#This was originally an 'extra' for Community Appreciation Week 2017.

[sy5starplaty]

Is that me being chased down by a werewolf? Yeah. And that's how you'd behave in that situation, no? The situation being me being chased down by a werewolf. Mm-hmm. And that's Jeff locking lips with Annie. Mm-hmm. Yeah. You're a fool.

[theonetheycallhannah]

The Treatment of Captain Syverson-Chapter 13: SNAFU

Characters: Captain Syverson, various original minor/supporting characters.

Summary: Sy has some time to think about his past, present, and future while roughing it in the Virginia wilderness which leads him to a revelation about what he really wants…but is it too late?

Need to start from the beginning? Miss an update because Tumblr? Click me!

Word Count: 4.7k

Warnings:  Mild language, mature themes, military and weapon terminology, discussion, and use. (For those who don’t know, SNAFU is a term coined in the military. It’s an acronym for “Situation Normal, All Fucked Up.” And since this is from Sy’s perspective, I thought a military term, as opposed to a therapy term would be appropriate.)

Author’s Note: Despite this being the longest chapter, clocking in at almost 5k, it was one of the easiest to write, and came the quickest. I love writing from Sy’s perspective, and the pure love he has for Shane. I’m hoping to be able to write a bit more of his POV before the story is complete. We’ll see. I apologize if it seems like one long rant about Sy’s feelings…I guess that’s what it is, with various activities peppered in. He can be a sensitive guy, and I wanted to show that. 

Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, Henry is not mine, le sigh, and all mention of him, his characters, any characters from his films, or his precious doggy, Kal, are strictly for transformative and recreational use. I neither ask for, nor accept payment for the work I post on Tumblr or AO3. Unbeta’d because this is for fun and escapism.

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Hope I’m not forgetting anyone! If you want to be notified when I post a new chapter or work, I’ll be happy to add you to my tag list! Stricken blogs are getting personal messages from me when a new chapter is uploaded because Tumblr’s faulty tagging system will not stand in the way of me delivering what the people want!(?) lol! (Although…their lackadaisical notification system might…sorry for that. I have no control. lol!)

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Sy was no whimp. That much was certain. Missouri winters had toughened him up more than most men in his battalion and most of the participants in the training he was currently undertaking.

But it was more than that. Sy was uniquely prepared for the elements. He remembered a particularly harsh December night during Christmas break, before he joined the service when he was home alone and had to let the dog out. Fool that he was, he wore no shoes. Greater fool, he'd allowed the door to the back yard to close…and unfortunately, it had a tendency to lock. Which it did. He tried fruitlessly for a while to break back in, but being without a cell phone, he knew he'd have to walk a good distance for help with the lock.

He slipped out the gate and started up to the road, to follow it  to his grandparents a few miles away. The county road wasn't the best kind for walking, particularly barefoot in the late fall, but his feet were soon too numb to feel the gravel and whatever else was lacerating the soles of his feet. After about an hour, he made it there, shivering, knocking frantically and waking his frail old grandparents up to rescue him from his own negligence. He'd regret that until the day he died. Not that they were angry about it. They shrugged it off. His grandma cleaned the blood and dirt from his feet and bandaged the shallowed abrasions. They didn't look too bad, considering the area they lived in and the trash that could have been waiting to carve him up. Then she set about cleaning up Sy's messy footprints from her normally immaculate floor. Grandpa looked all over for their spare keys to Sy's and his mom's house, and finally found them. He lent him a pair of shoes, drove him back home, and let him in the house. After that, Sy found himself eager to spend time outdoors during colder weather. As if determined to build up a tolerance to it in case he ever found himself in such a situation again.

Now, despite the time of year being only late August, it was unseasonably cool, especially at night, as if Christmas was right around the corner, and Sy was wishing more and more that he had someone to cuddle with during the nights he'd be doing cross country training here at the beautiful Shenandoah National Park. He had packed only the essentials for the expedition, a mess kit, bed roll, canteen, modest rations, first aid supplies, et cetera, plus a rope and a tarp for building a shelter. On his person, he had a compass, a topographical map of the park with checkpoints indicated, waterproof, strike-anywhere matches, a hunting knife, a tactical knife, an M17 pistol, and three .9mm clips. He was also given a flare gun to use in case he got stuck for any reason and needed extraction.

On his first night in the wilderness, he'd taken a lot of time falling asleep. Thinking.

He thought about his last week at home. He wondered how Mr. and Mrs. Stevens were doing with Aika. Shane had offered to watch her, and he considered it. He had appreciated her eagerness to help after her…less than enthusiastic response to hearing about this trip. But he decided since Aika had a close relationship already with Fred and Caroline, and she was still getting to know Shane, they'd better be the ones to take her. She understood, and had offered the second reason that since she worked so much, she wouldn't be able to give her the kind of attention she was used to. That had made a lot of sense. He felt like kind of a bad dog parent for not thinking of it, himself.

He thought about the week he'd been here already at the compound. His first day filling out paperwork, he was asked for an emergency contact. He was used to putting his mom…but she wasn't in the best of health, herself. He had nobody. Nobody but Shane. He put her down, instead of his mom. He thought about the seminars on company approved methods of subduing and detaining targets and combatants. He should have taught Shane some self-defense moves before he left. She could handle herself, and she'd proven so, but still. A refresher, or an advancement on one's skills was always a good idea. But he was sure she'd be fine. He thought about her the most in the torturous policy and procedure lecture. What he wouldn't'a given to have her here with him. She would have made everything fun. And she would have been a way better study partner than Keith. Keith, a Navy vet from Little Rock was a good guy…he just…didn't get Sy's jokes. He was a very literal kind of thinker, and it took extra effort for Sy to communicate with folks like that.

Shane, though…he and Shane wouldn't have gotten too much done, study-wise. They would have been…distracted.

As he hiked along the trails to his first checkpoint, he breathed in the clean, crisp air and stopped at the odd overlook here and there. The park was nestled on the outer edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and they were too gorgeous not to appreciate while he was here. He found himself…uniquely emotional. He didn't feel lonely often, but since he'd met Shane, he'd hardly gone two days without seeing her, even if it was for just an hour. She'd love all of this. She'd probably want a tent, and coffee in the mornings, so they wouldn't be able to travel quite as light, but they'd make it work. Maybe one day they'd take a trip like this. Just for fun. No checkpoints. No deadlines. No semi-automatic weapons…well, honestly, he'd probably still bring a gun, anyway. You never did know about people these days, he thought. Of course, that's probably what people think of me carrying a pistol, he also thought…anyway, he was almost to the checkpoint.

Said checkpoint was a big tent, like the ones they sold fireworks out of leading up to Fourth of July. Inside there was a single lane shooting range set up down one half of the tent. On the other half, there were stations set up with dismantled weapons that you had to assemble in a certain amount of time. Someone had beaten him to the range, so he started with the guns. No problems whatsoever. He was familiar more or less with all of the models, or some version of them. When the previous participant, a small blonde woman, had finished on the range, Sy stepped up to the counter.

The attendant reset the target for Sy so he could do a close range shot, then again for mid and long range ones. He shot well, although he still wasn't used to the lighter weight of the SIG Sauer M17s the armed forces switched to back in 2017. They'd offered him an M18 at the compound, but he favored the heaver pistol, instead. Maybe the M18 was more packable, but Sy just didn't feel right firing a weapon that felt like a feather in his hand. If it was up to him, he'd take a Colt Python .357 Magnum Revolver. That, however, was more than just a question of how the firearm felt in his hand. Being out in the wilderness like this made him think back to how it must have been before these lands became civilized and gentrified. Back to the days of the cowboy, Wyatt Earp and the OK Corral. Back when it was just the wild and free land he could pretend it was now. He thanked the attendant, who was writing his name on his targets to take back to the compound along with his graded weapon assembly timesheets, and then was back on his way.

There was an eerie beauty about this unsullied land, he thought, as the dusk fell the second night of the excursion and he began setting up his camp about halfway between the first and second checkpoints, by his estimation. With his fire built and his shelter up, Sy took out some of his rations, cured meat, hard cheese, and some walnuts, and had a light supper before cleaning his gun and turning in while the ground still held some heat from the waning sun, wishing again as the cold set in that his woman was there to warm him.

His sleep was fitful. And he awoke before dawn, from dreams he couldn't remember but which still left him feeling empty. They must have been about her. He was starting to feel regret. The last time he'd seen Shane, he'd said some things that he meant to be selfless. But he didn't mean them. He meant the parts about loving her, of course. But the last thing he wanted was to come home and find her moved on with someone else. He couldn't stand to think about it. As he walked into the next checkpoint area, the range was already set up for close range firing. He riddled the target with .9mm holes and could barely wait until the attendant got the fresh sheet set to mid range before he began firing.

"How about you let me fully clear the lane before you start on the long range target, okay, Syverson?"

"Sorry, man. I'm a little…on edge today. Won't happen again."

The short, sandy-haired buck trotted out to replace the riddled sheet with one more for the long range leg, pulled it down and lacked it in to long range position, then hoofed it back up to safety, sensing the captain's impatience. Sy shot cleanly, but with cold anger, as if the silhouette on the page out there was trying to take Shane away from him. He put two square in the chest, and two in the head without hesitating.

"Man, I've never seen a long range shoot like that! What's the deal, you pissed at an ex, or something?" Sy checked the man's lapel for a name tag.

"Not exactly, Mister…Daniels."

"Call me Jack." they shook hands, and Sy chuckled, questioning.

"I'm Sy. You're name is Jack…Daniels?"

"Yes sir. No relation to the Lynchburg Daniels, unfortunately. Momma wanted to name me after her granddad, and my old man, well, he had no problem with it given his affinity for the spirit."

"A wise man, your dad. Some of my best nights have included Tennessee Number 7." He didn't elaborate, but he was getting very specific flashbacks of drinking games in his kitchen with Shane. And he was gonna have to shake it off before the weapons assembly drill, or else he'd end up putting together an assault rifle backward.

He made it through without any trouble, thank the good Lord. But that didn't mean that his mind wasn't still reeling. He was thinking of Shane and the possibility that she was being courted by Chris Evans look-alikes and young Harrison Ford doppelgangers, and it was making him furious. He was pretty sure that she was about as interested in taking a break as he was, but he couldn't help himself from making the offer under the circumstances. He kicked himself as he made his camp for the evening, not very far away from the third checkpoint, but too far away to get there by dusk when the daily deadline was. He was a shoe in to get there first in the morning, though, if he was reading his map correctly, and he was damn good at maps, if he did say so, himself. And who would bitch at him for bragging out here, anyway. The odd cricket or squirrel? He didn't think so.

It was colder tonight, and he was thankful that he thought to boil some water for his canteen and put it at his feet. He curled his surly, burly body up under the layers of blanket and thermal sheeting. He was almost warm enough…but he still needed something.

His sleep was plagued by strange dreams that he unfortunately remembered tonight. The scene began with Shane in a bright pink dress and matching gloves, dripping with diamonds, like Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She looked so glamourous and beautiful, but she was getting passed from man to man to the tune of Madonna's Material Girl, which was not the correct song, and he knew it in that moment, but couldn't correct anyone, because it was all playing out on the big screen TV in his basement. When he realized this he turned it off and noticed a familiar head of hair on his lap and stroked it, about to say "Hey, sunshine." until the figure sat up and looked at him, and it was Jordan, the PTA, batting his eyelashes at him, and asking, "You ready for bed, babe?"  The therapist leaned in for a kiss, but Sy leaned back, tumbled off the couch and landed on those crutches again, standing right in front of Shane in the lobby of the therapy clinic.

"Hey sunshine." he said warmly. She looked confused.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Well…I should hope so…it's me. Sy."

"Sorry, not ringing any bells. I'll look you us and see who you're with, though. Usually Heather tells the new patients which therapists they get their first day. What's your last name?"

He felt like he was getting kicked in the gut with a soccer cleat worn by the Incredible Hulk. He answered with defeat.

"Sy's a nickname. Last name Syverson, first name Logan."

"Oh, there you are. Looks like Cory gets to take care of you today. I'll let him know you're ready. As long as you're all done with the secretaries?"

Sy nodded and collapsed to the floor blacking out. When he woke up, his neighbor, Mr. Stevens was standing over him, insisting it was time for him to get ready. He kept handing him things to put on. Pants, a nice shirt, a vest, a light blue tie, a jacket, nice shoes. The whole enchilada. They got out of Fred's car at a little white chapel outside which, his neighbor pinned a small boutonniere of powder blue hydrangeas to his lapel and walked in with him.

"Come on, boy. She'll be here any minute."

Sy was nervous, but excited. He was obviously marrying Shane. But he couldn't remember proposing, or planning the wedding, or an engagement party, or bachelor party, or rehearsal dinner, nothing…but none of that mattered. He heard the first notes of "Here Comes the Bride" and everything faded away, anyway. He began to cry as she got closer. She was moving slowly, he presumed out of nerves. Or perhaps she'd chosen the wrong shoes. It didn't matter. They'd dance the night away barefoot, and make love until dawn. He wished her veil wasn't so thick. He couldn't even see her bouquet. Let alone her stunning face, no doubt smiling as she cried with him. When she stood in front of him, he broke protocol and removed the veil to find Aika in a white dress on her hind legs panting, tongue lolling happily to one side.

"You may now kiss the bride." said the wizened old minister, causing Aika to knock Sy to the ground licking his face until he blacked out again.

This time, he woke to the chirping birds of a mountain morning in Virginia. His campfire long snuffed, his canteen now chilled as his blood. Those dreams…those were traumatic. He didn't want Shane to see anyone else. The thought of seeing anyone else himself repulsed him. Thinking about what his life would have been like if they'd never gotten to work together made him physically ill, and he was terrified that if he didn't act on these feelings, he'd end up with no one but his dog. Why did it take a trip out of state and all these nights of solitude to figure this out? She was all that mattered. He could dig ditches, flip burgers, get a teaching certificate and coach, or teach gym. Whatever. He also liked history. He could think of something if the people at Secure Source couldn't keep him in consistent work. It would be fine. He understood his purpose now. And it wasn't just to do his duty to his country. He'd served proudly for years. He had a new purpose now. And it was her.

He packed up camp in what he was sure was record time and hauled ass to the last checkpoint where the brass should be waiting for finishers. He was the first one there this morning, but he wasn't sure if anyone had made it yesterday. He didn't try to make small talk with the attendant today. He was on a legit mission to get back to his locker at the compound, turn his phone on and call Shane. He fired four shots, but only made two holes on the long range target. One in the chest, one in the head. The attendant was impressed, giving the highest possible grade.

"Man, Syverson. I pray I never do anything to piss you off."

Sy nodded in acknowledgement and went on to the weapons drill booths. Today, there were distracting sound effects playing on a speaker in each booth, and each one was different. Sy ignored the cacophony, pretending it was white noise, and focused on the puzzles at hand, breezing through the new weapons in better time than ever.

As his cards were being scored and turned in for review to Jane Freitag, the administrator over acquisitions and training, he got himself a cup of coffee and a doughnut, and just observed her, tactically, and objectively. She was a redhead with sharp features, freckles, and light eyes. She was slender, but dressed simply, and modestly. The consummate professional. Sy had honestly barely registered her gender, and it wasn't because she wasn't beautiful. She was. Full red lips, lashes for days, and although her clothes didn't exactly accentuate her shape, he could tell he had a decent figure. He just wasn't interested. And would never be interested in anyone but Shane again. Miss Freitag startled him out of his thoughts.

"Mr. Syverson." She beckoned him to the entrance to the tent near her vehicle.

He picked up his gear and coffee and trotted over to her.

"Ma'am?"

"Jane, please."

"Sy, then, for me. What's next on the agenda?"

"Well, you're the first participant across the finish line. I'm very impressed. It seems as though you almost could have finished last night."

"Yes, ma'am, if I hadn't taken a little extra time for sightseeing, I might have made it here by dusk last night. I just haven't had the hustle I had today."

"Well, that's nothing to sneer at. Normally, the deprivation of food, regular water supply, and proper sleeping conditions make participants sloppy. The opposite seems to be true for you, as you've done better at each checkpoint than the one before. Now, let's get back to the compound and get you a proper meal, and a shower, and talk about what's next for you here at Secure Source."

"Yeah, about that. Before we go much further with this, I need to know one thing."

"What's that?"

"I need to know if you'll be able to find me work near enough to St. Robert and the base there so that I don't have to relocate and travel all the time.  I've got a life there, and…it's not something I can just pick up and move on a whim, and I don't want to be away for weeks and months at a time. I know I made this trip work, but I'm praying it didn't already ruin everything." He wasn't going to waste time mincing words. He needed to know right away or else this wouldn't work.

"Sy, with your talent…they're gonna want to put you on the high profile cases. Celebrity security. Concerts, movie premiers, things like that. You'll be wasted as a small town rent-a-cop." there was true concern in her face and her voice as she drove them out of the park and onto the main road to Secure Source's compound.

"If there's a need I can fill, how is that a waste? There's lots of talent in this program. Just 'cause I finished first don't mean I did it the best. And I'm sure most of these folks have the people skills to take them farther'n me. And if you wanna gimme first crack at those, I'll hear ya out. Just…let me reserve the right to turn down the out of town jobs. Especially if they're short notice. And if it takes me away from another security job, I want you to send me a replacement a few days in advance so I can meet 'em, train 'em, and introduce 'em around."

"Seems reasonable." Jane said.

"Well, alright, then. I think we got ourselves a deal. I'll shower up in the locker room real quick, then meet ya in the commissary for a sandwich so we can handle the particulars?"

"Sure, Sy." she agreed as they pulled into the parking structure.

They went their separate ways, Jane to her office, and Sy to the quartermaster to return his supplies and get the key to his locker. He practically danced there, he was so giddy to get to call Shane. He did need a quick shower first, though. Which he took, grabbing some shampoo and soap out of his travel bag. When he got back to his locker, towel around his waist, he replaced the products and grabbed his phone. He sat on the bench between the rows of lockers as it booted up.

When it did, it began alerting him as if it's life depended on it. Three text messages, three voicemails, … and twenty four missed calls. That was odd. Maybe a telemarketer had gotten his number.

He checked the texts first. One was a picture of Aika from Fred, his neighbor, the other two were from Shane…two days ago. The day he went into the park.

Hey, hope you have a great first day of Survivor: Virginia! Lol! Be safe! I love you!

OMG, nutty day today! I'm gonna be doing notes for hours! I'll text you in the morning! <3

And then nothing…he chuckled at Survivor: Virginia, but was a bit concerned. Maybe she'd decided not to waste time texting him if he wasn't going to respond? He didn't know. Maybe some of the calls or voicemails were from her. He'd check before calling.

One from his mom, one from the Stephen's house phone, and the rest were from Fort Wood Therapy. That was weird. He was discharged and didn't have any appointments…surely he wasn't missing any…Shane would have said something. He listened to the voicemails. The first one was from Heather.

"Hey, Sy, it's Heather, Shane's friend here at therapy. Hey, give me a call when you get this. Thanks."

Weird…the next one was from Susan, Shane's boss. In the same tone.

"Captain Syverson, it's Susan DeForrest here at Fort Wood Therapy Clinic. Please give us a call when you get this. Thank you."

Again, weird. The last one was Susan again and far less friendly and measured.

"Mr. Syverson. I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but you need to bring Shane back to work and stop screwing around. One or both of you is in serious trouble. Either you're being hot-lined for abduction or she's fired for not showing up for work. The choice will be hers." and the line went dead.

Sy felt his stomach twist into nauseated knots at Susan's words. Shane hadn't been to work. For how long? He had to call them. He didn't want to think about the horror that might have befallen Shane while he'd been away.

"Fort Wood Therapy Clinic, this is Heather, how may I help you?" Heather said, trying to hide the obvious worry beneath the cordial demeanor.

"Heather, it's Sy, what the hell's going on with Shane? What do you mean, she hasn't been to work, I don't…"

"Let me give you to Susan, Sy. I'm sorry." She added the last two words in a whisper. After a brief moment on hold, Susan picked up.

"So, Mr. Syverson. Finally decided to call us back?"

"Cut it out, Susan." He let her blatant ignorance of his rank slide in favor of getting to the point. "Tell me what's going on."

"Shane left work Monday and hasn't been back since. No one has seen her. Apart from you, I presume. I knew letting her date a patient would come back to bite me. I should never have--"

"Shut up! This isn't about you, and it isn't because of you. And you had no right to tell Shane who she could and couldn't date, anyway. I haven't seen her in about a week and a half. I'm training out of state for a job. I've been away from my phone since Monday, and I just got back to it now."

"She isn't…with you? I assumed…"

"Well, you know what they say, Susan. I'm coming back early if I can manage it. See if I can do something to help find her. Thanks for calling me. I know your intentions weren't the best when you did, but ultimately, it worked out. I may not have found out otherwise, at least until… much later."

He hung up before she could respond. He had to talk to Jane about cutting his training short. This was all his fault. If he had just come to the realization of just how important, how vital Shane really was to him before he left…well he never would have gone in the first place. She was his life now. His world. His future, and his whole heart. Tears stung his eyes as he dressed to meet Jane in the commissary. She'd have to be okay with this. She'd have to understand.

As he got closer to the smell of fry oil, seasonings, and sizzling meat on a griddle, aromas that usually made his stomach grumble with hunger, he had to swallow back the bile that crept up his throat. He found her seated at a small round four-top, already eating a salad. He sat across from her, startling her from whatever she was reading on her phone, and again when she looked at his expression and complexion.

"Sy, what's wrong? You look downright green!"

"Listen, Jane, I'm going to have to leave training early." She scowled at him, but he was more concerned with the putrid smells of boiled egg and onion coming off her chef salad. He had to get this over with quick before he wretched in the middle of the mess hall.

"That's a big ask, Sy. Gonna have to have a reason."

"I just got a call that my girlfriend is missing. I need to go home and help find her."

"Oh…yeah, that's…that's some reason. I'm really sorry to hear that. Any leads so far?"

"No, I just got off the phone with her useless boss and all she told me was that she hasn't been to work since Monday and can't be reached on her phone. I have my suspicions, but I wanna talk to the authorities."

"Okay, well. Maybe when things calm down at home, we can set you up with some online courses like we do for our assets who need refreshers, but are on assignment. I'll approve that for you."

"Thanks," he said, gratefully, "I'm also wondering if the company has any…transportation solutions for me…of an immediate nature?"

"Man, what were your letters to Santa like as a child?"

"Oh, you know, a little red wagon, end of poverty, world peace…that kind of stuff." he grinned his most charming grin.

"Why am I not surprised? Okay, but you have to return the favor somehow, Sy."

"How about, one assignments of your choosing, no questions asked?"

"Hmmm, what about five assignments?"

"Three?" he countered.

"Done." they shook hands across the table. "I would have settled at two." she smirked.

"I would have done ten." he winked at her as he turned to retrieve his belongings from his bunk and locker. He had a plane…or perhaps a chopper to catch.

Up Next: Chapter 14: No Call No Show

[kingofthewilderwest]

Don't worry, I take over my sleep time to read and write fanfictions. I wouldn't have time otherwise! I have an entire Word page with only links to fanfictions I still have to read! And it's all right to not read fanfictions if you don't want to. It's just an hobby among others. Anyway, you wrote fanfictions?? Now I'm curious, could I have a link, if you don't mind? Have a good night too and sorry for my grammar mistakes, english isn't my first language (btw, thank you for the likes

From this. Sorry I’m slow replying!! thanks for your wonderful messages! :)

No worries about grammar! Your English is great, and even if it weren’t, that’s no bother to me either. :) The fact that you’re communicating in a language that isn’t your first… just means you have extra skills and are even more awesome! :) 

I love how dedicated you are to looking at others’ fanfictions, even creating a Word document page to make sure you remember them. That’s beautiful and cool. And I’m getting curious about what you’ve written, too! 

Thanks so much for asking about my fics - this touches me! Sure, I’m happy to share! I tend to post all fics on tumblr and FFN, with FFN being my primary hub. On tumblr I use the tag #my fanfiction and tag all stories by their title. My FFN profile is kingofthewilderwest.

I’m so so so so so SO touched when anyone reads or interacts with my fics (though since I write casually, I ask no constructive criticism

THE VIGILANTE’S WAR

HTTYD. YEAR: 2014. LENGTH: 57,110 WORDS. A mysterious, antagonistic dragon rider dubbed “the Vigilante” crosses paths with Hiccup, and her increasingly violent actions appear to be leading to war against Berk. 

He tightened his hands, loosened them again. Breathed in, breathed out. He could feel himself stooped in the dirt, his shoulders hunched over his head, his knees buried in the ground and tucked underneath his torso. His neck was bent low close to the earth, providing him a good view of his hands and the ground and nothing else.

Well, and the blood.

That can’t possibly be all mine.

- PROLOGUE: FROM OUT OF THE HAZE

HTTYD 2′s original drafts had Valka as the main antagonist. I found this so interesting that I decided to rewrite HTTYD 2 - with a few of my own spins - on this concept. One of my most well-known fics, “The Vigilante’s War” is where I’ve gotten the most thorough reviews and most emotional reactions.

THE VIGILANTE’S LEGACY 

HTTYD. YEARS: 2014-2016. LENGTH: 20,546 WORDS. There’s been four years of war between three factions. Drago’s army. The Vigilante and her dragons. Berk and their allies. But now, Chief Hiccup believes there’s a way to end the conflict. Sequel to “The Vigilante’s War.”

Hiccup spoke up. Cleared his voice. Tapped his pointer finger apprehensively on the cell’s iron door. “You said we were making a mistake.” Might as well speak straight to the point of his visit. “Something about ‘you and every one of your warriors are making a mistake’ or – or something like that.”

For a moment Hiccup wondered if Valka actually would reply. The calculating gaze she gave him from the corner of her prison certainly did not seem a positive sign. However, then, with a steady, lilting cadence to her voice, she succinctly affirmed, “I did.” Just those two words. Nothing more.

- VIII. THE MISTAKES OF WAR

It’s unfinished; I haven’t updated because I ran out of steam and didn’t receive enough reader feedback encouraging me to continue. Though I did have a very vivid final chapter in mind… that I still love… which I never got to…?

MEMOIRS

HTTYD. YEARS: 2015-2016. LENGTH: 44,289 WORDS. My ongoing collection of drabbles for HTTYD. Angst, pain, comfort, humor, crossovers, crack, it’s all there. Favorites include “Family Portrait,” “Stubble,” “Buffcup the Brawny,” and “Remember When.”

He held her hand softly, one wrinkled hand laid gently on top of another. It was just her and him now in the house all alone – for their children had left on a voyage with the grandkids, and would not be back for a week yet, if even two. It evoked the quietness of the old days, back before they were old, back during the times when they were newlyweds and younger even than their grandchildren were today. Oh, but the smell of her hair was just as refreshing now as when it was blonde.

- REMEMBER WHEN

DINNER AT DRAGON’S EDGE 

HTTYD. YEAR: 2015. LENGTH: 5,452 WORDS. The gang’s settling in at Dragon’s Edge. To make sure everything operates smoothly, Hiccup suggests a chore rotation system. That means everyone has to do their fair share of the cooking… but it doesn’t mean everyone is a fair cook.

“Oh my gods, is this dinner or what the rats threw away?” Snotlout exclaimed, terrified at the Unidentified Edible Object before him.

Tuffnut picked it up with one experimental hand and held it out before him at a safe distance. People would have held poisonous snakes or bloodied torture devices more cheerily. Squinting his eyes and peering carefully at the peculiar specimen pinched between his fingers, rubbing under his chin with his other, free hand, Tuffnut remarked, “Looks something like what Barf and Belch poop out after they get sick and…”

- 1. ASSIGNING JOBS

This humorous fic I think is where I do best capturing HTTYD character personalities and interactions.

[SUPER]HERO THE HARD WAY 

HTTYD. YEARS: 2014-2017. LENGTH: 86,566 WORDS. In a modern world where Berk is full of superheroes battling the League of Outcasts, power-less Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third struggles to receive appreciation for who he is. Through his crime-fighting journey, Hiccup learns that, while he might not have powers, he can become a Hero the Hard Way.

“I wasn’t born with anything. Don’t have anything. I’m the son of Chief Stoick “Skullcrusher” and I don’t have anything. Not even a superpower to turn objects purple. Which frankly would be completely pointless but at least it would have been something.“

He realized he was babbling and promptly shut his mouth. He looked over at Fishlegs, who appeared to be wordlessly processing the information. The teenager appeared baffled moreso than anything else, which at least meant he was not outright rejecting him.

“So you’re going to train to be a superhero… and you don’t have any powers? I got that right?”

“You got that right.”

“Wow.” Fishlegs said.

Hiccup waited for more.

“That’s actually really cool.”

- CHAPTER THREE: SIDEKICKED

This started as me intending to write one crack chapter. It turned into me envisioning a ROB / DOB modern AU where all characters were superheroes. The final product became a retelling of HTTYD 1′s basic concept: Hiccup gaining his peers’ approval despite being different. Somehow, despite me 70% adlibbing by the seat of my pants (should I be admitting this?), I had great fun. And it brought in the most reviews, follows, and favorites of any of my posted stories! Thanks for the reads and support, everyone!!!

RESET OR RESUME 

UT. YEAR: 2016-2017. LENGTH: 85,841 WORDS. Gaster’s research unlocks the secret of time travel. After the Royal Scientist’s untimely end, one of Gaster’s colleagues - Sans - finds himself with the power to Reset. Confronted with unpleasant timelines and dangerous choices, Sans must decide how to navigate through time… if it’s worth resetting for a better future, continuing with hope for the present, or simply giving up.

No longer timid and silent, the human happily babbled all sorts of nonsense to Sans, everything from how to bake snow pies to how weird Sans’ skull looked to how beautiful the ribbon in their hair was to their opinions of Papyrus’ ‘battle body’ to how their mom didn’t like the color black to their personal opinion of ferrets to a long narrative of their encounter with a snail-loving old lady they met on the other side of the Ruins door. Everything could be the topic of a conversation. There was no filter and even less sense of restraint for this child.

“How are you a SKELETON?” their happy little high-pitched voice squeaked. They flew gallantly over a twig that rested, flat, on the surface of the snow. Powder flew everywhere as they landed heavily into the snowbank. “That means – that means you should be DEAD, you know!”

“who says i’m not dead?” Sans trolled with a wink.

With a shrieking giggle, they exclaimed, “Don’t be silly! Only ghosts are dead!”

“i could be a skeleton ghost.”

“No you – no you can’t.” The human seemed to be quite confident about their knowledge in paranormal metaphysics. “You can be a skeleton. You can be a ghost. But nobody – NOBODY – can be a skeleton ghost.”

“is that so?”

“YES so! You CAN’T be both. That would be wrong.” Maybe the human mentally categorized skeletons and ghosts as separate Halloween creatures, ensuring they were mutually exclusive concepts. It was always challenging to comprehend a child’s train of logic. “Except…” and now the child paused, leaning down and tugging at the sleeve of their sweater. Something thoughtful – at least as much as one so young could be thoughtful – passed over their eyes. They cocked their head to the side and stared at Sans. In the same sort of innocence with which they had talked about ferrets, the human inquired, “…can ghosts also be dust?”

- 5. KNOCKS [[File 5.2 IH-20150701-3-3]]

I have particular fondness for this fic. I spent more energy and care with this than any other I’ve posted. Drenched it through with UT lore. Edited and revised thoroughly. Had two beta readers examine my ASL for accurate representation. I wrote extensive outlines that were several page long color-coded charts, had all this meticulous structuring going on…

The problem was, this was an impossibly ambitious project. Life got in the way, too. The 85,841 words here aren’t close to the end of Part 1. The final two Parts were going to explain the weirdness within Part 1 (the story doesn’t begin in chronological order - it gets pieced together like a puzzle). What I planned to write would have included a complex characterization arc for Sans, every human child that’s visited the underground, and multiple resets containing main character deaths… until the story would end with Sans confronting Frisk in the Genocide Route.

Hopefully, despite the incompleteness, this is enjoyable from its comedy to its angst! I would at least encourage people to read the first few chapters! Or “Socks” - an entire chapter devoted to Sans and Gaster pulling sock pranks on each other.

SOMEHOW THEY’RE STILL OFFICERS

FMAB. YEAR: 2018-2019. LENGTH: 6,036 WORDS. Ahhhhhh yes. Team Mustang. The hand-selected, elite group of military officers who effectively spend their time… doing nonsense. 

Everyone was scrambling at once. Mustang rushed forward to greet their guest, perfect composure only broken by the fast pace at which he moved. In fact the colonel’s posture was almost a proud enough display to make his lack of shirt go unnoticed. But Falman chucked his cards away at the same time he tried to salute; Breda was ducking from Falman’s sudden card shower; Fuery was launching pants and underwear in Havoc’s face; and Lieutenant Hawkeye, obviously abashed to be in this room at all, was covering her eyes with her hand in what was either her life’s longest sigh, or a pathetic attempt to hide her face and identity.

- WE WERE JUST PLAYING CARDS

My collection of FMA drabbles, particularly stories of Team Mustang shenanigans. Prompts / requests welcome for more adventures!

I have a few other drabbles posted, too. I also have unfinished chapters of Voltron fanfictions on my computer that I could share, too? Maybe I should? I’m currently working on several Royai fanfictions, other FMA drabbles, and a longer Deponia fanfiction.

Thank you again for being so nice and connecting with me over fanfiction and fandom and FMA and more. You’re a really wonderful and cool person and you made my day.

[burton11richardson-blog]

Ark Desktop Wallet Download

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[callioope]

Another two months, it must be time for me to do an Iceberg post again. Yeah, I’m still here. Haven’t really made much progress, but still here. (Wedding planning is rough, and my wedding is in October. Literally only have 2 free weekends between now and then.)

Writing

Here are things I am currently working on, in order of priority:

1. Learning Curve | due ASAP, like, basically yesterday | current status:

Chapter 3: 10,160 words, with beta

Chapter 4: 1,298 words written, plot outline is complete

2. Rebelcaptain Food Travel AU - Turkey | due Nov 4 | current status: outline

3. How to Lose a Spy in 10 Days - sometime this coming winter

it’s very weird because this idea has been at the back of my mind since even before the Rom Com Challenge was started in June 2017 or whenever, but for some reason it’s proven very difficult for me to write. I guess it’s a little outside my comfort zone, which is a good thing but makes for slow going.

I do have a ton of other ideas that are sitting at the back of my mind that I want to work on. Maybe I’ll try to make moodboards or something first before committing to writing the actual story. Some of the ones I’m more excited about (which means, the ideas that distract me from brainstorming/plotting the ones listed above)

A Revel with Some Rebels - Luke/Bodhi meet cute fic inspired by ‘Helpless’ from Hamilton

Action Figure Prison Heist - when I opened my Elite Series action figures I photographed it like Jyn was breaking out of prison and rescuing Bodhi and Cassian. So I have all the pictures done, I just want to edit them and I have no idea what the best way is to present them. I took over 160 (some are different angles of the same shot so there will be some weeding)

You’ve Got Mail - in universe AU. Back in December an anon left me a very nice prompt which was to write an AU based on your go-to comfort movie. So I’m taking the general story of You’ve Got Mail and making it another Jyn-and-Cassian meet earlier kind of thing. Jyn runs her own rebel cell and Cassian, representing the Alliance, starts recruiting on the planet she’s holed up on. Also, somehow, they’ve been communicating anonymously (and knowingly as rebels, giving each other advice and so forth) but I haven’t really worked that part out yet.

But I have a list of over 30 ideas so who knows which particular one will strike my fancy whenever I have free time again.

What are your creative anxieties? And, more importantly for the purposes of this discussion, how do you cope with them?

(Apparently their are questions and challenges and prompts to these now -- which is super awesome -- but this is the first time I’m able to participate so cool.)

So. What are my anxieties? Ha. Everything. Probably. I’m a walking stressball of anxiety, just in general.

As far as writing goes, I’m constantly anxious of “is this a good way to phrase this? is it clear and understandable? does it flow well? is it a trope/cliche or is it unique and different?” I majored in Creative Writing so I am very particular about that, which means I’m the kind of writer that tries to edit as she goes, which impedes progress. Part of the reason this happens is because if I write something “incorrectly,” it might impact events later, particular with regards to a character’s internal logical reasoning. 

To combat this, I try to plan and outline extensively before I begin writing, I daydream a lot. I’m always trying really hard to get into the habit of writing drafts first and editing later. Keyword, trying. It’s difficult. Productivity hours have, in the past, been super helpful for me when I give myself a word count target, because it limits my available time to edit. I haven’t done any of these in awhile but they were helpful when I was doing them.

I’ve written about this before, but I felt kind of guilty writing after my dog died. That honestly just took time to grieve and move forward, coping wise. 

I have a lot of anxieties about posting, of course, because who doesn’t? I usually squeeze in an extra round of copyediting as I’m posting on AO3, then I hit that post button and flee. Close my browser. Do something else, do not look at tumblr or AO3 as much as possible. 

Then I check in and feel really sad. Contemplate quitting the fandom in general. Don’t write for several weeks. 

Eventually my imagination sets in again--when thinking about rebelcaptain and fandom doesn’t just immediately make me sad--and try to remind myself that the reason I write is because there’s a story inside me that needs an outlet, needs to escape my mind and exist somewhere on paper, even if it’s just for me to read and be like, oh yeah. This is fun. And try to remind myself that this fandom is small and shrinking and I don’t generally have the desire to write the fic that are popular/mainstream and writing the stories that compel me is just good practice. That as long as I’m writing something, that’s what matters. The end goal is really to keep me writing, to keep the muscle working, and ultimately find the inspiration to get back to my original works eventually, anyways.

Reading

So, I know I have not been super active in reading and commenting on fics this year. I have been commenting on every fic I have read, so if I haven’t commented, I haven’t read it. I don’t have much time and I squeeze reading in when I can. 

I do have a vague list of fic that I’ve been meaning to read, it’s sort of loose depending on whether I feel I have time for one-shots or chapter fic. I’m making my way through it somewhat sporadically, when I have the time, which, I’m sorry, is unfortunately very limited at the moment.

Commenting/Tumblr Notes

I’m very behind on responding to comments on AO3 -- I don’t particularly even go on AO3 often tbh -- and also I think I have a few tumblr notes from last week to respond to. I wasn’t quite sure how because any kind of social interaction leaves me overthinking what I should say, but I have off tomorrow so I might try to respond to some things tomorrow. Anyways, point is, I see y’all who have interacted with me and I appreciate you reaching out, I’m just being an awkward turtle about what to say in response.

[mexhunter976]

Dwight's Second Life

Dwight Second Life

Dwight's Name In Second Life

Dwight Schrute Second Life Quote

Dwight's Second Life Episode

Everyone's favorite workplace comedy, The Office, is now on Peacock! Watch the mockumentary sitcom about the everyday lives of the workers at Dunder Mifflin, a paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Second Life is an online virtual world, developed and owned by the San Francisco-based firm Linden Lab and launched on June 23, 2003. It saw rapid growth for some years and in 2013 it had approximately one million regular users; growth stabilized and by the end of 2017 active user count had declined to 'between 800,000 and 900,000'. In many ways, Second Life is similar to massively multiplayer. Describes Second Life,1 an online virtual community.2 Dwight explains that he “signed up for Second Life about a year ago” because “back then, his life was so great he literally wanted a second one. Absolutely everything in Dwight’s Second Life was the same. Except in Second Life, Dwight could fly.”3. Dwight also acts as the Lancer for Gail in her leadership of the Old Town girls. Gail's more vengeful and murderous than Dwight's strategic approach, but Gail's unquestionably in charge and Dwight doesn't forget it for a moment. Woody plays this role against his friend Eric in Quantum and Woody. In Runaways Nico was originally this to Alex. Second Life is always wonderful, sometimes weird, and 100% wow-worthy. Explore Now Remote Meetings Redefined Make meetings fun again with virtual hangout spaces, classes and conferences. For over a decade, leading companies and educators have trusted Second Life for branded social spaces for events and remote meetings.

Second Life is not a game: it is a multi-user virtual environment. It doesn't have points, or scores, or winners, or losers.

'Oh, it has losers,' our somewhat geeky hero Jim states, watching his co-worker and erstwhile beet farmer Dwight play Second Life. The Office has also prominently featured Call of Duty in a past episode, so having the sitcom wander into the world of gaming isn't a big surprise. While the appearance of Second Life may seem random in last night's episode, if you think about it, the story is pretty sad.

Dwight just lost his girlfriend after mercy-killing her cat Sprinkles, and now has to watch one of his co-workers put the moves on her. When this all gets too much to handle, he retreats into Second Life, where his name is Dwight Shelford, his job is selling paper, but he can fly. It's like role-playing yourself with one notable super-power.

It's a game reference that's in-character, makes sense, and is also strangely bitter-sweet. This is yet more evidence that Second Life is the lamest game with the absolute best PR team.

Frank's Thoughts

As though I didn't love The Office enough as it is, the nods to the gaming world are much appreciated. I'm glad to see the show tackle games that aren't necessarily the 'obvious' choices: god forbid World of Warcraft makes an appearance. I will say this, though: not having hour-long episodes every week makes me sadface.

By/July 8, 2019 5:43 pm EDT

The Office may have shut its doors in 2013, but Rainn Wilson's hilarious portrayal of Assistant (to the) Regional Manager Dwight K. Schrute remains a part of the pop culture consciousness. After all, Dwight is a hard-hearted geek, a wannabe martial artist, a neo-fascist salesman, and an absolute lapdog to Regional Manager Michael Scott, and Wilson's performance created one of the most well-loved misanthropes in TV history.

Initially based on Gareth Keenan (Mackenzie Crook) of the original UK version of The Office, Schrute went on to become his own unique freak. He's the kind of guy who distrusts everyone but Michael, yet he's willing to believe faxes from Jim Halpert claiming to be Dwight from the future. He's loud, intense, and a hilarious collection of complex contradictions that combined to make one of television's most memorable dunces. However, even though Dunder Mifflin might have closed down a while ago, there's still a lot you might not know about the owner of Schrute Farms. From who almost played the character to the ways art wound up imitating life, here's the untold truth of Dwight Schrute.

Dwight Schrute could've been Seth Rogen

Dwight Schrute and Rainn Wilson seem as inseparable as beets, bears, and Battlestar Galactica. As difficult as it is to imagine anyone other than Wilson playing Dunder Mifflin Scranton's fire safety chief, it's utterly impossible to contemplate what would've happened if one famous comedian who auditioned for the role had actually gotten it.

In 2013, the final season of The Office was released on DVD, and included in the extras is a short video revealing some of the actors who auditioned for the series. Among other noteworthy surprises, Bob Odenkirk of Better Call Saul fame auditioned for the role of Michael Scott, Kathryn Han tried out for Pam, both John Cho and Adam Scott took a crack at Jim Halpert. But perhaps most surprising of all is that Seth Rogen tried his best to land the part of Dwight Schrute.

We don't see much of Rogen in the clip. He talks about the benefits of cleaning someone's wounds with urine, and then the video moves on to Odenkirk doing Michael Scott. But what we do see of Rogen makes it clear he wouldn't have been within a galaxy of the same character Wilson gave us. Reading the same line, Dwight would be obnoxious and condescending, speaking as if he were delivering the lesson to a child. Rogen seems absolutely likable, not very bright, and not at all Schrutish — kind of like Kevin the accountant if he knew a few more factoids and was awake for more of the day.

Rainn Wilson wanted to be the regional manager

Throughout the course of The Office, Dwight Schrute both worships Michael Scott and has ambitions for his office. And in one of the many ways in which life imitates art, Rainn Wilson didn't initially audition for the role of assistant (to the) regional manager. He wanted to be the big dog himself.

Much like Bob Odenkirk, Wilson went into his audition taking aim at the role of everybody's favorite regional manager, Michael Scott. Alas, it wasn't to be, possibly because, as Wilson puts it, his audition amounted to a 'terrible (Ricky) Gervais impersonation.'

Considering how amazing Wilson is as Schrute, as well as Steve Carell's success as the equally clueless Michael Scott, it's probably for the best. It might be interesting to take a peek in the alternate reality where Wilson got cast as Michael Scott, but it's not interesting enough to stay there. Although, we'd definitely love to hear that Gervais impression.

Both Dwight Schrute and Rainn Wilson have the strength of a little baby

When Michael Scott calls his employees into the conference room for an impromptu group therapy session in season three's 'Grief Counseling,' Dwight Schrute tells one of the most insane stories to ever come out of his face. While most of the office is tight-lipped, Dwight volunteers a grotesque tale about his birth. He claims he shared his mother's uterus with a twin, but that he 'resorbed' his counterpart, effectively killing it. Schrute says he doesn't regret the in utero murder because it gifted him with the superhuman 'strength of a grown man and a little baby.'

It doesn't seem coincidental then, that Rainn Wilson takes the first five paragraphs of his 2016 memoir The Bassoon King to describe the 'doughy giganticness' of his head at birth. The first line of the book reads, 'I had the biggest, fattest head of any baby that was ever born into the human species.' He describes his infant dome as a 'white, bloated, Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade head,' says he looked like 'Louie Anderson with the head of E.T.,' and describes his younger self as a 'Jabba the Hutt-like infant that sounds like a calf being strangled by an octopus.'

It doesn't seem like a huge leap to imagine Wilson has a few issues with his family's baby photos, and that those issues were possibly reflected in his character's story about 'resorbing' his twin like a tiny cannibal.

Dwight Schrute almost took us to The Farm

In January 2012, Deadlinereported NBC was considering an Office spin-off with Rainn Wilson starring as Dwight Schrute. The Farm would've been a family comedy in a setting Office fans had grown familiar with over the years: Schrute Farms. Among others, the series would have featured Matt Jones (a.k.a. Badger from Breaking Bad) as Dwight's cousin Zeke, veteran character actor Tom Bower as Dwight's Nazi Uncle Heinrich, Thomas Middleditch of Silicon Valley fame as Dwight's Bigfoot-hunting brother Jeb, and Venezuelan-born Majandra Delfino as Dwight's sister Fannie. Of course, Michael Schur would reprise his role as Dwight's creepy, neck-bearded cousin Mose.

For better or worse, The Farm wasn't meant to be. In October 2012, Wilson tweeted the news that NBC had passed on the series, although he'd 'had a blast making the pilot.' The pilot for The Farm was then recut as a single Office episode in the show's final season. But would that story have worked as a full-fledged series? It's hard to say, but Vulture writer Matt Schimkowitz notes that Dwight's popularity came mainly from him acting as an antagonist to Jim Halpert. Making him the lead in a comedy series about a disjointed family that he's expected to bring together changes Dwight's role dramatically to 'the likable hero we've never seen.' In other words, maybe it's best that we never visited The Farm.

Dwight Second Life

Schrute Farms is real.. sort of

When Dwight lures Ryan to his farm in season three's 'The Initiation,' it's little more than a beet farm where teens like to hook up. But by the time Jim and Pam visit in season four's 'Money,' Schrute Farms has been transformed into a bed and breakfast. In spite of a slight overabundance of manure-related activities, Pam and Jim leave a glowing review for Schrute Farms on TripAdvisor. We're led to believe this is mostly because the couple feels sorry for Dwight after being subjected to the loud, sorrowful moans he falls asleep making every night since his split with Angela.

If you're an Office fan this is all old news to you. But what you may not know is that while The Office is over and The Farm never got to materialize, TripAdvisor has made Schrute Farms a reality. Sort of.

That's right. TripAdvisor maintains a page for Schrute Farms, listed as a bed and breakfast in Honesdale, PA. Apparently, you can actually book a stay there, though, we have no idea where you go if you bother doing that. The farm currently has over 1100 reviews giving it a rating of 4.0 or 'very good.' Some of the more recent reviews include 'visitors' calling the farm's beets 'Elvis in plant form,' praising Dwight's power drink 'made from beet runoff,' and happily proclaiming, 'I couldn't have been more satisfied (that's what she said) with my stay.'

Schrute Space

From his obsession with having a second Second Life to his epic sales struggle with a (supposedly) self-aware A.I., Dwight is well-known for some of his online shenanigans. What you might not know is that Rainn Wilson used to maintain a blog in Dwight's voice. Unfortunately, it doesn't exist anymore, but NBC used to host Schrute Space, which let fans read Dwight's thoughts on different Scranton radio stations or his invaluable martial arts tips. While NBC eventually opened the blog up to the masses, it started as something that existed exclusively on the set of The Office.

The computers on The Office https://mexhunter976.tumblr.com/post/658079246720368640/go-to-spotify. 's set were networked together, and Wilson would write the Dwight-voiced blog while scenes were being the filmed so the rest of the cast could enjoy it. Wilson told The Morning Callthat during the filming of the pilot episode, 'The producers saw (the blog) when they walked by and thought it was funny.' A few emails later between NBC and Wilson, and Schrute Space was born. Now, if only NBC would bring it back, the world would be a better place.

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Dwight Schrute was almost assistant to the president

Over a decade ago, Senator John McCain — then the Republican candidate for the United States presidency — appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. When asked if he'd picked a running mate, McCain apparently didn't remember the character's name, but the senator joked his vice presidential pick would be 'that guy from The Office.' Host Jon Stewart clarified for viewers, 'You heard it here first, Dwight Schrute.'

About a week later, Dwight Schrute responded. Appearing as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Rainn Wilson read from a list addressed to McCain. Schrute agreed to be McCain's running mate, but only if his demands were met. The demands included a flamethrower, an Iron Man suit, government research into beets as an alternate fuel source, and the right to use Air Force One whenever he wanted (with the added note that, while he piloted Air Force One, he was only to be referred to as 'Iceman').

Dwight's Name In Second Life

Obviously, it was all just a joke, so we never got to see Dwight retool Mussolini speeches for press conferences at the White House Rose Garden. It's regretful not only because of the lost comedic potential, but considering who McCain ultimately chose as a genuine running mate, it isn't like Dwight could've done any worse.

The Bassoon King

In 2016, Rainn Wilson's memoir The Bassoon King: Art, Idiocy, and Other Assorted Tales from the Band Room was released, and like many nonfiction books, a different author was invited to write the foreword. Namely, the foreword is credited to 'Dwight Kurt Schrute,' and it's written entirely in Dwight's disdainful voice.

Schrute spends the first bit of the foreword discussing why he's agreed to write it, which he clearly doesn't want to do. He explains, 'When someone asks me to do a task, the first thing I do is determine whether the request is some sort of trick.' The job of writing the foreword survives his exacting vetting process only because Dwight can't 'adequately determine if this request is a trick.' He tells us he doesn't like The Bassoon King or any books that involve 'funny stories' regarding some stupid actor,' but he then proceeds to list a long number of exceptions (books by Charles Bronson, any Game of Thrones cast member, Sam Neill, Dolph Lundgren, etc). Dwight calls Rainn Wilson a 'laughable idiot,' and eventually reveals he has only agreed to write the foreword for the money.

Before turning things over to Wilson, Dwight gives us some other book ideas like Mennonite Ghost Stories, a 'fun games for kids' book titled Hold This Book over a Candle, and the revealing Conspiracy Theories: Who's Really Behind Them? Seriously, we'll take a whole book written by Dwight, please.

Dwight Schrute and the next generation

Even though he's gone, he's not forgotten, and the legend of Dwight K. Schrute lives on. On Halloween 2016 — a little over three years after The Office's finale aired on NBC — Jenna Fischer tweeted a photo sent to her by a fan of a pint-sized version of Dwight Schrute.

Dwight Schrute Second Life Quote

With a disapproving scowl and Schrute's signature hairstyle, Toddler Dwight wears a yellow short-sleeved dress shirt, a sticker announcing 'Hello, My Name Is Dwight Schrute,' and holds what is presumably a carefully grown Schrute Farm beet. Behind him, a blackboard leans against the wall and spells out one of Dwight's early and memorable lines: 'How would I describe myself? Three words: hard working, alpha male, jack hammer, merciless, insatiable.' Of course, if the young Dwight happened to put the words up himself, then his age and comparative lack of schooling gives him more excuses than the original Dwight for not knowing the difference between three words and eight.

Dwight's Second Life Episode

Even though it's one of the most popular shows on Netflix's streaming service, The Office will sadly leave Netflix in 2021. Still, it seems inevitable that younger fans will come to know the joy that is The Office, including the nuggets of Dwight Schrute's invaluable wisdom like, 'When someone smiles at me, all I see is a chimpanzee begging for its life.' Expect more unsmiling alpha males to become fans of the beloved beet farmer for years to come.

[littlefrostfox]

Twinkle Bells and Trimmings

Hi @cyanidelemonade !  I - @littlefrostfox19 on tumblr - am your @mlsecretsanta for 2017!

This is my first time writing a fanfiction with the characters from the amazing show, so I apologies profusely if they are out of character in any way. I do hope you enjoy this one shot, and that you and your loved ones have a wonderful festive season, and a brilliant 2018! :)

THERE ARE NO SPOILERS IN THIS FIC!

 On ao3 and ff.net

Twinkle Bells and Trimmings - A Miraculous Ladybug Oneshot

Word Count: 3′433

Rating: General / K

“What do you mean I have to be the one to deliver this to him?!”

As she and Alya walked out of the Dupain-Cheng’s bakery, Marinette stared down at the slightly heavy cane basket that had just been shoved into her hands. When Rose had come up with the idea of their class putting together Christmas gift hampers for Ladybug and Chat Noir, like all of her classmates, Marinette had been incredibly inspired by the project. As class president, she’d spent the last five weeks leading up to Christmas helping to coordinate everything in an effort to make it as festive as possible. They had even gotten some donations from other students at the school, as well as community members who had been impacted by the heroics of Paris’ protectors. Marinette had taken every job she’d been given in her stride, even the budgeting, which with her busy schedule both as Marinette and as Ladybug proving somewhat of a challenge to keep track of. However, it was the simple prospect of her having to give Chat Noir his personalised gift basket - as Marinette - and engaging in conversation with the slightly cocky and constantly flirting superhero, that made her the most worried.

“Come on, girl,” Alya told her, as she walked beside her best friend, her head snuggled in amongst her fur rimmed hooded coat. “If you really didn’t want this job, maybe you should have paid more attention during the last meet-up.”

Marinette sighed, as her mind floated back to the day of the mentioned occasion. She had been late to that particular meeting- it was the same time as the conclusion of a gruelling Akuma attack on the outskirts of the city - and when she had arrived, she couldn’t help but fall to a few moments of rough sleep. When she had been awoken by her classmates, asking her what she had thought of a decision, she quickly agreed with them, despite having no clue what they had even agreed on. Only now had she realised the true extent of her personal error.

“Remember, we thought since you were the class president, we thought it only fair that you have the honour of giving it to Chat Noir,” Alya continued. “If you weren’t busy yesterday, you could have done yours when me and Nino gave Ladybug hers. Shame you couldn’t make it…I’m sure you wouldn’t have been THAT awkward in front of Ladybug.”

“More like having to try and pull off being both Marinette and Ladybug at the same time…that would be beyond awkward!” Tikki whispered, the kwami snuggled in a hidden pocket inside Marinette’s christmas scarf, her words soft enough for only her chosen to hear.

Marinette laughed, both at the truth of Tikki’s words and the energy that was overflowing from Alya, her friend unable to keep still from joy. Giving Alya the duty of delivering Ladybug’s hamper to the super-heroine was an easy decision for the group, however it did cause a slight argument between her and Chloe early on in the project. The issue was quickly resolved by Alya’s quick thinking, the girl suggesting that Chloe hold all responsibility over Ladybug’s Christmas card, which she told Chloe was ‘the most vital part of the project’. Upon hearing this, Chloe soon forgot about not being the one to give the gift to Ladybug, already planning what she was going to write to her greatest idol.

“I wish you could have been there to see me give it to her. Luckily Nino filmed the whole thing.” Alya could highly contain her excitement, the memory of the moment still fresh in her mind. “She looked so surprised when I gave it to her! Nothing could happen that could ever ruin the best Christmas ever!”

Marinette had made sure to keep as much distance as possible from knowing the entire contents of the Ladybug side of the present, wanting the moment where she received the gifts as Ladybug to be as genuine as possible. But nothing could have prepared Marinette for how much each of the gifts and notes meant to her. From the home-made chocolate chip cookies, decorated with miniature ladybugs and white butterflies (made by her own parents), to the mix tape filled with original songs to Ladybug (coordinated by Nino), each gift was so well thought out and personal. Even Chloe’s card, which the normally snobbish girl had put some many hours of her own time into, had so much though, love and appreciation into it, the card including masses of messages from people who she had rescued from Akuma's or people whose lives she had changed just by existing. The moment Alya had given it to her, she had struggled to keep it together, the experience bringing tears to her eyes.

“Anyway, enough about my fangirl moment,” Alya laughed, breaking Marinette out of her daze. “Now we need to focus on finding where Chat Noir could be right at this moment.”

Before Alya could even get out her phone, Marinette spoke up. “He’ll be on patrol around the Norte Dame. He’ll be there until lunch, to when he either be heading to the outskirts near Versailles or the Champs de Mars.”

Alya glanced at her quizzically, her eyes wide with confusion and surprise. “And how would you know that? Don’t tell me you’re studying Chat Noir and Ladybug’s patrol schedule like you do Adrien’s, are you?” She raised an eyebrow, a smirk forming on Alya’s face when she saw Marinette start to squirm.

“W-What? No, of course I don’t know! It was just a guess, that’s all! An simple, normal observation!” she stuttered, growing flustered. “I just thought they could be there because…I saw them there…y-yesterday! That’s it! When I was….was going to find some extra…tinsel… for the bag trimmings, remember?” It was a in an feeble attempt to back pedal, not wanting her secret identity to be revealed, but luckily it seemed it to the trick, Alya soon laughing.

“I was just teasing you, girl! In fact, I think I’m more the one who verging on the side of stalking if anything to do with Ladybug is concerned….” Alya put an arm around Marinette’s shoulder’s, relieving the tension from Marinette’s face. She then pulled out her phone, opening an app which Marinette hadn’t seen before. “Max helped me designed it while he was working on the electronic message chips for Chloe’s card. Now I can have updates on Ladybug and Chat Noir’s location, and any social media information on recent Akuma attacks at the touch of a button! It’s just a prototype, but hopefully it could soon take the Ladyblog to the next level.”

Within a few short seconds, Alya’s phone buzzed again, a green dot appearing on the on-screen map. “What do you know…turns out your hunch was right.” As she put her phone away, she pointed across the road. “Looks like he’s around the Square René Viviani right now. Lucky for us we were headed that way anyway.”

As Alya rushed across the park, Marinette had a mental note to herself. I will have to keep that app in mind the next time I transform….as if keeping my secret wasn’t already hard enough…!

Despite the sharp winter winds that filled the air, and the recent bout of heavy snowfall, the Notre Dame still had a reasonable amount of people nearby, the wooden chalets of the Cathedral Christmas markets nearby creating almost a picture-perfect festive atmosphere.

When she had caught up with Alya, she discovered she had already locked her sights on Chat Noir. Not like it was every really hard to spot him amongst the crowds during his regular patrol times, even more so during winter, his black leather suit easily distinguishable against the city’s white snowy backdrop. For this particular instant, the superhero in question, who was just finishing up having a photo taken with a small girl and boy in matching reindeer costumes, managed to spot Alya and Marinette out almost instantly, soon walking over to them.

“Joyeux Noël Chat Noir!” Alya called to him, her phone tightly gripped in her left hand, ready to start filming at the perfect moment. “Quite a….festive hat you’ve got there!”

At the bringing up of the green, red and white swirly Santa hat he was sporting, Chat Noir grinned, adjusting it with pride. “Purr-fect, isn’t it?” He did a small spin, eager to show his festive present off.

“Why the hat Chatton…?!” Marinette muttered under her breath, her partner still wearing the same silly Christmas hat she had seen him keep on his head for the last eight patrols. Despite her constant pleas as Ladybug for him to wear something else, he continued to wear it. The feline hero had proclaimed that he had grown quite attached to the handmade gift, given to them by one of the pair’s smaller fans. The festive puns adoring its brim may have also had something to do with his attachment, which caused a frustrated groan to escape Marinette’s throat at the very thought.

Alya whipped her head in Marinette’s direction, changing the subject. “Mari had a hunch that you guys would be here. Having a break from your daily patrol?”

Chat nodded. “We decided to change up our usual patrol schedule for the holidays. We’ve been handing out gifts for the past few days, and were supposed to be going around the city markets today, but unfortunately Ladybug hasn’t shown up.”

Dammit. Marinette mused, trying to hide her ashamed expression from Chat Noir. I completely forgot that we were supposed to be doing that today…

The idea that Chat had just brought up was of his own creation - a street based campaign of delivering small tokens of Christmas cheer and positivity, by none other that Paris’ most beloved and trusted superhero duo, all in the effort to bring up the holiday spirit in a city that was growing more paranoid with passing Akuma attack. He had pestered Ladybug about it for months, his partner always going back to the same argument that they should focus first on protecting the city against Hawk Moth. But after a little while, and a few annoying Christmas carols, she eventually gave into the idea, seeing its simple merit as well as the passion Chat Noir had put in to the organising of it all. It was simple in nature, but maybe small, constructive actions were the best way to get through this daily battle, and eventually defeat Hawkmoth himself.

“I know that she would have wanted to be here, but sometimes life gets in the way. Paris knows she cares, and so do I,” Chat nodded, smiling softly. “Ladybug, out of all people, needs to make sure she looks after herself. She’ll be back bringing joy to Paris when she’s ready.”

Alya nodded in agreement. “Well, if you two need any help with your campaign, just know that there are plenty of people that would be more than happy to help. You both deserve a break this time of year.” Hawkmoth had grown more ruthless than ever, Akuma attacks increasing to several per week, with the week before Christmas hosting one every day. While greatly rushing the superheroes off their feet, Alya had also become more exhausted with each passing day, her duty as soul reporter of the Ladyblog reaching maximum capacity.

Suddenly, Alya’s phone started blaring out a familiar ringtone, Jagged Stone’s latest tribute to the superhero pair Alya’s latest choice of phone alert. She glanced at her phone, her expression becoming conflicted. “Geez, its Nadja Chamack calling about my internship application at the TV station. Do you mind if I quickly take this?”

“Not at all.” Chat Noir said politely, secretly knowing how much Alya had fought to even be considered for this internship through his interactions with her as Adrien. “Marinette and I can get to know each other better. Can’t we, princess?”

Marinette nodded as well, trying not to let the annoying nickname bother her. “Go on, Alya. I’ll manage with this until you get back.”

After exchanging with her friend a quick thumbs up, Alya moved away, deep into conversation. Marinette turned back to Chat Noir, not quite sure how to continue their conversation. Small talk was more Alya’s domain, and although she had spoken to the superhero many a times - more as Ladybug as opposed to her civilian identity - she had always found it awkward to talk to him. Marinette had expected a witty remark or a show-offish moment from him, but instead was slightly shocked upon seeing Chat Noir standing in complete silence, appearing almost nervous. The pair stood in a silence for a minute or so, Chat Noir giving an occasional fist pump to passing children, or engaging in short conversation with families as he passed them a few Christmas treats from his matching gift sack.

When a lull appeared in the small talk, Marinette looked back to Chat Noir. Fighting against her sometimes hesitant nature, she lifted the cane basket up so she it was cradled in her hands. “The reason we came to see you was….” She slightly spat out, the teenager still trying to come up with her small speech in her head as she spoke. “I…I actually came to give this bag to you. It’s a gift, a sort of thank you present. It’s not mine….I mean, it’s not just from me. My classmates and I from Françoise-Dupont, and some families from across Paris made it.”

“That’s very lovely of you,” he replied, walking with her towards one of the small park benches a few metres away. “I will make Ladybug receives it as soon as—“

“Actually, this one is just for you,” Marinette interrupted, gesturing to the tag tied around the cellophane covered basket, the green writing and paw print stamps distinctively more suiting to Chat Noir’s aesthetic.

Chat Noir’s bountiful steps came to a halt, a shocked form of a smile sliding onto his usual over-the-top act. “I-I-It’s for me? Really?” he whispered, appearing genuinely moved and honoured. When they arrived at the seats, the two softly sitting down, Marinette handed the basket to him. Chat’s eyes widened, his now wonder filled green eyes switching between the collection of gifts and Marinette herself.

Carefully, Chat Noir started undoing the wrapping covering the hamper, the delicate nature of his unwrapping also surprising Marinette. He kept glancing at Marinette, as if to question if these presents were especially for him. He was sometimes left out by the media, all the fame and attention mostly directed to Ladybug, so maybe he had just thought that that would be the same case in this particular situation, Marinette thought. Or possibly, the thought causing Marinette to feel slightly sorry for the superhero, that he believed that he didn’t deserve this sudden spree of appreciation.

Finally, he reached for the first present in the hamper, Chat Noir now proceeding to fidget in anticipation. While she had avoided impacting too much on the contents of Ladybug’s hamper, Marinette had had more of an input into the details of Chat Noir’s, having helped all her classmates in the early phases of the project in the planning of their specific gifts for the feline superhero. However, with the recent collection of Akuma attacks, she hadn’t had much of a chance to see what the final products would be, or know much of the extra gifts added in-between.

Each gift had given a slightly different reaction, all of them linked by the joy he physically exerted upon opening them. The first was a framed portrait drawing of the feline superhero, an original digital art piece created by Nathaniel. While exactly capturing Chat Noir’s humorous and carefree nature, he had styled the superhero in somewhat of a majestic, almost prince-like manner, creating an image of a kind, brave, spirited and selfless protector. Shades of gold, yellow, green and silver, as well as some contrasting touches of purple in between, all displayed a side of Chat which, amongst all the bad puns and crazy antics, sometimes slipped her mind as Ladybug, as well as Marinette.

There was also a custom coffee mug- which apart from the colour scheme exactly matched Ladybug’s- given by Kim, a dictionary of the best puns of all time - a gift from Alix, which Marinette already knew she would come to regret suggesting -, tiny boxes of tissues with cartoon pigeons on them - given as a joke by Alya, which Chat seemed to find especially funny -, as well as lots and lots of Camembert themed treats - which were at first provided by Adrien, and then proceeding to her own parents, who along with providing some Chat Noir and Ladybug themed gingerbread, also donated a entire platter of different variations of local Camembert. She would have to keep that in mind for any future gifts as Ladybug to give to him.

Upon Chat getting to the bottom of the basket, Marinette pulled out a large envelope, which was also addressed to Chat Noir. He carefully opened it, revealing a detailed card, the front filled with photos of people with Chat Noir, as well as some of his well known Cat puns. Inside, he found a song, as well as countless messages and notes, all towards Chat Noir. Chat’s smile wavered, his glance unable to look away from the card.

“I was in charge of designing the card…” Marinette said, not yet noticing Chat’s expression. “Ivan and Myléne wrote the song inside. They’re really talented, aren’t they—“

She turned back to Chat, a soft sniffling reaching her ears. Without warning, Chat Noir wrapped his arms around her in a hug, squeezing her tightly. “Thank you Mari,” he told her, his voice filled to the brim with joy. “The gift and the cards…they’re beautiful…I never had expected to receive anything like this. I am beyond grateful for all the love and time you all put into these gifts. Thank you.”

Not knowing how to respond, Marinette simply smiled, returning the hug. Their tender moment didn’t last long, Alya’s loud voice causing the pair to flinch.

“Marinette! I thought I told you to wait for me before you let him open all the gifts so I could get it on film!”

Quickly, the two split apart, Marinette fighting uncomfortably, trying to explain. Alya smiled, shaking it off. “Ah well… the least you both can do is stay still long enough for a photo. So no running away, got it pussy cat?”

“Chat’s honour! Anything for this hero’s favourite reporter!” Chat Noir smirked, swiftly returning to his typical, cheeky facade. Marinette groaned, which caused Chat Noir to laugh again, before they both turned to face Alya for a few photos.

After engaging in some short conversation, Chat thanking Alya vigorously for the gifts, Marinette and Alya wished him farewell, Alya needing to rush back home to update the Ladyblog before the day’s end. Just as Chat was about to turn and leave, however, Marinette’s mind clicked into gear.

“Chat Noir, wait!”

Chat Noir quickly tuned back to face Marinette, who was rushing back up to him. “I forgot to give you this. It’s my gift to you. I hope you like it!” She carefully handed him a small handmade drawstring bag, which had a similar design to the card.

Chat nodded graciously, returning to the girl a sincere smile. Chat turned away slightly, quietly opening Marinette’s present. His smile widened, lightly chuckling as he pulled out a silver, white and red bell, covered lightly with small black and white paw centred snowflakes. Also in the bag was a soft gold ribbon, which had two small slips on it to allow the bell to be attached onto the spot where his typical gold bell resided. Chat Noir rushed to switch the bells over, carefully putting his old bell in the small bag, and then in his suit pocket for safe keeping.

He gasped lightly upon hearing its ring, the sound lighter and more delicate than his usual bell. He turned back to where the girl’s had been, the pair having left around a minute or so ago. Sighing, he notice a small slip of paper peaking out of the bell’s gaps. Curious, he pulled it out, unfolded it and started to read it.

To Chat Noir. Hope you find this present amusing and positively claw-some for the festive season. From Marinette.

[maidenariana]

(08-18-2017) Ari is Asking For Some Assistance 

To my tumblr, twitter, twitch, and personal website followers.. I am asking for your assistance. I have a potentially very narrow window of opportunity to complete a surgery this calendar year. Recent rumors say that the Trump Administration may attempt to repeal specific transgender coverage requirements of the ACA rather than attempting a full repeal.

My insurance only began covering this procedure just this calendar year because of the ACA. I have been doing all I can to prepare and save for it on my own with the goal of completing the surgery as soon as possible. My insurance just approved coverage, but I fear it will only truly happen if the procedure is completed before the end of 2017. My insurance may drop the inclusion of transgender health care as prior to 2017 it specifically called it out as an EXCLUSION. Thanks to my pre-approved insurance coverage (that may end after this year), I do not need to come up with as much money as many other transgender people need to raise for necessary surgeries.

I know I sit in a place of privilege when compared to many transgender people. I transitioned later in life and I already had a solid career established. I transitioned on the job and have been able to successfully integrate back into my original team. I am very grateful for where I find myself at this point. I have come so far in my transition and have been able to do so while simultaneously dealing with a separation where I financially supported two households, followed by a divorce. Due to the divorce, I had to file for bankruptcy as the money spent supporting two households, coupled with existing family debt and the legal costs of divorce finally destroyed my financial status. My credit is destroyed but is slowly being repaired through a bankruptcy repayment agreement.

With all of these anxiety inducing events, I still have managed to make it financially month to month and meet the financial needs of my kids and I. I have taken on side jobs to produce websites for small businesses for extra income, essentially working two jobs to make ends meet. I adjusted my transition plan, putting certain things on hold as I dealt with another family member's medical costs. Somehow, at the end of each pay period, I have been able to pay the bills and keep my kids fed (they are living with me between 40 to 50% of each month) and meet my portion of their medical and school costs as needed.

While all of this has been going on, over the past nearly three years of my transition, I chose to become very public about it. I saw very early on how important some of my posts were to fellow transgender people out in the world. I made a decision to stay public and to promote advocacy for transgender people while allowing my life to be an example to the world that transgender people do successfully transition and can have lives that are just as happy and productive as any non-transgender person. Using Google Analytics, I can see that my website has been viewed in 98 countries around the world. The most popular pages are my transition timeline and 500 picture gender reveal pictorial. The goal of both my website and tumblr blog are to be able to tell my story and provide an example of what a transgender life really looks like. It is free from the troubled reporting and poor representation that the media often gives us.

Along with those sources, I have also contributed articles to the Huffington Post and have ideas for many more articles that I want to write. Those that have followed me for a long time have watched me come amazingly far. I receive messages of thanks and of encouragement each week. Some are thanking me for giving them an example to point their families to as they attempt to come out. Some are thanking me for showing them that you can transition late in life and be very successful with it, while maintaining a positive attitude even during horrible circumstances. Some reach out and need advice or to just talk to someone and I offer what I can.

This past year, I pushed myself to become more social (after many pre-transition years of letting friendships fall away due to my own self-hate) and I now have a great circle of friends who know and care about the real me.

My point is.. I am able to handle an aweful lot on my own and I have come very far. I have been through stress, pain, and hurt that is difficult to accurately describe and I had to go through it simply by choosing to no longer lie to the world about who I have always been. I am not discounting the occasional tight spots that my parents and other family members helped me through, but the truth is, I have had to do nearly all of this largely on my own.

However, due to the timeframe and my current financial situation. I am asking for those that I have helped and those who appreciate my story to think about donating a small amount to help me during this time. There are now nearly 11,000 of you following me on tumblr. I try to weed out the junk accounts and fetish sites that always harass us transgender women so I know that most of you are legitimate people that care about me and my story and find some benefit in following it.

If you can, please consider donating something small. If enough of you do it, the goal will be met. If the goal is met.. instead of sleep depriving myself with extra working hours and website jobs over the next two and a half months, I will be able to continue to focus on keeping my blog and transition website up to date, and on building the Twitch community that has started to form around my transgender advocacy driven channel. I will also be so very grateful for the removal of any additional stress as it does of course affect my health.

If you can do so without putting yourself in a financial bind, then please consider helping me beat the clock and get this surgery in this year. I chose YouCaring for the donation goal tool as I have used it to donate to other transgender people before and they recommend it.

I hope you all know that the point of my website, my tumblr blog, and my Twitch channel is not to "cash-in" (which is one reason there are no ads on my transition website despite the high-traffic) and that this is a legitimate request and need that I face. (Also, just as a side note if you see my blog post and wonder how I was able to recently travel to Seattle, well that was on free tickets provided by a family member with massive frequent flyer miles).

Also, I want to promise you all that I never intend to disappear. I plan to be out as transgender for the rest of my life and to continue this work. (I intend to add a condition of my will that renews my website domain as long as financially possible after the event of my death). I feel it is too important to do so, rather than to fade into living stealth once I reach a certain place in my transition (this is my choice, please know I fully respect those that feel they need to go stealth).

If you would prefer more detail on how this money would be used before donating, then please message me on tumblr or via my website. I hope you can understand why I would not want to place complete details online.

A simple explanation is the amount I am listing is both to cover part of the surgery itself, appointments, preparation work, and for related costs ocurring both before and after the surgery (recovery period).

Thank you for considering helping me achieve this goal in this narrow window. If you can't help right now, please keep in mind that there are nearly 2 1/2 months in which you can still help if your situation allows it. Thank you for reading this. It has not been easy to write and asking for money for myself is difficult.

If we can't make this goal in this time frame, then I may still find a way to cover more of the cost. If it does not happen this year, then know I will make it to this surgery eventually even if my insurance coverage for it gets pulled. Somehow, some way.. it will eventually happen, nothing can stop me unless I let it.

If my blog, website, or twitch channel has helped you in the past or if we have chatted and I was of help to you, please consider replying to this message with a brief note so that people just discovering my blog will see that I am not making this stuff up :)

Please re-blog and share.

-Ari

If you can donate toward this goal, please do so here (edit-fixed the link): http://www.youcaring.com/helparianaout

Short link for tweets: http://bit.ly/2wpfFAR

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

Website Reach Data: 98 countries and counting:

http://arianadanielle.com/the-importance-of-representation/

Main Transition Website Link: 

http://arianadanielle.com

—————————————————————-

My goal in sharing my transition is to represent transgender people in the positive light that we all deserve. Re-blogs are always okay if they are for this purpose, but if you are a fetish blog or fetish website then I want nothing to do with you and you do not have my permission to use my images.

—————————————————————– My Twitch Channel: http://twitch.tv/maidenariana

Please Re-blog! Also, here is a link to a full-size version of the image in this post http://arianadanielle.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/compilation.jpg

[resbangmod]

We listened! About the survey, and how we’ve used it for this year.

Remember that survey we had everyone fill out at the end of last season? We actually do stuff with those! We ask everyone some questions about their resbang experience, convene the ModBorg, and discuss what we can do to make the new season better than the last.

Also we get to look at numbers and shiny pie charts. 

Here’s what last year looked like:

Of those who responded, this was our spread of authors, artists, and betas:

Of those authors who responded, this is how they felt about writing the 10,000 wordcount minimum:

A shocking turn of events-- this is the ratio of whether or not a fic was beta’d:

Y’all. Get betas. Betas save lives. Especially yours!

Check out the results of “Would you recommend having a beta to other Resbang participants?”:

Betas save lives.

Regarding communication in groups:

Okay, enough pie charts. Here’s some other things we’ve concluded from last year’s survey:

About 72% of participants appreciated the long time frame/late posting dates, but also mentioned the season being too long, the late dates reflecting on the poor readership on completed stories, and overall the extended time sucking the life out of them.

Participants are in want of more ways to push communication with each other, as many partnerships suffer from radio silence. Weekly check-ins with each other were suggested several times.

Many have expressed wanting a cap on how many stories an author can write in a season.

Yuku can go suck eggs.

For the extra mathy, here are some straight up numbers of the past four years of Resbang:

2013: 42% completion rate

48 authors/collabs signed up, 28 dropped -- 58% drop rate

48 artists signed up, 22 dropped -- 46% drop rate

20 stories fully completed with artwork

2014: 48% completion rate

88 authors/collabs, 46 dropped -- 52% drop rate

82 artists, 19 dropped -- 23% drop rate

42 stories fully completed with artwork

2015: 44% completion rate

 105 authors/collabs, 59 dropped -- 56% drop rate

91 artists, 22 dropped -- 24% drop rate

46 stories fully completed with artwork

2016: 61% completion rate

89 authors/collabs, 35 dropped -- 39% drop rate

67 artists, 11 dropped -- 16% drop rate

54 stories fully completed with artwork

(Note: collaborators were grouped together as a single author, while authors who wrote multiple fics in one season were counted as multiple authors per fic for these numbers)

We can conclude from these numbers that 2015 was bananas, and that 2016 has historically been the best resbang season we’ve ever had, thanks to you and your communication with us. Y’all rock.

On that note, by using your responses to the survey...

Here is what we’ve changed for this season:

When we assign posting dates this year, only one fic will be scheduled per day, regardless of wordcount. This gives readers a better chance on catching up on posted resbangs.

Because of the scheduling change, the posting schedule is now longer. We can once more begin old-school posting in early December, which gives incentive for those who finish and want more readership traffic, but also still gives a chance to those who are too busy during the end of the year, and need a posting date in Jan/Feb.

Claims are now a week earlier, so you have more time to work together! 

We’ve put a cap on multi-fic participants: An author may now only write a maximum of 3 stories, in any combination of solo or collaboration

Amended the rules regarding those multiple fics written by one participant

Adjusted the wording regarding artist collaborations

Added in a requirement that all images not originally created by the artist (like with aesthetic/mood boards, fanmix covers, etc) must be properly sourced

We’ve added an additional check-in, and authors now have a total of 4 while artists have 3. We hope this aids with communication in our groups!

SEE YOU IN THE COUNTRY, YUKU. The GrigoriWings forum has been moved to Jcink! There should be way less downtime, no eaten posts, smoother navigation, and we are now secure on https!

The discord chat has been reorganized and updated. Now with Soul Eater roles you can join, trivia games, automated productivity sprints, and channels you can join/leave at your leisure.

We have started a fundraiser to help with our forum costs! You can read more about that here.

That’s it for the final report, folks. Signups open tomorrow, so bring your A-game!

Links!

Author Sign-Ups

Artist Sign-Ups

Beta Volunteer Sign-Ups (for both fic AND art betas)

Create a Jcink screen name

Resbang Calendar

Previous Resbangs

AO3 Collections

Other Soul Eater Fandom events

Tracked Tumblr tags: #resbang, #resbang 2017

Official GrigoriWings discord chat: [browser], download the Discord app on desktop [mac] [pc] or mobile [apple] [android]

Questions?

First, check our FAQ.

Have you read the rules?

If you don’t see your question answered in either of those places, please feel free to message us:

On Discord

On Tumblr

Or email to us at: ResBangMod@gmail.com

[sandy-af-kattegat]

Your support is appreciated:

https://paypal.me/pools/c/8grRi0PWRk

My HeadBangers, welcome from Kerava, Finland:   Re-Armed

Melodic Death – Thrash Metal at it’s finest.

“Built to Last”

Let’s meet the band:

Iiro Karjalainen – Drums

Juhana Heinonen – Bass and backup vocals

Jouni Matilainen – Lead Vocals

Oskari Niekka – Guitars and backup vocals

Allan Välimaa – Guitars

“Lullaby of Obedience”

Let’s look at some bio taken from their site:

Re-Armed have been around since 2001, when five guys decided to start playing similar music likened to so-called “Gothenburg metal”, what is now better known as “melodic death metal”. Their musical style has evolved along with many critically acclaimed demo tapes, gigs, lineup changes and a well received debut album “Worldwide Hypnotize”, which appeared internationally via German, Massacre Records in January 2012. This was followed by tours in Europe along with American bands Chimaira, Suffocation, Origin, Cattle Decapitation and Canadian death metallers Cryptopsy. In the same year the group made their first outdoor appearance in United Kingdom’s, Bloodstock Open Air heavy metal festival.

The second album “Rottendam” was released in January 2014 via German, Eternal Sound Records, but major lineup changes froze the band almost for a year. Former guitarist/songwriter Tommi Helkalahti decided to leave the band – leaving vocalist Jouni Matilainen as the only current former member in the band.

In 2015 the new lineup is in order faster than expected. Self-released EP “Total Lack of Communication” was released in August 2015 and the band toured in Finland, Baltics and China to support the release.

The band released their third album “The Era of Precarity” in September 2016 via Finnish, Saarni Records. The album is the band’s most acclaimed release so far according to Metal Rules webzine’s review “Their most ambitious, fully realized work to date.” Within 2016 and 2017, Re-Armed toured first time in Japan with Finnish melodic death metal band Insomnium and in Spain with German thrash metallers Dust Bolt to promote the album.

In the fall of 2018, after the numerous tours and shows on behalf of the third album, Re-Armed is releasing a new single “Built To Last”, introducing their newer lineup with three guitars. The band comments on the new single: “The music is more melody-oriented than before, among the kick-ass attitude. Since the last release we have got two new members, meaning we have three guitarists right now, so writing and producing needed some extra brainstorming. The message is about positivity, regarding mankind, that a light might shine at the end of the tunnel. We ended up with a very anthem vibe chorus on this one, which makes this a killer track.”

I know a few of these bands from Kerava and thought my HeadBangers would find this interesting.   This town is in the running for the capital of metal.  There are roughly 36,000 people living in this town.  There are 20 metal bands.  Click the link below for all the bands and check them out.

https://www.capitalofmetal.fi/

  “Freakshow”

  My Thoughts:

All my HeadBangers know I have a thing for Death Metal, but add in some Thrash to spice it up and I’m a happy MetalHead.  I know, not to mention the great growl vocals, which is always what I listen for in my bands.  There’s nothing better then deep, dark growl vocals.   Here’s something interesting for you HeadBangers, it’s a quote from a merchant that visited Denmark and made a comment on our growl vocals:

Growled vocals may have been a part of Viking music. In the 10th century, Arab-Spanish Sefardi Jewish merchant Abraham ben Jacob visited Denmark and commented on the local music as follows: “Never before I have heard uglier songs than those of the Vikings in Slesvig. The growling sound coming from their throats reminds me of dogs howling, only more untamed.”

Well hell I quess he didn’t like the best sound in the world lmao.  I may have to do a whole blog on just growl vocals.  There are so many different kinds it blows my mind.  Well my HeadBangers that’s it for this week.  Join me next week for another band and another song.  In the meantime remember don’t stand to close to the fire if you can’t handle the burn…..

Your support is appreicated:

https://paypal.me/pools/c/8grRi0PWRk

                    Week 59 – Re-Armed Your support is appreciated: My HeadBangers, welcome from Kerava, Finland:   Re-Armed Melodic Death - Thrash Metal at it's finest.

[doomedandstoned]

SWAMP RITUAL Shares Rowdy New Romper “Sunchaser”

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

What a week it has been for debuts! I swear some of the best music of the year has arrived in the waning days of summer. Bands must smell autumn doom in the air or something. The latest entry into the September swelter of new releases comes from a band that has yet to get the recognition they so rightfully deserve. I speak of the mighty SWAMP RITUAL.

Dustin Fugere (bass) and Sid LaTray (drums) are the stars of this fuzzy, frenetic freak show, which finds its origin in Montana. How shall I describe Swamp Ritual to those who haven’t been baptized into this listening experience? Let’s just say there’s a certain "Mountain Man" sensibility to their music. This is going to sound batty as hell, but hang with me as I indulge in something I love to hate: a good analogy chock full of colorful hyperbole.

Imagine that two illegitimate sons of Clutch were to spend way too much time in the mountains of Missoula, getting lost among the birds and the bears with nothing to eat but wild berries. As they search for the way back home, hungering and thirsting for a good riff, they happen upon Sleep’s tiny Yoda hovel, nestled deep within the forest, so they stop there for a spell to smoke a bowl with the Ancient Ones. About sundown, Uncle Al blesses them and sends them packing on their way down the mount. As they follow the winding path down, who should they run into but Weedeater! There stands Dixie Dave with a cross-eyed grin and a great big jar of ‘shine, looking for a couple drinking buddies. Let’s just say no one’s walking upright by the time sun sets on this day. And Swamp Ritual is born...or something like that. Ok, now you know why I scorn such indulgences in my reviews!

Let’s just say living in the wild is enough to drive anyone a little bit mad. That’s how Dustin and Sid sound when they join forces (and voices) -- unhinged, off-kilter, fists pounding the table, rowdy as fuck. Where ‘Ritual Rising’ (2015) was brooding, dark, and moody, the new record 'Sunchaser’ (2017) is noticeably spunky, mischievous, looking for trouble at every turn.

The album opens with its wicked little namesake. Immediately, I’m in love with this badass bass line I’m hearing. It’s full-bodied and hot-blooded, with plenty of juice in the gas tank and “joyride” written all over it. Take a moment to appreciate just how much Dustin and Sid flow together here, as Doomed & Stoned gives you your first listen to these salacious new sounds from Swamp Ritual!

There wasn’t a moment on Sunchaser I wasn’t engaged. There’s even some fantastic singalongs, like “Lawnmower.” Now here’s a number that I could well imagine reviving the cherished tradition of pub singing to these United States of America. “I’m all alone with my mind,” swells the robust chorus. “Actually, no.” Dustin gently corrects my mishearing and jokes kindly, “I might like that one more.” The true lyrics?

I mow the lawn when I’m high I mow the lawn when I’m high I smoke some hash, put on some thrash know it makes me go extra fast I mow the lawn when I’m high

I mow the lawn when I’m high Well, I mow the lawn when I’m high There’s nothing that I like more than a big ol’ bong, it’ll do me for sure I mow the lawn when I’m high

Thrash!

I mow the lawn when I’m high I mow the lawn when I’m high Take some shrooms, put on some doom I hope I’m done soon I mow the lawn when I’m high

Now that’s what I call a pub song! Actually, we might be bearing witness to the birth of something here, some new trend. Perhaps a “bong song”? Hmmm? Just as I’m feeling especially clever, I decide it would be a good idea to check up on this. Google tells me I'm too late -- Urban Dictionary done claimed that shit! “A song written while high on weed.” Sounds about right.

This would be a good place to pay my respects to the wizards of the soundboard. Sunchaser was recorded and mixed by Chris Baumann at Black National Studios in Missoula, who did a fantastic job of engineering, and 'twas mastered by the Master himself, Tony Reed of Mos Generator.

You have to appreciate how perfectly they captured Sid’s funky rhythms and the Dustin’s downtuned warbling, which is entirely successful in bringing “The Bearded Dragon” to life. At times, Dustin almost sounds like he’s taking a bow to a classic upright -- I mean he really makes that thing sing. You’ll swear by the track’s mid-point that the beard on this dragon owes to a frothy ale from Missoula Brewing Co.

It’s impossible not to love the moments when Sid's drumming kicks into an almost Gene Krupa-like intensity. As it does, Dustin's bass becomes practically anthropomorphic. Taking up legs and walking, tap dancing, staggering, breakdancing, and doing the splits -- then tossing out its hat at the end of it all to collect dollars from the mesmerized crowd.

Believe me, it’s as fun to watch as it is to listen to -- twice as much fun, in fact. These Montana boys are a treat to witness live! Few will give you a better show for your money. I filmed their performance at one of Doomed & Stoned’s showcases last year. We can’t wait to see them do their thing on Day I of Doomed & Stoned Festival in October. AND...when two of the best bass and drum duos in the Western US get together, watch out! I’m of course speaking about Amy and Jon Barrysmith of Year of the Cobra, who are up to bat on Day II. In the meanwhile, Dustin and Sid are gearing up for a cross-country road trip with none other than Portland's Disenchanter, which kicks off next week and blazes a trail straight to Indianapolis. Now, sit back and be awed by what Swamp Ritual can do, as I continue the conversation with Dustin below!

Film by Billy Goate

What can you tell me about that song Doomed & Stoned is debuting, “Sunchaser”?

The lyrics were mostly written and inspired by our last tour. Our '83 Econline has shitty headlights, so we did most of the driving during the day. Coming back into Montana from North Dakota around evening, we felt like we were chasing the sunset. The rest of the lyrics are inspired by its terrible gas mileage and lack of AC. Sid wrote most of the riffs and had the general song idea. I wrote the lyrics and helped flesh out the bridge and song structure.

Talk to us about some of the other tracks on the album. I'm especially digging “Lawnmower”!

Sid wrote all of “Lawnmower” while just chilling with an acoustic guitar. He just kinda did it as a joke, but I thought it was rad and wanted to do it with Swamp Ritual. It kinda just describes us really well and it comes from an honest place. (laughs)

I wrote the following track, “Dark Matters.” It doesn’t have a specific thing it’s about, but sort of explores a couple themes. Mostly I was thinking about space and really loud amplifiers. I didn’t have a title or chorus for a long time, then one day I was reading an article about dark matter, which inspired the title. I decided to put a little twist on it with the “s” on the end.

“The Bearded Dragon” was actually the first song we ever wrote. We didn’t really have a defined style and were thinking about being an instrumental band. We were listening to a lot of Earthless and Reverend Bizarre around that time. I definitely want to write more songs like it.

“Malacastria,” what does that word mean? I feel like I should know it.

“Malacastria” is based off of a fantasy world an older friend of ours came up with over the years. Malacaster is a very powerful necromancer-wizard skeleton who rules Malacastria. He’s not necessarily evil, but is shunned by the other wizards for practicing necromancy. Sort of a neutral evil character. We’re hoping to base more songs off this world in the future. It’s really fleshed out and is kind of a good fallback for inspiration

How would you characterize this album in relation to your last one?

It has a lot of the same themes as the last one: the occult, outer space, and just traveling, hanging out, and playing tunes. I’d say this time around we really came into our own sound-wise and in the recording process -- just more confident. On the last album, we layered the bass tracks with me playing the same thing a couple times to get a beefier sound. This time around we just recorded three bass tracks at once, but then that’s it, zero overdubs, and I think it came out a lot heavier and live-sounding. And no we’re definitely still just a two-piece. Another change on this album is Sid writing more material. He contributed on the last album a couple times, but this time around he wrote about half of it, if not more.

You're about to take off on your 'Too Doomed To Live, Too Stoned To Die' tour with Disenchanter. Figure now's as good a time as any to ask: what’s the weirdest or scariest thing that’s happened to you and Sid on the road?

Nothing too gnarly, really. In San Diego, we got woken up by the cops and told to move, so we went to a truck stop outside of town where we were woken up by this big dude covered in face tattoos. Turns out he was just a trucker who wanted to smoke a blunt with us, nice guy. Other than that, the show in Billings got moved to the local gay bar, which opened on a weekday for us. The place wasn’t really set up for bands, but it was a good time. The bartender was amazed they sold out of PBR. Guess that hadn’t happened before. (laughs)

I remember when I met you year before last at our Portland Doomed & Stoned Showcase, you and Sid were crashing in the back of your van in a motel parking lot. Sounds like you haven’t run into too many problems, though.

Not really, no. If we can’t find a place to stay, Walmart parking lots are fairly accommodating. But we have gotten lucky plenty of times with really generous people who open their doors to us. The kindness in this community can be really amazing.

That’s awesome.

With just the two of us we can make the van pretty comfortable.

I imagine so. Hey, speaking of comfort, I’ve been wondering how your fingers take the brutal hour-plus performances you put them through every night. Your poor digits must go through so much punishment! Those bass strings can be pretty thick and heavy, I imagine you’ve got a lot of callouses on your fingers? I’d worry about blistering like a motherfucker!

Definitely some blistering and callouses. Extra strings are nice, because I definitely break them. Sid chews through drum heads and sticks pretty hard, too. Extra cables are a necessity, as well. It can be a lot of maintenance. My bass has held up really well over the years and I like how it sounds, so I haven’t worried too much about upgrading. I would like a true tube amp, but they are definitely known for more upkeep, so I’ve been more than happy with my Mesa. Pedals have held up well, but I’ve lost a couple knobs off one. It’s definitely something to research with gear when you’re touring. There are some really cool things out there, but if they’re really expensive to replace or prone to breaking, you should probably look into other things.

Especially keen on your album cover this time around. Both the front and back really capture the character of the band and this collection of songs.

The artwork was done by our good friend, Wilson Smith, again. He had a whole black and white design he wanted to do, so we gave him free reign.

I think you and Sid should do some kind of dueling bass and drum deal with Amy and Jon from Year of the Cobra. What would we even call that?

I gotta think that “a really good time” comes to mind! (laughs)

No doubt! Have seen Amy play? You guys both really get into your bass. You live it, you breathe it, you become one with your instrument. I think it would be fun to do some kind of collaboration on stage, like a “call and response” kind of thing, or a joint composition.

Yeah, we played with them and Mos Generator in Missoula. Really love their music. Actually, it's some of the main stuff I listen to these days and not even because it’s just drum and bass. I would love to do a tour with them sometime and split would be great, too. Totally agree.

I just think you guys could do an absolutely awesome collaboration and I hope playing together at Doomed & Stoned Festival will have you guys hitting it off, like when Melvins and Big Business teamed up. The stuff of legend!

Yeah, I think I’m picturing the same thing. Sid and John even set their drum sets up on opposite sides, so there are some real possibilities here, alright.

Finally, we come to the all-important question: is 'Sunchaser' coming out on CD, vinyl, tape, or all of the above?

The album will be released digitally on Friday, September 15th, but we have CDs coming for the tour. Our good friend in town Marty offered to put it out on his label, Minor Bird Records, so he’s helping with that. He’ll also be putting out the debut LP by Stone Elk, so keep an eye out for that! We will also be doing a tape release in the near future. Hoping for vinyl, but we need to raise some more money first.

You heard the man, people. Let’s raise a toast to the Montana heavy underground and Swamp Ritual, who did a fine job of with 'Sunchaser.' Get out and see Swamp Ritual live and then give them all your money. You'll have one hootenanny of a night with your bestie and a bottle of Beam (assuming those aren’t one and the same)!

Follow The Band.

Get Their Music.

[echoslammin]

Yuletide 2017 Exchange Letter

Dear Yuletide Writer,

This is my first year participating in Yuletide, and I'm thrilled by the vibe of passion and excitement throughout the community. Seriously, I can scarcely believe there are people out there hankering for fic of all these obscure things that I love. It's amazing!

Given that my requested fandoms are primarily dating sims, it will come as no surprise to you that I am very big on romance and humor. My prompts are going to come off as very ship-focused, but if you would rather write gen, I am totally okay with it as long as it involves the requested character(s).

If you are interested, I also have a letter for Trick or Treat posted that mentions the Liar! games. 

Likes: Cheesy romance, humor, references to character quirks, descriptions of teamwork with positive results, smut, characters cooking/dining out together, slow burn, awkward flirting, all the holiday clichés - parties, gift exchanges, baking cookies, etc.

DNW: Character bashing, unrequested pairings as the main focus, issue fic, filler name for MC/heroine if writing for Liar! or Amnesia, lastly - use of the word "cunt" in sexual situations, please, it's just a specific squick of mine (virtually any other word is fine)

To be clear, I like it best when the MC remains nameless in otome game stories. If you can, please just stick to she/her or they/their throughout.

If you are up to writing smut, I would absolutely love to receive it for any of these series!

Kinks: Mutual admiration, couples undressing each other, D/S with praise kink, breast play, maid/butler, handcuffs, blindfolded sex, aftercare, panties to the side, lots of kissing, pining resulting in masturbation, dirty talk , oral, desk/table sex

Liar! Uncover the Truth - MC, Kazumi Kagami

Voltage Inc.'s Liar! is the otome game of my dreams, combining Ace Attorney-style investigations with romance and lots of comedy.  If you're looking to get into it, the app is free to download but you're limited by chapter tickets which replenish daily. They are currently having an anniversary event with free extra bonuses, so now is a great time to start! You can find it on Google Play and Itunes.

Kazumi is by far my favorite love interest in Liar, and I feel that the game is worth playing for him alone. I also think that MC has great character development throughout his stories and tends to show a more genuine and thoughtful side of herself whenever they're together as a couple. (IMO, she totally redeemed herself for any past wonky behaviors during his White Day and Golden Week routes). I also love how he's the only one who calls her pet names like Sunshine and Miss Detective.^^

Prompts:

A situation with MC actually being affectionate rather than acting coy all the time. How does Kazumi react to this? I feel that he would be mostly overjoyed but also slightly terrified because of the potential hurt that could come from being honest about their feelings for each other. Could end as something fluffy or bittersweet depending on your taste.

Continuation of the epilogue story up until the inevitable big wedding. How does MC break the news to her friends, coworkers, and the rejected love interests that she's marrying Kazumi? Wedding crashers, maybe? Married life would also be adorable.  

Meta-fic where Liar! Uncover the Truth is actually one of Kazumi's mystery books that he churned out when the publisher demanded a "light detective story for the career lady demographic." MC happens to be based on his ideal woman. Feel free to include jokes about the game's sillier moments and MC's fierce attitude. 

Liar! Office Deception - MC 

I love the Office Deception sequel every bit as much as the original game. MC is such a champ, and I found myself rooting for her from beginning to end. It was such a blast getting to know your crazy coworkers and confronting would-be betrayers to this sick beat. The one thing I definitely did not love was the ending. Canon's "Perfect Partner" really didn't do anything for me, and I would love to see fix-it fic or a story where MC gets to explore her other options. I felt that the Liars in this game were ridiculously likable, even after you uncover their hidden scummy qualities. 

(Apologies to readers that find it annoying, but I will avoid calling Liars by name here as I'm hyper-paranoid about spoilers. It was incredibly fun to play this game totally blind, and I wouldn't want to take that experience away from someone on accident).

When it comes to Office Deception, I ship MC with all of D-Team, with the exception of the 2nd and 5th Liars and "Perfect Partner." However, I am particularly fond of the 7th and 9th Liars, and prefer to see them portrayed in a redemptive/positive light.

Prompts:

I would LOVE to see further exploration of the 9th Liar and their feelings toward MC both during and post-canon. An alternate ending with a friends-to-lovers situation would be wonderful here, especially if you're like me and think they could still meet on good terms even after the Big Reveal. 

Redemption story for any of the Liars, sans the 2nd and 5th. MC takes charge and issues a set of challenges that the Liar must complete in order to regain her trust. Could be something like a complicated project for the team  or some sort of volunteer/charitable work.  Ideally, this would end on a positive note with them being able to have a reciprocal friendship/romance with MC. 

Would love to see a bit of D/S play if you're going to write smut  - MC *is* the boss after all :D Roles would be up to you. 

Amnesia: Memories - Heroine, Kent

Amnesia: Memories is an otome game with a dreamy sort of charm and great voice acting. For me, the standout love interest was undoubtedly Kent - a shining paragon of the ultra-rational kuudere archetype. His idea of a thoughtful gift for Heroine? A workbook of math puzzles. Oh yeah, he's awesome. What's great about Kent is that even though he's a bit prickly on the outside, he's utterly sincere about his love for Heroine. I love seeing his outbursts of affection where it's clear he has no idea what to do but can't hold back on his feelings for her.

Prompts:

I really liked how in canon, Heroine and Kent pretty much started out as a fake-dating scenario. It would be nice to see some exploration of Kent's reluctance to get her memories back given their initial friction. Lots of angst and longing for this one.  

Awkward first time sex! This is Kent we're talking about, so please all the cute blushes and reassurances.

I do like how their story played out in the sequel, if you'd like to explore that, though unfortunately it was never released in English. (For those curious: I am a big fan of Hinano's otome game reviews and would recommend checking out their post on Amnesia: Later which gives a nice summary). 

Misaeng: Incomplete Life - Ahn Young Yi 

Based on the webtoon by Yoon Tae-ho, this 20-episode Kdrama aired in 2014 and is unequivocally my favorite Kdrama of all time. It is currently available on Netflix, Hulu, and various online sources. As a millennial former office worker, the story truly resonated with me, and I came to care deeply about the protagonist Jang Geu Rae and his coworkers-turned-friends. 

I am requesting Ahn Young Yi as she is my fave and because her struggle is what really clinched it for me in this series. I do ship her with Geu Rae, but I won't make a scene if you pair her with another character or eschew romance altogether. Truthfully, I would be happy with any kind of character-driven work featuring Young Yi. I love her determination and just want to see her in a good place both physically and emotionally.

Prompts:

Startup Company AU or post-canon where Young Yi is attempting to get her fledgling enterprise off the ground and hires (or is somehow forced into hiring) Geu Rae & Co. Would love to see her kick ass and take names as she becomes hugely successful with the help of her allies.

Young Yi/Geu Rae get-together fic starting from when he picks up her hair elastic in episode one. Would include missing scenes and expansion on their canon interactions. I would love to see Young Yi learning about baduk from Geu Rae and showing appreciation for his skillz. (I actually know very little about the game other than the very basic rules, but if you want to get crazy technical about gameplay and strategy, that would be awesome!)

Coffee shop AU where all they serve is Maxim Mocha Gold

Thank you very much for your time, and best wishes this holiday season!  

[comicteaparty]

July 27th, 2017 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on July 27th, 2017, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on Aether Eternius by Novasiri.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

Good day everyone~! This week’s Comic Tea Party is now officially beginning. Today we are discussing Aether Eternius by Novasiri~! (https://tapas.io/series/Aether-Eternius) For those new to CTP, discussions about the comic are freeform, so please feel free to bring up whatever you wish. However, every 30 minutes I will be dropping in a discussion question to help those who would like a prompt. These questions are totally OPTIONAL to answer so pay them no mind if you wish~! Remember, constructive criticism is allowed, but the primary focus here is to have fun and appreciate the amazing comics that the community makes~! Each chat a top comment will be picked and featured on an ad for this chat, so let’s have a great discussion~! With that said, let us begin with this first question~!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yay!

Novasiri

Oh boy, this outta be fun. <3

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

let's see...

I like that part when Mak throwed a temper tantrum and turned red

Novasiri

Dawww, when they got pissed at Aion?

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yes

I wonder how many colors can they be?

Novasiri

I had a lot fo fun planning, and eventually drawing that scene too. Originally Mak didn't change color, that was a more last minuet decision.

They change color based off feeling extreme emotions. So, all the colors of the rainbow. -uo(edited)

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

gah i have to look up names >.>

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

ooooh would love to see that

her hairstyle changed a bit too

really cool aesthetics there

XD

RebelVampire

i hope mak never has a crush on someone and becomes green with jealousy. thatd be very embarrassing

Novasiri

I'm glad ;u;

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LMAO

that would be so obvious

Novasiri

Oh my gosh

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

XD

Novasiri

There's always Evny. -uo

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

mine is any scene with isilmo in it... all the extra dialog and little thought bits were very amusing

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

I hope all the colors will be shown eventually

Novasiri

they will.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Isilmo is so cute

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

especially the "no licking" lol

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LMAO

RebelVampire

i liked the scene with madda-rakt cause i felt it was a mix of being both intimidated and underwhelmed cause madda-rakt was so polite

Kabocha

I pretty much love any scene with Aster. Gimme giant awkward starry person -- they're pretty nifty, I think.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LOL that

XD

wishjacked

Haha that temper part with Mak was my fave, too!! It had all the best things-- fun colors, snarky Ira, jerks getting mauled

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

poor them

Kabocha

Also Ira is pretty fun too.

Novasiri

I'm glad I got an underwhelmed vibe with Madda-Rakt. It was the ideal point. Since their focus isn't supposed to be intimidating.(edited)

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yis Ira

also Nova, I'm glad you made the texts larger in the recent pages. One of the reasons why I took so long to read was trying to consume all the texts. XD

Novasiri

Yeah, it's a big reason I also plan to redo the first two chapters; increase text size.

wishjacked

BUT ALSO, OH, I love all the scenes with Umbrage!! They're kinda dadlike with their dialogue but also. So strong. Love it

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

yeah i had to zoom in on every panel in the beginning

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

totally glad I took the time to re-read it yesterday

Kabocha

I didn't find it too much of a problem, but I also read stuff on a huge-ish monitor?

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

legit took me 2 hours

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

its easier for me to read on my phone... since i normally binge read before beds

Novasiri

I'm glad you like umbrage, Chloe. They're very much the big, intimidating, dad character

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Umbrage is so adorable

Kabocha

(also, Isilmo? The dragon? more please)

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

yus!

Novasiri

there will be more isilmo soon. XD (And he's getting his own side comic)(edited)

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

I never expected them to be so nice since you know, the initial description is that they maul people

RebelVampire

i agree with the others that the pages were a little smallish for text. not unreadable by any lengths. but it did take a while to get through.

Novasiri

They did maul people tho. :3

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yeah but only bad people

Novasiri

Yeah, it's definitley on the list of 'needs rework'

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

but let me say what i've said a million times before... nova you have the BEST character designs!

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

they were so nice to Mak

Novasiri

sdjfhjkl

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yus

totally adore those character designs

and the sparkels

Novasiri

Thank you so much

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

even inspired me to do better with mine

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

so far my fav is Umbrage, Ira, and Mak

would totally love to be buddies with Umbrage

wishjacked

SAAAAME the character designs are all SO UNIQUE AND APPEALING,,,,, hashtag goals

Novasiri

Umbrage would be good buddies, just not Aion.(edited)

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

would give umbrage all the hugs ^^

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yeah

Aion is jerk

RebelVampire

i like how the elemental types are all really unique in design but also share thematic similarities

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yis

Novasiri

Ah, you noticed that? I'm glad.

Kabocha

STAAAAAAAARS

wishjacked

I was a lil surprised by how good and kind Umbrage was, too, but I actually really liked it?? Like, PLOT TWIST, this fella mauls people BUT they're also totally a good guy! surprise!

Loved that

Novasiri

Each element has it's own aesthetic, but there are things that fit them together as a species.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

ALL THE STARZ

Novasiri

Voids and their staaarrsss. XD

Kabocha

Sorry, I rather like stars, so y'know

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

yus

Novasiri

ilikestarsalottoo

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yisss

stars and sparkels

Novasiri

Umbrage was a big twist of a character. I wanted to keep their personality in the dark, so when we finally met them, it was a shock.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

well you did a good job there

Novasiri

Just like how we thought Aion would have been the good guy, but turned out to be a total sleezeball

wishjacked

I think it really worked!!

Novasiri

It's also a parody of the whole Light = good, Darkness = Bad

RebelVampire

im not sure i assumed aion was a good guy because arrogance is not exactly a positive trait

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

not really I really thought Aion is a jerk from the start

Kabocha

@RebelVampire I agree. XD But then again, you could be a jerk with a heart of gold

I'm glad that wasn't the trope in play

Novasiri

Interesting, cause a lot of people liked Aion at first XD

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Umbridge is I thought really some kind of monster who mauls random creatures

Novasiri

Nah, Aion ripped the gold out of themself(edited)

Kabocha

lmao umbridge

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

I see

I read that XD

Novasiri

Umbrage is an interesting one though, but I'm glad you guys like them over Aion.

Means you'll hate me less in the coming chapter

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

lol

RebelVampire

in the coming chapter where theres a happy ending for everyone and they all use mak's color changing ability to have a rave party?

Novasiri

Pfffffhh XD

Ah, a happy ending would be nice.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Mak turns into a disco ball

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

lol rebel

Novasiri

We'll get to see Mak strobe eventually, in Act 3. It's a while off, and its more trauma induced

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

don't kill umbrage

Novasiri

:3

Kabocha

... o_o

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

i also love how easily it is to get immersed in the world

the backgrounds and scenery really pulls you in

Kabocha

Strobing? like... is this going to be animated

Novasiri

I'm going to attempt it. Yes

Kabocha

>:D

EXCELLENT.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

something like this

Novasiri

More like glitching trainbow

Kabocha

I'm imagining a single page of Mak on a black or transparent background. just.... all the colors

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

would be awesome

XD

Novasiri

But it'll be cool, horrifying, but cool.

Feather, Duke of Comedic Timing

I forgot this started around this time

Novasiri

But expect animated bits, at least gif wise in act 3(edited)

Feather, Duke of Comedic Timing

I love the comic, still reading it so I don't know much and am slow at reading it

wishjacked

I can't believe nova is threatening her characters right here in the chat and nobody is screaming yet

Novasiri

Awww, take your time~

Feather, Duke of Comedic Timing

So far the characters are very expressive

Novasiri

Chloe... you have no idea the horrors that await

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

screms

Kabocha

eh, everyone threatens their characters

and if Draco's around, spoilers get dropped

Novasiri

XD

Kabocha

It is the way of comic tea party. :3

Novasiri

I'm keeping it as vague as possible~

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

its in the by-laws xD

Novasiri

But i may drop a few hints if anyone has specific questions

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

draco = spoiler

the elf

Novasiri

Phineas?

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

he's shuspishus

wishjacked

LALALALALALA NOPE THEYRE ALL GOOD THEYRE HAPPY THEY LIVE IN A BIG HAPPY HOUSE TOGETHER NOVA

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yis

Novasiri

Good

-pats chloe-

Cause he's gonna get a rather large reveal here very soon

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

that part when Madda Rakt talked to him. There's something going on.

Novasiri

So you may hate him more, or feel really bad for the guy

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LEGASP

wishjacked

ohhhh

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

i am just very suspicious of him

Kabocha

Phineas is responsible for the entire plot

Novasiri

Mmmmmm rrrrrr.... You're on the right-ish track.

Kabocha

OH NO

Novasiri

But he's not personally responsible

Kabocha

I was just guessing o_o

Novasiri

But something involving him is.

Kabocha

oh dear

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

Kabocha is best guesser

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

OGM

Kabocha

Apparently lmao

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Kabo is scary

Novasiri

But it also has to do with a character showing up soon.

Kabocha

So he's prolly partly at fault for the trauma Mak's gonna go through ain't he

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

legasp x2

Novasiri

The hint is already in the comic, more so on ch4's cover page. As for Mak, no, the trauma comes a bit later and for a different reason.

Kabocha

(now for the out there part) ...Mak is secretly Phineas' future son.

Novasiri

And it has to do with Gavin, who was mentioned by Aion.

Nope. XD

Kabocha

I had to throw a really bad one in there.

Novasiri

Lol it's okay

Tbh that'd be so much nicer/happier than what Mak's background actually is.

Kabocha

I look forward to learning more about Gavin a bit more though.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

cheks the cover

Novasiri

We'll get a lot of it soon.

Kabocha

It's kind of interesting seeing how much of a hot-button that is for Mak. It's like, dude.

Mak, it can't be thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat bad can it? (clearly it is)

Novasiri

For them it is, of course. XD

Mak's insecure enough as it is, after all. :3

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. At the beginning of Chapter 2, the Matter Lord, Madda-Rakt, pulls aside Phineas. In their private conversation, they refer to Phineas as a “magister” and accuse Phineas of potentially tricking Makumbo. While Phineas assures Madda-Rakt he isn’t “working for them” anymore, Madda-Rakt’s suspicions are not allayed. Who or what do you think magisters are? Why would this cause Madda-Rakt to assume Phineas was trying to hurt Makumbo?

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

awww poor Mak

Novasiri

Speaking of which

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Yis Phineas is suspicious

squints

Kabocha

Don't trust elves, yo

Novasiri

Pffh

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

I think their intention is to kill null primordials

Novasiri

it isn't, anymore.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

personally i think he was one of those undercover spy types who betrayed somekind of useful information at some point

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

legasp\

O_O

wishjacked

wHat

Kabocha

Mak also doesn't want phinease touching him? WHAT DID YOU DO PHINEAS

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

oh yeah

Novasiri

Mak's got personal space issues, and doesn't enjoy being touched in general. But Phineas... Mharz is on the right track, but something happened to make that change

Kabocha

wow I can't type

@Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies -- welp.

Novasiri

And such a job wasn't personal choice either.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

I think Phineas is an assassin who's mission is to kill Mak

Novasiri

I could have been, but something happened~ :3

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

nah i actually think he's trying to right his past wrongs now...though im still suspicious

Novasiri

good deduction AE~

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

maybe he was tasked to kill all the nulls

Novasiri

Not nessicarily just nulls, but there is a reason for that.

And it has a lot to do with 'Them'.

Kabocha

dun-dun-duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

legasp x3

Novasiri

XD

RebelVampire

i feel like the best assumption is that the magisters were partly responsible for the shattering

Novasiri

Bingo~

Kabocha

So, is Casmir just not so fond of Aster because of Aster's silence?

or is there history

Novasiri

there's history between the two.

Which will be shown eventually

Kabocha

>:3c

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

wonders what that book thing Madda Rakt gave to Phineas

Novasiri

-whispers- it's actually a tracking device.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

gasp

huh interesting

Kabocha

nobody trusts phineas

Novasiri

And nobody should. :3

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

wow

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

he's absoulutely suspicious

Novasiri

As I said, the coming pages will determine most peoples outlook on Phineas. you'll either hate him outright, or feel bad for him.

Cause there's blood on those hands.

RebelVampire

i trust phineas.....to put some pizza rolls in the microwave for me to eat.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

oh no blooooood

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

waits for a couple of months... screms

hopefully he didn't poison the pizza

Novasiri

XD

Kabocha

:3

the pointier the ears, the less you should trust 'em

Novasiri

Pffffh

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Kabo, your Aster has pointy ears..

Kabocha

:3

WELP.

Novasiri

XD

But yes, I'd personally say trusting Phineas is typically not the best solution, at this moment in time.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LOL nope

wouldn't trust him to carry stuffs

Novasiri

XD

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

or anything really

Novasiri

But his past will come back and bite him in the ass, eventually.(edited)

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

hopefully Kana keeps him in check or something

Novasiri

And it's still up in the air if he lives or not

-minor spoiler-

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

ooooo

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

gasp

totally looking forward to eet

RebelVampire

phineas has to live long enough for his past to be revealed

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

gonna wait for the pages to pile up

Novasiri

Mhmm.

He will live long enough for that. XD

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LOL

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

yeah it will be the life flashing before his eyes type of thing XDDDD

Novasiri

Hahaha nooo, it'll be slow.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

OMG

Novasiri

and grueling

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Nova so sadist

LOL

Novasiri

:3

RebelVampire

i felt a bit sad that after dragging phineas and kana with, mak had to end up alone anyway

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yeah

Novasiri

Mhmm, part of it was to show Mak's actual self away from the rest, the other part was also to give some material for the side comic(edited)

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

I'm also curious how Kana is related to Mak when she's human and Mak is primordial

Tho Ira did asked before how old is Mak when they "died"

Novasiri

Well you don't need to be blood related to be family~

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

true

Novasiri

But kana met Mak after they had died.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

I'm curious how did Kana wound up in the shattered lands

Novasiri

She actually followed Makumbo there.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

oh

I was thinking the outsiide world is lilke earth

where there's no magical mumbo jumbo happening

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

lol read 'mumbo' as 'makumbo'

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LMAO

RebelVampire

hmmm

then who is this older brother that kana mentioned that gave mak timo?

Novasiri

the Earth Kana and Mak come from actually does have magic, infact it's canonically the Earth in my friends comic, #Wafflefry

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

oh

Novasiri

The older brother is actually a secret. -uo(edited)

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

huh interesting

Novasiri

Yeah, I'm a sucker for interconnecting worlds.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

me too

Novasiri

As for the older brother, their name is actually Theodore. They will not be freatures by name or image in the comic however.

This is due to the fact that Kanami is created by a friend of mine, who gave me full permission to use the character. Theodore is also owned by someone else, but they did not give me permission to have him in the comic. Simple as that.

So they're more mentioned in passing.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

oh wow

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

that's really cool! wow

Novasiri

Many threads, yus~

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

must be real nice to have webcomic friends that you can connect universes to

XD

Novasiri

But a lot of the past between Kana and Mak will be explained in act 3 specifically

As with the reveal of why mak died

And what caused the Shattering to begin with

So.. lots of bomb shells

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

ogm and we're still in act 1

wishjacked

Hey, made it back, sorry!!

Novasiri

Welcome back Chloe~

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

how many chapters in an act?

Novasiri

at least 4-5 chapters

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

I see

Novasiri

Act 1 is exactly 5 chapters

wishjacked

Oh, I'm SO INTERESTED in knowing how the primordials and afterlife work in this world....

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

yus!

Novasiri

We'll get a lot of that Chloe, in the next act

A lot of that

but if you have specific questions, you can ask about it

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

i wonder what the null lands looked like

Novasiri

with the rework of ch1/2 we'll see breif glimpses of what it is now, AE.

wishjacked

the worldbuilding seems to be built a lot on death and I really want to know how it ties together hahaha.

Novasiri

Cause i'm adding a scene or two

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. The comic’s world is vastly characterized by the Shattering, which greatly damaged the Planes and resulted in Null being wiped out completely. Despite Makumbo being reborn as the new Null Lord, though, there is still much chaos present. Why do you think Makumbo, of all people, became a Null? Does the Shattering have anything to do with why seemingly new primordial types are coming into existence? What do you think happened to the All-Father who was partly responsible for the Shattering?

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

yay

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

maybe mak is a reincarnation of the All-Father ./shots

Novasiri

Ooohhh man...

Nah Mharz, that lazy ass is still around somewhere

Kabocha

...in pieces?

Novasiri

Noooo ouo

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

huh I see

Novasiri

I am curious to hear the theories tho.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

really a lazy ass?

Novasiri

The All Father's identiy has been hinted at, you jsut gotta read between the lines a bit. -uo And put together some dots

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

for some reason i feel like null has some kind of bigger purpose in the grand scheme of things...something more than the other primordials....something that is contrary to what we think when we think of the word null

almost like a balance

Novasiri

Good guess~

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

or constant

Kabocha

IT'S PHINEAS

wishjacked

well I hate to keep beating my death horse this but my theory is that the null lord creation has something to do with type a of death

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

damn

XD

Kabocha

(no, I know it's not)

Novasiri

Chloe

on the nose

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Mak was a human initially before turning into a Null lord

Novasiri

A lot of primordials are, however. Including Dunkan. But he's a Void. -uo

but Chloe is on the right track, how, when, and why you die make a BIG difference

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

that's very interesting

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

wut 0.0 omh

omg*

Novasiri

I'm actually alowed to spoil this, as it's world building, not so much integral completly to the story.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

wishes I can make stories as twited as that

Novasiri

Primordials are created from a certain type of soul.

A 'Lost' soul.

A soul that's unfit for their determined afterlife

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

your allowed to spoil what you want...its your story XDDDDD (couldn't resist)

wishjacked

EEEEEEEEEEEE??

Novasiri

How they died, who they were, how old they were all play factors into what element they become

Null has very, specific, parameters

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

wow that's REALLY neat

wishjacked

OK THAT WAS PART OF MY GUESS TOO

Novasiri

Very.. grim... parameters

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yis

wishjacked

YIKES

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

flails!! more excited now

Novasiri

Because for a Null to be formed, it has to be a childs soul.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

null and void makes me think of programming. XD

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

oh no how sad

Novasiri

So we're talking someone has to be below the age of 10, even stillborn... and has to not just die, but their soul has to be lost to the unknown. Which is extremely rare as many 'gods' tend to shelter these types of souls.

So something usually goes 'wrong' when a Null forms

RebelVampire

hmm that does give context for why ira auto thought to ask mak how old they were when they died

Novasiri

Mhmm

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

isn't Mak 11 when they died?

Novasiri

Makumbo was no exception to the rule, however, HOW he died played a major part in why he's a Null.

And yes, he was.

But

wishjacked

My theory was that the reason null has so few souls is because the death is so rare and bizarre. But I couldn't think of why the previous null lord would be much more impressive than Mak (according to freaking Aion) if they were both children's souls

Novasiri

Again, the hows kick into play here.

wishjacked

AWWW BABY

MAK

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

huh interesting

Novasiri

I will spoil it here, but only here.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

is on the edge of her seat

Novasiri

Makumbo's parents were researchers, specifically on the element of Null.

wishjacked

someone give this Lord a cup of cocoa and a warm blanket stat

ohhhHhhooooooooooo

Novasiri

At the age of 6, he was disowned for not being adept in magic.

And then used as a living experiment

to artificially create a Null Primordial

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

WHOA

thats CRAZY

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

wow

Novasiri

Now, Primordial energy + A living body is bad, really bad.

It literaly turnes into a cancer

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Nova spilling all the stuffs

Novasiri

And eats ytou from the inside out

wishjacked

I was about to say I was really glad to be in this server so I can get all the spoilers but I just changed my mind this is the worst I'm cry

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

ouch

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

we do have a spoiler chat

Novasiri

So Makumbo actually 'died' internally, but was kept alive through artifical means.

wishjacked

nova dude

Novasiri

:3

Makumbo's actualy death was around the age of 8, but it took 3 more years for the energy build up to finally go nuclear.

Which it did.. and wiped out the complex, and his family..

And essentiallym freeing him. But he was concious the whole time.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

OMG

wishjacked

my poor baby

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

that sounds majorly tramatic

Novasiri

It's gonna be fun to depict in the comic when the time comes. But yeah.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

and traumatizing

RebelVampire

well this got dark

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Rebel brings the popcorn

wishjacked

brb I'm going to hell the beat his parents into jelly

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

it got DEEP

Novasiri

that explosion of null magic is what alerts Kana to Makumbo's location, she tracks him down, and it's how they meet; she winds up smuggling him to america to protect him.

And hilariously only reason Kana was close enoug to see it, is because she was being a brat and testing demolition tools

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LOL

Novasiri

But yeah....

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

lol brats ftw

Novasiri

And to think, that's just Mak's death... It's no where near as bad as Gavin's.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

brb

Novasiri

which i will not be spoiling

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

no wonder Mak is so timid

RebelVampire

gavin melted in a pool of acid for 100 years

Novasiri

But enough about my blabing, back to the question at hand. XD

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

lol

i think this atmosphere just inspires spoilers x3

Novasiri

XD

there's some things I won't spoil, like the All-Father's identity. That you have to figure out yourselves

As for Astrov and Zenith, aka Possitive and Negative. It does have to do with the shattering in a way.

More of a by-product of the Planes trying to 'fix itself'.

Not saying the whys and hows, but it does have to do with one another.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

i love their clothing

Novasiri

Thank you, their inspiration is very heavily on 'Life' and 'Death' thematics

RebelVampire

so if astrov and zenith are a byproduct of the planes trying to fix themselves, this makes me wonder if theyll be okay if void and null are restored to proper order. since if theyre sort of fixed their existence may no longer be needed.

Novasiri

-eyebrow waggles-

And we'll get to see what happens, eventually~

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

oh noooo not one of those sad fading into the midst ending scenes cries

Novasiri

hahaha no, none of that

There will be fighting, and bickering, and probably some deaths

Kabocha

comes back to holy crap spoilers

Novasiri

XD

Kabocha

MAK YOU PRECIOUS LIL THING

Novasiri

It's most character spoilers, not major plot spoilers, so I'm more okay with some things coming out

Gavin's stuff is major plot spoilers, so... I be hush hush

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

spoilers are spoilers...we take whatever we can get XD

RebelVampire

as for all-fathers identity....my first guess would be ira cause despite ira calling all-father lazy for jumping ship and leaving everyone to clean the mess up, ira seems to have mysterious goals, can change form, and somehow paralyzed aion. but i feel that may be too obvious of a guess and theres plenty of flaws to the idea. theres another guess i may make but i need to check something first

Novasiri

Hmmmm~

Kabocha

I look forward to learning more about Gavin. This would probably explain why Mak reaaaaaaaaally hates getting compared.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

oh interesting thought rebel

Kabocha

And hm. Ira as the all-father? I'll hop on that train.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

i actually hadn't thought about who it might be

Kabocha

though Ira seems a little... irate about having to clean up after him.

Novasiri

Hmmm indeed~

I'm choosing to be silent here, cause I know.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

lol

RebelVampire

but at the same time ira is sort of cleaning up after him by helping mak

so i could argue that the all-father is cleaning up his mess just in secret sort of an in a hands off way

and in disguise cause if i was a primordial i dont think id be too happy with all-father

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

i actually like this thought

Novasiri

So hard to hold my tongue right now

It's very hard

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

hahahaha

Novasiri

Please continue tho

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

hands nova superglue >.>

Kabocha

Ira's just watching, though. I dunno, I suppose we'd have to see how it goes. ....Also how likely is Phineas to get severely injured by the guy tailing them?

Novasiri

Very likley

Kabocha

Madda has NO trust in the guy

Novasiri

Almost guarenteed

Kabocha

losing a limb?

Novasiri

une is very, very dangerous.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

Ira seems to have a very suspicious power they used at Aion

Novasiri

Mhmm~

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. Act 1 is focused on Makumbo helping Madda-Rakt pick a new Void Lord. However, the choices are pretty slim. Makumbo can either pick the pompous Aion or the bestial Umbrage. Who do you think will become the new Void Lord? Speaking of which, what does Ira have to do with everything that’s going on in regards to Void? Is Ira just that helpful or is Ira up to something?

wishjacked

I bet the mimic is the all-father. XD

Novasiri

LOL, nawww. Timo is just timo~

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LOL

would love it to be umbrage personally

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

umbrage!

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

umbrage is so adorbs

Kabocha

Umbrage seems more fitting to do the job at hand

Novasiri

XD A fun tid bit, originally I was planning to host a Patron poll to determine who would become the Void lord, however, this has now been set in stone, and chapter 5 will be the deciding method of who gets the job. But it's not about to be on a handshake.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

oooo

Novasiri

one of them is going to die.

Kabocha

plz be aion

and plz be explodey

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

was thinking that at some point Aion and Umbrage would merge

LOL

Novasiri

It will also be the first introduction on death for Primordials.

Cause it's not good.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

that would be cool to see mharz

Novasiri

You'd be on the right track, Mharz. However neither will be going down without a fight.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

omg

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

0.0

Novasiri

The death is more along the lines of the personality dying, while the other reabsorbs the power.

Chapter 5 is literaly a giant Duel.

Kabocha

well then

they get the power but not the decency

or asshattery

Novasiri

Not going to say who wins, however.

Also breif BRB, pizza just got here.

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yay pizza

don't let Phineas touch it

Novasiri

I may not be back by the time it concludes, but if I don't, I'll still hang out to answer questions if you'd like to ask them

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

waits for a year for all pages to be posted

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

dont let silver touch the pizza either XD

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LOL

nah Silver will just eat the pizza

all of them

if she can eat

RebelVampire

regardless of who becomes void lord, the question is will they be able to take on the eldritch horror thats consuming void.

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

i dont think they can do it alone

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

yee

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

mak is going to have a major role in that

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

I think the three of them are, including Madda-Rakt

RebelVampire

lol im not sure i could picture madda-rakt getting that involved. they seem more like a sit in the background eat popcorn and give moral support type of person XD

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LOL

RebelVampire

granted im sure madda-rakt is powerful

just

if madda-rakt was so forward idk why madda-rakt didnt go reign in aion and umbrage

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

hey you two can do this, I'll just sit back right here

RebelVampire

decided "man ya know whats a great idea? asking the new null lord ive never met"

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

good point

they're pretty protective at Mak too

RebelVampire

granted im sure theres reasons besides that. XD

just madda-rakt seems more likely to leave stuff to the youngins

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

unless there is something about the situation that only a null can do

RebelVampire

yes thats a possibility too

or madda-rakt is partly testing mak

thinking that null isnt going to make a comeback if the new lord sucks

Kabocha

madda said something about not being able to interfere, I think?

RebelVampire

maybe. but i take ppl saying i cant interfere with a grain of salt XD cause i find its usually a coin clip between cant and just wont

and to be fair

the story did seem to indicate that in the hierarchy of power null beats void

so there seems to be a rock paper scissors thing going on i guess?

where elementals have advantages and disadvantages against certain types

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

huh that's pretty interesting

meanwhile nova is watching while eating the pizza

RebelVampire

assuming phineas didnt get to nova first

rip

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

lol

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

dang it Phineas

but I think Null is the powerful out of all them

RebelVampire

that could be too

that nulls in general just badasses

with them strobes

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

one of the reasons why they're eliminated becos probably some find them very threatening

RebelVampire

could be although gavin seemed to be pretty respected in a way?

so since theres only 9 mins left does anyone have any closing thoughts?

Kabocha

MORE ISILMO

RebelVampire

crack theory: isilmo is the all-father

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

LOL that would be best plot twist

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

OM

Novasiri

-munching cinammon sticks- :U

Kabocha

that's it, story's over

get your fire dragons to fix the world

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

I want Isilmo to grow big and strong

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

lol

Novasiri

I read up, yes, there is a sort of power-triangle, or rock paper scissors ordeal. But.. there's also a big rule. Cause a Lord can't Kill another Lord. Madda-Rakt may be pwoerful.. but they can't go after ulhamig alone, cause they wouldn't be able to kill it even if theyw anted to.

Isilmo is gonna get big... He's jsut a baby right now. When he's fully grown, he'll be the size of a clydsdayle

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

maybe Isilmo will save everyone

Novasiri

XD

RebelVampire

so does that mean mak also wouldnt be able to beat ulhamig alone?

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

also curious where Isilmo came from

Novasiri

Mhmm. Mak wouldn't be able to.

It's gonna be a combined effort.

isilmo came from an egg.. lol

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

they all are going to break the rule together?

Feather, Duke of Comedic Timing

Bookmarked the comic for later, but I really have to say I love the dynamic of the characters so far :3

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

LOL

egg

duh

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

wait wait

WAIT

Novasiri

Like... Isilmo is only 6 months old. Tops.

He's a babu

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

the wind lord seems to be a dragon too

Novasiri

Shit

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

hahahahaha

Novasiri

Forget I said that

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

O_o

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

applauds

Novasiri

-deleted it- :I

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

O_O

Kabocha

bwahaha

Novasiri

Wind is a big dergon~ A special type of dergon~

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

i wanna dragon

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

dergon

:3

Novasiri

Yus~

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

still rooting for umbrage

Novasiri

:3

Mharz of Angels & Punchy Ladies

so nice and big and adorable

AngelicEmpyress of Chromacity

yus

RebelVampire

Unfortunately, the scheduled Comic Tea Party is now complete~! Thank you everyone so much for joining this week’s chat~! That being said, if you would like to continue discussing the comic, we encourage you to do so~! We want to give a big thank you to Novasiri, as well, for volunteering Aether Eternius for our reading queue. If you liked the comic, please be sure to support Novasiri’s efforts. If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions about CTP, please feel free to PM me, or e-mail me at RebelVampire@startfaire.com.

With that said, next week’s Comic Tea Party will focus on The Cat, the Vine, and the Victory by wnqs. Please use this week to read as much of the comic as you would like. Hope to see you next Thursday (August 3rd) from 5PM to 7PM PDT~! Until then~! Comic: https://tapas.io/series/The-Cat-The-Vine-and-The-Victory(edited)

[samuelmmarcus]

Interior Design Ideas: Acreage Modern Farmhouse

  After sharing a small lot modern farmhouse last week (thank you all for always helping the blog grow by sharing the posts with your followers on Pinterest and Instagram – you guys really make this community and I appreciate each and every one of you!), I honestly couldn’t be happier today sharing a home that is definitely gorgeous but also feels extra special because it was designed by a dear interior designer that I admire both professionally and personally. Get to know Laura Davidson of Dwellings a little better… I’m sure you will appreciate her talent as much as I do!

  “Hey there! My name is Laura Davidson and I’m an interior designer based in Grand Rapids Michigan, with a design studio Dwellings. Thank you so much for taking the time to peruse this project!

Our client purchased 76 acres of land in 2013, and on it resides the original barn, full of character and set the tone for the development of the property. We remodeled the barn with white board and batten, refurbished the original metal roof and added massive gray barn doors. Fast forward two years, and the team is assembled for building this family country estate. Visbeen Architects handled the architecture, and Tim Nagelkirk from Colonial Builders partnered with me to take the plan from paper to this wonderful family home.

We were honored to be selected as the 2017 Cosmopolitan Home of the Year. It was a labor of love for a wonderful family!”

  See the details shared by this amazing interior designer below:

  Interior Design Ideas: Acreage Modern Farmhouse

The combination of horizontal board and batten siding, metal and shingle roof creates an impressive, yet classic look to this modern farmhouse estate.

Metal Roof

Roofing: Driftwood & Certainteed Galvalume Metal.

Garage

This 5-stall garage is perfectly tucked on the side of the house, not interfering with the architectural details of the facade.

Windows

Windows are DK. Bronze.

Exterior Lighting

Exterior lighting is Troy Lighting.

Exterior Stone

Natural Exterior Stone: Blend -70% Stone Mill, Old Mission -30% Bucchel Charcoal, Cobble Creek.

Exterior Paint Color

Siding Paint Color: Benjamin Moore OC-45 Swiss Coffee.

Portico Lighting

Exterior Light: RH – similar here.

Portico

At the entry, the gabled portico takes the form of a classic three-part archway.

Foyer

A custom front door opens to a stunning foyer with White Oak hardwood flooring, arched ceiling and horizontal board and batten paneling.

Chandelier: Visual Comfort.

Sconces: Visual Comfort.

Similar Hardwood Flooring: here.

Decor

Although this is a very large home, special decorative items make this place feel like a real home… every space feels warm and welcoming – and that’s not always easy to achieve in a home of this size.

Coat Closet

You will find a coat closet just off the foyer. Isn’t this a great idea?!

 Trim and Shiplap Wall Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee.

Lighting: Visual Comfort & Co.

Cabinetry

Cabinetry: Custom Cerused Oak built-in cabinet.

Beautiful Hooks: Here & Here.

Fireplace

This two-story stone double-sided fireplace is surround with raised natural stone hearth and rustic mantel beams.

Stone: Blend -70% Stone Mill, Old Mission, -30% Bucchel Charcoal, Cobble Creek.

Kitchen

Featuring two islands, the kitchen is located in the center of the house and it has an inspiring layout.

Lighting above island: Visual Comfort & Co.

Paint Color

Cabinetry paint color is Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee.

Prep-Island Paint Color

The prep-island paint color is Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray HC-168.

Lighting: Visual Comfort – similar here & here.

Countertop & Backsplash

The countertop is granite; Everest – which is a white and grey stone.

Backsplash Tile: Pratt & Larson – similar here.

Hood is custom – similar here.

Pot Filler: Rohl.

Hardware: Pulls & Knobs.

Sink & Faucet

Kitchen Sink: Rohl.

Kitchen Faucet: Rohl.

Sconce: Hudson Valley.

Main Kitchen Island

Main Kitchen Island Design: “The main kitchen island was designed by me, and we had our cabinet maker company build it. The countertop is Cerused Oak and the base is painted in Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee. The X-Base is a subtle farmhouse theme in the house (a nod to barn doors). The homeowner has a large family and I wanted to offer them a family gathering area, therefore the island offers seating on both sides.” – Laura Davidson of Dwellings.

Counterstools

Counterstools are from Lorts (To the trade – available through the designer).

Beautiful Counterstools: Here, Here, Here, Here, Here & Here.

Dining Room

Paint Color: Benjamin Moore OC-15 Baby Fawn.

Lighting: Visual Comfort.

Rug: Century Flooring.

Dining Table: Vanguard – similar here.

Chairs: Lorts – Other Beautiful Dining Chairs: here, here, here, here, here & here.

Buffet

Buffet: Vanguard – Other Beautiful Buffets: Here, Here, Here, Here & Here.

Similar Table Lamp: Here.

Breakfast Room

The breakfast room features a counter-height table and counterstools with a custom elevated banquette.

Stools: Counter-height Style Upholstering.

Lighting: El Sol Custom Lighting – similar here & here.

Custom Booth/ Custom Table.

Great Room

Soothing wall colors, off-white trim, and natural wood floors ground the space and create a sense of calmness and warmth.

Ceiling Beams: Reclaimed barn beams.

Lighting: Arteriors

Rug: Century Flooring – similar here.

Cocktail Table: Old Biscayne – similar here, here, here, here & here.

Sofas: Wesley Hall – Beautiful Nailhead Sofas: here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Pillow Combination

Beautiful and classy pillow combination.

Pillows are custom.

Similar Throw: Here – Neutral: Here.

Side Table

Side Table: Vanguard.

Round End Table

The interior designer added special details in every room, and that’s what really makes a house feel like a home.

Beautiful Round End Tables:here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Beautiful & Affordable Table Lamps: here, here, here, here & here.

Settees

Settees are CR Laine – Beautiful Settees: here, here, here, here, here & here.

Walls & Trim: Swiss Coffee by BM.

Mantel

Mantel is real reclaimed beam.

Powder Room

Shiplap Paint Color: Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore.

Vanity: RH.

Lighting

Wall Sconce: Visual Comfort & Co.

Master Bedroom Paint Color

Master Bedroom Paint Color: Benjamin Moore HC-162 Brewster Gray.

Master Bedroom

The master bedroom features the ideal size and the ideal furnishings. The entire space feels collected, calm and that view certainly adds beauty to this space.

Lighting: Visual Comfort & Co.

Settee: Vanguard – similar here & here.

Nightstands: Vanguard

Bed frame: Vanguard – similar here.

Bedding: Custom

Inspired by this Bedroom:

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Master Bathroom

Frosted glass French doors open to a neutral and timeless master bathroom with herringbone patterned marble floor.

Stairwell

This staircase features classic wainscoting and custom metal railing. Notice the beautiful cabinetry also found in this space.

Stairway Lighting

Chandelier: Visual Comfort.

Upper Bonus Room

Upstairs you will find four bedrooms with ensuites and a large bonus room.

Sofa: CR Laine – similar here, here & here.

Blue Pods/stools: CR Laine – similar here.

Coffee Table: Custom

Ceiling Fan: here.

Son’s Bathroom

Barn Doors Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Amherst Gray.

Walls Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Manchester Tan.

Trim Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee.

Son’s Bathroom

Cabinet paint color is Benjamin Moore HC-154 Hale Navy.

Similar Sink: Here.

Faucet: Kohler Purist.

Hardware: Bin Pulls & Pulls.

Second Floor Laundry Room

What a dreamy laundry room! Paint color is Revere Pewter HC-172 Benjamin Moore.

Wall Paint Color: BM Swiss Coffee.

Washer and Dryer: Whirlpool washer & Dryer.

Similar Flooring: Here.

Similar Cabinet Hardware: Here & Here.

Lighting: Robert Abbey.

Home Office

The home office features custom cabinets with diagonal bracing and an island-style desk for two.

Lighting: Visual Comfort & Co.

Wallpaper: Kravet

Sofa: MTCo

Rug: Century Flooring

Pillows: Duralee fabric.

Lower Level Laundry Room

Cabinet Paint Color: Benjamin Moore 1564 Beach Glass.

Lighting: Hudson Valley.

Similar Hardware: Bin Pulls & Pulls.

Similar Backsplash: Here & Here.

Sink: Kohler.

Back Hall Bathroom

This half bathroom features bead-and-board style wainscotting, painted in Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee.

Wallpaper: Lee Jofa – Other Great Source for Wallpaper: Here.

Lights: Visual Comfort

Mudroom

The mudroom and half bath are located in a more secluded part of the house and it’s connected to the two main garages.

Lighting

Lighting: Arteriors – (no longer available).

Cabinetry

A custom cabinet with louvered doors divide the mudroom in two areas. This certainly keeps things more organized.

Mudroom Design on a Budget:

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Sitting Room

This room is so welcoming and cozy! Paint color is Baby Fawn by Benjamin Moore.

Furnishings: CR Laine

Back Porch

The screened porch features a stone fireplace, Bluestone floor tile, board and batten siding and reclaimed wood shiplap ceiling.

Back of the House

How magnificent!

Playhouse

Isn’t this playhouse a dream?! Imagine having this as a kid.

Backyard

Beautiful architectural details are found from every angle.

Beautiful Memories

As big this home is, it actually feels like a family home that is loved and cherished, and that’s something wonderful to see…

  Many Thanks to the designer for sharing all details!

 Interior Designer: Dwellings (Instagram– Facebook)

Architecture: Visbeen Architects.

Photographer: Ashley Avila Photography.

Builder: Colonial Builders.

  Best Sales of the Month:

Thank you for shopping through Home Bunch. I would be happy to assist you if you have any questions or are looking for something in particular. Feel free to contact me and always make sure to check dimensions before ordering. Happy shopping!

  Wayfair: Up to 70% OFF – Home Remodel Sale!!!

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  Joss & Main: Warehouse Clearout – Up to 70% off!

  Pottery Barn: 40% OFF EVERYTHING + Free Shipping – Use code: FREESHIP

  One Kings Lane: High Quality Design Decor for Less.

  West Elm: Best time to shop. Up to 40% off Everything!!!

  Anthropologie: See the super-popular Joanna Gaines Exclusive line!

  Urban Outfitters: Hip & Affordable Home Decor.

  Horchow: High Quality Furniture and Decor. Up to 30% off the entire site!

  Nordstrom: Up to 40% OFF. New Decor!

    Posts of the Week:

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: New England Home.

Small Lot Modern Farmhouse.

Family-friendly Home Design.

Florida Vacation Home Style.

Transitional Custom Home Design.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: Canada.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram.

Black and White Interior Design Ideas.

Interior Design Ideas: Designer’s Home.

Interior Design Ideas: Colorful Interiors.

Florida New-Construction Family Home.

Modern English Tudor Design.

Interior Design: Ideas House Tour.

Southern Beach House with Modern Interiors.

Custom Home with Artisan Craftsmanship Interiors.

Traditional Kitchen Reno Ideas.

  “Dear God,

If I am wrong, right me. If I am lost, guide me. If I start to give-up, keep me going.

Lead me in Light and Love”.

Have a wonderful day, my friends and we’ll talk again tomorrow.”

with Love,

Luciane from HomeBunch.com

Interior Design Services within Your Budget

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[dawnjeman]

Interior Design Ideas: Acreage Modern Farmhouse

  After sharing a small lot modern farmhouse last week (thank you all for always helping the blog grow by sharing the posts with your followers on Pinterest and Instagram – you guys really make this community and I appreciate each and every one of you!), I honestly couldn’t be happier today sharing a home that is definitely gorgeous but also feels extra special because it was designed by a dear interior designer that I admire both professionally and personally. Get to know Laura Davidson of Dwellings a little better… I’m sure you will appreciate her talent as much as I do!

  “Hey there! My name is Laura Davidson and I’m an interior designer based in Grand Rapids Michigan, with a design studio Dwellings. Thank you so much for taking the time to peruse this project!

Our client purchased 76 acres of land in 2013, and on it resides the original barn, full of character and set the tone for the development of the property. We remodeled the barn with white board and batten, refurbished the original metal roof and added massive gray barn doors. Fast forward two years, and the team is assembled for building this family country estate. Visbeen Architects handled the architecture, and Tim Nagelkirk from Colonial Builders partnered with me to take the plan from paper to this wonderful family home.

We were honored to be selected as the 2017 Cosmopolitan Home of the Year. It was a labor of love for a wonderful family!”

  See the details shared by this amazing interior designer below:

  Interior Design Ideas: Acreage Modern Farmhouse

The combination of horizontal board and batten siding, metal and shingle roof creates an impressive, yet classic look to this modern farmhouse estate.

Metal Roof

Roofing: Driftwood & Certainteed Galvalume Metal.

Garage

This 5-stall garage is perfectly tucked on the side of the house, not interfering with the architectural details of the facade.

Windows

Windows are DK. Bronze.

Exterior Lighting

Exterior lighting is Troy Lighting.

Exterior Stone

Natural Exterior Stone: Blend -70% Stone Mill, Old Mission -30% Bucchel Charcoal, Cobble Creek.

Exterior Paint Color

Siding Paint Color: Benjamin Moore OC-45 Swiss Coffee.

Portico Lighting

Exterior Light: RH – similar here.

Portico

At the entry, the gabled portico takes the form of a classic three-part archway.

Foyer

A custom front door opens to a stunning foyer with White Oak hardwood flooring, arched ceiling and horizontal board and batten paneling.

Chandelier: Visual Comfort.

Sconces: Visual Comfort.

Similar Hardwood Flooring: here.

Decor

Although this is a very large home, special decorative items make this place feel like a real home… every space feels warm and welcoming – and that’s not always easy to achieve in a home of this size.

Coat Closet

You will find a coat closet just off the foyer. Isn’t this a great idea?!

 Trim and Shiplap Wall Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee.

Lighting: Visual Comfort & Co.

Cabinetry

Cabinetry: Custom Cerused Oak built-in cabinet.

Beautiful Hooks: Here & Here.

Fireplace

This two-story stone double-sided fireplace is surround with raised natural stone hearth and rustic mantel beams.

Stone: Blend -70% Stone Mill, Old Mission, -30% Bucchel Charcoal, Cobble Creek.

Kitchen

Featuring two islands, the kitchen is located in the center of the house and it has an inspiring layout.

Lighting above island: Visual Comfort & Co.

Paint Color

Cabinetry paint color is Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee.

Prep-Island Paint Color

The prep-island paint color is Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray HC-168.

Lighting: Visual Comfort – similar here & here.

Countertop & Backsplash

The countertop is granite; Everest – which is a white and grey stone.

Backsplash Tile: Pratt & Larson – similar here.

Hood is custom – similar here.

Pot Filler: Rohl.

Hardware: Pulls & Knobs.

Sink & Faucet

Kitchen Sink: Rohl.

Kitchen Faucet: Rohl.

Sconce: Hudson Valley.

Main Kitchen Island

Main Kitchen Island Design: “The main kitchen island was designed by me, and we had our cabinet maker company build it. The countertop is Cerused Oak and the base is painted in Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee. The X-Base is a subtle farmhouse theme in the house (a nod to barn doors). The homeowner has a large family and I wanted to offer them a family gathering area, therefore the island offers seating on both sides.” – Laura Davidson of Dwellings.

Counterstools

Counterstools are from Lorts (To the trade – available through the designer).

Beautiful Counterstools: Here, Here, Here, Here, Here & Here.

Dining Room

Paint Color: Benjamin Moore OC-15 Baby Fawn.

Lighting: Visual Comfort.

Rug: Century Flooring.

Dining Table: Vanguard – similar here.

Chairs: Lorts – Other Beautiful Dining Chairs: here, here, here, here, here & here.

Buffet

Buffet: Vanguard – Other Beautiful Buffets: Here, Here, Here, Here & Here.

Similar Table Lamp: Here.

Breakfast Room

The breakfast room features a counter-height table and counterstools with a custom elevated banquette.

Stools: Counter-height Style Upholstering.

Lighting: El Sol Custom Lighting – similar here & here.

Custom Booth/ Custom Table.

Great Room

Soothing wall colors, off-white trim, and natural wood floors ground the space and create a sense of calmness and warmth.

Ceiling Beams: Reclaimed barn beams.

Lighting: Arteriors

Rug: Century Flooring – similar here.

Cocktail Table: Old Biscayne – similar here, here, here, here & here.

Sofas: Wesley Hall – Beautiful Nailhead Sofas: here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Pillow Combination

Beautiful and classy pillow combination.

Pillows are custom.

Similar Throw: Here – Neutral: Here.

Side Table

Side Table: Vanguard.

Round End Table

The interior designer added special details in every room, and that’s what really makes a house feel like a home.

Beautiful Round End Tables:here, here, here, here, here, here & here.

Beautiful & Affordable Table Lamps: here, here, here, here & here.

Settees

Settees are CR Laine – Beautiful Settees: here, here, here, here, here & here.

Walls & Trim: Swiss Coffee by BM.

Mantel

Mantel is real reclaimed beam.

Powder Room

Shiplap Paint Color: Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore.

Vanity: RH.

Lighting

Wall Sconce: Visual Comfort & Co.

Master Bedroom Paint Color

Master Bedroom Paint Color: Benjamin Moore HC-162 Brewster Gray.

Master Bedroom

The master bedroom features the ideal size and the ideal furnishings. The entire space feels collected, calm and that view certainly adds beauty to this space.

Lighting: Visual Comfort & Co.

Settee: Vanguard – similar here & here.

Nightstands: Vanguard

Bed frame: Vanguard – similar here.

Bedding: Custom

Inspired by this Bedroom:

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Master Bathroom

Frosted glass French doors open to a neutral and timeless master bathroom with herringbone patterned marble floor.

Stairwell

This staircase features classic wainscoting and custom metal railing. Notice the beautiful cabinetry also found in this space.

Stairway Lighting

Chandelier: Visual Comfort.

Upper Bonus Room

Upstairs you will find four bedrooms with ensuites and a large bonus room.

Sofa: CR Laine – similar here, here & here.

Blue Pods/stools: CR Laine – similar here.

Coffee Table: Custom

Ceiling Fan: here.

Son’s Bathroom

Barn Doors Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Amherst Gray.

Walls Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Manchester Tan.

Trim Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee.

Son’s Bathroom

Cabinet paint color is Benjamin Moore HC-154 Hale Navy.

Similar Sink: Here.

Faucet: Kohler Purist.

Hardware: Bin Pulls & Pulls.

Second Floor Laundry Room

What a dreamy laundry room! Paint color is Revere Pewter HC-172 Benjamin Moore.

Wall Paint Color: BM Swiss Coffee.

Washer and Dryer: Whirlpool washer & Dryer.

Similar Flooring: Here.

Similar Cabinet Hardware: Here & Here.

Lighting: Robert Abbey.

Home Office

The home office features custom cabinets with diagonal bracing and an island-style desk for two.

Lighting: Visual Comfort & Co.

Wallpaper: Kravet

Sofa: MTCo

Rug: Century Flooring

Pillows: Duralee fabric.

Lower Level Laundry Room

Cabinet Paint Color: Benjamin Moore 1564 Beach Glass.

Lighting: Hudson Valley.

Similar Hardware: Bin Pulls & Pulls.

Similar Backsplash: Here & Here.

Sink: Kohler.

Back Hall Bathroom

This half bathroom features bead-and-board style wainscotting, painted in Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee.

Wallpaper: Lee Jofa – Other Great Source for Wallpaper: Here.

Lights: Visual Comfort

Mudroom

The mudroom and half bath are located in a more secluded part of the house and it’s connected to the two main garages.

Lighting

Lighting: Arteriors – (no longer available).

Cabinetry

A custom cabinet with louvered doors divide the mudroom in two areas. This certainly keeps things more organized.

Mudroom Design on a Budget:

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Sitting Room

This room is so welcoming and cozy! Paint color is Baby Fawn by Benjamin Moore.

Furnishings: CR Laine

Back Porch

The screened porch features a stone fireplace, Bluestone floor tile, board and batten siding and reclaimed wood shiplap ceiling.

Back of the House

How magnificent!

Playhouse

Isn’t this playhouse a dream?! Imagine having this as a kid.

Backyard

Beautiful architectural details are found from every angle.

Beautiful Memories

As big this home is, it actually feels like a family home that is loved and cherished, and that’s something wonderful to see…

  Many Thanks to the designer for sharing all details!

 Interior Designer: Dwellings (Instagram– Facebook)

Architecture: Visbeen Architects.

Photographer: Ashley Avila Photography.

Builder: Colonial Builders.

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Thank you for shopping through Home Bunch. I would be happy to assist you if you have any questions or are looking for something in particular. Feel free to contact me and always make sure to check dimensions before ordering. Happy shopping!

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  “Dear God,

If I am wrong, right me. If I am lost, guide me. If I start to give-up, keep me going.

Lead me in Light and Love”.

Have a wonderful day, my friends and we’ll talk again tomorrow.”

with Love,

Luciane from HomeBunch.com

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[goldengirl504]

Changing something about your lifestyle is always difficult at first, especially when you find yourself away from home. Only two weeks before returning to Tulane, I decided to remove all animal-based products from my diet– meat, fish, dairy, and eggs among others.

Never a fan of diets or dietary fads, I had long snubbed efforts at vegetarianism and veganism by my friends, not seeing the reason or true value behind their personal and ecological commitment. After becoming aware of the devastating effects of animal agriculture on the environment and the wellbeing of all species and communities, I had to make the choice to stop supporting that industry. Since committing to a lifestyle of healthier choices for my body and the environment I’ve come to appreciate all of the true benefits of transitioning to a vegan or “plant-based” diet.

I thought moving back south to New Orleans for the school year would present significant challenges in my quest for cruelty-free, environmentally-sustainable, and nutritious food. I was nervous that eating on a meal plan would restrict my options and leave me with repetitive and bland meal options. Luckily, Tulane’s dining services have an all vegan station and offer a few additional on-campus dining options that tend to have healthier options.

There are abundant vegan restaurants in New Orleans and the options Uptown alone, that cater to vegan diets has continued to amaze me. There are many restaurants that specifically target vegan and vegetarian populations such as Seed or Bearcat Cafe. Some of my favorite spots to sneak away to off-campus to indulge in a flavorful and filling vegan meal are:

Seed

Seed is an entirely vegan restaurant with the mission of creating food sourced from local, organic, and natural ingredients that still have the classic New Orlean’s taste. They have a diverse menu of staple vegan choices like avocado toast and an extensive build-your-own salad section, but they also offer traditional New Orleans dishes made vegan including an eggplant or fried tofu po’boy, and gumbo. My personal favorite dish is the southern-fried Tofu nuggets – a much-needed comfort food in the wake of chicken nuggets. The vegan buffalo sauce is just the cherry on top of the cake! Don’t sleep on the brunch menu – only available on the weekends – it might be your only chance to score some vegan chicken and waffles.

Avocado Toast with a Tofu Scramble

Vegan Beignets

Surreys – Uptown

Surrey’s is a classic uptown brunch eatery, notable for its funky atmosphere and art-lined walls. The menu features Latin-inspired breakfasts along with other popular specials. While the menu doesn’t feature exclusively vegan options, they have a great asterisk system working for them; one for vegetarians, two for vegans. What puts surreys on the map in the name of vegan-friendly restaurants is the option to substitute eggs for tofu in any of the original breakfast options at no extra charge. Going vegan, for me at least, has meant substituting a lot of the protein you used to eat for tofu, and you start to become wary quickly at restaurants who unnecessarily charge at your dietary requests (don’t even get me started on almond milk). My classic order is the tofu breakfast plate with a side of avocado mash… 10/10.

Tofu Breakfast Plate

Satsuma

If you’ve ever asked a Tulane student what their favorite brunch spot close to campus is, odds are you’ve heard more than one person respond with “Satsuma”. On the corner of Maple and Fern street rests a popular cafe that serves breakfast and lunch, with a paid attention to locally sourced ingredients. Their menu is loaded with healthy options, and vegetarian and vegan choices as well. Once going vegan I had to do away with my classic order, a lunch plate with scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and avocado mash. I try and switch up the vegan options I get, but my favorite and new classic order, is the quinoa market salad (with no cheese), a side of toast with avocado mash because I’m never honestly filled up with just a salad. With all the incredible vegan options available, possibly the best part of going to Satsuma is indulging in their delicious double chocolate chip cookie, which you would never know was vegan if not for the little “V” in the top-left corner of the pastry label. Since I spent the first few weeks of school just trying every vegan option or combination on the menu, here’s a few more photos than just my usual order.

Mexican Breakfast Plate (no cheese, no eggs, add tofu)

Asian Tofu Scramble

My New Classic – The Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with a side of avocado toast and an orange juice

Dat Dog

Dat Dog is a popular franchise in New Orleans that expands upon the classic hot dog, by offering nine different types of sausages to choose from, plus three vegan ones, and over 30 toppings to mix and match. Popular locations on Freret Street and Frenchman Street draw crowds to the brightly colored oasis with a quick meal that will satisfy your taste buds, and not break the bank. The first time I returned to Dat Dog as a vegan I tried the Spicy Chipotle Dog, but the second time around, I got the Field Roast Italian Dog, and liked that one much better! Perfect for parties with mixed dietary needs, Dat Dog has options for everyone – even if you don’t like hot dogs, they have fish and chicken “dogs” as well. Be sure to stop by the Magazine Street location on the weekends to eat your hot dog amidst an Art Market that pops up in the courtyard of the restaurant each weekend.

Vegan Chipotle Dog

There are dozens of other vegan and vegetarian-friendly restaurants in the area to choose from like Hivolt, Slim Goodies Diner, and Poke Loa, which are perfect for dining with your friends, so you don’t have to nervously scan the menu, hoping to find a dish you can eat. I’d love to know; what’s the best restaurant for a vegan meal in your area?

Raw Vegan Brownie and an iced vanilla latte with almond milk from Hivolt

“Huevos” Rancheros from Slim Goodies with a tofu scramble and vegan bacon

Tofu Poke Bowl

    vegan food in new orleans! Changing something about your lifestyle is always difficult at first, especially when you find yourself away from home.