#i hope everyone has a good escalator near them :0]

[clowns-ballpit]

I have gone on the escalators :0]

Unfortunately there was more shopping then escalators

I went on an escalator twice

This is how an escalator works

I went on that

The escalator was 10/10 unfortunately the trip was 6/10 because of the shopping

[koinoyokvn]

*  /  𝐈 𝐍 𝐓 𝐑 𝐎 𝐃 𝐔 𝐂 𝐓 𝐈 𝐎 𝐍

* JOSHUA HONG, CISMALE + HE/HIM  | you know CHANHEE ‘SOUR PATCH’ BAN, right? they’re TWENTY-TWO, and they’ve lived in irving for, like, THIRTEEN YEARS? well, their spotify wrapped says they listened to OCEAN DRIVE BY DUKE DUMONT like, a million times this year, which makes sense ‘cause they’ve got that whole glitter stippled onto his cheeks, swinging at the playground at midnight & neon lights at a nightclub thing going on. i just checked and their birthday is july 1st, so they’re a cancer, which is unsurprising, all things considered.

hewwo everyone !! i’m kacchan n i, personally, am a bit of an idiot but !! do not let that distract u from the fact that i hav a few fun muses to write w !! i’ve been out of the rp scene for about a year but i’ve been spurred by rekindled inspiration !! i’m rlly excited to meet everyone n i hope we can get some delicious plots n connections that r chef’s kiss <3 

trigger warnings: death tw, fire tw, alcohol tw

*  /  𝐁 𝐀 𝐒 𝐈 𝐂 𝐒

hair: blackest brown

eyes: chestunut brown

build: slim & active

height: 5′9″ or 177 cm

weight: 127 lbs or 58 kg

distinguishing features: two lobe piercings on each ear, three helix piercings on each ear, an industrial piercing on his right ear, and a small tattoo with the roman numerals “XXIX - MMIX” written on his left wrist

distinguishing style: pastel colours & sparkling pieces make up most of his fashion, very bright jackets and very blushed makeup, designer outfits when he’s told to be on his best behaviour

*  /  𝐇 𝐈 𝐒 𝐓 𝐎𝐑 𝐘

chanhee was born along the coast of north carolina, though not quite irving. he was born to a head butler and head nanny of a wealthy estate on irving. very old money, invested in the surrounding agriculture and lumber of the area. his parents were live-in employees, constantly tending to the estate. chanhee lived on the estate as an infant but, as soon as he was old enough to go to school, he lived with his aunt in the city he was born in and only spent summers on the estate.

his mother was kind and charming, graceful with the way she tended to the children of the wealthy family. she always had stories and was filled with compassion. his father was surly and deadpan, a cynical man that always saw the worst in things. but it’s his cynicism that allowed him to thrive as the butler, as he feared the worst, he prepared for it, and all his father’s plans would turn out seamless. chanhee loved the summers. he loved spending every day with his parents. when he was at school, he told everyone that he would become the head butler of the estate just like his father. the family career, so to speak.

chanhee quickly befriended the children of the estate. when they would go to tutors, he would go to the laundry rooms and the gardens. but whenever it was free time, he was stuck to their side. he would join them on their fishing adventures and beach escapades, but he didn’t know much about irving beyond the estate. he was just a visitor, a tourist, every time he would go downtown. 

he though life would always be like this. going to school and being with his aunt during the winter, and enjoying every moment of the day during the summer. and when he would finish school, he would move to irving and work under his father’s eyes. that was his destiny... only, it wasn’t.

his father loved stage plays. it was the only thing that could make him smile, other than his family. when chanhee was 10, he was having a “sleepover” with the children of the estate while his parents took the night off. they drove to chanhee’s hometown, met with his father’s sister, and they all went to a stage play. but they didn’t come home. the theatre caught on fire and the building was brought down. eight casualties, three of them being chanhee’s mother, father, and aunt. chanhee wasn’t the wiser until the next morning.

chanhee had no grandparents. his aunt was his only immediate family. he had an uncle from his grandmother’s brother in korea. the only extended family he had. chanhee... to go all the way to korea? and if his uncle was contacted and said no, he would be placed into the foster system. this wasn’t supposed to be the way his life panned out. he was supposed to be the head butler of the estate, wasn’t he?

the wealthy wife hadn’t stopped crying since the funeral. and the wealthy husband, holed up in his study and only coming out to get more drinks, muttering how he only trusted chanhee’s father to hand him things. the wealthy family was mourning, too. while chanhee’s custody was in limbo, he was staying with the wealthy family. an act of compassion brought him to hold the wealthy wife and weep with her, telling her that everything would be okay because his parents are still in every inch of the house. they made their life here and that can’t be taken away. very profound words and chanhee was speaking each from the memory of his mother and what she would always say. that was it!

the next weeks were getting the paperwork settled. the uncle from korea was never contacted. instead, the wealthy family adopted chanhee as their own. that way, chanhee would never be far from what he knows and the wealthy family would have always have his parents’ spirit with them. chanhee was now a permanent residence of irving. he was allowed to keep his surname, a request from chanhee himself. 

the transition was a little rocky. chanhee would always drift away from his lessons to help around the estate and get caught by his tutors, disciplined for being tardy or absent. he was critical of food being cooked for him as he learned how to cook quite young and would always help his parents. this transition created a sort of dependency on chanhee’s favourite treats: sour patch kids. he would always have a bag near or around him. when he was upset, some would be brought to him. it got to the point where his newly adopted siblings would call him “sour patch”. eventually, the nickname stuck and never left. he was now sour patch ban, newfound heir. 

he never meant to be unruly. but when his troublemaker sister asked him to join her on a party, he couldn’t let her go alone. he wouldn’t be a very good brother if that were the case. it quickly escalated, however, once he let alcohol into his system. soon, it was him and his sister, sneaking out every weekend to find trouble. high school was spent falling asleep in classes but doing stellar on tests and assignments, many thanks to private tutors. it was spent dreading his extracurriculars, though it helped him learn how to play piano, guitar, and the drums. he was also a talented singer, though he does get a bad case of stage fright if he’s asked to sing in front of a crowd.

now that he’s graduated high school, he’s kind of drifting. not sure where he wants to go or what to do. his parents always assured him that he would be loved and taken care of no matter what he decided to do. so for now, he takes a lax business course at the university, just to say he’s trying. otherwise, he’s out on the town, drinking and smoking and laughing and playing away. sometimes he thinks about making his music career, even joining a band with his friends, and maybe making that his life. but something always gripes about him, how that estate is supposed to be his life. anything beyond it almost seems... inauthentic. is that why he spends so much time drinking? never committing to anything? hm, who knows.

*  /  𝐏 𝐄 𝐑 𝐒 𝐎 𝐍 𝐀 𝐋 𝐈 𝐓 𝐘

sour patch is definitely someone who tries to make everyone around him smile. he’s kind, affable, super sweet, and thoughtful. he makes an effort to remember the small things people tell him. he’s a bit of an over-analyzer this way, trying to figure out what people want. his motif is to always help people.

but that’s not to say he doesn’t have problems of his own. he’s scared of commitment in any regard and he hides his true feelings quite a lot. he doesn’t want to seem a burden or something to invoke pity, so he never lets on how much something hurts him. he’s quite emotional and can cry at the drop of a pin. he just invests a lot of himself into other people and, of course, that never bodes well.

he’s also a huge romantic. now, mix that with his commitment issues and his mask-wearing, it’s not a pretty trait of his. he has a tendency to fall in love with anyone who shows him a remote kindness. he scoops up opportunities to be intimate while he’s partying because they simulate true affection just enough for him to get addicted to it. but, he’s sensitive and noncommittal, so he can fall out of love just as easily.

*  /  𝐂 𝐎 𝐍 𝐍 𝐄 𝐂 𝐓 𝐈 𝐎 𝐍 𝐒

save your tears — sour patch went all in with his chips with this relationship. he really thought that he could unlearn his life of flimsy whimsical habits. but, that’s not the only thing that’s stopping him from being a good partner. maybe it was the nonstop drinking, the hesitancy to show vulnerability, or his inability to get out of his daydreams. but it fell apart. sour patch never stopped caring about this person, however, and he wants to try and be better for them. but will they let him? ( 0/1 )

banana brain — sour patch isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. although he’s always kind to everyone, he can come off ingenuine. however, he’s determined to be this person’s friend. he feels like he can help them, even though he knows that his presence is unwanted. extravagant gifts, surprise visits, the whole shebang. sour patch is persistent even though it’s a futile mission. ( 0/3 )

i wonder — the current pinnacle of sour patch’s affections. maybe this person is a classmate, or a regular at one of his regular spots too, or just happened to perform a random act of kindness. sour patch is quite the romantic individual and overthinks any minute interaction. this is amped up with this person. be prepared. i would prefer if this is unrequited but we can see how it goes, too! ( 0/1 )

eyes closed — sour patch is using this person to distract himself from something he can’t attain. does this person know that? well, only time can tell. it’s hard to see beyond sour patch’s masks sometimes. maybe it’s mutual and this person is also distracting themself from something else. however, it almost feels real. every touch and whisper. it’s just missing some sort of spark. that inescapable romantic ideal that it’s meant to be. ( 0/1 )

SPECIAL MENTIONS: sour patch adores having friends and is a very social creature, he wants to be close with everyone. sour patch also has his share of one night stands and drunken encounters, and not all of them are good. these connections won’t have limits because i’m a fiend for friends/fwb/rivals. 

[franeridart]

I absolutely adore every single KiriBaku thing you draw. They’re so pure and I love them.

;O; !!!!! thank you holy heck!!!!!

Anon said:Fran i missed your hq fanart, it was so good seeing some more from you!

I’m happy you liked them!!!! I missed drawing them too, really !!!!

Anon said:Imagine this - BNHA kids like It kids. Also love your art!

But I haven’t watched It :O and thank you!!!

Anon said: Is it ok if fictionkin people reblog your art and tag it as kin or anything of the sort?

Sure! People are gonna do so anyway whatever I say after all, and this seems like a really silly thing to get bothered over since it’s not like it hurts me in any way haha

Anon said:Who dabs more, Denki or Mina?

If I gotta pick one I’d say Kaminari, but I sure as heck hope dabbing isn’t still a thing in whatever future bnha is set in, anon hahaha

Anon said:yo i love it when you color your sketches, so pretty!!

OH BOY thank you so so much!!!!! :O

Anon said:I love you and your art so much?? like??? you’re so perfect?? just keep doing what you’re doing because you’re doing fucking amazing

I’m the furthest thing from perfect you’re gonna find, anon haha but thank you so much for the compliment!!

Anon said:thank you for always making me smile.

And thank you cause this ask made me smile, anon!!

Anon said:your coloring skills are improving!!! gosh your art is visibly getting better lately (not that it’s even been “bad”, there’s no such thing!! i’ve always loved it). i don’t know if it’s a good idea to tell you this but i mean it as a genuine compliment!

Are they really??? °O° I wouldn’t have said so, honestly haha but I’m super happy to hear that, thank you!!

Anon said:Are any of your OCs romantically involved? Or are they all just good friends?

Yes and no, depending on at which point in their respective story we’re talking about haha Josh and Chris are in love with each other, and so are Max and Leo (well, their situation is a bit… uncommon, but if I were ever to write their story they’d be together in the end) - I once posted about Gabe and Hector, and by the end of their story they’re in a poly relationship with a girl named Erica I’ve never posted about. Luca has a love (?) interest of sort but he’s not been posted about yet hohoho maybe sometime in the near future. Still deciding about Isa and Ana’s relationship, but maybe. Who knows? That’s about it as far as the ones I’ve posted about go :D

Anon said:your ocs are adorable!! esp ana, I want to know EVERYTHING ABOUT HER (and, yeah, having new ocs is super exciting, like you said! just– being able to figure all that stuff out, actually mould a character of your own– it’s a lot of fun!!!)

Anon said: What are Ana and Isa like? From that drawing, I already think I would want to be friends with Isa! She looks like lots of fun!

She is!! She’s sort of a jock, a bit of a dummy and really loud, she’s easy to make laugh and got the type of laughter that makes you wanna laugh with her so when she’s around the mood is always a good one! She’s not exactly a social butterfly, but she’s got no problems with socializing, knows by instinct how to bend her behaviour to fit with all types of people and has the incredible ability to have every and all awkward situations fly right over her head, she just doesn’t notice them, and that makes it hard to be anything but relaxed when she’s around. She’s actually how she and Ana got in the group, since she’s gym buddies with Leo! She also really really likes ball sports :D

Ana’s an introvert all the way through, on the other hand - she’s really witty and sassy when she feels comfortable enough, and sarcasm is her preferred way of communicating, but if she doesn’t know you/ too many people she isn’t 100% comfortable with are around she comes off as timid and closed off, smiles politely and barely utters a word - people assume she’s the subdued and shy type at first so once she starts opening up it’s always sort of a shock haha she’s got a scientific mind and while she isn’t a “gifted kid” like Chris she likes to learn and study a lot, which is why she ended up having a real great relationship with Chris specifically out of everyone in the group (they like to nerd out together) (Josh isn’t particularly happy about it, the jelly idiot) 

Anon said: I love seeing you drawing and getting asks about your OCs. They have so much personality and it makes me super happy. I hope you’ll feel like sharing them with us more often!

Thank you so much!!!! I’m really really happy people seem to like them too!!!! :O

Anon said:you draw the children so long i love it :0

!!!!! :D thank you!!!

Anon said:Did you now that the voice actor of Tenya is also the one of Kageyama ? (I start Haikyuu because of you by the way, thanks for this and for all your great art !)

I did know!!! There’s a lot of hq va’s in bnha, that’s always made me happy haha

Anon said:Love the new Haikyuu art! Although it’s sad that someone made you lose motivation to draw BNHA :/ Daishou is one of my faves, too. He’s such a doof, love it.

OH BOY I love Daishou so much, I’m glad you like him too! Aside from how much fun he is to draw (and color! he’s a green haired boy and that matters lots to me haha) he’s got so much personality and he’s such an interesting character! I honest to god disliked him with a passion during the nekohebi game, actually haha but that’s how it is with most of my hq faves, after all hahaha glad you liked the doodles, by the way!!!

Anon said:DOGS? SHOUTS? LUCA IS MY KINDA GUY

THANK YOU FOR LIKING MY ANGRY SON !!!!!! :D

Anon said:I love Luca! Where did he get his scar?

A fight with some punks back when he was a teen that ended up escalating when knives became a thing that was being used :O he comes off as the dangerous sorta type which makes good people steer clear and bad ones come looking for trouble/ pick fights with him cause they assume he was picking a fight cause of his resting bitch face. Well, he’s an ass so let’s say that at least half the times he had been picking fights, and it’s not like he runs when someone tries to fight him anyway… that’s not the only scar he has, it’s just the most visible one haha

Anon said:I’m kinda freaking out about Luca and the others being italians! It makes me love your OCs even more ahah Btw, don’t know if you’ve already answered this or if it’s too personal but… are you Italian? (Or what nationality?)

Yah I am! :D and I’m super happy to hear you like my kids!!!!!

Anon said:Hello! I just wanted to let you know that you inspire me a lot! Your blog is honestly such a happy, fun place to be. You draw so much stuff, so much cute and sweet stuff regularly and I aspire to be like that! I’m extremely slow at drawing, and I lose motivation or get distracted from drawing easily, but I’m hoping for a day when I can make a blog just like yours; a place where I can regularly draw things that make me happy. I hope you have a wonderful day!

I’m!!!! so happy to hear that!!!!! And yeah I 100% understand the being slow and getting discouraged easily, I used to be (and sort of still am) like that too :O my need to be faster is what had me end up with the style I have now, actually haha I hope you’ll find a comfortable style that’ll let you be as fast as you wish soon too, anon!!!

Anon said:I don’t think you understand how much it means to me that you drew an asahi! He’s my fave and he looks precious and pretty in your style! Thank you for this gift :’)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m glad you liked him, then!!!!!!! *O* thank you!!!!!

Anon said:Thank you for drawing Noya! Im sorry it was sort of cause of a shitty anon, I also really enjoy your bnha drawings so im not trying to be all “waaaah go back to hq”, but im happy to see my lightning son and also find out hes in your favs? Yay!

YAH HE’S THE BEST ISN’T HE he’s been one of my top 5s since he first appeared, he’s such a good I’m glad you liked him!!!!!!!!

Anon said:FRAN YOUR NEW HQ ART IM IN LOVE!!!!!! YOU DRAW DAISHOU LIKE A LITERAL SNAKE HES SO SMUG ITS SO GOOD!! AND YOUR OCS!! I WOULD HONESTLY READ A BOOK ABOUT THEM. OR A WEB COMIC. BOTH ARE GOOD. SORRY ABOUT THE CAPS IM JUST EXCITED BC HQ!!!! AND AWESOME OCS!!!! (can you tell that i have a weakness for other people’s ocs, esp when done well) (which you certainly have)

THANK YOU FOR THE COMPLIMENTS OH GODS !!!!!!!!!!!! Especially about my ocs, that makes me so happy oh boy ;O; !!! And and and I’m super happy you liked Dai! He’s honestly so much fun to draw, for me hahaha

Anon said:I’m sorry that people are being assholes, sending good vibes! I love all your art, I hope you have a good day

This to you and everyone else who’s sent the same type of ask, thank you SO much! You guys are all so incredibly nice and supportive, bless all of you ;O;

Anon said:Dave!!! :D

Dave indeed!!!!!! :D :D

Anon said:your art is Good

Thank You !!!!!!!!

Anon said:omg i love your ocs so much

SOB thank you?????

Anon said:I love how the collar on Kiri’s coat in the ‘Them boys’ post is reminiscent of his pauldrons

……………………………………………….. that was totally on purpose. Yep. Definitely. Hmhm.

Anon said:Anon from before showed me your stuff today and just wanted to say wow I love your stuff what even your art is so good I fuckin love kiribaku and oh my god I swear I must have gone through your whole kiribaku tag and I’m gone your art just made my day

GOSH I’m glad you liked them???? thank you for such a nice message aaahhhh !!!!!!

Anon said:Im cry omg i just realized ur url is franeridart fjhfhf this whole time i thought it was friend art bddnjx

You’re the second person that tells me that in the span of just a couple of days omfg hahahaha it’s cool tho, I wish that was actually the url, it’d have been such a soft one haha

Anon said:hi Kaminari can skateboard he has a skateboard in his room

Kaminari in his room also has a dart board, a basketball and a dj console, and that’s only the stuff whe can see so actually, considering in his likes there’s “cool things” I think he’s the type of boy that tries to pursue any hobbie he might think would make him look cool, so either he has no clue how to use any of the cool things in his room above a vaguely amatorial level or he’s still pursuing all of those interests! Which would actually be super cool! Incidentally this is my preferred headcanon too so, yeah, as far as I’m concerned he knows how to skate. And play basketball. And darts. And also how to dj. He’s a cool kid haha

Anon said:Bless you and your super cute kiribaku ^_^

Bless you for the super sweet message, anon!!!! ;O;

Anon said:THAT JIROU IS SO TINY AND ADORABLE I’M DYING LOOK AT HER SIDE BY SIDE WITH KAMINARI AND BAKUGOU OH MY GOD

Hahahaha I might have actually accentuated that a bit, but she’s about 20cm shorter than the both of them and in a chibi style that’s hard to keep accurate hahahaha but yeah I love my pocket sized girl she’s the best

Anon said:Im so fucking happy because youve been posting (almost?) daily for a few days now

That was my own poor attempt at something similar to inktober, actually! I’ve had a few days through the month I wasn’t at home at all so I couldn’t draw all 31 days, but I think I got close? Maybe? I’m glad you enjoyed it, tho!!

Anon said:you deserve all the love in the world

I’m f sobbing so do you, friend ;u;

Anon said:do you like as*noya?? or, which are your main pairings for asahi and noya :)

I do ship as*noya, but I prefer Asahi with Daichi and Suga (ot3) or with Kiyoko, actually :O while my fav Noya ship is with Tanaka~

Anon said:I have recently fallen totally in love with kiribaku as a ship, and your art is always my favorite to see in the tags. Thanks for drawing those two nerds, and I hope you have a good rest of your day!

Thank you!!!!! This fandom is super full of incredibly talented people, I hope you’ll enjoy it here hahaha

Anon said: I first found your blog searching the Bokuroo tag.I was very happy because it was one of my all time OTPs,but they didnt have much content.Then there you came,with amazing art.Time passed and you watched BNHA.I was absolutely captivated by BakuShima and then I checked your blog and it had BakuShima!!I told myself “this person cant get any cooler”.But today i found out about TetsuKami and I checked their tag and yoU ALREADY MADE FANART OF THEM!!Officially ,you are the coolest person on Tumblr tbh

We seem to have really really similar tastes in ships, anon!!!! that’s so great omfg !!!!!!! :O and I’m super happy you like my stuff still afer all this time hahaha

Anon said:Could I draw some fan art of your ocs?

Oh my god yeah!!!!! please do link me to it if you do!!!!!

Anon said:BLESS YOUR BEAUTIFUL SOUL FOR MAKING SUCH AMAZING ART

BLESS YOU FOR BEING SO KIND, ANON!!!!!!

[ambivertaf]

the boy with saintly names

Here’s another unfinished, short story (God, I’m so fucking lazy), and I’ll hide this person’s identity with the name Mister. So creative, right? I know, thanks. Get ready for one of the biggest cringefests you’ve ever read.

Things didn’t work with this person because we didn’t have the same attitude and philosophy towards this relationship, and just, relationships in general. I think if a person were to know how things ended from his perspective, people would almost always assume that I was completely at fault. I wasn’t the best at expressing myself and I know that, but I had my reasons (that I know I should’ve been more clear about as well). I tried becoming more of what I wasn’t for this relationship, but I just couldn’t keep up. Nevertheless, any of his friends can come ask me for my side of the story. I am an honest person and those who really know me can attest to this. Well, I hope you’re happy and have found what’s truly for you, Mister.

So here goes nothing.

I took summer classes last year and got into the Nursing students' section for my English class. I met him there, but we never talked--well I never talked to anyone except when it was debate or roleplay time and I only knew one person in the class. At the time, he was really a no-one to me. He only catches my attention when he finally comes to class. He seemed like a class-clown type of person. Outgoing. The partyboy type. Sufficiently wealthy and drives either a Mobilio or a Santa Fe--whichever his father wasn't using for the day.

Summer classes went about for 2 months. Yes, nothing happened. Until a few weeks after summer classes concluded. I don't exactly remember why, but I followed a bunch of the Nursing students on Twitter and Instagram because my friend did the same albeit rather more aggressive. I was selective, and of course, it included him. Snapchat was also fairly popular in their class so I got in there too.

Side story:

This, I thought, would be a way to stalk my crush: a nursing guy whom I was having constant eye-contacts with since the day I saw him play basketball at the inter-college games. We eyeballed for a month, then I gave in. I messaged that guy when I was drunk. It was a fairly long confession and I asked if he liked me too, but I was left inboxed, then got blocked the next day. No biggie, I'd be freaked out too if someone whom I personally don't know drunk-messaged me. Anyway, this story is not about that guy. But I still kinda like him though. He's tall and very handsome (subjective, I know). Even the way he walks is handsome. His perfume smells yummy too. Yes, yummy. You know, that smell when you just want to push that person to bed and fuck your brains out. Okay, I'll stop. But seriously, I was intensely attracted to this guy. I wrote quite a lot of entries about him here. Even dreamt about him once. And fantasized the fuck out of him. I imagined we'd fuck everyday if we became an item. Okay, now I'll really stop.

Now back to the main story!

I posted a photo of Tim-Tams on my Instagram story and Mister replied, asking where I bought them. I answered him, and he said thank you. And that was it. It was obvious to me that he was making a move. Tim-Tams are everywhere, man.

A few weeks past, our student org was having an event at this place called Gather. It was a night of live music and social interaction (gross). After a few drinks and one or two fake laughs with some acquaintances, I then got a Snapchat notification. It was a snap of a french bulldog from Mister. I was kinda confused why he'd sent me that, but I replied anyway.

"Cute ng pug!!"

He responded with "Righttt? French bulldog siya actually."

I only had "Ay, hahaha okay!" to say back. Bobo eh, bilang lang ang alam kong breeds. Sorry. Little did I know, he sent that snap to everyone, and he was just trying to start a snapstreak with me. I didn't have to reply. I just had to send him a snap back. Bobo talaga.

He replied to one of my snaps a little later, saying that he knew one of the singers. Turned out to be his batchmate from highschool. He said he'll try to come to the event, but of course, as all "Try ko"s, he didn't come. Meh, didn't matter.

A few weeks of occasional online small talks later, we were finally going to meet up and talk personally. I told him that his singer highschool batchmate was going to have a gig at a place near the school, and that I was going with a friend. He said he'd be there too. And he actually came this time. He and a friend of his took a bit of time to talk to their other friends before coming to me and my friend's table but it was alright. We glanced at each other and said our hellos. That was it. I know, that's so stupid, but I don't know. I'm the worst at meeting new-ish(?) people. Basta. I continued chatting with my friend, and he continued to chat with his. It was a big table anyway. Soon enough, his friend suggested that they go to a bar in Aguirre after the gig. Me and my friend were invited and so we tagged along. *Insert alternating shots of crazy dancing and alcoholic shots here.* I got drunk as fuck but managed to prevent puking. My head felt like it was going to blow up.

I had to go home at around 1 AM and so did everybody else. So we did. Everyone went their own ways but I was offered to be accompanied home by Mister. So we hopped on to his Mobilio. My amats had reduced at this point. We were both just "semi-buzzed". He can hold his alcohol quite well though. He's a partyboy afterall.

He was talkative while driving and as an introvert, I liked that he always had something to say. I've always found it a challenge to start conversations, let alone keep them going.

"Ok ka lang ba mag-drive ng medyo lasing?" I said. "Oo naman, di naman ganon karami yung nainom ko. Medyo buzzed, but I'm fine." "Lakas naman! Hahaha." "May turks ako dito, you want?" "No thanks. Not fond of sweet shawarma eh, hahaha." Sorry not sorry, Turks fans. "Sarap kaya! Hahaha."

He had a lot of stories to tell and I only had a few, short ones. He couldn't stop talking. He shared that he usually has friends accompany him either at home or at his condo until he's 100% sober, and he'd just drop them off the next day. His tone sounded like he wanted me to do just that. If I was really attracted to him at that point, I probably would've agreed to go, but I wasn't yet so I said that I really had to go home soon, or else no one would open the door for me.

"Thank you Mister, nice to meet you haha. See you." "Okay, see you din!"

So I was home. I thanked him again on Messenger. I'm not sure if his reply was "Anytime!" or "No problem!". Whatever. Small talk commenced once he got home as well. We said our goodnights, and he sent me a selfie. I was kinda WTF, but it's fine. I turned off my lights, took a picture and sent that to him. LOL. I'm not one to send selfies, sorry. I know I'm ugly and I cringe at the sight of my unsightly face on the front camera. So, no.

Our conversations escalated from occasional, to every day.

Annabelle: Creation came out and we, along with 2 other Nursing friends, decided to watch it. And of course, as fate would have it, the other 2 couldn't make it. I forgot their reasons why.

It's a date then. So cliche.

It was raining and I was coming from a spontaneous mini celebration of my lola's birthday in Container Turf. I struggled hailing a tricycle through the rain, trying to make it in time for the movie. I got drizzled a bit, but the show a.k.a. the landi must go on. I needed this la niña on my 2-year el niño.

I ran to the cinemas. He was standing there, holding his popcorn. Waiting for me.

It was a good movie with a shitload of jumpscares. I'm not easily scared though, and so I flinched a grand total of 0 times. Strong ako eh. Joke. I like horror movies because I don't get scared. He was a different story though.

He'd cover his eyes at times. "Uy, sayang lang ticket mo hahaha." I'd laugh at him. Sometimes his mouth. I'd laugh again. Even grabbed my arm once. *Pfft. Moves.* There, I flinched.

[isaacathom]

like, if i were to basically redo it to just be a fun fantasy romp - id take it back to its original sort of time setting rather than having it be urban fantasy. Finley died in an expedition about 10 years earlier, making Crystal and Akian into orphans. theyve basically been living with the D’Lore’s since then, so Akian and Chase being really fucking close makes complete sense (and was likely why they started living wit the d’lores in the first place). in that last decade, like 5 yearsago or so, SKye joins the family after the whole uhhhhh Sorix/Naten situation. my poor boys. so crystal and skye already know each other. they arent super close, mostly because skye’s a moody lil bitch sometimes, but they know each other and are passing friends. crystal works with the d’lore’s apothecary, since the d’lores are like, biiiiiiiig boys. mayors or some shit. big boys. not a king, tho. well, actually, maybe? that could be interesting. or perhaps like a pricipality sorta deal. ill think about it.

since the d’lores are royalty here, kidnapping Akian and Chase (the crown prince boy and his gf) makes complete sense. theyre a perfect ransom and way tohold the entire city/region hostage. its a crisis. skye and crystal, who are really pissed about it, decide to take proactive action. which brings them into contact with Violet, who runs a small library with her “aunt”, Dawn. Violet helps them find some information about some of the weird shit the two reported seeing before their sibs were kidnapped, and gives them a shit ton of advice on what they could do. because violet is the best.

smth smth happens, they come into contact with Will, who is an expedition man just like Finley, and also the guy with th complex relationship with Skye. the three manage to convince Will to take them along into his second trip into a portal he’s discovered north of the town, because violet thinks it’ll have useful info and then begs to come along to see it. sothe 4 go in. suhbitch, its the heaven realm, and here they meet Skye’s mother, Alexa, who has still been dead for 200 years because, lets be clear, Skye’s dad fucked a ghost. fucking crazy. fantasy is wild. and she helps give them some pointers. maybe suggests they head to Quartai, which is the Big Boy Kingdom. a probably more overtly magical/religious place, more info on Ryaris and shit, stuff like that.

the 4 go there. then im not sure how stuff resolves from there. they probably still end up heading to the southern isles, which is an even more Big Magic place that has all these portals. in between then, violet seems to disappear, following an(other) encounter with Princess Alara, angry wind mage of the hour. which isnt great? but thats because Violet realised something was off about Alara (in a way specific to Violet) and she went out alone after the others went to sleep to find her and demand answers, and then, well, shit escalates.

they finally get to the fire realm and find the castle. before they can sneak inside, Alara catches them and promptly kidnaps Crystal, under the rationale that, well, Crystal is actually quartaian royalty, she’ll be a good ransom as well! :) skye and will (and i guess ash if hes just floating around, i dont Know)get tossed in the jail cell with chase and akian. Violet, who has now assumed the position of Princess fucking uhhhhh she has a name. fuck. T- Tacha??? yea ok whatever. Princess Violet’s out here, trying desperately to avoid the consequences of abandoning the group and trying not to get seen by any of them. but after overhearing her mum and sister interrogating Crystal about shit (and probably revealing Crystal’s heritage at that time, tho idk how id tie that shit in proper) Violet decides to stop being a coward. easily talks her way into the jail, frees everyone, get them all their stuff back, and make arrangements with some sympathetic guards that escort the exhausted Chase and Akian to a portal that will plop them out near-ish to the capital city, where they will be quickly found. bonus points if one of the guards, being a local to the area, offers to then personally escort them to the palace and hand them over. if yes, then violet likely gives him something that is proof of divine intervention (like, a symbol that cannot be manufactured by a human? and that is proof that Ryaris was involved and has returned them, smth like that, idk)

then the three of them work together to free crystal from Alara, who is acting as the primary antagonist. Ryaris is getting cold feet like noones fucking business, which is why she hasnt made a single appearance apart from kidnapping the two at the start. Alara’s filled in the rest, in part because Alara can pass for human (shes more a demigod than a minor goddess, in contrast to Violet), and because Alara was a LOT more into the plan from the start. probably using some info they gathered in Quartai or in theheaven world (it definitely has a name, i dont remember it) to convince Alara that, well, no, Dalace is absolutely fucking lying to you, stop it. which is easier than you would think, because Dalace’s lies were revealed the instant Violet returned home.

Part of Dalace’s plan to escape from her imprisonment is to have Ryaris (and her daughter, tho that was a later addition) force a whole bunch of humans into constructing and using portals, which would weaken the seal and also give Dalace more power. then she can break out and wreak havoc. her end of the deal is that, once restored to full power and free, she would bring back Evelyn and Violet. Evelyn being Ryaris’ human wife, who died like 5-6 years prior to the start of the story, and which was actually caused by Dalace in order to force Ryaris’ hand. but that conceit was that Violet and Ryaris were both dead. But Violet is here, perfectly fine, and with 0 trace of any magical interference. Violet was been alive the entire time, just out of Ryaris’ sight and in a different place than where Alara ended up going undercover. essentially a stroke of bad luck.

so, yknow. Violet has overheard Ryaris talking to Dalace, and has already found out about the fact that her revival had been promised. so its like, ‘what proof do you have???’ ‘well, im here, arent i?’ ‘:|||||’ if its then additional that, after violet left the party, the other three found out that Dalace doesn’t have the ability to revive, and that revival as a skill would require the death of Losa (light goddess and just general death lady), they can use that too. combine forces. violet uses her knowledge of the agreement, and the others use their acquired knowledge of the limits of magic. bam. maybe even some prior history, like ‘the stories say that Dalace went mad because everything died in her care. if she could revive the dead, surely this wouldnt have been an issue?’ ‘..... fuck youre right’. i mean they almost definitely have to fight her too because Alara’s a bit of a pain in the ass. people probably almost die. hardcore.

everyone chills out, they go convince ryaris to maybe chill. thats very easy because ryaris literally just wanted to settle down with her wife and two children before shit got messy (and i mean, Same). very easy to convince her off the mess train. but, of course, she’s already done a lot of the damage. the ransom for Akian and Chase has been active for like, at LEAST a week, possibly even more, she’s already reaped a solid chunk and started making good on her promise to Dalace. so the damage has been done. Dalace will get out soon. so they decide like, ok, lets fix it. time to go like, punch her in the face.

and then they beat dalace or reseal her or something. im not sure? dalace’s issues with the world are so deeply seated, her anger so much a part of her, that you cant really turn her good again. and to kill her would be nigh impossible and extremely disastrous. so really its like. do we trap her again but More this time, do we force the gods to actually intervene this time instead of acting through Champions? its rough. a godly intervention would only work if the group had been to each of the realms, because then they’d have met or affected each god in some way. but theyve only been to light and fire worlds. any more than that and it just gets like..... convoluted...... it was the original idea but idk. smaller main cast, makes even less sense. going to the worlds of each of their patrons makes SOME sense??? which then means id need to add a trip to the earth world (perhaps this is where they go from the southern isles. since they dont have a fire portal. and then they lose violet in earht world?). which then only leaves out the water and wind worlds. but the wind goddess is explicitly on Ryaris’ side, having freed Ryaris from her own constraints after a Whole Bunch of Shenanigans. so they dont actually need to convince the wind goddess, Xen i think, to support ryaris. Caliyo, the water goddess, is a little harder to finagle. she doesnt really agree with Ryaris for what i hope are Obvious reasons. in theory keeping Ash as a member of the party would potentially fix that, since he’s an active and practicing water magician prior to meeting the cast, and it’d be fair to guess that she might have a hand in that?in the community he’s from. sort of a mini water realm? Caliyo could also possibly be convincedby like, Losa and....Elra? earth lady. to just maybe think about just fucking talking to Dalace, for fucking once. its been fucking millenia,just talk to her and maybe youll convince her to stop being a shit. idk. Dalace is complicated? and a pain in the butt.

like, if Ash remains part of the squad (which does skew the cast 2:3 male, and 1:3 male when Violet leaves, which Pisses me Off) he can act as throughline to Caliyo. i dont see why not. his community is very much magical. buuuttt you could also potentially get around having him be in the party by having the same connection be present in the Southern Isles, which is a separate magical community that hides away from the continent. and if you think about it, how would you hide an island? other than straight up illusions.mist! caliyo is a perfect patron for the southern isles, thus removing Ash from the story as well in a clean 1 2. which also removes the dragons, which is.... a shame, definitely. big fan of them. but it also makes some sense to remove super overt magic stuff, if people are supposed to believe is superstition or extremely rare. a northern tribe that rely on dragons doesnt gel with that. they can still exist, i guess, but as a completely separate entity. though that does then raise the question of how the party of 4 get from Quartai to the southern isles. in SB, they flew there on the backs of some of Ash’ dragons, which also allowed them to cross the fucking sea between the isles and the coast. unless theres a secret way? like, hey, a secret bridge. use the portals to return back to the capital city, tie up some loose ends (employment and ‘WHERE THE /FUCK/ HAVE YOU BEEN?’ sorts of ends) before heading south to the coast and then trying to find the path across. Skye or will would be good for that, though Violet is also a stellar candidate due to the sheer magnitude of her magic. she’s basically a minor deity. its crazy. it depends on like, narrative usefulness? i guess? like, violet was the one who put them on the path to realise the kidnapper was Divine in some way, and put them in contact with Will. Will got them into fucking Heaven Light World, which got them to quartai, where they were able to get more info (or maybe even skip quartai altogether, tho thats smth else to deal with). so at this stage, crystal and skye’s sole contributions have been to kick the whole thing off. at best, skye mightve suggested they go to a smaller library than the Royal one, since, well, theyre already known to the royal one and the librarian likely tells them to stop bothering everyone and go back home (stay safe from kidnappers, etc). so Skye finding the path to the island, with all that light boy goodness, might work? crystals skillset can then come in handy when they travel to earth world, since she’s an earth mage. she can learn magic and possibly even learn about her heritage there. smth smth. depends how long theyre there.

idk. you can probably remove quartai from the mix altogether??? and have them go straight from Light World to heading south of the capital. does sorta remove the quartai buildup though? with the whole ‘youre the descendant of a runaway prince’ thing. since it justified crystal being removed from the group and likely the first person to find out about violet being a god, which can then feed to like. Shit. theres no other reason to separate out crystal and not, say, Skye. crystal and skye hold identical levels of relevance to thespecific kingdom theyre from. theyre commoners. crystal is in slightly higher regard because akian is practically a princess and even before that her family were good friends with the royals (because, yknow, Finley is a runaway prince who sought refuge in a neighbouring kingdom, lol). skye is just like, some guy, even though he lives in the palace too. theyre just commoners in high esteem of the king. so like, if you were going to separate Crystal out from the group for that, you should also take out Skye, which means in practice youre just chucking Will in a dungeon on his own. which just seems rude. the boy has suffered enough.

the idea was that bringing Crystal into Quartai, a place she has never been but that her father had once promised to take her to (which i can set up). and that by placing her in that environment, maybe even engineering a scenario where she is taken to the royal library (which i guess is like, a public library run by the royals? i dont know) and is spotted by Alara, who has been living in Quartai for the last year or so to gather intel. and, by the nature of how it is, theres royal paintings on the wall showing the late queen, Crystal’s grandmother, and theres an immediate visual connection. Crystal looks just like her dad. someone else (or alara, if it works) might even comment on her being new to quartai with a sort of ‘are you sure youve never been to quartai before? you look like you’d fit right in’ and it couldbe assumed as a personality thing. especially if in terms of personality, crystal doesnt appear to mesh with quartaian society at all. and if the line is by a character with no humour. which means Alara would actually be a perfect fit. it would be a genuine question and observation - Crystal looks Quartaian, whatever that means. while in quartai, they find out its connected to the earth goddess Elra, which helps convince them that they should maybe ask Elra for advice, since she seems like a goddess who has a lot of input and would know about goings on. crystal is then revealed to be an earth mage later (either southern isles or in the earth realm itself) which is like an Ooh boy. you could possibly hammer it further home by, if they DO meet Elra, her confusing Crystal for quartaian royalty. either by assuming she’s a specific Queen (her grandmother) or just a general ‘oh, youre a princess of quartai, then?’ ‘w- no?’ ‘oh? my apologies’. though if elra is going to notice any lineage she’s going to recognize the tall white haired youngster with piercing eyes and an overwhelming magical aura is the daughter of the goddess of fire. so. might distract her?i think it would be too on the nose for Elra to straight up call her out. 

though i could definitely make Crystal not looking local a thing? because she’s not. culturally she is, but both of her parents are full blooded quartaians who fled across the border because Keiran (correctly) anticipated that him marrying a commoner wouldnt go down well. Akian and Crystal both look quartaian. but they also look nothing like Will, who is from another demographic also not native to the kingdom. but his demographic is more prevalent, like there are far larger communities of them. Akian and Crystal just look out of place. Skye technically has a sort of otherworldly quality, but thats partly because his dad fucked a ghost. i cant get over that. but he still looks local enough, because he looks like his mum! and aside from being a ghost of sorts, she was from that kingdom, just 200 years in the past. so theres been drift, and he does look slightly off relative to everyone else, but to an extent you can assume thats just an individual thing. especially since his family is unknown. Akian and Crystal’s parents are known. their apperance is familiar. and that appearance is distinctly foreign. theres no real PROBLEM with that, because theyre good friends with the royal family and have been living in or near them for their whole lives, but its notably. their specific complexion, hair colour, and eye colour? not common ‘round these parts. that sorta thing? could work??? especially if relations with quartai are sorta weird. like..... we’re cool....... but also dont move here? with the exception of Kieran, because the implication is that he’d been a lot friendlier than his mother (and his cousin) and when he comes knocking on the door going ‘listen man i just fled the country can i crash on your couch with my girlfriend for a few days’ the kings like ‘yea dude go ahead. you can explain tomorrow at breakfast. just us’ ‘thanks dude i really appreciate it’. maybe its a quartaian thing. not big fans on these guys. so they just stay in their place and dont leave much. people from this kingdom can come to quartai, sure....... you cant STAY for that long, but you can come visit.......... sure.

which, if quartai is kinda.... i guess just straight up racist??? xenophobic? one or both. if quartai is straight up racist, than crystal’s appearance as a fullblooded quartaian would be quite notable! because its like, oh, youre a local! wait, y- youre NOT a local????? what the fuck do you mean youre not a local????? from - from sp- ok. sure. alright whatever you say lady. move the fuck along then. people see this ragtag group with this one quartaian lady and assume, oh, a local with some friends from out of town. well, if thats the company they want to keep, sure. cause it looks almost correct. it almost makes sense. but then you hear her speak, in a distinctly non-quartaian accent, and its like ‘hold on a sec’ but then she’ll say some words with a quartaian twang, relating to adventure, and you have No idea how to process that. what. its wild. doesnt come across in raw text but, you know.

im sure i can roughly justify going o quartai. theyre a generally more spiritual kingdom, with prominent reverence in a specific goddess who is tied in with the geography and economy (Elra), and the royal family are supposedly her descendants on some level. theyd have more specific information about the gods, the history of their involvement in the world, some shit about Dalace (not in depth, tho, just that she took over at one point and it was a Bad time). it depends how much info they can get from light realm? i mean, they arent REALLY supposed to say much. they arent even really supposed to interact with the living. which does make you go 0>0 at Alexa. hot damn. willing to break big rules for some living dick. legendary.

i mean i feel like its better if they DO go to quartai, because it allows them to encounter Alara, who has basically bribed and conned her way into a position of power through some whack shit and has integrated into the community to get some of the Juicy Information. they can meet her in a safe environment and find that she’s weird, they can learn a bit about shit, crystal being quartaian can be emphasised in a sort of coy way (im a shit writer sooo it probably wouldnt read very coy lol) and there can even be some foreshadowing for Violet’s position as minor fire deity. since thats almost definitely what catches alara’s attention. a tall, light haired individual with burning green eyes and an implaceable aura? fascinating. but when Violet doesn’t catch any of Alara’s references (to like, the gods and shit), Alara assumes she’s mistaken and perhaps she’s just sensing a strange combined aura. its not till later in the earth realm, when they meet as protagonist vs antagonist, that she realizes no, she was right on the money the first time. because at this point in the story, the main cast have actually started using magic, and theyve already found that Violet’s use of magic is effortless. and with their magic unlocked, so to speak, violet’s aura is fucking incredible. none of the others can see it, with the possibly exception of either Will or Skye, depending which way dark/light fall re: seeing shit. but Alara is an incredibly well practiced mage and demigoddess, and she knows how to see it, and violet’s is intense. its unmistakeable. alara isnt 100% sure what if she recognizes the aura, for the simply fact that violet disappeared when they were 9 and alara hadnt learnt to see/feel aura at the time. but she thinks she knows what it means. shes confident that violet is some demigod. which god? unclear. until Violet throws a fireball at her and tells her to fuck off.

the only other possible ways for violet to be a fire demigod and NOT being the daughter of Ryaris, are for her to be the daughter of Xen (goddess of wind) OR be a distant descendant of Ryaris via her mortal parent, who is also her mother, and which might overrule the godly disciple of the godly parent. the latter is nigh impossible because Ryaris has only had two children to her knowledge, unless she blacked out during 200 years exile and accidentally boned down. she’s pretty sure she didnt, though. not that thats a topic that comes up, exactly. but ryaris only has two kids. Alara has no children, and Violet is not the right age to be the daughter of Alara’s sister. she is, however, the approximate age to BE Alara’s sister. so is sheactually, or is it cosmic coincidence that two demigods (the fire/wind twins and someone else) were born around the same time? who knows! alara has no idea. violet doesnt have a damn clue either. ita rough.

uhhh this got very lost VERY fast. uhhh tl;dr return the story to its original full fantasy setting (not urban/modern fantasy). akian is the girlfriend to the prince of a kingdom, with crystal being her sister. skye being in a weird state of being commoner but living with royalty, just like crystal. akian and the prince are kidnapped by Ryaris in order to force the kingdom into an awful ransom agreement whereby they will do a bunch of suspicious shit. crystal and skye believe they saw part of the kidnapping take place, and attempt to get information. after a bunch of the royal staff tell them to stop worrying and go home, they go find a non-royal library run by Dawn and her ‘niece’ Violet, who help them find some info. Violet, being very much in the know, hooks them up with Will, an adventurer and cartographer who is planning a visit to a portal he located north of the city. after a lot of negotiating/arguing, Will agrees to let the three of them come along, and off they go. a whole bunch of shit happens, involving a trip to neighbouring kingdom Quartai, where Crystal is treated strangely in relation to the party and they first meet Alara, posing as a foreign noble who takes an immediate interest in Violet.

more shit, they end up in some hidden magic isles south of the continent, which then leads them to the earth realm, where they seek an audience with the goddess of earth Elra, on how they can get an audience with Ryaris, goddess of fire, and most likely the kidnapper. more shit. alara appears again and they have a brief confrontation. that night, violet disappears. after failing to find her, they resolve to press onwards (leaving fucking missing persons signs all over this foreign land and even informing Elra about it). go to fire realm, get captured by Alara, who separates out Crystal in order to interrogate her about her lineage to confirm a suspicion she has that Crystal is long lost quartaian royalty (si). violet is brought in to help, much to their mutual distress, and then alara kicks violet out for just doing an awful job of forcing crystal to talk.violet then breaks everyone else out of jail, sends Akian and the prince home with some guards she trusts to take them back safely, and then they go rescue Crystal. final showdown with Alara. convince alara that Dalace, goddess of darkness, has been lying out her fucking ass the entire time and cant do anything she promised. alara reluctantly agrees to confront Ryaris about it. Ryaris admits thats all true and that she knew from the start Dalace was a lying piece of shit, but, i mean...... yknow....... your wife dies and you havent seen your daughter in over a decade........ white lies are nice. also alara was the one who got sucked in. its complicated.

then they go ‘aight time to fuck with dalace’ and then i have no idea. probably all the goddesses (who theyve met throughout the story) come and tell dalace to stop being a cunt? roll credits.

[reincarnatedasacupcake]

art by Risa Rodil

Hooray for spring colds. I've had this one for the last few weeks and am only now beginning to feel better. There's not much that you can do when your sick and everything , even standing up, is a challenge. Thank goodness for books and audiobooks. They've kept me company when there was little else to do but binge-watch Netflix. Here's what I read this month:

The Witch of Duva (The Grisha 0.5)

by Leigh Bardugo

52 Pages (0:52 Hours)

There was a time when the woods near Duva ate girls - or so the story goes. But it's just possible that the danger may be a little bit closer to home. This story is a companion folk tale to Leigh Bardugo's debut novel, Shadow and Bone.

I've been reading and loving the Grisha novels and these little short stories are the icing on the cake. They are short folk tales from that World that give just a little background to some of their superstitions and beliefs. This one deals with a wicked step-mother, a wood witch and missing girls that seem to disappear into the forest. But who is responsible? 

The One (The Selection #3)

by Kiera Cass

323 Pages (7:25 Hours)

The time has come for one winner to be crowned.

When she was chosen to compete in the Selection, America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown—or to Prince Maxon's heart. But as the end of the competition approaches, and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realizes just how much she stands to lose—and how hard she'll have to fight for the future she wants

I've got to admit, I didn't think I'd like this series as much as I do, but I'm really enjoying it.

This book is much better than the last two. America has finally given up her silly love triangle and decided that she loves Maxon enough that she wants to spend her live with him, even if that means being Queen and having to deal with his awful father.

But things are escalating in the world around them and the rebellions are stepping up their games as well. More attacks are happening and people are beginning to choose sides.

The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard #1)

by Scott Lynch

530 Pages

An orphan's life is harsh — and often short — in the island city of Camorr, built on the ruins of a mysterious alien race. But born with a quick wit and a gift for thieving, Locke Lamora has dodged both death and slavery, only to fall into the hands of an eyeless priest known as Chains — a man who is neither blind nor a priest.

A con artist of extraordinary talent, Chains passes his skills on to his carefully selected "family" of orphans — a group known as the Gentlemen Bastards. Under his tutelage, Locke grows to lead the Bastards, delightedly pulling off one outrageous confidence game after another. Soon he is infamous as the Thorn of Camorr, and no wealthy noble is safe from his sting.

Passing themselves off as petty thieves, the brilliant Locke and his tightly knit band of light-fingered brothers have fooled even the criminal underworld's most feared ruler, Capa Barsavi. But there is someone in the shadows more powerful — and more ambitious — than Locke has yet imagined. 

Known as the Gray King, he is slowly killing Capa Barsavi's most trusted men — and using Locke as a pawn in his plot to take control of Camorr's underworld. With a bloody coup under way threatening to destroy everyone and everything that holds meaning in his mercenary life, Locke vows to beat the Gray King at his own brutal game — or die trying...

This book was a lot of fun. When I was reading Six of Crows, Adam thought I might enjoy this book for being similar. So this is my RBA book of the month (actually last month, but I didn't get it finished in time). It was a lot of fun to see how a group of confidence men work, but even more fun to watch the situation get totally out of control and watch them trying to make things right. I'm really looking forward to reading the next book and seeing what's in store for these lovable characters.

An Abundance of Katherines

by John Green

229 Pages  (6:48 Hours)

Katherine V thought boys were gross

Katherine X just wanted to be friends

Katherine XVIII dumped him in an e-mail

K-19 broke his heart

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact.

On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun--but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl.

Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.

I'm not a huge John Green fan, but having only read The Fault in Our Stars, I thought I'd give this $2 audiobook a go. It was hard at first to listen to. Colin is not a likable character at all. Lucky for him (and me), the other characters are and they were what kept me listening. As I was, I thought of all the terrible things I was going to say about this book when I was done, but then the unthinkable happened. Colin grew as a character and actually became kinda likable in the end. I know, I was surprised too, although I shouldn't be since John Green is known for his characters and building amazing relationships. I guess I shouldn't judge a book by one annoying teenager.

Silver Borne (Mercy Thompson #5)

by Patricia Briggs

292 Pages

When Mercy Thompson, mechanic and shape-shifter, attempts to return a powerful fae book she previously borrowed in an act of desperation, she finds the bookstore locked up and closed down.

It seems the book contains secrets -- and the fae will do just about anything to keep it out of the wrong hands. And if that doesn't take enough of Mercy's attention, her friend Samuel is struggling with his wolf side -- leaving Mercy to cover for him lest his own father declare Samuel's life forfeit.

All in all, Mercy has had better days. And if she isn't careful, she may not have many more...

When I stared this series, I wasn't thrilled with it, but I found the 5 books at BMV for next to nothing and kept them on my shelf as fillers for when I was between series that I really liked. But as the books went on, they became more of an escape when I just wanted to get lost into something simple and fun. I've actually grown to really like the series and this book was probably one of the best so far. Although the over arcing story line is about the fae searching for the book that she has hidden, the underling story is so much better. It really shows what being in the Pack is like and where everyone stands. It also deals with the person vs. the wolf inside, which I found fascinating. Now that my pile of these book is finished, I'm going to have to go back and see if I can find the rest.

Dragon Wizard (Dragon* #3)

by S. Andrew Swann

336 Pages

It has been a year since former thief Frank Blackthorne became Princess of Lendowyn and married a dragon. He's coming to terms with his new life, but during the royal anniversary banquet, an elven prince reads a scroll of evil magic and Frank's world is turned upside-down. Again.

The scroll's spell causes a murderous rampage in a palace full of noble dignitaries, so it's no surprise Frank's visitors are angry. The Elf-King Timoras threatens war but Frank can't do anything about it: because of the same bit of scroll magic, the ex-Dragon Lucille has taken over the princess's body, unaware that Frank is still there, locked in her skull. And worst of all, the fate of everyone may soon rest on the shoulders of the man responsible for the whole mess, someone who should be safely dead...

This book was good, silly fun, which is exactly why I bought it. I wasn't sure if I was going to have a chance to finish it though, as it took an impromptu swim in my tub. Luckily, after some quick googling, I found a few methods that would help. After about a week of working to get it dry I managed to flatten it enough that it was in good enough condition to read again. It's not perfect, but it still worked and the story was good enough to be worth saving.  

Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4)

by Sarah J. Maas

648 Pages (20:18 Hours)

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past . . .

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.

Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.

This is another series that just keeps getting better and better. It's nice to see characters come into their own and take charge. It's one of the things I think Sarah J. Maas is really good at doing with her characters. I really feel like this story is coming together and it's nice to see the separate story lines begin to converge. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.  

Half the World (Shattered Sea #2)

by Joe Abercrombie

366 Pages

Thorn Bathu was born to fight. But when she kills a boy in the training square she finds herself named a murderer.

Fate places her life in the hands of the deep-cunning Father Yarvi as he sets out to cross half the world in search of allies against the ruthless High King. Beside her is Brand, a young warrior who hates to kill. A failure in her eyes and his own, the voyage is his last chance at redemption.

But warriors can be weapons, and weapons are made for one purpose. Will Thorn always be a tool in the hands of the powerful, or can she carve her own path? Is there a place outside of legend for a woman with a blade?

This was my other RBA for the month. I read the first one last year in March and wasn't really sure what I thought of it. I'm glad Adam pushed me to read the second book because it was much better. I liked the characters more and the story felt smoother. I'm looking forward to finishing the series.

Books that I am currently reading

Vision of the Future (Star Wars: The Hand of Thrawn #2)

by Timothy Zahn

93 of 694 Pages

Tower Lord (Raven's Shadow #2)

by Anthony Ryan

425 of 602 Pages (24:39 Hours) Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Extraordinary Voyages #6) by Jules Verne 102 of 394 Pages

A Fine Balance

by Rohinton Mistry

30 of 603 Pages Revisionary (Magic Ex Libris #4) by Jim C. Hines 125 of 389 Pages The Heir (The Selection #4) by Kiera Cass 225 of 318 Pages (8:48 Hours) I know, I know, so many books that I'm currently reading have been on here forever. I promise I am trying to make some progress on them, slowly but surely.

[tinfoil-king]

Nier Automata - Thoughts as playing through

This is just a fun activity I like doing.  Instant theorizing of something while it is going on. 😃  This time Nier Automata.  Spoilers below the break.

 The idea is I’ll break the game up into chunks by what seem to be natural plot break points.  Just to see how my perception of the story evolves as I play along.

 The rules:

·         Playing spoiler free

·         Very rough understanding of the previous games and backstory

Noob Dungeon/Tutorial Area till regaining control on the space station

 Things of note:

·         The five ships and a white one reminds me a bit of stuff I heard about Drakengard 3. Never played it, so it might be superficial.

·         Speaking of a game about characters with crimson eyes, the protagonists have their eyes covered.

·         Fodder enemies are robots who look like Emil

·         The whole zone is a mechemil  factory

·         Giant boss dudes look like possessed machines.

·         2B reminds me of Yonah.

·         9S makes me think of that Japanese version of Nier’s protagonist due to the similar look. Well, if Nier was brainwashed and forced to cleanup into a preschool look.

·         They can back themselves up.  Trailers say you can even fight your old dead body.

·         In the end they tap black boxes (local saved selves) to nuke the area

·         The history cutscene is giving a propaganda vibe

·         The cutscene makes it seem like the aliens brought the mechemils to Earth?  What.

·         Memories may not be complete, as seen by 9S losing some of his due to not saving

·         Glory to human kind, more queasy propaganda sounding stuff.  Not what it sounds like, but the way it is said.

 Thoughts so far:

·         The Automatas may be partially based on the crimson eye thing in Drakengard and in Nier’s backstory (all in the manual, crimson eyed person who can come back the dead leading a legion of zombified mindless mutated humans).

·         I don’t buy that the Mechemils are the aliens.  Maybe the aliens have possessed them somehow, but they didn’t bring them. Unless… they came from the Drakengard world instead of through space.  Emil was created due to things set in motion that came through from that world to “our” Earth.

·         2B is probably going to rebel.

Space Station to Resistance Fetch Quests

 Things of note:

·         Yorha reminds me of Yonah.  Just swap the last two letters and have part of the lowercase n fade away so it looks like an r if you want to believe they are going for some “CaLiMa” or V’ger level justification here.

·         The integrating setting saving to the character is a nice touch.

·         The leader of the group isn’t blind folded.  So, there is a purpose to those who are blindfolded.  

·         Resistance Leader “You are 2…”.  Not “a” and we don’t get a letter.

·         Resistance person wearing a Mechemil head mysteriously.

·         Game is making a big deal about plants returning and growing large

·         Chit-chat with eye in the sky really makes it seem clear only 2B is emotionally blank. Or tries to be.  Yet she said emotions are forbidden in the first game segment.

·         Supply Trader raises the “Ship of Theseus” argument regarding the one leg he won’t replace.

·         Weapon Trade raises the arms race escalation just making things worse than better question.

 So my thoughts are:

·         We’re going to meet a 2A who has gone rogue or the Resistance Leader knew 2B before she had an 9S moment.  Maybe in a Tinman scenario from the original story where after the Tinman in Oz replace his entire body with tin someone went and put his fleshy body back together as a different person.

o   Accidentally had this maybe confirmed when I stopped playing.  I saw I was given an A2 card.

·         Mechemil head wearing Resistance Person is non-0% chance of being Kaina in disguise.

  The Desert

 Things of note:

·         The robots are noted, again, to be talking.  So until now they have been quiet.

·         They seem to only be anti-android

o   Note: robots near the resistance base seemed peaceful

o   Note: They are saying they are scared and want to kill the androids

·         The robots in the desert have seem to have gone “native” almost

·         The “Glory to mankind” speech is described as always “stiff”

·         Stumbled upon “Apologetic Machine”.  Text scrolled by super quick so it was hard to read what was being said.  Something about being apologetic that we found “this place”, that we will learn the truth, and that the truth will fill us with rage.  Also it blew itself up to help us with its scrap?

·         It was guarding a locked door

·         I’m really being reminded of the alleged post-Nier timeline where the Replicants became fully human even if they didn’t merge with their shades.  

·         In the pit:

o   One seemed to think it had a baby in a cradle

o   Another sounded like it thought it was a baby

o   A third was either a crawling baby or a dog

o   A few looked like they may have been trying to have sex

·         The robots want to kill the scary androids that never give up

·         Massive mechemil orgy leads to Sephiroth’s birth.  I feel like I missed a pacifist option here.

·         Get back to the Resistance Camp.  Nothing. Leave to get told all units must go save some units who have gone quiet, but look to still be alive.

Thoughts so far:

·         Robots are the “shades” of this Nier.  They’re humans or what are left of humans or a new species that is benign.  

·         Androids… could they be the invaders?  Replicants who look human vs “humans” who look like robots?

·         Countdown until I, 2B, is sentenced to death.

·         The one shop keep mentioned having replaced everything but his leg.  So that would make him entirely machine, entirely an Android.

·         The whole “Glory for mankind” stiffness might mean the speeches are recordings.  There may not be any natural humans left.

  Operation Rescue

 Things noted:

·         9S: Yo, we were made to look like humans.  That thing the robots made looked like us.  Why?

·         The robots in the amusement park all seem fine.  Even talkative.  They have shop keepers and warn that a section up ahead are broken an dangerous.

·         Tank was skippable.  

·         The Yorhas are now evil.  Hacked?

·         Beat the Opera Singer.  All the Androids had fried circuits.  Despite Nines saying he’d hack her, the death is sudden POD-mehameha to the torso.  Did I miss another pacifist branch?

·         Meet a robot thanking us.  It is waving a white flag.  Given a choice.

 The game is very much pushing the robots are good and it might be the androids are bad thing.  So I decided to trust the peace claiming robot. I figure either I’m doing what devs hope we’d do in the NG+ as the correct action or they’re hoping we go this route to trick us.  Either way it should be fun.

 So my thoughts after my first day playing this game:

·         2B, 9S and A2 will be the main characters in some way.

·         Humans are dead, save for possibly Emil.  All the machines look like him so I suspect he had a hand in creating them, and wasn’t he even stupidly long lived before becoming an animated skeleton?

·         Knowing the creator of this series and how the game seems to be setting up a forever war due to confusion I suspect the aliens, if they ever existed, are also dead.

·         Question is how engrained is this info.  Is 2B and 9S in danger of a triggering a wrathful response from a conspiracy if they discover this or is it hidden from near everyone?

 Post Script:          

At the end of this play session I’m very tempted to just give up on trying to remain spoiler free here.  After writing this, but before posting, YouTube threw at me a “Secret Ending (Letter) – TRUE EMIL FIGHT”.  It was a higher letter ending, Y I think?, so it isn’t a canon ending.  I’ve heard those are limited to A through E.  

Still, this means Emil is in the game.  Or something claiming to be him.  Like the A2 card it confirms some of my suspicions before I was probably meant to have them confirmed in-game.  So I think I might be on the right track here.  

[randomnised-this-travels]

And then it rains. Day 0.

Please be caution that this post will be rather long and may contain disbelief filled laughters. I have no intention of offending anyone.

How do I even start this. How about a flashback scene?

<My then current thoughts>

For a flight that was supposed to be departing at 6.45pm, it is currently 8.52pm and I unfortunately am still waiting for Emirates to tell me and estimated boarding time. This has been the longest wait I have had to endure and mind you I have been on a few retarded airlines. Apparently there is some engineering problems with the plane. I wonder if I offer my help (not that I know how to), would they finish their work faster? They should intend to give me an upgrade seeing how I am most likely going to miss my connecting flight to Denmark. Sigh. By missing my connecting flight to Denmark, not only do I not have anyone to meet me at the airport and prevent my unwanted travels to Sweden aka wrong direction in a bid to find DTU but I would lose an accommodation for the night due to the office closing for the day. Just my luck I guess, but hey maybe something good will come from it and hopefully I can get a nice upgrade and all of my luggage will arrive safely in one piece with me in Copenhagen. But seriously Emirates… get a new plane. If my flight leaves after upcoming flight around 11pm (and is heading direct to Dubai, mine’s a stopover in SG) I will not be a happy customer. I want 3 deck of cards please. I am thankful for that Melbourne airport has decent free wifi that keeps it bearable. NEWSFLASH. Uh oh. I think the air stewardess and flight stewards just came off the plane and went to the airline lounge… Looks like I might be in for a long night =.= 2 hrs and counting.

Update: I thought they gave me a time 10.30 pm but Mr. Receptionist said disregard it. Truth be told, I am so over it. They might as well build an engine from scratch in the time that they have taken. 3.5 hrs and counting...

Update: HAHAHAHA the direct flight was delayed till 11.30 pm. They started calling the names of certain passengers on my flight and getting them to go “near the TV screen”. Mhmmmm I wonder if this is code for getting them to another plane. On the other hand, disgruntled passengers are on the rise. The looks of acceptance of the hopelessness and purely pissed off is keeping me satisfied. Here are a few from my collection. Enjoy.

`NO! Pink is a better colour than blue`

`Bloody Emirates, can’t even afford to buy us Maccas`

`I wonder if they will serve us alcohol`

I actually got the chance to talk to this guy who was heading to Brazil as his final destination. He had 3 connecting flights and missed every one of them. 

`I hope I placed my knitwear in the right box before I left`

`Gluuug`

This man’s facial expression embodies the best of what everyone was feeling. Anger, annoyance, distrust, ceebsness, weary, on edge aka ooohhh he’s gonna snap or as others call it, the constipated `he just pooped in his pants` look. Also he is known as the Tallman as he is very tall. 

So after nearly 5 hours of waiting. MY FLIGHT WAS CANCELLED. Thank you Emirates so very much for doing such a crappy job of communications. I would have very much preferred for you to cancel the flight earlier such that I would have been able to switch to the other planes that works. Also, making me wait for 5 hours then be like soz you have to go pick up your luggage and re-book your flight is not cool. I had to enter immigration once again, enduring the quizzical faces of the immigration staff.

The mob started getting real mad. I thought they were bad before but woah did it escalate. Whilst near the luggage collection area, an SuitAfrican(SuiA in short) dude was yelling at the baggage staff as the carousal was only producing luggage that were tagged to Singapore and not Dubai. I suspected he was going to Dubai and too had a connecting flight. Poor staff had no idea what was happening and tried his best but the SuiA man was belittling the staff for the lack of information provided and the whereabouts of his suitcases. A fellow passenger that was carry a 4 year old child in his arm(4arm shall be his name) decided to step in to help defuse the situation. He too saw that it was not the carousal staff that were at fault as they were just as clueless as we were. NOTE: If you want to defuse an escalating situation, remove the ignition from the fuel or spark. Do not give in to the antagonist or join in and further escalate the argument. Despite his good heart, 4arm stupidly ended up becoming a catalyst to the argument. 2 grown up men shouting F you with a child caught in the middle was not a pretty scene. You would think that one of them could be the greater/better man and step away from the scene and be like I know you’re making me mad and I am easily triggered as I have been through an eventful night but I will stop and ignore your words so there is no fight. I was glad I stepped in and somehow managed to stop it using please and thank you in addition to tons of reminders that a 4 year old was terrified and had to be looked after. Seriously....adults need to be treated like children sometimes. PS. I THANK SCKC FOR TEACHING ME THOSE SKILLS

I am proud of myself for the #sucessfullybreakingupanintenseargumentthatcouldhavegonebad and probably more so since they were adults. 

In addition to that drama, people got so mad with the wasted night that a lady flew into rage and walked right out of customs without her luggage. She was truly seething with rage and wanted Emirates to deal with everything. I was interesting to realise that most people felt the same but were too tired and was over it. I know I was. A man that i met, his name is David. He’s from Hamburg. Poor guy had his both flights cancelled on him twice in one day - 6 am and then 6.45pm- thus spending an entire day in the airport.  I felt so bad... it must be his worse day ever. He had even bought his mom a wine for her birthday celebration on saturday. However, with the current status of a cancelled flight, I am unsure as to if he had gotten the flights that met the requirement. The only good thing that he had out of the horrible situation was that he was on a paid business trip and it meant that he had a few additional days of “stressful holidays” as i put it. I went on meeting and talking to multiple other strangers, someone who was going to Africa, Denmark (like me), Brazil and even Pakistan. But everyone had a connecting flight in Dubai which we all missed. BUMMER.

We were then taken up to the “front desk” of the departure hall to sort out our new tickets. Or so we thought. Turns out there was a number provided on the “apology letter” to contact for reservations and new bookings. So not only did they not issue new tickets over the counter or rearrange your new flights but they were unable to find accommodation for majority of the travelers. Despite a paid transportation to your overnight location, accommodations were still only discounted. 

However, my pain lies with the people on the phone that were meant for booking and flight allocations. Turns out, the flight was not cancelled according to their database and was postpone to 1.30 pm. Except, the letter given to us by emirates addressed the CANCELLED flight. Annoyed, I passed the phone to the lady at the counter/ Within seconds, she was yelling to the phone guy about how the flight was cancelled and that there was no 1.30 pm flights and that he should speak to his supervisor. All the passengers were furious with the outcome and soon chaos swamped. Fortunately, Emirates counter dealt with the phone people. Its ironic seeing how they are the same company and they share the same data bases but when It comes to cancelled flights, no one knows. 

UPDATE: I managed to snag a seat and now I will attempt once again to leave Melbourne tomorrow, at night 10.20pm. Moreover, I shall attempt to get an upgrade if possible. and am home(MELB) and heading to bed. Goodnight eventful night. 

PS. It was storming when I got out of the departure gates towards freedom and home after 6 hours. Oh what a stormy day it has been for me but to sum the night: 

I feel ya lady, I feel ya.