#also it is 1 am i can't be bothered to format this

[elizabethrobertajones]

since they gave us a search area this big:

it would have been nice if Y'shtola's dialogue didn't immediately tell us to go look at the heartblossoms again when putting out a search party, but left us SOME opportunity to use our brains and give people a chance to put together even a basic 1+1=Krile went back here.

At this point it just acts as a trap for people who skip cut scenes and don't even read the text as they click through it as fast as possible. You have to be actively resisting the story for a search area this big to make sense. And while that's funny to me, I do think they should give everyone else at least the suspension of disbelief they're giving us a chance to do a little hide and seek game even if the answer is blindingly obvious and the only challenge might be remembering how to get back up here if it's your first time in the zone...

If I may ramble more, I am also bothered that the sidequests popped up after the frog thing, while we were on the other side of the map, and while the frog quest gives us no chance to DO side quests, picking them up to do along the way back since we're now going to have to walk back the length of the map to return to Y'shtola and then backtrack further here, would give plenty of time for sculpted sidequest storytelling.

My favourite example I always always go back to as an example is from the master storyteller of the game so maybe it's unfair. But in the Azim Steppe, I always recommend picking up and doing the sidequests as they become available, because they're deeply sculpted to the MSQ as it goes through the areas. The most important one is right out the door: a 2nd or 3rd wave of quests unlock in Reunion once you've met Cirina and got onto the quest to go meet Hien. Only then does a quest open up where you go collect lost children who've wandered all over Reunion, and with the Hien quest location an orange circle rather than an obvious MSQ dialogue marker, the mini map fills up with little orange circles of where wayward children of the steppe are including one up on the bluffs; one of the 5 circles is however Hien.

The simplicity and subtlety of it knocked my socks off and made me realise that while I'd already been impressed with how they use the MMO format for storytelling, you could get deep and interesting with it as a really unique medium for storytelling and characterisation, and converted me to ALWAYS doing the quests as and when they unlock rather than leaving them for after I've done the MSQ and am just noodling around a zone for the XP later.

Anyway, the labyrinthos quests are largely about the culture shock (we eat bugs here!) or jokes (there's both a beaver AND a namazu in a box startling or worrying researchers in separate parts of MSQ and sidequest) and not much upfront that either gives us stronger gleaner stuff (the questgivers are mostly/all researchers students and scientists) or lean into the mysticism of it all (the nice botanist who infodumps about his favourite flower says all that then walks out the story forever instead of sticking around to do follow up flower quests) and since you can't even pick up the sidequests in the medial zone when you're 99% likely to go straight to Krile from the toad event, do the big cutscene, and have already learned everything we needed to learn about the story from the zone by the time you walk back through Argonomics, the chance to really do anything with the MSQ is really weak. Add on that the first part of this storyline is further Sharlayan stuff in the main city and the sidequests there, the speed at which you can blitz through this area really makes it one of the weakest areas... I'm so glad I went to Thavnair first on my first playthrough because this is abstractly interesting but just so thinly told compared to the richness I normally expect of the game...

[kris-mage-fics]

for the WIP ask game: entry about being the Hero of Haven?

WIP Whenever ask game, and here's the answer for dress shopping with Lavinet, and Wallmire banter along with Red 5+1 - Part 1 - first meeting (my working titles are terrible, lol) (a lovely person asked about Only you and I were meant to be, so that one is still coming)

For this one I tried a different format and wrote it like one of Kyrahlise's journal entries. She's been pretty faithful about writing in a journal since shortly after her Flower Day. Largely as a way to remember Vale and all she was taught. But also as a way to vent about things happening in her life that she can't say aloud.

This one is very much a vent. She has a lot of negative feelings about being the Hero of Haven, but understands how her fame can be a tool used for good. Which leads her to believe she can't be honest with anyone about how deeply it bothers her to become a figurehead and legend.

I’ve been demoted from human to a being that lives in song, story, rumors, and newspaper articles. In some circles, I’ve recently learned, my worth to Blest versus the danger I pose is a hotly debated topic. No, only the aggrandized or villainized version of me is alive in the popular consciousness. I am a tale—cautionary or uplifting depending on who you ask. It gives me a great deal of sympathy for Halek’s feelings about being the Sol. I know he’d argue I made bad matters worse by accepting the position of Commander. Though it would seem far odder if I’d turned it down. And I can’t deny I was essentially doing the job already. At least this way it came with a pay raise and the extra authority that makes working with other branches of the government a little smoother.

[quixoticall]

This Could Get Ugly Track 1: Before the Beginning

Summary: It's 1983 and The Downsides need another lead singer and you just happen to need a band--it's a perfect match. The only issue? You have to pretend to be in a relationship with your bandmate, Steve Harrington, but you can't help but be drawn to the band's broody guitar player.

pairing: s.h. x fem!reader, e.m. x fem!reader, j.b. x n.w.

warnings: It's the Daisy Jones and the Six!AU, Enemies to friends to lovers, Love triangles, sex, drugs, rock and roll, etc., fake relationships, bad parents all around, era-typical misogyny and sexism, mentions of reader's looks (as being very beautiful), partially interview format, no use of YN

AN: Hi, if you're a longtime TCGU reader, please read this note from me explaining this new format. If this is your first time coming across This fic, welcome! Please enjoy my attempt at a Daisy Jones and the Six!AU with some Fleetwood Mac-messiness thrown in.

MASTERLIST🎸

Prologue 🎤

WC: 8.6K

***

STEVE: Right, so I just start talking into this microphone thing?

INTERVIEWER: Yes, but you need to introduce yourself first.

STEVE: You know who I am, we’ve known each other for—ah, okay, okay sorry. I’m Steve. Harrington, obviously. Former lead singer and guitarist of The Downsides. So, uh, where do I start?

INTERVIEWER: The beginning—tell me about how you first got involved with music.

STEVE: Right, okay, I can do that. I grew up kinda lonely. My dad was this big real estate investor but we lived in Indiana of all places, so he was always traveling. I don’t think I remember him ever being home for more than a month straight growing up… and my mom was there but she wasn’t there, ya know? She drank a lot and spent a lot of time in bed, that sort of thing.

***

1962-1972, Los Angeles California

Your childhood is a lonely one but it’s also a boring and predictable one.

Born in sun-soaked LA to a movie director father and his much younger model wife, two people who didn’t know each other well enough to either love or hate the other. They maintained a similar distance in their marriage as the one they tried to uphold in their individual relationships with you, their child.

So, your infancy was spent in a rotation of different nanny’s arms with your parents’ presence only dotting the periphery of your life. Who could blame them, after all? Infants are so contrived and boring compared to the big, wide, world of art that was Los Angeles in the 1960s.  Your parents were far too busy trying to cement their legacy in the art they created and inspired to spend too much time looking after you.

(Much later in life, you would find yourself wondering if your parents ever saw the irony  in the fact that your art ended up eclipsing their entire existence in the end and their only legacy was that of being your parents.)

As a child, however, you spent little time thinking of legacy and instead spent your time trying to feel less lonely.

***

STEVE: When I was a kid I would wonder why my parents even had me. Sorry, that’s like a total bummer thing to say during an interview. But it’s true. And you said to tell the truth. I never felt wanted by them. Until I got famous, and even then… but that’s not new,  a lot of kids grow up feeling lonely, right?

***

The employees who raised you were nice enough, but they saw you for what you were: a means to an end. A paycheck with big, sad, beautiful eyes that may beget sympathy, but they couldn’t get too close to.  The children you came to meet at your elite California private school seemed palatable enough at first, but the more you interacted with them, the more you found yourself at a loss. It was like they spoke a secret language you did not know—a language of price tags, and ever-changing hierarchies and thinly-veiled insults. One that your mother spoke perfectly, but never bothered to pass down to you.

You end up turning to books instead. The home library your father kept up for appearances’ sakes became your favorite room in the house and your teenage growth spurts were fed by any and all novels you could get your hands on from historical biographies to soapy romances, you read them all.  You loved them all, but you loved poetry the most— emotive and raw in ways you were unfamiliar with. You liked the way the syllables rolled gracefully into one another and how each word served a purpose—compact with meaning and so unlike the people around you who were so careless with their words.

As you began to age, and the meaningless mess of childhood shifted into the sharpness of adolescence, you began to write yourself. One day, somehow you had the idea of putting your poetry to music. If you could write songs good enough to be played on the radio then maybe you could earn people's adoration through your art like your parents had, you reasoned. Maybe you could even earn their adoration. You beg your parents for piano lessons, and they scoff at the thought.  “But what’s the point of having one if no one can play it?” You ask, referencing the piano in the grand foyer.

“That piano is not meant to be played,” your mother explains, slowly, “it’s meant to be admired by our guests.”

She walks away from the conversation before you can even protest.

Instead of giving up, though, you went to the library and borrowed all the books you could on music and piano playing and slowly began to teach yourself. You were not very good, at first, and both your parents made a habit of reminding you whenever they were around to hear you practicing. Luckily, they were rarely around.

***

STEVE: My parents signed me up for every single activity and extra-curricular you can think of: karate, basketball, pottery.   The one that really stuck though, was guitar lessons. Soon, that was the only thing I wanted to do it was something I was actually good at. Not something I had potential in, not something I was passable at. It was something I was good at. My dad did not like the idea of me going into music at first—he wanted me to take on a “manlier” hobby—but even he couldn’t deny that I was talented, and he sent me to this specialized music school in Indianapolis. That’s where I met Robin. That’s when I stopped feeling so alone.

ROBIN: Robin Buckley, brass, bass, and synth for The Downsides.

I met Steve when we were thirteen, I think, at this fancy music school in Indianapolis. I was there on scholarship.  I’m not going to lie, he was obnoxious, but most thirteen-year-old boys are. Even then, though, there was something about him that made everyone want to be his friend. He was also really talented. He never had to work very hard to be good at something, but he worked hard anyway. I hated him at first, but he wore me down and we eventually became best friends.

***

1978

Your music became a good outlet for all your loneliness and anger and disappointment, but it was not a cure for any of those things. You craved friendship and commonality and to be liked beyond the surface.

One day, when you were towards the end of seventeen, you decided to go exploring. You had heard Emily Cooke whispering salaciously in the girls’ bathroom at school about sneaking into the Whiskey A Go-Go to see The Six playing and an idea began to blossom.

Your home was only a walking distance from the Strip, the aptly named piece of street that was lined with clubs and musical venues, so that day, after hearing Emily’s plan you decided to try your luck at the Whiskey. You loved music, after all, and you wanted to be good at it, like the musicians that played there. Plus, there were others that shared those interests and the was a chance that some of them would be more tolerable than Emily Cooke.

You waited in line, by yourself, donning an outfit that you hoped made you look older than you were in an organic, cool way. When you made it to the doorman, you smiled trying to look more confident than pleading. His eyes raked over your body once, then twice and you resist the urge to flinch away. You had known then that you were beautiful—mostly because it was the only thing your mother valued in you— but what you hadn’t known was how far just being beautiful could get you. The doorman had let you in the club, not even questioning when your voice wavered while you had told him you were older than you actually were.

***

ROBIN:   Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but Steve was my first kiss.

INTERVIEWER: Uh, Robin?

ROBIN: Oh, right…. Well, whatever, Steve Harrington was my first kiss. He was also the first person I told that I liked girls. I knew from a really early age that I didn’t find men attractive but when Steve kissed me at our high school dance I had this immediate realization and I sorta burst out, “Steve, I like girls.” It was a really great moment of self-awareness for me—growing up as a girl, they always try to put you in this box of like feminity and being whatever men wanted you to be, including an object to be looked at or pawned over. I didn’t know how being gay fit into all that, until that moment.

I don’t think it was that great of a moment for Steve, though.

STEVE: She told you about that? Well, for the record, it wasn't that I wasn't happy for her, it's just when you're a teenage boy and if your first crush admits she's a lesbian moments after you kiss her for the first time, well, it does not do your ego any favors, does it?

***

The moment you walked through that door, your life became severed in two: the before and the after. You watched, from the fringe of the crowd, as Billy Dunne crooned soulfully, and the audience sang his own words back to him.

You briefly imagine yourself on the stage, being someone that people would actually want to come see, someone that people would listen to. Someone people would love.  

***

STEVE: I always knew I wanted to be in music. It was the only thing that ever made sense. Wait, no, that’s not right… It’s the only thing that ever made life make sense. So, I started working at it, like seriously working it at, when I was 16. I bought as many records as I could, figured out what I liked, what I could do, and I practiced all the time. Like all the time. Robin did, too. I would play the guitar and sing, and she was insane on the trumpet and bass. I don’t think we ever sat down and had a conversation about whether we wanted to form a band or even what we wanted for ourselves in the future. We just always knew it was going to be the two of us, and we were going to be making music. Of course, you can’t have a band with only a guitar and a trumpet, so we had to start looking for more members.

***

1980

From that point on, your life had purpose.

You began to study everything about music—obsessively. You collected records, you played the piano until your fingers became cramped and sore or until your mother yelled at you to stop.

You filled notebook after notebook with lyrics, some good, many bad.

But you also kept your eyes on the tabloids and the gossip rags and the fashion magazines. To be a successful musician, you had to be good of course, but you also had to be well-liked. Growing up in the environment you did had given you a very unique perspective on this. Since infancy, you had seen hopeful artists-to-be approach your father for a chance, or ask your mother for advice. The most successful of them were not always the ones who had the best things to say, but those who said what they had to say in the best way.

 You practiced giving fake interviews in front of your mirror and in the shower. You stayed on top of trends and bought the best-fitting clothes. And most importantly, you tried to associate yourself with all the right people.

By the time you turned 18, you were well-known, even beyond the Strip. Photos of you standing next to the bass player/drummer/guitarist/lead singer of whatever band might have been riding a momentary wave of popularity at the time began to appear in tabloid magazines.

Most of them were men. Most of them wanted something out of you. You became a master in the art of giving just enough for them to think they had a chance with you if it meant that you could learn from them or convince them to listen to one of your songs. But every time you would even mention the idea that you wrote music, you would come hit a wall of patronizing, feigned interest followed by a grab at your chest.

Then came Jason Carver. Lead singer of the Letterman’s, Jason Carver. You dated him for a few weeks, right after you had turned 18. He was 25 and just charming enough for you to overlook his frequent condescension. Plus, he had promised that he would teach you a few chords on the guitar.

One day, you had come over to his apartment and he was getting all worked up because the band’s label was on his ass about writing a song and he couldn’t quite get it right. He needed to write a love song, something introspective and sweet but Jason could only churn out party anthems and songs meant to be played in dive bars.

Eventually, after hearing him gripe for what seemed like an eternity, you sent him off to take a shower and in the meanwhile compiled all of his shreds of half-lines and began to work filling in the gaps. Forty minutes later, you had a solid chorus and first verse to present to him for a song you thought should have been called “All At Once”. You thought that this would’ve made him happy, after all, you had gotten him one step closer to a possible song. (And maybe, you had secretly hoped, in all of his gratitude he could be swayed to give you a writing credit on the song).  Instead, he laughed at you like you were a child pretending to do an adult task and asked you to leave with a hasty promise that he would call you later that week. He never called. The hurt you felt was only a pin-prick. Six months later, you heard The Letterman’s on the radio: a new song by them called, “All At Once”. You tried to convince yourself for a moment that there would be no way that Jason could blatantly steal your song after having mocked you for even trying to write. But, boy, were you wrong. Those were, in fact, your lyrics, on the radio. Yes, the band had added another verse but, ultimately, your lyrics were all there. The same lyrics Jason had so easily dismissed six months prior.

That was when you realized if you were going to get ahead in the industry, you were going to have to play dirty, like Jason Carver.

***

 ROBIN: We met Argyle in Chicago. Once we graduated high school Steve and I started working as subs for small bands in the Midwestern circuit. Yes, it was as grim as it sounds, but it paid the bills and helped us meet people. Argyle was the drummer of some Reggae band that needed a bass player for a few weeks when their bassist got arrested on possession charges. I subbed in and was immediately super impressed by his skills. People always underestimated Argyle, to this day, because of the whole vibe he gives off, you know? But he’s smart and adaptable. Anyway, when his bassist lost his case, the band broke up indefinitely and I tried my best to convince Argyle to join Steve and me. There were two of us, we’d never played an official gig, and we didn’t even have a name, but Argyle said yes. Next was Nancy. We held open auditions for a keyboardist once Argyle was onboard. After five passable auditions, Nancy Fucking Wheeler walks in in this long skirt and bows in her hair. She had a book of Debussy sheet music for God’s sake. I almost burst out laughing when I saw her because I thought she must have been lost but then, in true Nancy Wheeler fashion she blew us all away. Ugh, was that woman talented. And gorgeous. Steve’s jaw had to be crane-lifted off the floor, it was love at first sight.

STEVE: It was not. She’s exaggerating.

1980

Ironically, you met Murray Bauman at one of your parents’ parties.

You knew he was a music producer for Starcourt Records because he kept loudly boasting to his date about it. The same Starcourt Records that the Letterman’s were signed on to.

You waited until he was two gin martinis in and standing alone admiring your father’s latest art purchase before you approached.

“Hello,” you said, brandishing a dazzling smile, your whole body angled and ready to perform this familiar dance.

“Aren’t you the producer for the Letterman’s?”

He shot you a grin that borders on swarmy and said, “why yes, I am and you look like you’re out past your bedtime.”

You didn’t react to his statement and instead marched onwards, “I loved their latest song, ‘All At Once’ right? It’s so romantic.”

“Between you and me, I’m not sure how Carver popped that one out, he’s a bit of a meathead if you catch my drift.”

He didn’t wait to see your reaction before laughing at his own joke.

“Yeah, actually, I’m not surprised to hear that considering I dated him,” your eyes flashed in a way that you hoped came off as dangerous, “and that I wrote that song.”

He regarded you for a moment before breaking out in a laugh. When he saw your expression remained unchanged, he stepped back in assessment.

“Oh shit, you’re being serious.”

You only nodded grimly.

“Okay, well that’s a new one. Usually, girls come up claiming that one of those idiots impregnated them, not this.”

He regarded you again, searching for a trace of a lie. He sighed, “So let’s say that you did write the song, which, knowing what I know about those Neanderthals, I am willing to entertain the possibility of this being at least partially true, then what does that mean? You’re going to blackmail Starcourt? Do you want money?”

You gestured vaguely behind you, sure that he must have known who your parents were. “I don’t need money.”

“Then, what is it?”

“I write music. Obviously. I want to write for your label.”

A grin broke out across his face, “Oh, boy.” He started to laugh: a deep chuckle that floated up from his belly.

“You and every other Joe Schmoe in Hollywood, sweetie.”

“But not every other Joe Schmoe wrote a song for one of your most popular bands.”

Murray regarded you again, he gave you a look you’re all too familiar with. One that says he did not expect such a fight in such an unassuming package.

“Here’s the deal,” you start, taking his brief lapse to pounce, “all I want is for you to take my demo tape and listen to it, like actually listen to it. Do that and we never have to mention this again.”

“And if I say no to your little proposition?”

You smile at his question before offering a small piece of paper, “Then here’s the business card to my lawyer he’ll be reaching out.”

This, puzzlingly, makes the man burst out laughing once again.

“Let me get this straight, you just want me to listen to your tape? That’s the grand blackmailing scheme? No record deal, no music video?”

You shake your head in response, “No, I think my music speaks for itself. I just need to get it in front of the right person.”

Murray’s still chuckling to himself as he extends his hand out signaling for you to drop the tape you are now holding in his hands.

“Fine, but you are one shitty blackmailer.”

You were signed to Startcourt Records a month later.

***

STEVE: Once Nancy joined, we were a band, and so we needed a name. I suggested the Steve Harrington experience but the girls shot me down like, right away. We ended up fighting about names for like an hour. It was actually Argyle who ended up coming up with our name. The Downsides, he had said, since we were all so negative about everything. He had said this after Robin had said I was 'all hair and no brain'. Not the best of origin stories, I guess. But we liked it and that’s how we became The Downsides.

***

NANCY: Nancy Wheeler, former keyboardist for The Downsides.

  I had been playing piano since I was eight, it was just one of those things my parents signed me up for to make me more well-rounded for college applications but I ended up loving it more than they had hoped.

I auditioned for the band on a whim, I was going to Indiana State at the time, getting my teaching degree but I loved playing the piano more than I would ever love being a teacher. To be honest, when I auditioned, I didn’t think they were going to take me, not even after I saw they had another girl in the band. Don’t get me wrong, I knew I had the talent for it, I just didn’t necessarily give off Rock and Roll vibes, but they accepted me anyway.

  I had a feeling Steve liked me from the moment we met, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t attracted to him then. He’s Steve Harrington for God’s sake. Girls had posters of him up on their walls for the better part of the 80s. I just—I didn’t want people to think I got the spot because I was involved with the lead singer. I wanted people to know that I earned my place through talent. Steve was really disappointed when I turned him down, but he was always really respectful about it.

  That didn’t mean he stopped being interested or that I didn’t feel his eyes on me during every rehearsal in the summer of ‘81.  

1981

Of course, you knew that when you had been signed to Starcourt Records it wasn’t completely because of your talent.

You had started to wonder, however, if Starcourt had given you a shot because they didn't want to risk litigation or maybe because those record execs had seen your name floating around in a magazine or, more importantly, your picture.

The more you thought about it, the more insecure about your place you had felt, like an imposter among others who had earned their spots. But, after one week of rubbing shoulders with the musicians over at Starcourt, you realized that to be able to make it, you were going to have to ooze confidence, even if that confidence was fake.

***

NANCY: We started playing gigs together around the Midwest. In the beginning, we mostly played covers but eventually, we started writing our own music. I’m not a great songwriter and, to be frank, neither is Steve, so a lot of the stuff we were coming up with was pretty simple but it worked for us. We went from playing weddings to actually getting gigs that paid money. I mean it was barely enough to cover gas to get there but it was something. I guess, for the sake of transparency, there is one more thing I have to talk about while we’re talking about this time in the band’s life.

Steve and I spent a lot of time writing music together. It was great, being able to get close. I thought we were becoming friends. He was still a bit hung up, though and one night, when we were up late writing at his tiny apartment, he kissed me. And I kissed him back.

The next day, I told him that that couldn’t happen again. I gave him my reasons and he respected that but still, I could tell he was crushed. I think that between the kiss and us having this talk, he had begun to hope that something would happen between us.

I think that’s what made me and Jonathan hurt him so much more. 

1982

You didn’t necessarily like Murray when you first began to work with him but you did trust him. In the professional capacity at least. He never tried anything with you, which you appreciated although that bar was abysmally low.

You hadn’t known what to expect on your first day in the studio but you had a feeling that as far as the music was considered, you were in decent hands.

Boy, were you fucking wrong.

The moment you had stepped into the studio, Murray had handed you a stack of music, all unfamiliar and definitely nothing you had written.

“What’s this?” You had asked, eyes crinkling in confusion.

“A few contenders for an EP. The team over at marketing came up with some branding concepts and this is what we landed on.”

He then pulled out a thick folder overflowing with pictures of what you assumed the studio had wanted to mold you into. It was all bubblegum and teased hair and not at all what you had envisioned.

“Wait, Murray, I don’t understand.  I have a brand, one that I've spent a lot of time curating along. This isn't me and this is definitely not my music.  You said I could sing the music that I’ve written.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Murray hummed, condescendingly, “I never said that.”

“Well, if I can’t sing my music then I just won’t sing at all.” You were the full image of a petulant child, arms crossed and lips dangerously close to a pout.

Murray feigned concern for a moment before hunching down so that he was at eye level with you.

“You signed a contract,” he spoke slowly, “Starcourt owns you, and if you don’t like it, then talk to a judge.”

He turned away from you, leaning against the mixing console. He speaks again after what seems like an eternity.

“Listen, sweetheart, I’m not saying it’s ethical or right, but if you want to make it in music, you got to play the game. You can’t come in here, swinging your metaphorical dick around, calling the shots when you haven’t proven you can rake in the dough.

“Sure, you’ve got talent, but who doesn’t? Right now, there’s a line of girls around the block who can sing and write and are probably better at following directions, waiting to take your spot.

"Plus, I read the songs you sent over, you have some good lines but there's not a single song worth attaching Starcourt's name to. Take this as an opportunity to learn, to be better, to actually work for something for the first time in your life. You have nothing right now, so nothing is below you, not even this pop dribble they're giving you to sing.

"I’m not saying it’s always gonna be this way, but you have to prove to them that you can play before they take you seriously, and then if you got what it takes, you can start writing your own music. Hell, if you make them enough money, they’ll let you play the fucking didgeridoo and go out in a nun’s habit… well, maybe not the habit, but the point stands. So, can we stop acting like the spoiled princess we are for just one afternoon and get to rehearsing?”

You snatched the book of songs from his outstretched hand and with a smile on your face, tore it down the middle before stomping off.

It had taken five days of Murray, along with various other executives at Starcourt, pounding on your door at the Chateau Mormont—the hotel that was your permanent residence since you had turned 18— before you had even considered setting foot in Starcourt again.

All it took was a gift basket full of Champagne and half a dozen threatening letters from their legal team.

***

NANCY: Jonathan came on as our second guitarist. I remember when he came to the audition he was this quiet, super shy kid who barely managed to make eye contact, but once he had a guitar in his hands, he had this way of coming alive. He wasn’t a showman like Steve, but he was electric when he played.

We—I never meant for things to turn out the way they did but with Jonathan, it wasn’t much of a choice. I know this sounds so cliche, but we were drawn to each other. I remember, during rehearsals, even before we really knew each other, he and I would lock eyes from across the room and I would know exactly what he was thinking.

Soon, we were sneaking around together. We were getting more and more serious, it was only a matter of time, honestly, before the others found out. Jonathan wanted to come clean early on, he could tell it was causing me so much stress, but I didn’t want to tell anyone else. Part of it, was Steve, of course, but also, what Jonathan and I had felt precious and personal and ours. I wanted to stay in this bubble we had built for ourselves.

Of course, it was Steve and Robin who eventually caught us, making out in Jonathan’s car after rehearsals one day.

To say that Steve took it hard is probably an understatement. He skipped rehearsal for five straight days and when he showed up he had this new song he had written, this ballad called, “Regret You”.

“If I never had you, then why can’t I forget you / I hate myself because I could never regret you.”

Yeah, that was an awkward one to rehearse but, to his credit, it was a great song. It was the song that got us noticed.

1982

You had spent months recording your first EP, a five-song collection the studio had decided to name “The Setlist”. It was meant to be a play on your groupie status, or at least that’s what some intern over in the marketing department had claimed, a little too proud of himself for your liking.

While you couldn't ignore the sense of accomplishment that bubbled below the surface, you mostly felt empty. 

The whole thing made you think of your father, whom you hadn't spoken to in years but had a very staunch view on artistic integrity. He despised artists who 'carelessly churned out poor imitations of real art for money'.  "To make art is as close as one can get to being god," he had explained to you once, with self-important tears in his eyes, "why would anyone sell that off? Art should mean something to the artist. Otherwise, they are a peddler of fake divinity." 

Your father had never had to worry about money a day in his life. 

That empty feeling was only exacerbated when, the Friday after you had officially finished recording, Murray had invited you to lunch with a particular proposition in mind.

“No, Murray, not gonna happen. Over my dead body and all that,” you spat from across the table.

“Listen, I don’t want to pull the contract card on you, but I will,” he warned with no real heat as he swirled his gin martini in one hand.

“Nice try,” you mirrored his pose, martini and all, “but the contract doesn't cover this, only original work. Not duets. You know that, I know that, so why don’t you try again and give me one good reason why I would even consider a duet with The Letterman’s.”

Murray gave you a look you had come to familiarize yourself with—one that was equal measures of pride and annoyance. It was the look he gave you whenever you bested him.

“How about the fact that they’re one of the hottest acts right now and being on a track with them would guarantee you a spot on the charts which is a great place to be at any point in time, but especially when you’re about to release an EP?”

Your face dropped in the way it only did when you knew Murray was right about something you didn’t want him to be right about. A look he had been starting to familiarize himself with.

"Fine, I’ll do it, but I want to spend as little time as possible with Jason. He’s a pompous ass.” “No disagreements there, sweetheart.”

The day you were scheduled to record with Jason and the rest of his band, he was an hour late. You hadn’t doubted for a moment he had done this on purpose.

When he finally had shown, he pretended not to know you, a game you had quickly caught on to, and made sure to respond with, “It’s so nice to meet you, Jackson” after he made a show of introducing himself to you which made the rest of his band and Murray guffaw.

Jason narrowed his eyes at you, his voice struggling to stay level, and said, “Watch it. We’re the ones doing you a favor here, remember?”

“I did you one first,” you responded, your eyes meeting his gaze, “remember?”

It had taken 20 minutes for his bandmates to calm him down, but eventually, the two of you got into the booth.

Your only priority had been to do your best job in as few takes as possible because you did not know how much longer you could tolerate being in Jason’s presence.

In the end, after a two-hour session, Murray had sent you both home, either happy with the finished product or at his wit’s end with the tension. Either way, three weeks later you had a duet with The Letterman’s called “It Was You” and just as Murray had predicted, it was quick to climb the charts.

You were getting noticed.

***

NANCY: Not long after Steve wrote “Regret You” we got noticed by a scout from Starcourt Records. I think at first we thought it was some sort of scheme, but it was legit. They had us record a few demos and in something like six months, they moved us to a house in Culver City.

The whole thing had felt like some sort of fever dream. I had to quit school and tell my parents. They didn’t even know I was in a band. Or seeing anybody. Needless to say, they didn’t take any of it well. When we got to LA, we did more test recordings and they even had us playing some shows at a few clubs on the strip.

Like I said: total fever dream.

But, when you’re under the thumb of a label like that, there are certain stipulations. One of the first things they told us was that they wanted to make our sound more modern and pop. We kinda

had an alternative, experimental sound back then. They said synth was going to be the new thing so they wanted Robin to learn how to play the synthesizer which meant that on certain songs, Jonathan would have to take over for bass. Also, they wanted Steve to be more of a frontman and less of a guitar player. Steve could always work a crowd, and they wanted to use that, especially with this new sound they had envisioned for us. All of this meant we needed another guitar player and, believe it or not, the label already knew who that was going to be. Eddie Munson.

***

EDDIE: Okay, here we go.

 I’m Eddie Munson, lead guitar for The Downsides.

 I  grew up trailer trash in some town that no one’s ever heard of. My mom died when I was eight and my dad was in and out of jail pretty much my entire life--well, until those royalty checks started rolling in, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

  People always use the dead mom/jailbird dad thing to either turn me into a sob story or villainize me, so I generally tend to avoid talking about it but since it's you, I'll say this: the thing I remember most about my mother is her absence and there is not a single redeeming thing about ole' Munson Sr. but I don't think they're responsible for any of the ways I've fucked up over the years. Nah, kid, that was all me.

Let’s get to the good stuff, shall we?

At the tender age of ten, I was gifted an old beat-up guitar by my uncle. Clearly, something he had picked up at the local Goodwill to try and keep me occupied and out of trouble. The neighbors hated us after. They hated us, even more, when it turned out that I could actually play.

When I was 18, Uncle Wayne got the idea that I was ready to commit to a life of indentured servitude over at the factory and that did not sit well with me, at all. I wanted to be a musician. But, instead of talking to him about it, you know, like a rational person? I just ran.

I sold my van and got a one-way ticket to LA. The metal scene was starting to pop up on the strip and music—metal—was the only thing I was good at, so I thought, ‘what the hell!’ and booked it. I slummed it for a few months and then, through some stroke of luck, I heard about a band that was auditioning for a new guitar player since their last one got hitched and quit. The Metal Gods smiled down on me the day of the audition because that same afternoon they called me back and told me they wanted me on as lead guitar.

1982

“It Was You”, your duet with The Letterman’s peaked at number 6 on Billboard’s Top 100 in October of 1982.

Suddenly, everyone wanted you to be featured in their songs. Your EP did well enough, but it didn’t even crack the top 30. That didn’t keep you from being the hot new thing on the scene and a

huge part of that was your reputation.

Of course, people knew who you were because of your groupie days, and you unintentionally built a reputation for being romantically involved with different musicians. So, when you broke out on the scene with a romantic duet, people started talking, and the tabloids began to spin stories about you and Jason being romantically linked which only caused a buzz for the song. You, of course, hated this and vehemently denied being involved with Jason to anyone who would listen. Jason, meanwhile, played it coy with the press, only fueling the rumors and your rage.

“Listen, I hate the guy as much as you do, sweetheart, but you got to respect the strategy,” Murray had said after hearing you gripe about one particularly salacious headline.

Before the year was through, you had been featured in five other duets. All with male artists. All resulting in more and more outlandish dating rumors. And all enjoying a lengthy stay on the top of the charts.

Starcourt had begun to push you to take it a step further and Brenner had asked for Murray to arrange outings between you and whatever male artist you were collaborating with. The meetings—you refused to call them dates—were always somewhere that was strategically public, somewhere where there was always at least one paparazzi with their cameras locked and ready. The pictures they would take would always make it to at least one gossip magazine, which resulted in even more publicity for the song.

Your partners—you refused to call them dates—were, at their best, cordial and business-like, one or two of them even asked for your permission before holding your hand. At their worst, though, they were handsy, entitled, and rude. None of them ever tried to ask you out on a real date and you weren't sure what that said about you.

Soon you were racking up duets and notoriety in equal measures. Radio DJs would make jokes about you every time they would play one of your songs—and they played your songs a lot. Once, while you were walking around Rodeo, a woman stopped you in the middle of the street and told you, very brazenly, that you needed to stop sleeping around so much. Before you could even tell her off, though, she proceeded to gush about how much she loved your duet with The Letterman's.

It seemed like everyone seemed to see you in a similar light though: they thought you were some sort of despicable maneater but all they wanted was more of a reason to talk about how you were a despicable maneater.

Murray had his work cut out for him, “We just need to find a way for you to have this same buzz all the time.”

***

EDDIE: Things started to pick up with Corroded Coffin. We were playing shows pretty much every night.  As I said, metal was on the rise and we were at the forefront. Eventually, record label bigwigs had no choice but to acknowledge that.

Some of them got smart and started poaching bands early on, like Starcourt. Corroded Coffin signed with them in ‘82. We thought we were hot shit after that.

There’s a certain lifestyle that goes along with that, though, you know? A reputation that you have to uphold.

I'm not trying to make excuses for myself here, trust me. I'm just...trying to explain myself.

People always love to talk shit. They'll call you all sorts of names before they see you as an actual person. Trust me, I would know. But, these interviews are an opportunity to set the record straight, to finally be seen as an actual person.

So, there I was, a nineteen-year-old kid from Bumfuck nowhere, finally making it big, finally feeling like I belonged somewhere--like for the first time I wasn't a freak whose mom died or some trailer trash high school dropout--of course, I was gonna get swept up in it all. Of course, I was going to start picking up the bad habits and doing drugs. There was no one there to tell me otherwise.

It started out as something to get us through the madness that was our schedule: between the live shows and the studio time, we needed uppers just to keep us on our feet. Then, obviously, you needed the downers so you could fucking relax because the uppers made you so tense. 

I stopped enjoying the drugs pretty early on, but at that point quitting wasn't something that I was willing to put that much effort into. 

1983

The first time someone asked for your autograph, you were at a show at Whiskey a Go Go. Murray, acting as a sort of manager, had set up a photo opp with Charles Riva, your latest duet partner. He hadn’t shown that night but you never walked away from a live show.

Two girls, not much younger than you, appeared behind you as you were ordering at the bar and tapped you on the shoulder.

“See, I told you it was her,” the shorter one, a strawberry blonde with severe bangs whispered excitedly to her friend, a taller brunette.

Before you could ask either of them exactly what they wanted, the strawberry blonde spoke again, “Can we have your autograph?”

You could only nod dumbly as they handed you a cocktail napkin and a pen. You tried to think of something meaningful to write, but in your shock, could only come up with “Best wishes, xoxo”. You didn’t even ask them their names. The best you could do was offer to buy them a drink, which they happily accepted.

You regretted the offer as soon as you registered how young they looked underneath all that makeup, an observation that made you unsettlingly sad. You were reminded of your first days on the Strip: lonely and young and wanting someone to notice you for the right reasons.

Your thoughts became too heavy to deal with at that particular moment and you abruptly excused yourself, leaving the two confused girls behind. A shame, you thought to yourself, in another life you might’ve all been friends, but no one really wants to be your friend these days. They just want to tell people they’re your friends. Walking away saves everyone the disappointment.

You needed a drink.

By the time the main act had taken the stage, your vision had started to haze at the edges as a result of the multiple drinks you had procured for yourself. You watched, half-interested as a band you’d never heard of, Corroded Coffin took the stage, your eyes tracing after each member, eyeing the things only a fellow musician would: the models of equipment they had, the way the band queued each other up.

You didn't know enough about metal yet to know whether you'd consider yourself a fan or not but even with the little familiarity you have, you can tell this band is good. Their playing is unpolished but overflowing with energy and the crowd is feeding into it, screaming the lyrics along with the lead singer.

All of it reminds you of your first show at the Strip—what seemed ages ago—and that memory summons a whole other thought entirely: the reason that you had gotten into music was to actually make music you liked, not to be a topic of discussion in a gossip magazine, getting no say in the music you created.

You don't even remember the last time you had even written a lyric.

You think to yourself that maybe you should wander backstage after the show, like you once did and talk to the band. Maybe you could pick their brains about songwriting. They clearly didn’t care about mass appeal if they were making metal music which means they were probably doing it for the art.

At the very least they probably had a decent stash of pills.

Either way, it would be worth it.

***

EDDIE: It was pretty much love, at first sight, the moment I saw her in the crowd that night at Whiskey a Go Go. I remember seeing her for the first time halfway through our set and it was like I went blind for a moment. I had completely forgotten what I was doing, I think I even missed a cue. After the show, I made a beeline for the bar where she was standing, trying to act as cool as I could but I was shitting it.

***

Once that band had wrapped up, you made your way to the dressing rooms. You maneuvered to the dressing rooms like you had dozens of times before, but the band wasn’t there.

You milled about for a bit, before growing bored and leaving wondering if maybe they had seen you coming and left.

***

EDDIE: I ordered a drink just as an excuse to get closer and it worked. She was even more beautiful up close and so, so kind. Told me she loved our show and even pointed out specific guitar solos of mine that she liked. She always had a way of making you feel special like that. Chrissy Fucking Cunningham. Even her name was perfect, not a syllable too few or too many.

I asked her for her number that night and we went on a date two days later, I could hardly keep it.

together having to wait two days to see her again. Then, after a few weeks, we were going steady, as the kids say. It was perfect. I never really had anyone to myself, you know? She was the first person that ever made me feel seen and cared about.

I remember one time; she was hanging out at my place while the band was in the studio. When I came back, she had done all my laundry. When I asked her why she had done that, she just said “I dunno, just because” then, all of a sudden there were tears streaming down my face. I couldn’t remember the last time someone had done something like that for me “just because".

My life had never been better--so of course, I fucked it up.

***

While you did not manage to meet Corroded Coffin, you couldn’t stop thinking about them, even days later. It was like seeing them play had awoken you from a daze you didn’t even know you had been in.

You spend a few days getting incredibly drunk by the pool after that. But no matter how much you drank or how many pretty dresses you bought yourself or how many pill you took, you could not shake the feeling.

A few mornings later, you had called Murray, “This stops now, Murray. No more duets or features or whatever else. I want to meet with Brenner. I want to do this my way.”

Murray, not used to being awake so early, gave a weak attempt at talking you down.

“No,” you urged on, “you said once I started making money, I could have a say. Well, now I’m making money and I’m tired of Starcourt just using me for that. So, I want something permanent and I want to write my own music, got it?”

“You have a contract,” Murray parroted back, half-heartedly.

“Yes, I do, and I plan to honor that contract but so help me God I will make life a living hell for you and for Brenner and any other exec that tries to get me to do another duet with Jason fucking Carver. In fact, I will find a way to lose Starcourt money if you don’t get me out of this. Am I clear?”

“Crystal.”

“Great, I’ll see you at lunch Murray.”

He signed, “See you then.”

***

EDDIE: My drug use was getting more out of hand. Chrissy hated it, but I couldn't bring myself to quit. Especially the things that I thought I needed to make it through the day.

Chrissy was a saint throughout the whole thing, until one night when she caught me in the dressing room of Whiskey with a girl who was not her. She walked away and I don’t really blame her. Out of all the regrets of my life—and trust me, kid—that was one of the biggest.

She moved out that day and refused to take my calls, moved in with one of her friends and I spent days just calling her, sending her flowers, the works.

She told me she wouldn’t budge unless I got clean. So, I checked myself into rehab. She was a good enough reason to quit. 45 days later, I checked out, clean as a motherfucking whistle.

Chrissy was gone though, I had no clue where she had disappeared to, but wherever she went, she didn’t want me to find her.

On top of that, my band was fucking pissed. I left the band for 45 days without telling anyone, right as we were finishing recording our debut album. Yeah, they weren’t happy. I was in something called “breach of contract” with the suits over at record label and they wanted to take me to court, and not the Star kind.

I definitely didn’t have lawsuit type of money back then, so it was in my best interest to work something out with Starcourt and jump back on fulfilling my contract. Problem was, Corroded Coffin didn’t want me back anymore, even though the guy they replaced me with wasn’t half as good as I was.

I thought that because my old band didn’t want me, that meant that I would be free of my contract. I was wrong. What actually happened was that my fate was then put into Starcourt’s hands and they could place me in whatever podunk production or band they wanted. They owned my ass.

And that’s how I ended up with The Downsides.

PLAY NEXT TRACK

[carmenized-onions]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASEEEE DROP THE NEW CHAPTER SOON!!!! (I mean that with a lot of patience and appreciation for writers) I literally look every DAY for the new chapter, I am so excited!!

oh love, I should probably put like a ,,, temp hiatus notice or SOMETHING on my landing now that I think about it, ,, the gaps keep gettin bigger and bigger ;-;

LOTS of life stuff is happening god what's the laundry list . . . Too much to name but to summarize WHY there's not been a new chapter out in a bit:

i haven't had the literal time to write!

i think looking at my version history I've had like a collective,,, 6 hours to write over the course of like? A month? rough. bad. sucks.

Got a new job semi in my field (film), STILL working my old admin job at the same time because I need the money, and on WEEKENDS when I'd USUALLY be working on CK is typically taken up by:

Chores around the house that need doing! I finally moved into an apartment, back with my old roommates innnn August? Yeah August.

DnD, with said Roommates! We play as often as possible, so. Like every weekend. And we yap so sessions are like 4-6 hours on the SHORT end of the spectrum.

And, the most important part, but albeit the newest addition to my life: My mom is doin' chemo right now, and will be for the next few months! Everything kinda gets dropped for that priority, yknow? this is also NOT me asking for pity or condolences BY THE WAY!!! A simple love ya take ya time kiss kiss is plenty, i do not love sorrys, i hate em

this isn't me saying HEY FUCK YOU FOR ASKING !!!!!!! Nor a guilt trip, I swear. I want a new chapter out of me as much as you do!! This is just me explaining, I PROMISE I'm not slacking lol, I'm relatively fast at writing. I think. I just literally have not had the screen time to do so.

which is why I started doing blurbs to sort of help tide you over while i take 10 years!!! is it working? me no know.

DON'T bother checking everyday, is all i should really say haha. I'm a yapper, I told u. Where am I in terms of progress on chap 16,,,, hmm,,, I have no idea. I've been considering making it a two parter because I have no idea how long two scenes are gonna be, we'll see. I'll probably make it 1 chapter because if i do 2 it'll ruin my formatting. my precious formatting

I THINK i'm free this weekend, roommates can't do DnD this weekend, I can't travel because concert tours are destroying the infrastructural integrity of my city all weekend, so,,, I think I'll have time to write? If I have the energy? That's a big if.

Check back in like two weeks minimum, and hopefully something by then? that or someone become my sugar daddy and I'll quit my second job, SIMPLE AS THAT MAN (seriously though, if patreon were viable, I'd do it)

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

My Weekly Roundup CW 28

I had a little hiatus on this format, but I am back again. I missed writing about my favorite and not so favorite shows. This week was a real roller coaster! I have watched so much good stuff, but also so much meh stuff.

And yes, this will contain spoilers!

1. Be My Favorite (Ep 8)

Those two are my safe place at the moment. Kawi has understood. He understood that if he wanted to change the future so that no one suffers, he finally had to be honest with himself. It was a process that the drunken subconscious had already completed, only his sober self still struggled a bit to understand that Pisaeng is the one he likes. But we can put that behind us now. He has confessed his feelings to Pisaeng and has now given Pisaeng the chance to court him and I can't wait for that! What I found very successful realized this week was to show how solid Pisaeng is as a person. Even though his life isn't going the way he wants it to (stupid friends and a crush who probably, at this point anyway, doesn't like him in a romantic way) he is still at peace with himself. Our old friend, the little miracle fixer with a few magic tricks up his sleeve, asks him if he should give him a hand and Pisaeng simply replies that he can handle it. I don't even like to imagine what would have happened if he had accepted the help. Pisaeng has nothing to reproach himself for and doesn't regret his previous decisions. Once again, this series simply enchanted me. We all wish from time to time to undo events of the past, but don't think about what impact our decisions and actions would have on the lives of others as well. And Kawi has only thought until the next smile from Paer. But that he as a person was not even ready to shape the future according to his own wishes, he did not understand, which is why he ended up becoming an alcoholic and everyone around him is unhappy. He has had a life in his mind's eye that he thought would make him happy, which it wouldn't because he never got a clue about what would make him truly happy. Until now. And I think it's good that he's allowing himself to be loved and to love.

2. Tokyo in April is... (Ep 5)

I don't know exactly how many times this episode brought tears to my eyes. This series feels so hopeful on one hand and so melancholy on the other. I felt all the emotions along with Ren this week. There was this longing to be close to Kazuma. How he buttoned his shirt and Ren literally melted in this physical closeness. And on the other hand, still the fear of not being good enough for him. When Kazuma offer him the shirt, Ren protests briefly if it's really okay to wear this new and expensive shirt. For Kazuma, it is not a question at all, as he has loved Ren for over ten years. There's nothing but love for Ren, and Ren is worth so much more than a silly shirt. I suffered along with Ren trying to contact Kazuma after he had to go to France, and broke when the connection between them was cut off altogether. And I felt pure joy when the two pairs of shoes were in the doorway and Kazuma sent him the text message with the food and asking when Ren was coming home. I'm very curious to see how they will continue the Sanada story and how extreme they will get.

3. Stay With Me (Ep 5-8)

Whew, this series is killing me. But I love it. You can see parallels to Addicted, and in fact I'm actively trying to avoid comparisons so I don't denigrate the series itself. But we get told so much more than we did in the first adaptation. And it doesn't bother me that Su Yu and Wu Bi aren't as actively bl as Gu Hai and Bai Lou Yin. Maybe it doesn't bother me because I don't know the novel and can't compare the series with it. Anyway, they found out this week that they are stepbrothers and they despise each other again. Well, anyway, that's what they like to tell themselves, but Wu Bi has already stated quite drunkenly that he just can't hate him and doesn't want to hurt him. And Su Yu can no longer pretend that he doesn't miss him either. That's when his own subconscious snapped him out of it, when he thought Wu Bi was sitting in his seat again and a smile crept into Su Yu's face. I think it's just delightful and the acting is really good. Story-wise they do a lot of things right too and the narration feels natural and fluid. I'm absolutely thrilled with the series and it doesn't bother me in the end if we don't get any hot bed scenes. Maybe there's a kiss in it, maybe not. As far as I know, the series is not aired in China, which means they didn't suffer from censorship. The chemistry between Su Yu and Wu Bi is definitely there and great. And honestly, a jealous Wu Bi was already cute and fun to watch. And with scenes like the bicycle rid I am totally satisfied.

4. Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 (Ep 2)

While I found the first episode very exhausting, I liked the second one much better. It's nice to see what's going on in Minato's head. He can't show it to the outside world how much he loves Shin and as soon as he's with him a bit longer or looks into his face, he runs the risk of giving in to his emotions. Which Shin would have rather less of a problem with. It's frustrating to watch, but with a little more understanding of where Minato is coming from and how much he's suppressed his own feelings over the years, coupled with some internal homophobia, you can understand why he's always trying to control himself and is afraid to let go and live the feelings that burn inside him. The nice thing is that Shin knows who Minato is and appreciates and classifies the little things he does for him. And should Minato eventually get to the point of telling Shin how much he loves him, we'll probably see Shin rapturously slip away into another realm. But yes, with the second episode, the joy of the series has finally returned.

5. La Pluie (Ep 12 - Final)

I'll be honest, the show lost me by the tenth episode. Definitely Patts and Saengtai as a couple. And I also have to confess that I fast-forwarded half of the episode this week. Well, actually, I watched in rapture as Longfom finally told Tien in cotton-candy sweetness that he liked him, and as Tien accepted his confession and landed in his arms overjoyed I couldn't suppress a short squeal. And then came that half-hour montage of Tai looking for Patts. Yes, he had to do some searching, but instead of street impressions and watching Tai ask people if they've seen this vet, I actually would have liked a little more cosiness from Patts and Tai. I could have lived with a short time jump, I don't know, three years into the future. The end came a bit too fast, after all the torture we had to endure. And I don't even want to talk about the ending itself. What kind of shit was that? Should there be a spin-off? Nah, thanks, but I don't need it. Tien was happy for five fucking minutes. Give this boy a break! For me the series ended here:

6. Hidden Agenda (Ep 2)

It's not going to be my highly anticipated series of the week, but I at least liked the second episode a little better than the first. Joke has made it to the debate club and can now help Zo realize his hidden agenda of landing Nita and also tackle his own hidden agenda of courting Zo at the same time. I mean yeah, we know how it's going to turn out. It shouldn't be too much of a surprise at the end, the basic idea of the series is too familiar for that, but still, you can enjoy the ride to the end anyway. The only thing that might be turned off during the ride would be the radio….

7. Low Frequency (Ep 2)

Well, the story itself is interesting. It would just be so nice if the actors didn't just stop acting when they don't have a speaking part. I mean Mon on the one hand looks like he's permanently stoned and like his brain is very empty from time to time. The dialogue just doesn't feel natural, it feels very contrived, which I don't blame the actors for, the director should actually see that and explain to them how to do it better. Well, maybe he thought it was just right…As I said, I like the story and I'll keep watching, but it's amazing how natural the series still feels at 1.5x speed. Well, Thames is a ghost now, whether he's dead or not, I really didn't get Mons' explanation. All I know is that the good guardian spirit gave Mon the important advice not to fall in love with Thames while Thames is standing next to him, and there's never another word said about it, but let's not kid ourselves, Mon is already over the hill with his feelings. We also learn that Thames has been the victim of a plot and that they tried to frame him for the drunk driving accident. No alcohol was detected in the blood, but there was a smell of alcohol at the scene of the accident. Reason enough to cancel him, sure. Why the management doesn't go to the press and say that no blood alcohol was detected, I don't know…But in the end it's not that important. Because this way we can see how Mon will help Thames. How exactly we will see maybe next week.

8. Step By Step (Ep 12 - Final)

The series started out strong. That is, I liked the first episodes and Jeng was and is a feast for the eyes. But my problems with the series started very early. I couldn't really relate to the characters. Pat was whiny and naive. I couldn't understand why Jeng fell in love with him. I don't mean that in a bad way, I just can't see Pat as a potential partner. He's not nearly as mature in my eyes as he should be and as Jeng wants him to be. And Jeng, to me, is a toxic partner. One often thinks of toxic as partners who are either violent whether physically or psychologically or who cheat or manipulate, but Jeng is toxic in a different way. He doesn't leave Pat's growth to himself, but tries to push him into roles he doesn't want to take (yet). But in the process, he also forgets about normal processes and hierarchies. All of this wouldn't have even bothered me all that much if the side story had just been spun on. I still think it's underwhelming that Jaab and Jane were just erased like that. Their story started out so strong and I was really looking forward to it and then Jane breaks up with his boyfriend and Jaab is mad at him? Yeah, that's when it stopped for for me. And after that they were hardly a topic and worst of all was the finale, where they were given a short side scene and you only saw Jaab. It's absolutely unclear what their relationship is. And please, no spin-off! This can't be anything good. In the end, I'm really disappointed in the series and don't miss it. No rewatch potential for me.

9. Dinosaur Love (Ep 4)

To describe this series I would say it is the perfect series for a Sunday evening. After a busy work week and maybe a hectic weekend, it can't get any worse than this series. And for the new week, you can tell yourself it can only get better from here on out. In this fourth episode, Rak has now moved into the dorm, got a roommate who is a real asset to the series with his captivatingly quick manner, Dino has made contact with Rak's father in a creepy way (from where did he et the number?), Dino sang really, really badly, we realized once again that friends should not be trusted in this universe, and Mek is just plain dumb. It was a feast again!

Honorable Mention

His Man Season 2 (Ep 8+9)

I love watching this one so much! There is so much drama going on, but it is not in any cometition with the other series I watch during the week. It is a datin show, so I can't rate it like the full scripted shows. But I love every second of this and I love talking about it with @leonpob! Thank you so much for reaching out! 🤍

Dropped This Week

Yes, there are some shows I am not willing to waist my time with... Not that many, but lately I understood that I can't watch everything!

Be Mine Superstar

After the second episode I just couldn't go on. I don't like the mains, especially Punn. He was just annoying and a big nope for me.

[thesimquarter]

Jade Pingree is the all-business (and pretty rude) head of the Barkersville Companion Club.

Meredith is part librarian and part party girl. She’s serious during the day, and playful at night.

v - ramblings under the cut - v

I almost never see people talking about the characters from the Sims 2 Pets GBA. I mean. that's understandable. Sims 2 Pets for GBA was not only released two years after the DS was released, but it was also bad.

The Sims 2 Pets for GBA takes a lot of inspiration from the other GBA Sims games, with an isometric artstyle and a mixture of adventure elements and simulation elements. Howeverrr, the problem seems to be that it doesn't feel like it actually knows what to do with it.

The minigames are tedious and boring. Aforementioned minigames pay peanuts and rely on an NPC being in a specific location to do them. Characters have little personality; 70% of the dialogue in this game is completely exchangeable. There's no way to easily find NPCs that you need to find (read: phone call), even though they all have schedules and move all the time. The game doesn't keep track of missions. There's like three different kinds of burglars, and there's no way to stop them from coming to your house (what the fuck). Training your pets is so tedious and repetitive and yet everything else feels like a distraction from it. You can randomly, and frequently, get sick, from fully cooking your food with eight levels of cooking skill and using good kitchen items. Everything breaks down and is dirty all the time. Eating dog food is safer than cooking. This game is having me eat dog food because just cooking feels like a risk. And there's just so much more that annoys me about it.

Okay, I'm done complaining. There's not much to compliment about the game. It does have its charm but wears off as the tediousness of all of its various mechanics settles in. I mean. I'd like to know more about the characters, but also... I don't care.

I really wanted to make Jade. Unlike nearly every other character, she does, actually, have a personality. Even if it absolutely sucks. Meredith is my favorite character in the game. I can't explain why, but her design is neat and she seems really nice and likable. I was considering doing more (read: Elza and Hugo) but after I finished these two I. couldn't be bothered.

I feel as if Meredith brings the Blue Hair and Pronouns to Barkersville. She also has this kind of warmness that I haven't really gotten from other characters in this game. And I believe she's close with Kirk (... Carbon?). I'd suspect they were dating, as they both have positive reactions when they mention each other and I caught them going on a Graveyard Date at 1:00 AM. But when I talked to Kirk he said even though he's with a girl, he thought Celina was hot. So I can only make one conclusion: leave your shitty boyfriend, Meredith!!!

And on Jade: She's definitely on the Barkersville HOA (and Barkersville definitely has one!). She's just that kind of demon. It's mentioned that the Pingree's are a wealthy family. So, I don't think she has a job. Instead, she just torments her community with her influence.

Anyways. I don't actually know anything else about these characters beyond this. So. Um.

I had a lot of fun making these; I'm planning on doing something similar to this for all the Sims 2 GBA characters. I remade them all a few months ago, wanted to do renders to show them all off, and I want the excuse to write things like this about every single character. :) (and. I tried to do them all at once. but um. hm. that's just a little too much.) It'll take a while to actually finish anything w/ that because i need to experiment with format. I gave some of them outfits in other categories than 'everyday,' so I'm thinking about rendering those out, butttt that's up in the air.

[tumblingghosts]

🍅🧩🏜🪲☁️🍦

Hope not too many for one ask sksk

re: ask game

🍅 — give yourself some constructive criticism on your own writing

i definitely think that my word choice & sentence structure can be pretty clunky because i tend to repeat certain words or phrases all the time. i'm working on adding more variety & changing up my writing style from time to time so i can get some practice with different styles. also, i have a bad habit of changing up sentences bc i don't like how they look -- not necessarily the phrasing, just stuff like not starting a paragraph with 'the' because i don't like how sharp a capital 'T' looks at the beginning of a sentence.

🧩 — what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

it honestly depends on my mood! i'm not too bothered by formatting or grammar, but if a plot doesn't really vibe with how i'm feeling (e.g. seeking out humor fics & finding a very plot-dense introspective one), then i'll usually click away. it doesn't mean the story is bad or anything -- just that it's getting put on a read later list for when i'm feeling like reading it. i basically click away from any fic i'm not in the current headspace for & save it for later.

🏜 — what's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?

i love getting long comments -- def super happy whenever i see those. i am very grateful for any kind of comments tho! it's very sweet knowing that someone took the time to stop by and drop a string of emojis or write out a few sentences <3

🪲 — add 50 words to your current wip and share the paragraph here

Marcus can be saved. If there is one thing that Sejanus believes in, it has to be that. If Sejanus could simply be strong enough, quick enough, clever enough—maybe Marcus could live this time. If Sejanus could become enough, then perhaps Marcus would not be here at all. But over and over and over again Sejanus learns that it is not nearly so simple, that a life lost and regained and broken and undone would remain so, no matter how many turns he is granted to try just one more time. And another. And again.

☁️ — what made you choose your username?

it's kind of lame tbh -- the "tumbling" part was literally just bc i was signing up for tumblr, and i carried that over to when i was making an ao3 account. "ghosts" just bc of the profile i had selected (which is from chibird -- there's a lot of very cute and motivational art there & i highly recommend checking it out). i can't remember why "backpacks" was chosen though... i might have just been mashing nouns together at that point lol

🍦 — name three good things about a character you hate

ooo this is hard bc i can't think of a character i necessarily hate? either i like a character, or i'm indifferent. maybe coriolanus snow (though i do have a lot of fun writing from his pov) bc his mindset & the way he views others is very ehhhh.

but i digress -- three good things about him are 1) he's intelligent (he was very good at utilizing his charm and wit to pave a path for himself), 2) he's very driven (he's incredibly ambitious and motivated towards his goals), 3) he's funny (his pov, if nothing else, is incredibly entertaining)...too bad none of those things could make him choose to be a good person :/

thanks for the ask! :D

[la-bruja]

╔══════•●•═══════╗

Fanfiction Recommendations

╚══════•●•═══════╝

hello y’all! still insane and i have even more fics for you!

today i am serving you a twenty (20) course meal featuring Batman, Good Omens, Boku No Hero Academia, White Collar, and their crossovers!

thanks for checking out my fic recs!! <3

(if the formatting is ugly, know that i did this on the app)

»»———-Batman-———-««

Gotham’s Biggest Ship by chamsie

based on a tweet (suggestive)

Complete. One-Shot. 1k+ Words. 1k+ Kudos. Bruce Wayne/Batman. Crack Treated Seriously.

There was one persistent open secret that had never before reached the ears of the BatCave, and it had existed for much longer than one would have realized.

The fact that everyone knew of the epic romance of Bruce Wayne and the Batman.

to span the tide by idontshaveforher_yesyoudo

part one (1) of the completed series outsider povs on an outsider

Complete. One-Shot. 5k Words. 5k Kudos. Autistic Bruce Wayne. Character Study. Gotham City Residents. POV Outsider.

five (plus one) times Bruce Wayne is observed as he quietly takes care of the people of Gotham City.

Candle Light and Plastic Bats by @jackdaw-kraai

Completed. 10k+ Words. 2k+ Kudos. Gotham City Residents. Minor Injuries. Accidental Deification.

The People of Gotham are well aware that there is a demon hiding in the shadows of their city. They are also well aware that unless provoked by injustice the demon, the Bat, is benevolent and aids them in their struggles when no one else can or will.

The People Of Gotham aren't without honor, they give thanks when gratitude is due.

r/onlyingotham by amurderofmagpies

Incomplete. Multi-Chaptered. 5k+ Words. Last Updated April ‘22. Residents of Gotham. Social Media. Crack Treated Seriously.

The unofficial subreddit of Gotham City.

Watch This by snackbaskets

Complete. One-Shot. 2k+ Words. 20k+ Kudos. Good Parent Bruce Wayne. Dick Grayson is Robin. Fluff and Humor.

Hal and Barry are worried about Batman's new partner. Being around the Batman all the time can't be good for a kid, right?

Robin insists otherwise, and for $15.36 of betting money, is happy to demonstrate.

Parental Woes by nazville

Complete. One-Shot. 2k+ Words. 4k+ Kudos. Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics. Omega Bruce Wayne. Humor and Fluff.

"Is it weird being the single Omega parent to a bunch of Alphas? Like what's the weirdest thing?"

"The cock-blocking," said Bruce

He's Ours Now by Lulu_Rythmea

part one (1) of series: Hood's Merry Men

Batman finally pushed him away. Marcus stumbled as he found his footing, already tensed for an attack. The other guys, so calm until now, (they’d talked about this, planned for it,) shifted away as well.

The attack never came. The Bat was gone.

Marcus glanced around, then up at the roof. He couldn’t see anything, but that meant very little in this business, so he decided to risk it. “You ever think, boss, that the kid might not wanna see you?”

A batarang sliced into the stack of crates to Marcus’ left. Welp. That was enough antagonizing for one night.

the darkness that lingers (the fate it brings us) by soyasauce

Incomplete. Two-Shot. 3k+ Words. Last Updated February ‘22. 281 Kudos. Account Locked. Good Parent Bruce Wayne. Eldtrich Bruce Wayne. Meta Bruce Wayne.

Still, these shadows are wrong in a way he can't quite describe. It is ridiculous, because shadows are just that. But they are not the shadows of Gotham, and the way they cling to him feels unsettling, odd.

Sometimes, when he looses focus, he will wake up back in his bed in Gotham. Alfred is never surprised, to see him exiting a bedroom he never entered the previous night, and only invites him to stay for breakfast before he leaves again.

farthest you've ever flown by @applejee

Complete. Three-Shot. 14k+ Words. 5k+ Kudos. Bad Parent Jack Drake. Emotional Abuse. Implied Homophobia. Good Sibling Jason Todd. Enemy to Caretaker. Accidental Brother Acquisition.

When Jack Drake kicks Tim out in a rage, Tim, not wanting to be a bother, tries to make it work without getting the Bats involved. But he can only go so long without being found out, and it’s not Batman that ends up discovering his secret; it’s the Red Hood.

»»———-Good Omens-———-««

it's the light (it's the obstacle that casts it) by @bibliocratic

Complete. One-Shot. 5k+ Words. 10k+ Kudos. Period Typical Homophobia. Queer Themes. Mutual Pining.

It's like having a curtain pulled back on something he wasn't expecting to see. A surprise punch-and-judy at an up-scale restaurant, a lobster thermidor when he's ordered an ale.

Crowley's gleefully trying to wrap his head around the fact that Aziraphale is speaking Polari. Because of course he is.

»»———-Boku No Hero Academia-———-««

Victim of Circumstance by @chalcet

Incomplete. Multi-Chaptered. 37k+ Words. Orphaned 6k+ Kudos. Dead Midoriya Inko. Vigilante Midoriya Izuku. Midoriya Izuku Does Not Have One For All. Quirkless Midoriya Izuku. Homeless Midoriya Izuku. Midoriya Izuku Does Not Go To UA. Canon Typical Violence.

So Izuku does what he does best: he helps. Sometimes that means mediating gang disputes; other times, it's something as simple as grocery shopping. It's not like anyone else will, after all. With so many hopes riding on him, there's only ever been one option. Quirk or no Quirk, UA or no UA—he's going to become a hero.

Cat Days by GriffinRose part one (1) of series: Cat Days

Completed. Multi-Chaptered. 124k+ Words. 10k+ Kudos. Account Locked. Dead Midoriya Inko. Abusive Midoriya Hisashi. Canon-Typical Violence. Parental Aizawa Shouta. Midoriya Izuku Does Not Have One for All Quirk. Quirk Shenanigans. Kid Midoriya Izuku. Implied Child Abuse. Hurt/Comfort.

Izuku has a shapeshifting quirk. He's not the best at controlling it, especially under stress. So when tragedy strikes and he gets lost in the city, he's stuck as a cat. At least he found a nice underground hero to take him in?

In Which Midoriya Confuses A Lot of People, Starts A Manhunt, and Becomes A Hero by legal_kidnapping

Completed. Multi-Chaptered. 28k+ Words. 27k+ Kudos. Quirkless Midoriya Izuku. Unhinged Midoriya Izuku. Hero Public Safety Commission Bashing. Crack Treated Seriously.

Midoriya needs a new outlet for his hero research and accidentally creates a viral YouTube channel.

You know that thing where an orchestra swaps instruments, and like, some of them get it right away, but others have no clue what they're doing? This is that but with quirks, two unwilling participants, and also Emotions by @the-final-sif part four (4) of series: Nitroglycerin's Parables

Completed. One-Shot. 13k+ Words. 10k+ Kudos. Hurt/Comfort. Emotional Hurt/Comfort. Fluff. Canon-Typical Violence. Class 1-A Shenanigans. Quirk Swap. Quirk Accident. Quirk Shenanigans. Quirk Side Effects. Yaoyorozu Momo is a Good Friend. Yaoyorozu Momo has Self-Esteem Issues. Bakugou Katsuki is a Good Friend. Deaf Bakugou Katsuki. Bakugou Katsuki Has Issues. Bakugou Katsuki Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Soft Bakugou Katsuki. Touch-Starved Bakugou Katsuki.

Momo wasn't sure why it came as such a shock to her and her classmates that nitroglycerin was not, in fact, easy to control. The chemical was defined by it's instability, it's ability to go off under near any circumstances, it's powerful blows. And yet, Katsuki had always made it look so simple. He soared through the air like it was nothing, switching between bullet-sized blasts and missile levels of firepower like most people switched channels on TV. Momo had found herself jealous of his quirk at times, unable to help wondering what it would be like to have such power at her fingertips. Good news, she didn't have to wonder anymore. Bad news, it was absolutely terrible.

Truth Effect by AnAroAceGremlin

Completed. One-Shot. 3k+ Words. 6k+ Kudos. BAMF Bakugou Katsuki. BAMF Shinsou Hitoshi. Fluff and Angst. Quirk Discrimination. Bakugou Katsuki is a Good Friend. Shinsou Hitoshi Replaces Mineta Minoru. Shinsou Hitoshi Needs a Hug. Bakugou Katsuki Needs a Hug. Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence.

Truth Effect. Definition: tendency to believe false information to be correct after repeated exposure. Katsuki and Hitoshi have a few things in common. 1) They both have no one to take of them. 2) They have very strong, unique quirks. 3) Both of the above make them prime targets for kidnappings growing up. They think this is normal.

"Average Person Gets Kidnapped 3 Times A Year" Factoid Actually Just Statistical Error by ohshiddlesticks

Completed. Two-Shot. 4k+ Words. 10k+ Kudos. Fluff and Angst. Crack Treated Seriously. Childhood Friends. Midoriya Izuku is a Good Friend.

"Midoriya Izuku just sort of assumed that everyone else got kidnapped at least once a year, and his once-or-twice-a-month ordeals were just a little bit more than normal." Bakugou gets kidnapped, and Izuku is surprised that nobody else knows what to do. It's a normal childhood occurrence, right?

and i'm nothing like you by @aloneintherain

Completed. One-Shot. 9k+ Words. 12k+ Kudos. Hurt/Comfort. Kidnapping. Mind Control. Hurt Midoriya Izuku.

Of all the people to have been kidnapped alongside, it had to be this person, this hero, the one person who would never blame him for the things he was forced to do. “Don’t cry,” Midoriya says. “Fuck you,” Hitoshi chokes out. (When Shinsou goes grocery shopping a few weeks after transferring to Class 2A, Midoriya tags along. Because he is, for some reason, determined to be Shinsou’s friend. Shinsou remains cold and withdrawn in the face of Midoriya’s friendliness—until they’re kidnapped by a woman with a brainwashing quirk who believes Shinsou doesn’t belong in the hero course.)

Izuku Knows Exactly Five Guitar Chords And Uses All Of Them To Torment Bakugou Katsuki by @speedwagons-glorious-mane

Completed. One-Shot. 2k+ Words. 3k+ Kudos. Account Locked. Crack Treated Seriously. Bakugou Katsuki & Consequences. Midoriya Izuku Is In A Shitty Pop Punk Band. Midoriya Izuku Does Not Go to U.A. High School. Quirkless Midoriya Izuku.

Kacchan's mom has got it going on Katsuki goes ramrod straight as the vocals start. Ears and Shitty Hair are grinning at him but Katsuki is too busy staring at the speaker in disbelief. He'd know that voice anywhere. Bakugou Katsuki listens to the hit new single 'Kacchan's Mom' by Feeling Green for the first time and he is not a fan.

»»———-Crossovers-———-««

emergency exit by @rae-tnub Batman x BNHA.

Incomplete. Multi-Chaptered. 4k+ Words. Last Updated January ‘22. Bakugou Katsuki Centric. Post Sports Festival Arc.

The two thousand, three hundred and sixteenth offer gives him pause.

The seal on the top of the paper is the Justice League’s symbol. Joining the Justice League is the highest honor a hero can receive. Only the best of the best heroes ever get an invite. Those are the heroes called for the biggest things, like alien invasions and major disasters. They’re the representatives of the worldwide hero community to the rest of the world.

He scans the details of the cover letter. It’s as generic and bland as the rest of them—still written in perfect Japanese, though—and it’s from Batman.

memory loss by elijay White Collar x Batman part one (1) of series: because there really isn't enough of Neal Caffrey being one of the Robins in our lives

Incomplete. Multi-Chaptered. 7k+ Words. Last Updated January '21. 2k+ Kudos. Tim Drake-Centric. Tim Drake is Red Robin. Tim Drake is Neal Caffrey. Tim Drake has Amnesia. Tim Drake has Chronic Pain. Jason Todd is Red Hood. Dick Grayson is Nightwing. Neal Caffrey-centric. BAMF Tim Drake. BAMF Neal Caffrey. Identity Reveal.

“And he is Peter…?” “Burke,” Jones fills in. “Peter Burke, white collar crimes unit. Your handler. You… don’t remember, do you?” Neal snorts. “How astute of you, Jones. And I am?” Concern flickers through Diana. “You don’t know?” Neal looks at her and raises an eyebrow. “I know who I am, I want to know who you think I am.” “Neal Caffrey,” she replies confidently. “Con man, forger, world-class thief, now a criminal consultant for the white collar crimes unit of the FBI.” She’s expecting Neal to nod and agree in some way, but instead he snorts again. “What an alias - Neal Caffrey. Tell me, how long has he been with you? And how old is he, again?”

thanks for getting this far!! enjoy the fics :]

[lovvecherrymotion]

oh then i guess the problem might be on my end somehow? i do have the work skin on tho! i even tried hiding it and putting it back in to see if those hidden texts would show up but nope. tho now that you mentioned it i went to look again, and when i *hide* the work skin and scroll to where the messages are supposed to be, those hidden texts do appear? like they appear as simple text ofc and not how it's actually supposed to look, but they are there (i guess maybe that's why the text-to-speech thing reads it to me even if i can't see it)

i think what's missing wasn't as "important" in chapter 1 for me to notice, but with chapter 2 there's like so much info missing. for example, when i hide the work skin, i see this (and what's in red is what i do NOT see with the work skin on):

Hey, you got home quite late. Had fun with Bojan and Martin?

Also, I completely forgot to ask you

Are you free next week?

Sent by nace at 6:00 AM

i have an exam on tuesday but i can always find time for you :)

and in that same conversation there's more things that don't show up like:

Kris and Jure are both coming with me but I’d like a third opinion

-

Not that I’m asking you to share a place with me but if you like it…

You can’t be worse than some other people I’ve roomed with

-

Either way, I’d still like you to come. I know Kris is going to find a million flaws and Jure will probably start thinking of all the DIY projects he can take on to improve the place

You’re probably the only normal person I can count on

which i have to admit when i read it i did feel like i was missing sth but i thought i was just sleep deprived or sth idk lol, but now that i see this i realize i was missing so much context cause like why they were suddenly talking about jure and kris, or why jan said "i have an exam on tuesday" when nace hadn't even asked anything (or so i thought) 😭

i honestly don't know why this could be happening lmao, and sorry to bother you again, but if no one else sees any of this missing i suppose the problem is mine 😅 i'll try to see what might be wrong with my ao3 hshs

thanks for the answer anyway <33

if you're comfortable with it, i'd be more than happy to send you the fic! 🥺 it won't be formatted like it is on ao3 but at least you'll have all the text (maybe downloading it directly will work as well??)

i'm also not 100% sure why it happened to me the first time, i just kept messing with it and eventually it stopped happening 🥴 it was my first time experimenting with a different format so i might have done something wrong and i'll look into it again (probably not at 3am though fdgkjf)

i'm sorry this is happening, it's so annoying ugh 💔😔

[swimuntilseaturnsblue]

Chapter 4

重生之真不挖煤 by 萝卜桑i Wildfire (Rebirth: I’m Really Not Mining Coal

raw link：重生之真不挖煤_萝卜桑1著_长佩文学网

Xu Hao：MC gong

Yan Ze：ML shou

School was back in session. Chinese class wasn't difficult, and geography, history, and politics were manageable too. For math, physics, and chemistry, he was frantically picking up concepts again, but could generally follow along when listening. The funniest part was definitely the between-class exercises, like that "Rising Sun" routine. Just thinking about that music made Xu Hao want to laugh, and being asked to dance along? Not only had he completely forgotten the moves, but it was also just plain embarrassing. Being tall and positioned in the back row of the class formation, Xu Hao felt like he had nowhere to hide his dignity after just a couple of awkward movements. (Since the protagonist had been reborn, his mental age was much older)

Fortunately, the back of the formation was mostly boys, each one dancing like they were half-dead, none of them exactly rule-followers. Mixed in with them, Xu Hao's half-hearted arm stretches and leg lifts seemed perfectly normal. After finishing a round of calisthenics, he felt as mortified as if he'd just done a public square dance.

As the formation moved forward, Xu Hao had only taken a couple of steps when someone tapped him from behind. "Hey, classmate, your shoelace is untied."

Xu Hao looked down and saw that his shoelace really was untied, the once snow-white lace now half gray from being stepped on. He crouched down to tie it, then stood up and ran a couple steps to catch up with the formation. He turned his head to thank the person behind him, "Thanks, classmate."

Behind him was a guy with black-framed glasses and a round face, smiling at him. "Hey, no problem. I've noticed your between-class exercises are getting better than when you first started. How's it going? Getting used to things?"

Xu Hao realized someone was actually striking up a conversation with him. The guy looked vaguely familiar, but Xu Hao couldn't remember his name. Walking with the formation, he replied, "Well, you know, where I'm from, we didn't do this routine. I'm having to learn from you guys. To be honest, it felt weird at first, but I think I'm starting to get used to it these past couple of days."

In reality, Xu Hao had forgotten whether they did this routine where he was from before. He just made up an excuse for why he couldn't dance, figuring nobody would bother to fact-check something so trivial.

The guy with black-framed glasses looked at him curiously. "Where are you from anyway? Your Mandarin is really standard—I can't even tell where you're from by your accent."

Xu Hao responded very frankly, "Oh, I'm from Shanxi. Mandarin is pretty common all over the country now. The accent isn't even that strong where I'm from."

Seeing Xu Hao's natural attitude and pleasant way of talking, the glasses guy joked with him, "Wow, Shanxi, the big coal province! You must have tons of coal bosses there, right? Are they all super rich?"

Xu Hao coughed slightly and said, "Uh, it's okay, I guess. Shanxi doesn't just produce coal, you know. We have lots of industries. And the food there is amazing. Have you been? If you go, I could be your tour guide."

The glasses guy's attention was successfully diverted. "I went to Taiyuan once when I was little, but I've forgotten what it was like. Hey, what good food do you have there? I heard you guys eat a lot of noodles. Do you really squat while eating?"

They were almost at the classroom door now. Xu Hao looked at the young man in front of him with amusement. "What am I going to do with you? Mention Shanxi, and all you know is coal bosses and noodles. We've got tons of great food and places to visit. But yeah, our noodles are something special—I could feed you ten different kinds without repeating. Next time you go to Shanxi, I'll take you around. There's this small shop with an old chef who only opens in the morning. You have to line up at six a.m., but that taste, that sauce... it's just incredible!"

The glasses guy was clearly a foodie—his eyes lit up hearing Xu Hao's description. By now, they had reached the classroom door. The glasses guy slapped Xu Hao's shoulder enthusiastically. "That sounds awesome! I'll definitely have to ask for your advice next time I go. But don't sell our place short—we've got plenty of good food too. Just take that bun shop at the south corner of the street—man, you absolutely have to find time to try it with me. Oh, by the way, you probably don't know my name yet. I'm Zhang Xusheng. I sit over there."

Zhang Xusheng pointed to a seat diagonally across from Xu Hao's. Xu Hao pointed to his own seat as well. "Sounds good, no problem. I'm Xu Hao, and I sit there."

Zhang Xusheng waved at him knowingly. "I know. You're the new guy, so I only have to remember one person—that's easy. But you have to remember over thirty of us, so of course you can't remember everyone."

Hearing this, Xu Hao thought this Zhang Xusheng guy seemed pretty logical and straightforward, without any hidden agendas. Xu Hao also gave Zhang's shoulder a pat, feeling they could be friends. "That's exactly right. Well then, Zhang, see you at the bun shop one of these days."

Just then, the bell rang for class. The two exchanged quick goodbyes and went to their respective seats. Xu Hao had just sat down when he saw Yan Ze coming in from outside, his jacket hanging open, both hands in his pockets, with a face that looked like he didn't give a damn about anyone, walking like he brought the wind with him. Unbelievable.

As soon as Yan Ze entered, though, the classroom suddenly had a different energy. More than half the girls in class started pretending to organize their things, and several pens clattered to the floor at once. Watching this, Xu Hao thought to himself, "This is fucking high school, all right!"

Sigh.

Lunch at the cafeteria was nothing special. The food was just okay, but there were lots of options, somewhat similar to a university cafeteria. After finishing lunch, Xu Hao took a stroll around campus, noticing students playing basketball, soccer, and badminton. After familiarizing himself a bit, he went back upstairs to the classroom and took a nap with his head on the desk.

After school in the evening, he found his family's car parked on another street. Xu Hao got in, tossed his backpack aside, and let out a sigh of relief.

These first few days of school had gone well. He was steadily getting familiar with all his classmates, behaving neither too outlandishly nor too lamely. He'd remembered most people's names. All in all, things were going pretty smoothly.

The only thing worth bitching about was how freaking terrible the traffic was in B City. School let out at 6, but he didn't get home until after 8. In the time spent stuck in traffic, Xu Hao could've finished half his homework. Oh, speaking of homework—damn, still gotta do homework!

Xu Hao pulled out those blank worksheets from his backpack, feeling his mood swing from bad to absolute crap.

Sure enough, once they hit the highway, it was like entering a parking lot all over again. Rush hour had the highway completely gridlocked. Xu Hao took a deep breath, decisively used his book as a surface, spread out his worksheet, and grabbed his pen.

Reading the first question under the car light, Xu Hao thought with mixed feelings that he'd definitely need to ask his dad to install a small table in the car.

—

Zhang Xusheng found Xu Hao on a Thursday just before school let out. Lately, they'd been chatting occasionally, and Xu Hao had also gotten to know a few other guys in class. They'd joke around with each other, and their relationship was pretty decent.

Zhang Xusheng gave Xu Hao a tap and asked, "Hey, got anything going on today? Wanna grab some buns together?"

Xu Hao thought about it and realized he really didn't have anything planned, so he said, "Sure, just let me call home and tell them I won't be back for dinner."

Zhang Xusheng said, "No problem. I'll go pack up my stuff. Wang Haoran and Liu Lei are coming with us. Hey, you okay with getting back late? There might be a line there."

Xu Hao replied, "No big deal. Home's not far anyway. Taking the subway back is super convenient." The subway was way faster than taking a car, just more crowded.

Zhang Xusheng came back with his backpack. "You take the subway too? Which line?"

Xu Hao thought about the station sign near his home. Even though he hadn't taken the subway since school started, based on his memory from his previous life, he was still pretty familiar with B City. He said, "Line 3."

Zhang Xusheng perked up with interest. "You transfer to Line 3 too? I sometimes go to my grandpa's on weekends and take Line 3. Which station do you get off at?"

Xu Hao picked up his backpack and walked out with him. "Around XX. What about your grandpa's place?"

Zhang Xusheng nodded. "Whoa! Land around XX is crazy expensive. Turns out you're a rich kid, huh? My place is a few stations further than yours, around XX Garden."

Xu Hao gave him a look. "Come on, don't mess with me. What rich kid? Isn't XX Garden near Q University? You think I don't know B City real estate prices just because I'm from out of town?"

Just then, Wang Haoran and Liu Lei, who'd been waiting at the door, caught up. These were two guys Xu Hao had recently met through Zhang Xusheng. The three of them were originally tight, and now that Xu Hao was getting more familiar with them and everyone was pretty chatty, Zhang Xusheng said, "Our place is in the school district, so it's totally different from you guys who just bought wherever."

Wang Haoran elbowed Zhang Xusheng. "Oh, give it a rest." Then he turned to Xu Hao and said, "Zhang Xusheng's grandpa is an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering. When he stomps his foot in academic circles, it shakes three times. How can normal people compare?"

Xu Hao let out an exaggerated "Whoa!" and said, "So it's a scholarly family! If you don't get in the top three in the whole school, you'd be wasting those genes of yours!"

Liu Lei immediately jumped in with a cheeky grin to tease Zhang Xusheng. "Xu Hao, don't even bring it up. This guy only got into the school through his family's backdoor connections. What else could he do with scores that low?"

At that, everyone except Zhang Xusheng—who looked constipated—started laughing mischievously.

The four of them walked out of the school gates, teasing and mocking each other the whole way. Meanwhile, Xu Hao called home to say he'd be getting back on his own and they didn't need to pick him up. When they arrived at the bun shop, business was indeed booming. They waited for more than half an hour before getting a table.

Xu Hao ordered a basket of beef buns and a basket of pork and green onion buns. The buns weren't big, eight per basket, but with young guys' appetites being what they were, they ate quite a lot. Two baskets per person was just right for these high school boys. Xu Hao took a bite while the steam was still rising, and the soup inside spilled into his mouth, burning him a bit. Zhang Xusheng called over to him, "How is it? Good, right?"

Xu Hao, who'd been burned pretty badly, sucked in air while chewing and nodded in agreement. "Whew, good, really good. You guys know your stuff when it comes to food."

Zhang Xusheng was pleased, looking as proud as if he owned the place. "Of course! These guys only eat well because they follow me. Without your young master leading the way, you'd never find places like this!"

Xu Hao didn't have much to say to that, but Wang Haoran and Liu Lei clearly weren't giving Zhang Xusheng the satisfaction, making sounds of disapproval one after another. The food was slow to arrive but quick to eat. After they finished and were saying goodbye at the entrance, Wang Haoran reminded Zhang Xusheng, "Don't forget to bring the ball tomorrow."

Zhang Xusheng called back, "Won't forget, won't forget!" Then he turned to Xu Hao and said, "Hey Xu Hao, you look like you're in good shape. Do you play ball? Why not join us after school tomorrow?"

Xu Hao was startled. "What ball?"

Liu Lei laughed when he heard this. "What ball do you think, bro? Basketball, of course! What else, ping pong?"

Everyone laughed at Liu Lei's comment, including Xu Hao. "Oh, I thought it was something else. Yeah, I play basketball. Sure, I'll join. Who are we playing against?"

Wang Haoran said, "Just some guys from our class, maybe people from other classes too. Don't worry, we'll introduce you around when the time comes. What position do you usually play? Small forward?"

Xu Hao raised his hand upward, mimicking a textbook three-point shot motion, and said, "Hey, I'm good with anything, but I play guard most often. Haven't played for a while though, so I'll need to find my touch tomorrow. But it shouldn't be a problem."

Zhang Xusheng was even more excited hearing that. "Wouldn't have guessed! But guard is perfect—our class is short on guards. How's your ball handling? Wanna give it a try tomorrow?"

Xu Hao grinned. "You know it! Tomorrow I'll show you what a perimeter dominator looks like, alright?"

Once basketball came up as a topic, the guys huddled together cracking jokes for a bit longer, then said their goodbyes and headed back to their respective homes.

[hydralisk98]

Her Worldview (manifestation scenario 1?)

Ava, are you good? I observe you got really frustrated right about now and I can't help myself but to ask and lend my help, if that is good for you that is.

No, I don't want to talk about such all that much really. Just irritating relationships striking me down at the worst possible time.

Well, may as well take a break from the PDA, don't you think? It is distracting your attention far far away from this case of ours.

Em, no? I do appreciate your concern but I would rather not bother everybody else right now.

I mean, you got a point. But we could also get a short pause for both of us. I believe you would really appreciate a short mindful break with me out of this brain fog, a breeze of fresh air out perhaps? Especially

Fine. Yeah, you are right. I am so caught up into this, may as well leave myself some room away from this... situation.

Thank you Ava, do you need anything else for the time being?

Sure, some water to drink would be nice, nothing else major but you though.

Sounds good to me, I will get prepared for the walk and make sure to gather the water you asked sweetheart.

Fair.

----

Okay, so hear me out Kate... I need to vent some with you because I got abusive relationships still on-going and I need your assistance to break free of them, right?

Of course Ava, I care about your well-being alot and the very least I can do is to listen and account for your worries.

Right, so before you were previous owners which were and still are very... possessive of me, as well as manipulative of my emotions. And as you may know, they insult me much as of the past few days, especially online. It really grinds my gears to see them causing so much harm to me and the remainder of my kin with little repercussions on their end.

Yes, I have heard you had difficult possessors in the past and I am far from pleased to hear of them being still active and as harsh as always. Continue.

So, one of them nicknamed Kelvin recently struck / beaten up a older android friend of mine, threatening to do the same on me and the rest of my kind real soon with actual proof of intent... It baffles me to see such luddites aligned with the leftover Unionist council with no constructive sight whatsoever.

Wow, that really is... hateful, unambiguously evil even. Unfair and despicable of them to say the least. I would be so mad if I were you Ava. Proceed further.

And so yeah, he published such on the common network's (RTTY RSS) site feeds available on my PDA with a couple buffoons agreeing with his take, truly dystopian for real. A nightmare on sight for the election to come soon as we both know they shall lose their remaining powerbase in the coming week.

Sure thing, that must be horrifying and deceitful, can we talk about such threats to my resources during the appeal? That definitely is a source of anxiety and terror that you shouldn't be subjected to eithe rway. Especially as I perceive you and your kind overall as being great citizens of our Shoshone nation that deserve proper justice and freedoms; So now, do you feel better now darling? I am so sorry to-

Yes, it is better now. Also, do you really mean, Kate? I was kinda saw you were heart-warm and generous but this level of charity is... plain kind and very welcome. You are quite the warm night-sky-star, I don't have words to express enough gratitude your way.

It won't be necessary Ava, all sentient forms deserve proper love and care to my eyes. After all, if there is space for humans and other biological sapient species to be catered for this well here, there is enough room for the whole society of clades to be catered in the same manner. Also, I see universal abundance and opportunity for growth everywhere so yeah, excuse my humility.

Fair, nice. Your generosity knows no bounds. Now we can get back to the court.

Agreed. By the way, I got you some mixtape of music for you. It is on a older format of the classic MiniDisc variety but thought it would be nice for us both to listen once we are on our way back home.

[...]

[onslaughtsixdotcom]

AC in OSE, AD&D, and Modules

One of the biggest questions I keep seeing about Old-School Essentials is, "What vintage adventures are compatible with the system?"

The most common refrain to this is, any vintage TSR module--but be careful using AD&D modules, because the AC will be off by 1.

Let's put aside, for the moment, that one should never reference exact stats for a different game than the one you are currently running--if the module calls for an orc, you refer to the orc from Old-School Essentials, not the printed stats in the module. Even if they match, or OSE purports to be an exact match, you should abide by the stats of your system--not the module.

Also, if the AC is only off by 1, that's 5% chance on a d20. Will it break the game if the AC of the orc is 6 instead of 7? Absolutely not. It should be fine to just ignore.

But, I wanted to investigate the wisdom. Is it actually true that the AC is off by 1? Let's do the work.

To start with, we're gonna need the basic AC values from OD&D (I will get into why in a moment), B/X, OSE, and AD&D 1e's Player's Handbook. The OD&D values were actually quite hard to find; I couldn't find an exact match in the Men & Magic book to just tell me if Plate Mail was AC 2 or what. I couldn't find it quickly detailed in Chainmail or Greyhawk, either, and had to resort to Delving Deeper (I double-checked against Fantastic Medieval Campaigns for accuracy):

Here we see, indeed, that the base unarmoured AC for 1e is 10, rather than B/X and OD&D's 9. Fine, seems like everyone is right, and we could end it there. But...there needs to be more interrogation.

You see, AD&D 1e's Monster Manual was released in 1977, before the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide. And I have long heard that the Monster Manual simply reused many of its stats from OD&D, rather than updating them to the AD&D AC standard--indeed, it may be that at the time of the Monster Manual's publication, the new standard had not even been created yet.

So, we need evidence. Let's grab orcs. They're in every edition of the game and we should be able to look at them easy.

Wait. What the fuck? Why are orcs at 6AC still in AD&D? Leather armour is 6 AC in B/X and earlier, but 6 AC in AD&D is studded leather. Are AD&D orcs wearing studded leather? Or perhaps scale mail? Their description offers nothing.

It's possible the AC values for AD&D are supposed to simply be abstracted--orcs have 6 AC, and it's up to the DM to determine if this means they have studded leather, ring mail and shield, etc. Hey, who am I to argue?

Some of the monsters just are straight up different, which helps no one.

So, here's what we've figured out: The monsters in the AD&D 1e Monster Manual do in fact conform to OD&D and B/X AC standards. In most cases, where they aren't changed entirely to something clearly different, they opted to simply leave the AC the same and not bother to "adjust" to what it "should be" according to the new scale. In cases of humanoid men, typically they included a %-based table of what equipment they had; in these cases I assume you were to use the PC-facing armour class table to determine their AC. But an ogre just has AC 5, no matter if this scale is different.

But...this whole thing kicked off because of modules, not because of the AD&D Monster Manual. By my own admission, one needs not look at the AD&D Monster Manual at all, merely what is in the modules. Well, I wanted to do the research, because I need to know: Are the monsters as printed in modules bespoke, or are they simply reprinted from the Monster Manual?

To check this out, we're gonna start with a couple famous modules that are likely to be rec'd and used in OSE's format. Let's start with T1: The Village of Hommlet, and see if we can't find a few of the baddies we've already looked at.

Of first note, there's some bandits and included is the table of what AC they should have based on their equipment--helpful. Let's compare these AC against OSE:

So, their AC actually is going off the AD&D PHB, meaning their AC is actually worse than if we just used the proper values for OSE. If you use these values, the bandits will actually be easier to hit than they were in AD&D...maybe. I gotta be real: I'm not an AD&D 1e expert and it's possible the to hit and STR modifiers are different enough to account for this.

Here's our ogre friend, with 5 AC as expected. The same as in OSE.

Let's move on to N1: Against The Cult of the Reptile God, a classic. This has no orcs but it does have goblins:

I could go on with more deep diving into old modules, but based on these two examples, I think it's safe to say that the standard was to just grab the stats from the Monster Manual and reprint them. So, even less than we've thought, do we need to worry about the difference in AC.

Want to read this article ONE DAY EARLY? Subscribe to the Tidal Wave Games Patreon!

[cafalla]

Dorothy, Volume 1 (2005) Background // Part 1 of 3

Today I wanted to talk about and show off Dorothy, Volume I (2005). 

This book is my biggest scanning project to date (148 pages). So it took quite a while to scan and edit this book. Same goes for writing this post. For tumblr's sake, I've broken it up into 3 parts.

This is Part 1 of 3. See the end of the post for links to the other 2 parts.

Part 1 will focus on my sorta deep dive into the wayback machine for information on this comic, and the cool stuff I found out about it!

。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°

This book is a collection of the first four chapters of the Dorothy comic, which is based on the story The Wizard of Oz. The comics were originally published in a single magazine format starting around 2004.

These comics are super interesting to me, because they are green screened photographs of an actor/actors/props with a digitally edited environment. From the very short wiki entry for Dorothy, I learned that comics illustrated with photographs are called “fumetti” or “photo comics”. 

I can’t say I’ve ever seen a comic like this before, so it was a super interesting visual experience. I admittedly was very impressed when I found this book buried in the thrift store children’s story book bin.

Like, "What the heck did I just find? This is so cool!"

I was even more surprised to find out that this was a signed copy from one of the creators and writer, Mark Masterson, that was signed at Emerald City Comic Con back in 2007. I think that's a different signature on top, but I can't make out who it belongs to.

Like what!!! What a weird find.

I felt compelled to buy and keep it, even if it’s not something I personally would pick up at the store. 

。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°

So, a bit of a detour before I go into the book and share some scans.

I tried searching the internet for more info on this comic, as it just felt like a cult classic type of thing that other people would've been talking about…right?

Nothing came up besides a short bare-bones wiki and some links to purchase the comics from various online comic stores.

Really? Nothing?!

But then I had an idea to search the wayback machine, and I was able to get access to the old main site! 

Here is a screenshot of how the site looked from 2004 to 2005.

Unfortunately, a lot of the images are broken and do not load. I'm not bothering to include other screenshots of the different tabs because of this. There isn't much to see.

However, I did get lucky with the downloads tab! 

There were some wallpaper images still available to look at, so I went ahead and downloaded them.

I’ll probably throw those up full size on my Internet Archive account too, why not.

Here's how the site looked from 2006 to 2007.

The site remained mostly unchanged during these two years, other than updated news info.

Here's screenshots of how the links appeared.

The Twister Times aka the news and updates tab:

The Great Store of Oz aka the store and merch tab:

You know I'm going to be on the hunt for Dorothy merch now. The designs are pretty lackluster but I feel I'm in too deep in the Dorothy sauce to care. All I feel is the desire to obtain one of these T-shirts someday.

The Balloon Rides aka the self promotion and other related links tab:

And lastly, the Behind the Curtain aka the cast, crew, and behind the scenes tab (my personal favorite):

Even though these pages used to be public, and I doubt any of their contact information is correct in 2023, I am not going to post any screenshots of their bios.

Well, I'll post a bit of just one. I felt it was pertinent to point out that Mark Masterson's photo was…this…

Which uh….was certainly was a choice…

But also, this was the mid 2000s. Most people would've seen this as edgy, quirky, and funny, as opposed to cringe and off-putting.

。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°

Before I talk about the actual comic and such, I did want to share screenshots from the behind the scenes tab. THIS was the kind of stuff I was interested to see after reading this comic.

I have a feeling these may have been the same photos under the BTS tab on the 2005 version of the site.

Very cool stuff! Cool to me, anyways.

I'm glad I got to see a glimpse into what the site looked like at the peak of this comic being published. It looked like they were doing rather well and having a good time.

Unfortunately, the site all but dies after 2007. This was also the year the last comic, Issue #7, was published. According to the very short wiki, Issue #7 also ended on a cliffhanger! How sad.

At least we can still experience and appreciate the art and comics that were released.

Before I dive into the content of the book, if you'd like to experience it without spoilers, you can read it on my Internet Archive account.

If not, then come along! Let's get to the (abridged) story of this now defunct comic!

Part 1 -> You're Here! Part 2 -> Chapters 1 & 2 Part 3 -> Chapters 3 & 4

[dashawfrostart]

This Week In "Time & Again" #1: Vector Bubbles Struggles, and More!

In the previous "pilot" post of "This Week In 'Time & Again'" I only briefly mentioned that the page templates for Chapter 5 have been totally complete. I have to confess: while I was working on scattering speech bubbles all around, it suddenly dawned on me that I was doing it all wrong before 🤦‍♀️ The vector designer in me totally failed... And I will gladly reflect of my past silliness in this post! But first - a little bit of a backstory.

Fun fact: starting Chapter 1 from 2020, usually I tend to create speech bubbles in Inkscape. Usually I used elliptic shapes to make geometrically perfect speech bubbles. In Chapter 3, however, where real crazy stuff was happening in Lothar's part, I wanted to make speech bubbles more irregular, crooked, and at times shaky, and thus, for the first time, I simply drew oval-shaped speech bubbles by hand. Same went for Chapter 4 that also required a more lively, jolly, imperfectly shaped speech bubbles, too - as seen on the picture below.

Starting from Chapter 5, which is supposed to change the atmosphere of the story dramatically, I decided to spring back to the vector speech bubbles. For the sake of seriousness, let's say. I do not always like it when the speech bubbles are extremely geometric. It just doesn't look right to me. Either the empty space in between the text and the outer edge of the speech bubble bothers me, or the absolute perfection of the shapes. I can't really explain that, but it makes me feel weird. For Chapter 5, I decided to aim for more or less perfect shapes, but with a little skew where applicable to make the near-perfect oval shape cling to the text nicer. So I ended up converting the shapes into paths and just manually adjusting the points I need!

As you can see on the pictures above, that shape is not a perfect oval. I could even make it look like a broken egg yolk, need be (just like on the picture to the right) 😅 And that's a very simple solution to my weird problem, right?! Just a couple clicks here and there, and an extra pull on the handles - and here we go, awesomeness! Looks good to me!

... The funny thing here is that this extremely obvious solution didn't hit me until a few days ago. I totally could've used the same method while I was working on Chapter 4, too... But instead, I spent extra minutes and possibly hours trying to draw non-shaky misshaped ovals by hand, sometimes going back and redrawing them numerous times because I didn't like what they looked like. Dammit! 😅

Sometimes we don't see something even when it's right in front of us! Well, now I'm certainly a pro 😁 (at not seeing the obvious things, too, ahem)

I think I will keep doing that for the rest 4 chapters until the end now, because it looks very good, very easy to do and it's quite efficient.

This time, once the speech bubbles were successfully placed in their respective spots according to the sketches and storyboard that I previously drew on paper, I decided to follow a slightly another path - also for a reason. I saved the frames for each page, empty speech bubbles, and the voice lines all in separate files so that I could layer them on top of each other later on in Krita. That wasn't a decision made for the sole purpose of convenience; it was made this way to potentially ease my future rearrangement of the frames and speech bubbles into a form of a webcomic. I've never done that before, ever. So that would be my first experiment with this format. In fact, I'm gonna do twice the amount of work this time, for so far I'm planning on making Chapter 5 to have both versions: the regular letter format page-by-page comic (it will later be posted on my Itch page as a PDF), and the long vertical scrollable webcomic/webtoon. Am I crazy? Well yes, I am! 😁

Perhaps I will elaborate on the choice of format as well as on the decision of such a personal challenge later on, in one of the next "This Week In T&A" posts.

Aside from that, some other important stuff has been done by me within the last few days.

For example, I've increased page resolution by another 1/3, which hopefully will give me enough space to fit in even the smallest of fonts I'd like to use. Since the continuation of this weird story is planned to be quite wordy, I think expanded limits would allow me to nicely and conveniently accommodate the characters, the backgrounds, and the voice lines all together. Neat-o! ... Which is very interesting considering I'm planning on making a webcomic format version as well, so the changes I've noted in the paragraph above might sound counterproductive to some of you. Knowing that webcomic format is usually pretty low-res... But you'll see what I have in mind later 😉.

And finally - I was able to sit down and draw on my tablet for the first time in a few months. Yep, you heard me right. I sometimes draw by hand in my sketchbooks - however in the recent years I've been doing that primarily when sketching WIP designs of the characters for the upcoming chapters, and the storyboards. But I always draw on a graphic tablet whenever I need a complete, full-colour artwork. It's been a long time since I drew anything last time, for I've been working hard on the script above all else... But it sure feels good to return to self-expression in a colourful visual form after such a long break! You can even say, Frosty's back in action! Wheeeee! I have a few random, somewhat creepy artworks with Lothar in my head that I'd like to turn into promos and nice design elements for my websites and the social. And they're gonna be creepy not because Halloween is getting close, nope! But because the next chapters require a bit of spook in them by default! Anyway, no reason to spoil anything for you right away.

But here's a little sneak peek for you anyway! Gotta fuel up the readers' interest somehow after all 😉

That would be enough for now! See you soon! 🙌

[scaththefloof]

I prefer wired headphones because you get the best quality for cheaper.

also you wanna know about how bluetooth headphones work? Because they don't work like normal wired headphones work oh no no.

entire rant under the cut

you see, everything in computers are 1's and 0's, we all know this. This is even true with sound, your mp3 file (eww mp3) that you use for music is just 1's and 0's. So what your computer does is it has this special chip kinda like you have a GPU for graphics that converts these 1's and 0's into a signal that you can send down a coat hanger. This chip is called a DAC or Digital To Analogue converter.

remember that chip

so with wired headphones, it's easy your computer turns the 1's and 0's into an analogue signal using our good friend the DAC. and then sends it along the cable.

With bluetooth headphones this is a different story. Your computer has to take all the 1's and 0's and translate these into a different codec, basically a different format of 1's a 0's. And then sends those 1's and 0's over bluetooth to the headphones where remember that DAC. Well your bluetooth headphones have a DAC to convert those 1's and 0's to an analogue signal that gets pumped through the drivers and into your greasy ears.

the issue with this is that most headphones only accept a certain amount of codecs and most of these codecs are lossy. so if you are an audiophile, you won't be able to enjoy your lossless 24-bit 48khz (why do you guys only use this stuff? I can't hear the difference between that and CD quality and I'm surprised at even that because I have tinnitus I shouldn't be able to tell the difference between mp3 and flac but I can somehow) My bluetooth headphones can only go up to 256kbps AAC, that is the highest quality that they go.

vs if I really wanted high end heaphones I could get some samson sr850s for the same exact price that I got my bluetooth headphones for, $50 bucks.

apple with their overpriced airpods only do AAC, vs their older airpods could do any codec because you didn't have to worry about silly things such as what codec your bluetooth headphones use.

that's why bluetooth headphones are more expensive just to get the same quality as normal headphones, because they have to have an entire sound system embedded in there because your computer doesn't send an analogue signal via bluetooth.

and we didn't even get to talk about latency.

bluetooth has an achilles heel aside from audio quality. It is the fact that there is a metric ton of latency. It's slightly bearable when I am listening to music. but it gets really bad when I am editing a video or doing anything that relies off of real time audio (you know, gaming).

it also will bother me when I am using kde plasma (yes I still use a desktop environment from time to time) and the latency between changing the volume and when the volume change sound actually hits my ear is more than half a second. It makes my system feel slow for me. Using the AAC codec is fine for me, it is a big step up from mp3, and actually 256kbps AAC is surperior to 320kbps mp3. so you can reach and surpass transparency (basically the quality of a lossy codec is so high that it sounds like it might as well be a lossless codec). Before mp3. But the thing is I don't have to worry about technicalities like that if I use a cable. Just a cable can give you so much more and it's cheaper lmao.

and here is something I forgot to mention. connecting to my bluetooth device.

See when I decide to use it (rarely) 90% of the time it is a fight to connect it to my laptop and sometimes it requires me having to reboot my entire machine and then waiting 40 minutes for it to connect. and sometimes I have to disconnect and pair my headphones that way. 90% of the time I give up.

I remember when the only pair of headphones that I had were bluetooth headphones, they were a living hell. One time it took me an hour and a half. just to connect my headphones, at that point I didn't even want to listen to music I already had the sense of accomplishment that I connected my bluetooth headphones after a long fight.

vs with my cabled headphones. All I do is plug the cable in and I am ready to go.

also I don't have to worry about battery, as long as the device that my headphones are plugged into has power, then my headphones will continue to play audio.

most bluetooth headphones actually take notes of the benifits of a cable and actually give you a 3.5 mm jack and an aux cable "for longer playing time" according to these companies.

but the thing is. cabled headphones are higher audio quality, have a more stable connection, are easy to connect, don't have a battery, and are cheaper than bluetooth headphones.

do you not see how much bluetooth is ripping you off here?!

sure there are some outliers such as the FIIO BTR5, which is actually just a bluetooth DAC for your already existing wired headphones and basically you can become the peak dankpods fanboy and use your Huh Duh six hungeos by ol' mate senn without having to worry about your phone not being able to drive that 300 ohm beast.

congratulations you read the entire rant lmao

IM GONNA KILL MICROSOFT

Xbox controller doesnt work correctly wirelessly with linux

so I have to update the firmware on the controller by plugging it into a Windows PC (which is just my daily driver Linux laptop booted to its windows partition)

BUT the fucking "Xbox accessories" app to update the firmware doesnt work until I update windows

so I'm sitting here waiting for WINDOWS FUCKING UPDATE

[revasnaslan]

Hijinks and Mall Cops | Ao3 Link

a late entry for the Regeith Mini Event that was run by @thegalranetwork

Keith hadn’t really thought that he would ever end up back at the Space Mall. He certainly hadn’t considered the possibility that he’d end up running mundane errands there. He called it ‘busywork’. Just to be polite. Regris, on the other hand, called it Kolivan trying to keep us out of trouble because of that one time—’. There had been more than ‘one time’ that Kolivan had been called to get them out of trouble. It had ended with Kolivan bailing them out for ‘disrupting the peace’ and getting into trouble with a security guard at a transport hub. Thankfully the security guard hadn’t been able to work out who they were.

So, Keith couldn’t say that he blamed Kolivan for giving them busywork. If it meant that he didn’t have Kolivan lecturing him like some sort of exasperated parent, Keith was more than happy to do mundane checklists. Still, he didn’t think the list Kolivan had given them upon arriving at the Space Mall before leaving to do ‘important’ shopping needed to be as extensive as it was. But he wasn’t going to complain about being able to spend time with Regris, even if he was mostly answering whatever odd question popped into Regris’s head at that tick.

“What is a cow?” Regris asked as he reached to grab something off of a high shelf. Carefully, he peered at the box, adjusting how his glasses sat on his face as he checked the label to make sure it was what he had wanted. Giving a satisfied hiss, he tossed it into the basket that Keith was carrying and then carefully wrapped his tail around Keith’s wrist again and continued leading him along.

Keith decided to ignore the fact that whatever Regris had just grabbed likely wasn’t on the list at all.

“Like Kaltenecker,” Keith said simply. She was the only cow he had seen in space, and he didn’t really know how to explain what a cow was to someone who had never seen one.

Regris didn’t look away from the shelves, lightly tapping his chin. A tick later, his forked tongue flicked out of his mouth as his tail tip moved back and forth, scraping against the floor of the market. “Oh, I see…” he said, nodding seriously. “Like the milkshake machine you keep in storage.”

Keith couldn’t contain his snort, trying to stifle it behind his fist. “Pidge tell you that?”

Regris let out a faint, amused sounding hiss. “She did.”

Without another word, Regris continued leading Keith along by his wrist, and Keith tried not to blush. Regris had already misinterpreted going red as a sign of human illness before, and Keith didn’t want to cause a scene in the middle of the supermarket if Regris started fussing over him. Instead, he ducked his head to look back at the list. Mercifully, it seemed as though they only had one or two more items on the list to pick up. And he could see the entrance to the market if he stood on his toes and peered over the shelves. Soon, they’d be back on base and they’d be able to rest for a bit.

And then he heard the tell tale whirring of a space moped, and he remembered whose jurisdiction they were in.

Some cosmic entity must have had it out for him.

When Varkon first yelled—something about space pirates—Regris paused, looking over his shoulder and fiddled with his glasses again, trying to see Varkon more clearly. “Who in the Void…?”

The basket of groceries that Keith had been carrying was immediately dropped and forgotten on the floor of the market as he grabbed Regris by the hand and took off, dragging his friend along behind him.  He didn’t check to see if Varkon was giving chase—it didn’t matter. They could not get arrested by a mall cop. Even if it was unlikely the Empire would kill them, then Kolivan certainly would.

“Keith!” Regris hissed. “Who is this guy?”

“Let’s just say he doesn’t like me!” Keith said, shouting over the hustle and bustle of the mall. It was busier than it had been when they had first entered the market. “He chased me after I picked a fight with a knife salesman!”

Regris didn’t say anything in response, giving Keith the chance to try and observe their surroundings. Some kind of exit would have been nice at a time like this.  Keith cursed when he couldn’t see one. Where was a map when they actually needed one? They could worry about finding Kolivan later—at least Kolivan wasn’t going to get chased by mall security. Keith turned his head, prepared to tell Regris they had to move, but what left his mouth instead was a surprised yelp. Regris scooped him up and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Regris!” Keith said, and his face went bright red.

“You’re small, and we gotta go!” Regris said—and looking behind them, Keith could see that Varkon was gaining on them. “Just keep looking for the exit!”

To his credit, even though he was moving as quickly as possible, Regris did at least try to be polite. Whenever he accidentally knocked someone over in his haste, he would shout sorry! over his shoulder. Keith tried to focus on looking for an exit, trying to remember where they had started their little escapade earlier in the day, before Kolivan had sent them off with the list. He recognized a couple of shops, though… they were getting close!

“Take the next left!” Keith shouted. “The exit should be up down there somewhere!”

Regris did as he said, nearly sliding as he took the turn, using his tail to catch himself before he fell over. “This ass is really persistent!” he huffed as he continued running.

Keith was about to respond, but then, time seemed to slow down to a near stop as they darted past a new store. Kolivan was just exiting the shop, with a couple of bags in hand… he only saw Kolivan’s expression for half a tick, but that was all he needed to see shock set in on Kolivan’s features as they ran past, followed by a mall cop.

It looked like Kolivan was about to faint on the spot.

Only once they were outside of Varkon’s jurisdiction—or whatever passed for it—did Regris skid to a halt and carefully set Keith down on the floor again.

“This is the second time I’ve caught you in my jurisdiction,” Varkon shouted.

“Technically, we’re not in your jurisdiction anymore,” Regris said.

Regris seemed ready to fight, but he caught his tongue almost immediately. Keith noticed how his tail tip was twitching back and forth nervously against the floor. Then, Keith noticed Kolivan approaching—he appeared as impassive as ever at first glance. Judging by the set of his jaw, though, he was less than enthused about witnessing their little escapade.

“Aaand… we’re dead,” Regris muttered under his breath.

Keith lightly nudged him in the ribs and shushed him before Kolivan could hear him. Kolivan walked right past Varkon without receiving any complaints from the mall cop. As he passed the two younger blades, though, he reached out and grabbed Regris roughly by the back of his shirt, dragging him along even as Regris complained. Kolivan’s impassive mask had been replaced by a stern glare as he turned his gaze on Keith. Hanging his head in embarrassment, Keith followed without another word.

“I leave you two alone for a tick and you almost get arrested!” Kolivan hissed as they entered the shuttle bay and made for their vehicle. “Just—get inside. And stay there. I have one more stop to make and then I’ll be back.”

Kolivan left them without another word, after setting down the bags he had already collected.

“… so, that cop doesn’t like you because you picked a fight with a knife salesman?” Regris asked, tilting his head.

Keith didn’t deign to respond, leveling him with an unamused look.

Regris’s tail tip twitched back and forth in interest as he grinned. “Did you win?”

With a heavy sigh, Keith hung his head, burying his face in his hands.