#Link cronch

[jitterbugbear]

malanya the horse god - mixed media

[the-doodleer]

i always wondered what if he just bit right into the kinstone piece on accident

[flame-shadow]

Art Fight 2023 Batch 1

[ @deadlydaemondraws | @shiningnightstars | Kestie935 | @neon-moon-night | @dino--draws | cronchlord | @inkycorvid | @eisly | SheepMomther | @artisticdragons | @rhimaris | geekivanovo | @lemmykirby | cronchlord ]

[id in alt]

[flarefighters-fr]

My clan profile: Please include a link to the dragons you are asking about

Everyone who is dming me: I want ID number (dyslexia hell) how much?

Me, on mobile: [Dying inside] I'm going to eat breakfast

[baileyboo2016]

OMG YOUR ART IS SO GOOD SHES SOOOO CUTE I LOVE HER 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

old work that I haven't posted on Tumblr

2020

[tashacee]

Honestly Im just waiting for aspect!link to show the chain that he can eat rocks like the gorons do.

Imagine though: Say they're in Twi's era, everyone relaxing at the hot springs, chilling with the gorons. It's a nice day, and they're feeling a little peckish.

The gorons, being good hosts, offer them some refined schist, hand collected from a mountainpeak, you know! And the boys politely decline because you know. That's rock.

And then they just hear CRONCH. and then the ekekekekekek of Wild's laugh. and then another CRONCH.

Because yeah. This absolute weirdo is just eating rock.

And no one wants to say anything because maybe that's just what Wild does? Maybe that's a normal part of his diet? Oh no, have they been denying him part of his required diet? Are rocks like protein, he needs a certain amount daily to stay healthy?

So the chain start sneaking him rocks during mealtimes and Wild is just like. Thank you? He can only presume that the chain are giving him pretty rocks because they look cool? So he stores them in his slate.

But the chain see that he isn't eating them. And they don't ask him about it, because that would be too sensible. So instead they start asking any gorons they meet about the best eatin' rocks, and start spending BANK on good rock roast for their idiot friend who just likes a good CRONCH sometimes.

gaaaaaaaah I love these goobers.

[baileyboo2016]

LAD INDEED!!!!!! 😮😮😮😮🤭🤭🤭🤭

OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS HIS NAILS ARE PAINTED AND HES GOT THAT LANAYRU LIGHTNING I AM BARKING LIKE A DOG WHO JUST SAW A SQUIRREL RN ISTG

Rulie!!

[delicatebluebirdruins]

Lockwood and Co. show notes

the parts in different colours are important (link to part 2) and my thoughts on the first two books.

episode one

love the opening shots on their gear before we see them

his smirk. music in the kitchen is so nice.

the angry biscuit munch.

the only other person who calls Lucy "Luce" is Norrie I think.

I love how we get to see the past and care about Lucy leaving. (although I would have loved it if we had reference to Lucy's sisters as well there could be a huge age difference between the two or something)

So with Ghost Touch being a bigger deal in the show makes a lot of sense because it is a medical emergency and in the books we do see people die from this and of course people ending up in a coma makes it a little more interesting because coma and it could be explained by who has Talents? Joe explain yourself.

love the fail montage (funny thing I was reading Hollow Boy at this point and shoved my book pouch to the side to show Lockwood and sister picked it up and compared the illustration to show Lockwood and just wondered at it)

biscuit cronch and say hi to the skull. Love how gleeful George was about the gunshots

I love the way Ruby Stokes said "no" in response to the Beck question

Lucy wanna fight. tour music is great and i love the framed newspaper.

love the little skip at the bottom of the stairs

little smile over the unlocking of the door.

Lockwood's face when she asked him about the advert. love how earnest he is

Lockwoods fighting is so good. That picture frame is so well made

love the entire exchange of Lockwood taunting the ghost

hugs and jump

episode two

i love this bit floating inbetween bit

Lockwood's "my partner" and her reaction to calling him that is so funny (so is the nurses's)

I love the Annie theme

I love the argument.

the smile when he comes in "unicorns or rainbows" George internally is 100% going "oh Lucy yells at me but she's not going to yell at him"

"it's our USP" Earnest Lockwood is favourite

was the hand grab needed to wake Lockwood up?

I wanna set tour so bad

I love the fight... I love the little birds on the window

Goerge loves a mystery. Hand flex and smile. I love communing with Annie (lost in translation "my lord")

"by firing Lucy Carlyle" i love Lockwoods worry at Barnes asking to get rid of Lucy

amazing deduction no other possible person playing hamlet.

"you need a ladder" love this line

love this bonding session with George although the question "dreamed of coming to London with" feels like there should have been an interaction before?

George calling out Lockwood for naming Lucy in the news (and Lucy eavesdropping)

love the training session

Barnes is a little shit and I love him though something needed to be done to set this scene up better

I love this bit between Lockwood and Lucy its so well acted and i love the music

love this fight and swong (a forest by the cure) sword chains and umbrella

I love their reactions to revealing the necklace and the censorship.

episode three

i love the delivery of "see a man about a ghost"

why so intense an eye contact in the elevator? (sister is wondering where they found the silvertongue to get Lockwood out of the book whilst holding Hollow Boy again)

how loud are Lockwood and George yelling?

I want to know all about Ellie

missing scene: how they find their house after DEPRAC breaks in the door (+ what DEPRAC finds)

love the delivery of "looks like blood"

thoughts: should have put the screaming in the screaming staircase (the chanting works but when we hear the word screaming we think of screaming)

like that the both save her from the well

love the sparkles as the grenade goes down the well

the goggles are great. I love the show of Annie's ring flying through the air as her ghost emerges.

love Penelopes coat

and Lockwoods ring (sister: love George's sticky fingers when he gets displeased)

missing scene: when did the certificate come up? he mentioned it happend in the van but how would that have happened without Lucy noticing?

episode four

the glass on the side was that warm Ribena but you know no longer warm? who wrote the notes?

love the little fish thing in the kitchen

I adore this exchange and George's "you good Lockwood?"

"do you remember us carrying you?" always have this in my mind "to me to you to me to you" but I must wonder how they carried her there is a few stairs between the basement and the attic

again love this bit and hype up Lucy time.

Flo reference

where's the uniform? considering how annoying the three are good thing there is no way to identify them properly? or nah? also the discreet part will never not be hilarious

"no backbone" love that coming from the older man who can't see ghosts and has to rely on kids then to say that about them

Lockwood "I'll protect you" show (not sure where I was in the Hollow Boy at this point but "come off it Luce you know I'd die for you" pipeline)

the bone glass design is really nice. I love how taken aback Lockwood as seeing the bullet wound

Bickerstaff looking imposing was something they did well. and the music when Lucy springs to action (after having a startling realisation)

I love this bit with the skull how soft it says "oh you can hear me"

Love George and his delivery of "is it talking to you know?" is so funny.

missing moment: "would never bollock [lucy] like this" feels like there is a lot more context there

also imagine if at the end of the fight (just so Lockwood barely hears it) Lucy mutters to herself "should be used to people not listening to me" and it comes up much later (angst what can i say)

cosy quilt. and love this little moment of Lockwood approaching the landing door and touching it then nodding

this would have been a great time for her to bring up Jacobs/ her mum but Lockwood needed his moment to share a little of his pain as well so I'm not mad. also the focus on their hands is so cute.

"I'm not sure what i should" Lmao Lockwood

I wonder what George would have said if he were there?

How long was Barnes standing there and George being startled is so funny.

love this little contest between Bobby and George

I love Barnes telling the two groups to back each other up and in the last episode they finally do it

love the delivery of "walking appendix"

random funny thing: "not filling out more forms" why is that lockwood? hmm... also in the credits there are listings for the ghost performers but i didn't get a chance to properly look

[dumpsterfireofsubtext]

Top 5 warrior nun fanart!!!!

Oooooh great question!!! in no particluar order:

1 @cronchy-baguette this beauty that bought a print of and have on my wall

https://www.tumblr.com/cronchy-baguette/702299303205617664/just-the-warrior-nun-and-her-sister-warriors

2 anything by @sango-blep but one of my faveeees is this one bcos it’s just so tender and oouughgghh it’s makes me wild

https://www.tumblr.com/sango-blep/704449441206272000/the-leftover-doodles-of-this-whole-tipsy-avatrice

3 THISSS SOMGNGFHFH THIS by @terrornothorror it is Beautiful

https://www.tumblr.com/terrornothorror/708097397320974336/reach-out-and-touch-faith-your-own-personal

4 this one by @whatevertups bcos it never fails to make me giggle <33

https://www.tumblr.com/whatevertups/703444005583798272/surely-the-nuns-of-all-time

5 alllll of @vitlzd stuff is so cool!! This one made me laugh so hard but there’s also so many pieces bits of artwork too!!! Mwah incredible

This is by no means a finite list. There are toooooo many talented ppl on tumblr to count. RB and tag with a link to your faves if u want to bcos I have definitely missed some ppl and this post is getting long.

honourable mentions for artist in general. Including, but not limited to, WN : @princington @kashlat2 @/ metaldamage on twt @grechkathekasha @thekeythief @kangaruthi @smallandsundry and so much more oh my oh myyyyyyy!!!!!!!

[echoesofwisdomcountup]

169 Days since Tears of the Kingdom Released. I truly love that Link can just eat rocks. The rock hard food animation is great. Cronch cronch.

[siderods]

OC Post 8 - The Traveller

Another possible Doozy, The Traveller is an episodic anthology universe where every "Episode" centers around its own self-contained story, with the linking factor being a mysterious steam engine known only as Mutt. Because of the nature of this universe, i'll jot down a description of each "Episode" and then describe the characters. So let's begin!

"Chomping At The Bit" - The introductory episode. A Sharknose diesel has somehow found his way to the Rio Grande, and he desperately wants a promotion from his current lowly position. Mutt decides to help the poor engine by mentoring him on some basics for a few days, but also not letting the shark grow attatched to him. The episode contains a few vauge hints to Mutt's mysterious past and why he's a drifter.

"The Amazing Technicolor Paint Job" is a very loose adaptation of the musical of a similar name. Joseph gets a new coat of paint with some interesting properties, but it leads to him being exiled by the others out of jealousy until it saves them all big time by providing a temporary tourist draw when the freight work dries out. In the story, Mutt consoles the exiled switcher and helps him take pride in himself once more, before leaving with a mysterious warning about the upcoming crisis.

"Brotherly Love" - A PRR M1 named Maxwell is being followed by one of his deceased siblings for no apparent reason. Maxwell unravels the mystery behind his deceased sibling, and confronts him on the bridge. Mutt shows up as cameos throughout the episode but most notably appears near the end when he pushes a line of cars into the posessed M1, stunning it and saving the MC, who was about to get cronched. After that, the Entity is banished and the dead M1 is properly put to rest.

"High Class Pooch" - When Mutt comes across a particularly rough-riding P30CH, he takes it upon himself to help the poor engine out, while also accidentally revealing some interesting truths about his own past.

"Hound Dog" - A 50's story of a bitter rivalry between two Union Pacific giants - a Big Boy and a first generation GTEL. The two engines are very competitive over the concept of modernization, with Mutt initially helping the Big Boy as the two try to prove the other as a fraud. However, when the Big Boy tries to get Mutt to directly sabotage the GTEL, it reminds him of some of the reasons he gave up his old life, and Mutt, seeing the writing on the wall for both of them, leaves to two to quarrel on their own.

Some of the characters appearing in these stories are as follows:

Mutt - This engine is like a weird stray that keeps turning up in random places, a mysterious drifter who usually does a valiant act before disappearing somewhere else before he can be fully identified or rewarded. Some say that he has a secret hideout or a home base to fall back on, but nobody has found it yet.

Reese - An enthusiastic but troubled diesel that Mutt comes to the assistance of, this Sharknose becomes a fish out of water upon inexplicably ending up on the Denver & Rio Grande Western. While eager to prove his worth, he has issues applying himself to his work, which he ultimately overcomes.

Joseph - A small diesel switcher graced with a unique paint scheme that has interesting properties around cameras. Despite being humble and agreeable, his coworkers eject him from their shed until he proves his worth when a decline in goods traffic makes his unique draw become the only thing to keep their railroad afloat.

Rueben & Simeon - A 45 tonner and a Model 40 respectively, these two were rather jealous and stand-offish when Joseph received his new paint, going so far as to kick him out of the roundhouse they lived in.

Maxwell - A rather regular M1 still reeling from the sudden loss of his brother, Maxwell soon finds himself entangled in a plot of posessons, ghosts, and demonic entities. He soldiers his way through and is ultimately able to find peace for himself and his brother.

Marley - Formerly Maxwell’s closest brother, Marley unfortunately suffered a catastrophic internal mechanical defect and passed away suddenly. After becoming a restless spirit when his dead body was taken over by a strange entity to stalk his brother, he is eventually able to pass on in peace when the entity is banished and his brother is able to come to terms with his passing.

The Entity - An entity taking on Marley’s body, preventing his soul from being properly put to rest. His motivations for stalking Maxwell are unknown, but he is swiftly vanquished regardless.

Papillion - Another troubled diesel that we see Mutt assist, this P30CH is very eager to work but struggles with getting excited and distracted, leading to derailments.

With all the charactes out of the way, have a super duper secret lore moment!

"..."

"Y'know, I was a high-class pooch once."

"Wasn't the life for me. Too many.. fake people."

"I don't mind my current lot one bit."

"Because what I do now is real work."

To end off, have a Cronchy photo of Mutt.

I hope you enjoy these guys. I have so many ideas with this concept.

P.S: Very ironic that the character who canonically does funny things to cameras is also messing with tumblr's formatting lol

[cronchy-baguette]

Any chance we can get prints of that amazing warrior nun running drawing? Would love to support you!!

Everything's on my inprnt! Here's the link: https://www.inprnt.com/gallery/cronch/

[ladiemars]

hihihihihi omg can i ask what brushes u use?? me likey the cronch

i have a kajillion billion procreate brushes and i looked all over for where my realistic 2B pencil brush came from but i couldn’t find it ….. and the creator wasn’t in the metadata …… so i decided to just upload it to google drive for you 🤭 here’s the link

[r0achezz]

D:

Salt and Scales

Whump Rating: 3/5 TW: mention of injury, blood, being underwater...? Ravio's fine though. AO3 Link

Why Ravio is on a boat is paling in comparison to Legend’s current worry; the storm. Waves crash and roll on the jagged rocks and wind whips the hair in his eyes. The water is stirred to a dark, frothy anger. Salt spray coats his face with each gust.

Most worryingly, the sharp spikes of stone poking from the water show how shallow this area is. The boat may not have a deep bottom, but it’s not made for this kind of weather. Ravio isn’t made for this kind of weather.

“Rav!” Legend cups his hands, trying to shout over the wind. “The rocks!”

The merchant glances in his direction, squinting against the spray of water. Can he even see Legend on the shore?

“You need to steer around the rocks!”

There’s no steering the small boat, though. It rides each wave, knocking Ravio down until he clings to the sides. The small sail catches every blast of wind and tips—nearly over. Water floods into the boat before it rights itself.

“Ravio!”

There’s nothing Legend can do from shore; no item that will help him get the merchant to safety. The Chain is back at his house; he headed out to meet Ravio alone. It was supposed to be a nice surprise. Not this.

“Get out! Ravio, get out!” Where can the merchant go? The water is too rough for swimming and the rocks will bash him either way. Still, just in case, he should take off his robe. Cut down on the items that will make him sink.

Goddesses, Ravio is always touting some item or another. Doesn’t he have one now that can help?

The boat rides up a wave and wavers there. It nearly slides backward before it tips over and crashes into another trough. The height of the waves is growing; Legend loses sight of the boat when it dips.

The waves are carrying the boat closer to the rocks and Legend slips as he trots along the top of them. Barnacles scrape his ankle and he hisses, sparing precious seconds to pull himself free. He pulls off his belt and tunic, trying to keep an eye on the boat.

There’s a good chance he’s going to end up in the water; Ravio will likely need help. Never mind that the thought of the storm has him shaking with adrenaline and remembered panic.

“Ravio!”

“Link?!”

The boat is close enough for the merchant to see him and Legend waves wildly. The rain stings as it cuts through his thin undershirt. “The rocks!” he shouts, and points.

The boat is inevitably being pushed in and every drip brings it closer to the jagged shoreline.

Ravio swipes at his face; his hair is black it’s so soaked with seawater. He clings to the edge of the boat and leans forward. The wave dips, then rises, before sliding into the next trough. It’s enough time for him to see the danger.

“Link!” This time, his call is shrill with fear. “What do I do?”

Legend opens his mouth, then shuts it again. What is Ravio supposed to do? What can he do? “Just hold on and—”

Whatever half-brained idea he’s about to suggest is broken off. The boat rises but doesn’t crest the wave. It slides down, backward. The next wave is already curling over; a wall of water.

“Ravio!” Legend reaches for him, even though it’s pointless. For one, terrified instant, their eyes meet.

Then the wave crashes over the boat. It doesn’t come back up again.

The water is too shallow for Legend to dive—not without risking his head. Instead, he thrashes through the waves, feet slipping without grip as the waves surge around his legs. If he’s not careful, he’s going to be pushed right back into shore.

Doggedly, he fixes the boat’s last location in his mind. The merchant might make it back up, but if he hit his head or got stuck, he’s going to need help. Too many things could have gone wrong for Legend to stay on the shoreline.

The pull of the water nearly tugs the vet off his feet. He’s shivering; the water is freezing. None of it matters, though, because he needs to get to Ravio.

Finally, the yank of the waves and the depth are too much to keep feeling along the rocks underwater. Legend watches the waves, times them, and dives forward and through the next.

The force of it pulls him backward, but he kicks anyway. Then the motion ebbs and he makes some progress. He makes it through another wave before he comes up for air. The water is dark; far too dark to see what’s below him. With another breath, he dives back under. He could be inches away from hitting rock, or feet.

Ravio, where is the merchant? Where is the boat? He comes up for a breath, but he times it wrong and a wave splashes into him. Salt water floods his mouth and nose. Legend is stuck coughing, trying to tread and keep his head above water. Another wave rolls over him, forcing him down.

Memories of the storm that landed him on Koholint lick at the tops of the waves. Are the flashes of light from lightning, or just his imagination?

Legend sucks in more air and dives, right before a larger wave rolls over him. He’s made it out a fair way. He should be close, right? Back up he goes, splashing and judging the shoreline to where he saw the boat go down. Yes, he should be close.

Salt water stings his eyes, but he keeps them open when he dives. This time, he aims down rather than further out. If Ravio is out here, he should find the wreckage of the boat.

It takes less time to reach the bottom than expected; it is still shallow in areas down here. Dark shapes in the water reveal more sharp rocks. Where is he? The vet didn’t miss him, did he?

Wait—something floats by in the water and he grabs at it. It’s a rope and a tug shows it’s still attached. It could be wreckage, but it’s the best lead he has. Steeling himself for the inevitable pain, Legend prods at the magic of the mertail.

His legs join and morph, covered in more muscles and scales. Immediately, he’s able to steady himself against the tug of the current. The gills on his chest open, sucking in water to replace oxygen.

Legend coughs, even though all it does is pull in more salt water. The mer spell is meant for fresh water. While he can use it for a limited time in salt, the gills of the spell are not made for these conditions. Already, the delicate edging is starting to tingle. Soon, the gills will be inflamed. He has to find Ravio before they shut down altogether.

A powerful kick of his tail propels him further down and he slides one hand along the rope, following it. His eyes still sting from the salt, but the mer spell enhances his eyesight enough to make out more shapes. This is the wreck of the boat. Only…where’s Ravio?

Seaweed flutters along the edge of the boat where it’s flipped—no, that’s not seaweed. It’s Ravio’s beloved scarf. Legend swims closer, heart kicking up. The merchant’s been down here too long without air. The mer gills protest the abuse of the saltwater; tingling shifting to burning.

The boat flipped when it sank and the scarf disappears underneath it. Ravio must be trapped. Legend pushes at the edge of the boat, then shoves. It barely rocks; not enough for him to flip it.

Stealing himself, he coils his tail beneath him. Scales scrape on the rocky bottom and he’s going to bleed from this, but it doesn’t matter. Legend pushes with all the power in his arms and tail. Delicate scales rip away as they drag over the rock, stinging as saltwater rushes over the scrapes. Still, he pushes harder. The boat lifts slightly.

Legend extends upward and he can see Ravio now; unconscious, but there. Only, he doesn’t have a hand free to grab him. A surge of the wave pulls at the boat, now lifted enough to catch the current. Maybe…

It’s a terrible idea, but the vet is running out of options. His gills are screaming at him and he’s getting short of breath. The saltwater affects the ability to turn it into oxygen for his body, besides burning like a poker.

Still, he pauses, tail and arms trembling. Legend counts out the waves. A larger surge comes and he pushes up with all his might. Immediately, he lets go and darts under, grabbing Ravio and dragging him out. The boat catches the tug of the current and lifts a little higher, before sinking back down.

Legend kicks his tail as hard as he can but still shrieks when the boat slams down on his fin. He’s pinned, thrashing, and something is cutting through delicate tissue. Blood clouds the water. He doesn’t have time for this!

With an internal whimper, the vet yanks his tail toward him. The fin tears, slicing around whatever caught it. His scream warps underwater.

Gills burning, tail bleeding, and running out of air, Legend grabs Ravio’s limp form and swims for the surface.

The vet has to transform to get Ravio up the rocks to his bags and healing supplies. The injuries will transfer and he takes a raspy breath before pulling the mer spell back in. It’s a good thing he is half-crouched in the water because otherwise, the pain would send him to his knees.

Saltwater stings every cut and scrape and his right foot…well, whatever damage was done to the tail transferred to his foot. He’ll take care of it. As soon as he gets Ravio out of the water.

The merchant is heavy; limp and waterlogged. Legend takes a step and sobs; he’s not going to be able to walk on his foot. Fine, he can crawl. He’ll be careful. Slowly, each step an agony of burning and pain, the vet hauls himself and the merchant up the rocks. At least he dropped the bags as close as he dared to the waves.

His coughs and his lungs burn. The vet’s chest is tight and the saltwater still seems to be inside him. Maybe it is; in this situation. Finally, he lets Ravio slump on the rock and digs through his bags. At least he has a fairy and some healing potions.

The fairy is dumped out over the merchant and it flutters in the wind for a moment, before spinning down and dusting healing magic.

Ravio is still for long enough Legend starts to doubt the power of the fairy. Then he coughs, rolls on his side, and retches seawater.

The vet slumps on the rock, heaving a wet sigh of relief. The merchant will be okay. Now, he just needs to take care of his foot and they can leave this goddess-forsaken rock spit. Legend examines the injury as dispassionately as possible, trying to channel his inner Hyrule.

The tear in the fin transferred to hanging flesh on his foot. Is that bone?

Nope, forget Hyrule, Legend is channeling Sky. He dives for his bag and pulls out another healing potion, guzzling it even as his stomach protests. It sets to work and, while not enough to fix all the damage, it’s enough to return his foot to the correct shape.

“…Link?” Ravio’s voice is wrecked and his eyes steam tears, either from the salt or the panic of the situation.

Legend’s answering smile is soft. “You’re okay. I got you.”

The tears increase and the merchant throws himself into Legend’s arms with a sob. “I almost lost you!”

“I know.” The vet might be in pain; might be terrified and likely to have nightmares about this for weeks to come, but it doesn’t matter. Ravio is safe and when the other option is him dead at the bottom of the ocean? Well, it’s not really a choice at all, is it?

Legend squeezes his friend tighter. “Let’s go home.”

[dogsgone]

//concept: wolf link cronching on some nice cronchy ice cubes

[aetherspoon]

A not-so-simple relocation, day 4/5/6

Last time, we had the adventures in trying to pay for things part one (and yes, there will be a part two!), how the mass transit of Bergen works, and walking uphill.

The next few days were planned on Day 3, basically. We talked things over with my friends about what made the most sense to do when based on weather and so on. The plan was that one day we'd rent a car to drive up to where @kriatyrr lives to pick up things along with some furniture from IKEA, but it didn't need to be a specific day. It happened to line up where Friday was the better day for the car rental and everything else revolved around that. So, without further adieu...

Day 4 - Time to be a tourist.

The first of these days was a nice tourism day. I badly wanted to go to the Akvariet i Bergen (Aquarium of Bergen), as I went a looooong time ago once and it is kind of one of the more impressive things to do while out and about.

We saw some seals, sea lions, reptiles, amphibians, many many different fishies... and penguins. Including a BEBBEH PENGWING!

After that, we walked back through a nice neighborhood to get back to the main downtown area.

Our next stop was the Fisketorget i Bergen (Bergen Fishmarket), a public market for fish directly next to where all of the tourists get out of their cruise ships. They have two shops there specializing in fish and fish accessories - one of which is this nice restaurant called Fish Me (site in Norwegian, but if you click Meny (menu) you can find a menu in English). This is literally the only time I've gone out to eat in the first week that I've been living in Bergen (although I have ordered delivery a few times) and I don't think I can ever financially recover from this it runs a bit on the pricey side. I had a salmon burger.

Don't get me wrong, the food is good, but this is a "once every few years" type of place. The bill for the five of us ran north of 2000kr (close to 200 USD) for the five of us.

Final stop was going to Nøtteblanderen (link is Norwegian-only) - the nut mixer. Kriatyrr and I originally visited this place when I went on my trip to Stavanger, only to discover that it was freaking delicious and they had just opened up a location in Bergen. This was actually my SECOND trip of the week to the nut mixer, but the first with Kriatyrr and all of my friends in tow.

After collectively spending almost as much money as our dinner, a trip back home because we knew the real bad day would be next.

That night, we finished our bingo game of "spot the different types of boats going by the apartment" with the sighting of a freaking SUBMARINE.

Day 5 - I did warn him about the driving.

I first woke up to the sounds of Zoan's feeder opening... and some cronching going on. He's finally starting to eat, hooray!

The morning started off fine - I decided to be lazy while my friend went out to the airport to rent a mid-sized SUV. You see, today was the day of two big tasks - driving out to my partner's house (a decent distance to the North of Bergen) to pick up some more things from their place and the furniture trip to IKEA. Four of us went, one stayed behind to pet kitties.

As usual, it is time for an aside. Norwegian roads are very different from American roads. I'm hearing a "no DUH" from the audience, but let me explain some more.

In general, Norwegian roads operate much slower than American ones. The standard highway speed limit is 80 km/h, which equates to about 50 mph. There are a couple of roads with higher speed limits, but we weren't on any of those. Sometimes those speed limits drop to 50, 40, or even 30 km/h (30/25/20 mph, effectively) depending on whether you're in a residential area, hazardous area, and so on.

Tunnels are plentiful, especially on this part of Norway, as if you didn't notice there is a big ol' mountain range going right along the coast. The area is gorgeous - I'll be uploading many photos to Flickr later on - but they kind of don't mention one thing.

How narrow the lanes are.

You see, this area drops quickly down to one lane. Not one lane in each direction, one lane total. Going through tunnels that way even.

My friend who was driving was already getting super nervous at this point. Mind you, I warned him well before the trip that this was super narrow and he can absolutely just say no to this part of the trip. He was also playing up his nerves quite a bit... well, until it got even narrower.

This part of the road is literally narrower than the walking path that went up to a block away from my house in Madison. It would go around mountain corners this narrow as well, and if there was oncoming traffic? Well, one person needs to either pull over or throw their car in reverse to the most recent area wide enough to let another car through.

Google Maps claimed the trip would take 2h 13m. The Norwegian government also claims these roads have a speed limit of 70 km/h.

I think it took us a bit over three hours to get there without any stops.

After that was the return trip. Just as many white knuckles on the way back, only this time my friend who was driving was also pissing off the locals by driving 40 in a 70 km/h zone during "rush hour" (I think we saw a dozen or so cars total off of the highway). I still don't entirely fathom going that fast down a one lane road even if it is in the middle of nowhere.

IKEA was the next stop on the trip with our rental land yacht Toyota bZ4X. IKEA for the Bergen area is located in Åsane, effectively a northern suburb of Bergen. On the way there, I received the notification from my phone I had been waiting for - Zoan finally ate some food while I wasn't there. He was returning to normal, double hooray!

IKEA is, well, IKEA.

We bought a few things along with two sit-stand desks; one for me, one for Kriatyrr. We then went home - Kriatyrr and the friend driving in the SUV, another friend and I taking the bus because we couldn't fit all four of us plus all of that stuff in the vehicle. I busted out my new board game and read the rules.

Day 6 - Lazy day board gaming and building a desk.

This was the last day my friends were in town. Originally, we had plans for going up Fløibanen - a funicular that went up to the top of Mount Fløyen, which has some nice hiking areas and a gorgeous view over the city of Bergen. Those plans were kind of dashed by the traditional weather of Bergen (have I mentioned that I live in a literal rainforest?) and the general feelings of exhaustion.

Instead, we played a board game.

I didn't mention this back on Day 3, but when we were out and about in downtown Bergen I stopped by a store called Outland. It is a chain of geek stuff stores - M:TG, board games, roleplaying supplies, manga, anime, figurines, a play space for such things, and so on. In fact, this store was one of my requirements in Bergen - I wanted to be able to reach the store in around half an hour so I can potentially have a social life. Anyway, when we visited I picked up a new board game called Dorf Romantik. It is based on the video game by the same name (which in turn is really similar to Carcassonne the board game).

Dorf Romantik is a cooperative tile-placing board game for 1-6 players with a campaign mode, basically. You try to make pretty landscapes; basically similar to Carcassonne but without the stupidly-competitive parts of the game. I tend to strongly prefer co-op games in my multiplayer and my board game collection is currently on a truck to Los Angeles before getting on a slow boat here, so I wanted to have something.

My friends (Kriatyrr opted out of playing) played several games of it this day. Verdict: it's good!

In between rounds, we worked on building my desk. It wouldn't be too hard to build if it weren't for the fact that it required several tools... and we have no tools here. Had, I should say, since we had to go out and buy some to assemble this beast. I'm typing from this desk right now, in fact.

Next up, Oslo still not having their shit together on Sundays and the utter disaster that my friends went to, plus dealing with Norwegian holidays.

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