#chat should i make the mini drawings into stickers

[max-the-silly-guy]

Grrrrrr gay people

[meandmyechoes]

Ground Rules about Celebration 2025 so I can stop thinking about it until tickets go on sale ~June 2024

honestly if any of you tumblrinas happen to be going i'd love to be buddies

What we know so far:

Date: 18-20 April (Fri-Sun, Easter) 10am-6pm

Venue: Makuhari Messe, Chiba

How long should the trip take?

Probably 1 week ~8d7n if not longer. Ideally 16 (Wed) - 22 (Tue) for cheapest tickets, subject to rearrange if i have a proper long-term job then, and if partners.

Which day(s) am I going?

19 April, I hope. I don't think I can afford going all 3 days financially so the meat is the first choice. But I guess 18/Fri is agreeable if tickets are easier to get for a work day. I know there will be a group discount but I honestly don't think all 3 days is necessary. Pretty sure there'll be plenty happening outside the event hall as well. Likewise probably will be saving on the panel guarantee pass.

What/Who do I want to see?

Well, I don't really have a set goal --so let's sort that out! No celebirty's schedule is confirmed so far in advance and no shows are scheduled for a 2025 release so we're really in the dark here. 2025 is expected to be similar if not smaller than London for being an overseas event. I thought Japan is further but turns out both London and Tokyo are about 11 hours flight away haha. I don't even know what they're gonna announce seeing there's not much this year. Perhaps updates on the three new movies - which I'm have no interest towards whatsoever. and a Visions vol... 4, maybe?

2025 is ROTS 20th anniversary so I really hope Hayden and Ewan will be there. Hayden's probably free but we will have to see Ewan's schedule. Either way I'd still be subjected to panel lottery so it's out of my hands. I'm content just seeing them from far away as is.

Ashley, of course. I'm fairly confident she'd be there, and I'm preeeety sure the #Ahsokalivesinallofus meetup doesn't require a ticket. The thing is, I don't know what to do if I meet Ashley. I THINK I'd give her a letter and some small gift, and I could've done that if there's a present box like your usual Japanese idol, but I'm not sure if I should book at least an autograph session so we can have a little chat. I have NO idea what to let her sign (okay maybe the back of the custom animator baybsoka), or what I should SAY TO HER FACE. Handshake/hug/selfie is out of the window and I- if I have anything to say, i KNOW that I won't be able to boil it down to three sentences. It wasn't like that time I met Kishi and I can only say what I rehearsed in broken Japanese. I actually KNOW english and I won't be able to control my brain and mouth then.

I don't have my hopes high Matt or JAT would be there, it's not a TCW anniversary after all. But if they do I'm SO booking a group photo with them. I'm so jealous of the deal this year. Otherwise I'm fine not getting a photo or autographs. Seeing them in real-life is magic enough.

Sure I'd love to meet the Andor cast, but I don't think many of them would be there? There'd probably be an Andor S2 recap panel, but if I met anyone from Andor it'd be a bonus.

What do I want to see?

Like I said, I'm not actually as big about the panels as I am just being there to feel the event. I know expectation and reality and fall short and heard no little of this year's poor management. I'm not big on merch either exclusive or otherwise (unless they bring out dolls of course - but those would later become available anyway)

I'm more interested in meeting other fans and seeing the non-streamed fan panels. I found this souvenir-exchange group 'SWAG' (something we call get) where people trade patches and stickers. I'm captivated by the idea but I think for now the best i can do is made some polaroids with my toy photos. well, i'll need something to make friends in queue anyway. phew it's a long way, we'll see. Maybe I can bead some padawan braids, maybe i can make DF's skyguy and snips drawing into a patch/mini tshirt.

I wanna see the cosplay SO BAD. Because it's Japan I think we all have unrealistic expectations of how good the cosplay and (fan)merch would be. I'd lose half my liver there (on top of the thrift trips I WILL BE GOING)

Am I going in cosplay?

HA I'd love to. I'd love to go as at least Pav-ti if not TCW Adult!Ahsoka. HOWEVER, the very practical reasons of: how tired it is to walk in cosplay all day and how do i transport that to Japan and carry it around for 10 days, before i even think about making the props. I might get away dressing as Pav-ti with the smaller headpiece but I'd still have to paint myself orange. Maybe I can make use of queueing time to make up.... I could also carry a sturdy satchel (with a cute baby) to store all my stuff...

okay... I'd put Pav-ti as my goal first because I really want to make the most out of it.

Otherwise I'd so wearing an itabac lmao

Am I scouting a partner?

*sigh* I know every SW fan in HK will be going but technically I still don't know any one irl? Not even very close online? Also they're mostly a bunch of old men...? I know... thus this is the perfect opportunity for me to find a fellow fan like me...

I mean, it'd be cozier and probably easier to have a partner. I could share a proper hotel room and make a queue partner and photographer. But then I'd probably have to cut the trip short because no one with a steady job will just take a week of vacation.

When the time rolls around, there'd probably be a FB group of HK dispatchers and maybe I can find some one there. Then we'd have time to get to know each other better before the trip.

On the other hand, I don't know, I'm not really good with this planning for another person thing. I also figure one would meet plenty HKers on site anyway...

What's the budget?

plane, stay, food, ticket+shop, transport & misc. = 2k x5 = >10k HKD

if i save $1000 per month for a year we'd've more than enough

Other logistic details?

Yeah well, I had this delusion that I could just sleep outside the hall to save accomodation AND early access. Not sure... might still work haha. The official hotel blocks would be crazy expensive and the next nearest affordable rooms would be ahead at Chiba city rather than back at Tokyo. There are net cafes around Messe but you'd still have to take a bus probably. Well 6pm isn't very late yet so walking is plausible. Besides comments said they upcharge for the weekend so we probably won't be saving much, might as well book a proper hotel room/hostel space if we're staying for consecutively nights because we're gonna be so tired walking around all day. The key is to book Chiba city early.

Roughly goes Wed flight in Osaka, Thu Kyoto?(night bus CHIBA) At least from Friday to Sunday I'd be in Chiba. Might go back to Tokyo Sunday night if hostels are cheaper there. Then I'd have Monday to go around Tokyo (nightbus OSAKA) if the flight is Tuesday Day. (experience-wise i might have to enter/exit through KIX to save money but let's cross fingers for a direct tokyo flight)

If I fly direct Tokyo this time, I can even store luggage at the tokyo hotels and just head to Messe/Chiba on backpack!

Seeing '23 repo, I don't want my time to be wasted in queues. I'd have to prepare my own food and make friends while queueing. Bring a mini-fan and stay hydrated (but not too much that you need the bathroom) Choose a reliable network service and up my Japanese game.

I expect to pick up some items when I get into Japan. a trolley perhaps, or a foldable chair. not sure if i need a camp lol. too soon to speak.

What else to look at?

Doll stuff, toku spots, Kishi.

Kishi should still be easy enough to find two years later, don't know if I could happen upon his roadshow or better yet a concert.

Toku spots! Pretty much covered the classics my last two trip and don't think I'd go too far out this trip... Well, Messe itself is already a toku spot! I might round up a few new ones the last few years. However!!! mid-April is right when FLT goes!! jury's still out if I'd like the '24 Sentai but I hope this time I can see a hero show! finally!

Doll stuff. I'm actually not sure where to see doll stuff in Tokyo. I'd have to really dig blogs and videos for it. Would be more learning than buying with that price tag lol.

I had this 'ADVANCE BOOKING' list when I planned for the olympics that might be of use this time. Not sure if the timetable allows and terms would've changed... but I'll keep an eye out on places I want to visit (esp if bringing friends) hEY, i haven't even seen the imperial palace yet.

What to Do Now

Haha there's not much I can do right not for the actual itineary. New hotels, shops and transportation could open up next year and uproot everything. For now, sub to the newsletter, study japanese, get in shape and make a cosplay. I am thinking of a preview/test run trip but maybe save that money for shopping on the real thing. I need to put my mind off this trip and into the present so I can find a job and raise money for it lol

[pixigirl]

Hello! If your new to my blog here are something's you should know

I post ml fanfics here and @fleur-pixi

This ends blog ends up being mostly incorrect quotes and random art

Most of the fandoms I'm in are in my bio

@re-pixi is where I rebloggs cool stuff and play tag games with everyone. So tag me

@sugarcube-asks is where you can ask Tikki questions

@ask-plagg - you can ask plagg anything you want

and majority of my artwork can be bought in a range of formats (T-shirt, sticker etc.) on my redbubble account  

 Pixigirl.redbubble.com       ^

💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

Events that are always running:

Artist asks

Give me a character and a number and I'll draw them

I'll write your name or a phrase in fancy writing (1, 2, 3)

Change one letter

Calling all peoples

Get to know me. Emoji edition

Make a character a mini me (I'll do OC's as well)

Prompt list

💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚

My asks are always open and I do take some requests 💖

Also what should I do for my followers?

💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛

Fics ongoing on this account:

Chat Burglar

Inspired

💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

Fic masterlist for @fleur-pixi

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

My group chats:

Where you spam gifs

Self-help

[hoodie-at-the-bar]

chet faker

It was our fourth date and I didn’t know what to expect. The night before, the third date, was such a hot mess. I felt sick trying the hard stuff for the first time, I saw mini yellow flags that turned me off Steven, and I was tired. I was excited to see Nick Murphy in concert, but didn’t know how excited I would be to see Steven. It was still pretty hot out. I left Key West to return to the cool Seattle breeze, where it was over 90 degrees. So much of the night was going to start out uncomfortable.

Steven wasn’t able to meet beforehand for drinks so I said to just meet at the Neptune, an old movie theater in the University District that turned into a concert venue.

He was running late, and I couldn’t stand the heat so I crossed the street and took cover in a Bartell’s. We did the old “Should I meet you there? Do I come to you? Are you coming to me?” bit for a few minutes before I walked out of the Bartell’s and saw him standing across the street.

Steven was wearing tight long shorts, ripped. His tee had more graphics than the first time we hung out, and a backwards ball-cap that was on a little bit further back on the top of his head than normal - he was ready for Coachella. I knew he was into EDM and the rave scene, he spoke like it too, I thought of him as a Jersey Shore kid with the eyebrows and tanning. Every time I saw him it was more affirming. It wasn’t my type, but for some reason I was still weirdly drawn to him.

I was even drawn to his smell, that cologne frat guys wore. It was a cross between Cool Waters and Acqua di Giò. It smelled like “college cute guy.” Part of the draw remained: he was a lot more shy and lacked confidence than your typical cute frat guy, and he was good friends with Blaine and Loren who were not of that same vein. He continued to have a positive outlook on life as well, so I kept on.

After I was finished judging his appearance, I crossed the street and gave him a hug. We walked in and got some popcorn and drinks. He started eating the popcorn and drinking without even reaching for his wallet. As attendant was making the other drink, I ran to get the club seat stickers from a security guard. When I came back, the cashier was standing, waiting for payment as Steven held the popcorn with one hand and a drink in the other. I was really surprised - i got the tickets and was planning on getting the drinks, but to simply wait and stand for me to pay while diving into the goods was very off-putting. I have never done that. It was borderline rude, the entitlement. I got out my card, and said audibly to the cashier “oh I’m sorry - here” and handed her my card. He didn’t even blink. I thought maybe, just maybe, he was spacing out. That was the best benefit of the doubt I gave him. That doesn’t explain the absence of a “Thank you” though. 

We went upstairs and I enjoyed the show. We didn’t talk much, just sat side by side. After the show, even with my mediocre feel for Steven, I still wanted him to kiss me. “Want to walk a bit away from the crowds?” 

Whenever I leave the Neptune, I walk a few blocks to call a Lyft. Steven and I ended up walking just under a mile to a neighborhood just east called Wallingford where they had Seattle’s first Dick’s Drive-in. That’s where we went since Steven was hungry.

I can’t remember what we chatted about, I think the concept of double negatives. I enjoy saying things like, “I’m not not excited” because it really does paint the in between of “not excited” and “excited.” He argued it was the same as being “just” excited. Friendly banter and disagreement. It didn’t bother me like TDR Ian’s definition of music did.

Steven ordered a burger and a shake and I waited while he scarfed it down. Well… I guess I’ll call my Lyft. We called our respective Lyfts and hugged before going on our way. 

I couldn’t figure out why I wanted to keep this going. Did I just like the attention of someone I was attracted to? 

Normally personalities can turn off the attraction (like Farting Gene) but Steven was in that in-between ground. Steven was not not a douche. But he also was not not attractive enough to sanction it. I still felt his positive energy and desire to know how my day was fulfilling. For now that’s what I thought I needed, at minimum wanted. 

He had to drive out that weekend to the Gorge for an EDM festival. We continued to text daily, and he would send me videos of the crowd and himself. It was definitely still going on, and we scheduled a fifth date.

-June 12, 2019

Date #4 w/ RV Steve Suitors in 2019 YTD: 4 Dates in 2019 YTD: 8

[littlepurinsesu]

Mystic Party

I previously made a post about the invitations, and in this post I’m going to literally go through everything I remember about the party while it’s still fresh in my mind! ;)

A bit of a warning that this will be one heck of a long and detailed post with lots of information and images and links! This post is also going to include a lot more of my personal experiences and feelings rather than the more neutral info dumping, because this event was so major and I’m treating this a bit like a “diary entry” for myself ^___^

I’ve used subheadings to organise everything so that you can skip what you don’t care about or just read the specific part you’re interested in. *If you only want to read about the Rika and Vanderwood Route, it’s in the “SPECIAL GUEST SUJIN RI” section!

But if you’re in for the whole experience, it’s gonna be a LONG ride. So buckle up and let’s go! ;)

ARRIVING

The party was held on 23rd August from 1pm to 4pm, on the 5th floor of a fancy place that’s usually reserved for wedding receptions and other formal occasions, so we were told to dress decently :) No need to go all-out and wear a formal gown or anything (though some people really did!), but you needed to be well-dressed xD Oh, and cosplays weren’t allowed! 

Lining up to enter the banquet hall!

Once you get in, the staff members will verify your identity to make sure you’re the person registered (so strict!). They also ask you to draw a card with a character on it for the “game” and give you a bunch of forms/cards needed for later and an RFA paper bag with your gifts.

Lining up to have your identity verified and to collect all the prizes and information you’ll need. Hello there, V.

Each table has a character emoji, which is also the emoji printed on your seat number card. My card had Zen’s emoji (YASSS), and my seat was in the very front row and right at the edge.

Our table. (My seat is no. 16)

A good thing because I can see things clearly and eavesdrop on the hosts/staff members/cosplayers when they’re waiting to go onstage, but a bad thing because sometimes the official photographers and news journalists try to take pictures or film stuff and block my view >.<” (Yes, there were news journalists from actual TV broadcasting stations because the event was such a big deal! :O)

GAMES

The first 50 minutes were for people to arrive, settle, buy merch, and most importantly, do the little “game” thing they prepared.

Seat card with Zen’s sparkly emoji, form for if you want to buy merch, and the card that lists the rules of the game. (Forgot to take a close-up... >.<)

Basically there are five “official cosplayers” playing the RFA members. They’ll be on the stage, and you go to the character you drew at the beginning for a short “game”. If you pass/win the game, they’ll stamp your card, and you can then go and put your card into the box corresponding to your favourite character (not necessarily the one you played the game with). The boxes will be used for raffles later where they’ll draw out names for prizes or for people to go up onstage for more “intimate” character interactions.

People playing their game with the character they got.

If you win your game, you come and put your stamped card in one of these boxes!

The card I picked out was Jaehee’s. I won’t deny that I was a bit disappointed (I DO LOVE BAEHEE I JUST LOVE THE MEN MORE DON’T KILL ME PLEASE), but after reading the instruction card and going through the game, I’m kind of glad I got her xD All characters have different games (win at paper-scissors-rock against Jumin, correctly answer a random times table question from Seven, draw a card and hope your number is bigger than Zen’s, beat Yoosung at “seaweed paper-scissors-rock”, or correctly answer Jaehee’s question about a random RFA member’s eye colour). 707′s and Jaehee’s are the only ones that weren’t left up to chance and the questions were easy, so you’re pretty much guaranteed to pass. Also, the male characters were pretty... “touchy”? For the fanservice, if you get what I mean? Like they might put their hands on your waist or bend down and talk to you really “intimately” xD

There are a bunch of standees on the right side of the stage. You line up in front of the character you’ll be playing your game with, and when they’re done with a player, you’ll be called up for your turn.

You line up like this for your turn at the mini game (which I didn’t have to do ;D)

To be honest, the “interaction with the cosplayers” thing was the part I cared for the least before coming; these characters are 2D, and no matter how good the cosplayers are, I’d personally prefer to keep them 2D in my mind xD

But then the Jaehee cosplayer personally came down the stage and approached me to ask if I needed assistance! I have no idea why or how she was allowed to leave her post and come to me? Maybe because I looked very confused, since my Chinese isn’t SUPER GOOD and the staff member explained the game rules to me very quickly and concisely ^^;; And when Jaehee saw that my card had her emoji on it, she was like, “Oh, then you’ll be interacting with me!” and explained the rules of the game to me again more slowly. By then I was pretty much like, “Eh, may as well” xD I didn’t go up the “normal” way by lining up on the right in front of the standees, because Baehee was already with me, so she literally took my hand and walked back up on the stage with me from the left side ahahaha I’m special :P The cosplayer was really nice and had a “big sister” feel, so it really was kind of like how I imagined Jaehee to be ^^

This is only a small detail, but I found it quite interesting that the cosplayer didn’t touch me until I explicitly said “Okay” to the game/interaction. I guess maybe there really are people who are uncomfortable with doing lovey-dovey and touchy stuff with strangers (since the characters are just regular people cosplaying). I found it quite nice that they were careful to respect people’s boundaries and only proceeded to touch you in any way when you’ve explicitly said yes :)

The games take place on the stage, but everyone’s doing their own thing, so it’s not like anyone was watching. Anyway, after leading me onto the stage and her position/place, Jaehee asked me who my favourite character was. Obviously Saeran isn’t an option here, so I said 707. Then she goes, “Okay, I’m going to test you! Can you tell me the colour of 707′s eyes?” And I’m like “yellow” (man, is it gold or yellow), and since the 707 cosplayer wasn’t doing their game with someone at the time, Jaehee goes, “707, come here,” points to their eyes (coloured contacts LOL) and says, “Yes, yellow! Okay, you pass!” She then leads me to the side of the stage (we were meant to leave ourselves ajksfh;asj why is Jaehee so niceee) and tells a staff member that I passed so I get my card stamped.

Then you come to this box area, and after you’ve written your in-game name and phone number on the card, you’re asked to put it into the box corresponding to the character of your choice. I knew that putting it in 707′s box would be an unwise decision, since that box would be filled with cards and you’d get a lower chance of winning anything, but Zen, my next-favourite, is almost just as popular in Taiwan xD So I went ahead and shoved my card into the 707 box anyway ahaha :P (A decision I would later regret as I didn’t win a single thing  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

The adorable emoji boxes! You put your stamped card into the box corresponding to your favourite character.

There were also a lot of small interactions between the cosplayers when they were idly waiting for their next player, and they were super in-character <3 Jumin brushed the huge paw-shaped cardboard sign he was holding against Zen’s hair and Zen literally flinched, patted down his hair, and turned around to glare at him xD Seven pulled at Yoosung’s suspenders and even stuck his head in to annoy and eavesdrop on Jumin when he was trying to have a serious conversation with Jaehee xD These cosplayers really know their characters well haha :D

FOOD

They also served food and drinks :) The highlight was obviously the original HONEY BUDDHA (TECHNICALLY “BUTTER”) CHIPS. I was pretty excited to finally try actual HBCs in real life, and I must say that the taste was... very oily and buttery? xD I mean, they are Honey Butter Chips, so I’m not sure what I was expecting, but the butter taste was a lot stronger than I thought it would be xD It’s nice, but I can’t imagine myself eating more than half a bag at once before I start feeling a bit gross/sick xD Seriously, how does Seven eat so much O___O

Finished my game with Baehee, and now settled with my juice and cake and Honey Buddha Chips.

OFFICIALLY STARTING

Waiting for the hosts to officially start the party!

The two hosts (more like MCs, but we all know that “MC” has a whole different meaning for MM fans, so I’m going to stick with “host” xD) are pretty popular among the Taiwanese MM fandom. They do weekly live streams/videos on the official Facebook page, where they talk about MM, upcoming events, joke around, and do raffles for MM merch. They’ve sort of become the unofficial “faces” of MM in Taiwan, and most of the Taiwanese MM fans (myself included) love them, so it was a real treat to see them in person! For this post, I’m going to call the female host “Cuby” and the male host “Fatty”, since that’s a direct translation of their Chinese nicknames (meaning “cube/square” and “fat”) and they’ve used these translations themselves at some point.

At 2pm, the lobby theme (“Mystic Chat”) finally stops playing and is replaced by Yoosung’s second theme, “Silly Smile Again”. Cuby goes onstage, talks a bit, and officially starts the party.

She then tells everyone that because this party is supposed to be “full of mysteries and surprises”, we should all check under our chairs! The chairs were covered in fancy silky fabric, so we had to dig under that. And SURPRISE! Each seat had a random sticker sheet stuck inside (the ones that come with the emoticon cushions), and it’s yours to keep! Cue intense screaming and fangirling throughout the whole room, to the point where the host had to put her mic down because she couldn’t talk over the screaming and she failed at getting us to calm down xD I got a 707 sticker sheet YASSSSS!!! (I could feel the envious stares of other people on my table hur hur nope not trading with any of you :P) And I just got the Ray stickers with my Ray emoticon cushion a few days ago ;___; Come with me, Saeyoung, I have your brother at home and I will reunite the two of you <3

The 707 stickers hidden under my chair!

After that, the opening video was played to signal the start of the party! I’ve watched that video countless times by now, but seeing it blasted through huge speakers and played on a giant screen gave me all the feels, and it was cute when Cuby cued everyone to sing along haha <3

The feelsssss ;___;

And when you think the next segment is officially starting, the lights dim again, the intro of the OP comes on once more, Cuby goes “Wth is going on?”, the big screen splits and opens, and Fatty enters with much fanfare, singing the Chinese version of the song xD

So much LOL (and yes, I will always snap a picture when Saeran shows up on the screen)

Cue everyone screaming and cheering for him (because this guy is so hilarious and therefore super popular). He even had a rose, which he threw to the girl sitting next to me. Guess I’m too close to the edge for him to bother reaching LOL

SPECIAL GUEST SUJIN RI (RIKA AND VANDERWOOD ROUTE INFO IN THIS SECTION)

They then played an exclusive video that featured all the VAs (minus Saeran, Rika, and Vanderwood), Han (the singer of the theme songs), some Cheritz staff members and Sujin Ri (founder of Cheritz and creator of Mystic Messenger) greeting and thanking Taiwanese fans. They’d teased that there would be a special guest coming to this party from Korea, and it was none other than Sujin Ri herself!!!

Sujin Ri in her adorable cherry dress <3

Sujin Ri is so cute! xD She spoke a bit of English, but most of her longer speeches and answers were in Korean, so she had a translator with her. The event planners had put together a list of questions that they knew everyone would be curious to know, and the hosts read out the questions one by one while Sujin Ri answered them onstage!

Q: “Why did you create this game? How did you come up with the script?” A: It was a long answer, but she basically said that she took a long break after her first two games and was wondering if she should continue. She then decided to make a mobile game, and wanted it to be more “relatable” for players, so came up with the idea of a messaging app! She also said something about how she really likes watching American shows and dramas, so a lot of her inspiration came from those. One of the hosts joked that American movies often have hackers, so maybe that’s why MM has a hacker (or two) :P

Q: Will there be a chance to release a Rika Route? A: She basically said something like (paraphrased), “The Taiwanese version hasn’t released V’s and Unknown’s stories yet, but they have been released in Korea [she didn’t say internationally, for some reason] and lots of Rika’s secrets were revealed. There will be more in the future, so please look forward to it.” The reactions were mixed, just like with the international fandom. Some people were frowning and shaking their heads, but there were definitely some people who cheered and clapped lol. Guess Rika is a controversial character in every country xD (Fatty revealed in the Facebook Live After Party that when he asked her, “Yes? Or no?” she replied, “Maybe!”) But yeah, her answer was vague and her words in no way confirm a Rika Route. But to me, just the fact that the party planners chose and put this question in the script seems to be a pretty clear indication that it’s probably going to happen...? Like, why tease something that isn’t going to be an actual thing? I dunno, maybe it’s just me reading too much into it and trying to be smart, so don’t quote me on an official confirmation for a Rika Route; I’m just relaying what I heard and sharing my own interpretation ^^;;

Q: Will there be a chance for the VAs to come to Taiwan? A: “Yes!” Short and sweet, so I take that as a sign that there might be more official MM events in Taiwan in the future! (My poor wallet...)

Q: Will there be plushie merchandise released in the future? A: Possibly! Again, not a direct confirmation, but just like with the Rika Route question, I take that as a pretty good sign that it might happen since they bothered to mention it! Dunno if it will be released internationally or be another Taiwan-only merch, though... (Either way, my wallet is crying again.)

Q: Please release LINE stickers with sound! A: “Good idea!” (in English!) Taiwanese people use the messaging app LINE a lot, and although there’s been two official MM sticker sets released, a lot of people have been wanting a version that has the characters’ voices (like how it is in the game).

Then they said there was time for ONE question from ONE fan in the audience, and a girl’s arm shot up so quickly that she was picked before I even had a chance to move my hand lmao xD But no worries, because it turns out that her question is exactly what I was going to ask! She takes the mic and speaks the holy words, “Will you consider making a Vanderwood Route?” CUE THE INSANE SCREAMS OF A BANQUET HALL-FULL OF THIRSTY MCS. INCLUDING ME. Seriously, the reaction was IMMEDIATE and the screams were RIDICULOUSLY LOUD. I hope the volume and intensity was enough to convince Sujin Ri that Vanderwood really is that popular and how much we really would love to have his route ;___; And her answer was basically (again, paraphrased), “Vanderwood wasn’t even meant to be an official character, but we ended up adding him into the game. I never expected him to get so popular, and since everyone loves him so much, I will take note of this and discuss with the company the possibility of making a route for him in the future.” NO OTHER WORDS NEEDED. EXCUSE ME WHILE I GO CRY TEARS OF JOY. THERE IS HOPE. And it’s even better because we now know for sure that the creator herself is the one who heard us and said those words ;___;

They then drew out some names for fans to go up and receive a gift and take a group photo with Sujin Ri. Two fans got a set of cards (game CGs) with the VAs’ autographs, and three fans got the official RFA badge set!

COSPLAYERS

So the official cosplayers had left the room after the games and were away during all this. After Sujin Ri left the stage and took her seat at her table, the hosts “officially” welcomed the cosplayers in for the first time!

(They’re just cosplayers and they’re actually all female, but for the purpose of this post, I’m just going to use the pronoun of the character they’re portraying and use the characters’ names as though they really are the character.)

They enter one by one with a rose and give it to a random fan. No chance for me because they entered through the aisle in the middle of the hall and I’m right at the edge at the front xD Jumin gave his rose normally, Jaehee didn’t give hers away (I’ll explain why later), Seven and Yoosung threw theirs to reach fans that were further back (still not far enough for me T_T), and Zen got down on his knee Zen-style and handed it to a lucky fan.

The RFA members (well, cosplayers) are formally introduced for the first time!

Once they’re all onstage, the members introduce themselves one by one (which was when I found out that they were all women as soon as they spoke xD) and answer some quick questions from the hosts. While it wasn’t top-notch acting or anything, the cosplayers were very much in character the whole time. The way they stood, their expressions, their manner of speech, their interactions with each other, everything was just like the character they were supposed to be, so props to them for that!

Jumin was asked why he didn’t bring Elizabeth the 3rd! Just as he was about to start talking, 707 cuts in and says, “Yeah, where’s Elly? Why didn’t you bring my Elly? She’s mine!” xD Jumin basically brushed him off (”She’s not yours!”) and said it’s because there’s a flu going around and he didn’t want her to get sick =^.^= The hosts kept jokingly begging him to please not purchase and merge their company with C&R xDDD Jumin also said that he’d like Zen to model for his cat food commercial, and the look on Zen’s face was priceless LOL xD (Zen said only if either the cat is put in plastic wrap or they just get a fake 3D cat instead xD)

Jaehee was asked why she still had her rose with her, and she said it’s because she wants to give it to Zen!!! It was super cute, and Yoosung and Seven were making love heart gestures behind them when she gave the rose to him xD But then Zen asked if he could give the rose to “one of the ladies down there” LOL WAY TO SHATTER BAEHEE’S HEART ZEN YOU AKSDJFHA;SKJ XDDD

Zen asking to give Jaehee’s rose to a fan. ZEN WHY XD

They chose a Jaehee fan from the crowd (a middle-aged man!!!) and Jaehee and Zen handed the rose to him together, which was really cute :) Jaehee also complained about her boss’ cat’s fur getting everywhere, that she was still using tape to get rid of them before coming in xD The hosts asked her if she realised her boss was standing right beside her, and she asked him for a raise. Jumin said, “For what you said just then, no.” xDDD They also asked her if she recommends any cafes. Jaehee said that while she enjoys Starbucks, the cafe she recommends is “The Who”, which is the one that has the MM collaboration going on right now lololol not-so-subtle advertising ;)

707 teased Fatty and said that he knows everything about him, and started listing his personal info, like his job, his height etc. But when he was about to reveal his weight, Fatty apologised for teasing and questioning “God Seven’s” abilities as a hacker and begged for forgiveness LOL xD

Yoosung was asked about his future plans, like whether or not he was planning to continue working for Jumin’s company. Yoosung said that rather than a career, he’s more interested in being a good husband ;) He wants to find a kind and pretty wife and have three kids, and even revealed the names he wants to give them xD (They’re all to do with stars, since Yoosung’s name means “Shooting Star” ^^) Such a cutie, and very Yoosung-like <3

Zen was last, and they asked him what he thought about Jumin LOL xD He admitted that he used to hate him, but now he thinks he’s actually a pretty nice guy ^^ The hosts then asked the two to “hug and make up” OMG. Cue the fangirl screams xD I feel like they know about the JuZen ship and are fueling it a bit xD Jumin walked towards Zen with his arms out, and Zen reluctantly went in for the hug xD They literally twirled around on the spot, with Zen keeping his hands OFF Jumin’s back despite having his arms around him, and the hug ended when Seven tried to put their heads together and make them kiss LOLLL. Seven and Yoosung were cheering and making love heart gestures (THEY SHIP IT), while Jaehee was filming it on her phone xD

JuZen huggles!!! (featuring shippy YooSeven and fangirl Jaehee)

After that, they basically had all the characters draw cards from those five emoji boxes, and the people chosen would go up onstage and draw a random ball with a number on it. Each number comes with some cheesy/romantic interaction (e.g. a romantic dance, holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes for 10 seconds, a hug and a pat on the head, being fed Pocky etc.), and the player would then do this with their character while everyone watches in envy. I won’t upload any photos of these moments to respect the privacy of the fans, but I will and have cropped out YooSeven in the background mirroring the romantic moments with each other! It’s like they’re all aware of the fandom’s main ships and are fueling them xD

YooSeven dances and snuggles!!!

One of Seven’s fans picked out “being fed Pocky”, but being God Seven, he immediately said, “I don’t want any of that! *signals a staff member* Could you bring that over for me? The one I brought myself!” What else could he be talking about xD

707 awkwardly struggling to open a Honey Buddha Chip bag onstage xD

They also get to take a polaroid pic with the cosplayer at the end. And since Fatty is known to be really generous and is always “adding more” to raffles and games, he allowed like at least another 10 or so fans to be drawn for a polaroid with a character of their choice :)

And Jaehee herself also asked if she could have a polaroid with Zen! xD

Zen and Jaehee posing for a polaroid, featuring an unamused Jumin.

By the way, Cuby is a HUGE Jumin fangirl and she got a turn with the Jumin, too! xD

"Ju-Jumin... I... I’m willing to raise Elizabeth the 3rd with you—KYAAAAHHH~~~” (That’s exactly what she said ;D)

They then got Sujin Ri to come onstage again and draw more lucky winners who’ll receive the card set with the VAs’ autographs. Fatty also drew a bunch of people to win a Taiwan-exclusive cushion (or the space cushion for 707 because they ran out of his Taiwan cushions). Amazing that there were so many things drawn at random and I didn’t manage to get a single one LOLLL XD

I managed to snap a picture of the cosplayers as they were leaving the stage for a break. They literally walked right by me (because of the convenient position of my seat), and Jumin and Yoosung even waved and posed xD

CHARITY AUCTION

It was later revealed that a part of the money they raised for this party would be donated to an official animal protection association in Taiwan, just like how the RFA parties are for a good cause ^^ They even played a video about the association we were donating to (lots of sad and abandoned puppies ;___;) complete with “I Miss Happy Rika” as background music.

Additionally, they bring on three extra standees for auction, and all the money from the auction would be donated to charity, too! I love MM but I don’t want a standee LOL so I just sat back and watched xD They only had Yoosung, Jumin, and Zen, and I got a picture of the prices they were each sold for (all in NTD):

I’m still shook that the Zen standee was able to sell for NT$9900!!!!! That’s like... *throws it into Google to convert* $322-ish USD!!!!! Insane but also very impressive! :D (Wonder how much a 707 standee could have gone for if they offered one haha)

Sujin Ri was so happy, and said that they would be sending them some kind of official donator’s badge from Korea for contributing to a good cause <3 The host even said that it’s amazing and really beautiful how a simple mobile game can grow to the point where so many people come together and do things to make the world a better place ^^ <333

ENDING

After the auctions, the party came to an end ;___; They played “Like the Sun in the Sky” as the ED and listed all the people who helped to make the party happen. But then they said that “special thanks” go to the fans who attended, and literally typed out ALL of our names in the credits! <3 The hosts picked out random names to read, like “Thank you _____! Thank you _____!” including mine, so I guess that was the only thing I got picked for today LOL XD

Cuby reading out my name!

After that, they have an ending screen with the SNSplus and Cheritz logos, and when you think it’s all over, Fatty enters from the right of the screen (turns out to be a video) and tells us that they’re going to be releasing a big confetti ball to signify the end (one of those giant balls that explode and then confetti falls out).

A wild Fatty appears!

I was expecting a huge ball to explode in the middle of the hall or on the screen, but when the Fatty in the video says “GO!” instead we get “I just got your messages!” again. Turns out he TROLLED US, and instead, they played a self-made, absolutely hilarious and utterly stupid but amazing “music video” of Fatty himself singing the OP XDDD Needless to say, the entire room was a laughing MESS XDDDDD

(Not sure how interested the international fandom would be because Fatty really is more of a Taiwanese MM fandom favourite, but if you are, there will be a link at the end of this post with appropriate timestamps for anyone who would like to witness this... glorious mistake of a video xDDD)

They also ended the event by taking a big group photo together! I managed to get pretty close to the front because my seat was so close to the photo spot already xD

All hosts, cosplayers, important guests, and 150-ish attendees! (Credits to the official Taiwanese Mystic Messenger Facebook Page.)

PHOTO TIME

After that, they said that they would allow a few minuets for people to take pictures with cosplayers, with each other, of the venue, basically anything. But unlike almost everyone who immediately STAMPEDED to line up for the cosplayers (especially 707), I raced to look for Sujin Ri!!! There were quite a few other people going for her, too, and she was taking photos with fans and signing people’s merch and stuff. I was able to speak to her in English, and simply asked, “Can I please take a photo with you?” She was super nice, and so was her translator, who ended up taking all the pictures for everyone who lined up xD Before I left, she told me, “Thank you for playing!” Ahhh she’s so cute <333

Major fangirling!!! (Yes, that is me in the white dress. I have officially revealed my face >_<)

I then went and selfie-d with the two hosts (because why not? :D), and then selfie-d with the standees for a second time. Yes, I am literally more interested in standees than cosplayers... To me, the standees were more “like” the characters? They’re 2D anyway, so I prefer to keep them that way rather than pretending that a person who isn’t them, is xD

And even after I was done with the standees there was still time. On my way back to my seat to clean up my belongings, I literally JUST SO HAPPENED to walk past the place that was the end of 707′s line. At this point, I kinda thought to myself, “I already paid for this party and I’m literally already standing in the queue, so may as well.” xDDD I did end up taking a selfie with the 707 cosplayer! I even decided to just go with it and asked him for a hug, too, and he told me to be careful on my way home :) Two possible responses: “Awww what a nice cosplayer she is ^^” and “OMGGGG I TOOK A SELFIE WITH SEVEN AND HUGGED HIM AND HE TOLD ME TO BE CAREFUL ASD;KFJAHS;KJDA” May as well fully immerse myself in the experience and choose the latter ahahaha :P

After that, you were free to leave or make any final purchases at the merchandise section. The merch didn’t really appeal to me, so I only took pictures.

Cup holders and washi tape! They’re cute, but not really things I need or particularly want. I’m happy with just my Ray emoticon cushion and rubber keychain for now ^^

The RFA members are also standing at the exit and seeing everyone off!

Jumin even helped the fan who bid for his standee to bring it out of the hall. What a gentleman <3

Jumin waved goodbye to me as I was leaving, and 707 waved back when I turned for one last look ^^

GIFTS

I only really opened the paper bag once I got home, and inside were the gifts they promised!

The bag is huge!

You get a random big cookie with an RFA member’s face on it! I got a Jumin, and I would like to ask how anyone thinks I will be okay with eating this ;___;

My Juju cookie <3 You will eventually end up in my tummy ;~;

You also get a poster set that’s limited to this party only (there is no other way to get them)! I thought we would be getting one poster with all the characters, but no, they gave us five posters, one character each, separately :O

This is basically all the stuff I came home with haha <3

Overall, was it worth it? Yes, I think so ^^

The ticket was pretty expensive and the purchasing process was crazy and stressful, but I think it was worth the money and effort spent. The party was a lot more grand and fancy than I expected, and you could tell that they really did put a lot of effort into making it a really extravagant event. I did not come in expecting to meet Sujin Ri, and revealing that a lot of the money would be going to charity also made the party so much more meaningful <3 (I’m sure the RFA would be proud ;D) Of course, the experience would probably have been more unforgettable and rewarding if I had actually gotten drawn for just ONE of the many lucky draws they had LOL but I still had a great time and I’m just thankful that I got to attend such a fun and wonderful event <333

Not sure if they’ll be holding another one of these parties in other cities in Taiwan (or maybe in Hong Kong and Macau), but I’m pretty sure that this isn’t the last of these MM Taiwan events xD I hope my wallet can take it :P

Here is the official compilation video with footage from the party (featuring my embarrassing self being filmed selfie-ing with a 707 standee OH GOD WHY.) The caption on the video post also has a link to a Google Drive where you can look at some clearer photos taken by their staff members!

And here’s the “Mystic After Party” live video hosted by Cuby and Fatty. (Go to 2:20 [as in 2:20 REMAINING of the video, so about 40:35 minutes in] if you’re interested in watching Fatty’s music video xD Please imagine this video coming on with the shook-ness of a troll surprise when you’re expecting a confetti ball to pop out instead >.>) 

If you’re still reading, I APPLAUD YOU :O LET’S BE FRIENDS! No, seriously, thank you for taking interest and reading until the end; I am so sorry that it’s so insanely long ^^;;

All posts on Mystic Messenger events in Taiwan can be found under my #mmtaiwan tag!

Check out my Saeran x MC fic: Waiting for Spring And my Choi Brothers fic: Of Roses and Resets

*All photos belong to me unless otherwise stated. Please do not repost without my permission!

[jess-the-vampire]

Sky And The Forces Of The Multiverse, Chapter 9

Previous / Next The next morning sky found herself woken up by someone shaking her body, which meant she either slept through her alarm, or her alarm hadn't gone off yet. Her eyes were droopy and she wanted to go back to sleep, but instead felt a sense of deja vu when her blue eyes met familiar green ones. She screamed, taking in the sight of galexia as she remembered she was supposed to be waiting for her to get back last night. She passed out didn't she? Galexia looked fine though, in fact she looked more then awake and before sky could even ask what happened galexia was already filling in her words, "You feel asleep when i got here so i went to bed and then got up and dressed before you awoke! You should have seen dinner with the lucitors! It was FUN!". Sky gave her a look before rubbing her eyes, "I've eaten with them before, anyways is luna up yet?". The girl happily nodded, "Oh, she left to train hours ago! You should have seen her!". Sky shot up and off the bed, "Wait? She left where?"

"The training room? She says she's a knight now....is that her cover? What's my cover?". Sky struggled to reach her closet, picking out something random before searching for a hat to match. Galexia's eyes wondered over her many hats, but kept her focus on the cover she'd been talking about. Sky glared at her as she leaned over her shoulder and put her new clothes down her bed, wanting the girl to leave so she could actually get dressed, "Um look, I-I don't have a cover for you yet...uh....what do you want to be?". Galexia blinked, unsure quite yet as sky sighed, "You...don't think this is still a dream right?". "When did i think this was a dream?" "Nevermind, here, you can be...a foreign exchange student from earth. Mom won't mind, well...she shouldn't mind at least....", Galexia seemed content with that, and that was enough for sky, "Ok so, can you please leave my room?". The girl complied and sky groaned, another day, another babysitting job. She changed before joining her sister, who smiled at her outfit as sky dragged her alongside her. At least she could get some breakfast before facing whatever doom she had to deal with today, and at least galexia was still wearing her make-up for her cheekmarks, though more then likely luna made sure of that. Guess sky was going to have to order more of that. "I like your hats..looks scary.", lexi said casually, and sky shrugged, "Um thanks....i make them sometimes....". She looked over galexia to find something to compliment about her when she saw her earrings, "hey wait are those....bottlecaps?". The brunette smiled wider, as if she'd been waiting to be asked that all day. "Oh yeah, i made them last night, they were just so PRETTY!". Sky was gaping at them but she went on, "Mom and me made cute jewelry out of stuff all the TIME, she's gonna love all this cuteness". The girl was clearly about juda's age based on her features, but sky could'nt help but be baffled she was going to be a queen. Was this another Dirhhennia case? Did she have another sibling to overpass her? Because sky knew she was nothing special, but the girl next to her had been so off since they first met she couldn't help but wonder what in the heck was going on in whatever world she was from. Though how likely she was to get anything from her didn't really seem possible. Galexia suddenly pulled out something from inside a jacket she was wearing, a nice green notebook with some stickers on it. Pulling out a marker from inside her jacket, she immediately started scribbling as they walked, and sky proceeded to stop questioning it to go back to her previous thought process. Servants passed by, paying no mind to her but plenty to the gal who kept bumping into them as she scribbled into her notebook, not even phased as she bumped into them. Sky watched her put the book back into her jacket and made the choice to gab onto her arm and move her along faster to the kitchens. Grabbing some mini pancakes on the way out with some milk, as lexi picked out a fruit bowl, they made their way out of the kitchens. Sky reluctantly picked up some health snack for luna as well, just in case, though it's likely she has already eaten by this point. Sky wasn't one for training, everyone and anyone knew that, but she was more then familiar with the training grounds for their knights. In fact why her mom didn't consider training her here was something to think about. Then again it would've been more awkward being watched by a bunch of knights who were eager to train themselves, and forcing them not to train as probably worse then the kids. All around sky could spot monsters and mewmans of all shapes and sizes lifting weights, clashing swords, and chatting. If Melanie was here she'd probably compare it to some of the weird stuff she saw in teen "high school" movies. Luna was easy enough to spot, no one could mistake that blonde hair, even if it was now tied up in a bun as the girl was doing push-ups on one of the mats off in the corner. All alone, counting how many she'd done, and doing them with ease. With one hand. Making sure to avoid all the guards, who were on the best behavoir in the presence of the princess, as she made her way over. Luna didn't take notice of them, continuing to count to herself, even as galexia took a seat next to her and munched on her fruit. Sky waved her hand out in front of her to get her attention but luna was more interested in finishing what she started then be interrupted by these girls. Her pace not even wavering as she continued to kept count. "61...62....63....64...65....". Sweat was dripping off her body and sky turned her head to the side as she made her was to 70 and finished her workout. Was it too late to accuse her of actually being a shapeshifter? Sky reluctantly held out the granola she picked up and watched luna chug down a bottle of water she probably had picked up earlier, down. Catching her breath before grabbing it with a nod as her way of saying thanks before eating, "Good to see you up.....sorry, this tends to be part of my normal routine back home...". She sighed and took another sip of water, "Hope you don't mind of course, but since i'm apparently a knight in training now, no reason I can't be here...". "No it's fine I guess, might as well make yourself at home..". Her tone of voice was still less then enthusiastic and luna pressed her knees to her chest, "We're going to have to make a schedule to figure out when we can talk and what we're going to do each day, we need time to talk, and do what we need to do everyday.....i don't know how busy you were before, but considering you have lessons with our mom.....we need to work our way around all this mess. Have you called on your demon frie- judas? Yet?" "No, i haven't, i'll call him later...or text him...he's bound to be busy and yesterday was so chaotic I wanna wait just a bit....", Luna finished her snack and tossed it into the nearest trashcan from where she sat with ease, before turning back to the girls. "I've been around our knights back home, never used their training area since i had my own, but this place is quite....well...more active then I expected?". She reached up to tighten her hair's bun, eyes looking around the room, "If my mom is...y'know....the leader? and she's out, i'd think more of these guys would do their own things or be in charge of roles in her absence...". "Aww no no...her second in command is in charge for now...", sky's causal tone made the girl raise an eyebrow, "What? You don't think she'd have a second in command? Of course she has to! Mom sure won't do it and other mom..? Yeah no....". This made luna take another look at the crowd, "Ok, then whose the second in command? Most of the people in here look too young and no one in here seems to be wearing anything that shows any command...". Then galexia suddenly pulled out her notebook and showed off a picture of.... "Here she is!!!". Luna looked utterly perplexed at the scribbled drawing of a woman with green hair in a ponytail coming from her shiny helmet, her blue-green shades, and her dark skin. "Kelly?", Luna blinked before turning to sky, who gave her an odd face back, "Uh yeah? That's her alright...guess lexi met her earlier or something.....what's your problem?". "Oh no no, it's nothing I just....nevermind...anyways, as far as today goes, you two can go off and do...whatever you need to do....I'll stick around here, we can meet up at lunchtime. Talking about anything we found out or...something, you fine with that?". Sky shrugged, "Fine, whatever....i'll just text jude and stuff, i dunno how he's gonna hold up with his guests but hopefully he's in a mood to talk....you just do...whatever you were doing...". "You mean blending in?" "Yeah that." "I'll be fine....though....", she turned to galexia, a look of both bewilderment and confusion lined on her pretty face, "I suggest you keep an eye on her...". Sky gave her a puzzled look, yeah the other girl was strange but her drawing portraits of people wasn't THAT strange was it? Nonetheless, they probably outta split groups before they drew any suspicion. She stood up, urging galexia to follow her as luna went back to work, happy they talked for once without any arguments between them. This time. - Judas's end was a lot less boring. Ever since this morning he'd been active, getting his normal chores and work done, next to constant sessions to keep an eye on the girls and his brothers. Mason was assumed to still be in his garden and landon...was more then likely off brooding somewhere then anything by this point since yesterday was full of nothing but torture for him. Then again, it was also probably very possible thanks to Judas, Landon could be more or less hiding from mason with the girls, who now suddenly wouldn't leave him alone as part of his new "Wing man" status. The thought both amused judas, and made him feel a little bad, though most of his focus were shifted to the girls. He had definitely taken a liking to sunny despite the incident, she was rather likable and in the end she was still just a kid. Celeste on the other hand was a lot harder, she did nothing without showing some reluctance to doing it, and it seemed she had no actual idea how to smile. In fact the grumpy look in her face was probably her resting face by this point. Judas almost wanted to question Landon if they even did make up but then again, maybe this was normal for Celeste. He knew his mom staking guards on them was going to be an issues, both if the girls got discovered for having marks, for having wands, or for lying about where they came from and who they are. He didn't have much of a choice though, even as the prince his mother was still way more above him and those guards were not easy to move or convince to leave. At least mason was too occupied in trying to come up with idea for landon to get too involved in the girls though, which was a plus for judas, but less so for his brother. He felt very guilty for sicking their younger brother on him, but then again, landon was so painfully unsocial that some good MIGHT come from the whole thing. at least, Judas sure hoped it did. He was exhausted last night, his brain felt like dough and by the time he flopped on his bed he was out. He almost slept through his alarm this morning, the screeching noises it made eventually forcing him up and back to his routine. Though granted his routine was going to be shifted a little with the official addition of their guests. For one, he had breakfast with them, choosing to stay by them as much as he could as to try and speak to them, though he had to be careful with the guards around. Afterwards, it was landon's turn. Landon was less busy then he was and though he was reluctant about helping, anything that allowed him the chance to stay far away from mason for now was more then fine with him, though i would'nt surprise judas if the boy kept his distance from them thanks to Celeste's teasing. He still looked partially upset about the phone call and whatever mason had walked in on, but he seemed to feel better the less people brought it up. Sunny seemed to think he was alright and her smile never waved despite him and Celeste's moody attitude, trying to socialize with them and smiling alongside them. At least one of them should keep some kind of eye on them as much as possible just to be safe, while in the meantime they did what they needed to do. Judas kept his compact in his pocket, pulling it out every time it buzzed, he needed to hear from sky. If they were going to get anywhere, they needed a plan, and for now they didn't have one aside from keeping the girls secret and just keeping an eye on everyone. Which was probably not going to get them far in the long run unless the culprit practically blurted out their plans to them. Though so far, this was already off to a better start then yesterday. Judas was still nervous about everything but his head was a bit clearer. He found himself for the moment in the library of the underworld, taking some time to look into anything of interest. Hew'd already skimmed through a few different spellbooks and frankly he didn't know why he thought he'd find much here to begin with, the high commission would never let anyone have any kind of spell that allowed anyone to do what sky's wand did, for obvious reasons. Though so far, the fabric of time and the multiverse didn't seem to be collapsing, so that was a good sign at least that the presence of the girls wasn't going to cause impending doom to rain down upon the world. Though he could almost be certain the commission would notice something was off soon enough. He tossed the book he was reading into the pile and sighed, perhaps he should start somewhere else instead. He thought about asking his father considering his mother would be immediately suspicious if he was up to anything with sky again, but even then his father would probably blab to his mom anyway. Family in the lucitor family was odd, though his grandparents on both sides were great, they were some of the few relatives he could actually talk to, the rest being either dead or barely around. Even his uncle wasn't an option because he was taking a job in another state and he knew next to nothing about magic. Not to mention those that were distant were distant because they didn't want to be associated with the family. and sky thought her family was a wreck. he found himself pacing, trying to think of his next course of action when finally, his compact buzzed in her pocket. The part demon felt relieved to hear from sky as a text message appeared, he quickly read her response before texting her back. Sky: So, we have no plans....I think for now, we're just gonna keep in contact and work along as we go i guess.. Judas: That it? Sky: Guess so.....i mean, unless you have a plan? Judas: Well no, but we need to figure out how this happened....if you think it's the commission, we need to get that kinda info out of them...somehow. Sky: Well, they're suspicious of me apparently, so, don't think I'm gonna be any help Judas: What? Sky: They're suspicious that i destroyed the archives, we heard the recording jude, i'm their prime suspect.... The boy bit his lips, fangs picking the soft flesh as he took a moment to think about the situation before  texting her back. He would call her, but he'd get in big trouble since he was in the library and hades knows he doesn't need to lose his phone again. Judas: Well then, maybe let us take the reigns for a bit, keep yourself out of trouble... He could already imagine sky's face on her end, a look that said: "Keeping me out of trouble? Ha ha, very funny.". So when there was a bit of a silence, as sky hadn't texted him back, he immediately tried to make up for his last text message. Judas: Look, for now, just work on your studies, help your mom, and just be careful...we can take care of it... Sky bit her lip, thoughts of what luna said last night to her re-emerging and she grumpily texted back her friend. Sky: No, let me help, let me do something at least... To be honest, judas was right, if she was under suspect she was probably better off not making herself more suspicious. But at the same time, what use would she be doing nothing this whole time? This was her wand that supposibly caused this after all. Also luna surely would be utterly annoyed if she did completely nothing instead of trying to help get her back to whatever utopia she came from, especically after telling her to "Take charge" or whatever else she'd been telling her. Judas: Well, then...perhaps you can figure our why you're wand's all fritzy.....wouldn't be weird or suspicious of you to do something like that right? Sky: Ok, i can try. Judas shoved the thing back into his pocket, only to jump up at the sight of someone standing directly in front of him. Making him fall back onto the floor and yelp in pain. When he was able to get a proper look at the situation, he met the eyes of his grandfather, who immediately helped him back onto his feet. "I'm sorry judas, didn't mean to scare you...i've been looking for you this morning for a word and i didn't want to bother you until you were done speaking to your friends.." "Oh uh.....ok...", his grandfather placed his hands into his pockets, looking down to the floor, " Sorry judas, and sorry about dinner as well...I probably should have waited till after to talk about it, I know your folks are sensitive to people wanting to cure you...". Judas's ears flickered as he put his hands out, "No no no, it's fine, I know you're all just...trying to help and....well i'm not king yet anyway, they need to know..". Fans dug into his lip as his eyes darted around the library, "I mean, a shocker is.....decent...compared to other stuff...". Sky tazing angel was still fresh in his mind despite everything and though that was the wrong call then, here.....well....if could really knock angel down, then there was a chance it could help him. At least, it could take him down if his arm did end up going nuts at least. It's interesting, 17 years of his condition with no serious consequences and you'd think him and his folks would assume it was harmless. It randomly appeared and it was a nusence, but it also seemed to show up when he was in danger or in certain emotional acts. 17 years, and despite it being annoying, it had never harmed anyone innocent. and yet, it was scary, it scared his parents, it scared everyone around him. Judas was like a walking horror to everyone. "It's not exactly a cure, but....I know you and your family just want to be prepared, and I think, we need a proper plan.", the old king started pacing, "Your family doesn't want to hurt you and I don't either, hades forbid someone lays a finger on you. But your folks need to have more of a plan if something DOES happen, we can't do nothing. You know if worst comes to worst, they have to hurt you to stop you.... and if we don't do something....those people out there will...", He stopped moving, his back to his grandson. "those idiots out there, who think you can't be king because of that curse? all they see is that lousy curse....you're a smart young man whose more then capable to handle this place and all they think of is you'll destroy us all because you can't help it....", he turned around, facing judas with a ferocity, "Then again, that's what they always have thought of every lucitor heir before you......look, you're going to be king soon judas, we can't keep waiting anymore for a solution because your folks don't want you hurt, if you're going to run this place we need to make sure that thing is under control and if it comes down to it, we need to stop it." The older man continued to ramble, it might of gotten tiring considering how often he did it, but this was normal to judas. After all his father's anger issues came from somewhere and Dave sure showed it when he wanted to. You could always tell how passionate he was during times like these, and his family tended to always be one of the biggest things he was protective and passionate about. If you crossed his family, he wouldn't hesitate to play dirty,  and he was not one to hide how he felt about anything. Judas could remember countless times his grandfather would complain bout this and that, in fact this was unlikely the first time he talked about this subject in particular. But Judas just let him ramble on a bit more before speaking himself. "I know...I know....trust me, you don't have to remind me....I-I'm scared of myself enough as is..", rubbing his arm, he managed to look his grandfather right in the eyes, "When i'm king, I'll show them I can do it, just like you did....curse or no curse....i'll try at least...". he rolled up the sleeve of his cursed arm, holding it in front of him, "My parents have considered options, you know my mom and safety, but i'm still open to other suggestions....well, as long as they don't put me to death..." His shoulders sinked, trying to make the old man feel better,  "It does means a lot, you're still trying to come up with solutions, it's much better then the tranquil darts and the chains suggestion at least". He watched his grandfather's face shift to one of guilt, ashamed of himself, " I was desperate at that time, I guess to them it made you sound more like an animal we had to lock up and I never wanted to make it sound that way...". He felt judas put a hand on his shoulder, "I kinda assumed after that, you were gonna stop...but here you are...". "I just...I don't want another member of my family to go through that, thomas being the first half monster to take a throne was hard enough on him. And I just don't...and your parents just....sigh....", judas pulled him into a small hug, "Well, we can't cure me or help me if we give up right?". He smiled a little, "Right...". They detached and Dave crossed his arms,  "I'm sorry for laying this all out on you, again, but your parents aren't trying anymore and....sweet lucifer i hope this next one works, we don't need to worry about a cure right now, we just need to make sure we can stop it, if this stops it....then you'll be no threat...a cure can come afterwards.". Judas watched his grandfather's expression and sighed, he had an idea and spoke up, "You heard about the guy who insulted me at the ball didn't you? That's what brought this up all of a sudden....". Dave shrugged, not a shocked look on his face as if he had expected this eventually, he'd been caught., he shoulders slumped,  "Don't tell your parents, but i always make sure someone is keeping an eye on you....partially for safety purposes but I never feel your father tells quite everything that happens...get the feeling he's worried i'll freak out...though...guess he's not wrong.". "Miss going to balls?" "A little...". "A little?" "Ok, a LOT...". Judas gave him a knowing smile as the man huffed, " Look, he was insulting my grandson and if i had been there i'd have given him a piece of my mind, but since i'm out of luck. Next best thing is to show him how wrong he is...". The boy smiled, it was an easy take to tell which side of the family provided landon's current issues, though he couldn't help but find his grandfather's over-protectiveness just a little charming.  "I'm sorry, your poor old grandpa here is rambling and whining and wasting your time....", he leaned on a table nearby, "I'm not the king anymore, so my priorities lie elsewhere...I was so angry when I found out." "You know retirement should also be a big priority right?", Judas piled up the books he was done with in his arms and handed them over to a demonic librarian, who used their wings and flew off to put the books back in their proper places. "Pft, why deal with retirement when you can help your grandson show up some racist bullies?", His teal eyes watched his grandson as he leaned next to him, "I'll let you know when we get the device from our friends, if it doesn't work, well, we can't say we didn't try....". "Well, worst it could do is shock me and nothing happens....which is..painful....but then again considering i'm the host....If i have a harder time moving so does it..", he felt his grandfather run fingers through his hair, "thanks for taking my offer, I know your folks are just protective of you....i just.....you're an adult now...they can't baby you anymore...this curse is yours, and you need to be allowed to make your own decisions. Especially when it's something as dangerous as what your curse could do...". "They're just looking out for me....but they seemed to have eased off knowing it was something that wouldn't servery hurt me......you would have done the same for my dad...", he snorted and agreed, "Yeah, guess I would've...". They sat in silence for a bit when his grandfather looked at his watch, "I better get moving, sorry for getting so upset....I didn't mean to come here and ramble so much, you were probably busy weren't you? Before I showed up?". "Oh, no no, it's perfectly fine...we.....we needed to have this talk sometime soon, before I'm crowned...", he watched his grandfather start to head out, "Right, and uh....please don't tell your parents about the "spying " thing, they're upset at me enough for even suggesting a new cure method..." "Don't worry, i'll keep it a secret, as long as you actually take at least a little more of a break and enjoy retirement for once.", his grandfather rolled his eyes and laughed, "Never". As he was about to head out though, judas called out for him and the elder turned around, "Yes?". "Hey, before you head out? I want to ask you.....what do you think about....alternate dimensions?", his grandfather gave him a strange look and shrugged, "Why would you care to know? Thinking about other realities were you weren't cursed?". Judas nodded quickly and he continued, "I don't think they're honestly something anyone should be trying to get involved with, it's a complex system and tampering with stuff like that can change thousands of other realities, honestly it's no wonder that stuff is taboo, you could ruin billions of lives by just leaving a footprint on another world". He gave him a strnage look and judas stood his ground, "You're not thinking of-.". The boy shook his head, "Heck no, but it would be cool to think...somewhere out there....we didn't have to worry about well...hurting me at all...right?". The man nodded, suspicion dropping, "Yeah...it would be...". After he left, judas fixed his sleeve and grabbed his stuff, it was lunch time and he had to meet up with the girls. Making sure he left nothing behind as he headed out the door to find the dining hall, holding his wrist the entire way. - Luna was starting to blend in rather well among the other knights in training, and by blend in she meant keep to herself and draw no attention to herself whatsoever. Quietly listening to the gossip spread among the young adults, there was little of interest. Most of it was "Teen drama this" and "Teen drama that", talking about whose dating who and whatnot. As though that kinda stuff mattered when you're training to be one of the queen's knights. She'd rather listen to the sharpening of swords. No wonder back home she only got involved in situations like this if it were a part of her training, it all seemed so dull, so pointless. There were so many other important things at hand and this was the kinda stuff teens wanted to talk about, as if these would matter much once they became knights. Was this normal for Sky? For now she found herself in their locker room, luna planning to head out as training seemed to be over and the rest of her mates were on break for lunch. She might as well go find where lexi and sky went, or perhaps use her new position to do a little digging herself. Grabbing her things, she prepare to make an exit when she heard a whistle which froze her and everyone else in their tracks, "CADETS! IN LINE!", Luna watched the locker room but their way to head against a long way to form a line against it and she immediately followed suit. This seemed to be normal for most of the knights judging by their reactions and at first she wondered if there was an emergency when something quickly told her otherwise. The door swung open and the blonde felt herself tense at the sight of a tall woman will long green hair in a ponytail, shades, a rather large golden sword, and blue and black spiked armor. Kelly was a sight for sore eyes and she must have been very excited based on her smile. Luna stared at her, still in shock at the sight of her. She's heard of kelly before, many times, but seeing her was a whole other thing. Nonetheless she brushes it off in favor of not looking ridiculous. "Didn't mean to scare all of you, but I heard we got a few new recruits just recently and there was no way I was gonna skip them!", the trainees talked among themselves as she pulled out a list, "don't worry it's only three, then you all can go to lunch...". She read down her list, "Joey!", a large monster lady stepping forward, and luna watched as kelyl shook her hand, admired her grip and welcomed her aboard before having her stand next to her as she called out the nest name on her small list. "Sirius?! ", a shorter mewman with dark hair and darker skin stepped forward, rise and repeat, though his size didn't seem to matter much to kelly. She early welcomed him and he stood next to joey as kelly took out her list one last time, "Luna?". Luna stepped forward and hoped her marks were still properly covered up as the woman shook her hand, "Nice grip, I can tell you've worked with swords before....". Luna simply nodded, "I also love your eyes, full of determination, i can tell, welcome, i hope you're ready for knighthood.". She dismissed everyone else to turns to the three cadets, " You're new so you wouldn't know it, but i always greet new recruits that way. You'll get used to it, now that jackie is finally coming back soon, more and more are signing up to be trained, but until then, you're all stuck with me.....you know your schedules right?" They all nodded. "Good, because until jackie gets back, you'll have to attend my training sessions to set you all up and i don't suggest missing those. Now you three go get some lunch i'm going to be looking forward to working with you all, hope you all don't disappoint me...". The other two recruits left and luna followed behind, looking back as kelly nodded to her and she walked out of the locker room, lost in thought. She shook her head, she needed to focus on the task at hand, thinking about home didn't matter right now. Finding Sky was easy enough, as she was snacking in her bedroom, galexia hanging off the side of the bed, drawing. The girl digging through her mother's book of spells for anything of use as she chomped down on a bag of chips. Luna had already picked up a sandwich on the way here as she was technically an employee now and therefore treated to her own food. She took a seat on the bed herself, glancing to sky who hadn't really acknowledged her as she skimmed through the book. "Mom still has her spellbook in this universe?", She looked it over then went back to focusing on her food, unwrapping it to eat. Sky nodded, shoving more food into her mouth, "I guess i'm trying to figure out if mom wrote down any secret spells or something...I dunno, i'm stumped where I even go with this....you sure we shouldn't have my mom look it over or something?". Luna's look said that she wasn't sure, but she spoke otherwise, "I don't want to be tricked by the high commission again...the wand stays...". "Fine fine fine, so....what did you do then? I don't know a ton about what the knights do most of the time...", luna wrapped up her uneaten sandwich, slightly annoyed as she spoke, "It's not much to worry about, I just finished warm ups, spend time around the folk listening out for info, talked to the second in command for a bit. Nothing remarkable....". Sky didn't say anything in return, going back to her book, the tension in the room cut be cut with a knife and galexia's sudden words startled the other girls. "We could talk about other cool stuff! We don't have to talk about stuff you guys are bored by!", Luna simply crossed her arms, turning away her head, "It's not boring to talk about plans and our current mission to get back home, it's important!!". But galexia shook her head, "But you guys don't talk about anything else, it's just a lotta BLAH and BLEH!! Then you guys sit in silence and do nothing for a long time till your brains go all goopy and globby!." She rolled off the bed and jumped to her feet, waving her arms around, "We could talk about other cool things!! Like all the stains on the ceiling that look like animals! Or that the underworld shampoo smells like cherry blossoms! Or we could talk about the cool shocky bracelet your demon bro got!". Sky shook her head, "What? What exactly did you get into in the underworld?", the girl's eyes lit up as if she'd been waiting to be asked that all day. "Oh that's easy, Celeste almost died because of this big ole plant! And then we got sent to our rooms but i squirted shampoo all over the floor before jumping into a pile of ripped clothes! And then we ate giant bugs and vegetables and then the purple kid was offered a bracelet an-" Luna held out her hands, "Wait, slow down, you almost died to a plant? And what now?". Then she felt the blunette next to her grab her hand, "Then she made a mess, got some new clothes, and i guess went to dinner and judas got a....bracelet...?". Galexia nodded. "Ok, thanks for telling us i guess..". "You're welcome!!!". Sky tried to go back to reading, but galexia just stood there, staring, "what about you guys?". They exchanged looks but the blonde shook her head, "Lexi, no offence, but some of us aren't as eager to give out our life stories, we barely know each other. And besides, it's hard enough to tell if you're paying attention or not...you just kinda seem to be doing your own thing most of the time and we just....It's actually kinda hard to explain...". The green-eyed girl simply blinked, "But isn't it better for us to get to know each other more? My mom and dad like meeting new people, they do it all the time!". "Yes well, it's not the same for all of us, if you want to talk about yourself...it's fine, but....I want to focus on other things.". She went back to her food, opening it back up, making a napkin spread on her lap to catch the crumbs, and began eating much to lexi's misery. "Aww, that suuuuckkssss...". She flopped onto the floor, "Finneeee...". Now that sky was thinking about it, out of all the girls, lexi reminded her most of how her mom used to act as a kid. She was bubbly, active, and always trying to do things simply because she'd rather have fun then do any actual work. Except this wasn't some 14 year old girl, this was now all encased inside a 17 year old with green eyes and wearing trash for jewelry. Sky watched her mope and put the book down, making her way over to her and sitting on the floor next to the sad girl, "You know, I know how you feel....I've never really been into all the boring stuff about being queen and all that....you kinda just rather....have fun and be a normal kid...". She pulled out her wand, looking it over, "You turn fourteen, then you gotta do this, then you gotta do that...and everything then is about being queen and whatnot..". Luna finished her chewing, "You act as though that's a bad thing, being born into he royal family is not exactly common among anyone. You both should be excited! You're given an amazing opportunity and since you are, you should be happy to prove your worth to it. Not just anyone can be queen after all, it's an honor and all you have to do is get prepared for it.". Her tone seemed oddly happy, as though she was looking back on her training with a certain fondness the other girls didn't share. "And your somehow don't find the preparation to be remotely boring or exhausting?" "Not if you actually make an effort, like it or not all of us were born to be the next queen. The most you can do is make sure you're the best queen you can be instead of lying around and complaining about it, that's sure not how our mother got on the throne in all of our homes...". She finished eating and collected her trash, "Just because something is boring doesn't mean it's not important or not worth listening to, usually the most boring stuff tends to be the stuff you need to listen to most." She threw her trash into the bin with perfect accuracy, "Granted, when i'm back home what you do is your problem, but I happen to have been training to be an excellent queen since I was little . So forgive me If i don't see the problem here with training. You're going to be queens soon after all, if you don't take it seriously you're just asking for more issues.". Sky grumbled but Luna chose to ignore it, "Sorry, but that's the gist of it, we don't have time for fun and games, there are more important matters at hand.". "You're kind've a buzzkill, you know that?". "Well, considering back home i'd always carry first aid kits, maps, and lock picks every time kids my age asked to hang out with me, i think I've been made more then aware that i don't seem to have ever been the "Fun" kinda of person.", She summoned her own wand, "It's fine though, I've gone this long without that kinda stuff and I turned out perfectly fine. ". She suddenly used her wand to change her outfit expertly, going from her workout outfit to something nicer much to sky's added displeasure. "And yet you made me give you a new outfit last night...". Luna simply smirked. "I just wanted to get under your skin a little, am I fun yet?" Sky didn't bother to answer as the girl changed the subject, "Anyways your lesson is soon so i suppose me and galexia are going to be working together in the meantime...I know you still don't trust us but at this point I doubt you think we have plans to go anywhere....". Sky gave the two of them a once over, "Fair enough....but what the heck are you even going to do? We literally have no plans here besides just kinda sorta trying to get more info?". "Well, perhaps that's a good place to start, working our way up, gain their trust...get more info...", the way she said it almost sent chills down's sky's spine, she just said it so naturally, as if she had done stuff like this before. Though considering how she spoke earlier about wanting to be the best queen she can be, she probably shouldn't be remotely surprised if this girl got into some crazy stuff. She could almost imagine her kissing up to a higher up to get what she needed. "The point is, we can talk to the people here, we blend in now....just head to your classes, and let us talk around, get to know everyone....", She nodded to galexia, "I can keep an eye on her on my own, you focus on what you need to do and we do the same..". Sky twiddled her wand in her hands, don't you think that'll look kinda suspicious? You running around and asking people private questions they unlikely know about?". Luna's look was mischievous, her wand turned back into a ring, "Not if you know what you're doing..". - "You know, the last time it was just the three of us together eating, didn't quite end well...", judas carefully eyed the door of the private dining room , where the guards were still perched, hoping they couldn't listen in but speaking carefully just to make sure. Celeste shrugged, "Well as long as your creepy arm doesn't come back, i'm sure we'll be fine..". Judas frowned but Sunny gave him a reassuring smile as she took another bite out of her bug sandwich, " I think you'll be fine, I'll make sure not to run off again...". Landon had basically dumped the girls on judas for lunch without a word, probably glad to be rid of them and away from judas considering how frustrated he was. Well, dumping might've been too much for what he did, as he indeed, had kept his distance and basically walked off somewhere else when judas took his "Shift". The girl's hadne't said anything about their time thugh whether it was because there was something they didn't want to say or there was nothing to say at all judas was unsure about. "I took my grandfather's offer, on the bracelet, he'll let me know when i get it....", his fork played with the noodles on his plate and sunny's smile shifted, "daddy looked really worried about you, does this really happen a lot? With...you know?". He simply nodded, "They're my parents...they worry about me, i'm sure you guys have gone through similar things...". Sunny nodded but Celeste said nothing, simply eating and keeping to herself as judas kept on eating. "I'll be fine....don't worry about me, I've been dealing with this my entire life, you guys need to worry about yourselves..", he gave a smile but sunny could sense the pain behind it, she quietly went back to eating, trying to change the subject. "So what do you guys like to do for fun around here? Well I mean, i know fun things to in the underworld but what do you guys do?", Celeste groaned but Judas seemed to appreciate sunny's attempt to lighten the mood a little more. "Ah, well, I guess when we're not doing prince things we're normally just spending time with lucy, hanging with our parents or sky, we also i guess...play in our game room. Ping pong with our folks is honestly really fun, though since there is five of us we usually let mason ref the game a little since his big wings had knocked over the table multiple times....i don't think he minds it though. Plus me and my dad make a great team, I think at first we were worried since landon's no master at magic but mom is pretty powerful as well, so it's even to us....". "Isn't using magic kinda...cheating?", the two demons turned towards the grumpy gal, "Like who in the heck would let you use magic to play in sports? What is supposed to be fair about that? You guys are basically just trying to out-cheat each other..". "Well, it's not about competition much, it's usually for fun....we...well we like to mess with each other a lot...", he smirked, "At this point it's less that we actually play ping pong and more of us trying our best to frustrate the other as much as possible, when you have siblings, you know.". Sunny giggled, "Well, me and my brother are a little different, we don't mess with each other...or fight really.", she watched the boy nod along with her as she talked. "My baby brother has always been kinda scared of stuff and prefers comfort and stuff.....we're less like you and your bros and more...protective and comforting..", the boy's face turned back to his food, "Eh, you'd be surprised how protective we can be for each other, but honestly I wish we were more like that....at least I wish we got along as well as you seem to. Me and landon can kinda get on each other's nerves sometimes, i'm sure you've already noticed..". "I'm sure he loves you though....", Sunny's words seemed to make the boy feel a little better as he continued to eat, wrapping the noodles around his fork and slurping them down, "Yeah, i'm sure he does too.....so...speaking of ping pong, you guys up for a game? With landon leaving the way he did last night, our folks just went to bed....but perhaps, you both might be interesting in playing with us, well i guess for now..er..me? You both have played before I hope?". "Of course! We'd play sometimes back home too! But Justin gets nervous about balls flying at him so we don't really use magic or anything, so i'm not exactly used to doing the style you guys usually do.", Celeste shrugged, "Whatever, break from all the other nonsense i guess....your parents joining?". The demon shook his head, "Nah, not right now, no doubt they have things to take care of, but they may join us later, they're usually BEGGING to take a break when they're supposed to be doing other things". He leaned against one of his hands as he sat his elbow up on the table, "But if we don't have them, we're going to need to invite someone to make the teams even....landon i doubt wants to play considering last night, i'm keeping mason as far away from you as possible, and my grandparents aren't exactly an option at the moment as my grandma can never hold the paddles and my grandpa has other stuff on his mind and i'd rather he didn't get a good look at you two either..". He bit his lip, "Sky is probably at her lessons as well and luna and galexia are probably busy over there and i don't want to get too into whatever they may be up to...". Celeste grumbled, "You guys don't have any other friends you could invite? Like, at all?".  The prince only twiddled his thumbs, all three red eyes looking off in the opposite direction, "Well, it's not to say we don't have any friends, we're just not exactly hugely popular with the public a lot of the time....". "What about that girl you were texting?", Sunny asked innocently, making judas's heart sink. "Girl?". "During dinner, you were texting a girl weren't you? Maybe she can come? I'm sure she'll think less of us then your relatives..". Judas put both arms on the table now, still looking off to the side, " You mean nora? I uh...sorry, i don't think she can come either, not that i think she'll be suspicious of you it's more just as....she's not very social? and her parents have never been sure of me...the arm, you know...". Celeste looked him over, scanning him over with one eyebrow raised, "She your girlfriend or something dude?". Judas's brows furrowed, "No, she's not thank you, she's just somewhat of a distant friend. Not that it matters, I doubt I can convince her to show up, so maybe we should do something else then..". The small demon girl took a sip of her juice and looked between the brunettes before thinking, "C'mon, i bet someone out there would hang out with you! Who else do you know?". "Don't you dare suggest angel..." "Landon's crush?" "Landon might have his number, but i sure don't, plus landon is already upset enough...". "Well do you know any other people...?". "I shouldn't have brought it up, i'm sorry. I was hoping to maybe do something fun and i forgot we don't have a ton of people to choose from to be our fourth... maybe after my folks are off we could do something like that but for now...I guess...we can do something else.", his tone became awkward and embarrassed, though whether it was because he forgot there was three of them or because of how little of people he seemed to know wasn't obvious. Probably a mix of both to be honest. Sunny frowned, so much for helping him feel better, if anything she seemed to just make him feel a ton worse. She looked off the celeste who wasn't paying much attention, her eyes off to the side and playing with her food as the silence grew. "Well, we could still play with just the three of us! How about this? You and me can play and cele here can ref! Just like how your little brother does it! That way none of us are left out! We could even play in shifts!". Judas looked up and nodded, "Yeah, sure, that could be fun........yeah, i mean, if you both still want to go have some fun together of course! I hope I didn't well, upset you both or anything.". Sunny shook her head, "It's ok, i have trouble with friends back home too, it's nothing to be sad about. I mean, we're friends now aren't we?". Celeste grumbled but the boy seemed to appreciate her words, nodding, "Yeah, I guess we kinda are by this point, i uh....let's finish eating and i'll show you where to go ok?". Honestly he probably should go back to the mission or find some other prince stuff to do, but he finished his normal stuff, his chores, and his most important prince stuff. And yesterday had been such a fiasco in terms of working that playing a simple game sounded so much more refreshing right now. Time to just have pure fun, get to know these girls, and take some time to think on other things. He could feel the weight of everything else hammer down on him so much that he was practically begging for something like this. Entering the game room made him smile, with his soon to be crowning in the near future, he had less and less time to think about stuff like this. But seeing it again made him feel like a kid again, as it always did when he and his family played together in here. They had a ping pong table of course but there was a basketball hoop, some arcade games, Foosball, and a number of other things. His father told him some of these used to be in his room when he was a lot younger. Sunny looked impressed when she stepped in and as the body guards positioned themselves in front of the game room door, Judas figured she probably lived in the butterfly castle and hadn't been to the underworld castle nearly as much. He suddenly found himself wondering what exactly his dad would do if he had become king of mewni. He was trained to handle the underworld but what would have happened if he ran mewni, a monster on mewni's throne, sounded rather interesting. The citizens of mewni here were already rough enough about monsters and mewmans getting married, half-monster kids, and heck they were still rough about sky being next in line since she seemed weaker then other mewmans. How the heck did sunny's world work? Was it a utopia where everyone gets along? Sunny would probably tell him if he asked but that was probably not a good idea with the guards nearby though judas kept the mental note in his mind. Sunny had already run over to the paddle shelf to pick out a paddle, taking a pink one out as just simply used his powers to grab a purple one. Celeste, simply took a seat nearby to do...whatever she was exactly supposed to be doing. She watched the two demons giggled as judas served, surprised at sunny's ferocity as she hit the ball back, "You were totally taught by our dad right? Though i could see ms star having some hand in this with you jumping so much." "Hey, i'm short! Plus jumping makes it more fun!", They seemed almost about matched based on how little the ball got passed either of them, laughing and bonding quite well. Celeste was questioning when she even showed up to be honest, she barely had to even do anything at she watched them, bored. Then again, why did she want to hang out with them anyway? She barely knew them, she didn't like them. For what reason did she even have to care if they were having fun without her? "C'mon, you gotta do better then that!", judas challenged the girl, whose three red eyes dimmed as much as his own. "Don't make me use my tail jude, that thing can pack a punch and you know it!",They kept playing for a little more when they found themselves tied and decided to end it there to let Celeste play. Celeste thought about turning it down at first, but took the paddle from judas's hands to play herself, well less took and more "Snatched", but still. She wouldn't admit to being a bit happy to play. Judas found himself looking to his compact in the meantime, no doubt sky was at her lessons already with her mother and there was no telling what nora was up to. He found his mind wandering a bit, sky had yet to properly tell him what angel used his compact for, just that it wasn't anything that mattered and they needed to focus elsewhere. Though he still wasn't pleased angel got his hands on the compact in the first place, he practically used his bit of kindness in letting him speak to the queen and he stole his stuff. Granted, Star brushed him off but it still sucked. He was going to have to keep a closer eye of it from now on, clearly his pockets did nothing to keep a spider prince's grubby hands off it. Was angel always this much of a pickpoketer now that he thought about it? He didn't see him often every since he got banned from all royal events for the trouble he caused so there was only so much he knew about the guy aside from his kingdom and how he viewed the treatment of monsters and his people. He found himself wondering if they could've been friends years ago if things were different. They didn't exactly hate each other after all and the boy did seem to have some form of respect and care for judas oddly enough despite everything. Sigh, no point in thinking about that kinda stuff now though, clearly they both had their own things to worry about. He had his mother and judas had a plethora of problems that beat at his mind every day of his life. If only things were simpler, like when they were all still too young to ever deal with matters like these. He wouldn't have to be so pressured to fix his "Problem", Sky wouldn't be so pressured to be better then her mom, Nora might've had an easier chance getting to make friends, and angel could stop trying to handle matters he probably wasn't ready to handle. His thoughts were stopped, however, as a ping pong ball directly hit his face. Right on his third eye, catching him off guard and instinctively grab onto the spot in pain. That's what he got for not paying attention like he was supposed to. Sunny gasped, running over to him, Celeste following her. Judas grumbled, knowing full well based on where he sat which side of the table had to have hit that ball, and he resisted the urge to shoot the brunette a look. "Sorry sorry sorry....", Sunny looked him over, "I missed the ball! Are you ok? I've had my eye hit a few times too and i know it's painful...". Judas brushed it off, "N-no no...it's fine it's...ah...", he briefly caught a lash of light as sunny handed him an ice pack, something she probably conjured from her wand, he mumbled a thank you and put it over his eyes, enjoying the relief it brought. "Man i'm gonna have to stop hanging out with just the two of you, seems i get injured for it a lot.", he let out a weak laugh and though it was meant to be funny, sunny still seemed upset. "Is your eye going to be ok?", The demon nodded, "I've gotten worse then this....not the first time my eye has been hurt either....". Celeste mumbled an apology under her breath and stared off to the side as sunny acted like the protective sister she was, showing she indeed probably had a brother back home she comforted and cared for. He could easily see her doing this for him, though since judas was still a stranger to her she held back just a little, not entirely sure of her limitations. "Hey, no need to fret over me so much, just give my eye a moment and we can play again, i'll get cele here back with some....proper ping pong butt kicking." He shot the girl a challenging look, "You guys play pretty well, I haven't played proper ping pong in so long i almost forgot what it looks like.". He removed the ice pack, eye feeling a bit better as it opened, "Ah, That's better, thanks sunny, does my eye look ok to you guys? Just to be safe?" Both girls nodded. "Good, c'mon, time for some payback!", He got his hands on sunny's paddle and happily took his spot on the other side of the table as Celeste made her way over to hers. She was making a face, not wanting to feel intimidated by him. He was right though, she didn't stand a chance against him. Though part of her blamed his probable half demon strength for how easily he was able to score points against her more then anything. She felt so tempted to cheat, use magic, how did sky put up with this smug looking dude anyway? As another ball zipped past her, she found herself thinking of something. Maybe she could distract him somehow? Though would he even fall for that to begin with? She put on her best face as she picked up the ball from her side. "So, your brother......i'm gonna assume by the sappy love song he was playing he has a crush on someone?". She served but Judas kept his focus on the ball more then what she was saying, waiting until he scored another point before answering her question. "What's it to you?" Celeste picked the ball up and tossed it to him to serve, "Just asking, is that a problem?". She found his eyes staring her down, skeptic of what she was doing, "I think Landon wants to be left alone right now, yesterday got him really upset...". He had to assume mason was probably still bugging him with dating advice on top of everything else, and at this rate his brother wouldn't date till his was 80. Sunny's ears twitched, looking at him with innocent eyes, "How come, did something happen?". "My brother's just not well...a very social person, i mean granted, i'm not always the most social either but between the three of us he's always had a harder time talking to people and making friends...crushes are no exception.". He put down the paddle and ball, "He and sky are the same age you know, and he's just dealing with things. Then again, we're all dealing with things....I guess it's just harder for him in some ways...". He look a better look at Celeste, making her cross her arms, "You seem about their age too now that I think about it? Sorry, i don't think I've asked either of you that." He was met with silence, making him change the subject. "Are we gonna play or not?", the mewman grumbled, fiddling with her paddle. The boy raised his eyebrow again, "Are you sure you still want to play, it's not any offense to you it's just you haven't scored a single point yet and game should be almost over soon, we could just stop and come back later if you want?". The girl simply shot him a dirty look, "Don't tell me we're done, we're done when we're done. Serve lucitor, i'll kick your butt and then you'll be sorry..". She was feisty, did she get that from his mom, or star? It didn't quite feel like either of them. At least, he hoped not. The girl looked like them, but she didn't feel like them. Bright clothes or not her eyes seemed fiery instead of the bright ones the boy was familiar with in terms of his mother. Guess in retrospect she was not exactly in a place she could be super happy but at the same time he wondered how she could store up so much anger in that little body. But then, before he could think about it, he could hear yelling from the other side of the door, followed but grunting and yelling. He felt a sudden dose of urgency, and he almost attempted to try and shield the girts in case it was an attack. But then the noise stopped, and there was discussion heard outside of it. Was something else going on out there? Then the door opened, almost casually, and judas was almost prepared for a dozen of different people to enter. Sky, his parents, his grandparents, perhaps his brothers, heck he even could've expected angel to pop in for some odd reason. What he didn't expect was the sight of a familiar green flying ponyhead trapped in the arms of two demon guards. His heart dropped. "Loki?"

[taetaesource]

Out of the Ordinary

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

You won a lucky draw chance to meet BTS backstage and got to know Min Yoongi. 

Suga went back into the holding room first and you waited for a few minutes before following after him. The rest of the girls already looked ready to leave while you scrambled with your belongings. All of you were led by the staff to the carpark where a black van was waiting. BTS was standing around waving happily as all of you made your way up the van. 

“Ride safe, we will see you at the company”, they took turns to bid their farewells. Suga did not look as excited but he waved and smiled out of courtesy. When his eyes caught yours, he smiled and waved a little extra harder, causing you to feel a little shy at the direct eye contact as you waved back. 

When you alighted from the van at the company, you were quickly led into the building up to the office. The ride in the lift was silent and rather awkward as the office was on the 17th floor, so it took some time before you finally reached the place. When all of you exited the lift, you were greeted with Not Today playing loudly and you realised the music was coming from a huge TV screen that was running the Not Today mv at the entrance of the corridor. As you walked down the corridor, there were hipster posters with texts like “ROCK AND ROLL IS DEAD”, “KEEP CALM AND HIP HOP” and of course BTS posters from the Dope era to the more recent You Never Walk Alone era. You entered a glass door and was brought into a waiting area that was furnished with edgy couches and bean bags. The staff went up to the reception counter to make the necessary arrangement with the bighit staff and you began to look around. 

While you were entertaining yourself by noticing things like how the legs of the table look like and how high the ceiling was, the chatters and laughters of the boys were heard and not long after, the bangtan boys entered through the glass door and greeted all of you excitedly again. The staff who was busy settling the administrative matters with the receptionist immediately went over and spoke to bangtan’s manager at the side. Jhope was the friendliest, immediately asking in his high-pitched tone if the journey to the company was alright and if you guys like how the company looked like. The girls could only giggle and nod shyly. There was one particular girl who was more vocal and started some small talk with the idol which Jhope responded with his bright smile but kept the conversation short. He was probably trained to appear friendly and sociable but also not talking too much, answering only “really?”, “oh i didn’t know”, “wow that’s amazing”. Simple-minded girls would not realise that the idol was keeping his boundaries and would think that he was really friendly and a nice person to talk to. 

Not long later, the staff came over and told all of you that you would begin your tour around bighit with the bangtan boys. The usual rules apply- no taking of pictures and videos and no postings on social media. After the tour, the best segment would be having some alone time with the member that you were paired with, not a very long time but a short 30 minutes. The girls were visibly more excited when they heard about the 1 to 1 time they would get to spend with the members and the bangtan boys appeared to look excited and interested. 

The tour started with a walk down a corridor where all the recording studios were. Some of the rooms were the work studios of Pdogg and Slow Rabbit and all of you were awed by the technology and equipment that were found in the rooms. Both producers were not around but there were some staff who demonstrated how a recording was done and edited. Jungkook participated in the demonstration as well, recording a small part of his recent cover 2U on request, and the staff showed how his voice was played back, polished and edited with the instrumental to produce the final product. 

After the visit to the recording studio, all of you went pass the office where the marketing and PR team sat. There were various album covers and posters all around as well as merchandises, half-cut out stickers and standees. Rap mon explained that this was the place where the album concepts were created and the logo placement, creatives, sponsorship, media relations, social media and customer relations were all managed by this team. Basically, they managed how bangtan should be presented to the public. 

The next stop was the dance studio where all the dance practices were held. The girls were excited as they finally got to be in the same room as they saw in dance practice videos that were posted on bangtan’s youtube channel. Bangtan’s dance line- Jimin, Jhope and Jungkook showed off some dance moves and freestyle dance, and the bangtan boys gave all of you the taste of learning the new DNA choreography. It was awkward as you did not know how to dance and to be honest, you did not have any interest in dance. What made it more awkward was that each member were teaching their partners so Suga was looking at you as you mimic his moves. You were so stiff and your hands and feet just couldn’t coordinate which made you extremely embarrassed. The other girls could not get the dance moves right as well but they seemed to be having fun especially Taehyung and Jimin’s partners, probably because the 95 boys were funny and friendly so the girls could be more at ease. Rap mon and Jin’s side were quiet but the girls seemed relaxed too, probably because the boys were not good at the choreography as well so they could understand how the girls felt. Jungkook and Jhope were patiently correcting their girls’ moves, occasionally saying “no no, your hand got to be like this” or “yes, move a little more to your right” and laughing when the girls got it wrong. 

Suga was quiet. He would show you the dance once, and wait for you to copy next to him. His voice was low and deep so you could not really hear him properly. You did not want to say “sorry?”, “pardon?” too many times so you pretended you could hear him multiple times and ended up in awkward situations where he was actually asking you a question but you only nodded or said “oh ya”. What made the whole session even more difficult was that Suga was also cool and charming to the point where it was intimidating. You could not look at him in the eye directly or stare at him for long. To counter this, you had strengthened your pretense of nonchalant and acted cool as well. You did not try to strike a friendly conversation that kept rolling with him, keeping to small talks with long pauses throughout the tour, keeping things cordial and polite. The dance session which was supposed to be more interactive and engaging turned out rather awkward and too quiet. 

After the dance session, everyone was out of breath and exhausted. All of you were sitting on the floor and a few staff came in and distributed bottles of water. The bangtan boys were being gentlemen and passed the bottles to the girls first and made sure all of you drank up before gulping down their own. While all of you were taking a break, the staff announced that the tour around bighit ended here and you may proceed with the best segment of the event which was to spend time with the individual member. She also mentioned that all of you had to gather back in this dance studio 30 minutes later. Once she ended her briefing, the bangtan boys were suggesting amongst themselves where they should go. 

“Where are you taking her to?” Jhope was the first to ask, he was looking at Jimin next to him. 

“I don’t know but I’m thinking maybe I should bring her to the cafe downstairs, the one that we always go to.” 

“Oh yes I was thinking of bringing her there too”, Jungkook replied. 

“Ah let’s all go together then”, Taehyung joined in. 

“Oh okay let’s all go and grab some food downstairs then. It would be more fun to go as a group,” Jhope chimed. 

“I’m thinking of bringing her around the third floor where the mini garden is”, Jin said. 

“I’m bringing her to the coffee shop down the street to get some nice coffee and also take a nice walk”, Rap Mon said as he stood up and prepare to leave. 

The other boys who already declared what was on their minds began to stand up and take their leave. 

Suga looked around at the boys who were preparing to go and turned to you, “where do you want to go?” 

“Errr... I don’t know? I don’t have any preference.” 

“I have no idea either. Let’s go out first and we shall see where we can go.” The blonde hair man stood up and threw the empty bottle away before leading you out of the door. You walked out of the room with no clue where you were heading to while he was behind you. The boys in front were chatting noisily, telling the girls what was good at the cafe downstairs. While waiting for the lift, Suga asked again, “so do you have anywhere that you want to go or visit?” 

“Hmm not really” was your answer. 

“You guys go down. I will bring her somewhere else. This should be a 1 to 1 event why are all of you hanging out together?” The idol sent the other boys who entered the lift down first and pressed the button again when the lift door closed and went down. Though Suga did not speak much to you while waiting for the elevator to arrive, your heart fluttered at his thoughtfulness about spending the alone time that was allocated to you. It would have been easier and less awkward to just hang around in a group and you appreciated that he wanted this to be solely between the both of you. 

The both of you waited for the next lift to arrive and Suga hit level 19 and told you that he was taking you to his studio- Genius Lab. 

“I’m sorry I’m kind of boring and I don’t really know where is the best place to bring you to so I’m taking you to the place where I spend most of my time.” 

The idea of visiting another studio didn’t sound very interesting to you until you entered his studio. It was really Suga’s studio as it was decorated with his personality. What surprised you the most was how cozy and comfortable his studio felt when you first entered. No wonder he spent most of his time here. The lights were dimmed comfortably, the room smelled nice and he had a nice sofa bed. 

“I spend so much time here it’s like I practically live here” he said when he caught you staring at his shelf that had things like shampoo, body soap and toothbrush. 

You were not sure was it because of how cozy the studio was or was it because Suga has invited you to a place that was so personal and close to him, you felt instantly relaxed when you were sitting on the sofa bed and looking around. Suga sat down on his chair and he was looking at his computer, his back facing you. You thought he was going to work on his own things and let you be until slow music started playing in the background. 

“Do you know this singer? I listen to him alot nowadays.” 

“No I’m not really a music person”, you said and wondered why you were so good at being a conversation killer as this could have been a potentially good topic for a conversation since Suga was obviously someone who was super into music. 

“I started learning music when I was young and I never thought I would like this genre of music until recently... Maybe it’s one of those things that come with age...” 

“Oh yeah, I get that too. Sometimes it’s the other way round, I used to like watching horror movies alot, but recently I realised I can’t do horror anymore. Maybe it’s an age thing as well...” 

Suga laughed and his gummy smile appeared though he attempted to hide it with his clenched right fist, seeing him laugh made you more relaxed and you laughed a little too. 

“This song is really good though and there’s a story behind it. Apparently the songwriter wrote it for his dead wife whom he saw or heard outside his window at night. Kind of creepy but he prayed that his wife’s ghost would haunt him so that he could be with her again. You might actually like this since you liked horror, though maybe now I’m not sure...”

“Oh that sounds like a book that I’ve read before. It was written in the 19th century where the gothic was popular. That book is one of my favourite though the characters are warped.” 

“I think I heard of it... it’s an English book right?” 

“Yeah! It’s written by one of the Bronte sisters though I prefer Charlotte Bronte’s books. The storyline are somewhat similar but she seemed less extreme though also very emotional and crazy.” 

“It’s really cool though, that masterpieces like this could live on and still be read by so many people after so many years.” 

“I guess it’s the same for music. I think that’s the ultimate beauty about art. It lives on even if you don’t.” 

There was a pause and both of you looked at each other in resonance. It was nice talking to people about the art, something that you were passionate and interested about. It felt even better to talk to someone who shared the same level of interest and understanding even though the art that Suga liked was of different form. Although you were not a music person, you appreciated yoongi’s passion and views about it and he appreciated yours. The both of you spent the whole time talking about how the world seemed to be suppressing music and art under the pretense of encouraging the flourishing of them. The more you two talked about it, the more you two found yourselves agreeing with each other and bashing about how ridiculous society was. Although music and literature were different forms of art, there were many fundamental similarities between the two and both of you discussed about them. 

Time flew by and the conversation with Yoongi seemed all too short. The conversation was interrupted when Yoongi’s phone rang, it was hobi asking yoongi where he was and reminding him that they needed to go back to the dance studio now. 

“Ya ok see you bye”, Yoongi hung up and stayed on his phone for a little longer after the phone call. He typed something and passed you his phone . “I shouldn’t be doing this but do you think you can give me your phone number? I would love to be friends with you.” 

You paused for a moment as you were shocked at how an idol was asking for your number and it also crossed your mind that this would actually mean you would get yoongi’s number too? That’s insane. You were shocked because you thought that phone number was the ultimate privacy of an idol that cannot and should not be leaked anywhere. 

“Are you sure? I don’t think you would want to give your number to a fan...” 

“I don’t even think you are a bangtan fan, and I am asking for your number not giving you my number. There might be a chance I won’t even contact you so...” Yoongi shrugged and you felt your cheeks flushed. You took the phone and entered your name and contact number before passing it back to the idol. He briefly looked at it and kept his phone in his pockets. He got up from his chair and said with his lazy voice while stretching, “let’s go.” 

You were giddy from what just happened and you were disappointed that the session with yoongi only lasted for such a short while. You really enjoyed Yoongi’s company and you were glad that you were actually interesting enough for him to want to have your contact. The possibility that something might continue out of this made you excited and hopeful like a high school girl who got noticed by her senior crush.

The rest of the boys and girls were already back in the dance studio when you and yoongi entered, and yoongi went to join the boys immediately, leaving you feeling a little empty that he wasn’t going further with a little more affection or something. Your mind was still high that you weren’t really listening to what the staff had to brief all of you about. 

“We will take a last group shot together and we will conclude the bangtan backstage fan event here.” 

The boys saw all of you to the door after the last phototaking and they thanked all of you for spending the time with them. They stood in a row to shake all of your hands and waved goodbye. When it was your turn with Yoongi, he did not say anything much except that he hoped you had a great time. 

“Yes I did. Continue living for what you love and let your music live on. Fighting!”, you said to Yoongi with a sweet smile and the small sized idol closed his eyes and smiled softly while nodding his head at what you have said. 

[20straveling]

Anotha One (List of Activities that are C19 Safe!)

I can count on both hands, and some toes, the number of COVID19 emails and articles I’ve seen talking about all the things to do during our current global situation. Their lists (yes, from the marketing people) have been:

- subscribe to this new service ($$$)

- shop our online sale! ($$$)

- sign up for this service to read articles for “free” ($$$)

And I was pretty disappointed by most of the emails I was reading...but there were a few that warmed my heart a little.

- free delivery and no service fee when you order from local restaurants

- all proceeds of ____ sale are going toward helping homeless or those in poverty receive the supplies that are currently unavailable to them

and so on, and so forth. These are the companies and groups that I was happy to see in my inbox, knowing that someone was doing something to help the world.

But, we’re human, and we can only do so much for our community and our global family. That’s just reality. And that’s okay!! If you spend the whole time giving, and no time taking care of yourself, then you’ll have nothing left to give.

So, with that in mind: here are some ideas for social distancing and quarantine activities!

At Home Activities:

- Photography! The majority of us have a smart phone and it’s got one (or two, shoutout 11 pro peeps) cameras on it — use that sucker!! Take silly photos with your family (fuzzy or otherwise), snap pics of your plants or collections of things, or even take photos of random stuff in your house (I know you’re bored enough to).

- Editing these photos is also a good pastime, with lots of free apps on smartphones, and online editing software like PicMonkey and similar — have fun playing with filters and stickers and all kinds of creative adjustments

- Online, Virtual Tours! This is such a cool resource that has been taking root in the last few years as accessibility and outreach have been gaining prominence! Many museums and national parks have posted online tours (similar to Google Street View) of their amazing spaces for online viewers around to globe to interact with. Get out there (online), and explore some amazing works of art and nature, alone or with the whole family through a TV!

- Share the love online and talk about the new things you’re discovering to encourage others to take advantage of these great online-passes to some of the worlds best views (on walls or outdoors).

- Read - yep, the easy one. Whether its new blogs from people online, the book that’s collecting dust on your “to read” shelf, or something like Audible where you can listen to a book and still get something else done - feed your brain!

- A good follow-up to reading is writing! Head online for good writing prompts, or even silly games where you can write a story with the help of the whole family, sentence by sentence!

- Online Concerts! Many artists are doing online tours, and you can enjoy some “live”music from the comfort of your own couch!

- I personally love Tessa Violet, and she has created her “Something to Look Forward To” Tour, where she plays her music, and has dance breaks to engage her audience and take polls of what song she should play next

- ReThink a Space: this one’s a little more broad, but if you have an area of your home or outdoor space that feels as stale as the air you’re breathing while staying inside all the time, REDO IT! Now is the time to start that obnoxious project that takes too long! Some of the most obvious spots are:

- Bedroom/bedroom closet - change out winter for spring!

- Guest room closets (because who knows what’s lost in there)

- Office spaces/playrooms (equally busy, equally disorganized!)

- Bookshelves/display areas

- Crafting: now, I know we can’t all run out to a Michelle’s or a Hobby Lobby, but I can almost guarantee that most of us have some form of markers/pens, and maybe a printer (but if not, have faith!)

- Checkout online tutorials for drawing or calligraphy, and get those hands moving! There are plenty of studies about how calming coloring is, and stimulating the brain with simple things like learning calligraphy are perfect for indoor or outdoor activities solo, or with family

- Pictionary! Or the like. There are online prompts if you don’t have the physical game in your house, and websites like Jackbox have online versions so you can play with your friends, without being in the same room!

- Collaging/crafting with outdoor objects: take a hint from the children that keep wanting to bring home spikey balls or a pretty leaf! Sometimes those objects are silly but can create a fun craft! Using some thread or string, and a stick or two from outside, make a hanging wall decor piece or mobile with the things you are collecting on your walks!

- Video games!! Although it’s not an option for everyone, video games are a great time to have some competitive fun between members of the household, and also help to connect online with other friends who are also playing the game

- Steam and Origin are the two main gaming platforms I know of, and The Sims, and other games, are on sale right now to help offer entertainment and connect people digitally!

- Cleaning, which I’m sure we’ve all done a bit of at this point (not judging if you haven’t but here’s your list of ideas!)

- Starting from top to bottom, now is a great time to get that deep “Spring Clean” that everyone talks about this time of year! Dust of the tops of things that you forget about, like picture frames or door frames, and go down from there, wiping down surfaces, cleaning that gross space between your window pane and the screen (it’s disgusting but if the windows are open, you get to breath all that funk), and continue on to dusting baseboards and sweeping/vacuuming/mopping floors

- And disclaimer: I have not done all these things, but I’m still on the “Rethink a Space” part, so there’s stuff all over the things I want to clean...

- Don’t forget to Clorox those popular surfaces we forget about, like light switches, cabinet knobs/handles, and the power buttons for things like a Keurig or other small tech

- write snail mail for family and friends you’re unable to see at the moment! Yeah, technology exists, but there is always something special about hand-writing some fun messages to send to your loved ones!

- If you think ahead, you can make some fun art, and send that along with your letters, as a bit of cheer to spread along to others!

- Find something to research: whether it’s how video games are made, how to grow new plants, the sound in space, or what that cool movie you just watched mentioned! There’s a million resources online, and even in your local library (using Libby, an online library source for e-books, and more!

- Checkout online resources for your everyday habits: gym or yoga studio’s facebook or YouTube, university resources for free classes/access to databases, educational resources for children (often found on library sites)

You may notice that cooking is missing from this list. I realize that grocery shopping is difficult at this time, so I’ve tried to think of ideas that involve resources you already have in your homes/yards. If cooking is your thing, or you’d like to take it up during this time, please, do so!! It’s such a great way to feed your brain and your body at the same time! Checkout online channels like “Binging with Babish” and other food related YouTubers or Bloggers to find new recipes or content. If you need to go out and grocery shop, just remember to be courteous of other’s and take hand sanitizer or Clorox mini-wipes to get those surfaces like cart handles and self-checkout/checkout screens and surfaces.

My brain is tapped out for ideas at this point, as I’m mainly doing the things mentioned above because they fit with my personal lifestyle and interested, but if you guys have thought of or done some things that might interest others, please list them below!! And those with kids: PLEASE, link a Pinterest board of ideas, educational (and FUN) websites you’ve found, or even just some good games/crafts/activities you’ve been trying out! I heard a coworker talking about a scavenger hunt they created that involves the kids texting/collaborating online to complete the outdoor hunt!

Get creative, do the most mundane thing in a new way, and hang in there! And if anyone wants a FT date, or more help researching things, please, let me know! I’m happy to dive deeper or even chat in general to help alleviate some of the adjustments and isolations going on right now - please don’t hesitate to reach out.

List of Links for Interactions/Ideas:

- Kelsey Ramirez (art-based ideas): https://www.kesslerramirez.com/blog/things-to-do-while-social-distancing

- Threads of Fate (wholesome naturalistic community): https://www.thethreadsoffate.com/pages/community-journey-taking-action?mc_cid=1ca95a65b0&mc_eid=3d56a629ef

- Harry Potter Alliance (yes, it’s a real thing, and yes, I’m a member) is hosting an online convention for conversations and events to bring us all together online: https://secure.everyaction.com/BEWi3AjhpEyWzUCDG-V7xw2?emci=21658d3b-0a6b-ea11-a94c-00155d03b5dd&emdi=96ab3eea-876b-ea11-a94c-00155d03b5dd&ceid=2470797

- All Online Libraries, By State: https://www.lib-web.org/united-states/public-libraries/

- Good Housekeeping’s Virtual Tour List (includes Zoos! I didn’t even realize!): 30 Amazing Virtual Tours of Museums, Zoos, and Theme ...www.goodhousekeeping.com › life › travel › best-virtual-tours

- Mashed’s List of Cooking YouTubers (I haven’t watched all, but enjoy most): https://www.mashed.com/146555/ranking-the-most-popular-cooking-channels-on-youtube-from-best-to-worst/

[sweetscenteddream]

Things I hope to achieve:

1,Even if I can’t get rid of my depression 100% I’d be happiest with 80% but this will take quite a while to get past first.

2.I’m going to try and find a really nice counselor who won’t judge me because of my past mistakes,Hopefully she will help me out and start to bring out my fears for me so that I know that I can get past them.

3.Hopefully get a job,I’ve only ever had one.... and I stayed for about 8 months couldn’t stick it,The boss was awful,The manager thought she was in charge yet she wasn’t and tried to pick on me specifically,I just felt so bullied and had to leave but thankfully after I heard customers had said nice things about me ^-^.

4.So it’s been about 9 years of trying to find a job,1.I don’t live near any places within walking distance that I could get to. 2. Not being able to drive,It’s just a big mess I was told that I’d be given 2 learner permits but it turns out you don’t....when I went to get my second learner’s permit they told me no but I’d have to do the test to get the full drivers licence, So can’t do that because no learner’s permit and can’t practice because of no learner’s permit,I think I might have to take the theory test again to try and start all over again,It would be nice to able to learn to drive again then fully drive.

5.Draw more, I used to draw a lot more when I was younger which was great but my art style hasn’t improved at all.... I need to push myself more and even if it’s just a quick scribble to do it,In the new year I’m going to try and draw a new drawing every single day of the year,That will hopefully help me to improve and hopefully someday others will want to commission me ^-^.

6.Play video games,I used to play so many video games when I was younger and I loved them to bits! Now I know that it’s the depression and some laziness that stops me from playing which makes me sad.... video games can be amazing! I might try and slowly get back into them.

7.Try to find my ideal partner this has been proven to be difficult my entire life and I really don’t want to meet a guy at a pub,I’d rather meet a nice guy at maybe a tattoo convention or at some sort of cool art exhibit,I need to try fun places to meet others my age who wouldn’t be jerks.

8.Tell myself that my past mistakes are my past my mistakes more often,Most of the people who I’ve had the fights with have most likely moved on and completely forgotten all about me.I need to keep telling myself this again and again.

9.Try not to panic so much about my family dying or being alone without my mum forever,It is a possibility but hopefully it won’t happen for a very long time and hopefully I’ll be more stable mentally and stable with a home,Here’s hoping to a good future.

10. Possibly try college one more time,One college I went to I lasted less than a month because everyone seemed incredibly stuck up,No-one wanted to be my friend so I just stayed alone to myself for the time that I was there,The second college I went to I did make a friend but she ended up quitting in the middle and of course I had no-one then so I quit too,I know it should be about doing the work and graduating but I’d like to maybe have some new friends if I do decide to try for a 3rd time.

11.Save up a lot of money to commission a lot of art off a lot of amazing artists on Twitter,I will be commissioning them with a lot of tattoo ideas in my head,Unfortunately until I get a job it’s not so possible so I’m pretty sad about that.... so hopefully I get some sort of job soon.

12. Go outside more and sometimes sit on a towel and just watch the clouds go by or sit on a towel and read some books and relax and enjoy,Possibly just close my eyes and forget about everything for a while.Play fetch with Oscar much more,Keep the weeds away with the weed killer spray,Keep the lawn nice,cut and short,sweep the ground every so often,Maybe find some cheap but good/fun/cute things to add to the garden.

13.Check charity shops around every 2 weeks to see if they have any new great things in like more dresses,ornaments and more books,Even odd little bits and bobs,Try to stop going in every week.

14.Try to hang out with Nadine at least 3 times a month if possible,Maybe some days go to Dún na Rí to have a nice walk and a little picnic maybe even a mini photo shoot,Try find cute cafes to go to to just talk and people watch,Go to random places that are only about 30-45 minutes away by car.

15.Start being more creative such as doing... scrap booking,Needle felting.Writing stories,Drawing more,Possibly get some of the mini dolls rooms that you set up yourself.

16.Try different styles of fashions,Different like short dresses,long ones,unusual designs etc,Maybe every time I go into Pennys I could try and buy a full new outfit for cheap.

17.Try spending time completing video games,You will feel awesome when you do,Also try to buy some more Gamecube games and Dreamcast games,Sometimes save up for a slightly expensive video game and treat yourself.

18. Take way better care of your skin,by doing a morning routine every morning and the same with night time routine,Also drink plenty of water.

19. Try and exercise a lot more so you can lose a little bit of weight but also tone up,Not too much toned up though I don’t want that.

20.Try to save for one nights breaks away with Nadine so we could get a proper meal together some drinks and just have a great chat and great laughs.

21.Maybe get a memo board so I can stick things onto it such as cute stickers,Polaroid photos when I get the camera and the rolls of film,Some art I will be ordering online and maybe some cute pins,Also little quotes to help.

22. Try and save up for either an amazing gaming laptop or an amazing gaming PC and get my family to help me putting it either together or get it running correctly.

23.Try watch a lot more Youtube videos to help cheer you up and also so that they can earn some money,especially the smaller Youtubers,Also subscribe to more channels like smaller gaming ones,crafting ones,cute makeup ones,surprise ones etc.

24.Get back into watching movies with nothing else on to distract you,Try to buy as many DVDS as you can for as cheap as you can.

25.Listen to loads of different types of music then pick your favourites and when you buy an awesome Apple Ipod buy all of your favourite songs for it and go outside and dance or maybe even go on some walks down the road listening to music.

26.When my hair grows out to the length that I want it again I am going to try and learn to curl my hair properly and learn to do some lovely hairstyles.

27.Try and eat less meat if you can,I know it’s hard but you can give it your best shot!.

28.Try different make up looks,try to be braver with some and sometimes use colour more,Wear the makeup you love and makes you feel good and cute.

29.Try and donate any little bits of spare money that I have to different charities every so often.

30.Try to think before you act! You’ve lost some really nice people because of not thinking before typing/talking but you’re slowly learning.

31.Get back into making youtube videos,It gave you something to do and distracted you,You also had fun interacting with subscribers ^-^.

32.Continue going to Mass,Even if God and Jesus don’t exist it’s still okay,It helps to get me out for about 40 minutes,I get to dress up nicely and we also have a lovely priest to listen to ^-^.

[jrgarcia]

Driving on Route 66

During the month of March I took a 10 day drive from San Antonio, TX to Las Vegas, NV. A road trip that put a little over 3,000 miles on my 2013 Mazda 3 and I did it alone – by choice. Throughout the 10 day trip I made it a goal to drive on Route 66, aka the Mother Road. The highway that has been the subject of movies, TV shows, rock n roll songs, and makes you think of glass bottle cola and chrome finned convertibles. It’s a museum you drive on. Sadly, there are sections of Route 66 that are in bad shape, but there is still large part of it that you can still enjoy a scenic drive and get infused with nostalgia whether it was before your time or not.

Williams, AZ

My trip started in the town of Williams, AZ; a small town just off the major internet that is less than an hour away from the Grand Canyon. Williams is an ideal town to stop because you’ll get to indulge in Route 66 tourism, it offers various hotels to spend the night, and the option to see the Grand Canyon can be done in an afternoon. The town’s main street is Route 66 and has restaurants, stores, gift shops, and plenty of photo opportunities for social media.

Being an automotive enthusiast I stopped by a mechanic shop on Main Street because a 1960’s Chevy Impala inside caught my attention. I ended up chatting with the owner, JP Walker and his wife, about cars, road trips, and how his father used to own this shop before he took over. Before saying goodbye they told me that I should drive to the city of Seligman, AZ. That was the city Pixar used as inspiration for the city of Radiator Springs in the animated film franchise Cars. It was also the longest stretch of Route 66 that remained in near excellent condition. I was sold.

Seligman, AZ

Seligman, AZ is a small town with a lot of character. I parked on the street when I saw a classic early 60’s Chevrolet pickup truck decorated with Route 66 advertising. The truck was parked in front of Angel and Vilma’s Original Route 66 gift shop. Established in 1957, Angel was also the town Barber. He was the man that gave John Lasseter (Toy Story, Cars, Bug’s Life) the scoop on what Route 66 is all about. Inside the gift shop there is a separate room with a barber chair where I was told that Angel sat with John for several hours just talking about the Mother Road. Before leaving Lasseter make a quick drawing of Buzz Lightyear and Woody as a thank you gift for Angel and Vilma, which is signed, dated, and proudly hanging over the cashier on the wall.

From here the rest of the town is one beautifully decorated gift shop after another. Stocked piled with souvenirs galore in the form of bumper stickers, shirts, haps, jackets, and shot glasses with Route 66 Arizona stamped on them. A western cowboy with tame ponies offering rides for a price. Tour buses making routine stops at these stores that keep the town from going bust like so many others on this tarmac slice of Americana. I watched and listened to these tourists while I walked around taking photos. My ears tuned in on the different accents and languages echoing on this cool desert day. A rain storm had been chasing me since morning with dark clouds always a few miles behind me keeping the heat at bay.

Leaving the city of Seligman you are immediately greeted by a landscape of mountains that’ll be the closest you ever get to being in Radiator Springs. The main interstate always present in the distance to the left of Route 66 with white diesel powered rectangles moving parallel with the horizon. After Seligman the rest of the towns are smaller, and some are abandoned. A clear sight of what the Interstate did to these two lane blacktop communities.

I stopped to eat at this eye catching café at the top of hill. It had a large sculpture of green painted eastern island head. The café had old gas station pumps with classic cars parked in front of them. A white ’74 Cadillac and an early 70’s Volkswagen Super Beetle painted like Herbie the Love Bug. The café was empty when I walked in except for an older man in a polo shirt and sweat pants – semi formal. A young woman working the cash register and I wondered what people who lived in the trailer park community down the hill behind the café ever did for recreation. The same thought one often has when they drive past a small “one horse” town.

I ordered a hamburger and washed it down with Route 66 branded orange soda – it was better than I expected. Homemade taste with just the right amount of sugar to wash it down with Sirus XM 60’s on 6 to fill the ambiance. Before I left I chatted with the old man, Dino, an Italian immigrant who fell in love and married a Hispanic woman and now had more than one great grandchild. As I left a family from Australia stopped by on their family vacation for a meal.

From there on it was just a smooth ride until I rejoined the interstate, after that I was back in the grind. Tractor trailers, mini vans, commuters with somewhere to be and state police with trigger happy radar guns – reality. What you take away from Route 66 is what it’s been preaching since the day the interstate was invented – slow down and enjoy the ride. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of international visitors on this road. For being such an ionic piece of America, Route 66 is an international highway.

Driving on Route 66 was the only time in 3,000 miles that I felt fine driving at only 65 mph. It was relaxing and made me feel sentimental that I was able to still enjoy it even in 2019. That it was still here, the people who remember its heyday are still around, and that one can still enjoy the freedom of driving on it. So if you have the means, and the time, get out and find a piece of Route 66. Get your kicks before it stops kicking.

I Got My Kicks. Driving on Route 66 During the month of March I took a 10 day drive from San Antonio, TX to Las Vegas, NV.

[gaminghardware0]

Best AMD gaming motherboard 2018

The best AMD gaming motherboard can make a huge difference to your final gaming PC build. We’ve put the top AM4 options – from X470 motherboards to X370 and B350 boards �� through their paces so you can make the right choice for your rig.

Choosing the best AM4 board is vital in getting the most out of your new AMD Ryzen CPU. You don’t have to go for the latest X470 motherboard either, because the older 300-series boards from the likes of Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, and ASRock are still seriously capable, completely compatible, and a lot more affordable. All AM4 boards work with the current second-gen Ryzen processors, as well as the first-gen chips, making it a very stable platform with impressive potential future-proofing on offer.

Team red has also now announced that the AMD Zen 2 architecture update is going to start sampling before the end of the year for a likely launch in 2019 – again with AM4 socket compatibility. With the promise of AMD’s subsequent CPUs being compatible with current processor sockets until 2020, that gives AM4 a hell of a long life.

AMD’s second-gen Ryzen 2 processors demonstrate the maturation of the red team’s Zen CPU architecture before we even get to the AMD Zen 2 chips arriving next year, and they’ve regained the top position in our best CPU list. But with a host of different chipsets, features, and manufacturers, which motherboard should you be partnering with them?

To take advantage of the platform’s backwards compatibility, you do need to ensure your motherboard is up to date with the latest BIOS. Don’t worry, all 400-series and most 300-series boards coming fresh out of the factories will feature a new sticker confirming whether they’ve been updated, just look for the “AMD Ryzen Desktop 2000 Ready’ sticker on the box. But, if not, you’ll have to update the board yourself, and that requires a compatible Ryzen 1000-series processor to boot the system – so keep that in mind when shopping around.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean you can buy any ol’ AMD motherboard with a compatible AM4 socket for your Ryzen chip – there are a bunch of other factors you’ll need to take into account before finding the forever home for your new CPU. Do you have a PCIe SSD? Do you aspire to run a multi-GPU rig? Do you want to build a micro machine PC? These are all questions you’ll want answers to. And that’s why you come to the experts…

The best AMD gaming motherboards are:

Gigabyte AB350 Gaming 3

Asus ROG Strix X470-F Gaming

MSI X370 Gaming Pro Carbon

Asus ROG Strix X470-I Gaming

ASRock X370 Killer SLI

Gigabyte Aorus AX370-Gaming 5

Asus ROG Crosshair VI Hero

MSI X370 XPower Gaming Titanium

Gigabyte X470 Aorus Gaming 7 WiFi

ASRock Fatal1ty X370 Professional Gaming

MSI B350M Mortar

ASRock AB350 Gaming K4

Check out the best AMD gaming motherboard prices at Amazon US or Amazon UK.

Winner: Best AMD gaming motherboard

Gigabyte AB350-Gaming 3

Approx. $85 | £85

Vital stats

A surprisingly powerful and seriously affordable Ryzen board. Perfect for the Ryzen 5 chips.

ChipsetB350

SocketAM4

Form factorATX

Multi GPU2-way CrossFire (ish)

You might have expected to see an X470 motherboard topping our list of the best AMD gaming motherboards. But, in real terms, there’s precious little to choose between the B350 and either the X470 or X370 boards in our tests. And, considering out of all the Ryzen chips AMD has released, it’s the Ryzen 5 2600 we’re recommending as one of our favourite gaming CPUs – spending anything over $100 on a supporting motherboard seems like overkill.

And so Gigabyte’s smartly priced B350 board is the AM4 mobo we’d be lovingly jamming our Ryzen chips into. It’s only around $85 / £83, and yet, at stock settings it’s one of the most capable of any of the AM4 boards we’ve tested so far.

It actually posted the highest multi-threaded Cinebench R15 figures, though the delta between the top and bottom of that benchmark list is pretty darn minimal. That’s its only win, but the Gigabyte board is essentially as capable as the rest. It does share bottom spot in the Doom Vulkan test, but again, we’re talking about a range of only 5fps between the best and worst of them.

More concerning though is the power/thermal side of things. It’s the toastiest of the boards, running hotter at both peak and idle temperatures, and that’s borne out by the fact it also draws the most juice when running at full chat. It also doesn’t have the friendliest BIOS, nor the most effective overclocking performance – we managed the same 4.05 GHz all-core overclock most of the other AM4 boards delivered, but it needed a chunk more voltage to get there.

And, if you’re chasing a multi-GPU setup, this probably isn’t the board for you. Gigabyte claims CrossFire support, but there’s only one full x16 PCIe 3.0 socket – the second one only runs at x4 bandwidth, and shares that with all the x1 sockets on the board, too.

But if you’re after a straight gaming board, not one that demands the sort of price premium much more feature-packed mobos do, then the Gigabyte AB350M-Gaming 3 is an excellent, value motherboard to drop a stock chip into and just game away, worry free.

Read our full Gigabyte AB350-Gaming 3 review.

Runner-up: Best AMD gaming motherboard

Asus ROG Strix X470-F Gaming

Approx. $209 | £184

Vital stats

As you might expect from the ROG branding, this Asus X470 is a brightly coloured, expensive, powerful affair.

ChipsetX470

SocketAM4

Form factorATX

Multi GPU2-way SLI, 3-way CrossFire

Yes, we’re still recommending the bargain-priced Gigabyte B350 to go with our favourite Ryzen processor And that’s because Asus still holds the title of having made the most powerful AMD board we’ve had the chance to test so far. Its CPU performance is ahead of the MSI and Gigabyte motherboards we’ve checked out, and ahead of its X370 forebears, too.

It also delivers higher basic overclocking performance than the other X470 boards, though only gets our Ryzen 7 2700X up to the same level as the X370. That is, though, somewhat against the expectation that the new chipset would offer improved overclocking frequencies.

But if you’re after a seriously high-end AM4 motherboard, this is the one we’d recommend right now. It’s not a horrendously pricey offering, and has a really solid feature set. You might want more USB ports on the rear I/O if you use a lot of professional attached storage, but that’s the most minor of niggles.

Read our full Asus ROG Strix X470-F Gaming review.

Runner-up: Best AMD gaming motherboard

MSI X370 Gaming Pro Carbon

Approx. $163 | £121

Vital stats

One of the most affordable of the X370 boards we've checked out, and packs in a great feature list. And RGBs. Obvs.

ChipsetX370

SocketAM4

Form factorATX

Multi GPU2-way CrossFire/SLI

MSI’s Gaming Pro Carbon is one of the most affordable of the X370 crew, but don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s light on features. Aside from the  RGB LED downlighting inspired by The Fast and the Furious, MSI has also ensured it’s got all the bases covered on the specs front, as well as the aesthetics.

The memory, GPU, and PCIe SSD slots have all been reinforced to avoid damage when poking components into them, the screw holes are double-protected so you don’t break the PCB when installing, it’s added both AMD’s CrossFire and Nvidia’s SLI multi-GPU support, and MSI has also specced-out a pair of VR-ready USB ports too. Like its small-form factor mini-PCs, MSI has added a little silicon to the mix that ensures a stable signal across the USB port, which is absolutely vital in VR to avoid a full-on barf fest.

There’s nothing particularly exemplary in the Pro Carbon’s benchmarks (which is true almost across the board), though it’s never less than utterly competitive in the gaming benchmarks, and stands tall in the CPU tests, too. So it’s got the performance chops and it’s also an impressively feature-rich board for money – a worthy runner-up.