#especially when you get 4 in a room all with vastly different specialities

[angelofrainfrogs]

Into the Pit: Ch. 4

~Coauthored by @zeitghest~

Fandom(s): Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach

Description: He should be in the Daycare. 

Gregory emerges from the ball pit to find not the bright, rainbow room he’s accustomed to, but a house with a huge backyard and a kiddie pool of plastic “water.” Calling for Gregory is a familiar voice—Michael. Only this time it’s not Charlie or Freddy by his side, but someone completely new. And why do they insist on calling him their son?

Gregory soon comes to realize this existence is vastly different from anything he remembers. Perhaps these last few weeks at the Pizzaplex have all been a dream…?

Rating: T

Read on Ao3

Without fail every time they visited the Pizzaplex, after family check-in Gregory’s goal was to immediately find Freddy and say hello. Even if he had other plans for the day, the kid made sure to track down the huge bear and at least give him a quick hug before scampering off. It was endearing, and Mike was grateful that Freddy seemed to love Gregory just as much as he did. Whether this was because the kid was technically an Afton or simply because he spent so much time with the animatronic was anyone’s guess, but no sane person would deny that the robot seemed to have a soft spot for the little ball of energy.

Gregory led the way at first, though as the crowds started to spill back in he deferred to Michael’s side and let Liz take the lead. Eager to be free of the tiny workshop, her pace was fast and direct while she headed towards Rockstar Row. The area was just as Gregory remembered, with the Glamrocks’ rooms lined up neatly. All the curtains were open except for Freddy’s, and there was a sign outside the plush red velvet that read:

SORRY! FREDDY IS RESTING, BUT WILL BE BACK ONSTAGE SOON!

It was Evan who knocked on the door, seeming nearly as eager to see the bear as Gregory. Despite his horrible fear of animatronics as a kid, he’d grown to love them—especially as their designs became friendlier and friendlier.

“Fredbear, it’s Evan and some of the family!” the man called, and a heavy shuffling could he heard in the room.

“Come in!” responded the deep, familiar voice. Evan obliged, opening the door just long enough for the family to squeeze in before guests saw and thought they were getting special treatment.

There standing in the center of the floor was Glamrock Freddy, as shiny and pristine as the day Gregory first met him. His smile was as warm as a robot’s could get as he catalogued today’s visitors, and of course his focus was immediately directed to the sole child of the group.

“Gregory!” he exclaimed, kneeling down and holding his arms out for a hug. “It is so good to see you, superstar!”

It was him, just as he remembered from his dream.

“Freddy!” Gregory found himself shouting, careful not to call him Dad. Still, the urge persisted even as Gregory fell hard against Freddy; the stalwart mechanical bear was a steady rock in an ocean of uncertainty right then. Gregory knocked hard against the bot, deriving a loud “Aww!” from his Aunt Liz as he flocked quickly to his idol.

She hoped that Gregory never got too old for these characters. His love for Freddy never failed to bring a contagious smile to her face, watching as Gregory nestled in before remembering exactly why they came here to begin with.

Pulling back after the short but intense embrace, Gregory sighed with relief that the bear seemed pretty much the same overall. “Boy did I miss you, Freddy…”

Then, it was down to business. Hopefully Gregory could start getting some answers around here.

“Are you feeling okay? Notice anything weird?” he interrogated, scrutinizing every slight flex of the emotional responses he saw in Freddy’s eyes and ears.

“I am feeling wonderful; thank you for asking!” Freddy replied brightly, still crouched to speak on Gregory's level. His incandescent blue eyes tracked the boy's movements as normal, and they flicked up to Michael when he bent at Gregory's side.

“I hear you got a big software update,” Mike remarked with a grin, examining him with the same ferocity his son was. “Sammy asked us to check in and make sure you're doing good.”

“Your concern is greatly appreciated,” Freddy replied, not minding the scrutiny in the slightest. Looking back to Gregory, he added: “I am not sure what you define as 'weird,' superstar... but I did receive an alert regarding a security threat in the Daycare earlier, though Roxanne and Monty seem to have taken care of it.”

“Yeah, irate parent.” Michael stood, shrugging with a little huff. “We got it sorted, so no worries.”

“Ah... I am sorry you had to deal with that.” There was a beat of silence, until Freddy reached out a blue-clawed paw to gently push Gregory's choppy bangs out of his face. His head tilted curiously, looking the boy up and down with an appraising gaze. “Gregory... are you feeling alright? My health scan indicates a mildly elevated heartrate indicative of anxiety.”

Too late, the bear realized Gregory might not want to go into that topic—although at least Freddy stopped before mentioning the word “nightmares.” The boy had confided in him many a time about his dreams, and since they weren't a direct, physical threat to his well-being Freddy didn't feel compelled to share all the details with his guardians. It was no secret they talked, but still... Gregory had explicitly said he didn't like bringing the topic up around anyone but his dads, and here he was mentioning it with Evan and Liz in the room.

Ah, well. He was just a robot after all, and even the most advanced AI can err.

Michael did say it was alright to be honest. Gregory was around people that understood him and his situation. Everyone already seemed to know he was a little different...

“No, my heart feels like it's gonna explode. I've been really anxious all day.” That was the shortest explanation he could give. Hopefully, it would take suspicion away from him and his sudden bout of amnesia. Gregory laughed; it was humorless and unconvincing to his parents and the guardians around him. “I woke up inside the ball pit in my backyard after a REALLY long nightmare...”

After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence on his part, the façade of calm shortly fading before he fumbled for the little robot on his belt loop. “Look though! Pappy gave me this little guy! I'm gonna call him Ditty.”

He held the spider-like musical bot flat in his small palms. The little guy shimmied slightly and played a midi tune while waving to Freddy, and Gregory desperately hoped the little bit of good news would mask how fucked up he was really feeling.

Jeremy looked to Michael, unsure of what to do. Gregory was indeed acting strangely. “Greg, let us know if you need to take a minute to yourself... I'm worried you're gonna get a burnout today.”

It'd happened before: Gregory trying to take on the stress of socializing and having full-on panic attack without either his or Michael's knowledge until he was deep in the throes of stress. It was painful to watch and sometimes even harder to get Gregory to talk about what set him off. Though it certainly gave Jeremy a bit of hope that he'd feel alright, given he mentioned this nightmare he had. Even if he didn't go into details, even just admitting it was a huge step.

“I-I'll be fine, Dad. Promise,” Gregory assured, holding Ditty tenderly in his mitts, careful not to squish or restrict his free movement as the little music man played a sympathetic score for him. Ditty wasn't big like Freddy; all he could do was hug his thumb to show his support.

“Hey, trust me, kiddo—” Evan smiled down at Gregory with a hint of worry deep in his eyes. “—the worst thing you can do is hold it in or not take a second to breathe. Remember how I told you I used to get scared all the time?” He shook his head, glancing to the floor with a far-off gaze. “I can't tell you how many times I tried to push past it and just ended up crying on the floor...”

Sometimes, Evan's honesty was jarring. The adults all knew about his past, of course—Michael and Liz lived through it, and Jeremy absorbed the information through stories and osmosis of being tied to the Aftons for 20-odd years. Evan found that the connection with Gregory, though admittedly not a fun one, made it easy to understand what he was going through to a degree. If he could help his nephew in any capacity when it came to emotional setbacks, he'd jump at the chance.

“...What Evan's trying to say is don't bottle it all in, okay?” Michael clarified after a moment, running a hand through Gregory's hair. “We're always here for you.” His eyes drifted to the large animatronic and he couldn't help letting out a soft chuckle. “Even Freddy. You can turn off Papa Bear mode, Fred—he's going to be alright.”

“Ah... I apologize if my focus was unnerving,” the robot stated, finally getting back to his feet. He'd been watching Gregory intently, analyzing for further signs of distress. Bad dreams weren't nearly as easy to treat as bruises—Moon would be the best animatronic for consolation regarding that topic. Regardless, Freddy still knew a few ways to comfort a child, and a topic change was a good one. With another bright smile, he held out a claw for Ditty. “That is a wonderful little invention! May I hold him for a moment?”

It wasn't Gregory’s intention to worry anyone, and while that was partly why he was apprehensive to tell them much, he had to talk at some point. The boy bit his tongue, feeling the distinct and sudden sting of tears about to break. Against Evan's advice, he held it all in after hearing Michael's words.

Papa Bear...

“Yeah… Yeah, here hold your palm out flat. There you go, Ditty...” Gregory offered the little man up for Freddy to take. The mini musician scuttled into Freddy's palm immediately, waving his teeny arms at him to get his attention while playing an entirely new midi. Toreador's March chimed through his crystal clear speaker.

Gregory watched the two interact out of the corner of his eye, leaning into Michael with a half-buried face as he knew he wouldn't be able to hide emotional distress from Freddy's ever-watchful sensors. It was hard being a priority sometimes. It meant he couldn't hide.

Maybe his uncle was right. He needed the issues to come into the light to stop feeling so badly.

But how do you explain a dream so messed up, it incepted your very memories?

Briefly surprised, Gregory pointed out: “Oh that's a new song...”  

Michael didn't hesitate to lift Gregory up and hold him against his chest, one arm underneath to keep him stable and the other wrapped securely around his back. Most thirteen-years-olds would cringe at the thought of their parents holding them like this, but Mike was secretly grateful Gregory didn't mind. The day he refused to be picked up would mark a turning point that meant he was growing up, and Mike didn't know how in the world he was going to deal with that.

When the little music man started playing a new tune, Michael huffed a laugh that shook Gregory slightly in his arms.

“Oh my god... one of the earlier Freddy models used to play that,” he explained, watching the robot with interest. 

“Oh yeaaaah,” Evan drawled, vaguely remembering the pizzeria Michael referred to. “That was one of Fredbear's idle songs, right? Man, I swear dad never forgets anything those guys performed...”

It was nice how William's gift brought back little memories for each other them. Charlie found herself sighing contently at the music. “Yep—that's a classic...”

It was such a long time ago. The older models long-since retrofitted with newer AI to keep up with the popularity of the Pizzaplex. Still, their old vintage charms never escaped the grownups even now. Charlie could almost hear the music box at the prize counter, Grandfather's Clock perpetually stuck in her head given how long she stayed by her Puppet's side.

Elizabeth watched in awe at the teeny marvel. Looking to Jeremy, a devious little smirk slid across her face. “Still have that fear of Music Man, Jer?”

“No way!” He laughed, albeit sounding nervous when Liz didn't look quite convinced. Ditty was fine! It was the big fella in the West Arcade that made him nervous. Looking to Gregory now, he told their kid: “We don't talk much about the old locations. We should try to find our old photo albums later! That'll jog some good memories of the place.”

Gregory was previously under the impression that working for any of the old locations was a complete nightmare. The things Evan told him were few and far between, but with Michael to constantly remind him that it was a surprise to everyone in the community that their family was never run out of town from gross incompetence shocked him to his core.

Grasping Charlie's arm, Liz asked her: “Wait—remember when our dads got into that screaming match in the back parking lot at Fredbear’s?”

Holding her friend back, Charlie's eyes went wide. “Oh my GOD! Yes! Our moms made them hug it out!”

William and Henry liked to yell at each other. It usually wasn't for real, as they both would just get equally excited about things that annoyed them mutually. Though their mothers hadn't exactly liked them screaming in front of the kids, so in an effort to seem more “normal” they had the two CEOs hug it all out instead. The two made it a point for the next week to hug in front of their wives, much to the poor women’s annoyance.

“Your mom was fed up!” Charlie reminisced, showing Gregory just how warped his perception of everyone was in his dream.

“They’re ridiculous,” Michael agreed with a shake of his head.

Freddy, who’d been completely content to listen to the family reminisce, used the lull in conversation to hand Ditty back to Gregory. “What a sweet new friend; be sure not to lose him!”

Just then, a chiming jingle issued forth from Evan’s pockets. He pulled out his phone, making a face with a muttered “Uh-oh” as he checked the caller ID. “Hey, Cas—”

“Evan, I love your little gremlins but will you please come get them before they melt my ears off?”

Faint screeching could be heard in the background, and Evan winced at the distinctive sound of his triplets annoying the crap out of his best friend. Even the others could hear despite the lack of speakerphone, as evidenced by Michael’s brows shooting up to his hairline. When with their parents, Evan’s kids were little angels. But when they were with a babysitter…

“Yup, noted; on the way asap!” Evan responded, clicking off the phone before Cassidy could gripe at him more. He was already going to get an earful in person. Looking to the others, he gave a short laugh. “Heh… guess that’s our cue to get moving. Bye, Freddy!”

“Goodbye!” the friendly bear waved, and everyone wished him well in succession. He saved Gregory for last, gently ruffling his hair with that happy grin. “I will see you again soon, superstar—please do not hesitate to visit anytime you wish!”

Gregory was preoccupied with clipping Ditty back onto his belt loop. It was jarring to be taken away from his friend so quickly, but his cousins were growing impatient. Though Gregory wasn't sure how much he'd like hanging around little kids so much… He hoped June was more around his age.

“Bye, Freddy!” Gregory called, grasping onto his father's shoulder as the group made it for the door. Alas, there was no time to ask Freddy about what was happening in his life. The visit was over so fast because of Cassidy's distress call. She could clearly only take so much babysitting before Evan's kids took over Mazercise with their overwhelming hyperactivity.

As they approached Chica's noisy attraction, Gregory grumbled and buried his face hard into Mike's shoulder. “It's loud in there.”

“You don't have to stay in there long if you don't want to. Just let us know where you're going, got it?” Jeremy said, reaching up to pat Gregory’s shoulder. It was fine if he wandered off, so long as he could find Gregory after he left.  

They’d barely opened the door to Mazercise before Evan was set upon by a group of three identical children. The Afton genes were strong, since—unbeknownst to Gregory unless he remembered looking in old photo albums—the kids were nearly a spitting image of young Michael… meaning they also shared quite a bit of William’s looks as well.

“DAD!” they cried in unison, nearly bowling Evan over with the force of their combined hug. He’d preemptively braced himself, feet locked in position as six hands tried to wrap around his waist.

“Hi, munchkins!” Evan greeted warmly, wrapping them in a bear hug. With an apologetic smile, his eyes lifted to Cassidy meandering nearby. “Thanks again for taking them, Cas. Hopefully they weren’t too much to handle…?”

Gregory had looked over the various kids. Oh man, how was he going to tell the difference between them? They were all nearly identical and with the way they all swarmed Evan, he couldn't keep track of them as they circled their father like hawks. Cassidy, with her messy black hair set up in a curly low bun and hands on her hips shook her head at her friend.

“Not yet! Glad you came when you did, though; I couldn't hold them back for much longer,” she laughed, rolling up the sleeves of her loose-fitting top as she said her hello's to the group. Judging by the bags under her eyes, she was getting pretty tired and needed the well-deserved break from babysitting.

When Gregory was caught in Cassidy's stare, he immediately knew what was coming. Despite the obvious age difference, there was no doubt the snippy girl was going to pick on him—

“Evan's clone! Good to see you, buddy,” she subverted, smiling sweetly at Gregory. It made him want to question her and everything he knew all over again.

Who the hell are you and what did you do with Cassidy?! his mind screamed. Would Cassidy turn out to be sort of nice were she not a vengeful spirit? In a strange way, Gregory would almost rather she picked on him at least a little bit, even if his feelings weren't going to be spared.

“Hey, Cassidy,” Gregory greeted, cut off as he felt something poking his dangling leg. A girl with dark hair and a face full of freckles stood beside him, nudging Gregory to get his attention.

“What are you doing all the way up there?” she asked, somewhat annoyed. The girl’s tone was muffled, mouth full of candy as the stick of a lollipop stuck out from the corner of her lips. It was clear who she was without anyone even saying: this was Charlie's daughter, as she was the spitting image of his friend when she was much younger and closer to what Gregory knew.

“Uh... It's got a nice view?” Gregory said, managing to bring a smile to June's face.

“Well, get down here. You don't get to be taller than me yet,” she scolded, a playful smile forming over her candy-stained mouth. She seemed fairly nonthreatening; the way she spoke to Gregory sounded as if they’d been long-time friends.

Gregory poked his dad now, queuing for him to let him down to say hi.

“You just wait, June,” Michael teased as he set Gregory back on solid ground. “One day you’re going to turn around and Gregory’s shot up like a beanpole.”

Jeremy couldn't stand the thought. One day their son was going to be just as, if not taller than himself. Another sobering reminder that he was quickly growing before their eyes, along with the rest of the tikes in the family.

“Don’t remind me of that possibility,” Evan remarked with a slightly pained expression. “That means it could happen to these ones, too…”

“Daaaad!” the sole girl whined, tugging Evan’s pant leg. Now that greetings were over, it was time for business. She stared up at him with hands on her hips not unlike Cassidy—perhaps Evan’s bestie was more of an influence than she realized—the little brown pigtails tied under her ears bouncing as she talked. “Theo and Teddy said I couldn’t play golf with them ‘cause Monty said I suck!”

“Tabitha! You know we don’t use language like that!” Evan chided in the age-old lilt of an exhausted parent.

“But they said it first!” the girl insisted, to which the boys shook their heads vehemently.

“Nu-uh!” Teddy and Theo countered. “Monty told us! He doesn’t want Tabby playing with us anymore!”

In response, Evan could only sigh and massage the bridge of his nose.

“Look at him,” Jeremy whispered, leaning into Mike. “One bad PTA meeting away from totally losing it.”

While Gregory was trying to figure out which triplet was who, he was slowly let down from his dad’s hold and relinquished to June. She was short for her age, and like her mother she had unique, smiling Irish-green eyes. After popping the lolli from her mouth, she silently offered it to Gregory without so much as a glance. Gregory looked to her, confused for a moment until June gave him a questioning look. It silently begged to know why he didn't grab the thing from her. When Gregory finally got the memo, he looked to the grape-flavored treat and shrugged.

Now was a time, as good as any, to get over his fear of cooties. He ended up shoving the sugar stick into his cheek and attempted to act cool about it as June leaned in to hug him.

“Sorry I wasn't here Wednesday. Band practice was a freaking nightmare,” she whispered, not wanting her mother to hear her pseudo-cusses. Gregory, still holding nervous energy inside him, spoke with a shrug.

“It's whatever. I wasn't trying to hang out with a whole lot of people anyways,” he remarked nonchalantly, like he knew what she was talking about.

“One of those days?” June questioned rhetorically, not needing a real answer. She was understanding in the way that best friends were, her mental wavelength usually matching.

Though... There was certainly something off about Gregory today. He was more nervous than usual for sure.

Nearby, Evan was desperately trying to convince his kids that Monty did not, in fact, play favorites and would certainly never tell someone they sucked at golf. The triplets weren't having it though, snapping at each other like Chihuahuas until Evan suddenly proclaimed:

“Alright, I think it's time for a little sibling break!” With a strained smile, he grasped Tabby and Theo's hands, walking them over to the other Aftons. “Tabby, sweetheart, you hang with Uncle Mike and Jeremy for a little bit, okay? Theo, you go with Aunt Liz. Teddy—stop climbing the stage!”

Evan had whirled around to see the youngest troublemaker attempting to scale the stage while his back was turned. Grabbing Teddy's hand tight, he narrowed his eyes sternly. “You're staying with me for a bit. Uh—” He glanced at his siblings, realizing he'd yet again signed them up for impromptu babysitting. “—that okay? They just need to be split up for like half an hour, then they'll chill out; sorry...”

“It’s fine, Evan,” Michael chuckled, keeping a tight grip on Tabby's hand as he could already feel her start to pull away. Looking to Gregory and June, he raised a questioning eyebrow. “You guys want to check out another attraction? The bowling alley usually isn't that crowded this time of day.”

He was more than happy to look after part of Evan's brood, but his own son was top priority. Gregory seemed overwhelmed again, so Mike figured a relatively relaxing time at the bowling alley would be a welcome change.

...Plus it'd give Jer a chance to sneak in the back with Gregory and make the famed kitchen-sink-slush for them to enjoy in secret.

Cassidy could be seen smirking at it all. Evan was the one that left her alone with what she would affectionately call 'crotch goblins' when out of earshot from the kids. She did love them—but in the fun loving Aunty way. There was obviously a priority for their fun and safety when she was on babysitting duty, though there was only so much she could take. Seeing how her friend was already at his wits end, she would stick with him. Theodore was being a little instigator today and was working up his siblings.

“Theo—be good for your dad and I'll get you something nice later,” Cassidy remarked, which seemed to grab the laser-guided attention of his siblings. Before they could start, she pointed to each of them with both her hands. “That goes for you guys, too! You will be good and you'll all get surprises. But if one of you acts up—” Cassidy clapped her hands together to provide emphasis. “—nothing!”

Going to Evan, she was recognizing that iconic Afton glare in his eyes. The hard look usually deterred most children from acting up... Unless it was their own flesh and blood. The triplets called their dad's bluff constantly.

“Easy, Evan,” Cassidy warned, touching a light hand to his bicep. “You're getting the scary eyes...”

Overhearing this, Charlie would chuckle lightly in passing. Scary eyes. She hadn't heard that nickname in years. Not since the last big meltdown that William had at Fredbear’s before he moved management... Coming over to her daughter, Charlie saw that June had given up her lollipop to Gregory and made a face.

“Gross guys. Gross,” she remarked, a hint of a smile peeking through the cringe. Like she hadn’t shared food with Michael over their younger years, sometimes to a questionable degree. Jeremy looked between them and laughed raucously.

“It's just germs! No worries.” Jeremy was laid back about it, even if it was just a little gross.

Gregory popped the candy out self-consciously, but managed to answer Michael. “I could go for some bowling.”

To which June replied with a nod as Tabitha joined their flock. Ditty clapped his tiny hands, excited to make more friends on his first day of being powered on.

“That settles it—meet in the Daycare in an hour?” Michael suggested, looking to the group. If the kids still had energy, who better to help burn it off than the Daycare attendant? By the time they returned naptime would be well over, so Sun should be wandering around ready to pull more kids into his fun and games.

“Sounds good.” Evan nodded, his face softening from the “scary eyes” he really couldn't keep up no matter how hard he tried. There was a reason his wife was usually the disciplinarian... he caved far too easily when it came to his kids. “Call me if they're trouble—we'll have to give Aunt Cas a report at the end of the day.”

“I'll be good!” Tabby insisted, her hand shooting up in the air to wave frantically. Whatever the promised surprise might be, she wanted it.

“Me too!” Theo insisted, while Teddy nodded vigorously with a hum of affirmation.

“Let's get a move on, then!” With a gentle tug, Mike urged his niece forward. He held out another hand for Gregory in case he wanted to take it, though his attention was diverted as Tabby suddenly gasped and jerked him slightly in excitement.

“Uncle Jer!” the girl exclaimed, thankfully still walking forward despite her clearly trying to make a break for the blonde. “Guess what?! I beat Theo and Teddy at laser tag yesterday! I was on a different team, so we were hiding but trying to find each other and then Teddy found me and he was like pew pew! But he missed, so it was my turn and...”

Michael couldn't hold in his snort as the kid started to ramble, recounting her story to the group but looking mostly at Jeremy while she spoke. It was easy to tell the favorites, especially when they were young—clearly, out of the Fitz-Aftons the Fitz side was the winner in Tabby's book.

As she rambled, Gregory looked to June who walked in quietly besides her friend. When she caught him glancing over, she would flap her fingers and thumb open and closed while mouthing “Bluh bluh bluh...” Playfully mocking the rambunctious cousin.

Charlie diligently nudged her daughter to tell her to knock it off. The damage already was done, and Gregory had to shove the lollipop back into his mouth to stop himself from laughing. Sometimes, June joked around far too much. Though now that she was a teenager, the boundary pushing was getting worse. She was starting to take on a rebellious streak that reminded Charlie far too much of Michael in his younger years.

“Wow...” Jeremy concluded, looking down with an impressed eyebrow raised high on his forehead. “You must be some kind of sharp-shooting space cadet, Tabby! It's a good thing you're in our group, then! Who knows what danger we'll run into?”

Gregory held in his opinions about the dangers of this place, finding himself scoffing quietly under his breath as they all went merrily along to Bonnie Bowl. Crowds parted for the first portion of their trek. However, the group did not anticipate the highly sought after and prized plushies going on sale in one of the many retail shops on the way. The patrons swelled, standing and crowding the aisle...

Gregory glared at the large crowd, then refused to move his feet. No way was he going over there. Big, lumbering elbows like that were unpredictable. You could get stepped on! Or elbowed.

Or taken right from plain sight.

He remembered that dream; the way it first started with him watching Freddy and the Glamrocks performing. How Vanny, still looking like a helpful security guard at the time, came and tried to lure him away just like she’d done for all the others. How Gregory had run for his fucking life when he’d caught that evil glint in her eye.

As his family walked, sure that he was holding onto someone's hand, Gregory's thoughts were pounded by intrusive flashbacks.

It was in fact Michael Gregory managed to get ahold of, and therefore it was Michael who noticed him stall like a car that'd run out of gas. For a second, they were nearly pulled apart by the crowd and Tabby's insistent tugging right towards the center of the build-up—but then Mike managed to pass her along to Jeremy with an appreciative smile and slip back to Gregory's side. He didn't say anything as he hoisted his son up and made a beeline for the backrooms. Gregory hating crowds was nothing new, and as Jeremy and Michael reasoned earlier that day, surely the Saturday rush would get to him at some point.

And so, without fuss or drawing extra attention, Mike carried Gregory to the safety of the employee-only areas for a little breather. Rubbing soothing circles on Gregory's back as the kid clung to his shoulders, Michael remained quiet until they were in the blessed sanctity of the closest security office.

“Whew!” Mike breathed, locking the door and sitting down heavily in one of the swivel chairs. He allowed Gregory to rest in his lap, spinning in a slow circle with a little grin. Hopefully his son wouldn't pay attention to the obvious concern in his eyes.

“I don't know why we keep trying to come on Saturday,” he mused, stilling the chair only to scoot closer to the computer monitor showing a few nearby security feeds. This office was tiny and had a limited range of cameras—the perfect place to hide without worry of being bothered. “I've gotta either get Sam to stop asking me to help on my days off, or start charging overtime...” He hummed thoughtfully, glancing down at his son. “I'm thinking overtime—more money means more fun stuff we can buy, right?”

Gregory had already been pressed so many times today about whether he felt okay. The last thing Mike wanted to do was prevent him from talking by showing over-concern. His son would open up in his own time, as long as Michael was patient.

Gregory was indeed snatched away, but not by any stranger with ill intentions. Michael charioted him from any perceived danger and took the utility hallway to the nearby security rooms—a place that had always felt safe for Gregory. He relaxed visibly, a long sigh escaping him as he finished the candy in his mouth. The danger wasn't far from his mind on top of everything else, but being here for a clam moment with his father was just fine.

“Sam doesn't pay overtime?” Gregory asked, finding that surprising. Maybe this version of Sam was a little more frugal considering all the family members he was employing. Experience or not, the nepotism was real.

Gregory shook his head; that wasn't really what he wanted to talk about. Instead, in a low voice he murmured: “Dad? I don't think I'm good...”

Still keeping him on his lap, Michael held Gregory out by the shoulders. Now that they were alone and without fear of family barging in with another exciting thing to do, Michael could really look at him. To his relief, his son didn't appear to have any physical injuries. He'd really started to get worried that Gregory bumped his head, but a hand through those shaggy locks didn't reveal any concerning lumps.

His face, though... never before had it been so haunted. The look in his eyes was far beyond Gregory's almost-thirteen years, and—

Those eyes.

Michael thought something was off about them earlier, but he'd chalked it up to a trick of the light. A gentle inspection by turning Gregory's head from side to side proved that this wasn't the case. Somehow, they were a strange, practically glowing silver.

“...Okay.” Michael's tone was calm, despite the screaming in the back of his mind. He'd never seen something like this before. Did Gregory even know? It seemed like he could see perfectly fine, so clearly this wasn't affecting his vision... “Okay. Can you... tell me anything that feels wrong? I need to know as much as I can so I can help you best.”

Gregory was fine with his father's seemingly routine inspection of his face. Though the moment Michael locked eyes in his, he realized what exactly he was trying to deduce.

Were Gregory's eyes always like that? the boy could practically hear him think. It raised alarm bells in his head. If he didn't always look like this, then his dreams may have been more tangible than he previously thought...

“It's my head—my memories...” Gregory tried to explain, blinking away the feeling of harsh scrutinizing. “Dad, my dreams were so bad I can't remember anyone here... It's so scary; I-I remember you, and Charlie and Evan but—wrong. Same with the others!”

Balling his fists in his lap, Gregory used the pressure to keep himself from shouting from the frustration he felt. What horrible thing had he done in a past life for the universe to keep messing up this one?

“I'm so confused... I-I don't know what to do.”

The crease in Michael's brow deepened the more Gregory spoke. He'd had some horrendous nightmares before—ones that woke him up screaming or left him shaking in a near-comatose state until one of his dads rushed in to soothe him. That first year of Gregory's adoption had been rough... but since then he'd been steadily improving. Each day was a little better. To see Gregory fall so far back because of one fucking dream was deeply distressing.

Michael tried his best not to let it show, but he knew he was doing a horrible job of it. If not for that startling thing he'd just discovered, he could chalk this all up to a flashback or emotional regression—something they could deal with in time. It may take another round of intensive therapy, but they'd gotten through it before and they'd get through it again.

And yet, there were those eyes staring back at him, silver and almost pained.

“I... I wish I could give you some answers, Gregory,” Michael admitted. He took a deep breath, trying to center himself. “I wish I could reach into your head and see what you're going through so I can understand. But... all I can say is that this is your life. This is your family just as they've always been, and even if you're a little confused please don't doubt that we all care for you deeply.” He shook his head, huffing in frustration. “I wish I could fix this all with a snap of my fingers, but the best I can offer is to take you home and let you spend the rest of the day in bed if this is too overwhelming.”

He'd certainly be calling the shrink for a second opinion while Gregory was resting, too.

Gregory breathed out through his nose and leaned his head on Michael's shoulder. The only reassurance was that his family would still care about him no matter what which reality was the true one.

“Okay...,” he muttered with some acceptance, knowing there wasn’t much else he could do.

In the end, he would trust Michael. The man was one of the only few people Gregory could truly rely on in the short list of family. And, though he’d never got the pleasure of meeting Jeremy in his dreams, the blonde had swiftly been added to that list.

“...I love you,” He reminded Michael. Wires crossed in his brain, slowly accepting the reality while trying not to think of his fucked-up dreams. This was real; that glitched Pizzaplex wasn’t. “You and Dad. Both of you are really good to me. I appreciate you guys a lot...”

Gregory had no clue if he ever spoke to them so candidly before. He blinked slow, glowing eyes at Michael as he calmed down in his hold.

“We love you, too,” Michael reassured, a smile breaking through as he rubbed a thumb over Gregory's cheek. “So very much.”

Gregory had said things like this before, though they weren't as common nowadays as they used to be. He'd taken time to adjust, of course, but once he realized that Michael and Jeremy did love him unconditionally, Gregory had been eager to return the affection. With the years together came more silent ways to show they cared for each other, so the phrase I love you wasn't uttered as much—especially in recent times as Gregory entered the dreaded preteen years. It was so nice to hear those words again, and Michael could feel a few tears well up in his eyes before he could stop them.

“Ah, shit...,” he murmured, swiping the liquid away with his sleeve. Then he froze with a guilty expression, quickly telling his son: “Uh... don't use bad words, Gregory. And don't tell your dad I said that.”

Gregory's eyebrows silently raised for his hairline at Michael's curse words. Apparently his sailor mouth was a habit he’d never grow out of. As a ghost, Michael didn't exactly encourage this way of speaking, though he never scolded Gregory for any harsh language displayed between them.

Now that his nerves were eased some, Gregory could joke with his dad. Laughing, he attempted to haggle for a deal. “I won't tell Dad you cursed, but I get a freebie later.”  

“Mm... okay, but you can only use the freebie when it's just you and me,” Michael haggled right back. “Don't want Jer lecturing both of us...”

Michael’s phone chimed with a notification that rumbled in his pocket. Jeremy and the crew had landed at Bonnie Bowl and his husband so delicately inquired:

Did you guys split to go take a leak?

Mike snorted at the eloquent text. With a chuckle, he typed a response while saying to Gregory: “Your dad sure has a way with words, kiddo.”

Greg got overwhelmed by the crowd so we hid in a backroom... doing better, but he's overstimulated so gonna take him home soon

He sent the message, then paused when he realized Jeremy was in fact their ride—or at least, the keys to the ride were currently in Jeremy's pocket. Thankfully, Jer had the message open, quickly replying as he laughed to himself at the Bowling alley.

Good luck hot wiring the van boo

Not wanting his tone to sound facetious, he then quickly offered him a better solution to get home.

How about I get our slushies and drive us instead?

Obviously that choice was a decision placed solely on Gregory’s shoulders. All things considered, with Gregory’s inability not to trust anyone so easily until they’d proven their dedication to not attempting to kill or maim him in one way or another, he should naturally fear Jeremy. Yet Gregory found himself unable to be wary of the man. Jeremy was easy-going; a man of naturally calm aspect—and nurturing on top of that. Clearly Michael found something good enough in him to marry the dude, which meant a lot in Gregory’s book.

“Yeah! I mean—” Gregory laughed, almost feeling silly that Mike had to ask such a question. “—he’s my Dad. He’s gotta come back with us…”

He was unwilling to leave Jeremy behind now. His presence was welcome, despite being an unknown variable.

Sounds like a plan, babe; meet u at the car

Michael sent the message while chuckling at Gregory's comment. “That's very true—if we left him here, Pappy would have to drive him back and I still don't like the thought of those two being in an enclosed space together for more than five minutes...”

Locking his phone and slipping it back in his pocket, Michael once against lifted Gregory into a secure carry. “One more trek through the crowds, then its home free.” He walked them to the door, pausing with his hand on the knob to check in once more before they set out—and to offer a warning. “I'm about to hone my years of high school track to get us out of here at the speed of sound... Ready?”

Gregory laughed at this. Opening up really did help; he just needed those words of affirmation to push through the hard feelings. And while he was being hoisted into Michael’s protective grasp yet again, he couldn’t help but think of his dreams.

Maybe in his own brain’s interpretation of Pappy, he’d pictured his grandfather’s and Jeremy’s bickering as something more extreme on William’s end. A murderer and betrayer of their family. That obviously wasn’t the case in real life; this delusion was something carved from nothing more than misguided, deep-rooted anxiety.

…Probably.

“You got this, Dad. I’m just gonna—” Gregory folded his face into Michael’s shoulder. He didn’t care to see the judgmental masses as they ran by, though he was ready now for whatever came their way.

Outside, the afternoon sun was beating down on Jeremy. Cold drinks were safely inside the van with the AC gently blowing over them as he waited for any signs of his family in the crowded car park.

“Aha—target spotted!” Michael announced once they'd entered the harsh glare of daylight and caught Jeremy's blonde hair shining like a beacon. Still keeping up the fast pace, he made it to Jer in a matter of seconds. Mike wouldn't admit he was winded, though it'd been a long time since high school track...

“Hey!” he greeted, pressing a quick kiss to Jeremy's cheek. Gregory had lifted his head to look around by this point, and with a grin Michael lowered him to peer into the car. “Seems like you're getting that slushie after all, huh?”

“Whaaat?” Gregory asked, leaning away from Michael to glance through the tinted windows. Sitting inside the little family van along with two identical slushies was a rainbow concoction: a menagerie or flavors layered but not stirred, meant to be enjoyed by those who favored variety in life. His mouth watered at the sight.

“I couldn’t leave my two favorite guys hanging!” Jeremy laughed. Unlocking the van and sliding open the door for Gregory, he lifted their son from Michael’s arms to aid his winded husband. “I’m making grilled cheese when we get home.”

He figured the kid would be pretty hungry by the time they got back as well. He was happy to see his son’s face light up with the simple phrase; Gregory did look like he was feeling better! But it was still evident to Jeremy that the boy must’ve been crying, judging by the strange glossiness to his eyes…

Apparently, Gregory just wasn’t ready for Saturday’s at Freddy’s yet.  

The drive was spent mostly in silence, save for the sound of slushies sucked through straws with reckless abandon. When they finally parked at the house, Michael was quick to let Gregory out and usher him inside, noting the boy definitely seemed better with the drink in hand.

“Greg, you wanna hang out in your room for a little bit while we get sandwiches ready?” he suggested with a knowing look in his eye. Perhaps going through some of his old things would jog the kid's memory...

Too bad Gregory tried that before with minimal success, though Michael didn't know this. Really, Mike wanted a second alone with Jeremy so he could fill him in on the situation. He was glad Gregory trusted him so much, but this was a lot to deal with on his own... and since their son expressed his trust of Jeremy Michael felt it alright to give him at least an overview on what was happening.

That's right, Gregory still needed to go through all those notepads and papers he found... He hadn't even touched the locked journal under his bed yet. It would give him a chance to reacquaint himself with the world around him. Whatever dissociative spell came over him might be lodged loose with some help from his own personal thoughts and feelings.

“Yeah, I need to chill for a second. Thanks for the slushie, Dad!” he told his caretakers. The drink was halfway full, he'd have to hurry and drink the rest before it became a muddy brown color from the melting flavors.

Gregory was mindful of no running in the house rule, though the sugar certainly helped his mood and begged for him to move his legs. Before he could fully walk away, Jeremy grasped him around the back of his shoulders and hugged him tightly. Much to his pleasant surprise, Gregory didn’t fight his embrace.

“Go unwind; love you, kid.” Grinning, he planted a kiss to the very top of Gregory's skull. He probably flustered the poor teen, as Gregory laughed at this and tugged away. After Gregory meandered upstairs with Jeremy watching as if to make sure he got to his room safely, Jeremy planted his hands on his hips.

“We really need to pick that kid up some eye drops. His allergies must be going crazy today...” Jeremy sighed sympathetically as he made his way for the kitchen to start on dinner. More likely, Gregory’s eyes might be dry from sobbing all day. He remembered being sad at his age—always getting choked up for one reason or another.

Michael was watching the stairs too, though his gaze shifted to Jeremy as he spoke. God, he hated to worry him... But he had to clue him in that this was something much more serious than they'd anticipated.

“Jer—” Michael caught Jeremy's hand as he reached the counter, speaking in hushed tones in case Gregory wandered out of his room. “—I don't want to freak you out, but... I think we might need to call Gregory's therapist again for an emergency appointment.”

He could see Jeremy gearing up to speak, that tell-tale widening of his eyes at the notion of something amiss with his son. Michael pressed on, lacing their fingers together as he did his best to explain.

“I... honestly have no idea what's going on, because Gregory doesn't either. But when we were in the security office, he—” Michael faltered, running a worried hand through his hair. “—he said he didn't... remember any of us. I mean, not like we are now. That nightmare he had was apparently so real it made him think we're the dream. Also, his eyes—”

He winced, looking to the floor and finally showing the emotion he'd been trying to hide from Gregory all day: fear for his son's well-being.

“I don't know how to help him, Jer...”

With Jeremy’s attention captured, Michael’s husband leaned against the counter to listen to him with an increasingly broad worry line that formed in his forehead. It made Jeremy wonder how the hell he didn’t notice anything before—and now that Mike mentioned Gregory’s eyes, he felt so dumb for not doing anything the moment he saw there was something different.

Jeremy dragged his palm up and down his face to try and ground himself. Though when he opened his eyes, the distress on Michael’s face made him flock to his husband and hold their hands together, unsure how much it would help.

“Do we need to take Gregory to the hospital?” Jeremy finally asked. This was going to be a hard decision, something that might cause Gregory a ton of undue stress should he be perfectly fine.

But the near-complete intrapersonal memory loss was insane to Jeremy. How could such a thing happen just because of a dream? His boy didn’t remember any of the fun things they used to do together… No wonder Gregory had been looking at him like he had four damn heads!

“I think with his eyes and the memory loss, this might go beyond the therapist—he might need medical attention,” Jeremy said very quietly. The last thing he wanted was for Gregory to overhear his fathers talking about what might be wrong with him.

“I don’t… know,” Michael admitted softly. He knew how insane that sounded—with everything going on, they should take Gregory to be checked out immediately. And yet…

“Something’s telling me not to.” A harsh, confused frown twisted Michael’s face as he rubbed his thumbs over the backs of Jeremy’s hands. “It sounds crazy, I know—I’m usually the worrywart who’d be the first in the car. But…” He shook his head, then cast a glance in the direction of Gregory’s room. “I think we should give him until tomorrow—see if he snaps out of it. I’d hate to stress him out more with hospitals.”

That was another thing Mike and Gregory shared: a strong dislike of hospitals. Michael didn’t know where his aversion came from, but for whatever reason the sterile air always unnerved him. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t take his son in his time of need, of course—but like Jeremy, he didn’t want to put Gregory under undue strain.

“He doesn’t seem to have any vision problems; maybe we can wait until morning and see how he feels,” Michael suggested. “He was getting a lot better until the crowds kicked up, and you already saw him acting more like himself in the car. I don’t want to take him to the hospital and, I don’t know… have him regress more. What do you think?”

Jeremy was soothed by this admission. Thank god this wasn't something that might require an emergency visit to the ER or therapist whenever possible. Jeremy nodded along with what Mike was saying, as he raised good points.

“I'll call Doctor Freeman, get an appointment scheduled, and we'll go from there,” Jeremy said with certainty and calm. “Do you wanna get dinner started? This might take a second.”

Jeremy slowly let go of Michael's hands—even though his own were fumbling with shaking nervousness as he grasped for his phone. This was nerve-wracking. How does something like this have to affect their son?

The kid never did anything wrong in his life; nothing on purpose, anyway. Gregory was one of the coolest kids he knew—and he wasn't just saying this because he was his kid. Jeremy just didn't understand why life had to be so cruel sometimes. Gregory was probably freaked out all day and unable to communicate this.

Scrolling through his contacts, Jeremy found the therapist’s number and began to dial it. He held the receptor to his ear and listened to the dial tone while nervously rapping his fingers on the smooth counter top.

Grilled cheese. Michael could handle grilled cheese.

“Sure thing,” he said, managing a tiny, shaky smile. Before Jeremy pulled away fully he was able to snag a quick, appreciative kiss on the cheek. “Thanks. I’m sure he’s going to be fine.”

Michael’s tone betrayed his lack of confidence. It was useless to dwell on the situation though; they’d check in at dinner and see how Gregory was feeling. Hopefully his memory will already improve and set a pattern for his recovery. With that worried crease seemingly etched into his brow now, Michael got to work making the sandwiches.

That kiss made Jeremy stay in the room. Something about it had given Jer the feeling that his husband couldn't be alone with his thoughts on the situation right then. On instinct, Jeremy's hand came up to tenderly caress Michael's cheek.

“Of course he'll be fine. This will all blow over soon enough,” he managed to say before he heard the receptionist pick up with her usual greeting. Gently pulling back, Jeremy would answer her. “Yeah this is Mr. Fitz-Afton, and I'm calling to schedule an emergency appointment for my son, Gregory.”

After another firm squeeze around the waist, Michael was released to compete his grilled cheese preparations. A few minutes later the first sandwich was ready, and with a reassuring smile directed to Jeremy, Michael plated it and climbed the stairs to Gregory’s room.

“Greg?” he called, knocking on the closed door. “How are you doing, kiddo? I’ve got food for you!”

***

Previous Chapter ~~ Next Chapter

Looking for more? Check out the Chapter Masterlist on Tumblr!

Or check out the entire Wires that Bind Us Series on ao3!

[imaginedmelody]

Thanksgiving “Community” Fic Rec Post!

It’s been a hot second since I posted fic recs on this blog! When I went to put this list together, the “Community” fics vastly outnumbered everything else I was planning to include. So I’m dividing this into 2 posts: you’ll get the “Community” ones now, so I can take time to track down some of my faves from other fandoms.

Not to sound saccharine, but Thanksgiving is about gratitude, and the Community fandom is the one I’m most grateful for this year. Both the show and the people I’ve met because of it made 2020 go from a hell year to...well, a slightly more bearable hell year, if we’re honest. And the fandom produces some damn good fics. So here they are, in no particular order, for your quarantine reading pleasure! And be sure to let me know your favorites that I might have missed!

1. “Advanced Companion Reconciliation” by adorations; Troy/Abed, not rated, complete (but part of a series marked in-progress)

This is one of the first fics that really stood out to me when I started getting into Community fic in the late spring/early summer of this year. The fandom is filled with post-series reunion fics where Troy goes to find Abed in LA, and this one is particularly exquisite. The whole story is wonderful, but I’ll go ahead and publicly state that Chapter 4 of this fic is one of the best single pieces of writing I read on AO3 this year. The level of intimacy and understanding and protectiveness between the characters, even in a non-romantic context, is mind-blowing. Their relationship just builds and builds beautifully.

2. “Lessons in Adjustment” and “Remedial Recovery” by biggod ( @nadir-barnes ); Troy/Abed, mature (LiA) / explicit (RR), complete (but part of a series marked in-progress)

A tender, angsty, but absolutely beautiful pair of fics- the first about chronic illness, the second about mental health. It can be a real gamble to take characters from a piece of comedic media and write about them undergoing scary and sad things, but Cherie does it perfectly here. This series will break your heart and make it soar at the same time, because even as Abed struggles to face a painful (and painfully realistic) diagnosis, the love between the characters and their humanity just shines right through. By the end of “Remedial Recovery,” I could feel that moment of learning to wake up to life again just like the characters were. Can’t recommend it highly enough.

3. “Studies in Evolution of Affection” by onemechanicalalligator ( @1mechanicalalligator ); Jeff/Abed, explicit, complete

There are some writers where the main barrier to including them in rec posts like this is that you want to rec everything they’ve written. Maya is absolutely one of those writers. Her fics may not have been the first I read when I joined the fandom, but they were one of the first where I began to make friends, to have conversations and feel like an active participant in the fandom. Like Cherie (above), Maya has also written fics about the characters going through dark situations, especially Abed dealing with mental illness and Jeff recovering from alcoholism (both of which, while dealt with more seriously in her fics than in the show, are canon-compliant aspects of the characters). And there is a special place in my heart for those, but if I had to choose one fic to recommend out of all of her dozens of works, it would be this one. Jeff/Abed is a rarer, more niche pairing, but one with incredible potential, since both Jeff and Abed are damaged in their own ways (and often understand each other better than the others, especially in the later seasons- even when they’re at odds). Each of the chapters is a little glimpse into a different scenario as Jeff and Abed’s relationship develops. Some of them are connected, and some are more stand-alone, but they’re all filled with lovely fluff and hurt/comfort.

4. “Seminar on the Legality of RomCom Tropes” by ama ( @greenandhazy ); Troy/Abed, teen, complete

No joke, this fic may actually have made me cry a little from all the emotions it gave me. It definitely made me gasp and burrow into the pillows smiling and say “awww” out loud. It starts with a pretty solid romantic comedy fake-dating premise: instead of Pierce requiring Troy to sail around the world to earn his $14 million inheritance, the conditions in this fic are that he must get married in one month and remain married for at least a year. After trying and failing to find a partner, Abed agrees to marry him to fulfill the terms of the agreement. And this begins an epic slow-burn for the ages, that rivals any romance movie I’ve watched in recent memory. The way they have to act like a happily married couple while, at the same time, not acknowledging their growing feelings for each other- it’s so beautiful and the longing is exquisite. By the time it ended, the joy I felt was incredible. This is the only single-chapter non-series fic on this list, so if you’re looking to read just one standalone, this is a perfect heartwarming choice.

5. “Basic Heartbreak Repair” by lgbtrobed ( @lgbtrobed ); Troy/Abed, explicit, complete as of TODAY!

While we’re on the topic of slow-burn... This fic is another perfect example of that. It sets up a scenario where the study group reunites in Colorado at Troy’s house, which they are using for Jeff and Britta’s wedding, years after the finale. They’ve kept in touch, but Troy and Abed have only seen each other once since Troy got back from his time at sea- and they’ve never discussed their feelings. The romantic buildup between them is just amazing; they’ve had all this distance, so things feel new, but at the same time it’s palpable how well they know each other. So every little step they take towards one another is absolutely note-perfect.

I can easily think of a dozen amazing fics that I didn’t even have room to include on this list. This fandom is full of some of the most ridiculously talented writers you can imagine. And now that the show is on Netflix streaming and enjoying a revival of popularity, there’s more fandom activity than it’s seen in years. I can’t wait to see what amazing works are waiting for us in 2021!

[khhcfi]

KH: Melody of Memory [In-Depth Review]

Here’s the Tumblr version of my website post at Weebly, where I give an in-n-depth review of my thoughts and ideas for Melody of Memory.

You can also view this at my website:

https://dreamywrites.weebly.com/

Warning; very long post

News Update Review The past couple of days have been busy with updates on the new installments in the Kingdom Hearts series. We first have Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road confirmed to be released on June 22, 2020 as a mobile game. We will finally know what happened in the past to have Xehanort become a Keyblade Master of Darkness, not light. With five new characters confirmed to be present in the game in addition to Eqarues and Xehanort, we're super excited for the story.

The second news has everyone on the edge with Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, especially as it's confirmed to be a rhythm game. Before the confirmation on June 16, a lot of people and myself included were curious yet dreading if it was going to a rhythm game using the same or similar mechanics like in Atlantica (KH2) and/or the Melody Catcher Reality Shift in Symphony of Sorcery (KH: DDD). I looked on the brighter side of things and thought of how the game would work involving interacting with music. The use of Unreal Engines for the graphics, Yoko Shimomura compositions as either classics or varied renditions of the classics, including the Kingdom Hearts: Orchestra Concert music, and the story revolving (mostly) around Kairi on her journey to find Sora. The 2020 Trailer showcased what Melody of Memory will look like and how it will function, better - maybe beyond better- than I and other fans initially theorized.

[Source: Google Images]

When I first read the word "melody" in the title, I thought it had relations to music; thus a rhythm game. It reminds me the Fantasia (1940) world called "Symphony of Sorcery" in Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance. The concept of "Sound Idea" to "dispel the darkness" (Mickey, KH:DDD) from the tainted musical score inspired another idea that I will explain later in the post. ​[Idea 4]

The mechanics are vastly different than the previous games, which makes it more exciting! The story of the game remained unknown until the trailer released today. Fans theorized Kairi would finally get her own game where she traverses inside her Heart to find any clue on how and where to find Sora. That seems to be the case as she has more screen time in the trailer.

Flashbacks This brings up the next and most important news. After confirming Melody of Memory as a rhythm game, it transitions into a static disruption that leads to cinematic cutscenes of what to expect and flashbacks. Fans already guessed the flashbacks belong to Kairi because her memories of Radiant Garden in Birth by Sleep were hazy.

[Screenshot Source: YouTube SQUARE ENIX]

The following 4 screenshots are most talked about because it visualizes what both the Kingdom Hearts Light Novel and Ansem Report 11 talked about.

In the Light Novel, there's a few pages where Apprentice Xehanort (really Terranort) asked where "the girl" was. Aeleus, one of the Apprentices of Ansem the Wise and a Palace Guard, told him she's sleeping in the "pod".

Personal Note: I thought the "pod" was referred to the Memory Pods in The Old Mansion in Twilight Town. The same pods that Sora. Donald, and Goofy slept for a year for Namine to completely restore the damage she caused in their memories in Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories. Sora's pod was bigger, resembling a white flower that when open, it's a blossomed flower. Since Terranort was examining her, I thought they used a pod like Sora's. Donald and Goofy pods are simpler and smaller. That would make sense for them to use since she was a child at the time of these experiments.

[Source: Google Images]

In the Report: “I have chosen one special girl. I do not know if she possesses a power like that of the Princesses. But, there is a chance, and this is an experiment. She may lead me to the place where the one holding the key is… I shall send her off to the ocean of other worlds.” ​ [source: Kingdom Hearts Wiki - Ansem Reports] Kairi was a child, 4 years old in Birth by Sleep. One year later after Terranort was given refuge in Radiant Garden under the Answem the Wise's apprenticeship, Darkness took over the world. Kairi, 5 years old, was sent to Destiny Islands. There was a meteor shower happening and Kairi fell from the sky onto the shores, where she was discovered by Sora [depicted in Kingdom Hearts Manga]. When she awoke, she had amnesia. With only her name remember, she didn't know where she came from, how she arrived on the Islands, what happened to her home and family. Five years worth of memory were "gone". In the KH universe, the memories are hidden than forgotten. Kairi claims to not know about her past in the original Kingdom Hearts game, but later states those memories are hazy for her when Aqua brought up their meeting in the Radiant Garden. My personal thought is that Kairi did have amnesia for awhile with the exception of her name. It's likely that over time she has flashbacks or visions or dreams so muddled and hazy that she can't find the truth. Another personal thought revolves around the ability of her Nobody, Namine, aka "The Witch". She's a unique Nobody born from both Sora and Kairi's Hearts after the events of the original Kingdom Hearts game. She has the ability to alter, destroy, and restore memories of Sora and those around him. Considering her abilities, I suspect she could uncover hidden memories buried deep within one's Heart. In Re:Mind, Riku states she's currently with the Twilight Gang - Lea, Isa, Roxas, Xion, Hayner, Pence, and Olette - looking for clues in Roxas's and Xion's memories. If given a chance, perhaps she can work with Kairi to fully unlock her hidden memories even though the latter is experiencing some flashbacks.

The Ark ​ Speaking of flashbacks, the picture below is also the talk in the fandom

[Sceenshot taken from YouTube SQUARE ENIX] It's machine that has made its appearance before.

[Image found on Google Images] This is the machine Sora and gang finds in a room in Hollow Bastion. At the time, we couldn't interact with it. We just entered this room and see this machine, fight enemies that appeared, and get a chest.

[Image found on Google Images] Later in Kingdom Hearts Union X (KHUx), we see Malificent in a room where the machine is. The name of machine is called The Ark. Next, we see Lauriam, who is the original person of Marluxio (Nobody), enter and tells her to leave. When she refused, he summons his keyblade and proceeds to attack her. In a different cutscene, Lauriam wakes up in a now damaged room, including the machine. Injured, he proceeds to exit the room with a limp. Given The Ark was damaged and later made its appearance in Kingdom Hearts and in the Trailer, I wonder if they're exactly the same machine? If so, that means that Radiant Garden is a section of the once Daybreak Town. Scala ad Caelum was built on top of Daybreak Town, as seen when Sora and the gang fought Armored Xehanort underwater. Or were two machines made - 1 in Daybreak Town (KHUx) and 1 in Radiant Garden (KH, Trailer)? Could it have been the Master of Masters who built them? Who knows?

Stars and Ideas

[Screenshots taken from YouTube SQUARE ENIX]

The following photos bring up other ideas I have.

Here we see Kairi and Riku in The Final World.

Idea 1: What if this portion is at the start of Melody of Memory like in KH3 as the opening cinematic cutscenes?

Tetsuya Nomura told the public the Final World and Dive to the Heart takes place at the end of the game's plot. So what if these screenshot are actually scenes that happen at the end or towards the end of the game, but are brought to the start of the game as an opening?

Idea 2: What if Kairi and Riku go to The Final World in the middle of the game because it's the hardest place to reach? Chirithy explained in KH3 that in order for someone to reach this place, they would have to either enter a very deep sleep that's near Death or actually die. Since Kairi has been sleeping for a year an Riku has been having strange dreams, they both enter the world by going under a very deep slumber that it takes there. Sora has done it countless times before, but he didn't realize it until Chirithy explained it to him.

Idea 3: After the duo arrives, they're encountered by a group of Stars

I have two options for this idea:

Option 1: The Stars gathered because they were drawn towards Kairi, a Princess of Heart.

Option 2: The Stars were waiting for them because Sora told about them. In the Secret Ending, Sora defeated Yozora (Good Ending) and was brought back to The Final World with him looking up at the sky then walking away. A year has passed, which leads to the events in Re:Mind, so Sora has been there all that time. I'm sure the Stars were there to unintentionally give him company and a sense of comfort inspite of the situation. He'd tell them about himself, friends, and journey to pass the time as well as training. Maybe some of the Stars made a promise to keep an eye for his friends should they arrive. Sora went off somewhere in the World.

Idea 4: This supports my “Personal Note” from earlier. Remembering this is a confirmed rhythm game and I mentioned the concept of "Sound Idea" being used, what if the Stars are gathered as a guide to help the duo through Kairi's Heart Memories that resided in Sora's Heart during the events of the original Kingdom Hearts game?

Remembering the gameplay screenshots and action in the Trailer, we play as Sora. If this is a Kairi game, or a Kairi-focused game, why are we playing as Sora with his original appearance from KH? I suspect it's because when Kairi's Heart resided in Sora's during the first game, her Heart contains Memories that Sora endured in his original clothing.

If that's the case, then it makes why we're playing as Sora accompanied with other characters to assist him. I'm sure we'll play as Kairi and the other characters soon after, but it's an interesting observation.

Similar to how Riku basically contolled Data Sora to fight against Data Organization  XIII in Re:Mind, I theorized it's similar for Kairi. The rhythm "game" could serve as a memory guidance for Kairi and the others. Bringing in the KHDDD Sound Idea from Symphony of Sorcery, what if they need to collect multiple Sound Ideas like from each world the rhythm has to offer to find Sora? If that's the case, then I wonder what song will be played if they harmonized all of the Sound Ideas together?

What if the clues she looking for is somewhere in the worlds Sora visited while she was inside his heart? I know Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are searching every world Sora's visited in reality but what if the clues are only something that can be seen or uncovered through the Heart...like through Princess of Heart?

@phoenixmiko: "The sound idea combined could form the Dearly Beloved for KHMoM or KH3's version."

A very good plausible! I can imagine Yoko Shimomura and her team playing a new rendition of the song!

Mentioned in: 

https://khhcfi.tumblr.com/post/621112208886284288

https://khhcfi.tumblr.com/post/621112566752690176

Kairi's Heart Fragments

Mentioned in my earlier tumblr posts: 

https://khhcfi.tumblr.com/post/621128405097775104/kairis-heart-fragments-in-kh3-remind-sora-had

[Screenshot Source: YouTube SQUARE ENIX]

One thing I’d like to add is that you can see Sora’s smile as he’s holding one of Kairi’s Pink Lights. I suppose he’s nostalgic of his brief quest to find all 7 Fragments and/or he’s comforted by the familiar presence.

 Other Observations

Something struck me when I looked back at The Secret Reports in Kingdom Hearts 3.

KH3 secret report 3:

Experiments of the Heart Notes on Subject X, Excerpt 1--

Subject was found in the central square shortly after dawn. Female, approximately fifteen years old. After seven days' observation, she spoke her first words, but could not provide a name. Subject exhibits signs of profound amnesia, and displays concern about which world this is. Her words suggest that she departed her home world with others, though she cannot recall the names of her erstwhile companions. All efforts to explore those memories have met with a rejection response.

After his initial experiments on me, Ansem the Wise ceased his research into the heart, his hand stayed by some fear I cannot fathom. Yet this new subject is like me: devoid of memories. She is the perfect sample upon which to continue my master's work. She, too, could benefit from it: by traversing the heart, we have a direct path into memory. I myself have begun to reclaim my lost past thanks to these very experiments.

Who is she? Whence has she come? These are questions no scientist could ignore. And the words she muttered, "May your heart be your guiding key"...

—Xehanort

[Source: Kingdom Hearts Wiki - The Secret Reports (KH3)]

Yes, I'm very aware that Xehanort is referring to Subject X - Skuld.

However, the bold section of the report really struck me odd in an interesting way.

"devoid of memories" = Subject X had amnesia upon arriving this world. The same thing that happened to Terra- Xehanort hybrid (Terranort) after Aqua saved him from falling into the Realm of Darkness. The same thing happened to Kairi upon arriving to Destiny Islands.

I don't know what Xehanort meant by "my master's work" specifically, though it may have to do with studying the Hearts, Light and Darkness, and unlocking The Door (Radiant Garden's Door)

"traversing the heart, we have a direct path into memory" = this is the most interesting aspect because we've seen this before. Recall the events of Re:CoM, Namine's first display of memory alteration to Sora and Riku by interfering with the chains in their Hearts. In KH2, Namine is restoring Sora's memories by correcting the chain links that greatly affect the others connected to him.

Xehanort reclaimed his "lost past thanks to these very experiments". As to which lost past he's referring to is most likely Master Xehanort's. Terra's memories may be (relatively) from his body-roommate after they merged.

Kairi is asleep for a year with Ansem the Wise and his Apprentices overseeing the process while using their knowledge about the Heart.

She believes her Heart holds clues to finding Sora. In doing so, it appears the memories hidden from her are resurfacing as flashbacks, bit-by-bit.

She's traversing her Heart to not only have a direct path to Sora, but also a path to her hidden memories.

She's traversing the memories stored in her Heart during her time spent in Sora's Heart.

Perhaps a reason why Terranort didn't recall much after waking up except for Xehanort's name is because the amount of memories the old master had was overwhelming Terra's mind. Paired with the strong powerful Darkness that amplified his own, it overpowered him to have amnesia for a while.

[dingoat]

FOR AHUSKA, Uncommon Questions: 1, 3, 5, 12, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 28, 29. FOR FIVE: 1, 6, 9, 11, 12, 15, 17, 19, 21, 25, 28.

WELL NOW :D *cracks knuckles*

PREPARE YOURSELF FOR A RIDE

For THE BEST GIRL, with bonus notes when there are werewolf variations:

1.  What position does your character sleep in? ( i.e; stomach, side, back, etc. ) Describe why they do this — optional. Almost always on her side, generally slightly curled up. It’s a very accommodating position to have animals snuggled up against her or on top of her, and also very accommodating of having another person there too (she’s just as happy being the big spoon or the little spoon). Sometimes when she needs to sprawl, she’ll fall asleep on her back, but will always wind up on her side again come morning.

(Except when she’s a wolf. Wolf sleeps as a lovely wolf-ball.)

3.  Does your character have an accent? What does it sound like?

Ahaaa! Answered already here! :D

5. What are their chief tension areas?

Uhmmmm several, I think, if I’m understanding the question right! Forehead, jaw, shoulders - from stress. Lower back, from hard physical work. Wrist, from drawing. Her wrist and back are the areas she actually pays attention to and takes measures to ease, and just saying even though she can be a little finicky about who is allowed to actually touch her, a good neck/shoulder massage is a pretty reliable way to win her over.

12. Describe 5 unusual characteristics your muse has.

Covered here! Though of course I could add that in werewolf au she has the incredibly unusual characterstic of being a werewolf. 

17.  Is your character an introvert or an extrovert? How do they handle big crowds of people?

She is an introvert, and in general doesn’t like to spend too much time in large crowds. She’ll never be truly comfortable on big city planets, though a crowd that she can just vanish into is vastly preferable to a smaller crowd that is paying attention to her. Too many eyes on her can be debilitating and she’ll never perform as well as when she’s amongst a trusted circle, but when she’s in a group that she’s comfortable with she can be incredibly lively, bubbly and cheeky. Only a very small select few individuals could be around her without impacting her solo recharge time.

19.  If your character was suddenly challenged, would they rather run away or stay and fight?

Ooooof, this definitely depends on what form the challenge/r takes. Once was she might have gone to great lengths to avoid getting into a physical fight, but that has definitely changed and she is much quicker to rise to a challenge these days. Her preference would be to stick around and prove herself/make the challenging party eat their words, but she’s not an idiot and isn’t built on bravado; she’s definitely not too proud to make a tactical retreat if her life or limbs seem genuinely at stake. (That said, if it is somebody else’s life at stake, she’ll throw all caution to the wind if she values that somebody above herself. And despite appearances, she actually knows how to fight dirty to great effect.)

Werewolf Ahuska would stand and fight longer, and harder, and against greater challengers, but at the end of the day she will still run when it calls for it- unless she has engaged in berserk mode. Then there is no backing down, and she hasn’t been beaten yet.

21.  Your character has been granted 3 wishes; what would they wish for and why?

This one has been asked and answered here, in terms of current-timeline-regular-story Ahuska. But for current timeline WEREWOLF, her wishes are definitely different!

1. To no longer be hunted by anyone2. Fulfilment of #1 might acutally go a long way towards fulfilling this one, but just in case she’d wish for no more impossible obstacles between herself and Blakk. There’s honestly a lot she might wish for regarding the two of them, especially with what she hopes and wants for Blakk himself, but it wouldn’t take a lot of soul searching for her to know that she wouldn’t want to magically skip over anything that they might be able to explore and discover and solve together in a real and meaningful way.3. To always be able to keep her memory and mind when she shapeshifts.

23.  Do they prefer romance or affection? What is the quickest way to your character’s heart?

If it HAD to be one or the other, she would most likely pick affection, because romance without affection would feel kind of empty, while affection without romance still fills her with warmth. But in all honesty she’d have a huge amount of trouble imagining one without the other and as far as Ahuska’s concerned they go hand in hand. The quickest way to her heart is to make her feel special, without a doubt. Words and acts that makes her feel desired, valued, worthwhile… all the things she has trouble seeing on her own. If someone makes her feel that with them, she can be a better version of herself… she’s gone, game over, done.

25, Do they have any weird bedroom habits? Any unusual kinks?

AHEM. Let it be said on the record that I, myself, am pretty clueless when it comes to knowing what would ACTUALLY BE WEIRD AND UNUSUAL. THAT SAID; she loves bedroom activities conducted outside of the bedroom, whether that’s out in the wilderness or right in the middle of the clan living quarters while the bosses are out or to duck away somewhere cheeky while out and about in the world. (In fact, she probably enjoys the boast factor of really random spots or getting away with it under people’s noses.) IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE that she has a startling familiarity with a lot of items that are TRADITIONALLY USED for animal husbandry purposes. Girl knows how to crack a whip and tie a knot if you know what I’m saying. >.>

28. Are they afraid of death? Do they have any regrets?

Covered this one here! But werewolf Ahuska definitely carries more regrets, even if she forces herself to acknowledge that at the time she didn’t know better and that she was acting with incomplete/inaccurate information. But she is deeply, powerfully sorry that she allowed herself to be convinced, even briefly, that Blakk had intended harm to her and her friends, and very much regrets the consequences of the time that immediately followed. She’s grateful that her wolf-self saw sense before she allowed it to get any worse, but carries huge guilt that she didn’t have the strength to make things go better, either.

29.  Does your character get restless when things are too quiet or do they favour solitude and silence? Why?

Ahuska really does need a good balance of both, and won’t tolerate either absolute silence or pumping noise and activity for very long at all. At a vibrant party she’ll need to duck away sometimes onto a balcony or into the garden; when left somewhere alone for a long stretch she’ll need to have music playing or the pets around to stop the emptiness from feeling painful. She doesn’t like too much routine or stagnation either; if she feels like she’s been doing the same thing day in day out for too long she’ll be busting at the seams to break the routine and see or do something new.

AND NOW, FOR THE WORST BOY:

1.  What position does your character sleep in? ( i.e; stomach, side, back, etc. ) Describe why they do this — optional.

Five maintains a steady rotation of back sleeping and side sleeping to maximise the benefits of both positions while trying to negate some of the negatives. While back sleeping is good for his neck and spine and helps prevent wrinkles, he’s heard that side-sleeping can help prevent brain wastage so he errs on the side of caution and makes sure to do that regularly. Probably with a skin care routine.

6.  If you were to pick one song — and only one song — to describe your character, what would it be and why?

I DO NOT KNOW enough songs about this caliber of person to answer this well but to avoid choosing a disney villain song (though honestly a blend of Gaston and Hellfire wouldn’t be terribly wrong) I’m gonna suggest that The Wolf by SIAMES has some pretty pertinent lyrics….

I’m out of my head, of my heart and my mind‘cause you can run but you can’t hide, I’m gonna make you mine….

9.  Does your character dream or are their nights filled with an empty blackness? Describe a dream they’ve had or a night they couldn’t sleep and what they did to preoccupy their time.

I’m sure he does dream, but he doesn’t remember much of them. There is one recurring nightmare that haunts him, however, and he would do anything to stop it from plaguing his sleep. There’s a good chance he’d call for Thirteen to distract him on those nights, but during times when his favourite Cipher is on mission or otherwise unavailable, it wouldn’t be unusual for Five to give up on sleep and head out into the Kaas jungles with his hunting rifle, to scream and end lives under the endless thunderstorms.

11.  What do they think of creation? Do they believe in evolution or do they believe in God? What is their religion like?

Evolution is fact and gods are for the weak. His religion is conquest, and those who waste their lives pleasing imaginary beings deserve to be conquered.

12.  Describe 5 unusual characteristics your muse has.

Only five??? XD

1. He treats every interaction with every sentient being he encounters as a training exercise; he does not know how to function without trying to manipulate every other being to benefit him in some way.

2. He loves and hates animals equally, both sickened and fascinated by them, and to no small degree hates the fact that he finds them fascinating.

3. He is obsessed with his favourite brand of aftershave and doesn’t realise that pretty much everyone else in Intel knows when he’s been in a room ahead of them.

4. He is a control freak to an almost debilitating degree, but also knows how to play the game and rein himself in when things don’t go his way when necessary. But he’ll store that frustration and lash out at others behind closed doors rather than deal with and accept that disappointment in a healthy way.

5. He loves watching others cause pain and bloodshed almost more than he loves delivering it himself.

15. Can they multi-task or must they focus on one subject at a time?

He prefers being able to focus, and will generally try to arrange things so that his mind can be entirely present on whatever task is at hand, but he can and will multi-task if it is necessary- and do so very well. He is a Watcher, after all.

17.  Is your character an introvert or an extrovert? How do they handle big crowds of people?

He’s definitely an introvert. He hates almost everybody. And even though it can sometimes appear that he’s not happy until everybody is noticing, respecting, obeying and being awed and intimidated by him, in truth he will never really be happy until he learns how to do away with all that and actually be happy with himself.

19.  If your character was suddenly challenged, would they rather run away or stay and fight?

Oh he would fight, competently, mercilessly, and violently, with the expectation that his Ciphers would back him up without question.

21.  Your character has been granted 3 wishes; what would they wish for and why?

1. To have his sister back.2. For the head of the Roquefort’s prize narglatch to be mounted above his bed.3. To be promoted to Keeper.

25.  Do they have any weird bedroom habits? Any unusual kinks?

Okay so he is a sadistic, domineering control freak with a shapeshifting Cipher at his beck and call YOU DO THE MATH >.> 

28.  Are they afraid of death? Do they have any regrets?

Absolutely, terrifically. A LOT of his insatiable desire for control springs from his terror of the utterly unforgiving nature of death. He regrets very little of his adult life but he fiercely regrets wandering off through the gardens that day as a young boy. He wishes he’d had the sense to stay put, he wishes he’d been stronger, and sometimes he wishes he’d gone first.

[parniarazi]

Tulum is a magical place where the jungle, sea, and ancient spirits all come together in one place. Being my first international travel destination independently, and being Pavel and I’s first international trip together, it was even more special (even though being in Texas we have the advantage of being a very short flight away). We saved, planned, and booked this trip right before school started for us in August, so we would have something to look forward to throughout the semester and after we finished our finals. Tulum has become increasingly popular in the last several years, as traditional tourist spots like Cancun and Playa del Carmen have become dated and worn out, while Tulum offers a more authentic and fresh experience. 

It’s tempting to get an inclusive-retreat style hotel when traveling to these parts of Mexico, especially as people are often (overly) concerned about safety in Mexico and want to stretch their hard-earned vacation money. I initially considered this too, but quickly learned that Tulum offers a lot less large resorts and hotels (at least for now) and is all about small, boutique-style hotels. Plus, getting to visit other hotels, restaurants, and just wandering in Tulum is an essential part of fully experiencing all this amazing place has to offer. 

We stayed at Coco Limited Tulum for 5 days, which was the perfect amount of time in my opinion. Even weathering a day and a half of clouds/rain, we still had enough time to rearrange our plans for the weather and just what we were feeling that day without stressing about not having enough time to do everything we wanted. For anyone planning a trip to Tulum, I would definitely suggest a full week though, especially if you want to venture out to more remote spots. Here are some of the spots we visited that are essential to check out and a little bit about our experiences at each place. 

☽ Cenotes at Casa Tortuga — I was initially planning to visit one of the open cenotes here because I was scared of swimming in the caves and covered cenotes. When we went to the front desk of our hotel for a taxi there they had a deal with Casa Tortuga and we were able to buy our tickets there to visit all 4 cenotes. It turned out to be incredible even though I was really terrified at first to go into the caves, we had a guide and were with a group so that really helped ease me into it and also made the entry price well worth it. It ended up being so beautiful and so much fun to experience this place as our first cenote visit!

☽ Archeological Zone of Tulum (Mayan Port City Ruins) — absolutely beautiful and within biking distance to most hotels on the Playa strip! It was a really cool place to experience history, walks in the jungle, gorgeous views of the water, and even some wildlife all in one place. Definitely take a bike ride here or just to the Pueblo, biking is also essential in Tulum and most hotels will have them to rent. Also, TONS of tourists from cruises and other areas visit here daily, so arriving early before the crowds will save you lots of time and make it less crowded for photos. We arrived around 10 am and there was no line for tickets/entry, but by the time we left around noon, there was a massive line waiting to get in.

☽ Tulum Pueblo — way cheaper to get souvenirs/hand-made goods here than you’ll find around the Playa area and some great cheap/local food too! We rode bikes here after visiting the Mayan ruins, and it was really close with a lot to see along the ride there. If there was one thing I would recommend doing while visiting the city is to go to a supermarket and buy a small cooler, ice, and drinks/snacks to just keep in your room. It’ll save you a lot on overpriced drinks along the beach, we got a 6-pack of Coronas (which I totally fell in love with while there) for about $1 USD while along the beach they would be at least $4-5 for one!

☽ Ahau & Raw Love Tulum — Ahau is a hotel and restaurant and within their property is one of the most loved and photographed sculptures and raw vegan spots in Tulum. The massive Raw Love statue was donated to Tulum by South African artist Daniel Popper and represents 𝙂𝙖𝙞𝙖, mother earth, opening her heart and giving loving energy for all of us. She loves and gives to us unconditionally. She keeps us alive. She gives us food, air, water, love, and so much more. To me, this perfectly captures the spirit of Tulum. Sadly, she was closed off for maintenance while we were there so we didn’t get good photos, but still seeing this amazing sculpture in real life was very cool. Just checking out this property and coming here twice during our stay for food was great. It’s a perfect spot for a light and refreshing lunch with a view of the beach. They also offer yoga and other holistic healing classes that I would have loved to join if we had more time there. 

☽ Cenote Nitcte-ha — a little farther of a drive from the Playa strip, this cenote is among the most beautiful and well-known in Tulum for its open clear waters and vibrant lily pads and well worth a visit. I was so excited to swim here and take photos, but I overlooked one small thing. This cenote has a lot of little fish and I am absolutely terrified of fish (yes, even the tiny ones). Maybe an odd fear for someone who loves being in the water, it actually really freaked me out and took me a while to get in the water without hyperventilating. The water was so cold and felt amazing, and it was worth the cortisol pumping through my body to experience this place!

☽ Resturants for dinner — among the best-rated in Tulum and worth visiting in our experience are Taboo, Ziggy’s, Mur Mur, Cenzotle, and Casa Jaguar. Keep in mind, a lot of these places are expensive with prices comparable to higher-end restaurants in the states. Don’t expect Mexico prices at restaurants along the Playa, but honestly, the quality and unique flavors of the food are incredible and like nothing I’ve had before. It’s worth the extra money to splurge on some of the amazing meals these places have to offer. I wish we had more time to try more of the restaurants and bars in the area though because they’re all amazing and delicious, you really can’t go wrong. 

☽ Swim and walk along the beach — simple, and of course what most people come to do, but I seriously cannot emphasize how healing and amazing it feels to have your toes in the sand and let the waves of Carribean sea wash over you. Saltwater has incredible healing properties, and on the days where the water was calmer, it was so much fun to swim in the crystal-clear waters. Not to mention you feel so relaxed and sleep like a baby after playing in the waves and sand all afternoon. 

Tulum is seriously an incredible, magical, and special place. The way the sunshine lights up the green leaves of the jungle, the smell of burning Copal, and the sound of the waves are something I won’t forget and would totally go back for. Well worth visiting, the only thing I would do differently is to spend more time researching the ethical practices of the places stay and dine at. After our trip, I was curious and did some YouTube learning on the history of Tulum. Of course, tourism always comes with an environmental cost, but I learned why this issue is especially critical for Tulum. I also learned about some of the beliefs and values of the indigenous Mayan people, and I think it makes travel much more valuable when you actively care about and learn about the culture, the environment, and the history of places you visit. 

Speaking of this, some of the most striking memories I have of Tulum go beyond the beautiful views and tasty food. At one of the shops at the end of the Playa strip near the city, we bought a dream-catcher and some other little souvenirs and when we went to pay, the man pointed to the back where there was a little table with two women were cooking food on hot plates. “They hand make these,” he said as he pointed to the women who kindly smiled at us. As a tourist, the least you can do is spend your money at local places so women like them can feed their families. The culture of this region in Mexico is one of kindness and trust. Vastly different than in America, when we took taxi rides to the cenotes, both times our drivers offered to take us round trip and waited for us while we visited the cenotes. They wouldn’t even let us pay for the ride there but would leave and come back or simply wait for us, trusting us to find them for our ride back. Even offering to keep our bags in the car so we didn’t have to rent lockers, the local people you’ll encounter in Tulum are just incredibly trusting and kind. Many of them would give us tips and talk about their favorite cenotes, and I was in love with the open, kind culture of the people here. My conversational Spanish really picked up while I was there, and I was inspired to finally take my Spanish skills a step further after years of being exposed to Spanish to be fluent by the end of 2020. 

The experiences, memories, connections, and inspiration that comes with traveling like this is truly invaluable. Taking this trip was one of the best things I did this year and I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to do so. I can’t wait to keep traveling, checking off places on my list, and being inspired by the places and people I encounter.

[sundaynightnovels]

15 Questions Tag Game

i’ve been tagged this time by @kidsarentallwrite and @elizabethsyson ! sorry, it’s been a hectic week so i’m only just getting to this! i find it especially apt that the latter has done the 15 questions game for a character called ‘Death’ (who i already adore), considering what my wip is about, yknow. somewhat. yea. && yes!! new characters from ashleigh!! i’ve previously done this for Zhen & Lu and Ren, Jia & Jun (i like to do these interviews in sets if you can’t tell), so... hmm. i’m going to do this for Shou and Teng -- the two sweethearts ! (as in, they both are adorable -- not that they are together. that would be havoc) the questions that i’ve gotten from my two tags are different, but i’ll use @kidsarentallwrite ‘s set of questions instead (because i can’t really answer questions about species / magical forms). also, be prepared -- these two can talk a lot.  1. What is your full name? Shou: Shou. Teng: Teng Shou: i don’t suppose we have to add anything else to our names, do we?  Teng: you should know better than i do! Shou: that’s not fair! i’m a newcomer here too! in fact, there hasn’t even been an orientation -- i wouldn’t even have had a place to live if not for zhen’s generosity! hm. this is a serious matter indeed, i should bring it up to someone. do you know who i can contact with regards to this complaint? Teng: how would i know??? i didn’t get an orientation either! i never thought of it as an issue, but it is, isn’t it???? how did zhen get her kid??? isn’t there a rule on how many men can live together in one apartment?? where does ren live??? can jia just move into someone else’s home just like this? there are so many loopholes! how do we live like this? we need to start up an organisation asap -- [the rest of irrelevant conversation redacted] 2. What does your name mean? Shou: ah! that is the most pertinent question! names should mean something, shouldn’t they? when ren had first returned me my name, i thought it meant ‘hand’ -- and that was particularly interesting! in palmistry, all these lines on a person’s hand means something individually, and a hand in itself is -- Teng: shou, they’re doing that thing again. that thing with their fingers that means they want us to hurry up Shou: -- what? do they not want to understand the deeper meaning behind the lines that they are naturally born with on their hands? do they not realise how a person’s entire life path is marked, since their birth, right in the palms of their own hands? is it not utterly fascinating? Teng: i don’t think so... Shou: then why are they asking questions when they do not want to listen to the answers? 3. What are your nicknames/other names? Shou: i believe that Ren refers to you -- and the rest of your army -- as the ‘Noisies’. Teng: what?? that’s a terrible name! Shou: i agree. but unfortunately, there is certain merit to it. we can use it to refer to all of you as a whole -- which happens quite frequently, considering the three of you never seem apart -- and also, the name seems rather apt. Teng: are you saying that we’re noisy? we’re not! i mean... i’m not! i mean, well... jun... uh.... okay! Yu(m) isn’t! you can’t deny that! Shou: ... 4. What’s your gender? Shou: i believe i am male. Teng: yea. is there anything else to be? uh wait. okay, i think jun warned me about this, said something about not opening up a can of worms... but i don’t get it! is there anything else? Shou: i don’t know. the world has changed vastly compared to when i was alive, so it is not my place to assume anything. also, zhen had also warned me about this, and i think it would be prudent to listen to their advice.  Teng: yea, i mean, i don’t know of anything else either. the world has changed a lot (nods sagely) Shou: yes, indeed (nods sagely as well) 5. What’s your sexuality? Teng: Jun mentioned this too. Shou: Zhen as well. Teng: (nods sagely) Shou: (nods sagely) 6. Where are you from? Teng: well, i just came straight from my apartment...  Shou: oh, is this what this meant? thank you for the clarification, i had no idea! i wanted to answer that i was born from my mother -- of course, that is such a redundant answer that i wasn’t sure if it was the answer at all! in that case, yes, i just came from the kitchen. Teng: ... the kitchen? you mean, the kitchen in your building? as in, the one zhen cooks in? as in, you came from lunch? after eating zhen’s cooking? is that it? Shou: ... i must excuse myself for a moment 7. How old are you? Teng: how rude! I am young! Young! Don’t listen to any of my boys, i’m not that much older than them! Shou: how old are you, then? Teng: uhhhhh.. well. fine. yes, i’m older than them! but not by that much! they make it seem as though i’m past my prime, but i’m really not! Shou: which is? Teng: uhhhh. i’m 27, i think. about there. 27 - 28. you? Shou: i don’t remember the age at which i died. if you are talking about post-death, however... no, i don’t know either. 8. Any special talents? Shou: he does! he does!! Teng: huh, me??? Shou: yes! you do! don’t be shy now, we all know what you are capable of! Teng: uhhh. i’m pretty good at cleaning up -- even though jun makes it seem like i’m dirty and disgusting. is that it? Shou: no! i’m talking about your imitation of a bear! you are amazing at that! Teng: ????? since when have i imitated a bear?? Shou: all the time! when we met for the first time, you were snarling and growling like a beast! it was amazing! how do you do that with your vocal cords? i have tried many times, but alas it is not a skill meant for me.  Teng: ohhhhhh, you mean that, huh? uhh, ahh, it’s nothing, really Shou: please do not sell yourself short. it is an amazing skill worthy to be proud of!  9. Do you have kids? Teng: if you are talking about the boys, then well, yea, i guess. though i wouldn’t really call them my kids.  Shou: you mean, your gang members? Teng: what gang?? why do people keep saying that i’m in a gang??? 10. What’s your aesthetic? Shou: i don’t understand. if you are talking about what i am wearing, right now i am wearing one of jun’s many robes. it is very comfortable, though unlike the previous garment that i had donned, it has less of a breeze.  Teng: i’m just wearing normal clothes i guess. don’t know how you want me to describe it further. 

11. Who’s your best friend? Shou: best friend? as in, a friend above all other friends? that’s terrible! how can you ask me to choose such a thing? Teng: yea! that’s terrible! i can’t make such a choice! Shou: so you don’t have an answer to this as well? Teng: yea! also... well... i don’t know if i... i mean, well, the boys are just the boys, right? outside of them, i don’t even know if i have any friends... so uhh, yea. yea. can’t really answer this anyway. Shou: am i not your friend? all this time i have considered you my comrade-in-arms, leader of the Noisies, an odd man and a great friend -- yet could it have all been my imagination? have we not fought in battle, have we not shared a meal, have we not been tormented by the same slow tale and have we not slept together under the same roof? has this all been one-sided on my part? have we never been friends all this while? Teng: well... you fought against me in ‘battle’... but yes! we have! we have shared a wonderful meal, and we have been tormented by quan’s horrid story, and well, i guess you have slept in jun’s room before so yes! we have slept together under the same roof! i’m sorry, i was too caught up in moping in my own sorrows that i’ve somehow neglected the friends by my side! my answer is you! you are my best friend, shou! you are! i’m sorry for having forgotten you all this while! Shou: thank you! thank you for realising your folly! yes, we are friends ! Teng: ... Shou: ... Teng: ... are you not going to say that i’m your best friend as well? Shou: ... it just seems like an important decision. i don’t want to make a choice so quickly. 12. Would you ever get a piercing / tattoo? Shou: absolutely not! how can you suggest such a thing? our physical bodies are a gift from our mothers! they should not be desecrated just like that!  Teng: aren’t those painful? uh, i mean, not that i’m afraid of the pain, it’s just... you know! uh... uh... right! i don’t know what to put on it! where would i pierce, what kind of design would i put on my body -- those are all important questions! Shou: if i could, i would paint an image of the flaming sun on my chest. Teng: i thought you said that our bodies are a gift from our mothers? that we shouldn’t destroy them just like that?? Shou: well, since i am dead, i think it’s right to assume that my mother is as well. and we have long lost our physical vessels, so there is no real damage. furthermore, i have to remember how scary the sun is. (shakes head) it is not simply the glowing ball of warmth you think it is. 13. When are you happiest? Shou: that is an impossible question to answer. how can there be a ‘happiest’ when there is nothing to compare it to? there will always be a ‘happiest’ moment in your future! when you think you are happy in the present -- even, perhaps, the most happy that you can be -- you never know what is coming your way next. there will always be another ‘happiest’ moment. as the saying goes, there is always a higher mountain. you cannot limit yourself your current happiness. you will always be happier! you must trust in that! if there are constants in life, that would be it! Teng: (wipes away a single tear) Shou... Shou: that being said, my happiest moment would be when we are all together. Teng: (wipes away tears from both eyes) Shou! Shou: ah, and perhaps when i’m eating a sugared gourd. that as well. 14. What’s your biggest secret? Shou: what secret??? i have no secrets! i am not lying! Teng: uhhh. i don’t have any i think. shou, you are acting kinda weird though. Shou: i’m not! i’m not!! 15. What’s the first thing you notice about people? Shou: it used to be their names, but now i am not certain. i haven’t been around enough people -- though yes, i am around a lot more people now than i was in the past. it is rather incredible. Teng: uhhh. i notice that they are people? i don’t get it. am i supposed to say something specific? but i notice them as a whole! if someone’s walking towards me, then they’re walking towards me. i don’t know what you want me to say! tagging @insearchof-solace @elliswriting @vhum @thedreamsofthesky @coffehousecreations @snowdropwrites @focusdumbass @chrysanthos-writes @bookenders @inexorableblob @incandescent-creativity @radley-writes @minnowf @thel3tterm @pen-for-sword

[eggoreviews]

20 Dream Games for the Playstation Classic!

The PS1 Classic came out last year. Everyone got excited for a minute, but then we found out it was missing almost everything! Here’s my personal list of the 20 games I reckon should’ve been included. I’ll stick to one per franchise to keep it fair, but I might have to break that rule once. Hope you enjoy/agree!

Note: This is just my opinion. There might be some ones you don’t agree with, and I might have cut some ones from the original lineup you liked. Sorry in advance lol

Before I kick off the list, thought I’d briefly list off the games I cut from the Classic’s actual lineup:

Battle Arena Toshinden

Cool Boarders 2

Destruction Derby

Intelligent Qube

Jumping Flash

Mr. Driller

Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee

Resident Evil (you’ll see why)

Ridge Racer Type 4

Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo

Syphon Filter

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six

Twisted Metal

Wild Arms

Aight, let’s go.

1. Final Fantasy VII

The quintessential PS1 JRPG, of course FF7 had to stick around from the original lineup. Like it or loathe it, FF7 defined its console and is still highly regarded as one of the best JRPGs of all time. Playstation wouldn’t really be Playstation without this game. This was the game that pushed Final Fantasy into 3D, and firmly into the hearts and minds of players everywhere. There’s little else to say, other than that you kind of already know how iconic this one is.

2. Grand Theft Auto

The humble beginnings of a now mammoth franchise, the first entry in the now legendary GTA series was a top down weird thing that let you explore three separate cities in whatever cars you can find. While this doesn’t hold up especially well today admittedly, GTA was an important milestone, not just for its series but for its console generation and has certainly earned its iconic status to belong on the PS Classic. This one was a good choice.

3. Metal Gear Solid

Another obvious choice, MGS is where Metal Gear really became Metal Gear. Brilliantly cheesy voice acting, awesome stealth gameplay, suitably weird story and the birth of the now iconic codex screen, MGS is like the archetypal cold war film wrapped in a supremely fun package on the PS1. If this wasn’t here, there is no PS Classic and that’s just the tea.

4. Revelations: Persona

This was one I wasn’t expecting an appearance from on the PS Classic, but I’m glad it did. In my head, the beginnings of this extremely weird spin-off JRPG series is an essential piece of kit on a classic compilation. Everyone hoping to experience the best of what PS1 had to offer should probably try this one out and while it certainly isn’t for everyone, it’s certainly unforgettable and deserves its place among the rest of this lot. But hey, maybe I’m biased because I’m obsessed with Persona 5.

5. Rayman

The first in the franchise that spawned my favourite 2D platformer of all time, Rayman made his glorious start on the PS1. While some may argue that the second entry in this colourful, creative platformer series deserves the spot, I’m with Sony in giving the spot to the first instead. Despite the cringey, cliche villain name they went for, this game was innovative for its time and had its own unique art style that still holds up remarkably well today. This limbless boy has earned his place.

6. Tekken 3

The final game from the original 20 I’m carrying over into my list, my thoughts are that this compilation was in need of a traditional fighting game and Tekken 3 perfectly fits the bill. This acts as one of the most iconic fighters on the PS1, and is pretty much superior in every way to the previous two entries, bringing with it more characters, more moves to pull off and a better, smoother combat system in general. This is the perfect fighter for fans of retro and takes its place rather nicely on the classic console.

7. Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus

Here’s the reason why I cut Abe’s Oddysee, to replace it with what is arguably its vastly superior sequel! Oddysee is still good, but for newcomers to this extremely odd platformer, the larger variety of power-ups and potential strategies is a much better pick for those unfamiliar with the franchise. To put it simply, Exoddus just holds up better today than its predecessor. Get ready for what is kind of nightmare fuel though, as the slightly unsettling imagery and character designs are bound to make you feel a little uneasy as you traverse dystopian, industrial environments as a weird amphibian thing.

8. Resident Evil 2

And, predictably, here’s why I cut the first RE, because there was no way I was leaving this franchise off my list. It was a tough one, but the second just won out. In my mind, RE2 just improved upon the first one in so many ways. While the first was a horrifying, strategic blast through an infested mansion that became one of the PS1′s defining games, RE2 took what the first one did well and built on it immeasurably. More developed characters, a fleshed out story, more unique environments to explore. Even though the map got exponentially bigger, that feeling of claustrophobia never went away and it was awesome the level of horror they could achieve with 90s graphics. As a legendary horror game, RE2′s the one I would go with.

9. Bishi Bashi Special

I know what you’re probably thinking, ‘this arsehole cut Ridge Racer but they’re making room for Uncle Bean?’ Well, hear me out. A lot of you may not have heard of Bishi Bashi Special. It’s a little known Japanese party game that is the maddest thing you will ever play. And in a classic compilation filled with iconic RPGs and the like, I felt that injecting a little chaotic madness into the mix was never gonna be a bad thing. There’s nothing on the PS1 that even comes close to the level of chaotic fun this gives you and shows the pure variety of the console’s back catalog. I’m very firm on this game’s place. Fight me about it.

10. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver

A hack-and-slash game with fully rendered 3D open environments, starring a kickarse silent vampire with glowy eyes. It’s a real wonder they didn’t put this on the starting lineup. For real though, Soul Reaver was ahead of its time in a lot of ways, really testing the PS1 to the limit with its graphics and control scheme. An awesome tech demo for the time that still holds up well today, but is also a solid game in general. Very worthy of this list.

11. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

As pretty much any PS fan will tell you, this game kind of has to be here. And everyone won’t shut up about it for good reason. While Castlevania made its start on Nintendo systems with the original trilogy, it really made its mark on the industry when Symphony of the Night dropped onto the PS1 in 1997. It took what made the other games so great and built on it all, providing a sprawling platforming epic filled with collectible power-ups, hidden places to explore and a story that, at the time, defined the franchise. Many would argue that the series still hasn’t topped this entry, and as such is an essential addition that is sorely missing from the real thing.

12. Tomb Raider II

Tomb Raider is, well, iconic. I’ve used that word a lot but it’s true. Lara Croft and the franchise she belongs to are iconic, especially to the Playstation. And like Castlevania, the lack of any Tomb Raider on the Classic is almost criminal. This title encompassed everything that makes the original Tomb Raider trilogy so great, interesting puzzles and areas that require a lot of strategic thought to traverse, a decent selection of weapons and vehicles and a sense of genuine fun and adventure that runs through the whole thing. Tomb Raider is cool, and it doesn’t need much introduction. And for me, this was the most glaring omission of them all.

13. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

While we’re on the subject of glaring omissions, here’s what was basically the PS1′s answer to Mario and Sonic, Crash Bandicoot. In particular, I’ve chosen Crash 2 because I feel it’s the best experience for new players. Crash 1, while it’s the original, is full of a load of fuckery that may put newcomers off altogether if they can’t master the jolty controls and the slightly unfair life system. Not a bad game, just not great for those new to the franchise. Crash 2 just sort of lends itself better to the classic, challenging but not too much 2D platforming the series is known for. Well-designed, aesthetically pleasing levels, consistently fun mechanics and even a story you can sort of follow. This was Crash at his best, and it needed to be here.

14. Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon

Yet another PS Classic omission that made people sad, Spyro acted as the lesser known, but still suitably iconic second mascot for the PS1. Unlike his orange counterpart, Spyro’s levels felt much less linear and were more of an explorative collectathon rather than a straight platformer. And of the original trilogy, it’s pretty safe to say that number 3 consolidated everything the first two nailed and made it as perfect as it could be. Year of the Dragon defined the series at the time, and it needed to be onboard as much as Crash.

15. Crash Team Racing

Look at me go, I’ve finally broken my franchise rule. But in this one instance, considering how wildly different the 2 Crash games are, I think we can let it slide. CTR was never really meant to happen, it was mostly just a side project for the guys at Naughty Dog to do while they still had the rights. And the result was an awesome, fast-paced and crazy experience to rival Mario Kart. Unlike Nintendo’s equivalent at the time, CTR had much heavier, clunkier feels to the karts you drove, which really made you feel like you were driving this hunk of metal. You had power-ups that kept everything interesting, shortcuts to learn and even a full-on Diddy Kong Racing style adventure mode. Guess we’ll just have to wait for the remaster to relive this one.

16. MediEvil

I’ll be honest, this was the one I was most disappointed to have missing from the Classic. I absolutely adore this game. I love the story, the concept of Sir Dan as a character, the combat and the lovely gothic areas you encounter from a mausoleum to ghost pirate ship. But most of all, the cheeky, totally stupid British humour running through the whole thing, particularly through the game’s archetypal villain Zarok, makes the whole game as funny as it is epic, with a suitably rousing soundtrack following you on your journey to prove you’re not the zero everyone thinks you are. Classic game, desperately needed a place on the lineup.

17. Gran Turismo 2

I’m going to preface this by saying that I don’t care much for realistic racing games, I don’t derive a lot of joy out of them and they aren’t really my cup of tea. But in my efforts to keep this lineup as diverse as possible, I thought I’d include the game that really pushed the PS1′s graphical capabilities to its limits and almost created a game that surpassed its console generation in its looks. There’s a whole wealth of content here; a whole bunch of cars to unlock and a beefy career mode to keep you busy for a fair while. And this game differs from other racing games on the system by rewarding strategic thought and encouraging players to think through every action they take on the race track, which for me makes this the most immersive racer on the system.

18. PaRappa the Rapper

Okay, I know. I really did just put this here. But come on, PaRappa ended up in PS All Stars, so he’s gotta mean something to someone, right? It doesn’t matter how you slice it, this paper dog properly revolutionised rhythm games at the time, creating a fun and responsive, if a little short, experience that was certainly unique for the time. This is another that would definitely fall under the weird category, but it’s a bit of Playstation that doesn’t get mentioned nearly enough and it’s worth a spot on pure fun factor alone.

19. Ape Escape

As one of the first games to rely entirely on the Dualshock analog sticks, Ape Escape is another that falls into the ‘must mean something to someone’ category, as Ape Escape also ended up with a character in PS All Stars. This one is a fairly simple foray, but it was met with a lot of love from fans, as you play as a tiny, chibi version of the dude from Yu Gi Oh (tell me I’m wrong) and round up a bunch of escaped apes in varying platforming levels with a cool selection of gadgets. It’s here because it’s here, let it be.

20. Silent Hill

Silent Hill is pretty much as iconic as horror games get, and yet I somehow managed to forget about it until I got the 20th and final game on my list. It was claustrophobic, gory, full of metaphors you really don’t want to dig into and, most of all, it was terrifying. The constant fog, while it was mostly implemented to account for lack of draw distance, worked in the game’s favour and became a staple in the series. For the PS1 era, this game and the series it belongs to properly nailed the scare factor and left everyone who went near it feeling at least a bit uneasy. Saying this belongs here is an understatement.

Cool, there’s my list. My probably quite badly justified list clouded by pure fan-ness. But anyway, hope you agreed with some of my picks and let me know what games you would’ve liked to see on the otherwise questionable PS Classic lineup below. Thank for reading !

[bristolpusher-blog]

Rainbow Six: Siege and why I love it.

History of Siege:

Rainbow Six: Siege is a tactical FPS game developed and published by Ubisoft (more specifically Ubisoft Montreal) during December 1st. The game is currently approaching the end of its third year and has reached around 35,000,000 (35 million) players, but it didn't start this way.

Siege's official gameplay trailer was shown at E3 is vastly different to the game upon release. The game trailer shows tactical and long rounds requiring large amounts of communication with little room for error, stunning graphics and interactive animation between the hostage and other players. No operators were shown indicating that originaly everyone would be the games current operator "Recruit" but with their own special loadout and no abilities with customisation likely being very limited.

The trailer ends with a standoff between a defender and an attacker firing shots with no answer to who won the round (probably to show that both sides are infact balanced and have equal chance of winning). You could even take a helicopter landing onto the roof which is badass (And probably would've saved us from the spawn peak craze, but more on that later) but alas the game changed vastly at some point during production.

(I can't really talk about the beta as not only do I think it's not really important to understanding the history of siege as it played almost identically to day one release but I also have never played the beta version of Siege, However I will link a video to a closed Alpha gameplay video)

1st of December 2015: Rainbow Six: Siege is released to the world with 20 operators (and everyone's favourite: Recruit of course) these included: SAS: Thatcher, Sledge, Smoke, Mute. FBI: Ash, Thermite, Castle, Pulse. GIGN: Montange, Twitch, Rook, Doc Spetsnaz: Fuze, Glaz, Tachanka, Kapkan GSG9: IQ, Blitz, Jager, Bandit

Giving two from each to the attacks and defenders. (Attackers left, Defenders right) Your starting team depended on your colour. Orange was Defence and Blue was attack with the teams rotating roles each round while maintaining their colour.

But the operators were locked behind walls of money called Renown. Luckily however this didn't effect the game too hard as within literally one match you had your first operator in that division. But the prices rose if you wanted to buy an operator in the same grouping. So if I bought SAS Thatcher all SAS ops would be more expensive (Unless using R6 credits the in game paid currency). My first operator was GIGN Montange a shield operator and my last was GIGN Rook who ironically became my most played defender so I just wish I'd bought him earlier. Each operator has a unique ability which changes the playstyle with limited resources that cannot be reloaded even in the terrorist hunt game mode which gives you ammo boxes.

Here's a link to a video containing all operator guns, and abilities:

A season pass system was also announced by Ubisoft the first being Operator Black ice giving us two Canadian operators: Frost and Buck and this is what I think makes Siege so unique from other tactical FPS. These operations unlocked cosmetic items, new weapon skins (Most noted is the black ice renowned for being the best skin in the game) here's a list by Ubisoft of all rewards for the pass.

The JTF-2 operators, Frost and Buck, the Navy SEALs operators, Valkyrie and Blackbeard, the BOPE operators, Caveira and Capitão, and the SAT operators, Echo and Hibana. 600 R6 credits, R6 icon charm, premium pass until December 1st 2016. However these operators were available to everybody if they purchased them with free renown they got from playing matches (Around 150 if you lose and around 300 if you win) these operators cost a large amount but its not impossible as I did it myself to unlock Capitao.

In July 2017 Alpha packs were introduced. These unlocked through a sort of roulette wheel at the end of a winning game. The pack (if landed on a white bar you built up by playing games) contained cosmetic headgear and weapon skins until this season where Jager received a legendary uniform in Legendary Alpha packs. These packs are blind luck and you never know what they contain until you open them. If you have the season pass the pack percentage gets a 0.30% boost and when losing it goes up by 1.5% and when winning 3%. (Of course not including the additional bonus for season passes) these can be bought for varying amounts if Renown

These season passes continue until this day with free content such as maps, cosmetics and operators being released. (8 a year) As of writing this Grim Skies (Year 3 Season 3) is ongoing and the game is definitely had a few bumps this season with the introduction of Clash who's nerf patch hasn't been released at the time of writing.

And now the siege history lesson ends and my opinion begins. I LOVE Siege. I play it basically every day and never seem to tire of this. But I don't think that's just because of me being some addicted fan boy. I think that the reason Siege has become so popular and developed such a massive community is because the huge comeback it had. It was originally a huge failure with players leaving in mass. Thousands of videos on youtube pointed out its massive flaws until instead of abandoning it... Ubi started work. Bug fixes, anti cheat, graphics improvement. You name it, if the community asked Ubi delivered and they still do to this day. Even refusing to change Tachanka despite his huge meme status as being terrible simply because fans love him that way even releasing a cosmetic bundle called "Lord Tachanka" a huge fucking meme amoungst the community that the devs love too which just shows how tight knit we are as a game. While they did take a while to do it during the big Hack period they fixed that for fans and announced they would do so even before the big Youtubers jumped in on it.

Ubi revived Siege. And I can never really express just how thankful I am for that in words. I love this game and I can't wait for the next season or the next game.

Gameplay:

Now it's time to talk about the gameplay Holy shit is this fun. When something goes well and your team just clicks you forget you're playing a game. You're a squad of 5 elite special forces soldiers who's training has lead to an unstoppable wall of fire as your tear through your enemy and it only gets better when the enemy does so too. The rush you feel when a 1v1 comes after a long gun fight is tense and nerve-wracking as you feel your whole team watching you or calling info on cams or drones (More on that later) winning is satisfying and losing is crushing but you still don't want to give up. Because you know that with the right team and the right strats you can wipe the floor with even the best of players.

Games tend to last around 15 minutes in casual with three rounds won being the win and up to 30+ in Ranked. Each round has a drone phase where little black RC drones race around the map looking for the objective while defenders quickly reinforce the room with defences such as metal wall reinforcments, barbed wire, deployable shields, nitro cells (C4 explosive) and your defenders personal gadget. You then have 4 minutes to either complete the objective as Attackers or wipe the enemy team and vice versa as defenders.

There are currently 18 maps in Siege such as, House, Oregan and Presidential Plane with another map planned next season. My personal favourite is Clubhouse.

On your gun you can add various attachments such as scopes, grips and compensators. But it's hard for me to talk about that since it's mainly personal preference I almost always use Reflex but most like the Acog scope. Here's a list of what attachments you should put on guns according to Varsity Gaming who you should check out for tips and info on actual mechanics such as damage drop off on guns.

This brings us nicely to spawn peaking. Since defenders spawn 45 seconds prior to Attackers and there's fixed spawns Defenders began opening windows to shoot people as they exited a spawn area most prominently Jager and Bandit. This resulted in their Acog scopes being removed and eventually all Acog scopes from all 2 speed and 3 speed defenders giving a large advantage on the Attackers side as in long range encounters the 2.5x zoom of an ACOG will help massively. Here's another link to a video which marks all things removed or nerfed to the current date. It's still a sensitive topic today as spawn peaking still exists but you're much more likely to miss someone or get killed yourself when you do it.

10 years of content has been announced but people do still doubt it but personally I think it can be done. Considering we're about to enter year 4 and the game is only growing in popularity I see no reason why it's going to stop any time soon. Especially now its practically one of the biggest Esports perhaps only being outdone by League and Dota with Overwatch declining it its recent years.

Not to mention the huge profit they overturn in cosmetics Ubi made pro league and elite skins, the later of which unlocks special MVP animations when equipped and winning as the largest point scorer.

How to Play the game

Now let's discus the gamemodes. You have Casual and Ranked with Custom matches and Terrorist hunt being less of a central focus and an offline Situations mode for beginners to practice.

Casual matches assign random spawns, random defence points and has a cap limit of 5 rounds with a winner being declared after someone reaches 3 otherwise resulting in a draw which effects nothing and gives bad rewards considering you just both basically won.

Ranked gives you a choice of spawns, defence points and caps at 9 rounds with a winner either being declared at 4-2> or having to go to a 5 after it reaches 4-3. After winning a defence location defenders who won may no longer use that defence point until it reaches the overtime tie breaker rounds of 4-3 onwards where everything resets basically. Drone and round times are the same however for both casual and Ranked if an objective is being complete such as Hostage being extracted, Defuser is being/ is planted or Securing objective/contesting then like casual the timer will never end until someone either leaves the room or dies. If a user leaves a ranked match their space is never filled nd they receive a ranked match ban for 15 minutes which increases each time and leave penalty

All game modes feature a DBNO (Down but not out stage) where you will be knocked to the floor and a large + icon surrounded by a white circle slowly being ticked away by a red line creeping across will appear. Your vision will be impaired and movement reduced to a crawl. You will produce a blood trail leading the enemy to you if you crawl away. You can press and hold to stop movement but hold the blood in giving you more time to wait for a teamate to come help you up. Any damage you take will probably kill you and all revives (except Docs stim pistol and Finkas adredinal surge) will get you back up on 50 health and must be done when right next you the only exception to these rules is Zofia and Doc who can get themselves up if Doc has a stim left and Zofia needs no help at all and after a brief 5 second animation can get up on 1 health and continue to fight.

Gamemodes in Ranked and Casual are:

Hostage: Hostage must be extracted from defence point and taken outside to a red flare where you will extract him/her and win you can as with teammates kill the hostage instead of the minus 100 points and ban (and an additional -100) for killing two teammates like you may expect you're hit with an instant -500 points and an almost certain ban if you're not careful. And since Renown is given based off of points this will likely screw you out of any renown if you lose the match and don't receive the +2000 points for winning.

In Secure area you must enter the room with the container automatically beginning to secure it simply by being in the room however. A loud siren goes off wherever an enemy enters with a large "Contested objective" appearing above the icon that goes through walls for both teams if a defender is inside and a "Securing..." if not.

On Bomb there are two sites near eachother [A] and [B] with Attackers having to enter the room and plant a single defuser given to one member at the start of the round taking 7ish seconds to plant and 40ish seconds to defuse the bomb entirely however the bomb defuser can be destroyed by the defence team by approaching it and holding the button to defuse with the same 7ish seconds needed to defuse however during this time the defuser still continues to tick down and can pass the threshold of defusing the bomb while a defender defuses resulting in an attacking victory.

All of these gamemodes are 5vs5

Terrorist Hunt:

Terrorist Hunt features a range of difficulties: Normal, Hard and Fucking impossible (Realistic). These missions can either be done alone or with a team. Depending on difficulty team friendly damage is reduced so I'd recommend Team play if you want a lot of renown for not very much work at all.

Situations:

These missions have fixed objectives and must be done alone in single player. After completing all situations that teach you how to play you may take part in Article 15. A difficult mission in a realistic difficulty where you and 4 others must defuse 2 bombs inside the map Bartlett University with heavily obscured vision in yellow clouds filling the map obscuring enemies and the bodies that liter the ground.

Custom Games:

These allow modifiers for a 5vs5 with friends or less even allowing you to explore the map alone. You can change health, timers such as increasing defuse time, drone time, match time and the amount of rounds. You can even turn on pro league settings to have a tournament with your friends.

Shop:

Siege has an in game shop where you can purchase the previously mentioned elite skins and various other items such as weapon skins, Pro league sets and weapon skins, charms and even the glorious Lord Tachanka sets.

Final thoughts and review:

Siege is in my opinion one of the greatest FPS games of all time. It has incredible fans, Gameplay is smooth and fun and most importantly tense. If I could play just one game with all of you then you'd know how big a difference one person can make each match, how much communication changes the game and how often friends tk each other for cheesy spiderman jokes.

I highly recommend you purchase it. Or play a free weekend. With a starter edition being so cheap right now especially when a sale comes on the only real reason to avoid the game would be the toxic team killers we have. But since the new tk ban changes I've been teamkilled only 12 times. 2 by friends, 7 accident and three being toxic players. That's not however saying it doesn't happen. But trust me. Your teammates will straight up slam the fucker who does it. I don't think I've ever been killed in a ranked match except by Mira mains who want their walls or accidents especially at the higher ranks. I hope this helped you either get a look into my perspective on Siege. Or perhaps convinced you to give it a chance or reinstall. Trust me. Give it a chance like I did and you'll never regret it.

Informative Siege Videos:

Siege Youtubers:

And of course the best Siege Youtuber of all time:

(This is my channel. Subscribe if you want I only upload for fun which I'm pretty happy with)

[rkkyungri]

✧ ——— mga: season 4, interview: languages & special skill ( 0:08-1:00 ) ☆.｡.:* ✧ 

this whole process wasn’t going to be that simple, nor a piece of cake. it wasn’t to end there. she is ushered out of the main audition space, along with those who have completed their audition to then be touched up by make-up artists and hair stylists, something of which she’s both familiar and comfortable with. kyungri is rather content with the small talk and the prompts regarding the incoming interview, a heads up about what sort of things the panel might ask her is always a good thing. she just has to mentally prepare herself for what she’s prepared to show them, and she can only hope that showing the panel her dance skills here rather than earlier was far from a mistake. kyungri is then asked if she is ready for the interview process to go ahead. it’s all green lights from her. kyungri composes herself, taking in a deep breath.

she is ushered off into a brand new space, accompanied by an interviewer, a camera, and of course, a vacant chair for kyungri. she gingerly walks across to the interviewer, bowing with a smile before taking her place, ready to proceed with the interview. thankfully for kyungri, she had learnt how to tackle various forms of questions in the past, and it’s in this moment now that she is thankful she can look back on the experience positively. the interviewer signals that they’re to begin and kyungri sits up straight in her chair, a warm smile on her face as she keeps eye contact with the interviewer. eye contact was important, invaluable even. 

“you were both an idol and trainee in the past? can you share a bit of your experience?” the interviewer asks straight off the bat. kyungri nods. she should of expected this, after all, she did put it on her entry form in clear lettering. “of course. i was a trainee at a smaller, lesser known company for three years. there, i refined my singing and dancing, then learnt a lot of other invaluable skills. i trained there for roughly three years in total and then made my debut.” kyungri explains with minimal detail. “what happened then? you are here now, yes?” the interviewer asks, raising a brow. obviously, a lot went on behind the scenes, leading to the fall of her group and her ending up here. “we promoted for two years together but ended up going our separate ways. which is sad, but we’ve all been able to pursue different things we were passionate about.” which has some truth in it.

the interviewer nods, looking down at their notes before looking back up towards kyungri. “here on your audition form, you wrote that you’re interested in both trc and kt. vastly different, what catches your eye about them?” kyungri nods slowly, thinking about how to phrase her answer, quickly. “they’re both really different companies, in terms of sound and aesthetic. but i can safely say that i admire both katie lee and tiger jk, they’re successful and influential and i enjoy the music their artists release." kyungri could say that about the other companies too, so maybe her answer wasn’t as polished as she had hoped it would be. “katie lee especially, it’s inspiring to see a woman behind such a successful company, she’s really cool.” she then adds. the answer seems to be taken though, because the interviewer asks kyungri another question, somewhat away from her experiences and more so touching on her skills. “and kyungri, it says here that you speak four languages. is that correct?” the interviewer asks, looking at her. kyungri smiles. “yes, i speak four languages! ah, more so two and a bit, minus korean but i can say something if you would like?” she asks, cocking her head to the side. the interviewer smiles at her enthusiasm and gives her a nod.

she begins with the language she’s least familiar with, but knows of, chinese. “hello, my name is park kyungri and i’m twenty two years old.” she then switches to english, which she had learned as a trainee, alongside japanese. “i was born in busan and i live in gangnam now. i am a make-up and nail artist.” finishing her sentence, she then goes to japanese. she speaks japanese most comfortably, besides from korean. still, it’s easy to hear that she’s not a native speaker but kyungri remains confident. “i spend a lot of my time working, but in my down time, i hang out with my dog a lot. we go on lots of walks and play dates together.” the interviewer suddenly cuts in. 

“what’s your dogs name?” “siro!”

kyungri is hopeful that the interview will end shortly, because she wouldn’t mind an opportunity to run over her choreography she’s to do in the coming hour or so. the interview ends thankfully, after kyungri has been asked to talk a little about her hometown and growing up and as to how she runs a home business, to which kyungri thanks the interviewer for her time, bowing and smiling before exiting the room. she’s given twenty minutes or so to run over her choreography before she’s expected to complete her audition. kyungri is a little anxious, admittedly, but she can work with the constraints. as an idol and now as a self-employed artist, it’s important that she learns how to manage her time. so kyungri departs and goes away to prepare herself.

apart of her preparation is a costume change, having brought a change of clothes with her. from a plaid skirt and fitted blouse to a more blowy, airy blouse and fitted black mini shorts, paired with a pair of over the knee boots, kyungri is ready to show the panel of judges another side of her. while she had gone out and shown her sweeter side for the main part of her audition, kyungri planned on showing her charismatic and cooler side, maybe even slightly sexier side, depending on the audience. running over the video and the choreography one more time, kyungri returns to the destination of where she’s needed, entering the small practice room with grace. she must look like she’s confident, and she mustn't disappoint.

“hello, my name is park kyungri.” she says warmly, falling into a bow. she straightens herself up, brushing her hair back over her shoulders. “for my second skill, i will be showcasing an excerpt of choreography from a routine i know and love. it’s to demi lovato’s “sorry not sorry”, i hope you enjoy.” the judges give her the go ahead to begin the routine and just like her first audition, she has no time to prepare but those singular seconds as she introduces herself. kyungri has always been somewhat of a multi-tasker though. the choreography is rather powerful, yet feminine and kyungri feels as though this fits her the most. she mouths the words to the song as she follows through with the moves, eventually getting down on the floor. she maintains eye contact with the judges, even going as far to wink at them before the chorus starts up. 

having a large, fancy routine isn’t necessarily what depicts a good dancer. a good dancer should be able to pace themselves and let themselves go to the music. the song should carry them. the routine kyungri chose wasn’t technically difficult, but ensuring that she falls into place at the right moment and looks alive and present is what she focuses on. kyungri never had a hard time not enjoying herself, even when the days got long and hard in the dance studio. kyungri was usually the first to stand up and encourage everyone to keep going, it’s a wonder she wasn’t the leader of her past group. if there is one thing she is, it’s persistent. 

she finishes the routine with a twirl, flipping her hair back. she stands for a moment, strong and tall with her hands on her hips before she returns to her usual demeanour. thanking the judges for their time, kyungri bows once more before departing the room to go change back into her usual clothing, after all, when she headed back home she had clients to attend to.

[schoolpsychlife]

AS A TEENAGER, Danielle Sheypuk, PhD, was stung when relatives would ask her younger sister, "So, are you dating anyone? Who’s your boyfriend?" Nobody asked Sheypuk those questions. She was in a wheelchair because of spinal muscular atrophy type 2. The implicit message was clear: "Dating and relationships weren’t going to be in the cards for someone like me," she recalls. Today, Sheypuk is a psychologist in private practice in New York who specializes in dating and intimacy issues. About half of her clients have disabilities. They talk with her about their relationship and sexuality concerns, including how tough it is to meet people and to deal with such invasive comments as "Can you have sex?" or "When you are out of your wheelchair, are you helpless?" They also seek her guidance on the practical hurdles. Perhaps most of all, they seek to learn how to still the inner voices that have internalized messages about their unsuitability as sex partners. "The misconceptions and stigmas are numerous, and they are profound and they are hurtful," Sheypuk says. People with disabilities get the message that "because your body is so different, it’s going to be hard to find someone to ‘look past those issues’ and see you for who you really are." As a result, Sheypuk says, many of her clients—who are confident in other areas of their lives—have self-esteem that’s "in the gutter" when it comes to sexuality and relationships.

FACING STEREOTYPES

The greatest challenge that people with disabilities experience when it comes to sex is society’s beliefs about sexuality and sexual relationships, notions such as, "Why would anybody choose to be with somebody with a disability when they could have a nondisabled person?" says Linda Mona, PhD, a psychologist with a disability who practices at the VA Long Beach Healthcare System.

Research documents such stereotypes. A study by Michelle R. Nario-Redmond, PhD, professor of psychology at Hiram College in Ohio, surveyed 50 people with disabilities and 47 people without disabilities about stereotypes related to disability. Both groups of participants reported that the common view was that people with disabilities are asexual and unattractive (British Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 49, No. 3, 2010). Another study led by University of Alberta researcher Shaniff Esmail, PhD, surveyed 32 people, including service providers, people with visible and invisible disabilities and the general public about their attitudes toward sexuality and disability. Again, the predominant view was that people with disabilities were asexual (Disability and Rehabilitation, Vol. 32, No. 14, 2010).

Sometimes stigma toward people with disabilities for being sexual can be subtly expressed, says Erin Andrews, PsyD, a supervisory psychologist at Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, who is an amputee and mother of two whose husband is nondisabled. She finds it frustrating when people shower him with praise for marrying her. "People will say to him, ‘You’re such a good man, you’re so amazing,’" she says. The implication is that "he’s a hero or some sort of inspiration because he’s willing to put the traditional standards of beauty and sexuality aside to be with me. It’s almost taboo to admit that people with disabilities can be sexually attractive.

These attitudes can undermine the lives of people with disabilities in many ways, resulting not only in lower sexual self-esteem and satisfaction, but less access to medical information and sexual health care, as well as more difficulty finding partners and starting families.

And contrary to the stereotypes, research shows that people with disabilities have the same levels of sexual desire as people without disabilities, and many have positive sexual relationships. However, depending on when the disability occurred and how severe it is, some have less sex and more sexual dissatisfaction. A study by Marita McCabe, PhD, and George Taleporos, PhD, of the School of Psychology at Deakin University in Australia, for example, found that people with disabilities who had experienced their disability longer had significantly more positive feelings about their sexuality. The study also found that people with more severe disabilities had less sex and were less satisfied than people with milder or no impairments (Archives of Sexual Behavior, Vol. 32, No. 4, 2003).

FINDING PARTNERS

Of course, for some people with a disability, finding a partner is the first challenge. "What most people want is a relationship," says Sigmund Hough, PhD, a certified sex therapist in private practice and a clinical rehabilitation neuropsychologist at the Spinal Cord Injury Service, VA Boston Healthcare System. When people first come to him for counseling, they don’t usually ask about sex right off the bat, he says. What they are looking for is a meaningful connection with another person.

Nowadays, many people look for those connections online. Technology has "vastly improved the lives of people with disabilities in many ways," says Sheypuk. Not only can they get counseling online (she and other therapists do sessions via Skype), but online dating helps people connect more easily than in the past.

This ease of access does, however, come with downsides, such as deciding when and how to disclose a disability, especially if it’s invisible. "Trying to figure out how you talk about disability in the initial stages of meeting and dating is complicated," says Mona. "Do you disclose or not disclose? If you disclose, will someone still contact you? If you don’t disclose until you see someone and then it’s, ‘Oh, by the way, I’m in a wheelchair,’ that’s not always the best foot to start off on."

Once an online connection is made, another hurdle is arranging transportation and meeting in person, which, depending on the disability and where one lives, can present challenges, points out Hough. Safety is an additional concern, given that people with disabilities are at a higher risk of sexual assault and physical abuse, and are potentially more vulnerable (Lancet, Vol. 379, No. 9826, 2012). Sheypuk helps clients come up with contingency plans, such as having a home attendant in another room.

Nonheterosexual people with disabilities have additional concerns when it comes to sexuality. A review by California psychologists Sarah Fraley, PhD, Linda Mona, PhD, and Peter Theodore, PhD, points out that people who are lesbian, gay or bisexual are a "double minority," experiencing another set of stigmas in addition to those attached to disability. For example, ideals exist for both gay women and men valuing "strong, active, athletic body types" that may not fit most people with disabilities, while sex-ed materials or medical care may be geared to the needs and practices of heterosexuals, among other challenges (Sexuality Research & Social Policy4, No. 1, 2007).

A study of "sexual minority" women led by Michele Eliason, PhD, at San Francisco State University found that they reported a poorer quality of life than their nondisabled sexualminority peers, with more PTSD and anxiety disorders, as well as more experiences of discrimination (LGBT Health2, No. 2 2015).

Andrew Gurza, a gay blogger, podcaster ("Disability After Dark") and disability rights consultant in Canada who has cerebral palsy, says there is a lack of awareness about disability in the LGBTQ community.

"The LGBT community is very ability-focused and there’s not a lot of disability representation," Gurza says. People in this community aren’t used to seeing people with disabilities in general, let alone "someone with a disability being up front around what they want sexually and romantically. There’s a lot of fear around being queer and disabled."

One solution, he says, is for there to be more discussion of "the lived experience" of having a disability—the day-today challenges, like arranging transportation or using attendants to help with bathroom visits—that can ease the fear of the unknown that people without disabilities may have.

Gurza also echoes one of the findings of Fraley’s paper—that there is an overemphasis on hard-body looks that can leave many with disabilities invisible.

"There’s a big obsession with health and fitness, with going to the gym and having a particular body esthetic," he says.

WHERE’S MY SEX ED?

In the late 1990s, Margaret Nosek, PhD, executive director of the Center for Research on Women with Disabilities at Baylor Medical School, surveyed 475 U.S. women with physical disabilities and found that 41 percent believed they didn’t have adequate information about how their disability affected their sexual functioning (Sexuality and Disability, Vol. 19, No. 1, 2001).

They still don’t, according to psychologists who work with this population. Among them is Alette Coble-Temple, PsyD, a psychology professor at John F. Kennedy University who has cerebral palsy and who counseled a married couple who were in wheelchairs. The couple saw a photo on Coble-Temple’s desk of her with her family, including her daughter. They asked her how she was able to have a child, Coble-Temple says. "No other medical professional had ever talked to them about intimacy, about how to navigate sex with a disability, about the adaptations and adaptive baby-care equipment that are available," she says. "They looked at me completely shocked."

Coble-Temple had run into inadequate information about sex before. As an undergraduate, she visited a doctor to get birth control. The doctor never discussed sex with her and assumed she wanted it to control her menstrual cycle. Later, Coble-Temple found out her seizure medication could have made her birth control pills inactive. Because her doctor had not considered her a sexual being, she ran the risk of an unplanned pregnancy.

"That was my wake-up call," she says. She went on to write her dissertation in 1998 on the topic of sexuality and disability, finding that when people with disabilities requested information about sex or reproductive health, "they were met with opposition and shock."

Sheypuk says that many of her female clients report "horrific" first experiences with gynecologists who are not versed in seeing patients with physical disabilities. For example, if the gynecologist is unable to do a complete exam due to reports of pain and/or tightness by the patient, the gynecologist may only do a bare-bones exam and not refer the patient for a more complete follow-up.

There may be an assumption that the patient is not going to have sex anyway, so there’s no need to put her through such an exam. Sheypuk refers clients to NYU’s Initiative for Women with Disabilities, where they have a gynecologist on site who only sees women with physical disabilities.

The lack of sex education continues even though there is a hunger for information about how to achieve intimacy, says Mitchell Tepper, PhD, a certified sexuality educator and counselor who works with people with disabilities and who was paralyzed in a diving accident in 1982. Tepper helped the Department of Veterans Affairs implement the "PAIRS" couple curriculum and adapt it for vets, as well as train staff at Walter Reed Army Medical Center about sexual health. He also is working on a documentary about veterans who have restored intimacy after injuries, called "Making Love After Making War." Through the film, Tepper hopes to give people with disabilities a vision of hope and to educate health professionals and society overall. "It’s a film really about sexuality and disability, and it will show people a different way to love and be in love," he says.

REDEFINING SEX

These different ways to love can involve rethinking traditional sexual scripts and discarding the idea of sexual intercourse as the only way to make love, say psychologists in the field. "The most beautiful intimacy I have seen was between two clients who physically weren’t able to engage in typical heterosexual intercourse," says Coble-Temple. But, she says, "They could look into each others’ eyes with a level of passion and intimacy that was 100 percent stronger than what I see in the average couple."

While much remains to be done to educate people about sexuality and disability, awareness is growing, says Tepper, especially as younger people with disabilities use social media to connect and spread information. "There’s a greater awareness and greater amount of advocacy and projects among people with disabilities worldwide than there was 20 years ago."

RESOURCES

American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists www.aasect.org

PleasureABLE: Sexual Device Manual for Persons With DisabilitiesKassioukov, A., MacHattie, E., Naphtali, K., Miller, W.C., & Elliott, S., 2010

Sexuality and Disability in Adolescents Holland-Hall, C., & Quint, E.H., 2017

Sexual Health Care for People With Physical Disabilities Rowen, T.S., Stein, S., & Tepper, M., Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2015

[American Psychological Association, Monitor on Psychology, Dec. 2017]

[darkangelanddemonempress-blog]

Persona 5: Take your Heart~

Persona 5 is the sixth game in the Persona series and it’s a role-playing game developed by Atlus. (P-Studio) So, if you’re into cool RPG stuff, then playing this game was definitely worth your time.

This game is all about a group of high school students who were facing trouble thanks to the corrupt society they have. Because of the twisted adults, they came to encounter, they realize that they’re living in a world equivalent to a prison full of slavery and injustice.

It’s kind of relatable to our society since many civilians suffered from greedy grownups who only kept on bragging their power, fame, and wealth instead of helping people. Especially those who work for the government, and we kind of know how people in the politics play their games.

It’s sad to think that there are only a few people in the government whom can be trusted. But of course, I’m not only talking about politicians, my goodness I feel like I’m stereotyping, I’m sorry. It’s just a sample but it’s applicable to all civilians, be in higher or low class, who has distorted heart. How I wish I can steal my crush’s heart too…oh, did I just said that? Oops? I mean to change the corrupted hearts of those people blinded and consumed with the seven deadly sins. Am I making any sense? But I think you get it. Lol.

Anyways, *ahem* go on me, continue.

Wanting to reform the society and gain their freedom from the shackles of the unfair world of doom, the alter ego that was born inside them plays as the rebellious team called Phantom Thieves of Hearts. With the use of a mysterious eyeball application on their phone, they traveled into the other universe which allows anyone to go into a person’s heart, (I wish I can do that!) especially those people who have a vastly distorted desire, to change its cognition and reformed it.

The story all started in a huge Casino and the protagonist will find a route to escape but failed miserably when he got apprehended by a horde of police officers and got drug and beaten to a pulp when he’s in their custody. And when a prosecutor came and interrogated him, memories from half a year ago flash in his head and that’s where your adventure will start, inmate.

Back to my endless rant we go.

When I heard about this game, I’m so excited. I have played Persona 3 portable in PSP before, too bad I didn’t get to play Persona 4 and the others. Even though I heard from my friend that P4 is a beautiful game as well, my heart still soars for P5.

The protagonist has his own charm and he stole my heart, I mean just look at that photo of him, he’s so cool~ he didn’t even need to go into the other world since he took it effortlessly. My mind, soul, and heart. 

Okay, that’s just me being dramatic. Apologies.

And base on my observation when I played both games, P5’s protagonist’s dialogue have more traits than the other, he can be indifferent, straightforward and heck, he can be cheeky too. You can choose options where he can be playful, flirt, snarky and sometimes cocky. Considering in the prologue, he even manages to show-off even though he’s in the middle of a dangerous escape, much to his friend’s amazement.

Also, the dubbing in this game, be it in English and Japanese are so good and on point. The emotions are there, be it annoyed, angry, or for some comedy lines and stuff. I mean, they all put their efforts in it and I applaud them for that.

In the English version, I especially like Ryuji and Sojiro’s the most. I like all of their voices, it’s just this two’s voices stood out to me the most. And I don’t really know why, lol. And in Japanese…well, I’m a sucker when it comes to that language so I like all of their voices with no exception, also just to share to you, I dream to become a Seiyuu one day if life will give me the opportunity.

Anyways…

So as your daily life in the game, you are living in the attic of a café called Leblanc and you can go to various places in Tokyo using subways or you can just use shortcut since it will be provided in the game. You can go to restaurants, church, mall, even in the red light district and to your school of course. The protagonist can also have part-time jobs, hang out with his friends, play games, study, go to the gym or you can just exercise in your room, make infiltration tools, etc.

If you’re thinking it’s all insignificant, nope, it will help you to raise your stats such as charms, knowledge, guts, proficiency, and kindness. This will easily make you maximize the social links of your confidants since every rank has their own benefits for battles. And some activities can help you to increase your HP and SP, it’s helpful huh?

There’s also have a system which allows your team/friends to messages you about some sort of stuff as the story progress. The design of it was so cool, I even downloaded it on my phone and I feel like I’m one of the Phantom Thieves.

And as per usual, before starting the whole game, you need to choose difficulty. Are you going for safe, easy, normal or hard? If you choose safe, you can’t change it anymore but if you choose one of the other three, then you can just go into settings to change it anytime. It also has the most difficult level which is the ‘merciless’ as a free DLC. So if you want a really challenging experience, you can go with that.

For the battle, you will be using a strategic turn-based combat. It’s now also easy to use since they provided us shortcuts to the different types of commands we can choose from, like the melee attack, use of guns, items, guard, for tactical orders and to call forth your Persona. It will be easy once you exploited the enemies (Called Shadows) weakness, and what’s more, there will be a one more chance for you to strike again and I suggest using the ‘Baton Pass’ (a new mechanics in the game) to another character to heighten up their stats in that turn.

Another feature in the battle was the ‘Hold-Up’ and it will appear when all of the enemies got knocked down. You can negotiate with the enemies with that or if you don’t want, you can just choose the ‘All Out Attack’. If you choose the former, you can make the shadow become your Persona, ask for money and also for some rare items. And your answer will be based on what kind of personality they have, there’s timid, irritable, upbeat and gloomy. So be careful choosing your response, but don’t worry the game will explain how to answer their questions so I know you’ll be alright. You can do it! Don’t be like me who always fail in negotiations.

As for finishing the story, you can get different endings in this one. A Good Ending and Bad Endings, yes Endings, with ‘s’.

It’s easy to get the Good one, just meet the deadlines of the main mission and to choose a wise answer to the options in some conversations to make you advance in the story even further.

As for the Bad one, you can get it to any missions if you happen to fail one and you can also be assassinated here, or more stuff and I won’t go through on that, I don’t want to spoil the others who are still about to play the game.

I already finished the game and I’m in the New Game Plus, am I right? I think that’s it. You can unlock it once you finished the whole game on the first run. It’s the same, except for the fact that you won’t be needing to raise your personal stats since it will be carried over in this, as well as some items that your max confidants will give you. And I like it since here, I have more time to do in my free time and I won’t be having a problem raising my stats since it’s max already.

You can also date some of your confidants, all of them if you want. Although please no, avoid that. Me? I choose not to because I don’t want to, simple as that. I want Joker for myself, just kidding...not, and I low key ship him with Yusuke. Yeah, I’m into yaoi, so what? You don’t need to care about that, we have our own opinions and likes, alright? I respect yours so you respect mine. Lol, why am I saying to you guys anyway? XD Peace to all of you~

Another thing I like about this game is the music. It really fits in the game. I like the one that always played when you send the calling card after securing the treasure’s route. I think the title of it was ‘Life will Change’, both instrumental and with lyrics are so awesome and the ‘Last Surprise’ too, this two are my favorites! Try listening to them and you won’t regret it. You can also enjoy cut scenes in here and the twist in the story is superb.

And I heard they’ll be making another anime called ‘Persona 5: The Animation’ and will be aired in 2018, while the ‘Persona 5: The Animation The Day Breakers’ was released last 2016. Not only that, they’re also going to release a dancing game entitled ‘Persona 5: Dancing Star Night’. Ohhh~ I’m so looking forward to it. Are you guys feels the same? If you are, let’s wait patiently together for it and enjoy the game~

Have a nice day!

- Umarumiko~

Credits to the owner of the pictures~ (Special mention to you guys)

I don’t own it (and I’m not planning to) as well as the game.

Persona 5 belongs to Atlus.

Thank you~

[lisaeldarkmorn]

Prepping fabric for a project

Happy Tuesday, my garb-minded friends! Today, we’re going to talk about a topic that doesn’t get a whole lot of discussion except in criticism–how to prep your fabric before you even get sewing, including washing and ironing. Caring for fabric (and even garb) is a little different from caring for your regular clothes, but following a few simple steps before you get started on a sewing project can really save you a lot of headache during your project and enhance the quality of your finished product.

1. Know your fabric.

Step 1 takes place before you even take your fabric home. When you’re purchasing your fabric at the fabric store, read the end of the bolt to get a bunch of info about the fabric, including fiber content, width, washing instructions, and more. Until you get more familiar with fabric or if you purchase a type of fabric you haven’t used before, I highly recommend taking a picture of the end of the bolt.

I forgot to get a photo, so this is one from my friend Rai Wolfborne. Thanks!

2. Hem your fabric.

I wash all of my fabric I will use for garb before I sew with it, but before I wash it, I hem the edges!

Fabrics do all kinds of things when they’re washed, but one of the worst things that can happen is the edges of your carefully measured fabric fraying and unraveling in the washer and dryer. You can plan for this by purchasing extra fabric yardage, or you can finish the edges before you wash the fabric.

There are a few different ways you can finish your edges, but I recommend zigzag stitching or serging your edges. Serging requires a special machine.

Zigzag:

Set your machine to a zigzag stitch. I do this on my machine by turning the stitch selector knob to the zigzag setting and turning my stitch width knob up to 3 or 5. It’s okay for the stitch length to remain long–we just want a zigzaggy line, not a solid wide line like when we’re appliquéing.

Stitch about ¼ to ½ inch in from the edge on both cut edges. You don’t need to zigzag stitch the selvages.

Fabric with zigzag stitch hem to prevent fraying

Serge:

Line up the cut edge of your fabric with the cutting blade of the serger.

Stitch the length of the cut edges. You don’t need to serge the selvages.

3. Wash your fabric.

I’m gonna be honest, “to wash or not to wash” is a huge question among those in the sewing community. I am firmly in the “wash it, dangit” camp because I am terrified of fabric shrink and bleed. It’s gonna get washed eventually anyway, so you might as well wash the fabric beforehand to be aware of any of these issues.

You have two options when washing your fabric:

Wash it according to the instructions on the bolt, OR

Wash it how you realistically will wash it when it’s garb. Be honest with yourself.

A few tips:

Completely unfold the fabric and gently, loosely loop it around the agitator (if you’re using a top-loading washer).

Don’t overload your washer or throw the fabric in all wadded up!

Use a color catcher! Color catchers are pretty much the universe’s gift to garbers. You might want to use two for the first wash for especially bold colors or reds.

I -love- these things.

Wash different colors separately (especially vastly different colors, and ESPECIALLY reds).

Don’t overload your washer.

Be aware of your temperature settings. Hot water causes fabric fibers to expand, which can cause the dye to release from the fabric, which can cause bleed. Cold, cool, or warm are best for washing fabrics, with cold being best if you’re not sure if the fabric is color-safe. Cold water also helps set dyes.

4. Dry your fabric.

Dry your fabric following one of the two schools of thought above–either according to instructions or how you expect to dry it when it’s garb.

A few tips:

Clean out your lint trap beforehand because it will likely fill up (especially with linen and fleece).

Use dryer sheets to help deal with static.

Use heat if the fabric allows it (it helps release the wrinkles because of the steam).

Untwist your fabric gently when transferring from the washer to the dryer. Any twists in the fabric can result in deep creases, damp patches, or even stretching or distortion of the fabric. You can also snip or very gently tear any frayed strings that might keep the fabric twisted or compressed.

Take the dried fabric out of the dryer promptly and fold, hang, or iron it immediately.

5. Fold your fabric neatly.

If you aren’t going to iron your fabric immediately, it’s best to fold it neatly and put it away. Get someone to help you fold your long cuts of fabric evenly so it doesn’t warp or wrinkle too horribly!

6. Hang your fabric.

If you can’t really fold your fabric, you can hang it instead (for example, over the shower rod).

7. Iron your fabric before marking cutting designs.

If you’re like me, you probably rarely iron, so you might not be sure of the proper way to do it! Here are some pointers.

Set your iron to the hottest setting that won’t damage your fabric. For 100% cotton and 100% linen, that’s full blast, baby.

Make sure your ironing board is clean! You have to replace your ironing board cover once in a while so it doesn’t leave gunk on your fabric.

Make sure your iron is clean! Things like interfacing, synthetic fabrics, and starch (and ironed-over pins…) can gunk up your iron. There are commercial iron cleaners available in stores. There are also cleaning methods on the internet. Check your steam vents for chalky buildup, too–this is probably mineral deposits left by your tap water. You may want to use distilled water for steam if this is an issue, or you can use a separate spray bottle and forgo your steam feature on your iron entirely. From the voice of experience: dirty irons can ruin fabric.

Steam is not usually necessary if you iron straight out of the hot dryer; however, it’s great if the fabric has little gentle wrinkles all over. 100% cotton and 100% linen can be steamed, but not all fabric types can be! Double check!

As for ironing board types–there are several! I personally prefer one that is at least 60 inches wide because the widest fabric I regularly use is 60 inches wide. I also recommend a large freestanding ironing board. However, I currently use an over-the-door flip-down ironing board that is about 45 inches long. This type of ironing board is good for me because it stays in the room where I do most of my sewing and it’s easy to set up and put away, which helps eliminate the excuses I try to make about ironing. (Side note: small apartment/dorm ironing boards are best for small things like sleeves and collars, but they totally work if that’s what you have to work with!)

Let your iron heat up. The iron should have an indicator light that shuts off when the iron has heated up completely.

Place your fabric with the cut edge parallel to the long edge of the board and your selvages parallel to the end of the board.

I use relatively inexpensive irons because I have a habit of dropping and breaking them, and because I abuse them with interfacing and such. This one (it’s a Hamilton Beach) has been pretty sturdy, though.

Press the iron firmly down against the fabric and move it around in a kind of sweepy, squiggly motion, from the inside of the fabric out or from one side to the other, until all of the wrinkles are straightened.

Never leave your iron hot-side down on a piece of fabric–many fabrics burn, distort, or melt very quickly. As a general rule, if the iron is face down, it should be in motion.

If you are using steam, turn that on before ironing. If you are using a spray bottle, spray the fabric on the ironing board before ironing.

If your fabric is longer than the distance from the board to the floor, you probably want to gently roll the fabric as it pools at your feet to help prevent creases (which are especially possible while the fabric is still warm).

There’s a lot of detail here, but I promise, following these steps makes a clear difference in your end product! Happy crafting! <3 Lisael

[ohblackdiamond]

let’s do this with specific tours/concerts, because that’s more fun and i’ve already seen a couple of these bands--

1. kiss in atlanta, either georgia tech or the electric ballroom, 1974 (kiss tour) --most people would’ve rather seen them at largo or at winterland, but atlanta is special to me, and this is early enough in their career that they weren’t able to get picky with their groupies. ergo, i might’ve had a snowball’s chance! (also, georgia tech, especially in the seventies, was a campus pretty much entirely occupied by dudes, so even slimmer pickings...). my slightly more serious reasoning is that i would’ve loved to see kiss at a time when they weren’t quite as rote (timed explosion here, cold gin here, no room for deviation there...) or tight, and still had that dangerousness about them as a group. i think that would’ve been cool to see.

2. and 3. lynyrd skynyrd and the rolling stones, knebworth fair, 1977 (not technically part of either of their tours) --skynyrd opened for the stones at knebworth, though they weren’t the only two there, obviously (10cc, todd rundgren, etc. also performed.). infamously, the stones’ stage only had the one rule: the other bands couldn’t get on the tongue extension. lynryrd skynyrd immediately got on the tongue extension. musically this concert was not the stones’ best (they were giving rather rocky performances by the late seventies), but this is pretty much the strongest concert skynyrd ever had. also, just the, well, ambience. 120,000 stoned brits with not nearly enough port-a-potties to accommodate. amazing or awful? you decide. 

4. fleetwood mac, largo, 1975 (fleetwood mac tour) --if this wasn’t a kiss blog i probably would’ve ranted at length about how people forget fleetwood mac existed way before stevie nicks and lindsey buckingham were members, and had really cool music. they’re a prime example of why the idea that you need to induct all members of a band ever in the r&r hall of fame, if you’re gonna induct the band at all, is sticky at best, because, well, this is a case where the music, the direction, etc. really is so vastly different within the lineups. ... all of that being said, i’d rather go to the more familiar version of fleetwood mac. “rhiannon” as a fresh song just sounded so amazing this tour, and i love just how... possessed stevie’d get during the last parts of it. 

5. bruce springsteen and the e street band, passaic, 1978 (darkness tour) --if there’s one dude’s career trajectory i’d love to do a deep dive on, just for fun, it’d be broose. he is certainly a guy whose path to huge mainstream success was long and arduous. this whole tour is known as possibly his most energetic, on top tours, and from somebody who’s able to basically have the crowd in his palm so easily anyway, that’s a feat. he was broke, the band was broke, and they were hungry for it, which, well, if you’ve been to enough concerts, you can tell if a band’s hungry for it; that raw energy can’t be duplicated. plus, new jersey gives bruce that home field advantage. just a show i’d love to’ve seen.

If you could have a one night concert, with 5 bands/artist of your choice (living or dead), who would you pick? What would be the line up?

I’ll got first

1. Roger Cylne and the Peacemakers. Every song makes you want to get up and sing with your friends.

2. Steel Panther. They’re hilarious, and I love a good laugh!

3. The Beatles. I mean cmon. It’s the Beatles!

4. Hanson. I’ve been a fan for over 20 years, why wouldn’t they be there?

5. And the end the night. Queen! Obviously!

This was hard!!!!

[fuckyeahcatdog]

Robert Lamoreaux Interview CatDog writer

1. As an animation writer describe your job tasks. Did you also assist in the animation and drawing?

"Me? Draw? That's a laugh! CatDog would be a vastly different looking show if I drew it. And I don't mean different in a good way."

"My job was basically just to write. CatDog's writing was set up essentially like a sitcom. We had a staff of four writers including a Head Writer. We each wrote our own scripts but punched them up together. Occasionally as shows were storyboarded, the writers would be asked for additional lines of dialogue, but that's about it." 

2. Describe your fondest memories working on CatDog. What were some of the craziest and funniest moments?

"CatDog was a great show to work on. Probably my favorite. In fact Nickelodeon in general is just a great place to work. You can't beat free lunch Fridays."

"The craziest moment had to have been when our Head Writer, Vic, kept urging Peter and the other writers to do a CatDog episode based on his favorite play, Les Miserables. He actually stood up and started acting out how CatDog would play the roles. Very peculiar. Needless to say, it never came to fruition." 3. As a later writer, was it difficult at first getting settled in, with the rest of the team?

"No. I had worked on CatDog since almost it's inception, just in other capacities. CatDog was a very comfortable, relaxed place to work. Except that my office was next to Rob Porter's and he had a chronic flatulence problem. That wasn't too pleasant but I supposed that's a story for another time."

4. Out of the episodes you worked on, which seemed to be the most enjoyable to put together and why? Which seemed the most challenging and took more time than others?

"Well, certainly the TV movie was a lot longer and more complicated than the other episodes. It was really cool that we were able to have a cast and crew premier at Paramount on a big screen."

"I also, really liked "Cat Gone Bad." The voice actors are so talented, they really brought the beatnik Cat characters to life (I'd like to see a show based on just those characters). I still haven't seen the episode, but the board and audio were really cool." 5. Describe the story idea and brainstorming process. The writers room.

"Basically, the Head Writer would tell us to come up with ideas. Then we acted like we went into our offices to work but we really snuck out to 7-11 and bought big blue Slurpees. Nothing gets the creative juices going like Slurpees. Then when the end of the day rolled around, we'd look at each other and say, "Oh, no! The premises!" We'd run back to our offices and type like the wind." 6. From the TV movie, "CatDog and the Great Parent Mystery", which parts of the movie can you safely say were your ideas?

"All the good ones!"

"Seriously though, I'd say it was mostly a group effort, but obviously a lot of the credit needs to go to Peter Hannan. He had strong vision of what he wanted -- especially with the musical aspect of the movie."

7. Before joining CatDog, which episodes impressed you a lot as a writer?

"I love "Send In the CatDog."

Also, "The Island." Any of the early shows where Steven Banks wrote songs."

8. The age old question for all fans, Cat or Dog? Which one suits you > more?

"A lot of people identify with Dog. I really like Cat. I have a lot of sympathy for him. No matter how hard he tries to get his house in order; or mingle with the rich and famous; or impress a girl he never gets his way."

9. Name some of your favorite CatDog characters, and why. Which character(s) best fits your personality?

"I love Rancid... what an actor! Sometimes he's very mean and blustery and at other times he's all sparkly and charming. Call me crazy but he reminds me of Sean Connery."

"Winslow was a riot to write for. Also Lube."

10. CatDog, has so many different mysteries and story line ongoing gags added into the mix. What are some of your favorite ongoing gags, and "mysteries"? (such as the bathroom mystery, Shriek's crush on Dog, etc)

"I love the episodes where CatDog are out having an adventure then we cut back to Winslow doing something cryptic and strange in their absence."

11. Have you worked any other positions in animation besides writing, such as sound editing, supervising, etc?

"Not really. Everything I do is related to writing except maybe directing the odd voice session and a little casting. Those are some of the responsibilities you get once you build your credit up to Producer." 12. When did you decide to get involved in the writing, and animation business? Did you study anywhere, and have any special degrees in art or writing?

"I started writing little plays and skits in my bedroom when I was about 7. Boy, the critics (my older brothers) were harsh on my work back then. Eventually I went to film school in New York, but then switched majors to English to satisfy my desire to write, and to satisfy my desire to get away from people who wore big clunky shoes and dressed in all black." 13. What advice would you offer, to those reading that are thinking about a career in animation or television writing?

"I can't really speak intelligently about the artistic aspects of animation. Heck, as you can tell from this interview, I can't speak intelligently about much of anything. But as far as writing -- it helps to watch tons of movies. Read tons of scripts and most importantly write scripts and move to Los Angeles. Oddly, there seems to be a lot of people who want to be writers but they don't diligently write."

"How's someone going to hire you if you don't have any spec scripts for them to read? Unless of course you're like Steven Banks and you can just mime your way through life."

14. Are there any cartoon writers from the past that inspire you most when you are writing for cartoons?

"Until a few years ago, I never knew they wrote scripts for cartoons. When I found out they did, I thought, "Wow! That's a scam I could really capitalize on! Where do I sign up?"

"I really love the writing on the now defunct "Larry Sanders" show. Surprisingly a lot of live-action style writing translates to animation. For example, almost any given episode of Hey Arnold could be live-action. And in many ways CatDog echoes shows like the "Odd Couple." 15. What other projects are you currently working on?

"Right now I'm Head Writer on a new show for Fox Family called "Totally Spies." It's sort of like "Charlie's Angels" meets "Clueless." We just started the second season of writing. It premiers in early September I think. I'm also developing and Producing a show for Fox Kids called "Senior Misterioso." Imagine a Latino "Austin Powers." Hopefully, we'll start writing in the Fall."

"Other than that I've done some "Hey Arnolds," my wife Michelle is a Producer on that and continues to write episodes. I did a few "Angela Anacondas." Other odds and ends." 16. Is there anything else you would like to say to your fans, about your experiences with CatDog crew or anything else?

"Only that working on the show was a great experience. And I'd really like to thank Peter Hannan for giving me the opportunity to contribute."

Thank your Mr. Robert Lamoreaux, for agreeing to this email interview. Your fans appreciate it very much.Well there you have it fans from a great mind of CatDog!

Robert, has written these episodes.(CW)= co-written

Cloud Bursting

Cat Gone Bad

ConeDog

Dog the Not So Mighty

CatDog, and the Great Parent Mystery(CW)

Robert has also helped with writing on the games CD Rom "The Golden Hydrant", and Playstation's, "Saving Mean Bob". Steve Molaro and Robert, did a lot of the writing on the CatDog pages at Nick.com. Along with Peter Hannan, he was an editor consultant, on most of the CatDog books; "CatDog Catcher", "CatDog's Big Idea", "CatDog Undercover", "CatDog's Vacation", "Way Off Broadway", "The Perfect Bone", "Cat's Big Night"/"Dog Behind Bars", "Romancing the Shriek", "Joke Book", and the "Trivia Book".

[lethaderr-blog]

Here’s a weekend itinerary for eco-friendly, sustainable, and kind adventures in Dutchess County, New York.

Looking to spend two days wandering around adorable towns, spending time in quiet nature, and sampling delicious food and drink? You’ll want to run, not walk, straight to Dutchess County, New York. It’s less than two hours from New York City and three hours from Boston. If you’re a curious Canadian like myself and looking for a new place to explore, it’s about 4-5 hours from Montreal and Ottawa, and 7.5 hours from Toronto. Trust me, it’s worth the drive. There are so many fun things to do in Dutchess County.

Thanks to the knowledgeable folks at Dutchess Tourism, I ventured off the well trodden tourist path to the lesser known gems of the region. Even though I was visiting on weekdays, there were so many occasions where there weren’t any other travelers in sight. So, if you’re looking for a peaceful place away from the crowds, I’m going to show you exactly where to go.

Natural wonders like the Dover Stone Church will make you feel like you’re in New Zealand, not the Hudson Valley. There’s castle ruins that make you feel like you’re in the middle of Scotland. Lucky Orphans Horse Rescue is such an amazing cause and could really benefit from an increased amount of visitors. And with the Culinary Institute of America in Dutchess County, you’d better bet that you can find an incredible culinary scene.

Whether you’re visiting over the weekend or spending 2 days in Dutchess County , prepare to be charmed by this beautiful section of the state. Let me show you exactly what I did when I was in Dutchess County, which emphasized eco-friendly travel, vegan travel, and combating overtourism by visiting the lesser known spots.

DUTCHESS COUNTY TRAVEL GUIDE

WHERE TO STAY IN DUTCHESS: I loved staying at the Inn at Pine Plains in Pine Plains, New York. You can read my review a little further down on this page. Book your stay at the Inn at Pine Plains or read more reviews by fellow travelers. There are a great variety of small hotels, B&Bs and inns throughout the region. Feel free to check out hotels in the towns of Rhinebeck, Beacon, or Poughkeepsie if you’d like to stay in a larger city. To have your own place in Dutchess, browse the available listings on Airbnb.

GETTING AROUND DUTCHESS: I recommend having access to a car when you visit Dutchess County. A lot of the places on this particular itinerary can be far apart from one another. It’s possible to take the train into towns like Beacon and Poughkeepsie, and even continue by bus up into Rhinebeck. However, having a car makes it so much easier to visit to these off the beaten path spots that I recommend. If you don’t have your own, consider renting a car for this trip.

MORE THINGS TO DO IN : For all of the best things to do in New York State, check out all of my other blog posts.

PHOTOS OF DUTCHESS: Check out our entire photo album of pictures from Dutchess County to inspire your trip. You can also purchase prints, housewares, and all sorts of gifts made from any of our photos – just click the “buy” button on any picture.

Day 1 in Dutchess County

For your first day, you’ll be exploring the finer side of things to do in Dutchess County. First, you’ll be visiting a tea room (and tea factory), beautiful gardens, and a vineyard with an impressive history. Top it all off with one of the best views in Dutchess County , followed up by some of the best Indian cuisine I’ve ever tasted.

Tour at Harney & Sons Fine Teas

It’s not everyday that you get to go behind the scenes at a tea factory. You might have heard of Harney & Sons. Their tea is so popular for a reason – it’s absolutely delicious. There’s really a variety and taste for everyone as they serve over 250 varieties of tea. I recommend browsing their collection online where it’s easy to place an order (or you can always order it on Amazon, too). 

Harney & Sons is a family owned and operated business. Back in 1983, John Harney began his journey to master the art of tea blending in his basement, serving his tea to inn guests. This home-run business has vastly expanded to their headquarters in Millerton, New York. They have a 90,000 square foot warehouse there, a bottling plant in Hudson, and two tasting rooms in Millerton and SoHo, New York. Sadly, John passed away in 2014, but his two sons, Mike and Paul operate the company along with other family members. Harney & Sons Tea employs over 200 people. 

John’s grandson, Alexander offered to give us the Harney & Sons factory tour. He is so full of knowledge about everything relating to tea. I could really sense his passion for tea, especially when it came to traveling the world to source rare varieties. He’s visited Taiwan, China, Japan and India to find the best tasting teas. 

As we toured around the factory, we could see that the company sources, blends, and packages their tea from start to finish, keeping full control over all aspects of production. They are committed to making and selling the finest tea possible and have strict quality control measures. If the tea bags aren’t filled to a certain weight or standard, they aren’t sold to the public. It was really fascinating to see the huge pieces of equipment to blend and package the tea. They even make some of their own tea bags at the factory. 

One of my favorite parts of the tour was smelling all of the tea. The tea sits in giant barrels before being packaged and shipped off to a store near you. We walked around and smelled the various fragrances of each tea blend. From smooth vanilla scents to bright floral ones, I could certainly get used to smelling all of the tea. Is there somehow a way that I could pivot being a professional blogger into being a professional tea tester?

I quickly discovered that the one that smelled the best was a tea blend called Paris, with scents of Earl Grey, black currant, vanilla, with a hint of caramel. It’s inspired by Mike Harney’s visits to Paris and enjoying pots of tea at Parisian tea shops. I knew that I had to buy some of that at their tea room. If you’re interested in taking a factory tour at Harney & Sons, please reach out to their headquarters via email or phone.

Lunch at Harney & Sons Tea Room

After the factory tour, head down the road a short distance to the Harney & Sons Tea Room in Millerton. You can sample teas in their tasting room, browse the shop for your favorite blends, and sit down for a full meal. And it’s not only a tea room. It’s one of the best Dutchess County restaurants, too. I was very impressed that all of the vegetarian and vegan menu items were clearly marked, which always make it so much easier. There’s also the massive tea menu to peruse, and it’s insanely difficult to decide on just one tea to order. You can order it iced or hot, whatever you choose from their huge variety of over 250 teas. There’s something for everyone!

For food, I chose the hummus and veggie platter, which is always one of my favorite things to eat. For my main course, I tried the mushroom risotto (brown rice risotto topped with sauteed mushroom of the day and balsamic reduction, served with greens), just remember to ask for the vegan version without cheese. And there’s even a vegan choice of dessert, a rice pudding made with plant-based milk topped with fruit. Yum! For those compiling a list of Hudson Valley vegan options, add Harney & Sons tea room to your vegan restaurant bucket list.

Innisfree Garden

Innisfree Garden is one of the world’s 10 best gardens, and it’s right here in Dutchess County . It’s unlike any garden I’ve ever visited before. Innisfree Garden is an American stroll garden, all about the individual’s experience in nature. It combines the essence of Modernist and Romantic principles with traditional Chinese and Japanese design. Using water, rocks, wood, and of course, plants, the result is a naturalistic landscape that isn’t immaculately groomed.

At Innisfree, it’s almost as though you’re strolling from one landscape painting to the next. It’s designed around the notion of a “cup garden”, a Chinese garden concept that draws attention to something beautiful in the scene. It might be a lotus pool or a single rock covered with succulents and lichens. Wander around Tyrrel Lake to discover native plants, waterfalls, and magnificent trees. Follow the path across streams using tiny bridges and wooden footpaths. I am certain that every person who visits notices a different detail, having new experiences with each visit.

While I went to Innisfree Garden in late April just at the start of spring before the first bloom, I am sure that it looks even more lovely throughout the prime of spring, summer and fall. I’d love to return again in the future to see how Innisfree Garden changes with the seasons.

Clinton Vineyards

Clinton Vineyards is called a, “jewel in the crown of Dutchess County”. Established in 1976 by Ben and Phyllis Feder, Clinton Vineyards is inspired by the stunning wineries and vineyards in France. The 100-acre Clinton Vineyards is modeled after the European tradition of specializing in a single grape. He chose the Seyval Blanc, a hardy grape that can survive the weather of the Hudson Valley. Going for a wine tasting at Clinton Vineyards is one of the best things to do in Dutchess County.

We met with Phyliss at Clinton Vineyards for our wine tasting. She is such a fascinating woman with so many stories to tell. You could spend an entire day with Phyliss, learning about how she and Ben were pioneers of the New York wine industry. I love that she is a champion for women’s rights and equality. She’s paved the way for so many other women in the wine industry, becoming the first female president of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation. You’ll notice photos all around the tasting room with notable people like Hillary Clinton. There are also several letters from the Queen of England after receiving and tasting wines from Clinton Vineyards.

The other thing you’ll notice are all of the awards. Each type of wine in the tasting room has at least one medal or ribbon hanging from it. I’m sure that Phyliss has lost track of just how many awards their wine has won. Whether it’s their Seyval Blanc, Riesling, Rosé, Pinot Noir, or Methodé Champenoise sparkling wines, I’m sure that you’ll quickly fall for the wine at Clinton Vineyards. 

We got to sample a variety of wines, including my personal favorite, Romance, a late-harvest Seyval Blanc. They have a series of dessert wines that you simply must try. Clinton Vineyards also makes a Cassis, a black currant wine and the only one produced in the USA that has won gold medals at international competitions. Oh, and you can be sure that all of the wine at Clinton Vineyards is 100% vegan!

The tasting room and retail shop are inside a 19th century Dutch barn. It’s unlike some of the stark and minimalist tasting rooms that I’ve visited in the past. The tasting room at Clinton Vineyards feels as though you’re welcomed into someone’s home. With framed pictures covering every surface of the wall and wine displayed proudly on barrels, it feels so much more personal and inviting. So, why don’t you stay a while, sample some of the wine, and bring a few bottles back to enjoy in your own home.

Ferncliff Forest Fire Tower

It’s time to get back out into nature for another one of the best things to do in Dutchess County. On the National Historic Lookout Register, it’s only a short hike through the forest to reach the Ferncliff Fire Tower. The lookout is open all day, every day, and provides an exceptional view of the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains. The Ferncliff Fire Tower is a 1933 International Derrick Fire Tower and it’s about 80 feet high. 

The history of lookouts and fire towers at this site is quite fascinating. At first, people created a lookout made out of trees, which was used to assist map makers. In 1912, the Astor Family created a stone lookout. Next, in 1942, Army engineers created a 40 foot wooden tower to protect the president during the war. Finally, in 2007, the International Derrick fire tower was moved to the forest for tourists and locals alike. While it might seem like quite a few stairs to climb, it’s always worth it when you reach the top. It’s windy up there, but the surrounding scenery is breathtaking. Enjoy 360 degree panoramic views of the entire region, including the bridge and the mountains.

Dinner at Cinnamon Indian Cuisine

I’ve eaten a lot of Indian food throughout my lifetime as a vegetarian and last 10+ years as a vegan. I’m even co-leading a trip to India this September where we’re going to eat all of the vegan food (you’re invited to join me!). Anyway, I’ve tried my fair share of Indian food and Cinnamon Indian Cuisine ranks up there at the top of the list. 

Their menu has all of the vegan items clearly marked with a “V”. There’s even an option to make a dish vegan if it’s possible, and that’s marked, too. It’s very easy to dine at Cinnamon Indian Cuisine if you follow a vegan or vegetarian diet. Furthermore, 95% of the menu is gluten-free. And there’s no reason why you shouldn’t go as it’s one of the best Dutchess County restaurants, right on the main shopping street in Rhinebeck.

They serve items that are fresh and local, so the menu changes according to the seasons. To start, I tried a vegetable samosa, crispy cauliflower, and a traditional street food on the side. Next, it was a plate of crispy spinach with chickpea flour that tasted a little like kale chips, but way more flavorful. And I also sampled one of the best lentil soups I’ve ever had, perfectly spiced.

 Then, I tried a whole feast of vegan delights, including a chickpea and asparagus dish (typically made with cauliflower, but asparagus was in season), fried okra, spinach and corn mixed with turmeric and spices, plain dosa, lemon rice, and mango chutney. To drink, I drank a hibiscus, white tea, ginger, and peach beverage. For dessert, there was a vegan rice pudding with rose water, cardamom and saffron alongside a mini scoop of mango sorbet.

Coffee at Samuel’s Sweet Shop

After your Indian feast, walk across the street to Samuel’s Sweet Shop. This cafe and sweets shop happens to be co-owned by Paul Rudd and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Unfortunately, there weren’t any Paul Rudd sightings, but I did savor a delicious Americano while I was there. If you’ve still got room for more dessert, you might want to indulge in some unique sweet treats that I haven’t seen anywhere else.

Where to Stay: Inn at Pine Plains

The drive from Rhinebeck to Pine Plains was an interesting one, to say the least. Navigating the winding roads through the forest at night was one thing, but it was so incredibly foggy. At times, I could barely see at all and had to trust that I wasn’t going to drive off the road. I breathed a sigh of relief once I arrived at my home for the next two evenings, the Inn at Pine Plains. I felt right at home at this comfortable and quaint accommodation where I felt like I had my own little apartment in the house.

My Room

My room at the Inn at Pine Plains had a separate bedroom, living room, and kitchenette. With beautiful 19th century original hardware flooring, lots of framed pictures, and even a few books to read, it’s easy to feel cozy and relaxed here. The bed features a firm, Euro top mattress with 100% cotton bed linens. The kitchenette has a small fridge, microwave, a kettle, and a coffee maker. And the bathroom is perfect for those who prefer to have a bath or a shower, the best of both worlds.

I loved the special added touches, like plenty of complimentary water, sparkling water, and other beverages in the fridge.There was even a little basket of snacks should you feel hungry at night. You can make your own coffee with the provided Keurig coffee pods. In addition, there’s complimentary Wi-Fi and lots of channels on the flat screen TV. You’ll find it easy to get some work done, whether you’re using the wooden desk or you like to use your laptop while sitting on the couch like I do.

Breakfast

There’s a complimentary breakfast buffet each morning and I found it to be quite vegan-friendly. You have got to try the avocado hummus spread onto a bagel, bread, or rice cakes. It’s delicious! I also helped myself to some fresh fruit, and it was the perfect way to start the day. Be sure to book your stay at the inn or read more reviews from fellow travelers.

Day 2 in Dutchess County

Ready for your second day in Dutchess County ? We’ve got a unique castle to visit (yes, there are castles in the USA!), as well as an island tour. There’s a gorgeous natural attraction – a waterfall inside a cave. And we’ll also visit a horse rescue center that’s just as healing for you as it is for the horses. Sound good? Let’s go!

Bannerman’s Castle and Island Tour

On Pollepel Island in the Hudson River, you’ll find the ruins of an abandoned castle with an intriguing history. Castle ruins and an interesting story? Yes, please! We embarked on a tour of the island and Bannerman’s Castle from Beacon, New York. There’s a small boat to transport passengers across to the island for a short tour. It’s also possible to book a tour from Newburgh, New York, and the experience lasts about 2.5 hours in total.

Bannerman’s Castle has Scottish influences, but you’ll only see the crumbling remains nowadays. The family purchased the island in 1900 as a safe storage site for ammunition and equipment from the US Army. Bannerman designed the buildings himself, which mostly consisted of storage for his vast inventory. The large castle by the water has the words, “Bannerman’s Island Arsenal” on the side of it. There was also a smaller castle built at the top of a hill to serve as a summer home. Mrs. Bannerman decorated the garden with flowers and plants, a tradition that continues today.

After Bannerman died in 1918, any further construction halted. Just two years later, there was a massive explosion on the island, nearly killing Mrs. Bannerman. The family used the island until about 1930. After 1957, the island’s last superintendent retired and the property was abandoned for the next three decades. The state purchased the island in 1967, though it remained in ruins. Both vandals and negligence are responsible for its dilapidated state. However, since the 1990s, the Bannerman Castle Trust started to preserve the island and its buildings. They’ve stabilized the remains of the castle for your viewing pleasure, and they’re currently reconstructing the family home. It’s a wonderful little piece of New York history that’s certainly one of the most unique things to do in Dutchess County.

Lunch at Vegetalien

There’s a vegan restaurant in Beacon, New York that you need to check out. It’s called Vegetalien and they’re serving up meals and beverages made from locally sourced and seasonal ingredients. This plant-based cafe has smoothies, build your own Buddha bowls, acai bowls, salads, BBQ jackfruit tacos, paninis, avocado toast, and so much more. I couldn’t resist trying the “Tun’ah Sandwich” made out of chickpeas, slaw, lemon vinaigrette on harvest grain bread. Paired with a purple haze smoothie (blueberry, banana, apple and mint), it was so yummy, filling, and nutritious. Also pictured, the avocado and black bean toast.

Coffee at Trax Espresso

Looking for a caffeine boost? Head right across the street to Trax Espresso. It’s a bright and airy cafe in Beacon, serving up rich brewed coffee and espresso beverages. I even picked up some of their coffee beans to bring home with me. It’s that good! And they’ve got several varieties of plant-based milk, including oat milk. Huzzah!

Lucky Orphans Horse Rescue

Lucky Orphans Horse Rescue in Dover Plains is a sanctuary for abandoned, neglected, and abused horses. They save so many of these beautiful creatures, rehabilitate them, and provide them with a forever home. While the goal is to enable horses to trust people again, it works the other way around, too. The horses can help people overcome their own struggles, build trust, and work together. These horses provide therapy for children and adults alike. All in all, the sanctuary aims to strengthen the relationship between people and animals for a compassionate and kind community. Their slogan is, “People helping horses heal people.”

Owner and founder, Deanna Mancuso, shared her story with us. She had a turbulent relationship with her grandfather who struggled from PTSD, alcoholism, substance abuse, and domestic abuse. Shortly before his death from pancreatic cancer, Deanna formed a wonderful relationship with him as he worked through many of his personal struggles. Her grandfather bought her a horse before he passed away to remember him by; he taught her that horses bring peace. Sadly, the horse was badly abused and he was not well behaved. When she almost gave up the horse, her father reinforced the message that we shouldn’t give up on animals. This paved the way for Lucky Orphans Horse Rescue, which Deanna founded in 2008.

While everyone is welcome to visit the sanctuary, their primary goal is to assist those struggling with mental health issues, domestic violence, PTSD, substance abuse, and family problems. There are numerous programs and events at the farm, including horse yoga. Participants lay their yoga mats down in the stables, and the horses decide whether or not they want to engage with everyone. For those interested in visiting, you can check out the farm daily from 9:00am – 3:00pm, and be sure to follow along their updates on Facebook. Lucky Orphans Horse Rescue is one of the most peaceful and therapeutic things to do in Dutchess County.

Dover Stone Church

The Dover Stone Church is a spectacular ancient cavern in Dover Plains, New York. Hiking there is one of the most fun things to do in Dutchess County. There are several hiking trails at the site, but the main attraction is the Dover Stone Church. You’ll see a waterfall cascading inside a cave, dubbed the “Stone Church” for the pointed arch formation of the rocks. 

Local legend states that the rock formations were a refuge for Pequot Sachem Sassacus and his warriors from the English army in the 1600s. The Town of Dover, the Dutchess Land Conservancy and the Friends of Dover Stone Church purchased the property in 2004, and property owners donated additional land for the creation of hiking trails for everyone to enjoy. 

It might be a little difficult to find the Dover Stone Church. Look for the blue and yellow sign at its entrance in Dover Plains. Please note that there is no parking in front of the trail entrance, but you can park at the school when it isn’t in session (or at the Freshco 22 plaza). Descend down to the trails and walk through a path lined with trees. Then, you’ll get to a spot with trail markers for hiking to your left. You’ll want to keep to your right if you want to see the Dover Stone Church. It isn’t a very long walk until you’ll reach this amazing triangular rock formation.

The short trek to reach the stone church is lovely. There’s a gently flowing brook, lots of trees, and moss covered rocks everywhere you look. When I visited, it was after a lot of rain so the river was flowing quite rapidly. I got up as close as I could to the Dover Stone Church, peering inside to the waterfall. When the water level is much lower, you can even venture inside the cavern itself. It’s such a brilliant site and one of my favorite things to do in Dutchess County.

Dinner at Oakhurst Diner

It’s time to refuel at Oakhurt Diner in Millerton, New York. While it might not seem like a “greasy spoon” diner would have many vegan options, they’ve got a really delicious one on the menu. It’s pretty much the opposite of a greasy spoon dish, too. They have a healthy Macrobiotic Plate: steamed broccoli, carrots, acorn squash, black beans and organic brown rice with tahini dill dressing and seaweed. It’s absolutely delicious and more filling than it looks. The diner itself is a total 1950s throwback and oozes with charm. You’ve gotta check out this Dutchess County restaurant when you come to town.

Day 3 in Dutchess County

Here’s a couple of places in Red Hook, New York, that you’ll want to check out before you leaving Dutchess County. They’re right next door to one another, sharing the same building space. And they’re both kind to animals, too!

Wildflower Cafe

You can’t visit Dutchess County as a vegan and not dine at Wildflower Cafe. It’s one of the yummiest vegan restaurants in Dutchess County . And I could really feel the passion for veganism and plant-based living from its owner. Try one of their burgers: I’m convinced that you won’t be able to tell that it’s vegan, and it’ll be one of the best burgers you’ve ever had.

From burgers to tacos, flatbreads to desserts, Wildflower Cafe has something for every taste. It was really difficult to choose what to order, but I went with the Onion Lover Burger (Impossible burger patty, a toasted pretzel bun, lettuce, caramelized onion, onion rings, and signature sauce). We also sampled a Greek flatbread with seasoned meat and feta cheez. The food was so satisfying, tasty, and I’d love to visit again to try even more food. To top it all off, there were decadent milkshakes for dessert, and I couldn’t resist trying one made with Oreos.

Living Eden

If you’re passionate about helping animals, eco-friendly living, or a sustainable lifestyle, you’re not going to want to miss shopping at Living Eden. It’s a conscious and compassionate store that’s connected to the Wildflower Cafe. It’s definitely worth popping over before or after your meal. Every product in the shop is rooted in good intentions, whether it’s handmade, recycled, upcycled, eco-friendly, or cruelty free. There’s women’s clothing, accessories, jewelry, shoes, housewares, and so much more at this eco chic boutique.

If my wallet allowed for it, I would have bought one of everything! However, I settled on buying a super adorable purse with a squirrel on it. It’s hard to find vegan purses sometimes, and this one is exactly my style. I also really loved the pillow stating, “No couch is complete without cat hair.” Welcome to my world! 

Bonus: A Cup of the Valley

Now, this might be a long shot, but if you happen to be in town during A Cup of the Valley, you should check it out. In 2019, this coffee and tea festival happened at the end of April, taking place at the Culinary Institute of America. You’ll find locally made products, local coffee roasters and tea blenders, and lots of other delicious food and drink. I loved sampling coffee, tea, and kombucha while I was there.

We spent most of our time at the Greenwood Lake Roasters craft coffee booth. As we waited for the coffee to brew, the owner was a wealth of knowledge relating to all things coffee. It was quite fascinating to listen to him speak about the roasting processes for my favorite beverage. Also, I made sure to pick up some coffee infused maple syrup and horseradish maple mustard from Soukup Farms. There were also some delicious vegan treats by Emy Desserts, which I didn’t have the opportunity to try at the festival, but later sampled at Vegetalien. So good!

Even if you aren’t a fan of coffee or tea, there’s plenty to sample and taste at A Cup of the Valley. I missed the latte competition and the Japanese tea ceremony though, which I’d love to check out next time I’m in the region.

PLANNING A TRIP TO NEW YORK STATE?

Book your accommodation, Airbnb rental, or rental car.

Browse tours and excursions around the city for fun day trips.

Check out my 10 essential items to pack for a day hike.

Research even more with New York guidebooks to help plan your holidays.

Read the rest of my New York blog posts for the best trip ever.

Thank you so much to Dutchess Tourism for hosting my stay. This post contains affiliate links. If you click one of them, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you (for which I am very grateful!).

PIN one of the above images to Pinterest for future reference. Click the top left corner.

Did you find this post useful? Show your appreciation with a small tip!

Have you ever visited Dutchess County, New York, or anywhere else in the Hudson Valley?

The post Fun Things to Do in Dutchess County : Unique and Uplifting Adventures for a Getaway appeared first on Justin Plus Lauren.

[sluttyshakespeare]

8 Hip Facts About Installing Shower Pan Liner

Let's face it. Showers are the bathing option of almost everybody. So if your bathroom has become a family bottleneck since you do not have adequate shower stalls or the one you have is dripping, read on. We'll show you how to change a leaking base (aka deep shower tray), change a tub with a shower only or set up an extra shower to deal with demand. Preformed shower bases have actually significantly simplified the installation procedure. They're essentially leakproof and are vastly easier to install than conventional solid mortar bases. Still, setting a base can be tough, especially when you're renovating older pipes. In this article, we'll reveal you how to rip out an old tub and replace it with a one-piece fiberglass shower base. We'll stroll you through the difficult parts, initially how to transfer the drain just right, then the necessary venting. Next, we'll show how to set a rock-solid base-- one that won't break or leakage down the road. Our step-by-step directions will take you right as much as the point where the walls are ready to finish. However we won't enter into those surface details here. This is mainly a plumbing project. To take it on, you should recognize with standard pipeline joining strategies. Mostly this involves cutting and cementing plastic pipelines and fittings. Don't worry if you make mistakes. The materials are economical and corrections are quickly made by cutting out areas and setting up brand-new fittings and pipelines. Finishing this task-- getting the old tub out, remodeling the plumbing and installing the new base-- will take a Saturday at least, a weekend at most. If you need to run a drain line through joists or studs, we suggest that you rent a 1/2-in. right-angle drill and a 2-in. hole saw (or bit). Otherwise, fundamental pipes tools and hand tools are all you'll need. Make certain to request a plumbing authorization and have an inspection done at the rough-in stage (when whatever is still exposed) and after everything is complete (wall surfaces completed, last hardware set up). Preparation the Task

Start by deciding on the size of the shower base and purchasing it. Shipment can take weeks, so don't rip anything apart until the brand-new one is in hand. If you're replacing an existing base, just get one the very same size. If you're changing a tub with a shower as we did, there are more details to consider. You'll have the fewest issues if you match the brand-new base to the old tub's width (the front of the tub to the wall). Go broader if you like, but you might have to replace flooring. Or you may violate required minimum distances from toilets and sinks. You might need to shift the supply valve too. Keeping the same tub footprint (or smaller) decreases the troubles. We changed a 5-ft. tub with a relatively large 4-ft. base the same width as the tub. We framed a 1-ft.- broad filler wall at the end, which is a great location to construct recessed specific niches and racks for shower materials. Now's a good time to purchase a brand-new shower valve too, particularly if your old one doesn't have heated security, as all brand-new ones do. It's a huge task to replace a valve that stops working after tile or wall panels are installed. You'll need a selection of pipes and fittings for installing the brand-new drain and for remodeling water lines. Pick them up after you open the floor and walls. At that point, you can see what you require, plan the brand-new drain and supply of water runs and make a list of materials. Make a sketch like Figure A to assist you keep an eye on parts. Shower Base/Drain Details Make a sketch of the project that consists of the waste, vent and supply of water. Drawing the details will assist avoid prospective problems and likewise lower the number of journeys to the hardware store. It's also crucial to note that you won't have the ability to get in a house center and leave with a 4-ft.- long shower like the one we show in this project. Ask to go through the plumbing component books there to special-order one that fits your bath design and budget. Some featured drain adapters, as ours did. You'll need to examine and purchase a separate shower drain package if needed. The maker's instructions will help you select the best one.

There is another (but more costly) alternative if you want to skip all of the additional venting and drain work. Select a shower tray that has the drain situated at one end, right or left, chosen to match your old tub drain. Select one the exact same length as the tub and you won't even require to include filler walls. Since the drain position approximately matches the tub drain, you may not need to include a different vent, cut out and patch the floor, or reroute the drain line. Eliminate the Wall Initially, loosen the showerhead and the tub spout. Many styles will unscrew, however some will need persuasion with a pipe wrench. If you wish to reuse any parts, wrap the tool jaws with a cloth to prevent damage. Then eliminate the manage and mixing valve escutcheon cover. The majority of manages have a little plastic cap that pops off to expose a screw. Remove the screws and manage the manage and the escutcheon. Next, strip off the tub surround. Begin by cutting completely through the drywall around the boundary with an energy knife. If you have cement board behind the tile, merely cut through the tape joint at the ceiling and strip the whole wall. Swindle the tile and drywall together in big pieces. If you have a fiberglass surround with a flange behind the drywall, cut 2 in. outside of the enclosure and pry the areas totally free one at a time.

Detach the Plumbing With the wall open, detach the plumbing and shut off the main water supply valve. Generally, you can access the trap from a gain access to panel in the room behind the tub or from an unfinished basement. If you do not have gain access to, you'll have to cut a hole in the wall from behind the tub base. If your shutoff valves are in good shape, cut off the water lines above them. If they're missing out on, stuck or wore away, shut down the primary supply valve, cut off the water lines and install two compression fitting-- design ball valves and leave them in the closed position so you can turn the water back on to the rest of the home. Cover the ends with tape to stay out particles. Remove the Tub Detach the trap from the tub drain, then raise the tub free from the wall. Fiberglass and steel tubs are fairly light, so you can just tip them up and bring them away. If framing makes it difficult to take out, cut out more drywall along the pipes wall. Then you can pull the tub away from the wall prior to you tip it up. Cast iron tubs, on the other hand, are incredibly heavy, and we advise simply busting them up with a sledgehammer and performing the pieces. (Lay an old blanket over the tub to catch flying fragments, and use safety glasses for this!). Mark the New Drain. Snug the brand-new shower pan liner up to the wall studs and mark the drain hole. Cut an Access Slot. Put the new walk in shower tray aside and draw an access slot on the subfloor, roughing in the brand-new P-trap and drain line. Make the slot about a foot broad and extend it just beyond the new drain area. Keep the edges of the slot over the center of the joists anywhere you can to make patching simpler later. Pull any nails that fall within the cutting lines. Then set your blade depth to cut just through the subfloor, make the cut and pry it free. Be sure to make reference marks on the floor outside the slot so you can transfer the center of the drain as soon as you eliminate the flooring. Cut a Path for the Drain. With the floor and wall open, you can prepare your new drain and vent lines. Remodeling drain and vent lines will be slightly different with every restroom, however our pictures and Figure A will offer you the general concept in addition to a take a look at the various fittings you might require. The two secrets for including a drain are to make sure the horizontal lines slope 1/4 in. for every single running foot which the P-trap opening falls straight listed below the shower drain hole. Start by measuring the height of the center of the existing drain line and the range to the brand-new drain. Cut off the old P-trap, then run the drain line to the brand-new drain area. Drill 2-in. holes through the floor joists for the new drain line. Reference marks aid you find the drain center later on. Remember to allow 1/4-in.- per-foot slope when you drill holes in joists. Drill 2-in. holes to leave some space to move the 1-1/2- in. pipeline up or down to get the necessary slope. However don't drill in the lower or upper 2 in. of any joist. Most shower drains are designed to receive 2-in. piping, while the majority of existing tub drains pipes are 1-1/2 in. The pipes code calls for the transition to be made with a reducer directly listed below the shower, nowhere else. Install the Hygienic Tee. To run the new vent, mark an area of main stack for elimination using the 3 x 1-1/2- in. tee (with 6-in.- long nipples) as a guide. Cement 6-in.- long nipples to both ends of a 3 x 1-1/2- in. sanitary tee, then mark and cut the primary stack. Join it to the stack with shift couplings.

Run the Vent. If your tub didn't have a vent, you'll most likely need to include one. A regional pipes inspector will tell you the rules (normally within 42 in. of the shower P-trap) when you make an application for a license. The new vent must join the primary vent a minimum of 6 in. above any "spill lines" (that normally suggests sink rims) that share the vent. If your primary stack will be plastic, sufficing is easy with a hand or reciprocating saw with an 8-in. blade. If you have actually cast iron, you'll need to lease a pipe snapper to make the cut. Run the vent line down to the drain by drilling 2-in. holes through the studs, sloping far from the tee 1/4 in. for every 1 ft. of run. Dry-Fit the Waste and Vent. Cut all the pipes and dry-fit the new vent line and drain line fittings one at a time, working your method towards the P-trap. Start cementing the parts together. If you're using PVC, hold the parts together for about 20 seconds after cementing. Otherwise, the parts will "squirt" apart before the solvent cures. Save the P-trap-to-drain-line connection for last. Cement it together, and quickly plumb the P-trap with a 6-in. level before the joint sets. Usage reference marks on the subfloor to fine-tune the location of the drain. Set the shower base in place to double-check the last positioning of the P-trap, inserting a brief, temporary tailpiece. When you set the shower tray permanently, measure and cut a long-term tailpiece and cement it into location. Your structure inspector will wish to see the drain and vent (and perhaps the supply of water rough-in) before you close up the floor.

Close the Floor Include obstructing to bolster unsupported plywood edges and screw a patch to the framing with 1-5/8- in. screws. We added a 2nd layer of 1/2-in. underlayment under the entire shower for a stronger floor and to much better match the ended up floor height (1/2-in. backer board and tile). If you require to preserve the original floor height, skip the second layer, however include blocking under the single-layer spot to fully support the shower base. Mount the Mixing Valve and Renovate the Supply Lines Unless you're preparing to recycle all of the existing supply lines and valves, simply cut out and get rid of everything and begin fresh. Use a hacksaw or a reciprocating saw. If you've chosen a shower base that's larger than the tub, center the brand-new blending valve and showerhead over the base. Pick a valve height that's comfortable to reach and clears any challenges, and make certain the showerhead lands either above or below the leading edge of the shower enclosure or tile. Mount the blending valve first, following the producer's instructions, and run brand-new CPVC or copper tubing from the ball valve to the mixing valve and showerhead. Cap the tub spout outlet on the underside of the blending valve. You'll require to add blocking to support it. There may be a threaded nipple or hole in the bottom of the mixing valve for a tub spout. Make sure to top that. After everything is together, shut down the blending valve, switch on the water and check for leaks. Level the Base and Mark the Studs Level the shower base on all 4 edges, shimming where required. Mark the lip where it abuts studs. Procedure, cut and cement the final tailpiece to the P-trap. Take your time. Getting the base level is crucial for good drain. Mark the lip height on the studs and detail the shim areas so you can raise out the base and return it to the exact position. Some bases need that you fit it over a tailpiece when you set it in the mortar. Set the Base in Mortar To set the base, blend about half a 60-lb. bag of mortar with water to a velvety consistency. Prevent concrete mix; stones in the mix will hold the base away from the flooring. Spread out the mortar over the floor under the base, about 1 in. or so thick. Then lower the base into the damp mix, forcing it down to the shims and the stud marks. Ensure to push it versus the wall. Let it cure over night. Do not use the base as a work platform until the next day or you'll interrupt the mortar prior to it cures. Secure the base lip to each stud if clamps are included with the system. Otherwise, secure it with fender washers and 2-in. screws. Prevent drilling through the lip and screwing the base directly to the studs. The base may break and leakage. Complete the Drain Hookup

The brand-new shower stall base will have instructions to guide you through the last drain hookup; your drain system may vary from ours. But our shower stall bases directions were to anchor the base to the studs with screws and washers and then press the rubber gasket into place and seat it with a nut driver. Basic instructions for how to complete the drain connection for the new shower stall base are to cut the tailpiece and cement it at the best height. If your drain has a thick rubber gasket, damp it with soapy water and after that work it around the tailpiece pipeline. Finish seating it by driving it down with a blunt tool. Drain Cover Attach the drain cover to the drain opening. Complete Shower Framing Frame the end wall a minimum of 80 in. high for shower doors and drape rods. Furthermore, our base was shorter than the old tub, leaving a space in between the wall and the base. We filled out the space with a 2x4 wall. Include backing where the new walls meet existing ones to make the connection strong and for anchoring backer board. And if you leave it short of the ceiling as we did, you can include a hassle-free built-in shelf. Copper vs. CPVC If you're comfortable working with and soldering copper, by all means, proceed and utilize it for your water system lines. We show CPVC plastic fittings due to the fact that the installation is as easy as cutting and cementing plastic fittings, just as you do with plastic drain and vent lines. To make the shift from copper to CPVC, use compression fittings as shown. You'll discover all the CPVC fittings and pipelines you need at any hardware store or house center.