#I do have some concepts for what I interpret these guys looking like! Look forward to it :)

[cetaceacyberia]

even MORE sillies from @superxstarzz's classpect fusions!! this time with a wee bit of analysis below the cut because i have the evil homestuck autism that makes me go crazy about this stuff. also the reason these guys look freaky is because theyre a human+troll fusion

OKAY SO generally i imagine fusedtiers would naturally be far stronger than a regular tier, though not quite as strong as a master class, at least depending on the development of each. They are also, of course, far more specific in nature, leading to highly specialized roles. Anywho, here's my interpretation of the classes featured here. I'll probably end up doing more later. Apologies in advance for my wordiness. I know there's a lot of speculation about the role mages play, so I'll provide a brief explanation of how I interpret them first.

Mages, in my opinion, are the active counterpart to seers, being able to take the knowledge they gain through or recieve from their aspect and put it into action. For an example, a Mage of Space as is a component here would be able to take the knowlege of the behaviors of elements and atoms, and be able to manipulate them at their will, provided they know what they're doing, and it's physically possible, alongside being able to ascertain. This can be seen with Meulins ability to form relationships out of seemingly nothing and Sollux's pension for causing doomsday esque events (aradia, sgrub, the like)

Prophet of Design

Prophets, in my opinion, would take the prediction abilities of the seer and the active knowledge mages can use and be able to speak events into reality.

Prophets tend to be extremely high strung people. The suffering that comes with being a mage and the all-consuming knowledge that comes so easily to seers create a scenario in which it's very common for them to slip into anxiety about the events they cause. The butterfly effect, if you will. Prophets do not use their powers carelessly, each move is thought out and incredibly calculated. Prophets are, naturally, blindingly intelligent, being the fusion of the two knowing classes. This can manifest itself in many ways, though the shortcomings mages often experience in relation to their aspect can often cut down their confidence, leading to a prophet underestimating themselves constantly. Despite their anxious tendencies and low self-conciousness, prophets can also be very snarky and sarcastic, when not gleefully oversharing about whatever piques their interest at the moment.

Design would be the merging of the concepts of fate and inevitability with the universe, creation and physics. Design players have domain over the physical outcomes of things. Reactions, from chemical to physical, even quantum at a higher level, all of that is within the control of a Design player. So!! i think a Prophet of Design would be able to speak into reality the outcomes of reactions they create or observe. For example, prophet would be able to do something like say "when i take a step forward, I will actually be twelve feet ahead of where i would have been" and just have that shit happen. As they get stronger, their prophecies can becomem more long term and more drastic, from being able to speak into reality an event that will happen some time in the future to prediting events that might not even be physically possible normally. Beholder of Birth

A beholder, a class that combines the insane growth potential of a page and the mage's expansive knowledge to produce a role of one that is able to expotentially build on the knowledge they have of their aspect. To create entire knowledge trees given the smallest bit of information. From a basic fact to the most niche, minute detail, none of it can escape the gaze of a Beholder. A fully realized Beholder would know, quite literally, everything there is to know when it comes to their aspect, which can be an enormously vast amount when it comes to Space or Time players.

Beholders are natural detectives, though it never comes easy. It starts as the beholder starts to make connections, faint at first but with a sure sign there's something more. Often ones to second-guess their findings, but once they dig deeper, and their ideas are validated, there's nothing stopping a beholder from uncovering everything there is to know from that one initial spark. For lack of a better word, beholders are quirky people, kind but stubborn, and their ascenion often is hindered by that trait due to the help they might need at first. They might get knocked down easily at first, but are wickedly determined, and bounce back quickly and eagerly learn from their mistakes, often brute-forcing their way out of problems. Thanks to the manipulation of knowledge that comes with their Mage counterpart, rising the ranks is far easier for a Beholder than a Page, though roadblocks are to be expected with their headstrong attitude towards growth.

Birth is the merging of creation, physics and the universe with the mind, logic and raw information. I think these would blend into birth players being in control of the inception of very nearly anything. How exactly they can control this depends on the class, of course, but birth players hold the essence of creation in their very soul,

A Beholder of Birth would have the ability to hold an object and see everything that lead up to its creation, how it was created, and everything that happened to it. Not just objects either, but people and other living things. A fully realized Beholder of Birth could potentially have the full knowledge of everything that has ever happened in the universe, from before the big bang to the very end of it that was no doubt caused by the activation of SBURB and everything in between.

[bee-ina-boat]

HI FRIENDS!!!! so i got into cult of the lamb around january and in that time i have worked on a bunch of art and only JUST finished this MONSTER of a project. its taken alot of time because of how slow i am, plus life stuff and other art projects aswell- but MAN IM JUST EXCITED TO FINALLY POST THIS LOL!!! :D!!!!!

so this is my concept art for my lamb characters! i have like 6 different aus already and a few of em has their own version of the lamb and i love them sm- heres some background info on em if ur curious!

Lambert - the Sacred Lamb - genderqueer, they/them - demiro/demisexual - Valais blacknose sheep - weapon of choice: sword based off of my interpretation of the canon lamb and their story! silly, merciful, kind to their flock, but also a tad fucked up. silly lil guy!! silly lil goober! i love them! :D!!! they also have the "vessel and god to enemies to friends to lovers" pipeline with narinder, and lemme tell you when i finally get to drawing art for them its OVER for yall

Sherpa - The Zealot - agender, they/them - demiro/ace - Scottish blackface sheep - weapon of choice: dagger the idea of them was: "what if the lamb had a very unhealthy obsession with religion and their god and was so incredibly fucked up about it" and thats how sherp was born baybeyyyyyyy their story includes alot of dark religious themes and it gets really sad and messed up. their relationship with narinder is reallllll toxic. at first at least. kinda. idk their au has 2 endings and in one it gets better and in the other it gets. alooot worse lol. we love that for them <3

Laramie - The Black Sheep - pengender, they/he/she - pansexual/panromantic/polyamorous - Shetland sheep - weapon of choice: axe so basically. they were inspired by the term black sheep. theyre a lil failure who cant do anything right, has horrible self esteem, and cannot handle being the "prophetic lamb" at all. they die all the time, and many followers ended up losing faith in her early on, its a mess lmao him and narinder dont actually have anything romantic going on, their relationship in this au is moreso a mentor and student type thing. also laramie has a huge polycule by the time narinder is freed. and she also gets downbad for heket when she shows up dfjljhdsfsdfgb

im so excited to do art for the au's i have aaaaaaaaaa, but rn im finishing up some bishop art!!! so look forward to that!!

anyway closeups are under the cut :D!!!

[randomfoggytiger]

Why do you think CC wrote/cowrote xfiles porn? At least he is listed as writer. Maybe he had to approve the use of Mulder and Scully and get credit.

He seems to be more of a concept guy and not necessarily a put into action guy. I think he had potential if he didn't seem set on just one narrative like a stubborn child. Part of good leadership and success is being surrounded by better talent. Learn from others. I wonder why he chose to view Scully on such a narrow manner and through the lens of a woman's place is through motherhood so that she was minimized as a character and person on the revival. I cringe at the revival scene when she is being seductive to the weremonster. So, she can be seductive to a stranger but not to the man she loves? I wonder if he has some sort of traumatized or repressed view on sexuality. Did he walk in on his parents having sex so he thinks sex is dirty?

Has he success on any other show after Xfiles? There was Millenium, but I have 0 knowledge of that show.

I think he co-wrote xf porn because it was something fun to do-- like DD and GA making out as their characters in the FTF deleted scenes and on Jimmy Kimmel's show.

To be fair, it wasn't CC who wrote the weremonster scene. Gillian consented to film it (and thought it was fun), regardless-- just didn't see how ridiculous and crazy it looked in reality, until the commentary footage. It's not my cup of tea; but she had a great time filming something similar in Three of a Kind (though that episode was better written, imo), so.

Charitable interpretation: CC thinks Mulder is more emotionally detached-- more of a weirdo-- who doesn't value the "normal" or expected things from life. Scully, meanwhile, is the realist. Mulder wouldn't see the problem of running off to x-files with a child while Scully would see what days/weeks away from their son could do to William. It would be a failing on Mulder's part to not factor their child into the picture, and a credit to Scully to always do so.

The problem:

This sets up a dichotomy that erases Mulder's personal growth and progress while setting Scully up on an impeccable, always correct pedestal. In the Pilot, CC wanted Scully to set Mulder straight, and for the audience to root for her while doing so. That's great and all, but Mulder in the Revival-- in Season 5, in FTF, in Season 6, in Season 7, in Season 8 onward-- isn't the same man anymore; and Scully isn't the same woman. Both are (were) parents; and both had had "one in five billion" and "but you saved me" and "my constant, my touchstone" conversations spanning nearly thirty years.

Further, I noticed something while reading through old interviews: David Duchovny kept rerouting 90s CC's OG vision (softening Mulder up, focusing his gaze first on Scully, keeping her opinion forefront in his character's thoughts and actions, etc. etc. etc.), and probably did so, again, between S10 and S11 (e.g. Mulder went from putting William "behind me" in Founder's Mutation to holding him reverently in MSIV.) David also "got" Chris enough to collaborate and add ideas to the original mytharc... something he didn't do, really, for the Revival (or IWTB, if I recall.) In short: it was DD who kept pushing Mulder's character forward, and CC who kept regressing Mulder's character back.

What does this mean? CC had an original vision and never deviated from it, despite the arcs his writers took the characters on.

As for any sexual speculations, I know he had at least one girlfriend growing up; and has been in a long-term, committed marriage for years. In fact, Mulder and Scully's relationship seems to be modeled after his and Dori's marriage-- going long periods of time without seeing each other, both consumed in their own work, both trusting each other during their time apart. And knowing that CC wrote many, many other aspects of his life into The X-Files-- sunflower seed habits, Hegel Place, his family's names, Vin Scully, his and his wife's birthdays, etc. etc.-- I wouldn't be surprised if his marriage preference made it way into his work... oh wait, it did (which he sort of admitted in this post.)

He's also stated that Mulder and Scully make up both sides of his personality (which I discussed in this post); so I don't see it as Scully being a model woman so much as modelling his best character traits, or Mulder being an out-of-touch weirdo so much as modelling his out-of-touch, weirdo traits. And-- this is speculation on my part-- I think he romanticizes both parts of himself, to an extent; and, hence, romanticizes MSR's patterns of behavior.

The problem? Again, Gillian and David grew their characters beyond the Pilot.

So! Those are my thoughts (thus far.)

[indecenthoney]

To Bite The Hand That Feeds You

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Our story revolves around Adam and Zoey, childhood friends, currently facing some unprecedented difficulties in their relationship. With 3rd party influences, any sort of progress has come to a complete stop as Zoey is urged to move on from her childhood crush. With time, she finds herself gradually drawn to another guy, much to the dismay of her longtime friend Adam, who has been silently repelled by the unfolding situation. Despite weathering life's ups and downs together and appearing perfectly suited for each other, they have never taken their relationship beyond friendship, surprising everyone around them. Adam, overwhelmed by his deep feelings for Zoey, realizes that he has no other choice than to make his move or risk losing her forever.

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

It was quite unlike me to run late, especially when it came to picking up Zoey, who often had the tendency to walk off to god knows where. She had always been an empty-headed idiot who would go out of her way just to make someone happy. An easily influential child like her caused me to worry about her well-being. It’s honestly quite a surprise how she made it to college. Even if she did have trouble understanding concepts or even reading the atmosphere, she would always put on that damn smile that I loved so much. Zoey was an entity of unwavering perseverance and unconditional love. To put it in simple terms, she was a puppy. Nonetheless, Zoey was my puppy. Even if she doesn’t quite know it yet.

“There you are… Good… You actually listened this time… And here I thought you’d wander off again… Ready? I’ll drop you home…”

“Adam! What? No! I was just… looking around last time! Oh! Before we go! I would like you to meet my new friend, Tyler! He’s been super nice to me and always buys me snacks to eat during our lectures! We even planned to have a little study session at his house on Saturday! Isn’t that cool? It’ll be my first college hang-out!” 

“Right… Nice to meet you… I guess… Anyway… Zoey, let’s go…”

“Boyfriend? Adam? Uhm no h-he’s just… my childhood friend… A-anyway I’ll see you on Saturday, alright! Yeah, I’m looking forward to it! Byeeee! Adam… That was really rude… You could’ve at least made a new friend…” 

“Excuse me...? Zoey... You are not going to that boy’s dorm…”

“WHAT! Why not? I finally made a friend in college! Why can’t I see him?”

“Zoey… Just trust me… Alright? Maybe you’re still a little too naive to understand… but just trust me…”

“You’re not my dad… I can do whatever I want! I’m in college! What do you care?!?” 

“And you’re just a little GIRL… Who can’t think for herself?! So I’m doing it for you! Just LISTEN… You are not allowed to go to his dorm… and I prohibit you from ever talking to him ever again… Is that understood?” 

“I hate you!”

I know what I said could be interpreted as controlling, but all I wanted was to look out for her. After our little argument, she ran off on her own. Luckily enough, I had her location on my phone and had been trailing her for the past hour while she made several pit stops at her favorite cafes. In all honesty, Zoey has never been tech-savvy making it easier for me to tamper with her phone, but it was for the greater good. Who knows what would happen to her? You can judge me all you want, but she ended up calling me a few moments later to pick her up after getting lost. 

“Calm down… Just tell me where you are… and I’ll pick you up… So there’s a tree… Uhuh… and a building? Could you be any clearer… Alright… I’m coming… Just stay put…”

Not that I needed to ask for her location, but it was better than her asking how I found her in the first place. The car ride home was awfully quiet and we’ve never really had this much tension between us. It hurt me to see this side of her. But I much preferred it over some guy taking advantage of her. Once we arrived, there was a long pause before Zoey headed out. No words were exchanged during that moment despite us both wanting to say something. It was an easy tell, telling from her quivering lips. Something I’ve grown fond of. She had the habit of holding back when trying to say something. I would always figure it out whether it be some pastry she wanted to try or to tell me some ridiculous fact. This time, however, was something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I felt my chest cave in as she walked away and closed the door. In the following days, my mind was filled with unlikely scenarios. It drove me mad. I wanted to protect her more than anything in the world even if she hated me. I later took a couple of days of knowing she’d come and check on me. Zoey would always drop by without fail even if she was sick herself. I guess in her mind, taking care of someone else weighed heavier than her own. I knew without a doubt if I took some days off, she would surely show up. And she did.

“Oh… It’s you… Come in…”

“T-thank you… Uhm… I just wanted to check up on you… You haven’t picked me up from any of my classes like you usually do… and I haven’t seen you around campus… So I got really worried… Is everything okay?

“...”

“I-I know we sort of had a little fight the last time we saw each other and… I’m sorry… But I’m still putting my foot down… I want to hang out with my new friend… but I also want for us to make up… You have to trust me… I can handle myself! I’m a big girl now! I can tie my shoes and everything! Heheh… Please, Adam?”

“Fine. I trust you. I just want you to know that I care about you. I just didn’t anything bad to happen to you. And I don’t want to risk it. Forgive me.”

“Adam… You’re so silly… I forgive you! Mm! You’re the sweetest! I’ll be meeting him later by his dorm! And if anything, I’ll text you right away! I promise! Sooooooo what have you been up to? You didn’t answer my question! I didn’t see you all week!”

“Took some time off to work on a project… On the bright side, I’m just about done… All that’s left is to record and test my thesis…”

“Oh! I don’t quite get it… but is there… anything I can do?”

“You really don’t have to…”

“I want to! We haven’t spent any time together in a while, so this’ll make up for it! Yeah? I’ll do anything! ”

“Alright… If you insist… Thank you… Go on and head down to my room… I’m just going to get a few things before we start… You can sit by my desk since I gotta record the whole thing…”

“Heheh! Yes sir!”

After sending her off to my room, I packed a few necessities for this experiment.  Truth be told, I was a little too focused to answer her questions. To keep her preoccupied, I had prepared her some snacks and hot chocolate while she waited. Making sure that every angle was just right. A smile crept up on my face as I watched her happily eat her snacks. Taking a sip and then another. Completely downing the sedative that I had placed into her drink. Watching her fight off the drowsiness before going completely limp. Giving me the chance to finish my preparation for my little experiment.

“Oh? Hey there, sleepy head… Did you have a good nap? I hope so… You were snoring pretty loudly…” 

“Mmph… What time is it? AM I LATE? H-hey… What the… What is this?”

“Hey hey… Don’t worry… It’s still four hours until your little play date… You’ll still make it in time… As for the cuffs… Well… You did say you were going to help me out with my thesis, right?” 

“I… I guess but… Are the cuffs really necessary?”

“Mhm… We wouldn’t want to mess up my data, would we? Exactly… Now all I need you to do is to be pretty and sit still for me… Can you do that, hun? Yeah? You look really pretty by the way… I always loved this skirt… That’s it… Smile for the camera… Good girl…” 

“Hehe… uhm… what exactly is your project about? A-adam? Hahahah… W-what’s with the knife? Wait wait… Please…We can talk about this right? Please don’t hurt me…”

“I’m not going to hurt you, silly… Look at me… I would never hurt you… I love you too much to hurt you…”

“Y- you l-love me? A-adam… I…” 

“Of course… And yes, as embarrassing as it is to say… I do love you… I love you enough to teach you a lesson… After all, you’re just a dumb… little… girl who doesn’t know any better… but that’s okay! I’m here now… Aw… Sweetie… There’s no need to be afraid… It’s me… I’ve always taken care of you, haven’t I? I know what’s best for you… and that filthy fuck boy isn’t it…”

“N-no he’s not like that… He just wants to study…”

“Study? Hahaha… That idiot? Study? I’m sure he’ll have a lot of fun studying you… Holding you down… Playing with you… Fucking you silly… What then? How will you call me then? Hm? Exactly… You’re just a naive little girl… Don’t believe me? Why don’t I show you firsthand how he’ll toy with you, yeah?”

Irregular breaths arose from silence; the edge of my knife flaw at her skin leaving but a trace of crimson. Her eyes fixated on the blade, struggling to comprehend such a surreal situation. Was this nightmare truly reality? Her best friend, whom she loved since the beginning, tearing away at her innocence with the same smile he had given her all her life. That same smile bore a twisted form of affection, transforming what was once warm and nurturing into something sickening and perverse. 

“Will you relax? When did you become such a drama queen? That little boy toy of yours was going to take these off anyway… so what does it matter if I cut your panties off? It’s not like you were going to need them later… Zoey? Sweetie? Hey… Are you even listening? Fuck… What will I ever do with you? If you can’t even pay attention to me… how could you ever pay attention in class..? And Tyler or whatever his name was, isn’t helping… “

“Adam… We’re just friends… You have to believe me… Ow… You’re hurting me…”

“Oh? Hahahah… Was I gripping too hard? You poor thing, you’re shaking… Shhhh… It’s okay… I’m sorry for cutting you…  I’ll kiss it better… Fuck, what soft thighs you have… I’m honestly getting a little jealous… You say that you’re friends but… Tell me… do you like him…? I see the way you look at him… The way you laugh at his jokes… The way you fidget after keeping eye contact for a second too long…” 

“Adam! Stop it! This is crazy… Let me go! I’m bleeding… ”

“Silly Zoey… It’s just a few nicks… Your big girl, you can handle a few cuts… Now… Answer me… Do… you… like… him..? I want to hear you say it… cause I mean come on… It’s so fucking obvious… Being so eager and insistent on seeing him… I bet you were looking forward to having your little play date… Having his hands explore every inch of your slutty body… Having him bend you over his desk? I mean it’s fucking laughable…  You? Study? Hahahah… I’ll ask you again… Do… you… like… him..?” 

“I…”

“You’ve changed… So so stubborn… Whatever happened to my Zoey… My sweet, sweet Zoey…  Oh? Do you have something to say? Did you get turned on by the thought? Having him fill your pretty little holes to the brim… C’mon, use your words…”

“F-fuck… S-stop… t-touching my c-clit… Mmph… Please… I can’t- I can’t-... Aaa…” 

“What? You can’t what? Form a proper thought? Hahahah…. Fuck… I’m starting to think the problem is this right here… I don’t blame you… It gets the best of us… The feeling… The need to get off… Not being able to think straight without cumming first… Why don’t we fix that? Just say the word… You can tell me to go faster… slower… Whatever you want, hun… I’m here to help you… You don’t need some boy toy to do it for you… You have me…”

“Aaa-... I-I don’t… Mmph… wan-... i-it…”

“And now you’re a liar? It really is a fall from grace… It’s like you’re someone else entirely… My Zoey wouldn’t lie… Even if you say you don’t want it… It’s clear to me that you need this… C’mon… Be honest… Doesn’t it feel good? Having my thumb run along your needy little cunt… Rubbing circles around your desperate little cunt… Hahaha… God, you’re fucking filthy… I mean look at you… Leaking… Like a bitch in heat… What? Aren’t you at all embarrassed? I’m barely even touching you and you sound so fucking pathetic…”

“Mm… A-aaa… I-I… Mmm! N-not… f-filthy…”

“Awww sweetie… Of course not… You? Filthy? This is only temporary… Just a little bump on the road… After all, my Zoey isn’t filthy, right? It’s all just a minor setback… That’s what it is… And after I’m done with you… you’ll be as good as new… You’re just a bit rebellious… A phase if you will… But Adam it’s not a phase… Ah shhhhh… shhhh… Don’t you worry your little head… Adam will put on back on the right track… Why don’t we get you cleaned up, yeah? ”

In hand, were the two means of cleansing the ache between her deprived thighs. Her look twisted and perplexed at my intentions. Toothpaste and toothbrush. An odd pairing to such a surreal situation. Placing them aside, I knelt to the ground finding my way to her. Licking along her cunt, heavy with desire, before familiarizing myself once again with her aching clit. A dreadfully slow pace of what could take hours upon hours to finally reach culmination. Her face flushed to an even brighter shade of red after witnessing her best friend buried between her. An intoxicating wave of pleasure begins to overwhelm her with each flick of my tongue. Happily eating her out without regard for her constant disapproval. Prying her legs open with such force that it would be no surprise if it were to leave marks. My lips pressed against her opening; dipping my tongue deep as it would let me. Her hips buck and retreat only for me to pull her back in place for another taste. Another bite. Another feast. A gentle, yet eager throb envelopes me; a warmth soon after responds to my sensual touch leaving her a whimpering, disheveled mess. To my surprise, Zoey was closer than I had anticipated. Was it her lack of experience? Or possibly the excitement that came along with such a depraved act. Honestly, I was unsure. Not that it mattered at the moment nor did I care. There were no words of protest left, only the sounds of pleasure that reverberated in my ears. Even then, it would have been better to be safe than ruin our little experience.

“A-adam…? A-are you done? Can I please leave? I-I don’t want to do this anym-more… Please… I’m begging you…”

“Done? Oh, sweetheart… You don’t mean that, do you? I mean… we’re just getting to the good part… Tell me… Are you close? Tell Adam how badly you want it…”

“I-I’ve been telling you… I don’t… want this…! If anything, you’re the one that’s acting crazy! I… I just want my Adam back…” 

“Zoey… Fuck… I never… meant to hurt you… I just… I didn’t want to lose you… You must’ve been so scared… I’m sorry…”

“Adam…”

“Okay… This is what we’ll do… I’ll clean you up… Get you a snack… and I promise we’ll go back to being our happy old selves, alright? Can you please find it in your heart to forgive me?”

“Mm! I-It’s okay… You’ve always been a bit sort of a worry wart… and always did your best to look out for me… So I’ll forgive you! Oh! And if we make it on time… I can still get to his house… Do you mind dropping me there? Heheh… A-adam? Why’d you stop?”

“And here I thought you learned your lesson… Got my hopes up for nothing…” 

“W-what’re you doing?”

“I’m cleaning you up, of course… The toothpaste might tingle a bit… But I’m sure after the pain subsides… or hopefully, it does… you’ll be able to enjoy it! Seeing as how you didn’t learn your lesson… I guess I’ll have to go through with this… Now… smile for the camera, hun… We wouldn’t wanna disappoint our viewers now, would we?” 

“Viewers? Y-you’re streaming this?!?”

“Hahaha… Hey now… I wouldn’t fuss around too much if I were you…  But don’t you worry… I made sure that each and every angle doesn’t capture your face… and if you somehow move out of those boundaries… Well, I wouldn’t be so sure about your safety… Who knows? Maybe someone from college could be watching… Stroking themselves off… Fucking into their hand as they scan every inch of that indecent body of yours… I wouldn’t bother asking for help either… Each one of these men are here for you, hun… But in all seriousness… One more outburst and I’ll be sure to send a recording to your friend, Tyler… Hahahah… God, you’re so fucking… obedient when I mention Tyler, huh…? It kinda pisses me off… Fuck it… Let’s just get started…”

Believe it or not, I was hoping to avoid this. Despite the constant throb in my pants, it brought me no satisfaction to see Zoey trembling in fear. If only things turned out differently for the both of us. Then again, there was no point in having such thoughts. Having been idle for too long, I began toying with her. Gently biting and licking along her clit bringing about a swollen and needy version of her. Having known the new circumstances of our little project, she continued to stifle her moans in an attempt to keep some form of innocence. Faint whimpers escaping her lips as I rubbed her senseless, sending shockwaves all throughout her body. Vigorously shaking in her seat; gasping for air. Her hips unconsciously pushing against my tongue, nearing her climax. Only to pull away and be met with a toothbrush coated with toothpaste. An unfamiliar feeling bringing her back from her lustful daze. The coarse bristles grinding against her as she writhes within her restraints. All while the menthol slowly takes its effect, causing an irritable tingling sensation. 

“F-fuck… Mmm… A-adam…? W-what are you doing? Aaaa… S-stop… Fuck… Fuck… Fuck… It… hurts… You can’t… do that… I’m too s-sensitive…”

“I’ll stop when you’ve learned your lesson… and what is this… You can’t business? Of course, I can… Watch me…” 

“It… burns… Please stop… I can’t… I can’t… I feel w-weird… I’m going to cum… Fuck me… I’m gonna cum… I’m gonna cum… I’m gonna cum… A-aah… S-shit… A-aaa… Mmmph…”

“There we go… That’s one… A couple more time and maybe you’ll start thinking straight… Zoey… Look at the mess you made… Leaking all over my seat… In front of the audience… Bad Zoey… As punishment, I’ll have to flick your dumb needy clit a few times… This’ll hurt me more than it’ll hurt you…”

“A-adam… O-ow Please… No more… No more… It hurts…”

“Now now… You have to behave… One more time you close those legs… I’ll have no choice but to give the audience something else to look at… And as much as they would love to see you cry… I’m sure you don’t want them to see your pretty little face, do we? Just a few more flicks… and we’ll go back to making you feel good, yeah?”

“Ow… Fuck… A-adam… I’m sorry… Please… Ow…. Sh-shit…”

“Well that’s no good… Such a potty mouth… Let’s add a few more flicks… and this time… instead of cussing I want to hear a thank you… Understood? Zoey… I said… Is that understood?

“Y-yes… Okay… Mm… Okay… O-ow… T-thank you… Mmm… A-aaa… T-thank you… I-it hurts… A-adam… It hurts… Mmmph… T-thank… you… ” 

“Hahaha… Good girl… You catch on quick… Are you sure you aren’t a genius? Playing dumb so you can get what you want… One more…” 

“N-no… I’m not… A-aaa… O-ow…  Ow… Ow… T-thank you… A-adammmm…”

“Shhhhh… It’s okay… I know it hurts… You did good… I’m so proud of you, hun… Let’s get back to cleaning you up, yeah? Doesn’t it feel good? The burn on your swollen clit as I rub you stupid… Such a leaky fucking mess you are… Hahaha… Gonna cum, sweetheart? Go right ahead… Cum for me… God, you look so fucking desperate bucking your hips like that…”

“F-uck…. I-I’m c-cominggg…. Hnng… F-fffuck…. I’m sorry… A-adam… Thank you… T-thank you… Feelsh sho goood…”

“Mhm… It’s okay… That’s it… Such a good girl… Cum your brains out, hun… You’re overflowing… You must’ve been so pent up, huh…? No wonder you were acting out so much… You poor thing… You just needed some attention… It’s alright… Adam’s here now…” 

“A-adam? Mmph… You can stop now… I’m finished… I’m really sensitive there now… I need a break…”

“A break? Who said anything about stopping, sweetheart? After we’re done then what? You go off to see your little friend? I mean… I still haven’t confirmed if you learned your lesson or not… Plus I can’t let you leave until you get your fill… What kind of host would I be? Now don’t you worry you’re little head… You can stay here and cum to your heart’s content… to cum until you’re absolutely sick of it… to the point only I can get you off…”

“Hnnngg… F-fu..ck… I can’t think… I–It h-hurts… I don’t… wanna cum anymore… Ad-am…. A-aaa… Please…. Please… please… I’ll behave… Just stop….”

“You’ll what? You’re going to have to speak up, hun…”

“S-stop… going s-so… fa-ast… Yes… F-fuck… I’ll behave please… I’ll behave… I’ll be good… I promise… Just please stop…” 

“There you go again… You… keep… forgetting… your… thank… yous!” 

“Ow! Fu- Mmm… T-thank you… Th-ank you… I won’t… So please… I-I don’t wanna cum again… I’m too s-sensitive… I can’t take another one…”

“You won’t… What? You have to be more specific than that…” 

“I-I said… I’ll behave… I’ll stop seeing T-Tyler… Are you happy?” 

“That’s what I wanted to hear…  Good girl… I knew you’d come to your senses… But you know… since you’re already so close…  why don’t we finish you off? Think of it as a reward… or even a reminder… To never… ever… bite the hand that feeds you… Understood? Now buck those hips, princess… Fuck into my hand… That’s it…”

“A-adam… A..dam… I’m c-cumming… Mmmph… A-aaaaaaa…” 

With the final orgasm, I turned the stream off and proceeded to clean her up. Wiping away her tears before carrying her off to my bed. Placing kiss after kiss on her trembling lips distracting her before slowly slipping myself into her. Her wet drippy cunt greets me with an insatiable heat. Fucking away as her incessant moans fill my mouth after each exchange. Whispers of “Thank you” resound in my ear motivating me to further fill her depths with an even eager disposition. 

“Zoey... Z-zoey… F-fuck… I’m really close… Just a little longer… I promise… Okay? You’re a good girl… Just take it…”

“A-adam… It feels… good… Mm…” 

“Yeah? T-that’s good… I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself… but I have to pull out… or we’ll both be in trouble… Hey… R-remove your legs…”

“Inside… Please… Adam…”

“Z-zoey? I-I know you’re mad at me for bullying you earlier but… seriously… This isn’t funny…”

“A-adammmmmm… Y-you don’t love me? I… I love you…”

“I- Ugh… Fuck… Of course I do…”

“Then breed me… please…”

“Fine… I don’t want to hear you whining about it later… But even then I’ll be sure to take care of you, alright…? Silly Zoey…”

I guess even after all that happened that night, Zoey was still able to put on that smile of hers. She pulled a fast one on me and completely won me over. Even after multiple loads, she still had the energy to move her hips; keeping me on my toes at every second of our love-making. I can say without a doubt that she paid me back in full that night. Completely drained she found her place atop me hearing my heartbeat.

“I never had a crush on Tyler, you know…”

“What? Then why did you want to go so badly?” 

“Well… Our friends told me that… If I wanted you… then I’d have to make you jealous… and that you’d come running to me like dog… Heheh… And I guess it was true… Although, you were bit scary back there… Uhm... Were people actually watching us...? Should we be worried...” 

“Those fuckers… And no... I was lying to get a rise out of you... I didn't want you kicking and screaming... If anything... It's just recording...”

"I see... That's a bit fucked up... Hahaha... You're obsessed with me... Want to fuck me so badly... You must really love me, huh?"

"Shut up..."

“Say it! Tell me you love me!” 

“Where’s the toothpaste…?”

“Adam!”

“Fine… I love you, Zoey… You’re mine and you better remember it…”

“Mm! Yes sir! Hehehe!” 

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

With love,

Honey

[theneighborhoodwatch]

submission from cloverchameleon

My cursory research into Pedrolino paints him as a manipulative archetype, with descriptions of his roles in shows showing him stirring trouble to drive the story forward and then doing any underhanded thing he has to to save his own skin. I’m even seeing him described as “a Janus-faced aspect” in how two-faced he is. Very different from the sympathetic Pierrot, though there are (unproven) rumors Pierrot evolved from the older Pedrolino? Though I absolutely agree Eddie is giving big Pierrot energy, poor guy. But now I wonder if Sally’s odd sun/moon imagery that seems to crop up sometimes will have something to do with the kind of heel turn Pedrolinos seem to be known for given how oddly specific and old, even for a Commedia reference, that choice of character is. I wonder if Sally’s going to make some frightening choices to save herself as the horror creeps into the neighborhood. The fact that her descriptions of the thing from the woods are perfectly audible but left out of the transcript as “unintelligible” would certainly seem to indicate she may be the first of the other neighbors to recognize something is seriously wrong in their home.

interesting! a lot of the sources i found tended to treat pedrolino and pierrot as one in the same, so that’s what i rolled with for this response, but if we go with the interpretation that eddie is more of a pierrot while sally bears more of a resemblance to “classic” pedrolino, for lack of a better term, and/or that welcome home is treating the rumor that pierrot is an offshoot of pedrolino as fact… hm. perhaps there is something about eddie that reminds sally of something she would rather forget. the fact that the “day” half of the town clock/eddie’s watch resembles her and the night half resembles him. and that her story is all about things that go bump in the night. she tells it because she considers it to be exemplary of True Fear. night is fear. eddie is night. the only thing we have to fear is fear itself if i don’t think about it it can’t hurt me if i act like it doesn’t exist i give it no power over me. is power even what it wants. i don’t know but i will not take any chances. something like that.

…… anyway. sally does seem a bit like the self-serving type; even when it comes to neighbors whose company she enjoys, like julie or poppy, she’s quick to dismiss any apprehension on their part or get frustrated if they deviate from her scripts. she wants the best for them, and she considers stardom to be the best, but what will it take for her to realize that can’t always be the case? i wouldn’t take her story quite so literally; certainly, there’s Something going on with home’s relationship to the concept of night, but i don’t think it bears much resemblance to what sally’s story describes. i think At Most she could be like, rationalizing it as a monster to make it make more sense. whatever “it” is.

the deeper i dig, the more i find myself objecting to the idea that any one neighbor (save for maybe wally) “wakes up” before the others? or if there is an actual order, then it happens in very quick succession. i think they’re all beginning to have cracks in which Something seeps in, or from which something seeps out of, but i think those cracks present themselves a little differently for each neighbor. you just have to look. i think of how sunny was scrapped specifically because, according to clown, it no longer made sense to have a single character be the designated hero or villain.

apologies if this stopped making sense halfway through reading, i got sidetracked with a Different welcome home-related convo.

[freckledgeto]

this weeks chapter was very... :/

i don’t even hate the chapter this week like content wise i don’t think it’s a bad chapter i just think that the lead up (the entirety of the culling game) and the pacing and gojos reaction to everything is making it all very. meh to me :/

the whole culling game wasn’t my favorite for a lot of reasons and i don’t necessarily blame gege for it completely. i think that there isn’t an arc better than hidden inventory and there aren’t any fights better than the ones in shibuya, so following both of those really incredible arcs with another that is supposed to be equally as good or better does not seem like an easy thing. (spoilers for CG and new ch. under the cut)

one of the reasons the fights in shibuya are sooo good to me is because they are fights that are deeply rooted in character and character development. maki killing the zenin clan, megumi fighting toji, etc. the itadori-mahito fight at the end of the shibuya arc is entirely a character/meant for character development fight for itadori, with his whole "i am you, you are me" realization/acceptance, and it is arguably the best fight in the manga like it is sooo good.

but there arent any fights built around character in the culling game and like. given that gege has made such amazing, character oriented fights in the past. it is a little bit disappointing. esp since i don’t personally want to just watch/read a bunch of fights repeatedly like i WANT there to be some kind of deeper meaning/purpose to them (outside of trying to end the culling game/free gojo obv). makis fight in the CG is probably the most “character” oriented fight and i was just very eh about it :/ but i love maki <3

the treatment of the women in the CG recently has just turned me away from the manga in general too. scorpion hair remi girl was fucked, uro not having more of a role was disappointing, yuki DYING wasn’t great.

tsumiki was the reason i didn’t stop reading the manga earlier in the arc because i was looking forward to her having her moment for LITERALLY THE ENTIIREEEE ARC. just for gege to do that to her and it reallllyy pissed me off.

as much as i hate how tsumikis arc went, i think i could’ve been a liiittle bit more accepting of it if the whole yorozu-sukuna thing was done well. but i didn’t like that either LMAO. i think the whole “yorozu loves sukuna and she sees how lonely he is etc” is like. a cool concept overall and i think if it was done right it could’ve been a good addition to the plot. even if there was just a little bit more of a flashback of yorozu and sukuna from that era with more information and context i think it would’ve made it a lot better. and i could’ve been like. a tiny bit less pissed about tsumiki. but the fact that it wasn’t a very satisfying arc for tsumiki OR yorozu just made it all very underwhelming to me. esp since tsumiki was what i was looking forward to the most in this arc 🙃🙃🙃

so yeah this chapter wasnt the worst thing in the world its just very underwhelming bc everything that led up to this was really underwhelming for me too :( and gojos reacction in this chapter is. upsetting. esp following the whole yorozu-sukuna thing and the "sukuna is lonely" part of it. like sukuna and gojo are meant to be foils of each other. gojos character is built around the fact that he has those connections and relationships with his friends and the students and he fell in gay love with geto and he "wont let anyone else be lonely" like the relationships he has is WHY HES LIKE THAATTTTT. him having no reaction to nanamis death and nobaras condition and maki and megumi and ALL of his students feels like a very surface level "gojo is a funny silly goofy guy" thing to do. but i would like to believe that gege knows and cares about his characters more than a surface level interpretation but. idk well see i guess. i just would have liked to see the sukuna-gojo being foils of e/o actually being played out narratively in these past few chapters more. but hopefully there'll be more of that during the next arc.

anyways so like. the chapter itself is not necessarily bad i just think that the CG itself was really abrupt and lacked a lot emotionally/character wise (for me at least), and then the pacing of this whole thing has been really off for me so its hard to look at the whole thing collectively and actually like it lol.

i feel like gege is really just trying to speedrun the rest of the manga and move onto something else which SUCKS bc it has soo much potential to be sooooo good. whatever anyways goodnight.

[dotwav-refactored]

Uuhhhh.wav Re-Factored has been discontinued

Been meaning to make this post since like… July, and then kept forgetting to, but here’s more info:

Reason for cancellation has been because all the devs have been really busy with IRL things. One’s in university, one’s nearing the end of college, etc etc.

Not to mention the lead dev, Torrent, has actually released a demo of a new game called Detriment! It has just hit it’s 7th anniversary upon starting development just a week or two ago! I’ve helped contribute to it as an artist and playtester and highly recommend giving the game a try if you haven’t yet!

Important notice: The cancellation may not be permanent! Torrent says he has hopes in coming back to Re-Factored some time in the future, though not guaranteed based on how things have been for him.

Outside of that however, I may end up giving comic writing a go someday. For compensation of everyone’s patience waiting for this game, I hope to make a comic series of my fan interpretation of Uuhhh.wav! Unsure of when I’ll do this though, given I am really busy with IRL things myself

We all apologise for this inconvenience. We know how much Uuhhh.wav meant for many people, and to ourselves too, but we hope you understand. Do stick around though for any updates, whether on the comics or the potential recontinuation of the game development!

For now though, here’s some concept art we’ve made for the game! Under the cut!

Sprite ideas for the characters, including a joke that Disco would get a lot of sprites for shits and giggles because... it's Disco Man.

Seav! But also concepts of Stella's potential design

Characters that Torrent made. one was a minigame guy, the other is a HQ admin of some sort, and theres the other guy I have 0 memory of

Stella's full design! With insight given from Ritzy_Raven herself!! Along with characters I made (they're actually really old OCs and I figured it'd be cool to implement them to the game)

Characters that I made from scratch. We were really looking forward to adding the "Secret Boss" to the game after making these

(Art below belongs to Elisa, one of the other developers for the game)

An idea of what the boss sprites would look like in-game

An earlier, possibly even first version of Stella's potential design (it was revised due to the fact that we couldn't find the clothing and accessories needed in roblox)

[anendtopursuit]

Hey!!

So I saw your HC about everyone in Mumbattan knowing its Pavitr who's spiderman, and my friend and I were planning to write a fic based on it :) I just wanted to check with you to make sure you're fine with that, we'll credit you and your idea in the ao3 notes, ofc

And if that's okay, I also had a few clarifications- If everyone knows that Pav is Spidey, wouldn't his relations be in a little bit more danger than normal? Or would you like us to figure that part out?

hihihi omg !!! u guys are absolutely allowed to do that, i'm so flattered!!! (and my ao3 is winged_reaperz, if you wanna tag me there too ;D /nf)

to be honest - i didn't really think of the specifics when i made that post. tbh it was inspired by a daredevil fic i read a few years back (there were a few iirc, but i was thinking specifically of "last to know" by whitchry9) where all of hell's kitchen knew matt was daredevil but all worked to cover it up bc they didn't want him to get in trouble, but w the additional layer that Pavitr Is A Child and therefore people would be even MORE inclined to cover for him. as such i didn't really think about the specifics, and i don't really mind what direction you take it in?

that being said, if you want my personal opinion of how i would do it (which you ABSOLUTELY DO NOT HAVE TO ABIDE BY, please write whatever speaks to you the most, i would LOVE to see different interpretations of this concept): villains knowing your identity is always going to put the people near you in danger. even then, depending on the villain, some of them might not know - like, someone who just moved there and hasn't seen spiderman in action before, or something - but that's really up to you. i think it could be a double edged sword - gayatri is in more danger of getting kidnapped or gwen stacy'd generally endangered due to her connection to pavitr, but her dad may be a little more willing to look the other way on their relationship if he knows pav is the one saving her - or maybe the opposite! maybe he'd be even MORE protective of her if he knows pav is inadvertently the reason she's in so much danger!

i really don't know - there are so many directions you could go in and i think all of them would be really fun :] so really, just have fun with it! write whatever you like the best! disregard me entirely if you want - it's not my fic, yknow, it's yours :]

thank u for asking (i wouldn't have minded if you didn't, but it's sweet of you to ask) n i look forward to reading it :D

[jewwyfeesh]

Black Tea - A Spoonful of Sweet Poison 5

Writer: 日日日 (Akira)

Character(s): Tenshouin Eichi, Sakuma Ritsu

Translated by: jewwyfeesh

Disclaimer: I translated this story from the CN version of the game, which means that it has been double translated (JP > CN > EN). It may be different from the original JP version and/or other fan translation(s).

Eichi: You are… Sakuma… Ritsu-kun, right? ‘Sakuma-senpai’s’ younger brother.

Season: Spring

Location: Garden Space

A year earlier, in Spring

Eichi: (Mm, ‘compulsory club activities’? Keito did propose a pretty good revision to the school rules.)

(Looks like I should praise him every once in a while, but he might get carried away with just a few words.)

(But I think I shall hold my tongue for now, and let nature run its course. I shall interpret Keito’s dreams in a way that’s beneficial for me, then exploit it…)

(Just like the concept of ‘The Three Oddballs’ and so on.)

(Just like how we turned ‘The Three Oddballs’ into ‘The Five Oddballs’ – creating loopholes that can destroy these indisputably superior geniuses.)

(As they get involved with more and more people, the complexity of their relationships would increase… consequently, the number of “quarrels they get tied up in” would start to snowball.)

(Moreover, if they are able to immerse themselves in club activities and thus dedicate more effort to it, the time and inclination they can allocate to idol activities would decrease accordingly.)

(Especially people like Hibiki-kun, who are very passionate about theatre and performance; as long as my vision can be realised, their ability to be an idol would be severely weakened.)

(Though, it is rather inappropriate to do it this way. As someone who loves idols, I do not wish to see geniuses waste their time on meaningless endavours and walk off the beaten path…)

(Because this will result in a loss for the world of performing arts… no, it results in a loss for the world as a whole.)

(In any case, there’s no need to panic. Start with things that are within my capabilities, and move forward one step at a time. You probably won’t be able to overcome ‘The Five Oddballs’ if you try to strategize before weakening them to the maximum.)

(After that, we will need to defeat them – them, who’ve been turned into the public enemy – magnificiently, and take the stage as heroes. We can only win, never lose; we will secure our victory with whatever means necessary.)

(If we hadn’t used these methods to gain fame and authority, and thus cement our positions, we wouldn’t have been able to do anything.)

(Because a visionary who can’t execute anything won’t be able to change the world.)

(The first step would be to obtain strength… after that, we’ll need some live sacrifices.)

Ritsu: …uNhnyAa??!

Eichi: (!? I think I just stepped on something?!)

Ritsu: Uuuu… which idiot’s the one disturbing my sleep…? How dare you step on me~ I was so scared, I thought I was gonna puke my guts out…

Eichi: You are… Sakuma… Ritsu-kun, right? ‘Sakuma-senpai’s’ younger brother.

Ritsu: Mm~hmm…? Ah, and I was wondering where I had seen this face of yours before.

Aren’t you that… guy who did that concert with us previously? The irritating one.

Eichi: Is that your impression of me? But it’s to be expected… I was rather discourteous during the concert, creating some rather unpleasant memories for you all. I’m very sorry for that.

Please let me apologise to you. I’m sorry, Sakuma Ritsu-kun.

Ritsu: Do not call me by my full name. In addition, your ‘I will apologise because I have to’ attitude isn’t gonna make me budge one bit…

You need to be more heartfelt with your apologies. If you can, pair that apology with a kneel[1] while you’re at it.

Eichi: What a troublesome child you are. This is the maximum concession I’m willing to make; not to mention, I don’t believe I had said any untruths during the live.

…And, for how long do you want to hide behind that brilliant older brother of yours before you are satisfied?

Ritsu: I’m not hiding behind him. It’s simply because his radiance is just too bright.

Eichi: Is that so? Your delivery is a little abstract, but I understand what you’re trying to say.

(So this is your weak point… The leader of ‘The Five Oddballs’, superstar Sakuma Rei’s little brother…)

(The person infront of me is extremely valuable. I don’t see any downsides to building up a good relationship with him.)

(Who knows? Perhaps he might be able to serve as my hostage, one that I can use to attack those overwhelmingly extraordinary and overpowered people like Sakuma Rei.)

Haha, it seems like I had accidentally got a little carried away… with that said, I would like to know why are you sleeping in a place like this? Are you alright? Did you injure your leg?

If you’re unable to move, I can bring you to the infirmary.

Ritsu: No, I was just taking an afternoon nap……

(…Ah, I just thought of something.)

Uuuuuuu… actually, I’m soooo tired I can’t move, ‘Tenshi-kun’[2]~ please save me.

Eichi: …You’re calling me that too?

Ritsu: Well, I don’t really know what your real name is. Because of some… guy, the one who’s really good at composing and performed with us previously called you by this name too.

Eichi: You are probably referring to Tsukinaga-kun. How has he been? Recently, I’ve been hearing nothing but bad news when it comes to him…

Ritsu: Well, I’m not su~re. He seeks me out sometimes, but I only help him if I feel like it.

Eichi: You should be a little more proactive in your idol activities.

…But that’s fine. My apologies for making you talk for such a long time, given that you’re already feeling fairly unwell… In addition, thinking of how I had stepped on you earlier… let me make good on my promise and bring you to the infirmary.

By the way, my name is Tenshouin Eichi. It’s a little over-the-top, isn’t it? Feel free to just call me ‘Eichi’.

Ritsu: Mm… then, I’ll call you ‘Ecchan’.

Eichi: E-Ecchan? I would really prefer it if you didn’t call me by this form of address… it’s very much something meant for children, no?

Ritsu: To me, everyone’s a little kid. And, don’t just stand here gesturing vaguely at my mannerisms. Be sure to send me over safe and sound~

Though, there’s no need to go to the infirmary. The canteen nearby will do.

Actually… Anija would cruelly abuse me… he would steal my food and not let me eat, forcing me to staaarve… I was lying on the ground just now because I didn’t have the energy to move.

Eichi: Eh? Abuse? That Sakuma Rei knows how to abuse people?? Please, tell me! Tell me everything!

Ritsu: Mmh? I can shit-talk that person till the cows come home.

Though, I don’t have any money on me right now… so, could you treat me to a meal as compensation?

Eichi: But of course. Please be at ease, my one and only ‘specialty’ right now is being rich.

Eat however much you want, whatever you want. It’ll all be my treat. So, I can only hope that you’ll tell me of Sakuma Rei’s abuse in full and complete detail.

Ritsu: Mm! It’s a deal. Carry me over then~ Be sure not to sway too much okay~?

Eichi: I’ll be sure to do it properly… up we go… ♪

Ritsu: Hehehe~ How relaxing ♪

Eichi: (Yes…! Seems like taking a detour every once in a while isn’t so bad… I even found a hidden gem…! For the price of one meal, I now hold Sakuma Rei’s weakness in my hands… ♪)

Ritsu: (…Let me guess, that’s probably what he’s planning right now. What a pity. I’ve already seen through your crafty schemes and tricks… seems like you’re still rather inexperienced.)

(Haha. Of course I recognise you, oh heir of the Tenshouin Conglomerate… even though you want to use me, I’ll be sure to hit back and return the favour.)

(Let me make good use of you. Your timing couldn’t be more perfect… now that my ‘running away from home’ situation has been leaked, Maa~kun isn’t as willing to coddle me anymore.)

(Or, rather, I should say… everytime we meet he’ll lecture me non stop. So annoying… not to mention he’s the one who’s one year younger… hence, I’ve been looking for someone else to look after me.)

(Hehehe, I won’t let you go till I’ve bled you dry, so… it’s a pleasure to meet you, Ecchan ♪)

Eichi: (Aaah, my body feels so light! I’m so happy! It feels as though I can fly, fly to the skies if I so wished!)

(I’m truly living right now! I’m steadily moving forward step by step…!)

Ritsu is referring to dogeza (土下座), "an element of traditional Japanese etiquette which involves kneeling directly on the ground and bowing to prostrate oneself while touching one's head to the floor. It is used to show deference to a person of higher status, as a deep apology or to express the desire for a favor from said person." (Taken from wikipedia).

Tenshi (天使) means 'Angel(s)' in Japanese. For more information, see Checkmate.

[thisaintascenereviews]

Aesop Rock - Integrated Tech Solutions

You know, I gotta be honest — I haven’t listened to a lot of hip-hop this year. I’m not too much of a rap fan, at least these days, but it’s kind of just because I don’t seek it enough, minus some of the bigger albums. I listen to a decent amount of 80s and 90s rap, but a lot of newer stuff from the last few years is something that’s not familiar to me. I mean, I like the new Jack Harlow album from last year okay, even though it was a little disappointing in retrospect compared to his label debut, but if there’s one hip-hop album that I’ve been looking forward to, it’s Aesop Rock’s newest LP, and first in a few years, Integrated Tech Solutions.

This album follows a loose concept like a lot of his other albums do, but this one is about a technology company in the vein of Silicon Valley, and the introduction is a short little cheesy infomercial that foreshadows what the album is about. Listening through it, however, you may not pick up on the concept, because this album does feel like a loose collection of songs. The best way I’ve seen it explained is that the album is about what Aesop Rock can’t get with technology, versus how technology is making our world worse. He has songs about eating copious amounts of fast food, enjoying various rivers across the United States, meeting Mr. T in the late 80s (and ultimately meeting one of his heroes as a kid), and many more things that seem trivial, but they really mean something.

As always, Aesop Rock sounds wonderful, and he’s one of the best kept secrets of rap, but he does something that surprised me a bit — held himself back. Normally, Aesop Rock is a very fast and technical rapper, and switching up his flows in the middle of a song, but with this record, he keeps it simpler and more straightforward. Sure, he’s quick, witty, and interesting, but he sounds more relaxed. He’s a man with nothing to prove more than 20 years into his career. Aesop Rock is doing just fine, and he’s riding a lot of these beats (most of which he crafted himself, I believe, but I could be wrong on that). The production is great, though, and there’s a lot of very jazzy and light instrumentation here. It’s a very easygoing album, well, until it’s not, because if there’s one song on this record that showcases the best that this album and Aes has to offer, it’s “Aggressive Steven.” Appearing in the second half of the album, the song is rather bleak, as over a really nice flow that oddly feels conversational at times, and an energetic beat, Aesop Rock talks about a mentally ill homeless man that broke into his apartment, and goes into how both the managers of the building and the police mishandle the situation. The managers knew about this guy, yet did nothing to prevent anything bad from happening, whereas the police outright admit that they want him to be the victim, so they find an excuse to arrest the guy, but Aes knows that the guy will be back on the street in a matter of a couple of days, and that there’s nothing that the police can really do. Ultimately, it’s a somber tale of the mental health system failing yet another person.

I went on a tangent about that song, because it’s the best song from the album, and one of my favorite songs of the year. This song encapsulates everything about this record that works, and really, this song may seem like an outlier despite its concept, but you can interpret this as Aesop Rock saying that homeless and mentally ill people don’t have access to the technology they need, whether it’s medicine, housing, food, a job, or whatever the case may be.

This record is a bit long, clocking in at over an hour, but this record has something that I never expected from him, either: hooks. This album’s catchy, and even features a few sung choruses, which is awesome. This is easily the most accessible album he’s put out, and it’s a great starting point if you want to get into his music. It’s a little long, but the songs are catchy, the subject matter is interesting, and he does have a great voice. This is one of my favorite albums of the year, despite it coming out so late. I’ve sat with this album for the last couple of weeks, though, and it’s been worth the wait.

[florbexter]

I heard the word alpha and I had flashbacks of things I would like to forget. 😅 I guess it's just so strongly associated with the whole omega thing that everyone just thinks about that. Given that we don't really have much context about anything else. I was just not expecting anything other than race cars I suppose. 😅 And yes. Pavel especially stole the show. I was really looking forward to seeing him. He did't disappoint.

Also I don't really know much about the whole sentinel/guide thing. But it sounds interesting.

I watched Kiseki and I loved it. It was a wonderful little show. Definitely one of my favourite taiwanese bls after Trapped and We best love.

Oh yes, absolutely that information came out of nowhere. Maybe they mentioned it only on the premiere (where my info are coming from) because it won't be that dominant in the series? We have to see, I guess, what will come and adjust accordingly lol

The Sentinel/Guide trope is from an US show from the 90s called The Sentinel. A lot of the interpretation of the premise of the show and what it means to be a sentinel has evolved for fics over the years and adapted to the shows this trope is written on, but essentially you have a person that is a sentinel and thus you have either one heightened sense or more. A true sentinel is someone who has all five heightened senses. In the show the guide is just a guy who helps the guy who became a sentinel, but now in a lot of the fanfictions it has evolved to some kind of soulmate concept. That one sentinel has one true guide like a mate almost and that the guide is the one who can help the sentinel if they get lost in their powers etc. It's a nice concept you can play a lot in and adjust it to your fandom/world building.

Do you plan to watch The Sign?

[thescrapbookingscientist]

Biweekly Media Roundup

- The Owl House (TV) - Alright so we got the penultimate episode, soon we’ll have no Owl House left. This was a pretty good setup, the most memorable parts being Willows much needed development, Luz’s palismen reveal, the brief snippets of Collector lore, and Eda and Lilith's new looks. The school stuff sorta dragged as I wasn’t super interested in the background cast and their petty survivalist struggle when the Collector as an entity is a lot more intriguing; I do wish we got to see more of their deal though I suppose that’s something to look forward to in the finale. 

- Buddy Daddies (Anime) - Buddy Daddies started off pretty good and has gotten a bit better each episode, with a pretty good sense of humor and some nice characterization moments for Rei. I’m still waiting for Miri to develop a personality beyond ‘Cute child’ (Something like Anya or Yotsuba), but as a vehicle for comedy/wholesomeness she works fine. Anyway, if you’re watching pause to read the daycare moms texts, they’re great. 

- The Way of the House Husband (Anime) - An anime night staple, we’ve caught up with House Husband, which continues to be a great time. While the core joke of “Scary ex yakuza actually does really wholesome mundane things” is more or less the same each time, the execution changes enough to keep the formula working. In general it’s just a pleasant watch, and it’s kind of validating to see normal struggles like weeding your yard or impulse buying expensive food being treated with the same intensity as a shoot-out. It really be like that sometime.

- JJBA: Stone Ocean (Anime) - Welp finished Stone Ocean and. It did certainly end. I’m not really sure how I feel about it, I guess it’s not a bad end per se but it sure left a lot of things unanswered/open to interpretation. I guess Part 7 will elaborate more on the rules of the new world but for the characters in this part I guess we’ll just have to imagine what this Modern Day Nobody Dies Found Family AU is like. Either way my favorite nonbinary mass of plankton FF probably doesn’t exist in this new world either so bummer. Still, this was an interesting season, I did like the concept of gravity reversal and the opportunity to see the main cast outside of the prison setting.  In terms of Jojo Parts overall I’d put it around the same Tier as Part 3, it had a solid cast of main characters, a good antagonist, and some interesting stand match-ups, but could also drag a bit as I zoned out during quite a few of the villain-of-the-week battles, and lacked consistency when it came to the power set rules. 

- The Greatest Estate Developer (Webcomic) - I still have brainrot over these guys, I’m going to cave and read the webnovel any minute I can feel it. 

- Demon Slayer (Anime) - Watched the whole Mugen Train Arc this week, which had some extra content from the movie to allow for more Rengoku time. Again, I don’t have much to say, still really impressed by the final battle and Inosuke is still best boy.

- Love Is War (Anime) - So this is one I’ve had on the backburner for a while, I had heard from basically everyone that it was amazing but had attempted to watch the first few episodes a few times and never got it to stick. To be fair I had known that I should give it longer to impress me, comedies in general usually take at least half a season to endear you to the characters before getting really good, I guess I just had other things I was more interested in. Well, no more, now that my sister is watching it with me we’ve blown right though the first season, and while I still wouldn’t call it a masterpiece I do see where the hype is coming from, the cast is a lot of fun. The ending of the 1st season in particular was super cute, I’m rooting for these idiots. 

- Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies (Video Game) - I had taken a brief break from my quest to complete the whole Ace Attorney franchise after Apollo Justice, but I’m back now with Dual Destinies. For positives so far I like Athena and Blackquill, as well as the Athena/Apollo sibling dynamic. For negatives I kind of wish Phoenix wasn’t as prevalent as he is, we are starting to get too many characters vying for the spotlight and I feel like there’s not enough time for any of them to make a lasting impression, especially poor Athena having to share her spotlight with 2 guys who already had their own games. 

- Persona 5 Royal (Video Game) - Still impressed with how this game writes the core friend group, it’s very pleasant to watch them all interact. Yusuke and Makoto are my faves right now, though battle wise Ann and Ryuji are solid units. I don’t feel like writing much more atm, mostly because I’d rather be playing this game haha.

We also just started Gintama and Ranking of Kings at anime night. I’m theoretically watching Sense 8 and The Last of Us as well, though I’m behind due to prioritizing the others. Finally, I’ve been keeping up with ORV, S-Class, Demon School, and TVDINT as they publish weekly.

Listening to: Persona 5 OST, Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons, Parachute by Ingris Michaelson, Fear & Delight by The Correspondents, Her Diamonds by Rob Thomas, Melancholic by Junky, There She Goes by The La’s, Waiting For Love by Avicii, Every Little Thing She Does is Magic by The Police, Somebody Loves You by Betty Who, EPIC: The Troy Saga OST

[meichenxi]

KINETIC CHAINS ARE IN KUNG FU TOOOOO!!

When I was working as an interpreter in a martial arts academy in China, this is how one of the masters explained the concept of qi! Others explained it as breath, some as *energy* concentrated in your dantian in your lower abdomen, but one guy explained it as the maximum flow of unimpeded kinetic energy. This is going to differ based on who you asked, but this is his explanation. I'm not a scientist or any sort of martial arts teacher, so please forgive my anecdotal approach.

How can a guy who does a one-inch punch...do a one-inch punch? Because the movement actually begins in his back toe, where it meets the earth, up through his calves and his thighs and his abdomen and his shoulders and his forearms, and finally released visibly at the level of the hand. That's why practitioners of all kinds of Chinese martial arts practice movements that look very odd to Western fighters: practicing 'uncontrolled' shaking; pushing against immovable objects; practicing stopping your movement at exact points in the air as if there is an invisible hand meeting yours; practicing 'launching' forwards off one foot for over an hour.

Alternatively, 'simple' movements in tai chi and qigong get practiced hundreds of thousands of times until you can feel the 'rising' and 'sinking' of your muscles. I never got to any particularly advanced level, but in the months I was there, my ability to control the total relaxation and tensing of my muscles one by one - isolation, as dancers would call it - increased a crazy amount, and enough for me to understand that whatever you call this effect, whether you ascribe it to energy or science or religion - it's real. As far as I could understand it - and it was challenging, because most teachers either talk about it in a very esoteric or religious way, or they refuse to explain at all to new students until they have experienced the benefits themselves - this type of practice was for a few reasons.

One, it saves energy. This is another reason why Chinese teachings (that are aped by the West in films like Kill Bill or taken to extremes in Chinese martial arts films, but very much have a basis in reality) often have the practitioner train to extreme exhaustion. (Not the only reason: they also value training your strength of mind and your ability to *cough* obey your teacher even in excessive pain.) Basically: when you're very tired, you automatically only put the effort that is needed into finishing a movement, and no more. This is an incredibly useful ability for all athletes, but one that is a little difficult to access with 'typical' training. Shaking and other types of 'weird' Chinese training is often specifically for accessing this ability. It is far harder than you think to shake and let your arms hang totally loose, as if they are only weights on the end of two pieces of string. Don't believe me? Try. You actually need a substantial level of bodily awareness.

You can try the principle yourself with something as simple as lifting your leg straight out to the side and pulsing it up and down. After about ten to twenty pulses, if you're not a ballet dancer or taekwondo girlie, you'll start to feel lactic acid build-up and pain; eventually, all of the muscles that are not strictly necessary for lifting the leg - for example, the ones that point your toes or keep your knees straight- will relax to give energy to those that don't. Or run an hour of hill sprints and try the same thing - you'll feel the difference. It is very difficult to be able to engage and disengage the correct muscles for 'normal' actions like running or jumping, because we have old habits and old movement patterns. 'Kinetic chain' training means learning which ones tense, which ones relax, and at exactly what time - and then training the ability to do it at will. It's incredibly difficult, but if done correctly, can save a huge amount of energy - imagine if you could 'switch off' the unnecessary muscles from pulse one of the leg lifts. You'd be able to go for longer, and train more.

Secondly, it makes you both stronger and faster. When using this type of relaxed athleticism, you only tense - and therefore impede yourself - at the exact necessary time. This results in faster punches, faster kicks; try spinning in a circle with tense cactus arms and then with arms that fly loose. The second is faster and looser and easier by far. It means that the strength produced by your body is actually translated far more effectively into output: if you push from your back foot whilst throwing a punch, or twist from your hip whilst kicking, that force can ripple along the relaxed muscles and be released at the correct moment. It doesn't get 'lost' along the way; the kinetic energy is not obstructed. This is the same reason why practitioners can 'glide' their way out of being gripped or grabbed by going totally relaxed, and then suddenly yanking; whereas if you try and yank from the outset, the opponent's grip strength is stronger than yours and prevents you getting free. Exercises like push-hands in tai chi - one of the basics, one that you spend thousands of hours on - train this well. Somewhat counter-intuitively, a dead-weight, or a very relaxed live one, is much heavier and therefore harder to stop than one that is engaged and tense.

There's another bonus aside from speed and not losing original power: that tensing at the exact last moment, the end of the movement, also produces an extra amount of force. Chinese martial artists don't have their hands in fists already when waiting to engage in a fight for this reason. The closing the fist in the air, for them, is PART of the punch.

Finally, it also makes you less prone to injury. A relaxed, flexible body that has the ability to tense and produce strength at the drop of a hat is a strong body; a body built for longevity. I do not mean Chinese martial artists do not get injured; they get stupidly injured. But that is because they are doing stupid things to their body for a stupidly long amount of time - if we take the principles of 'relaxed body, strong body' and use it for less insane athleticism, it helps us remain injury-free. Whole-body exercises like this promote healthy joints, mobilising the synovial fluid, and keeping us feeling younger for longer. Kids don't do squats; they run, and they jump, and they climb. As far as we can, given our individual and adult limitations, we should strive to do the same.

I know that many - even most - Chinese martial arts teachers would not agree with this description of qi. This teacher's explanation even in the school itself was fairly controversial; it stuck with me. But the importance of the kinetic chain - of whole body exercise, of extreme exertion, of the balance of strong and flexible and weak and rigid - is something that is nevertheless front and foremost in every style of kung fu I have seen, even when it is under a different name. A mastery of the kinetic chain is essential to a mastery of kung fu.

LONG LIVE THE KINETIC CHAIN

This is Nicole. She is an amazing Canadian wood-splitting machine.

I have a huge pet peeve about people swinging axes and sledgehammers without using the kinetic chain. You have to use your entire body to get real power in your swing. And in so many movies you see actors just trying to chop things with only their arms. But Nicole has perfect form. And cute pajamas.

I'm not sure if she is technically a lumberjill. I think she just refers to herself as a wood splitter. Either way, she is badass.

[chorusfm]

Dan O’Connor and Alan Day of Four Year Strong

This past month I was able to schedule a Zoom call with Dan O’Connor and Alan Day of Four Year Strong to talk about everything that went into the writing and recording process of their new album called Analysis Paralysis. In this interview, I asked the two guitarists/vocalists about how they crafted these songs, what they did differently in their creative process for this album, as well as what they’re looking forward to on their recently announced headlining tour. Analysis Paralysis is out today on all music streaming services, and there are still some vinyl options available here. Thank you so much for your time today! So you’re about to release your sixth studio album called Analysis Paralysis, which is an awesome title by the way…Can you tell me where that title came from, and at what point during the studio sessions did you create this title? We didn’t create the title until we had no idea what to call the album. And it kind of came around naturally, because like it’s a phrase that we use a lot. And in the conversation of coming up with an album title, I think neither me or Dan said on a call with our management, art director, and stuff we were like at this point it could be freaking anything. And I’m having analysis paralysis about it. And I think it was the art director, Ben Lieber who’s like, that’s what you should call the album! We were like hmm…because we were talking about we were kind of joking for a second about calling it Brain Pain: Part Two, because we felt like COVID really did a weird thing to that album, because we weren’t able to tour on it, and we didn’t feel like we got to experience it in its fullest capacity when it first came out. So that was kind of the joke of well let’s just do it again Brain Pain: Part Two and having an adjacent kind of rhyming two words…well that’s what we’re gonna have to do from now on. Yeah, that’ll be our new movie quote thing. We’re just gonna have two-word album titles that rhyme. Those are the ones that do the best.  Kind of like how Weezer does their self-titled albums and those ones always tend to do better for them! So maybe your guys’ gimmick would just be two-word named album covers. So you talked a little bit about Brain Pain. I wrote the review for it at Chorus.fm and it was, like you said, a weird time. A lot of people were going into COVID quarantines, and stuff like that, and the part about that I wrote about in the review is mostly about mental health awareness. Did you guys consciously have that in mind when you were writing the sessions for Brain Pain or did that kind of come from interpretations of the art? I think it kind of came naturally. Not necessarily through interpretation, but it was more just once we kind of had the body of the work done, and we started looking at everything together. We’re like, oh we can see the idea of kind of where that evolved from. I don’t think it was necessarily something that we set out to do, or something that we planned along the way. It just kind of naturally came out, because for the most part, we don’t really conceptualize our songs, at least like as a group. We don’t usually say a concept. We don’t really do stuff like that, but Alan and I write the songs together, and we are similar ages, and a lot of times going through similar things together. And for the most part, whether or not we’re older, the same age or whatever than the people listening to the record, I mean with the human experience, everybody goes through a lot of these things. And I feel like Analysis Paralysis has even more of that I think baked into it. A lot of self-reflection, a lot of where do I fit into the world that I’ve created around myself. I think it is a relatively common theme on the record, and also just something that we write about a lot. That’s just because we’re writing the songs together. A lot of times the songs are kind of about the band, and about being songwriters, and about that struggle that we go through; how do we keep… https://chorus.fm/features/interviews/dan-oconnor-and-alan-day-of-four-year-strong/

[castlebyersafterdark]

Do you think how one perceived the characters in relation to you plays a role in whether you have cuteness aggression toward will or not and just what you think of byler in general? Just in terms of whether you saw The Party and Will specifically as peers to journey WITH or as someone way younger than you to protect and WATCH grow up. The latter seems to instinctively activate that maternal (or paternal) instinct that the first doesn’t necessarily offer. I never saw him as a “baby.”

I’m not sure if this makes sense. Like personally I’m a few years older than finn and noah, so I’m not in the same exact age bracket as the Party. But I’m def in the same overall generation as the actors. So for me, when I was watching ST in real time for the first time, idk if I ever developed the “cuteness aggression” or anything like that. And I wonder if it’s because I perceived the characters as being my peers rather than being way younger than me, just based on where I was in my self-concept.

Which is not the case for everyone in my age bracket- I know lots of people related more to the older teens, and obviously those way older than me probably related more to Winona and David H! But that’s just how I experienced the show. Now that I revisit the early seasons, yeah it’s obvious how young and innocent and smol Will was, and it puts everything into a new perspective. I don’t know if I feel the cuteness aggression you describe, but I do understand the concept more.

It does create a weird disconnect tho when you see how grown up and hot Finn and Noah are now, in contrast with their “baby roots,” even as they’re still playing characters who haven’t aged much. What are your thoughts?

I think I understand what you're getting at. When I watched the show the first season I was just starting college, but I connected with the party immediately because they reminded me of myself and kids I grew up with when I was their age? So more so than the teens or adults in the show, clearly the heart of the show did hit for me. Childhood innocence. So no, not peers, but they reminded me personally of peers from a certain time in my life that I very much tend to romanticize (and even wish might have gone differently, but that's another story). I'm not saying media HAS to be relatable to everyone, but your take-away does influence how you view and interpret things. So others may have taken away something similar or it could be something else entirely. I can only speak to how I felt.

While I'm not really like Will much - I did connect to his character immediately in season 1 and 2 just as this kid who gets taken into this terrible scenario. You put yourself in his shoes. You want him to be saved and come out on the other side of the situation loved and alright, the darling of his mother and adored by his friends. He was just so small and sweet in contrast to the horrors. And more in season 2 it really popped off, it had already clicked for me that he was this young gay kid going through a really hard time and that just made it even more apparent? And then once he fell into the love interest role in a pairing I decided I was into, I think that early relatability and viewpoint is just how me, and many others it seems, are talking about him and characterizing him. Sweet Will!! Cute angel Will!! That's just so him to me.

And in regarding the actors, I can look at a photo online and say some guy is hot but it's not like I'm ever going to meet them so, sure!! What's the harm haha. It's who they are now so that's what I'm going to look at and focus on as time moves forward. Everyone was a child at one point, and hopefully grows up. The progression of lives for both character and actor alike...

[ce534worldtraveler]

Bole Ethiopian Cuisine

My daughter attends Augsburg University and hangs out with some friends who identify as Somali and Muslim. They’ve introduced her to their culture and the importance placed on sharing food (and all resources) with each other, so she was a great help to me when I was choosing a culture to explore for my visceral cultural experience assignment for Multicultural Counseling class at Winona State University.

 We ate dinner at Bole’ Ethiopian Cuisine in Saint Paul’s Como neighborhood on March 8, 2024.  Bole is housed in a brick and mortar building, located at: 1341 Pascal St. N., St. Paul, MN, 55108.   I had some awareness of Ethiopian food from my practicum experience at Axis Medical Center in Minneapolis.  Axis Medical Center focuses on serving the Minnesota refugee and immigrant community and the majority of staff members are from African countries.  I value and am grateful for the time I spent at Axis because I had the opportunity to work alongside people with various cultural backgrounds and worldviews, providing me with new insights and perspectives and increasing my awareness of the stressors related to immigration and acculturation experienced by people, new to the United States.  Aside from all that, I also got to experience lunch breaks with colleagues from Somalia, Egypt and Ethiopia and that was a treat!  I learned that what I bring for lunch is intended to be shared with everyone, even if it’s just a sandwich.  At lunch in the clinic, food is set on the breakroom table, and all are welcome to take whatever they are hungry for, whether they contributed to the meal or not.  The concept of “my lunch,” was an unfamiliar concept to my African colleagues, who wouldn’t think of not sharing whatever they have with others.

So, back to Bole’ - the interior of the restaurant was set with small tables that could easily push together for large groups. The aromas in the restaurant were of spice and simmering stews – wonderful! We were seated at a small table and given menus to explore.  Luck for us, the menu included pictures of each dish with a list of ingredients below, because we didn’t know how to interpret the Ethiopian names.  I was grateful for my daughter’s knowledge of the culturally appropriate ways to eat in an Ethiopian restaurant, and she taught me how to use injera (a sour fermented pancake-like flatbread with a slightly spongy texture) to scoop and dip into the dishes that we ordered. Had she not been with me, I may have requested silverware, which was not present on any of the tables in this establishment.  We ordered 3 options from the vegan menu:  Miser (split lentils simmered in oil, onions, garlic, curry, ginger and berbere), Shiro (ground chickpeas, onions, garlic and traditional spices) and Tiqel Gomen (Cabbage, carrots, potatoes, onions, ginger, garlic and turmeric).  I posted a picture of our meal below that we were well into eating before I remembered to do so!  I should mention that our server was a friendly, helpful guy who spoke English and helped us with our attempts to pronounce the words on the menu.  Our meal was served on a single plate, each of our 3 choices were situated in single mounds, surrounded by a lettuce mix and side plate of injera came along, too.  My daughter instructed me to tear a piece of injera and use it to pick up some lettuce along with some of the vegan stew and eat it, like the way you eat a taco.  The food was delicious and the process of eating with injera was more time consuming than it would be to eat with silverware, allowing us to be more engaged in and more mindful of the entire eating experience.  I plan to go back to Bole’ and look forward to trying the rest of the menu options.