let her fall ah! Estupido!”

*the team reaches the other side where Scott is struggling with the beaver bitting his butt Courtney takes the beaver and places him on the rope cutting off what’s let’s of the bridge*

Alejandro: “no the other team can’t use the bridge! Brilliant plan Courtney!”

Heather: “but if Gwen can’t make it around the pit the bridge is no longer an option is it?”

Alejandro: “she is right! Terrible plan Courtney!”

Courtney: “ whatever! That’s Gwen’s problem!”

Eric: “yeah a problem that you caused!”

Courtney’s confessional: “If we loose this challenge it’s totally Gwen’s fault not mine”

———————————————————————————————

Zoey: “hey where is Mike?”

Cameron: “he ran off, I think something scared him. Where is Duncan?”

Zoey: “I thought he was with Daniel?”

Daniel: “nope I was with Sierra and we had my brother but he tripped me and we found cam”

Sierra: “come on Eric wouldn’t trip you on purpose!”

Daniel: “what ever helps you sleep at night?”

———————————————————————————————

Courtney: “Gwen! Ugh where is she?”

Alejandro: “maybe she is at the finish line already!”

Eric: “I really do hope so! Because if not you better pray that the heroes don’t find a way to cross that pic Courtney!”

———————————————————————————————

Mal: “sorry Cam a beat chased me away! But it’s okay I think I shook him”

Daniel’s confessional: “interesting…. He seems odd today and did he said a bear chased him?”

Zoey: “but with the weird moon wouldn’t a bear be all sweet and cuddly”

Mal: “right! Right oh I’m an idiot! “

Sierra: “I know how we could cross the pit!”

*the whole team is holding a rope*

Zoey: “I don’t know about this”

Sierra: “trust me! I learned by watching Cody doing this on season 1 episode 8 of Total drama”

Daniel: “wait! Didn’t Cody end up crashing in a three-aaahhh” *Sierra swings as they all scream as they reach the other side of the but they crash with a three almost falling from the cliff Daniel landed on the cliff and helped them up*

———————————————————————————————

Chris: “welcome to the finish line villains! *all tired reaching the finishline* seems like you’re still missing a player”

Courtney: “*stops before crossing* what!? Gwen’s not here yet? Gwen! Ugh I knew she’d sabotage us!*p *a deer chases Courtney away from the finish line just as the deer was going to attack Gwen uses a branch to stop the Deer*

Eric: “look! It’s Gwen! *eric feels Scott’s hand with his. He look at Scott and Scott smiles*

Courtney: “you, you saved me?”

Gwen: “you’d do the same if our positions were reversed.”

Courtney: “of course I would”

———————————————————————————————

*daniel finally helps the res5 of the heroes up, just as Duncan passes by and they start following Duncan towards the finish line, just when the moon turned back to normal, the deer calming down as mal stops in his tracks just as he was about to cross, Courtney and. Gwen get up quickly and passed Mike giving the win to the villain*

———————————————————————————————

Chris: “okay people tonight we…”

Cameron: “wait!”

Chris: “now what?”

Cameron: “I volunteer for the flush of shame”

Mike: “Cameron why?”

Daniel: “yeah cam that doesn’t make any sense? L

Cam: “sorry mike I want to help you with your problem but I was useless without my glasses during the challenge I don’t want to be a hindrance to my team!”

Chris: “well isn’t this a perfect way to introduce the surprise twist. Todays ejected hero is tomorrows new villain!”

Cameron: “What?!”

Chris: “that’s right instead of flushing Cameron, I’m sending him over to the villains side”

Daniel, Mike, Zoey and Camero: *gasp!*

Cameron: “I’ll find a way to help you even from the villains side!”

Mal: “gee thanks pal”

*cameron walks to the peanut gallery where the villains are at*

Cameron: “uh… Hi”

*courtney, Heather and Alejandro glaring at Cam, Eric and Gwen smiling*

Eric’s confessional: “this is great news! Another ally! That makes 3 votes plus mine equals bye Al and Heather! But Heather first, I still need Al to vote off Courtney.”

———————————————————————————————

Next episode:

No One Eggspects The Spanish Opposition

[kepnerandavery]

Hii, i'm rewatching s14 Japril scenes and omg is so confusing (i know that bad writing and bts drama had influence but i'm trying to make sense of that season lol)

So first we have the we don't talk about montana shit and the cursed 14x02 scene, i guess they were trying to portray that J dosen't care about A feelings and that he move on and is in love with his sister, but idk, why is he mute, like was he no allowed to talk lol? He could have say that it was a mistake or something like that, idk is a weird scene, i can't understand his face.

Then when April starts losing her mind, Jackson is the first one who noticed and tries to talk to her multiple times (not her best friend Arizona or idk Owen he always cares about her) and keeps looking at her and reaching to her (when she has the banana bag, when he say he's worried for her, talking to arizona, the supply closet scene, the play games scene, when he tells maggie that he's gonna try talk to her again and watches her walk away, the hug scene (when he is mute again🙄) and she tells him that she's okay to take harriet and he ask if SHE is ok like worrying about her in particular) Why made him been the one noticed about her crisis, asking, looking at her, reaching multiple times.. and episodes before he supposedly didn't care about her(14x02), like i don't get it.

And then episodes later boom, Jackson looses completely his shit about April almost death in a way that still surprised me that Krista and all the bitches allow him to have, his reaction at matthew in the hospital scene, his first face when he saw him proposing to april and when he avoids the stare after they kiss. (And yess he smiles but he smiled in season 9 in the first proposal and we now how that went and maybe is wishfull thinking but he looks even sadder, the smile seem very sad and like it took effort)

And why put april saying you're my.. Like why leave that open there and they look at each other lips and the way that he touches her arm like omg, everything is so damn confusing

Oh and the next season you have him talking about April with Maggie

- I prayed and April woke up

- Who else are you talking too? April sometimes..

- I didn't picture my marriage ending

- I'm greaving, GREAVING (Jackson, baby you already divorce years ago lol)

- Now is too late, SHE'S happy with someone else (he dosen't even want to name Matthew lol)

Honestly, what was Krista thinking? Idk what she tried to achieved in those scenes but damn, it fail hard lol

Anyways, thoughts? Sorry for the rant, i looked at a couple of your posts and wanted to share..

First of all, Hi! Second, You never have to apologize for ranting about japril on my blog cause this whole blog is pretty much filled with a series of japril rants lol.

I have always thought that Krista was trying to accomplish a few things through her awful creative decision making.

1) She wanted to portray japril as strictly platonic friends, and beat us in the head with that fact until we lost our minds.

2) She wanted to take some important details about japril’s relationship, and use that to push Jackson towards Maggie (eg: they wrote the story about Maggie’s mom’s death, and tried to replicate the hurt/comfort trope that japril always showcased, and the fire in 13x24 was similar to the bus explosion in 9x24). And that is also just lazy writing on their part cause they couldn't even come up with an original way to start Jackson's new "relationship".

3) Imo, most of 14x24 and some of the callbacks to japril after season 14 were simply a slap in the face to japril fans. And I bet they also wanted the engagement from japril fans on twitter cause our fandom is a force to be reckoned with on social media, so when Jackson mentioned April, the fans started talking about them, and Grey’s Anatomy also got talked about in the process. They were using us even after letting Sarah go. The sheer audacity of Krista, I tell you!

With that being said, I also believe that some of the writers on the show (the ones with a spine and half a brain cell that is), wrote some of the scenes where they showed Jackson struggling without April cause it was how the story should have been written. Plus Jesse is great, and he fully understands his character so he might have had something to do with the japril mentions too.

Now onto some specific scenes you mentioned,

First, there's the infamous 13x16 ep. I just re-watched Sarah and Jesse's Q&A for that ep to answer your ask, and connected some dots. So according to Sarah, 13x16 was filmed right after they filmed 13x09 (which is when April tried to start dating again and Jackson looked miserable at the prospect of it). And the eps in between were written and filmed afterwards. Sarah also said that she and Jesse collaborated with Elisabeth Finch (the writer of 13x16) and made some changes to the script, so I think their collaboration, Elisabeth's writing, and Kevin Mckidd's direction made that episode amazing. And I also think that the writers had planned to get japril back together around the time 13x16 was being filmed, and Krista interviewed after they shot the ep. When she took over the show, she made it clear that she disliked japril, then she waited a few months before starting to assert her dominance and making stupid decisions. The eps between 13x09 and 13x16 were written after they shot 13x16, and those eps were used to sideline April and pull japril apart, but then they had to still air 13x16 (which was already shot). Then in the next ep, we saw Jackson treating Maggie’s mom, and we all know what that lead to. So it was all a planned ambush. If Krista had her way, we would probably not have gotten japril the sequel at all.

When it comes to their scene in 14x02, something tells me that they had Jackson not say anything because if he actually talked in that scene, Sarah and Jesse’s chemistry would not have made the scene believable. That scene was intended indicate the end of japril’s relationship. Sarah has mentioned how she had to ask the director to change April's demeanor in that scene, and I think they initially wanted April to be angry with Jackson instead of hurt by him so that she would’ve looked resentful. I'm glad Sarah asked for the change to be made. Bless Sasse for still making that scene believable though cause it's painful to watch.

As for the scenes where Jackson noticed April was struggling with her faith in season 14, and tried to help her. I think the writers tried to show their friendship in those scenes cause Jackson was still the person that knew April the best. But from what I've seen of those eps, it didn't feel like japril's friendship was super intact through that time. And the kiss scene in 14x16 felt like a punch in the gut for me. If they wanted to show japril's friendship, they could have showed him helping her as a friend, but no, they had to add that scene and break our hearts. At the end of the day, he didn't really get to be there for her, and it only made April sadder. So it's clear that the scene was unnecessary and a slap in our faces.

Then the scenes in 14x23.. The ep was written by William Harper (aka the person who wrote the iconic 10x12 ep), so we can guess why those scenes were so good. But for me, unless you play close attention to Jesse's expressions, you can't tell that japril were too far from being platonic friends in that episode. Imagine how Jackson would have reacted to April nearly dying in the end of season 8 or through seasons 9,10,11, or 12, and compare that to how he was in 14x23. Yes, he was devastated, and Jesse's performance was amazing. But for me, it seemed like both he and Sarah were trying to not portray japril as a romantic couple in that ep. But their chemistry in those scenes was so undeniable that it still made me die inside. Regardless of that, I don't think the director of that ep intended for those scenes to be viewed that way.

And then you have the scene where Jackson talked about struggling with his grief/regretting their divorce. When they wrote storylines for Jackson’s character after April was no longer in his life to the degree that she was before, they couldn’t simply erase years' worth of history that belonged to his character. So whether Krista liked it or not, Jackson’s inner turmoils and the circumstances he was in had a lot to do with losing Samuel, and going through his divorce. So the writers might have been forced to call back to some of those past moments for the purpose of creating drama in the show.

In other words, screw Krista! 😭

[gingerbreadmonsters]

4 and 10 for the meta ask?! 🤗

for this ask game!

kyo!! newcomers may not know this but the blog you see before you is one of the ANCIENT mutuals from the time of zelda - i see your notifs in my activity feed and i go 🥰🥰🥰

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

ok, so question 10 went in a different post - to make up for it, you're getting a mega-answer for this one!

(no, like, seriously it's long, and i think i went a bit overboard, but it's written now so you might as well have it all lmao)

wonderland - "and maybe you do, maybe you do stay here forever, suspended in your honeyed slice of paradise, still and content to spend an eternity by his side - how else will you explain the way you’ll dream of this day, of this moment, for so many nights after it’s gone?"

i'm still so happy with this, even after so long 🤩🤩 it took forever to get the wording right for "suspended in your honeyed slice of paradise", and i think this sentence really sums up the whole vibe of wonderland, just at the right time.

soft focus - "just one more picture, a photo this time, of just the two of you. he’ll be kissing you, shiny rings on both your fingers, your arms around his neck. the rest of the universe will stand still for just a single, frozen moment. as if it finally realises, as if it knows (as lucifer does already) that it revolves around you, just you, just you."

my endings are... hit or miss lmao. and yes, i definitely miss sometimes! finishing off soft focus was tricky, but the final blow of lucifer dreaming about a wedding photo was too good to pass up - this fic was the first one that i really, properly cried over when i wrote it, and i'm very proud of that last sentence there.

silver buckles on his knee - "yes, it’s simple, but that’s the only way he can describe the way you make him feel - so overwhelmingly, incredibly, heart-stoppingly, happy to have you. to look up and see the constellation of your smile in his sky, to be nestled so snugly in your orbit, to be able to spend every day in the sunshine of you. todoroki shouto is an astronaut, sailing through the stars, floating in the quiet emptiness of space, and always coming home to you."

look... silver buckles is not that great. i'll admit it. but this final paragraph is very special to me, just because i think it sums up my version of todoroki very neatly, and the final sentence has a very fairytale feeling about it to me, which i've always wanted to capture.

rebel flesh - "liquid drips from your mouth, faster and faster until it’s almost pouring out of you, spluttering and rattling as solomon’s voice gets louder and louder. it’s thin and watery at first, all blood and acid and saliva, but soon you’re coughing, choking, diaphragm shuddering as you force it from you. levi’s tail snaps against the doorframe. thick and viscous, almost doughy, bubbling and breathing. the horrible wet slap as you spit it out of you. bouncy and soft and utterly monstrous."

i LOVE uneasy dreams, but rebel flesh has to be the favourite child of the three. to be honest, i'm VERY proud of the whole exorcism sequence, especially the payoff with the "sweet fruit" callbacks, but this paragraph? come on. COME ON!!! "bouncy and soft and utterly monstrous" is one of the best things i'll ever write and it was a BLAST to describe all the horrible things happening to our poor MC - if i ever had to make a writing portfolio this would be the first paragraph.

SWEET TALK - "mate. what will it taste like to you? will you want more, swallow it down eagerly and ask him to say it again? will you stare at him, sour confusion blooming on your tongue, chalky and strange? will you hate it, spit it out into your hands, dump it in the trash with the rest of his candied heart?  when you taste it, when he peels off the wrapper and licks it into your mouth and begs you wordlessly to BE MINE, FOR EVER, KISS ME, ALWAYS, ME & YOU, ONLY YOU, will it be as sweet for you as it is for him?"

THE SETUP!! THE PAYOFF!! YES YES YES!! SWEET TALK was always going to be have the conversation-hearts schtick, but it took quite a lot of work to set up the CANDY PHRASES in such a way that they could make something coherent in this paragraph. fun fact: "chalky and strange" is there because british 'love hearts' sweets are made of sherbert and dissolve into powder, as opposed to the smarties-like ones that milo would be used to. also, the "candied heart" sentence is SO satisfying to me - i always imagine an actual, anatomically correct human heart, kind of like it's made out of boiled sweets, except it's soft like licorice, all red and see-through like jelly, thick and heavy and dripping with stickiness...

take a sip - "you’re trying to kill him. it’s the only thing he can think of. you must be trying to fucking kill him, with those warm eyes looking up at him, those skilled fingers folded around dripping plastic, those soft, pretty lips just inches from his- uh, the straw. of the cup. that you are holding."

i have nothing to say about this, except that it makes me laugh every time i think about poor, flustered gavin collapsing in the doorway, and that this is much better if you read it aloud. no points for guessing what the phrase "dripping plastic" might be referring to.

can't help but see - "he’s your secret, all yours, tucked away inside your skin, perched in your chest and lovingly cradling your heart. craning his neck to look out through your mouth, reaching up to pull your arms over his from the inside, like comfy sleeves. sitting cross-legged in the bowl of your pelvis, holding your stomach softly in his lap and stroking it like a pretty cat."

even though music plays a massive role in writing for me, i don't usually go for something quite so overt - even so, i'm really happy with how this turned out, and i think the song was a perfect fit for regulus. the bit about "sitting cross-legged in the bowl of your pelvis, holding your stomach softly in his lap" was actually the springboard sentence for the whole fic, and the image of it is so strong and so delightfully uncomfortable that i just love it to pieces! the idea of him literally living inside you like some kind of blood-soaked puppeteer, of opening yourself up like a cupboard and finding him sitting inside, like some kind of nightmarish fortune-teller's booth... plus, there's the payoff later (the bit about "your beating, bloody altar") which i really really like :)

10. How would you describe your writing process?

that one can be found here!

[sage-nebula]

Game Review — New Pokémon Snap

In 1999, a photography game centered on the world of Pokémon was released. Ever since then, I have hungered for a sequel. And now, 22 years later, my wish was finally granted.

Overall Score: 9/10

While I am still puzzled that they didn’t create and release this game for either 3DS or Wii U, since both had built-in cameras, overall I couldn’t be happier with this and I definitely feel that it was worth the 22-year-long wait. Head under the cut (and onto my blog) for more detailed thoughts on what has honestly been an excellent game.

The Pros:

Everything is GORGEOUS. The environments, the pokémon, literally everything. Even setting aside the glowing effects of the Illumina phenomenon (particularly at night when it really stands out), everything about this game is visually stunning. The colors are bright, but not blinding, and you can see that everything was crafted with care. There aren’t any areas that feel unfinished or unpolished. It is beautiful to look at, which is rather important when you’re making a photography-based game.

Each area changes as you increase your research level, so that even though you will have some run-throughs of the courses that are the same as you experienced before, you’ll also find new paths and see different pokémon as you go through the courses more and more times as well. For instance, when you first play through the Florio Nature Park, the Bidoof are in the process of building their dam. But later, their dam is completed. And this is just one example of how things change; believe me, there are lots of changes as time passes and you go through the courses again and again, making them feel far less repetitive than they did in the original game. (Not to bash the original game, which was on the N64 and thus had a lot less space to hold data, of course. I’m just saying.)

The pokémon behaviors are also so great. You have the Bidoof building their dam, for example, but you also have Alolan Raichu surfing the sand dunes, or Espurr levitating rocks for the fun of it, or Pikipek bringing fruits back to nests on Toucannon’s orders. On less happy notes you also have things like a group of Mareanie chasing down a Corsola, but I mean, it’s a well-established fact that Mareanie eat Corsola, so that’s just nature. The point is that this isn’t a game where the pokémon are just standing around waiting to have their pictures taken. The pokémon feel alive and it’s clear that so much thought went into their behaviors to make it feel as if life is teeming around you as you go through the courses, because it is! It’s excellent.

Although this is a sequel game (and it makes it clear that it’s a sequel game, which I’ll talk about more in a second), it’s also incredibly accessible to those who have never played the original. Even if you never heard of the original before, you can jump right into this one with mostly new characters and a brand new story. And I think that’s great, considering the original game came out 22 years ago and is probably somewhat hard to find now, especially if you don’t have a system with access to a Virtual Console to play it on. (Which wouldn’t be a problem if we had the Virtual Console on the Switch, Nintendo, but that’s a separate discussion.)

That said, it is a sequel game and all of the nods and references to the original game are things that I love. I mean, first off, Todd Snap is back and he had a major glow-up. But even setting that aside, it’s mentioned how the NEO-ONE was based on the old vehicle that Todd used (the ZERO-ONE), how Todd used to take photos for a different professor (Professor Oak), the final Illumina Pokémon’s level is a huge callback to the Mew level in the original Snap, et cetera. Although this game was called New Pokémon Snap likely so that people wouldn’t think they had to play the first game first, it’s pretty clearly Pokémon Snap 2 and I love that.

Along with the courses themselves changing as you progress through the game, there are also day and night versions of almost every course so you get something different on them even before making more progress. Additionally, each course has multiple different routes that you can take if you find them / want to, and Elsewhere Forest in particular has zones that change depending on the season, which offers even more variety and things to discover. Again, it doesn’t feel boring to keep going through the courses because there’s always something new to find.

Everything is streamlined and plays excellently. The menus are cleaned, I haven’t noticed any lag in gameplay no matter how much is going on on-screen . . . everything is smooth, clean, and fresh, and again, adds to how much of a joy to look at this game is, on top of making it a joy to play as well.

The online features are implemented really well. I absolutely love that you can post photos to share with people around the world, but also that the feature isn’t obtrusive and in your face, so if you want to ignore it, you can. But the process itself is seamless, and the fact that you can add filters and stickers to make memes out of the photos is hilarious and a well thought-out feature, particularly since this is the age of social media, so having a Pokéstagram just makes sense.

I enjoy that there are little missions that you can complete that are posited as being posed naturally by the other characters. You’re given clues of what to do, but often you’re not told outright, which can make some of them fun to figure out (and others the shot itself is challenging enough so you don’t need a riddle, haha). While fulfilling the requests can be a bit irritating (more on that in a bit) I like that there’s additional material to do in addition to the main story that unfolds as you go through and gives you plenty of stuff to do even after you’ve completed the main story.

The characters are all pretty great. There’s one character I don’t enjoy very much, but otherwise the characters are good and add charm to the story.

These characters still don’t know anything about photography (the rule of thirds is so basic and no one here knows it), at least they’re not as obvious about it as Professor Oak was, always scolding me for not getting pokémon in the center of the frame. So toning down the obnoxiousness on that was nice, I will give them that.

The environments are so varied and so cool. Like sure, you have your basic jungle, your basic grasslands, your basic volcano . . . but also your underwater, your magic forest, your ancient technicolor ruins. And I mean, I don’t even want to diss the other areas because the volcano area was incredibly vivid, the snowy mountain was beautiful, and so on. Again, I don’t want to gush too much about how beautiful this game is, but it is and the wide variety of places to take pictures makes it all the more incredible.

As I mentioned in the missions bullet, there is plenty of content to do even after the main story is completed, which is a definite plus. Filling your Photodex aside, there are also Course Scores that are enabled once you complete the main story and an additional time of day for an already unlocked area that is unlocked as well. This means that even after you clear the game, you can still have fun trying to get different shots and discovering new things, which is always a bonus in my book.

Motion controls are included, but they are entirely optional. So if you want to undock your Switch (or if you are playing with a Switch Lite) and you want to move your Switch around like an actual camera, you can! But if you have any physical limitations that would make doing that hard for you (or if you just don’t feel like it), you don’t have to and the motion controls are actually turned off by default. I haven’t used them myself because I’m not a fan of motion controls so I can’t tell you how good they are, but I can say it’s a plus that the motion controls are 100% optional, rather than forcibly included like they have been in other Nintendo games.

The Neutrals:

All of the different tools you get are basically the same as the original game, with a few slight (and sometimes silly) changes. For instance, they’re now calling apples “flufffruit” because “fluffruit are actually a lot softer and don’t hurt the pokémon” even though . . . they’re very obviously apples. Like very obviously apples. I get that they don’t want to encourage throwing apples at animals for the sake of picture taking / they don’t want to make a kid feel bad if they accidentally (“accidentally”) knock a pokémon in the head with one, but . . . come on. They’re apples. They’ve also decided to take away the Pokéflute and make it a random music player instead, and Illumina Orbs replaced Pester Balls for both story reasons and for the same reason why we can’t call apples apples anymore. Honestly, all of this is fine, just something to mention, though I will say it took way too damn long to unlock the turbo feature, damn. Pokémon are fast, guys! Give me my turbo sooner!!

Sometimes the “tips” that Professor Mirror gives during the photo evaluations . . . don’t actually fit the situation at all. Like I can’t tell you the number of times he’s told me about getting the whole pokémon in the frame when the pokémon is in the frame, or like “throw a fluffruit to get the pokémon to look right at you!” even though the pokémon is staring into the camera like they’re on The Office. It’s not a huge deal but it makes me think that Professor Mirror might need his vision prescription updated.

I understand that this is also the age of the smartphone, but I do find it disappointing that we’re essentially given a smartphone camera (or at most a point-and-shoot) versus the SLR camera that Todd very obviously had in the original Snap (and even has here). Granted, we didn’t have to adjust for aperture or shutter speed in the original game and I wouldn’t want to do that here either, but it’s about the aesthetic and the fact that having professional nature photographers have actually good cameras is more fitting than handing them a smartphone and saying, “have fun!” Again, I get why it’s a smartphone now, but it still is a little disappointing, even if not an actual detraction from the game.

It is confusing that we have wild Alolan form pokémon when this is not Alola, especially since they didn’t make it equal by adding in Galar form pokémon too. (And on that note, there seems to be a lack of Galar pokémon at that.) I think it would have been cool if they’d designed some Lental form pokémon for this game specifically, although I get that this isn’t a game developed by Game Freak so I understand why that wasn’t done. All the same though, the presence of Alolan form pokémon when this isn’t Alola was still a bit weird.

It’s rather easy to breeze through the main story if you don’t want to take your time revisiting areas to get better pictures / boost the research level. While the main story is longer than the original game / there are more areas than the original game, it’s still pretty short. Ordinarily this would be a con, but since there are so many things to do even after you beat the main story, I’m putting it in the neutrals section instead. 

The Cons:

While the missions are fun, it is frustrating that you have to do them again if you capture a photo of the mission before the mission is formally handed to you. This is especially true if it was a hard to get shot that’s difficult to replicate. I understand they want to put challenge in the game, but it’s a bit frustrating you can’t point to your photodex and have the mission be cleared if you’ve already done it. You also can’t get the pokémon doing the requested thing in a different part of the course (or a different version of the same course, or even just a different course altogether if a pokémon appears in multiple areas), which is fine, except that you can only turn in one photo per pokémon. This can make it particularly frustrating when you technically get a photo of what was asked for (e.g. Wingull doing a loop-de-loop) but it’s not the specific Wingull you were supposed to take a picture of, so it doesn’t count.

I have noticed a few bugs or typos here or there. Like one time the text box said “Rita” even when it was clearly Mirror talking, and there have been other times when the game is like “you can’t submit photos if the pokémon is not in the Illumina State” even though Wishwashi was GLOWING BRIGHT PINK because I had just thrown an Illumina Orb at it. Little things like that are things I think could have been better smoothed out in QA, but ultimately aren’t too much to deal with and don’t happen very often.

The alternate paths are a bit too finicky sometimes. Like I managed to get on the swamp path once and haven’t been able to manage it since. I was on research level 3 in Elsewhere Forest for a good long while before Espeon decided to show up, which blocked me off the second exit and guaranteed winter route, too. Again, I love that there are secrets in this game, but I tried to replicate getting into the swamp area twenty times in a row after I had just done it with no success, so it can be a bit frustrating at times.

There isn’t really a true conclusion to the main story. I won’t give spoilers, but essentially the story revolves around uncovering the secrets of a myth that happened in the Lental region thousands of years ago. You get close . . . but the story ends before you get any real answers. You’re just left to speculate. In a way this makes sense, since it’s not like you’re time traveling, you’re just taking pictures. But it is still a little annoying for anyone who is interested in things like the lore of the Pokéworld and who might like actual answers to the questions set up (such as myself).

Anyway, overall, this game is amazing whether or not you played the original, and I highly recommend it to everyone who likes Pokémon even a little. Here’s hoping we don’t have to wait another 22 years for the next one. (But if we do, it will probably be worth the wait.)

[ziggilbert]

[DYLAN O’BRIEN, CISMALE, HE/HIM] WHO’S THAT? OH IT’S [EDWARD “ZIGGY” GILBERT]. I HEAR THEY’RE [21] AND ARE KNOWN AS [THE SHUTTERBUG] AROUND [NEW YORK]. THEY’RE ALSO A [JUNIOR] AT [NYU], HAVE A VOICE LIKE [NEWTON FAULKNER] AND ARE A PART OF [BARTENDER AT CALLBACKS, FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER]. THEY’RE KNOWN TO BE [CREATIVE AND UNDERSTANDING] AND [CYNICAL AND PRETENTIOUS]. SOME PEOPLE SAY THEY REMIND THEM OF [LEATHER, THE CLICK OF A CAMERA’S SHUTTER, LIVE MUSIC & THE WAY ICE CLINKS IN A GLASS]. ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT! [BEE, 21, SHE/THEY, GMT]

BASICS

Full Name: Edward Patrick Gilbert

Nickname: Ziggy. Zig. Zigzag.

Birthday: January 22nd

Age: 21

Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

Hometown: Paramus, New Jersey.

Sexuality: Pansexual

Grade: College junior

School: NYU

Occupation: Bartender at callbacks, freelance photographer

LIKES/DISLIKES

Likes: Photography, reading, writing, live music & city skylines.

Dislikes: Orange juice, horror movies, idling, phonecalls & putting in his lenses.

TL;DR BIO

Ziggy (or if you want him to hate you, Edward,) was adopted at the ripe old age of 9 by his father Elliott Gilbert. Their bond is the one thing Ziggy believes is eternal, as of yet. He grew up travelling around the country with his dad, helping backstage, taking photos, and developing a love for music. The little time he spends on the stage himself he prefers to take a backseat with a bass guitar, but he adores the atmosphere of all kinds of concerts. More than that, he loves to take pictures - photography is his passion, and while his dad tries to nudge him towards the spotlight, he’s content to capture the magic from elsewhere.

FULL BIO

Elliott had no plans of having a child when he adopted Ziggy. As a single young man still determined to travel as much as possible and perform, it wasn’t in the picture for him. Ziggy was born and ‘raised’ by a distant high-school friend of Elliott’s, one who didn’t picture herself as a mother either. They weren’t in touch when Ziggy was born. They briefly rekindled their friendship at a party, until Elliott learned she’d left her young child at home alone. Slowly but surely he found himself intervening more and more, trying to encourage his friend to take more responsibility as a parent until things came to a head, and he couldn’t go on without getting CPS involved. His intention was to stick around in New Jersey for a few months to step in as a foster parent while legal issues were sorted through, but when the time came, he couldn’t bear to give the kid up. For a long time, Elliott hardly saw him. He hid, tucked away in his room, refusing to say a word to the strange, kind man who always had a crazy outfit and a song to sing. It was safer in his home though, less eerily quiet. It was rarely blaringly loud, but there was always, always music. At home, in the car, everywhere - it became synonymous with that new, unfamiliar feeling of safety. A few months in, Elliott got his first smile out of Ziggy, and a few words too. He owed that to a stack of David Bowie vinyls and his own unending patience with the boy. To this day, Ziggy swears he knows each and every last word of Bowie’s discography, and in his head it often plays in his dad’s voice. Elliott was his world. He sacrificed many crucial hours of performing to catch him up with homeschooling. They spent just about every moment together, up until Ziggy was finally ready for middle school. He was terrified of the concept, but Elliott had the perfect trick up his sleeve for that - his very first concert.

It was just a typical open mic night, and yet it was a whole lot more. Ziggy had never seen anything like it - Elliott liked to joke that his eyes stayed the same size as his favourite records for weeks after that night. Instantly, he was obsessed. Even through his protective earplugs it was a sound unlike anything he’d ever heard, an electric atmosphere that took every last shred of dullness out of his life. By the time the end of that summer rolled around and Ziggy was due to start at school, he had his very own bass guitar and a little experience of performing with it. Middle school wasn’t a particularly kind place, but Ziggy withdrew to the back of the room in most cases. Kids weren’t nice to each other - the best thing to do was to not interact with them. He kept his head down, got his work done, and came alive on weekend nights. This was when his first camera came into the picture. He was getting a little more independent - Elliott could leave him at home with a sitter on the occasional weeknight and not worry about him being terrified the whole time. He could spend more time working on his career, and so he needed promotional material. On a whim, he asked Ziggy to snap a few pictures for him one weekend, and he loved it. It was the perfect excuse to slip into his own little world. All of a sudden he could take that atmosphere he loved so much and capture a moment of it, one he could keep forever. It was the perfect hobby for him. It escalated from there. Random aesthetic shots of things around the house, or in town, nature, people, buildings - anything he could get away with photographing, he would photograph. Plenty of the shots were garbage, but he started reading up. He studied shot composition and exposure, all sorts of aspects of the art. Suddenly, every Christmas and birthday came with a new lens, or a tripod, or even another camera every now and then - he was obsessed. When high school came around, he was lost behind his lens. He had passing acquaintances with, people he could sit with at lunch every now and then if the need arose, but his life was backstage or on his blog, and they weren’t welcome. He didn’t go to homecoming dances or proms, but he made a killing taking everybody else’s pictures for them - at his senior prom, he was hired by the school itself. His portfolio was sizeable, and his grades were solid. Enough for him to land himself a place at his father’s alma mater, NYU.

College was a fresh start. It was weird, watching his father walk out of his dorm once he was all moved in - but he was ready for something new. He branched out a little; he joined study groups and filled in to play bass for a few bands here and there, but his friendships were largely casual. Dating was very much the same way, but he learned a lot about himself through that. He didn’t like talking about himself much, which shut a lot of relationships down before they even start, but he could hook up with just about anybody and have a good time. It was harder to get photography work in the big apple, but he kept the avenue open, and still gets the occasional event to work at. In the meantime he realised a little extra, more steady income would be helpful, and so he picked up work at Callbacks. Bartending was nice; people came in, spilled their woes either over the bar or through the microphone, and he had fun. He learned a lot, without having to open up much himself, and there was always music. What more could he want?

[wolfpawn]

I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 9

Chapter Summary -  Taylor's little plan comes to fruition, leading to Tom and Benedict coming to verbal blows.Danielle becomes distressed at what is done, but Benedict comes up with a little plan to help everything.

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long.  This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously.

If you wish to be tagged, please let me know.

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog  @jessibelle-nerdy-mum @nonsensicalobsessions @damalseer

The source stated that the pictures shown are clearly visible within Diana Hiddleston’s Suffolk home; and that she will happily show them and more to any who visit. The source also stated however, that to be told some of the A-list actor’s more embarrassing secrets, such as the time he ran stark naked, at eight years of age through a family get together because he cousin dared him to, takes years of earning the family’s trust and planting the idea that such stories in no way interest a person.

Tom stared at the small online article, which was very little writing and mostly photographs, all of him and his sisters as children, all personal ones that he knew his mother kept as cherished memories, and a few pictures of his mother’s living room and hallway. He shook with anger; he knew who the article was referencing as the ‘source’. The Jones’ that lived down from his mother were good at giving friendly salutes, but nothing more and the Kaleka’s were polite, but they were too young to really bother with his mother, both of them were the one age with him; that left only one person, one that he knew did know those stories, since he was dying of mortification as his mother relayed them to her in the living room one afternoon in his presence; Danielle. Taylor had been right all along, Danielle had been simply biding her time until she could strike and make some money for herself.

Picking up his phone, he went to call Luke to deal with it, and to see what he could do about getting Danielle sorted with an NDA. It was then he realised he had a missed call, so calling his voicemail; he put his ear up to it. It was Benedict, much to his surprise, and going by his message, he had seen the piece. Feeling somewhat vindicated, Tom pressed the callback button.

“Tom.” Benedict’s voice seemed somewhat relieved at the other side of the phone. “I am glad you called back.”

“I get it, you were wrong, she had everyone fooled,” Tom stated sympathetically.

“What?”

“Danielle, her big piece she is after giving the tabloids. Taylor said it would happen, and she was right.”

“Danielle, no you got it all wrong Tom, I was talking to her there a minute ago, Taylor was threatening her.”

“They’ve never even spoken, so that’s bullshit.” Tom dismissed. “Are you actually defending her?”

“Danielle? No, I’m not, because there’s nothing to defend. I have no idea what you are even on about.”

“She sold off a story to the papers, pictures from within my mum’s home; stories about me.”

“Are they really personal?”

“Not really, but she is probably saving them for next.”

“Tom, seriously, she knows some of your more personal stuff, she would not tell a little and not tell that, it’s not her, whoever your leak is, it’s not Danielle.”

“And you know this for sure?”

“Well, no, but I really doubt it, she is not the kind.”

“Are you fucking her?” Tom accused.

There was silence on the other side of the line for a moment. “Excuse me?”

“Are you fucking her? You seem really defensive of her.”

“Are you shitting me, Tom, I have a wife and kid and you are asking me if I am shagging your mother’s neighbour? A woman that lives three hours away? What the hell is going on in your head?”

“Well, you seemed all too cosy going into her house before, and you were talking to her earlier.”

“She’s…”

“What, turning up near you? That’s a bit convenient, isn’t it? Be careful or you will be next.”

“Tom, are you actually listening to yourself, you know Danielle would never fuck a married man, and I damn well would never fuck a woman that is not my wife.” Benedict snapped. “I came on to tell you to watch out for your little sweetheart, but it’s clear she’s screwed you up already, I hope she’s worth it, I really do.”

With that, the line went dead, leaving Tom staring at it angrily before tossing it onto the couch. He rubbed his hands over his face and sighed. Anytime of late that Elle’s name came up in any conversation, it was immediately followed by anger and arguments. His phone went off, telling him he had a text, so he walked over and read it.

Taylor – I told you, OMG I told you.

He did not know what to say back, so he tossed it down on the couch again, before crashing down beside it and wondering what he could do.

*

Benedict looked at the phone, shaking in anger at what Tom was insinuating.

“Did I actually hear that right?” Sophie asked from beside him, holding Christopher’s hands as he tried to walk a few steps.

“Apparently I am shagging his mother’s neighbour, just a heads up.”

“Nice of you to tell me,” Sophie replied jokingly.

“If it is any consolation, I didn’t know myself until a moment ago.”

Sophie scoffed. “Was that the paramedic I saw you and Will taking to?”

“Yep.”

“She’s pretty.”

“She is, I suppose, I have a wife so I would not be looking.” He grinned back. “Apparently, she’s taken anyway; I heard her on the phone yesterday to a guy, Paul, setting up a date.”

“That’ll put the brakes on any relationship you two are secretly having.” Sophie laughed.

“It is highly inappropriate of her to do so when we are supposed to be having a somewhat interesting, illicit and albeit highly false affair. God; that is the most insulting thing I have ever heard from a supposed friend, and honestly, I am not sure who it is more insulting to.”

“I’m not sure,” Sophie admitted, leaning in as Benedict placed his arm around her. “What are you going to do?”

“Danielle is on set again this evening, I might see her there.”

“At least it did not name her.”

“Yet.”

“Do you think she knows?”

“How can she not? God this is ridiculous. What is going on Sophie?”

Sophie shook her head slightly. “I have no idea, Tom is so…”

“Before this, I would have said, level-headed, intelligent and calm, but now…now it’s like there is something that has clicked off in his head, I feel like shaking him to get him to wake up again. He really thinks she did this.”

“Could she have?”

“Well, anyone can do anything, but would it be her nature; from what I have seen, no, I really don’t think she did, she seemed too hurt by everything that has happened, but not in a malicious manner.”

“Well, perhaps tonight will bring more of it to light.” She smiled. *

“Are you alright?” Benedict asked, looking at the paramedic in front of him.

It turned out, Danielle did not know about the article, she always avoided celebrity pages, thinking them to be unbearable at best. When Benedict began to talk to her about the piece, she genuinely had no clue as to what he was referencing, and when he showed her, she shook with horror at what it implied.

“It’s me, they are talking about me, as though I did this. Like I told them.” Tears began to form in her eyes. “I never…I would never…”

“I know.” Benedict gave her a hug. “She told you she would get you, and this is her revenge.”

“If Diana…”

“If Diana believes this then I will eat my Sherlock Holmes hat.” Danielle gave a laugh that was half a sob. “She is trying to get you to be forced away from the family, it is an effective method, I’ll grant her that.”

“I…How can I prove it is not me, Emma is one of my greatest friends and Diana…I cannot lose her, she is the only one I can really talk to since my mum…”

Benedict did not know very much of Danielle’s circumstances, he only recognised her accent as one of the Irish ones he had worked around before, so he established from that she was Irish, that and a few pictures he had seen in her home of Irish landscapes, but the manner which she spoke told him, that at the very least, her mother had passed away. “Diana has always seen through her too, you said that yourself, no one thinking clearly would think it is you, you have to believe that.”

“But even if they do, there will always be a slight niggling feeling in the back of their mind that perhaps I am not as trustworthy as they thought.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Not unless you can prove it was her.”

“I really wish I could.” He smiled sadly; before he furrowed his brow. “Perhaps.”

“What?”

“I have a little idea.”

“There’s nothing you can do about this.”

“Yes, I can.”

“I am really scared about this, what if it backfires on you?”

Benedict gave her warm smile. “I’m a big boy, I can handle myself. Besides, it will be harmless really, nothing that can do any harm. Just get on with your job in stopping us from killing ourselves here and don’t concern yourself about it.”

“Thank you, though I don’t know why you are so concerned with helping me, but I glad you are.”

“I want my good friend to see sense, as do you. I know we are not well acquainted, but our concern for him is enough for this to work.”

“I really hope you are right.”

When Danielle left, Benedict took out his phone and scrolled down, pressing call when he got to Tom’s number. At first, he thought it was going to ring out, but in the end, the other actor answered. “Yes?” it was curt and somewhat angry.

“Are you free on Thursday?” Benedict asked.

“I am in LA on Thursday,” Tom responded bluntly.

“I know, so am I, Sophie and I would love to actually see you face to face for a change, maybe talk?”

“I dunno.”

“Tom, please, there has been so much going on recently, I would actually like to see my friend, my real friend, Tom, remember that guy, smart, well educated, funny.”

“You forgot dashing.” There was a light playfulness to Tom’s tone Benedict had not heard in months.

“Yeah, that’s the idiot, how about we grab lunch then, perhaps, if she is around, actually meet Taylor?”

Tom remained quiet for a moment. “You want to meet her?”

“Yes, I mean, clearly she means a lot to you, so surely, as your friend, it makes sense for us to meet.”

“What about your defending Danielle?”

“Look, I am not going to go too much into that right now.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, I sort of got talking to her, and now I am worried…”

“That she will sell something on you? Fuck, you too? Was it anything serious?”

“No, just random stuff, but you know me, I don’t like certain parts of my personal life public.”

“Yes, I know. It’s nothing to do with the small guy, is it?”

“No, thankfully.”

“Was she alone with him for even a minute? You and Sophie have worked really hard to keep the camera off him.”

Benedict was forced to bite his lip from retorting in reference to Tom allowing a camera be shoved in his niece’s face as he accused his hardworking, good neighbour of photographing Christopher to sell his pictures. “No, well for a moment to go to the bathroom.”

“Shit. We will meet Thursday so, we can discuss it then.”

“And Taylor?”

“She is more famous than we are, she knows what it is like, she has her own things to be thinking about, she won’t say anything.”

“Perfect.” Benedict prayed his conniving smile would not alter his tone over the phone and rise Tom’s suspicions. “Until then man, usual spot?”

“See you then.” Tom’s tone was upbeat. “And Ben, great to actually be talking to you again.”

As Benedict hung up the phone, he looked at it, praying that Tom would not hate him for what he was about to do to save his friend from the worst mistake of his life.

[winstonhcomedy]

“Dope A-F” - 8/29 - 9/16 - “Headlining in Roanoke/Fairfax, and a 9/11 show ”

Well I am officially tired of doing this blog. I am fatigued. Keeping up with my new schedule is almost impossible. Three blog posts a week coupled with new videos, new material, shows, and my day job is proving to be too much. So I am going to do this blog until I am not going to do it. It has been almost a year since I started keeping track and I think I have grown so much as a comedian since then, but it is just becoming super hard.

So without further ado let’s hop right into it and check out what’s been going on the last few weeks with #cutecomedy. Come on LAYDEES!

8/29

I headed up to Roanoke to close out a show at Blue 5. Chaz Blevins was putting on the show and he had a pretty solid lineup. Johnny Camacho was hosting, and the openers were Chaz, this dude Zack White, and Melissa Douty. So I knew I was going to have to bring my A game. 

I got up there a little early to set up my camera. The room is amazing. It is downstairs at the restaurant. It is like a cool tucked away speakeasy.  After setting up my camera I went upstairs to grab a bite to eat. I had some egg rolls stuffed with bar b q and Mac and cheese. It was delicious. 

When I went back downstairs people had really started to fill in the show. It was going to be a super fun night. We started about 15 minutes late to give people a chance to get seated and get drinks. Then Johnny got on with it. 

Johnny had a solid set warming up the crowd. He got some pretty big laughs, and had the audience as ease before he brought up Chaz. Chaz then did well. The crowd was super supportive, and he basically started his set shitting on Johnny which was funny. Then I told Johnny I was waiting for the callback shitting on him. Then 5 minutes later Chaz did it and Johnny and I busted up laughing. He went on to have a solid set.

Then Zack White went up. I had never seen this dude before and he was definitely funny. He was definitely alt and weird, but it really worked with this crowd. He threw a baseball into the audience and then faked an injury and laid on the ground.

Then Melissa Douty went up and she absolutely destroyed. I mean tore the roof off of the place. Everybody loved her. She did about 20 and it laugh after laugh. She was going to be incredibly hard to follow. She is from the area, and definitely was able to relate to the audience and get them on board. So after she slaughters it is my turn.

I go up and realize I know have to reset the room. So I use the first 5 minutes of my set to kind of ease people into what they are about to see. I do some crowd work, and try to get them on my wave length. This starts to go well and I am building up momentum.

I talk to a few audience members and get some pretty big reactions. I then weave in some material and it is killing even harder. I think talk to a few more audience members including a girl I found out later was Chaz’ daughter. I was really having a lot of fun. I was only supposed to do 30 but I went well over that. I was able to do a bunch of new at the end and get a good response and actually work some stuff out which felt nice. I’d totally give this set an A-. I felt good being able to follow Melissa after how hard she killed.

After the show I talked to a few people and then went over to a bar to hang with Johnny, and a few others. After hanging I hopped into my car and headed home.

8/30 

The next night we had The After Show. Which is our political comedy roundtable show. This time Chris wanted to focus this one on sexuality. So I booked Jason Kusterer (White Cis/Het comic), Katherine Malone (black trans female comic) , Samantha Padgett (white female trans comic), and Sammy Major (black/gay/Non-binary) to be on the show. 

I got to the show early and tried to set everything up. I put the furniture on the stage with Kat. I then ordered a grilled cheese, and set up my camera. I had a really fun time catching up with Kat. I hadn’t seen her in a super long time. 

Then Samantha showed up. We all went to the green room and got situated. We tried not to talk about the topics for the show too much, but we did come up with some interesting things to cover in the show.

Then everyone else showed up. It was a good hang going on. We didn’t have a huge crowd. Honestly it was one of our lighter attended shows. I’d say there was about 25 to 30 people there. I also took a few polaroid “Eddie Pooks” pictures that turned out great.

After about another 20 minute wait we started the show. I went out there and brought everyone else out. Then we went right into it. 

I am always torn because of this show. I think it is important and interesting, but it isn’t always the funniest show. The audience is tight because these are hot button issues, but when you do get a laugh it feels so damn amazing. I had some pretty good lines, and really it was kind of an amazing show. I think we learned a lot, and laughed quite a bit, but I don’t always feel good during or after this show. This is one of those shows where I need people to tell me it was good. I’d give this one a C. Good jokes, great subject matter, but not a ton of laughs. 

After the show I hung out with some friends and caught up. Got a few drinks and then went to Waffle House. Where I met a drunk rapper who was surprised to find out I was a comedian. He kept trying to brag and put me down. He was like if you're a comedian why aren’t you at The FunnyBone. It felt so good to be like I am there in two weeks. He was wasted. After this I headed home and got a good night’s sleep.

9/1

I headed up to Fairfax with Paige the next day. I had asked Taylor O’Sullivan to come do a guest spot, but he didn’t respond in time. Paige and I listened to a horrific true crime podcast, and just talked about comedy. I had also asked my buddy Dom Grayer to drop by and do a spot on the show, and I extended a guest spot to a Pittsburgh Comic named Joe Esch.

John Coulter had booked me to headline his room at Blue Iguana. I had asked for the night even though we were going to have a poor attendance due to the holiday.

We get there and we get a nice hang going. There is only like 8 or 9 people there, but honestly I am just excited to do around 30 minutes. I love longer sets. I set the lineup after I find out Joe and Dom can’t stay after their sets. So I set it up as a piggyback show with Joe, Dom, Paige, and then I'd close out. I also tell them to work a little cleaner up top. The only reason I said this was at the behest of Coulter. He said it is a little older crowd, and they're conservative (not in their politics, but just keep it cleaner). 

Joe said he could do it, and then he went up and didn’t work clean. It was some pretty sexual material, and honestly it didn’t seem like he wanted to be doing the show. This might just be his energy, but legit it was like why did I give this dude a spot? I get it. It’s not a huge crowd, but I offered you time because you were looking for time. He did fine, but John made me light him early just due to the subject matter. He then brought up Dom Grayer to the wrong name, and I legit was like well shit. 

Dom went up and cracked them though. He had some solid pops, and he had a good set. He was followed by Paige who did well as well. Nobody did terribly. It was just a light show.

Then it was my turn. I went up and did a lot of crowd work up top. I’d say 10 minutes or so before going into my material. It was all working really well. I was able to connect with these people and understand that even though there was only a few of them they wanted to laugh. I got everyone involved and a few more people walked in.

All of my stuff was working. The jokes, and the crowd work was dope. I tried a few new things, and then got off stage. After this Coulter asked me to do an encore because 6 other people had just walked in at the end of my set. So the audience cheered and I went up and did 25 more minutes of crowd work, and new jokes. This was awesome I got some huge pops, and I got them sit in the front row. it was truly a special night. I’d give this set an A-.

After this Paige and I headed back to RVA. I hit up Taylor again and he met us at Denny’s for a late night meal. Then we all headed our separate ways. 

9/4

After a few days off there was a new mic in town. I went over to Isley Brewing to do their mic after work. I got a beer and did some writing before the mic. It was a fun night because I got to see and hang with a bunch of my friends. Buhe was hosting, and we had Paige, Taylor, Adam Chiodini, David Luzader, Samantha Padgett, Jake Snyder, Carlton K, and a bunch I know I am forgetting.

Buhse shows up and gets the list ready. He tells me I am up first. There is an ok crowd, but the setup is weird. It is really bright in there because it starts at 7 and it definitely seemed like these people were surprised comedy was happening. 

After his set he brought me up and I think I did as well as I could have. I had a lot of new stuff, and it all did pretty well. I tried one thing for the very first time and I am so happy that it worked. I wasn’t killing and I stumbled in a few spots. There was a giant Jenga game on stage so after every joke that bombed I’d take a brick out and drop it on the floor. This got a couple laughs, but I mostly did it for me. I give this set a C.

I watched a few more sets and then Paige and I headed over to Home Sweet Home. I got some writing done, and ordered a delicious dinner. I got to see some other friends like Patrick Nowaczyk, Taylor Baldwin, and Jason Kusterer. Jason had me going up like 5th which I was excited about.

There actually was a tiny little crowd there. The best part was they were into the show. They were having a fun time. After a few comics did ok it was my turn. Kusterer gave me a funny intro and I just tried a bunch of new stuff. I did some of the earlier stuff, but changed the inflection and tried adding some tags. it worked ok. I enjoyed my set. I’d give it a C+. 

I went downstairs and talked to my friends a little bit more, including Beswick. It was a dope night. I then packed up, said goodbye, and headed home. 

9/6

On Friday I had a spot on Wabi Sabi. I hit up a few people to ride with my but only Taylor could go. We headed up and had a good time. He was actually able to grab a guest spot. 

The lineup was going to be Klingman, Liz Carr, Taylor, Torrey, me, Luray and then Wingle. It was supposed to be a packed show. So we knew it was going to be fun. 

The show starts, and they're a rowdy crowd. Klingman has a pretty good set. So does Liz. Taylor only did about 90 seconds he had freaked himself out so much, but he didn’t bomb. Then Torrey had a pretty hot one. By the time he got off stage the audience was wasted. They were loud, and wanted to interrupt the show. 

I go up and legit don’t get a single joke out. I am in a battle with the audience for 15 minutes. I am battling drunks and hecklers. I am shitting all over them and being mean. It is killing. The audience loves it. Which is frustrating to me. This goes on and I get some huge laughs, but I am not having fun. I was glad I overcame the adversity, but hated that I had to. I'd give this set an A-.

Then Luray and Wingle went up. I didn’t watch their sets because I was so freaking upset about mine. I got to decompress and then I got ready for ‘Sex With Me Is Like”.

We all got back on stage after (except for Liz and Luray who didn’t want to). Jaye Toler got on stage, but hadn’t done a set earlier. it was a super fun game this time. I had some huge laughs and only one joke didn’t work. Every time they said something about me I had something about them. I got Taylor involved and I had the last joke. I made fun of Jaye and it destroyed. 

After the show I drove Taylor back and then headed home to pass out. 

9/7

The next night I was one of the headliners on Castleburg. I had been ‘banned” the previous month by Mike Engle because I had bailed on it the previous two to do paid gigs.  Which wasn’t a big deal at all, and made sense. I was so excited to be tasked with being a part of the two year anniversary show. 

Mu Cuzzo and I were the headliners. I had invited a few coworkers and told myself I was only going to do new stuff. There was a pretty good sized list of comics. 

I was stoked to see my coworkers, and super stoked to see some comic friends to hang with like Mike, Anthony, Adam Chiodini, Jack Parker, Ben Oliver, Heather Joyce, Danny Dunlea, Jake Snyder and plenty others I am sure I am forgetting. I set up my video camera and told people if they wanted their sets I could get them for them. I had a few people take me up on the offer. 

I love the bartenders here. They are so nice, and so much fun to talk to. They look forward to and enjoy the show. Definitely a dope venue with killer staff, and good beer.

There was a pretty good crowd, and since I knew I wanted to have the freedom to do new stuff I asked to be the first headliner to go up. I knew that Mu would be doing his best stuff, and really bringing it so even if my new stuff failed at least he could pick up the slack and it wouldn’t be a shit show.

The crowd was pretty good. They were into it from the beginning of the show. Mike had a good set and so did the comics in the first round. The winner of that was Heather Joyce. Then it was my turn to go up,

I had a dope set. Almost all of my new stuff worked. I was able to work on wording, and got some solid laughs. I was super happy to do 12 of my 15 minute set as new. It feels like I am progressing and becoming a better comic. I didn’t murder, but I had some jokes get really good pops, and I felt like I broke the crowd open a bit. I'd give this set a B.

The rest of the show went well. Mu had a really good set. His material was clicking and he used his energy to his advantage. It was cool to see him pull that set together and put something tight together. 

The rest of the show was fun. Anthony had a hot set, and Jake Snyder ripped a mic stand in half and just held half of it on stage. It was hilarious. All in all a super fun show.

Afterwards I hung out with some comics, and talked shop. I got to sit and hang with my coworkers a bit to which was really dope. I had such a wonderful night. It all ended with Jake, Danny Dunlea, and I going to Denny’s to have a super late meal. Afterwards I headed home to pass out. 

9/8

The next day I went to Busch Gardens and had an absolutely wonderful time. Legit just a great experience. I haven’t been all year and can’t wait to go back in October. Afterwards I had time to go do some time at the competition at Hof Garden. 

This show is hosted by Mu, Jameson, and Kate Carroll. Everyone does five minutes and they grade your set like American Idol at the end of the show they have the last month’s winner close it out, and then they go announce the winner from this month. 

I was definitely the most experienced comic at this show. I should have just done a set and not put myself in for the contest, but one of the things you win is a spot on a live podcast that has a pretty good following and I could use that.

I was up 3rd or fourth and there was a nice intimate crowd there. I asked Ryan Mather to record my set and he obliged. The first few comics did ok. They got some good pops, but the crowd was ready to laugh. I told myself I was going to only do new material. I didn’t want to do my best polished shit because that doesn't accomplish anything, and this way even if I lose I can be stoked that I worked out material.

I went up and had a super fun set. I didn’t kill, but all of the jokes worked. I riffed some good stuff, and added on to some bits. This was an extremely fun, and productive sets. I wish all open mic sets felt like this. 

After I got off stage I went and hung out in the back. I didn’t feel like watching a ton of sets. I got to hang with Brian Mann (who had a really good set), Ryan Mather, Melissa Harris, Ben Oliver, Bryan Williams, Taylor Baldwin, and a few others including a comic I hadn’t seen in a long time. He came to hang and not perform, and support his buddy who was closing it out. 

I had a female comic ask why I didn’t give notes and I had to explain I don’t give them usually to female comedians. I don’t want to come across as “mansplaining” comedy, and I've had female comics ask for notes and then I watched them throw them in the trash. It is just easier for me, and better business to not really do that. Last thing I need is someone who doesn’t know me saying they saw me telling a woman how to do comedy. 

After everyone had gone up they went to add up the scores. Brock then went up and he had a solid set. He did a new song thing, and people seemed to dig it a lot. 

After this they brought, myself, Beth Tucker, and Brian Mann on the stage. They all said really nice things about us, and then announced the winner. It was me. I was super stoked. Afterwards I hung out with a bit, but headed out pretty quickly because I had work in the morning. 

9/9

The next day I headed up to The Southern after work. I got some flyers from Jeyon for our show we have in October at Holly’s. I set everything up and got ready for the show. I was pretty stoked because I had a friend from college that I haven't seen in like 9 years say they were coming. When they showed up it was super fun to finally catch up

We had a pretty good crowd show up actually. They were into it from the beginning. I got to see a bunch of my friends go up. Like Brandon Beswick, Alex, Paige, JR, Chris, and plenty of others. Everybody does pretty well. 

It is finally my turn. I go up and thoroughly enjoy my set. I am getting in a good rhythm of trying new stuff, and keeping what works. The new really hit pretty hard tonight. I didn’t destroy, but the jokes are getting better. The progress is amazing to feel. I’d give this set a B-.

After the show I headed home because I was exhausted. I said goodbye to my friend and dipped out. 

9/11

Tonight I had a 9/11 benefit show put on my Nick Deez to do in Newport News at Cozzys. I was co-headlining and was excited for it. I headed down right after work.

I met Nick, Ian Nightengale, and Torrey Huggins for dinner. We talked shop and ate some pizza before headed next door to Cozzy’s to record my podcast before the show. The episode turned out great. I had Ian and Nick go up against Rock and Torrey. Super funny episode and I cannot wait to release it. 

We then get ready for the show to start. The lineup is Torrey, Ian, Rock, Nick, Tim Macklin, AC Smith, Brent Schreiber, myself, and Fred McKinnon. 

We were worried about a crowd, but honestly we got about 25 people in there. Which is super dope for an off night. The show got started and it was dope.

They were a little tight for Torrey’s set, but he woke them up. Then Ian had a really strong set as well. This just kept building. AC had a hot one, then Brent, then Rock had a super offensive set. Nick did some newer stuff during his set. Then Tim went up before me and it just didn’t stop.

I went up and went straight into crowd work. We were running a little behind, and I didn’t want them to get tired. So I just addressed the crowd for about 10 minutes, and it was working really well. Like I was killing with the crowd work, and then at the last ten minutes I did a bunch of newer stuff that hit really hard too. I got off feeling really good about how it went. I’d give it an A-. 

After my set I packed my stuff up and hung out until the show ended. Fred had a good set, and I got to go outside and talk shop with the guys. We talked about some comedic frustration and limitations that we have to put up with. Sometimes it is good to just vent a bit, and then you feel way better. Afterwards I got in my car and drove back to try to make McCormacks in time. 

I luckily did. I got there with only one comic left so I got to squeeze in before him. The crowd was dead. Like two people paying attention, but I did brand new stuff. I just needed to say into a microphone to work on it. I bombed super hard, but a couple ideas got a few laughs so I know where to start. I’d give this set a D-. 

As soon as I was done I headed home to pass out. I had a long day the next day.

9/12

I drove up to DC to host for my buddy Dan Lamorte at DC Comedy Loft. I got there a little before showtime, and got to meet the other comics. Which included Maggie Crane, Michael Terry (who I had met with Dan in Richmond last year) and Trevor Wallace (IG comic) who was headlining downstairs but popped up for a guest spot.

It was a light crowd, but they all were fans of Dan’s so they were into it. Dan was doing a guest spot downstairs as well so there were a lot of moving parts. I went up and had a good hosting set. They liked me and I didn’t have to do any crowd work.  I just did some newer and older jokes. They all worked, and I had the crowd warmed up. I’d give this set a C.

Next up was Trevor. It was obvious that standup wasn’t his first love. He got huge on IG and he had a great stage presence and was extremely likable on stage. It just didn't seem tight at all. it looked like a dude doing what he thought standup was supposed to be. He is huge, and selling out rooms. I respect he is working on the craft, but he is definitely an internet guy that jumped over to standup because it was another avenue to make some money. 

After his set I brought up Maggie Crane. Michael Terry told me that I would need to do some time in-between comics because Dan might not be back from his set downstairs. So after her set I went up and did a few more jokes. They also went well. I was just worried that if he wasn’t back when Michael got off stage then I’d have to stall again. 

Michael went up and had a solid set too, and right before he got off Dan showed up. I brought Dan up and sprinted over to Big Hunt to try to get another set in before my night was over.

I got to go up pretty quickly after I got there and I felt pretty good doing newer material. The crowd was weird, and they didn’t dig everything and I went too hard no anti-vaxxers apparently. I’d give this set a C. 

I then sprinted back to Comedy Loft and caught the end of the set. I got to hang and chill for a bit before packing up and heading home. I was stoked because this was the earliest I'd gotten to leave DC in a while. 

9/13

I was so excited because this weekend I got to feature at the Richmond Funny Bone. This was going to be my second weekend featuring there. I was so ready for it to be better than the last. I was extremely nervous, but knew it was going to be fun because my friend Anthony Thompson was hosting. I was also worried because the last time I featured there my dad was at the show. So this was bringing up all kinds of memories. 

The early show was Vicki Barbolak (America’s Got Talent) headlining. It was an ok sized crowd. Nothing crazy, but definitely close to full. It was the whitest I have ever seen a crowd there. I am used to this club being more of an urban club. I knew I was going to have to adjust my material, and was worried this might end up being a long weekend. 

The show starts and Anthony goes up to warm them up. Then I go up. I do ok. I could not get in a good rhythm. I was scared and I felt like all of my stuff wasn’t working. I powered through and did my time, but I was not happy with this set. I’d give it a C-. 

Afterwards I watched some of Vicki’s set, but mostly got a bite to eat and tried to decompress before the second show. After the show ended I didn’t even really talk to the people coming out. I was too ashamed. I didn’t kill, and I didn’t feel like I deserved to be there. I did here from several people that I did better than I felt, but that doesn’t mean much. 

The second show the headliner was James Lawson. It was definitely a black crowd, and I was ready to show what I can do. Anthony went up and we could tell this crowd was going to be better.

Then I went up and definitely had a better set. I wasn’t killing but I had some pretty good pops. Nothing completely bombed, and that was a relief. I did some fun crowd work and got off on a pretty big laugh! I’d give it a C.

After this I hung out for a bit. I got some food, and just chilled. After James set I got to talk to a few people and actually got to give out some #cutecomedy stickers. After everyone left I headed home to prepare for the rest of the weekend. 

9/14

The next day I relaxed at home, did some cleaning, and watched the Virginia Tech football game. It has been really difficult to do it without dad, but I have to. After hanging out for a while I headed into town ready to have two great sets.

I get there and Vicki is doing an interview with a lady who wrote a book. She is getting like a recommendation from Vicki so she can post it online. She says she is too christian and can’t really watch the show, but she wanted to sit for a while. So her and her husband take the comics table which means I have to take down my camera. Which straight up is annoying as shit. Especially since she wasn’t going to stay for the whole show. There were other tables that had open seats. She could have sat there, but nope. Had to move the camera. 

The show starts and it is almost full. Anthony had a solid hosting set. I went up and had a really strong feature set. I was super proud of it. I didn’t do any crowd work. Just 20+ minutes of my material and they really enjoyed it. I did a new opener and put my old opener after it. Which kept it fresh and gave me two big pops up top. I closed pretty strong too.  I’d give this set a B+

Afterwards I went and ate and did video editing in the green room. After the show I went outside and met with people. I had a good buddy from high school who has come to a few shows show up. He gave me some strong compliments and he said he loved that I didn’t do crowd work. He said it was all material, and it was awesome. That means a lot to hear since I worry my crowd work is way better than my jokes.

The second show starts and they are rowdier than the first crowd. Anthony did well, and addressed a table of hecklers. I went up and had a hot one. The jokes worked, but where I really got them was the crowd work. There were two tables doing ladies night, and I was able to pick on them. One was wasted and the others were classier. There was a dude and his wife in the front who were super into the show. Super handsome dude, and gorgeous lady so I was able to bring them into the fold. Such a super fun set. I’d give this one a B+/A-.

After my set I headed over to meet up with my buddy Kenn for a bit. We chilled and talked and I told him I had to go back to hand out stickers. I had people say I was better than the headliner which is bull shit, but still nice to hear. I handed out a bunch of stickers and got a good number of people to follow me on social media. 

After all of this Kenn and I went to grab a bite to eat and catch up. Then I headed home. 

9/15 

This was a super chill day. I got Pho and hung out with some friends. I also went to Coco and Hazel which is a dope milkshake place in town. They have ginormous shakes with cake and cookies on top of them.

I then headed over for the last show. It was pretty full for a Sunday. I got to talk to Vicki a bit and she was super sweet. She had some kind words for me and said she’d be in touch. 

Anthony had a good set, and then I felt really good about mine. I did a good mix of material and crowd work. They really dug what I was doing. I got some huge pops, and felt the confidence to try a new joke(it didn’t work). The audience was one of the best Sunday audiences I have ever seen. I’d give this a B.

After my set I got my check and dipped out. I wasn’t feeling great, and I was just ready to kind of unwind and relax and go to bed.

9/16

After work I headed to a pretty productive therapy session. After this I headed up to The Southern. 

When I got there I set everything up. I moved the tables, and set up the PA. I had it looking really good. Unfortunately Monday Night Football kind of kills comedy in this area. We didn’t have a huge crowd.

We did have a lot of my friends come out though. Mu, Bryan, Adam Chiodini, Paige, Heather, JR, Chris, Shane Hill, Sam Wood, Samantha Padgett, and plenty of others. 

The show was actually pretty fun. Everybody did ok, or if they didn’t it was good for them. I went up and had a solid set. I did mostly new stuff. I had two brand new bits, and new tags for bits I did last week. So it was incredibly productive for me. I’d give it a C. 

After my set I packed up and headed home. I was exhausted. I ended up not sleeping well. My dad has been weighing very heavy on my mind lately. I doesn’t seem to be getting easier. It definitely feels like it is getting worse. 

I DID IT! Caught up again. I’ll be back Thursday with tomorrow’s shows. I love you laydees and baybees very much. I don’t know if anyone reads this, but if you do thank you! Thanks for supporting #cutecomedy !!! xoxo see you soon.

[midnightblaine]

Breaking Open - Klaine Advent 2018

Notes:  Trying to catch up with longer chapters. You guys, all the reblogs and likes, kudos, comments, they are so encouraging and heart warming, I appreciate every single one of them <3

Day 4: Paper

AO3

Blaine had died. He had literally died, gone to heaven and was granted his perfect personal version of paradise. He thought he had been a good enough person, had done his fair share of good deeds, had never broken the law or a school rule. It was reasonable enough that when he died he would get to spend the rest of his existence in heaven, because it had to be heaven.

There was no other explanation as to why Kurt Hummel was talking to him.

*

His morning had started eventful enough. He woke up to dozens of notifications from the NYADA blogs, all of them flailing about this college band that was making a comeback. One Three Hill had every blog posting gifs and all caps text posts about how amazing the band was, and how hot the members were, how excited everyone was about this concert they were throwing.

Blaine had to scroll down in confusion, trying to piece all the information together about who these people were, where had they come from, what had everyone so thrilled. Then he found it. It. A picture of the band members lined up, with perfectly gleeful smiles and all holding microphones. A picture that had Kurt Hummel standing front and center.

All trace of sleep had left him at once, he zoomed in to check that it was the Kurt Hummel, NYADA’s Kurt Hummel, singing next to tattooed, rockstar like people, a boy and a girl with colorful hair and heavily lined eyes.

He found more and more pictures, some that ended up saved in his gallery with just a little hint of embarrassment in his cheeks. No one needed to know. Then the videos started coming up, old performances taped on crappy camera phones where Kurt still looked and sang perfectly, covering Madonna songs, rock songs, musical theatre songs, always accompanied of the other guy named Elliot or the girl, Dani. They all sounded pretty much Grammy worthy and their dynamic was splendid, funny and playful, even if Kurt and that Elliot guy seemed to be standing very close to one another in some performances.

He understood the hype.    

But then he had gotten to school and all the internet enthusiasm had been transported to the school’s lobby. Every student was talking about it. Even the ballerinas had been looking at the concert posters scattered all over the place. It was madness.

“You know, I’m so going to this concert,” a guy close to him ranted to his friend. “Everyone’s gonna be there. It’s been a while since Hummel's sung in public”.

“I know! It’s at Callbacks though, I doubt more than 30 people while fit in there”, responded his enthusiastic friend, they didn’t seem to notice Blaine at all.

“We’ll arrive early. I’m not missing any of it, Hummel and Starchild together on stage? I’ll die of second-hand UST”.

“They’re literally so hot…”

Both guys walked past Blaine, not paying him any mind. He didn’t know why this Starchild guy was so famous, he wasn’t even a NYADA student from what he had gathered, but it seemed like there was something between him and Kurt. He could see it though, they were both talented and pretty.

He walked into the stage combat classroom, still scrolling through the band’s Twitter. He found Alessia easily, surprised to see her reading about One Three Hill as well on her phone, it didn’t seem like her kind of music.

“Hey,” he called to her.

She lifted his gaze to look at him, a little bit alarmed, a few red spots appearing on her tanned cheeks. If he didn’t know any better he would have thought she was embarrassed.

“You heard about One Three Hill too?”

She nodded, biting his lip. He noticed that she had a picture of Dani open on the screen. He was about to ask her about it, gently of course, when he felt a tap on his shoulder followed by a determined, “excuse me,” before he turned around.

He got face to face with Kurt Hummel and his mind went blank.

*

He had to admit that in all his daydreaming he had never actually considered the possibility of Kurt Hummel ever talking to him. Now he was rendered speechless, taking way too long to give any kind of response to the boy standing in front of him.

"Blaine?"

And he looked so good. Why did he have to look so good? And how did he even know his name? Kurt was still talking, to him, at class, in real life, and Blaine couldn’t hear a word.

Blaine was definitely dead.

"I mean, you don't have to go if you don't want to?" Kurt freaking Hummel trailed, his face now uncertain, miles away from the enthusiastic certainty he had approached them with.

Blaine could only gape openly. He didn't know how to respond. Had he been able of forming words and sounds with his mouth before? It seemed like an impossible task just to nod, to blink, to breathe. His heart was beating wildly inside his ribcage. He was sure he was about to cry. He had been wrong, God hated him and had sent him to hell.

"We'd love to go," Alessia came to his rescue, grabbing his hand. The contact felt like a balm to his fried brain. He felt grounded and real and he could finally summon the power to nod at the boy he had been crushing for a whole month, all thirty days accounted for.

Kurt exhaled, relaxing at last though his expression still held some uncertain quality to it. Still, some of his enthusiasm started creeping back to his voice.

"Great, it will be so good to see you there, guys. We are hoping for a full house but if you can’t get in then text me. I’ll make sure you get some seats there.”

He extended a slip of paper with his name and a ten-digit number on it. Obviously, Blaine couldn’t move a muscle so Alessia took it for him with a warm thank you. Kurt was winning her over.

He left with one last lingering glance, eyes gleaming. Blaine could feel air slowly returning to his lungs only after Kurt had joined his friends and turned his back to them.

Blaine had survived.

"Blaine, are you okay?" Alessia asked, eyes searching, worried.

"I'm..." he wasn't sure. Was he okay? The most wonderful guy had approached them to extend an invitation to his band's concert, all friendly smiles and dreamy eyes. Blaine had made a fool of himself, obviously. He needed to sit down.

"I will be, I think."

Alessia looked at him skeptically.

“You do have something to wear to go the show right?”

Blaine may have survived his first encounter with Kurt Hummel but he didn’t think himself capable of surviving one whole night of hearing him sing like the angel he was.

[riseball33]

The Dark Knight of the Soul (p.8)

Well, it’s been a bit since my last post. There was a lot that happened once we moved. Moving can be gruelling and there is so much to do. It was a great excuse for a while but my depression was just settling in now, my mind was not going good and my anxiety was constant every day.

I knew that it wasn’t good, and I was still worrying about my wife’s health. I felt a tremendous amount of guilt and shame for not working. Looking back now tells me how much of that is just early programming, what we have been taught to believe. I had a lot of that, every possible old memory popped to the surface at one point or another. A little like house cleaning. This is what I needed to do with my mind too, clean up the negative thoughts. But I didn’t realize it right away.

I was still applying for jobs and it had been two years since I was laid off and coming up to a year since finishing school. Summer was approaching. I had a couple replies to job postings, one was even out of town. The thought of moving cities again made my anxiety go through the roof. The first reply was a programming test that was quite comprehensive in a language I hadn’t used since the beginning of school. I realized quickly how little I actually knew and this made me angry. A day later I got another callback with another test. These tests I guess are like a pre screening for an interview to weed out the competition. I started to panic.

My anxiety went threw the roof and I couldn’t think or concentrate. Hell I couldn’t even decide which one to work on. They both seemed impossible to me at the time and my mind was running with it. After some time and discussion with my wife we decided to take a break from applying for work. I wasn’t ready or fit to work who are we kidding? It even seemed crazy and absurd, but it was exactly what I needed and what I was avoiding most. To take a hard look at myself.

So I did my best to relax. I still had anxiety every day but started to change the way I was thinking. I was obsessed with work, it was killing me. In actuality it was my fear of not working that was driving everything. When you start to realize it was my worst living fear already happening it was a terrible reality to face. It was surreal.

I started by finding some healthy distractions, my wife and I started to finally reconnect a bit playing scrabble every day. It became a bit of a ritual and routine which was needed. I wasn’t exercising at all and it was very hard to get motivated. Every evening after my daughter and wife went to sleep I took the opportunity to work on myself. I started with motivational quotes on different blogs, these helped me a lot to get through each day. I started to write down notes on my phone of anything that seemed to help or resonate with me. It started to become my survival kit in a sense. Every day it got a bit bigger and it was personal. I would also start saving any blog posts or pictures by adding them to my favourites so I could look at them later.

Every evening this was my reality. Deep down I was still terrified, terrified that it would never change, this was a big one, I was afraid the depression would never end and that is an awful experience for anyone to go through alone. And the feeling of helplessness is not fun either when your in it.

I can still remember one day that really started to feel like things were turning around. I watched a self-help video on YouTube and the guy was talking about you can ‘control your thoughts’. To be honest I never really gave it much thought before but I always believed that I had no control of my thoughts?

Then he gave a challenge, was to think of something good, could be anything, made up or a past memory. The point is it’s something that was a good memory and would make you feel good. He said focus on that memory for 10 seconds only. This is doable I thought. Even as low as I was feeling, 10 seconds is a reasonable place to start. Baby steps right. So then the idea he said is to do this every minute now for say 1 or 2 hours I don’t remember which. Anyways so I think this isn’t such a bad idea, I put my alarm on for one minute and kept resetting it for a couple hours.

Needless to say that I think I could only come up with two or three decent memories and it kinda seemed difficult at first because part of you just doesn’t give a shit and that voice in your head is say it’s stupid or whatever. Anyways, I did it, and kept it up for two hours. It was a good distraction at the least and in a way it was like retraining or physio for my depressed mind.

I could not believe the difference I felt by the end of the two hours. It took some discipline for sure but I’m only needing to think of something for ten seconds, I started thinking longer it seemed, like almost until the next alarm went off. My point is I couldn’t believe almost how much I improved in how I was feeling, I almost felt normal again but actually better, there was a good buzz almost like a bit of a high. I was elated, I knew after I was still in the same situation and had the same life and realities, but the big difference here is, that I could change how I felt!

I cannot even begin to tell you how empowering that was. So rather than trying to commit to 2 hours every night. Rather, I decided that whenever I had a moment, you know when your in between things, or daydream or decide to normally wallow in my depression again. Instead I would just do that same exercise whenever I thought of it throughout the day. It is amazing because it doesn’t seem like it does much at first, but it’s cumulative, each tiny good thought adds up and eventually it helps you to start feeling better and that leads to being able to take other steps then to help yourself.

I wish anyone reading this all the best on your journey and want you to know if I can get through this, so can you!

Cheers!

[mtg-weekly-recap]

MTG Weekly Tumblr Recap: April 17th

202: There’s Something About Nissa (04.13.17) | Durdling Around

Welcome to this week’s subtly blue-mana infused edition! So many things to look at this week, including a look at the spoilers for Amonkhet, more of the Gods and the Planeswalkers that love them, this week’s Magic Story, “The Writing on the Wall,” as well as a minor revision that echoed loudly. And as always there has been some great fan-art from many wonderful artists. Join us under in the desert paradise that is this issue of the Magic: the Gathering Weekly Tumblr Recap.

1. Spoilers for Choice

Forsake the Worldly | Original MTG art by @steveargyle

Wow! The second and final week of Amonkhet spoilers came upon us like a sandstorm. The Amonkhetu pantheon of deities has been filled out with cards for Oketra, Rhonas and Bontu showing us that not all god’s combat restrictions were created equal. Oketra and Rhonas, who have an interest in creatures being present, or simply being big seem to promote a very safe and straightforward playstyle, as opposed to having to have creatures around to kill, or sandbagging 7 cards in your hand, or simply going all out with no cards in hand to respond to your opponent. It remains to be seen if the unusual play styles encouraged by the Grixis gods. 

Speaking of Gods, and the Planeswalkers who love them, Nissa, Steward of Elements was also unveiled and was full of surprises. Firstly, a new Nissa planeswalker so soon after her Kaladesh and Planeswalker deck iterations. Secondly she had been shifted to a Green-Blue casting cost, something that had been slowly and subtly infusing her appearances in the story. Finally, Nissa, Steward of Elements marks the first planeswalker card with X in its cost ever! This has the minds of constructed brewers from Standard to Commander percolating with ways to take advantage of this ability.

Gods of Amonkhet | Original MTG art by Chase Stone

With the full spoiler unveiled on Friday, we have an inkling of understanding of the limited archetypes that Amonkhet draft and sealed will offer. From the overwhelmingly grinding value of White and Blue’s embalm themes, to Red and White’s aggressive, go-wide with team pumping effects, it remains to be seen how the speed of the format will play, although signs point in the general direction of a slower format.

As with every time new toys are given to the brew-masters and jank-junkies, new combos and archetypes float around Tumblr, either for magical-christmas-land value that kills on turn 3, or the flavor absurdity of a Heart-Piercer Manticore flinging an Aradara Express to the face of an opponent that it also is driving. (thanks to @transreliquat for that amazing visual)

— Liam W, @coincidencetheories

2. Standard Shakeup?

Gideon of the Trials | Original MtG art by Izzy

Amonkhet is in a fantastic position to shake up Standard, providing competent answers to the two menaces of Standard: Mardu Vehicles, and Saheeli combo.  

Gideon may have shouldered a ballista into rubble, but Red has the real automotive issues in Amonkhet! Harsh Mentor is a callback to red’s punisher effects of olde, and punishes your opponent for turning their cars on. By force is a fantastic way to eliminate their vehicles, and scales magnificently. 

Saheeli cat didn’t get as many options, but the one answer we got for it is absolute. Trespasser’s curse forbids the combo from even going off for just 2 mana. Alternatively, Haze of Pollen can stop it for a turn, and give you an extra turn to take the combo apart.

– Nick D, @nick-dowdle-jeskai-judicator

2. This  Week’s Magic Story Review

The Writing on the Wall by Alison Luhrs

Foul Orchard | Original MTG art by Mark Poole

As the Second Sun inches its way closer to the horns of Bolas on the horizon, the Gatewatch try to make sense of the plane. When we begin the third installment of the Amonkhet story, Nissa has a dream in which she communicates with the soul on the plane. It’s sick, corrupted and crying out for help.

Nissa wakes Chandra up and the two take a walk outside to try and make sense of the city of Naktamun. Everyone seems very young and always training. They encounter Hapatra, who appears to be in her mid 30’s and is the oldest person they’ve seen so far. 

Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons | Original MTG art by Tyler Jacobson

One of the most interesting things they discover are pictoglyphs on an older building. These pictoglyphs tell of the gods of Amonkhet, but instead of the five we know, there are eight gods. Above the glyphs of the eight gods is a more recently made carving of Bolas’s horns. When Nissa confronts Oketra about this, the god’s reaction is possibly one of the scariest things from this storyline so far: “the cat’s ears twitch back in a moment of fleeting, subconscious fear.” When a god is afraid, things are very wrong.

There’s much more in this story. In a bit there’s a whole section about Nissa/Chandra and the post-publication edit one of their interactions received. But there’s also more to be learned about Amonkhetu sarcophagi. For the world building fans among us, this was a super interesting story, where we are left with more questions than we started. Keep your eyes open for hints in artwork and flavour texts. By next wednesday I hope we get some more revelations about Amonkhet’s history.

— Alma V, @hopelessly-vorthosian

3. Gruul-Gate (Chandra x Nissa Discourse)

Trash | Art by @inudono​

Shortly after the release of the Magic Story on Wednesday, some Tumblr users noticed that the there was some changes to story. The changes were only a few sentences, but it was a conversation between Nissa and Chandra. Originally, the context in the story appeared to hint that Chandra had romantic feelings towards Nissa, but after the second version went up those implied feelings were hard to detect.

The Community responded with confusion at first. @voiceofallmtg was one of the first blogs to make a post  about the change, even showing screenshots of the edit. Others, like @suddenlycomics did not want to express panic until there was an official statement from Wizards. All in all, there was a lot of discussion throughout the Community about the edit in the Magic Story. Others, like @bace-jeleren did express mild frustration, but, like the rest of the Community, wanted to hear what Wizards would say.

Comparison of the two versions, Original on the left, final/updated version on the right | Picture by @bachelor-biomancer

Other discussions that occurred within the Community were about why the Community was even upset about a change in the story. Some had confusion, thinking that the Tumblr users who ship Nissa and Chandra together were disappointed that their pairing wasn’t canon. In reality, it was about representation and some of the Commuity felt cheated that their possible representation was ripped from them with the edits in the Story. Some Tumblr users, like @the-foxwolf, said that the edit is not as big a deal as the Community was expressing becuase the edit changes nothing about the context of the story.

Later in the day there was an official response  from @wizardsmagic that helped to alleviate the confusion and frustration about the edit. Wizards stated that there are multiple versions of Magic Stories during the editing process, and that an earlier version was uploaded by mistake and there was no intent to change the context of the conversation. There was relief from the Community that that it was simply a mistake and it remained true to authorial intent. @flavoracle even expressed that is was a “perfectly reasonable explanation.” 

Others however, were still upset about the edit in the story, because it still showed that the hints at LGBT+ representation in the Gatewatch is harder to detect in the new version then it was in the older one. Tumblr user @commandtower-solring-go, who asked the question that got the official response from Wizard, made a post , expressing their disappoint at the cuts, because it leaves out details and that “ the original really does a good job to normalise the idea of non-straight relationships in the multiverse.” All in all, there were a lot of mixed emotions from the Community in regard to the Magic Story change. 

What do you, the Community, think? Do you like the original version or the new version better? Do you think there is a change in context, or is the intent of the conversation still there?

— Chelsea W, @chelsea-beleren-vess

4. When It Hits the Fan-Art

Gideon Seeking | Original art by @oddsbod

It’s painting cats and dogs this week! With all the danger and menace and thrilling action on Amonkhet and the Trials of the Gods, @jakaltimes took on a more sedate subject, the Sacred Cat and the Flameblade Adept. On a similar theme, @sticksandsharks gives an interpretation of Hazoret and Oketra. and from this week’s Magic Story, The Writing on the Wall, @hirafel gives us a short animation of the unexpected breakfast visitor, 

The Gatewatch feature heavily this week, with offerings such as @erybiadraws‘s Happy Gideon, @sketchydoodles‘s Amonkhet Nissa, Jace by @0x00fj and a cheeky Liliana, by @circlesmadeofglass

Finally for the retro crowd, we have a series of pixel-art masterpieces from @the-panther4444, looking either like an authentic early 90s dungeon crawler, or possibly MTGO’s latest graphics update.

— Liam W, @coincidencetheories 

5. Quoth the RavenMan

(Source) | @dragons-suck

Late Sunday evening found the Community engaged in a long discussion about the identity of the Raven Man. Naturally, this led to some top-quality memeage. Here is a collection of some of the memes that were created:

Reblog if you think the guy on the left is also the guy on the right

@chelsea-beleren-vess​

Is the Raven Man secretly a 1/1 trampler for G?

@kideon

My Raven Man theory, by Chanda-Nalaar

@chandra-nalaar​

If anyone here is *not* the Raven Man, please raise your hand.

@phyrexian-without-a-cause

— Compiled by Chelsea W, @chelsea-beleren-vess

5. Manic Scribes

Manic Scribe | Original MTG Art by Matt Stewart

This week, for those looking to hide from all the spoiler seasons mania, here are some articles from around the web that you don’t have to frantically be refreshing pages to see if they’re superseded by the latest new reveal! Top 10 Limited Formats by Mike Sigrist,  (ChannelFireball.com) Graveborn Muse: Mind-Altering Substances by Daryl Bockett   @gathering-magic​ examines cards that subtly (or sometimes not so subtly) mess with how the game is played 

Why Aren’t There More Women Playing Magic by @not-another-mtg-fanblog

Kolaghan’s Commander by Ryan Sainio @hipstersofthecoast offers some reasons why you might actually play Dragonlord Kolaghan in Commander The Trials of Amonkhet Prerelease by Inkwell Looter, (Magic.wizards.com)

— Compiled by Liam W, @coincidencetheories

…and finally: An Historic Absence?

@askkrenko makes the point that with the absence of Goblins in Innistrad, Kaladesh and Amonkhet, the last Standard legal goblins were released in Oath of the Gatewatch. While there have been absences of varying length before, the regularity of goblins in the core set means that Goblins have always been in standard even before standard was a format (looking retroactively). However, if the currently unknown plane that follows the Hour of Devastation, it is entirely possible that we will have the first Goblin-less standard in Magic history. Perhaps we will find out when announcement day comes in June, perhaps we will remain in suspense…

Thank you again for reading this week’s issue of the MTG Weekly Tumblr Recap. Hope to see you next week!

Interested in contributing to the Recap? Want to keep track of notable posts and trends throughout the MTG community on a given week? Or write a short blurb on a specific topic? Do you just want to make us aware of one specific topic or post? Please PM our main editor @the-burnished-hart or any of our staff writers!

[daleisgreat]

Furious 7

The first official spinoff of the Fast and Furious franchise hit theaters this weekend with the release of Hobbs and Shaw. It only seems fitting then with that hitting theaters to continue my trek through covering the series here with 2015’s Furious 7 (trailer). The seventh entry in the series showcased Jason Statham in the role of the unstoppable villain, Deckard Shaw. Furious 7 also infamously went down as the last film in the series to feature one of the two franchise lead-men, Paul Walker since he perished in a tragic car wreck in the midst of shooting this film. His brother took his place in several stand-in spots for the final scenes to be shot with his character. Needless to say one of the burning questions I had originally going into this at the theaters opening weekend was how were they going to handle writing him off the series? I will cross that bridge in towards the end of this entry. Furious 7 has a new director at the helm with James Wan of Saw, Insidious and Conjuring fame. He has a killer opening shot of Deckard Shaw at the hospital bedside of his brother, Owen (Luke Evans), who barely survived the aftermath of his clash with Dom (Vin Diesel) in the last film and Deckard promising to avenge him. Another opening act shot that gelled with me was Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and Dom revisiting the Race Wars rally for the first time in the series since the original film to get our obligatory drag race out of the way early where Letty easily lays waste to her opposition. I appreciated the callback to Race Wars, and was surprised to see them dig out periphery character Hector (Noel Gugliemi) from the original film to make a fun cameo too.

Just like the post-credits tag scene in Fast & Furious 6 eluded to, Furious 7 finally puts a tidy bow on the split timelines in the canon. Stick with me…..the previous three Fast films technically all took place before Tokyo Drift since Han (Sung Kang) perished in that film but the filmmakers liked him so much that they kept bringing him back. To wrap up this glaring loose end, after an exhilarating fight with Hobbs (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson), Shaw breaks into Hobbs’ computer to find the location of Han and assassinate him to get Dom’s attention. Props to Furious 7 for tracking down Lucas Black to get him back in his role as Sean Boswell for a scene with Dom wrapping up the Tokyo chapter of the series. I remember being both stoked to see Black back, and bummed to see him limited to only one scene and almost expected to see him welcomed as part of Dom’s gang. There are currently rumors he will be back in a bigger role in the upcoming ninth film in the series. Since we still see Dom’s crew at Han’s funeral and all the succeeding events seemingly transpire in the weeks afterwards it is safe to presume this movie still is set in 2006 when Tokyo Drift initially released….that is until we see in the early part of Furious 7 Letty visiting her old grave that has a 2009 death year on it from when we thought she died in the fourth film, which should have took place before Tokyo Drift…..ah forget it.

Anyways, point being is whenever year Furious 7 transpires, it is hard to believe it was in the 2000s decade (aka ‘The Aughts’) after Dom’s crew meets up with secret government ghost agent Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell). Mr. Nobody essentially gives the government’s unofficial backing to Dom’s gang as their go to master heist crew for secret-ops missions. He also introduces the gang to all kinds of high-tech level gadgetry right that seems like it was pulled right out of the latest 007 film. I could not remember the name of Russell’s character when writing this and I cannot stand the name ‘Mr. Nobody’ the moment I looked it up for reference for this so I will instead just refer to his character as his real name Kurt Russell from here on out because Kurt Russell is portrayed as a bonafide badass in this film. Russell helps Dom’s crew rescue kidnapped hacker, Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), who has knowledge of a ‘God’s Eye’ device which has access to all the security and cell phone cameras across the world. Of course, there are the now-obligatory ridiculous stunt scenes that result in Team Ride or Die snatching Ramsey away from the terrorists. It involves a hilarious sequence of skydiving cars and culminates with Dom escaping terrorists by intentionally flipping his car down a cliff and literally walking right out of the totaled car and brushing it off without any injury! Not even a bandage! Trust me, things get even more gloriously ludicrous from there when Ramsey tells the crew they must traverse to Abu Dhabi to procure the ‘God’s Eye.’ If you thought things were bonkers with the safe in Fast Five and the heroic tank leaps and infinite runway in the sixth movie, then props to Wan for somehow topping those stunts with a must-see to believe ‘Cars Can’t Fly’ moment in Furious 7 involving a three million dollar car and the Etihad Towers. It is easily one of the all-time ‘holy shit’ moments in big-budget blockbuster cinema history, and that is saying something!

After some more back and forth shenanigans with Shaw, everything comes to a boil in a heavy duty final act involving predator drones, car jousts, Hobbs donning a chain gun against a helicopter and an epic Dom vs Shaw street fight. This all adds up to Dom’s gang being masters at car-heisting, street races, breathtaking vehicle stunt-work and fluent in the latest and greatest top-secret government tech. 007 Car Heisters….or something like that. This is the first time I saw Furious 7 since the theaters and I forgot about how awesome the overall arc and climatic action/stunt-work/heist scenes were compared to the previous movies. It is easily in the same class with the raised stakes and budget the previous two movies established. A lot of that amazing stunt work is chronicled in the near two hours of extra features. Flying Cars is a fascinating watch to see how skydivers literally jumped out with flying cars to get those up-close camera shots during the car skydiving sequence. Tower Jumps is also worth checking out to see how the ‘Cars Can’t Fly’ sequence was pulled off. Both are quick watches at around seven minutes each while Talking Fast is a broader all encompassing extra at just over a half hour where Wan curates his favorite moments and scenes from the film and it nicely jumps to interviews with the cast members involved in each moment and Wan provides additional insight to how he pulled off some key shots. Talking Fast suffices for the lack of a commentary track from Wan that Justin Lin spoiled me with on the last four Fast home video releases.

There are a few other smaller extras on the BluRay covering other stunt-work and fight scenes, but what surprisingly jumped out to me in this last smattering of bonus features is one covering the making of the Fast and Furious Supercharged Ride attraction at Universal Studios. I coincidentally went on that ride on vacation earlier this year and can confirm it captures the spirit of the films and spares no expense when compared to the other big budget rides at Universal Studios. Finally, there is the Wiz Khalifa music video, ‘See You Again’ that is easily identified for being the song that closed off Furious 7 with its emotional farewell scene for Paul Walker. Yes, it is time to touch on Furious 7 sending Paul Walker off into the sunset. Wan and the rest of the filmmakers could not have done it any better. It is undoubtedly a rough scene to get through and I would be lying if I said I was not holding back any sniffles and getting dusty-eyed throughout it. Part of me thought they were going to kill off Connor, and I had no idea what the script originally called for, but the final on-screen product was the perfect way to sunset the Connor and Mia (Jordana Brewster) characters out of the picture by them going on their own to be a family. I will never forget I was at a gas station shortly after leaving a minor league hockey game with another film buff when I found out about the news and we both needed a moment to take it all in. Ironically enough, earlier that day before the hockey game I was at a pawn shop and bought the PS2 Fast and Furious game.

This was the final film in the franchise I watched along with Dan, Vinny and Alex of Giant Bomb in their Film and 40s commentary series. It made for once again another highly entertaining watch as I echoed many of their sentiments throughout. Highlights include the quote ‘That’s some Asura’s Wrath shit’ during a big stunt moment, Dan picking Alex’s brain on getting into Deftones, priceless reactions to the huge car skydiving and tower leap moments, predicting future celebrity villains, them trying to add up the Tokyo Drift plot lines like I was earlier and searching online for a replica Vin Diesel cross necklace on Amazon. Oh yeah, and I did indeed share along in the sniffles with them during the aforementioned emotional final scene. And that is Furious 7. I apologize for repeating myself, but it seems worth repeating all I remembered going into it again was the Paul Walker farewell and I forgot how good the stuntwork and caliber of jaw-dropping moments were here especially when stacked up to prior films in the series. Again, Furious 7 stands in the same league with the big budget blockbusters that the fifth and sixth installments evolved into and I loved how it found another way to raise the stakes by introducing Kurt Russell’s character into the fray and giving them the government’s unofficial blessing as being super-hi-tech ghost agents. With the untimely death of Paul Walker and the fitting farewell scene for him to close off the film I will forever have a special place for Furious 7 in the brand’s hierarchy.

'For Paul' Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed Deck the Halls Die Hard Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Dirty Work Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hercules: Reborn Hitman Indiana Jones 1-4 Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Major League Man of Steel Man on the Moon Marine 3-6 Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Take Me Home Tonight TMNT The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past

[petlover18-blog1]

Talking Trades: For the love of pet grooming

New Post has been published on https://www.petlovers.shovelnews.com/talking-trades-for-the-love-of-pet-grooming/

Talking Trades: For the love of pet grooming

Nerissa Jameus is a dog groomer at PetSmart in Kamloops.

Born and raised in the Tournament Capital, she has always had a passion for animals. She had horses and a small dog growing up. She had often considered being a dog groomer but never really thought it would happen.

In January 2017, she found herself in search of employment.

“I scanned through a couple of Kijiji ads and found a position for a part-time bather/groomer trainee position at PetSmart. I took a chance and sent in an application,” she says. “About a week later, I got a call asking me to come in for an interview. I’ve never been so nervous for an interview or waiting for a callback. After two days I got a call back saying I had got the job, and it all started there.”

(via Contributed)

Jameus worked three jobs that summer to make things work out financially, as the grooming position was only part-time in the beginning. In October, she was sent to Vancouver for a month of training at PetSmart’s Grooming Academy. It was a real hands-on experience. Groomers need to be caring, compassionate and have a big love for pets.

“I lived in Pitt Meadows in a hotel and worked out of the Maple Ridge store. I was thankful to have family on the coast that made living there so much easier. I made some new friends and met some amazing people who I still keep in touch with. I came back to Kamloops in November and have worked to complete over 200 dogs of various breeds and breed cuts and I’m on to my final level of training as of July 2018.”

Jameus is passionate and enthusiastic about her job. She takes pictures of each furry customer with their clean, new cuts and posts them on social media along with their name and their breed.

“I have so many things that I love about my job. I am very lucky to do what I love every day and to work with animals. My favourite part is probably seeing the transformation of the dogs. Some come in really messy, all matted or in really rough shape. After all the hair is gone and they have a good bath, though, they always feel so much better and always seem a lot happier. Seeing the owner’s reaction is always really amazing, too.”

The most challenging part of Jameus’s job is some of the breed cuts. She finds the cuts are fun to do and loves giving poodles fancy cuts, but they take a lot of work.

“It’s a job where you see the work you have put in when you are done.”

Asked who her favourite furry customer is, she said: “This is a tough one for me. I have so many favourite clients. If I had to pick though I would choose Jackson, a giant Goldendoodle who is a request dog to me.

“He was my first request when I got back from the academy and one of the first dogs I groomed when I got back to Kamloops. He has such a goofy personality and always makes me laugh the whole groom. He is so well behaved. The girls I work with always laugh and claim we have a bond.”

Jameus does not own a dog currently. She owns two budgies, Fancy and Finn, and co-owns a rescue goat named Chicklet. When the time comes, she would like to have a Goldendoodle as they are such fun, active dogs.

For now, she will keep doting on her many four-legged customers and enjoying her busy work.

“Seeing dogs that hate going to the groomers that do well is really rewarding; knowing that we helped to make them comfortable and get through a process they really hate. Although it’s a job that has its ups and downs, I really do believe this is what I’m meant to do,” she says.

Talking Trades is a regular KamloopsMatters column by Shannon Ainslie. Ainslie has worked in the trades for many years and loves to blog on the side. You can follow her at kamloopscoffeetalk.wordpress.com or on Twitter (@ainslie_shannon).

Source: https://www.kamloopsmatters.com/local-news/talking-trades-for-the-love-of-pet-grooming-1000905

[katieincapetown]

The Final Countdown: June 3-June 14

This is another long one. There are a lot of pictures, as you can see, so I put captions on all of them to help clarify which is which. You should be able to see them if you click on the pictures. 

Over the weekend (June 10) three of my friends and I took a road trip down to Gansbaai to try shark cage diving for the second time. We had done it a few weeks ago, but the sharks decided not to show so we got vouchers so we could do it again. We were disappointed again, as the sharks were not around, but it was still a fun overnight and Gansbaai is super cute. It’s a fishing town that’s mostly known for shark cage diving and tourism. Also it was super cold for most of the boat ride so I wasn’t exactly complaining about nto getting in the water (I was wearing a wetsuit that tbh made me look like Zero Suit Sammus from Brawl or a POwerPeople in Gansbaai are mainly Afrikaans, which is very different from Cape Town. The picture is of the caves in Die Kelders, which is near Gansbaai. 

On Monday my friend Robyn and I went to the Kristenbosch National Botanical Gardens in Cape Town (second picture). It was so green you’d never have thought there’s a drought and incredibly peaceful. It was also a particularly gorgeous day, so it was a lot of fun to walk around. The plants are so pretty and there are so many pretty bridges and rivers. We meant to go there to study (I had a final the next day), but we ended up not doing that and going to the Groot Constentia vineyard instead for an impromptu wine tasting (third picture). It was one of the best days I have had on this entire trip. It might have been the wine, but the whole day was perfect. We tasted five delicious wines and then we had lunch and walked around the vineyard. Even though it’s almost winter and there aren’t any grapes it was still so pretty. One of the things I have loved about being here is that I can do all these things that would not be possible or realistic at home, like spontaneous wine tasting and shark cage diving. 

Robyn and I decided to go to Spier Wine Estate on Wednesday to celebrate her last day in Cape Town. We did a wine and chocolate pairing (second to last picture), and it was amazing. Wine and chocolate are two of the best things in life, and the cheese plate we had at the end was icing on the cake. We felt very classy doing it, too. 

I’ve been trying to figure out what I’m meant to say here for days. As of Tuesday night, I am officially done with my junior year. I can’t believe it. This has been one heck of a semester, but I’m so sad it’s over. I’ve met some amazing people who I will miss greatly and I have had so many amazing experiences over the last four and a half months. It feels like it’s been so long but at the same time it’s gone by so fast. I’m looking forward to being at home, but I’m sad that I have to leave. I think I’m ready, though. Five months is a long time, and I miss being at home. One of the things I think I’ll miss most about Cape Town is the independence, the learning experience being on my own as been, and the people I’ve met. I’ll also miss getting to do things like paragliding or wine tasting or even just being able to go out for food often and have cocktails and fancy coffee and stuff because everything is so cheap here. I’ve also really enjoyed writing this blog, and I’ll miss doing it even though I wasn’t all that consistent. I’ll also really miss having my own room and my own bathroom, it’s been the ideal setup. I have a similar level of independence at UVM, but it’s different here I guess. Maybe it’s because I’ve always lived in dorms and had a meal plan, so I’ve never had to go grocery shopping or cook or any of that. Maybe it’s because this semester has been very different, and not just because I’m abroad. I’m hanging out with very different types of people than I do at home, and honestly i’m doing a lot of things I know wouldn’t have done before I left. I’ve stepped outside of my comfort zone a lot and I think it’s done me a world of good. It’s been very fun and I don’t regret anything, which is what matters.

As a callback to my very first post, I’m going to do a little list of things I’ve learned over this semester. It’s definitely increased since February. :)  1. This one is the same, but it still stands: padlocks are your friends. And always make sure you have your keys before you lock your door.   2. It’s okay to leave a paper until the last minute, just don’t do it every time. And don’t try to cite sources at 2am, it never goes well.  3. Do the thing. Do it. Don’t second-guess yourself, and don’t worry too much about the cost.  4. Don’t underestimate the importance of reflection--both self-reflection and group reflection.   5. The best days (and nights) are the spontaneous ones and the quiet ones.  6. Laugh at yourself when you do something stupid.  7. Always carry enough cash to buy a drink and get yourself home.  8. Trust yourself and listen to your instincts. If you think you can do it, you probably can. You’ll be fine, and if anything it will make a good story.  9. Document the good times, but don’t let it get in the way of having fun.  10. You’re a lot braver than you think you are. Do something you never thought you’d do, it might just turn out to be one of the best days.  11. Goodbyes are the worst (I just said my first sad goodbye to Robyn and now I’m sad because everyone’s leaving and I’ll never see them again)

Thank you for reading this blog all semester. I’ve loved writing it and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it. Until next time.