#I feel like it really dropped in quality near the middle

[maitaiwiththecorpses]

Ok I just listened to guts and here are my live reactions to each song:

All- American Bitch:

-oh this is pretty chill

- very mild way to start the album

- I SPOKE TOO FUCKING SOKN WHAT THE FUUUUUUCK

-💀✨

Bad Idea, Right:

- OK FIRST I LOVE THE TRANSITION FROM ALL AMERICAN BITCH TO THIS

- I listened to it before the album came out and it’s just ✨✨✨

- love the brain glitch “aaaaaaaaaaaa”

Vampire:

- sometimes, when theatre kids wanna flex they sing vampire just for shits and giggles and this song is just so much vocal PRESSURE so you can get that perfect tone which is so weird to see in a pop song

- LOVE the bridge

- so relatable

Lacy:

-gay?????????

- SO GAY?????

- JEALOUS ENEMIES TO LOVERS GAY???????

Ballad of a homeschooled girl:

- I love it

- I will keep her close to me forever

- it’s giving Picture to Burn (homophobic version)??????

Making the bed:

- my FUCKING FAVORITE

- absolutely my life

- heart wrenching I love it ahhHHHHHHHH

Logical:

- it’s sad but like in a vanilla way

- not my fav

Get him back!

-what kinda coco melon revenge fever dream shit is this

- no thanks

Love is embarrassing:

-I mean she’s not wrong

- not my cup of tea

The grudge:

- this song hurt me

- I think I need therapy after this

Pretty isn’t pretty:

- Aah finally the expose we’ve been waiting for since Victorias Secret

- this song hurt me

Teenage dream:

- OH ItS GIFTED KID ANXIETY FUCK

- this song actually broke me

[spider-jaysart]

Hii I find your apocalypse AU pretty interesting. Was wondering if I could do some fanart? :3

@jonathankentstuff

Omggg!!! Yesss, I would totally be okay with you making some!! I would love to see that!✨

Sorry this took a bit to answer btw, but here are some reference sheets for the boys designs in this au that will probably be helpful for you to use!!

(Click for better quality)

This is also probably a good moment to finally expand more on what the au is about (which is why I added in Mar'i and Jake's there too) since I'm showing them now and also because I've been taking a long while already to make the post about it lol😅

(It's a no capes au btw, meaning everyone's just a normal human here and weren't superheroes in the past)

After tragically losing both Talia and Bruce, Damian is mainly surviving with Dick and Kory, plus the kiddos Mar'i and Jake.

After a very long while of doing just fine, they one day get completely seperated from eachother after getting attacked by a random group of greedy bandits. Damian got stuck with Mar'i and Jake on his side while Dick and Kory were only left with eachother, plus Alfred the cat who they carry around all the time in their backpack.

After seeing that there's no way to really get around and go back to eachother and also noticing that they have to continue running from the large group of bandits who are still after them, Dick quickly hands Damian a map and tells him to travel to the place that's marked on it, telling him that they'll all meet up there and reunite with eachother again. Damian promises to do just that and becomes Mar'i and Jake's new guardian while the three of them are on their own, protecting them both from any kind of danger that's thrown their way no matter what, while staying determined to return to Dick and Kory once again.

After three months later of already moving forward to get to their far destination, Damian, Mar'i, and Jake were resting at a small cabin in the woods for a night until the morning. During that night, Jon later happened to be walking around near their hide out all alone since he was lost. Damian spotted him and wasn't planning on taking any risks by just letting him wander around, in case he was actually someone who was just looking to attack and steal stuff if he found him and his little Nephew and Niece, so he sneakily knocked Jon out and tied him up in the cabin.

Once Jon woke up, Damian and Mar'i both pretended to be cannibals to scare him so that they could get their needed answers out of him to see if he was really just another bad person as expected. Because of this, Jon was terrified and just told them whatever they wanted to know, promising that he wasn't there for any trouble. With this, they saw that he was just a harmless kid just trying to survive like them, so they finally dropped the act and let him know that they were just actually faking it. Jon immediately became even more upsetted by all of this after being told that.

While Damian and Mar'i were distracted talking to eachother about what they were gonna do with him, Jon sneakily got loose from his ties and quickly surprised punched Damian in the gut in anger. Jon quickly stopped though once Mar'i immediately got in the middle of the fight and shoved him away from Damian, yelling "No!" In fear, making him feel a little bad for getting rough in front of the 8 year old girl. Then he soon started to hear Jake crying loudly too and began to feel even more bad for not realizing that there was a baby in the room as well.

That was when Jon got (an angry) explanation from Damian about why they did what they did to him, which was only for their safety. He began to start understanding the reasons behind it after that, but still felt pretty upset about the way it was done.

After some calming down, and for Jake too after being rudely awakened, Jon explains to Damian and Mar'i that he had gotten separated from his group earlier after getting chased down by some herd filled with the undead and is just trying to find his way back to his camp now, but is completely lost.

Damian, remembering he has a map on him and thinking back on how Mar'i and him haven't had much food to eat for days, decides to make a deal with Jon. He tells him that if they help him out, he has to give them some food to take back with them in the end in return. Jon, desperate to get back home and feeling delighted at being offered some help, promises them plenty to eat, so they make a deal. This was the start of their adventure together. (Damian didn't let Jon know about the map though and instead lied to him that he's an expert on traveling in the area, so that he wouldn't reject the deal and also so that he wouldn't think of taking the map from them and just run off with it either)

Along the way, the boys begin to later become good friends (with growing crushes on eachother and later become boyfriends too) and a found family type of thing also starts to grow between Mar'i and Jake with Jon over time too (he becomes like a new Uncle to them).

And after finally getting Jon back home in the end like promised, Jon wants to return the favor by helping Damian out in his own big goal too, just like how he helped him out so much during their little journey together. So the four of them venture out later to look for Dick and Kory like a team.

Phew! Glad that's finally done lol. I really can't wait to see what kind of stuff you decide to draw for the au and am very excited to see them whenever they're ready!!!✨:D (I also have way more stuff about the au, like what happens much later on and also how things started too, but that would just make the post too long lmao)

[dronebiscuitbat]

Give Me a Reason: Chapter 3 -"Ew… Lettuce"

The cafeteria was loud with the murmur of high school students, and Uzi was already gritting her teeth, it wasn't so much the volume that got to her as much as the consistency, it didn't really matter what she did, there was always noise. And it was making her more irritable then normal.

“Did you hear about Rodney?”

“And Like, I told him it was fine or whatever.”

“God my uncle is so hot…”

She got snippets of conversations as she made her way to the lunch line despite her best efforts to block them put, she put an earbud in to try and help to block out the constant noise, but it only helped so much.

She picked up a stainless steel tray, ones that reminded her of the one's in prison shows. And she wouldn't be surprised if they were the same honestly. The quality of the food had to be similar, anyway.

Speaking of, a lady in a haircut dumped a spoonful of mushy peas, then a spoonful of carrots, and a sandwich on her plate, none of it looked appetizing in the slightest, the peas didn't even look like they had salt on them.

She sighed as she moved through the line, grabbing a milk cartoon that had a 15 percent chance of being spoiled and a cup of peaches. Before finding an empty table to sit at near the middle of the cafeteria. If it was anything like last year, people would avoid sitting here unless they didn't have anywhere else to go.

She broke into the peaches immediately, it was the only thing that ever had a chance to taste any good, since it was prepackaged little fruit cups instead of being “cooked” by the staff.

“Hey Uzi!”

N came to sit beside her, something she should have probably been preparing for, considering his behavior all day, but it still caught her off guard and she found herself choking on a peach as she startled, she beat her chest a few times, struggling to breathe until she was able to force it back down her throat.

“Whoops! Sorry! I need to stop sneaking up on you.” He laughed lightly as he sat his backpack down between his legs and started digging into it, by the sounds of it, the thing was almost full to bursting.

“You got your backpack.” She hummed, trying to play off the fact she'd nearly died in front of him. What a way to go, death by peach.

“Well it has my lunchbox in it… can't really forget that when my stomach feels like it's about to digest itself.” He replied, pulling out a blue lunchbox that had been completely stickerbombed with dog stickers, you could barely tell the box underneath was blue to begin with.

He unclamped the lunchbox to reveal one of the best looking packed lunches Uzi had ever seen, there was a plastic covered bowl of soup, crackers, a whole ass salad and a tuna sandwich with the crust cut off.

Because of course the crust was cut off.

“Holy crap. Who packed your lunch? A chef?” Maybe that question was a little rude, or a little loud. And Uzi found her face heating up as she heard it come out of her mouth. Why was she like this? That was such a weird question what is wrong-

“Oh.” He laughed a little nervously, and his cheeks were dusted pink “N-no that would be my older sister, Tessa, she packs all our lunches.”

“Looks way better then…this.” As she said that, she stuck a plastic spoon into the green mush that was supposed to be peas, lifted it above the tray and dropped some off the edge, the peas slid off the spoon and met the rest on the tray with a wet and disgusting slap.

“Gross.” She muttered, leaving the overcooked peas alone in favor of the sandwich. Well… at least it was hard to fuck up a sandwich.

“You wanna share? Tessa always packs too much.” He offered, giving her a genuine smile as he also eyed the peas with apprehension.

The heat on Uzi's face worsened, she'd just met this guy today, she wasn't that interesting she was sure, so what was this boys actual deal? Did he have a goth fetish? He probably had a goth fetish.

“And let you poison me or something? No way.” She grumbled, knitting her brow into a frown and looking away, she wouldn't let this rando get any closer, not until she figured him out.

“Why- Why would I poison you? Also that would imply that I'm risking eating poisoned food as well.” He looked a little confused, but also fairly amused, with one eyebrow up in curiosity but a half-smile on his face.

“Bite me. I don't want your food!” In indignation, she bit into the sandwich she'd been provided with without checking what was on it, and it gave a good crunch.

What? Oh. Oh no.

There was lettuce, fucking lettuce, it felt like thin rubber and tasted like lame water and almost instantly set off every single nope response off in her brain, she gagged, immediately covering her mouth as her eyes watered.

Of all the food aversions, why did her brain bless her with one to the texture of lettuce.

“Woah, Uzi! Are you okay?” N Immediately leaned forward, hovering but not quite placing his hand over her back and she immediately lept for a napkin and coughed her lungs out into it until the flavor and texture was out of her mouth.

She was silent for a moment before she crushed the napkin in her fist and flipped open the sandwich to glare at the offending green, which whoever had made her sandwich had piled on like it was about to go out of style, she couldn't even tell what the other ingredients were aside from mayo.

“Fucking seriously!?” She exclaimed a little louder then intended, as the sandwich mocked her, apparently one could fuck up a sandwich.

“Wow that's a lot of lettuce.” N remarked, before looking over at her with a look of concern. “Are you alright?”

“M’fine. Just don't like lettuce.” That was a severe understatement, but N didn't really need to know that.

She waved him off, grumbling, looks like it was peaches and corn for her lunch today, great. Hopefully she could scrounge for something else when she got home, wouldn’t be the first time she would have to without.

Then, without warning, there was a crustless tuna sandwich being offered to her, along with N's beaming smile, she still wanted to say no, but damn that sandwich looked good and having eaten only half her breakfast… she was hungry.

She took it from him, giving him a side eye and a mumbled “Thank you.” As she took a bite of it tentatively.

“I promise it's not poisoned.” He chuckled, turning to dig into the bowl of soup he also had, but Uzi barely heard him, she couldn't belive she was about to think this about a simple sandwich, but it was one of the best tuna sandwiches she'd ever had, it also had some kinda of rich cheese and… something else that was probably really expensive.

“Oh my God this is so good…” She said after taking several bites of it, she probably looked like a pig. But she didn't care at the moment.

“Yeah that's Tess's cooking… glad you like it!” He beamed, dunking a cracker in his soup and popping it in his mouth, then sticking his tongue out in some goofy pleased expression.

Uzi couldn't help it, he looked so silly. She snorted and giggled, something that sounded completely foreign coming out of her mouth. If anything N's smile got even wider as he was able to draw a genuine laugh out of someone.

After her little outburst, she found herself a little bit embarrassed. It wasn't often she genuinely laughed, even less in front of someone she barely knew, but something about N’s vibe was making it easy to let down her guard.

Which… was a little bit scary, and Uzi didn't know what to think about that.

Next ->

[anavilante]

December Drabble Marathon 4/31:

Cozy Blanket

AU: Realistic Post-War. John and Gale have wives, and the events are close to canon.

Word Count: 0.6К

Summary: In the middle of a cold winter night, John and Gale find themselves seeking warmth in each other’s arms, their playful teasing turning into a quiet moment of shared comfort and longing amidst the harsh chill of their surroundings.

“Bucky! What’s taking you so long? The fire’s nearly out!” Gale’s voice, high-pitched with impatience, greeted John as he staggered into the cabin, his arms full of firewood. Gale, bundled tightly in a soft blanket, sat on the couch near the fireplace, his brows furrowed like a child who’d been denied dessert.

“Sorry, Buck. It’s pitch black out there—I couldn’t see a damn thing.” John dropped the basket of wood near the hearth and knelt down to stack the logs with care.

Gale, eager for warmth, quickly tossed a few pieces into the flickering embers. The fire sputtered before roaring back to life, and Gale sighed in relief, feeling the creeping cold retreat from the room.

John stood and rubbed his hands together, grinning. “So, remind me again why we came out here in the middle of winter?”

“To spend quality time with friends,” Gale replied, his tone clipped as though it were the most obvious answer in the world.

John snorted. “Yeah, sure. Great idea. Like freezing our asses off in a wooden barrack at the Stalag wasn't enough for us.”

The warmth of the fire was spreading now, glowing orange against the wood-paneled walls. Gale’s irritation melted alongside the frost as he stretched out his arms, still wrapped in the cozy blanket. “Come here, you big oaf,” he said with a smirk, beckoning. “Let me warm you up, my brave provider.”

John didn’t need to be told twice. He sank into Gale’s waiting embrace, burrowing himself under the blanket that carried Gale’s familiar scent. It was safe here, in this cocoon of shared warmth and comfort.

At first, the hug was innocent—a tender moment of shared peace in the middle of the frosty night. But soon enough, John’s hands began to wander, his touch slipping beneath Gale’s clothes. His fingers were cold against Gale’s skin, but the mischief in his actions made Gale stifle a gasp.

“Shh,” John whispered, his voice low and teasing as his hand crept lower.

“John,” Gale hissed, shooting him a sharp look but unable to keep the flush of heat from his face. “The guys aren’t asleep yet! Have some self-control, you perv.”

John gave him a look of exaggerated sorrow, his lips curving into a pout that nearly made Gale laugh.

Gale relented, leaning in to kiss him quickly on the corner of his mouth. “I want it too, but later, alright? Patience, Bucky.”

If John had a tail, Gale was certain it would’ve wagged at that moment. His lover was so transparent, so utterly shameless, that Gale couldn’t help but grin.

God, what a pervert my guy is, Gale thought affectionately. Always thinking about one thing. He chuckled softly, shaking his head.

But as the lightness faded, a pang of sadness crept into his chest. He held John a little closer, his fingers tightening around him. Yeah, just one thing. But not because he’s a selfish idiot who only cares about his own pleasure. It’s because we never have enough time. Not really. Not enough moments where we’re truly alone.

That thought made John’s neediness seem less greedy, more desperate. Gale kissed the top of his head, breathing in deeply. "Later," he murmured again, but softer this time, with a promise laced into the word.

John hummed contentedly, squeezing Gale closer, and for now, they stayed wrapped in each other, the cozy blanket shielding them from the cold—and the world outside.

[spinningbuster98]

Metroid Fusion Part 4: The illusion of freedom

Fusion is the first game where I can say that most of the bosses are actually pretty good. Hell combat in general

The issue in the previous games was that:

1) The floaty physics didn’t allow for snappy and precise movements and so made dodging attacks all kinds of awkward

2) Bosses usually just resorted to trying to ram into you aphazardly or just fling lots of shit at you with little to no discernible pattern

In Fusion however not only are the more precise controls much more adapt at combat but most bosses are generally just better designed, with attacks and patterns that can be memorised and dodged. Arachnus, Serris, B.O.X, that Lamprey thing. Hell even Yakuza (the spider), which lots of people have trouble against, is actually not that bad once you realise that you can dodge him pretty consistently with the morph ball

However near the end the bosses kind of start dropping off in quality

Nightmare kind of devolves into trying to ram into you at random

Ridley is really disappointing, just being a big target for you to spam shit into while he murders your ears

Even the SA-X has a really simple and easy battle. I’m not too torn up about it since there is still a certain cathartic feeling in humiliating it like this, but still

This is also the part of the game where it kinda starts to go for a “Samus starts disobeying Adam” direction, with Samus going to places and doing things that he doesn’t approve of

In general this is considered by many to be one of the main themes of Fusion: the idea that you start very weak and are forced to listen to the gruff AI but as you grow more powerful you start giving him the middle finger

And...I wish I were as enthusiastic about this as others are

Here’s the thing: the problem here is gameplay/story synchronization

Usually Fusion is pretty good at giving story explanations to explain gameplay related stuff: it’s the only game in the series probably to give a solid explanation as to why Samus would lose her abilities yet again. Samus is weaker than usual and takes more damage because she’s missing most of her armor and is still weak from the operation. Some doors on the station are shut due to security reasons

However I think that in this context right here there is some dissonance of sorts

Because while Samus may be disobeying Adam’s orders, YOU the player are still following the game’s rules to a T

The game’s trademark linearity is still in full effect here: after you beat Nightmare you don’t get the choice to immediately go back to Adam, the level design FORCES you to go to Sector 4 and release the last Security Lock and get the Diffusion Upgrade

After getting the Wave Beam disobeying Adam by getting into the Restricted Area is not a choice you make: there is no way to backtrack to the other half of Sector 6 at this point, the game leaves you no choice BUT to disobey Adam

The game gives you the illusion of freedom, the illusion of breaking free from a domineering authority while in actuality you’re still absolutely playing by the game’s very strict rules and once you see the strings it kinda makes the whole theme the game’s going for a bit hollow if you ask me

[reixtsu]

Unspoken Love Locked In A Closet - Soukoku (Dazai x Chuuya) 7 Minutes In Heaven AU

・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・

Characters: Osamu Dazai, Chuuya Nakahara, mention of Mori Ōtogi Genre: Not really fluff…. But kinda mysterious romance 🥰 Warning(s): None! Synopsis: Dazai and Chuuya were placed in a closet together to do the seven minutes of heaven challenge.

・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・

The party was in full swing. The music was blasting, pounding in the hearts of those in the party. Alcohol was opened, laughter and music was the ambiance of the lively party. Everyone was having a great time...Everyone but Dazai and Chuuya.

You see, Dazai and Chuuya had been playfully bantering throughout the night, as usual, but there's an underlying tension between them due to their complex history and emotions.

As the game commenced, a mischievous friend Mori paired them up for the "7 Minutes in Heaven" challenge. At first, Dazai and Chuuya resented the idea. How could they ever be in such a tight small place together? Nevertheless m they wanted to break one another. Smirking at each other, they both entered the closet, which was small, a distance away from the main party, and filled with random items.

The moment the door closed, the atmosphere became charged with a mix of curiosity, annoyance, and apprehension. Chuuya crossed his arms, leaning against the closet wall, and raised an eyebrow at Dazai. "So, what do you plan on doing in here, you damn bandage freak?"

Dazai chuckled, putting on his usual facade of nonchalance. "Oh, you know me, Chuuya. I'm here to enjoy our quality time together, of course~” He said flirtatiously, making Chuuya cringe slightly.

Chuuya rolls his eyes and clicks his tongue. However, he couldn’t help but notice a faint blush on Dazai's cheeks. He knew Dazai well enough to notice the small yet almost invisible changes in his body. He decided to play along and smirked back. "Fine. Just don't get any weird ideas, or I'll bury you alive."

The two of them banter back and forth, bickering about height, wine, women, guns, kinks, and even more peculiar subjects. Both men slightly enjoyed their bickering, but knew that they would never admit it to anyone.

During those moments, they let their guard down, dropping the witty comebacks and sarcastic remarks. They begin to show glimpses of vulnerability to each other, acknowledging the fact that they do love each other, no matter how many times they denied.

As the minutes tick by, they find themselves standing closer, almost unconsciously. There's a comfortable silence between them, and they're just appreciating each other's presence without the usual animosity.

Before they knew it, the seven minutes are up, and the door opened to reveal their friends eagerly waiting outside. Chuuya steped out first, his cheeks slightly flushed, hand over his hat to cover his face, but he quickly regained his composure.

Dazai followed suit, giving a casual grin. However this time, it felt different, as if something has subtly shifted between them. Their friends raised their eyebrows, sensing the change in the dynamic, but neither Dazai nor Chuuya says a word.

“It becomes a small secret they share, a moment of vulnerability that they'll cherish and hold onto as they navigate the complexities of their relationship in the future.

Dazai swiftly walked closely beside Chuuya as they followed their friends back to the party. His lips near Chuuya’s ear. His voice was smooth and deep, sounding like cool wine on a summer day. “Next time we share a small space together, I want to feel you more intimately than just staring, okay Chibi?”

Chuuya blushed crimson red, glaring at the taller man in embarrassment as ideas flashed in his mind. “Dazai! I swear- I will kill you!”

・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・・❥・

Author’s notes: Thank you so much for reading! I made this in the middle of the night after listening to a 7 minutes of heaven asmr (no questions). Hm… ANYWAYS these two men are so fun to tease! Oh, if I was isekai-ed into the Bungo Stray Dogs universe, they way I’d die is teasing Soukoku. I’d have no regrets. 👌☺️👍

[justsasuke]

Team Taka Matsuri 2024 day 4: Sasuke

OK so I ran out of time to make his social media (I promise to do it in the near future) so here's a segment from a scrapped fic I started writing a while ago and then lost steam for...oops.

The premise is that Sasuke gets really bad sleep terrors when he's alone at night so he's always sleep deprived. This is a modern AU thing where he works a corporate job. It's supposed to end up as a JuuSasu fic (ofc.) but all I ended up writing was Sasuke and Suigetsu quality time lol.

enjoy~

"Sasuke, you look terrible"

It's the first thing Suigetsu says to Sasuke when he opens the door to let him into his apartment.

"Is Karin here?" 

Sasuke ignores Suigetsu's comment and gets straight to the point.

He's so tired, and all he wants is to sleep.

Suigetsu shakes his head, stepping out of the way so Sasuke can pass by.  "She just left".  Karin had come by to drop off some watermelon she has received as a gift from her neighbor before leaving to meet up with friends in Shibuya.  "She won't be back until tomorrow".

Sasuke nods but he's not really listening to that part.  He drops his backpack beside the dining table and then sinks into the sofa that's just past it.

"Do you need to stay here tonight?".  

Suigetsu could be a lot of things; annoying, jarring, blunt, abrasive, to name a few, but insensitive and oblivious weren't among them.

Sasuke nods, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers and thumb as he scrunches his eyes shut.  He wants to keep them shut forever.  

"Just on the couch is fine".

It was embarrassing enough that he needed to ask Suigetsu to let him stay the night, there was no way he was going to ask to sleep in the same bed too.

"You're not going to be lonely?" Suigetsu fake pouted, sticking his bottom lip out in a way that made him look stupid.  Annoying was definitely one thing he did well.

Sasuke rolled his eyes behind his hand.  "Shut up, will you?"

He didn't hate it though, the way Suigetsu would turn it into a joke or pretend to flirt.  There were plenty of ways the situation could be made worse but Suigetsu always knew how to keep it light.

"I'll be fine". He sunk further into the sofa, sliding down until his neck was resting against the back of the cushion.

He felt like he could sleep for years.

"Are you going to be here for now?". 

It was only 7 p.m., so it wouldn't be unusual for Suigetsu to head out.

Suigetsu pulled his phone out of his pocket, pressing his finger to the home button until the screen lit up with the time.  "I'm meeting up with Mangetsu for drinks at 9, wanna come? You can catch a nap before then"

Sasuke kept his eyes shut, "maybe I'll go".

The idea of going out sounded like hell, but maybe if he could sleep first…

He could already feel himself getting drowsy, the promise of not being alone enough to convince his brain he could finally relax. his limbs felt so heavy.

"Well, I'll be here until then so move over"

Suigetsu crossed the room and dropped onto the couch next to Sasuke, pushing the darker haired man out of the middle and onto the far side so he could have room to stretch out.

 "I want to clear the next level of the game before I go".

He grabbed the game remote from the short table in front of them and then settled back down on the couch, situating himself diagonally so his back was resting in the corner where the back cushion met the arm and one leg was stretched along the back of the couch, the other stretched in front of him.

"C'mere" 

He reached over and grabbed Sasuke's arm, pulling him over on top of him before the dark haired man could even realize what was happening.

"Wait–" Sasuke pulled his arm out of Suigetsu's grip and sat back on his heels. The tips of his ears were tinged pink.

 "If you need the couch I'll just use the bed".

He thrust his chin towards the corner where Suigetsu's bed was positioned half secluded from view by shelves of One piece volumes and various decorations.  

Sure he'd be alone, but maybe he'd be fine with Suigetsu in the same room. Even if he did wake up screaming it would be much less embarrassing than whatever the hell this arrangement was going to be.

He started to get up and then yelped when Suigetsu yanked him back down.

"Look, Sasuke."

Suigetsu's voice was low, 

"this is better for you, isn't it?  You sleep better with someone close by so just shut up and sleep.  You look like crap."

.

"Sasuke. Hey, Sasuke"

Sasuke stirred, groaning softly as he opened his eyes.  It was dark in the apartment now with only the light from the TV casting a glow around them.  

On the screen Suigetsu's game was paused.  

Sasuke rubbed his eyes.

He was still laying on top of Suigetsu, his head resting on his friend's chest and the rest of his body curled between Suigetsu's legs because the couch was too short for him to stretch out.

His legs felt distant and when he moved his foot it started to tingle.

"What?" Sasuke's tongue was heavy in his mouth as he tried to speak.

Suigetsu laughed softly, carding his fingers through his best friend's hair to get his bangs out of the way.

"It's almost 9"

Sasuke pushed himself upward using Suigetsu's hip as a hand hold. 

Nothing felt real.  He rubbed his palm into his eyes again to get the haze out of them.

"You need to get going then" 

His voice sounded weird, he should drink some water.

With Sasuke no longer on top of him Suigetsu stretched, sticking his arms and legs out stiff and almost kicking Sasuke in the face.

"Ahhh that's so much better" Suigetsu sighed.

"You're kinda dead weight when you're asleep. I couldn't feel my legs"

He was back to his usual light voiced, teasing self.

Sasuke snorted, pushed Suigetsu's foot out of the way so he could get off the couch and stretch his back.

"Yeah I slept fine, thanks".

He no longer felt exhausted to the point of throwing up but he was still tired.  What he needed was to sleep for a solid 9 hours.

Maybe on the bed this time since there was way more leg room.

But Suigetsu was heading out and if he stayed to sleep he would be by himself in an apartment that wasn't his own.

And as tired as he was he didn't want to have to deal with the inevitable consequences of being alone.

"Are you coming?"

Suigetsu asked as he tossed the controller on the table and stood up.  "I told him I'd meet him at the bar".

Sasuke rubbed his eyes again, the bed was looking extremely tempting.

"Yeah I'll go".

It would be better to just hang out for a few hours and then go back to sleep.  Suigetsu knew how tired he was, there was no way he would keep him out for too long.

. . . Or so he thought but he'd forgotten how much of a talker Mangetsu could be.

.. .. ... end note: there maybe enough in my drafts for a part 2 of this so let me know I guess.

[livingobserver]

The Deck is Stacked

So this is how my life winds down. Nervous System wrecked by Gillian Barre Syndrome (from a Flu Vaccine), knocked flat by a "Massive" Stroke a few months later. Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes. I never saw it coming at age 59 I was still a thirty something. Shortly after my 60th birthday it all hit. Now I feel like a 70 something in my middle 60's or near about. Don't misunderstand me. I'm not complaining. Not much point in complaining. But..., it was supposed to be so much different. After being able to claim the rank of Master Artist. After staying active and strong, agile my whole life. I was supposed to just drop dead from a "Widow maker"/heart attack. You know..., just sudden and quick. My whole life style was geared to facilitate that end. I never believed in my own immortality. Now, apparently even candy could kill me... ever so slowly. WTF? So I ask myself, what is the point of being so damned cautious at this point. Why would I now want to drag this out by denying myself the things I enjoy. What's another year or two, maybe more maybe less. But I'm not suicidal either. When you get to this point, all the pain, all the denial of Life's treats and rewards. Wondering if there is truly "The Other Side" and if so..., is it better or worse than this life has been. You really do stand on the edge. I can only hope that my friend adheres to my final wishes and doesn't allow me to linger on life support, if and when that condition might be arrived at. It's just a damned shame that you can put a dog "to sleep" when it's suffering and there is no hope of recovering real living, real quality of life again. But we allow and force so many Humans to suffer. I'm not advocating for "Assisted Suicide". But I am speaking against lingering death. I've just seen far too many people waste away to nothing but a world of suffering. There must be a better way, if we are truly "Civilized". A Living Will is not often sufficient where medical profit is involved in lingering death. Especially when the Lawyers get involved. My 17 year old self, would be extremely disappointed in me for ending up in this way and that 17 year old still resides inside me yelling "STAND UP!!" 'Fraid not kid. The time for standing up from heavy blows has long passed. The warrior has aged and aged warriors die hard..., and slow. Removed from the battles except the one's within and they have no pity nor mercy it would seem. But there is still..., Tumblr. I suppose that is my window into the world now. Though so very much smaller a window than the one I've known. Tumblr might not seem like so much to you, but I am grateful for you all in any case. Thank you for contributing, [ Your time and effort]. it does matter. It matters more than you can know, unless you are like me. The same physical limitations imposed by Nature or God or just Living. It matters not..., the source. This hand will be played as dealt. But it is quite obvious to me that the Dealer is stacking the deck. What an Asshole!

[superectojazzmage]

Ahsoka Review

So far, this show is like a weird middle ground on the whole rollercoaster of quality that has been the Disney+ Star Wars shows. It’s nowhere near as fantastic as Mandalorian seasons 1 and 2, Bad Batch, and Andor. But it’s also not anywhere as godawful as Kenobi, Book of Boba Fett, and Mandalorian season 3 ended up being.

Acting is all over the place. On one end, you have Ray Stevenson (God rest his soul), Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Eman Esfandi, Diana Lee Inosanto, Clancy Brown, and David Tennant all giving great or at least good performances but occasionally hitting points where they’re clearly struggling to make their dialogue sound like actual human speech. On the other end you have Rosario Dawson talking like she’s either weirdly smug or on Valium with no in-between; my feelings on her as Ahsoka have definitely soured a lot as time goes on, she’s just so emotionless and robotic and when she isn’t doing that, she comes off as unlikably self-righteous. And then you have Mary Elizabeth Winstead really trying her best despite not being a great pick for Hera and Ivanna Sakhno who hasn’t really gotten much of anything to do so far.

Writing is even more hit and miss. One second, it’s perfectly serviceable, the next very clunky, but it’s never really as good as in most other Star Wars works. It’s a bit like the dialogue in the Prequels; more concerned with conveying exposition to the audience than sounding like natural conversation. Some of the character interactions work really well, some don’t. Some of the humor lands really great, some doesn’t.

Music is absolutely AMAZING. Kevin Kiner is a godsend.

Fight scenes are pretty good. Not groundbreaking but definitely enjoyable. Choreography is good and the characters usually actually feel like they’re trying to kill each other rather than getting way too showy like the Prequels could. Sabine and Shin’s dual definitely is going to awaken things in the lesbians.

The story succumbs to the “making things too complicated and messy and lore-breaking” flaw that the Sequels did. What is the point of this Star Map when the Imperial Remnant is already in contact with Thrawn? How is Thrawn in contact with the Remnant AT ALL given that he’s apparently in a different galaxy entirely? Why was the Map hidden away in an old Nightsister temple like it’d been there for centuries instead of being in Imperial Remnant custody and how did Morgan know it would lead to Thrawn? How did Nightsisters even get ahold of this thing? Who are these mysterious extragalactic beings? I’m sure some of these mysteries will be explained as we go, but I’m also kinda scared they WON’T be and I furthermore feel like the story is just throwing in unnecessary complications; literally why are we dropping the world-breaking bombshell of going to another galaxy instead of just having Thrawn be in the Unknown Regions like in Legends? The whole “bootstrapping a bunch of hyperdrives together” thing would actually kinda make sense if they were just going to the Unknown Regions, but another galaxy entirely?

”It’s not loyalty, it’s greed”. I see we will NOT be having any moral complexity in our Star Wars today. Especially hilarious because Ahsoka’s assessment there doesn’t even match the events onscreen at all and the situation actually portrayed feels very much like it should have depth to it, the show just doesn’t want to acknowledge it. Disappointing, given how good of a job Andor and early Mandalorian did at depicting things in a nuanced light.

This show tips the New Republic from merely over-stretched, over-bureaucratic, and deeply flawed to downright criminally incompetent. It was one thing when Mando season 3 showed one or two Imperial spies subverting the broken system for their own ends. It’s another for this show to have AN ENTIRE MAJOR SHIPYARD be Imperial spies operating directly under the Republic’s nose. It’s like they’re trying to make us feel happy the First Order is gonna blow it up.

Pacing is… odd. It’s a very easygoing and slow story, which is very good as it gives the characters and events time needed to breathe, but there are times where it can feel like it’s really dragging out scenes that other stories would’ve sped through in the name of getting to the damn point.

Bizarrely, despite this being supposedly being Ahsoka’s show, every other character feels much more meaningful, likable, and pivotal to the narrative. Sabine is a great protagonist, Hera is still the Space Mom we know and love, Huyang is a fun sidekick, Baylen Skoll is really interesting as an antagonist, Thrawn and Ezra cast a palatable shadow over the plot without even directly appearing, and so on. Meanwhile Ahsoka feels like a prop.

Thank God Chopper is still committing war crimes.

The best way I can describe the plot so far is like it’s somehow simultaneously holding itself back and doing too much, if that makes sense. It’s jumping into territory that could easily hurt it and other works in the setting, but also seems too antsy to commit to doing something genuinely daring.

All in all, this is pretty much Rebels Season 5 but in live action, and it’s a very hit and miss affair. It’s enjoyable so far, but I’ll have to see what direction Filoni takes the subsequent episodes in before deciding whether or not this is a good series or goes in the “not my canon” trashcan.

[theheightofdishonor]

2023 year in review: part one

It's close enough to the end of the year that i'm writing my year in review. I decided to do a part for shows that actually aired in 2023. (i may or may not do a second part of this for all the shows i've watched this year but even from an initial glance its a LOT, we'll see. )

From what I have noted, I watched 81 shows this year that finished airing in 2023.

Broken down by country, its

Thailand: 35

Korea: 18

China: 10

Japan: 10

Philippines: 4

Taiwan: 4

48 of these were BL and 16 were GL.

Even this is actually so many that I don't quite know how to even break it down so I guess i'll just go by country?

Thailand

Thailand just has such a large output of content that naturally, the quality also tends to vary wildly meaning this produced both some of my absolute favorites and some of my most beloved.

On the beloved side, Bed Friend, IFYLITA, Moonlight chicken,My school president, and surprisingly Midnight Museum. And on a slightly lower tier, Be My Favorite, Dirty Laundry, Enigma, Shadow, Only Friends, and Warp Effect.

Bed Friend reminded me almost of Tharntype? But like good. I think the execution was great and NetJames definitely has some of the best chemistry in a year chock full of good chemistry. They're great in Middleman's Love too.

I Feel You Linger In the Air is Tee Bundit at his absolute best. He's great at blending genres together. He incorporated horror brilliantly into simr and I love how he leaned into the historical and time travel aspects of this historical time travel romance. There was some really cool things with the directing and the acting from Nonkul and Bright was great too. Me finding out Nonkul was doing a bl was probably how everyone else reacted back when news broke that Nanon was doing BBS. He's one of my favorite actors.

Moonlight Chicken ofc is near perfect. I loved seeing older queer people in a romance with Jim and Wen and the contrast to Li Ming and Heart was great. Not to mention the family and social dynamics and the way the show addresses Beam and Jim's relationship. The only complaint I have is that the lack of physical intimacy between Jim and Wen in the middle portions of the show and near the end felt weird considering the content of the show but even then, it's a pretty minor complaint and everything else about the show is great.

My School President is definitely the one I was most engaged in fandom for. And the only one I was waking up early every morning to watch. (and i'd watch each episode like 2-3 times too). The social media/shipping stuff at the end was fumbled a little bit but I loved the parents in this show and the friend group and tinngun. I still can't believe Fourth and Gemini were like 17-18 when they filmed this. They're both excellent actors. Oh MSP also had the best Our Skyy episodes btw. I'll die on this hill.

Midnight Museum I'll discuss later on too but it was fun. I liked how intentional they were with the cameos where it purposefully gave the actors roles that were completely different from anything they've done before, especially with Tu, Bright, and Nanon. The worldbuilding was also fascinating. I know someone here was making a timeline for it and they mentioned it was a damn pain to figure out but like kinda in a fun way? The decision to make KathaDome a bromance is odd and I hate it and I hate the implications for gmmtv but other than that it was good.

Be My favorite was way better than I ever expected from Jittirain. I do have to say that my experience was marred by the fact that I was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, just from my experience with her shows but it didn't which was a pleasant surprise. I liked how they handled Aye's character and Kawi's growth.

I didn't think I'd like Enigma because I don't like Win but it was good. The supernatural/horror genre mix won me over. Also Prim is in this and i'm very weak for her. Win was nowhere on her level but he was more tolerable than I expected. I'm annoyed that she's not going to be in season 2 though because she's the main character?? GMMTV needs to understand that the draw of this show is Prim and not Win.

Only Friends. What a divisive show. I went into this wanting mess and drama and with the aim of not having any other expectations and for the most part, I succeeded. This show brought out the best from everyone in the cast, like genuinely these were some of the best performances that any of these actors have done. Absolutely stellar. Storywise, it was pretty good and very unique in terms of thai bl and gmmtv until that last bit with Boston and Nick which felt malicious and just mean compared to the neutral lens that the show had been portraying the other characters with. Watching it was pretty fun though and again, most of the story was really good so I guess i'm allowing it some grace.

Shadow isn't a bl but it is queer and I appreciated most of what it was doing with the historical horror suspense elements. I think towards the end it definitely was way shakier and I don't understand why they made some of the decisions they made but I really liked the first 3/4 of the show. Fluke and Singto are obviously good too, even though they're both way too old at this point to still be playing high schoolers.

The Warp Effect had the distinct vibe of a PSA and Gigie and Fah should've dated but otherwise, it was a fun watch, I think. I liked Alex's character arc, I liked everyone's character arcs honestly. On my notes, I wrote that the ending was a bit flat so points off for that but it was good.

A lot of these are from GMMTV which when it was good, was incredible and when it was bad, I usually was decent at avoiding them completely

The worst offender from Thailand that I didn't avoid is Tee Bundit with the double hit of Step by Step and Show Me Love. I think people far more eloquent than me have written a lot about sbs so I won't say much but like I almost refrained from watching IFYLITA because of how hurt I was by sbs. And Show Me Love was just like offensively mediocre which hit worse at the time because I had just watched Something In My Room and IFYLITA beforehand and made the mistake of having expectations from Tee. In my defense, Tee's usually good at writing engaging characters and casting for good chemistry so I had no reason to believe he'd fail here.

Hmm what else. Oh actually, brief mention of Nanon's filmography this year since I checked out all of it and he tends to be so good even in mediocre shows that I can't help but be intrigued.

Hmm what else. Oh actually, brief mention of Nanon's filmography this year since I checked out all of it and he tends to be so good even in mediocre shows that I can't help but be intrigued. Dirty Laundry by JoJo was excellent. It was a little hard to get into because i'm not a fan of the genre but i loved it. Also Film and Nanon are a fun pair and I think they get better with every showing. UMG actually was mediocre despite the great cast and I want better from Nanon so I dropped it. Namtam and Milk's characters should lowkey have gotten together though. In Midnight Museum, Nanon's a side character (which i honestly forgot was something gmmtv let him do) but he fucking KILLED it. He played three roles here and all of them were new for him and you could tell the guy was having a blast. I can't say it's some of the best acting I've seen from him but that's only because when Nanon is good, he's always this good. Oh and also, Nanon and View in MM is the best chemistry he's ever had with a girl. Our Skyy, there's not a lot I'm willing to say publicly about all that but Nanon even at half-effort is still better than half of GMMTV's stable. The Jungle was a terrible mess but Nanon was so excellent in it that i'm still writing essays about Nannam and Nanfah months later. Nanon and Mild as a pair were also excellent and the only ones that made it out of this show unscathed. The rest as I said, is a mess but one that could've been somewhat redeemed by making Mix a vampire. (this might not make sense but like watch Mix's performance alright he's trying sooo hard to be shady and mysterious and they never let it go anywhere) My precious was a fairly run of the mill movie with excellent acting. As a plot I think it's a little thin for a show but i'm interested to see how they'll stretch it out. Hopefully the longer runtime means the friend group can be fleshed out a little bit more.

Korea

Well that ended up not being all that brief but moving on, I thought Korea would have more on a showing because I remembered watching a lot of kdramas but turns out most of the kdramas I watched were from previous years so, only 18. A very dramatic drop from Thailand's 35.

The best of these included The Eighth Sense, Our Dating Sim, and Welcome to the Lesbian Bar with Sing My Crush being ever so slightly underneath. I would rec Lesbian Bar to literally everyone, but especially those who enjoyed MLC. It's got that same queer family focus with the central relationship being this baby lesbian and her lesbian aunt. Out of the not queer stuff, My Perfect Stranger was an excellent time travel romance, The Glory Season 2 was better than all the other season twos that came out this year, and

If Korea produced anything too egregious this year (outside of Taxi Driver and Uncanny Counter's season 2s) I missed it. But out of the ones I watched, the most disappointing was A Shoulder To Cry On, followed rather distantly by Bump Up Business, both for very different reasons. I will say though that whatever is wrong with Tae Hyun in A Shoulder To Cry On is very appealing to me in the same way that Tae Joo from Where Your Eyes Linger was except like a weaker version.

China

I once thought i'd never touch a cdrama again but here I am, having watched 3 whole traditional length cdramas this year. The other 7 are almost all from the Legend of Yunze's catalog because I love their content. The best by leaps and bounds was Nu Er Hong by Legend of Yunze. I think it's my favorite out of everything they've made. The studio's really started to figure out their pacing and also this one was fairly dark and dark gl- dark anything really- is right up my alley. A flower for 3 lives and Seven Gods of Joy by the same studio had great concepts but shakier execution. Stepping outside of them, A league of noblemen was probably my favorite traditional cdrama but Mysterious Lotus Casebook was fun fandom-wise since people on tumblr were watching it.

I think the only show i'd classify as bad is probably My everlasting bride which I watched on a whim. Under a miscroscope started good and then ended boring so overall averages into mediocre. This wouldn't be a crime anywhere else but I expect good pacing from my cdramas.

Japan

I liked pretty much everything I watched from Japan this year so imma go with my worst off which was Jack O' Frost. This is more on me than on the show itself because the concept just squicked me out a lot more than I expected it to. Badly enough that i've blocked the tag.

On the best of, I don't even know if I can choose. Hmm, Bokura no micro na shuumatsu, Kimi ni wa todokanai, Kinou nani tabeta s2, both the My Beauitful Man installments, and Taikan Yoho. Ahhh, and Tokyo in April is... Welp well turns out I couldn't actually choose. This was pretty much everything I watched.

I didn't think I'd like Bokura no as much as I ended up liking it. And I don't know if I would've liked it as much if any other country had produced this show. But it was achy and wistful and I fell in love;.

Kimi ni wa todokanai though was hands down my favorite from Japan and I don't even like friends to lovers. It also helped that they, mostly Yamato reminded me a bit of Kageyama and Hinata. Like I know it's just common character archetypes but also, it's kagehina core, yeah? The bed scene where Yamato yeets Kakeru onto the bed was both hilarious and just well done. I liked the way Yamato wrestled with his desire.

I watched Kinou Nani Tabeta s2 just a couple days ago since I was waiting to binge it and i'm glad I wasn't watching this weekly because it would make everything else I watch weekly dull in comparison. Honestly would watch 100 seasons of this. It's perfect.

My Beautiful Man S2 and My Beautiful Man: Eternal were both solid. I think mbm s1 had tighter pacing but week to week, I enjoyed s2 more. For some reason I didn't write notes for either but I do remember liking both so.

Taikan Yoho. If not for the kghn vibes from kimi ni wa, this would be my favorite. Like their dynamic and just the layers of it and how it presents itself in the language of the show is just so tailored to my taste. I think I wanted just a little bit more from them, but what I got was excellent.

Philippines

I only watched four and somehow, it's perfectly split into 2 gls and 2 bls. I really do like pinoy stuff and the way they write relationships but I don't watch a lot of it because I don't know a lot of people who track it and also because most of it is on yt and i don't like the yt interface. But out of what I watched, the best was The Day I Loved You and Stand-In Love.

The Day I Loved You did a good job in handling the love triangle and Eli's illness. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending but it was still good.

Stand-In Love is about 2 best friends who are in a 'stand-in' relationship with each other where the straight one is helping the lesbian one learn how to court a girl but then they end up falling in love. It's like 20 minutes long, it's fucking adorable, very well done for the amount of time it had.

The other two things I watched was Tie the Not and Lei and Mar. Tie the Not is basically just pinoy Wedding Plan and I find that I don't care for the concept. Lei and Mar is a cute friends to lovers that for some reason ends in a car crash. Like it started out really cute and then bam, car crash out of absolutely nowhere. Just, why?

Taiwan

Kiseki: Dear to Me was fun and I liked the cameos. It was a funny experience for me though because I consumed a lot of this show via gifsets but I never actually read the synopsis and whatever the hell I thought this was about was decidedly not it.

Fall For You - it's tragic, it is but I laughed

Stay By My Side reminded me a bit of Hikaru No Go but I can't tell you why. It's more cute domestic fluff than plot but I watched it twice so clearly I didn't mind too much at the time. Plus, it has ghosts and i'm a sucker for supernatural stuff.

You are mine was a mess and I think I watched up til the penultimate episode. What is it with office bls this year?

[storm-demon]

almost done w totk and even tho i can't give thoughts on the final boss yet I wanna talk about what I thought

spoilers under cut

I don't think I've been more mixed on a game in a long time, this game has done things better than botw, but it's also made a lot of confusing choices and messed certain things up that I didn't have any issue with before. I'll maybe repeat myself a little here but I wanna start w the positives

-- The sky islands are a great addition that really make the paraglider feel important and more engaging than botw. The one downside that i've started to feel as I've gone on is that I really wish that they had expanded them, it kinda sucks how many of them are just isolated way out in the middle of nowhere with no interesting interactions.

-- Weapon fusing is a great addition that makes the weapon durability less intrusive (I already didn't even mind it too much in botw, but the ability to actually make weapons definitely makes the durability make more sense). Again only downside i felt as I went on is that there are times that the crafting can make the game a little grindy, I think this would really be balanced out if they'd just add a few more chests or drops with already decent fused weapons.

-- The new enemies, honestly botw really felt like it needed a little more diversity in it's enemy pool, so thank god totk takes steps to fix that. I think it could still use a few more, but the addition of things like actual miniboss fights like the gleekos and frox do help mix it up.

That's kinda the extent of the really positive stuff, a lot also just keeps the same quality of botw, which I like well enough. But now the things I didn't like, and I'll say now, there's quite a few of these.

-- They really fucked either the timing or the positioning of the perfect dodge from botw. It's not only way harder to do, but also a bit buggy because of it. I've had multiple instances of jumping out of the way of an attack only for an invisible aftershock to hit me. It also really brings to light a big issue with this game that there are just no i frames when dodging. This wasn't as noticible in botw because the parry dodge was decently easy to learn and get used to, but now with it near impossible to do it really goes to show how behind this game is compared to other character action games. I just wish that if nintendo wants to make a game like this, that they'd take the time to really learn from and understand games of this genre. Souls born games, for example, have i frames for a reason, and balance out their difficulty using things like your stamina meter and fast paced attack patterns. Hell these games already have a stamina feature, would it really be too hard to implement something like that?

-- The removal of the bomb ability also just,,, sucks. It makes fights like the molduga basically a waste of resources and time. Not to mention it makes breaking down rocks a constant resource sink, speaking of which

-- Why are there so many damn caves filled with rocks???? Not even really trying to 100% this game at all I ran into like 20 of them, they're an annoying resource sink, and the reward at the end is hardly ever worth it.

-- The depths suck. I'm sorry, but they're nowhere near as engaging as the sky layer when it comes to getting around, the darkness is just an annoyance, and a surprising amount of copy and paste landscape. I was also super disappointed to find that gloom resistance just... doesn't work. Made me instantly hate everything to do w the gloom.

-- Also on that not really not a fan of the gloom hands/phantom ganon. This kinda just exemplifies a bigger problem with this game, the lack of almost any i frames in this game makes the gloom hands just a constant stunlock. Every single guide I've looked at just suggests you cheese the fight by standing up on a ledge and shooting fire arrows at it. I think it's a sign of a really bad design when the way only/main suggested way to win a fight is to completely ignore the mechanics and cheese it. Not to mention it doesn't seem like the difficulty of the gloom hands is intentional because, honestly, the phantom ganon fight is not that hard at all. Hell the phantom ganon fight is honestly kinda laughable compared to the gloom hands, it's super unsatisfying and nearly ruined my opinion of the game entirely a few times.

--Lastly, and I hate to say it, I'm running into the exact same issue I had w botw that is the silver enemies. I was honestly really hoping with the introduction of actual mini bosses that we'd just drop these, but no such luck I guess. My main issue with the silver enemies is that in the point of the game that they show up they're not even really uniquely challenging, and they really just serve as hp sponges. My worst experience in botw was fighting a silver lynel, surviving pretty well, and getting off plently of perfect dodges, and then losing the fight simply because I smashed every single weapon i had on it's face. This is sliiiiightly better with the weapon crafting in this game, but really, not by much. I was talking abt this w my gf earlier but enemies like the darknuts were good examples of late game fights because the fight was a unique test of your skills, the silver enemies are annoying because it's just the same enemies i've been fighting the entire game, just stuffed with about 10 times as much hp. It's such a disappointing way to cap this game off, just the same way as botw

-- Almost forgot, but also having to walk up to a sage and talk to them with the A button is a really annoying way to use that. I know we're already using basically every button for this game, but certainly there was a better solution than that.

I think I'll avoid actually talking about the story until I finish the game, on a post of it's own, but before i finish off I think i wanna just rank all of the temple in the game

-- Wind temple

Great one to start with, was really fun to climb up to the temple, really got me used to using the ascend power and just made good use of the zonai powers in general. Not a super hard temple but that's fine honestly, especially because the boss fight here is easily the best. 8/10

-- Fire temple

Instantly falling from the first one (haha) it's unquestionable the worst, not just in this game, but maybe the worst temple I've played in any zelda game. The dungeon is SO incredibly tedious and slow, it takes forever just get around the damn thing, with the only real use of zonai powers being riding the minecarts on set tracks. Also using the hydrants I suppose (which also does not help the sluggishness of the dungeon). The temple is also painfully easy, the enemies are so scattered and isolated it's honestly just confusing, it feels like there was just no thought to where they were placed. Not the biggest fan of this boss either, which actually is a shame because i think it had promise but the camera fucks this whole fight up. Classic zelda games would pull the camera out a bit more for fights for this, but the botw engine just keeps the camera fully up link's ass the entire time, makes it a lot harder than it should be. 1/10

-- Water temple

This part was a rollercoaster because I went from the worst temple straight to the best, the water temple honestly kinda just does everything right where the fire temple did everything wrong. the climb up to it is honestly arguably even more fun than the wind temple, it makes such a great use of abilities unique to this game. Flinging up waterfalls w the zora armor and using those cool floating bubbles was such a wonderful change of pace from the last temple. The whole temple is really nicely paced, has some really unique puzzles, and the enemy placement makes a good bit more sense. Boss fight here's not bad, not quite as creative as the wind temple boss but a really fun design and decently fun fight! My only complaint would be that some of the quests leading up to it are a liiiittle bit overly tedious with how back and forth they are, but that's not a huge deal and doesn't really put any real strikes against the water temple itself. 9/10

-- Lightning temple

This one's basically the definition of mid to me, it doesn't do anything offensively bad, but it's not doing anything as creative and fun as the water temple either. I think the design of this one is very "classic zelda" and that kinda unfortunately works against it imo. It doesn't really feel like it's doing anything particularly interesting with the zonai powers, and with the lack of classic zelda items it's not really doing anything interesting with its base puzzles either. Just some really bog standard light puzzles. The boss is one i also feel was, unfortunately, fucked over by the camera. I really wanted to like this boss, I really like the designs for the gibdos in this game and think the bug theming is so cool. Unfortunately anytime I was targeted on the thing (which was most the time because the arena is so big) and it did that slam attack it would whip the camera around in way where I basically couldn't see anything, It made the fight a lot more annoying that it otherwise would have been. 6/10

-- Spirit temple

Barely even a temple, the puzzles to get the mech suit for mineru were just time consuming and annoying, robot fight was kinda neat once i got past the controls. Not much more to say. 4/10

[partangel]

What are your plans after college? Do you have very specific goals set out or will you let things flow? Also, do you think you’ll stay friends with the people you met there? Currently having a crisis because I’m coming to the end of my bachelor’s and I have no idea of what my future will look like x(

hello! i dont find i have it all figured out or anything likewise...right now im toying with the idea of continuing in education and getting a doctorate so teaching in an academic setting is an option. most teachers from my faculty are also in practice and in my area i find it heavily important to keep your practice in check and in accordance to the latest research in the field. so for me pursuing investigation & teaching and being a professional informed by research are goals that align with each other. i have had a very good academic feedback until now within the research faculty and i have some papers aligned i can see publishing in the near future... however itd be a lie to say i am 100% certain that this is something i want and will pursue. lets see how this year with the thesis and my internship goes! i still have another year after that of supervised practice so... one ought to be patient! i also want to do something related to ceramics in the near future which is something i love dearly and id be lying if i said i didnt think about dropping out from college just to pursue that alone! me and my partner have a business idea we are in the middle of scheming that is about facade rehabilitation in buildings that have been decorated with tiles (azulejo) so thats something we have also been working on together... besides i would love to self publish a childrens book in the near future and to ask some friends to illustrate. you know! lots of ideas and things going on.... its normal to feel scared but ultimately its about how and what you want to contribute to society and a bachelor is just a paper (no offense) and literally i understand that we all work hard for it but it does not have to be THE thing you do for the entirety of your life. it should and it does inform your choices but you know. just do what feels right to you i think is the most important thing and to not let your major be the most important thing in your mind. keep some space to invent and explore and discover. there are so many things in the world and its all so lovely and as long as it gives you a sense of accomplishment and of contributing to your community or society its worth it. about friendships in college for me its truly a hard no. i love my friends dearly but in college i did not invest much in those relationships so im not really close to anyone and do not intend to be. but that really depends on the quality of the friendships you have. if you want to keep them theyll most certainly be there. people that enter the job market do not have the time that students do and your friendship dynamics may change due to that but its doable and its life! everything is a cycle etc etc. dont be scared! its a new phase of life and its all about growth! itll be ok! follow your heart and trust in yourself always 🤍

[ankhisms]

ok final thoughts having just finished the last ep

it actually feels difficult to put my feelings into words although i certainly have a lot of them about this show and specifically the final episodes. i think if youve followed me for a bit you probably have some kind of sense that while i do enjoy a good amount of his writing i am by no means a huge fan of inoue and i have plenty of criticisms of him. having finished faiz just has made me have more criticisms of him and his writing and honestly if i had watched faiz before donbrothers came out i would have not wanted to watch donbrothers at all if that gives you a sense of things.

tldr if you dont want to read all of this: i stand by the statement of when faiz is good its REALLY REALLY GOOD and when faiz is bad its bad.

the thing with this show is that ive watched shows with poor writing choices and execution before, ive watched shows that had a lot of potential that slam dunked all of it in the trash and ive watched shows thatve made baffling choices near the middle/end of the show that just make no go damn sense, and many of these shows ive just stopped watching because i was so frustrated with their writing choices. despite the times when faiz would drop in quality and things would go from being very interesting and good to being boring and not making sense or just not mattering in the long run at all i never wanted to stop watching it entirely. i was never frustrated with it to the point of wanting to drop it. i will say kusaka just as a character made me get preeetty close to wanting to drop the show because of how mad he made me but i just ended up pacing myself and taking breaks between when id watch an episode. in the end i still was interested in the characters and their motivations and takumi and kiba especially were very interesting to me, not only their relationship with one another but their friendships with their respective trio members and their motivations and struggles as characters.

which is also part of why the end of faiz is so frustrating. i already talked about this while i was in the middle of watching the last two eps but the change in kibas character goes from believably dissillusioned with humanity after his close friend has been tortured and killed to being cruel in a way that does NOT fit his character at all. it really feels like inoue wanted to create a new villain at the very last second but he knew he didnt have time to introduce a new character so he just took kiba and was like ok hes just evil now

it would have been so easy to actually take the parts of the faiz ending that were compelling and interesting and put them together to make something good. you could have kiba be struggling and angry with humanity while still having him stay in character it literally makes no sense for him to want to have takumi tortured at all. the last fight and the stuff with the orphenoch king felt rushed in general and it really does just cut away from that fighr and from kiba fucking dying to a few weeks later and it feels so jarring?? also it felt like kiba just suddenly came back to his senses and was like oh jeez ive been wildly out of character now its time for me to help and then sacrifice myself! like again. there were so many choices here that made no sense and were frustrating

i also still feel really upset whenever i think of everything that happened with yukas character im not even going to type up a lot about it because i know if i think too much about it ill just end up making myself feel bad but i mean it when i say im never forgiving inoue for what he did to yuka it was truly so fucking horrible and unecessary

so yeah. i really love the characters of faiz [KUSAKA DO NOT INTERACT I WAS SO HAPPY WHEN KIBA SNAPPED YOUR NECK] and theres a lot of interesting and compelling ideas that faiz has, i absolutely dont hate faiz or anything like that. i like faiz. i really do like faiz. but part of me liking faiz is seeing just how it couldve been so much better and criticising the parts of it that i think have a worse quality of writing. i love takumi forever

[landlordrecords]

Films, Films, (TV), Films: Next Batch

Now been looking after my folks for a year & a half, so movies are one of the main things I can do...sometimes. Some of the TV & docs might be missing &, as ever, if I haven't said so, it is a first watch, as I don't rewatch that many things. I probably said before, but if I don't click with something, I just move on, so these are all good in my eyes).

Reading the last blurb, I feel the urge to mention that Cully's World in Blackpool is currently 8 DVDs for a fiver, but that I hear they are shutting again soon, so go scoop stuff up.

Also, Plex gets The Gasface for making such a hash of dropping he Facebook log-in that I ended up accidentally nixing my account, with all its bookmarks and ratings, and Tubi gets a tentative thumbs-up for being a decent replacement.

So, April 2024 onwards...

Best In Show (rewatch, but I reckon I only half-watched it the first time - very funny, prob the best one by them next to Spinal Tap, I guess)

Playtime (Ebert said something like you have to watch it once in order to get ready to watch it, which makes sense to me - all the comparisons to extremely funny silent comedians seem a bit over the top being as Tati barely raises a chuckle, but it IS, of course, extremely well laid-out and choreographed. I look forward to going again in the not-too-distant future)

Sightseers (I'm not quite so rhapsodic about this as some people, but great fun, v British)

Pictures of the Old World + extra shorts (good, atmospheric)

Scoop (not bad, none of these things hit the mark quite as much as the OG interview)

The Whistle Blower (Caine, solid enough)

Streetwise (1984 doc - I am a sucker for these type of things, but very good, well worth seeing)

Extras (glad I've seen it. Not quite as totemic as The Office, but entertaining throughout)

Ice Grill (a So Bad It's Good one I actually located all by myself. 'Urban', near-impenetrable plot, appalling cheap CGI, but half-decent music by a hip-hop semi-name, equalling quite mood piece in a way)

Nathalie (saucy!)

American Gangster (very good stuff)

Bronson (didn't really twig what sort of film this was first, and was impressed)

Anchorman 2 (I was a bit mean about the first one last time - the whole set-up is pretty funny really, and the nitpicking in the reviews bounce off if you like Will Ferrell, & at this point I have to accept that I LOVE Will Ferrell)

The Kingdom (I kinda just watched this cos I'd got it, but there were plenty plenty more in that pile that I didn't, so I would say tis was pretty good all told)

Eddie Murphy: Delirious

Talladega Nights (I'd been avoiding the Ferrell American sports & politics ones cos...impenetrable...but of course, it isn't in his hands. A very good one if you like him)

The Sinner season 3 (with the missus)

Two Ronnies best-of DVD

Some Mothers Do Ave Em (series 1&2? Picked up some DVDs. Possibly no other fictional character closer to my own)

The Black Panther (I started this ages before and the bit where it went a bit dreamy in the middle sort of jumped the shark for me & I switched it off, but glad I went back to it, as it is a Brit classic really, I guess)

Jour De Fete (I might actually prefer this to Playtime, it is certainly more LOL, & a very entertaining watch)

Elgar (the classic doc, intellectual chore)

Analyze That (extremely close readers might remember I started watching the first one, realised I had seen it before, continued & still liked it, so thought this was worth a go. Obvs cash-in, but I enjoyed it)

A bunch of Alan Bennett TV plays, the one which stayed with me the most being the one about the old Leeds couple moving to Morecambe in retirement...Bleak!)

Wings of Hope (I had forgotten all about this, but it does stand well with other Herzog docs)

Red Road (I started this about three times, partly due to the print quality I could find, but very good I thought, reviews a bit overly picky)

Wake Up Ron Burgundy (that extras-make-a whole-'nutha-film thing - final proof I must have enjoyed the saga overall)

Miss Marie Lloyd (saw a bit of this on telly years ago & was looking forward to it. The Eastenders lass will hold a place in my heart forever for it - a good representation of music hall, one of my favourite music genres)

Zoolander (rewatch - another I think I only half-watched the first time, pretty funny)

True Detective season 1 (with the missus)

An old Cock ESP tour DVD

Common Ground (little local fen historical thing I found in a book swap phonebooth - considering its origins, pretty good/odd, I think)

Hatton Garden (good cast, good stuff)

Drop Dead Gorgeous (really really enjoyed this. Hadn't been aware of it before. Shall watch again)

Solondz season...Welcome To the Dollhouse (rewatch)

Happiness (rewatch)

break for...Le Diner De Cons (had been totally unaware of this - I'm not majorly into French film overall, but I do love their comedies)

Storytelling (rewatch)

Palindromes (rewatch)

Mesa of Lost Women (infamously cut into other appallingly bad films- realised I had it on a triple-bill DVD & thought I should watch it. Dozed in & out of it, which kinda added to the trippy effect. I liked it)

Rocky 2

Rocky 3 (stopped after that, but I was still rooting for him)

Baby Reindeer (yeah, def worth seeing)

Dawn of the Dead (rewatch - I trust I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, with all these second viewings, v unlike me)

The Phone Box (seemingly famous TV short I hadn't known about til recently. Pretty balls-out)

Land of the Lost (obvs purely Ferrell trying to cross into the children's market, but I kinda enjoyed it)

Viridiana (from the ridiculous [above] to the sublime to the ridiculous? Total classic obvs)

David (Ferrell short)

Knights Electric (short off the free bit of the BFI site, & something to do with those people who made the early 80s horror with the children's film school. Evocative for people like me who spent childhood holidays in Great Yarmouth, & pretty cool soundtrack)

A load more BFI shorts

Force Majeure (majestic)

Dinner For Schmucks (the remake of Le Diner De Cons - still pretty funny)

McDonald & Dodds catch-up (sorry not sorry)

Bottle Rocket short (I don't really like that guy's stuff, sorry, but I thought I would at least squeeze this in)

The Love Has Won doc (loonies)

Tropic Thunder (very funny)

A couple of Dave Gorman DVDs

The Tower series 3 (not amazing, but kinda drawn in now)

Gone Girl (they deserve each other)

The Budding Prospects pilot, and

Louie Bluie (very good - making the not overly-productive Terry Zwigoff only the second director I've completed on after David Lynch)

Chasing Shadows (old Reece Shearsmith detective series that seemingly didn't get picked up for more, leaving it hanging annoyingly)

Sometime around here, I also watched virtually the whole of Shakespeare & Hathaway (sorry not sorry)

Dark Horse (second try - kinda put off by the music at first, which I read a great explanation for afterwards)

Damsels In Distress (into this)

Wild Tales (good stuff)

Thursday's Children (extra on the If DVD. Safe to say it would be...erm...made differently these days)

Scratch (turntablist doc)

Entr'acte (very early experimental short, nicely trippy)

I Confess (I think the main complaint about this at the time just shows how insular people used to be [still are?] about other faiths - I found it totally convincing, & kinda gripping)

The Wrong Man (another Hitchcock gripper)

Shaolin Chastity Kung Fu (considering how generic this looked for a chance DVD-for-pennies find - only really picked up for the bonkers title- I thought this was jolly good. Made me think I ought to watch more like it)

London (finally got through the Keiller doc on about the third go. The conceit of the storyline was kinda annoying me to start with, but I will forgive it!!)

Grosse Pointe Blank (neither should be as forgotten as it seems to be on the whole nor as cult as it is to some. Decent watch though)

Devil & the Deep (very early Cary Grant performance in this. I was gonna turn this off but it got left on, & I'm glad it is. Stagey, but solid)

The Wrecking Crew (one of those extremely bad ones with Ice T in. A kinda So Bad It's Bad chore)

Ciao Ciao (another chance DVD find, & a very happy one. Fairly recent, & worth seeking out)

Wild Gals of the Naked West (I persevered with this early Russ Meyer, & I'm not sure why really, cos it is complete rubbish!)

Ms 45 (on about the third go - something a bit artificial putting me off at the start I think - once it gets going, pretty brutal stuff)

Fear City (another Abel F - bit glitzier, but in a sleazy way. I liked it)

Schlock cinema doc

Intolerance (started this loads of times, looking for a half-decent print. Found the optimum one in the end. Extravagant sets of course, but not exactly one for most modern cinema viewers, very clearly upgraded in recent times because people can't bear to say that Birth of A Nation is The One anymore. None of this is to say it is bad though, because it most certainly is not)

Gun Crazy (so glad I finally found this. Awesome)

The Bakery Girl of Monceau (if I was the bakery girl of Monceau, or indeed, the other girl, I'd have binned him off on principal, for spending most of the 20 minute run time littering the streets of Paris with pastry wrappers)

Le Samourai (very stylish)

Murder By Contract (only just read about this before I watched it - another film noir banger)

The Big Boss (pretty brutal Bruce Lee one, but leavened with goofy humour, like leaving man-shape holes where he punched people through walls etc!)

Fist of Fury

Doc on Roger Corman's version of The Fantastic 4

Made In Britain (a pearler)

Death Wish 3 (when I went back & realised I had got this far in the series & that this one is considered a So Bad... one. And how! Deffo looking out for this on DVD, would really enjoy a rewatch sometime. Bananas)

The rest of Dekalog (I was a bit unfair on this before, saying it is overrated. I love Kieslowski, & it is absolutely excellent, it is just that you get the slight whiff that it is like Finnegan's Wake, more referenced than actually seen, or whatever, destined for greatness for the (admittedly excellent) concept, & for the bleak Eastern European vibe (just reading a book on him & apparently he made it LESS so by leaving out queues, ration cards etc), but it IS restrained by the TV format, & unlikely to be grasped all at once cos there's so much of it. So many great ones though, & thoroughly rewatchable, I'm sure)

What About Me (I've been trying a load from that wave recently & this is the only one I got through - kinda charming in its own way, & every few seconds it is like "Hey, isn't that...?", she must be real personable to get all those faces involved)

The Family Friend (a friend has tried to get me to watch Il Divo & I kinda need to concentrate on that, with its labyrinthine politics, but this earlier one by the guy is something of a triumph- what a creation the main character is!)

Life During Wartime

Wiener-Dog

Fear, Anxiety & Depression (last 3 all Solondz - I persevered with this barely functional last one [his first] in order to say...Solondz is the THIRD director I have completed on!)

The Campaign (another good Ferrell one, I think, although I have also rejected a few of his under the radar recently - generally cheapo early stuff or when he is trying to do more dramatic stuff)

Downhill (the Ferrell version of Force Majeure, which I know I shouldn't like & certainly isn't the original, but I still did)

Doc on I Spit On Your Grave

Multiple Maniacs (did take a couple goes, but once you get into the swing of it, impressively bonkers/sleazy)

Serial Mom (the easier version of the above vibe!)

La Chienne (glad I came across this, referenced as the origin of a later one I forget the name of - really tophole early French one, quite visceral)

Boudu Saved From Drowning (same director & lead as above? Very funny)

While the City Sleeps (solid+ Lang)

Wonderland (more for the story than the chops, but impressive names on the cast)

Touch of Evil (double-sleazoid)

The Steamroller & the Violin (the first Tarkovsky I've made it through, I'm afraid, & it's a short feature, but I certainly liked it)

Grown-Ups (really loved this Mike Leigh TV play, with a superlative cast of Leigh regulars. If you like him, seek it out)

Meantime (also v good from Leigh)

Some early Alan Clarke TV plays

A bunch of Kieslowski shorts

The Short & Curlies (excellent Mike Leigh short)

Some Svankmajer shorts

Some classic experimental shorts, most notably Conner's Report, which is hardcore

Ordet (banger)

Shadows In Paradise (great joy to see another wonderful Kaurismaki, must really get more of these seen)

[mineofilms]

Training with Exacerbated Type-II Diabetes

“Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity. From discord find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” ~Albert Einstein

The journey of my diabetic related issues span over a decade now, starting with the mysterious circumstances of hyperglycemia back in 2012. Despite my suspicions, it wasn't until 2014 that I received an official diagnosis, accompanied by a slew of bizarre complications. From aggressive cataract in both eyes to cellulitis, torn back muscles, skin boils, and even a bout with Covid-19, 4 years ago this July. My health has been a rollercoaster ride through hell and back to purgatory. But the strangest part? None of the standard treatments seem to have worked for me. Metformin left me sick, regular insulin caused sugar crashes, and even the so-called experts were stumped. My medical journey feels like a never-ending puzzle with pieces that just won't fit, NASA-Chimp-Style. Shove that triangle into a space for a square Monkey. Come on little buddy, it’ll fit, just keep pluggin’ away at it. It's not just my physical health that's suffering. My mental and emotional well-being have taken a beating too. Anxiety, blindness, depression, and the silent agony of PTSD weigh heavy on my shoulders, dragging me further into the darkness of the singularity, where no information can return intact. Despite this constant war for my life, I soldier on, steering my ship through the stormy seas of uncertainty. With each passing day, I cling to the hope that someday, somehow, I'll find a glimmer of stability amidst the chaos. Or NOT… But for now, I'll keep bracing the sails and laughing in the face of the storm, knowing that behind those dark clouds, the sun still shines, patiently waiting until it doesn’t.

My digestive issues really take precedence right now. They call it ‘Gastroparesis.’ The slowing down of digestion, emptying of the stomach contents into the small intestine. Symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, bloating, cramping, muscle fatigue and feeling full quickly after eating. It can be caused by damage to the vagus nerve, which controls the muscles of the stomach, by sustained high blood sugar or hyperglycemia. This nerve damage leads to delayed gastric emptying, exacerbating blood sugar control issues by causing unpredictable spikes and dips in glucose levels.

Needless to say I am in a near constant state of being uncomfortable or in pain.

Diabetes is described as a catabolic condition, leading to undernutrition and hyperglycemia, resulting in reduced protein synthesis, muscle mass, strength, and basal metabolic rate. While insulin is necessary for individuals with type 1 or extreme type 2 diabetes, such as myself, it merely compensates for a deficiency… Putting a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound.  This is all important because I don’t have typical symptoms. I have all of the above, plus more that I am not going to get into here. This doesn’t just affect all of the stuff above but also my mood, energy levels, mobility, sleep, mental focus and all around decent quality of life.

Attempted Exercise Through This Has Been Very Difficult…

I often feel nauseated while trying to lift in the gym now. I have to train at a gym because of the Air Condition. I cannot train at my home gym as much due to the heat in there. It’s May now. By 11 AM it’s over 100 degrees in there. Sure I got fans just pushing hot air all around. So I go to a gym to get some lifting in. I can no longer handle the heat and humidity of southwest Florida in a physical way. Especially in summer. At the air conditioned gym I will be fine for a few sets and then all the sudden I get super light-headed, vision starts to go. My blood sugars start to drop, fast. I have almost blacked out in the gym a few times, not even working very hard by what I deem is hard work by my own standard. This was getting worse by the week. Finally after a horrible few days with digestion, I was sick in bed for 2 days and spent another 2 days just feeling super weak and dehydrated. I didn’t eat much so I didn’t need much insulin. I lost 6 pounds in 3 days. I decided that changes need to be made. I went ahead and began to jot down what I do in the gym and how it relates to diabetics. I looked into what actually happens to the muscle fibers, the metabolism. With training, the workout is only a 4th of what you need to be doing.

Diet, Rest, Exercise and Repeat…

Repeat is the one most either forget or straight-up ignore. If you do not make a thing, anything habitual, one will never be elite at it. You wanna be fit? Make the process habit-forming so that it is part of you. This also works in other areas of life. I also epically fail at self-identifying this at times and it isn’t something someone else, any one person or even group, can force upon me with the expectation that will solve the learning curve. I need to see it for myself in my own way. That is what life is really all about.

Self-Identifying on Your Own Reflection in the River Bed…

I don’t grow, muscle mass-wise. I also do not shred weight easily. I cannot handle the heat well. My blood sugar plummets in an environment like an uninsulated garage-gym in southwest Florida summer. Sugars are always all over the place but when at rest my body is semi-stable. It’s these shocks of the body that throw me off to wear I will have issues. My flexibility and dexterity is really bad. I used to be flexible but over the course of a couple of years I started having all sorts of issues. Along with neuropathy there are other aliments related to flexibility and dexterity.

Glycation of joints refers to a process where sugar molecules in the bloodstream bind to proteins within the joints, forming harmful compounds known as advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). This process can contribute to inflammation, stiffness, and damage to joint tissues over time, leading to conditions such as osteoarthritis. Glycation of joints can really affect joint flexibility, dexterity and there is research to back this up. The worse your control of your blood sugars are the more potential for joint mobility issues increase dramatically. For full range of motion for fill contractile force of all the muscle fibers throughout and exercise is going to be compromised moving forward… For athletes managing type 2 diabetes, incorporating strength training alongside aerobic exercises is crucial for controlling blood sugar levels. Strength training engages the body's glycolytic system. Promotes weight loss, reduces visceral fat, and increases insulin sensitivity. Benefits heart health, bone density, and muscle mass. Helps control hypertension. Can improve complications from neuropathy and vision loss. Strength training plays a role in glycemic control and quality of life for type 2 diabetics, especially when combined with cardiovascular exercises. You may notice your blood glucose rise for up to an hour with intense activity, such as weight lifting—but don’t worry. It’s due to the initial stress of pushing your body hard, and it’s more than offset by the improvements in insulin sensitivity and other benefits derived from anaerobic exercise…

The stress of managing diabetes, compounded by fluctuations in blood glucose levels during training, can hinder progress.

Making Modifications:

First things first… The workout… Switched from 4 times a week at the gym to 3. More stretching and other non-weight training on rest days. Consuming a protein shake of at least 30g, 30-minutes before a workout regardless if I ate before I trained or not. No more super sets. As much as I love super sets and drop sets I just cannot do them as a sustained form of training. I have to train smarter, not harder. One of the things about diabetics, they do not heal fast. This also includes muscle fiber breakdown and rebuild. Just making each set count, ample rest between sets, capped the workout when the number of sets is reached. Not much is working right now. I am lucky to look decent and still have some decent physical strength. I go through spurts where I can train hard and other days/weeks where my body just won’t let me. My diet isn’t terrible for someone in my condition but not exactly on point for someone trying to make gains in the gym with my server limitations. Simply trying to be Rocky Balboa and just keep getting up when you get knocked down doesn’t really work in real life when your body is literally broken. This isn’t a mental block. This is a body block that hinders the mind once the body begins to fail.

So Much Fun…

Below is my old gym workout and below that is the new routine. Tighten up the diet. Exercise smarter not harder. Rocky isn’t real-life. Rest, deeply and repeat the process. This isn’t really radical what I am doing here but for me, personally, it sort of is. This isn’t what I am used to. I am used to doing things at a high level. This is the first time I have looked at my fitness with my issues in mind rather than something I can outright beat in a fist fight.

“The enormous mental resilience, without which no Chess player can exist, was so much taken up by Chess that he could never free his mind of this game.” ~Albert Einstein

Old Workout:

My old routine consisted of a four day split:

Monday – Chest/Lats/Back:

– 2 sets of chest flies or chest machine (stretch).

– Flat bench, start with 155 on the bar for 8 reps going up 20 lbs each set and dropping the rep range by 2 reps every increase till I hit a one max rep.

– 2 sets of flat dumbbell chest press 8-10 reps.

– 3 sets of incline bench press of 10-12 reps.

– 3 sets of front lateral pull down, super set with wide grip body building type pull ups. 12-15 reps on the pull down and as many as I can do for pullups with good form.

– 2-3 sets of another back/lat exercise of my choice, 12-15 reps.

Tuesday – Legs:

I can only use a special squat bar due to my shoulder flexibility.

– Squats, 3 sets, 8-12 reps with the bar (warm-up)

– Squats, 3 sets, 8 reps, 135 on the bar.

– Squats, 1 set, 4 reps, 185 on the bar.

– Leg extensions, 3 sets, 10-15.

– Hack squats, 2 sets, 8-10 reps.

Wednesday - Rest Day:

Thursday - Arms:

I usually do 6 sets for biceps and 6 sets for triceps. 6 sets equal 6 super sets which is actually 2 exercises per set. I will do assorted exercises for each biceps and triceps.

– Biceps – 6 sets, 12-15 reps, super set, w/ another bicep exercise, 12-15 reps.

– Triceps – 6 sets, 12-15 reps, super set, w/ another bicep exercise, 12-15 reps.

Friday - Shoulders:

Limited due to flexibility issues.

– 2 sets, 10-15 reps, front deltoids.

– 2 sets, 10-15 reps, side deltoids.

– 2 sets, 10-15 reps, rear deltoids.

– 2-3 sets, 10-15 reps, shoulder presses of some kind.

Light-Cardio:

– Each workout day has a 2.5 mile walk, usually 4-6x/wk.

New Workout:

My new routine consists of a 3 day split (Monday/Wednesday/Friday):

Monday - Chest, Back, Legs, Shoulders:

– Warm-up, 5-10 minutes of dynamic stretching and mobility exercises.

– Chest – dumbbell flies – 2 sets of chest flies or chest machine (stretch).

– Flat bench press - 3 sets, 8-10 reps.

– Dumbbell press - 3 sets, 10-12 reps.

– Back – Lat pulldowns, 3 sets, 8-10 reps.

– Assisted pull-ups, 3 sets, 10-12 reps.

– Legs – Squats w/ special bar, leg press or hack squat machine, 3 sets of 8-10 reps.

– Leg extensions - 3 sets, 10-12 reps.

– Shoulders – 2 sets, 10-12 reps, front deltoids.

– 2 sets, 10-12 reps, side deltoids.

– 2 sets, 10-12 reps, rear deltoids.

– 2-3 sets, 8-10 reps, shoulder presses of some kind.

– Cool down – 5-10 minutes of light cardio or stretching.

Tuesday - Rest Day:

Wednesday - Chest, Back, Legs, Shoulders:

– Warm-up, 5-10 minutes of dynamic stretching and mobility exercises.

– Chest – Dumbbell flies – 2 sets of chest flies or chest machine (stretch).

– Incline bench press - 3 sets, 8-10 reps.

– Incline dumbbell press - 3 sets, 10-12 reps.

– Back – Lat pulldowns, 3 sets, 8-10 reps.

– Assisted pull-ups, 3 sets, 10-12 reps.

– Legs – Squats w/ special bar, leg press or hack squat machine, 3 sets of 8-10 reps.

– Leg extensions - 3 sets, 10-12 reps.

– Shoulders – 2 sets, 10-12 reps, front deltoids.

– 2 sets, 10-12 reps, side deltoids.

– 2 sets, 10-12 reps, rear deltoids.

– 2-3 sets, 8-10 reps, shoulder presses of some kind.

– Cool down – 5-10 minutes of light cardio or stretching.

Thursday - Rest Day:

Friday – Arms/Core:

– Warm-up, 5-10 minutes of dynamic stretching and light cardio.

– Biceps – 4 exercises, 2 sets, 10-12 reps each exercise.

– Triceps – 4 exercises, 2 sets, 10-12 reps each exercise.

– Core – Planks, 3 sets, 30-60 seconds.

– Russian twists, 3 sets, 15-20 reps.

– Cool down – 5-10 minutes of light stretching.

Saturday/Sunday - Rest Day(s) or Light Cardio:

– Each workout day has a 2.5 mile walk, usually 4-6x/wk.

Training with Exacerbated Type-II Diabetes by David-Angelo Mineo 5/14/2024 2,194 Words

[enderwoah]

Honourably yours, Owen

(ao3 link)

(1,000 words)

┍━【❖】━┑

My Emerald,

Recently, myself, a jade (Cabochon-E1 Cut-520) and a dumortierite quartz from your blue lace agate's division (Facet-1031 Cut-B3K-2) were sent to the abandoned Crystal System Colony Planet 20-Y23 due to reports that previous gems sent to help with colonisation efforts may have deserted Homeworld and sought to establish their rebellion on Earth.

This was found to be untrue. B3K-2 and I arrived on the planet to desolate structures and recently destroyed wildlife. Upon searching the area near where the gems should have been, we located scattered gem shards of at least five different types of gems in different areas. We attempted to recover what we could, but the planet's wildlife is extremely hostile and seemed to be the sole destroyer of all of those gems. We were chased several times, each time escaping by a smaller and smaller amount, until we were unable to escape at all.

I regret to inform you that Jade was unfortunately lost du our mission. She was poofed amidst a chase due to her tripping over her dress and falling behind, and due to my rank, B3K-2 favoured my life over E1's and hid us in a tree without it knowing. Her gem was mashed between the teeth of the creature over and over until the shards were dropped out of the creature's mouth, in a very similar condition to the others we previously located.

These creatures are very, very large and unreasonably powerful. They hide under the cover of night for the most part, but they are still active and willing to ambush in the middle of the day. They seemed much less willing to go near us while we were near or inside of a structure, which is most likely why none of the gems on the mission with the shattered sapphire and lapis was able to see one—they seem to like the idea of attacking a small group instead of a larger one. Being able to see one in full sight for an extended period was a blessing and a curse, for reasons that will be explained later. Is a blessing, though, because I was able to aptly store what the beasts looked like in my memory for reporting. Attached is a visualisation of the creature and a written description; apologies for the quality of the visualisation, that should have been E1's job.

I discovered in an abandoned structure these small items called 'books' that store written knowledge in an almost delusionally primitive, physical way. These 'books' held information about the planet, and I feel as if it would be important to note that it is a very likely possibility that the previous, sentient inhabitants of Colony 20-Y23 (humans, as they were called) may have already stripped the planet about two-thirds of its natural underground resources, rendering it almost useless to Homeworld due to its already small size and now, its lack of resources. It also would make sense that the dominant species (which consisted of a population of about eight billion) on the planet were wiped out by the creatures.

Another odd and significantly more dire feature of the beasts is one that B3K-2 and I have experienced first-hand. E1 had previously been poofed by the beast before she was shattered, and B3K-2 and I managed to recover her gem before any damage was done to it. I must reiterate—her gem was entirely undamaged. And yet, when she reformed, she was acting very off. Her form was acting as if she had been severely cracked, and her processing skills had deteriorated considerably. She was acting erratically and making rash decisions that ultimately led to her getting killed.

B3K-2 was also poofed in an attempt to protect me, not long after E1 died (I really cannot emphasise enough how brutish and dangerous these awful beasts are), and when she was reformed, she was acting the same way. Erratic, neurotic, making insane decisions and almost trying to leave me alone to 'go find E1' (her own words) despite being there and watching while she was shattered. I poofed her myself, bubbled her, and left after that. I had no strength, defences or protection, and there was nothing for me to find on that blasted planet, anyway.

I find that I also got hit by those creatures' claws more than once. While I was not poofed, I have been experiencing some of its adverse effects. I cannot seem to focus on anything (this message, for instance, has taken hours to write despite its short size), and my thoughts are incredibly scrambled. My retro vision is also not working as it should be. And I keep seeing all those shattered gems we saw strewn across the ground and I just start to feel sick.

Because of this, my dedication to Homeworld, and my desire to continue working to the best of my ability, I request that myself and B3K-2 are to be rejuvenated at your earliest convenience.

I am quite the fast learner and I will be able to re-train my abilities to be even better than they are now with adequate guidance. And B3K-2 is a very strong and capable soldier—it would be a shame to lose someone who has fought for gem society for so long (with the scars to show for it) due to some unbeatable monster she had no way of truly dealing with.

Considering all of these factors, I must advise that this colonisation project be abandoned for our sake. It is not worth the risk. Our weapons barely seemed to damage the creatures (when we could manage to hit them) and we were almost too slow to outrun them several times. Even on this small expedition, we lost a gem. It would be an utter shame to lose any more to a planet that doesn't even have the adequate resources we need to start a successful and useful colony.

I await further discussion of my and B3K-2's rejuvenation with you.

Honourably yours, Padparadscha (Rose-616 Cut-OW32)

┕━【❖】━┙

---

well! that's all done with! pat on the back to myself for completing my first multichapter fic ever, which is insane! lmao!

thank you again to @chrisrin for making the gemcyt au and fuelling this insanity, and thank you again to @sixteenth-days for creating the life on earth series, which this is an au of, i suppose!

and thank you for reading!! :DDDDDDD

the other side of the war

summary:

Scott likes to think he is a sensible person. Because of this, he doesn't find it at all unreasonable for him to start freaking out when he catches a glimpse of a Homeworld ship passing over the Crastle. Owen is rather certain that he is a sensible person. Because of this, he feels as if his response of dropping his recording device onto a rock and breaking it instantly upon seeing the sapphire that exits the large castle is entirely reasonable.

or: owen, beks, and eloise go from homeworld to find the deserters on earth. owen very much recognises scott. title from story of tonight (reprise) by lin-manuel miranda. au by @chrisrin. fic is life on earth by @sixteenth-days. read the tags!

(ao3 link)

(2,593 words)

Scott likes to think he is a sensible person. Whether that is true or not is entirely subjective, but he's quite sure he is one of the most level-headed gems currently residing on Life, if not the most.

Because of this, he doesn't find it at all unreasonable for him to start freaking out when he catches a glimpse of a Homeworld ship passing over the Crastle.

"Glimpse" is a loose term—he both sees it in a vision and then sees it out of the corner of the window only a few seconds later, almost too fast to catch and not looking like it was planning to stop. The vessel was yellow in colour and rather small, which at the very least tells him that it's not another colonisation attempt or scouting expedition. His relief from that realisation is very quickly undercut by the strangling anxiety at what it could be instead, and his efforts to try and pry into the future to see what could be on the ship are suddenly interrupted by the knowledge that Jimmy was going to come barreling into the room from the window in a few moments.

He does so with as little grace as Scott saw, his foot catching on the ledge and making him lose his balance on his way inside, all the while yelling, "Scott- Scott, I saw another ship fly by-

"I know," Scott says coolly, pretending like there aren't fractals crawling across the wooden boards around his dress.

Jimmy fixes himself from somehow being tangled up in a stone slab. "You know?"

Scott grips the sides of his dress. "I saw."

"Oh," Jimmy says shortly, shoulders slumping. He looks back out the window as if expecting the ship to come around again—which it very well might- before turning back to Scott. His wings are refracting the light of the sun onto the ground, making their trembles all the more obvious. "What do we do?"

"Tell the others, if they haven't seen already." He kicks his legs to break the ice sticking his dress to the floor before it becomes unbearable. "Hopefully, it'll just pass by without encountering us at all."

Jimmy tilts his head to the side like a bird, which are quickly becoming one of Scott's favourite things on Life. "I don't see why it would fly this close to the surface if it was just passing by."

"'Hopefully,' dear," Scott says with a weary smile. "I said 'hopefully.'"

"Ah."

Scott laughs lightly, the warmth in his chest chasing away his anxiety as Jimmy giggles to himself, face turning a slightly darker shade of blue. He reaches out to lay a hand on Jimmy's arm—

—and then there's a small ship in a forest, there's orange and green and blue, there's weapons and shouting and a lapis falling to pieces in front of his eye—

—and Scott's grip on Jimmy's forearm turns almost violent in its intensity. Jimmy looks down at him, concern preciously obvious in all of his body language. Scott doesn't look up. His hands are shaking.

"You saw something," Jimmy says softly, immediately crouching to be at eye level with Scott.

"I did."

His face is pinched with concern and worry and stubborn, stubborn love, a fierce protectiveness that has lead to his hypothetical death in several timelines in Scott's vision. "Was it about the ship? Was it bad?"

Scott shakes his head on instinct before catching himself and leaning more into a head-tilt, like the birds. "They're coming. They've spotted us. There's only three gems, I think, and they're going to land in the forest in front of the Crastle."

Jimmy's face goes pale. "Could you tell what type of gems they were?" Scott shakes his head, and Jimmy immediately pulls him into a hug, which has been his thing lately. Spontaneous displays of affection—though this one, Scott supposes, is not that spontaneous. He hugs Jimmy back and does his best not to touch his wings so as to not drench his arms. "It's gonna be okay, Scott. We'll be alright. We always end up alright."

Scott simply hums in return. The amount of confidence he speaks with is almost hilarious, considering how many times Scott has saved him from shattering without him even knowing. It would be hilarious if they weren't visions of his flower dying gruesomely branded onto the inside of his eyelid. "I know. Just stay close to me, okay? Don't do anything stupid."

Jimmy pulls back but leaves his hands on Scott's shoulders. "I never do anything stupid."

Scott is not content with giving him a look that he will not be able to see. He pushes his bangs out of the way and fixes Jimmy with the most lightheartedly withering glare he can manage.

Jimmy bursts out laughing. Scott can hardly help himself but follow.

-

Owen is rather certain that he is a sensible person. If the contrary was true, he is almost certain that he would have been shattered ages ago, or at the very least, reconditioned due to his innate value. He is almost completely positive that he is one of, if not the most level-headed gems that has ever stepped foot into consciousness.

Because of this, he feels as if his response of dropping his recording device onto a rock and breaking it instantly upon seeing the trio of gems that exit the large castle is entirely reasonable.

There is a jasper that positively towers over him, a lapis lazuli that is shooting him and his company a very distasteful look, and a sapphire, front and centre, just like him.

He gazes into Sapphire's bangs, and Sapphire stares right back.

They're both frozen, the plant matter around Sapphire's dress freezing so quickly the lapis begins to try and kick it away and the matter around Owen's dress cooking to a light sear. The vision of El and Beks' confused expressions flashes like a spotlight into the front of his mind, and he can see equally as perplexed looks on Sapphire's friends' faces.

He cannot believe what he is seeing—it shouldn't even be possible for him to be seeing this. This is wrong, this is terrible, this is—

"Owen?" Sapphire says, taking a step forward. Beks immediately matches the step, but Owen holds out his hand to keep her still. "Owen—Padparadscha, is that really you?"

"Yeah," Owen breathes, before clearing his throat and fixing his posture to be more straight. He glances at Beks and she immediately snatches up the pieces of the broken recorder. That was entirely his fault, be will admit—a reasonable response to seeing a friend currently siding with a bunch of deserting rebels he was sent to interrogate, but his fault nonetheless. "Yes, Sapphire, it's me. What are you doing?"

Sapphire's demeanor almost seems to brighten at that. "Oh, Owen, you wouldn't believe the things we have out here—I go by Scott now, by the way."

"'Scott?'" Owen repeats, rolling the name around in his mouth. "Why? That has nothing to do with you or your cut."

"No, no," 'Scott' says, shaking his head. "It's an alien name. I chose it myself, do you like it?"

"Do I like—Sapphire—Scott, whatever, do you realise how serious this is?"

Scott falters a bit, taking a slight step back as the lapis frowns at Owen. Owen stares directly at him, and he shrinks a bit but still asks, "'Serious?' What makes this so much worse than all the other trips out here?"

Scott elbows the lapis in the thigh, and before Owen can really process the fact that this...group of gems have encountered the other missions, El steps forward and clears her throat. She has been furiously tapping on a holographic screen ever since Owen broke the recorder, most likely transcribing the entire conversation. She doesn't even look up as she begins to speak.

"The Great Diamond Authority has recognised the presence of living and functioning gems on this planet that have not returned to Homeworld after several scouting and retrieval missions. The three of us are here as an extension of their luminescent grace and power to decipher and report upon the locations and intentions of these...missing gems."

The word 'missing' is dripping with distaste and scorn, and Owen is rather sure everyone felt it. Scott takes another step back and Owen stamps out the resulting twist in his chest. It isn't his problem if Scott decided to run off onto some planet and desert his home for...whatever reason. It isn't his problem that the sapphire has seen this writhing, damp, cluttered mess of a planet to be worth more than his life and the lives of those that took the mission with him. He is not going to think about it too hard because he is sensible and would prefer to remain that way.

"So what does that...mean?" the lapis asks, fiddling with his fingers.

"It means we're here to get answers, moron," Beks snaps, leaning on the hilt of her greatsword. "Though I honestly think the fact that you're not begging us to take you home is answer enough."

All three of the gems standing across from them (including Sapphire, and Owen really is trying to wrap his head around the idea that Sapphire is over there and he is over here and they are enemies?, he supposes?) make some sort of scowl, and he sees the water in the pond not too far from them start to ripple, except that was about ten seconds ago and now the surface of the water is choppy and the lapis' gem is starting to glow.

"Owen," Scott says quietly.

"Padparadscha," Owen hisses, digging his fingers into his dress and staring down the lapis lazuli. He feels lightheaded. "No deserter is a friend of mine."

"Stars, Homeworld gems," mutters the jasper, who has looked nothing but mildly intrigued this entire time and is now gazing down at Owen with an unidentifiable expression that makes his skin prickle. "So dramatic."

"There's really no need to get overly-hostile, here," El says nervously, though the fact that she actually glances up from her holoscreen is sign enough that she is ready to bolt at any given moment. "We just want to ask some questions."

"No, I think the quartz may have been right," the jasper says, stretching in a way that cracks her knuckles and other assorted joints audibly but plays it off like a normal stretch. "We've given you answer enough."

"Are you suggesting we fight?" Beks asks, though she sounds more like she's gleefully proposing something rather than asking a question. "'Cause we're not leaving until we complete what we've been told to do. Unlike some, we still have a modicum of responsibility left in our rays."

"Beks," El says irritably, shooting the quartz a glare. "Stop antagonising them."

Beks stops leaning back and forth on her sword and instead properly wraps her hand around the hilt, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not doing anything. I'm just talking."

"We'd appreciate it if you stopped," the lapis insists.

"We'd appreciate it if you shut up," Beks snaps back, the tip of her sword digging further into the ground, piecing through the layer beneath their feet. Owen can't stop staring. "Really, I mean—a bloody lapis? And a sapphire? I mean, I wouldn't expect anything more from a jasper, maybe even a lapis under insane circumstances, but a sapphire? For this? This disgusting, pulsing planet?"

Owen blinks, and he can see serrated spikes rising from the water's surface.

Scott blinks, and he can see that same image of a lapis shattering in front of his eyes.

For a moment, the two of them are in sync again.

And then the spikes go flying, and Owen shouts out Beks' name as she lifts her sword to attack and the lapis kicks into the air with his wings. El immediately shrieks and ducks away, dress snagging on the sharp edges of the terrain as Beks' sword goes swinging in a terrifyingly wide arc in front of them. The only thing Owen can do is yell, really, until he realises he can do more and throws himself into Beks' back as hard as physically possible. He lands on top of her, and then falls straight onto the forest floor, something sharp digging into his abdomen.

At the same time, Jimmy's name is torn from Scott's throat as he lunges towards the lapis, attaching himself to his legs and pulling him down, yanking him closer to the ground just as weapons make contact and suddenly, Scott is holding nothing.

Scott snatches Jimmy's gem off the forest floor (thank the stars, thank the stars, that was entirely too close and he can barely breathe and he is shaking so hard he's scared the vibrations might end up shattering Jimmy, anyway) and shouts, "Enough! Enough, please. Cleo, please."

Owen's vision shifts back to reality (after watching three shards of ice go directly through Beks' head as her sword cut clean through the lapis' neck) and he realises that he is at the end of the jasper's weapon—'Cleo's' weapon, apparently. He looks up at her and sits up, scooping Beks' gem into his hands and clutching it close to his chest.

"This...this will get us nowhere," Scott says through ragged breaths, and Owen blinks and he sees a lapis gem shattering from Scott's point of view- a disorienting past-vision of Scott's future-vision that makes him feel dizzy. He hasn't done that in so long. How long has Scott been out here? Owen knew he went on a mission somewhere, but it isn't that uncommon for those to take several months, or even years before becoming a real concern. How long has Scott been missing?

"I—I agree," calls El from several feet away. Her dress is shredded at the bottom and Owen is quite sure this is the first time he has ever seen her legs. He blinks, hard, and sees Scott holding the lapis' hand as they walked out of the castle in front of them. A deep, painful pit settles in his stomach. "Please, let's just sit down and talk."

Owen feels a bit ill. The present and the recent past are often a bit too similar and a bit too frequent for him to properly categorise, and he suddenly fears the idea of getting them very, very badly confused like he has done several times before. For some of those times, Scott was there to help him. He sees Scott pushing his hair back, staring at him, except when Owen actually looks, his hair is down and his hand is hovering by his chest. Around where his heart would be.

"Owen," he says quietly. "Let's go inside."

Owen blinks and sees Scott and this lapis encouraging each other, warning each other just behind the door, hugging each other, Scott standing on his toes while the lapis leans down and—

Oh. His vision shifts focus again. He's too dizzy for this. The sun is going down and the sky is painted in brilliant shades of yellow and orange and red and purple. It's black and tainted with trillions of stars in his vision alone.

"Yeah, alright," Owen whispers, looking down at Beks. He swipes his thumb against the face of the gem and holds her tighter in his hands. Scott is pressing the lapis to his forehead. The lapis is in a blue bubble within Scott's hands. Owen feels dizzy. "Let's go inside."