#worth the insane ticket price

[shirawords]

I am seeing Hozier in October and. I am going to cry so much at this concert guys I am going to lose it if he play Abstract (Psychopomp) and I am also going to lose it if he plays Francesca but in the other direction. I'll still cry tho

[saviourkingslut]

went to sleeping beauty yesterday and it was. INCREDIBLE. holy shit. choreography and production value? absolutely off the charts. insane. almost had to cry a few times it was just so Much

[splatanastamprr]

Been thinking about this a while so as the Shattering Spirits are being rolled back soon here are my thoughts on the Sky Economy. a VERY long post.

Event Spacing (1)

I joined right after Season of Prophecy ended, Season of Dreams was to start in about 3~ weeks? not sure since it was a long while ago.

Later seasons I notice rather than getting up to a month of season downtime, we now get as little as less than a week to break between seasons. Season gaps became slim. Hardly time for off season daily candle quests that make racking up normal candles easier.

On top of this, “Days Of —“ Events became more and more prominent, being mashed on top of Travelling spirits and new off season cosmetics that cost white candles. There’s no room to breathe, its almost a punishment to players who’ve taken breaks from the game after burning out from having to candle run consistently just for new items. Cosmetics that they miss out on get price hikes from their original value in reruns with the new ticket system. It’s a cycle of fomo and it’s what’s killing the playerbase in the first place.

The lack of spacing seems pretentious in a way, since nearly with every update, a new game breaking bug is rolled out, makes it feel ironic since season down gaps have been cut for seemingly no reason.

Ticketing (2)

A while ago TGC added the ticket system denoting inflation in the sky economy, it was made to remedy the fact people can’t keep affording everything with candles.

Yes it did help somewhat, as the tickets are very easy to collect, but with 3 new ftp cosmetics that are bought with these tickets and some things costing up to a weeks worth of tickets it’s easy to have to skip these items because some people just don’t want to do more daily searching on top of the already daily quests from the questgiver.

Returning items not only are insanely expensive but additionally do not equate the energy spent grinding in their original release (The Days of Sunlight towels from last year have no right being that expensive whatsoever.)

Candles (3)

Early 2021, around March the Daily Light “Chevron” was rolled out as a way to farm light without feeling the pressure to grind insanely hard daily (since very many people were asking for a way to get candles more leisurely, since candle running was very time consuming)

It became redundant as the prices for candle items was driven up very far. Not to be so “back in my day” but genuinely the need to candle run extensively in the way we do now wasn’t as big as it is now.

This is funny. Because now I see people asking for the same thing. A faster, less grindy way to candle run.

the first in game event I participated in was the first Days of Bloom, the cherry blossom cape was 70 candles (which to me was VERY expensive at the time). The following year’s wisteria cape cost 105, then the next tulip cape cost 110. The first price driveup was already kind of nuts to me (is the cape really worth a 35 candle mark up to the first one?) It’s hard to even prepare with the aforementioned small event gaps, it’s punishing to newer players and players who’ve skipped events out of burnout without any time to prepare for candles unless you pay real money to get candles quickly.

Assuming an average person clears their chevrons daily (15-17 candles) and heart trades with their friends (-3 for every person traded with) it’s hard to afford everything that comes your way. Travelling spirit prices are near doubling what they used to, items now costing over 100 candles with the inclusion of the batshit expensive nesting shop it really burns people out knowing you can’t afford everything you want in a game you already grind daily in. It’s demanding.

IAP items (4)

Do I even have to talk about this. The Sunlight Chunky sandals cost more than you can buy actual sandals. Why are in game cosmetics costing up to $25 USD. Huh. I could buy a whole meal for that.

Cute little items cost only a dollar before but now they’re like $3 and its kind of bonkers to me. I have to pay $3 whole dollars for a tiny jellyfish on my shoulder. is this not crazy. im not crazy right? dont wanna get deep into this but jesus my wallet

So why do I care so much? (5)

Sky is a game I hold near and dear to my heart. But I notice people including myself have stopped playing for the same, very painful reason. The fact that Sky is very buggy with little to no compensation to players as well as the Economy being so. So very bad. as well as the shithole that was shattering (the hype for that season was so crazy because yay lore!!! no actually Fuck you crab stunlock 100000)

I know people will be “Well you don’t HAVE to buy — item”, but the game’s userbase is driven completely on grinding for new cosmetics. The active playerbase is driven on just candlerunning. The lore is interesting but there’s hardly anything in game to go off of, there’s little to no curiosity for what the game is and it’s story because it gets more and more arbitrary as TGC refuses to talk about it in game. (Jenova Chen saying that games are not an effective storytelling format really pisses me off sorry)

The cycle of fomo that is essentially required to keep the playerbase going just makes me feel like this game is made on popsicle sticks and prayers (thanks aspen for this line). I can’t find myself to love sky in the same way I used to as a moth.

anyways this is really messy. Sorry. but like damn this is kind of a sad thing to me. made this post because a rant on yt got misogynistic in the middle out of nowhere so i wanted to give my own take minus the misogyny

[fairykazu]

whaling ft. bf! scaramouche

masterlist | series mlist | next

scaramouche can't believe that you're all over this "dan heng" character and like be for real, he's so much better than this guy who's all speary. even more so, after dan heng had a 5-star version of himself. he has never seen you step out of your room only for taking a piss and eating some food.

whatever! can this dan heng chop apples for you? he cannot! he’s 2D and here you have your lovely boyfriend, scaramouche, who is REAL. 3D and not at all fictional. does dan heng know what you love to eat? no. he better not see dan heng in your search history.

he walked into your shared office with him, bowl of fruit in hand and water in the other, whereas almost half of the room was covered in stuffed animals or game merchandise (he won't lie that some of those are his). he saw you near your desk, next to your pc, sprawled out on the floor, on the brink of tears. he sighed and knew this was apart of your theatrics. "name."

you turned around with dark circles under your eyes, sunk down and that's when he knew you were going to rant about something. he placed the bowl of apples on the desk and the water, sat down and pulled you into his lap. "what now?"

you start to fake bawl into his shirt, balling up his sweatshirt, "i lost the 50/50..."

he pinched his nose bridge before asking, "to who?"

"CLARA. like i have SIXTY THOUSAND COPIES OF HER TOO. all i wanted was imbibitor lunae and i prefarmed too!" you cried as scaramouche rolled his eyes. he grabbed a slice of apple and fed you it as he replied,

"so do you want anything?" scaramouche felt weight being lifted from his chest as you finished the apple slice and tilted your head.

"hm?" you both know how this gacha addiction ends and it's not like scaramouche really cares about this lunae imbibnator guy. it's worth it to see you smile and happy... not like he'll tell you anyway.

"do you want me to buy you those gems? onesis crystals?" scaramouche asked, seeing you let out a breathy laugh as you batted your eyes innocently.

"oneiric?" of course, classic name to reply with a question back.

"yes, whatever that is."

"um."

behind you, you heard your screen flashed a pop up screen. 6480 shards staring at you as you shifted away from scaramouche's face. just before you looked back at him. "i didn't need that much..."

"didn't you reset your pity? you probably need more. how much do you have right now? click to the warp page." scaramouche instructed not giving you a chance to interject. even though you were about to switch the tab to the warp page, your boyfriend decided that you were too slow and switched it for you. "hm, you have 5 stellar jades left, adding 6480 plus bonus... that would be around 40 wishes, which isn't enough. did you have the monthly tickets yet?"

you snorted quietly, he's so pretty when he's so smart. but maybe you have to stop him from spending his money on you so much. you might need an intervention. "i think so."

scaramouche clicked to the shop and saw the pop up for the free 5 wishes for the price of the insane amount of dust you had. "of course not, you're an idiot." for the harsh words, he is saying it lovingly.

you watched him calculate the amount of wishes just before making you look at opposite direction. you hear the shard sound effect again next to you as you slowly turned to scaramouche again. he shrugged it off.

"why did you get me 51840 shards?"

"for good luck."

you spluttered, "i don't need this many???"

"i'll buy you more if you need them."

[jellogram]

The people who take those luxury Disney vacations are insane. Like. I work in travel right. I know how to get you anywhere in the world, and roughly how much it should cost.

Apparently the average Disney World trip (so like not even top luxury, just park hopper tickets and mid-tier accommodations) is over $10,000 for a family of four. Which includes flights that I'm assuming are domestic for that price, so we'll talk about Americans here.

Do you know where else an American family of four can vacation for ten grand? Basically anywhere.

A ticket from the US to Paris (one of the top cities in the world for American tourists) is around $400-$700 per person. Let's be generous and assume peak season prices + small city departure and/or baggage and call it $1000 per person. So we're at $4000 on flights.

A fairly nice hotel in Paris for four people for an entire week, during July (peak season), is around $1000-$1500. So we'll call it $6500.

The Louvre is free for kids so that will only put you out $50 to take the whole family. An all-access pass to Versailles, with lunch included, is less than $200 for everyone.

And sure, let's throw in a day at the Paris Disneyland. That'll put you out around $500 for the fam.

I have no idea how much food costs in Paris so fuck it, let's assume you eat out everyday and tack on a whole two grand for food. That's $500 per person per week, or around $70 per person per day. That should keep you pretty well-fed.

We are still less than $10,000.

A week-long and pretty cushy trip to Paris, including a day at Paris Disneyland, for your entire family is less than a mid-tier five day trip to Disney World Orlando.

I refuse to believe these people can do math. It is easier for me to believe that these people think Disney is a relatively affordable option (it's domestic, after all!) than to believe they genuinely think spending several days in fucking Orlando, Florida is worth thousands and thousands of dollars.

If you scrimped and saved more than I did here (went off-season, less cushy hotels, grocery shopped) you could literally take your family anywhere in the fucking world for ten thousand dollars.

Kill the fucking mouse.

[throwing-in-the-towel]

bro i’m the anon that sent the ask about ticket prices going up even though it was predicted they’d go down in the fall.

when i originally sent that, the highest was $422 (obviously the original was $419). NOW THE HIGHEST IS $447. HELLO????? i’m gunna go bankrupt.

yea….like i said…i love this show so much,,,tickets are absolutely not worth that much each. its ridiculous!! i know thats similar pricing (slightly cheaper) than merrily,,but merrily had 3 star castings!!! one of whom was harry potter !!!

it’s insane and i promise you, they WILL DROP,,eventually.

[tothosewhoyearnforit]

Hi☺️

Really enjoyed ‘serving double’! And ‘a million dollars’ and many others including chaewon fics.

But definitely my fav one from u so far is serving double. Too hot.

So, about it, who do u like more, MINNIE or miyeon?

i mean there is a reason why i chose both to feature in the fic hehe. i really like them both and making me choose is really torture.

Miyeon was the one who got me into g-idle in the first place. she's really funny and her visuals are insane. I really liked her pink hair phase, it suited her quite well.

but if you asked me today, who i would choose, it would have to be Minnie.

firstly, she has a very unique visual, probably because of her eyes and how sultry they look. secondly, her vocals are crazy. i've experienced them live and jeez it made the ticket price extremely worth it. the way she opens Oh my God was just crazy. thirdly, she's gotta give some insane head like come on now.

thanks for the ask :)

[moonchild-in-blue]

Okay kids, mini story time for those of you who care, aka, Darya meets a ST fan irl and struggles to not look insane.

So last night I had dinner with some friends, and we were chatting about concerts and what not, specifically Twenty One Pilots. We're all pretty big fans, and we were kinda upset that they weren't coming here, and whether it was worth to spend that much money and see them in Spain or not.

Which led to discussing the ridiculous ticket prices being put now, and how difficult it is to even get them. I mentioned how hard it was for me to get Sleep Token tix, and the insane amounts of money some US peeps payed to see them.

Then my friend said "Sleep Token? Oh they're so good".

Kids. The way I LEPT out of my seat and went "OH MY GOD??? YOU LISTEN TO ST TOO???? I AM OBSESSED RAAAAA".

And then he told me, yeah I've listened to a few of their songs, they're sick. Their drummer ii is insane (my friend is a drummer). Then he told me he had watched one of his Drumeo videos (The Summoning), and just how incredible ii was (OUR TINY KING), and I told him, dude you *have* to watch the longer one. Also he put one out today!!! Have you watched that one yet????

Mind you, I was glowing and vibrating with excitement. My best friend was like, chill Darya, he's not as a fanboy as you, you're gonna scare him. Which fair, I had to tone it down a little bit because I was starting to look crazy lmao (all in good fun though. I did dunk on him because I've been trying to get him into ST properly FOR A YEAR and so far he's only listened to TMBTE smh).

Then we talked a little bit about them, how they sounded so different, and then we sorted frazzled out to other bands and what not but. Yall 🥹 it was so nice.

We have pretty similar tastes in music, but I still was surprised since I never really heard him talk about them (tbf we haven't hung out in a while, which is very much my fault but still). One more of us 🥹💙

[shywhumpauthor]

The Merry Whump of May—Day Twenty Five

“It takes two to tango”

Hot Coffee | Doubt | In Line

The Merry Whump of May Masterlist

Cw: pet whump, past abuse, conditioning, not really hurt, not really comfort, normalized dehumanization, collar/restraints

Whumper had never really wanted a pet.

They had never seen the need, really. Why it would be so intriguing for someone to spend a ludicrous amount of money to do something you could pay anyone else to do for a mere fraction of the price. If you needed your house cleaned, they had always thought just hire a damn service. There’s no need to spend tens of thousands of dollars on some dimwit who had been abused to the point that they couldn’t function outside of their designated “use”.

It was a moronic idea, they thought. though they could see some benefits, the taxes heavily outweighed any good that could come from it. Healthcare bills, training, not to mention all of the supplies they needed. Food, clothes, toiletries, if Whumper had wanted to deal with all that crap, they would’ve gotten a damn roommate. At least then they’d have help with the bills. Water, electricity, heat, none of that shit was cheap.

They wouldn’t say they were anywhere near tight on money. Actually, they were pretty well off, all things considered. Working as a manager for some utility company, and the inheritance from their parents, they had quite a nice amount tucked away in their bank account. Enough to afford themself a nice house in a quiet neighborhood, a smooth running car, even a boat which they took to the lake every few weekends. But still, they didn’t like spending unnecessary funds. Why would they spend it on whatever useless clutter when it could be doubling itself in interest in a savings account.

They weren’t a minimalist, though. They lived comfortably. Curtains around the windows, blankets across the back of the couch, little personal touches around their home just enough to make it look homey.

And now, a small person huddled in their living room corner, kneeling, watching them with wide eyes.

They didn’t recall entering any so-called raffle. Ot had been one of those things, where the cashier at some supermarket asks if you would like to donate your change to charity or some shit. “Would you like to donate an extra ten dollars to help support the local Shelter and be entered into a drawing for a free companion?” Whumper never said yes to that kind of stuff, but apparently that one day, four months ago or something, they had. Scrounging back through their receipts and bank notices, they confirmed it was true.

Why the fuck would they do that?

A free pet, all supplies included—that was a load of bullshit. All supplies seemed to include a cheap, uncomfortable looking collar, made out of a material that looked almost plastic, a leash to pair with it, a week’s worth of whatever nutrient-heavy crap that Whumper wouldn’t even feed to a dog, a wire crate that wasn’t big enough to fit a regular sized person, but with the pet’s frail stature they managed to squeeze in, and a small, handheld stun gun like the one someone might carry on a keychain when they go out at night.

And of course, once they had arrived at the damned shelter, which had the same feel as one of those department pet stores, fluorescent lights reflecting off all of the cheap, artificially colored merchandise. Despite how they decorated, trying to incorporate colors and designs throughout, it was still insanely depressing.

Some pets had been kept out front, the pretty, showcase ones who were held at a price so ludicrous no one in their right mind would ever pay for, some curled in wider cages sleeping, others simply sitting around the floor. One was even helping a cashier bag stuff.

Ten dollars for a damn raffle ticket, then a couple hundred more spent on adequate supplies. They weren’t a monster, pet or not, Whumper wasn’t going to force them to sleep on that cold wire. They bought a nice enough pet bed, the cheapest they could find without it looking like it would fall apart if you tugged at the seams. It was still expensive.

Thankfully, the shelter had reimbursed the price of what they didn’t take. The small wire cage, worth maybe thirty-five, they were able to trade in for a larger, slightly more comfortable looking one worth sixty five, and only pay the difference of thirty. They had gotten a few more items there, what the manager had insisted they would need. A shock collar paired with a remote, a subtle blue nylon strap restraints with clasps and buckles for easy adjusting, a few sets of the basic grey scrub-like clothes the pets commonly wore—although they were available in a variety of other colors, grey was the cheapest—and a few other necessities.

Whumper wasn’t sure what they had been expecting when it came to terms of the pet itself, but it was not like anything they could’ve thought of.

They were scrawny and fragile, nothing like the pets kept out front. They looked like a strong gust of wind could knock them over completely. Like they hadn’t eaten, or been outside, or had a proper shower in months. They were clean enough, Whumper supposed, but glancing down at them. They weren’t obviously dirty, but over the worn material of their shorts and shirt, the way their hair hung limp, it was clear they needed a nice long bath. And a meal.

A domestic, the manager had said they were. Trained for basic maintenance tasks. Chores and yard work, said they were trustworthy and dependable. The manager had said they were one of the best trained there, which Whumper supposed they could see. The way they sat, even though they shrunk back a bit, they held their back straight and their chin tipped down, palms facing up resting above their knees, though their hands were trembling.

Whumper didn’t see too many injuries. Bruises on their knees, fainter ones along their wrists, a yellowing purple tint beneath their collar, the skin red from where the uncomfortable material irritated it. They had a few scars, not many at all, a faint one across their thigh and another wrapping around their upper arm, just above their elbow. On the inside of their left wrist, Whumper could see the barcode tattoo, freshly inked over and standing out contrastingly against the skin. But where their shirt collar sagged, dipping a bit below their collarbones, Whumper could see the edge of a brand, ugly patches of skin standing out against the untouched.

Secondhand, clearly.

“Come here,” Whumper finally said, after a few long moments of simply looking down at them. The pet’s eyes flicked up to theirs, and they didn’t hesitate to shuffle forwards on their knees, the distance not enough to prompt them to stand up and walk over, but enough for it to take them a moment before they stopped maybe a foot and a half away from Whumper, sinking back to sit on their heels.

It was hard for Whumper to tell what they were looking at. Whether the emotion in the pet’s eyes was fear or anticipation or something else. Whether the way they say back so tense was from the months, maybe years of training or because they were hyper aware of their body, vowing not to make any mistakes.

Whumper crouched in front of them, weight resting in their toes as they reached their hands over to the pet’s neck. The pet, to their credit, didn’t flinch like Whumper was half expecting them to, but they tensed, clear anticipation of something unpleasant to follow.

Whumper twisted the collar so the buckle was in front, and with a few easy movements they pulled it away, frowning at the texture, and the marks left along the pet’s neck.

“I’ll take you out to pick a new one tomorrow,” Whumper stood back up, tossing the collar over to the couch. “Something more comfortable.”

“Get up, I’ll show you to the bathroom. Take a long shower and clean yourself up. Then you can help me make dinner.”

Whumper gave a short motion with their hand, stepping back, allowing the pet room to rise shakily to their feet.

They never wanted a pet, but they supposed, all considered, that having someone else in the house wouldn’t be the worst thing ever.

And they really hated doing the dishes.

————————————————

Zero plot but whatever

@themerrywhumpofmay

[gardenofbookworms]

april's monthly: from bee and rose

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

▪︎ adventure/fantasy novel ▪︎

everyone wants something—money, revenge, freedom, love, risk, recognition—tangible or otherwise. but how far are you willing to go for it? how many rules are you willing to break, how many things are you willing to risk, how many people are you willing to lose? is it all worth it, in exchange for what you long for most?

kaz brekker certainly has the will. a cold-blooded thief to the end, he’s known as dirtyhands on the streets of ketterdam, the dirty and crowded kerch capital. there’s absolutely no job he won’t take—anything for the right price. money and greed are his gods, and the revenge they’ll get him, brick by brick, is what he craves above all else. he’s willing to do anything to get what he wants, even break into the world’s most impenetrable safe in its most impenetrable fortress in its harshest, iciest, strictest country—and steal the world’s most valuable man.

it's an impossible job; but then again, kaz makes everything impossible, possible. but of course there’s a hitch; this time, he has to rely on other people to get what he wants. desperate people, people willing to risk their lives for the grand prize—four million kruge each. to kaz, that’s everything he needs to burn his enemies’ world down. to his crew, it's a ticket out of the city—to freedom.

enter inej, the best spider ketterdam has to offer, desperate to pay off her contract and leave the city. nina, a grisha struggling to survive an ocean away from home. jesper, a risk-addicted gambler trying to keep it all together. wylan, a runaway with a gift for chemistry. and matthias, an escaped convict desperate to return home to his beloved fjerda and see to it that nina is dead. there's only a very small chance the crew makes it out alive with their prize. most likely, they’re all going to die—and worse, without being paid.

▪︎

from bee

this book has been on my list for a very, very long time. when i finally got off my ass and read it last year, rose was so excited because they had read it a while before me already. like they’re about to say, there are a zillion good quotes for reference material, and we even use them a lot ourselves.

but about the book itself? soc got me into the “group of rivals band together with a common goal” trope. the way bardugo goes about it is just perfect—it seems that everyone is involved with something unfathomable. and as much as they want to stick to their morals to get past it, the road is tricky (and of course they can't walk it alone). and a note about the character’s pasts: they don't feel made-up, as outlandish as they seem when you boil them down. they're complex and thought through and diverse and give the characters something solid to run towards or away from. all in all, an amazing start to an amazing series.

from rose

by the time i made it to, say, halfway through the book, i was absolutely in love with the story—the characters, the plot, the witty humor, everything. and as much as i love the author, none of her other books have quite lived up to the amazingness of this duology. bardugo writes with suspense that will make it literally impossible to put the book down, even if you’re rereading. the wit and humor of the characters is insane; their banter is so much fun to read, and, if you’re like me and love throwing little references into conversation, there is so. much. material. to go off of. and a little side note to bee—jesper is a gay goat lover and there is nothing you can say to change my mind.

i first heard about this book in a very dark little corner of the internet, when a few mutuals read it (together?) and posted about it. it was at least a few months before i actually got around to finding a copy and reading it, but i have never been more grateful for that dark little corner than i was then (okay, so that’s not entirely true, but still).

▪︎

bonus: spotify playlist!

[lamentingocean]

~Seongtae x Jaha~

-Master Seongtae x Master jaha-

Warning: NSFW (thank me later) a bit of ahem..jacking off, cussing, a bit of sex, pleasing and venting, murder, a bit of comedy, very attractive men going at it. go wild and go crazy.

+Made by your favorite Rotmd blogger-Ocean+

____________________________________________

Jaha. The mad demon. Known to be one of the most dangerous martial artists across the wind of china. known to be ruthless to men that do terrible things without saying a word to the innocent and then just shit on them, expecting the innocent and the poor to eat their shit and then gulp it up like it's 2 day old soup from a dirty pot. jaha is known to have a heart for the innocent and the defenseless. even when they can't wield a blade correctly in battle or engage in hand to hand combat if a gamble has been lost to a fat bastard that takes from the poor and gives to the rich. whatever enemy takes from the poor. jaha will coat his black hare's tooth with their blood. and cut their body up into peices. he wouldn't stand for a man who uses people for no reason. this is just giving an example to the black sea wolves leader. You have commoners at your own living establishment but choose to drown yourself at your own wealth just by these people eating dirt for dinner that has probably been stepped on by dirty shoes. He is such an inspirational man. go from a errand boy.

Serving people their beverages and food to get spoken whatever people want to speak to you as.

To a badass master that doesn't give a flying fuck about fat men towards their women, masters to their town to take from the innocent, to the men that can kill off their own army to take down the main hero. the selfish kind. spread across their blood around the white steps of snow in hopes of getting their mind set right for what they are doing. Their ticket to heaven is revoked.

Their innocence is revoked from the moment they are born into the world of ancient China. you either live to be a normal citizen who is forced to live in a world that can kill you when a fight breaks out between the factions or live as a title to yourself. It's how things work, after all. If society as humans didn't have a formatted system to follow, then it's just pure chaos.

insanity is like an ecosystem. It can spread everywhere across the earth and be the scent of everyone's noses, and then the scent starts to become addictive as if it's being used as a drug. we all live around madness since it's supposed to be referenced as an ecosystem that is manifesting through everyone's minds in this sick reality we live.

jaha looked at his sword, "the black hare's tooth," customized to the leader of the black rabbit clan. that bastard is burning in hell, like william afton paying the price for committing child murder. his eyes scrolled up and down to its further appearance. Getting a kick out of the rabbit bastard's way of weaponry. his hand slowly flinged out his two fingers to caress his clear skin to the body of the sword. trying to see if this weapon is worth fighting off formidable enemies with weapons that are durable, powerful, and sturdy and able to even slice a brick wall in half by just one swing.

A presence swayed right in like a ghost. it's a timid knock. Is it hongshin? Is it the head maid of black rabbit? Who could it be to have a knock so light and so soft to make a door blush. its seongtae cha. a master swordsman and a potentially revoked manager of ilyang prefecture. formidable in wiping ass when he's being commanded to or maybe not. his smile expanded to jaha's glances of disturbance. "Hello jaha. what are you doing here?" jaha's hand flinched to grab the sword to keep his blood pool of eyes raving the details of the sword. "trying to look at my sword. I'm still waiting on my pole that the blacksmith clan is going to promise me in the future. I can predict that the black hare's tooth isn't going to be held in fighting the demonic cult. the number one enemy of murim." The golden artifact defining seongtae's eyes look up to the sword in property of jaha. he's right. Only a weapon he used for a lot of killing can't hold against every faction of murim.

"I see. Hopefully, I will be able to fight alongside you in the future. just in case you will be more a madman than what you are today. while I will be the light demon. it's to compliment your goal into becoming mad demon. while I shine a beam of light to the enemy of the factions. and then will be blinded by my beauty, for I have the power☆" he had a lot of confidence and self-love into speaking that so bluntly to the man that threw a glass across his face. jaha's voice snickered in comparison to his serious act to blind the enemies with his utmost beauty.

"Hopefully, they won't die of ugliness or have the overbearing weight of being gay." his breath trickled, turn shackled to his claim as his head almost went lollipop red to his snickering. but that insultive snickering seems like a laughter of enjoyment into teasing the great seongtae cha.

"You asshole. Your hair looks like the long black haired version of Medusa. watch me get stoned by black musk." his head was boiling to jaha openly, starting to lose his footing to the enemy of laughter when his head was turning red and it was boiling hot water just how angry he was. "I'm s-sorry. It's just that you would either say your name multiple times to powerful enemies or glamorize them with your beauty." his head banged itself on the table when his mouth spat out laughter. never had the mad demon be this so full of genuine laughter instead of laughing out of insanity.

"Fine! If you are going to insult me, then I will call arson upon your inn motherfucker. see how that feels." his laughter shut off like a lightswitch. he turned from kind to badass in a second. his glaze shook seongtae's bones to bring up his inn even though it's been burned down two times already. his fingers slipped to the waist of the sword like he's going to stab him at any second. "a-ayo chill, it's a j-joke. don't take it offensively, jaha."

"Take it back right now. don't target my inn." At a full flash of a fire blow out of candle. seongtae's back has been pushed to a wall as he's trapped in a position. he can't move at all. since seongtae's strength is nothing but a polygon to jaha's strength. 1- point for differences. their faces were so close to each other that even their eye colors started to gleam like a sunset. trivial red to red hot pink red (based on jaha's eye color) to seongtae's light gold eyes. his breath exhaled to clear off his attitude to their unexpected closeup. "I don't want to deal with more fuckers that think its ok to burn down my inn just because I was a errand boy. I do not want to deal with that anymore. I got truama, ok?" his head bopped up and down to his share of having truama about his inn. seongtae cha definitely understands him. But it's something about this that makes seongtae want to be close with him.

The crave to want to kiss his lips is rising up on his mind right now. Even jaha was being silent about it if their minds merged within each other. like a cosmic dying star colliding with a new one to regain some life force.

His legs gave it to the floor. but jaha acted quickly, for he grabbed a chunk of his royal silk only to just throw him back to his border of his lips. being so close as to completely emerge himself to his cunning attitude. "You must see that I'm threatening you as the mad demon. we are demons of our own. don't fuck with me seongtae." blinking to pat off some of his anger to him. but he did an action that would leave the great seongtae cha in a state of shock, surprise, and scarce undying lust for the virulent insanity of his general personality, only to be shattered by the definition of normality.

jaha's lips stuck himself against his, overbearing his taste in hopes of charisma sparking in the mind of the plum blossom pavilion manager. seongtae pressed himself on him like a sticker on free wet wood. just slowly pulling his self-worth and love into it as if jaha begged for it to be thrown in the fire. until his mouth begun to do a sound banging in the walls like a cave.

he struck a little moan as he tilted his head down to press his lips onto his more. he pushed his body up to dominate him in such a way that would even make a military brute shit their pants to handle in this. jaha's hand slowly slid down with his finger asserting possession to his skin. "Why is he being like this now?" seongtae thought in his head before he opened his eyes to see such a sight never to be seen in his life.

Only to see jaha completely hot with a shade of dark blush taming the skin of his face down to sit, his hair nearly done as his tie is hanging on for dear life support and his hand wanting to get access to the insides of his pants. and then he did.

sensually sliding his hand down to seongtae cha's short but lustrous cock wanting to crave human touch since he been doing that just now. the golden eyes of seongtae rolled back to his touch and just gave in to the mad demon's sensual unexpected craving. even a little droplet of pre-cum started to leak from its tip. the palm of jaha's hand adjusted to what his pleasure is going to do. jacking him off while his other hand closed up his way to break out of this.

This is a luxury to him. Especially getting jacked off by the same asshole that threw a table full of food at some men and stomped on them out of anger. pampering him with his seductively aggressive mood to his inn and teasing seongtae a bit. Isn't it funny to see such a serious man do this? his breathing turned shaky, his body is shaking too to jaha's sudden rapid hand movement to his sensitive cock. but he continued to kiss him much harder than before to shut up and take the estacy to rise.

That was...quick.

jaha quickly flings out his hand to see a white liquid ooze from the skin of his finger. it coated his hand a bit since it stinks. his fingers played with it to see how much it can be used for delectable things in his order. he discarded himself from their unbearably long make-out session as jaha's hair bounced and flinged back to his longing estacy to seongtae sudden lustful side to the mad demon "fuck me please. I want my self worth to be restored..please fuck me down.'' he glanced at his face like his confidence been bombed into flames but wants to be destroyed in a way that is....way different instead of indulging himself to his own riches to be happy about what he wants. if seongtae wants to be included in something. Then he has to. jaha tore the clothes into pieces.

to see his skim chest and his slim white banshee looking body to scan in the hell that is jaha's eyes. he rose his head down to lay small timid kisses on his abs to mark more of his possession on him. to let his subordinates know that the manager of ilyang is know his property. but he did something else.

he slowly slid his pants down, but as soon as he did that. He shoved him back just so that his face could be in the riverside of the wall and that he's forced to be an obedient pet and raise his ass up. jaha stuck his fat cock out to let its vibrant scent wither his nose to let him know that he's about to give his request granted. The stinky scent of his cum...their make-out session, jaha jacking him off.. this is a paradise to his mind. but he flinched when he felt it arrive to the insides of his anal. He didn't waste no time.

thrusting right in, seongtae's mouth bled moans.

Someone came right in the middle of this.

It's a random assassin with a knife balmed with the name: "Dark faction." On it.

He let go of seongtae in an odd manner when he took one glance at this random bastard that interrupted their time as technically a couple. now he's mad about it enough to have blood gushing through his veins violently. 2-point for pissing me off.

"....what should we do? I knew my sounds were gonna catch the wrong kind of attention." At an action. he flunged a random shattered glass at the guy, and he succeeded in stabbing him in the head. having a sprinkle of blood full in the halls of the golden dragon palace. but he's glad that nobody is in the palace to see this.

"Ah-"

"Jaha. Are you ok?" his chin raised up to jaha's ridiculous handsome face, touching the border of it. "We will deal with this later."

(Here you go, guys. man kinda feels like I got upgraded somehow. (Even though I feel like I'm constantly ignored by people ah-) but hope you enjoy it.)

[omamervt]

I know there's all the Normal Factors regarding more movies being seen as theater flops these days - less people who can safely go to theaters due to the effects of an ongoing deadly pandemic, theaters jacking up ticket prices, anything that isn't an existing IP being treated as more and more of a risk and getting less marketing, even if it's the kind of film that typically does well - but I think The Fall Guy really demonstrates that standards surrounding theatrical releases have gotten absolutely insane. It's only been in theaters for 2 weeks and the studios are ready to cut their losses after a worse-than-expected opening weekend and are releasing the film to streaming services early.

Like, I know theaters start to pull films when they stop meeting a certain revenue threshold, I get that, I really do. But like. It came short of projections for opening weekend, but theaters haven't even started pulling it yet, it's still showing at every theater within an hour's drive of me, and that's at least 10 theaters. That means it's still making them money, which means people ARE seeing it, they just weren't prioritizing it because it wasn't The Next Big Blockbuster or whatever.

Like, are we seriously at a point where a film is declared a flop if it doesn't make back its budget and then some on just opening weekend? We can't wait until the end of the theatrical run? 4 weeks is too long these days? Like, is that seriously where we're at? We can't have faith that a movie based on a novel that sold well enough for its movie rights to be worth anything, an action comedy starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, with a classic "actor is suddenly expected to do their character role in real life to save the day" setup? We can't just wait and see if it makes its money back even at the global box office? Is that seriously where we're at?

[gerardpilled]

if i lived in or closer to las vegas or if i had family to visit there (already a hell to imagine) i could see going to that fest. But i live like 1000 miles away and god i once started talking to a retail customer who happened to be fellow mcr fan who went to that fest, I was excited for her bc old man cosplay mcr, but she suggested that i go to the fest and I was instantly like huh.. why?? like gurl we are in a major city area and had one of their concerts within 60 mi. i was lucky that i could afford the tickets i had bought for them, so why would i go to a far away over priced fest just to see them. and thats still my opinion. if theyre going to tour anywhere else aside from wwwyf then they will likely tour in my city area. why would i buy expensive tickets and plane tickets when i can just buy expensive tickets to the local show. its insane to me.

anyways hopefully if they start regularly touring again their tickets will be cheaper. im not paying that kinda money for anything other then the reunion/return tour where it wasnt a given that they would tour again. anyways rant over thank u for ur time and have a good day

I think it’s a personal preference and it’s up to an individual if they think a concert/festival is worth traveling for. I could definitely see myself going to a mcr show across the country if I knew I could meet up with internet friends and stay with them. Sometimes it’s not exactly the show itself, but it’s an excuse to travel!

I think I view wwwyf a little different just bc of the nature of the festival. Also I feel like festivals are only worth it if you like a few artists on the lineup. If I liked literally any other one they’re playing with maybe I’d rethink the value in going, but like you said I also don’t really (personally) see the value when I live near major cities. If mcr does tour again I’ll probably try traveling for as many shows as my budget and schedule allow, but I’m also kinda frugal person so that might not be a ton 😭

[cocoon2010]

Sakuracon has been insane like best weekend I've had in so long. 100$ for a ticket is still dick smoking prices but also I feel like I've gotten my money's worth just in cosplay watching and the arcade

[thefiresontheheight]

It’s easy to miss in how long the run time of the movie is, and the extensive use of flashbacks, but I think it’s really important to know that the entire length of Goncharov takes place in one long weekend. In the opening scene when Goncharov and Katya are arriving in Naples by train we know from the newspaper she is reading that it’s Friday. Probably late afternoon/early evening by the sky when Andrey greets them on the platform. And the conductor asking for tickets in the closing scene, juxtaposed with Goncharov bleeding out of course, clearly says it’s Monday morning.

And idk! It makes the flashbacks interesting! All these people who have known each other for years. Their quiet resentments, desires, betrayals, schemes, stewing away since, as far as we the audience are led to believe, as long as they have been in each other’s lives. All that tension, building across decades, tightening and tightening unbearably, just as the tension is tightened across Saturday, as everything seems to be going right but we, the audience, feel something spiraling out of control.

Only to be destroyed in one insane orgy of cathartic violence. Shocking, yes, the camera almost seems to revel in showing you how violent the outburst of action is. But after all those decades of tension, built through the narrative and also in universe, as shown by the flashbacks, how could it have had any other end?

And then, of course, come Monday, the train is still running. The world moves on without them, and around a dozen people (at least) are dead. And for what? And we, the audience, must ask ourselves if any of it was worth the price.

[ofhouseadama]

Thanks so much for the info about NJ! I did know about the insane prices there, but it’s getting so bad where we currently live that we’re starting to think it’s worth it. We’re willing to pay the price if it means a better quality of living and that we fear a little less for our children. Noted about western NJ, though. Funnily, the superior schools are a draw for me, but it also makes me nervous, because I wonder if my kids, who’ve gone to less impressive schools up til now, will be able to keep up. And of course the culture shock is also something to consider; I believe northeasterners are as polite as anyone else, just in a different way, but it can be a difficult adjustment if you’re used to something else. In any case, you’ve given me a lot to think about, and I really appreciate your honest, helpful answer.

I think that inherently kids are adaptable, so long as they're supported through the change. As long as they have parents or other adults in their lives giving them that backstop of emotional care and attention, they can get through a big shift in schools or social norms or location.

If the schools are the draw, I do strongly recommend Metuchen or Woodbridge Township schools. Even if your kids come in needing a little support, they're going to go to schools where it's readily available to them. I'm less familiar with Edison because I wasn't old enough to attend school when we lived there, but I had friends who went there. I'm still close with several teachers I had in Woodbridge and Metuchen as well as the county arts program.

My personal recommendation would be to live in a town on the NJ Transit line because then you can very easily get to NYC -- I have fantastic memories in high school of catching the train in with friends and getting rush tickets for Broadway shows. I ended up living in NYC for three years after college.