#anyway. if anyone wants a blank version of the chart let me know and i can provide i guess

[sparky-is-spiders]

How Likely is Death by Lizard?

This idea popped into my head and I had to do it. Chart of how likely my beloved bastard lizard OCs are to kill you, a random lizardverse civillian. Under a cut for length lol.

Before we begin, a few assumptions about the scenario:

You are a member of the lizardverse, because a human would lose against every single guy on this chart. Species is unspecified, just assume it's a Lizardverse species.

You are of average strength for that species, and have average magical and/or psychic abilities.

You do NOT have divine power from any of the gods.

You do NOT have any weapons beyond whatever abilities your species already has.

You have no prior relationship to any of these lizards, and they have no prior knowledge of you. This is how likely they are to kill you immediately upon meeting you with no influencing factors.

And Now, the Chart:

The Y axis measures capacity. It is how capable of murder a lizard is purely based on their strength and powers. Characters near the bottom are weaker, characters near the top are stronger (and again, we're assuming you have average strength and abilities in the Lizardverse setting)

The X axis measures willingness. This is how much they would want to do murder. Characters near the left are very unwilling, characters nearer the right are very willing.

You are at exactly average strength on the Y axis. Where you would be on the X axis is up to you.

The difference between "If You Provoked them Somehow" and "Only if it Benefited them" is that for the former, you would actively need to do something to make them want to kill you, and for the latter you could literally just be existing and as long as it furthered their own ends they would try to merc you on the spot.

Alright! Chart time:

Character Explanations:

(From left to right, top to bottom)

Veskieryaer - Literally a god, incredibly powerful. So weighed down by grief that it doesn't care anymore. It's just so tired, you guys. Could theoretically turn your brain into soup with a single pulse of electricity but would basically never be bothered to do it.

Leoshgon (w/ Sword) - Leoshgon while wielding the Godslayer Sword. Capable of reducing cities to rubble but only every so often. Slowly being consumed by the power of the sword. No qualms about murder but doesn't seek it out either. Would absolutely kill you if provoked. Or if the Overseer asked him to. Or if you were in one of the cities the Overseer told him to melt.

Amaldyne (Revenant) - Goddess of a new world, hooked into a system designed for ancient power. Trying so very hard to fight the part of her that wants to devour all of reality. She's so hungry. She's so hungry. But she's trying so hard. Would let you go, but maybe don't stick around...

She is the only known Divine Champion of the god Hunger (the Locust) in all of history.

The Godslayer* - Vesk's stronger, deadlier sister. Full of Rage. Wants to burn everything down and start again from the ashes. Absolutely, 1000% capable of that too. Would kill anyone on sight but if it helps it wouldn't be personal, and you'd be in good company (read: literally everyone else).

*Technically not on the chart, should be several degrees higher.

Raven - Older than every other Champion. Would never kill without provocation, but wouldn't hesitate to draw her blade either.

Divine Champion of the god Justice (the Beetle)

The Terrible Silence - All things will end, and they shall do so when her master reigns, but in the meantime she does not revel in death or violence. She has never wanted to destroy, only to see destruction. She would not kill you. It is not a mercy.

Divine Champion of the god Destruction (the Antlion)

Corvid** - No qualms about murder. Absolutely none. It's sort of her job, really. Would also kill if it made her life easier, or for dramatic effect. LIVES for drama, really. Doesn't go after random passers by usually, but she does tend to cause a lot of collateral damage...

Divine Champion of the god Vengeance (the Mantis)

**Also has a hair-trigger temper (see: Divine Champion of the Mantis). Most likely to kill you purely by accident (and then not care).

The Overseer - When you're a necromancer, it's generally very beneficial to have more people dead than alive, generally speaking. He'd much rather a perfect rotting puppet than a living breathing being. But if you could convince him of your usefulness, or of the benefits of keeping him alive... well. Maybe he would just let you go.

Divine Champion of the god Control (the Hive)

The Golden Mask - A strange creature, with unusual powers and no obvious connection to any of the seven gods... everything they do is to benefit themselves. Are you going to be more useful as a tool, or as a corpse? Choose wisely

Amaldyne (pre-death) - Powerful, certainly. Dangerous, certainly. She is hungry, yes, but it drives her to do good. To BE good. Despite the slipups, despite her friends turning away from her, turning ON her. But she’s functioned this long. She could resist the call to devour. She has resisted it before. But sometimes sacrifices need to be made. Sometimes she just needs to eat. Let’s hope that when you meet her, she’s well-fed and on her way.

Divine Acolyte of Hunger (the Locust)

Askavenenoth - If her love wants to see this world in ashes then she will reduce it to cinders. She is so angry, so scared, she spent so long powerless in this world of gods and monsters. She will see destruction reign, and the Terrible Silence descend upon the land. If you meet her know that you do so on the battlefield and that she does not have mercy.

Divine Acolyte of the god Destruction (the Antlion), knight and lover to the Terrible Silence

Eityr - with hindsight, placed much too far right (I’m too lazy to change it now). She spent long, long years without even a modicum of free will or control and now she cast all those things aside. No laws shall limit her, nothing shall ever again fasten a leash around her throat and tell her to heel, and Amaldyne shall be the key to this freedom. She is quick to violence, and will not hesitate to follow each whim. If she does choose murder, plead your case to Amaldyne.

Divine Servant torn between the gods Knowledge and Destruction (the Scorpion and the Locust), would-be Divine Champion of Amaldyne

Drakkus - His name means “traveler,” and he chose it himself. A very easy-going guy, believes firmly in right and wrong (although he has something of a vain, selfish streak). He is also a tremendously skilled fighter who would not hesitate to defend himself, should the need arise. You’d need to put some effort in, but not too much.

Leoshgon (pre-sword) - Flightless and weak in dragonflame, he is a stain on House Varmillius. He is weaker than many (but not all), and has no interest in killing. He knows he probably couldn’t, and anyway why should he bother? The Godslayer Sword and the destiny it promises await him, he has no reason to resort to violence unless it was his only option.

Leoshgon (post-sword) - the sword drained him. His life. His dragonflame. Now he has only sparks left. He has met destiny and then gone past it, and has found nothing but bitter disappointment on the other side. He’s not inclined to violence, but he can manage if he must. All he wants is to really, finally live, even if it means snatching the opportunity from others first.

[unfolded73]

My Heartbeat Shows the Fear (3/4) - schitt’s creek ff

Summary: A canon divergent story: Patrick gets into a car accident and it brings the Brewers to town sooner.

Notes: This fic will be posted in 4 chapters, every other day. There is some description of injuries, but nothing too graphic or life-threatening.

The title is from “Overkill” by Colin Hay, which thanks to the show Scrubs puts me in mind of hospitals.

Thank you to Amanita_Fierce for putting so much time and thought into betaing this fic - you made it so, so much better. And thanks also to @high-seas-swan for some helpful suggestions, particularly on that one scene that I tore apart and rewrote.

Rated Teen, this chapter 4390 words. (ao3)

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 3

“Well, you look like shit,” Stevie said as she and David walked into his hospital room Wednesday morning.

“Thanks,” Patrick said as David took advantage of his parents’ absence to lean over and kiss him.

“Did you sleep okay?” David asked, pulling up a chair to sit close. Patrick reached for David’s hand, taking it and squeezing it.

“Not really.” He felt terrible, but it was hard to tell if that was because of the constant aching pain coming from his arm and torso.

“So Alexis and Ted were able to get onto the lot where your car was towed and they found your phone,” David said, pulling a phone with a cracked screen out of his pocket. “We’ll have to plug it in to see if it still works,” he said as he grabbed Patrick’s charger out of the duffel bag and plugged the phone in.

“What about the merchandise?” Patrick asked.

David grimaced. “There were a lot of broken bottles. They saved what they could.”

“Let the vendors know that we’ll pay them for the lost merchandise. It should be covered by our insurance,” Patrick said, shifting his body and wincing at the pain in his side. “We’ll have to file a claim.”

“Okay, but I don’t want you to worry about that right now,” David said, leaning over and nuzzling against Patrick’s cheek. It felt like David was trying to absorb as much physical affection as he could while he had the opportunity.

“So what did your arm look like before, was it really gross?” asked Stevie from her spot leaning against the wall.

“Don’t answer that,” David warned. “Are you in a lot of pain?”

“It’s a little better. And I’ve managed to walk to the bathroom to pee without passing out, so that’s a big accomplishment.”

David laughed. “I’m so proud.” He let go of Patrick’s hand and stroked up and down his right arm affectionately.

“I assume my parents got settled in okay?”

“Oh yeah,” Stevie said, “we were going to talk about the lube—”

“No, we weren’t,” David said quickly, then in explanation to Patrick, he added, “Stevie went over and scrubbed the apartment of evidence of our relationship yesterday before your parents got there.”

Patrick’s stomach sank. Now his cowardice had not only hurt David, but had forced their friends to sneak around like they were in a farce. “Thanks, Stevie.”

“And I told my family not to say anything if they ran into your parents in town. Although they can’t really be relied on at all not to open their big mouths, so really it’s a bit of a crap shoot. But I told your parents that the food at the café was terrible, which wasn’t even a lie, so hopefully they won’t go there.”

Patrick imagined Johnny Rose stumbling through a conversation with his parents and revealing the nature of David and Patrick’s relationship. It was a terrifying idea, although he had to admit that a tiny part of him wanted it to happen. At least it would save him from having to break the news.

He really needed to tell his parents before this went on any longer.

“I’ll tell my parents when they get here this morning,” Patrick blurted out.

David grimaced. “You don’t have to rush, honey,” he said, still stroking his arm.

“No, David, this isn’t fair to you. I—”

“Good morning!” And there his parents were, walking into the room. David flinched back, his hand dropping from Patrick’s arm.

“We didn’t know you’d have visitors already so early,” Marcy said warmly, looking back and forth between David and Stevie.

“Yeah, we thought we’d stop in before I have to open the store,” David said as if a visit to the hospital didn’t require almost an hour and a half of driving.

“Should I point out that you’re already late opening the store?” Patrick gave him a teasing smirk.

“Everyone in town has heard about your car accident; I’m sure they’ll be forgiving,” David said.

“It’s good to see you again, Stevie,” Clint said, and Stevie gave him an awkward little wave.

“You guys met already?” Patrick asked.

“Yes, we met at your wonderful store, dear,” Marcy said.

“I gave your parents a quick tour of the store yesterday afternoon before they drove over to Brebner’s. I told them our fresh vegetables were much better,” David added.

“You were right,” Clint said.

It all felt like it was spinning out of his control, if it ever had been in his control — while Patrick lay helpless in his hospital bed, David and Stevie were spending time with his parents. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. He was supposed to have told them about his relationship with David, and they were supposed to see the truth of his life in Schitt’s Creek. He was supposed to have given them a tour of the store. They were supposed to see how settled and happy he was in the town with the people that knew him as half of ‘David and Patrick.’ Instead they were getting this incomplete, false version of him.

“David, I need to get back to the motel soon,” Stevie said, and David stood up. Patrick felt an urge to grab for his hand, to stop him from leaving. Instead he lay there, paralyzed by doubt.

A nurse came in then. “Goodness, you’re very popular this morning, Patrick,” she said, picking up his chart and making some notes from the screens behind his head.

“I’ll meet you in the lobby?” Stevie said to David, and then patted Patrick’s foot. “Feel better,” she said before disappearing from the room.

“You’re scheduled for blood work today, so I’m here to steal some blood,” said the nurse. Her name was Janice, Patrick remembered; she’d been on duty before. She pulled some tubes out of her pocket and lined them up on the table.

“Stevie seems nice,” Marcy said. ‘And she’s very pretty.”

“Marcy,” Clint said, a warning tone in his voice.

“What? I’m just saying.”

“No, you’re matchmaking,” Clint replied.

As she tightened the rubber band around his bicep and skillfully inserted the needle into his arm, Janice raised her eyebrows at Patrick, cut her eyes over to David, and then tilted her head almost imperceptibly toward Patrick’s parents. Her meaning was as clear as if she’d spoken out loud — they don’t know David is your boyfriend? Patrick shook his head as the first tube filled with blood. No, they don’t know. Janice nodded.

“I’m not matchmaking,” Marcy said. “But you can’t blame me for wanting to see Patrick happy in a relationship.” Patrick glanced at David, but David was studying his nails, his face carefully blank. Whether he was averting his gaze to avoid seeing blood or to avoid this conversation, Patrick wasn’t certain.

“Oh, don’t worry, Patrick’s having a torrid affair with most of the nurses on staff, the heartbreaker,” Janice said with a conspiratorial wink.

His parents laughed, and his mother dropped her line of inquiry. Thank you, Patrick mouthed to Janice, who smirked.

Once the four vacutainer tubes were filled, Janice checked his chart again. “Whoops, forgot to record your temperature.” She pulled out a thermometer and put it under Patrick’s tongue, waiting for the beep before reading the number.

“38.1,” she said, clucking her tongue. “You’re running a bit of a fever today, Patrick.”

“What does that mean?” David asked.

“Could be nothing — patients get unexplained fevers in hospitals all the time — but we want to rule out an infection stemming from his forearm fracture. I’ll page Dr. Barnes.” She patted Patrick’s hand and left the room.

His mother took Janice’s place, putting her hand on his forehead. “You do feel warm. Would you like me to get a wet cloth for your head?”

“No, Mom. I’m fine,” Patrick sighed as he shut his eyes. No wonder he was feeling so shitty.

“I’m sorry about before,” she said. “I know you told us that you weren’t seeing anyone, but I guess deep down I was hoping to meet a girlfriend. You’re such a catch, sweetheart.”

Patrick opened his eyes and met David’s. He could tell them now, but the fever was making him feel like he wanted to sleep for a thousand years. “There’s no girlfriend,” he said.

“Not in all the time you’ve lived here?” Marcy asked.

Patrick shook his head, still looking at David. He just needed to say it. I’m gay. There isn’t ever going to be a girlfriend. There’s David, who I think might be the love of my life.

He opened his mouth, and Dr. Barnes came through the door.

“Patrick, what’s this fever nonsense?” she chided jokingly. “Didn’t I teach you better than that?”

Chuckling weakly, Patrick tried to communicate to David with his eyes that he’d been on the verge of coming out, if only his doctor didn’t have the worst imaginable timing.

Dr. Barnes probed and prodded him, removing the splint from his arm long enough to unwrap the bandages and examine it. The movement was excruciating, but Patrick tried not to show the pain on his face in front of David and his parents. David was averting his eyes again anyway to avoid seeing Patrick’s injury.

“Still no sign of infection from the wound, so I think this is just a run-of-the-mill fever,” she said as she replaced the bandages and the splint. “But we can’t take any chances, so we’ll have to keep you at least one more night for observation.”

Patrick sighed in frustration. He really wanted to go home. He desperately wanted to be in his own bed being held by his boyfriend, even if having David moving around next to him in the bed would make his injuries more painful. He didn’t care.

“I know, it sucks. But infections are no joke.” The doctor made some notes on Patrick’s chart. “I’ll check in again toward the end of my shift, okay?”

“Okay,” he said, lying back on the pillows as she left.

“Your phone seems to be working,” David said, holding it up from where it was plugged in to show Patrick the screen. His voice sounded strangled. “I’ve gotta go. I can’t keep Stevie waiting any longer.” He reached out briefly, but then dropped his hand. “Maybe you can text me later?”

“Of course,” Patrick said, his own voice almost cracking with emotion.

“Bye,” David said, turning quickly and leaving the room.

His father was looking thoughtfully at him, and Patrick tried not to squirm under the scrutiny. “You’ve got a good friend there, Patrick.”

“Yeah, he’s… he’s the best,” Patrick said, drowsiness swamping out his ability to say anything more.

~*~

“He’s not going to tell them,” David said to the passenger window of Stevie’s car.

“David, give the guy a break — he’s clearly not feeling a hundred percent right now.”

He ignored Stevie’s very logical argument. “I mean, look at him. Look at his parents. I’ll never fit in with the wholesome, clean-cut vibe they have going on. Why would he want to tell his parents that he ended up with…” He gestured manically up and down at himself. “... this?”

Stevie cast a vicious side-eye in his direction. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Is it?” he blurted out in a high voice.

“David, he loves you. You know he loves you. Stop with this bullshit.”

He didn’t want to argue about it. Stevie wasn’t going to understand — she didn’t know what coming from a home that wasn’t dysfunctional was like anymore than he did. She didn’t understand that broken people like him didn’t have a place with families like that. Families where parents dropped everything and came rushing to their son’s aid, and not just because they thought he’d taken a prized crocodile bag.

He finally got the store open at ten-thirty, and a few people stopped by before lunch to inquire about Patrick. It was sweet, David thought, that people cared so much, but having to field their questions about Patrick’s health wasn’t helping his anxiety. By the afternoon, he was doing a fairly brisk business, which limited the amount of time he could spend spiraling about his relationship. Worrying that Patrick was realizing that if he was too ashamed to tell his parents that the two of them were dating, then their relationship was probably doomed.

By the time the Brewers themselves walked into the store just before closing, David was just about ready to jump out of his skin.

“Hi,” David said, and then immediately began to fret that he’d lost the ability to even say ‘hi’ like a normal person. “Is Patrick okay?”

“He is,” Marcy said. “They did some more tests and there’s no sign of infection, so he should be discharged tomorrow. They also went ahead and put a cast on his arm.”

David nodded, relieved. “Do you know how long you plan to stay in town? Do you have to get back home for work, or…?” He racked his brain, trying to remember what they did for a living. Clint did something in an office, he was pretty sure, and Marcy he couldn’t remember at all.

“We both had personal days to spare,” Clint said, “but I think we’ll head home on Sunday morning if Patrick doesn’t need more help.”

He has me, David wanted to shout, and he pressed his lips together to keep it in. “Do you need a place to stay for the remaining nights after Patrick is discharged? I can call Stevie and have her reserve a room at the motel.” He rolled his eyes. “It’s not a high-class establishment, but at least it’s close.” It would also put Patrick’s parents in close proximity to his own parents, which was risky, but he couldn’t think of a good excuse not to have them stay at the motel.

“Oh, that would be great, David. Thank you,” Marcy said.

“We were thinking,” Clint said, “we’d like to take you to dinner tonight.”

David tried to limit his physical recoil to the suggestion of spending so much uninterrupted time with Patrick’s parents. “You don’t have to do that.” He wasn’t sure if he could keep up this charade for another minute, much less an entire meal without Patrick there as a buffer.

“Please, David?” Marcy was weaponizing her eyes — he could see that Patrick came by it honestly. “It’s the least we can do.”

He looked around for a good excuse not to have dinner with Patrick’s parents. “I have to close up the store.”

“We can pick you up whenever you’re done,” Clint reasoned. “I’m in the mood for pizza, and I spotted a place near the hospital. Do you know it?”

David nodded reluctantly. “Reginos. It’s surprisingly good.” It was where he and Patrick had gone for their second date.

“Great. What time will you be finished here?” Clint asked, in a way that indicated he wouldn’t be taking no for an answer.

David thought about it. He didn’t have Patrick to help, and he’d let most of the closing up tasks slide the night before. “Umm, six-thirty?”

Clint clapped his hands together. “We’ll be back at six-thirty to pick you up.” He seemed very pleased, so David tried to look pleased too. He suspected his smile wasn’t quite cutting it.

As soon as they left, he texted Patrick. He wasn’t sure if Patrick would be checking his phone, but he hoped. Help, your parents are taking me for pizza. No response came immediately, so David went to work cashing out the register drawer.

His phone didn’t ping until he’d finished with the bookkeeping and was starting to sweep the floor. David leaned the broom against the counter and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

Patrick: I would kill for some pizza.

David: I’ll get you as many pizzas as you can stand when you’re home.

Patrick was typing for a while — David assumed he must be doing it with one thumb, poor thing.

Patrick: I miss you. Been thinking about you all day.

It wasn’t until he saw this text that David realized — ever since he left the hospital that morning, a part of his brain had been spooling out a scenario in which Patrick had decided to break up with him. Seeing that text made him weak with relief. He pressed the button to call Patrick.

“Hey,” Patrick said as soon as the call connected.

“Your typing was too slow. And I miss you too. But what the hell am I going to talk about during an entire meal with your parents?”

Patrick sighed heavily. “I’ve just made this worse for you. I was going to tell them this morning, but doctors and nurses kept coming in and out, and I felt like shit, and—”

“Honey, I told you. You don’t have to apologize.” David probed his feelings for the resentment he knew he’d be justified in feeling, but all he could find was sympathy. “I know this kind of thing is hard for you.”

“I keep wondering if you’re just holding back on being angry with me because I’m in the hospital,” Patrick said.

“I promise I’m not.” David took a deep breath. “I keep wondering if, faced with the idea of telling your parents about us, you’re realizing that I’m all wrong for you.”

“David. Nothing could be further from the truth. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

They were silent for several seconds, basking in each other’s reassurances.

“Ask them to tell you stories about when I was little, that’ll keep them going for a while,” Patrick said. “Or talk about the store.”

“Okay, good ideas. Got any others?”

“I don’t know, tell them about the time you went parasailing with Anderson Cooper?” Patrick said with a laugh.

“Yeah, I’m not going to be doing that.”

“Will you be here in the morning when I get sprung from this place?”

“Won’t your parents think it’s weird, me being there?” David asked.

“I think I’ll ask them to meet us at the apartment. Can you pick me up? Just you?” His voice sounded small.

“I guess I’m going to be doing a lot of that until you can replace your car,” David responded with a smile that he hoped Patrick could hear.

Patrick groaned. “I hadn’t really even thought about that yet.”

“And you don’t need to,” David said, immediately regretting that he’d brought it up. “Just get some rest tonight and I’ll see you in the morning.”

~*~

Clint ran his fingers over the edge of the checkered tablecloth as the server put menus in front of them. “What’s good here, David?”

David’s eyes widened like he’d been asked a personal question rather than just what kind of pizza he liked. “Um, the meat lover is good. And the chicken pesto.” His lips slid to the side in a little half-smile. “Patrick likes the spicy barbecue chicken.”

Marcy wrinkled her nose. “I don’t like spicy pizza.”

“Yes, thank you,” David said. “Spicy food is fine, but that’s another genre of food from pizza. Spiciness destroys the flavor palette of a pizza; I’ve told him a million times.”

“I’m afraid he gets that from me, but I’ve resigned myself to the fact that there are certain foods I can’t get when I’m out with my wife,” Clint said, winking at Marcy.

“Or when you’re going to be sleeping next to me afterwards,” Marcy said, which made David laugh with surprise.

They ordered the meat lover pizza on David’s recommendation, and with that task completed, their conversation lulled. Clint tried not to be too blatant in his observation of David, this man who had gone into business with his son last year. This man who Patrick often ended up talking about during their phone calls when he ran out of other things to tell them about.

This man who, after this morning, Clint was convinced his son was in love with.

He didn’t think Marcy had noticed, and he’d decided not to bring it up to her in the car. He wanted to turn it over in his mind some more, determine if it had the weight of truth. But he’d seen the look on Patrick’s face when his eyes met David’s in that hospital room, and he was fairly certain he wasn’t wrong.

“So did Patrick really start playing hockey when he was four?” David asked suddenly. He grimaced almost like he was surprised the question had come out of his mouth.

Marcy launched into the story of the time she strapped their son into hockey gear and put him on the ice for his first lesson, and Clint watched the warmth grow in David’s eyes as he listened to the tale. It became clear during the conversation that David didn’t know anything about hockey, but he seemed interested nonetheless, asking follow-up questions about what Patrick had been like as a child until the pizza arrived, steaming and delicious.

They asked David about his own family as they ate. He hesitated at first in his responses, but he soon warmed to the topic. He talked about his father going into business with Stevie to save the motel, his mother serving on town council, and his sister starting her own business. It became clear that David was proud of what his family had accomplished in Schitt’s Creek.

“You’ve all done so much after such a terrible thing happened to you,” Marcy said.

“I think most people see what happened to us as karmic justice,” David said. “People love stories about rich people being knocked down a few pegs.”

“Well,” Marcy said thoughtfully, “I can’t pretend to know what your life was like before, but regardless, it’s unfair that you had everything stolen away. And it’s admirable, what your family has done for your town.”

David blushed, averting his eyes and wiping his hands with a napkin. “Thank you,” he said in a soft voice.

After dinner, they dropped David off at the motel before driving back to Patrick’s apartment. Marcy excused herself to the bathroom, and Clint pulled out his phone and called Patrick.

“Hey, Dad,” Patrick said when he answered, his voice sounding stronger than it had earlier in the day. “How was dinner?”

“It was good. Just checking to make sure they’re still planning to spring you in the morning.”

“Yeah, as far as I know.”

“What time should we be there to pick you up?” Clint asked.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. David’s going to pick me up tomorrow,” Patrick said.

“Doesn’t he have to open the store? It’s no problem for us to be there.”

“Nope,” Patrick said firmly. “We’ll meet you at the apartment.”

Clint smiled to himself. “You must be excited to get home.”

Patrick chuckled. “You have no idea. I’ll see you tomorrow, Dad. Love you.”

Marcy came out of the bathroom just as Clint was getting off the phone. “Patrick said David’s going to pick him up from the hospital tomorrow. He wants to meet us here.”

She frowned. “There’s no need for David to do that.”

“Well, Patrick wasn’t taking no for an answer.” He moved over to the window, shifting the curtain aside to look out on the nondescript lawn in the front of the apartment building. He remembered the last time Patrick broke up with Rachel, the night he came over to tell them he needed to move away and get a fresh start. “I keep going back to her by default but it’s never right. It’s not what I want.”

“What’s on your mind, sweetheart?” Marcy asked him.

He took a shaky breath, his eyes changing focus so that he mostly saw the reflection of the apartment in the window glass instead of the landscape outside. “Do you remember that boy, Mark? The captain of the baseball team when Patrick was in grade ten?”

“The catcher? Yes, I remember.”

“Do you remember how much Patrick used to talk about him? Walking us through every play at the plate he made?” They would ask Patrick how baseball practice had gone, and inevitably the story would turn to Mark — the way he played, or the funny things he said in the locker room.

“I mean, I guess so. Why?”

“He never talked about Rachel like that. Not even back then.”

“Clint, what are you talking about?”

He turned and faced his wife. “I said before that I thought David had unrequited feelings for Patrick, but I watched them at the hospital this morning. I watched Patrick. There’s nothing unrequited about it.”

Marcy frowned. “So you’re saying—”

“I’m saying if they aren’t a couple, then they’ve both got feelings for each other they aren’t talking about,” Clint said.

Confusion was evident on Marcy’s face. “But Patrick dated Rachel for years. And other girls.”

“I’ve been thinking about that a lot today,” Clint said with an unhappy sigh. He sat down on the sofa and put his elbows on his knees. “He was almost boxed into dating Rachel before he’d finished going through puberty. They were best friends for practically their whole lives. Everyone expected them to start dating when they got old enough, us included. And Patrick has always been such a people-pleaser; he did what was expected of him from the time he was little.”

He stood up again and paced across the floor, unable to sit still. “And, look, he could be… bisexual. Or some other orientation that I don’t know the name of. I don’t know. I just saw the look on that boy’s face this morning when he looked at David. And I don’t think I ever saw him look at Rachel that way.”

“So if that’s true, why hasn’t he told us? Why are they keeping it a secret?”

Clint ran his hands over his face. “I don’t know.”

“We’ve never given Patrick any reason to think we wouldn’t accept him, have we?”

“Other than to encourage him to get back together with Rachel when they were struggling?”

Marcy’s face fell. “And then I just assumed … with Stevie earlier, and other girls… I defaulted to the idea of him being straight. It never occurred to me not to.”

Clint walked over and took her hand. “Me either. So, we start making up for it now. Yeah?”

She wiped away a stray tear. “Yeah.”

Chapter 4

[miraculousmidnightreviews]

There will definitely be an explanation for my review of reputation

Album: reputation 

Artist: Taylor Swift Rating: 5/5 stars

I would first like to preface this review with one fact: reputation is my favorite album by Taylor Swift. It should be noted that I did not rate this album based on the average of each individual song rating. (If I did, the actual album rating would be 4.5 stars.) But I felt that this album deserved more. So much more.

What I admire most about reputation is its honest introspectiveness. I think it’s safe to say that no one predicted this album to be The Next Taylor Swift Album. The lead single is distinctly not like previous Swift singles, providing an unexpectedly darker side to Swift. And the album cover is devoid of Swift’s usual bright or pastel colors. Yet what people brushed off as a risky and failed move designed to turn around Swift’s career, her reputation, became the most truthful album of her discography. 

At this point, whether you’re a fan of Swift or not, you can’t doubt her abilities. She knows how to create chart-topping hits; she knows how to pen heart-wrenching ballads; she’s done it before. And she’ll continue to do so for the rest of her career. But reputation was never meant to be the next 1989, the next record-breaking financial success (although it was to some extent). This album was meant to be something else entirely: an admittedly risky exploration that only Swift could pull off. 

And I respect that immensely. This album is honest, and it’s brave. It might not be her most sonically cohesive or lyrically complex album, but it wins anyways. I love that the songs are in chronological order as they pertain to Swift’s life, and while that means it can be hard to listen to the songs without skipping around, the album itself is a journey through Swift’s year of solitude, through her mind space and blossoming relationship, through her life away from the eyes of the public and the media. To me, it’s clear Swift wrote reputation not because she needed to stick to her schedule of releasing an album every other year, but because she just needed to cope with events in her life. I appreciate that maybe even more than the honesty: that Swift wrote this album because she needed it; she wrote it for herself and no one else.

In anticipation of Lover coming out on Aug. 23, I will be reviewing each of Swift’s albums up until the forthcoming album’s release. I can’t wait to listen to new TS music, and I hope these reviews will provide a wistful and refreshing glance at past eras as we look forward to a brand new one.

Continue reading below for my review of each individual song.

1) ...Ready For it?

Rating: 4/5 stars

*clears throat*

At first listen, I was unsure of the mix of rap and singing. But it’s now one of the songs from this album that I play when I’m in That Mood™.

Did I mention Taylor raps?!?

The pre-chorus is so “Wildest Dreams”-esque that I can’t. I just can’t. (Also, sexy!)

That Elizabeth Taylor reference!!! I love it when artists make pop culture references in their works. It gives me a dopamine rush.

As always, it’s nice to hear Swift play with the perception of herself. She’s just so great at turning her reputation as portrayed by the media into a clever and witty line or song.

i’M So vERy TAme nOW (Sarcasm on point. She did that.)

2) End Game (feat. Future & Ed Sheeran)

4/5 stars

Taylor raps! Pt. 2

BIG REPUTATION

I love the features on this one, and I’m very surprised by Future. But that’s Taylor Swift, keeping us on our toes.

This song includes the first of many references to alcohol from this album. A first for Swift, but all those who are surprised need to grow the fuck up. Because Swift certainly did.

Also, notice “End Game” has the first mention of gold, a motif that will continue throughout the album.

3) I Did Something Bad

Rating: 5/5 stars

Probably my favorite song from this album. The live performance was also my favorite of hers. 

badass vibes all the way

IF A MAN TALKS SHIT THEN I OWE HIM NOTHING

I am absolutely in love with the feminist-y witch metaphor in the bridge. Iconic.

Also cool that Swift was inspired by Game of Thrones for this and other songs from this album.

4) Don’t Blame Me

Rating: 5/5 stars

All the gospel feels

TAKE ME TO CHURCH, TAYLOR!!!

THAT high note

Once again, the honesty

5) Delicate

Rating: 5/5 stars

When the album first came out, this was the song that I immediately played the most and connected to. I just adore how she was able to take these universal feelings and put them into a song that anyone just starting a relationship can relate to.

The music video is so underrated. It’s so cute and happy and I just love it and her so much.

1 2 3, LET’S GO BITCH!!!!!!

The repetition of “isn’t it?” to reflect anxiety is, once again, an example of Swift’s lyrical genius.

6) Look What You Made Me Do

Rating: 4/5 stars

YOU’LL ALL GET YOURS

A lot of people did not like this song when it first came out and some still don’t. I happen to like it a lot. While the chorus is not my favorite, the verses bite with amazing zingers and that’s what hooks me.

I think when everyone first heard this song, we assumed the rest of the album would sound similarly: dark and filled with vengeance. But with the exception of a few songs, I would consider reputation to be one of Swift’s happiest albums. There are certainly dark overtones, but at its heart, reputation is an album about love and acceptance in the aftermath of Swift’s metaphorical death. If you consider 1989 for comparison, the composition of its songs (and even the album cover) present a romantic and hopeful facade, when actually, many songs have depressing lyrics about the fate of romantic relationships.

The bridge is so reminiscent of the bridge from Blank Space in a way. They give me similar vibes, except LWYMMD’s is the follow-up to that of Blank Space.

This song has one of my favorite music videos ever. I love when artists tell stories through their music videos, and Swift never fails at storytelling. (Also, a fantastic lyric video!)

7) So It Goes…

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

I feel like this song embodies what everyone expected from this album at first glance: dark, techno pop.

This one doesn’t really do much for me, but I enjoy the extended metaphor of the magician. 

Too much techno, in my opinion.

But sexyyy—“scratches down your back”

8) Gorgeous

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

This song gives me old Taylor vibes, just with a new production.

“Gorgeous” does such an excellent job at conveying the thoughts and feelings surrounding first attraction between two people.

“I guess I’ll just stumble on home to my cats.” Relatable.

Give the original lyrics a listen from Swift’s the making of a song video. They’re heartbreaking.

9) Getaway Car

Rating: 5/5 stars

Now this bitch is DEFINITELY old Taylor storytelling at its finest.

That Tale of Two Cities reference!

THat BRidGE!!!

“And a circus ain’t a love story. And now we’re both sorry.”

Just the complexity of feelings portrayed in this song is utter perfection.

Bonnie & Clyde!!!

This is one of those classic Taylor songs that you turn all the way up while driving down the highway at 70 miles per hour, screaming at the top of your lungs. GO GO GO!!

(not that I’ve ever done that. I follow all speed limits :))

10) King of My Heart

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The only reason this song doesn’t get 5 stars is because I could have done without the added production (less techno plz).

The beginning always gets me. This and ��Call it What You Want” have the saddest beginning lines on the album.

Overall, this is just cute af. Pure fluff.

“jAguARs”

The drums on tour were a wonderful bonus.

Also, the bridge. Swift writes some damn good bridges on this album and just in general.

11) Dancing With Our Hands Tied

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

This song, like “So it Goes…,” doesn’t really do much for me, even though it seems to be a fan favorite. I really preferred the acoustic version of this that she played on tour.

But I appreciate the versatility of her song topics as well as her voice.

12) Dress

Rating: 5/5 stars

First reaction while listening to this song: OMG TAYLOR!!! sexyyyyyy

Her voice *heart eyes*

The pre-chorus is so much fun to sing!!!

“I’m spilling wine in the bathtub” gives me high school party vibes for some reason lol

13) This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

Rating: 4/5 stars

I really love everything about this song, except for the chorus. It just wasn’t as fun to sing along to as the rest of the song. (Although purposefully making it sound childish was an effective way to get her point across).

 That Gatsby reference!

love Love LOVE the tongue-in-cheek attitude

She missed the parties :(

14) Call It What You Want

Rating: 5/5 stars

so soft & pure

A recovery song is what we really deserve. I love that Taylot took this time for herself.

My heart just bursts when I hear this song. 

That feminist bridge tho—a mature and fulfilling continuation of “Love Story” in a way

15) New Year’s Day

5/5 stars

Bittersweet—the perfect closing song to this album

This song perfectly showcases Swift’s heartachingly beautiful songwriting talent. 

“please don’t ever become stranger whose laugh I recognize anywhere” really gets me.

With this conclusive song, I can say that Taylor Swift is truly happy and okay. And I’m so proud.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this review! Check out other reviews here!

[littlephotogannie]

Mobile Editing for Beginners!

I was out for a run last night through the park next to my apartment, and I had to stop because the light was just TOO GORGEOUS.  Golden hour should be illegal here.  Honestly I’m not sure I’m capable of getting anything else done when there are photos that could be taken!

Anyway, since I was running, I only had my phone on me, so that’s what I used to grab a few quick shots.  It seemed a little counter-productive to move them to my computer for editing, since they’d have to come back to my phone to share on Instagram anyway, so I decided to edit on my phone when I got home.

Hello, Snapseed!  I’ve been hearing good things about this app, but I haven’t had a reason to use it ‘til now!  I thought I’d share a guide/review of the app and quick overview of how I edit my landscape photos.  

Disclaimer:  I’m an android user.  The interface should be very similar for iphones, but if you find any differences, let me know and I’ll update this!

When you launch the app, you’ll get a screen that looks like this.  When you tap it, it’ll take you to your gallery to pick a photo for editing.  

Once you’ve picked an image, you’ll see three options at the bottom of your screen: Looks, Tools, and Export.  Looks are like Instagram filters, the Tools menu contains all of the individual options for editing, and Export is how you save your results.  We’re going to focus on Tools for now.

My first step is always to adjust the angle.  I know I don’t want to share it with a crooked horizon, so I fix it right away so that all of the later steps look closer to what I actually want to share.

Next, I adjusted curves (this link has a pretty good overview of editing with curves in general).  When you open this setting, you’ll see a diagonal line across the image (the curve) and the histogram across the bottom.  I think histograms probably deserve a post of their own, but the quick version is this:  Divide the chart into thirds.  The left section shows your shadows, the middle section is for midtones, and the right is for highlights.  I like to think of it as peaks showing the most dominant tones and valleys showing the least dominant tones.  What you want is for the peak to be somewhat balanced over the midtones and spilling into shadows/highlights.  My image was underexposed, so the histogram is skewed to the left (more intense shadows).

You can add handles to the curve by tapping it, and drag up or down to edit the shape.  This “S” shape is pretty common; it brightens highlights and darkens shadows, which really makes images pop.  I’d suggest playing with the options to find what works for your style!  If you need to get rid of a handle, you can tap and drag it off the bottom of the chart.  If you move the top-right or bottom-left handles, you can adjust the “pure tones” in the image.  Basically, sliding the top-right handle toward the center makes more pixels pure white, and sliding the bottom-left handle toward the center makes more pixels pure black.  There’s no reason you have to adjust all these things every time you edit an image, but the option is there if you want it.

I bumped up the highlights, dropped the shadows, and added a little more white because I wanted to really show the light coming through the tops of the grass.

Next, I went for the white balance.  There are two main tools here: temperature and tint.  Photography rules say you want your whites to be white (such as clouds, someone’s teeth, maybe a blank wall, etc.), and white balance (aptly named) is how you can get there.  Adjusting the temperature slider will make your images “warm” (more yellow/orange) or “cool” (more blue).  I usually make my photos a little warmer than the “correct” value, but it’s all personal preference.  

If you have to make any dramatic adjustments to the temperature, you may end up with a different color tint.  That’s where the tone menu comes in.  You can use the slider to add more pink or green to even out the image.

I decided to try out the Details next (top row of the tools menu, second from the left).  I’ve seen basically the same feature under different names in different programs.  Increasing detail (structure) acts like a Sharpen feature; decreasing detail acts like Soft Focus.  Here’s how it looked (the center image is from the last step of my white balance edits, so no detail change is applied):

I liked a little bit of the softer look here, so I set it to -20.

The other important menu here is Tune Image.  We accomplished pretty much all of the changes you could make here by using other tools, but if you’re more comfortable with this interface, use it!  Brightness, contrast, ambience (add light to entire image), highlights, and shadows can be covered by the Curves edit.  I use Curves because there’s more of a gradient in how the effect is applied (remember the “S”?); with Shadows/Highlights, it’s all or nothing.  Warmth is covered by the White Balance menu, which, again, gives you more options to control the result.  I did nudge the saturation up just a tiny bit for some more punch to the orange tones in the tops of the grass.

We’re almost done!  If you want to go back and change any of the edits you’ve made, tap on the image options icon in your top toolbar (it looks to me like sheets of paper and an arrow) and then select “View Edits.”

Here you can see all of the changes you’ve made to your image, and you can adjust them if you’d like!  You can also go through it step by step to see the change between each edit.

And we’re done with this photo!  I decided to save my changes as a preset.  To do that, go to the “Look” menu, scroll all the way to the right, and tap the plus icon.  Here’s how it looked applied to another photo I took that night:

If you want to try out the filter (Look) I made, you can find the QR code here.  (You can add it to your image using the button right under View Edits)

All in all, I’m pretty impressed with this app!  I like that it has plenty of options for different editing styles with traditional tools like curves and white balance but also more modern additions that probably look more familiar to instagrammers and the like.  

 Would anyone be interested in a Part 2 of this tutorial?   Maybe a portrait-centric version?  There’s so much more to this app than what we’ve talked about here!  Masked editing, dodge & burn, black and white photos....

As always, if you’ve learned something from this (or any other post!) and you want to share, tag @littlephotogannie or use #littlephotogannie on Instagram!  I love a good before and after from post-processing.  Happy editing!

[justasmallbloginabigklainefandom]

Rec This Thing: Interactive Introverts

Interactive Introverts in Amsterdam RAI, evening show on June 2nd

Story: Dan and Phil decided to give the people what they want.

My Story: Okay, fun fact, I bought my ticket on June 1st. When they first announced their tour, my friend Sammy immediately bought tickets for her and her sister and she asked me to come along.

I declined.

After all, I wasn’t that big of a fan of Dan and Phil and I decided that people who are actual fans of them could have my possible ticket. Fast forward a couple of weeks and I became fan of them and both shows were sold out. Yup. Bummer. Instant regret. Total sadness. So Sammy promised to tell me everything yada yada since I couldn’t go. Then just over 24 hours before the show, Sammy sent me a message that there were five seats left for €55.

Crap.

Okay, I decided to do it. Fuck work the day after. Let’s go. And boy, am I glad I did.

Rating (1 to 10): 9

Why?: QUITE DETAILED SHOW SUMMARY UNDER CUT, SPOILERS!

Alright, yup, I’m just going to write down everything, including the entire show. Or at least what I remember cause holla, this is done from memory.

Basically, we arrived in Amsterdam after a lot of panic because my bus didn’t drive so we were about to miss our train. I ran back home and yelled to mum to grab the car (called Snuit) cause HOLY FUCK MY BUS IS 6 MINUTES LATE AND WITH THE NEXT BUS I WILL MISS MY TRAIN FOR SURE.

But okay, Amsterdam. We got there around four? First we checked out the venue, which wasn’t hard to find because their matinee show had just ended, so we just had to follow the stream of fans who were leaving, and then we had dinner at this Japanese place. Then around 18:30 we were back at the venue. Only VIP was allowed to go in already, so we decided to buy merch. The place was packed, so they decided to already open the merch stand. Good thing we got merch (I got a poster) before the show, because other merch was sold during intermission and after the show. Almost no one got merch during intermission, because it was only 20 minutes long, and after the show the line was insane. Probably 2,5+ hours wait time.

We found our seats. We got split up. Sammy and her sister had a great seat (row 9) and I sat on the other side of the theatre in a balcony seat which was fucking great as well. They put on Dan’s playlist and that playlist was banging. Sometimes, Dan’s Siri interrupted. I mean, they were playing Hard Times when I entered the theatre- great start. 

And of course they came on stage after Welcome To The Black Parade.

First we had a video kinda introducing danis not on fire and AmazingPhil and then they came in on a moving plaform. Like, their set was so minimalistic but also so great?

After the “Hello! Hi!” stuff they talked about being in Amsterdam (”Amsterdamn” - Phil) and how Phil is feeling a bit sick because he decided to eat tons of stroopwafels (strupwaffles, they called it). Dan called him out, because when you buy a pack of stroopwafels, they are obviously not supposed to be eaten at the same time.

Oh, and those poor foreigners aren’t used to shit ton of bikes in Amsterdam (or in the entire Netherlands tbh) so they were talking about how they almost got killed by bikers while crossing the road. 

They were obviously telling us what to expect and all of that.

Then first, What are we not going to do. They acted out everything they were not going to do. I only remember the erotic roleplay, because they did cop roleplay and it was fucking hilarious (”Please be gentle with those handcuffs, I have sensitive skin” - Dan), and the part where they dressed up as their cute pastel versions.

Truth Bombs came next. Phil got asked something among the lines of: “What Olympic sport would Phil excel in?”

Keeping houseplants alive

I forgot.

SPORTS??? LMFAO!

(If anyone’s reading this… if you happen to know the missing parts cause you were at the same show, hit me up.)

Phil said something about how avoiding bikes in Amsterdam is a sport and then he procceeded to jump over the small hexagon on stage. He chose the houseplants.

Dan’s question was: “What is in Dan’s browser history?” 

Fursuits (I think???)

I also forgot.

Something with Shrek 

Which was ironic, because Shrek the Musical played at the RAI. I don’t remember what Dan chose.

Then, “How will they die?” 

Demonetization

They fall off stage in a few minutes

I forgot….

Honestly, they kept talking about demonetization during the entire show. Every time they said something too raunchy, they’d say something like “We’re getting demonetized.”

I think the Simulator came next? Anyway Phil started out with ordering a unicorn frappuchino and he ended up being killed by Satan cause he tried make a deal with him to restore his twitter account after accidentally posting a sexy photo of himself in his pants. We cheered for Satan, and they kept reminding us of that during the entire show. 

Dan was outside for once and got approached by a furry, did body shots of an otter, and ended up dying in an underground furry rave after he decided to use the ladies’ restroom.

After that, Phil synced us all as Linda, so hooray, we were all Linda. Now as Linda, we could continue to the magic trick and the audience participation. What is hidden in the mysterious box that Dan hid under his bed? Our three answers were: cereal, a panda, a fursuit. 

I still don’t know how they did this trick. The box was unopened on stage all the time. Sammy and I first came up with this special electronic paper, but then we realised Phil gave it to audience members to rip it up and fight about it.

I only remember three questions asked during the Survey. There was apart about their favourite content and Dan was very happy to present it as a pie chart. Also “Do you think you know Dan and Phil?”

Yes

No

Who is Dan and Phil?

After joking about how all the parents answered the last answer, they noticed a small percent still answered no, and they talked about authenticity on YouTube and sure, they put themselves out there because they want to entertain people, but that they are still genuinely themselves and that they’re not faking it. But if you wanted to see the non-entertaining version of them, you’d be bored. (”On my sofa, with an overheated laptop on my crotch and a bag of crisps under my chin and me trying to eat them with my tongue cause I’m lazy” - Dan).

Then, of course the “Dan or Phil?” question and they presented the wheel and they made the most dramatic act one exit I’ve ever seen, and I am a Broadway fan.

During intermission, the two women next to me were talking about merch and I told them where to find it. Then I exited the theatre. Sammy’s sister bought Pringles and I bought M&Ms and the three of us were kinda shocked to see the queue for the merch stand. Those poor fuckers.

We went back to the theatre and I talked about the merch again, because I happened to know the whole merch stand and its prices by heart after looking at it for 45 minutes (hoodie €40, sweater €30, wristband €5, poster €10, Dan and Phil plushies €25, denim jacket €65, two t-shirts €20 and €25, keycord or whatever it is called €10, cap €15, woops I still know it).

Back to the show! Phil was on the wheel and Dan used a slingshot, a bow and arrow, and a bazooka. And afterwards Phil was showing off his ass while taking off that white body suit. He said he was dizzy and Dan dared him to jump over the hexagon again, but Phil refused.

Okay anyway the next thing I remember is the wholesome Daniel and X-Rated Lester part (”I’m already feeling naughty” - Phil). In the beginning they had this whole talk about authenticity and how they are still humans bla which was really cool. Since I am a recent fan, I completely missed the actual wholesome Daniel craze, but yeah, they talked about how they are actual people and sometimes, they don’t meet certain expectations of fans.

Also, at one point in the show, Dan was talking about God and he yelled “Spite me, daddy!” and I think it was around this moment. The entire crowd yelled.

Alright Dan had to sweet talk disturbing fan fiction, Hello Internet, and another thing uuuuhm. I don’t remember. Anyway, he kept saying “Oh for God’s sake!”, especially at the Hello Internet one.

Phil had to bad mouth cute animals, endless kittens (he failed), and ugh I have also forgotten his last one. The person who sent in cute animals sat in front of me and it was just absolutely amazing to see how happy she was to see her submission on screen.

Then the Dan vs. Phil friendship game. There was a lot of stuff, but I remember some. I can’t believe they shocked each other, but maybe that is because I’d read the Milgram Experminent earlier that week.

First, psychic connection. They both had to name the same number between 1 to 20 and they failed. 

Then a dilemma. Dan got the dilemma: “Guest star in Infinity War 4 or Phil gets thrown in a pool of cheese?”

Phil had to choose between: “A billion dollars or Dan will never be able to see dogs again?” According to Phil, he’d buy two big airplanes and then merge them together for an ever bigger airplane.

Then the Dan or Phil or Rat. They both got it right. Phil just got a photo of something white, but he guessed that it was his own pale skin and Dan got some hairs and he guessed that it was a rat.

Trivia. Dan needed to name 3 pre-2008 Phil videos and succeeded. Dan thanked Phil for uploading his newest video about his his old deleted stuff. Phil needed to recall the kind of cake that Colin ruined and failed.

There was probably more to Dan vs. Phil but I am blanking. Phil got the big shock (”I’m Phil trash no. 1!″ - Dan).

Then the intimate moment. Or personal. Phil called it intimate and Dan just went “PERSONAL? DON’T CALL IT INTIMATE, IT’S PERSONAL” and then proceeded to point out that Phil has a degree in English language.

It was just so down to earth. There were three questions, and I remember two. The first person asked for an appropriate name for their zoo animal YouTube channel. I forgot the name they recommended, but they said it was great that this person had a clear theme.

I remember one person saying that she wants to be a singer but her parents want her to go into medicine and well first they were like “hey singing doctor!”. But they talked about how passion is important and how they both didn’t do what was expected and how they are much happier now (“Lawyer Dan is as awful as a singing doctor!” - Dan) but I unfortunately forgot the other two questions. It was just a really nice moment where both Dan and Phil just sat down to have a chat. Oh and they also talked about Phil’s apparent awful handwriting.

Then the power came back on and I think that is when the Awards happened? Glitter jackets af and a self-made statue (”Two naked men in bondage really represents Dan and Phil” - Phil, or something like that.)

The first category was: Best dressed pet as Dan and Phil.

A lizard wearing a flower crown while watching the video of Black Parade won.

A cat wearing Dan’s merch.

I don’t even know but it looked like Dan was riding Phil so that was that. I suppose it was a dog.

And then Most inaccurate expectation of the show

I fucking forgot first place.

Two hour long Hamilton reenaction with Chris Evans.

Them giving birth on stage.

Also the most annoyed parent was just incredibly funny. I remember the winners but hey I don’t feel comfortable just sharing their names cause… privacy. I know the winner sat on the second row and all kids were pointing at her and I guess Dan and Phil saw her and said: “This was probably the worst day of your life, thank you for sharing it with us!” “You probably thought you were seeing Shrek the Musical.”

And then back to the scripted part, aka the Big Finale. A dog video that has nothing to do with the show, PHIL’S DISS TRACK, Dan at the piano, and them singing a duet. This ain’t Broadway, but it was still kinda nice and just sweet.

And well, that is it. They runned around on stage, waving at everyone, saying goodbye. Then they stepped on their moving platform and they disappeared.

Some random things:

Phil kept calling a part of the set a “flap” which annoyed Dan.

Dan… just… couldn’t… stop… dabbing…

They hinted at a new gaming video that involves a lot of Dan’s screaming - coming next week.

So many pride flags in the crowd.

Phil and Dan sounds wrong.

There was one moment where a picture of Dan’s had pasted on a horse from My Horse Prince appeared with a text bulb saying “Ride me, senpai” but I don’t remember when that happened. I think before the Simulator?

Interactive Introverts kind of reminded me of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. There’s clearly a format and a script, but thanks to audience participation, no shows are the same.

But in all seriousness, as my friend Rowan @rothetree pointed out, the entire message of this show was about how Dan and Phil are just human. As Ro put it: “On a serious note, there’s a whole underlying theme to this show, which was them basically going “Hey, we’re real people, stop objectifying us"”. This felt so in line with what the three of us were talking about. Me, Sammy and Sammy’s sister had to endure a two hour train ride and we talked a lot about fandom’s perception on real life people they stan and how they sometimes reduce those people to the image they have in their minds.

Cause we were talking about stuff like real life shipping, and about how celebrities are being seen, and how the moment they do something the fans don’t like, you get all those moments of “X is not real anymore!”

Newsflash asshole, they are people with feelings, and just because you don’t want to see those feelings, doesn’t mean they don’t have them. For example, Sammy was talking about how one K-POP star basically got stalked at an airport and when he clearly showed his dislike of it, people were all “OH MY GOD HE DOESN’T LIKE HIS FANS HE IS SO RUDE HE’S NOT WHO WE THOUGHT HE WAS” and I gave the example of people saying Darren is “no longer himself” after he called out the people who are seriously threatening his fiancée and all that stuff.

Before the show started, we overheard two other fans talking about how they should come out bla bla bla, and just… no? That is so personal and we are not entitled to that at all? 

To quote Ghostly, they are not our dolls. We can’t dress them up in whatever way we want.

I recently read I Was Born For This by Alice Oseman, which follows a band from the fans’ POV and through the band’s POV and how sometimes those things clash, and I feel like with Interactive Introverts, Dan and Phil wanted to show people who they are to avoid a clash like that. That’s why they kept talking about how they value authenticity, while they are aware of the fact that they are also putting on a show. Or how, when people have certain images of them, how unrealistic those images can be and that they cannot live up to the expectations, and therefore it is important for fans to realise that. The tagline is: “Giving the people what they want!” and they did that without having to change for the fans’ sake.

As Rowan (rothetree, not Rowan from the book I Was Born For This) said: "we don’t own their image or expect too much from them. Something about their interactions with us is changing in a really good way."

Because that exactly.

Since I am a recent fan and I got my ticket one day before the show, I wasn’t aware of the questions, but in the “Do you think you know Dan or Phil?” (as they said: or do you think we’re people putting up a whole show) I would’ve answered a solid “no”, because I always think it’s dangerous to say that you know a celebrity, but after this show, I’d vote “yes”, because the way they acted on stage and the way they conveyed their message of “yes, we’re putting on a show right now because we want to entertain you guys, but we still care about authenticity” was well done.

And that is what made this show so great and enjoyable. Yes, it was a show and there were scripted parts, but it was still very genuine.

Recommend?: Yes, please, just like TATINOF, put it online for sale!

[char27martin]

20 Best Songs for Writers and About Writing: The Ultimate Writing Mixtape

Recently, I had iTunes on random and a couple songs played back-to-back that had lines about writing. It didn’t take long for me to wonder, “What are the best songs for writers and about writing?” So I started making my own list, and I put out a call on Facebook and Twitter (find my handles below if you love being part of such conversations).

Anyway, this post puts together my ultimate writing mixtape of the best 20 songs for and about writers and the process of writing. Sure, there are many other great songs about the subject, and please share them in the comments below. But this is the mix I’m going to start rocking on my way to and from writer conferences, open mics, and writing retreats.

Just click the links below to listen to the songs on YouTube.

*****

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*****

20 Best Songs for Writers and About Writing Mixtape

Track 1: “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter,” by Fats Waller

This is the perfect intro track with a bit of an instrumental opening before getting into the lyrics, which include, “I’m gonna sit right down and write myself a letter and make believe it came from you.” The song was composed by Fred E. Ahlert and Joe Young in 1935 and made popular by Waller. But it’s been covered by a range of artists, including Billy Williams, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Nat “King” Cole, Willie Nelson, Anne Murray, Linda Scott, and Paul McCartney–just to name a few.

Track 2: “I Could Write a Book,” by Dinah Washington

There are two ways to make a transition on a mixtape: smooth or jarring. Both are effective, but I prefer smooth early on in a mix. Enter this wonderful version of “I Could Write a Book,” which was a tune in the Rodgers & Hart 1940 musical Pal Joey. I first heard Harry Connick’s version from When Harry Met Sally…, but a range of artists have performed this song as well, including Ella Fitzgerald, Rosemary Clooney, and Miles Davis.

Track 3: “Dancing in the Dark,” by Bruce Springsteen

According to the Boss, “you can’t start a fire without a spark.” So here we go. The biggest hit off the bestselling album (Born in the U.S.A.) of Bruce Springsteen’s career, “Dancing in the Dark” includes the line that he’s “sick of sitting around here trying to write this book.” Musically, this song jump starts the mix with synths, quick beats, and that fade out sax.

Track 4: “Write About Love,” by Belle and Sebastian

Anyone who has participated in either my April or November poem-a-day challenges knows how I feel about love poems. So of course, Belle and Sebastian’s song “Write About Love” from the album titled Write About Love had to make the cut. In addition to the writing theme, it keeps the upbeat momentum of the early mixtape.

Track 5: “The Engine Driver,” by the Decemberists

Track five slows things down a little, and it plays with the theme of love while taking it’s time getting to the writing reference in the song. But the chorus slams home with, “I am a writer, writer of fictions … and I’ve written pages upon pages trying to rid you from my bones.” Once you hear this song, it stays. Click here for a pretty cool analysis of the song.

Track 6: “Poetry Man,” by Phoebe Snow

Transition time: From slower and lonely to mellow and hopeful. A kind of summer afternoon song by Phoebe Snow about the poetry man, who “makes things alright.” The song actually hit number one on the Billboard‘s Easy Listening chart in 1975. In 2007, Queen Latifah covered the song for her Trav’lin’ Light album.

Track 7: “I Am a Rock,” by Simon and Garfunkel

As Paul Simon mentions in the opening of this performance, “This according to Arty is my most neurotic song.” This folk song plays off the previous song’s focus on poetry with the line, “I have my books and my poetry to protect me.” I’m sure more than a few poets and readers can relate to that sense of protection from loneliness and isolation. Released as a single in 1966, “I Am a Rock” rose to number three on the Billboard Top 100 list.

Track 8: “Wuthering Heights,” by Kate Bush

Kate Bush hit it big on her debut single, which she wrote at 18 and was based on the novel of the same name. “Wuthering Heights” was released in January 1978 and spent 4 weeks at the number one position of the UK Singles Chart. One interesting part of this song is that Bush lifted lines from Wuthering Heights character Catherine Earnshaw, including “Let me in! I’m so cold!” from the chorus. The song had two music videos; the other one can be viewed by clicking here.

Track 9: “Paperback Writer,” by the Beatles

After some slower (and more somber) songs, we switch up the mood and beat a little with the Beatles. “Paperback Writer” was written by Paul McCartney as a response to a challenge by an aunt, according to disc jockey Jimmy Savile, who asked him to write a single that didn’t have to do with love. Regardless of the inspiration, the song is written as a letter from an author to a publisher, making it relatable to writers everywhere.

Track 10: “Autobiography,” by Sloan

This song starts, “I’m bright and young and gifted in my autobiography; I figured who would know better than me?” I’ve always considered this song a little gem for writers, especially writers who have a life story to tell. This song comes off Sloan’s One Chord to Another album, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Track 11: “Hey Jack Kerouac,” by 10,000 Maniacs

In this performance, Natalie Merchant starts off by reading a brief biography of Jack Kerouac. Then, they jump into this song, which reads like a letter to Kerouac from the opening lines, “Hey Jack Kerouac, I think of your mother and the tears she cried, she cried for none other…” A song about a literary figure and the life of an artist.

Track 12: “Everyday I Write the Book,” by Elvis Costello and the Attractions

For mixtape purposes, I consider this a response track to the previous song. This song was the first hit for Costello and the Attractions in the U.S. It uses the process of writing a book as a metaphor for love and a relationship. One part sings, “Chapter One, we didn’t really get along; Chapter Two, I think I fell in love with you…” Costello himself referred to it as a “bad Smokey Robinson song.”

Track 13: “Unwritten,” by Natasha Bedingfield

I have to admit; I didn’t think this song would be a good fit. But hey, sometimes that’s the magic of a mixtape: Each song raises the others. But I love lyrics like, “Staring at the blank page before you” and “Today is when your book begins.” It hit number five on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2006; so there are at least a few others out there who dig it too.

Track 14: “Word Crimes,” by Weird Al Yankovic

As long as we’re getting into weird territory, it’s time to slip in Weird Al and maybe the best grammar-related song ever. A parody of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” “Word Crimes” has too many lines to do it justice in a short blurb. But it breaks down the proper use of “it’s” and “its,” in addition to talking about the best time to use the world “literally.”

Track 15: “Oxford Comma,” by Vampire Weekend

From a song about grammar to a song that focuses on one of the more contentious grammar issues of all-time: the Oxford comma. Use it? Don’t use it? In this song, Vampire Weekend seems to be saying, “who cares?” Writers, that’s who! Am I right?

Track 16: “Writers Retreat,” by Lloyd Cole

This is when you know we’re getting real on this mixtape: grammar, Oxford commas, and writing retreats? Heck yeah! This is the writing life. In this song, Cole laments how he won’t be there when his lover returns from the writers retreat. From the chorus: “You can write a book while falling apart.”

Track 17: “I’ll Be Your Sylvia Plath,” by Laurel Brauns

This is a sweet, little connector song between the few rollicking romps before it and the final three of this writing music mix. I wish I could share more about this song and the artist, but it was really unknown to me before being recommended on Facebook. The power of social media!

Track 18: “Romeo and Juliet,” by Dire Straits

Considered a classic song by many, “Romeo and Juliet” riffs off the Shakespearean play of the same name. The Dire Straits version is amazing, but I also love the one by the Indigo Girls (listen here). This song is for the literary minded, the broken hearted, and people who just like great music.

Track 19: “BMFA,” by Martha Wainwright

The actual title for this song is a little censored, but multiple folks recommended the song on social media. And I like it. So I’m including it. The song’s opening line is, “Poetry’s no place for a heart that’s a whore.” And eventually there is quite a bit of swearing. If that’s too much, skip this track so the kids can’t hear it. If it’s not, turn up the volume and sing along.

Track 20: “Box Full of Letters,” by Wilco

This is what I call a framing song. The first and final track are both about letter writing. Ha! But seriously, this is a great track that begins, “Got a box full of letters, I think you might like to read…but they’re all addressed to me.” Also, “I just can’t find the time to write my mind the way I want it to read.” And honestly, that about sums up how I often feel as a writer.

*****

Robert Lee Brewer

Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of the poetry collection, Solving the World’s Problems (Press 53). He edits Poet’s Market and Writer’s Market, in addition to writing a free weekly WritersMarket.com newsletter and a poetry column for Writer’s Digest magazine.

He loves writing and music; so this is like his favorite blog post ever.

Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer. Or follow him on Facebook here.

*****

Find more great posts here:

How to Build Your Own E-mail List.

Improve Your Writing Platform in 30 Days.

5 Writing Rules Everyone Should Know.

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from Writing Editor Blogs – WritersDigest.com http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/20-best-songs-writers-writing-ultimate-writing-mixtape

[mrswhozeewhatsis]

The Rest

A/N: This is my first fic for the 2017 Louden Swain SPN Mini Bang, and is actually for one of the Station Breaks songs. God, I love this song. If you haven’t heard the album, GET IT. It’s PHENOMENAL. Anyway, special thanks to the best betas a girl could ask for, both of whom challenge me and make me better, @littlegreenplasticsoldier and @manawhaat. 

Summary: It’s all about what you give away and what you keep for yourself.

Pairing: None.

Warnings: Angst.

Word count: 2740 words

She stared at herself in the mirror, taking in the miles of white beaded satin while sounds of her best girlfriends decorating the sanctuary of the church drifted in through the door. Everything was perfect. The dress complimented her figure and showed just enough skin to not be too much. Every one of her closest friends had been able to come to help her organize the million and one details that had to be nailed down before the big day came tomorrow.

Her fiancé was perfect. He’d gone to every cake tasting, made suggestions about songs for their first dance, and wrangled his groomsmen like he’d been a cattle rancher in a former life. Her mother had completed the seating chart and paid the deposits on everything, and her father had laughed at them both as they debated whether Aunt Elizabeth should sit near Uncle Seamus or if it might spark a food fight. Everything was as she had dreamed it would be the first time she’d wondered what her wedding day might be like.

Except, instead of smiling, she was staring blankly at her reflection, wondering why she wasn’t happy.

She should be crying tears of joy or giggling uncontrollably or just too giddy with happy excitement to speak, but none of that was happening. She wasn’t sad or nervous, not worried, anxious, or even depressed.

She was nothing.

That first day she’d pictured her wedding day, she’d doomed herself to this. After finishing her high school physics final early, she’d made intricate notes about flowers and dresses and attendants. She’d stared out the window at the raindrops landing in puddles in the courtyard and pictured her perfect life. Every detail was planned out on that college-ruled page and it became her roadmap to this very moment.

The plan was drawn up meticulously. She’d meet a nice boy, be married by 25, and have her 2.3 children before she was 30. Her father would walk her down the aisle to a mystery man in a smart blue tux. The music would swell as she smiled at everyone she knew until she reached her soon-to-be husband. They would buy a nice little house with a big back yard for their dog to run around in, and they would invite the neighbors over for barbecues in the summer. This is where it would all start and everything was exactly on track.

So why wasn’t she happy?

Okay, so her future mother-in-law wasn’t exactly thrilled. Instead of 25, they were only 20, and they had decided to put off college in favor of attending the University of Life. She thought they were too young to get married, “Too innocent,” Hmph. Little did she know, the accelerated timeline for their plans had been sparked by a pregnancy scare. So much for innocent. By the time they found out there was no baby, the church was booked and deposits were down on a banquet hall and caterer and florist and string quartet and a million other things you wouldn’t expect to require a deposit but do.

Which led to her standing here, staring at some bizarre version of herself who was wearing a wedding a dress and pretending to be happy.

“Linda, dear, we need your opinion on which pews to decorate with the tulle and which to leave blank. Every pew looks too busy, and no one can agree on whether it should just be every other pew, or every third pew, or just a couple of pews around where the family will be sitting….” Her mother’s voice droned on from the other side of the door, but she tuned her out.

Suddenly, she couldn’t breathe. The dress was suffocating her, squeezing her ribcage until she could no longer fill her lungs with air. In a frenzy, she ripped the dress from her body, not caring when the fabric tore at the seams. Even when the dress was lying on the floor, completely ruined, she couldn’t stop trembling and gasping for air. In her panic, she threw on her regular clothes and stuffed the dress haphazardly in the closet, rolling it up so bits wouldn’t stick out the door and give itself away. She searched the room for pen and paper but didn’t find any. Unable to stand being there a minute longer, she decided that she could send a note later and peered carefully out the door before sneaking out where her mother’s footsteps had just echoed.

The hallway was clear, giving her a straight shot to the outside world, to freedom, and she took it at a dead run. Her mad dash was stopped just outside the main doors by none other than her husband-to-be.

“Hey, beautiful! Linda? What’s wrong?” He rubbed her shoulders in that perfect way he had that always calmed her down, but it didn’t work this time. Her words erupted out her mouth almost too fast for him to understand.

“I’m so sorry, David, I just can’t do it. It’s too soon, we’re too young, I’m not ready, I don’t know what I was thinking, really, anyway. Just take all of it, I don’t want any of it, the dress, the decorations, the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, and oh, God, your mother-I-I’m proving her right! She said we were too young and she was right, and oh, God, David, I’m so sorry. I just have to go, I’m so sorry.”

David stood in front of the church where he had thought he was going to get married, his bride’s parting words flowing over him like rushing flood waters, and he watched her, helplessly glued to his spot while she jumped in her car and disappear into the night.

***

The keys in his hand gleamed in the firelight, mocking him and his misery. The moon had already risen, but it wasn’t quite dark enough for stars to come out, just yet. The birds around the lake mourned with him while his heart lay salted and burned on the ground. His unlikely savior, a man by the name of Rufus, stood beside him, silent. It’s not like there was much to say by then, anyway.

It had taken years for David to get over being left at the altar. Okay, so she left him the night before, but it was only a few feet away from the altar. He had lost himself in drinking and gambling for a long time, staying in posh hotels when his luck was high and in his car when it was not. Then he met her. She was an angel. She gave him a reason to stop looking at the world through the bottom of a bottle and start seeing everything with clarity. He sobered up. He got a job. He paid off his debts. When he was finally a man he felt was worthy of her love, he proposed, and they got married. A year later, his son was born.

They had bought this cabin because it was “rustic”. It had seemed like a nice place to get away from it all, whatever it might be that they felt they needed to get away from. It was small, but well-built, with just enough amenities for it to be a step above camping. They had come up here a few days ago to get away from the man now standing next to him; to get away from the crazy stories he spewed and the unpredictable spark in his eyes. For the first time, part of David was glad the outside world had found him here. Another part of him still wished it hadn’t. The rational part of his brain told him he’d be dead if it weren’t for Rufus, though his heart would never understand.

Who could understand when a strange man knocked on your door and warned you that your wife was a monster? That in a few days, when she turned thirty, she would hunger for human flesh and not care whose flesh it was? Rufus claimed he was a hunter of monsters, and had inherited the job of making sure that David’s wife never hurt anyone like her father had. It was so far-fetched, no one could blame him for not believing, for taking his wife and child and running to the safest place he knew.

Rufus had found them, he was a hunter and tracker, after all, but not before his wife had killed their son in her animalistic mania. David escaped the house, and when she followed him, Rufus had done what he’d had to do. David watched his wife die in agony, an inhuman roar bellowing from her throat as she was engulfed in flames. After her final breath was gone, Rufus had spread salt and gasoline over the remains where they lay, burning them again until there was nothing left but ash.

David stood in the driveway next to his car, staring through the last wisps of smoke at the cabin that had been his escape, cheeks wet with quiet tears. He ripped his eyes away from the myriad of memories to tug at the keys on his keyring. When Rufus approached him, the cabin’s keys were no longer attached.

“You know, before my son was born, we once tried to have guests up here. We thought we could have a bonfire and Debra planned all of this fancy schmancy stuff as a kind of counterbalance to the dirt and the backwoods environment. You know, hors d'oeuvres plated on pieces of bark and matched with expensive wines and things like that. It went horribly, of course. Everyone got eaten alive by the mosquitos, two people caught ticks, one of whom ended up with some freaky disease no one’s heard of, and almost everyone got food poisoning because the electric went out and the fridge warmed up without us realizing. That was when we decided that this place was just for us. No one else. This was our respite, and, maybe we’d retire here someday.”

Rufus stood in front of David, head hung low and hands on his hips, letting the quiet linger for another moment before he shook his head and said, “I owe you an apology. I was trying to be, well, nice. I’ve been trying this, you know, kinder, gentler approach to,” he waved a hand in the air, “everything.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest, cleared the lump in his throat away, and continued. “I heard a rumor that they don’t always turn. Like, maybe it’s a recessive gene in some, and I thought- against my better instincts- I thought I should give her a chance.” Rufus heaved a breath and let it out slowly. “I was wrong.” He stared off into the distance to keep from having to look the grieving man in the eye. “They always turn.”

David turned to Rufus, wiping his face. “I’m sorry for not listening. I should have listened.”

Rufus waved off the apology. “I’d do the same in your shoes.”

David held out the keys to the cabin for Rufus to take. “Take ‘em. Take it all. Take the cabin, take the dock, take the boat, take everything. I don’t ever want to see this place again, and you can use it when you’re not hunting. It’s safe here, if you don’t bring the bad stuff with you.”

Rufus took the keys with wide eyes and a slack jaw, but before he could thank David, the man was in his car and backing out of the driveway. The old hunter hoped he’d never hear the man’s name again, but somehow thought he would.

“Kinder and gentler can bite my fabulous black ass.”

***

Sam leaned up against the Impala, arms crossed, waiting for Dean to stop flirting with the waitress in the diner. They’d spent most of the afternoon in an abandoned factory in an industrial park outside of town dealing with a vengeful spirit with an older hunter named David. The ghost had been difficult to track down, and David had called Bobby for help. Bobby called John, who sent Dean and Sam, since he was wrapped up in a ghoul hunt a state over. With the hunt done, they’d all decided to share a meal before splitting town, but Sam suspected he and Dean might be staying over one more night.

David exited the building, shaking his head with a smile, no doubt at Dean’s antics. He approached the car, giving her another appreciative look like the one that had endeared him to Dean. He stood next to Sam and leaned against the car with him, matching his stance with arms crossed.

“So, Sam, you’re what, 17, 18, now?” he asked, looking the boy up and down, like his height could truthfully tell his age.

“Sixteen,” Sam replied, hunching down even further into himself to try and look more his age and less like the man everyone expected him to be.

David nodded. “My son woulda been about your age by now.”

Sam glanced at the old hunter, knowing better to push at old wounds, no matter how curious he was. Every hunter has a story, and none of them are fairy tales.

“It’s a good age. Got the world on a string and the energy and optimism to do something about it.” Sam could hear the nostalgia in his sigh. “So, what’s your plan for taking on the world in a couple of years?”

Sam shrugged. “Family business, I guess?” He could feel David’s sudden and intense attention, but he tried to ignore it.

“Sam, you are the smartest kid I’ve ever seen. You figured out who the ghost was in half the time I took to even try and fail, and you figured out what he was tethered to, even though he could have been attached to anything in that factory. Are you really going to waste that hunting?”

Sam shrugged and stared at the ground. “Pretty sure that’s what my Dad wants me to do.”

David heaved a heavy sigh. “It’s bad enough that old folks like me get roped into this life, but you’re a kid. You should be going to college, getting drunk at all-night keggers and weekend craft beer fests, pledging frats, and sleeping through your first class of the day. And you’re a smart kid, Sam. You’re way too smart to be caught up in this hell of a life.”

Sam shrugged again, not sure what to say in the face of someone so vehemently stating what he’d always wanted to hear, but could never allow himself to even admit to wanting. He kicked a stone that had the unfortunate luck to be sitting on the ground in front of him, and watched it bounce across the parking lot towards the diner door where Dean was finally emerging, triumphant, with a napkin in his hand.

“You remember what I said, Sam. You get out. Get out and don’t look back. Go be a doctor or a lawyer, and help hunters out that way, but don’t be this when you can be so much more,” David spoke only loud enough for Sam to hear, with his face an indifferent mask as Dean approached. “You got the girl’s number, Dean? Good for you, kid!” The older hunter gave Dean a high-five and a slap on the back as congratulations.

An hour later, after they’d said their goodbyes to David, and Dean had run off to his date with the waitress, Sam sat in the motel room looking out the window. For a crappy motel, it had a pretty good view of the setting sun as it sunk below the horizon. He considered David’s words seriously. It was only the second time in his life someone had told him he could, and should, be more than just a hunter. He could never tell Dad or Dean, but it all suddenly seemed possible. He could go to college, maybe Stanford, become a doctor or a lawyer, and help hunters that way. He could have a normal life, but still save lives like Dad had always wanted.

When Sam was done examining the idea from all sides, polishing it until it shone, he tucked it deep into his heart where no one could find it. He was going to keep this for himself, do this for himself, and Dean could have the salt, the silver bullets, and all the rest.

Lyrics for The Rest by The Station Breaks

It was the eve of the day Dreamt up in the summer rain Scrawled in italics On her old physics page Now it's finally here And the flowers in place And she found herself wondering Why she wasn't feeling anything 

She said, "you take the rest The tuxes and vests The groomsmen like knights Unaware of their quest Take the ribbons and bows And your mother, god knows She never approved Of our innocence Yeah, you take the rest." 

The cabin was safe Secluded in shade The water was still The loons echoed refrains But he would not return Memories still burned The moon was like fire Set to take him alive 

He said, "You can have the rest Take the moss-covered fence Take the dock and the boats And those pesky insects And take the angry dinner guests Ooo all burned and tasteless The barbs by the fire That never made any sense Yeah, you can have the rest." 

It was a family truck Inherited by luck In the industrial park He worked through the closing bell And this old man said "Boy, get a college ed You're way too smart To be lost in this hell." 

But he said, "You can have the rest The diplomas and tests The all-night keggers And the weekend beer fests Take fraternity row All too drunk to know The being late to class Aimless and dense" 

I watched the sun set Deep in the west And I'm saving my best For the light in my chest And you can take the rest

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[comicteaparty]

February 28th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on February 28th, 2019, from 5PM - 7PM PST.  The chat focused on Zenchav by Draco Plato.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing Zenchav by Draco Plato~! (http://khyatix.com/)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

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

Draco Plato

hmmmm

flips through chapters quickly

RebelVampire

just say all the scenes cause as the creator its the one time you can get away with it XD

Draco Plato

I'm sure I have a favorite

shiz everything exists on a neutral plan of emotion

RebelVampire

for my favorite scene im gonna pick that time everyone was pursued by spiky chia pets and oziel and ara argued to the point damian snapped his finger at them and told them to focus.

Draco Plato

I was leaning towards that myself too

RebelVampire

damian did what we all wanted to do deep down in that moment

Draco Plato

yeeeeeah

I love the finger snap

I always enjoy drawing the damon and lyall scenes the most

I like chapter 14 but I think it was a bit hurried seeming overall.

I picked up the pace for webcomic time but I think I should have slowed it down a bit there

that was my favorite chapter to draw recently tho cause damon and lyall

Kabocha

I think... My favorite scene is a toss up. I really liked Nadia and Damon's meeting -- Damon's priorities are basically mine: "OOO SPARKLY" http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume1/ZenchavVolume1#p=98 But I also really liked how crushed Damon was when he burnt up Liberty's body. http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume3/ZenchavVolume3#p=157 Can't do anything else? Well, at least I can make sure nobody asks too many questions right~?

Draco Plato

aaaaaaaaaaaaah

I have so many mixed feelings about damon burning his daughter's body

like was that a GOOD decision? it's so morbid

I always get a laugh out of that

Kabocha

It felt pretty emotional

and yessss

I really like the first volume a lot, to be honest. The art in it has a lot of character which helps the black and white pop

Draco Plato

yeah I agree! Whenever I re-read it I think the early chapters actually have a lot of charm to them

I used to be really bothered by the flaws but that doesn't really bother me now

Kabocha

Yeah They're cute! And... Damon was... very angsty in volume 2's start

Draco Plato

hahah his brief gangster look

RebelVampire

it was nice to see damon grow up from an innocent boy into angst rage machine into hi everyone im stay at home dad who makes jam

Kabocha

it is pretty fun when you get very... uh... ...I don't know the term but when you pull the expressions pretty far and make them somewhat more cartoony

Draco Plato

yeah! I agree. I think I pushed limits a bit more in the earlier chapters. Honestly I think my disdain for drawing shines through too much now

I mean, it all looks great, lmao

Kabocha

"Oh, I like it when you touch me" -- Sayeth Lyall, volume 2, page 12

Draco Plato

Aaaaaaaaaaah, I feel so awkward about those early scenes

where lyall's feelings start shining through

Kabocha

Lyall honestly just needs anyone's affection

RebelVampire

another scene i like is http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume3/ZenchavVolume3#p=42 where damon and lyall are flirting sort of and rex just shows hes watching and hes very bored. i think it was a great way to bring rex back in while also paying off on all that tension buildup of him coming back.

Draco Plato

he just needs damon's affection

Kabocha

...Damon's hair is also kinda kelpie-ish, so I meaaaaaaaan

Draco Plato

yeah I liked that scene too!! and that's true, I hadn't thought he looked a bit like kelpie there

I'm kinda with what Dark said about wtf is going on with his hair in chapter 5

like yep, that's why it lasted a very short time that look

oh i remember my fave scene now

Kabocha

What did Dark say?

Draco Plato

i need to find it

she wasn't a fan of the chapter 5 damon hair, which I agree with since I'm not a fan of it either

Kabocha

I don't dislike it, he just seems very... ...high stress right now

RebelVampire

i like to think damon's early life is characterized by phases. you got the angst phase, the emo phase, the cute kid phase, the weird flirt with your uncle phase

Kabocha

all business, no play

Draco Plato

there it is, the scene that always haunts me in re reads

oh that's true Rebel, it very much is

Kabocha

cough There's inappropriate jokes that one could make about coming in handy

But I'm not going to make them tonight

Draco Plato

I just...that line in retrospect is so BAD

Kabocha

But it's Lyall~

Draco Plato

i think that's the only time he really had pedo bear vibes

maybe not the only but the biggest

Kabocha

http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume2/ZenchavVolume2#p=38 This page, Lyall's like... "This woman's going to kill me, Damon, and everyone in this neighborhood"

Draco Plato

there's also that time

Kabocha

What does Nadia do, anyway? Is she actually a mob boss? I know she's gonna be different in the upcoming video, but... >:D

Draco Plato

Lyall thinking she's a homewrecker there ruining his chance at future happiness as Damon's husbando

Yeah she's the head of her mafia

her backstory is actually the same as the animated version but without the interference

https://youtu.be/gGdGFtwCNBE

that's my song for lyall in chapter five

Kabocha

"I feel like I've known her" -- "Oh, yeah, last time around, she tried to kill you a buncha times, and I heard she's gonna do it again."

Draco Plato

wheeeeezes

Kabocha

"Also, she's your sister. Or will be. Different lives and all."

Draco Plato

It just gets worse

#TrueLove

Kabocha

I wonder what their entanglements were like in previous lives >:D

RebelVampire

you know what other scene i like? this scene http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume2/ZenchavVolume2#p=48 where lyall tells damon he didnt love liberty. partly cause it was cute seeing damon be this angsty adult and get hit with the reality stick in such a way hes still little boy shocked that this is a thing that could happen. and it was also nice cause lyall revealed something in an angry outburst and thus one more truth was added to the truth pile

Draco Plato

i really should have made a chart for Nadia's lives, the main one I know that has her and Damon together before that life is when she was Lili's sister

Oh Oh I like that scene too!!

Kabocha

I would be interested in seeing Lili's sister

and aaaaaaaaaaaaa, yes. Lyall: Truth teller in bad situations

Draco Plato

I can always feel a mini heart attack when Lyall says he didn't love her

cause I know how much that hurts damon

Kabocha

"you made my mother a whore and you didn't even CARE?"

Draco Plato

Lili's sister doesn't have much to her, she married Muir at the same time as Lili but ended up leaving and letting Lili and Muir be alone

Damon was too pure then, lol(edited)

he was really hung up on the sleeping with his mom thing for a long time

Kabocha

I can't blame him, especially if he thought it was gonna damn Liberty to hell

but nope, just ends up with her coming back one day as a cute smol girl

Also... Lyall has no last name. JUST TAKE DAMON'S! nau

Where did the nickname Sha come from by the way?

Draco Plato

actually why didn't he take Liberty's last name

Oh!!! Lol nobody has ever asked before

She wanted to call him a shark but he lacks the bite so she dropped the k

looking back on this nickname it doesn't make much sense lmao

I think it originates from an earlier version that made more sense

RebelVampire

i like to think that lyall not taking a last name was his way of rejecting the permanence of their situation. but also not having a last name sounds helpful when in the mob. "Hey Joe you gonna kill that Lyall fellow we were ordered to kill?" "Which Lyall?" "I don't know man. Let's just pick one."

Draco Plato

truuuuue

altho how common a name is Lyall

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

"but joe theres like 20 other lyalls" "just kill them all"

Draco Plato

LOL

omg XD

Kabocha

It soon became the great Lyall purge of 1930

Draco Plato

Lyall: I don't have a last name because I'm waiting to marry you and take yours

Kabocha

Lyall probably used that pickup line a few times

"I don't have a last name, but why don't I borrow yours for the night~?"

Draco Plato

ffffft

sadly i don't think that's one he'd use since it's rather personal to him

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

also i'm not sure what y favorite scene is theres a lot of them lol

Draco Plato

it's okay, my mind went blank too

and I should know all the scenes

Kabocha

pick a volume, flip through, find your favorite

Draco Plato

i know cali's fave

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

which one

LMAO

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. As shown in the comic, Apus has been going on quite a recruiting spree. How do you think Damian will adjust to his new life situation, especially after what happened? How will Damian deal with Damon joining the Demon Council? What do you think the story is with Firosofi and Euripides? Will they adjust to their life there and will the others adjust to them? Will recruiting Draco go smoothly, or will matters be complicated because of Draco’s situation with B.I.T.E.? What do you think is up with Earth suddenly recruiting so many demons and non-humans all at once? Lastly, do you think Amai will learn to do field work, and how might it change her?

Draco Plato

i'mma delete that one for gore tho

Kabocha

Damian's going to angst a lot when he finds out his dad's on the Demon council. And then be like "MY FATHER BETRAYED US" And worry a lot. And continue to be grumpy until he becomes older Damian.

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

i feel like damian will go crazy and become numb to all the weirdness

and then take wizard drugs

become damon

Kabocha

But also they're just gonna ship him off to the future to hang out with his dad, soooo

Draco Plato

i feel like these questions would have been good for me to ponder before writing

OoO spoils Damian's immediate future, lolol

Kabocha

Ooop, Damian, you're gonna sleep with that hot bird-brained nurse~

Draco Plato

why is the Earth recruiting all these people, I just figured apus was understaffed

aaaaaah that spoiler!!!

their romance took a flight

Kabocha

It definitely did... You could say their hearts fluttered like little wings

Draco Plato

Vivi was born from a little egg

not that it's relevant but it's cute

RebelVampire

i like to think Earth just felt like it. was bored and said "you know what would be funny? is if i put all these demons at apus and force the people i 'hired' to get along with them. this sounds like a fun social experiment."

Draco Plato

I mean I feel that's about as hard as she thought about it

but now I feel I should think of a good reason and make it seem like I had something deep behind it

Kabocha

Vivi was born from an egg, eh? :3

I'm kind of curious now

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

plot twist, apus is just earth's ant farm but with people and demons

Draco Plato

yuuuuuus

omg XD

anytime someone mentions an antfarm I remember the one my bro had, where all the ants came dead except one and that one ant worked hard to bury all the other ants(edited)

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

rip ant

burying it's brethren

Draco Plato

antfarms are SAD

just burying all your dead kin

symbolically damon will be the ant

and we'll pretend this was a metaphor

Kabocha

Apus as an ant farm? I guess The Earth hasn't changed. She's just gonna try to burn it next time Damon shows up

Draco Plato

nah tho, Apus is meant to protect the earth

probably

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

maybe

we just dont know

Draco Plato

but she allows the demon council too

and is an aid to rex

so the earth plays both teams

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

news reporter interviews the earth "Miss earth? why did you create apus?" "lol idk i just wanted to"

RebelVampire

ya know consider earth talks to both sides, its more like these are her little play soldiers and she got more from the store so she could have an epic battle.

Kabocha

Cadence got her planet in the end

Draco Plato

baaaasically

her being the earth is totally karma for having made a planet

and not being it's planet seed

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

i just imagined like a fight going on and someone jumping at someone

but in realityits just earth throwing one of her play soldiers at another one

Kabocha

She doesn't seem to hate it at least. She's probably like, "heh, I'll show you whose Karma fucked them up"

Draco Plato

muahahaha

I think the rational was that she wanted to see which side would win out

the planet itself is neither good nor evil, a neutral party

if a planet becomes totally good or totally evil it will end

because it must exist within duality

so that makes me think her ultimate goal would be to make it either totally good or totally evil so that it can die

since that would be freedom in a sense for her soul

Yes, beautiful, perfect earth

she don't care which time wins, just so long as someone does

Kabocha

YEP

she finally got it

a shame Samantha couldn't think big tho

Draco Plato

so much of Soul Hymn is still in the air tbh, especially with Sam

Kabocha

unless she's working with Decebal...

Draco Plato

cause I thought it'd be fun to make her more of an important baddie

Kabocha

"Yeah, I'll let you be the planet seed if you help me out*

Draco Plato

fffffft, being a planet seed is the last thing she wants

Kabocha

Sam wasn't really listening, she heard "You get a planet"

Draco Plato

it may be fun if sam is an antagonist to both erik and decebal

since if she regains her powers she'd be quite a formidable foe

RebelVampire

maybe lets bring the topic back to zenchav at this point XD

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

"you get a planet and you get a planet"

Draco Plato

Decebal becomes Oprah

Damian will not be pleased Damon joined the DC

nope

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

but hey he gets to spend time with his daddy

i guess

Draco Plato

I actually don't know if they'll ever meet face to face during that time tho

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

O_O

damon and rex i mean

lmao

Draco Plato

LOL

Damon is so happy about that, yeeeeah

RebelVampire

my question implied damian adjusts at all. which i would argue damian doesnt adjust to anything. just sits in eternal grump land.

hey

damon got new clothes already

id say thats a great dad

Draco Plato

LOL you make an excellent point Rebel

but they're not blue see, they have to be blue, so he's sad

Kabocha

Question: Will we get to see Mr. Philosophy get a sword

Draco Plato

Yes!

Kabocha

YES

Draco Plato

Firo has two swords

RebelVampire

i think Amai will be fine with field work cause firo can do all the heavy lifting metaphorically speaking. or ya know he could sip tea and wave at her from afar

Draco Plato

Firo actually can't kill anyone because it would be too kind a death for them

Kabocha

Then he gets to be mad at Dakin and Amai all the time :3

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

one to put jam on his toast and the other to poke things

Draco Plato

this is true, firo will do way more heavy lifting than Amai

buuuuut Amai will probably have plant powers like Dakin

which wasn't in the story originally so tentatively she'll be a bit more bad ass when she awakens to that

firo doesn't get mad

RebelVampire

by that implication amai doesnt know she has the plant powers?

Draco Plato

if firo gets mad that's gotta be something really really bad

nah Amai thinks she has no powers atm

she's been very sheltered

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

would he get mad if someone cut him off on the freeway

Kabocha

bwahahahaha

Draco Plato

No O_O

Kabocha

WHAT

he is inhuman!

Draco Plato

He got mad once as a kid tho

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

say if it isnt so

Draco Plato

kid cut off his ponytail

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

off with his head

Draco Plato

yus O_O you don't touch Firo's hair

but he probably wouldn't get mad at that now

but there is a time when he will get mad

maybe more than one

Kabocha

He didn't even get mad when his life was threatened, so

I mean

he's a pretty chill dude

RebelVampire

will it be at damon for damon being a little rex puppet murderer?

Kabocha

I almost wrote "Chill dad" and then I was like

"naaaaaaaaaah"

Draco Plato

oh firo having his life threatened was like a tuesday, no biggie

nah he won't get mad at damon

EveryoneLovesDamon

RebelVampire

Firo: I'm not mad at you, Damon. Just disappointed.

Draco Plato

YES!

that'll happen

Damon: But I looooove him father

/shot

RebelVampire

damon goes home and rex tells him the same thing, that hes not mad, just disappointed. only then rex kills some kid or something.

Draco Plato

Rex just makes Damon's wounds heal slower

when he's mad at him

RebelVampire

you know

thats a lot more tame then i realistically expected

good on rex

Kabocha

sorry, I got distracted reading OoO again

Poor Damian

Draco Plato

yeah, damon is the fave

RebelVampire

slightly less of a jackass than he couldve been

Draco Plato

ffffft, that's a good reason to get distracted, lol

Rex to damon's other siblings is pretty swift to kill

so they have to tip toe a lot more

I think Damian is pretty lucky

got to go to school in the future, meet all those kooky people

damian at apus is interesting tho since there's more reasons than just damon at the DC he's sour about

RebelVampire

on the otherhand, he got to go to school and meet all those kooky people and deal with a huge jump in technology and his dad being a wizard. it may perhaps contribute to the grump.

you mean like liberty being dead O_O

Draco Plato

nervous laughter

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

shes fine

its just jam

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. In recent events, Damon has been forced by his father to join the Demon Council. What activities do you think Damon will be doing for the Demon Council? Will Damon manage to fit in there, or will he stick out too much? Will he at least be able to get along with his new sister Theia? As time passes, do you think Damon will come to agree with Rex’s ideals? Or, do you think he’ll stay steadfast in his own beliefs? Do you think Damon will find out Damian is alive and with Apus? How might this change his actions in the future? Also, how might his relationship with Lyall change him? Do you think Rex will keep his promise of not hurting Lyall? Finally, will Damon reconnect with Purusha’s life to escape the darkness?

Kabocha

wait, I'm mis-remembering things... Who is Dakin's dad XD

Draco Plato

Firosofi

Amai is his mom

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

firosofi more like

Draco Plato

sorta

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

firosofty

Draco Plato

it's complicated

wheeps

was so surprised when there was a Firo in Baccano

https://tenor.com/view/firo-playing-baccano-gif-11864371

RebelVampire

#spoilers

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

i think rex will make damon think hes gonna make him do really bad stuff, but he just makes him sit down and play chess all day

Draco Plato

Rex: Damon, I want you to be the greatest chess master to ever live. Damon: Father....I hate to break it to you but that's never going to happen, I'm an idiot.

damon can probably play chess

RebelVampire

maybe damon will get super good at chess cause chess is half just about remembering the patterns and knowing the best move for each pattern.

and damon can make little dresses for the chess pieces

Draco Plato

ffffft

Kabocha

Lyall would make very pretty chess pieces

Draco Plato

Lyall is very good at chess

Kabocha

Damon would make them regal clothing, befitting their stations in life

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

rex walks in sees his chess set all mangled with pretty dresses

Draco Plato

damon says plz he's not that much of a loser

weeps

I think Damon's ideals already died long ago

he mostly just wants to not die and not have Lyall die

probably

Kabocha

he'll get better one day

Draco Plato

when he goes insane

What will damon be doing at the DC ponders

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

eat donuts

Draco Plato

a mystery

RebelVampire

hes gonna make up for lost time. go on fishing trips with rex. fight over a stuffed animal with theia, etc. etc.

Draco Plato

Damon can't taste donuts tho

€heshire777

Nggh, I missed it

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

plot twist DC means donut council

Draco Plato

omg XD

€heshire777

Oops

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

yer right on time cheshire

Draco Plato

oh yeah, him and Theia will wrestle all right

RebelVampire

we still have an hour left to go

€heshire777

Too bad I didn't read all of it...

Draco Plato

that's okay~!

it is 400 something pages

€heshire777

I usally do tho

Ah well

Draco Plato

no worries~

Kabocha

Well, that's fine Cheshire! You can chime in about what you did read

or are you just here to talk about how much you didn't?

€heshire777

I'll talk! I confess!

Kabocha

https://giphy.com/gifs/the-simpsons-excellent-mr-burns-8fen5LSZcHQ5O

So, I think it'll be interesting going forward, to see what happens more with Firo and his buddies -- mostly because I read the original draft once upon a time, and Amai is very dear to me. XD I wanna see her do more stuff! Yell at her mom! Ask Pavonis why he's such a stick in the mud

RebelVampire

its also fine to just live read and comment your feelings as you read, @€heshire777 ~!

Draco Plato

awwww, I'll make sure to put her in more knowing that ;3;

Kabocha

So uh, is Pavo's original... backstory... still valid

Draco Plato

yus I think so

Kabocha

wherein he was so in love with Earth and...

cackle

RebelVampire

you cant just ask pavo why he's a stick in the mud. mostly because i expect itll wind up like that time he tried to explain apus to damian and damian was just like "whaaaaat"

Draco Plato

he lived in ancient greece sometime

LOL

Pavonis: You know what, you're clearly not going to get this, go see the nurse

Kabocha

Pavonis has no middle ground either. Either he's with Earth and Apus, or he's a demon, helping Rex commit atrocities.

Draco Plato

pavonis has a really really thin line between good and evil

pavonis would be evil for the earth

he wouldn't second guess it

Kabocha

http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Specials/ZenchavSpecials#p=64 I see you, Sotiris (http://khyatix.com/world <- see the dark reddish brown-life)

Draco Plato

loooooool

i really like that special

and it's plot based too

but sotiris looks like a freakin chef there

I keep wanting to do more with Minos, now that they're at the DC I'm hoping I can have him show up

RebelVampire

i do think thats the best of the specials. just cause it was nice to see lyall before he became a bitter old house wife who was jilted by rex.

yes

do that

cause with this special in mind i want to see minos and lyall interact

Kabocha

Yeah! I wanna see what's happened to Minos -- Rex didn't kill him for that but I do wonder what he'd have done to him

RebelVampire

cause for lyall its been eons, for minos probably not that many eons

Draco Plato

yeah!! it actually hasn't been that long for Minos since lyall was pregnant with rex's kids

before then Lyall and Minos used to whore around together

Kabocha

Rex disappears for a few minutes, comes back with Lyall and an extremely scarred Damon

Draco Plato

i mean they never slept with each other but they'd pick up women together

YEP

It's actually probably been a few years since Theia got there

but between rex dropping lyall off and picking damon up that's probably a few days at the DC

if Rex bothered to wait, which I think he did cause he changed his clothes

but in one of my stories that may just be an hour later

Kabocha

Rex goes to get some tea

remembers, "Oh yeah, I should pick up Lyall."

Draco Plato

and change my clothes while I'm at it :>

/shot

that's just damon tho

probably

altho rex is pretty fashionable

Kabocha

Hehehe

So anyway, there's reincarnations, time travel shenanigans, and lots and lots of suffering for Damon.

RebelVampire

the changing clothes is just part of their genes. encoded on their dna.

Kabocha

And we're just getting started

Draco Plato

Lyall can do that

he often makes clothes with his powers

since he can make any organic material so he makes it soft like fabric

RebelVampire

maybe its a rule in the DC. no outfit is allowed to be worn for over 3 hours.

Draco Plato

nah, that's the rule in OoO

7 times damon?!?

if it's a joke nobody will blame the creator for clothing ADD

RebelVampire

i wonder if therell be a love triangle between damon, lyall, and minos.

Kabocha

Oh my

Draco Plato

Oh nooooooo

minos is an asshole so probably not

amongst other reasons

but alternatively will sotiris and theia ever have a thing

Kabocha

https://giphy.com/gifs/jaw-drop-oooooh-6FymBmqKeBrl6

Draco Plato

I honestly don't know atm

RebelVampire

well theyd at least be a sexy pairing

and lyall could make "hey stop touching my daughter maybe" faces

Kabocha

Having read Out of Order, I kind of can't wait to find out about how Damon and Claire meet in this life. I've heard rumors that it is ... bordering on "not good"

Draco Plato

oooooooh, it's fun!

I really like randolph and claire at apus

they were actually with each other longer than they were with damon

not as a couple of course

and Damian is older than both of them, lolol

well maybe not randolph, i dunno, it's a toss up

RebelVampire

one day after many people die, damian will sit there going "wait a second im the older person here"

Kabocha

Randolph and Claire were a duo?

Draco Plato

oh gawd no

but they both worked at Apus together

Claire was raised there from age 13 and Randolph took care of security

Randolph had his own room that he stayed in almost exclusively but people have to visit him cause he's the techno master

uh room being where all his security systems are

claire was a field worker though

so basically claire and damian would visit him and bicker

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. An ominous tone seems to be setting in on the future. What do you think Pavonis meant in saying that Firosofi’s arrival signaled “certain things were set into motion?” Does it have something to do with the declaration of war that Oziel claimed recruiting Damian would be? Is it something else entirely that has more to do with Firosofi, Damon, or someone else? Of the characters we’ve met, who in Apus and who in the Demon Council do you think will clash first? What do you think will happen? Overall, do you think the conflicts between Apus and the Demon Council will ever be solved? As a last bonus, what time periods do you think we’ll see in the comic considering it involves time travel?

Kabocha

Firosofi's going to take over the story soon, and we're gonna see him go face down his destiny... And reclaim his last name...

X

..................No?

RebelVampire

wait wait

this is why lyall didnt have a last name

theyre going on the quest together

Kabocha

Firosofi X and Lyall WHY

Draco Plato

fffffffffft

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

and something Z

Draco Plato

will they ever even meet

who knows

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

o wait zenchav

Draco Plato

muahahah

what time periods would people want to see

Kabocha

There we go. The mysteries of the plot, explained.

Draco Plato

i have some up in the air atm

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

cavemen

Draco Plato

LOL

dies

Kabocha

I'd honestly like to see some mid-2000s Damon. Baggy jeans, Anime hair... Debating who's better: Trunks or Vegeta

Draco Plato

That we will see!!

already in there

Kabocha

(It's totally Trunks, by the way.)

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

damon: ugga ugg lyall: ugga ugga damon: ugh >_>

€heshire777

Steampunk Damon

Draco Plato

I do love trunks but i love vegeta too

steampunk would be pretty awesome

I think I can do that

Kabocha

Damon WOULD go for a Steampunk aesthetic

Draco Plato

he totally would

He's going to have a hell of a motorcycle collection, lol

Kabocha

Next world they go to in OoO will be a steampunk world, totally

Draco Plato

Claire's original clothing aesthetic was supposed to be steampunk too

but it looked too out of place

that'd be good for OoO tho, i'll think about it for that

cause I have it kind of wide open atm for where it's going

oh I know where i can fit steampunk into Zen

muahahah

€heshire777

Goth

RebelVampire

i cant think of a good time period so im just gonna go with ancient egypt. where someone can sneak into a tomb and write a message in the hopes it confuses the heck out of future archaeologists

Draco Plato

goth will be in the animated version!

ancient egypt would be interesting, I hadn't considered that

i remember an older version I had them live in ancient persia for awhile

Kabocha

YES

Ancient Persia would be awesome!

€heshire777

Chinese?

Kabocha

Some of the clothing they have in pseudo-historical Bollywood films... it's so pretty

Draco Plato

Chinese would be good too!! I was just appreciating their clothing the other day

true!!!

Damon will go to india at one point

Kabocha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7K4vGYL9zI Allow me to share this song with you

Draco Plato

!!!! I LOVE THAT SONG

that actor does such a good job in that movie too

RebelVampire

thats good damon gets to go to india. i think it will suit him ;3;

€heshire777

Caveman?

Kabocha

It also fits the overall reincarnation theme, too, I think

Draco Plato

cavemen would be so weird XD

€heshire777

I like weird

RebelVampire

if lyall went with him, cavemen would murder him cause thats 0 tech zone

Draco Plato

oh yeah, that's right Firo is from India too

Lyall says that sounds like where Rex would send him

€heshire777

Ok, and lost you again...

Kabocha

Firosofi's one of the recently introduced characters -- he's more clearly introduced here: http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume3/ZenchavVolume3#p=63

€heshire777

That's just about where I'm at

Draco Plato

oh yeah~!

he's also Haranasa

€heshire777

If you say so...

Kabocha

Well, Draco would be the one to say so... as the creator

RebelVampire

are we going to get to see oziel more? i need more oziel spunk in my life.

Kabocha

http://khyatix.com/Zenchav/Volume3/ZenchavVolume3#p=80

Draco Plato

coughs I'm honestly not sure what Oziel's future is in the story atm

but I can add him more if you want

I know some other people liked him too

ah both names at once there, lolol

€heshire777

Who was that again? (edited)

RebelVampire

more i just think theres potential between him and damian. cause of the whole ya know, you got my sister murdered

Draco Plato

that fellow is oziel

€heshire777

ah

He's cool

Draco Plato

yeah I agree Rebel, I've been thinking that should be explored more too

I always like Oziel's hair

Kabocha

I like Ara better

Draco Plato

fun fact he was in a wheelchair for a portion of his life

Kabocha

and I wanna know what the fuck Ara did to get his future lives the way he did XD

Draco Plato

LOL

Kabocha

(But this... is not... in Zenchav yet... I'm speaking partly about stuff that I know that is... spoilers...)

OK Draco, Draco

Draco Plato

Ara ara ara, ahahah

Kabocha

if you could pick one character that's not Damon to make super sparkly

who would you choose

Draco Plato

Firo~

€heshire777

Atlantis would be cool

Draco Plato

Firo was originally the main

Atlantis is a great idea

yeah I can use atlantis

Kabocha

atlantis would be cool

€heshire777

I'll just keep suggesting stuff as long as you'll let me

Moon base

Draco Plato

loooooool, would be too sailor moon

Kabocha

DRACO I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE SO MUCH COOL STUFF

Draco Plato

awwwwww ;3;

I really want more firo now

I never get to draw him

but i'll be in the most recent chapter

€heshire777

Norse?

Viking era?

Draco Plato

That's a good idea too, I could do that

I used to love Norse mythology

altho marvel kinda eeeeehed me a bit to it

even tho i like marvel

€heshire777

Yeah. same

Marvel nut

Draco Plato

me too

well....I haven't read all the comics

cause there's ALOT

€heshire777

Oop, cell service

Bye

RebelVampire

i was just about say draco, youre gonna be stuck drawing firo for quite a while now in this upcoming arc.

XD

Draco Plato

laters, Cheshire :3

Not as much as I'd like cause he mostly stands in the BG

which means I'll cut him out of panels a lot for drawing time

buuuut I think the chapter after he really stands out

and tbf shading his hair sucks so much

RebelVampire

this almost sounds creepy. draco and amai talking in the forefront, firo just in the background of the shot smiling at the reader all the time, as if to say i see you.

Draco Plato

that'd be so in character for Firo XD

this is why he can't be the MC

actually I think most of it is Draco talking to his peeps tho

buuuuuut

I dunno maybe I'll add in more firo

cause him just standing there in the BG of chapter 13 was kinda lame too

RebelVampire

maybe he and draco can at least share a warm hug

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

i wanna see them hug

:y

Draco Plato

>w> well that will probably happen

draco can leap onto him in a bear hug

Kabocha

Hugs for everyone!

RebelVampire

i cannot picture this bear hug. although i can picture euri and amai being like wtf

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END! Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Draco Plato, as well, for making Zenchav. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Draco Plato’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read the Comic: http://khyatix.com/

Draco Plato’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/khyatix

Draco Plato’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/KhyatiX

[musicmanhall-blog]

New Year, Now What?

The “New Year” has officially begun, so now what do you do?  Every year, around January 1st, the word “resolution” begins to escape the lips of our friends, our coworkers, and even ourselves.  As I have gotten older, I have become less and less interested in making yet another resolution I’m not going to keep. But this year is different, this year I really want to make and keep my resolution. As a music teacher, music student, and music promoter I find most of my resolutions revolve around music.  But what is a good resolution?  I have created this list of 5 things to consider when making ANY resolution.

    1.  Make the goal: it’s okay to get help when making your goals. Use a goal making tool such as the S.M.A.R.T method. “The November 1981 issue of Management Review contained a paper by George T. Doran called ‘There is a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management's goals and objectives’. It discussed the importance of objectives and the difficulty of setting them” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria).  SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.  There are different variations to this acronym but this version is most applicable to individuals as opposed to management.  

As long as you make your goals with this in mind, the chances you will be           successful will be increased.  If you have tried using SMART goals before and they haven’t worked, you may want to try something else.  

    2.  Setting the goal: You are probably wondering how “Making the goal” and “setting the goal” are not the same thing, as they are often used interchangeably.  So allow me to explain.  When we make a goal, it resides on an ethereal plane of existence.  It won’t actually get accomplished yet.  I think this is a key reason that goals and resolutions fail.  You may even “do” what you set out to do for a little while, but the goal hasn’t been “set” yet so we fall short.  When we “set” our goals, we are making them a part of us.  It’s more than just “I want to accomplish *blank*”.  When your goal is truly set you will say “I am *blank*”.  Make your goal something that can be easily set and be a part of you.  Make your goal something that can be easily integrated into your daily life.  Sometimes, we have to take smaller steps than we would like to accomplish this, but in the long run we will be happier because we accomplished what we set out to do.  Now, this doesn’t mean that the goal or resolution shouldn’t push you, but be realistic in how much your life can truly handle.  To make a goal that you will get up at 5:30 in the morning every day to work out when your typical lifestyle is to sleep until 8 and rush out the door to work or class is unrealistic.  This is a goal that is too hard to “set”.  Is it impossible?  No!  But it is more likely to not stick for the whole year.  So, as they do in business, “lean” down your goal.  You can even set points that you will increase your goal so it’s not all at once.  For example, instead of planning to get up at 5:30 am, plan to get up at 7:00 am and do a set routine.  And if every day is a concern, plan on three times a week.  This is actually the minimum suggestion per week for working out anyway.  Then plan on a certain weight or day milestone that some part of the routine will increase.

    3.  Write out the plan: As you may already know, when your teacher or employer writes out your itinerary, it is much easier to follow.  This helps insure that you will get done what you are asked to do. Yet most of us forget about this when we have things WE want to get done.  Sure, we have to do lists and such, but what we want to do for the whole year seems too far away to worry about right now.  Well, if you are serious about being a better person and improving your lifestyle, writing down your “plan for success” will definitely increase the chances you will be successful.  Seems like a no brainer, right?  But it is possibly one of the hardest things you will do the first few times.  But don’t give up.  You have already made your goal and it is now a part of you.  All you need to do now is do.

    4.  Accountability: Why do we take music lessons from a teacher?  Why do we only work out when we go to the gym, and sometimes only with a personal trainer?  Because we need accountability.  You have to be accountable to someone, even if it is yourself.  So now we have our goal and our written out plan.  Now it’s time to make ourselves accountable to others.  Who in your life would support your goal for change?  Tell them your plan.  Work together with them.  They can share in your successes and kick your butt when you start to slack.  If you don’t have anyone currently who you feel would support you, you still need to be accountable to yourself.  Look yourself in the mirror every day and ask “Am I giving this my all?”.  Make sure you follow your “Plan for success”.  When the struggles start, take comfort in knowing you knew what you were capable of when writing out that plan.  If you do this, you will definitely be successful.

    5.  Measure and celebrate: Making your goal measurable is a very important part of any goal or resolution.  How can you tell if you are being successful if you can’t see what you have accomplished?  You might be able to, but it’s very difficult.  Businesses track everything, this isn’t just so they can see it all, but so they can tell in what ways they are being successful and where they need to improve.  Set a realistic way to measure your success.  A way to measure your improvement. With weight it’s pretty obvious that you can weigh in once a week.  But don’t just weigh, write down your weight on a graph so you can watch it coming down.  What kind of measure can you do for a musical goal?  Perhaps you struggle with practice time.  Make a chart to track how often you practice.  That way, you can see the chart fill with all the successful practices you have completed.  By the end of the year you will be completely surprised just how much you have done.  If you want more ideas of ways to measure your success, please let me know.  Once you have done all this work to be successful, don’t forget to celebrate.  So often we don’t give ourselves permission to celebrate.  Maybe we didn’t reach our goal, or we did but know we still have a long way to go.  So what?! You made improvement and that is worth celebrating!  You have to have something to look forward to in the end, after all.  Otherwise our goals and resolutions will still feel empty.

        I wish you the best of luck this year!  Don’t forget that you are not alone in struggling with making, setting, and keeping goals.  You are one in millions, trying everyday to do better.  Just try every day to be a little better, and keep pushing that ball a few inches.  If you do, you will look back one day and be completely in awe at how far you have come.  There is always hope, there is always help.  Happy New Year!  I will see you at the top!

By:

Garrett Ashby (Owner of Ashby Music Hall)