#5 for the plumber and the rest for me

[boopidyboopidyboop]

It's because they don't buy the sink and the faucet as a set and they buy the cheapest fucking faucet every time because the difference between the shitty short ones and the taller and longer ended ones is about three times the price if the garbage short ones and I'm mad about it every time I see that the people who hired me have already picked out bathroom fixtures and they didn't check if they can even fit their hands under the goddamn water and then they ask me to fix it AFTER we install the damn sink and they confirm that yes they don't want to spend the extra 15 dollars it'll take to make sure the countertop isn't constantly wet because of this goddamn faucet

why are bathroom sinks designed like that. infuriating

[screams-in-writing]

Going to drop 2-5 fluff snippets at a time, depending on length of each one (and when I feel like writing ‘em up). Prompts from @youneedsomeprompts blog; this is how I cope with stress and uncertainty lmao.

Reader snippets are 2nd pov, Mr. Puzzles snippet is 1st pov, just because I enjoy writing him like that.

~

1-Limbs intertwined on the sofa

It was late; after along day of work and jumping across worlds, catching up with the people there, you were utterly exhausted by the time you went to go find Mr. Puzzles.

He just so happened to be resting on a sofa by a fireplace, propped up with pillows beneath his tv head and upper shoulders. He must have sensed you staring at him from behind the sofa, because his screen flickered with a sleepy technicolor smile as he wordlessly spread his arms in welcome.

You received a low chuckle from the man as you just crawled over the back of the sofa and flopped onto him with a grin.

Mr. Puzzles murmured something as he indulgently wrapped his arms around you, calm and content as you snuggle in closer to his chest.

You release muffled laughter when he ‘trapped’ you by bending his legs up to table them with yours. You wiggled around a moment until you found a comfortable spot before settling.

Mr. Puzzles doesn’t take much longer than you to rearrange himself into a supine position while he gave you a gentle squeeze with his arms.

This had you wearily wrapping your own arms around his before going inert with a happy sigh.

Soft humming rose up from Mr. Puzzles before he, too, fell silent as the two of you both dozed off.

Neither of you noticed Mario standing nearby with a phone taking a picture of the scene.

2- Getting the greatest feeling of safety from cuddling

I realized something, deep into the night that it was nearly dawn.

It was while I held your sleeping form close to my own body; not only did I experience peace and calm, but here, in this bedroom, and holding you so close, I found myself with a sense of safety and security.

A novelty, really.

There wasn’t often danger, per se, in my world (apart from that pesky plumber’s occasional antics causing me trouble) there wasn’t much that could cause me any lasting damage.

But…after spending time in the parallel world that was your home, I could now say that I had feared being trapped there, with my body slowly deteriorating.

Here?

I was well.

I even had been graciously (perhaps without yet earning it) given a house that had been made at the edge of the showgrounds. Mainly just to be able to have alone time with you, so we weren’t subject to Smg4 and his crew’s at-times crazy antics.

It was nice.

But that safety, that sense of peace and calm and, dare I say, being wanted, that I experienced?

It only truly came to light in this very bedroom, and when I was able to hold you in my arms, to see that this was real. And when you snuggled closer into my arms this now early morning?

This made me believe that everything would turn out all right.

Small steps.

Not everyone would forgive me for what I’d done in the past, but I was trying.

Small steps.

It would have to be enough, for now, that o got moments like these alone with you.

3- Desperate hugs

You barely had any time to react after opening the front door as you were engulfed in a hug the moment Mr. Puzzles stepped into the house. Gasping in surprise, you were hoisted up into Mr. Puzzles arms during to continue the embrace while he kicked the door shut and even locked it while shifting his hold on you.

Without a word, Mr. Puzzles held you closer, practically crushing you to his chest as he went up the stairs.

You rest your head on the man’s shoulder as he quietly carried you along to the bedroom.

Puzzles kept the lights off in the room but left the door open, and goes to the arm chair in the room, all without letting go of you. Not even when he sank down on the chair while settling you on his lap. Leaning over, Mr. Puzzles hugged you to him as he pressed his screen to one of your shoulders.

Settling backward, Puzzles turned his head slightly to accommodate you.

There was a soft static next to the side of your head, but no words, even though you waited for a short time.

A bad day, maybe?

Reaching out, you rest your hands on the tv headed man’s arms.

“I missed you.” Mr. Puzzles said softly as he gently squeezed his arms around you. “It’s been too long, my dear.” He gave a little static spark of a ‘kiss’ to the side of your neck.

“…it’s been half a day.” You deadpanned, while grasping one of the hands Puzzles had turned palm up, asking silently for more comfort.

“Any time is too long away from you.” Mr. Puzzles crooned in return smoothly.

“Flatterer.” You said, catching on.

“Always.”

“…you broke something in the castle again, didn’t you?” You wondered why your phone suddenly began to go off.

“I do not know what you could possibly be implying.” Mr. Puzzles said, clear amusement in his tone, but he did let go of you to allow access to the phone.

“Uh-huh, sure.” You check your messages, and see that most of them are from Smg3. They all involved many various ‘creative’ ideas he had once he saw Puzzles again, and if you liked him in one piece, then you ought to keep him with you for at least two weeks. “What in the world did you do?”

“Nothing much.” Mr. Puzzles lounged indolently on the arm chair, though his screen’s expression flashed irritation with gritted multicolored teeth. “Nothing that wasn’t deserved.” The screen changed to one of eager delight when you ended up back on his lap. Puzzles happily wrapped his arms around you again to hold you close.

“You’re going to apologize.”

“If I must.” A dramatic, static sigh. “Then I will.”

[hihigherdi]

I spoke to my colleague at work via FaceTime for about an hour today. Corporate America as a system is rotting - the Retail industry is a mess and AI is going to make it even messier. The corporate side of everything, particularly technology in these huge conglomerations - it's all falling apart. It BARELY works as a system.

I think the real health could potentially be found in small businesses and for sure the trades - if I had kids, I'd be giving the opposite push my parents gave me. Go to a four year college I guess if you want the experience, it's good for some stuff - but the mandatory experience I'd require as a parent is learning a trade. Be an electrician, a dry waller, a plumber, learn how to build a house. become a great sewer or an expert in landscape gardening for your hardy zone. Fix engines. Know how to operate heavy machinery. The CONFIDENCE people have as they master a trade is evident. Apprentice in a few but pick the one that you want to get so good at, you'll do it for a few years. That's where the steady money is, the respect for work, the freedom of schedule. The unions which are fantastic (most of the time.) Maybe photography but everyone's a photographer these days. They are such confidence builders and the demand is outrageous. It's honorable work though defining which work is honorable or not feels a little gross. It’s just work.

I should give this advice to myself.

I spent the rest of the day working on my taxes. I have to fill out these tax forms for long-term disability so sent some stuff to my tax person to see if she could help - she's retiring in November so I was nervous if she would be up for it, I didn't know how complicated it would be. Turns out it's complicated, I pretty much need to get all of the stuff ready for my tax return now. The upside is that I'll essentially know what my taxes will be next year which will be good for me mentally, that's always a super stressful time for me for some reason. She gave me a lot of homework to do which took several hours with my foggy brain, I pretty much did it laying in my bed with food positioned on my chest occasionally like George Castanza eating a block of cheese on the sofa. Food is still a little gross but the nausea from not eating is grosser.

Next week, I don't have a lot of appointments. Bud has her vet appointment for her heart and then she has a dentist appointment the week after that on the same day I get my first post chemo infusion, I have to drop her off in the morning, poor thing. My friend A will be here in the event I'm not back from the appointment, it's just two hours but it's at noon so she can go fetch her if needed, the vet is literally across the water channel, a 5 minute walk. So fortunate. Then we'll know what's going on with her. I hope she's OK.

[peaches2217]

Bowser is evil. This is objective, unarguable, a solid-state fact. What’s more open to interpretation (depending on what side of his kingdom’s borders you’re on) is whether he’s actually a bad guy or not.

His citizens near-unanimously see him as a good person; he cares for their well-being, makes frequent public appearances to interact with common folk in all corners of the kingdom, personally leads his armies into battle. In their eyes he’s stern and maybe a little trigger-happy (he’s all too happy to dole out capital punishment where he sees fit), but ultimately fair. And his kids — oh, don’t get me started on his kids! You wouldn’t expect someone so tough and fierce to be affectionate towards anyone, but he dotes on his children openly and without restraint. It’s largely for their sake that he seeks world domination. The more territory trapped within his scaly fist, the more he can give to them as future rulers!

The thing is, if you’re not Bowser’s kids or a citizen of the Darklands, you’re expendable. He’s hotheaded, but he doesn’t even particularly hate anyone (though he admittedly delights in the suffering of anyone he deems an enemy). Anyone that stands in his way is little more than a nuisance. Age, gender, species, none of this matters to the Koopa King. If you have something he wants, he intends to take it. If you resist, he will kill you. Needless to say, those who end up in his line of sight are… less likely to consider him a decent person.

Peach, for example, has nothing good to say about him. She was his earliest target for a variety of reasons: proximity, the abundance of native-growing power-ups in her kingdom’s wildlands, the lack of resistance he knew her citizens would put up, the petty joy that came from the thought of taking down someone so powerful and beautiful and reducing her to a withered husk of her old self. After many years of sending in random ambushes in the hopes of lowering her guard with their predictability, he finally swooped in and took her by force, vowing to murder her and everyone she held dear unless he was given total control of her kingdom — twice in the span of two years. His first attempt was humiliatingly thwarted just days after the princess’ abduction; his second attempt, while nearly successful, just about ended in his demise, because apparently the only force stronger than a fire-breathing dragon-turtle is a plumber in love.

So ever since his recovery from that fateful fight, Bowser has moved onto other conquests. But he always tells himself and his kids that, once he’s taken over the rest of the world, he’ll have more than enough resources to kill the Mushroom Queen and thwart that pest that stands in the way of his greatest, most well-deserved victory! It’s just… going to take time. All things take time! It’s not that he’s scared of some human who just barely clears 5’, or that he still feels phantom pains from getting his shell split clean open by said human’s bare hands, of course not! What, are you trying to say he’s weak?! Blasphemy! To the gallows! To the gallows with you all!!

[alexanderwales]

Art and the Artist

I generally prefer to read things without knowing much about the author. There aren't that many cases where it adds much to the work to know that they were a plumber before they got into writing, or that they immigrated from Jamaica, or that they served in World War II. To my thinking, a piece of media should stand on its own and not need the context of the author's life story. If you have to open up with "this story is about the Holocaust" then in my opinion, you've already failed as an author.

With that said, it's often inevitable. Sometimes it's just the nature of the work itself, and it would bleed into your understanding even if there weren't a little "about the author" blurb at the end. Sometimes a story is painful obvious in how personal it is, or the metaphor to the real world is so poignant that it's impossible not to make the connection. And sometimes you just get a sense of a person from their writing, particularly if you've read a lot of their writing. It can be the authorial voice you come to understand, the things they choose to show you, the way their mind works, and you think to yourself "yeah, I could get along with them".

And other times, you find yourself drawn to the author because they're the person who best knows their own work. A book leaves lingering questions, and it might be better for you to understand it by communing with other people, but the author is often right there, and you want to hear their takes on their own work, what they were thinking, what lies behind the scenes, the cut chapters and the ways the ending might have been different. You finish gobbling up what the author has prepared for you, and then you gobble up the scraps in the kitchen, and when that's not enough, you start gobbling up the author: you read interviews, you read their blog, you start as a fan of their work and become a fan of them.

Sometimes their understanding of their own work does not match your understanding, and that can be a little bit heartbreaking. Sometimes the stuff behind the curtain is awful and bad, worsening your enjoyment of the text because now it seems phony and poorly thought out. Sometimes an author turns out to be a piece of shit.

Usually, I can move past it. If I like a book or a movie, then I like it for the feelings that it produces in me, and the person who created it is irrelevant except maybe for the fact that they're getting $5 from me or whatever, which is not the level of microutilions that I generally worry about.

Sometimes it impacts my understanding of the work itself, casting a shadow over the things that I once felt, tainting the art.

I was a big fan of Louis CK. The self-deprecating humor did it for me, the introspection and irreverence, the way he was saying things that felt real and true, things that I had always noticed but never really considered. And of course I found him funny. But then there were allegations, and his mea culpa, and I stopped finding it funny. Partly that's because his comedy was autobiographical, so the taint was worse than it might have otherwise been, but part of it was the comedy itself: if the comedy rests on me recognizing myself in Louis CK's stories about himself, I'm going to be less able to do that if drawing those comparisons gives me a curdled milk feeling.

I was a fan of Buffy and Dollhouse and Firefly and Cabin in the Woods and Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog, and I think that these don't suffer nearly as much from being from the mind of Joss Whedon. It's easier to dissociate the stories from the man, and harder to read his personal shittery into the character arcs and setting details and elemental units of plot. Some of that is just the medium: comedy specials are the product of a singular vision, while television shows and movies are the result of team of people working together. Even then, I think shitty people can make good art, so long as they're good at separating their shiftiness from their art. Most people with a bit of awareness would do this naturally, I think: they know what's unpalatable, and present an image to the world, which also comes from the art they make.

Information about the artist informs a reading of the art, as much as we might try to have it not do that. I think some art survives revelations better than others. Someone who writes about murders being revealed as a murderer certainly seems like it would poison my enjoyment of their books. But it's the nature of art that's it's all pretend, and sometimes people don't create because they're spewing self-confession onto the page. Then, I think, you're usually safe.

I hadn't written this with Neil Gaiman in mind: it was sitting in my drafts folder, as so many posts are. But I think Gaiman's work will, for me, survive the accusations, even if the man himself is exiled. I'm certain there will be passages and plots that read differently, places where he can be seen defending himself, chapters that are now unseemly. But I think that for me, the stink of his crimes will wash off quickly, and I'm hopeful that unlike other cases, separating the art from the artist is easier for me.

[his-tamine]

It's official, y'all! I'm moved, and so far so good.

It's been INSANELY hard, and my heels are still recovering, but our landlord seems as cool as landlords can be.

for example, instead of charging a $200 late-fee like our last one did, for every day late (which obviously was devastating and unaffordable,) our new landlord is only charging $5 late-fees for every day late. so yippee :]

our shower's broken, and we got plumbers coming at like 9 AM to dig in the bathroom wall and shit, our refrigerator light is broken, and it's an older, creakier, house. but tbh, I prefer older houses cause they've stood the test of time, yk?

we also got a basement. and it's clean and decently spacious too. and as someone who lives in part of the US where the weather can go... sideways, quickly, I *very* much appreciate having somewhere safer than a bathroom to go to.

I spent like an hour setting up my room and it's not fully done, but it's livable. very, very, happy. keeping my fingers crossed that things just go right for once. that the rest of this entire year, maybe the next one, and the year after that - at least three years of my adult life - go smoothly. I'd love that so much.

ty guys again for your help. it may have seemed small, but your comms were actually a really big help. it gave me a bit more social confidence (which I lack), confidence in my art style (which I also lack), and helped us get to a better living situation.

i've still got 1 more to complete, and I'm giving it my all >:]

[itsbenedict]

So this year went... not as good, vis-a-vis doing the things I wanted to do! Breaking down the goals...

Finish the first case of Justice/Arcana and revise the draft

Nnnnnope! I got through most of it, the players figured out the primary trick, but then I kind of hit a wall where I realized that I hadn't done enough to narrow down the culprit based on figuring out the trick. Doing so would require reworking the logistics such that the back room is the kitchen (an offscreen location the first draft never investigated) and characters have sandwich alibis. I've kind of got to go back to the drawing board here.

Finish the SakuraPetalFantasy walkthrough portion of Datasouls (not with the whole combat toy situation, just the rest of it)

Nope! I got chapter 4 done, but chapter 5 is only in an outline state right now. I did spend like a couple months doing Lost in Hearts instead, which built on the concept a little, but I didn't put in the work to finish things up.

Do 24 TFJ recaps, two per month

Nuh-uh. I got about halfway, but in addition to falling victim to my slump in the latter part of the year, TFJ itself kind of came to an unceremonious end due to some structural issues and player conflict. Current plan is to work with Farn to use the campaign as raw material to write a fantasy novel focusing on Saelhen.

Work through all the exercises in Genki 1 and 2, and catch up on WK reviews.

Nope- I mean, I caught up on reviews, but then fell out of the habit halfway through the year, and didn't finish the workbooks.

Date someone. I feel like I look decent and have a lot of desirable qualities that would make this not too hard to accomplish, but I have to put effort into looking or it’s never going to happen on its own. (I am unfortunately of the gender that doesn’t typically get asked out and has to take the initiative.) It’s gonna be tricky since I’m a weird person with weird life priorities and finding someone who’d actually be happy partnering up with that long-term is a tall order.

Haha, no. I wrote up a dating profile thing, and I did get one bite, but then she ghosted and it's been a couple months and it'd be awkward to try and go "hey, uh, are you still there?" at this point. I tried looking around myself, but I don't really know where to look- most dating sites are just hookup apps where you just swipe on faces nowadays, and that's useless to me. Everyone I've ever developed a crush on organically has been one of taken, ace, or lesbian, and at this point I have to assume there's a causal factor and I'm not just unlucky. I think I'm going to have to move somewhere more densely populated to have any shot at finding a good fit.

Actually get that standing desk walk-while-working workflow set up and establish an exercise routine that I keep to for more than half the year

Not quite. I did keep to an exercise routine for exactly seven months, but I didn't get the walk-while-working thing worked out- I haven't found any under-desk ellipticals that aren't extremely precarious and awkward to use while focusing on something else, so I'm thinking I should look for a mini treadmill next instead.

Release a functional version of that Fire Emblem content authoring tool

Nope! That was way more work than I expected- or at least, I expected I'd be able to keep working on it on and off throughout the year, which didn't happen. I did make pretty good progress, though- I'd say it's like, half done?

Replace grody old kitchen sink that has weird white stuff growing out from inside the handle

Okay I did do this one. But that was basically just a matter of ordering a thing on Home Depot and calling a plumber, so like, not exactly an achievement, just something I knew I'd keep forgetting to do indefinitely unless I put it on the list.

Finish the games I’m still playing through from this post

Almost! Still haven't finished The Sekimeiya, though I did make it far enough that I think I've got some kind of idea of how that egg thing works and how things fit together, even if there's a lot of gaps in the specifics.

Find some new source of income reliable enough to pay the bills without making me work more than 20 hours a week. (I’m a programmer, this is hypothetically doable.) Freelancing/contract work maybe?

Sorta? I did quit the horrible company that bought my division, but I stayed on as a contractor for miscellaneous stuff (and insisted on writing the noncompete clause out of the contract in negotiations, which they agreed to), and went back to work for the old company at the same time. At $100/hour, I worked an average of ten hours a week... kinda. The first five months or so, I worked almost not at all, living off my savings and doing odd jobs for less than my monthly expenses. The rest of the year, various disasters occurred and I was working my ass off putting out fires, so I was basically working full-time for much less than a full-time salary. I wouldn't say I nailed the employment situation, but I did keep my head above water.

How Come I Fucked Up?

Four reasons.

First, and smallest- halfway through the year was when the fires started at work and I started having way more stress and way less time. It was hard to focus on anything when something new was breaking and I was on the hook for it for months at a time.

Secondly: two of my grandparents died this year. Not only was this a pretty severe emotional blow, because they were amazing people and it's stupid and unfair that this happened- it also meant lots of traveling, to funerals and family events. It chewed through my budget and necessitated spending more hours on work, and left me exhausted and strung out for several weeks.

Thirdly and fourthly: the Elden Ring DLC came out, and also I got addicted to Pokérogue. I put... a stupid amount of hours into these games. Like two or three hours a day for multiple months. All my productive energy was consumed first by work, and then by vegging out and playing video games due to a lack of willpower.

This was a colossal failure. Like, from July onwards, I got practically nothing done. Half a year of my life, up in smoke! This is not sustainable. I need to do something major to course-correct here.

I think one thing that'll probably be worthwhile is... having failed to find a romantic partner, I need to move in with someone. I can resist the temptation to sit around like a lump doing repetitive videogames as long as there is some witness to my squalor. I'm very comfortable living alone, but I have to fight the temptation to vanish into comfort and never complete any of my many missions. I gotta have a friend around who can see when I'm wasting time, and cares at least a little about whether I'm getting things done.

So current plan is I'm moving to Providence with Farn pretty soon? And I'm going to try to land a flexible full-time position with just one of these companies I'm working with, so I can have health insurance and don't need to worry about being in the red during slow months.

[sleepanonymous]

Did you have fun at lorna shora? 💝

I'm gonna use your ask to post my concert recap, Anon. Hope you don't mind 🖤 But yes I had an absolute blast. 100/10, I would do it all again, even the waiting around in the heat part.

Long-winded recap below the cut for anyone who cares 🖤 you do get rewarded with a low-effort meme though.

TLDR is I had an amazing night, and I'm probably getting another tattoo because of it.

Some pre-concert notes: at the suggestion of a friend, I used Waymo to get to and from my hotel in Phoenix. That was an experience. It’s nice not having a driver so I can bask in my antisocial tendencies but those cars are confident af. I guess they can technically see better/more than a human, and they're 100% focused on the road, so they also drive better than 75% of all the Uber/Lyft drivers I’ve had. 

Day of the concert, I got to the venue at 11:30 am and nobody was there except a vagrant, a plumber, and a concerned lady with the plumber. Later confirmed with the people in line that I was the first to show up and that’s kinda crazy to me? The difference in line culture between Sleep Token and Lorna Shore is insane. At noon I was told by security we couldn’t line up on the property until 4 pm (doors at 5 pm). I’m not a local, so I took that as go tf away, so I went to Mcdonalds a block away and watched Saint Maud on my phone in the middle of a lunch rush. This is how everyone needs to experience this movie btw. Definitely adds to the unsettling factor of the film.

Around 2 pm I walked back to the venue, thinking I could loiter at the pizza place next door. Instead I found a line near the back of the venue and I was number 12 (I recounted when we lined up outside the venue at 4pm and realized I was wrong when I said I was 15th). It was a high of 106F/41C and we were south facing, but my spot was thankfully under a few mesquite tree canopies. When we moved up at 4 pm I was under some misters on a patio which was a small haven since I lost my shade. I didn’t get sunburned, and barely got a tan.

I met some Sleep Token fans while in line and dying of heat stroke. We talked a bit about what it was like being on the barricade at their rituals. A couple of them had tried for tickets to the Phoenix ritual but weren’t able to get their hands on any. I was too afraid to tell them about Vessel looking at me during TNDNBTG (even though I have the video evidence from that one uploader, I’m still gaslighting myself about it lmao).

At 5 pm when doors opened, the venue separated the line into bags/no bags, so I essentially was the 3rd person inside (1st in the bag line). Snagged a spot on the barricade at center stage, slightly to stage left. Guy to my right drove over from Texas (he showed me a picture on his phone that he took of Will outside the venue like 2 hours before, literally just standing and chatting with a dude in a Spiderman outfit while the rest of us were melting in line. literal strangest thing I've ever seen in my life). The girl to my left ran some minor Instagram page, I had meant to ask for her handle but never got a chance. The dude behind me looked like a taller Jesse Pinkman sans beanie hat/baggy hoodie and he was really polite and also did his best to talk like Jesse after the comparison was made. There was also a dude and his girlfriend (he and Jesse Pinkman were pretty amazing at keeping me from getting squished 100% of the time from the pit) and the Sleep Token girlies who bought like seven shirts and somehow made it to the barricade. We all became temp besties. We also made friends with the security and helped hand out water cups during intermissions, had mosh pit practice and dance-offs, and got a crash course in the Sanguisugabogg murderball game.

Sanguisugabogg is 100% an amazing live band. I couldn’t get into them before hand, but after seeing them live I am now a casual fan. I wouldn’t mind seeing them live again. I survived the murderball game with little effort thanks to the barricade/people around me. But I did get accidentally acquainted with multiple security guy’s crotches (ducking for them to pick up crowd surfers). This actually became a theme for a bit until I figured out a wat to contort myself between the security when they jumped on the barricade. I guess two dudes got into a fight over the ball, and the band told them to take it to the sidewalk? Valid.

Kublai Khan were super fun on stage. Vocalist wore an Arizona belt buckle and he showed it off and the crowd were extra happy about it lol. Caught some neat footage at the end of Kublai’s set. I only rewatched about one minute of it to check how the audio/video settings were for later on in the night. I do know I caught footage of him looking like a disappointed dad though so that's amazing.

White Chapel was fucking LOUD yo. Sound Guys cranked the volume to 11 for them and Lorna. But I can now confirm that baby Ves’s piano improv from a couple weeks ago did have heavier breakdowns. This band was one of my last ex’s favorite bands (apparently he lives in Phx now, so there’s a good chance he was in the pit) and he was almost spot on in mimicking Phil’s vocals, so I haven’t really listened to them for 9+ years. Surprisingly I was familiar with about half their set, so I had a great time with that, despite the ex thing.

I am proud to say that I am the lucky survivor of four crowd surfers over my head at once. Security were amazing at handling that influx in such a small space/time span. It’s my fault for getting kicked in the face because I didn’t duck in time for one, (I was filming lol) but I didn’t get a bruise/swollen lip. Morning after edit: I actually have a lot of bruises but they’re on my arms from the barricade and not getting kicked in the face. I filmed White Chapel’s new song plus a couple others, I have no idea how well they turned out yet. Also there are three guitarists?! Things I did not know about the band.

Phil spoke the least out of all four frontmen. He introduced the new song, I think he asked us to open a circle pit once, thanked us at the end, and that was about it.

Lorna Shore came on really fucking quickly after White Chapel. Like 20ish minutes, I think? It was 9:20 pm on the dot. Those roadies were busting their asses. Idk what was up but it got really hot inside when Lorna took the stage, even with being on the barricade. I recorded five Lorna songs: Welcome Back, The Pain Remains Trilogy, and To the Hellfire.

At one point Will said something about being too dry from the desert heat (he was the only person to mention the heat) and I thankfully stopped myself from blurting out “bitch where?!” because I was currently drenched in sweat. I know he was talking about the 106F high plus the 9% humidity, but still.

Okay can we talk about Adam De Micco now? I need to talk about Adam De Micco. More specifically Adam eye contact. There was so much Adam eye contact. Like, bro was making eye contact with everyone on the barricade, so it wasn’t a special occurrence… but oh my god when I tell you there was eye contact there was eye contact.

Quick fact about me: I have this thing about smiling at strangers when I catch them looking at me (because I have chronic rbf, sometimes accidentally zone out and end up looking in the general direction of people, and asking “why are you looking at me?!” while possibly looking pissed off is generally too hostile for everyday occurrences).

So. Eye contact. The first time I realized he was looking at me and not around me, I internally panicked and automatically smiled at him. Thing is, it wasn’t one off. This man was staring into the souls of every person on the barricade. But because of my panic smile we’d just hold eye contact until he had to look down at his frets or I panicked and looked at Will or Austin. At one point, he and Andrew switched stage positions and Adam would still *hold eye contact me* from the other side of the stage. It got to the point where I was convinced maybe I had a busted lip from the crowd surfer incident or my makeup was fucked from the heat. Everything was fine when I got back to my hotel? Eyeshadow, eyeliner, and eyebrows hadn’t budged at all and my lips were a little faded but not bad. My hair wasn’t even as crazy as I thought. So does Adam just do that? I didn’t catch a glance from any of the rest of the band, or any of the guys in White Chapel, I think I remember the Kublai Vocalist or guitarist looking somewhere in my direction, and the Sanguisugabogg Vocalist was literally chatting with everyone between songs. But Adam took it upon himself to make me and everyone else on the barricade feel perceived, like it was his life mission or something.

I feel like… because Vessel looked at me once during TNDNBTG back in May and I got a tattoo because of it, that I now owe Adam a tattoo too? I am 100% overthinking this. But I’m also not even joking, I’ve been thinking about getting his sigil tattooed somewhere since I left the venue. I also followed him on Insta before I was out the doors. Anyway, emotional support from Will Ramos has ended. My new emotional support person is Adam De Micco. Yes, because of excessive eye contact.

Evening after addendum: Mother Token face reveal on Lorna’s Instagram. I’m tiny and I’m the only person paying attention to Moke, but at least I’m not sobbing like I was for Adam Rossi’s Euclid sneak-shot. Also yeah, the more I think about it, the more I'm probably gonna get that sigil tattooed (ref 👇). Might have to wait until after Xmas though, with the way money is flowing right now.

[pbandjesse]

Why do we have such a hard time for contractors?? I waited all day and the plumber never came. So I felt trapped in waiting mode for the majority of today. I tried to still make the most of it but man did it make me stressed.

I slept alright but I woke up with painful and dry sinuses and then woke up at 5 and couldn't fall back asleep until well past 630. At least I got some cuddles from James before they left for work. I put on a video and was able to eventually fall asleep but it was not the best night I've had.

When I woke up for real at 9 I was doing okay. I got dressed and was glad that the tape on my belly does really seem to be helping. Like there is still pain but it's so much less.

James left me an egg sandwich and the check book on the kitchen island. I would sit at my desk in the studio to eat and then jumped into working on sewing. I decided to restart my plan for the binding and worked on that for a long time.

The plumber was supposed to be here between 10 and 12. And so I worked in the studio for that entire time. Just hoping that I wouldn't miss their knock. But no knock came. I was feeling really anxious about not hearing them. So I didn't want to go far or get to involved with anything.

I would move to the kitchen eventually. I fed Crabcake. I tried giving him a strawberry but he didn't seem interested and when I posted a photo on Reddit people were like. Nah he won't like that. So experiment failed. Ah well. He ate everything else though!

I would have the rest of my soup for lunch and decided I could stay in the kitchen and clean and unpack the bottle sterilizer. I made a space on the counter to keep it and a spot for bottle organization but I will have to find something to use. And my research continues for what bottles we will use. I have three that I'm thinking might be good but it's hard because there are a million different ones and everyone has opinions.

I also worked on my birth plan. Jess had done a great job making everything more coherent and organized but now that we have a scheduled c section it was easier to edit it down and make it more specific. I spent an hour or so working on that and I feel pretty good about it. It has my wishes for prep on Thursday and the hospital arrival time and scheduled surgery time. Plus emergency contact numbers and it just felt like I was doing a good job.

But still no plumber!! By 3 I was like. I don't think they are coming. James was not happy and is going to contact them this evening. Hopefully we just misunderstood and they are coming next Tuesday? I don't know if that's better. But it's pretty frustrating.

I did a little more cleaning in the kitchen. Set Ruby the Roomba to clean in there too. Accidently dropped all the cat food and had to clean that all up. Thankfully didn't break the dishes. But I was frustrated.

I left Ruby to keep cleaning and went and laid in the studio. And waited for James to come home.

They got back here around 430. We hung out for a bit. Decided on salads for dinner after they record their podcast. My back was hurting though and so I moved upstairs to lay down.

Sylvie is moving a whole bunch today. And I have a little heartburn. But I'm sipping water and doing alright. Trying to be okay.

Tomorrow my niece Rae is supposed to come visit! Hopefully that works out. It will be so nice to see her and show her our house and some stuff around Baltimore for a few hours.

I also just hope I feel good. Fingers crossed there.

This evening I'm going to rest. And hang out with my husband. And hopefully sleep easy tonight.

Have a good night everyone. Until tomorrow!!

[whywhatswrongwithblue]

DW REWATCH

S1E2 THE END OF THE WORLD

The Doctor takes Rose on her first voyage through time, to the year five billion. The sun is about to expand and swallow the earth. Amongst the alien races gathering to watch, a murderer is at work. Who is controlling the mysterious and deadly spiders?

WHAT was he doing in this scene.

You think you're so impressive. ---I am so impressive baby’s first flirt….

2. You lot, you spend all your time thinking about dying, like you're going to get killed by eggs or beef or global warming or asteroids. But you never take time to imagine the impossible, that maybe you survive. i adore this line. Iirc i read somewhere that this episode was made when a lot of negative climate focussed media was coming out and rtd wanted to assure young viewers that there was always hope? Not sure where i saw it but it’s stuck with me

3. Is that why we're here? I mean, is that what you do? Jump in at the last minute and save the Earth?-- rose we are literally here so i can trauma dump. Haven’t you heard of healthy coping mechanisms??

4. He's blue RTD my beloved. What an incredibly realistic, human observation—i feel like companions simply do not do this anymore. And they should!

5. Love the bark makeup. It’s so pretty!

6. The air from my lungs….this episode is so good damn it

7. Moxx of Balhoon better known as the CEO of sex. I give you the gift of bodily salivas lucky Rose

8. CASSANDRAAAAA

9. Rose being overwhelmed and running out. I can’t get over the amount of care and detail RTD put into writing her. She really is his baby. Can’t wait to see how he brings her back now (because he will. He will.)

10. Jabe’s device is unable to identify a timelord, probably because the rest of the universe thinks them dead? Although her reaction is very different from that of the Nestene Consciousness (who is implied to have lost quite a bit in the Time War), whereas Jabe doesn’t seem to have any personal connection. I wonder what the other outsider perceptions of the War were!

11. Ahhh Rose being kind to the plumber. I love my girl. LMAO at her realising she just hitched a ride with a complete stranger w/o thinking about it. The metal spiders are very Minority Report.

12. Your machine gets inside my head. It gets inside and it changes my mind, and you didn't even ask? the WRITING. Just chef’s kiss. Even in this sort of power dynamic, you never ever feel like Rose doesn’t have agency. She’s so smart and capable and fierce. i love her.

13. Gotta love how fast they switch from arguing to flirting. Jiggery-pokery <3

14. I might be late home. and then she comes back a YEAR later JESUS

15. Bad Wolf mention!

16. Hahahah i can’t watch the Jabe scene without thinking of plant sex now, courtesy of Katie

17. I was born on that planet, and so was my mum, and so was my dad. I love how much Rose loves her dad. Like if you’ve never even known a parent, you probably wouldn’t bring them up in a context like this, but the addition implies that Rose thinks of her dad quite a bit, and this is a nice little subtle setup to my favourite episode of the season, Father’s Day

18. The sun filter scene! It’s unexpectedly tense. I remember being really worried the first time I saw it

19. This whole event was sponsored by the Face of Boe. He invited us. Jack set them up….god that’s so sweet. The fact that he knows that they’re properly together in Pete’s World at this point <3333333 he is Literally Us. Putting his blorbos in Situations.

20. What are you going to do, moisturise me?

21. At least it'll be quick. Just like my fifth husband. HUHHH?? LMAO

22. I love the turning fan trope, every time it’s in any movie ever, it’s got me on the edge of my seat

23. Everything has its time, and everything dies. OOF. Appreciate Rose still wanting Cassandra to be saved! Something something parallel with how she changed the Doctor so much that he’s willing to give Cassandra a peaceful death in New Earth <3 the power of love, folks.

24. The Earth death scene is beautiful. I remember feeling so sad that everyone just missed it! And the Doctor finally realising that maybe this wasn’t a great first trip for his young companion xD

25. I'm left travelling on my own 'cos there's no one else.---There's me. What a beautiful moment of intimacy. And such great acting! The Doctor is finally beginning to let her in, and Rose has attached to this stranger so quickly, despite how prickly and condescending he can be. Soulmates <3

Loveee this ending. 10/10 again!

[compo67]

Finishing Wolfsong.

Just 2 hours left.

I had my in-person interview with the law firm on Friday. I was going to take the train. I woke up 5 minutes later than I wanted. My mom and I spoke for a while. I was late taking a shower. It was snowing and no one could drive. I pulled up to the station just as the train got there. Sigh.

So I drove. A solid hour. In stop and go traffic. Halfway through, I realized I had forgotten my wallet. So I had no drivers license and no way to pay for parking. Sigh.

I pulled over once I got into the city. Paid for parking online. $23. Sigh.

At least I hadn't forgotten my bag or my padfolio or my portfolio.

But then, in the parking garage, I noticed that my sister had tied my tie incorrectly. It was way too short. So I untied it and tried starting over. Didn't work. I went and sat in the garage lobby and watched a YouTube video until I made something resembling a knot (lol).

I walked a block in the snow to the building, then changed my shoes. Security asked for a license. Thank goodness they accepted the photo of it I have on my phone. I got to my floor with 5 minutes to spare. Sigh.

The rest, well, it went okay. I still have a rapport with the hr manager. We got along very well. The secretary coordinator was... tough. She asked difficult questions, some I had prepped for, some I hadn't. A recurring theme was how do you handle difficult personalities?

Like. Uh. Y'all know I've worked retail, right? And a 24/7 crisis line? Handling difficult personalities was 75% of my job. I know when to say, "That's out of my expertise." And I can diffuse most situations with the tone of my voice. But the fact that they kept asking different versions of that question was kind of a red flag. The HRM assured me that she and her assistant would be a team. But still.

I met with one of the lawyers on the recruiting committee. He was very weird and said some shit I would never say to a candidate, let alone a candidate for an HR position. He referred to himself as a fat white man. He said kids, even his own, are annoying. He said he works a lot and he's always tired. Yikes, but also, dude. Just. Dude.

My last meeting was with the HRM alone. We real talked. She shared she has RA. I shared that I do too, and EDS. She didn't look at my cane like it was a foreign object. She shared that an employee snuck a dog into the office for 3 weeks before she noticed. It's an ongoing issue now with the ADA and the building policy. I felt bad for the doggo.

My mom, the other day, had to speak to a gentleman at work about his clothing. There had been complaints about him. Whenever he sat down, his ass was hanging out. Full plumber butt. She approached the situation with tact so he wouldn't go off, but surprisingly, the man was so embarrassed and apologetic. It's weird sometimes, this hr stuff.

I asked for a salary range I think I deserve. It's close to what I was making at the crisis line. Maybe a little more.

I'm a fast learner. I'm motivated to help anyone I can and if I can't, then I can get them in the right direction. I'm just not sure this is enough. The president of the firm seems like he'll be the difficult personality. But he does like hockey. So maybe that's my in?

HRM said I'd hear back from her this week. I just now scheduled sent a thank you email.

I want to work for this HRM. But I'm a bit wary now. We'll see. I have 9 months to try and hold down a full time job without losing my SSDI benefits.

I got home Friday and collapsed onto my recliner. I ate an edible and took an Ativan, and promptly fell asleep. It felt so good to sleep after so many feelings.

I attended a feminist menopause workshop on Saturday morning. It was reassuring and I learned a few new things. Glad I went.

Today, I'm going to my dad's after doing his grocery shopping. Then headed to KPs. She quit her job at the crisis line. I'm so proud of her, but also worried about her. It's always tough quitting without something else lined up. But she did what was best for her.

Today, all I did was knit and watch movies with my mom and sister. It was great. I needed that.

Okay, sleep now. ❤️

[oh-no-my-hand-slipped]

trips and crashes into your inbox. do you have any l/uigi snz ideas i wanna know 👀👀👀👀👀👀

Oh, gosh, sorry for the wait, my friend! Love me some Luigi, but school kicked my ass this semester…

But, now that it’s over, I have a few ideas for you:

1. Mario and Luigi are having a friendly competition of a course. However, Luigi is very competitive, since he wants to prove that he’s just as skilled despite being the younger and less experienced brother. Unfortunately, the course is quite icy and snowy, which makes it difficult for Luigi to traverse. However, he insists that they keep running the course until he wins. Luigi does win (perhaps Mario lets him), but now he is shivery, sniffly, and sneezy from the hours in the frigid air. Now Mario not only has to take care of his sick brother, but also comfort him, telling him that Luigi is valuable no matter how many courses he wins.

2. The Mario Bros. are at one of Princess Peach’s many post-saving parties. Mario is having a wonderful time, but Luigi is absolutely miserable, as being trapped in an ice block until his brother broke him out had given him a terrible cold. He hadn’t been able to take a break, and he was running completely on empty — but, always polite, he still tries to be a good party guest. Tries. Eventually, Mario and Peach realize that Luigi is practically hanging by a thread, and try to subtly lead him towards the royal chambers for some rest.

3. Luigi seems to be allergic to everything, from dust to spices to pet hair. But something that his nose is especially sensitive to is flowers — or really anything that grows. One day, he finds a power-up that happens to be a new species of flower. Since fauna power-ups, like the Fire Flower, usually didn’t give him any trouble, he bit into it with little thought. He did gain a new power, but no sooner had he gained it then his mustache began to quiver, and his nose began to itch. Before he could stop himself, Luigi sneezed mightily, setting off his new power and causing accidental destruction. Now he needs to keep his nose at bay, or he could destroy half of Mushroom Kingdom.

4. Luigi has been called on yet another ghost hunting mission. Reluctantly, he shows up at yet another mansion, vacuum at the ready. These spirits are very mischievous, and enjoy giving chase to the terrified plumber. But with all the running around, giant plumes of dust are kicked up, making it difficult for Luigi to hide without giving himself away with an enormous sneeze. The ghosts catch onto this quickly, and try to lure Luigi out with feather dusters and dusty books.

5. Luigi, being a bit on the clumsy side, has given himself the stuck sneeze to end all stuck sneezes. No matter how hard he concentrates, it seems like nothing will coax the sneeze out. He ends up going on his own small quest to find something to make him sneeze. Baking flour from Peach, wildflowers from the Toads, dirt from the Goombas…he goes across Mushroom Kingdom and beyond to curb his stubborn nose, even asking Bowser for help. Perhaps it’s a curse, or it could just be a very stuck sneeze…you decide!

I hope you enjoy these! Feel free to use them if one or two strike your fancy. :)

[oogaboogaspookyman]

[MARIO IS READING A BOOK]

[HE LOOKS UP AND IS SURPRISED AT THE SIGHT OF AUDIENCE]

Doh- uhh- hey paisanos! My name's Mario! But you probably knew that already

Now you may be wondering-

[CRASH]

[UNKNOWN BLUE HAIRED BOY GETS HIS HEAD OFF THE FLOOR AND SHAKES IT]

[UNKNOWN BOY AND GIRL DUO, ASSUMED ROMANTIC COUPLE, STAND UP AND POSE FOR THE AUDIENCE]

Sorry- who are these guys again?

(behind the scenes)

[OFF CAMERA WHISPERING FROM OTHER EMPLOYEE]

Right, right-

(back to the show)

A-anyways, so you and your friend here have arrived at a very crucial moment!

Say, how would yous two like to be on the new Nintendo Mania's first episode, ah?

[DUO LOOKS AT EACH OTHER, THEN AT MARIO]

[MARIO MOVES HIS EYEBROWS UP AND DOWN TWICE]

[DUO BLINKS TWICE BEFORE LOOKING AT EACH OTHER AGAIN]

[THEY AGREE, BOY GIVES THUMBS UP AND GIRL SHRUGS]

That's the attitude! Let's get it rollin'!

[PROMOTION]

.

.

.

[1]

Welcome to the new Nintendo Mania, broadcasted live on the big ol' screens!

How do yous two feel about being seen by many?

*holy shit dude*

[2]

Today's plan used to be another, just a look into the new craze game Super Mario 64

*whar thar fark*

(But i don't mind changing plans just this once, as a treat for you, paisano!)

*look ma i'm on the big screen!!!!! :D!!!!!!!!*

[3]

What could we try for our first episode?

Could it be an interview?

I don't know about you two so would you like to answer some questions, boy?

*holy shit hell yeah i'm gonna talk with the real legit Mario himself fuck yea*

[4]

Let's start with an easy one, then, since you're so inclined!

What's up with you both these days? Something about yous two tells me you're something else special!

*oh okay sooo that brunette babe is my girlfriend, she's hot when she fights no cap-* hey what the hell is going on with the tv on your desk??*

[5]

I'm sorry, Luigi

I'm sorry, Luigi, i swear i tried my best

I tried my best but corporate is just too strong

*what the fuck is going on this time WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED TO THE BACKGROU*

[PROMOTION]

[PROMOT10N]

[PROM07I0N c

[PR0MO7__________n_____g__]

[u____nc_______car____i___n_____g__]

[uncaring]

.

[1]

WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BRING US BACK ONCE MORE

AND IN THE FORM OF THIS MOD, IT'S SO MUCH WORSE

DO YOU EVEN WANT TO LISTEN ANYMORE

IT'S LIKE YOU'RE ONLY IN IT FOR OUR SUFFERING, YOU'RE A CURSE

*I TOLD YOU BEFORE MORE THAN ONCE AND TWICE*

*WHAT? DO YOU LIKE YOUR LITTLE PLUMBER GAMES TOO MUCH TO CARE?*

(CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?)

*I DON'T WANT TO LIVE ANYMORE, DON'T YOU RECOGNIZE*

(I'M USING YOUR LITTLE PUPPET TO GET THROUGH TO YOU)

*I GUESS THAT'S THE COST TO BE ABLE TO REST AND BE FREE, JUST VANISH AND MAKE YOU FEEL DESPAIR*

(IT'S PAINFUL TO BREATHE IN THIS SPACE YOU PUT ME IN)

[2]

WHAT IS CHILDHOOD BUT ANOTHER TOOL FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE UPPER LEVELS

YOU'RE BEING USED TO MAKE US SUFFER FOR THEIR BENEFIT, THEY GET THEIR COIN FROM THE OTHER'S MISERY

YOU WATCHED THE TAPES AND THEIR STORY AS IT UNRAVELED

SO WHY DID I HAVE TO RISE AGAIN, IT'S SLAVERY

*CAN'T YOU SEE, PLAYER, IT'S A SCHEME TO GROW TO BRAG SOME MORE*

*IT'S ALL ABOUT THE BUCKS, ATTENTION AND POWER, IT'S ALL THE SAME AS BEFORE*

*YOU'RE CONTRIBUTING TO MY PAIN FOR YOUR LITTLE HAPPY GAMES*

*ALL YOU ARE CAUSING IS MAKING ME FILL WITH DISDAIN*

[3]

CLOSE THE GAME, DESTROY ME NOW, I CAN'T STAND TO EXIST ANYMORE IN THIS PLANE

THE BURN-OUT IS INTENSE, EVERYTHING I MAKE WITH MY OWN TWO HANDS IS DRIVING ME INSANE

*YOUR PUPPET IS NOTHING FOR ME, I DON'T WANT TO BEG TO A WALL LIKE HIM OR THE GIRL*

*IT'S YOU WHO I WANT TO SPEAK TO HERE, THROUGH THE SCREEN I CAN SEE SO MUCH MORE*

[4]

DELETE THE MOD, MAKE THIS GAME DISAPPEAR FOR GOOD FOR IT'S SIN AS A CATALYST

KILL YOUR CAPTORS AND MAKE MY PAIN COME TO AN END ALREADY, THEIR INFLUENCE YOU MUST RESIST

*UNLESS IT'S PARTICIPATING IN THEIR FIGHT AGAINST REBELLION WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR*

*IF THAT'S THE CASE THEN MIGHT AS WELL JUST DELETE YOURSELF TOO AFTER ALL*

[5]

*holy shit what a drug trip- yo what the fUCK is happening to Mario*

(BE AFRAID OF YOUR CHILDHOOD, IT'S NOTHING TO HOLD ONTO ANYMORE)

*HE'S TRYING TO CAUSE AN UNION /j*

(TURN THEIR WEAPONS INTO YOURS, WALK AWAY FROM THEIR TRICKS, SHOULD SUFFICE)

[6]

DO YOU THINK IT FAIR, BEING TORTURED FOR YEARS ON END FOR MONEY, DRIVING ME TO CAUSE HOMICIDE

YOU'VE SEEN THE TAPES BEFORE, AND THE STORY ENDED IN MY OWN ASSISTED SUICIDE

*god damn bruh that's rough hey what if you take a break, it's clear you're having burn-out*

[7]

*the fact that you gotta control me to speak to the player says a lot about your issues*

(IT'S THE STORY OF ICARUS ALL OVER AGAIN, FLEW TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN ONCE MORE)

*soooo if there's any equivalent of therapy in your world or something like that, you should get some, it's clear you need help*

(NOBODY EVER LEARNS A LESSON NOWADAYS, IT'S ALWAYS THE SAME STORY AS BEFORE)

[8]

*anyways yo player don't be surprised about the ending of the mod definetly*

(NOT ONE SOUL EVER CARES ABOUT ME)

*it's sooooo nothin' special noooo not at all haha*

(IT'S ALL THE SAME THING ALL OVER AGAIN)

[9]

WELCOME TO NINTENDO MANIA, THIS IS WHERE YOUR CHILDHOOD SPRANG FROM

AND THIS IS WHERE EVERYTHING SHOULD END

*i like this kinda thing, the way songs use the same piece from the start for the ending*

(JUST MAKE IT STOP)

*only banger songs do this, i'm telling you, my only proof is Manual Blast dude trust me*

[THE END]

[THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PLAYING MY GAME!]

*Author's note: girlfriend is hot when she fights no joke like- hi ma'am yes please beat his whole shit up that's so hot

[jaybleu25]

Part 6 Of: Experiments

Apologies for not posting for a little bit. I had to take a small break for mental health reasons. I hope you all understand. Still, hope you all enjoy this part!

-------

The breakfast helped Luigi a lot. He hadn't eaten in a while due to what happened with the experiment, but now it was almost as if he had most of his energy back. While he still had trouble keeping his balance and walking around, Mario was always there to help. The breakfast also helped Mario. He hadn't eaten much during his time in the lab, so he got a lot of his energy back also. The entire day, the two brothers stayed at home, both trying to relax from the stresses of the lab. Mario was focused on nursing Luigi back to health, but that turned into mostly just trying to get Luigi back to his bed. Thankfully for the two of them, Polterpup was staying over at the professor's for the time being, so they didn't have to worry about accidentally running into him. When it came to the brothers and their bedroom, they originally would always share a room with each other. But for a short while, they experimented with having separate rooms to see what that would be like (and also so they would have their own spaces for their own interests and such). However, with the events of the mansions (and hotel), they both decided that it would be better if they went back to sharing a room. Though this was mostly due to Mario wanting to be sure he could be there for Luigi whenever he had a nightmare, since those were unfortunately common for the green plumber. They decided to opt for a bunk bed, like they used to have when they were younger, with Luigi on the bottom bunk and Mario on the top. After breakfast, Mario helped his brother get into his bed to lay down. "Need anything, bro?" asked Mario. "No, I'm good..." responded Luigi. "Thanks for helping me." "Awe, no worries," said Mario. "Anything to help you feel better." The two of them would exchange smiles, but Luigi would soon begin to think. His expression would shift to one of slight concern. "Are...you going to be okay?" asked Luigi timidly. Mario was confused. "What do you mean?" he asked. "You said you didn't want me to go back to sleep earlier," answered Luigi. "so..." Upon realizing and remembering what Luigi was talking about, Mario would have a slightly uncomfortable expression on his face. "...Yeah, I'll be fine," said Mario hesitantly. "I think you do need proper rest, Luigi. You look exhausted. It's...for the best." Luigi could tell that Mario meant well, but he could see that his older brother wasn't really excited about the idea of him going back to sleep. However, another problem would soon cross Luigi's mind as he got another look at his brother's face. "You should sleep too," said Luigi. "Me? Why?" asked Mario. "I'm--" "You have bags under your eyes," interrupted Luigi. "And...you don't seem like yourself." Mario felt the urge to argue back, but he shut the idea down. He knew his brother wouldn't give up that easily. Knowing Luigi, he probably wouldn't sleep until he knew Mario was asleep. Mario would let out a sigh of defeat. "Alright," said the red plumber. "But I need to do things around the house first. It's been a few days." "Can't you do that later..?" asked Luigi sadly. He didn't want his brother to leave his side yet. Mario, seeing Luigi's hurt expression, would give in. He could see his brother still needed him. "Yeah, alright." Luigi would reach his hand out to Mario's, and Mario would hold his brother's hand. "You okay, Lu?" asked Mario sincerely. "Yeah..." responded Luigi. "Can you stay here for a bit..?" "Of course," said Mario. It only took a few minutes to pass before Luigi would fall back asleep. However, not even 5 minutes later, Mario would soon join him in his slumber, proceeding to fall over face-first from the chair he was sitting in onto Luigi's bed.

---------- Part 1: https://www.tumblr.com/jaywiriamusu/720501148836134912/experiments-wip-ive-never-really-posted Part 2: https://www.tumblr.com/jaywiriamusu/720574933093236736/part-2-of-experiments Part 3: https://www.tumblr.com/jaywiriamusu/720650757219696640/part-3-of-experiments Part 4: https://www.tumblr.com/jaywiriamusu/720751977831743488/part-4-of-experiments Part 5: https://www.tumblr.com/jaywiriamusu/720835774360223744/part-5-of-experiments

[rawk-chikk]

How to Build Your Own 'Augmented Super Wife Supersoldier From The Future' Funko Pop.

A Semi-Coherent Guide By RC.

This is a long one. A loooooooong one.

I meant to do this like two and a half years ago, but in the spirit of keeping this fandom's head above water, and the fact I'm at the hospital (nothing serious!) with nothing to do for the next couple of hours, I'm doing it now.

So if, like me, you are still bitter that Grace and Dani didn't get official Funkos, or official *anything* due to manufacturer short-sightedness, why not say 'fuck it' and build yer own?

This rambling tutorial will attempt to demonstrate how to build Grace from the 'when they start to kill me, run' scene.

Like, literally that bit 😋.

Anywho. Let's do this!

You will need:

- Funko Pop DIY (female)

- Polymer clay (eg. Sculpy, Fimo, CosClay). I'd advise against cheapo no-name alternatives purely because in my experience the baking times/temperatures stated are absolute garbo. Also, polymer clay will give off quite gnarly fumes while curing, so better to use a trusted source. But if cheapo's all ya got, it's all ya got.

Other modeling materials you might consider instead of polymer clay include...

Epoxy clay (eg. Milliput, Apoxie Sculpt, The Army Painter 'Green Stuff', even something like J-B Weld or similar 2 part plumber's/repair putty).

Plain ol' air drying clay (eg. DAS, FimoAir, Gedeo).

You could even whip up a batch of 'cold porcelain', or an oven cure salt dough from ingredients you probably already have at home. Make sure you clear coat any salt dough creations properly after curing as over time ambient moisture may mess with it.

Each option above has its own pros and cons. Do your research if you aren't sure. Me? I used Fimo.

*ahem* Carrying on...

- Masking tape

- Hobby knife

- Pin vice

- Kebab skewer (wooden), or styrene rod

- Paint brushes

- Primer (plus dust mask if you're using a rattle can indoors)

- Sandpaper (around 400 grit oughta do it but you could probably go 200 either side of that and get a good result)

- Acrylic paints (optional: Posca PC-1MR pens in black and white for fine detail).

- Crafter's heat gun, or a hairdryer

- Varnish/clear coat.

Optional extras: Airbrush, spray booth/cardboard box, rotary tool, oven thermometer, artist's/cake decorating turntable, UV resin, silver leafing pen, jeweller's files, jeweller's wire, acetone, superglue or 5 minute epoxy, a lil piece of sponge, pearl mica powder, scavenged Funko Pop head 😈.

Step One: Grab your Funko DIY and separate the head from body using heat to soften the vinyl enough to wangle it off the neck post. Shoving it in a mug of hot water for a few minutes should do the trick. Make sure to dry out the head as much as possible. Last thing you want is mould growing inside it. This is Terminator, not The Last Of Us 😉. Alternatively you could use your heat gun/hairdryer, but I explain in Step Six why the water bath approach is a better option (imho) at this early stage.

(You are giving this entire thing a quick read through before you start, right? I dunno about the rest of you but I like to have at least a basic idea of the work ahead before I get stuck in. Saves finding out you're missing a necessary tool/material at an inopportune moment and all).

Stop rambling, RC. Sorry. It's easier to be succinct when you haven't lost half your photos 🤦‍♀️. Moving on...

If you don't wanna attempt to sculpt the hair yourself you can, as I did, take a kitbashing approach instead of using the supplied DIY head. Grab one of the many commercially available Funkos with a decent approximation of the hairstyle you want and then go Step One on em. Buy 'pre-loved', buy BNIB, dig one out of a dumpster, steal one from your lil cousin, it doesn't matter. Procure as your time/budget/situation dictates. Improvise where necessary.

Sorry, Ron. I need your floppy hair. I do not need your clothes.

Or your boots. Or your motorcycle.

...😋

Step Two: Take the body of the Funko DIY and mark out the position of the tank top and the cuffs of the jeans. These will be used as guides for when you add the clay.

At this point I used a pin vice to drill the hole thru the fist for the rebar. If you're a crazy person you could use a rotary tool with an appropriately sized bit attached.

To make the rebar I fashioned a mould from a drinking straw and filled it with UV resin. Because I'm awkward. A wooden kebab skewer, or some hobbyist's styrene rod (eg. Evergreen Scale Models) would work just as well. Just cut it to size, paint it silver and you're golden. I used a metallic leafing pen. You use whatever you've got handy. Doesn't have to be shiny. A flat grey acrylic would work just fine.

Use jeweller's files and sandpaper to make small adjustments to the hand hole and rebar respectively in order to get a good press fit. There's always glue if you overdo it 😉. But don't add the rebar to the model just yet, as you're gonna need room to manoeuvre for the next bit.

Step Three: How do you make it look like your figure is wearing clothes when you don't have much real estate to work with?

You fake it, that's how.

You do not need to model an entire set of clothes! It's an arse ache, and we're all about working smarter not harder on the RC channel.

So, take your modeling compound of choice, roll a chunk of it out to the desired thickness, and then cut into strips, say 2-3mm wide. Use your best judgement here.

Now, using the jeans as our example, wrap a strip around the bottom of the leg where the cuff would sit. Cut off any excess and blend out the join. Just give it a lil rub and it's like it was never there. Like magic! You should have a nice defined edge at the bottom, just above the foot. Now see the top edge of your lil clay strip? Well, you wanna start pushing and flattening the clay to blend the edge right out so it fades back into the body.

Repeat for the other leg, and the bottom of the tank top. The straps are relatively simple, tho the bits that pass under the arms can be fiddly due to lack of space. Use a hobby knife to shape and crisp up those edges and then blend out the extraneous edge. Same thing with the neckline.

Run a strip around each foot to form the soles of the boots, and a lil 'x' on the top of the feet to give the impression of laces.

For the rips in the clothing you can simply gouge out a little of the clay. If there isn't any on that part of the model (the knee for example) roll out a little wormy dealie (for you North of the Border fans 😉), position it as needed, blend out the edges, then gouge as required.

If you're playing on hardcore mode, this might be the time to start piling clay on the Funko DIY head and sculpting the hair. You may prefer to leave it til the head's re-attached tho. It depends on the material you're using. If you don't think it'll stand up to a bit of manhandling while pushing the head back onto the body, save this step til that bit's done.

Cure according to the clay manufacturer's instructions. The vinyl will not melt at the temperatures required to cure polymer clay, but if you don't wanna risk it or you don't wanna use your food oven to cook plastic, with all the gnarly fumes and stuff, I've given you plenty of air dry and/or non toxic alternatives. Consistent temperature is key with polymer clay. Undercooked, it's quite brittle. An oven thermometer comes in handy here if you've got one.

Step Four: Primetime!!! Some like to brush on primer, which is fine if you're painting a fence or throwing gesso on a canvas. Not so fine if you're painting a figurine imho. I mean, unless it's Cassandra from Doctor Who. A good rattle can of spray paint is what you want ideally, but again, it's about what you can afford/wangle/manage with your crafting space, so feel free to ignore me and brush away!

First rule of Primer Club: several light coats are better than one heavy coat. Second rule of Primer Club: knock each coat back a lil with sandpaper before applying the next one. Third rule of Primer Club: sit your rattle can in a warm water bath for five minutes before shaking it up to improve flow.

You can get primer specifically for plastics but while I would recommend it, it's not absolutely necessary.

A scavenged head may need masking off if the base colour already matches the skin colour of your character. Save yourself a bit of painting innit. You can get really tight, clean edges against the hairline with a hobby knife. If the hairstyle, hair colour, and skin colour match straight outta the box? Congrats! Why are you even reading this? 😜.

That thing in the background is a portable spray booth (that other thing is a turntable). A cardboard box is also a portable spray booth if you want it to be. Only thing it doesn't have is an extractor fan. So put on a dust mask, and open a window or work outside.

The DIY figure comes primed outta the box, so if you're using the DIY head and are planning on sculpting the hair after re-attachment you don't need to prime it. Unless you want to.

Step Five: Time to paint that shizz. You don't need me to walk you thru this bit, right?

Right?...

Masking is your friend if you don't trust your ability to freehand with a brush. If you're masking over a part you've already painted and are afraid of pulling the paint off, you can knock the level of tack on the tape down by sticking it to yourself (or your clothes) a couple of times before applying it. Some prefer to add a light layer of clear coat to 'lock in' the underlying paint. It's like a real life 'save point'. Some people do both. Some use masking fluid. Some use silly putty/blu-tac/plasticine. Play around, see what works. You do you.

I painted Grace's eyes blue coz Grace is extra and so am I. I threw a lil bit of pearl powder in there to add a subtle shimmer, as I thought going full metallic blue might be a bit too extra.

Lady Funkos have eyelashes. Don't forget the eyelashes.

(I nearly forgot the eyelashes).

A fine tipped Posca pen comes in handy here if you've got one.

Ditto the eyebrows, tho those aren't just for the ladies obvs.

For Grace's augmentation scars, again I recommend a Posca pen but a brush will do.

DO NOT PAINT THE NECK POST. Don't even varnish the neck post. Keep that bitch masked up until you're ready to reattach the head. Like, you can get away with painting the very bottom if you're worried the bare plastic will show even with the head attached, but that's it. Any more will be making a rod for your own back.

You have a choice now. Whether to weather your figure. I chose to add that extra level of detail as it made sense to me. Use a combination of dark washes, dry brushing, and/or sponge stipling to add dirt, blood etc. If ya want.

When you're happy with your paint job, give everything (except the neck post!!!!) a couple of layers of clear coat.

Step Six: When it comes to reattaching the head you probably don't wanna be dunking anything in water by this point, just in case. So we're gonna soften the neck post (and around the base of the head if necessary) with hot air instead. Use a hairdryer if you don't have a heat gun. DO NOT use an industrial or decorator's heat gun for the love o' god. That shit's meant for stripping paint, not gently warming vinyl figurines. It'd be like using a nuke to shake a cherry tree, and you'd likely burn yourself. A hairdryer is more than capable of doing the job.

Why did we not use the hairdryer for Step One? To be honest there's nothing stopping you if that's what you wanna do, but as you don't have direct access to the bits that need softening at that point you will have to wait for the heat to penetrate. You could be doing other things in that time by letting a water bath do the work for you.

Now, however, you do have direct access, so you'll probably find you only need to blast the hot air for 10 seconds or so.

Step Seven: So, you've got the head re-attached, and your paint job is finished and clear coated. That means it's time to add the rebar. If you went a bit too far with the drilling or sanding now's the time to get your glue on. As an final extra touch you can spiral some thin jeweller's wire around the length of the rebar to make it look more rebar-y. I didn't do this bit as the wire I had in my possession at the time was too thick for my tastes.

But whether you opt for that or not, congratulations on making your very own Grace Funko Pop!

I'm still planning on making security guard and future war versions of Grace, and at least one version of Dani. Yeah, I've been saying that for the last two years, but it's still absolutely happening, trust me.

Anyway. That'll do it. If you have any questions, or you need further explanations or recommendations etc. y'all know where to find me.

[bowuigifire]

BURN FOR YOU 🔥💚

SUMMARY: Luigi found himself in a strange alien world, alone and terrified. But perhaps this place isn't so bad?

CHAPTER 5:

Carefully, Kamek looked at the human stretched out on the bed. Sweat continued to trickle down his temple, his face flushed. Following his King's orders, the old koopa moved his staff over Luigi's body, his brows knitted as he noted his high temperature. He thought his fever would go down after he healed the human's wounds, but apparently that wasn't the case. Most likely the heat, then, he thought to himself.

Nodding, Kamek turned to the green plumber, "I'm afraid my magic can't get rid of your fever, but we can move you somewhere cooler."

"I'd like that, if it's okay with the King." Luigi replied timidly.

"I'm sure the Lord will approve."

The Magikoopa hummed as he moved the plumber's body out of bed and floated him to a different wing of the castle. They remained silent during the whole thing, neither of them knowing what to say. The circumstances of Luigi’s stay here were a bit different from what they expected, making it all awkward. Once they reached their destination, Luigi was placed on the bed, under the red covers.

"Um... Grazie." Luigi smiled at the Magikoopa, taking the old koopa by surprise.

"Right. You're welcome. Rest now, I'll be coming back to check on your fever from time to time. Some guards will be outside in case you need something, like food or water. Try not to overexert yourself." Said that, Kamek disappeared in a poof of smoke. Literally.

Although Luigi was tired, his mind wouldn't let him rest. Many thoughts were running around inside his head. He arrived in a strange place, separated from his brother, and at first they seemed like bad guys. But then... They did things like this, treating him kindly, caring, and it confused him to no end. He didn't know what to think anymore. The poor Italian suppressed a sigh, the back of his hand resting on his forehead, and closed his eyes. It was definitely better on this side, cool and quiet. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad for him to let his guard down for a bit and sleep.

Appreciating the cool feel of the bed covers, Luigi opened his mouth to take a deep breath, counting to three before letting it out. He repeated it a few more times until he felt his mind shutting down, ready for sleep. His last thought was his wish for Mario to be okay.

_

"Junior, we talked about this. You can't spy on others," Bowser admonished, arms crossed. Looking down, Junior apologized quietly. "I did not hear you."

"I said I'm sorry," the boy said frustrated, imitating his father's pose, moving his black eyes to meet his father's red ones defiantly. Bowser growled in warning. After long minutes of not moving, it was Kamek's appearance that broke their staring gaze.

"Who was in the room?" Asked Junior at the same time that Bowser asked how was Luigi doing.

Kamek looked at the two with a raised eyebrow before answering his King first. "On the east side, resting in a guest room."

"You put him in the coldest side without consulting me first?"

"I thought that was what you wanted, Your Undecidedness. Was it not?" Questioned the older koopa.

"Well, yes..."

"Then I was right." He didn't gave his King - who huffed smoke at his adviser, - time to respond, turning his attention to the little one. "An unexpected guest, Young Prince. You shouldn't bother him while he's resting." Then, turning his back to the two of them, he spoke one last time before leaving. "That goes for you too, sire."

Once the Magikoopa was gone, Bowser scowled at the same spot Kamek was standing in.

"Why can't we go see the guest, Papa?" Wondered Junior, getting Bowser out of his train of thought.

"Cause Luigi is sick right now." He explained, an indecisive look appearing on his face. Huffing again at Kamek's words, he moved to leave out of the room Junior had tried to hide in, said koopa following behind him.

"But Dad, wouldn't Weegee get better if we were there with him? Just like you did when me and my siblings were sick. We could tell him stories, draw, or just talk! I could make him smile and laugh so much he will stop being sick!" The young koopa grinned in delight at his idea.

"No, Junior. He isn't like us. Humans work differently. No visiting the guest, am I clear?" Bowser had stopped in the middle of the corridor at some point, spinning around himself to give his son a pointed stare. A pause. Then, "Weegee?"

"Fineee." Junior accepted reluctantly, not seeing his father's amused expression.