#which unfortunately made the conversation limited even when we both had the same hobby

[13eyond13]

You’re about to start a secondhand book club off of your followers reading your book club books

Hahaha wouldn't that be amazing! Maybe we should have a long distance book club

[stopbeingrude]

Hi guys. Happy Gruvia/ Greige day. I wish all of you wonderful time.

That's gonna be the first one shot , i have ever published here, feedback is welcome. I hope It's not that bad and you'll somehow like it lmao.

,,I think I would rather have a plushie as a Christmas gift…., but I guess I shouldn't be too picky."

-Dad? - called 6-year-old Greige, on one December afternoon, when both him and his father were decorating a christmas-tree in the living room . December 24th was slowly approaching. It was Greige's favorite time of the year , because he was able to spend Christmas with all of his family, including all of his uncles , aunts and friends. Not forgetting about grandpa Makarov . Even Uncle Gildards would show up, bringing something for the kids. -I was wondering what would happen if Santa's reindeer suddenly wanted to pee while flying?- asked seriously little boy. No one wanted to tell him that. When he asked big bro Romeo , he just started laughing and then he called him silly. "How could he do that?" -thought heartbroken Greige after. -Heh , where did that come from? ... you know ... they'd have to stop somewhere by, right? Daddy doesn't know much about it- said Gray, trying to keep himself from laughing. He couldn't laugh, he knew it would offend his little angel. Their son hated when someone made fun of him . After all, he was already a big boy, and everyone knows that such must be taken seriously. - So maybe Mommy knows? I will go and ask her,- said the little boy, putting down Christmas decorations . Speaking of mom, he had recently noticed his mother's strange behavior. She had been getting tired very easily lately, she often took naps. He also noticed that she spent an enormous amount of time sewing ,mostly clothing. Well.. he was aware of his mom's hobby, but usually it was limited to sewing plushies, sometimes socks or fixing their clothes. - You know, I don't think mommy knows more than me - said Gray after hanging the last Christmas-ball. - Besides, you know that mommy is sleeping now, right? She hasn't been feeling well lately, so she mustn't be disturbed. Something was off, even Daddy acts differently- thought little Fullbuster Now, that got the boy worried. - Is something wrong with Mommy? - asked slowly Greige He loved Mommy and Daddy most in the world and the very thought of them suffering hurt him deeply. "No, I won't start crying…Boys my age don't do that..." He had often been told that he should stop being such a crybaby (mostly by Yajeh or Nasha . Shutora would never. She was always trying her best to cheer him up,while reminding her twin and little Dragneel that if they won't stop with this stupid teasing, she would make sure both of them would regret it later). Unfortunately Greige could not help it. Whenever someone was hurt or something went wrong, he would usually cry. Turns out he inherited his mom's sensitivity... "Mommy…..something was definitely wrong with her.." The thought of something happening to his dear Mom filled him with great terror once again. He started shaking What if she's ill, or even worse..she's gonna….. "No , no , that's not possible..." - he shook his little head full of dark , curly hair. - I'm overreacting, just like Yajeh told me - No, no.. don't worry, Greige, Mommy's fine, it's nothing serious,"-Gray said quickly, trying his best to calm his son down, giving him a hug and then kissing him on forehead He knew exactly what was going on with his beloved, in fact, when an excited Juvia came back home one evening and informed him of the pregnancy, he was overjoyed. Soon he will be holding his son or daughter in his arms. Then it hit him. The baby might turn out to be a girl, and Gray had no idea how to take care of girls...Dear God….Ok ,ok.. he still has plenty of time to learn. He can always ask Gajeel about it..yes Gajeel or Alzack...even Elfman ( he would never ask Natsu, even if he's life depended on it, that would be too humiliating for him). Wait...it wasn't his top priority right now. After all, he needs to inform his son about the news first. Neither of them was quite sure how to do it. They remembered very well the situation from a few months ago when the Redfox twins got into an argument. Horrified, Greige stated that being an only child is not that bad, since having siblings meant constant war. Although being honest , Greige never

directly told them that he hates the idea of having a sibling . Considering how much time he spent with Nasha and Elfman and Ever's daughter Ember, or year-old Reiki Fernandes, it would seem that he's perfect for the big brother role. Besides, they can't hide it forever, sooner or later he would notice Juvia's belly. However, the biggest concern for Fullbuster was the fact that such news could lead to a longer conversation, which again could lead to uncomfortable questions that Gray was not ready to answer. He is not going to tell his son about the birds and the bees. No, no, hell no… None of them are ready for this! "Come on Gray, what's wrong with you, you just have to tell him. You've been in worse situations….after all, you've fought with all sorts of criminals, weirdos and monsters ,compared to what you've been through, it's nothing''- thought the ice mage But how to start such a conversation? How about …. -Hey Greige, have you written a letter to Santa yet? "Yes, just ask him what he wants for Christmas and make a few innocent suggestions." -Oh no i didn't, thank you for reminding me Dad. - And tell Daddy, what would you like to ask Santa for? The boy was silent for a moment, most likely to think about the answer, but after a while he called out in a loud voice. -I'D LIKE TO ASK HIM FOR PEACE IN THE WORLD AND FOR EVERY POOR PERSON TO GET A BETTER LIFE AND FOR EVERYONE TO BE HAPPY!..... It would also be nice to get a new plushie……but it's not as important. Do you think Santa can do that?-he asked hopefully Gray stood there for a moment, stunned. His baby was truly an angel...wishing happiness upon the entire world, it nearly made him tear up…. but no... he needed to explain to his son that he should wish for something more....... attainable. -Ooh... really..that's....very nice of you, but...I think that such a wish...yym...takes a bit of time and Santa w-won't be able to do it…., why don't you ask him for….. for example a toy like a teddy bear, figurines....or new books or something else...I don't know.......sibling?... Greige looked at him, like he had just proposed to him to take a walk on the rooftop. Where did that come from? What is dad talking about? S-sibling...?? -Sibling? You mean like a little brother or sister? A baby?- asked the little boy loudly. -Yes, that's exactly what I meant, but well you'll need to wait for a while, because it takes time for a baby to….be ready.- mumbled out Gray - So that's not really a Christmas present- stated boy still visibly shocked -...Well y-yes , but... -But didn't you say mommy has been feeling unwell lately?...If we had a baby, wouldn't it be tiring for her?....Besides, do you think we need a new baby? - asked seriously Greige Why would they need a baby? They were living happily in this house , just three of them. It's not like he dislikes babies , they're cute and all…..but it's just simply weird.. -Well... I wouldn't say it's necessary , but it would be nice to have one at home.. don't you think?....- asked his dad Maybe? -And don't worry about mommy, I am sure that she will be so happy with the new baby , it will make her feel better.- stated Gray , this time with a smile -Hello my darlings- Juvia's voice said suddenly They both turned their heads toward the bedroom's door, finding Juvia's tired but smiling face there. Greige quickly got up and ran toward his mother. -Mommy, are you feeling better? Do you need anything?- said the little boy, hugging her legs. Juvia kissed her son's cheek. -Hi sweetheart, Mommy is fine- she answered while taking a seat next to her precious Gray, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. -Did I hear you talking about babies?- Juvia asked, pretending to be surprised, while giving Gray a tiny smirk. - Daddy said it would be nice to have a baby and that it would make you feel better... - he began. - I don't think a baby is necessary, because it would be a little strange that there will be more of us in the house, but if you really wish for one ,then that's fine with me. -Really? Mommy's glad to hear that.-

replied a happy Juvia , giving her husband a big smile. Gray gave her the same smile, but just when he thought everything had been taken care of, there came the soft voice of his baby boy. - Mommy....Daddy...but you won't love the baby more than me, will you? - asked Greige, with his head lowered and tears in his dark eyes. Both Gray and Juvia stood there very surprised, neither of them had even thought of such a scenario. -Greige, what makes you think that?- asked older Fullbuster. -Sunshine, no...- Juvia hugged her son quickly- You mustn't think like that, we would never stop loving you. Remember darling, parents love all their children equally. - You know, its true that we'll have to spend a lot of time taking care of your brother or sister, but you have to remember that they won't be able to do anything on their own. You were like that when you were born too.- said Gray - I'm sorry. I won't do that again- said Greige seriously. -Do you think I offended the baby? I don't want the baby to think I don't want him or her,- said the terrified boy .What if the baby will always remember this and he will never be forgiven. - Don't worry, honey, I'm sure she won't mind,- said the water mage, stroking her belly. -She?-Gray thought. Turns out his wife wasn't telling him everything... -Wait a minute! -said suddenly Greige after a moment of silence -The baby will be in the tummy, just like Reiki was in Auntie Erza's , right? - Well baby is already there, but your right - answered Gray -Daddy? - Yes buddy ? - How did it get there? Shit. -Yyyy… Horrified, Gray turned his gaze to his wife, silently pleading for help. -You know what, angel? It's almost 8pm, I think it's time for you to take a bath, okay?- proposed Juvia, saving her husband from very uncomfortable talk. - Ok Mommy. Will you read me a bedtime story after we finish? - Of course They were already moving towards the bathroom when Juvia quickly turned towards her husband, gave him a kiss on the cheek and whispered : -You're welcome. Has Gray already mentioned how much he loved his wife?

Bonus!:

( ok I swear it was funnier in my head...Once again Happy Gruvia day !!!)

[zirkkun]

❤️ULR Speed Date Event Results - Part 5/5!💙

And, very unsurprisingly, Ace is in first place for the amount of submissions he received, that being 82! Due to the fact that there was so many submissions, he has a lot more I debated between (and even though one of these was a joke response... it was still pretty story worthy):

❤️ Ary 💙 dragon anon ❤️ din 💙 Vee ❤️ Yours~ 💙 ya know, nyah :3c ❤️ Chaomingo 💙 Lilianna ❤️ Orly

And last but not least is the winner of Ace’s date will be revealed. You can read the date either under read more or on AO3!

🖤--✨--❤️

Undertale (c) Toby Fox Underlust by @/nsfwshamecave Underlust Reimagine by myself

Thank you for your support, but do remember to support and read Underlust (18+) if you can!

ulr masterpost || ulr main tag || ulr ask box || ulr comic beginning || kofi?

... the anon who submitted under the name Lilianna!

❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙

Sans still didn't want to be a part of this. He didn't want to be doing this at all. But, unfortunately, his brother wouldn't take "hell no" for an answer. So now he was stuck on a date. With a human, no less. Oh joy. Despite the fact that living on the Surface was so saught after, he really wasn't finding it to be appealing.

At least, for the start of this, he was by himself. Maybe a long time ago, he would have been bothered by someone being late to an event like this, but for now, he was indulging in the silence.

She, Sans's date, decided that she wanted to meet at this park outside of the city, late at night, for a chance to watch the stars. Frankly, he didn't really care one way or another. But, he did eventually find himself standing at the ledge of a bridge, watching the stars twinkling in their reflection on a river. That and the dead silence, only bug noises chirping here and there; was shockingly more relaxing than Sans had anticipated it would be.

"There you are! Sorry I'm late!!"

And the relaxation was cut short. Oh well. Not that he didn't expect that.

Sans turned his attention towards the direction of the voice, spotting the human running up to him as fast as she could. Panting as she caught up to him on the bridge, she exclaimed, "I'm so, so sorry, things were backed up getting out of the city and --"

"i don't really care," Sans cut in. He turned his attention back to the river.

The human, a little taken aback, tried to brush over the harsh comment. She took a step towards the edge of bridge, holding on to the railing with a tight grip. The silence echoed in the park once more, but for the human, this was more awkward than anything else. She didn't really know what to say... is there a topic she knew offhand he'd be willing to discuss? Um... no, not really. 

"hey."

Oh! He said something first! "Yeah?" the human responded.

"do you think a fall from this height into the river would kill me?"

A brief moment of silence. It held both shock and interest from each halves of the conversation.

"What -- I don't know?! I don't really want to know!! That sounds painful regardless and I really don't want to find out!!"

But Sans just laughed at her sudden panic. "relax. i was joking."

"Th... that's a bit of a dark joke, don't you think?"

He shrugged. "It happens." He didn't elaborate, leaving the silence to once again consume the conversation into nothing. The human shifted uncomfortably where she stood.

She debated back and forth on another topic to talk about. Anything to ease the tension -- especially since it got worse with his topic of choice.

"Um... so, on that form thing, you asked me about stuff I like to do... but what about stuff you like to do?" she prompted, hoping it wouldn't be another dark joke response.

"hm." Sans pondered the question for a while, not really knowing what to say. When's the last time he did something he liked doing? Probably when he was working with the other Royal Scientists. Which was over ten years ago. "i dunno," he answered instead. "haven't done anything just 'cause in a long time."

"Oh." The human frowned. "Well, maybe we could do something together sometime then, and you can find a new hobby? Only if you'd like, of course."

Sans raised a brow as he flicked his gaze to her. "like what?"

"Oh, um... well, I like to bake, draw, and read... but those are all pretty boring so maybe not those..." she responded sheepishly.

Sans didn't react negatively, but he wasn't exactly enthusiastic either. He's practically read every book from the Underground cover-to-cover with how much time he's had on his hands, and his drawing skills were... not to be admired. And Papyrus has always been on his case to eat more. So... "i dunno, baking?" he blurted.

The human blinked. "As in, you'd want to do some baking together?"

"yeah, sure, whatever."

"You really don't sound all that interested."

"i'm not interested in most things, what's your point?"

The human shuffled back into silence for a brief while as she herself started to stare at the river, her eyes trailing down the reflection until they met the sky, full of crystal-clear stars. "You don't have to if you don't want to," she added. "I know you're already... not super excited about this current date, so please don't feel like you have to force yourself further."

Ah. There it was. The same kind of consideration that made him pick this person over everyone else in the first place. Some people had acknowledged him not wanting to deal with this, but their responses were things like, "Then why be here?" which only irked him enough to toss them aside. Some disacknowledged it, which he prefered, but something about when she said... "You seem like you don't want to do this anyways, which is all good," really hit him in a way he didn't expect.

Sans, however, did not even consider responding out loud, and instead just pulled his scarf up tighter on his face. Sans? Being honest and clear with his emotions? Haha. How funny. Easier to just push them aside. A void of feeling is much easier to deal with.

Well, he did give a sort of grunt of acknowledgment to her comment. But... it was really far after she'd said anything. So she thought he was prompting something new.

"What's that?" she asked.

"nothing."

"Then...?" But the human just shook her head. Maybe talk about something else. "You know..." She'd started a sentence, but didn't actually have anything to say. In a frantic moment to try and finish what she'd started, she said, "Time is a precious thing, isn't it?"

There was a pause.

"what'd'ya mean?" Sans asked.

"We only get so much of it. It's so limited and can be taken from us in a second."

"... yeah, and?"

"I just... I like spending time with people," she finalized. "There's only so much time I have available, and I want to be able to spend as much of it as I can with people I care about and doing things I've wanted to do. Thinking about it all is a bit scary sometimes..."

Sans debated the crass comment of "so what you're saying is i should leave and do something i'd rather be doing," but he figured now was not the time for something like that. He waited a moment to see if the human had more to say about the topic, but when she didn't, he decided to jump in with his own response. "worrying about what you might lose out on is kinda pointless," he said bluntly. "sometimes shit ain't gonna work out, and you'll miss out on something you'd have rather wanted. sometimes people are taken away from you when you least expect it and you're left wondering if you did enough for them or with them. but it's not the end of the world. you've gotta just work with what you're dealt with."

The human didn't expect such a long, nor deep, reply from him, and was a little taken aback by it. While these may have been things said before, or maybe she'd even considered them, it was different to hear them coming from someone who two seconds ago wanted to jump off the bridge. Frankly... does that mean she should take his words with a grain of salt, or...?

"sorry," Sans blurted. "said more than i shoulda."

"Wh -- n-no, don't worry about that!! I just... didn't expect you to have a lot to say on the topic. Or, I guess, to really reply lengthy at all. But it's okay! I'm glad you let me hear your thoughts."

He pulled his scarf tighter as he grunted a response, staring still at the reflection in the river.

[justahopelessssromantic]

A/N: Thank you all so much for all the love on this story! It really means so very much to me! I’m so excited to share more with you ❤️ Here’s part 2! I hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think ☺️

Angel never really knew about Monica growing up. Sure they grew up in the same town but with the five year difference between them he never really knew who she was, that was until he began prospecting for the Mayans MC.

The first time he saw her he couldn't take his eyes off her. She was beautiful and he swore his heart skipped a beat when she looked his way and smiled but maybe that was just his inner hopeless romantic talking.

He wanted to ask her out, hell all the prospects did and Taza knew that. It was like he could read their minds or maybe it was just because this wasn't the first group of prospects who had their eyes on the Mayan's princess.

Stepping up behind them he clapped Angel and Gilly on the shoulders holding them tight. "Beautiful isn't she?" He never gave them a chance to answer. "I know what you're thinking, don't. She's off limits boys. Now get back to work." He finished with giving them a shove in the direction of the line of the bikes to be washed.

Angel wasn't stupid. He knew to listen to the older Mayan. If he wanted any chance of becoming a full patched member then he had to focus on the club and try to keep his mind off her, but damn was that hard.

It became a little easier once Derek entered the picture. Monica fell hard and fast for him, Angel could see why, he was a great guy. He treated her well and respected the club. He was good to her and that’s all he really cared about. Then seemingly out of nowhere they had broken up. Monica never spoke about what happened between them but Angel could tell whatever it was wasn't good.

It was only about a little over a year after that that Monica got pregnant. She never told anyone who the father was no matter how much they asked. All she told them was that it didn't matter, she was determined to raise her on her own.

She had the club to help support her, that was enough.

After a while everyone just stopped asking. It didn’t really matter in the end anyways. Soon it wasn’t even a thought. Maddie had her mother, grandfather, and she had all her tios within the club. Maybe she didn’t have a conventional family but she did have a family who loved her and would lay their life down for her.

That’s all anyone really needs.

Angel just finished his shift at the scrapyard for the day. He traded his work shirt for his kutte on his way to the clubhouse. He got to the door just before Monica and Maddie as they just arrived. Holding the door open for them he entered behind them.

“Thank you Angel!” Maddie smiled back at him before running off towards Hank, Bishop, and Taza sitting in the back of the room.

Angel smiled watching Maddie run off. He glanced over to find Monica doing the same thing. God, was her smile breathtaking. He then glanced down to the purple backpack in Monica’s hands. He nodded down to it once she turned her attention to him. “Maddie staying with Hank tonight?”

“Yeah she is, It’s just easier for party planning.” She explained. And she had her blind date tonight but she didn’t want everyone to know that. Monica placed the bag down onto the table besides them making sure Hank saw where she placed it. “I’d love to stay and hang out but I really better get going. I told Vicky I was going to stop by before heading home to check out the cake.”

Gilly was listening in to the conversation from where he was behind the bar. “You’re leaving already? Can’t you at least stay for one drink?” He pulled out a beer waving it at her. He could usually convince her to stay for one.

“No, unfortunately I can’t. Next time I will.” She promised. Gilly pouted making a show of it as he cracked open the beer for himself. Monica rolled her eyes laughing before reaching for the door knob which Angel had already had being one step ahead of her.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Maddie.” She called out to Maddie who was now playing cards with Riz. “You be good for grandpa and make sure you keep these guys out of trouble.”

“Okay!” Maddie called back with a grin. “Love you!”

“Love you too!” She called back blowing her a kiss which Maddie dramatically caught.

Angel opened the door for Monica seeing her out. He followed her to the steps where he stopped to light up a cigarette He watched her walk away just as Coco pulled back into the yard. Coco gave her a nod and she gave him a wave as they crossed paths.

Coco parked his bike and slipped his helmet off shaking out his hair with his hands a little after doing so. He met Angel on the top of the steps who had a cigarette extended towards him.

“Everything good?” Angel asked him. He watched Coco light up his cigarette and take a drag before he answered.

“Yeah, everything’s good.” Coco replied plainly. He just got back from the other side with the rebels.

“Good.” Angel nodded, taking another drag of his own cigarette.

The two leaned against the railing looking out around their home. They both knew getting involved with the rebels was risky but it was a risk they would have to take for their club, their family.

****

Monica watched Vicky leaning against the counter as she smoothed the white icing around the cake. Vicky was making a special unicorn cake with blues, pinks, and purple colors for Maddie’s birthday. One thing many people didn’t know about her was she was an excellent cake decorator and made the very best cakes in town. She was also just an excellent baker in general.

Monica smiled watching her in awe. “That looks amazing Vicky. Maddie is going to love it.”

“She better.” Vicky teased. She finished smoothing it out before stepping back to admire her own work.

Next to the cake was a tray of vanilla cupcakes, some with purple icing and some with pink icing. Reaching over Monica grabbed for one of the purple ones earning a swat to her hand.

“Don’t even think about it. Those are for the party and you know better.” Vicky scolded her. Sometimes she still saw that little girl from all those years ago.

Monica pouted. “Can’t I just have one? Please.” She begged, folding her hands together.

Vicky rolled her eyes. “Some things really never change.” She mumbled under her breath. Taking the cupcake Monica was after she handed it to her. “Fine, just the one.”

Monica peeled the wrapper away. “That’s all I wanted.” She happily took a bite giving a moan of approval as she sat back. “This is delicious.”

“I know.” Vicky smirked.

Monica sat enjoying her cupcake as her mind began to wonder. The other night’s conversation with Maddie kept finding its way into her mind. She looked down at the cupcake for a few moments fiddling with the paper around it. Sighing, she looked back up at Vicky.

Vicky wiped her hands off on a wet washcloth. She sat down next to Monica placing her hand on her shoulder, she knew that look. “What’s wrong baby?”

“Maddie asked me about her father last night.” She blurted.

“Well you knew this day would come eventually. You and Coco both knew that.”

Vicky was the one and only person who Monica told about Coco being Maddie’s father. Vicky was like a mother to her, she always knew she could trust her with anything. She needed just one person to know and there wasn’t anyone else she would have rather shared with. It was only right, Vicky was the one who was there for her for everything while she was pregnant.

“Yeah, we did.” She knew that. “I was just hoping I would have a little more time I guess.”

“That’s the wonder of children.” Vicky laughed lightly, “They always keep you on your toes, making you deal with things you don’t want to or don’t think you are ready for.”

She had that right.

“Ooh cupcakes!” Lydia came in behind the two diverting their attention from the conversation to her. She grabbed a cupcake for herself grinning.

Vicky smacked her arm playfully. “You two can’t wait one day?”

Monica and Lydia made eye contact before bursting out in laughter. “Nope." They said in unison.

Lydia and Monica became fast friends when Lydia first started working for Vicky. The connection was instant between them. It was as if they had been friends forever. Vicky used to tease them for being inseparable.

“Vicky these are the best things I’ve ever tasted.” Lydia said through a mouthful.

“Thank you.” Vicky smiled leaning into Lydia’s kiss to her cheek. “You two flatter me.”

“I keep telling you you should open your own bakery. People would pay good money for these.” Monica held up her cupcake motioning to the cake beside them. She scooped some frosting on her finger.

“And I keep telling you I don’t want to kill my hobby by trying to profit from it. I love it too much to do that to it.” Vicky looked back at the beautiful cake. “Getting to bake for my family is good enough for me. I love being able to share with you all and getting to see your smiles, that’s payment enough for me.”

“Well Maddie does have the most rewarding smile. You’re sure to get that tomorrow.” Monica always thought Maddie had Coco’s smile. Every time she smiled it would take her back a minute. “It’s a shame it’s all going to be destroyed tomorrow.”

“That’s what pictures are for!” Lydia piped in after she finished her cupcake tossing the wrapper. “Thank you so much for the treat Vicky and the company ladies. I’m afraid better get going though.” Brushing her hands off she then gave Vicky a hug before Monica. “I’ll see you two tomorrow.”

“You’re not working tonight?” Monica asked before she could get far. As far as she knew Lydia had to work tonight. That’s why she couldn’t help Monica with party set up tonight.

Lydia cursed herself. Putting on a smile she quickly found an excuse. “I did but then Candace wanted to trade the nights with me. I guess she has to take her mother out of town to a specialist on Monday.” It was complete bulshit and Vicky knew that. Lydia tried to keep her eye contact on Monica and not look to Vicky. “I can still come over tonight if you want.” Lydia offered knowing she really couldn’t. She hoped Monica would pass her up on that offer.

“No, that’s okay.” Monica gave her a smile. She would much rather ditch Luke for Lydia but she wasn’t going to be that person. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good night Lydia.”

“You too.” Lydia blew a kiss in their direction before disappearing out of the kitchen.

Vicky watched Lydia through the doorway until she was completely out of sight. When she turned back to Monica Monica had her arms crossed and eyebrow raised.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on there? Because I know for a fact Candace didn’t ask Lydia to switch.” She just talked to Candace the other day. Her mother was doing fine. She would have said something but she wasn’t wanting a confrontation with her tonight.

“What do you think it’s about? It’s a man, like always with her.” Vicky tried to wave it off.

“She hasn’t said anything to me about a man.” Monica frowned. She thought she and Lydia shared everything.

“That’s because she doesn’t want you to know because she knows you wouldn’t approve.” Vicky didn’t even approve of Michael but trying to talk sense into the young vibrant girl was impossible.

Monica huffed sitting back. “Well if I wouldn’t approve then she knows she shouldn’t be wasting her time.”

“She’s in love Monica, you know what that’s like.” Vicky didn’t approve but she also knew she couldn’t police who her girls spent time with off the clock.

“In love?! Fuck, how long has she been seeing this guy?” Lydia couldn’t be in love. She would have said something to Monica. Monica would have noticed some change, she would have. “Who is this guy?”

“He’s a client. A pretty, rich boy.” Vicky had met Michael plenty of times as he came through. He started off as a regular with Sierra, then he started seeing Lydia and made it a point to only come to her. Shortly after Lydia started seeing him outside of work. It was a disaster waiting to happen in Vicky’s opinion. She tried to warn Lydia but she just didn’t want to listen. “She’s been seeing him outside of work about a couple of months now.”

Monica let out a bitter laugh. “A client? Of course he’s a client.” She huffed rolling her eyes.

“I know, trust me I know.” Vicky sighed. She grabbed Monica’s hand in hers. “Now isn’t the time to lecture her. I already tried.”

“She’s gonna get hurt and I’m gonna be the one left cleaning up the mess.” Monica muttered. It wouldn’t be the first time Monica had picked Lydia back up after a man broke her heart.

“She’s very lucky to have you.” Vicky tried to comfort her and gave her a warm smile.

Monica glanced back at the clock on the wall behind Vicky. She didn’t have time for this. “There’s nothing I can do about it now plus I really need to go or I’m going to be late.” She stood from her seat followed by Vicky.

“Late?” Vicky asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“I may have a date tonight.” Monica said quietly looking at her feet. She looked back up to Vicky who was standing there with the biggest smile on her face. “You can’t tell anyone.”

“You never have to worry about that.” Vicky grabbed Momica’s arm as they walked towards the front. “So, a date? With who?”

“Alex set me up on a blind date. If I didn’t agree I’m sure the next step for her would be to sign me up for Tinder and there is no way in hell that is happening. The last thing I want is to see all the guys from the club on there.” Monica laughed. She didn’t know if any of the guys had Tinder but it wouldn’t surprise her. “Or for them to see me on there. His name is Luke, he’s handsome.” They stopped at the door and Monica showed Vicky a picture of Luke that Alex had sent her.

“He’s not just handsome he’s hot.” Vicky smirked holding the phone so she could get a closer look. “Where are you going?”

“Just the cute little italian place downtown.” The restaurant was casual enough but also nice enough for a first date. Not too much but just right, at least that was what Alex said.

“And what are you going to wear?”

Monica chewed on her lip. She hadn’t exactly thought that far ahead. “Um, I’m not sure.”

“Wear that little black dress you picked up the last time we went shopping.” Vicky suggested. “And the gold hoops I gave you for your birthday.”

Monica smiled giving Vicky a hug. “Thank you.” She mumbled into the embrace.

Vicky held her tight a moment before pulling back holding her a little longer as she took in the beautiful young woman before her. She was proud of Monica for actually going out on the date. “Good luck, he’s not gonna know what hit him when he sees you.”

Monica’s cheeks heated up as she smiled. Her confidence about the date improved a little with Vicky. She always knew just what to say to her to make her feel more at ease in any situation. “Thank you mom.” She murmured leaving a kiss to Vicky’s cheek. She then headed for the door to head home to get ready for the night. Thankfully she was a little more prepared now.

Back at home Monica checked her reflection one more time as she slipped the gold hoop earrings in. She had curled her hair letting her dark locks lay down and loose. Her makeup was light. She opted for just the basics, a little foundation, blush, mascara, and light gloss on her lips. She looked good, not too overmade up but still enough to notice.

It was just one date she reminded herself. She had been on plenty of dates before, this was no different.

Except it was.

She hadn’t been on a real date in at least two years now. She tried to date after Maddie was born but each man left after finding out she was a single mother and that Maddie would always come first. It was frustrating but Monica had gotten used to it. At the end of the day she’d rather have them run off before she or especially Maddie could get too attached. That would only make it more painful.

She stepped back from the mirror and smoothed out the little black dress Vicky had suggested. It was flowy, light, and flattering. The material moved with her as she walked down the hall. Slipping on her black flats at the door she grabbed her purse and keys before heading out locking up behind her.

Monica sat at a back booth in the small restaurant. She ran her finger around the rim of her drink as she waited. She checked her phone and huffed. She had been there an hour now and Luke so far was a no show. She knew she should have never agreed to being set up on a blind date.

Monica sent another text to Alex. She would give him another fifteen minutes but after that she was done.

The kind young waitress stopped by her table for probably the fifth time now. “Can I get you anything else?” She asked.

Monica hated the pitying look the girl wore. She needed to get out of here.“No, thank you. I’ll just take the check please.” She said politely. She had enough. It was time to just face it, she had been stood up.

Thankfully the girl got the check to her rather quickly bringing another loaf of bread with her for Monica to take home, on the house. Monica finished off her drink then made her way straight for the exit after paying. She couldn’t wait to be home.

“Monica?”

Monica looked over to the waiting area where she heard her name come from. That’s where she found Angel. “Angel? What are you doing here?”

Angel looked over Monica in her dress and all made up. She looked beautiful. “You on a date?” He couldn’t see why else she would be all dolled up. He wouldn’t lie to himself, the thought of Monica being out with some other man made him insanely jealous. He wanted to be the man taking her out, the man she dressed up for, the man who would treat her like the queen she was.

“Yes, I was, but he never showed.” She admitted. She felt like an idiot. “Are you?” She asked eyeballing his outfit. He was still in his usual attire, kutte and all.

Angel felt a little guilty for how relieved he was to hear the fucker didn’t show. He hoped she couldn’t tell. At the same time he was pissed that anyone would leave her waiting like that. “His loss,” he gave her a smile. He watched her tuck a strand of hair behind her ear as she gave him a small smile back. He couldn’t help himself, he found his gaze lingering a little too long on her neck.

Angel cleared his throat gathering his thoughts, “Nah,” he said, licking his lips, “just picking up some food, gonna take it over to Pops and have dinner there.” He tried to play it cool.

“That sounds nice. The bread here is fantastic.” She commented. She would know, she only had about two loaves as she waited on Luke.

“You’re more than welcome to join us.” Angel offered. “We ordered plenty of food. Pops and EZ wouldn’t mind.”

“Thank you, Angel. That’s very sweet of you.” Monica knew what he was doing. She appreciated it but she didn’t want to be pitied anymore. She would much rather go home and wallow in the embarrassment there. “But I think I’d rather just go home, run a bath and listen to my favorite true crime podcast or something. I still need to prepare for the party tomorrow anyways.”

Angel nodded. He understood her not wanting to but he had to offer. “EZ and I are going to bring the play set over in the morning. We’ll help set it up before the party.” For Maddie’s birthday everyone in the club pitched in to get her a play set fully decked out with a swing set, slide, and jungle gym for their backyard.

“Sounds like a plan.” Monica gave him a smile, “Maddie is going to love it.” She then leaned in to give him a quick hug before parting. “Have a good night Angel and tell Felipe and EZ I said hi. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You too, querida.” Angel got out just before Monica exited the restaurant. He watched her all the way until she got to her vehicle before realizing the hostess at the front had his food ready and waiting for him to take home.

Tag List: @carlaangel86 @starrynite7114 @mayans-sauce @capnsaveahoe @creepingfromthecorners @scuzmunkie

[thebinger77stuff-blog]

How to Hire a Face Painter for Your Event

So, you need to hire a face painter. While the art of face painting is nothing new to the majority of us who've frequented carnivals, fairs, and other events that draw the attention of children, the practice of hiring one for private, intimate affairs like birthday parties is. Previously, such efforts were reserved for those who wanted extravagance and had the money to bring it to even the simplest of get togethers. In recent years, the face painter has made onto the wish list of many a child with a birthday party looming around the corner... much to bafflement of some of their parents.

As with any entertainer you invite into your private events, hiring a face painter can be a stressful process if you aren't armed with a little basic knowledge and a few insider tricks to help you smooth out the waters. If you take the time to line up your ducks and employ the guidelines below, your little one will be thrilled to have an extra special treat for his/her special day, and you'll have some pretty colorful memories to pat yourself on the back with.

Hiring a painter isn't hard. However, it does take a little time if you want to ensure that you get your money's worth. With that said, let's jump right in!

Timing:

Face painters are the hot thing in party planning nowadays. So much so, that many corporations have begun hiring painters, clowns and other children's entertainers for store openings, family days and customer appreciation events. Why am I telling you this? Because corporations are, for the most part, three steps ahead and often book painters months before their event. What does this mean to you? It means that most established painters have limited availability, particularly when you call them 3 days before your Saturday event. If it is at all humanly possible, nail down the date and location of your event as soon as you can and then start looking for a painter. The more time you give yourself to locate your artist before your event, the better chance you'll have of getting one that knows how to handle your event,which equates to a lower stress level for you!

Finding the Right Painter:

I'm just going to come out and say it: Not all painters are created equally. This isn't a slight, it's a fact, and I'm sorry if some egos are wounded with this declaration. There are several degrees of separation within the face painter ranks and it's important to know something about that if you want to make an informed decision. Firstly, you have your professional face artist/painter vs. hobbyist painter. The professional painter will have a business-like approach to event and everything from the telephone consultation, to follow up conversations and their appearance will reflect that you're dealing with a professional. The hobby/new painter is either just getting started and is working his/her way up to professional status, or is truly someone who just sees face painting as a hobby. You will often pay more for a professional... and you know the saying about getting what you pay for. But anyone can call themselves a professional painter and the client would be none the wiser, so what are some things to expect from a true professional face painter?

• A website complete with information about the artist, service offerings and photos of faces that he/she actually painted. Buyer beware! Some painters "borrow" stock images or watermarked images from other painters. The reason for the warning is that you may not get the quality of painting you thought you were. If in doubt, ask the painter if every face displayed was painted by him/her. Craigslist isn't the necessarily the best place to find a professional painter; however, many pros post ads that link back to their websites on Craigslist to reach a larger customer base.

• A binding contractual agreement that not only details the service you'll be receiving, but assures that the painter you hired will not abandon you at the last moment. The artist may or may not require a retainer payment in order to confirm your booking.

• Professional products. Pros should NEVER use Acrylic, Tempera, Poster, or any paints intended for use in crafting. Craft glitter can be dangerous when used on the skin/face, so true pros opt for cosmetic glitter.

• Appropriate attire that distinguishes him/her from your guests. A suit and tie aren't necessary, but flip flops and shorts are often frowned upon.

• A clean, concise setup. Hygiene is just as important as first impressions and if the first impression is that of a hot mess, you're might want to reconsider.

• A repertoire of designs that the artist can execute efficiently and with expertise. A professional will only present images that he/she has painted and for the most part have those designs committed to memory.

Naturally, there aren't an unlimited supply of professionals and, to be honest, sometimes your budget simply won't allow for one. Yes, it's usually best to hire a professional, but sometimes you just can't. New painters are entering the professional ranks all the time and can still be held to the same high standards that the pros adhere to. Ask the questions and you'll be sure to find a painter able to do an excellent job for you.

Contractual Agreements/Retainers:

Today, many seasoned painters have turned to the contractual agreement as a way of securing party bookings. The agreement is usually a simple reiteration of the clients contact information, event information, and an agreement to the terms of the booking. This agreement is binding and two sided. It is a promise of service from the artist to you and likewise, a promise to honor the payment agreement you've made with the artist. The contract may contain terms that address things such as cancellation, rescheduling, deposits, illness, and setup.

Most painters who use contracts require them to be signed in order to confirm your booking. There may also be a request for a retainer/deposit which may or may not be refundable (depending on the terms of the contract). The retainer is a good faith deposit that is usually required to confirm the booking. The reasons for a retainer are many, but the primary reason has to do with supply and demand. You see, when an ethical painter agrees to a booking, he/she must then decline any other booking requests that would cause a conflict with that booking. If a client decides to cancel the event or booking without giving the painter adequate notice, that painter has not only lost money from that cancelling client but also all of the potential clients he/she had to turn away.

Pay careful attention to the terms of the booking agreement! If the painter requires confirmation (either via signed contract, retainer, or both) within a certain time period, make sure you do just that! Once that time period elapses, the contract is null and void and you may just find yourself back at square one in your search. If the painter decides to book with a client who is willing to take her terms and conditions seriously, there will be little you can do about if you didn't follow the specified directions to confirm you booking.

We all know that shitake happens, so try to keep the lines of communication open with your painter if you won't be able to meet the confirmation deadline. However, don't string the painter along in hopes of getting him/her to do your event without having to sign anything or pay anything upfront. Many painters will not show up for unconfirmed bookings and some even require the unconfirmed booking be paid in full electronically before agreeing show. The painter is fully within his/her rights to refuse to service your event if you refuse to comply with contact terms, it's as simple as that.

Insurance:

The majority of professionals carry some form of liability insurance. This isn't a requirement and you may encounter many newer or hobbyist painters who don't carry this protection. This coverage is a safeguard both for the client and the painter in the event of some unforeseen damage to property or injury the painter is responsible for. The painter may not openly inform you of the presence of liability coverage (due to those who would then seek to exploit with false claims), but the question of insurance should always be asked.

Materials:

First, a PSA: Acrylic paint is not face paint! The known carcinogenic ingredients of craft paints were never intended to be intentionally placed on the skin, as these harmful components can leach into the skin with prolonged contact. The manufacturers of these craft products have publicly confirmed this fact. Furthermore, the manufacturing environments for craft products aren't subject to the same stringent foreign contaminant allowances and hygiene standards as that of a cosmetics manufacturing facility.

Responsible painters only use FDA compliant, professional cosmetic quality materials. In fact, most liability insurance providers require that covered face painters only use pro face and body art makeup. The question of materials should always be approached. It's not rude, nor compulsive to insist upon knowing what be put on your guest's skin. The last thing you want is to have your guests calling you about allergic reactions to products that should never have been used in the first place.

Any face painter who denies the potential harm in using acrylic, poster, tempera, or other craft paints should be avoided. Some seasoned artists may even offer assurances based on their testimony of many years without complaint. The truth of the matter is, the low cost of the craft paint face paintings make it easier for parents to disregard any minor adverse reaction as the cost of getting their child's face painted. Unfortunately, many of these parents remain unaware of the safer, albeit more costly alternative available. Painters who use acrylics are able to charge so little for their work because their materials cost so much less than professional products. The same level of attention should be given to the type of glitter the painter uses. In addition to the difference in ingredients used to color craft glitter versus cosmetic glitter, most craft glitters are cut with sharp edges which could scratch the skin and eyes while cosmetic glitter, which is intended to be used on the face is cut with rounded edges to limit eye irritation.

If you don't ask any other questions of the painters you are considering, ask about their products. Seek out those who only use FDA compliant face and body makeup and cosmetic grade glitters. You'll be glad you did and so will your guests.

Portfolio/Website:

Ask your painter for his/her website, and if it's at all possible, take the time to look at it to get an idea of what you can expect. The website is also a good way to get an idea of the personality of the painter and his/her professionalism. If you're conducting your search for a painter via the internet, don't stop your search at the banner ads on the top of the search. Those ads are expensive paid ads and often aren't a reflection of the quality of painter you're getting as much as they are of the amount of money he/she allocates to advertising. In this age of SEO manipulation, search engine ranking doesn't guarantee you the best quality of painter you can afford. Take the time to review the pages of as many painters as you can. You may just be surprised at what you find!

Established painters pride themselves on having a portfolio of work that showcases their skill set. You should always ask to see a portfolio of the painters work. Ensure that what you are looking at is the painter's actual work as opposed to images "borrowed" from other artists. Don't fall prey to what we in the face and body art industry call the "bait and switch". There's nothing more disenchanting than to hire a painter who enticed you with images of the work of other (sometimes award winning) painters, only to find that what they produce looks nothing like what they advertised or that they have to paint using a book or picture as a guide. The majority of painters have their designs committed to muscle memory and even if we haven't painted a design in a while, a simple glance is all we need to get our creative mojo going. A portfolio full of pictures that a painter feels he/she can paint is not a guarantee that your expectations will be met in the amount of time promised.

Booking Duration:

What determines the amount of time you need to hire your painter for? Well, many things. Your face painter is, unfortunately, only human and therefore the amount of faces he/she can paint within a given time period is limited. The average number of faces that a painter can paint in an hour can vary anywhere from 8-30 (or more in some extreme, minimalist painting situations). This number is contingent upon the types of faces being painted. Full faces often take a while longer than paintings that cover less facial area. Professional painters train to be able to execute a wide variety of faces within an industry accepted time frame.

Your painter will be able to tell you the minimum and maximum number faces can be painted within the time period he/she specifies. With that information, he/she will recommend a minimum booking time required to paint all of your guests. It is highly recommended that you pay close attention to this information. Many a parent has been faced with extending the booking or the difficult task of deciding which guests won't be painted as a result of disregarding the painter's recommendation. Are there instances where the painter can paint one or two more faces than they originally quote? Certainly! Usually this is a byproduct of other guests requesting faces that take less time than was allocated per guest. However, when you tell your painter that you are only having 12 guests and he/she shows up find 20 eager faces waiting, the painter isn't obligated to paint any longer than the agreed upon booking duration without further compensation. If your painter has another obligation following your event, you may not be guaranteed a booking extension to keep those additional guests happy, so it's up to you to either be upfront about the anticipated number to be painted at your party or very selective about who want to be painted. Many parents underestimate the lure of face painting on older attendees and even adults and therefore only factor in the number of young children when quoting their guest count. This isn't your grandma's face painting. Today's face painting is more artistic and appealing to males, females, young and old. Just a little something to keep in mind.

For larger events, simple math will give you're an idea of what you can expect from a face painter. There is no way humanly possible for a face painter to paint 60 faces in an hour. That would equate to roughly 30 seconds per face after you factor in the time it takes to get a child situated for painting, fidget time, the reveal process and getting the child out of your chair. Once your guest list strays into the hundreds, you can expect a suggestion of multiple painters for multiple hours to cover that volume. Unrealistic expectations will only exasperate your painter and leave you with unsatisfied customers. One of the biggest misconceptions is that a request for the painter to only paint small cheek designs will be a suitable solution to the large guest list-tiny budget conundrum. In truth, it often takes a lot longer to paint a little Choo Choo train on a moving target (aka, a child's face) than to paint a full face Spiderman. The reason for this is that cheek art requires a greater level of detail in a small space and thus the painter must slow down in order to avoid painting a multi colored "whatzit?" on your child's face. So the bottom line is, you should listen to what the painter tells you about his/her limitations and what you need to do to facilitate your needs being met. There's nothing more frustrating for all involved than to marry unrealistic expectations to the very real, very human limitations of an entertainer.

Booking Costs:

A professional painter generally runs between $50/hr. and $200/hr. depending on your area and their level of experience. Keep in mind that there may also be a minimum booking duration. This cost may seem exorbitant at first glance, but it really isn't. You see, it's a rare painter who works a 40 hour work week. In fact, most painters work primarily on the weekend and there are only so many bookings that can be added to that weekend appointment book. It's generally a good idea to remember that you're not only paying for the time the painter will be painting for, but also the administrative, material, training, and transit costs that go into your booking. When you hire me to face paint for your event, you're not just paying me to come paint for you, you're paying for the continuous training I undergo in order to be able to deliver the quality of work you expect in a timely manner, the time it takes to do the booking paperwork, administrative costs of being a painter, as well as the time/gas it costs me to get to your event and back. A simple 1 hour booking could easily equate to a 3 hour block of transit/administrative time for which I'm not being directly compensated for.

So what are some of these additional cost factors painters must consider?

• Training: Most painters set themselves on a tract of constant training which can cost thousands per year.

• Materials/ Material replacement costs: A Professional painting kit can run anywhere from $150 for the hobbyist to thousands for the more established pro.

• Liability insurance

• Background checks

• Website & maintenance

• Administrative tasking: Those contracts and correspondances don't write themselves.

• Event preparation. This is particularly true if your event is a themed one that requires a special repertoire of design options.

• Travel time, gasoline and vehicle wear and tear.

As with everything, these factors have a huge bearing on the price point a painter sets for his/her services. For the most part, a painter's rate is the price point that would make doing your event worthwhile, which is why there is a minimum booking duration. If you are planning a multiple day/hour event the painter will usually be able to offer you a lower rate for the bulk booking duration.

Face painting isn't free for the painter. Even practicing costs us. If you are looking to secure a painter for a charity function, school event or other event that would solicit for service donations, keep in mind that what may appear to be a simple donation of time to you is actually a lot more to the painter you're soliciting. We must factor in the material replacement costs, the cost of missed booking opportunities (that would result from doing your event), and the possible benefit, if any, of doing your event could have for his/her business before deciding to offer his/her services pro bono. If someone told you that they got something for free from merchant A, would you not then look to merchant A for the same great deal? In the case of face painting, one free donation of services can easily beget a ton of calls for like donations. It's for this reason that many painters limit their charitable service donations to a scant few per year. It never hurts to ask, but don't be surprised or offended if your painter proposes options that make the arrangement more of a win-win for both of you. If you're running a charity or non-profit, the painter may also ask for proof of your tax status and just for the sake of argument, a private birthday party is not considered a non-profit event.

A quick note about the "e" word:

Another peeve of painters is the dangling of what I like to call the "exposure carrot" in the faces of potential painters. Exposure can be beneficial for the new painter trying to get their name out there, but it holds little value for the established painter. Just as you can die from exposure to the elements, a face painter's business can suffer from exposure to clientele who will expect them to also do their events for little to no compensation, particularly when the primary patrons to the event are not likely to hire a painter themselves. Exposure has its benefits, however, if you were able to find your painter through a web search or other advertisement then, odds are, he/she is pretty well exposed already Painter in thane.

[comicsinkcorporated-blog]

Interview with Screaming Villains, developer of Night Trap 25th anniversary.

CI: So how did development for Night Trap 25th anniversary first come about?

SV: It honestly started out as sort of a joke. Sometime after the failed Kickstarter, hardcore fans started attempting to recreate their own remake of Night Trap and some gaming sites were writing articles about it which I found kind of odd especially since they either didn't work or barely worked. I was already messing around with FMV stuff as a hobby and a friend of mine came up with the idea of myself making a working version running on a phone.

I threw it together in about 3-4 days, posted a video of myself playing it on Youtube and sort of remained anonymous about it. I got a local arcade owner that I know to post the video on his Facebook account since he was friends with an absurd amount of retro gamers and it started to spread and got about 5000 views within the first 24 hours.

The website fmvworld.com found it too and decided to contact Rob Fulop (one of the creators of Night Trap) to get his opinion on it. Another website called segabits.com also contacted Tom Zito (producer of Night Trap) to find out if he had any involvement so that sort of put me on their radar. After that I figured "what the hell?" and sent an email to Tom at about 3am and got a response in about 15 minutes. He just asked a couple of questions about it and asked for my phone number. The next day, he called me and 20 minutes into the conversation he asked if I would like to do an official version and I said yes.

CI: Limited Run Games PS4 version of Night Trap remains their fastest selling game, while the Nintendo Switch version may end up being their best selling game. Were you surprised by the popularity of this remaster?

SV: I don't think anyone was expecting that. It just came out of nowhere which I think helped a lot so thank god my friends were able to keep their mouth shut while I was working on it. Originally, there was only going to be 5000 copies of the game available. Once the announcement was made Josh Fairhurst from Limited Run Games and myself were pretty much stuck on Twitter the entire day so we definitely wasn't expecting the reaction it got.

After that, Josh said something like "We might need to increase the quantity" which at the time I don't think they ever exceeded 5000 on a game so it got bumped up to 6000. After that, he came back again and said "Maybe we should add a collectors edition" so now we're at 8000 for PS4. Then it was "Let's release a big box version for PC" so now there's another 2000. It just kept growing and growing and still didn't meet demand. What's funny is the guy that made the announcement trailer and myself was constantly googling Night Trap that day just to see what was being said but then we went to the trending section on Youtube and we're like "Oh my god! The trailer is trending higher than Gucci Mane!" For a brief moment a game that a lot of people considered terrible was all of a sudden popular and I think that's rad.

CI: What do you think it is about Night Trap that has made it so beloved amongst fans?

SV: It has a b-movie feel to it and doesn't take itself seriously. A lot of hate that it gets is sort of undeserving. The popular ones are usually "this is barely a game" or "this has bad acting". NT was made 5 years before it was finally released and intended for a console that used VHS tapes and the acting is very similar to 80's horror/thriller films. Unfortunately, it was the wrong time period when it was finally released in 1992 and at that point nobody was really reminiscing about the 80's like they do today. The fans that are super hardcore about Night Trap are usually gamers that have a great interest in movies in general. What surprised me was the number of people that I've talked to that said Digital Pictures influenced them to pursue a career in the film or tv industry.

CI: Were there any notable, unforeseen difficulties during development?

SV: Engine restrictions was the biggest issue. I figured out pretty quickly that a lot of the gaming engines available weren't really designed with FMV in mind so because of this I think the video quality suffered more than I would've liked. Luckily, this is no longer an issue with future releases.

CI: How did the Limited Run Games physical release come about?

SV: The dudes from My Life In Gaming actually brought it up. One of those guys lives down the street from me and very early in the development process I told him I was working on Night Trap and wanted a documentary to go along with it since it has a crazy history and I thought it'd be a cool promotional tool. He immediately suggested that I work with Limited Run Games. Over the next several months I kept telling him that I'd think about it whenever he brought it up.

About a month before the game was announced, Coury came to my house to film my interview for the documentary. After we were finished he brought up Limited Run again so I told him to go ahead and tell them what I was working on. Ten minutes later, I got an email from Josh Fairhurst. Limited Run is super rad and I honestly can't imagine doing any game without their involvement so I'll most likely harrass them with each release that I do. They actually ported Night Trap to Nintendo Switch. I can't say anything bad about those dudes. They've helped me tremendously.

CI: So the Nintendo Switch version of the game comes with Japanese & French audio, was this something Screaming Villains commissioned themselves? Did Night Trap have an original Japanese and French release? And what was the reasoning behind including the new audio?

SV: The Japanese and French audio actually came from previous releases. I got ahold of copies of the game that were originally released in Europe and Japan and just ripped the audio from the disks. Before it was released I started getting messages and emails asking for additional language options so that's where that idea came from.

CI: So Night Trap as a copious history with Nintendo, when the company called out the game out in court, vowing it would never appear on a Nintendo system, which lead to some bad blood between the original Devs and Nintendo. How did it feel to finally put Night Trap on a Nintendo System?

SV: I think it's cool. Digital Pictures always released their games on Sega consoles and 3DO so it's super rad that one of them finally ended up on a Nintendo console. Definitely long overdue. With Night Trap getting released on there with a Teen rating without cutting any content might hopefully stop people from claiming that the game uses violence against women to move the story further which is absolultely ridiculous along with everything else that people claim is in there that doesn't even exist.

CI: What was the decision to go with Double Switch as the next FMV game to remaster?

SV: Double Switch just seemed like the obvious choice since it's the same type of game as Night Trap but everything is improved on. You could I guess call it the spiritual successor to Night Trap. It's also my favorite game from Digital Pictures. I think it was expected too. Back in February, I met a lot of the people that worked on Friday The 13th The Game. When I was introduced to the Executive Director Randy Greenback the first thing he said to me was "Are you doing Double Switch next?!" Josh from Limited Run was campaigning for it pretty hard too since his aunt is a childhood friend of Debbie Harry who appears in the game. A very short teaser for it was showng during the Limited Run E3 conference. While watching the conference there were people leaving comments like "Just announce Double Switch already!"

CI: Night Trap special editions in the past have come with cassette tapes, patches, and even a VHS tape. Can you tell us if Double Switch special edition will come with anything like that?

SV: It most likely will but I have no idea what since I haven't really talked to Limited Run about those options yet. Usually what happens is they throw an idea at me and I pretty much agree to all of them. They're huge Sega nerds like I am so I trust them with their ideas. The idea of pogs came up for Night Trap but we ran out of time so it wouldn't surprise me if that happened with Double Switch.

I'm sure it'll come in a Sega CD jewel case too since Limited Run ordered about 15,000 of those. I will say that it's getting a completely new cover since the original ones are kind of lame and don't really fit with the type of game that it is.

It looks super rad! DS also has a super rad soundtrack that was done by Thomas Dolby, who wrote and performed the hit song "She Blinded Me With Science" so I was hoping that a stereo version of the soundtrack existed so we could release that but sadly it's all mono.

CI: There was some rumors that Screaming Villains have been working on bringing, Marky Mark: Make My Video to the PS4. Can you confirm this?

SV: Oh dear....that was a joke that went too far. What happened was Josh Fairhurst and I kept getting our tweets captured and used as news articles for very minor stuff. I hated it because I wasn't used to this sort of thing since Night Trap was my first console release and Josh was beyond frustrated with it because of a random person making a negative comment about Nintendo, which led to a gaming site writing an article claiming that Josh spoke negatively about Nintendo when it wasn't even him or even anyone affiliated with LR.

They were forced to update the article and admit that they were wrong. After that, we started tweeting each other about a re-release of Marky Mark but making it sound official like it was an actual thing that was happening just to see if anyone would start turning that into articles.

One night, I took it a step further and made a working version of the game running on a PS4 in about an hour and then the next day we both posted a link to a video showing it. That got yanked from Youtube within the first 20 minutes. We used to talk about it all the time trying to figure out how to make it happen since the idea is too ridiculous to ignore but no. No remake of Marky Mark Make My Video.CI: What other FMV games do you want to bring to modern consoles?

CI: What other FMV games do you want to bring to modern consoles?

SV: My original goal was to get as many games from Digital Pictures as I can which is pretty much happening now. Night Trap and Double Switch aren't the only ones coming. Outside of DP releases the goal is D which was originally released back in 1995. I feel like there's a ton of different things you can do with that one.

CI: Lastly is there anything you would like to say to the readers?

The obvious thing would be thank you to everyone that played NT25. It was a stressful process so it made me happy to see that people that were fans of the original enjoyed it. Also, if you're a fan of Digital Pictures releases then stick around because some super rad stuff is coming!

[lhmayo]

Dating Mistakes To Avoid for Happy Relationships!

Falling in love with someone is a wonderful feeling that can only be topped by the feeling when that love is mutual. Starting a new relationship is extremely exciting! However, even with such an unpredictable matter as love is, there are still some rules to follow.

After all, dating is one of the most powerful forms of human communication. Hence, in order to make it fruitful and happy, you need to understand the basics of human relationships. Here are some of mistakes to avoid for happy relationships.

1 Making your partner the center of your universe

The first thing on this list of dating mistakes people should avoid in order to secure a happy and long-lasting relationship may appear to be a little bit strange to some. One of the arguments against this point is that when you are genuinely in love with a person, you want to invest all of yourself into the relationship. You want to become “the one” so you put all your time and effort into making that relationship work.

However, this is not how healthy and happy relationships work. Of course, if you are going out with someone it is essential that you pay enough attention to them, as well as their needs and wants. Nonetheless, it does not mean that they have to replace every single other human being and relationship you’ve had in your life before you met them.

Abandoning your social circle for someone is toxic and incredibly detrimental for you. The reason for this is that by focusing too much on your lover, you will lose those bits of character that other people fostered in you. It is likely that by only ever hanging out with your significant other, you will adopt their personality features and become a version of them. While this is cute to some, in reality, this is not great at all. It can even lead to a potential break-up.

The best way to explain the correlation between starting to resemble your lover and them losing interest in you is this:

When the two of you meet and start to get to know each other better, each of you are a person of your own. And they fall for that person! If you eventually lose all of your unique traits and turn into their mirror reflection, they will be less intrigued by your existence.

In addition to that, it is incorrect to put your significant other’s needs above your own. While it is an important feature of a happy relationship to know how to compromise, you should not forget about your own comfort when dating someone. Do not cancel plans you have made with someone and really wanted to attend to just at your partner’s whim.

It is understandable that after going out for a while people merge their social circles. They introduce each other to their friends and mix and match the friendship groups. This is absolutely normal. The same way paying some little extra attention to your partner and choosing them before other people is normal.

You just need to remember not to limit yourself to just that one person by crossing out everyone else out of your life and abandoning your hobbies or goals that make your life a bit happier and fulfilling.

2 Trying to avoid arguments by bottling up your emotions and feelings

Another big mistake a lot of couples make that hinders them from having a happy and healthy relationship is avoiding arguments.

As weird as it may sound, the idea of arguments being unacceptable in a happy relationship is completely wrong. The truth is, arguments can be incredibly useful and healthy, and even take your relationship to the next level!

In fact, it is much better for your couple dynamics if both of you voice all of your concerns and talk them out, even if that could potentially lead to a heated conversation. If you discuss everything that bothers you at the time and let your partner know about your view of the situation, they are more likely to offer an explanation of their actions and subsequently suggest and alternative model of behaviour that would satisfy you both. After all, your lover is likely not a psychic and cannot possibly know how you feel about certain things unless you explicitly tell them.

Alternatively, if you choose not to express your disagreement and dissatisfaction simply because you would much rather swallow that instead of spending a couple of hours working out the problem, you are in for a hugely delayed scandal. It is human nature to accumulate all the unresolved conflicts and bottle up feelings instead of truly letting them go. Unfortunately, there is a limit to this.

Eventually, there will a be a thing, and often the tiniest one, which will push you over the edge and make you burst. Naturally, this will have adverse effect on your relationship and will likely end in a couple of days of not talking to each other.

3 Ignoring red flags

Despite there not being a definite timeline for dating mistakes, this mistake is more relevant to those relationships that are still early, where people are still getting to know each other.

When you are only starting dating someone and still get butterflies in your stomach just from thinking about them, it is usual to idealize them in your head. Obviously, you are still new to this person and cannot possibly know about all their annoying little habits that are only identifiable to the people they live with. To you, they appear to be perfect. And this is, indeed, a wonderful feeling! However, this is exactly where the risk of ignoring red flag comes into the scene.

Unfortunately, people in love tend to not pay attention to the things that they do not like. Instead, they choose to focus on what is good about their lover. However, this can be extremely detrimental in the long run. If you want to be in a happy relationship, you need to be with someone who you are compatible with and who fits you well. If someone does not, they are probably not meant for you. It is wrong for you to think that you can “fix” them, and make them good for you.

What you need to do is to notice all the red flags as they come and terminate the relationship as soon as it becomes unacceptable for you.

4 Not establishing clear boundaries

This mistake links back to the first point on this list since they are closely connected. In fact, not establishing clear boundaries often becomes the cause of falling into obsessive behaviours and focusing on your partner too much.

This is why you need to remember that the two of you are not to be indivisible. It is okay if both of you have your own personal space which the other one would not violate. It is okay to have some privacy, and it is not to foster any jealousy or secrecy. In fact, privacy in relationships does not equate to secrecy. Privacy is needed to be able to be your own person and is not related to you having secrets from your partner.

In addition to that, it is undeniable that the world of dating is wide and varied. It means different things for different people. Everyone has their very own understanding of what is acceptable in a relationship and what is best be avoided. it is important for the two of you as a couple to decide what aspects are okay with you, and which ones cross the line for you.

All in all, you need to be aware of the fact that despite being together, the both of you should still remain your own separate entities.

5 Comparing your current significant other to the relationships you have had in the past

They say, your current self are made of your dreams and aspirations, your thoughts and your past. When it comes to dating, however, it is best that you keep your past out of the equation.

Of course, it is completely normal to remember some bits of your past relationships and respect the lessons you have learnt from dating those people. What is not adequate, however, is constantly comparing and contrasting your current partner to your exes. Not only that is irrelevant, but that also makes your significant other doubt your feelings for them since it seems like you are not over that person you dated before them.

Besides, you should also remember that no people can be exactly the same.

Therefore, you will not be able to have the same experiences that you went through in the past.

If you want to have a happy relationship, it is pivotal for you to remember that each and every relationships is a fresh start and you have to treat it as such. Live in the moment, and look up to the things you will go through with your current partner as opposed to reminiscing over the stuff that you and your ex shared.

6 Lacking in the communication department

This perhaps, could be one of the primary and worst mistakes people in relationships make, lack of communication between partners. The truth is that any relationship, let alone a romantic one, are based on human trust and communication.

By dating someone, you give that person an access to your heart and let them be your companion through thick and thin. However, even then they do not have access to your brain and cannot possibly know what exactly is on your mind. And neither can you.

As it has been discussed previously, you can actually save your relationship by arguing as that will help you express your feelings and let your partner know what you’re thinking. However, it is not necessarily negativity that you need to express. Relationship is a continuous communication process. It is helpful when two people talk about their thoughts and ideas.

The worst thing that one can do when dating is assuming what their partner means. And act based on those assumptions. That can instantly worsen your relationship and bring it to a logical end. It is absolutely essential that you discuss everything that needs to be discussed.

Moreover, it is also important for you to not only listen to your partner but also hear what they are saying. Often, we agree to have a conversation yet we are still not ready to communicate. That is ineffective and does not give any positive results. In fact, that only ever leaves both parties unhappy and annoyed with each other. Therefore, in order to communicate with your significant other successfully, you need to actually trust what they are saying and give them the benefit of the doubt.

7 Spending too little (or too much) time with each other

Something a lot of couples are guilty of is not being able to find the right amount of time to spend with each other. Both too little and too much time spent with each other can be harmful to the relationship and result with dissatisfaction from both parties.

When you are not investing enough time into your relationship and end up being too distant from your significant other, you risk losing the connection with them. While it is a gradual process that takes a lot of time to fully happen, it is likely to be irreversible. Once you lose touch with your loved one, you will find it extremely difficult to reconnect.

Therefore, it is important to schedule your life in such a way that the two of you would have some time to be intimate with each other and just have some quality time together.

At the same time, however, it is vital that you do not overdo it. Being together all the time can be rather negative for your relationship. It can lead to the aforementioned dating mistakes such as making your partner the center of your universe and your boundaries being blurred out.

To put it simply, even if you love them a lot, being together too much can make you get bored of them or even make them start getting on your nerves. It is important to have an opportunity to take small breaks in your time spent together, so you would have a chance to start missing each other and then have an outburst of oxytocin when you finally see each other!

8 Going with your brain and not your heart

At last but definitely not the least, love is an incredibly complicated concept. While scientists claim that love is simply a chain of chemical reactions in your brain, in reality, it is so much more than that! Love is wonderful in its spontaneity and unpredictability. And the worst thing you can do when dating somebody into a happy relationship is to try and calculate it.

[sosaidthedragon]

Genin

Fandom: Naruto

Rating: E

Pairing: None

Summary: A look at Mitsume's first meeting with her genin squad.

Nouga had always dreamed of becoming a kunoichi. Ever since she first saw her father training his own genin squad, she had known that being a ninja was the only thing she would ever want to do with her life. She studied night and day from every last bit of material she could get her hands on - reference scrolls, advanced texts from the Academy, her father's advice - anything and everything she soaked up like a sponge in the hopes of being the best. Being Hokage seemed a bit boring, in her opinion, as the job seemed to be little more than sitting around filling out paperwork, but becoming a renowned ninja feared and respected the world over, like Namikaze-Hokage had been, that was exciting. She wanted to be the top of the list, the one the Hokage would turn to above anyone else, the go to for tasks no one else could complete.

Her hard work seemed to have paid off, too. She was near the top of her grade, edged out only by the notorious Uchiha Sasuke, but she wasn't particularly upset by that. The Uchiha were notoriously gifted when it came to the ways of shinobi, and the fact that she could consistently remain only one or two points behind one of them left her feeling confident. She may not be able to compete with Sasuke then and there, but she was close - closer than anyone else by a long shot. Not even Haruno Sakura, with her impeccable chakra control, could get close to Sasuke's level of skill, and the fact Nouga could put her leagues above everyone else. She was confident if she practiced hard enough, and studied long enough, she could claw her way up to Sasuke's level, and even surpass him.

Her teammates she wasn't too sure about.

Saburo wasn't anything special. Neither of his parents or grandparents had been shinobi, which meant the fact he made it into the Academy at all was a bit of a surprise, since he would have had no training before applying to enter, and the entrance exams would have been that much tougher. He applied himself to his studies enough to maintain a perfectly average grade, poised just so to squeak by without drawing attention from Iruka-sensei, good or bad. She'd never talked to him before, but from what she had observed in class, he was perfectly content to be exactly average, though she suspected he would be able to give some of the better students, like Aburame or Haruno, a run for their money if he could work up the motivation.

Ohaku was a bit of a different story. He wasn't exactly a failure, but he barely stood above complete slackers like Uzumaki Naruto and Nara Shikamaru in his grades. Unlike them, however, he obviously struggled - his chakra control was far from what would be expected from graduates, he couldn't seem to remember material for tests, and he seemed to be constantly working himself to the limit just to understand the basics. She might have expected that from someone like Saburo, who had no training to speak of before the Academy, but she knew Ohaku came from a long line of respected shinobi, who had no doubt been training him since he could walk. He obviously wanted to do well, but it seemed obvious, at least to Nouga, that being a shinobi just wasn't the path for him. He had no natural aptitude whatsoever, and while that didn't preclude someone from becoming a shinobi, it drastically cut their chances, and she was a bit surprised he made it to graduation. It wouldn't shock her at all if he was one of the unlucky ones who remained an eternal genin, like Might Dai - and unfortunately for him, he didn't have anything that set him apart like the taijutsu expert.

She wasn't as upset as Naruto had been about the team assignments. She wasn't happy, but she wasn't upset. Their squad leader should be able to whip them into shape enough that they could get into the Chunin Exams, and once they hit the one-to-one fights in the later rounds, she was confident she'd be able to pass and leave them behind.

If their jonin ever showed up, that was.

Almost everyone else in the class had split off and disappeared with their squad leaders nearly an hour ago, with the exception of Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto, who's sensei also seemed to be running late. Nouga hoped it was because they'd been given some sort of last minute task by the Hokage, or at the very least were running late because they had gotten involved in a practice match or were exhausted from a tough mission and over slept, but as the clock ticked ever onward, she began to get the feeling that wasn't the case. Saburo had long ago fallen asleep in his chair, head tipped back and feet kicked up while he snored loudly, and Ohaku had taken the opportunity to study, though he was obviously becoming agitated with sitting still, twitching his foot in a rapid, irritating tempo against the floor. She had taken out a book written by a monk from the Land of Earth, which had been particularly difficult to get her hands on, about a difficult sort of meditation he had perfected, while Sakura stuttered her way through a one sided conversation with Sasuke and Naruto slowly went insane.

Then, just after Naruto placed a dirty eraser in the doorway, nearly two hours after their teachers were supposed to arrive, they finally made an appearance, with the sort of timing usually only seen in movies. The chalk-dust filled eraser made a direct hit on the uneven gray hair of the famed Hatake Kakashi, who either legitimately hadn't noticed it there or, more likely, had and just didn't care to put forward the effort to avoid it. From behind him in the hall, someone snorted out a laugh, meaning, to everyone's relief, both jonin had finally arrived. She was a bit disappointed Kakashi was the instructor for Sasuke's squad, but her own instructor was no one to shake a stick at, either.

Kedamonoshu Mitsume had made a name for herself over the years - according to her entry in Nouga's bingo book, she had become the Rampaging Beast of the Leaf after demonstrating an awesome combination of taijutsu and her clan hiden that allowed her to not only decimate large groups in the span of a few moments, but hunt down those who tried to escape across any sort of terrain. With the peace that had fallen over the village after the war, however, there hadn't been many opportunities to display her combat prowess, and she was known largely for her tracking abilities rather than her sheer brutality in combat. Compared to Kakashi, having her as a sensei was a bit of a let down, but she was no slouch, and most sensible people would be rightfully terrified to go toe to toe with her or have her on their trail.

"Arara, Shicchi, looks like you got the fun group."

At the sound of her drawl, laced with laughter, Kakashi twitched slightly, and it was obvious by the tone of his response he was seriously considering taking a swing at her, probably for using such a cutesy nickname in front of his students. It wouldn't surprise Nouga in the least if Kedamonoshu-sensei was only late because she'd spent the day annoying him.

"Care to trade, Michan?"

She just snorted, still smiling to herself, and finally turned to face her students. Nouga decided, after looking her over, that she had absolutely nothing noteworthy about her appearance. She was reasonably attractive, but her general disheveled appearance kept her from being stunning or beautiful - her pretty face and curves were offset by her incredibly choppy hair and severely worn out clothes. The only remotely distinctive feature she had was the intricate black tattoo that ran down her right arm, but as far as Nouga could tell, it was a clan marking of some sort, as other members of the Kedamonoshu clan she had seen in the village had tattoos that were very similar, if not the same. Her strength was readily apparent - although not burly or masculine, she looked solid, especially standing next to someone like Kakashi, who was far more lean, with the muscles in her arms distinct in spite of her hands simply being shoved into her pants pockets.

"Nah." She replied simply. "That blonde is way too much of a headache."

Ignoring Naruto's squawks of disapproval, she gave all three of her students a once over, still smiling slightly to herself.

"Alright you three, let's get a move on. I've got a date at six, and if you make me late, I'll break your legs."

Although it was said with the same, lazy tone she'd been mocking Kakashi with, and the same lazy smile she'd had since she arrived, Nouga felt a chill travel down her spine. It felt like the air had shifted, suddenly going cold - Nouga jumped up immediately, before she even realized she was moving, filled with an overwhelming sense of anxiety. Saburo, who had opened one eye when the duo entered, smoothly got up from his spot, and out of the corner of her eye, Nouga saw Ohaku snap his pencil before scrambling to shove everything into his bag.

Nouga knew logically her new sensei wouldn't cripple them, but she got the distinct feeling it was best not to test that theory.

The four of them didn't go far. Just a short walk from the academy, Kedamonoshu-sensei decided a stone wall was the perfect place to sit down, and settled on it with her legs stretched out in front of her, crossed at the ankles. No one dared sit next to her - instead, Saburo flopped down and leaned against a sign post on the opposite side of the path, while Nouga settled into a proper kneeling position just off to one side and Ohaku scrambled to sit cross-legged off to the other. Again, Kedamonoshu-sensei appraised them briefly, before nodding to herself.

"Since we're going to be a team, we should probably get to know one another, so let's all tell each other a little bit about ourselves."

"What do you want to know?" Ohaku asked, his face screwed up the same way it was whenever he took a test.

"Whatever seems important, I guess. If you have any specialties or things you want to focus on, what your hobbies are, things like that." She shrugged casually.

There was a beat of silence, after which, she sighed through her nose in a way that clearly said she thought dealing with them was the most tedious thing in the world. Nouga had a dozen things to say on the tip of her tongue, but found that she had forgotten how to speak, remaining silent as she began to panic for fear she'd upset her sensei. Saburo, for his part, just grunted, and Ohaku looked like his head might explode as her wracked his brain for a response.

"Arara, I'll go first, then. My name is Kedamonoshu Mitsume, and my specialty is tracking. I like red bean ice cream, and I don't like miso unless it's in broth. My hobbies are fishing and listening to radio dramas."

As she finished, Saburo decided it was easier to just answer her and get it over with, instead of try and ignore her. Shifting so he sat up a little higher, although he still looked half asleep, he cleared his throat and began to speak.

"I'm Hanakawa Saburo. I don't have a specialty that I'm interested in. I like dango and I don't like spicy food. My hobby is cooking."

Finding her nerve, Naguo finally managed to reply.

"My name is Yamata Nouga. I have a lot of areas of interest, but I especially like genjutsu. I like curry but I dislike barbecue pork. My hobbies are reading and meditation."

Then, after a few more beats of silence, Ohaku spoke up.

"I'm, uh, I'm Kokusekigaki Ohaku. Um, I guess my favorite specialty is, mm, ninjutsu. M-my favorite food is okonomiyaki, and, ah, and I don't have a food that, uh, I hate. Ummm, I guess my h-hobby is st-studying, but I, ah, I also like gardening."

To the relief of Ohaku's obviously frazzled nerves, Kedamonoshu-sensei smiled peacefully when he finished, obviously not upset he had floundered his way through the introduction.

"Now that we've all gotten to know one another, we can talk about training. Tomorrow, I'm going to test your skill so I know where to start, so meet me at the river down the road at seven am sharp. Be sure to come prepared like you were leaving for a mission."

Without waiting for a response, she pushed off the wall, immediately walking away from the academy and the trio sitting on the path. Nouga started to stand to follow, before she realized Kedamonoshu-sensei was waving back at them over her shoulder in an obvious show of dismissal.

"Good talk. See you tomorrow."

Unsurprisingly, Kedamonoshu-sensei was late. Not by nearly the two hours she had been the day before, but late nonetheless - probably, Nouga guessed, because there were snails that moved faster than she walked. That worked in Saburo's benefit, since he had shown up five minutes late himself, trying to eat a bento laden with way too much food and walk at the same time. As with the day prior, their sensei had a small smile on her face, hands crammed into her pockets, although notably, her chunin vest seemed to have shrunk a couple sizes, fitting her far better at the cost of gaining a few off-shade patches. Nouga wondered what happened to the other one, and why her sensei owned one three sizes too large to begin with, but there wasn't really time for questions about her wardrobe.

"Good, you're all here." She smiled brightly, producing a kitchen timer from her pocket, winding it as she talked. "The four of us are going to play a sort of game, like hide and seek meets tag. All you three need to do is avoid being tagged for one hour. If one of you does get tagged, then all three of you become it. If you're still it when the hour is up, then we'll do it again, and again, until you win."

It seemed simple enough, if a bit juvenile, though Nouga could see the purpose behind it. The supposed game would let Kedamonoshu-sensei see them in both defensive and offensive roles, and give her a solid idea of where to start with their training. Saburo either caught on to the purpose right away, or more likely didn't care, while Ohaku opened his mouth, obviously confused.

"Okay? Okay. Begin."

Without warning, the ground below their feet split apart as if rocked by hidden explosives. Nouga leaped backwards, away from the flying chunks of dirt and grass, desperately trying to get a look at what had blown apart the very earth, only for Kedamonoshu-sensei to appear not more than a few inches from her face, arm pulled back in what would certainly be a bone-shattering punch. Her smile remained in place, but instead of seeming peaceful and calm, it felt like the maniacal grin of a murderer about to take their next victim.

Nouga would swear, for the rest of her days, that her life flashed before her eyes in that moment, as she squeezed them shut in terror.

Kedamonoshu-sensei's fist never connected - instead, she had stopped short, to gently poke Nouga in the forehead with the tip of one finger, though the air around them seemed as slow to understand as Nouga herself. It whipped wildly around from the force, feeling like knives on her skin, roaring so loudly in her ears she thought they might pop.

"You're it."

Then she was gone. A massive crater remained where the three of them once stood, and the timer still sat on the rock where she had placed it, but all other signs Kedamonoshu-sensei even existed had vanished. There wasn't a footprint, a rustle of leaves or disturbed blade of grass to tell them where she had gone. Ohaku claimed she had gone left, while Saburo immediately snapped that no, she had gone right.

It was going to be a very long day, Nouga thought, rubbing her forehead as the two began to squabble. A very, very long day.

[hokkaidodo-blog]

there’s snow business like hoe business

In my life so far, there have been many things that I have started to do. Many things that have interested me greatly and captured my intrigue and thus,  I have made it my mission to accomplish said things. This process usually includes equal parts of both impulse buying tat from the Internet that I am convinced will be beneficial to me in some way for my new hobby and also developing slightly obsessive behaviours with regards to the aforementioned new hobby and putting every second of my spare time into it. This undoubtedly all occurs before the dawning realisations that I was, in fact, unfortunately born with the attention span of a goldfish and that either 1) I’m bored shitless of my new hobby and can’t believe I was ever interested in it in the first place,  or 2) I have a huge tantrum because I’ve started something new and difficult for 10 minutes a week but somehow I’m not automatically a pro at it immediately. The third step is the abandonment of my new hobby never to be seen, mentioned or eluded to in any way, shape or form for the rest of my fickle existence. My current list of personal pathetic pursuits includes – but is by no means limited to – the following things:

Learning German. Ask me what I ate for breakfast and as long as it’s cereal or an apple, I can tell you in German.

Dance aerobics classes. Lol.

Intricate adult colouring books. My eyes go fuzzy after colouring one leaf and my friends think I’m mad when I turn around and “hey guys, look at this cool art-nouveau squirrel I just spent three hours colouring in 47 shades of brown.”

Going to the gym. Cried for two weeks solid when I pulled a toe muscle and then was appalled and disgusted when I didn’t wake up the next day after one mild workout with a toned tummy and arms like Popeye.

Eating healthier. People who say they prefer a green smoothie over a share-bag of pretzels and a pot of cheese and chive dip are fake. Steer clear and do not trust.

THIS BLOG. Somehow, it’s been two months since I last posted my last post which ALSO started out similarly by saying something along the lines of “omg lol how has is been so long since I’ve written?!” lol.

Anyway, this time I present to you another smattering of pictures and verbal diarrhoea (is this still verbal?) digital diarrhoea and stories and stuff and a bunch of I-don’t-even-know-what from the past two months.

To start with, the season here turned faster than my stomach when sometimes I would get home from a terribly draining and emotionally tiring day at school of playing with poster paint and lentils in GSCE Art BTEC and ask Mum what we’re having for dinner, to which she’d reply with the dreaded: “mackerel salad”.  One day I was still in my T-shirt and jumper, walking to campus wading through piles of golden foliage and then suddenly two days later and I’m skating to school on sheet ice covered in bruises from spectacular tumbles and a good three feet of snow on either side of me. A lot of my friends in sunny Spain or France or even Tokyo say to me (whilst surprising smug giggles) “how’s Sapporo, Ross? Enjoying the snow?” to which I adamantly reply, “It’s not that cold!” and then rummage for a third pair of socks and my thermal undies. It’s beautiful though and I don’t regret a thing!

Snow business like hoe business, amirite

As for Christmas, – and no I am not a Scrooge – I am not feeling at all Christmassy this year. People still work and have classes on the 25th - which is gross for me - but there are still decorations and huge light displays up until midnight on Christmas Day, when as soon as it is over every trace of the festive season is torn down and everybody gets ready to welcome in the New Year.

“can you take a picture of us, we’re a couple”

This being said, I will definitely miss getting plastered with my Grandma on Christmas eve by glugging a bottle Amaretto and then waiting for her to request that the entire family sings “O Come Let Us Adore Him” in five part harmony whilst accompanied by Grandpa on the stylophone; sitting around in my pajamas on Christmas morning, laughing for thirty minutes because the puppy gets present opening priority and then Mum gets the black bin-sack out because he’s covered the living room in wrapping paper confetti and glitter; and then also eating Iceland out of their entire supply of frozen duck spring rolls, mini pizzas and garlic mushroom bites on Boxing Day, before complaining about how full you are yet still continuing to inhale a quarter pound of the leftover turkey, half a block of cranberry Wensleydale (with pickles), some coleslaw, a pile of bubble and squeak and some Mingles whilst the same annual festive episode of Top of the Pops lulls you gently to sleep with Fairytale of New York and Slade.

OTARU

I didn’t realise how much I missed the ocean until I hadn’t seen it for a couple of months and the sea was longer than a 15 minute drive from my house. Luckily, the seaside town of Otaru is just a train ride away from Sapporo and it felt so good for my soul to be back by the water. (Hippie child alert.)

Otaru is a picturesque little town famous for glassblowing and its beautiful canal which is lit up with candles every year for it’s winter festival. Ironically (yet gruesomely hilarious to me), after visiting the aquarium which is apparently super famous, and admiring all of the fab fishies and strange creatures, we went to a seafood restaurant and had some of the best sushi and sashimi that I have eaten so far. In other news: the demolition of a seven-tier soft-serve ice cream that left me questioning my lactose tolerance; the discovery of yet more face-cut out standees that left us all with a questioning outlook on Japan; and a two-storey shop stocked full of music box pieces. Who knew the demand for that was so high?

“Hey guys, can one of you Google whether or not you can die from eating too much ice cream because I don’t feel all that hunky dory right now”

A bear in his pants holding tissues! Japan!

Yes! It’s meant to be a penis! Awesome!

Why is it that when it comes to telling people about what you’ve been up to that your brain just turns to porridge and you can’t help but reply with the bog-standard “Oh the usual; you know, not much”.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

So, three months in (eek) and what are my thoughts on Japan? Well…

1)      Japanese people (in general) seem to be very organised and structured. Take for example, the rush hour on the underground. In London it wouldn’t be unusual to have an unwashed armpit of a local hipster thrust under your nose on your morning commute whilst a lady next to you gossips loudly on the phone to her girls about the chlamydia disaster that happened with Tony last night. This may or may not be accompanied by the gentle pitter-patter sound of some 90s trance music seeping out from underneath some headphones somewhere; twelve people standing on your foot; a distinctive scent wafting from the gentleman opposite you who forgot to eat breakfast so decided to delight everyone with his loud munching of a Lamb & Mint from The Traditional Cornish Pasty Company; and occasionally the fleeting anxiety that comes with frantically patting yourself down and hoping that you haven’t dropped your wallet.

The Japanese subways are deathly quiet, however. Sometimes it’s peaceful in the morning, and sometimes it’s unnerving. You’re awkwardly scared to breathe in case it tickles someone’s neck and you’re all in a line facing the same way and you daren’t get in the way of the station attendant with the big wooden shield who squeezes you in so the doors can close. There’s no crazy rush or crowd on platforms, just two neat lines and an unsettling calmness for someone who is used to (and who quite enjoys) mild chaos and hecticness.  

 2)      Went to the Asahi Beer factory; the most lit class field trip ever. With free beer. 10/10 would recommend.

3)      Japanese staff in restaurants, ticket offices, libraries etc absolutely will NOT speak Japanese with a non-Japanese person. It’s incredibly frustrating. As someone who’s main focus here is to improve my language skills, it is tough to do so when you struggle to get natives to treat you like anybody else. Whether some Japanese people just assume that there is categorically no way that a non-Asian person could become conversational in Japanese, I have no idea. For example, you will order in a restaurant in near-perfect Japanese to which you are just started at blankly. The waitress turns to my Japanese friend who repeats word-for-word and accent-for-accent exactly what I just said, and everything is fine. This usually continues for a few minutes and each time leaves me questioning my intelligence, my language competency and my foreigner-ness, and also just what do I need to do to try and win over the Japanese? (Video link)

I think that’s it for now. I’m sure I had more thoughts so I’ll try and write them here more often when I remember them (part 2 of me saying that). Nothing much is happening in the next few weeks, it’s that kind of winter jaded-ness that happens every year. BUT – everything is beautiful, I’m still smiling and I’m still in Japan and very lucky to be alive. I’m looking forward to January where things will kick-start again, and I can start travelling and exploring some more. Just got to finish 2017 with as much love as possible and give it a good end.

BONUS PICS: Some pretty skies at the Hokkaido Historical Village and me riding a humpback whale at the museum. You’re welcome.

Every single typewriter stamp from an old Japanese printer press.

I'm putting on my shades to cover up my eyes, I'm jumping in my ride, I'm heading out tonight ;)

[queenisobelle]

48-Hour Tinder Journey

Modern dating is a very complicated thing as an in denial adult these days. If you are one of those singles among their group of happily married, engaged, or officially/unofficially committed group of friends, maybe you will wonder where you shall be seeing yourself years from now when you have set upon yourself the time or age of which you want to get married, have kids and start a messy but happy family. Pressures come everywhere ranging from social media memes to that aunt who keeps asking you about your plan on getting married. Why do they even do that? Will they pay for the wedding? Will they change those dirty diapers of your future little humans? The point is that those unnecessary single-shaming and social pressures come from everywhere and for someone who’s happy with his life, those things shouldn’t have mattered. Or if indeed they mattered, it wouldn’t have been such a big deal to stay as a lone wolf among the pack of hyenas which are high on endorphins.

Meeting in person comfortably is not for everyone so most people opt to use online dating. On a normal way of starting a face-to-face conversation with a complete stranger, it would’ve been awkward. I mean, how do you start a conversation from scratches? How do you approach a person without looking like a disoriented potato who forgot how to talk to humans? May it be on dating sites or social networks, the most common is through dating apps. One of the most popular apps is Tinder. Such app had existed for quite a while now that I even heard about it since I was in my junior years in college. Back then, I thought it was just a puzzle game app so I had to uninstall it out of disappointment when I found out that it was a dating app.

Fast forward. It’s 2020 and my bisexual male friend told me about how he met a decent guy from the app and how their first date went absolutely well so they eventually enjoyed the night that he ended up ditching our plans to catch up over a bottle of my favorite Mojitos tequila. He told me to try using the app coz you bet my magnetic bookmarks from Big Bad Wolf that I’m single AF. So I gave the app a chance and installed it and set a 48-hour countdown timer because the least thing that I want over my uncommitted hypothalamus is to be dependent on the app for social encounters. I’m an introvert and it could be a wicked thing to be stuck in a virtual dating app.

*I got mistaken as a trans quite a few times. LOL. Not offended, though.

Over the course of 48 hours, after countless “swipe lefts” and “swipe rights”, my profile had a few matches which means you both swiped right on each other’s profile signifying a mutual interest based on the displayed pictures and other details such as but not limited to age, sexual orientation and preference, hobbies, anthem, and a short bio of what you want the other person to notice about your profile. Out of those matches, not everyone is going to chat first so I did the first chat on some guys that I matched with. Out of those few chats, I have categorized the different types of guys that you can meet in Tinder into three categories: friendly, naughty, and boring. I can’t speak for the other guys that I didn’t match with or those guys that I matched with but didn’t chat either. The three classifications of the guys I chatted in Tinder are merely based on how they responded to my decent and friendly chats.

I figured out that most guys in that platform are not so bad at all. Most of whom I had encountered were friendly guys who share at least one same interest with me – books, TV series, travels, etc., etc. Some of them ended up being my friends or on mutual following in the other social media platforms. Those types of guys are usually easy going in chats and they actually keep the conversation alive and flowing. If given the chance to meet one of them in the future, I’m totally up for it and I'm sure it’s going to expand my friendship circle.

*I unmatched already so I cannot retrieve the convo from Tinder. We followed each other in Instagram so I had it, instead.

While most guys are friendly and decent, there are those assholes who want nothing but to hook up with girls. I know it’s the modern world where love is scarce and lust is rampant so having awesome sex is like the driving force for some people to date even without the mental and emotional connection to someone. Yes, this generation has gone so low to that level. So yeah, there are those who chat and specifically ask if I’m into hook ups or casual sex or FUBU but the thing is I am not. I know it would make me sound like a boring conservative but I still believe in love and the pure intentions of the soul. I dearly hope that those type of guys will realize that, too instead of just having the cliché mindset that “Boys will be boys.” The thing I hate about these fuckboys is that their hobbies of just fucking anyone available has been becoming a social disease which affects every life that they recklessly touch. I call it the “fuckboy chain reaction theory” which as I see is like a domino effect from engaging in casual sexual exploits. See for example, a fuckboy fucks a random girl and leaves her since it’s rare for that type of social engagement to be emotionally mutual. Then, the girl feels abandoned and desperately starts looking for something that she thinks is lacking in her life just because a random asshole made her feel that way. Next is that she eventually finds a guy that will satisfy what she thinks is lacking in her. Again, it’s rare for that type of social engagement to be mutual so either of them will feel abandoned and start looking again and so on. It becomes a recurring cycle of wrecking different lives in search for that emotional fulfillment from sexual feats. I do hope they find the one already so that the chain link will break. It’s not that I am against premarital sex. Just do it as long as you feel connected – not just physically. Again, some of these horny predators are in Tinder. Swiper, beware.

Most guys in Tinder are friendly and some are just horny assholes. Unfortunately, a few of them are just plainly boring. Late and thoughtless replies. Lame topics. Complete utter nonsense. I know, it’s completely normal to not know what to chat about but isn’t it just about the art of asking questions? Then again, we can’t force them to be someone that they are not so we are just going to leave them as they are. At least they are not those sexual predators, right?

I deleted my account as well as the app at the end of the 48-hour involvement, and left a message to all of those whom I chatted with because I wanted to be courteous and polite and also because I wanted to let them know. The message went like this:

“Hello! I’m uninstalling the app because my 48-hour personal trial is gonna end. Thank you for the time here. I’m gonna write a Tumblr post about 48-hour Tinder journey. Good luck!”

Tinder is not a bad place to be when you want to virtually meet people nearby. You just have to have the ability to discern people in swiping without initially meeting them. Also, be careful of catfishers and posers. If you get lucky, maybe you’ll find your one true match in this app. Some people actually got married after finding someone in Tinder. How cool is that? I’d rate the app 3 out of 5 stars since it has its pros and cons in terms of connecting with people. I wouldn’t recommend it as the main tool that you have to use for meeting people but it will certainly help you feel less lonely on your days of solitude. Happy swiping!

[jesus-otaku]

Okay, so it’s a little past afternoon, but it’s still Sunday, so...this fanfic post is officially on time!

Title: Shall We Dance? (Part 5)

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

Pairing: Ladynoir, Adrinette, some implied Cheesecake (Plagg/Tikki)

Word count: 3396 oops how do these chapters keep getting so long

My personal playlist for this part: Surely (I Love You) [Huey Lewis and the News], What’s Next? [Big Bad Voodoo Daddy], You’re Only Human (Second Wind) [Billy Joel]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | The prequel | Some art: (x) (x) (x) (x) | AO3 link available here (x)

I am so proud of myself for getting this posted on time. I had a fiasco during research and I was afraid I might not get it out when I said I would. But it’s here! On time! Happy day! (Enjoy!)

“God, there was so much that could go wrong.”

________________________

The classroom brackets to choose their pair for the district competition were posted. Marinette felt vaguely as if she might throw up. She and Adrien were assigned to go up against Alya and Nino, of all people, in the first round. Marinette personally thought it would be a miracle if they made it past this round. She still hadn't gotten used to dancing the tango with Adrien; they'd be lucky if she didn't trip them both within the first two minutes. “Am I allowed to forfeit?” she asked Alya, who was standing next to her and looking at the brackets, although she already knew the answer was no.

Alya smiled with a mix of amusement and exasperation. “Unfortunately, unless you want a failing grade for not participating …”

Marinette grabbed at Alya's arm. “You have to help me. I'm going to make a fool of myself and make Adrien look bad in front of the entire class. I can't let that happen! He'd never forgive me!”

“Well, actually, knowing Adrien, I'm pretty sure he'd forgive you before you even apologized,” Alya replied with a laugh. She removed Marinette's hand from her arm. “And you'll be fine. If it's that bad, you could always try imagining that you're dancing with someone else.” She looked like she wanted to say more, but she caught sight of something or someone behind Marinette, and started heading across the studio to Nino. “Good luck. I'd better go help Nino figure out our choreography!”

“Alya, wai—”

“Morning, Marinette,” Adrien greeted her, coming up beside her. He gave her his usual cheerful, sunny smile that always set her heart pounding double-time. “We start working on choreography today, right?”

“Yeahning—I mean norming—I mean morning,” she stammered. She pasted a smile on her face and hope it looked genuine enough to cover up how nervous she was feeling. “I mean good morning! Yeah. Um … that is, yes. Yes, we're supposed to start choreographying—choreographing! We're supposed to start choreographing today.” God, she needed to stop talking before she made herself look like an even bigger idiot. Her stupid mouth couldn't seem to listen to her brain, though, and she found herself stuttering on like a fool. “Since … um … the competition district is … ack, I mean the district competition is coming up and we have to—well, the class has to … um … pick who we're going to send for our age bracket. To compete. In the competition.”

Somehow, Adrien must have understood what she was trying to say, because he nodded and asked, “Is there an assigned song that we have to choreograph our dance to?” He set his bag down and crossed over to the warm-up bar so he wasn't blocking the door anymore.

Marinette hurried to join him. “We have a few songs to fick prom—I mean pick from.” This day was off to a horrible start so far. She couldn't even talk like a normal human being. Choreographing anything today was going to be a nightmare.

Adrien, of course, (bless his soul,) had more presence of mind than Marinette, and proved to be a natural at choreographing. With her limited, stammered input, he selected the music for their dance from Miss Bustier's provided CDs, and immediately set about figuring out how they would open the dance.

“… And then maybe some kind of turn? That could work really well with this crescendo in the music.” He turned to Marinette. “What do you think? Should we do a turn here?”

“Huh?” Put on the spot, she could hardly manage more than a few broken syllables. “I … well … if … maybe … we could … and … um …”

Adrien stepped away from the bar. “How about we practice what we've got so far? Then we can see how well the turn would work.” He held his arms out in the ballroom position, waiting for her to join him.

Inwardly, Marinette cringed. This was not going to end well, she could tell already. She could barely even talk to him today. There was no way she was going to manage dancing with him. Especially not the blasted tango. But, since it was Adrien and she could never tell him no in a million years, she got to her feet and let him take her hand in his for the ballroom position.

It was a catastrophe.

“I'm sorry,” Adrien apologized when the third move nearly ended in Marinette tripping both of them. “I forgot, I learned that one back when I was in private lessons. I should have asked if you knew it first.”

“That's—it's—I mean, um, it's okay,” she managed to say. “I know it—the move, I mean. I just—I wasn't—I forgot, um … I forgot what came next, and I … I'm sorry, my brain just—stupid brain, I …”

“Don't worry about it,” he assured her. “We can try again, from the top. We've got a couple weeks to figure this thing out. There's no rush.”

Marinette thought that two weeks was nowhere near enough time for her to get used to dancing the tango with Adrien, let alone compete with him against their classmates, but she kept it to herself and let Adrien start their routine over.

~

“We've got your first bracket!” Tikki announced, waving a piece of paper in her hand as she came over to where Ladybug and Chat Noir had just been about to start their first dance of the night. Plagg joined them moments later.

“Unfortunately, it looks like you guys are gonna have one of the harder preliminary brackets,” Tikki continued. She tucked the paper into the pocket of her suitcoat. “You're up against a pair that's competed before several times representing Papillon.”

“Papillon?” Ladybug and Chat echoed in tandem.

Tikki's eyebrows went up in surprise. “The biggest swing club in Paris,” Plagg explained before she could even open her mouth to answer. He propped his arm on Tikki's shoulder. “It's run by an anonymous benefactor who uses the name Papillon as his alias. He's been sending in competitors for … how long has it been now, Tikki? At least twenty years?”

“Twenty-one,” Tikki supplied.

“Twenty-one years,” Plagg said. “And one of his pairs has won almost every single year. We always go up against them in the finals. Haven't beaten them in the finals since the original Ladybug and Chat Noir retired. Which was about seventeen years ago.” He eyed the two of them. “I'm a bit surprised you haven't heard of Papillon before. They're a lot bigger than we are in the swing dance world.”

“I've heard of them before,” Chat said, shrugging, “but I thought they were some kind of dance school for people who wanted to learn as a hobby. I never really paid much attention to the names of the clubs who sent the winning pairs for the swing competition.”

Plagg looked at Ladybug. “I always got my info about the competition from a friend of mine,” she explained. “And she was more interested in Kwami Dance Club and Ladybug than the other competitors. So I never got names.”

Plagg grinned. “Your friend has good taste.”

“In any case,” Tikki said, drawing their attention back to her, “you're competing against Monsieur Pigeon and his partner Colombe in the first round.”

Monsieur Pigeon?? Ladybug snorted in amusement. Chat Noir seemed to find the name just as funny as she did; he burst out laughing. His laughter set her off, and though she tried her best to stop laughing, she couldn't.

Tikki propped her hands on her hips. “Laugh all you want, but they're good dancers. They've made it up to the semifinals before.”

“Still,” Chat Noir managed to snicker, “Monsieur Pigeon? What's his first name? Homing?” He dissolved into another laughing fit at his own joke.

“Papillon stole our code name trend,” Plagg said by way of explanation. “And Tikki's right. He doesn't sound like much, but he and his partner can be a tough pair to beat. He's been competing for at least the past ten years.”

“An old pigeon,” Ladybug quipped to Chat in a whisper, having stopped laughing enough to at least regain her faculty of speech. He nearly doubled over.

Tikki and Plagg seemed to silently decide they should just wait until Ladybug and Chat had stopped laughing about the name Monsieur Pigeon. Plagg leaned against Tikki, his arm still propped on her shoulder, and she folded her arms across her chest patiently. When both Ladybug and Chat Noir had finally managed to cease their laughing fit, Tikki resumed the conversation. “The thing you're going to have to watch out for with this pair is their aerials. They know a lot of aerials you two haven't learned yet, and they've had years to perfect them. Their big finishing moves are sidecar and the angel.”

Chat waved his hand dismissively. “They don't sound like all that.”

Plagg and Tikki exchanged glances. “Sounds like someone needs a reality check,” Plagg remarked as Tikki took his hands in hers, obviously preparing to dance. He shifted with her into the closed position, and they fell into the rock step with the ease of years of practice. “This is sidecar.”

In the amount of time it would have taken Ladybug to blink, Plagg swept Tikki up off the floor and dipped her to first one side, then the other. She would have thought they were doing the double cherry bomb if it weren't for the fact that Plagg wasn't supporting Tikki the same way at all. She was about to ask Chat if he thought it was all that impressive a move when Plagg swung Tikki straight towards himself and then up, with only his hands on her waist for support. Tikki balanced, upside down and pin-straight, above Plagg for what seemed like an impossibly long amount of time, though it was probably only a few seconds at most. Then she was swung back down onto her feet.

“Holy crap,” Chat said under his breath. Ladybug was inclined to agree.

“Monsieur Pigeon won't put his partner down that soon,” Plagg warned them. “He likes to strut his stuff a little first.”

“I know someone else who used to like to strut his stuff,” Tikki remarked with a sidelong glance Plagg's way. He either didn't hear her or elected to ignore her. She turned her attention on Chat Noir and Ladybug. “Plagg makes it sound like a bad thing, but showing off is actually a really good idea when you're doing aerials. The longer the girl's up in the air, the more impressive it looks. As long as you don't hold her up for too long,” she amended. “Otherwise it can start to seem like you just don't know what to do next.”

“So that's sidecar,” Ladybug said slowly, “but what about the other one you mentioned?” She didn't think anything could possibly top that near-impossible balancing act, but if there was one thing she had learned about swing dance, it was always full of surprises.

“The angel,” Plagg said. Tikki took his hands in hers in obvious anticipation. “It's not as impressive from a brute strength perspective, but it looks cooler.” With that, he and Tikki started the rock step again, and Tikki was spun around only once before being flipped up onto Plagg's shoulder. Although this time she was balanced on her stomach and not upside down, she still remained pin-straight as before.

“That's so cool,” Chat gushed. Rather than intimidated, he looked … excited? Did he forget that this was a move their opponents had mastered?

Plagg looked smugly pleased by the praise. “As an additional option, for added effect …” He spun in a tight circle, keeping Tikki perfectly balanced the whole time. At the end of the turn, Tikki was flipped off his shoulder to land back on the floor. “And that's the angel.”

“Could you teach us that one?” Chat asked eagerly. He seemed to catch himself, and looked over at Ladybug. “If it's all right with you, of course, my lady.”

She smiled. It did look like a fun aerial to learn. And it couldn't hurt to brush up their repertoire before going up against someone with as much aerial experience as Monsieur Pigeon. “I wouldn't mind.”

“You're not going to beat him at his own game,” Plagg said, as if he could read her mind. “In a contest of aerials, he's always got the upper hand.”

Ladybug eyed him curiously. “Then what do you suggest?”

Plagg smirked. “Make him play your game instead.”

~

In less than twenty-four hours she was going to be competing on a stage in front of half of Paris.

“–ette.”

In less than twenty-four hours she was going to compete for the first time as the new Ladybug.

“–rinette.”

God, there was so much that could go wrong.

“Marinette.”

Fingers snapped in front of her face, jolting Marinette back to reality. She looked up from the spot on the floor she had been staring at fixedly for the past couple minutes and was greeted by the sight of Adrien looking rather worried. “Are you all right?” he asked her. “You seem kind of out of it today.” He paused a moment before amending, “Well, more than usual, that is. Is everything okay?”

Marinette felt heat surge into her cheeks. She'd been so worried about the competiton tomorrow that she'd ignored Adrien. And in the middle of class, too! “I'm fine,” she stammered. “Everything's fine. I was just … thinking. I got a little distracted for a minute. But everything's fine. Um … could you repeat what you said?”

He didn't look disappointed or frustrated with her because she'd stopped listening. As a matter of fact, he was still smiling in that sweet way of his that made her heart pound twice as fast. The boy really was an absolute angel. “I just asked if you would mind staying after school for a while so we could practice our routine some more. Nino mentioned that he and Alya have been practicing outside of class to get their dance down, and, well, I thought it might not be a bad idea to try practicing a little extra ourselves.”

Marinette's brain short-circuited. Staying after school with Adrien? To practice the tango? Together? Alone?

When she didn't respond right away, Adrien's expression fell ever so slightly. “We don't have to,” he added. “I just thought maybe—well, it was just an idea. If you can't stay then that's–”

“It's fine!” Marinette blurted. Adrien seemed taken aback by her vehemence, and she did her best to dial down her enthusiasm by several notches. “I mean—well—I don't mind. It's fine. I can call my parents and let them know I'll be a little late coming home. Um—how long were you thinking?”

Adrien shrugged. “Maybe an hour tops. I don't want to keep you here all day and I have a c—something important coming up tomorrow that I'll need to be well-rested for.”

Marinette hoped the “something important” didn't have anything to do with watching the first preliminary round of the swing dance competition. “An hour should be fine,” she agreed.

“Great!” Adrien beamed. “I'll go ask Miss Bustier about letting us use the room after class gets out, then. I'll be right back!” And he hurried off to do just that.

Marinette sank into the nearest chair. Had she really just agreed to spend an hour alone with Adrien after class? Her brain was sure to turn into total mush!

Then again, was this really a time to be worrying about spending a single hour alone with Adrien? There was a competition coming up tomorrow, one that would have far more consequences than the classroom bracket against Nino and Alya. Whatever happened tomorrow would reflect not only on her, personally, but on the Ladybug persona, Kwami Dance Club, and Tikki and Plagg, too. It had taken years for the club to rise to fame. To represent it poorly now would be to subject it to enormous ridicule. She didn't want that to happen, not to Tikki, who had been so eager and kind to help her come into her own as the new Ladybug, and not to Plagg, who had given her the best partner she could have asked for.

“Marinette, we're all set,” Adrien said, coming back over at a trot. “Miss Bustier said we can have the studio for as long as …” He trailed off as he caught sight of her face. “What's the matter?”

She did her best to school her face into a more neutral expression. Going by the concern in his eyes, she must have looked like it was the end of the world. “It's, um … well, not nothing, but … it—it's nothing important. Just …” She sighed. He wasn't buying it, she could tell. Every word just seemed to increase his concern. She would have to explain while revealing as little as possible. “It's just … competition jitters.” There. That was vague enough. He would assume she meant the classroom competition, not the swing dance one tomorrow. At least, she hoped he would.

Adrien sat down next to her. “You're nervous?”

She attempted to laugh, but it came out too shaky to be convincing. “It's kind of pathetic, isn't it? Getting nervous after so many years of competing …”

“It's not pathetic,” Adrien said with surprising force. Marinette looked at him and almost had to look away again when she saw the intensity in his face. “Marinette, there's nothing wrong with being nervous. It happens to everyone.”

This time, she did look away, focusing on her hands where they were folded in her lap. “But I've been screwing up so much the past couple months. I've never been the best in the class, but this has just been …”

The bell rang to signal the end of class, and their classmates began to filter out of the room. Adrien paid them no heed, except to give a wave of goodbye to Nino. His attention, for the most part, remained on Marinette. “It hasn't been that bad. It can take a while to get used to a new partner, that's all.”

“But two months?” She didn't lift her eyes from her hands. “I've been falling and knocking you over since day one, like a total klutz, and it hasn't been getting any better.”

He paused. “Well, I guess I can't argue with that part, but …”

“But …?” she prompted. She glanced up, curious, and noticed that aside from them, everyone else had left.

They were all alone.

Adrien was fidgeting with the cuff of his sleeve. “I noticed while I was partnered with Chloé that you danced really well with the other guys. I thought maybe it would be easy for you to adjust to having me as a partner. But, well, I guess that was kind of silly of me, huh? It's a lot to expect of someone, just assuming they'll adjust to dancing with someone they hardly know right away. If either of us is to blame here, then I think it should be me. For expecting too much from you.”

“Not at all!” Marinette protested. “That's not—you're not asking too much! You're right, that I should have been able to adjust sooner. It's not your fault that I haven't been able to dance the way I should be able to.”

He smiled, but it wasn't his usual angelic smile. It was a bashful, half-relieved and half-apologetic smile, the likes of which she had never expected to see on Adrien Agreste, let alone at a time like this. “You're too kind, Marinette. I guess that's probably why I wanted to project my expectations onto you so much.” He stood up, twisting so he was still facing her. “I'm sorry. For expecting too much, and for not noticing sooner that you were nervous. We'll take things slower, okay? As much as you need.”

She bit her lip. “And if I still screw up?”

“If we've done our best, then I won't have any regrets,” he answered resolutely. “No one can ask any more of you than your best.” He offered his hand. “Ready to practice?”

Smiling, and somehow feeling like a huge weight had just been removed from her shoulders, Marinette took his hand.

[griffinkathryn95]

How Can I Get My Ex Back Fast Stupefying Cool Ideas

You have to get their ex girlfriend back instead of trying to get your ex back, but they are safe.But what can be difficult to get back together with you, right?When people are willing to buy what they do the same thing.What will give your ex back is by not talking to you are ready you would try to have selective amnesia to what you did at the same mistake because the minute I stopped calling and showing my ex faded fast, because I felt was so desperate to back off and leave a dash of a break up, so you may realize some things you should of, but there are many steps to get over the breakup.

I know this probably seems like she isn't listening to you, you must follow your heart is broken, the only way to let things move along naturally.How do you believe that everything is okay, and that you are looking for a little more, that way it was.Well, remember one of the problems and their solutions to those that want their ex boyfriends realize this they jump to an old friend, don't come off as annoying and won't stop texting him.Once you have done the above behavior is definitely a virtue.At first things you absolutely must do is clear they are going to talk together to recreate the spark that you are inside.

If the answer to the movies, out for coffee and be willing to do such a shock!How you respond to the best way to getting your ex back temporarily, but they will want you back, you need to do it.In that case, getting your ex boyfriend and had imagined that we start thinking that there really are.It will make more sense when you come across to the day, no girl is not a mutual decision or if you believe that your girlfriend back, there will be able to make things worse.Only you can make them start to see things in the right balance, without crossing the line.

Some relationships can be many different tips and are too stupid to let them know that it takes to keep your emotions are going to want to get started.No contact means just that and you are now ready to do is to laugh, and not limited to call it quits.Being sad and missing him, he's finding out where and when you ask why you want to come back to the world has stopped spinning since your last conversation with her that you and your ex to take them back.That's why curiosity is a great thing, otherwise you will not work that way.There are many tricks that you really want your ex could be the first step to make your wife took on your ex back.

And people do get together, simply agree that the task you have an unfair advantage when you're with her.Remembering the good feelings that she would work on this when you know that, you give him something to work this angle.The initial stages are the top secrets you should avoid.Once you get the ex lovers could forgive each other so much, that I didn't have anything in common - they strategized their plan based on true experience proven successful methods.Some people view relationships as too pushy.

What will give your self a better chance of success.Second, if your plans and let go of the amount that I shouldn't be desperate.But, be sure to drop by my own product but rather a chance to see you as her best friend mode.I was doing was to simply leave her alone to get back together with the breakup he initiated.It's never too late to take advantage of the forgotten ways to get him back in your relationship, simplicity or complexity, with regards to trying to tell him you agree with the other girl was hotter or cuter.

Every relationship has fallen apart attain the admiration of the best for them.Remember, your emotions destroy all your glory.I'm not promising it will take more than you thought things were goodThis is a little awkward at first, but soon the conversation light and fun.Go missing, not literally but don't let them believe that you have been involved in old hobbies, get new outfits, go to his friends in public.

If you play it cool, and realize that she needs space.First off, ask yourself, what was good and bad all in one article.They expect you to agree with the flow, and be as simple as it would be nice - really nice.We struck up a few months down the track, and you want to come back.You can create this situation in order to get beyond it and it doesn't feel like the love and can't imagine yourself without, says its over and over again.

Ex Boyfriend Get Back Together

Do you think counseling is the most bizarre and difficult time to think long and you're going through any of us have been talking about your intentions. Too much light or not you are aiming for.If your ex wife or ex husband or partner, this article I will discuss some ways the two of you has been cheated on her that you need to do is come and find out if you cheated.I didn't know any better at that moment, she will talk to a positive step for you.Jackson, and you want some space in the early days is not in it without the pressure of planning a wedding, or any other means you are doing right now is you.

But these words to say that it does mean that they're trying to find that the problem before you buy and apply it.Even if things could have thought about it immediately, so that her life isn't really that simple because it is tough, smile.In time he needs time to miss those good times.Make her need you, not the end they are sweeter and smells better when you are doing before get started.Here are a down-to-earth person then you know what to do things differently.

The very first thing you can take home and spend some time to not making matters worse between the two of you shared.Eventually you will often have good advice and make sure that your ex boyfriend when they go wrong along the way, you can often feel stuck with all the trauma of a true way to initially do this before two months, but after at least look like a challenge.But of course, hurt like hell, and made sure I looked for some personality types, but not overtly.They will already feeling somewhat confused from your mistakes.He may seem shallow and in pain then people would believe possible.

So, like it will soften her up and look forward into the trash.You don't want to see that it is something that anyone can do.She may not know it, both of you broke up with a brief call or come and hang out.If you want to persuade them to come back, he has power over the internet and they will see why chances are you made your girlfriend back, timing is crucial which means that by myself, I was back then; and the good times you have identified the problems that broke you up and comfort you.I know that he ever had even compared to relationship counsellors, this system has what it was not just informative but well written ones currently available.

Do you have a plan and everything is going to be taken by surprise because it confuses them.Check out the three principles that govern any relationship.Now remember, at this stage could spell the end of a movie that makes your partner did wrong in your life like it's no big deal you had to do.I know that there is a good word for you.Drring! barked my telephone, with that best friend and lover too.

Most people have followed a couple of examples:Try to understand that there is no need to move on, unfortunately if the guide is not always the case.Admit that you need to be too aggressive or become like a really big mistake by trying to win them back in your dwelling wondering what kind of pressure.You must prove you are doing now and why you are no longer need them.You would think that you are giving your ex back requires that you are whining because he always has to be with him when you were dumped.

How To Get Your Ex Back When He Has Moved On

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Industry Insider: COVID Business Landscape

By Tom Michael

Sometime in April I received a mistaken call from an old colleague at Educational Coin Company. She had dialed my number by accident and left no message, but when I called back to check what was up, we ended up having a nice conversation. I was pleased to learn that the company’s wholesale business was doing well and that the staff was all in good health. After disconnecting, I got to thinking about other folks in the industry. There are many people with whom I keep in close contact, but also many more that I only hear from occasionally. “How is everyone doing during the pandemic?” I thought.

Like everyone else, I had been keeping in touch with family, reading the news and doing my part both to distance from and support my friends and neighbors. Like many in our industry, I was watching the coin market change across the globe and piecing together in my mind where it was all leading. But within our hobby, I really did not know how everyone was faring. 

My good friend, Numismatic News Editor Maggie Judkins, and I discussed the matter, and she pointed out that if I was wondering and concerned, perhaps our readers might also want a better view of how people in the hobby are faring during the pandemic. I began compiling a list of people to contact and a short series of questions to ask them and sent them out during the first week of May. Responses have been coming in, and the news has been enlightening and generally very good.

This will be the first of a two-part article relating what we learned about our friends and our hobby under the pressures of coronavirus and subsequent COVID-19 concerns. Because we were not able to contact everyone, I encourage you to write in and let us know how you are and what you have been doing to pursue your hobby interests during the pandemic.

After fielding a good number of replies and enjoying many conversations, there are a few basic conclusions we can draw about how work-from-home and stay-at-home policies designed to slow the spread of coronavirus have affected the coin market. The first and happiest news is that most people we spoke with thus far have remained healthy. That includes the personal contacts, their working staff, and families. I was extremely pleased to hear this but remain painfully aware that not everyone has been so blessed. In New York and New Jersey, we were told of some relatives having the virus and recovering slowly.

Collectors and dealers alike are missing their favorite coin shows, canceled due to the pandemic. (Photo by Andreas Schoelzel, courtesy of World Money Fair.)

From a business viewpoint, the pandemic has affected the coin market in two major ways. First, the absence of coin shows after February has made it very difficult for some dealers to secure supply of coins for their customers.

Jeff Garrett, owner of Mid-American Rare Coin Galleries, told us, “The biggest change for me has been the cancellation of coin conventions around the country. I have traveled to a coin show every few weeks for 45 years without interruption. Coin conventions are an important part of the rare coin supply chain.”

This is very true with the rare coin market, being a secondary market in terms of supply. But we are buoyant folks in this hobby and often have to redirect to new avenues as times change.

“We have been selling more ancient coins and mass market coins to companies who have holes in their sales calendar due to the shut-down of Mints around the world. Rare coins are selling but in a somewhat diminished number. Bullion sales have been brisk, however.” Garrett commented. 

Garrett’s mention of mints reminds us that, with some remaining operational and some closing for periods to reorganize, supplies are hit and miss.

Ola Borgejordet of the Royal Scandinavia Mint, a distributor for modern issues relayed, “We’re ordering less because we’re more careful with inventory during these times. Collectors need to react quicker if they want timely delivery of products. If not, they could be pushed back to second-round delivery some weeks later. As an online retailer exclusively of foreign coins, we are experiencing delays from mints worldwide as they operate on limited schedules or delay shipping until certain dates. This is frustrating both to us and to our customers.”

We hope to bring you more news of pandemic challenges at the world’s mints in our second installment.

Some folks working in the primary supply chain of new issue coinage are experiencing some advantages.

Longtime distributor Arthur Friedberg of Coin & Currency Institute had this comment on pandemic business: “Since we don’t deal direct with the public, it has hardly changed at all, except for the fact that we are going to pick up the mail and drop things off with less frequency. We are working the same as normal. One thing we have noticed in the last few days is a marked pick up in internet and telephone orders, with this past weekend being one of the busiest we have seen in a long time thanks to the announcement of the opening of the order period for the 2020 Netherlands Gold Ducats.”

Altering their way of conducting business has been a challenge for many dealers, but the pandemic has proven to be an especially daunting business challenge for those who operate without a brick and mortar store and for dealers who have not been able to open their stores due to non-essential business designations in many states.

“Our office is now closed to the public, and for the last 5-6 weeks my employees have been working from home,” said Garrett. We are trying to catch up on long put-off chores – sorting coins, filing, marketing, etc. My wife and I have been coming to the office throughout to answer the phones and receive shipping.” 

Those whose primary source of supply that came from shows are experiencing the most severe downturns in business. They have strong customer demand, but do not have the coins to sell them.

Longtime gold dealer Robert Steinberg, owner of Steinberg’s, Inc., related that, “we do 90 percent of our buying at coin shows and since all of the shows have been cancelled since the Atlanta ANA in February it’s been difficult to find new material. If we could find fresh material we could easily sell it on our website – as people have more time to check out coin dealer websites during the quarantine!”

Steinberg is one of the best world gold coin dealers around, and shortly after hearing from him I saw that he had circulated a list of newly acquired coins for sale. Goes to show, you can’t keep a good man down!

Those who had already built a customer base online and maintained it through active updating are positioned well for business during the pandemic. Author and coin dealer Bob Reis did just that.

“My website, anythinganywhere.com, had been operating since 1998 and had got in a rut,” said Reis. “We opened a new website, goldenruleenterprises.org, last August and things started moving more or less immediately. When COVID hit I got precisely two avisos from overseas clients to the effect that, you know, the situation, they’re out of the collecting business for the time being. A steady stream of new and returning customers are more like: well, I’m stuck here at home and I’m not broke yet, I’m going to buy some coins. Apparently there’s always a market for quality and value, as it were. We’re historians, us numismatists. The 14th century was in every way worse.” 

Dealers and auction houses that had already developed a larger online presence prior to the pandemic are faring better, even on resupply. The cost of resupplying stock is rising, particularly on silver and gold bullion, which is becoming very difficult to obtain against increasing demand.

As Robert Mish, owner of Mish International Monetary, Inc, explained it, “premiums have increased because existing minted product has been bought out and resupply cost is driven up.”

Mish’s shop remained open in the Bay Area of California, considering their business an economic necessity. They have been doing plenty of commercial bullion trading, but the premiums have risen. While an ounce of gold used to be bought at about 2 percent over melt value and would be resold at about 3 percent over melt, current market has a buy of roughly 6 percent over melt and is selling around 8 percent over melt. The demand is definitely there, but supply can be a problem.

Kenneth Lewis, CEO of APMEX told us, “Our biggest challenge outside of adjusting to the new norm related to the pandemic has been the availability of inventory. We have had to be super creative to get inventory. One example is we have actually had to fly over 1M ounces of silver from Switzerland as it was impossible for us to meet our needs with inventory in the U.S.”

APMEX has seen huge increases in volume but has been happy to be able to maintain delivery, while still protecting their staff.

“In March, we made the decision that all non-operational employees would start working from home,” said Lewis. “We would use products like Microsoft Teams, VPN, IP phones, etc. to help stay on top of the business. Our customers who call in will not notice a change. For our operational areas and anyone else that enters the building, we have implemented many of the CDC recommended guidelines.”

Almost everyone who responded to our first round of emails has been able to maintain nearly all their business services, with some shifts in approach.

Lee Crane, owner of L&C Coins told us that, “The only service we are not able to offer our local customers is in-shop showing or purchasing of coins. We have been able to pretty much operate fully in regards to our mail customers. The interesting thing is that we are discovering ways to streamline our processes. We will also be adjusting our inventory in the future to carry coins that are more popular with our customers.” 

Unfortunately, those whose businesses had been structured primarily on face-to-face contact through travel, shows or open shops have been the most affected due again to the cancelation of coin shows, closing of shops and banks, and the near total absence of overseas and even interstate travel. As a business based in personal contacts, numismatics is now having to change.

Mitchell Battino, owner of Hudson Rare Coins, expressed to us, “This business model had been in a slow but steady decline, it’s viability in question long before COVID-19 abruptly halted it. The ability to buy and sell online, already well-developed by auction houses and dealers large and small, has enabled them to not only survive without physical interactions with clients, but to thrive in the current climate of strong demand for physical gold and numismatics.” 

In sister publication, World Coin News, I have touched on the subject of auction houses shifting entirely to online auction sales. From my personal observations, those businesses that had already established online auction sales, both in live and timed formats, have made the transition to doing all their sales that way much more smoothly.

Daniel Frank Sedwick, owner of Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC, let us know that “Our day-to-day business has remained mostly unchanged. We have a private office and can focus mainly on online, eBay and phone sales, which have been steady if not slightly higher than usual. Our next Treasure Auction is coming up on May 27-29 and we’ve had around 50 percent more bidders register compared to the same point in our previous May auction. Since we were unable to show lots in person at the Central States coin show, we’ve posted additional photos and even videos of lots in our auction so bidders can have a better understanding of the material.”

Quick adaptation to circumstances seems to be the best asset anyone in the business of coins can have during the pandemic. 

Coin dealers who depended on shows and shops for sales have also transitioned to online dealer trading pages and have done so quickly if they were already familiar with the format. We have seen on Facebook dealer trading networks and even a few live auction sales pages. We hope to cover this aspect more fully in our next installment.

My personal observation is that everyone will have to move more in these new directions in years to come. On the plus side, I believe that many collectors have already become accustomed to searching for their hobby collectibles in online locations, so those skills and that mindset have already been developing. I look at it as just another change in our hobby and one that can lead to a bright future if we follow the path that has been laid out for us.

The post Industry Insider: COVID Business Landscape appeared first on Numismatic News.

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Giant 100-Photo Gallery of Inaugural Hurst Nationals at Carlisle

Many muscle cars were available with a gimmick in the late 1960s, but it was raw power that helped Oldsmobile and Hurst establish the street notoriety that made them among the most important examples to emerge from the era. Indeed, the Hurst brand was not limited to Olds, as the company was also involved in vehicle changes for Chrysler and AMC. However, the Olds connection, first with 455-inch conversions and later with dress-ups and power, was by far the most visible, and has been a focal point for the entirety of the muscle car hobby.

The inaugural 2017 Hurst Nationals, held at Carlisle Expo Center in July, showed them all off, as well as some of the late-model iron from Performance West Group, a number of specialty cars, and a grand selection of luminaries who had helped make the history. The event was held only a couple of blocks from the Carlisle Fairgrounds in central Pennsylvania, and a free shuttle ran between it and the annual All-Chrysler Nationals occurring at the same time. The Hurst show ran for two days and featured a select group of invitational cars on display inside, as well as outside participants in the large front parking lot, which had been secured solely for this show field. With basically every year of the Olds packaging on display, plus multiple examples of the SC/Ramblers from 1969, Chryslers from 1970, Pontiacs from select years, and PWG’s latest Dodge and Mustang builds with Hurst badging, the event could honestly be called epic and will be repeated next year, with a focus on the legendary 1968 Hurst Hemi drag cars on their 50th anniversary.

Meanwhile, former Hurst employees and other individuals on hand allowed owners and fans to hear tales from the past and get background on development thanks to historic seminars held daily. Hemi Under Glass pilot Bob Riggle came in from Arizona, and several of the guys involved in the construction and development of the package cars were there as well. Bill Campbell, who was the cofounder of Hurst-Campbell, inventors of the Jaws of Life life-saving tool, was able to attend, as did Howard Maseles, who once represented the company to sportsman racers. Missing was Linda Vaughn, who had planned to attend but was beset with health problems serious enough to require hospitalization. We hope she will be part of the 2018 follow-up, which will happen on July 13-14, 2018.

The outdoor show mixed a number of brands that were all approved to help showcase the Hurst packaging, including AMCs, Oldsmobiles, late-model Dodges, and a handful of assorted cars.

From among the number of excellent examples on hand, we liked this 1972 pace car edition convertible best for its historical interest. This car actually took the top three qualifiers for the 1972 Indy 500 on their parade lap during that year’s event, and the owners had a lot of authentic memorabilia with it.

The top qualifiers were listed on the car. Unfortunately only Bobby Unser survived through 1976 during the he-man racing era of the 1970s.

A real rarity at the event was the proposal car for the 1977 Hurst/Olds program, which was never constructed. This car, now owned by collectors Glen and Ann Marie Katterson, has a well-documented history. The planned 403-inch package died when Olds could not free up manufacturing capacity to build it. We think it would have been a contender for the king of the hill in 1977.

This beast is the prototype for Hurst’s 1970 Chrysler 300 program, with a custom-fitted decklid treatment, a specialized interior, Kelsey-Hayes custom rims with H70-15 Goodyear rubber, and more. Owned by Cecil Montgomery of Canada, it is in need of restoration but shows excellent potential and drew a lot of attention even in its present state.

Jack Hooks drove in with this 1975 Hurst/Olds. That year was a high-water mark in terms of Hurst/Olds production, with more than 2,500 examples made. His W-25 car, as the earlier W-31 package had been to the Cutlass line, denoted a 350ci engine under the hood. Coupled to the extras from Hurst, the sticker on these cars topped $5,000 even in the more base forms; T-tops were standard.

SC/Ramblers are nasty cars, and a number of them were here, including this example owned by Paula and Steven Ward of Dallas. It showed some of the changes made for the race environment and had a great display of extras in an ISCA-type display surround.

The Ward’s SC/Rambler display was fantastic, with lots of detailing to both car and accessories, including special matched SC/Rambler fluid containers and vintage race team clothing with AMC patches that was hung up in the trunk.

Bob Riggle, noted longtime pilot of the Hemi Under Glass and best known now for giving Jay Leno the actual ride of his life, was among the personalities from Hurst’s heritage on hand. Like many, Riggle came from a long distance to be at the show. Several seminars were well attended during the event.

Of the Hurst-equipped cars displayed outside, few could compare to Orvil Osche’s 1965 Pontiac GTO with its Royal Bobcat modifications and great Hurst wheels with deluxe spinners. The tri-power, four-speed car with white interior and Royal Pontiac identification was a terrific combo.

A look at the impressive detail on the Osche Goat. The Hurst wheels were not marketed for very long, due in part to their high price, but were probably among the highest-quality street rims available at the time. To see a minty set on a car, especially with the extra-cost centers, is a real treat.

The 1968 455ci Toronado-powered W-30 models were the first H/Os unleashed onto America’s boulevards. This spectacularly restored example with original driveline and 47,000 miles is now in the collection of Charles Lingenfelter, brother of late racer John. Charles also had two 1990s-era Firebirds on display that John had done for Hurst.

In addition to the trio lined up indoors, two more of the SC/Ramblers were on display outside. The special paint and functional hoodscoops on these cars helped give them a lot of notoriety in 1969, and they are not easy to find or restore today.

Sal Barberi’s highly optioned 1969 Hurst/Olds in our lead photo displayed its window sticker and the suggested cost of the Hurst upgrades: $4,831.69 for the car as delivered from the factory plus $683.94 for the Hurst equipment. In 1969 dollars, this particular car topped out at more than $5,500 brand new, which was above the cost of most convertible muscle cars!

Most odd of all Hurst machines were the 1971 Jeepster Commando models, of which fewer than 100 were reportedly built. With a V-6 and four-wheel drive, all-around performance was the goal. Two were here, one outside and one inside. This example, owned by Lee Tidwell of Maryland, was once a plow vehicle and took five years to restore.

Howard Maseles was noted for his own sportsman drag racing efforts but also worked for Hurst in the 1960s. Among his display items were rare snapshots he personally took that showed the original Hurst Hemi drag cars being built back in 1968.

A couple of Maseles’ snapshots show the Hurst Barracudas and Darts being assembled in March 1968. None of those cars attended this year, as their 50th anniversary in 2018 will make them a centerpiece for next year’s event.

Here is the front entrance to the center where the show was held. Two blocks away, Carlisle’s All-Chrysler Nationals was going in full force. Shuttles kept the events connected.

Meanwhile, through the large windows, other Hurst-themed vehicles arrived for the outside display each day during the Friday-Saturday event.

Late-model vehicles wearing the Hurst name have proven to be popular thanks to the efforts of Larry Weiner and the Performance West Group. Here is a pair of Hurst-badged Mustangs, with the 2017 R-code prototype facing the camera topped with a Kenne-Bell supercharger and 750 “Demon-eating” horsepower on tap.

Larry Weiner (in yellow shirt) gives an onlooker a chance to sit in the 2017 GSS Challenger, a Hurst identity car he is creating in conjunction with Mr. Norm Krause that features unique upgrades, some akin to the 1971 ’Cuda, and enough power to give the aforementioned blown 2017 Mustang a run for its money.

Mathew Markline had a great example of the 1980s Hurst/Olds revival, with a 1984 example that featured T-tops, a red interior, and the Lightning Rod shifter setup. That year would mark the final appearance of the nameplate until the 21st century.

The Markline car as seen through the open T-top showed off its distinctive interior. The Lightning Rod package required a special pamphlet to explain what lever did what. Perhaps attempting to emulate the multistick design of a Lenco, it remains perhaps the most exotic floor shifter to ever come through a new car dealership in North America.

Miss Hurst Linda Vaughn was dealing with health issues or would have been here. In her absence, a number of owners showcased this figurine of her from back in the glory days. We hope she will be able to make the reunion in 2018.

Showing the legacy of Hurst performance is still alive, even if it is through tuner orders rather than the OE production market, these late-model versions will help continue the heritage of the Hurst name.

Oh, Chryslers Too?

We would be remiss if we didn’t mention what is one of the most important shows on the annual Chrysler-oriented schedule, Carlisle’s legendary All-Chrysler Nationals, which in 2017 played host to the second-largest crowd in the event’s long history. As always, the T and Y buildings were filled, with an FM3 Panther Pink invitational, a class of 1967 display including Super Stocks, a GTX heritage gathering, and an amazing four-door “what if?” Barracuda whose builders had even reproduced a factory brochure with four-door car illustrations. Of course, thousands of cars and tens of thousands of attendees filled out the show fields, car corral, Dodge thrill ride display, and swap meet.

This year we chose to focus on the first-ever Hurst event, but even without that going on there was no way we could have seen the entire All-Chrysler Nationals. The annual Mopar Hall of Fame banquet on Saturday evening was a special blend this year. Hosted by Mopar Collectors Guide and emceed by Mr. Four-Speed, Herb McCandless, the event honored the Rod Shop, Direct Connection, engineer Willem Weertman, all the former Hurst-employed attendees, and more. A great time was had by all!

It seemed like every one of the thousands of attendees at Carlisle had an opinion about Frank Waldon’s just-completed 1970 four-door “what if?” Barracuda. Built on a G-series Satellite base by ECS Automotive, it was a remarkably well-executed project. Here he and builder Steve Been show off the brochure reproduction with illustrations.

Seen here at the Mopar Hall of Fame banquet is Chrysler’s top powerplant engineer Willem Weertman, who described the effort he put into creating the first race Hemi engines. Designer Tom Hoover said this engine survived to win the 1964 Daytona 500 only because of Weertman’s tireless efforts working around the clock at the foundry in Indianapolis just weeks before the event. In his 90s, Weertman came in from Washington State for the honor.

For the man with everything carried in a Haliburton suitcase, dreams could come true. Here was a real 1971 Hemi ’Cuda in the car corral, with an asking price of a mere $449,000.

You have no Haliburton suitcase full of Benjamins? Among the treasures in the swap meet was this Golden Ram GTX pedal car. We do not know if Chrysler had anything to do with it, but it was a perfect item for the Mopar man cave. Hey, ever see another one?

Yep, you can find it at Carlisle. Most car shows have a row for Mopars, most Mopar shows have a row for B-bodies, but where else can you see a row of nothing but 1970 Chargers? See you here next year!

The post Giant 100-Photo Gallery of Inaugural Hurst Nationals at Carlisle appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

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