#I'd say it's at 80-85% completed

[keets-writing-corner]

Any update on chapter 3?! I’m dying for it!!

hello!

I am also dying writing it

💀💀💀💀

every single week I'm like "MAYBE THIS WEEK, MAYBE THIS WEEK IT'LL FINALLY GET DONE!" and then I add to it but the workload still feels large

let me count real quick last I checked it was over 40k words and it still needs: 17 transitions 10 scenes

I- oh

well the GOOD news is, there are more transitions I need to do than scenes, and odds are a lot of the scenes are either going to be cut, or transformed into exposition cuz there's only so much showing I can pull out of my brain before I just need to grab the reader by the face like "listen I just need you to understand that X happened and it made Y character feel Z. Got it? okay moving on"

I swear, if I end up getting enough words on the word count to beat NaNoWriMo on freaking A SINGLE CHAPTER I'm gonna throw a table. I want to break it up so bad but the way I planned the fic is that each chapter are very specific periods/times growths/arcs that have a clear beginning and end to them and I'd rather they be grouped together without creating a bunch of works

sorry for the long wait, I WILDLY underestimated how much time I'd need to finish writing 3... I knew these chapters were chonky but good GRIEF 3 is already over double the size of chapter 1 and I'm not even finished

chapter 4 is looking so much more alluring to work onnnnn, it's probably going to be a similar length to chapter 1 honestly. which will be a much needed breather

I'll tell you all what, if you want to help me out, a lot of the scenes I've been stuck with are scenes that involve Lilith's potential powers, of which I've come up with a few already (some being voice based obviously) BUT if any of you want to send your lilith superpower headcanons my way that'd be so much fun and helpful. I'd do a little shout out in the notes of the chapter to credit the idea

also, I'm hesitant to release more sneak peeks than I already have cuz this chapter is surprisingly hard to sneak peek without getting into the nitty gritty or things that don't make sense out of context BUT if anyone wants to come send me anons or whatever and chat with me about 3, I might let something slip >:3c who knows

obligatory AO3 link to the fic if someone is stumbling across this for the first time

[talekinesis]

Nat 85

So I thought I'd put my own spin on the Timestuck AU since I liked it so much

Mabel and Dipper get stuck in the 80s with younger versions of their Grunkles, with seemingly no way back to their timeline.

I endured hell for this fic, and if you wanna see me scream about it, click here. Y'all better fucking enjoy /lh

[Part 1] | [Part 2]

"You wander deeper into the cave, your footsteps uncertain.. It's so dark that even your torch can't seem to burn through the shadows. Up ahead, you see a round wooden door blocking your path. What do you do?"

Dipper put a hand to his chin and looked down at his character sheet in thought.

"You're thinking too hard about it, just open the door.." Mabel complained from the chair. She had been watching Ducktective with Stan, but now that it had cut to commercial, and Stan had gotten up, she had turned her attention to the game her brother and uncle were playing on the floor.

"You know, you're always welcome to join us, Mabel." Dipper replied, mostly as a polite way of telling her to stop talking. He grinned a little when he heard her groan and flop back against the chair. Her way of saying, 'absolutely not.'

The boy sighed and looked up at his great uncle, "But she's right. I attempt to open the door."

Ford continued his narration, "The handle gives, but the door refuses to open... Literally, it speaks to you," He took a breath and deepened his voice, getting into character, "You who have completed the Trials of Light and defeated the Hoark, in order to pass beyond this point, you must-"

"Hey Gandalf, the show's back on, keep it down." Stan interrupted, having sat back down, Mabel in his lap and his arm around her while they continued their show.

Ford glared at his brother. Sharing his home with an entire family was something he was still getting used to. He turned back to his nephew, lowering his voice, "You must answer my riddle..."

"Two faces I keep, my silver tongue digs me deep, bound by chains time and time again, when I open my jaws, your energy I drain..."

Dipper frowned, thinking hard about what that could possibly mean. He racked his brain for every possible solution in the game.. Unless..

The boy couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face, giggling a little. "It's Stan, isn't it?" Ford let out an airy wheeze, confirming his nephew's suspicion.

"Hey, watch it, you two," Stan pointed at them before Mabel gasped, tearing his attention away from them and back to the screen, "What, what happened!?"

Ford continued, "You hear a click and the door opens, satisfied by your answer. Beyond the door are two tunnels, side by side. Which one do you choose?"

"Left," Dipper said quickly, "Always the left."

"You go left, your footsteps echoing down the damp tunnel.. giving away your position. Suddenly, a large Honix is blocking your path. What do you do?"

Dipper shifted so he could see his character sheet better and focus. "I draw my sword and attack."

Ford grinned, also shifting a little to see the board better, ready for the battle. "Roll for attack strength."

Excited, Dipper didn't even look into the dice bag, grabbing whichever one was on top, sure that it was the 37 sided die. Ford's eyes widened in panic.

"Dipper wait!"

It was too late. He had already released the Infinity Sided die onto the board before his uncle could grab his hand.

Time seemed to slow as each corner took turns hitting the board until it rolled to a stop.

85

Barely registering what had happened, Ford opened his hand.. Empty.

He looked to the spot where Dipper had been. Empty.

Stan looked down at his lap.. Empty.

-

[fishsticksloser]

aloha friendo!! first off, I hope you're doing well & encouraging ya to stay hydrated and laugh a lot!! <33 to start off, I love love looooove your writing! so, I was wonderin if I could send in a request! 👉🏼👈🏼😄

can I request headcanons for a platonic/sibling fat-tailed gecko reader 🦎 who's also selectively mute? i'm curious to see how the dynamic would be between the tortugas 🐢 and a different species sibbie. I think it'd be sweet! :'))

they're a deadly opponent in battle - as they all are pfft - but otherwise sweet and soft off the field! however, biiiig middle child energy (right above Mikey in age ;D) also, despite being a selective mute, they have a reeeaaally beautiful singing voice when they do speak up (verbally)? 🌸

in advance, of course, you don't have to do this if it's not in your interest! (⁠☞⁠ ⁠ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ⁠)⁠☞ your health & comfort comes first always. remember that.

but if you do choose to consider it I'd highly appreciate it!! sibling readers have a special place in my heart 🤲🏼🤍

be breezy, beautiful! cheers! ☕

[swishes cape and steals away with a flourish!🌷]

Fat-Tailed Gecko!Reader

RotTMNT + gn!reader

Warnings: Platonic fluff, gecko facts (mostly African Fat-Tailed Gecko), also pretty short

A/N: I'm gonna split this up, so this will just be the Fat-Tailed Gecko part and I'll make a separate part for the selective mute part, it was just a lot to get my head around together so... divide an conquer. I hope you stay safe and healthy, thank you so much!

Previous  |  Next

Being a Fat-Tailed Gecko, you have to stay pretty warm, warmer than your brothers

They prefer anything from 60-75 degrees (because their half human most turtles prefer 70-80), while you prefer 70-85 (fat-tailed geckos prefer 80-90, but you're a mutant)

This means you wear layers upon layers during winter, Leo says you look like a marshmallow during winter

When you were younger, the boys often worried and went a little crazy when you didn't eat, especially when your tail slimmed out during that time

It took Splinter making a google search to cheer the boys up that you weren't starving

This actually became very handy when helping Donnie in his lab

One day while you guys were fighting some bad guys, someone grabbed your tail and it fell off

The guy screamed, you screamed, everyone screamed

You'd never done that before

Thank God for google... But your tail was rounder and had a different pattern than before, not that you really minded.

Your detachable tail became pretty useful, though you hate losing your tail

You're manly carnivorous due to your gecko genes, the boys being complete omnivores made dinner hard sometimes

Unlike most gecko species you lack adhesive lamellae - or the sticky pads geckos typically have

You found that out the hard way when Leo and Mikey learned that geckos have that and took you topside to see if you could do it

You were later informed via Donnie via google search that your species was one of few that didn't possess that ability

You are slow, slow moving that is

Especially during the day as your original state was just a gecko, you're nocturnal

You also have a bunk bed as you prefer to be off the ground, another gecko thing

Shedding season is also pretty rough

The boys using water to help, you don't like water and have to be in a steam room

Thank Donnie for that

[evafhernee]

I present; 99 Castoff Incorrect Quotes. Don’t ask why

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3 (this one))

(67)

Rori: I'm quick at math.

Arianna: Ok, what's 38 times 76?

Rori: 24

Arianna: That wasn't even close.

Rori: But it was quick.

(68)

Vector: Am I in trouble?

Arianna: Take a guess.

Vector: No?

Arianna: Take another guess.

(69)

Frankie: Wow, it sure smells like wrong dog in here!

Vector: Oh buddy…

Frankie, already sobbing: ASK.

(70)

Rori: You can take away my rights, but can you take away my lefts?

(71)

Vector: What scares you guys the most?

Frankie: Werewolves!

Marina: Sharks.

Sage: The unstoppable marching of time that is slowly guiding us all towards an inevitable death.

Sage:

Sage: Arianna.

(72)

Arianna: We have to plan, we have to figure something out.

Frankie: Arianna, when have any of our plans ever actually worked? We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose.

(73)

Frankie: Oh, hey, I didn't see you come in! You should have come by and said hello!

Arianna: Oh! Yeah, I uh...

Arianna: Didn't want to bother you.

Arianna: Or talk to or listen to or be around you.

(74)

Frankie: There are three ways to handle a difficult situation. The right way, the wrong way, and the Arianna way.

Vector: Isn't that the wrong way?

Frankie: Yes, but it's faster.

(75)

Arianna: We wouldn't last two minutes without Frankie.

Arianna:

Arianna: Don't tell them I said that.

(76)

Arianna: Why do you hang out with me?

Vector: You're the best thing that's ever happened to me!

Arianna: ...

Arianna: I feel a bit sorry for you.

(77)

Frankie: Oh, fiddlesticks! That really ruffles my feathers!

Rori: Please, just say fuck.

(78)

Vector, texting Marina: sends a voice message

Marina, texting back: I'm a little busy, is it urgent?

Vector: No, don't worry, just listen later. later

Marina: presses play

Vector's voice message: THERE'S A FIRE-

(79)

Marina: You need to stop swearing so much.

Arianna: Shut the fuck up.

Marina: Yeah, that's not how you do it.

Arianna: Alright sorry. It's just that it's hard not to swear. The words just creep up on me when I least expect it.

Marina: Now now, don't be like that. Just replace the swear words with 'beep' and you'll be fine.

Arianna: Shit the beep up.

Marina:

Arianna: SHUT, DAMMIT! I MEANT SHUT!

(80)

Frankie: I have a bad feeling about this, guys.

Arianna: Oh don't worry, you'll be fine.

Vector: Yeah, what's the worst that could happen?

Frankie, being bailed out of jail the next morning: I hate you all.

(81)

Arianna: fast-forwards all the way through the movie

Frankie: You can't just skip to the happy ending!

Arianna: I don't have time for their problems.

(82)

Marina: Do you ever want to talk about your emotions, Arianna?

Arianna: No.

Frankie: I do!

Marina: I know, Frankie.

Frankie: I'm sad.

Marina: I know, Frankie.

(83)

Arianna: When do I get my own gun?

TheStarfishface: I wouldn't trust you with my kid's lightsaber.

(84)

Arianna: Well, well, well, if it isn't the consequences of my actions.

(85)

Arianna: I keep a picture of all of us in my wallet. Whenever I face difficulties, I take it out and stare at the picture.

The Squad: Awwww-

Arianna: And I tell myself "If I can deal with these idiots, then I can deal with anything."

The Squad: Oh.

(86)

Rori: Ha! What are you gonna do? Stab mе?

Five minutes later

Rori, calling 911: HELP, IVE BEEN STABBED.

(87)

Rori: I'd roast you, but my mom says you can't burn trash.

Rori: slow-mo walks out of the room

(88)

Frankie: Hey.

Arianna: pissed off You... complete ... ASS, Frankie! You show up here after WEEKS, and you say "hey"?!

(89)

Sage: The dinosaurs didn't rule the earth they were just alive. Stop giving them credit for administration skills they didn't have.

(90)

Rori: Advice of the day kids, if you ever meet someone who calls Gatorade flavors the actual name of the flavor instead of just the color then they are a certified nerd.

Vector: Yeah but you have to specify, frost glacier or cool blue? You can't just say blue because there's more than one blue.

Rori: Blue and light blue, nice try nerd.

(91)

Rori: I will beat all of you in Rock, Paper, Scissors. You go first.

Vector: Rock.

Rori: Paper.

(92)

Frankie: Why's it called an oven when you of in the cold food and you of out hot eat the food?

Marina: ...What???

(93)

Marina: I hate to disagree with you, but-

Rori: Please, you love to disagree with me. Its your favorite thing to do.

(94)

Arianna: Underestimate me. That'll be fun.

(95)

Vector: What does "take out" mean?

Frankie: Food.

Marina: Dating.

Arianna: Murder.

Rori: It can be all three if you're brave enough.

(96)

Vector: I am very small and I have no money, so you can imagine the kind of stress that I'm under.

(97)

Rori: on the phone Hey Marina, do you know my blood type?

Marina: Of course, it's B-.

Rori: Oh, I guessed wrong. Excuse me, nurse-!

(98)

Frankie: Vector, I'm afraid.

Vector: Just stay close to Arianna.

Frankie: That's why I'm afraid.

(99)

Marina: What did you two do?

Rori:

Arianna:

Marina: You're not in trouble, I just need to know if I have to lie to the police again or not.

[the-punforgiven]

All My Tarnished In Elden Ring

2 of you said do it so I'm doing it lmao

My first character is Ari, they were my very first character and are currently my "main" character. They started out as a raw Strength Claymore-only build and just kinda stayed that way until after I'd beaten the final boss. My original intent was to have them do the rad Carian Sword stuff as a sort of spellsword/battlemage thing, and while they can do that now, I just kinda waited a little too long to spec them into INT so now they're just a friendly summon who's a tanky sword-wielding sword mage who can deal a casual 7453 damage with Carian Grandeur under the right circumstances (As for weapons since they're my Main character I've got a bunch of random shit I've leveled for hyper specific situations, but Claymore is still, as always, Old Reliable for them)

My second character is one named Bryndegaard, she's a VERY heavy Strength/Faith build that I like, accidentally made good lmao Turns out guard counters with the Great Mace do a lot of stance damage Her shield doesn't have an Ash of War on it, and her mace has Prayerful Strike, so even if someone does manage to hit her through it, her vigor is so good and Prayerful Strike is so strong that the damage is usually pretty negligible. She's my tank/healer build first and foremost, but I also have the Envoy's Longhorn levelled up for her just in case I need to absolutely decimate a large boss like Placidusax or Astel. The Longhorn also worked surprisingly well against Elden Beast, as turns out its 80% Holy Damage negation doesn't mean much if you output too much damage for it to matter

My third character's named Edge, Lord He was supposed to be my Spooky Scary Death Mage but tbh I haven't touched him in a while so right now he's just a really unoptimized scythe guy with like, Rancorcall and that's it. I tried to make him look like a black metal musician and I think I did really well, but he also looks so angy it's really funny to me fhdjksahfkxz

Fourth character is Vlad, he's my funny little Dracula Boy. He's not very good but I love him nonetheless. He's built around claws, bleed, and Lifesteal Fist, which I'm very glad was recently buffed because man, this guy was not great to play before that lmao Also I love how tiny his head looks with that cape it's really funny to me

5th character is Guano Gobbler. Very original. Do Not Steal. Idk man I wanted to get the Dung Eater ending at least once, and idk I didn't want to get it on anyone else. I did use the Dung Eater's facial presets for him, I just thought it'd be funny to make him bald too

6th character is the lovely Cap'n Rumguzzler. My entire thought process behind him was 'want pirate' and then I made one. I have no idea what build I was gonna make with him and as a result he fucking sucks but I love him anyway. He also has a cannon hidden in his back pocket or something (I am aware what his name is one letter away from, that just straight-up did not occur to me at all when I was first naming him)

7th character is my Gravity Boy, I don't like his name so you don't get to know it. I've decided he's not going to progress past Maliketh because I still want at least one character I can co-op with in Leyndel. He's exactly what he says on the tin, he's got a Zweihander with Waves of Darkness and he's got a bunch of gravity spells. Not much else to say tbh aside from that I really like how the purple of the gravity magic goes with his All Black Everything look tbh. It's just very aesthetically pleasing to me

8th character is The Legend Herself, 4PattyCheeseBurg. She's built with the express purpose of having the highest possible health achievable in game. Her first 85 levels were all in Vigor (She started out with 14). She only uses the Star Fist. Red Sun gets stuck in my head every time I play her. She's somehow the strongest character I've ever had for Colosseum battles. I've made people just straight-up avoid her completely for entire matches. Demigods fall before her. The earth itself shatters at her victories. She's so fun to play I love her

Her health bar looks like this btw.

9th character is, regrettably, RudolphReindeer. My friend wanted to do a funny holiday-themed run and he'd already claimed Santa, so this is the best I could come up with. You don't get to see his face up close because I hate it

10th is my sleep build, Eurythmics (Because, y'know, Sweet Dreams) idk what else to say about them aside from that they're here, they do sleep, I don't know what to do for their fashion, and they're Not Very Good

11th character is just this one, I've named her Sellsword because idk what else to do with her She's a Quality/Quality-Mage build and I just kinda use her for testing out all sorts of wacky shit trying to wrangle huge damage and big AoE's (Fun Fact: Hoarah Loux's Earthshaker is buffed by the Highland Axe, and the buff stacks if you have a second one, but for some reason it is not buffed by the Roar Talisman) I like making her dual wield stuff also

and the 12th (last) character is this one, She's a Quality build with a bit of arcane. With her I typically use either the Claymore, Marais Sword, or Eleonora's twinblade, and the Dragon Communion Seal in her off hand. Her damage is surprisingly good for me barely playing up her bleed potential, and for some reason she tends to get summoned by randos way more than my other builds, couldn't possibly imagine why She's in the Hoslow set here, but sometimes I switch it up and put her in the Briar armor (With the Vagabond legs/arms) instead. idk just kinda depends on mood but I think the Hoslow chest's red bits compliment her eyes idk

And that's it, that's all of them minus a few I started, got like 5 feet from Limgrave, and haven't touched since

Elden Ring 10/10 game, absolutely consumed my life 👍

[sapphire-weapon]

I think people tend to ignore Leon fucking up (like with Shen May), because they have the mindset of "oh no, that's my favourite character! So he can't do anything wrong or have any flaws!" It's such a limiting way to think. I mean, I really like Leon too, but I'll openly say that he often gives me the fucking ick, lmao. The Shen May scene had me recoiling. Man's a stereotype of "that creepy guy at the bar" and he exudes that a LOT. I'm glad he was turned down. Even the characters we love need to be humbled when they're full of shit, because it's realistic and interesting. It's okay to think outside of the caveman "he good! no bad!"

Also, tacking on, because despite it being a different topic, I may as well stick to a singular ask. Jilleon is such a weird concept to me, lmao. I think for the most part it's treated pretty lightheartedly, but I'm confused because I couldn't really identify where it came from, other than that they're both attractive. I love Jill, but I don't see her reciprocating any attraction. Like, remotely. They get along fine, but I can't even see a close friendship. Maybe I'm biased though, cause I love her and as much as I enjoy Leon, dear god above he doesn't need another love interest. Also Capcom please just grow your balls and properly address Valenfield. We all know they're either a couple or have been pining for several decades.

I'm not gonna lie, if OG Leon asked me out, I'd have told him I had a boyfriend, too. Or maybe just even told him I wasn't interested in men all together. His approach is so... old-fashioned in a bad way. It's evidence that his development was arrested in 1998; he hasn't matured past that point, so he thinks that it's still a thing to just go up to a cute girl and ask for her number right after getting her name.

So like. I'm not surprised that it's pretty much exclusively early 20s and younger ppl who don't think he's trying to ask her on an actual date, because no one does that shit anymore. That was already out of fashion by the time I was in high school, even, and I entered high school in 2003.

But for any tiny childrens who are reading this: yes this is literally how relationships would start in the 80s and 90s. Out of nowhere and on a whim between complete strangers and just hoping it works.

Re: jilleon

Prior to Death Island, I would have agreed with you. 100% I didn't understand what the basis for it was, and I didn't think she'd be interested in him at all.

Then I watched Death Island. And I'm 85% sure that they've already slept together LMAO Chris dropped the ball between RE5 and DI, and Leon just kind of slid in there and took his shot and actually seems to have made it???

If I'm not mistaken, Jill is the only person other than Remake Ashley in the entire series who actually laughs at Leon's jokes. And she actually gets him to laugh out loud in return -- which is almost unheard of for him.

They just seem very comfortable around each other in general. Jill seems more at ease in his presence than she's been in Chris's since... Lost in Nightmares? And Leon is definitely more comfortable being with her than he is being with Ada or Claire. Like, Jill seems as comfy as a presence for Leon as Chris and Ashley are.

I just really like their dynamic in general. I don't think of them as romantic, but I see them as very, very good friends who just fuck every once in a while.

Like, Chris is still Leon's best friend, but their relationship is a lot more intense. But Jill is the person that Leon first thinks to call when he needs to nerd out about movies or to just bullshit in general. And then every so often, a text message conversation happens like:

"Gonna be in DC for a weekend for BSAA shit. Pick me up from the airport?"

"Sure. What hotel?"

"Staying with a friend actually idk if you know him. Leon Kennedy? In the DSO. Brown hair, blue eyes, giant cock?"

"Never heard of him. Sounds like he's in for a fun weekend though."

[inafieldofdaisies]

OCs as other characters | quiz | Tagged by @corvosattano @euryalex and @cassietrn

Way back I did this quiz for Sabrina, and I thought since it's making rounds again it would be fun to see what characters Mercedes would get.

Margaery Tyrell (Game of Thrones): 94% - no idea here Jordan Baker (The Great Gatsby): 92% Samantha Jones (Sex and the City): 89% Maeve Millay (Westworld): 89% - awake while everyone else is stuck in a loop, sets on working against the system Satine (Moulin Rouge!): 88% Frank Abagnale (Catch Me If You Can): 86% Mercedes Jones (Glee): 85% Sabrina Spellman (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina): 84% Astrid Leong-Teo (Crazy Rich Asians): 83% - Listen, I adore Astrid, and her “it's not my job to make you feel like a man. I can't make you something you're not.” line is forever my favorite. She's an absolute legend. Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer): 82% Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl): 80% Love Quinn (You): 80% - if we're talking her book version (just in Hidden Bodies!), yes (especially her going at such great lengths for Joe and accepting his dark side), if it's the TV one... I'd say no. Book Love was a rich girl that threw away her panties after wearing them one time, she was strange and I loved her for it (then Caroline ruined her completely🙂). Dolores Abernathy (Westworld): 79%

Some of the higher % characters I didn't know too much about to discuss in detail, then as I started going down the list, I ended up with quite a few I'm aware of, so I'd be focusing more on those. First, hilarious she has a result with another character named Mercedes. I'm so damn proud she got Maeve, like the way I adore her as a personality, then I saw Lucifer and was like: HELL YES... she absolutely becomes what people truly desire (see what I did here). There's quite a lot of characters that love the lavish life (fitting as hell), are super charismatic and use that charisma to get ahead (so true about her) and also are looking for their true purpose/dream of something bigger (Dolores and Maeve, Mer too has lost the person she was once upon a time, after spending such a long time wearing different masks, to a point she has no idea if she's being liked for herself or her ability to appeal to people's nature). So yeah, I'd say those results nailed her.

Tagging @socially-awkward-skeleton @direwombat @madparadoxum @florbelles @aceghosts @chazz-anova @clicheantagonist @nightbloodbix @jillvalentinesday @josephslittledeputy @josephseedismyfather @g0dspeeed @simplegenius042 @thesingularityseries @trench-rot @dumbassdep @wrathfulrook @voidika @theelderhazelnut @strangefable @adelaidedrubman and anyone that would like to do the tag <3

[fell-court]

Today's gameplay progress:

I made more progress with the main scenario of Endwalker! Specifically, I believe I've now finished all of the level 80 quests, so whenever I next log on I'll be able to unlock the level 81 dungeon

..I cannot remember how long it's been since I posted class levels, but I'm currently level 87 as a black mage, summoner, and dancer, then level 85 as a reaper (so.. I should probably swap to that while I'm doing these story quests to get it levelled up more, oops). Thankfully, since I'm now a level 90 dark knight, all these jobs will be getting the armoury bonus.

To get through some of my rested experience, I also spent some time levelling up blue mage by playing a very risky but fun "stealth game" of sorts with the Tempest's clionids and deep-sea leeches. So now I'm level 70 as one, which is tied with machinist and only one or two levels behind red mage!~

I changed Lorenza's Endwalker outfit slightly! I do still quite like her old one, but I think it might make more sense for it to purely be for 5.4 and 5.5(5) - a short-term showoff of a power she had stolen on the First, but nothing more. This is what the new one now looks like (featuring Alphinaud and Alisaie in new outfits of their own)!

You may notice I said main Endwalker outfit up above - I think this sort of attire would work well for general conditions, perhaps being sufficient for cold weather as well, but it may be slightly too much to have on in overly hot climates - like those of Thavnair, for example! I realised that the top piece of my summoner glamour matched the style that a lot of the NPCs were wearing, so I switched into it (though remained playing as a black mage) while I was there, which was a fun change to go back to. Here are some screenshots of that one!

This outfit shows off Lorenza's lower head feathers, which is fun, but the crimson vest she's wearing in her main outfit doesn't show bracelets, (which these are tied to) - and I can't figure out how to get it to show bracelets, so I may just hand-wave that by saying they aren't present yet.

(I also haven't decided if I'll give her a third, extra, outfit for the extreme cold of Garlemald yet - I know it's bad enough there that most of the Scions themselves get new outfits, so I might try and think of something.)

Other than getting lost in glamour hell, I also powered through the Minstrel's Ballad: Ultima's Bane by myself and promptly unlocked some savage Coils of Bahamut I'd completely forgotten existed. This was a good source of second chance points for my Wondrous Tails of this week (until I got stuck on Na'el), but I still don't have any lines yet, despite several shuffles.

That's about all I can think of for today!

[radinagames2020]

Marvel's Midnight Suns

Rating: 4/5. Loved the writing and the stratgey game. Game had some bugs though, and I'd probably enjoy it more if I was a true marvel-head.

Gonna drop a short writeup here about a game that's probably very easy to find info and reviews about. Because unlike my usual fare, this isn't some tiny indie, but a AAA game attached to a huge franchise. It took me almost 85 hours to complete (although I did basically 100% it) - but I didn't mind because I really liked it!

The game is half a strategy game, and half an rpg type game where you make friends and explore the Abbey grounds solving mysteries. I really enjoyed both aspects. The combo of turn based strategy and deckbuilding was a big win for me, and I feel like it's going to have somewhat ruined non-deckbuilding TBS games for me now! Every aspect of the fights was super well done, from the balance of the cards + environmental effects, to the animations, and even to fun splash-screens that big attacks get you. The engine is used for so many different types of battles and subgoals that it never really got old, even when I was grinding to get my last hero to maximum friendship (which I assume most players won't do).

I also really liked the exploration side of the game, chatting with characters and learning about Hunter's past. This game has SO much content - I can't believe that after 80 hours I was still encountering brand new conversations. The voice acting is wonderful and the writing left me chuckling - what can I say, I enjoy Marvel's quippy style. Not all the writing was perfect, but in 80+ hours of it, I can't complain. I also liked the story, and although the ending was a bit abrupt, it made sense and felt earned. And I loved the Abbey grounds - they were super beautiful, and wandering around them was lovely.

(Dr. Strange was my favorite character by the end)

The only reason I'm not giving this game 5 stars is just because, while I really enjoyed it, I can't say it's in my top favorite games. I'm just not a huge marvel fan, and would probably have enjoyed this more if it was disconnected from that franchise. It also had a fair share of bugs, from rendering people in weird places to straight up crashing and losing progress when trying to upgrade cards. For the price (and the size of the studio making it), I expected better performance. But it's still a fun game that I thoroughly enjoyed!

[the-gig-attender]

ZAYN, Los Angeles Power Disco

Date and Loc: Dec 8, O2 Edinburgh

Who: Zayn is Zayn from One Direction. He's appeared generally to not like being in One Direction. He is now four albums into a solo career - which he seems, at times, to have generally not liked that much either. There are signs that he's enjoying it slightly more now, which is why he's touring.

The question as to who LAPD are seems to be one you have to untangle. What appears to have happened is that a cult band called Cobra Man, who described their sound as 'L.A. Power Disco' and who were known for soundtracking skateboarding compilations, have broken up.

About a third of the band have pressed on, taking that LAPD tagline as their new moniker. The main guy from Cobra Man does not seem to be involved.

Why Am I here: I am here because Zayn solo is really underrated!

To break them down: Mind of Mine is a fantastically performed pop record, with beautiful production and vocals. I think it houses some of the best pop the 2010s, particularly 'It's You', 'Befour, 'Bordersz'. Icarus Falls was a catastrophic commercial flop but one I've never quite got my head around - it is a long album but a very sturdy, consistent one. Nobody Is Listening (which turned out to be aptly titled as it flopped) opens with a slightly dodgy rap but has otherwise aged very well. His latest is good too - a modest commercial comeback.

Across all these albums, there are only two songs (gates of hell, whatever track 1 on NIL is called) that I don't really rate. There's also been a pattern of quite sniffy reviews on release, only for the albums to get a bit more respect as time goes on.

Solo: Yes. I somewhat stood out. I'd say demographics were probably 85-90% female.

Was it good: Taking them in turn:

LAPD absolutely baffled me and prompted me to spend the bus ride home googling. As a programming fit for Zayn's music, just deeply strange. They're basically a *completely* straight-forward 80s AOR act. Like completely. Lyrics, pleather, hair, everything. Every note and aspect of production is 80s AOR. They sound like FM.

I had to piece it together after the gig: Basically, Cobra Man was an attempt to blend AOR with the lo-fo skater aesthetic. Listening to them on the ride home, they really reminded me of the band Haunt - who make straight-up heavy metal, very slightly on the glam side, but with a homespun, lo-fi kind of vibe.

I think something has been lost in the transition from Cobra Man to LAPD - any sense of edge or novelty. I think the modernisation of a very familiar sound has become more akin to recreation.

They're actually decent at it - it is a precise and detailed reconstruction, and the lead, i think someone called Sarah - has a very strong voice. If you were making a film, set in the 80s, about an AOR band, you'd want to cast these two.

It just feels very strange on the night. AOR was an intensely oversaturated niche, which has proven revival-proof even as every other trend ever has come in out of fashion. Closing my eyes during the performance - it felt like something you'd hear played over a montage of someone driving on a Vinegar Syndrome zero budget reissue of a shot-on-video 80s action film.

Opening for Zayn - who makes very earnest music - just feels strange. That they were at some point a skate-adjacent outfit made some sense of it, but I don't think that's quite what the band is anymore. But at the same time, whatever happened with Cobra Man is probably very fresh and maybe they've just not fully figured it out yet. As is - if nothing else - they'd be a perfect fit warming you up for an evening with John Corabi's dead daisies.

As for Zayn - four albums and 8+ years in the making, the tour is solid. He's a good singer - and frequently live actually pushes his vocal slightly further than the studio take. He has one of the best male voices in contemporary pop.

It's been an interesting ride. His albums have failed worse than you'd have thought possible in some respects - you'd think momentum alone would have compelled Icarus Falls to a higher chart peak than *77* in the UK - but the long and short of it is that he has a better body of work than any of his bandmates.

He has never toured as a solo artist before. You wouldn't have guessed. He is not a massive presence on stage, but he's not really trying to be. He has a bigger band than I was expecting (and all women, which is rare). The show is unfussy, very straight-forward, devoid of any theatricality whatsoever but tastefully presented.

It probably had a different vibe in London actually - the O2 Edinburgh is a kind of fascinating venue in some respects - it's almost exactly the same shape as the Barrowlands, probably the most beloved venue in Scotland, but is negative on vibes, rubbish acoustics. It is maybe the most basic, least romantic venue in central Scotland. And the bar is extortionate. But fundamentally I spent the evening standing about, listening to Zayn, and I moderately enjoyed myself.

I don't know what I'd have made of it if it'd been me hearing the songs for the first time - but there's something nice about finally hearing lives tunes I've been listening to consistently for the last eight years. And I respect too how just, on his own terms it is as a production. His fans are old enough now - just - to feel nostalgic. He is not interested in catering to it at all - the only nod to OD whatsoever is one circumstances pretty much forced him to take - a closing tribute to Liam, who is dead.

As someone who likes all his albums - my ideal setlist would be less heavy on the new cut and would dig deeper into Icarus in particular - I thought the two best moments of the night were quite deep cuts: 'Sweat', much warmer than the studio version, and 'Scripted'. The latter in particular is a beautiful song, beautifully performed.

'Pillowtalk' I think was the biggest departure, as an arrangement - given a more laid back, even gentle treatment. I think I miss the drama and sweep of the original cut - but it makes perhaps his least representative single feel of a piece with the more americana-adjacent sounds of his latest.

I'm curious as to what comes next - this'll mark either a belated start to a conventional solo career or it could be a farewell. I'm still hoping for the former.

[the-firebird69]

Watch "Space Marines Tribute - The Resistance [Warhammer 40 000 Music Video/GMV/AMV]" on YouTube

This genre has taken off it's crazy now there's a huge number of ships it's 1.2 billion in the empire and about 90% of them are complete there's 1.3 billion in the foreigners and 80% are complete and they're both finishing up tonight and they're going to go for another round that's a lot and Tommy f is nervous and he sees a lot of hatred for him and his and they're going after them to shut them up. The warlock came up with about 30 million and total total but they're nearing completion and they're going for another round and there's another group The hodge podge they have 10 million completed and they're working on more and we have reports that each group is going to try and double their effort that's a lot. And my son is well lights for it and they know they're kind of fight each other and are getting a beat down. And I'd say that's pretty good cuz they're going to try and take a picture and level the playing field

-there's a lot of things happening here one of them is he's not sleeping well and he has to try to get to sleep the other is people are not allowing it we'll see Tom yeah he's doing to a lot of people Tommy f and yes we stopped he has to be stopped

-tomorrow might be a long day these people are edgy Tommy f is up but it's something to do. Stan is in horrific shape but better now there's a few people who are nuts but you see the issues and Tommy f is going to be pushed around

-this is a huge number of people going after clones and it's going to happen tomorrow and we're going to have to be there and the max they say they're going to so we have to show up inform us too they've been there and did a good job

-Hera is happy to hear from her husband today several times she said he's calling me out of the blue again and we say we had him busy and she says oh yeah and he was getting kind of grumpy he took a day off and rested and felt better and slept quite a bit you needed to he's still tired

-the houses issue is going as we said the 5% more lock owned are 95% cordoned off, the 8% owned by others rental units are 80% corded off and 90% empty and all of it will before day break, and the 8% of the houses which are more luck the 8% is are about 50% cordoned off but they are 65% empty, the hotels are 80% purchased by others from warlock or taking over, we expect those to be around possession the foreigners and back by midnight, the Airbus hotels motels are 80% as we said cordoned off 65% empty but I was not aware that the last two types were included and now they're saying they are 75% empty and 85 to 90% cordoned off more towards 90% and that means they have no place to go pretty much, the trailer parks that were impromptu are cordoned off and regular trailer parks are being cordoned off now they were about 3% of the state's housing that does not include campgrounds that includes tamper and trailer locations right now they're about 90% out and that includes the permanent ones no that 3% includes the permanent ones but it does it also includes the temporary ones which is not that many people the permanent ones are most of the 3% and only 50% of those are cordoned off and 40% emptied out, the last statement was about trailer parks that's a lot of people it's 3% of the housing in Florida and the big number is 5% of 8% 8% 3% bills are out of the total housing fingers and they're big numbers are together they were pretty big now they're not so big but still sizable. Those trailer parks have been around forever and people have been in them for a long time and having a hard time accepting that people would want them out because they were mostly calm you have to be in there it was tough but and that's what's happening, one more type of housing and people are not getting and it's kind of sketchy and there's two actually what is people living with other people and they are cream packed in there and they're getting arrested for things it really a quarter of the population of warlock a friend in with others in houses they own and they are halfway through those and then there is use of commercial buildings even sky rises low rises abandoned buildings all these places around Florida and there's a lot of them they're being cordoned off and people are going to take possession of them a lot of people it's a huge deal it's kind of gigantic in the past it was reflective of 0.2% of the population of Florida now it's about 2% and they are pulling them out of there and that's where they went. And there is another form of housing 1% have gone into the woods. And those people are being rounded up I believe it or not a paramilitary police and similar are going out after them and they're wearing kind of gear they have special suits on and it's because of bugs and snakes and other nasties and lots of little bugs too are nasty and the people are sick and they put them in a special vehicle and delos delice. Right now it was 1% this afternoon is down to 0.5% only half have been pulled out this past month the number did go up to 0.5% and then recently yesterday up to 1%. All in all there's still 4% of the general population is warlock and it's in a variety of housing that is slowly being taken over no it's being taken over quickly pretty soon there will be no place to go but down thus far it's like 0.3% underground and there are issues with that and those bunkers are all being blocked as a lot of them or just destroying it's all over the place they're talking about just ripping them all out it takes less time and it's true in the crap so they might do that so don't have to deal with it later.

All at all that's just complete a report as we want to give and there's a few other places boats and such but they're searching those and constantly about 2% of the population of Florida which are more lock are in other people's houses and yeah the 1% is in the woods and 1% are still in houses and it's really a lot of people that pulled out of houses today it's a huge amount of people and it's repeating globally

[studyjournalblr]

this is a semi rant, feel free to delete if ur uncomfortable

I'm in icse 10th grade, sem1 results were very very bad it was only 85% and i really expected 90 atleast. these were mcqs and I had studied super duper hard for these exams.

sem 2 are even harder and I need atleast 95 (so 37/40 in most subjects and 40 in atleast 3 subjects) but exams are on 25th April, my prelims are in 3 days and i couldn't do anything these past few days. ive only finished like 4 chapters and these exams have no leaves and God, I just... my anxiety is killing me, I don't know what to do..

i just wanna ask.. how do u motivate yourself? how do u stay focused and not get distracted...

First of all, I'd like to say: This is exactly what I (still) do before every exam. I waste my time. Panic a lot while wasting time. Complete very little over the huge chunk of time I had and end up with 70-80% of the portions still left. Most of the time, I haven't even done the first learning of the chapter: The day before the exam is the first time that I even read it.

I actually have severe focus problems, more than I let people see, but there are some things that I do to get things done.

I don't know about what you have in 10th grade ICSE, but from my 8 years in an ICSE School, I'm assuming that the large amount and detail does make it harder to keep track of everything. And not spreading your learning over a week or so before exams will account to losing out marks here and there because you haven't revised those points.

What I've been doing so far is basically prioritizing important portions and marking stuff that I feel would be asked. If it's too gruelling to read, either find a video (ik ICSE vids aren't as common as CBSE vids, but there are definitely gonna be some of them) or read it out aloud to listen to yourself.

Most importantly: do as many sample Question Papers as possible. Familiarize yourself with it's pattern. This is a Board Exam, so it's pattern is gonna be recurring, and once you know what type of questions are asked where and for how much, you'll be able to prioritize better. Eg: Question 7 is always a numerical from a chapter that you aren't good at. Learn how to solve those kind of questions. This will save you a lot of time you'd spend on revising less important things, and increase the probability of scoring marks.

Preparing according to the paper is like training in combat to fight one particular enemy, rather than just doing a bunch of exercises. You're spying on their moves by seeing the sample papers. And when you start covering it like that, it's easier to remain motivated and feel some movement and progress.

I've also recently found out that doing aesthetic notes and romanticising my work gets my ADHD brain to hyperfixate on the right stuff, so if that helps you get at least something done, then it's great! 👍👍 (it doesn't necessarily apply to everyone, so don't worry if this doesn't work for you)

Also, don't feel disheartened if you still procrastinate. It's not easy to get over it, so what you gotta do is work around it. Forgive yourself for what is happening, and face the fact that your brain works in a different way.

Sorry for replying a little late... and don't hesitate to ask me stuff!

I hope this helps you, and one more thing-

Note down/ log your preparation in the preps, compare it with the result and plan your board preparation. That's also gonna help.

[bobasheebaby]

91 Lucifer prompts

Some of my favorite quotes from my favorite devil. (Cut at 15 cause it’s long.)

Lucifer Morningstar

1 “People don’t arrive broken. They start with passion and yearning until something comes along that disabuses them of those notions.”

2 “People don’t have power over us. We give it to them.” 

3 “The best thing to do is always to follow your greatest desire.”

4 “Sometimes we are what we are, and we should embrace that.”

5 “Desire shouldn’t be contained, it’s unnatural.” 

6 “Why do humans think they can rectify one evil with another?”

7 “Life’s too short to hold grudges.”

8 “Believe me, there is no winning when you play by a twisted tyrant’s rules.” 

9 “You shouldn’t have to change for anyone. And neither should I.” 

10 “I refuse to be a scapegoat for which something I bear no responsibility. It’s a theme in my life.”

11 “Trust me, I’ve been doing this a long time. I know evil.”

12 “If you desire something, just take it.”

13 “Trust me, if there’s one thing I know, it’s desire.”

14 “What I hate more than anything is a liar, a charlatan, someone who doesn’t believe in what they say.”

15 “Hell truly hath no fury like a man/woman scorned.”

16 “No one gives us the right… we take it.”

17 “Mmm, dangerous. NAME likes.”

18 “There was immediate danger. He/she was about to leave this man/woman completely unsatisfied.”

19 “When in doubt, go with the classics. That’s what I always say.”

20 “Guilt is such a useless emotion”

21 “Take a swing and I’ll shove that so far up your ass, you’ll have splinters in your stool.”

22 “What makes us vulnerable is often right under our noses.”

23 “Now tell me, what is it that you truly desire?”

24 “Well, maybe it’s like butt stuff. Easier the second time around.”

25 “It’s always the ones you least suspect, the ones you trust the most, that hurt you. They wait until your guard is down and then wham! In my case, it was tequila.”

Chloe Decker

26 “It’s better to move forward than stay stuck in the past.” 

27 “We can’t control what happens to us only how it affects us and the choices we make.”

28 “You have to stop taking responsibility for things that you can’t control.” 

29 “Sometimes we get along best with the people we’re most different from.”

30 “Pull yourself together. You look like a homeless magician!”

31 “It’s really not a good day for… your… NAMEness”

32 “You don’t save a marriage by sleeping with other people.”

33 “If you go looking for loopholes, you’ll always find them.”

34 “NAME’s not another guy/gal. He’s/She’s a weirdo.”

35 “As any parent knows, the best time to get things done is when everyone else is asleep.”

36 “I wasn't afraid of you.”

37 “I don't want you to see me like this. I know it scares you.” “No, that's... that's what I was trying to tell you. I'm not... I'm not afraid of you anymore.” “You're not?” “You see, this is what I'm talking about. It's so sweet. I'm going to puke.”

38 “I miss him/her. I mean, he/she pisses me off all the time. And there are so many things about him/her that ... that I find hard to accept, but I just have to believe I can find a way. Because ... I'd rather have him/her in my life than not.” “Well, then... I think you know what you need to do.”

39 “You're different than me. You're stronger. You could have run, but you didn't. Why didn't you?”

40 “It's not like you haven't always told me the truth. You know? So ... I think, deep down, I just ... I always knew.”

41 “Let's pretend for one second that you're someone else. Someone nice, someone mature.” “Ooh, I love role-play.”

42 “What, you're just gonna leave me here? In this part of town?” “You said you wanted danger.”

43 “Please tell me I'm hallucinating.” “Well, I am dreamy, but try to contain yourself.”

44 “You step out of line one time …” “You can give me a right-good spanking, I promise.”

45 “This cannot be true. Can it? I mean ... if you knew this, why wouldn't you say something? I mean, I almost married him/her. I mean, I almost married him/her.” “I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen.”

46 “Oh, my God. Did the world just turn upside down? Did you just admit to being wrong?”

47 “You know, it can be scary sometimes, but ... being who you really are is never a bad idea.”

48 “I need you to stay here and watch your dad/mom.” “That's true. Without the two of us, he’s/she's defenseless.” “I don't know if I like what you're whispering about.”

49 “How long have I been out?” “Three years.” “What?!” [NAME starts laughing] “You’re such an ass.”

50 “I couldn't sleep last night, so I stayed up all night working, and, you know, I drank a lot of caffeine. Like, a lot.”

Mazikeen Smith

51 “If you go by someone else’s pace, it shows how much you really care.”

52 “Sometimes you have to accept when someone doesn’t feel the same way about you.” 

53 “Self-worth comes from within, bitches.” 

54 “I would never ask you to change. I like who you are.” 

55 “Hey! No one calls my skank a skank.” 

56 “Good. It's settled. Now, where do I put my knives.”

57 “Okay. One, I like to fight when I'm happy or ... horny. And, two, I really don't want to accidentally kill my best friend.”

58 “Maybe next time, I won't be around to save your ass.” “Mm! Well, that is a shame. 'Cause you and my backside used to get on very well. My front side, as well, actually.”

59 “And your name?” “NAME.” “How do you spell that?” “Surprise me.” [Later gets coffee with "WRONG NAME" on it]

60 “Everything that happened showed me exactly why I need to go back.” “I don't understand.”

Linda Martin

61 “Emotions are hard, but that’s why they make you strong.” 

62 “Goodness isn’t a toy.”

63 “Sometimes we need to lose something to understand its value.”

64 “Sometimes it’s easier to make intimate issues about something bigger than yourself.” 

65 “I find people who are rude usually feel powerless in their own lives. Terrified of not being in control.”

66 “Look... I know I'm not dad/mom, or partner or whatever. But I ...” “No. No, you're not. Come here. You are Uncle/Auntie NAME. And you will always ... be a member of this family.”

67 “Let's talk about what you're dealing with emotionally.” “Yeah, I really don't want to.”

68 “Why is he:she able to refuse my charms? I mean, is this thing on?” [points at him/herself] “Yes, yes. Definitely on.”

69 “How's that saying go? We're all in the gutter, but some of us are looking up at the stars.”

70 “Should've seen that one coming.”

Amenadiel

71 “We need the most love when we’re being most unlovable.” 

72 “No matter how bad things get, the true test is how we choose to respond to the pain. We suffer, or inflict.”

73 “Cosmos are yummy.”

74 “If you really want to know if you’re a worthy romantic partner, ask yourself.”

75 “NAME. What are you doing here? Did you hurt NAME?” “Only when he/she asked me nicely.”

Ella Lopez

76 “Whenever I’m procrastinating on something, I make an appointment for myself to do it. That way, can’t back out.”

77 “You see what I'm dealing with?”

78 “Hey. No one insults my family, except for me.”

79 [high on "candy"] “I know I should be freaking out right now, but your hair is so shiny.”

80 I'm usually not into reality shows either. I prefer more, you know, scripted-content, documentaries, but... I've got a little extra time these days, so... sort of kind of watched, uh, 27 seasons in two weeks.

Dan Espinoza 

81 “We all need someone to have our backs every now and then.”

82 “Ooh, lemon bars. My favorite. Mmm. Oh, man, these are amazing. Who made 'em?” “Uh, NAME did. Would you believe that hunk bakes?” [spits out the bars] “On second thought, who needs the empty calories?”

83 “Say you fall in love with a man/woman who has a cat. What are you gonna do? You accept the cat.” 

84 “Are you sleeping with this idiot?” “He/She hasn't had the pleasure, unfortunately, no.”

85 “Dude, I cannot deal with your weirdness right now.”

Trixie Espinoza

86 “We’re wearing the same shirt!” [both] “Sushi shirt!” [from around the corner] “I don’t know what’s going on out there, but I hate it!”

87 “I ate it.” “Mm-hmm.” “But NAME said it was okay.” “Oh, really?” “He/She said, if you really want to do something, you should. And I really wanted to eat some chocolate cake.”

88 “Are you looking at a no-no site?” “No. Why would you think that?” “Because you put it away so fast, and you look really, really guilty.”

89 “NAME, sever their Achilles first. If they can't walk ...” “They can't betray you.”

90 “You need to get a thicker skin. Stand up for yourself, because the truth is, nobody’s gonna do it for you.” — Charlotte Richards

91 “Anybody worth dating should understand everything that makes you … you.” — Ev

[riderdrauggrim]

Day Unknown. Sat, Sep 26, 2020.

Nervous about randomly hiding in 4G Motorsports parking lot, I'm awake a few short hours later around 6:30. I have the tent packed by 8:30, and huddle beside the bike, waiting for staff.

9:00 rolls around and I approach the doors, making my way back to the Parts/Service desk. A young woman who's family shifts her between Alberta and Toronto seems thrilled to meet someone else from Ontario. We check if they have a replacement battery in stock. They do not. And their mechanics are not in on the weekends.

But!

There's a MAGNACHARGE Battery megaemporium RIGHT across the street!

Heartened my luck might be improving, I trot over.

Nope.

They're closed on weekends.

I trot back to 4G, on the way calling Riverside Honda in St. Albert, the blokes who'd changed my tires. They sold their last YTZ14S on Friday. BUT they'd ordered more and they should arrive at the start of this coming week.

I run over my problems with their parts guy. He suggests I remove the battery and try starting the bike with another random battery attached; That might be able to isolate if it is my battery or my starter system/charging stator/rectifier/words.

Sounds good.

Back at 4G I ask if they have a charger or a booster. The parts girl knows where a tender is, but not how to use it. It's okay, I do. They graciously let me push the bike inside their service bay so I can tinker on it, good thing too as it starts to drizzle outside.

So! My battery: Out and Charging.

My bike: New battery hooked up to test the ignition.

My key: In the ignition, turning to activate the bike-*Crack*.

One of the few flaws I've found with the NC750 design is the key is needed in a secondary lock. Turn one way to unlock the frunk (front trunk) where the gas tank USUALLY sits on a motorcycle. Turn the other way to unlock the latch securing the passenger seat, this allowing you to lift it up to reveal the gas cap to fill the tank, which sits under the rider. The problem with this lock is the key does not fully insert. It's about 3/4 depth to the ignition proper.

Over time, this has created something of a weak point on the key itself, occasionally twisting ever so slightly if too much pressure is applied, if the latches are sticky, or the frunk is overfull and a bit jammed. This was usually corrected by sticking the key in and turning it the other way, straightening the blade out again. For this trip, due to the tail luggage making lifting the passenger seat incredibly difficult at best, I had opted to outright remove the pillion cover, leaving the gas cap exposed for easy access. All I needed the secondary lock for was to get in and out of the frunk, which I was doing several times a day to fetch out Goose and Hat, or store drinks, or change power banks.

Perhaps it was this excess of one direction twisting that finally did the blade in.

Perhaps it was just six years of use and wear.

Perhaps life just wanted to take the difficulty level up a notch.

In any event.

I was left holding the top quarter of my key. The remainder still inside the ignition. Even if I can get a new battery, I can now no longer turn on the bike.

My coworker who helped fund this adventure texts me to see how things are going. I tell him my key just snapped in half. He says if I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. We discuss options. I'm 3,505 km from home. I'm 427 km from the nearest Honda dealership. I just want to Abandon Quest and Hearthstone out of here, but that's not an option. So I work through various plans.

I call Riverside back and get the Service department. Nick remembers me. I fill him in on the last twelve hours. "Wow." Indeed. He puts me on hold and consults his coworkers. If I can get it there, they'll try and squeeze me in and get this sorted. Some people have good luck using super glue to get broken keys out and then jury rigged back together. With my luck, I'll make a mess and fuse the tumblers and need an entirely new ignition system. The key is also a newer blade style, not a normal tooth house lock key. It's supposed to be stronger, amusingly enough. But it's not the sort of thing local locksmiths should be able to replicate, it needs a Dealership. So even if I got a Fort McMurray locksmith to fish the main part out, if he can't make a new one, I still can't Go.

AND there's the pressing matter of the battery.

During all this my battery on the tender has completed charging. I restore it into the bike, or try to, as the damn nut in the contact for the red lead slips out of the holder and falls precisely through the ONE (1) hole at the bottom of the compartment and somewhere onto the engine block. I don't hear it hit the belly pan, and wedging my fingers into every nook, curve and cranny yields nothing but grimy hands.

I call CAA anew. I get the same woman as the night before, so that helped since she already knew the first part of this story. I now have Multiple Problems that can not be fixed locally. St. Albert is outside the Alberta tow range of 350km. But my membership is from Niagara, and I'm covered for 500km. She calls them to approve it. They say 'of course'. One hurdle down.

She contacts the tow company. New hurdle.

Due to the nine hour round-trip commute, they don't run every single broken vehicle south to Edmonton every time someone breaks down. They wait for multiple items, load them all on a long truck, and do a couple runs a week. So. Yes, they can get my bike to St. Albert. Eventuallllyyyyy.

I get it; from a logistics and efficiency and financial perspective it makes perfect sense.

From a "but... my bike..." and waiting for a nebulous amount of time in a hotel somewhere just for it to get TO the mechanics, nevermind the unknown timeframe of the shop having time to look at it, figure out what's wrong, order new parts if needed, and install them.... Hrrrggggnnnnn.

So EMI came with the short bed and picked up the bike from 4G. The logic being, now it's in their secure compound, ready to go, and when they have a load ready, they'll shove it on and take it south for me. Solid.

How do -I- get back to Edmonton.

Well, there's several buses that run the corridor, presumably for the mine workers to get up and back around their shift days. Awesome!

Oh but they don't run again until Monday. Less awesome!

But what can you do.

My bike won't leave until monday at the /earliest/ anyway, so me being there any sooner really makes no difference.

I book a ticket - cheap at 65$! For a nearly five hour trip? I paid 85$ plus tip for the 20 minute taxi ride from Supertest Hill to Fort McMurray the night prior.

Leaving Monday at 8:30am, arrive near downtown Edmonton. Found a hotel for 80$ within a block of Riverside Honda, not as cheap as my beloved Whitemud, but Whitemud Inn being at the south center of the Edmonton bubble, I'd be paying more than the 15$ a night difference in a cab to get up to St. Albert region. So I'll be right nearby the bike if we can get it going, or I need something from my bags.

In the meantime.

I found an RV campsite literally next door to the bus stop. I called the owner and explained my experiances, and my need for somewhere to simply hide in a tent until Monday morning. Sure, I could try and hide -anywhere-, but for my own safety, and nerves, if I can do this cheap and legal, the better for it. She says she can help me out. She offers a site for a price considerably cheaper than the nearby hotels, which I of course agree to. It's a twenty minute walk from 4G, made longer by hauling two drybags of tent/sleeping bag and essentials, and a third partial of food. Plus wearing my gear. And being somewhat small and scrawny. I take several rests. I drink my Gatorades. I make it. She has the sweetest tabby cat with white socks, no tail, and the SOFTEST fur. Name 'Trouble'. Awwww.

Transaction complete, I set up my tent, kindly serenaded by a curious magpie.

I hear a nearby RV owner pull up, truck doors closing, and then I see a giant white monster making a beeline straight for me. My best guess would be Lab/Samoyed. The head was very much the rectangle block and jowls of a lab, but the pelt was definitely a living cloud. It gives an very quick sniff at my tent, and promptly accepts me petting it. I realize I've been pet-starved during my journey. All my stress is put on pause as I scruffle the heck out of this random dog's sides. In fact, twice I tried to move one hand to teach for my phone for a photo, and he turned in annoyance to see why I'd partially stopped. I hear a woman calling, and ask if he needs to go. He makes no move. In fact he tries to push backwards closer. On a whim, I drop to my rear and make a bowl with my legs. He promptly fills said bowl with his rump. Me on my butt and him on his haunches, I came up to his shoulders.

Good dog.

A woman shouts again, more insistent. I give him a bump with my leg. He resigns himself to getting up and heading home. I realize the owner can't see us, so I pop up and apologize for stealing her dog. She realizes he hadn't just ran off for no reason, and laughs, saying he loves people. Yes, I had learned this.

I needed that.

There's a valley beside the camp ground.

The trees are spent matchsticks, grey and charred and empty against the sky. New growth slowly fills in around the dead wood. I don't know if this is a remainder of the BIG fire of 2016, or another more recent event. It's a staggering amount of devastation, and only a small fragment of the damage done.

The clouds out here... I love skyscapes.

Beautiful.

[viinchester]

Prompts

How/What to request

Please comment or send an ask with the number of the prompt(s) you want + the character + more details you want to be included. I'm feeling really creative right now, so I might be able to do some of your requests.

-

1. "Did you bring us here to die?" - "Obviously." - "I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not."

2. "You.. You are-.." - "Beautiful? A genius? Immensely talented?" - "Dangerous."

3. "All that blood looks good on you, it really brings out your eyes."

4. "You keep on pointing that gun at me and blabber about how much you've been wanting to kill me. I'm beginning to doubt your commitment."

5. "Remove your hand or I will rip your arm off and beat you to death with it."

6. "I don't care if you're panicking - just do it quietly."

7. "How long have you been standing there?" - "Longer than you'd like."

8. "Keep your morals away from me."

9. "When did you become so smart?" - "Since I stopped listening to you."

10. "I remember kissing you.. Why do I remember kissing you?"

11. "I was just kind of hoping that you'd.. y'know.. fall in love with me."

12. "Well, that didn't end the way I expected it to, but at least nobody important died."

13. "You're going to have to tell people you're leaving eventually." - "Yeah, but how should I do it? Shall I shout it from the rooftops or send a mass e-mail?"

14. "I have never been so insulted!" - "You don't listen much then, do you?"

15. "What are you doing?" - "… Eating." - "We're being held hostage and you decide to raid the kitchen!?" - ".. They didn't say the fridge was off limits."

16. "Come over here and make me."

17. "I have a name and it's not sweetheart."

18. "I wouldn't miss you. Nobody would." - "..." - "No, wait! I didn't-" - "Fuck off, I hate you."

19. "I really wish you were never born." - "Well, me neither. But.. life be like that sometime." - ".. You're an idiot, you know that?"

20. "I'm dying and you can't do anything about it, so please just hold me. I don't want to die here alone.."

21. "You're bleeding! Where's your friend!?" - "Left me to die to save their own ass. Guess you were right, I really am not worth it."

22. "Did you really think I cared about you?"

23. "This is what I get from trusting you.. Everybody told me to stay away from you, but I ignored them.." - "Yeah, that was really stupid. You should've known better. And for the record: I don't regret anything."

24. "You lied to me! Everything you ever did.. It was all just a game to you!" - "You found out? What a shame.. I kind of enjoyed playing with you."

25. "This is a joke, right? Right!?"

26. "What are you doing?" - "Just what's long over due."

27. "I'm a monster." - "You know you're not."

28. "Listen, I believe there's good inside of you somewhere.. Just.. Just put that knife down, okay?"

29. "Sometimes you need to make your sarcasm more clear."

30. "Oh crap. That's your »I did something bad«-face."

31. "This never happened. Understood?"

32. "Can't you be happy for me for just five minutes?"

33. "You don't give a damn about me!" - "Frankly, I do give a damn about you, my dear."

34. "Innocent until proven guilty, my friend."

35. "You did what!?"

36. "I know I'm very drunk, but I want to kiss you so bad.." - "Excuse you?"

37. "Are you done?" - "Depends."

38. "I should hate you, but all I feel is love!" - "Well, I have that effect on people."

39. "I didn't do it." - "Then why are you laughing?" - "Because whoever did it is a genius."

40. "Was it really necessary to hit me with the corpse's leg?" - "Necessary? No. Hilarious? Yes."

41. "Oh, you're still alive." - "Don't sound so disappointed, I might begin to think you don't like me."

42. "Hold on, you died!" - "Yeah well, it didn't really stick."

43. "I think I'm having a feeling. How do I make it stop?"

44. "This is a beautiful place." - "What a shame you came from so far away to destroy it, right?" - "Not really."

45. "I don't like how that ended. Let's pretend it never happened." - ".. Life doesn't work like that." - "It does now."

46. "I didn't-.. I didn't mean to! This wasn't what I wanted!"

47. "Do you feel any remorse for what you did to them? For what you did to me?"

48. "Please, you have to let me make this right!"

49. "How long are you going to keep on blackmailing me?"

50. "This is going to sound controversial, but I think that went well."

51. "You know, you're adorable when you're mad." - "I could literally kill you."

52. "Well, this is a nice change of scenery." - "It's a prison cell." - "I was being sarcastic."

53. "Run! Run away as long as you got the chance!" - "Run away from what!?" - "From me!"

54. "Rumour has it, I make you nervous."

55. "I can't focus with your damn hand in my- ah.. Oh��"

56. "How are you mad at me, when I'm the one with the broken arm!?"

57. "Well, shit. I'll need a fucking lawyer."

58. "Are you enjoying the party?" - "Party? This isn't a party." - "Not until somebody almost dies."

59. "FUCK! You scared the shit out of me!"

60. "Don't. Move."

61. "You're bleeding on my carpet."

62. "Excuse me, but whoever stood you up is an idiot and a jerk."

63. "Call me that one more time and you'll see what happens."

64. "It's pitch black in here and I can still see you're blushing."

65. "Am I supposed to be scared of you?"

66. "Murder is kinda against the law, you know?"

67. "Bend over."

68. "Beg for it."

69. "I'll make sure you never see them again."

70. "If you relaxed, it wouldn't hurt so much."

71. "There you are. Did you really think you were gonna escape?"

72. "I love you, I love you so much and I'll make sure you feel the same." - "You-.. You are insane.."

73. "Let me out of here! You're a fucking psychopath! I won't ever bend to your will!" - "Now, why did you have to make me mad by saying something so inconsiderate?"

74. "See, now was that so bad?" - "We're in the hospital, you idiot!" - "Yeah, but we could be dead instead, so I consider us lucky."

75. "How do you even sleep at night?" - "Oh, just like a baby."

76. "It'd be a shame if I had to damage that beautiful face.."

77. "Stop struggling. It doesn't have to be painful."

78. "I killed my own blood. What do you think I could do to you?"

79. Person A is wrapped in christmas lights, their body bound tightly to the chair they're sitting on. Person B comes in and grins. "Oh boy, I must've been good this year."

80. "Why don't you ever listen to my orders!?" - "I don't like being told what to do."

81. "I'll go easy on you."

82. "You don't look like a professional criminal.." - "Oh sorry, let me just.. grab my Ted-Bundy-Mask and put on some bloody gloves."

83. "You don't have to stay. I understand."

84. "You don't have to fight me."

85. "Watch me."

86. "You make a sound and it's game over."

87. "I'm like 75% sure this isn't going to kill us."

88. "Uhm, I don't think kidnapping is legal.. So if you could just let me go, that would be great."

89. "Please, I'm begging you.. I will do anything!" - "Anything, you say?"

90. "Cooperate with me and nobody will get hurt."

91. "Shoot him/her. Or I shoot you."

92. "I'm not going to kill you, Y/N. You will kill yourself."

93. "Your life is completely in my hands, so don't test my boundaries."

94. "Why are you crying?"

95. "I could help you, but it will cost you."

96. "Oh, you mean you need.. this antidote?"

97. "Go ahead and pray. See what good that does for you."

98. "What did you do to them!?"

99. "If we get caught, I'm blaming you."

100. "Complain all you want, but hurry and help me hide the body while you're at it!"

101. Person A to Person B: "There's no way in hell I'm doing that!" *Five seconds later* Person B to Person A while watching them do it: "You were saying?"

102. "They don't make a card saying »Sorry for almost bleeding out on your two thousand dollar couch and completely ruining it«, so I got you this instead."

103. "I didn't ask you, because I knew you were going to deny. And I don't need your fucking permission to do anything!"

104. "I am the only thing standing between you and all those people out there wanting to kill you, so I strongly suggest you stop pissing me off."

105. "Why is everbody running around like the city's on fire? What did I miss?"

106. "Alright, so I'll do this ridiculous thing you asked me to do, but in exchange you'll have to come to family-dinner with me and pretend to be my boyfriend/girlfriend, because I've kinda been lying to my family about being in a relationship to get them off my back and now they want to meet my partner."

107. "That's a terrible thing to carve into a tree."

108. "This is definitely not as charming as you might think."

109. "But that wasn't the fucking question, was it?"

110. "You take me instead! Do you hear me? Give her/him/them back and take me instead!"

111. "You know I hear you talking, but I still don't have my coffee."

112. "Take one more step and I'll snap her pretty little neck."

113. "This is real. You're real, I'm real.. I need you to come back to reality with me."

114. "You shouldn't have seen that."

115. "Whatever you do, don't make a sound."

116. "I'd rather be spitting blood."

117. "You can't have her and it's killing you inside."

118. "I could hear you screaming, are you alright?"

119. "I was made to destroy. Not to fix or repare, but to break."

120. "I know how this goes. First, you buy me a drink, then you tell me how pretty I look and at the end of the night, you'll ask for my number."

121. "I'm drunk and I hate everything.. Wait, lemme correct myself, I hate everything but you."

122. "Put the gun down, please. You're starting to scare me.."

123. "I'm right here. I've been here all along. Please, just.. see me."

124. "Stop looking at me with pity in your eyes. Stop it. Stop fucking looking at me like that!"

125. "You took adventage of me when all I did was help you. Others would've left a long time ago, but I kept on believing in you. But you only ever saw me as an opportunity to get what you wanted.."

126. "You really don't know how to talk to women, do you?" - "There was no need to until now!"

127. "You already know how this will end. It always ends with my blood on your hands. I've come to terms with it, you should get used to the idea too. After all, you can't change destiny."

128. "If you want to keep me away, then tell me a lie that will hurt me so deep I'll never want to see you again." - "I love you."

129. "Go ahead, underestimate me. That will be fun."

[beautypasseslikeadream]

I freaked out a PhD student who was doing research at a hospital. She asked me to rate my health that day on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 being optimal health.

I was like, "I'm sure this question is it's own answer in a way, but do you mean how I'd rate compared everyone or just to myself? Because I can imagine being much worse but not much better."

She looked at me, so confused, and slightly concerned. "Can you tell me more about that?"

"Ummm," I say, trying to find a way to explain my existence to an able-bodied person. "So for most people, 100 would probably mean being able to complete a marathon. Having enough energy to do it and having all their body parts work well enough to actually get them across the finish line. But for me? I can't conceptualize that that would ever be possible for me. 100 would be more like being able to go somewhere with friends like a theme park or a zoo and walking around a bunch, and the next day being able to get out of bed and do literally anything. I can imagine that being possible enough to wish for it, but it's not actually realistic."

She just blinked at me, like I could hear her brain recalibrating. I couldn't help but keep talking.

"Like, if you compare me to the marathon runner, I'm like a 20 or something, but if you compare me to someone with cancer or cystic fibrosis, I'm probably an 80. There's a lot more room for me to be feeling worse than I am now, but not so much room for me to realistically feel better. So I don't want to say I'm at a 20, compared to everyone out there, because I'm definitely a 80 compared to some other people out there."

The confusion was mostly gone but she just looked sad. It was like that explanation had done more to communicate my health status than all the forms I'd filled out with her. That, yes, this 23 year old that walked in with a big smile and a friendly, chatty demeanor was actually struggling.

Eventually, she just said, "For the purposes of this study, it's only used to compare how you are doing now to how you are doing at the end of the study in a year. So, uh, you can evaluate it however you want so long as use the same criteria next time."

That made sense to me, so I put a 45. In the course of the study, I did get some meaningful medication adjustments and ended around a 70. Or maybe I went from a 20 to a 30, or an 80 to an 85. Either way, it did help. And maybe that experience stayed with that kind but naive PhD student.

The normal amount of pain is zero. I don't know what to say here. The standard abled person amount of pain without injury or significant exhaustion is so low that it will not register to most of you. It's the slightest twinge. I am so unequipped to explain this to y'all but of you experience regular pain you have chronic pain 😭