#but the way magic works is very solid and well-explained and theres a lot of like. basic physics explanations behind some of it

[tealfruit]

I'm sorry for continuing to reference the inheritance cycle but also I'm not bc it turns out the overall worldbuilding in those books for the most part fucks severely and also shaped my brain very much in my formative years

[syubub]

JUNGKOOK SOULMATE READING

Disclaimer: tarot is speculative and to be taken with a grain of salt.

Let's begin. The long awaited Koo reading.

To start, koos energy is a really rich, solid purple that is kinda pearlescent? It hard to explain but it kinda looks like this

So thats pretty neat. Most of the time the way I see energy it isn't ever really opaque so that was new for me. Another thing that was new for me was when I went to, essentially, connect to koos energy there was this like glass door looking thing and, it sounds nuts I know, but I left an offering of energy at the glass thing? Kinda like leaving flowers outside the door and then he removed the glass thing and connected his energy with me.

Now its even weirder because his soulmates energy was already with him so I didn't even need to connect with his energy in order to connect with the soulmate. His soulmates energy was just this white sparkly blob standing by him (I tend to see the boys when connecting with the energy because I already know what they look like) and immediately his soulmate was "chatting" with me. I was surprised so I was like, "do you have any messages that you want to say?"

SOULMATE DELIVERED.

The messages I got were

You'll see

Open your arms to love

Carry the burdens as a badge

Afraid to lose you

Cool cool cool. I think his soulmate is aware of all the upheaval that he's been doing on a soul level recently. I talked some about it in this reading x and kinda this one x I think his soulmate is being very encouraging. (Also, I think his whole upheaval really had to do with him not feeling like a person? Idk thats just the vibe in getting. Its like he needed to learn how to feel again and learn that he can have true and authentic love)

Now the open your arms to love thing is cute because I also wrote down, "He's suffered enough" and "Love is hard for him" (I swear to God I heard a tiny little "hey!" From jk in the background lol)

His soulmate is very aware of the struggles he's been through and is going through and is very understanding that he needs patience. So cute.

Keep in mind the reading hasn't even started yet. We still hanging on his little energy platform chatting and his Soulmate is like, "I don't know him" ... I didn’t even ask that yet but oki. So they don't know eachother. And again, out of nowhere his soulmate wanted me to know that their hair is blonde. Awesome. This could mean that their hair is blonde when they meet or that's just the natural color.

I was like, dude, I haven't pulled cards yet. And his soulmate was like, "no shit"... soulbae has jokes. I was like, "You're funny" and they were like, "You can write that one down too"

His soulmate and him definitely have witty banter and they tease eachother a lot.

Now, some freaky shit. I was like cool I'm gonna do the reading now, its awesome that you're connecting with me personally and it'd be great if you could just continue to help me through the reading. And they were like, "yeah no prob" and then dissolved into my energy? Idk. Wtf. His soulmate was like cool I'll help out for sure and gave me a massive direct link. That hasn't happened before. Neat.

On to the actual cards finally! So, for the cards that represent Soulbae are, kid you the fuck not, The Lovers and knight of wands rev. So. This person is very passionate and driven. A little scattered and impulsive but with the lovers card they are very sure of the choices they make. Very honest and open in communication. Also the fucking lovers card. Soulmate shit.

Now. For personality I drew 2 of swords rev. Death, hermit and knight of pentacles rev. Now. I think this person is elusive. A wrote down "no one quite knows" so I think this is the type of person that has never ending depth. They are ever changing yet always the same? They are kinda blocked off and hard to get to know. You have to earn their trust for sure. Also definitely a perfectionist. Can get bored easily too. I also got slave, knight rev and bully. This person is very strong willed and might have some past trauma that they've yet to let go of. Has probably been in some shit relationships because they tend to have "delusions" about romance (more so i get the feeling that they had high expectations that would never be able to be fulfilled? Like they have a tendency to plan everything out in their head and if it doesn't go exactly to plan then its not good enough.) This person might also be stuck, not moving forward because they have too much faith that everything is just gonna magically work out. Probably spiritual.

Onto the relationship now. We have THE LOVERS AGAIN, 9 of cups, wheel of fortune and king of wands. So much contentment. Its fucking destiny. Its the most beautiful, strong, loving and influential relationship. It is what you dream of as a kid. Theres so much honest and open communication in this relationship. UGH its so fucking good. They are in love and its fucking destiny thats divinely guided. Thank you for coming to my tedtalk.

We have the pillar of light, sisterhood of the rose and the age of light. They are going to accidently make eachother fucking woke im cackling. They help eachother become more intune with ~spiritual shit~

Now for this person's sign. Air sign with some fire. I think there might be gemini in there somewhere.

Now for career. I'm confused as fuck. Maybe a life coach? Could also be a personal trainer? This person is really successful and does whatever they feel called to do? I'm not really sure?

Now for where they're from. Oki oki oki. This person has probably moved a lot as a kid and probably enjoys travel a lot. They value the knowledge that the wold has to offer!

Message from his soulmate to him: simplify your life, you think someone is lying (they are) and time to let go. Theres something that he is holding onto (some fake friends perhaps?) That he needs to let go of. Theres also a message of slowing down and resting. Life has been busy for him and he needs to... simplify...

Now we have, balance masculine and feminine energies. Koo needs balance in his life. Him and his soulmate balance pretty well in terms of energy!

For the little homemade cards we have, serendipity and focus. This is his soulmate saying, "hey, focus on the now. Keep doing what you're doing and we'll meet when the time is right" I also made a note that they could possibly meet at a concert (I don’t think it would be a bts concert.)

For descriptors we have: older, masculine, outgoing, long hair, light hair (remember when I said blonde earlier), outgoing again. So this person has masculine features. I also made a note of dark eyes that are like, dark brown grey? And a fit and built body. Also dresses like Koo but a bit more professional or classy. Like classy emo.

Now I also pulled a fortune from my bowl of fortunes and got, "you don't get in life what you want; you get in life what you are." He needs to focus on bettering himself.

Cool cool cool. Now we have Defend to the end , the worth while. This card talks about seeing things for what they really are. Not being swayed by gilded things. Its about learning to love and choose love. Not being afraid of fear. Living your truth. To fight for love and honor and ditch the shit that isn't genuine or doesn't come from a place of love. Its about standing your ground even when its hard. Not compromising yourself.

Overall koo and his soulmate have such a cute and loving relationship. Koo has worked really hard on a soul level and physical level. He's betting himself and he's learning about genuine love. His soulmate couldn't give less shits about whether or not he's famous. His soulmate sees him for who he is, who he really truly is at his core. He doesn't need to protect or keep his walls up. He's open and honest with his soulmate and they are both focused on growing and becoming better people.

TLDR: KOO GETS ALL THE LOVE HE DESERVES

[kineticallyanywhere]

I'd love to hear those fusion thots :eyes: the pacific rim ones were V good

If you’ve been around this house for a hot minute you might know that fusion aus are My Entire Jam Garden so you might imagine I’ve already put some thought into this and you would imagine right. The following was brainstormed in consort with @aryashi my second brain.��

The basis for this au is that fusion is possible in the forgotten realms and is just a thing people there can do. This also applies to sudden interdimensional travelers. 

tl;dr I wrote basically a one-shot’s worth of words down there but in short fusion is rad but also there's an unexpected amount of drama. which is basically a summary of the podcast but replace "fusion" with "fatherhood"

(preface: fusion is not a sex metaphor, just like pacific rim. Platonic fusion is normal. Familial fusion is normal. Okay, continue.) 

First inter-dad fusion: “I silence his dumb ass with a kiss” except its “I silence his dumb ass by accidentally fusing our bodies and consiousnesses into a single being w h o o p s” 

I like to name fusions as something other than their romantic ship name so let’s call him… o h yeah we named all of Henry’s fusions after animals. So this guy is Hare (like Darryl). Hare is pretty stable from the outside, but their internal dialogues clash really hard so they're incredibly slow to make decisions. 

Internally, Henry feels like he's crossed Darryls boundaries. They have to hold it, but he lets Darryl take the wheel and all similar mistakes are made. They make it through the thing with the Lance before unfusing. Darryl has no idea what that was and already has a lot of intimacy issues, so he’s not particularly inclined to try that again for funsies. Henry is curious, but there’s a buried part of him that’s making him deeply unsettled by the whole experience. He can barely have a straight thought about it, much less articulate the feeling, so he doesn’t try. He lets it go. 

First sons fusion: When the Lord of Chaos throws back his robe, yelling “Dad! !” it’s a GIANT Lark&Sparrow. They’re like trying to fuse two rubies together, you just get a bigger ruby. This changes a bit later, when the twins start to diverge from each other vis a vis Love Wolfism, but basically the Lord of Chaos is an Oak Twin the size of their dad. But still looks 12. It probably actually takes the Love Wolf speech from Henry and their divergent reactions to get them to unfuse. 

Second inter-dad fusion: That other time Henry and Darryl smooched while high on drug flowers. It was very unpleasant, they don’t talk about it, they don’t try that again for a while. 

They get a book on fusions from the Library that reads almost like a birds and the bees talk and there is minor culture-shock panicking about whether fusion is Like That, but something in Henry is telling him “No. It’s not Like That.” He doesn’t really know why he’s so solid in that belief. He understands that fusion is unique and powerful and a wonderful thing, but something about doing it is just… getting under his skin. 

Third inter-dad fusion: Glenn and Ron. I’m not even sure the exact context or anything. Maybe they were just vibin’. All I really know is that I imagine these two occasionally fuse for the weirdest things, like

Fourth inter-dad fusion: also Glon, fishing magic items out of a giant toilet. They needed to be taller. 

Glon is… gosh, what the heck is Glon. Performative out the ass, for sure. Down for basically anything. Allowed to wear bootie shorts. 

Back up a hot minute though, because first dad-son fusion: almost happens on the Tower of Terry. It comes so close. They’re in that hug, and Ron thinks maybe if they fuse, the magic won’t take TJ. Or even if it takes them both, that’s better than TJ getting taken alone. They don’t have to say “I’m sorry” or “I love you, son” out loud, but before it really takes, Terry gets ripped away. Because Willy can’t have that, can he? 

Fifth inter-dad fusion: is Glon again, but the circumstances are way different because Ron just saw the mummy of his wife and Glenn is trying to help him breeze past it and it works until it doesn’t and they fall apart with Ron a crying mess. 

Sixth inter-dad fusion buckle up because we’ve reached Ravenloft. Before dad-fusion 6, Henry gets caught in his dad’s claws. He feels something very familiar and rejects it with everything he has, and escapes to grab Glenn. Then he gets hit by Calm Emotions, Glenn reaches up, trying not to fall, and Henry is already super chill about everything all of a sudden, so when Glenn tries to fuse out of panic, Henry goes for it. 

Gila—Henry and Glenn—can do actual bard magic. They’re like Opal, in that a single moment of disconnect is enough to snap them apart and finding that disconnect is not difficult. But when the situation is saving their kids and telling their asshole dads to get lost, that’s plenty enough connection to cast an actual magic-ass thunderwave with a guitar and maybe a bit more. 

(Barry didn’t like that.) 

So another fun thing about adding this factor to cannon is that this lets the dads have glimpses inside each other’s heads. So certain conversations could change a little bit. For example, in the van while they’re driving away from the Ravenloft fight and Henry’s explaining a few things. 

Henry: I don't have a lot of memories from that time in my life—  Glenn: Not a lot? Try "not any.” Henry: Glenn—  Glenn: Dude, none of my business, but your brain was weird.  Henry: Glenn.  Glenn: Like did the government get to you when you showed up on earth or—   Henry: Glenn what the fff—rick are you even saying just shut up Darryl: …

Darryl had noticed, too, but Glenn has other fusion experience to compare with. Henry could catch glimpses and imprints and trains of thought which ground in different points of Darryl/Glenn’s entire life, and Glenn and Ron can do that equally with each other. But a bunch of things for Henry, if you try to backtrack to where the decision comes from it just. Stops. Especially with using magic, which Glenn got to do. And Henry’s thoughts on fusion end dead hard. 

(filtering all of this through Freddie’s headcanon that Glenn always figured Henry was from Faerun but was just wildly wrong about all the details is so much fun)

This is the part in the fic series where there’s a one-shot about Henry having a panic attack just outside of the camp at night, and the most he can explain is just that something about seeing his dad again set him off. 

And then we get to a lighter turn for first dad-son fusion but for realsies this time: Ron Stampler nat 20s to hug his son and then also is the son. And that dad. And dads are supposed to be inside to do a ritual for a demon cow. 

RJ is the sweetest dude. Also if you don’t sit on him he will wander off and do the most extreme version of the first thing that comes to his mind for a problem solution or release from boredom. And he will not tell you about it in advance, so seriously. Sit on him. 

So they stand there for a second like "yes... Yes. Yes... Okay. Im... I'm the dad. But I'm the kid? But im. The dad. And all the other dads are also the kid so... Dad... Trumps kid status. And I'm the dad... Cool." and they go in to help with the demon cow. 

The kids are flipping out outside. 

Henry spots them and drops the cage, almost like he’s Garnet and just spotted Stevonnie. While all the other dad’s are freaking out/fawning/curious, Glenn lifts their glasses and theres four eyes and he drops the glasses and never mentions this again. 

Rj: hi um. I'm a dad.... Yeah. So I'm here tooooooo frickin kill a demon cow let's do this Rj: got the good dad vibes comin out of my butt

For realsies though Terry should be outside, so they unfuse for the cow thing and the bbq but then Dennis happens. 

Second dad-son fusion: Dennis: are you sure you've got this?  Ron: i can do it  TJ: he can DO it dad GIVE ME YOUR HAND

RJ’s an arcane trickster and it’s real cool and Dennis looks so jealous ha ha ha and also they separate after the fight and suddenly Terry’s unsettled and needs to talk to Ron for a second because “Hey Dad is Dennis not real????????” 

Third dad-son fusion: is way less eventful, but who the heck can say no to more reasons to cry about the Wilsons at the tail end of the Supper Bowl arc? 

Fusion is not a replacement for talking, but it is a bit smoother in communicating emotions. It doesn’t happen until the end of their talk, when Darryl’s got his arm around Grant. I don’t think either of them are super attached to this whole fusion thing, (If Grant is, it certainly wasn’t his dad he’d been thinking about trying it with. Maybe one of the other kids… “maybe Terry.”) so they may not even pick a name. Henry certainly cries at least twice as hard, but when they want to just get something to eat and maybe just hang out for a while, nobody pushes. 

I think the most important part of this is that it gives Grant a kind of… emotional break. Lets him feel something nice again— like he does in the show, too, but in a way that’s a bit more stable while it lasts. Like the feeling when you’re a kid on a long car ride with your parents, one that ends in getting home late and you’ve fallen asleep and they carry you out of the car. 

Good things for Grant Wilson for til forever. 

Somewhere in that arc, though, Glenn approaches Henry by themselves. Glenn’s not really a feelings guy, but whatever’s going on in Henry’s head is a problem. It’s a one-up the o-dads have on them, and they can’t afford that right now. 

Glenn: so you like... Really don't hardly remember being a kid?  Henry: Glenn, I don't want to talk about it  Glenn: I bet your dad's gonna wanna talk about it  Henry: well... i don't care what he wants  Glenn:... You seriously don't know how you got to earth?  Henry: [exasperated] the frick are you-- I got to earth like anyone else, Glenn. You know where babies come from, right?  Glenn: of course i fucking know where babies come from. A mommy and a daddy love each other very much and then their kid runs away so hard he skips dimensions  Henry: wh-- wait you-- do you think I'm an alien?  Glenn: obviously  Henry: Glenn that's-- [sighs, rubs his face] Glenn this isn't the kind of time for your conspiracies  Glenn: hey as far as I'm concerned, a man who sleeps with an axe under his pillow is a fool every night but one. and you shoot poison from your hands and shape shift into bears

Which adds nicely to the slide of heading to Oakveil next

Henry: y'know what. When we leave here, we can get my kids next.  Glenn: your interdimensional kids  Henry: to prove to you you're being crazy. Again.  Glenn: De Nial is a river man, and we left it back on earth

And one more dialogue bite, because…

Glenn: claim your powers latched onto you from this world all you want. But that language you and your dad spoke, didn't come out of the air, it came out of the door in your head

...fusion means the other dads get to learn about the metaphorical brain door. 

This brings us into the most recent arc, heading into Oakveil. He and Ron sneak in, and Beary tells Henry he’s home, and pieces start to click together. Henry’s from this world, so he understands why he’s had such a particular view on fusion and that basic cultural understanding. That it’s considered normal. And that it’s even normal for a kid’s first fusion to be with their parent. Their parent who loves them and knows them wants to see them grow. 

Bear Ry’Oak is not that. 

First O-dad fusion: Henry’s first fusion was with his dad. 

I think the worst thing is that, when fused with his dad, Hen doesn't feel like he's not himself. one of the interesting things about the Oaks is that they're kind of all slight alterations on the same traits. Like as gross as it feels to admit, Beary is just Henry but with the condescension turned up to a billion and his high horse is basically an elephant and no self-awareness or care for how others might have different perspectives from him

But Beary is still so overwhelming to Henry that it just flattens pretty much anything that makes Henry, Henry. Specifically the parts that Barry dislikes. like Henry's anger. To directly quote Aryashi: “Beary thinks using fusion for combat is barbaric. obviously fusion is for Conflict Resolution. Fuse with Beary so he can sort out your disagreement with him!”

(and then bathe in bleach)

So Beary finds them in Oakveil and Henry starts panicking and he tries to Handle Henry like he did when Henry was a kid, fusing with him to stomp down on his feelings to cut a panic attack or outburst off at the pass. If Henry's in no place to fight back it usually works, but if Ron's there--literally pressed against Henry's back--to see the fusion coming, maybe he reaches for a fusion, too, and lets Henry's instincts choose which pull to follow, and Henry's instincts choose Ron.

Seventh inter-dad fusion: Wren is suddenly there before Beary can even start his attempt to coach Henry through breathing (his half-effort to help Henry and be able to say that he tried freakin hate him) and is sitting on the ground and the disgusted look Beary gets seeing this. (Fusing with an outsider is something he considers so beneath his son.)

Beary:... Ah. Ronald.  Wren, existing, suddenly, and mostly being Ron's processing power as Henry's mental wheels try to slow down to match Ron's pace (cultivated through a childhood of dealing with Willy) rather than amp them both up: uhm... It's just Ron, actually Beary: would you mind... (there's other people around so he can't say "decontaminating") liberating my son. (as if ignoring the role his son had in choosing this fusion over his) Wren: Henry is uh... (me? Not me? Yes me, not up for this, we should go somewhere else that usually works fine, we can just leave and find the others and that'll be fine) he's good. We're good, we're gonna... (looking at the other people who look like Henry and the "not amping each other up” thing is working less and less)  Wren: bye

And then they just stand up and fast-walk away

Wren is either chill af and rolling with every punch or the living equivalent of a coke bottle that you popped a whole roll of mentos in and then closed immediately. At this moment, it’s very much the coke bottle side. Beary lets them go because he knows Henry will be back, and they make it just outside of town to where the others have just shown up before they fall apart. 

Ron: We found the door!  Darryl: what door?  Ron: the one in Henry's head!  And all the dads know what he's talking about Glenn: did you open it?  Henry: no  Ron: a little bit  Henry(probably now starting that panic attack): the anchors in there  Ron: his dad came out of it  Darryl: his dad???????? Henry, vulnerability, Oak: I AM FEELING VERY VULNERABLE RIGHT NOW AND I HATE IT  [chorus of mumbled sorrys] Ron: oh also Oakvale is Henry's home Darryl: WHAT Glenn: Uh hey anyone gonna pick up the phone cause I FUCKIN CALLED IT Henry: That's not my home! My home is with Mercedes back on Earth! Glenn: Yeah, this is just where you were born.  Henry: Glenn I swear to God-- Glenn: Dude lay off, I was agreeing with you! Home's where the heart meds are and all that jazz Darryl: Wait, you have heart meds? At home? When was the last time you took your heart meds? Glenn: Uhh... not since I came here? It's fiiiiiine. Never felt better! Ron: Not to interrupt but Henry's on the ground breathing funny. Glenn, are you sure you don't have any heart meds? Henry: being hugged by both of his sons in a simultaneous way that is not their normal simultaneous way (i.e. the Lord of Chaos way): WHY ARE MY SONS TALLER THAN ME Glenn: I'm more surprised that they're hugging you  Lord of Chaos: to assert dominance! Any moment now, we will turn this hug into a suplex!

And that basically brings us to now? I want a Triple Oak Fusion (the King of Chaos) but with how the fight with Beary went I’m not sure where it’ll go. OH YEAH. 

Autumn stopped fusing with Hen even when he was a kid because she couldn’t stand to see how much her son craved the approval of that evil man who stole her life away. And whether or not Henry ever fuses with anyone ever again after finding out he’s got Eldritch in him has gotta be up in the air. 

And at this point I could easily be convinced that the next inter-dad fusion is Darryl and Glenn, those beautiful idiots. They could be… Denn. Glarryl? We’ll workshop it. 

[mapleborealis]

D&D ASK, UM ALL OF THEM??? All the 5s??? Tell me about Simon!!

5. do they follow a higher power? what are their thoughts on divinity?

well he’s a cleric, so yes. but apparently, his approach to things is...very jewish? like, sure, dian cecht is his patron so thats why hes allowed to cast spells but like. it was under duress (an invading party to simons home) and he didn't take it back when he went awol! you gave it to him! he can do what he wants with it now! while also being terrified that one day someone he cares about will need to be healed and dian cecht will finally say “i’ve had enough of this kid” and pull the plug on his magic. 

its..... hard to explain, but its why he doesnt pray a lot. he wants to do good in this material world in his life but also fears caring too much bc of Past Trauma and doesnt find dian cecht to be the be-all/end-all of like... judgment? simon’s not good at orthodoxy and dian cecht being classified as a cult since theres so few followers i feel also impacts his approach to things. there are no grand temples he has to live up to, or priests to tell him to clean up his act. 

15. do they trust their party? why or why not? 

YES trauma bonding guys!! he really tried not to but living in a house with them and !! kept getting dragged into their problems they wanted to help that he knew he should help too but like Emotions Are Bad!!! CHUCKLE BROTHERS SIMON AND MISCHA AND MISCHAS PARENTS ADOPTING HIM AND YEAH HES READY TO RIDE OR DIE FOR THESE PEOPLE

altho sometimes he’s sus of jynarra’s ideas because way too many of them have resulted in her almost dying and Shes Not Allowed To Die, but when they’re good they’re really good

25. what stories do they like to tell? what stories do they like to hear?

he’s not much of a storyteller tbh - too vulnerable. usually what you get out of him are things like ‘oh yeah when i was a kid (dumb childhood story here)’ or ‘yeah i knew a person who (some wild story with frat-boy vibes probably)’. just short things you might swap at a bar. he likes listening to those too, although not the overly exaggerated ones - people who tell those just want free drinks for how Cool and Awesome they are - but real stories of how you jerry-rigged a broken plow for planting season or on your wedding night your best man got so drunk he did a backflip off a second-story roof and still managed to land unharmed

35. which party member do they worry for?

he’s definitely closest to mischa (she understands the nuances of just having a quiet pint together) so when she gets hurt it’s like he has another little sister and ppl who hurt her are Not Allowed To Do That.

altho jynarra’s habit of eating strange plants with extreme repercussions has also nearly given him several heart attacks. his views on amaris have become much more positive, but she’s always seemed to be able to punch her way out of any issues that arise so she’s fine. 

45. how do they hug people?

it depends on closeness - acquaintances might get a one-armed dude-bro side hug if they press, but high-level friends and family always get a solid squeeze whether it's a quick hug or a long bear hug. maybe he’s just a good hugger, maybe he’s reminding himself that you’re really there. 

55. whose hand do they reach out for?

well as of the spooky ghost battle - mischa. must protecc her. petting the rats is also a good source of reassurance. 

in his dreams (nightmares?) though, it’s dave. 

65. what is holding them back?

(points at last sentence above) Take A Wild Fucking Guess. what tiefling haunts his dreams and his bottle? that he endangered his friends and gave up a piece of his lung for? 

regret - guilt - shame: he’s... working through it. and he’s made good strides with his party’s help! but i don't think getting his lighter back was good for his recovery, at least in the short term. 

[the-third-bard]

Story summary of "the voice of reason"

Aka the titty girl story

This one had way more parts than any other so this post will be pretty long

Part one

Part one is the one page at the very beginning of the book where the girl sneaks into Geratl's room when he's "sleeping" and rubs her titties all over his face. "The voice of reason" takes place before the striga so there really wasn't any point in having this be the Very First Page except to hook horny straight men.

Part two

Part two starts with Geralt waking up in the temple of Melitele after having implied off-screen sex w titty-girl (Iola, who's a apparently a water nymph and talented with magic and is psychic? Or smth?)

Nenneke is introduced and scolds Geralt for being reckless in the fight with the striga. They seem to have kind of a mother-son relationship. (Nenneke has apparently known Geralt since he was a child? Which would make her Old As Fuck).

Geralt visits this temple once or twice a year.

Most of this part is about introducing religion and the cult of Melitele. The temple he's in seems to be part-church part-school? Theres a lot of younger girls and even children who learn stuff here and then go on working as midwives, teachers, healers (specifically women's and children's diseases), etc.

Dandelion is mentioned, he doesn't believe in Melitele. Dandelion is explicitly called Geralt's friend.

Nenneke wants Geralt to go into some sort of trance with the help of Iola? I guess this will be explained in later parts.

Part three

I loved this part, the best part of the book so far.

Some White Rose dickheads have visited the temple just to tell Geralt to fuck off. (White Rose is basically nazis mixed with scientologists, and they hate all non-humans) (later they will become the flaming rose, i think, and thats like the white rose lvl 100, with like full on genocide and shit)

Anyway, these tools show up and want Geralt gone and insult him and Nenneke, but ofc Nenneke won't have that and verbally beats the shit out of them. One of the dudes, Tailles, challenges Geralt to a duel for his insults and Geralt mostly laughs it off.

There's not a lot of plot here, the whole chapter reads as if it was an imaginary political argument Andrzej Sapkowski was having in his head where he was winning and he decided to put it in the book. I allow this because any form of dunking on nazis is good.

Part four

This part is LITERALLY Geralt just? Going on a 4 page rant? He literally does not stop talking once during the whole thing. It's a solid wall of just Geralt talking at this poor girl (Iola, the tiddy girl, who can't talk)

He talks about, in order; religion (*), swords, kaer morhen, parents, the trials, his first monster (**). Witchering, the "code" (***), Blaviken (****), and Ciri (*****).

Throughout this whole this Geralt like, answers questions? That I'm pretty sure he makes up to keep talking? He's like "... Vesemir- oh, who's Vesemir, you ask? Well he's my dad obviously-" Cus Iola is mute and she's never described to like, look questioning or even interested in what Geralt is saying. He does this 9 times.

* Iola has taken a vow of silence for Melitele and Geralt respects her decision. He tells her there is power in faith and that his own lack of faith holds NO POWER, which I thought was really neat (especially for a 20 year old Polish book).

** it's the story he told Renfri in ep one! (saving a girl from being raped (also 13 years old :/ ) He also says he did what be did because he wanted the girl and her father to be grateful, and not because it was the right thing to do. He'd been raised to fight monsters and he'd romanticized the idea in his head that he'd be so cool and appreciated, which I think is really interesting. It also shows his growth as a character from then to now, and the fact that he admits to this is also very neat.

*** Geralt totally just made up this "code" and apparently said it so much that everyone fucking thinks all witchers have a code when it literally is just Geralt. I really wanna know what the other witchers think of this.

****

Geralt needs therapy

***** Geralt berates himself for doing the law of surprise, and says he'll never return to Cintra and will just, avoid it forever I guess. (Yennefer and Ciri are apparently born around the same time in may!)

Part five

Geralt is in the library in the temple, he appears to be failing to read a history book.

Dandelion comes in the door and Nenneke absolutely destroys him.

She leaves and Dandelion and Geralt talk.

The world is changing, and witchers' work is becoming hard to find. Geralt is being negative about it and Dandelion tries to cheer him up a bit, distract him from his woes.

He says Geralt should adapt to the new world, change careers. He says that if the demand for poetry and music dwindled he'd become a gardener.

Dandelion gets pretty deep, and it was more than it expected from Sapkowski if I'm honest.

/... /

After this Dandelion changes the subject to make Geralt feel better.

Part six

Geralt and Nanneke is in a grotto that Nenneke uses as like, a greenhouse for magical plants. There are glowing crystals in the ceiling.

(Nenneke talks a bit about how the sun has changed? And the rays are deadly and kills plants and how it's "too late" to save people from it?)

Nenneke talk about how pissed Yennefer is at Geralt for some reason, and Geralt seems to be avoiding her (Yen) at all costs.

For the striga contract money Geralt has bought some precious gems, and gives some to Nenneke for the temple and wants to give Yennerfer the rest. He wants Nenneke to keep them for him until Yennefer comes to the temple looking for him so that she can give them to her? While he's ran away to somewhere else cus he's a little baby.

Nenneke refuses to help him with it because she's way too cool for that and calls Geralt out on being a big baby.

This is where Yennefer's infertility is mentioned, and Geralt says she can use the gems to (partly) pay for "the treatment".

They talk a bit and we find out that some sorceresses have "atrophied" ovaries and that that is because pursuing magic apparently fucks up your endocrine glands? Which would fuck up significantly more than just your ovaries (also this shouldn't be a thing just for female magicians? Why are all the male magicians totally fine?)

(Nenneke is hinted to be fertile as well as Geralt's mother in picture 1)

Nenneke is still trying to get Geralt to do some telepathy therapy stuff with Iola and he's also a big baby about this, even though he's absolutely TRASHED right now and doing the therapy would heal him up so that he can use his signs and fight again.

(it seems like after a near death, witchers lose their witchering skills? Nenneke says Geralt's reflexes aren't what they're supposed to be, his pupils don't dilate properly, his heartbeat is faster than normal aka 'normal human speed' i guess, they can't do signs. Would Geralt be human if he just let it be?)

Part seven

As Geralt and Dandelion leave the temple, they run into a whole bunch of guys. It's the dudes from part 3, expecting a duel. If Geralt refuses to fight, he'll be hanged, but if he injures Tailles, he'll be punished. They want him to give Tallies the fight to raise the dude's street cred. They explicitly want Tailles to "nick" Geralt's skin.

I thought Geralt was gonna like, prick his finger and yield but what actually happened was funnier and more clever. So kudos to Sapko for this.

They start fighting and Tailles sucks, obviously. The boy puts his sword in front of himself defensively and Geralt just, smacks that thing with his own sword so that Tailles' sword cuts him in the face.

This way, Geralt's sword never touched him and he can't be punished. I thought that was real neat.

(Geralt is totally banned from Ellander now but it was worth it)

Geralt and Dandelion leave, and Will Not Tell Nenneke About This.

The part splits and we see what happened as Geralt and Dandelion were leaving the temple.

Geralt and Iola touch hands and this triggers a vision. It's a vision of death and blood and monstrous paws. Iola collapses and has a seizure.

Nanneke saw it too, and begs Geralt to stay in the temple, but because he's Geralt he obviously decides to ignore the whole thing and leaves.

This is how the book ends

[thataspdfeel]

I'm curious, what are you most attracted to in your partners? Is it similar traits in all of them or different ones like their sense of humour etc.? Sorry if this is a weird question but you've said before you like when people ask about them so I thought I would.

i was so excited to get this and then forgot to answer it :/ im an idiot

also gonna put this under a cut cause this is gonna be hella long cause im a fucking romantic dork

god though i could wax poetic. they’re all so lovely. like they have traits in common but also are unique. they all have brown eyes but theyre unique. like my husband has these eyes that remind me of warm chocolate. like a chocolate fountain kind of warm chocolate. dark and smooth but reflect the light. my wife’s have tinges of gold in the irises like flecks of gold leaf. and theres a dark ring around the pupil and one around the edge of the iris. theyre fucking magical

my boyfriend’s eyes are almost black and very deep. darker than the night sky and full of warmth and mischief. but its like theyre never ending, like he can see the innermost parts of whoever he’s looking at, like your soul is written on your forehead

lmao i love eyes can you tell

they all have these goddamned sinful eyelashes and my boyfriend’s are the longest. theyre as dark as his eyes and when he’s embarrassed, he gets all shy and they brush against his cheekbones like how dare you sir. how dare you be beautiful even when youre embarrassed. i look like a fucking tomato. rude

my husband’s look gold at the tips with the way the light catches them. like yknow how fake eyelashes have purple or red at the tips? like that except gold. like what??? the fuck??? rude

they all have very soft hair though my boyfriend’s is the longest. i cant wait to get with him irl again cause i wanna braid it. he’s got a bony face and it frames it so well. it’s so dark brown its almost black and it’s fun to see him try to sweep it out of his face cause he refuses to tie it up

my husband has these wild curls. we were looking up how to take care of them and that’s how we found out hes ethnically jewish. (which makes sense considering he’s german) they get so thick and heavy and they’re so soft and lovely to nap in. which i do on a semi regular basis. its so soft and lovely and i love when he grows it out. he just doesn’t look right with shorter hair. and he has this beard that grows funny, makes him look like jedidiah if yknow what i mean. he has such a baby face without it and he loves beard scritches it’s so cute how happy he gets

bluh im bouncing all over the place i just??? love them?????? so??????????? much???????????????? there’s so much to talk about!!!

so i guess i’ll just try and make a list of the things i love about them

husband:

cheerful, bubbly, very sunny personality. the human incarnation of a very excited dog (which can be A Lot sometimes)

extremely kind. would give you the shirt off his back. often laments that he stopped carrying cash years ago every time he sees somebody who could use some despite the fact that we’re always broke

a proper southern gentleman??? like im fat so im used to people not holding doors open for me fucking ever and being really goddamned rude in general. he ALWAYS holds doors open for me, opens the car door for me both to get in and out of the car, and gets pouty if i try and carry my own bag. it’s so sweet??? ive literally never had that before and even after three and a half years, it’s still so charming

he will do literally anything the fuck i ask. he’ll say no and im like oh ok and he’ll tease like “finally! i said no! and got away with it!” just to make me giggle and then does it anyway

on this note, he also always cooks as much as absolutely possible. even though his spine gives him problems, he does his best to keep me off my leg

he’s always so concerned about my well being. like if there’s not a disability cart at the front of a store, he makes me sit down while he goes and chases one down. if im stiffer than usual due to a cold front, he’ll remind me to take pain meds every four hours

he’s trying to learn japanese because he knows i dont have anybody to practice with here in the states. just for me and not any other reason

adores animals. even if he finds a dog annoying, he’ll still fawn over it and give it as many pets as it wants and won't ever snap at it even if anybody else would. he’s got these large hands and he’s kind of clumsy but this goes away around animals. he’s just so careful and gentle like i never ever worry

drags me out of my introverted cave because he knows social interaction is also good

has introduced me to some of my favorite books and video games because he’s verious conscious about what somebody likes and works to be like “hey, i think youd like this” and is almost always correct??? amazing

has 0 sense of style but doesnt mind somebody who knows better keeping him from absolute disaster

dude is a damned good cook. ive gained like at least a solid 25 pounds since he moved in and started cooking regularly

SPEAKING OF COOKING, we met on the tail end of my anorexia when i was doing my best to recover and still slipping up. he never made me feel bad about it but always encouraged me to eat. he eats SO much (think shaggy rogers) that i always felt comfortable eating in front of him. he always reminds me to eat and asks if ive eaten that day. honestly, i wouldnt be at this level of recovery if it hadnt been for him

is amazing at caling me down holy fuck

wife:

met her first, of the three of them, ironically so ive known her the longest but been with her the shortest. we dated a few months in hs but there was a chick she wanted to date like right there (and i was in japan) so i was like oh go for it. well, they broke up and we got back together and it’s been lovely ever since

she has this snorting laugh that’s adorable to listen to and it makes me feel more comfortable laughing (because i think i sound like a damn goose)

SHE HAS SO MANY GODDAMNED FRECKLES ON HER CUTE LITTLE FACE THEY’RE ADORABLE AND AMAZING AND VERY FUN TO KISS BECAUSE SHE SQUIRMS

she has a goddamned button nose for chrissakes

and these really wide hips too like i felt bad about my hips years ago cause theyre p wide but shes adorable and has wide hips too. she kinda made me love them (even though hers are better)

she’s genderfluid so i get to be gay all across the gender spectrum (im agender) and she’s so beautiful and handsome and v amazing

we were both homestuck fans at the height of it (like we still are) but her cosplays are just really well done??? shes so talented

OH MY GOD SHE MAKES THIE CHICKEN SOUP WITH HOMEMADE NOODLES I WOULD SLAP AN OLD LADY FOR

i dont know about the rest of her cooking (sadly) due to limited time around each other but i cant fucking wait tbh. her cookies kill me tho i love them

an amazing fashion sense. im a dumpster compared to her

an amazing writer and artist and i die every time she sends me something like my soul fucking ascends

she loved me BEFORE meds which i think is amazing. like what a lovely human being yknow? im a dick without meds and she loved me anyway and i love that about her

she speaks german and she makes it sound beautiful and i cry

her singing voice is so angelic and it kills me when she sings because everybody should hear this lovely person sing

she is hyper empathetic and it makes her so lovely and kind and wonderful. she completely understands how i feel about things and why even when no one else does and is very good at de-escalating me when im upset

we’ve just known each other for something like 7 years now? like i dated her post my abusive ex and she lit up my whole world with happiness at being treated well. then her ex was abusive and just... we get each other? in a way where her husband and my other two partners dont. its a pain the others dont understand so we go to each other during these times of pain in a way we cant with other people. it’s a very special connection

she’s a goddamned goof and i love it

my boyfriend:

motherfucker is so skinny which is the opposite of me and for some reason it works?? idk like it worries me but it’s also unique. love it

we dated almost my whole senior year of hs but he broke up with me because he thought he didnt have the same depth of emotion as i did for him and didnt want to “hold me back” from somebody better. like??? can you imagine?????? how fucking kind

recently started dating again like it took him fourish years for him to realize SHIT I MADE A MISTAKE so he’s a little slow but he’s so very thoughtful

he’s a goof in a different way than the other two. dad jokes. never ending fucking dad jokes. and goddamned puns. he never stops. dont tell him i love them because then he’ll never let me tease him again (i pretend like its The Worst)

so. fucking. dramatic. always flips his hair in the sassiest way possible. its super gay (he’s bi)

he doesnt do a whole lot of romance or saying WHY he feels certain ways. he feels like it cheapens the emotion. but, on the rare occassion he doesnt let this bother him, his poetry he sends me about how he feels makes me fucking cry. it’s so beautiful. i love it

he works watering at a plant nursery and complains about how the bees always use him as a landing strip. it’s adorable

he’s so resourceful?? this is best seen when playing minecraft cause he makes some damn cool structures in some really nice places. i love playing it with him just to see what he builds and how (especially since im a boring, lets make this house a square kinda ho)

he’s so camera shy??? no selfies no skype at all. he’s so bashful and it’s super cute i love it

got me into DnD like yes thank you for this enjoyable nerdery

the sole reason i passed math in hs. like not only is he smart but hes also really good at explaining things to people? definitely a talent for teaching people things

he was my best friend for the longest time like all three of them are my best friend but he was the only one who was my best friend FIRST and then romance blossomed

like im demiromantic so i need a strong connection to fall in love like it was a solid few months of dating my husband before i began to love him. i knew my wife for awhile and got close so same general story. but my boyfriend and i were more friends to lovers and i love that about him

his dad is half italian so he talks with his hands and it’s so overdramatic that he hits people with them on a semi regular basis just gesturing. he once accidentally knocked my glasses all the way across a room cause i had walked behind him and he made a sweeping gesture. hilarious

one time, i had food poisoning and the pain was so bad, i had to crawl under his kitchen table until my mother came to take me to the base clinic. he sat with my head in his lap and brushed my hair out of my face and cooed gently at me to try and soothe me. it was so sweet and ive never forgotten about it

motherfucker, with the help of my sister, dragged me into homestuck

he’s so damn shy about affection that holdling his hand in public makes him blush. it’s even worse if i steal a kiss. fucking adorable

things all three have in common that i love:

good in bed. it sounds silly but this is important to me because while i dont necessarily need sex to form a close relationship to fall in love, it definitely helps

idk how this happened, i really dont, but somehow everything i like lines up nicely with everything they like??? and if im not into something, they can find it with each other and vise versa. lmao wtf how did this happen to line up idk

kind, generous, sweet, and helpful although all three show these qualities in different ways despite having them in common

love me??? like honestly it sounds so silly that id love that they love me but im such a flawed, terrible human being that it leaves me in deep awe that not only does one person love me but three??? how??? amazing people to find something in me to love and to keep on loving despite all my problems. beautiful

creative, smart, and inventive each in their own right. they fucking astound me and take my breath away

beautiful cuddlers (not being sarcastic, promise)

husband is a goddamned heater but boyfriend is a living block of ice. then wife is one of those who’s in between but she steals your heat and then hours later gives it back which is the worse option of the three. like it starts out all nice but then you end up surprised hours later because youre fucking dying of heatstroke

so we have two heatstroke, drowning in sweat options and then losing your limbs. it makes trying to set the thermostat a fucking nightmare

they all love to read and honestly? i couldnt be with anyone who doesnt like a good book

can hold lively, in depth discussions about things

hubby tends to lean more towards “would it be immoral to fuck a succubus” type morality questions and superhero dissection type things

wife is all over the place and can carry on a conversation about goddamned teapots if she so chose. no idea how she does it

boyfriend likes to entertain more morbid thoughts and psychology but also likes to analyze things. like homestuck. we still fucking dissect homestuck

very intelligent. blows my dumb ass out of the water. beautiful

like gaming various amounts and various kinds of games. hubs likes any and all. boyfriend likes dnd, monster hunter, minecraft etc kinds of things, not really one for cards or board games. wife prefers to craft but will occasionally engage in board games or cards, less so in video games but tends to stick to pokemon. it’s nice

they’re all very physically beautiful though in different ways. hubby is barrel chested and german with very strong arms and big hands, a bright and sunny smile. wife is small and round with tiny, artist hands and a sweet, pixie face. boyfriend is thin, long, and gaunt with pale skin and dark hair (kind of like damien from dream daddy tbh)

i could go on but ive been making this post for like well over two hours now and i figured maybe i should stop. it’s long as hell and idk if anybody else would have read this whole thing but basically i fucking adore my partners??? so much??? and there are so many things about them to love???

i just love them so much and could go on and on for hours about why i love each of them and how lovely they are and how they make me feel

ksdjrfgh im so sorry this is so long theres just so much to talk about //sweats

[mybodyliberation]

David's Bridal Review

The feedback from my last bridal store review was so overwhelmingly awesome. I was so grateful that not only did so many of you read it but actually got in touch to tell me how much you loved it or how helpful you found it.

Boo, you know this sis has got your back and if I can help or assist in anyway never falter to holla at me. I want you to have an incredible experience filled with love and laughter and magic!

So with that said let's jump into the final bridal store review. I actually talked in my article for Scottish wedding directory about whether I should have visited a few boutiques seeing as I had done so much research and booked so many appointments, but I realieed that actually listening to my gut was more important than experiencing something just for the experience.

So spoiler I found my dress at David's Bridal, said yes to it and knew in my gut and in my heart that I would not find anything that made me as special as my dress did.

Not only did I say YES TO THE DRESS, but I screamed at the top of my lungs while ringing a bell and making a wish that I hope carried straight up into the heavens and is being made to order for delivery right now.

Now as I said I had done A LOT of research and I had read a lot of reviews . This isnt sponsored or gifted or anything else so I have no problem telling the tea. And the tea is overall the company has a pretty terrible name in the states and in the London stores. There was review after review of disgruntled brides, talking about terrible customer service, lack of communication, messed up orders and the list went on.

It didnt leave much to the imagination and it certainly didn't bode well, but imagine my surprise when I looked at all of the reviews for the Glasgow store. They shone bright. It was 99.9% positive feedback for everything and for the staff.

Thruthfully that's what I experienced too. Glasgow David's Bridal is a testament to the entire company. It was really wonderful to see so many smiling faces when you walked in, so many designer options and prices and just I felt confident.

So important information to know.

• David's Bridal works on appointments. You can book in online or over the phone and it takes about 5 minutes total. You can also specify that you are attending for a Bridal appointment.

• As said in the previous review, bridal samples run small, so expect to be sized up but one of the wonderful things is that my measurements were taken and I wasnt even told what size I would be wearing. This was a confidence boost for me because I automatically knew it was about the dress not about my size or weight.

• Make sure you read the store policies online before attending but also ask on arrival if the store has any because for example we were not allowed to take any pictures or video.

• You're appointed a stylist on arrival

• You are given time to browse before your measurements are taken and then you are left to browse again so that you can pick the dresses youd like to try on

• Make sure you wear the right underwear. At Wed2B I ended up not wearing my bra but at David's bridal I absolutely did.

• They carry designers like Vera Wang and Oleg Cassini but at amazing prices. I personally never imagined being able to fit into or afford a designer gown and so it's really encouraging that there are options like this for plus size budget brides.

• There is no limit to how many dresses you can try on. This can be wonderful but also overwhelming so discuss with your stylist before hand how many dresses you feel you can handle.

• Take water and snacks for yourself and your guests. We didnt but I regret it as it's a time consuming and tiring process and keeping yourself watered and fed will help with stamina.

• Something I forgot to mention in the last review is that you try each dresses on with under skirts to add a fuller effect.

So I went to this appointment again during the week, during hours that would be more low key than a busy evening weekday or weekend time. I went with my mum, dad, sisters and a friend. That's a pretty large enterouge but all of them made the experience priceless. They brought so much joy to the day but as an aside always make sure the wedding dress shopping party is made up of people who will support you and make the day what it should be: ABOUT YOU and FUN!

Chloe (also who ended being my stylist for the appointment) greeted us with so much joy and kindness I was instantly excited for the appointment. She was incredible from start to finish I feel so grateful that my experience was with her. We giggled, we cuddled and more importantly she listened. As soon as we started she wanted to know what I liked and what I didn't, if I already knew what I'd like to try on, the whole shebang.

Chloe was funny, approachable, joyful, patient and kind. Sue explained the process perfectly and helped us feel at ease and excited. I was able to show her all the pictures I had and all the images I had pinned from the instagram page and it really helped us find the right direction.

Chloe took my measurements and never asked my size or told me my measurements so I didn't feel the need to ask. I cant help but be in love with that process of things and applaud her and David's Bridal for such a body positive approach to things because at the end of the day who cares what the size of the sample size is and who cares what your weight is.

What is important is that you feel great in whatever dresses you're trying on!

As I browsed and picked dresses she would be pulling the samples in the appropriate sizes for me and that's all the information you really need.

I know plus size brides fear being made to feel different because of their weight but it never even came into the conversation and I know it can be intimidating but if you feel like that's not the kind of care you're getting as a bride in any bridal store, please speak up and dictate the kind of treatment you want and deserve as you drop all of that coin.

I'm a pretty confident plus size woman and so this was great but I know for other plus women who might not quite be as confident yet, this kind of experience is the making of a positive journey from them as brides. So dont be afraid to message me and I'll call them on your behalf if I need to.

Since I had tried on every style previously in Wed2B, I used this as an opportunity to zero in on the styles that I really loved and dresses that I knew for sure I loved the look of. I had researched anout 4 of these dresses by looking through the Davids Bridal cookbook which you can find online.

I'll link that here: https://catalog.davidsbridal.co.uk/bridalstyle

It was a helpful tool to see what they had and I wrote down the product codes and took screenshots.

Combined with the dresses I had researched and the ones I saw in store and a few I had pinned on insta, I ended up trying on 7 dresses which is actually quite a lot in comparison to the last time I had tried on dresses. It took way more time and was genuinely quite tiring. Bate in mind that even when you have fun it will be tiring and emotionally quite taxing so be gentle with yourself. If you get a bit cranky or overwhelmed or upset don't feel bad for asking for a few seconds to yourself.

That being said at no point did I feel rushed or pushed, in fact Chloe encouraged me to take my time and be as vocal as possible while also taking on the feedback from my family and friends present at the appointment, while also making sure I felt in control.

It can be a tricky balance and thankful all my family and friends are very encouraging and patient and respectful but I know for other families there may be a more complicated dynamic at play.

Now although I had fun, each dress I tried on, even though it was within the style I wanted, felt like it was taking me further from what I could picture in my head.

You'll remember I left Wed2B with a solid option and really everything else was just competing against that dress.

As we got closer to the end of the appointment I wasn't exactly sure if I would find anything and I was right about to make peace with that but then I final dress I tried on, which coincidentally was the one I had saved three times on instagram.

Before Chloe had even pulled the dress against my body I knew...it was the one.

As stood there knowing this dress ticked every single box the other dress didn't quite manage to do, I knew the competition and the search was over.

My heart was pounding in my chest and I had one of the biggest smiles I had probably ever had stretching my face within an inch of itself.

I didn't just step out, I floated out and there was a moment of silence from what had previously been loud and laughing family.

It felt like this dreamy haze was filtering my vision, and I remember hearing a wow as Chloe completed the look with a gorgeous cathedral length embodied veil, a tiara and the bouquet.

I truly felt like a bride.

I turned first to my dad see his reaction. He sat smiling and nodding and then I turned to my mum (who had loved the Wed2B dress and had really not liked any of the other dresses I had tried on).

She smiled and I knew...right this is it.

I squealed and kept twirling and giggling and prancing. I felt like the princess and I instantly wanted to show Bae so badly because whenever theres something I love of course I want to share it with m5 best friend.

The search was finky over. I said YES a thousand times that day and yes everyday since. I cannot wait to walk down the aisle in a dreamy dress to my dream man.

Eeeek so yes now that I have gushed back to some logistics.

Once I had said Yes, rung the bell, sobbed my heart out while simultaneously laying, and finally being allowed to take photos it was time to get down to brass tax.

Once I reluctantly took the dress off, I then had my measurements taken again because when you buy the dress from David's Bridal:

• It will be ordered and made specifically for you.

• This will be done by the designer or DB itself if your purchase one of their dresses and it will then be sent to whatever store you tried your dress on in.

• You will then have alterations done 6 weeks before the wedding. This can be done with DB or at an alterations company of your choice but if you do it with DB your dress will remain insured under any accidents.

• They sometimes have deposits and installment plans but this depends on the dress so do make sure to ask.

• They also have discounts and deals running regularly so check in advance if there are any available that you would qualify for.

• Some dresses must be paid in full if you want to purchase the dress so have the money ready if this is something you want to do.

• I purchased my under skirt from them but of course you dont have to.

• Before you purchase your stylist will go over any changes you might want to make for example I ordered the dress in pure white instead of ivory.

• You will have to sign a form which will act as a contractually agreement to say you have listened to all the terms and conditions and you agree to them.

• Once ordered and made for you, you will not be able to refund the dress or get money back for the dress.

It is a huge commitment to make and there are always things you should make sure you are super clear on, in terms of policies and terms conditions, before verbally agreeing or signing any legal documentation. That's why its important to have a solid group with you full of people who will be there to act as witness or even help you understand any jargon that might be going over your wedding blissed out head.

It's such an incredible privilege that I was able to purchase my dress then and there and I truly don't take it for granted.

It was such a perfect experience for myself and my family and friends, but and I hate that there is any because what could be worth mentioning that would leave this is on a slightly tinged note.

The only negative experience unfortunately came from the store manager, which while she seemed lovely enough, was extremely overbearing. At first I thought I was being paranoid but checking in with my group after that made confirmed that I wasnt the only person that felt a little uncomfortable.

You sed she was very intense and actually quite standoffish explaining that we weren't allowed to film or take pictures of me in the dresses I tried on despite the fact I had done this in other stores, but of course not every store can be the same. They have this policy in place because in the past other brides have complained about being in the shots of other brides photos. This makes perfect sense.

We instantly understood the stores policy and respected it, but then for the rest of my appointment she hovered almost as if she felt her presence needed to be there to enforce the rule. It probably wasnt her intention but it made us feel as if us, as the only large group of black people in the store, couldn't be trusted to not break the rule.

Though we were not bred new appointment in the store, there were no other brides around me so it felt unnecessary because the reason the policy was there was because a bride had complained about being in another brides picture.

There were other appointments behind us though and she never even went over to check on them.

She lingered around our appointment the entire time and quite frankly as the only people of colour in the store it did make me feel uncomfortable because it sent a message that the black family needed to be "watched". It would have been different if she was paying me special attention and trying to make the experience better but I didnt feel that from anyone but Chloe who truly went above and beyond.

It was disappointing and I know it wouldn't have been the intention of the manager to make a black bride feel singled out or like there was an issue but nonetheless every time I stepped out of the dressing room that's how it felt because there she was looking stern.

It really wasnt until I found my dress and was prancing around that she began to relax and to smile and announced, once I said this is it, with much authority and vim that I was allowed to take pictures.

Blessedly I was able to have the strength to ignore her and just focus on the reason I was there because honestly with all the time and effort we had all collectively put into the experience it wasnt worth ruining it thinking of things like that but I do hope that other people of colour that visit the store do not end up having any experience like that.

All said and done it was still perfect because I was with people who love me, had a stellar stylist and I found the dress of my dreams.

So am I hyped to be a bride?

Sis. Yes.

[roughentumble]

so earlier tonight i was home alone and closing my shades, and quick note, my shades are venetian blinds and i was always taught as a kid that you lower them, THEN you twist the stick to close the blinds. so anyway i have the venetian blinds down, but i havent twisted the stick yet so i can still see through the open slats, and i was stricken by the realization that if i saw a face right now, i would be far more scared than if i’d seen a face BEFORE i put the blinds down

i mean, i’d be scared either way, obviously! but i just all the sudden realized that it would be even scarier, and so i wanted to explore this thought and how i came to this conclusion(keep in mind that this thought scared me more thoroughly than ANY piece of horror media’s managed to in years, somehow it just made me incredibly paranoid and after i closed the blinds i got changed and was TOO NERVOUS TO PUT ON A SHIRT for a few minutes, because the thought of obstructing for .2 seconds was Too Much. like theres no real reason for it, theres no reason for it to have gripped me so thoroughly, just- i just wanna illustrate how thoroughly Uncomfortable this thought made me, and how somehow my immediate reaction was joy/excitement and *sparklesparkle stars-in-my-eyes* OHHHH LETS EXAMINE IT!! I WANNA ANALYZE THIS AND REALLY LATCH ONTO THIS THOUGHT AND KEEP THINKING IT OVER AND OVER AS I SIT, ALONE, NEAR THE VERY THING THAT SPARKED THIS FEAR REACTION like wow great glad to know i got the “lets shove my arm into this lions mouth while its eating my leg” genes)

ANYWAY i have some theories on this, but they basically all boil down to the same reasons a cracked door inspires more fear than one that’s open or closed.

a closed door hides the scary, but it’s also very solid and very certain. you know it is closed, there’s no visual input to add to your fear, and you have the comfort of a barrier. plus, whatever may be there can’t see YOU. maybe if you ignore it, it will go away, unaware of you, and the two of you will simply miss each other. comforting. open the door and now you don’t have the physical barrier to comfort you, but you can see what’s there fully. you have confirmation that something is or isn’t there, what it looks like, it becomes a known quantity.

a cracked door, however, combines the frightening elements of both, with none of the comforts of either(mostly). you can see that there is something there, so you can’t pretend it isn’t there or that it’s fake, you can’t ignore it or explain it away, you have to face it... but you can’t see it CLEARLY. it isn’t ignorable, but it isn’t a known quantity. you are behind the door, but it isn’t solid, it can swing freely and if you put your hands on it you could possibly make the hinges squeak. it leaves open the possibility of it seeing you right back as well.

it is every single horrific possibility, presented to you in a way that cannot be ignored but also cannot be fully COMPREHENDED

there’s also the element of surprise and the knowledge that either you were unobservant and overlooked this being, OR it’s very fast, or smart and was hiding just out of sight, or possibly even “magic” to some extent, but in any of those cases it falls under the same point: it is very powerful in some regard. both of these things are inherently frightening, because in the former you were your own downfall- somehow you missed this entire malevolent presence staring DIRECTLY AT YOU, not even 3 inches away. in the latter case, you’re up against something so powerful you can’t even properly comprehend how that power works and again, it is STARING STRAIGHT AT YOU, just WAITING for you to see it and understand just how thoroughly FUCKED you are.

plus, a lot of what i’ve written presupposes a supernatural force of some sort, but it all applies to regular humans just as well, adding to the uncanny, unsettling, and generally frightening element, because it could be a regular person but that STILL means a perimeter breach that went unnoticed

PLUS plus, if you have a dark window that you’re closing the shades on, most likely you’re in a room with a light on... meaning that your face and some of the items in your room are reflected in the dark glass, leading to more confusion, discomfort, and visual distortion as you’re face-to-face with the visage before you. it allows even more doubt to creep in around the edges as you try to interpret what exactly you’re seeing, and it also turns that doubt into an even deeper fear as you realize that it’s been staring the ENTIRE TIME you were trying to visually understand it. 

i have no earthly idea what exactly triggered the initial thought(maybe the reflection of my face?) but these are my #Theories about my scary window face epiphany.

[tumblunni]

gettinG REALLY KINDA SALTY about digimon world next order u guys GOD GODDDDD its like the sequel we always wanted to digimon world... IN GAMEPLAY IN GAMEPLAY ONLY the plot is SO BAD its so bad in THE WORST WAY its a good game with a bad plto, so it frustrates me infinately more cos i WANT it to be good enough to live up to the rest of the game! and it has infinate spewing geysers of potential that went completely untapped cos of lazy bullshiT!

and its not like they had a lot to live up to or anything?? like.. the first digimon world practically DID NOT have a plot 90% of it was just free open gameplay with sassy dialogue yes but no real overarching narrative it had an excuse why the story started, and it had a very cathartic ending to it all. But it was all up to you to decide in what order our nameless protagonist did it all, who he met, how he won, what bits he might have missed entirely even! it was so fun cos it was a game where EVERY quest was a sidequest! the only real thing that would stay the same is that you needed to complete a certain amount of those sidequests to unlock the final boss quest, but which ones you pick is totes up to you. Except that there was an annoying bug in the PAL version that meant that one area had a random chance of being locked off thus the ending fight never spawns :P But even if i never actually finished the game I still had infinate enjoyment making my own story, yknow?

so the bad plot shenanigans in next order are annoying because they also made really foolish gameplay decisions to FORCE you to follow this main plot stuff is way less open, very very VERY commonly you can unlock a damn area, walk around in it, and every sidequest in it just refuses to start because you havent hit the right chapter milestone. and it gets to be increasingly stupid excuses too! most of the time the npc is just like ‘yeah i have a huge emergency but I DONT WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT IT’ *sits there panicking forever* How the fuck do they even know I’m ‘not worthy’ anyway, and why would it MATTER??? In DW1 if youre underlevelled for an area you just find out cos you fail the quest! you at least get to see what it is and KNOW what you have to work towards to be prepared next time! plus the plot is just a huge fuckin textdump of nonsense pseudo science that is never explained, its EVERYONE ELSE just doing stuff offscreen instead of letting you even see the potentially cool plot threads! and whenever anything has to happen they have some made-up excuse why everyone can just magically know what the villain is planning, due to this pseudoscience, and they HAVE to explain it EVERY TIME which just makes it far clearer that its a terrible plot hole??? and they waste all this time on this yet skip over vitally important stuff like ENTIRE CHARACTER ARCS and LETTING YOU ACTUALLY PARTICIPATE. All you ever fuckin do is be the one to defeat machinedramon cos everyone else is inexplicably weak and useless! oh and EVERY FUCKING BOSS IS MACHINEDRAMON AGAIN AND AGAIN goDDDDDDDDDD

anyway, The Awful Plot is that [insert made up magic excuse here] is turning everyone into Machinedramon clones with a virus and somehow this is bad because as well as digivolving to an arbitrary form they also turn evil for no reason and then its just YEARS AND YEARS of people explaining exactly how the virus must have been created and like five different contrived things we can do to slow it down and then after like FIFTY HOURS we finally get out first appearance of the fucking villain. as a silhouette. in the background. im at 90 hours now and i still dont even know his fucking name, or why the fuck he wants everyone to be machinedramon. but man it was vitally important to instead waste time explaining the ‘antivirus enforcer program’ and how it would totally be useful only to reveal it was taken out offscreen before the game even started and now it’s a villain. cos like we needed five more fake villain minions to delay this actual villain man’s appearance, UUUUUGH! none of them even talk! its just magic virus that makes you magically evil. and why did we need to explain the compelx metaphysics of an antivirus when ultimately you could have just said ‘its omegamon, he’s a big hero in this setting, he got turned evil and now we have to save him’. Why did we need a misdirect that this antivirus wasnt a person??? why did we need to go on a quest to find a guy who can make flower seeds and then plant the flower seeds in the most contrived way waiting 1 ingame day between each step, then somehow the plant is a clue that omegamon is evil SOMEHOW and then its still 30 hours til we fucking meet the guy... sorry, sorry, this probably makes about as little sense as it did to me. i just had to try and give an example of a particular main quets line that FUCKING PISSED ME OFF and i STILL dont know what any of it means so i cant even explain it to you! i got spoiled for the goddamn ending and i STILL dont know why there was an omegamon-predicting rafflesia that took one ingame month to get past...

BUT YEAH SORRY IM TRYING TO SUMMARIZE THIS

theres some mystery villain who’s turning everyone into machinedramon for no reason thats the plot and youre not really given a reason why this town needs you to recruit more digimon except somehow if you get [insert amount here] prosperity that’ll take enough time that jijimon will finish magically hacking [insert plot device here] to find the next location of [whatever the thing is]... i mean its vaguely mentioned once at the start that a machinedramon destroyed the town or something? so i guess maybe we can assume all the townsfolk actually died and we’re getting new ones/searching for their reincarnated selves or something. Man if that was ACTUALLY THE INTENTION and ACTUALLY EXPLAINED then it would have been pretty damn good! it’d add some interestingness to the sidequests if the digimon had to recover lost memories of being someone else in the city once. plenty of potential for interesting interactions if their new digiegg’d self is a wildly different form or something! Like that could have been a good setup for the one endearing fashion designer skullgreymon who’s super sad about looking so scary. Also seriously WHY DID SKULLGREYMON NOT GET TO OPEN A FASHION SHOP?? why did they remove that feature from reDigitize, this game is for a far more powerful console so it couldnt have been impossible to add in... (I still have no clue how they managed to pull off actual digimon customization on the first generation psp! WHY IS THIS THE ONLY UNDUBBED GAME) so yeah the original DW1 even had a more solid establishing plot here, even though it was 99% less text! ‘for some reason digimon are turning violent and losing their abiloty to speak, all my friends at this city slowly dissappeared into the wilderness, please solve this mystery and bring them back’. THAT WAS INTERESTING! That had an actual reason why recruiting shopkeepers equals plot progression, you were ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING, not just waiting for someone else to decode an ambiguously explained ‘frequency’ to point you at your next key item/FIGHTING THE SAME DAMN BOSS AGAIN :P

ALSO ALSO why no analogman WHY NO ANALOGMAN how does this make ANY SENSE?? why is it even machinedramon in particular, if not for the fact it was analogman’s digimon in the first game??? thats just getting my hopes up for no damn reason! why didnt we get to see The Very Original Villain come back and get fully voiced dialogue and maybe some more development on who he is and what his backstory is or whatever his plot was minimal back then because it was a very low tech game, now we have NO EXCUSE for it :P its just ‘yeah his entire presence in the plot is that someone on the writing team was inspired by his postgame sidequest, i guess’ cos a ‘machinedramon virus’ did technically exist, but it was more like just an excuse for why the final boss battle was replayable for your enjoyment. a random digimon would turn into the final boss battle (sans analogman cos he’s Mysteriously Vanished And/Or Potentially Dead seriously that was SUCH A SEQUEL HOOK and they DIDNT TAKE IT) so like seriously they took ANALOGMAN’S ACTUAL VIRUS POSTGAME THING THAT HE MADE and yet no analogman! WHY! and also it fucking sucks to try and base a whole game’s plot on a single dialogueless sidequest that was just an excuse for battle replayability some guy just probably took 0.2 seconds to think ‘yeah maybe the computer the villain left behind does a virus thing to make the boss replayable’ and some fuckin bright spark decided to make an entire game about it IT DOES NOT WORK hell, a good writer could have made it work! if theyd expanded upon the vagueness and explained things! or gave motivations! or used it as a reason for analogman to retURN AND HAVE A FUCKING PLOT seriously WHY did they have to make this game be marketed as A DIRECT SEQUEL TO THE FIRST GAME they were just setting themselves up for failure yo every fucking thing in the game is 100% unrelated except someone else is doing analogman’s signature plan and the protagonist from DW1 makes an entirely pointless cameo just to remind you its supposed to be a sequel and is FAILING

OKAY OKAY SERIOUSLY LETS TALK ABOUT *HIM*

mameo mameo poor mameo you literally only existed to trick people into buying the game with a fake plot that doesnt exist it was marketed as if he’s the villain, and it got everyone curious about it, and then no he isnt he’s just mistaken for the villain once in his introduction as an excuse to drag out another pointless sidequest instead of progressing the plot then he just becomes a mostl;y voiceless useless npc who does more magic unexplained science to magically amke the plot do whatever the writers need it to do without needing to ACTUALLy have a REASON why it HAPPENS, gaAAHHHH he’s just magically a super hacker now, like how jijimon is magically a super hacker now, and blablabla jijimon for some reason couldnt track down the next place the villain would strike but mameo can the end end of mameo’s entire plot gone. oh, aside from a brief mention again that he’s developed a prototype antidote for the machinedramon virus and then it fails. which just exists to be an excuse for another plot to happen without (AGAIAN) any actual reason it happened, or any form of development or player participation. blablabla oh no one of the hero’s friends’s digimon got infected by the virus so now you get a boss battle against them, and they dont have to leave the plot or change or grow cos magic antidote thing turned them back. But it didnt REALLY work, she’ll just turn back into machinedramon in like 50 days or something blah blah. please feel sad for this character you barely know, who is facing no consequences for what they did, but we’re telling you they might maybe sometime in the future, but of course they never will because the plot doesnt actually have a time limit. Also please believe that mameo is useful! and its just ITS JUST SO FRUSTRATING!!! cos mameo is still THE BEST PART OF THE DAMN GAME! he’s the only character who seems to have any damn effort or emotion put into him, his english voiceactor really stands out in a cast of bored-sounding people. It feels like whoever voiced him was maybe actually a fan of the first game? And he gets to sound so cool and act so cool and look so cool and have really good sassy moments and then HAVE NO PRESENCE IN THE PLOT AT ALL! GAHHHHH!! why must you waste EVERYTHING???

ultimately the only real thing this game gave us was finally having a name for DW1 protagonist, and getting to know that he grows up to work with computers and gets to retain his ability to visit the digital world forever, and he still loves his partner [insert name of whatever you called it when you played] but EVEN THAT is fucking wasted!!! They say that Mameo’s original digimon from last time was somehow cursed to be stuck as a digiegg, as an excuse for not.. yknow.. having to canonize any particular partner choice and upset the fans. Even though the postgame cutscene in the first game already canonized Mamemon as his partner and you literally named him for it! (the excuse in-universe is that Mameo is a nickname and we still dont know what his canon name is. also he has a cute mamemon patch sewn on his beanie hat this time! that made my heart melt even as i was grumping about bad plotlines lol) Oh and this is also probably just an excuse for mameo being sidelined with no plot role, like he’s too powerful to let him actually fight or anything :P its making me mad cos im kinda imagining how this game would have worked so much better if mameo actually was the protagonist??? like, have him summoned back to face this new threat, and his powerful digimon is knocked back down to a digiegg and has to start over. i mean the actual protagonist ALREADY HAS THAT PLOT! you literally start as someone who’s EVEN STRONGER than mameo, you have an omegamon and then machinedramon kills it/them and you start over. And like.. if they decided to make a new hero cos they wanted male and female options, honestly just give me a female version of mameo and im fuckin fine. Pokemon Crystal retconned in a female option to a game that didnt have one before, and nobody complained! Oh and they dont even need to justify why mameo is clueless in this setting, cos its literally a different digital world anyway. Somehow. he fell through dimensions or something, they explain it very poorly. (WHAT A SURPRISE) actually, THAT is a huge wasted potential too! cos it means he never even gets to have a tearful reunion with jijimon and other npcs he met last time, instead every digimon that was in DW1 is just explained away as being a parallel universe equivelant that’s never met mameo. SeriouslY WHAT is up with this game and explaining ridiculous excuses to justify their pltoholes instead of just NOT WRITING THE PLOTHOLES??? i mean you could have just said this is like the digital world of the future. just like how mameo’s original adventure had him return to the human world and only one day had passed, maybe the amount of time it took him to grow up is the equivelant of centuries in the digital world? so Floatia could still be a new town, and everyone could be like descendants/reincarnations of the old npcs, and the digital world could have gained a bunch of new areas and etc. EASY EXPLANATION it wasnt necessary to make up a FUCKING HOUR LONG PLOTHOLE VERSION WITH METAVERSE SCIENCE

ALSO why dont we ever get to have any character exploration of like.. anyone?? why doesnt anyone get personality or scenes where you can actually get attatched to them and stuff. why are they just silent floating npcs that do NOTHING and then suddenly are revealed to have had a plot offscreen while you weren’t looking?? literally you are not even introduced to the two male and female friend characters they just.. come into existance in the plot you dont really get a scene of their personality or them getting to know you, or anything?? its just ‘oh i guess two other humans fell into the digital world’ then they sit around as silent npcs for 30 hours while you do everything without them then they just add some miscellaneous comments at the end of a main plot quest and oh i guess its been revealed that female character’s salamon digivolved into gatomon offscreen with no real emotional reason why it had to happen now, or any sign she was even training in the same way you are?? and then that just continues oh i guess she has an angewomon now and then you find out that offscreen her and angewomon were arguing about a problem that was never mentioned before offscreen you dont even SEE them arguing and its like you dont find out what its about no you just get a literal text that her and angewomon had a fight offscreen and angewomon ran away offscreen and hey can you go find her cos for some reason I CANT EVEN DO MY OWN DAMN PLOT then its just ‘oh no please worry that the character youve never even reallY MET has been struggling from a thing never mentioned before, and now she might die from a virus we never saw her get infected with’ and YOU have to defeat her beserk form and cure her and calm her down while her tamer just STANDS THERE and also btw she DIGIVOLVED INTO ANGEWOMON OFFSCREEN IN THE FIRST PLACE so its ‘hey please find my digimon who ran away’ and she’s A DIFFERENT DIGIMON when you find her! its THAT rushed! and then she digivolves again immediately afterwards because somehow being saved by SOMEONE COMPLETELY UNRELATED helped her bond enough with her tamer to become mega level and also the plot of her having the virus is just magically discarded instantly cos WHY NOT And after ALL this bullshit, what is it that they even argued about? it was just The Oldest Trope In The Book, a stupid misunderstanding caused by people not talking about something even though there is no reason why they wouldnt. Angewomon got upset that her tamer wanted to go home to the human world, thinking she’d done something wrong to cause it. And her tamer had just NEVER MENTIONED to anyone ever that she had twin sisters who’re suffering from sitcom disease or something and she’s worried they might not be okay without her. And like.. honestly why did there even NEED to be an excuse why she needed to go home? its natural for someone to miss home, it could have been solved much quicker in like one damn conversation yo. ‘hey i dont want to leave because i dont enjoy having a digimon, its because i have other friends back home too’ And honestly its kinda contrived how angewomon would even not understand that to begin with? this angewomon has a personality like a very young child too, which just makes it even more of a shame that we spend barely any time with her as her rookie form and pretty much never even LEARN that she’s like a little sis figure until this damn sidequest. this is the longest screentime these two ever had, and the first and only time theyre mentioned to have personalities and backstory! and its THEIR FINAL SCENE T_T and seriously it DOESNT EVEN MEAN ANYTHING to see her digivolve into a mega when none of these characters ever actually get to fight, or even exist in the plot theyre just stated to be having their own adventures offscreen. EVERYTHING OFFSCREEN! i mean GAHH the new gameplay even woulda justified this?? like, instead of having two digimon partners maybe you could bring along an assistant character to fight with you! or hell, maybe you could have both! if they can prove they can handle two playable characters onscreen at once then why not three? make everyone like social links that get stronger as you befriend them! and it;’d be a big help to developing your own digimon too, yo! like, these characters are at preset levels to you’re always gonna be able to be more powerful than them if you try. but it makes it less painful when your digimon reincarnates, you could partner up with a champion-level friend and they could help you train out in the field! hell, maybe add a feature of them being able to join in with the training gym too?? that’d be a better excuse for the daily bonuses than just... there’s daily bonuses. why does one particular training gym give better results on thursdays? maybe cos a certain character is there on that day and helps out!

and anyway where was i OH YEAH WHY IS THERE NOT AN ACTUAL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT PLOT FOR MAMEO IN PARTICULAR he at least got an establishing scene and some cool dialogue, so im more invested in him than the other empty presences in this plot! like, we could have examined his actual emotions about his childhood digimon partner being stuck essentially in a coma with no idea if he’ll ever see them again. a guy hugging the digiegg of his poor dead mamemon is something you’d think they’d give SOME attention to! but he just talks about it so casually as if we should all already know, and then its NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN. It literally IS just an excuse to keep mameo from being able to fight alongside you! more plots! you could have an actual friendship sidequest of him being like your mentor, passing down the torch to the next generation of heroes. we could explore the plot of an adult digimon tamer more! what is it like, is it ever difficult? What is his day to day life even like? its implied that he’s able to go to the digital world at will like the 02 protagonists, so can his mamemon come to the human world too? did he have to take it to school and hide it in his bag like davis and co? did he basically live The Better Written Version Of That Season??? Did his parents ever find out? Does his mamemon still run on digimon world rules, like is the gameplay actually meant to be canon in-universe? does the protagonist digimon only live 10-20 days while everyone else gets to have a good ‘ol long life? has it been sad for mameo that his best friend keeps dying and reviving like 12 times a year, and never remembers him? i really hope thats not how it works, seriously. itd make for a good sad plot tho... And seriously why couldnt this have been the same jijimon in the same town and they get to meet again and we get nostalgic heartwarmingness???

oh and the other ‘friend’ character is even worse, seriously he does absolutely nothing except complain about how upset he is that other people dare to be better than him wah wah but a girl digivolved before me wah he started off looking like a normal cute nerd guy but then he deliberately infects his growlmon with the virus to try and become stronger, and he seems to get off scott free for it?? cos the plot is so vague and undeveloped it rushes through his realizing he’s wrong and it just seems so un-genuine. and we dont even get to see him meeting his digimon again and apologising once he gets reincarnated! its just you see him die horribly cos his tamer infected him with a fucking death virus out of ego that he’s so perfect and so strong he could handle the power. and then you just.. see him again and he’s a baby jyarimon and its all fine. you just see jyarimon following this tamer’s silent npc model around and its like DID YOU EVEN APOLOGISE AT ALL?? apparantly his digimon never even got mad at him or anything about it! it makes me feel so damn sad for the poor guy, i mean he spent so long trying to tell his tamer he’s not useless for not being stronger than the otehrs,a nd blaming himself for not being able to digivolve, and yet STILL tamer guy chose to ignore him and force him to virus-digivolve while he was begging not to! And we dont get to see the consequences for this! we get to see him learn his goddamn canned lesson of the day but we dont get to see him apologise and yukimura the guilmon just reincarnates and goes right back to being a silent mindlessly obedient npc who never complains when he’s mistreated :( and its so fucking stupid cos the plot even started off promising, it started off seeming like the problem was just ‘i’m not strong enough to protect people like you are, protagonist’. but its so badly written it felt like it derailed into him just being egotistical?? and whining about being blessed with this magical monster pal who isnt THE BEST magical monster pal so why even fucking bother. and the game acts like he’s justified cos he has ~a boring school life~. He has no problems at all but he’s just AVERAGE and not THE BEST, and oh gosh that terrible terrible fate has just worn down on him and made him have no self confidence. except yknow for all the scenes where he’s screaming ‘IM THE BEST, I DESERVE THIS’ throughout this fucking stupid plot... its like i can see what he was supposed to be, but they really failed??? i think i would have liked what he was SUPPOSEd to be... also it sucks that yukimura’s evil digivolution is inexplicably skullgreymon instead of megidomon (i think thats the name?) Yknow, the one guilmon actually turned into in tamers and it only had a one episode appearance but it was really scary cool! man it never gets to reappear in the games, no wonder i keep forgetting its name :P

aaaaargh and i just listened to the final battle music on the soundtrack and i havent got that far yet but i just know its NOT GONNA BE AS GOOD AS THIS SONG DESERVES im getting so much feels imagining what if the final boss actually WAS analogman from the first game, and if the supporting characters ACTUALLY HAD CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT and they could fight alongside you to defeat him once and for all! and what if this game’s status as the direct sequel to DW1 wasnt just a fucking baldfaced lie. seriously why didnt they just remove this nonsense plot and let it be its own original thing, if they werent gonna actually put effort into making the cameos actually decent.... MAMEO YOU DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER AAAAA

[trpg-dingusmaster]

The plot was actually furthered! And a new character joins the party.

I missed a few sessions, not sure how many. Time isnt real.

anyway. a week or so ago, maybe two? The dm for the evening was running 90lbs FineCoal, though nobody knows I call it that.

a few things happened since I was there for this campaign.

- the new guy in the group (who I met during Bassun on the Sea) is playing a gnome pyrotechnic in this game

- the gang/faction we are most at odds with blew up a children’s hospital in what I assume was retaliation for liberating their sweatshop and stealing the rights to the land it was on but I’m not sure.

-new things were added to our base of operations but none of those were new bedrooms or a kitchen upgrade so its still cramped and weird like theres like 6-9 people living there but only 2 bedrooms? I assume this is what my character was doing while I was gone. 

this session, as we went into town to restock things and sell stuff we noticed a new faction running around putting up fliers and standing on corners looking official while giving an announcement.

“By the decree of the Templars in one week all citizens will be reporting for a mandatory community meeting. We will be patrolling the streets until then to be certain that everyone attends and that no trouble is caused. Nonattendance is punishable by law.”

we did some investigating on who these people are and found out that they’re pretty basically the military police? they are I think supposed to answer only to the highest authorities but its possible they may not be in full cooperation but maybe thats just me thinking too far ahead. They may also have, or at least at one time had, some kind of agreement with the gang the party is against the most. Rumors say they are probably the reason magic no longer exists in the walled up nation.

time passes and we head to the meeting, the gnome is dressed up and disguised to look more like a child in hopes he’d be able to sneak around and investigate further. Hugo supplies him with some booze, coal, and sawdust/wood scrap to assist in any explodey shenanigans he might need to get up to.

He is however captured, somehow they know right away that he was in disguise. Based on how the dm described the encounter its not clear  if its because of the rolls the gnome and healer made to craft the disguise OR if they had some other means, perhaps some magical means, to see through the disguise. 

they load him up in an armored wagon to pick up other stragglers to the meeting and he gets a view of just how numerous and well armed the templars are. the gnome, wanting to stall some of them from being at the meeting or maybe bringing them to a trap says that he knows of a factory where the children are still working and are being withheld from the meeting.  The templars say theres no time but would like to go there later and arrest the factory workers or something so he did the only reasonable thing and set the wagon on fire from the inside, eventually the wagon stopped and the doors were opened and he weaseled away to rejoin the party at the meeting.

mean while the oh so important address the templars wanted to give was a strange one.

-several books are now banned possession and reading of these books is punishable to the full extent of the law. some of these books were: the complete writing of alexander graham bell, the notes and diaries of nikola tesla, the legions, the crystal eye, history books from this year to this year, historical writings from these authors,  

-all crystals, precious, and semi precious gems are now outlawed, ownership and use of any is punishable to the full extent of the law

-immediate search and seizure would begin, no back aly, mine, sewer, or forest would go unchecked

this was an odd because most of the citizens and even the players themselves are unable to read in the first place and are much too poor to own any crystals or gems.

never the less how dare they and Hugo threw a bottle at the speaker. the gnome caught the tail end of this and he, the healer, and the healers sibling set to starting a riot. claiming that these new regulations were going to raise taxes and the seizure of the gems was literal out right theft from people too poor to probably have any of worth anyway, it would disrupt businesses and the searching would be more like ransacking and vandalism. 

hugo, the one handed girl, jamie, and the gnome then head off to the library once the riot seems to be getting going and the templars were all distracted. the healer- wearing a stolen high ranking gang uniform meets up with some lower ranking members if that gang  and convinces them that increased templar activity would mean without a doubt a crack down on their criminal activity. Sooner or later whatever hold the street gangs have over the people would no longer suit the forces that allowed them to gain so much power. these people spread that word. the people are in a full on frenzy now. 

Its also worth noting that a particular new npc was pointed out to us more than once during all of this: a very burly bald and beardless man well over seven feet tall but has otherwise only human features.

the group at the library find several books to steal but not quite enough and certainly not all the right ones. with further searching a secret door doubling as a book self hiding a spiral stair case is found and the one handed girl- being the one who can read the best of the lot is sent down to investigate. the rest stay upstairs waiting to hear her scream for help and to defend their position. the one handed girl finds several more books that the templars had listed as illegal but ALSO one that had a solid black binding and hundreds of blank black pages. upon picking it up she feels a powerful connection to it.

several templars enter the library and a fight begins, but it is quickly ended by the new oddly specific but unnamed npc. the group escapes, calling bruce the cabby to gather the party, drop three of members, healer, healers sibling and gnome head to the ruins hospital to loot. since there would be no one around to stop them what with the mayhem and murder happening. on the way the healers sibling witnesses and exchange between a templar and a higher ranking gang member, an exchange that suggested if the the two factions had any sort of agreement it was probably over/off the table now... but another interpretation could be: shut mouth don’t talk about that where someone could hear/see you. we don’t know yet. 

heres where I got confused because the prty split up, at some point during the looting the healer found a strage door that the bombing had uncovered? or made easier to access because it wasnt hidden anymore? with the gnomes help they enter leaving the sibling to continue to loot. there was a long tunnel? and then a strange chamber with strange device that when described was probably a tesla coil. There was also an unusually large person guarding the room about 8 feet tall and very burly. there was also a book in there. I’m pretty sure he was guarding the book, which I assume was the writings of tesla based on context. they gnome and healer question the guardian trying to figure out what he was and why he was there. for some reason a fight begins? the tesla coil is part of some kind of trap system that does some clever stuff but I didn’t catch it. the two kill him and loot his body we didn’t get a description of his face i’m pretty sure it was too messed up from the fight? or maybe I just missed it, but I cant help but wonder if he too was bald and beardless? 

when the group that headed to the cabin arrived, the one handed girl had begun investigating the books and discovered a note: unfortunately the note was a prop and the only one who could actually read all of the dms handwriting was me but HUGO cant read for shit, I’m not even sure he knew what books were until that day. but I don’t think the bits I picked out that others couldnt read were that important. 

what it amounted to seemed to be that, something happened and it might happen again and they- the templars we assume -could not let that happen. I’m pretty sure I read a bit that said like- ‘we cannot allow ‘them’ to rise again,” but I wont know if that particular bit is important until the rest of the books are examined but even if it is I think think the group will be fine.

there was also a very old bank note worth over 200 coppers but probably needs to be appraised, at least to figure out how old those books are/how long they were in that secret room? idk but I’m sure theres something important there... surely its not just because the dm is concerned the party will starve to death in winter and thought to give us extra money to survive with.

the three who went to the hospital got back to the cabin, I’m pretty sure they stole a wagon.

the plan is, to examine the books a bit, then wrap them in leather and seal the leather in wax to bury them where we will be building something, then also having some decoy holes dug/filled in? and if a templar is like wtf is all this- we explain that were in the middle of construction or something and thats where we’re building stuff? 

but I sort of suspect that have some magical or supernatural means of detecting things? so it might not matter... but if winters coming we probably need to have some weapons and defenses anyway because hungry wildlife is an issue we’ve been told.

the only book not getting buried is the black one- that is staying with the one handed girl. to what end? I’m sure we’ll find out.

Hugo is down to 44lbs FineCoal- the cabby requested payment in furs and meat instead of coal and copper this time around. 

the ruffian, the noble, and the nobles guard were not present again, I’m pretty sure they just don’t like showing up to these campaigns with the weird rules. 

[exactlywhoyouthinkiwas-blog]

[2/27/2015 9:48:23 AM] Evan: sup [2/27/2015 11:23:51 AM] YV??~: (So I was not ignoring this i just only ever wake up around 12 and i never change my status because i dont plan when i go to sleep. just felt like i needed to explain i was not ignoring this) [2/27/2015 3:28:38 PM] Evan: I kinda figured. heh [2/27/2015 3:29:23 PM] YV??~: so you wanted something? [2/27/2015 3:30:49 PM] Evan: Haha not particularly. It's going to sound pretty random, but I actually wanted to ask you a question. [2/27/2015 3:31:01 PM] YV??~: Ok [2/27/2015 3:32:21 PM] Evan: Cause I'm curious, and I can't remember if I ever asked. [2/27/2015 3:32:30 PM] Evan: Heh. Sorry if this is too personal, but [2/27/2015 3:32:45 PM] Evan: Why do you consider yourself a terrible person? [2/27/2015 3:42:39 PM] YV??~: Oh. Well you are in luck because i accidentally did a lot of terribly depression introspection earlier this week and have just the answer for that. From what i can put together from my somewhat incoprehansible whining. I've gotten through a lot of my life manipulating people through lying and gaining their pity all for my own gain...and probably will continue to. I tend to not do ANYTHING in every situation that would be optimal for working. I am able to somehow make people angry just by expressing emotion. and even when i find things i could fix i never try to change anything. [2/27/2015 3:42:54 PM] YV??~: just a short list of some of the things [2/27/2015 3:43:57 PM] Evan: I see. [2/27/2015 3:44:13 PM] Evan: It sounds to me like you're a human. [2/27/2015 3:46:21 PM] YV??~: Ehhh. I mean im not gonna tell people what they can think but i dont have to share anyone opinion [2/27/2015 3:47:23 PM] Evan: Haha, fair enough. I'll spare you the optimistic bullshit. [2/27/2015 3:47:28 PM] Evan: Why don't you change anything? [2/27/2015 3:48:51 PM] YV??~: That takes time. and effort im too lazy to put out. Ive tried to fix some things but i forget like a week later and stop trying [2/27/2015 3:49:40 PM] Evan: Do you not actually want to? [2/27/2015 3:52:05 PM] YV??~: Honestly, hell if I care anymore. I'm trash and thats that, Im not really worth the time or effort. [2/27/2015 3:52:29 PM] Evan: Not even your own? [2/27/2015 3:54:23 PM] YV??~: Im not really worth pretty much anything for anyone. Even thinking deeper about myself makes me feel like that was just a waste of time. [2/27/2015 3:54:49 PM] Evan: What do you do, then? [2/27/2015 3:55:50 PM] YV??~: Weh, theres a reason I have so many OCs and roughly 12 titles to my name with 6 running congruently at various stages of development. [2/27/2015 3:56:27 PM] Evan: Why do you make art and tell stories? [2/27/2015 4:01:07 PM] YV??~: I dont really have any other people around, and I dont really move from one spot like 22+ hours of the day so I gotta have somewhere to go, and someone to be. Even before I ended up like i am now barely leaving the house, I didnt have more than like 1 friend ever so those were my friends. I ended up picking up drawing from my sister seeing her do it because i thought itd be a good way to be able to really see these characters [2/27/2015 4:03:03 PM] Evan: Why do you animate them? [2/27/2015 4:06:56 PM] YV??~: Ive always been able to make up stories but when i create them i dont think of it as words, as a story would be if i wrote it down, I actually see the story's progression moving. When I create a story and characters I see them move and create the story themselves with small things i put in, and I hear them actually say what they have to say. out of all mediums of visual story-telling, animation is the closest to the original "being" of the story. [2/27/2015 4:07:38 PM] Evan: Why do you share them? [2/27/2015 4:10:20 PM] YV??~: I do that with pretty much any work i finish. Like "here i made this, heres proof it exists." Basically so i have something to show for myself, that i do have the ability to make things. [2/27/2015 4:12:29 PM] Evan: Does it make you proud? [2/27/2015 4:15:32 PM] YV??~: euuhhh...Proud? No. Satisfied with actually being able to have a finished product of some kind, even if its less than the original plan, is a little more like it. Even if I hate it later because there are things that could have been done better if given the time, its still better than nothing. And even then usually the ones i hate the most give other people the most enjoyment. [2/27/2015 4:17:22 PM] Evan: Do you make things that you hate? [2/27/2015 4:20:59 PM] YV??~: Oh yeah. Serious things that just went wrong early on and i was unable to fix, and joke things that ive put too much effort into that got too big compared to real work. I usually dont hate projects though. Even when I feel like theyre going no where and i retire the idea completely i dont usually hate those. Mostly art and animations, actual stories are different. [2/27/2015 4:28:05 PM] Evan: Does art make you happy? [2/27/2015 4:32:56 PM] YV??~: Not usually while im in the process of making it, im mostly just mind set on what it SHOULD look like. But stepping back to look at everything come together and finally become something finished usually is satisfying at the least. Some i never look at after that final moment of its creation, but some im really happy with the way it came out and end up looking at it over and over. So I suppose once the peice is made it does, in a way. [2/27/2015 4:34:34 PM] Evan: Are you proud when your art makes others happy? [2/27/2015 4:36:44 PM] YV??~: Well, i mean, i guess its nice when other people can find enjoyment out of something ive done. [2/27/2015 4:37:13 PM] Evan: Do you like making people happy? [2/27/2015 4:39:21 PM] YV??~: depends, usually i try not to sacrifice too much for other people, but sometimes i can be generous with somethings. really it depends on how I feel pretty much. [2/27/2015 4:41:55 PM] Evan: What makes you happy? [2/27/2015 4:47:07 PM] YV??~: I dont know, I tend to spend most of the day in a neutral 'emotionless' state, and most of the time any emotions I do have are very miniscule that I dont usually remember them. Though I enjoy being in the presence of other people, even without participating, people tend to ignore me 90% of the time. Thats a question that im not sure has a real answer [2/27/2015 4:50:26 PM] Evan: Do you have a dream? [2/27/2015 4:53:07 PM] YV??~: I try not to make solid plans more than 3 years in advance, so im not really sure. There's not a whole lot, at this point, that I could really accomplish by 2018, who can even say I'll still be alive by then. [2/27/2015 4:54:04 PM] Evan: But is there something you would want to do? [2/27/2015 4:58:05 PM] YV??~: Usually I just put goals on my characters, and I just exist to help them get there. I dont really see it so much as my life and things I want to do. Really the only thing id regret in dying is not that im stuck nowhere and im not going anywhere, but my characters not fufilling their roles and reaching THEIR closure. [2/27/2015 4:59:23 PM] Evan: Is there anything else that you do? [2/27/2015 5:02:50 PM] YV??~: All of my hobbies relate with art and story-telling in someway. Voice acting, singing, creating costumes and clothing. pretty much all of it is art and in some way has a story behind it. [2/27/2015 5:06:28 PM] Evan: What do you want to be better at? [2/27/2015 5:09:51 PM] YV??~: wehh..I dont know, theres a lot of things i could be better at and somethings i should be, but...im not really sure. [2/27/2015 5:22:15 PM] Evan: What do you think you're best at? [2/27/2015 5:28:41 PM] YV??~: Ive practiced various methods of drawing for years but, even though i just picked up sewing as a craft 3 years ago im better at that than i was with drawing early on. Everything else has taken since around middle school to get to a good level where i can still do it comparatively quickly, where sewing only took a year to get to that point. Overall for me it went from a beginner level to at least moderately experienced much faster than everything else. [2/27/2015 5:38:07 PM] Evan: What's your favorite thing to do? [2/27/2015 5:41:19 PM] YV??~: I dont know. Usually if im bored, and not too fed up with holding a pencil, i end up idly drawing....Its really like the only thing I do. [2/27/2015 5:50:40 PM] Evan: What inspires you? [2/27/2015 5:53:13 PM] YV??~: Usually things just pop into mind on their own. Sometimes they happen while im listening to, or watching something. [2/27/2015 5:53:40 PM] Evan: What sorts of things do you watch and listen to? [2/27/2015 5:57:06 PM] YV??~: Usually I put on miscellaneous gameplay footage or lets plays, and i pretty much switch between that and music. [2/27/2015 5:57:49 PM] Evan: What kind of music? [2/27/2015 6:00:23 PM] YV??~: It usually depends what i feel like. somedays its lighter faster stuff, somedays its heavier stuff. Somedays a combination of both, sometimes i just let my music shuffle and play in whatever order. [2/27/2015 6:02:12 PM] Evan:  Is music important to you? [2/27/2015 6:05:52 PM] YV??~: I guess....I mean some ideas wouldnt have happened without certain songs, and some projects probably wouldnt exist. [2/27/2015 6:07:53 PM] Evan: What's your favorite project? [2/27/2015 6:10:21 PM] YV??~: Honestly, there isnt a lot of public information on Mahito but ive been working with it for 2 years, and it was actually the first thing I envisioned myself actually animating. [2/27/2015 6:11:00 PM] Evan: What's Mahito? [2/27/2015 6:22:17 PM] YV??~: Its something I came up with one day, I guess the best way to describe its themes in short would be Madoka-esque even though i came up with the basics including designs before i even watched it. I guess one could say its very "magical girl" though it is not a straight female cast. It follows a team of 6 highschool students, their leader being a socially withdrawn, sucidal girl whos only real support are her brother and his best friend. These 6 people are given powers and forced into a battle thats been going on for centuries, for supremacy within a group of supernatural beings known to the humans involved as "gods." Many of these gods have no regard for the people they force to fight so long as they are able to take surpremacy in someway, since they are unable to kill each other or be killed. The team has to fight both other human fighters and "monsters", that are the remains of humans who tried to rebel against their "god", which live beyond a barrier and can threaten to destroy inncent human life. At first they look at it as their chance to help people, but eventually their powers become a burden. [2/27/2015 6:24:26 PM] Evan: That sounds really interesting. How much have you done with it? [2/27/2015 6:29:45 PM] YV??~: So far I have designs and short biographies for the main cast. As well as designs for a few of the mosters they will face, and bios for a few minor characters that still have some influence on a part of the plot. A lot of what i have written besides characters is mostly world building, information on the roles and powers each member of a 6 man team can have. Descriptions of the basic behaviors of monsters on different intelligence levels. I plan to have all the designs done at the end of this year, and the timeline for the plot fully written in detail at the end of 2016. [2/27/2015 6:33:31 PM] Evan: Cool. O: I assume it's also going to be an animation? When do you think you'll start making it? [2/27/2015 6:38:45 PM] YV??~: Ive been saying since around last year or so itll come out in 2018. It was the first thing I considered animating seriously, things before that where like that would be cool, or this scene could be animated. But this, i decided, this was going to be fully animated, i tried to start it out in a static format just to get things laid out to be adapted into an animation, but it never worked. While 2018 may be a little too ambitious, this is going to be nothing but animated [2/27/2015 6:44:46 PM] Evan: I see. [2/27/2015 6:46:57 PM] YV??~: yeh

[quintetblog-blog]

Novels, Nowitzki, Songs and Scorpion Kicks: Transference of Creativity

This begins with a story of witnessing one of the best goals I’ve ever seen in my life, only to see it again, but better...

I’m watching Manchester United, my favorite team, winning, in the driver’s seat, and in the dying embers of the match, a ball flies into the box, as newcomer to the starting squad Henrikh Mkhitaryan rushes towards it....

Then he does this.

So, theres so much to say about it. First, I’d never seen one live. They call it a scorpion kick, and in my mind, its a little inconceivable. How does anybody rationally put their money where their mouth is and even TRY that? 

If you miss, everybody’s first comment is “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”. As a player you can be so embarrassed by any potential failure, purely because other options could have dispatched a score so effectively. 

But at the same time, Mkhitaryan places it perfectly, almost insuring this option as the BEST option, bizarre as it is. He puts the ball into the side netting, the keeper has no chance to save it. It caps the win, it insures Manchester United gain a full 3 points in the standings for that week.

Goal of the year? Goal of the week for sure. Goal of the month. Besides the fact that he’s CLEARLY OFFSIDES, AND IT SHOULDNT HAVE ACTUALLY COUNTED (alternative facts) its the best goal you’re going to see for ages.

And by ages, I mean maybe a week, which is when Olivier Giroud does this in Arsenal’s match again Crystal Palace:

Ok....so elements of this that I love. 1) Off the cross bar. That’s a goal scoring slam dunk, it should count as 1.5 goals. 2) Leaving the goalkeeper on his ass. 

3) AND ANOTHER SCORPION. Wtf. How have I watched soccer so long, never seen one of these, and then two happen in such close proximity. Also, 4) Giroud is OBVIOUSLY on side. So he wins the quality battle. If Mkhitaryan’s goal for United would have been officiated properly, I wouldn’t even be writing this blog. 

BUT I’m glad I am, it made me think of Creativity, bayyybeh.

I read this book over the summer while I was on tour called Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert, who you probably recognize as the author of super earth-shaking gigantic novel Eat, Pray, Love. The whole book is focused on creative living beyond fear, and I specifically thought of an anecdote she shares within it about the idea that creativity can liken itself to a virus, passing through people who come in contact with one another, fully realizing itself in different stages and places. 

It seems like a crazy deal, that ideas can bounce of you and the folks around you like sonar or something, but she even takes this so far as to suggest that she passed a novel idea to a friend who ended up publishing what she herself had conceived. This is from an article published in The Independent:

“In Gilbert's world, ideas are "disembodied energetic life-forms" which choose you as surely as you choose them. "I believe that our planet is inhabited not only by animals and plants and bacteria, but also by ideas," she writes in Big Magic. "They are capable of interacting with us – albeit strangely.

"Ideas have no material body, but they do have consciousness, and they most certainly have will. Ideas are driven by a single impulse: to be made manifest. And the only way an idea can be made manifest in our world is through collaboration with a human partner."

If you don't believe her, ask Ann Patchett. As Gilbert explains in the new book, Patchett only got the idea for her 2011 novel State of Wonder, about an American drug company employee who ends up in the Amazon investigating murder and malaria, because Gilbert had "lost" it.”

I feel like the music industry has been in the spotlight frequently with law suit after law suit pertaining to people writing the same tune, or copyright battles over licks. “Ice Ice Baby” and “Under Pressure” essentially sharing a bass line, the family of Marvin Gaye suing Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for similarities identified in the hit single “Blurred Lines”, and I seem to remember tons of mouth-breathers on YouTube laying claim to Coldplays most recognizable contribution, “Clocks”.

I suppose after reading this book, this was the first time I considered, maybe all of the versions should exist? I could never trade “Ice Ice Baby” for “Under Pressure”, how could anyone do that? Hip hop has really become what it is because of collaborations between varying artists being so accessible  in this new millennium.  

Gilbert says ideas spend eternity “swirling around us”, and she says this applies to “all ideas...: artistic, scientific, industrial, commercial, ethical, religious, political”. I’m adding one more: SPORTS. MAAAAAN.

Dirk Norviktski is a beautiful example. This German giant started blowing up basketball in the United States in the early 2000′s, seen as one of the first 7-foot players who had a solid three-point shot (a player type still in its infancy in the NBA, but showing itself in players like Kevin Love, Kevin Durant, and Kristaps Porzingus among others.) 

But the really special thing Dirk figured out to do moving through his career was to develop a very specified fadeaway jumper. He scored non stop, and pretty much continues to do so today, with this turnaround jumper where he leeeeeans back, kicking a leg out to create space, eliminating any chance that a person could extend out to get near the ball, while he releases with a delicate touch to score. 

Its clockwork:

It was contagious though! It spread. And one has to wonder, sure, maybe it was Dirk’s idea, or, maybe thats where players arrived at this point in the evolution of the game. Maybe big men saw the light, and said “Why can’t I be a really legit shooter? I’m taller than everyone, in a game that focuses itself on height and strength. How far does that extend?” Basketball and sports of all kinds are a hive mind, coaches, trainers, agents, players. They are industries, and the industry of Dirk’s move spread to influence the careers of all sorts of players, like Kevin Durant (arguably the best player in the game next to Lebron James (who does the fade as well) and Steph Curry) Lamar Aldridge, Paul George, Tim Duncan, and probably a million other frickin guys in the years to come. Because that idea is totally airborne at this point, it’s anybody’s to use.

On discussing this idea after a gig last month, my friend Rob told me about two bluegrass writers, who after collaborating with each other for ages, each separately wrote songs at the same time called “Crooked Road”.

 Tim OBrien and Darrell Scott worked together on a record in 2000, and continued to play together, cutting a live record in 2006 cleverly titled We’re Usually A Lot Better Than This. Then some time after that, each one felt separately drawn to the same idea. 

OBriens version of “Crooked Road” appeared on his 2008 album Chameleon, as the second to last track. He picks vibrantly on a wide open 12 string guitar, talking about how every day he walks a crooked road, taking what he needs, listening to his heart. 

His buddy Darrell Scott took the theme and used it as a song title, and his whole record in 2010. A Crooked Road is the first thing we hear on his record of the same title. When Scott walks his crooked road, he moves at basically the same pace of beats per minute as his friend Tim O Brien, “to get where I’m goin’” and when he looks back, he sees the straight narrow. Hindsight’s 20/20 kinda deal. When all else is gone, he will always have his lonesome song.

Both tunes are rooted in finding resolve, they are self reflective, and really could be mashed together and work just fine in a narrative way. 

Would these guys have written these tunes without knowing each other? Did it stem from a jam that occurred one time late at night, had it been percolating in their friendship for years? Maybe the real shame of it is they didn’t write one “Crooked Road” song together...who knows...

Would the Giroud goal have happened without Mkhitaryan’s goal? If Mkhitaryan’s goal didn’t count, would Giroud’s goal be the only one anybody remembers? 

Who cares, really? Both goals happened, both songs were written, and all that stimuli gave me an appreciation for the game I already loved so so much, and my own life in music. 

And I learn this: Don’t be afraid of ideas drifting. Maybe you’re just the hotel the idea is staying in for awhile while it gets it’s shit together. And maybe Ed Sheeren is somewhere getting tired of one of his, and that’ll sneak up on me, or maybe Jeff Buckley left some ideas in his early pre-mortem days here in NYC that I can screw around with.