#i know this is silly and random but if you like designing rooms this gradually gets more fun as you unlock more and more items

[monkeygrrlee]

Been having a ton of fun playing Kawaii Home, even if I spend all my money on one room and have to wait to make moree 😤

[blu-joons]

DATING A⇴Z HEADCANON ⇴ Kim Hyojong

A ⇴ AFFECTION

Hyojong is incredibly soft around you, he loves to be able to cuddle up to you and often uses his affection to make sure that you feel loved as that’s his number one priority. His affection will always be close and meaningful with you.

B ⇴ BEFORE DATING

The two of you met when you were working at the studio that he was rehearsing at. You weren’t quite sure what it was about you both, but the two of you just instantly seemed to click. You spent the whole day chatting away to each other and getting to know each other, finding out about all the things that you had in common with each other.

C ⇴ CONFESSION

It didn’t take too long for Hyojong to confess to you, he enjoyed your company, and there was no way that he was going to risk losing you to someone else first. He confessed one evening when the two of you went out for a walk, he sat you down on a bench halfway through your walk, taking a tight hold of your hand as he tried his hardest to remain calm and tell you everything that he wanted to say to you.

D ⇴ DATES

Hyojong always made time for you, at least once a week the two of you would have a whole evening where you’d just be with each other, with your phones switched off. He knew he was busy a lot, so he’d make up for plenty of lost time with your dates. He would make sure that every date the two of you had was special and made sure that it was something you’d remember. He much preferred your dates to be quiet and relaxed then anything too overwhelming, his main focus was just being able to talk to you.

E ⇴ EXPERIENCE

He didn’t care what anyone thought about the fact that he was in a relationship, he wanted to put his own happiness first, regardless of what anyone else thought. He knew what he had to do in order to go about things in the right way, having learnt from previous experiences, but if anyone was to tell him no, then he’d definitely go ahead and do the complete opposite. He was his own person, he didn’t need his company to tell him what he could or couldn’t do, his career would always be important to him, but so was love.

F ⇴ FIGHTING

The two of you didn’t tend to fight often, but if you did, it would usually end in something pretty big. The two of you were stubborn, and firmly believed that you were right in any disagreement that the two of you had. It would usually take for one of your friends to nudge the two of you back together and encourage you to talk things through. As much as you hated to fight with each other, you both knew that arguments were natural in relationships and that no one expected to live your lives always on the best of terms. Eventually, the two of you would always talk things through and carry on like nothing ever happened.

G ⇴ GETTING TO KNOW HIS FAMILY

To begin with, Hyojong’s family were quite protective, it took a couple of visits for them to really warm to you. It certainly made you nervous for a while, but as you gradually began to feel that you were accepted as a part of his family, it definitely made life easier for you, and put you in a much happier position with Hyojong.

H ⇴ HOME

Hyojong didn’t want to rush your relationship, he wanted to work at a pace that was comfortable for you both, but as he began to work a lot more, he was keen to move you in after a few months so that he could spend more time with you. He didn’t want to wait for days to see you anymore, he wanted to see you when he got home instead.

I ⇴ “I LOVE YOU”

He was the first one to say, ‘I love you,’ when you surprised him at a concert. He hadn’t seen you for a couple of weeks because he was working so hard, so when you had the chance to head over and see him, you took it in an instance. He didn’t have time to think when he saw your face for the first time, he just found himself letting you know that he loved you.

J ⇴ JEALOUSY

Around other people is often when Hyojong will feel most insecure. He knows that others think of him as a bit of a unique character, so when someone else tries to compare themselves to him, he’ll often shrink back into his shell. Just the feeling of your hand holding onto him will usually be enough to convince him that he has no reason to get jealous, but for the rest of the night he’ll definitely be a bit off the ball until the two of you can finally leave and he can go back to being in a more comfortable environment.

K ⇴ KIDS

Starting a family was a huge deal to Hyojong, he wanted to complete that family dynamic whenever the time was right for the two of you. You knew at the start of your relationship that his career was the priority, but as your relationship became more serious, that focus tended to shift more to trying to find a balance of making his career work, but also looking towards a future with you, preferably with children too.

L ⇴ LAUGHTER

You loved the many quirks that Hyojong had, he was unique, which was what you loved the most about him. There was never a day when he didn’t make you laugh, even if he was busy at work, he’d send you a dodgy selfie or send you a silly joke that he knew would put the smile on his face. He didn’t care how much of a fool he looked around you, if it was enough to make you laugh, then it was good enough for him. You would never not find yourself smiling around him, you just couldn’t help but enjoy Hyojong’s company.

M ⇴ MISSING

Now that he was travelling alone, Hyojong was more desperate to have you with him than ever. He’d try and work his schedules around you too so that you could take along and he could show you a bit more of the world. If you weren’t there, touring and promoting would feel very lonely for Hyojong. Not having you by his side was hard for him, especially if time zones meant that he wouldn’t be able to call you every day or receive a text from you. Whenever he came home from tour, he didn’t let you go for a very long time, he knew he had a lot of time to make up for, and despite your protests, he’d refuse to let you go.

N ⇴ NICKNAMES

When you first started dating, Hyojong mentioned to you how he loved when you called him ‘jongie,’ so that was what stuck for you both. Any time he heard you say it, it was a guarantee that his cheeks would turn bright red.

O ⇴ OBSESSION

Hyojong is obsessed with your heart, he loves what a pure and kind person you are, it’s the exact type of person a personality like his needs.

P ⇴ PDA

Whilst he’s not over the top with his affection, Hyojong isn’t afraid to be affectionate with you in public. When he tells you that he doesn’t care what other people think, he means it, if he wants to show you off and hold you close to him, then he will. He never fusses or lets other people’s stares bother him.

Q ⇴ QUESTIONS

He’ll ask you a lot of questions, as he loves to strike up conversation with you. A lot of his questions are random, but that’s something that you’ve come to expect over the years, you never quite know what he’ll say.

R ⇴ RANDOM FACTS

Whenever he’s away on tour, Hyojong will carry a bracelet with him and wear it for his shows. It fits in well with the other bands around his wrist, but when you see it on his wrist, you know that he’s wearing it because of you. In interviews or segments, he’ll often fiddle with the bracelet to make a point of making sure that the camera focuses on it so you can see that he’s playing with the bracelet especially for you.

S ⇴ SEX

He’s incredibly soft when it comes to intimacy, he loves to make sure that you feel loved and special around him. Out of the two of you, he’ll tend to be the one that dominates a little more, he still likes to be the man and be the one to put in all the hard work, but if you mention to him that you want to switch, then he definitely won’t turn you down. Ultimately, all Hyojong ever wants is for you to be happy with him.

T ⇴ TEXTS

Texting is not something Hyojong is a fan of, if he wants to get in contact with you, he’ll usually call, just so he can see your face. Even if it’s only for a couple of minutes, just being able to see your face is a huge relief for him.

U ⇴ UNIVERSE

There were many times when Hyojong was left feeling pretty misunderstood or like an outsider, but around you, he really knew that he could be himself. You made him feel safe and protected, which was all he ever wanted.

V ⇴ VACATION

Hyojong loves the fact that he’s the one who can show you the world, he loves to take you to new places and give you as many new opportunities as possible. Even if it’s just a quick stop on a tour or for a promo, he’ll make sure to show you around so that you can explore and open your eyes to a whole new world.

W ⇴ WHINING

If he doesn’t have your attention, there are definitely times when Hyojong can get quite loud to make sure that you know he’s in the room and wants you.

X ⇴ XXXXX

He’s incredibly affectionate, and with that, he loves to kiss you. His kisses vary a lot, sometimes it will just be a light peck on the cheek, other times he’ll love to tease you, either by allowing his lips to linger against your skin or nibble gently against your skin. The feeling of you squirming as he presses his lips to you is exactly the reaction that Hyojong craves, all he wants is for you to be on your toes when he’s around.

Y ⇴ YOU

You were the one that understood exactly who Hyojong was, which he loved.

Z ⇴ ZZZ

When you slept, it became a bit of a habit for you to start tracing Hyojong’s tattoos. He loved feeling your hands dance along his skin, often coming up with new designs too against whatever exposed skin you could find.

---

Masterlist

[cheri-translates]

[CN] Lucien’s Mirror Painting Date (Eng Translation)

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a date which has not been released in English servers! 🍒

Kiss Dates Collection: Gavin // Kiro // Victor

The date begins with MC feeling down because she can’t find inspiration for an “Amateur Painting Exhibition” she agreed to participate in.

The uniqueness of this exhibition lies in how it does not require professionalism. The main purpose is to exhibit differing definitions of dreams held by different people.

Since there’s no requirement to be a professional, I agreed to participate without hesitation. However, even after a few days, I don’t have a single idea...

Lucien: Silly, we still have time, so there’s no hurry to think.

MC: Do you have any ideas then?

While I speak, light silently trickles into the living room, illuminating the room in an instant. A faint ray of light shines around Lucien’s eyes, and he involuntarily averts his eyes. Seeing that it was the makeup mirror which reflected the light, I hurriedly turn the mirror face-down on the table.

In a moment, bits of ideas bubble within my heart.

MC: Lucien, I think I have some inspiration, but I’m not sure if it’d work...

Lucien: I’m guessing that you want to use the refraction from the mirror to shine light onto the canvas?

I look at Lucien in shock. Looks like we both thought about this “opportunistic method” at the same time.

MC: Mm, but this is only to add a bit of colour. The more important part depends on Professor Lucien.

While speaking, I tap my head with a hand.

Lucien: Have you forgotten that the manager specially pointed out that the artwork must be created by two people?

MC: My art skills are at the level of an elementary school student. I’m afraid the “dream” would be extinguished.

Lucien: Everything has an area where it can come in handy. Perhaps your stroke could be the finishing touch which brings the art to life.

MC starts getting pumped up and asks where they should start.

Lucien: I know a place which will have something we want.

They walk through several quiet alleys and end up outside a shop.

The unique design of the shop sign, which is a mirror, gives me a sense of anticipation.

MC: This is the place?

Lucien nods with feigned secrecy. I push the door open curiously, and let out a laugh when I look at the scene before me.

In the middle of the shop rests a distorting mirror.

In the mirror, Lucien’s head is magnified several times, and the subtle changes in his expression are made more prominent.

Perhaps due to our height differences, my head is not as magnified, but has become square-shaped.

While I originally wanted to tease Lucien, I quickly become embarrassed.

MC: This is… really ugly.

Lucien: I think it’s quite adorable.

Hearing these untruths, I narrow my eyes at him.

MC: Then tell me how this is adorable!

Lucien retracts his smile and stares at the mirror in deep thought, attempting to find “evidence” that the square-shaped “me” is adorable.

Lucien: Eyes, nose, mouth…

Even before he finishes speaking, he lets out a light chuckle. I catch the playful glint in his eyes.

MC: Hmph. Look at you, looking so rounded.

Shop manager: Sorry to interrupt. Is there anything I can do for you two?

MC: We’re here to buy a mirror. Could I trouble you to recommend us…

MC details what exactly she’s looking for, and the shop manager shows her mirrors to choose from. After she’s done with her purchase, Lucien asks the manager for defective mirrors.

MC: Why do you need defective mirrors?

Lucien: Mirrors that are not smooth can diffuse reflection. This way, the mirror will scatter light at different angles.

Lucien explains gently. Although I’m not clear about the principles behind it, it sounds like a good idea.

MC realizes that the painting seems more like an Installation art and requires a lot of items to make possible. She starts worrying about how to transport the art to the exhibition. Lucien has an idea – to work on the artwork directly at the exhibition venue.

They head to the Oil Painting Museum to ask the manager for permission to do so.

Just as the manager struggles to find the words to reject their request, Lucien tells him something.  With that, the manager agrees and brings them in.

I tug on Lucien’s sleeve gently and ask in a quiet voice.

MC: What did you say to the manager?

Lucien: I told him that today is our anniversary, so I asked him to make an exception for us.

MC: Lucien…

Looking at his serious face as he explains, my face involuntarily turns red. Just as I’m about to say something, the manager suddenly turns around, and I immediately lower my head.

~

In the exhibition room:

MC: What should we paint?    

Lucien lowers his head and gently wipes the paintbrush. The corner of his mouth is raised, as though he already had an idea from the start.

Lucien: MC, what do you want to paint?

I originally thought he would give me a direct idea, and didn’t expect him to return the question.

MC: Although the refracted light from by the mirrors can create a dream-like effect, the painting itself is the most important. In that case, what kind of painting can channel a dream-like feeling?

Countless ideas float in my mind – fairytale worlds, surreal realities…

But a face gradually becomes clear in my mind. His appearance makes all the other ideas pale in comparison.

MC: Lucien…

I softly whisper the name belonging to the face appearing in my mind.

Lucien: What’s wrong?

He hears the sound I made, and slowly puts down the paintbrush while looking at me.

MC: I think I know what to paint now.

Lucien: What is it?

MC: You. The main purpose of this exhibition is to see the different definitions of dreams held by different people. My definition of dreams is… you.

Hearing this, Lucien looks visibly moved. He walks towards me slowly, leans over and gently pinches my cheeks.

Lucien: Silly. The manager said that this artwork is meant to be a collaborative effort. It can’t just feature your definition of dreams, but our definition of dreams. If that’s the case, it should be us.

Lucien responds in a quiet voice, handing me a paintbrush.

Lucien: We’ll each paint one stroke. This way, you wouldn’t be lazy.

MC: I wouldn’t be lazy. I’m filled with motivation right now!

They start painting.

Whenever I see my reflection in his eyes, it makes me feel incredibly peaceful.

Lucien: What are you smiling at?

MC: I… am wondering how this painting would turn out.

Lucien turns his head to the blank canvas. He thinks for a moment, then lets out an assured smile.

Lucien: Let’s finish it together then.

With this, he lifts the paintbrush to draw a line on the canvas. While the lines are seemingly random, they gradually reveal an outline-

MC: Eh? Are we the two people in the painting?  

I lean towards the canvas as my eyes rove over it, trying to find any strange marks. Finally, my line of sight rests on “my” ear.

MC: My ears have become sharper?

Lucien responds with a subtle nod and adds a few strokes to the canvas.

Lucien: It was a sudden inspiration to give you elf ears.

MC: In that case, I also want to improvise.

I tilt my head to think for a while, then lift my hand, gently pressing my brush to the canvas. My fingers tremble slightly as I’m not used to this posture.

I mimic Lucien’s actions, and create an outline that is slightly crooked.

MC: Look, I’ve also added pointy ears for you! Although… it doesn’t look that good…

Lucien doesn’t speak, and instead looks at the canvas quietly. After a short silence, he turns his head, his eyes deep.

Lucien: Sometimes, you don’t necessarily have to draw it accurately. Using your imagination could bring about better results.

After saying this, Lucien turns to the misshaped “ears” with amusement.

I look at the outline on the canvas thoughtfully, and suddenly think of something.

I reach out to hold Lucien’s hand. The strokes are gentle yet accurate on the canvas.

MC: Lucien, let’s use our imagination together! Over here, our hands… can be a little longer. And over here, a star underneath our feet…

The sounds outside the window gradually quieten. I hold onto Lucien’s hand as we continue painting every stroke.

Without knowing how much time passed, the lines on the painting grow in number.  There is no deliberate composition, proportion, or perspective - we are creating as we please.

After the final brushstroke, I release an exuberant smile.

The painting features two people in an embrace, surrounded by trees. From afar, it looks like “we” have blended in with the forest.

MC: This should be all right.

Lucien smiles while nodding. He turns towards the window. The sky has already started turning to dusk.

Lucien: I think the mirrors should make an appearance now.

They place mirrors in different parts of the room. As the sun sets, the mirrors start refracting light.

“We” seem to be in a colourful forest, and every ray of light is a gift from nature.

MC: Lucien, we’ve succeeded!

The sun sets, and the studio grows dim.

MC: The sun went down so quickly that I didn’t get to properly appreciate it before it disappeared…

Lucien: Even though there’s no sunlight, it doesn’t mean we will be plunged into darkness.

Even before I react, a ray of light appears from behind me.

I turn towards the window to see streetlamps lighting up one by one. The studio is once again illuminated with colours.

The mirrors once again play their roles, and the refracted light returns the canvas to its splendor.

Under the light, the “us” in the painting seemingly come to life, and it looks like we are dancing.

Lucien: When the light falls onto the canvas… it’s very beautiful.

While Lucien says this, he wraps an arm around me from behind.

Lucien: I really like the way you imagine us. You gave me a dream today, and this moment is wonderful.

I turn to face Lucien and bury my face in his chest.

MC: I hope the visitors can feel our hearts on the day of the exhibition.

Lucien: I am very lucky then, because I am a participant in your heart.

We stop talking, quietly enjoying the colours we painted together.

Instead of just thinking about each other, we should fill our hearts with “us”.

This day is a dream belonging only to us.

[lolas-writings]

Hello loves!! I have an actual fic to share with you and not a few hundred word drabble like usual ^.^ 

I know y’all like rarepairs as much as I do so I’m introducing you to a new one today! I wrote a cute IidaCamie fic yesterday for Camie’s birthday as well as to celebrate the occasion for the @iidacamiebigbang that I’m a mod for hehe. You can find the fic on AO3 here or you can just read the fic below. And if you find this rarepair interesting, please feel free to check out our Tumblr or our Twitter. Enjoy! 

~~~~ 

“Babe?” Camie calls out as she walks through the front door of her and Iida’s shared apartment. The door clicks softly as it closes behind her, eliminating the light from outside and casting their apartment in a blanket of shadows. 

The lights are out, all except for the lamp edging the boundary between the foyer and the living room. Odd, because Iida should be home by now and he always complains about not seeing well when it’s dark. 

“Tenya?” Camie calls out again, letting out a huff when she gets no response. She pouts as she removes her shoes and sets them to the side, noticing Iida’s worn sneakers are in their usual space, perfectly symmetrical to each other and perpendicular to the wall. If his shoes are here, then where is he? 

The soft thud of socks on wood flooring echoes through the apartment as Camie ventures further inside. She passes the lamp and the lighting gradually grows dimmer, urging her to turn to the wall on her left and search for the light switch. Before she can flick it on, however, a blue piece of paper stuck on the wall beside the switch catches her eye. 

‘Look on the coffee table :)’ it reads, written in Iida’s distinct penmanship. Camie smiles at the note and takes it off the wall, folding it carefully and tucking it into her pocket before she turns around. The coffee table stands directly behind her, and after her eyes adjust to the low lighting, she can make out a perfectly wrapped yellow box resting on top. 

“Aw, babe, you shouldn’t have!” She calls out playfully as she approaches the present. She’s lying, of course, because it’s her birthday and she deserves to be spoiled. Something, luckily, Iida is surprisingly good at. 

The blue ribbon on top comes off first, followed by the tape holding the yellow wrapping paper around the box together. It comes apart easily, meticulously, a careful calculation on Iida’s part to leave the wrapping paper in one piece for reuse later. What a dork. 

After unwrapping the box, Camie carefully lifts the lid and immediately squeals when her eyes land on what’s inside. Soft black fabric, fuzzy and soft and two sizes too big, but that’s how Camie likes her sweaters. Hanging off of her shoulders and bunching up around her hips, just like how Iida’s sweaters fit. 

She reaches in and pulls the sweater out of the box, unfolding it and admiring the clothing more fully. She first saw this sweater four weeks ago in the window of her favorite mall store while on a date with Iida. Oversized, extremely fluffy, and with the word, “Baddie,” written in white across the front. Exactly her kind of style, and she would have dragged Iida into the store to get one for herself if they hadn’t been on their way to meet up with their friends. Iida really does pay attention. 

As she fawns over her new sweater and considers putting it on then and there, another blue note catches her eye, this time from the bottom of the box. ‘Now go check the kitchen :)’ this one reads, another silly smiley face signing the note. This note, too, gets folded and tucked into Camie’s pocket before she ventures to their kitchen, fluffy sweater in hand. 

This time, the box is blue with yellow ribbons. Similarly sized and wrapped, the only difference being the color swap. She sets the sweater on the counter beside the box before tearing, not literally, into this present. 

Inside is white, a stark contrast to her sweater. When she reaches in to pull the new article of clothing out it feels rougher, like denim, and sure enough, when the fabric unfolds she’s staring at a new pair of strategically ripped white skinny jeans. Something that’s been on her To-Buy list for ages. She squeals again and hugs the pair of jeans close to her chest. 

Just like the first box, at the bottom lies another blue note. ‘You know, your shoes look a bit cluttered. There’s a random box taking up their space…’ Camie can’t help but giggle at this particular note. Knowing Iida, he probably took this opportunity to subtly tell her to start organizing her shoes better. Maybe she will, after all the thought and time Iida spent arranging this birthday scavenger hunt. You know, for a day or two before the chaos resumes. 

Camie pushes that thought aside as she returns to the entryway of their apartment, opening the door to the closet where their shoes and heavy coats are kept. On the floor, in the midst of her mess of a shoe collection, is another box. Smaller than the previous two, but wrapped just like the first with yellow paper and blue ribbons. 

Camie sinks to the floor and sets the sweater and jeans on the ground beside her. She doesn’t even bother taking the time to sit properly before reaching into the closet and pulling the box out, making quiet work undoing the wrapping paper and ribbons. 

The box itself is not plain and wordless like its predecessors. This box clearly has the logo of Camie’s favorite designer shoe brand slapped on top, bold and proud. She wastes no time ripping the lid off to reveal what’s inside. 

Black ankle boots with a chunky heel and studs on either side of each shoe. The same shoes she saw a random woman wearing in line at the grocery store two weeks ago. Camie remembers enthusiastically asking the woman where she got them, how much they cost, are they comfortable, and all the important questions, but Iida had stood wordlessly beside her observing the different pastries that were on sale that day. At least, that’s what she assumed, she had no idea he was listening in on their conversation. 

This time, she doesn’t squeal; she laughs, wholeheartedly and unabashed, the sound echoing off the walls around her and surrounding her in her own disappointment. She really must stop secretly chastising Iida in her head for seemingly not paying attention. 

She sets the shoes on the floor beside the sweater and jeans, freeing up her hands and allowing her to pull the now empty shoebox completely from the closet and into her lap. Just as she suspected, there’s yet another small blue paper with a note written on it. ‘I hope you don’t mind, I tidied up your dresser and vanity.’ She smiles again and folds and tucks the note into her pocket with the other two. After replacing the lid on the box, she retrieves her clothing and shoes and makes her way to their bedroom. 

The room is dark just like the rest of the apartment, the only light source being the lights surrounding her vanity mirror. It’s enough to illuminate the single box resting perfectly centered on top, wrapped in blue paper and yellow ribbons. 

She approaches the vanity soundlessly, the carpet muffling the sound of her footsteps. When she’s standing just in front of the vanity, she sets the rest of her treasures delicately on the matching chair before setting her sights on the newest box. 

Just a few tugs on the ribbon here and a few flicks of her nail to the tape there is all it takes for the wrapping to fall away and reveal the box within. It’s plain again, like the first two boxes, but smaller like the third. And just like all of the previous boxes, the lid comes off easily and reveals another treasure inside. 

A sleek, shiny leather newsboy cap rests inside, a stripe of white across the bill standing out against the inky blackness of the rest of the cap. She’s never seen this item before, surprisingly, but it falls perfectly within her style choices and even matches the rest of the outfit… Oh. Oh, what an absolute dork her boyfriend is. 

“So?” A deep, familiar voice pipes up from behind her, startling her into dropping the hat back into the box. Camie huffs and turns around to glare at Iida, putting her hands on her hips. 

“You so need to stop doing that.” 

“Doing what?” Iida smiles and leans against the doorframe. “Giving you birthday gifts?” 

“Being a total stalker.” Camie tutts and crosses her arms, a pout on her lips that juxtaposes Iida’s poor confused expression. It’s almost funny how he’s remained too dense to recognize her jokes after all these years. “I’m kidding, Tenya.” 

Camie covers her mouth to suppress a giggle when Iida lets out a relieved sigh. He’s too serious sometimes but it never ceases to be absolutely adorable. After tapering down her short-lived giggle fit, Camie walks over to Iida and throws her arms around his neck, pulling him down just enough to give him a quick peck on the cheek. 

“You are superbly a dork.” 

Iida’s cheeks flare red at the attention, but he reciprocates Camie’s hug without a second thought, his arms wrapping soundly around her waist. “Maybe, but you love it.” 

“I love you, idiot.” Camie rolls her eyes but doesn’t bother pulling away from their hug. 

“Hm, that too.” Iida hums and places a matching kiss on Camie's cheek, causing them both to smile. “Happy birthday.” 

[hermionemonica]

The Road to Us, and Everything in Between: Chapter 2

(This is a no magic AU. There is no existence of the Miraculous or the superheroes in this universe.)

AO3 | Chapter 1 | Chapter 3 

As time went on, Marinette felt distances creeping between her and Nathaniel. They still talked to each other over calls, texting and social media, and even met up with each other every once in a while. But all that grew more and more seldom. And for Marinette, this felt different. Of course, her affections for Nathaniel still remained unchanged, but it felt kind of liberating to not have his presence constantly looming over her life. And with the alone time Marinette now had away from Nathaniel, she found herself constantly rethinking her life and decisions. About what she chose, about what could have been.

Marinette had always had a habit of talking to herself. Now every time she felt herself falling into dejection, she would whisper to herself over and over, “I chose this. This is my life now. This is what my life will be from now.” That did wonders to push the fears and insecurities to the back of her mind.  

But as days passed, it started to get harder and harder. After all, it is an inexplicable pain to see the one you love right in front of you, be with them, all the time knowing that they'll never be yours. Being around him didn’t do anything to help her move on from him, even if she tried.  

Gradually, the secrets and the pretences began to take a toll on her. And with the new university and her fashion courses, it was all too much for her. She felt herself giving in to the pressure. Designing or baking did not work their therapy on her anymore. And the first thing she did when things started getting bad was slowly cut off Nathaniel. Not that she wanted to. It was just she couldn't trust herself to not explode in front of him. And after everything the boy had been through, the last thing he'd want was the only person he trusted to go off on her. So the only solution that she saw was to stay away from him. Only, she could not come up with an appropriate excuse. The poor boy kept asking her what was wrong, but Marinette would say she was fine. Until one day she snapped.  

Marinette was having a particularly rough day, after she had accidentally dropped her sketchbook, which held her designs that she had been working so hard on, right into the waters of the Seine. She had retrieved them, of course, but her work of weeks was ruined. She had shut herself in her room and decided to bury herself in her designs till she redrew them. It probably wouldn’t be as perfect as the originals, but she needed to submit something the next day to pass the class.

Unfortunately, Nathaniel chose that very evening to call her. Marinette ignored his calls and messages for a while, till the alert sounds were getting on her nerves. She finally picked up the phone and asked, “What is it, Nate?”  

If she sounded grumpy or bitter, Nathaniel obviously did not notice it as he went on a ramble about how a cute guy on the subway had complimented him on his blazer.  

“And this is what was so important that you called me for like, 17 times?” Marinette cut him off mid-rant.  

That was when it registered in Nathaniel's mind. “Uh, I thought you'd like to know,” Nathaniel spoke nervously.  

“Maybe I would, but not everyone necessarily has the time for this! Take the hint when I wasn't answering your calls or replying to your texts.” Marinette replied acidly.  

“What is wrong Mari?” Nathaniel sounded concerned.  

“Why does something have to be wrong?” Marinette was beginning to lose her temper. “It just happens that you don't seem to realise that some people might have more important stuff going on than just a random guy complimenting you on your clothes!”  

When there had come no reply from the other end, Marinette quickly disconnected the call and switched her phone off. She had too much on her hands at the moment.  

Marinette had fallen asleep at her table, sometime in the middle of the night. In the wee hours of the morning, she woke up to find a string of messages from Nathaniel, which he had sent right after the phone call the previous night.  

“So, this is it? I... I don't matter anymore? It’s okay, Marinette, I get it. I was just an unnecessary burden that you were carrying around although you didn't have to. This had to end sometime, right? After all, we both know very well that I'll never be able to give you what you want. I am only holding you back from everything that you could have, everything that you deserve. I'm sorry for everything Mari, I hope you can forgive me. Take care Marinette, and be happy. I promise I won't bother you anymore. Goodbye.”  

Marinette had not seen this coming. She couldn't deny that she had been a bit too harsh in her words the previous night, but was it that bad? Had she made it sound like she didn't want Nathaniel to be around her? She tried to remember what exactly she had said, but to her anguish, all of it was a blur. In exasperation, she kicked against the side of her desk, only to wince back in pain immediately afterwards. Surely, the voice in her head kept saying, this can't be happening. Nathaniel wouldn't just leave just because Marinette had said some harsh words, right? Their relationship was too above that, of course! After everything they had been through together, a little miscommunication couldn't possibly be what would break it! Over and over she read Nathaniel's texts, trying to make something out of it, something less painful. She tried to read between the lines, desperately trying to convince herself that it wasn't happening.  

The only reason she dragged herself out of her house an hour later was because she had to submit the designs that day. And the only reason she had left her phone without replying to Nathaniel was because she was scared that she might mess it up further.  

Three agonising hours later, Marinette sat in the cafeteria. Anger coursed through her. Anger at Nate, anger at herself, anger at the stupid deadline! As she desperately tried to reign in her temper, because that was what had caused the entire mess in the first place, she found herself regretting her decision to leave her phone at home. At least she could have called Alya and talked to her. At one point of time, Marinette had been glad that no one from her old school was in the same university as her, because then she could put everything behind her and start her life without the lies. It didn’t seem that convenient anymore. She wished she could talk to someone, anyone, right now. But since there was no way to do that, she went back to sipping on her iced tea to soothe her nerves.  

“Are you okay?” said a voice from behind Marinette, as a hand was laid on her shoulder.  

Before Marinette could turn around, the intruder came into her range of vision as he seated himself at her table.  

It was Adrien, and he was looking at her with concern in his emerald hands. Did she really look that terrible? Marinette asked herself. More importantly, what could she answer to Adrien, when he didn't even know anything about Nathaniel? But then again, she was stuck in the university for at least two more hours, without a phone and no one but Adrien to talk to. Adrien was the only friend she had for now, and Marinette felt she would combust from the stress if she didn't talk sometime soon. Sure, once she figured out how to begin.  

“It's umm... you know, about this boy,” she struggled through her words.  

Immediately, Adrien perked up. “Boy? Crush? Ex? Boyfriend?”  

Marinette felt a smile creep up onto her face in spite of herself. “Let's not use any labels, okay? It’s a bit too complicated for that,” she clarified.  

Adrien wiped the silly grin off his face and looked on with interest, silently urging her to continue.  

“So we had kind of an argument last night, and I may have been a bit rude to him. In my defence though, I was stressed beyond limits. And this morning, I woke up to a bunch of texts from him, saying that... that,” Marinette faltered. How do you put that into words?  

Luckily, Adrien seemed to have understood what she was trying to say. “That he’s leaving you for good,” Adrien offered.  

“Exactly,” explained Marinette. “Except that I meant nothing like that and he took it all the wrong way and he thinks I want to get rid of him and oh so I feel so angry at him right now because after all this time how could he misunderstand such a simple thing and I-”  

“Woah there,” Adrien interrupted. “Slow down. Maybe drink a bit more of that drink you've got there.”  

“Iced tea,” murmured Marinette, “soothes my nerves.”  

That was when she realised that her hands were shaking so badly that she could not even hold the glass in her hand. And on the top of that, a pounding began in her head.  

As she clutched her head in her hands, Adrien reached over. “Hey, are you okay? Do you need anything?” he asked.  

But Marinette could not hear him over the incessant buzzing in her ears. Breathing had never felt so difficult, it was as if something was blocking her trachea.  

Adrien could see Marinette gasping for breath, and shaking uncontrollably, and it scared him. What was happening to this girl? It took him a moment to snap out of his fixation, but then he got up and picked Marinette up in his arms, rushing to the nurse's office, ignoring all the odd looks he could feel on him in the corridors.  

The nurse injected a mild tranquillizer into Marinette's blood. It took effect pretty soon, and soon Marinette had drifted off into a dreamless slumber.  

“It looks like your friend over here has had an anxiety attack,” the nurse explained to Adrien. “Is she under medications for such attacks?”  

Adrien simply looked on with bewilderment.  

Either he is too stressed out to comprehend my words right now, thought the nurse, or he seriously has never heard of an anxiety attack. Deciding on the former, she went on, more gently, “Has she ever had spells like this before?”  

Adrien looked down, his expression guilty. “I-I don't know. I don't spend much time with her.”  

The nurse shook her head. “Well, I am guessing by how freaked out she was when you brought her in that she is as unacquainted with these attacks as you are, young man. Whatever be it, I need to contact her parents. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you said?” The nurse asked as she scrolled through the student records on her computer.  

Adrien nodded.  

“I assure you that your friend will be okay, you may take your leave if you have classes you need to be at now.”  

Adrien took a glance at his watch. His class had started fifteen minutes ago. Since he was late anyway...  

“No,” he confidently lied to the nurse. “I don't have any classes for another hour.”  

“Fine,” obliged the nurse. “Do keep the young lady company while I go call up her parents.” Adrien silently sank down on the edge of the bed Marinette was asleep on. As he stared at her face, he noticed how ill she looked. The colour had faded from her cheeks, and dark bags hung under her eyes. What could have been so terrible that upset this amazing girl like this?  

Marinette's parents came in some time later. Adrien noticed the stark difference in their appearances. While Marinette's mother, who looked and dressed Chinese, was a small woman like her daughter, Marinette's father could aptly be called a giant of a man. They seemed like very nice people, by the way they talked to the nurse. Mrs Cheng assured the nurse that her daughter did not have any history of anxiety attacks. In that case, the nurse advised them, they should get their daughter a professional check-up at the earliest. They thanked the woman for her help and turned to leave.  

As Mrs Cheng left the room with her daughter leaning onto her, still not quite awake, Mr Dupain stopped at the door. He turned to look at Adrien standing there, and Adrien couldn't help but be intimidated. But Mr Dupain had the kindest of expressions on his face as he grabbed Adrien's hand and firmly shook it. “Thank you for taking care of my little girl,” he whispered gratefully.  

Adrien was surprised to know that the huge man could speak in so low a voice. “It was a pleasure,” he smiled in acknowledgement.  

After he left, Adrien wondered if he had even done anything that special to receive such warm gratitude. “Taking care of” Mr Dupain had said. Funny, thought Adrien, for anyone would probably have done the same if a friend went through something like that in front of them. Nevertheless, Adrien decided that the Dupain-Chengs were probably affectionate people by blood.  

[wakaoujisenhime]

Hello! Can I ask scenario (200 followers event) about Akashi confess his crush after match with Jabberwock?

A/N: I tried adding some extra scenes here and there, in the hope that this didn’t turn out too short, but now I’m concerned whether I captured your request right or not xD...either way: have fun! ٩(๑`^´๑)۶ ♥

Tags: Akashi x reader ��  SFW ✅  fluff ✅

image/art source: Pixiv (art by Saeki)

━━━━☆ ━━━━☆ ━━━━☆

The thin line between us - Akashi x reader

You took a deep breath as you stood in front of the mirror in your room.

Ok, calm down...everything is going to be alright. All you have to do is believe in them...

With these words of self-encouragement, you slowly but surely departed and made yourself on the way for today’s match...

——

As you arrived at your local park, you instantly noticed the massive group of people, which had gathered to watch the ‘legendary match’ - as the media labeled it - that was scheduled for today. You began looking around, searching for a particular redhead, which proved to be quite hard considering the enormous crowd that was walking about like ants. After a short while, you realized just how silly that idea was and gave up.

Meanwhile, the man you were searching for was sitting at his team’s designated bench, casually glancing at the countless people that took a seat and loudly commuted about the event that was approaching.

“Are you growing nervous, Akashi?” asked a deep voice that belonged to a lathy green-haired man, who held another one of the most unusual items the captain has ever seen, in his right hand.

Instead of answering, Akashi just smiled and told his teammate that he was just looking for someone. Of course, as one of his closest friends, the bespectacled man instantly knew who he was looking around for and sighed.

“Maybe you should go and take a closer look yourself, rather than sit around and wonder.”

Just as the other man was about to come up with a fitting retort, he noticed a certain someone that instantly improved his mood and calmed him down.

(Y/N)...

Red eyes were following your every movement while you tried to maneuver yourself through the spectators that had already sat down way before your arrival. When you eventually found your seat, you were finally able to relax, and when you lifted your head, the first person who caught your eye was the man you had been looking for since the beginning.

Akashi...

A gentle smile graced both of your lips, and at that moment, nothing seemed to be able to break that wordless connection between the two of you...well nothing but the piercing ring of the referee’s whistle.

While his team slowly made its way to the middle of the playfield, you made sure to also take a look at their opponents. Rumor has it that they had mercilessly beaten another team, which consisted of several upperclassmen you had gotten to know throughout your days at Rakuzan.

When the two tallest players aligned themselves for the tip-off, you nervously clasped your hands together, hoping and wishing that this last game would end with your best friend’s victory...

As you watched how experienced he managed to lead the team, you couldn’t help but take a trip down memory lane as you had first gotten to know Akashi.

The first day at school, the teachers held a small assembly for the first-years and informed you guys just how important it was to excel at everything you did throughout the following years. Everyone seemed to be quite competitive and unwilling to socialize, which was quite upsetting for you, who was hoping to at least make one or two good friends. As disappointed as you were, you found an abandoned corner at the schoolyard, sat down, and closed your eyes.

That’s when Akashi came up to you, surprised that there was someone else who desired the peace and quiet after such a get-together. At first, the two of you didn’t talk, but since you couldn’t endure such an awkward silence, you decided to speak up and just ask him the most random things you could come up with. You expected that someone as proud-looking as him would instantly turn all of your attempts to small talk down, but he indulged in them surprisingly quick. He even went as far as to ask some questions of his own.

After that chat, you sadly had to part ways and go to your assigned classrooms where you’d get introduced to your homeroom teacher as well as receive some additional information. Still, on the bright side, you had successfully made a friend, and you were over the moon with happiness.      

Since then you guys greeted each other every day, spend some breaks together, helped each other with different subjects or homework and on some days you’d even go home together. Slowly but surely, the two of you grew closer and closer, but neither of you dared to cross that one thin line between best friends and lovers.

Why..?

The sudden whistle, followed by the announcement of a member change, pulled you back to reality. Kuroko was apparently being substituted by Murasakibara, and just before the blue-haired boy could return to the bench, you saw how the captain grabbed his wrist and whispered something to him that caused his eyes to widen. At that moment, you could’ve sworn that both of these boys had glanced back at you for a split second, the gesture only fueling your curiosity further. But the fact that the last few minutes of the game were coming up, you couldn’t afford to wonder about it, so you just took a deep breath and tried to appear less nervous than you actually were...

——

“Akashi...“

You looked at the man, who was deliberately trying to avoid your gaze as subtly as possible, and even though his team had won the match, the way he acted would’ve made anyone else think otherwise.

During the last few minutes, the man had reverted back to his old self, so you figured that this might have been the reason he seemed so disappointed.

Back then, when the Winter Cup took place, he had promised you to never resort back to his overly ambitious self, but looking at his heterochromatic eyes only made you realize that he had broken that promise.

“(Y/N), there’s something I need to talk to you about,” he announced and finally found the courage to directly look into your eyes. Before he elaborated further, you cut him off: “If it’s about your change in personality, then please don’t feel bad, I understand that there are times when you just have to resort to times and habits you decided to put aside..”

At first, you had started off quite confident that this was the topic he was about to discuss, but the more you tried to reassure him, the more unsure you grew. With your confidence, the volume of your voice also gradually went down until it completely faded away, leaving nothing but silence between the two. You both stayed quiet like that for a rather long time, until the man before you clicked his tongue and whispered something that sounded like ‘I can’t take this anymore.’ The moment you looked up, Akashi was standing proudly before you, his facial expression, a mix between sadness and gentleness.

“Basketball is the last thing I want to talk to you about, “ he said as he took a gentle hold of your hands. Usually, it would’ve made you blush, but you’ve known this man for quite some time, so it was nothing new.

He whispered your name softly and continued his train of thought: “I..didn’t revert back to my old self just because of the match, you know? There was another reason for it, and that reason was none other than...you. If I- no...if we had lost, then I couldn’t possibly look into your eyes the way I do know.”

You wanted to tell him that winning or losing didn’t matter to you. Still, he neither gave you the possibility to answer, nor did you think that telling him - out of all people - that effort is what really matters, would have reassured him in any way, so you remained silent.

“(Y/N)...you were always there for me when I needed you. Your support always kept me motivated and eager to give it my all, but more than that...I’ve found someone willing to go with me through thick and thin, so there’s something I’d like to ask you..“

The thin line that’s been between us for so long...is he really trying to...c-cross it...?

He opened his mouth and said those three words he had always intended to tell you, but hadn’t found the courage to, afraid that he’d ruin this strong friendship the two of you had built up in all those years.

“   “

What are you going to answer..?

[kaylinpak]

The ArtCenter Files

I was accepted for the Fall 2020 Illustration program at ArtCenter College of Design. Just like with the post I made after being accepted to Ringling, this one will also be a list of tips I gathered during my application process. This is not a guarantee of your acceptance, but just something to help inform those looking into ArtCenter, primarily for Illustration. (You can skip to number 3 if you just want help on your portfolio.)

1.) BEFORE WORKING ON THE APPLICATION:

Please schedule either an in-person or online meeting with an Admissions counselor first. This is important as no one knows the programs and curriculum better than they do. Just by talking to a counselor about my interests, she was able to help narrow down what major would be a good fit for me, as well as give insight as to what the coursework would look like. (Not to mention portfolio help!)

ArtCenter also has different terms: Fall, Spring, and Summer. You’d have to look for the exact starting dates to determine which term would work best for you, or speak to the counselor. You can schedule a meeting with a counselor by going to ArtCenter’s website; under the Admissions tab, you will see “Schedule an appointment.” If you can’t find it, there’s also the option to either email or call the Admissions desk (both contacts on their website.) 

If you or your parents are at a loss on what to ask the counselor, consider these: Scholarships and how to get them, tuition + costs, terms, curriculum details, what the major is like, show examples of your work + get feedback, and how well-connected the school is (ie internship opportunities).

2.) WORKING ON THE APPLICATION:

If you decided ArtCenter is a good fit, make sure you don’t immediately jump into the portfolio. The Application is equally important; personally I prefer to complete it first. Under the Admissions tab, you will find the link to the Application Requirements page, which lays out all the steps like a checklist. Either bookmark it or write them down so you can keep track what of you’ve completed!

3.) (ILLUSTRATION) PORTFOLIO HELP:

You will be uploading your pieces to ArtCenter’s SlideRoom. There’s a page on ArtCenter’s website that details what the portfolio requires, but I’ll copy and paste it so I can refer to it for the rest of my post. I’m writing this in 2020, so please check the site yourself in case there are changes. 

“Submit 10 to 15 figure drawings from a live model that include both gestural and more developed pieces. Other observational drawings from life are also required such as self-portraits or portraits of others, sketches of animals and scenes from nature and cityscapes. Include imaginative drawings that demonstrate your passion for and understanding of illustration in both color and black and white.

Submit three or more pieces that highlight drawing or painting skills, and show the development of a story or concept. Sketchbooks that display a range of interests and skills are welcome and we recommend a limit of 10 to 15 sketchbook pages submitted as one PDF.”

What if you don’t have any pieces that fit into this? Here are some of my ideas: 

Figure Drawing: If you can, sign up for figure drawing classes. Speaking as someone who has some art school experience, please don’t just search up nude figures and draw those for your portfolio, especially if you’ve never drawn figures before, unless you have absolutely no choice. That’s what I had done in high school, but taking actual figure drawing classes in college made me realize that having a teacher to give you advice and look for your mistakes helps you so much more. Not to mention, you will be training yourself how to quickly capture the human figure, sometimes in 1 minute or less.

Life Drawings/Observations: These are basically “cafe sketches” or observational drawings. Still lives count as long as they are polished. Googling pictures for you to draw for your portfolio should be a last resort! You don’t have to visit any where fancy to make a good portfolio piece; with practice, you can make an interesting drawing out of any subject. Start locally, and then try working out of your comfort zone if needed. First draw your friends, family, pets, rooms, or garden. Then you can move onto parks, zoos, and other public places. 

Sketchbook Pages: You can include less-polished life drawing sketches from your sketchbook in your portfolio. I also recommend sketching out your story ideas, any character designs, story boards, or comics. Be sure to include some color! Even if you think an idea is silly or dumb, sketch it anyways. You’ll then have a larger pool of sketches to choose for your portfolio.

Story Illustrations: Your illustrations do not all have to be paintings, but if you forgo the painting aspect, it should be a really strong drawing (ie with good line work and details.) Despite “illustration” being a broad term, what they are asking for aligns more with illustrations for books, and concept work for movies and games. To get inspiration, search up concept art for movies by Disney, Dreamworks, BlueSky, etc. Remember, don’t get caught too much in the scenery of your piece, your characters and their interactions in your illustration should be the main focus. Be sure to thumbnail your ideas (a rough drawing) and experiment with different composition, angles, and lighting before working on your final piece. If you are still not sure if your idea fits what ArtCenter wants, you can email an admissions counselor your work and ask for their feedback.

Tips I got from an admissions counselor: 

- Slideroom only allows 10-15 upload spaces, but there is a way to work around this if you have more than 15 pieces. You can upload PDF files; SlideRoom acts as though 1 PDF is the same as uploading one “artwork,” therefore only taking up 1 submission space even if your PDF has 10 slides on it. (Great for your figures and sketchbook! Either organize your pieces on Google Slides or PowerPoint, then save it as a PDF file.)

- You should have a mixture of traditional and digital work.

- Your sketchbook pages should feature some color even if they aren’t polished drawings.

- Aside from your illustrations, not everything in your portfolio has to be a finished drawing or “polished.” In fact, if your sketchbook has sketches of animals, landscapes, interior environments etc. that counts as a life drawing submission. 

- The presentation and order of your pieces on SlideRoom are important. Don’t have some random order like “sketchbook, paintings, animals, illustrations.” I don’t know if this is widely accepted at ArtCenter, but for my portfolio, I was told to order it like: Still life paintings, Illustrations, Sketchbook pages, Observation drawings, Figures. The only logic I gleaned from that was it was a gradual shift from the most polished work to the least. Ask a counselor if they have a preferred order.

-  Despite the minimum requirement for story illustrations being three, I was actually asked to do 4, as they felt it would make my portfolio stronger. 

4.) PORTFOLIO VIDEO ESSAY HELP:

Honestly, the site’s description couldn’t have said it any clearer. There is an entire page dedicated to its instructions, but I do have extra tips for this. SlideRoom will have its own page for you to directly upload your video file, but if the file is too big, the best solution is to upload your video essay to YouTube. Instead of submitting the video file directly, what I did was upload a PDF with the YouTube link to my video. (I made a Google Docs, copy and pasted the link, then saved it as a PDF. Yes it is allowed.) Just make sure your video is published publicly. If I can overcome my embarrassment, so can you.

5.) FINAL TIPS:

- Don’t try to study examples of accepted portfolios, as it may cause you to emulate their style or pieces in hopes of getting a higher chance of acceptance. Trust me when I say the reviewers can tell if your work lacks passion or your own creative input. 

- Find out which medium works best for you; some new passion may be discovered just from experimentation. For example, I struggled with figure drawing until I tried using Prismacolor colored pencils, which then became my go-to medium for figures. If you’re feeling bored or uninspired with one medium, go and try something new.

- PLEASE always email the admissions team for help if you’re stuck. You can even send an email asking if there were steps you missed preventing them from reviewing your application. I did, and it saved my butt. Furthermore, keeping in contact with the school in this manner helps to attach a face to an application, and may demonstrate to them that you’re really passionate about getting into the school.

I hope this was helpful, but don’t be afraid to message me with more questions! <3

[thesinglesjukebox]

FULL TAC FT. LIL MARIKO - WHERE'S MY JUUL??

[6.11]

Do we choose rule, or do we choose suck?

Alex Clifton: Juuls. Juuls. Juuls. Oh my god, Juuls. [7]

Katie Gill: It's a little bit telling how all the comments on the YouTube video are comparing this song to other meme songs and not talking about the merits of the song itself. Still, there will always be a place in the world for meme songs that are serviceable memes but less than serviceable songs that teenagers can obnoxiously quote on the bus. "Where's My Juul" fits that niche perfectly. I expect a fleet of TikToks featuring people lip-syncing to this and will be very disappointed when this inevitably doesn't happen because I am out of touch with the youth. [6]

Kalani Leblanc: I can see there's already an abundance of blurbs submitted for this song, and the number will have risen by the time I finish this. After thinking so hard about how to go about being the fifteenth person to say "It sounds like "Shoes"," I'm realizing it's not really "Shoes" anyway. While they're both jokes that bear a resemblance in the thrash of a breakdown, "Where's My Juul??" is also listenable. The comparison is getting tired because it's like did anyone listen to "Shoes"? As a song? In earnest??? While this is not an entirely impressive piece, no concerto or FKA Twigs production, it's enough. Since 2006, we've been making everything into jokes, so it makes perfect sense. Nicotine-induced freakouts would've been the subject of an after school special ten years ago, but now they're joke material for hypebeasts and others on Twitter. Lil Mariko makes an impressive case while trying to find her Juul; I can't find anything this song did wrong, sorry. [8]

Will Adams: The mid-song 0-to-11 ramp is what takes this past the mean-spiritedness of "#Selfie" and the meme-spiritedness of "Phone" into effortless "Shoes"/"Let Me Borrow That Top" absurdity. The Juul is a placeholder; sub in any other monosyllabic cultural artifact, and Lil Mariko's rage against Full Tac's electroclash-y beat would cut through just as effectively. "Sorry, guys!" she says at the end, except there's nothing to apologize for. [7]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: I wrote 20 pages about Juul culture in 2018 so I should in theory be the exact target audience for this. Yet "Where's My Juul??" doesn't really click for me. It's charming and funny in parts (Lil Mariko's spoken verses, which transmit nervy anxiety and barely restrained fury effectively) but the hook, which takes up most of the very long minute-forty-five, is comedy via brute force principles: repeat a phrase enough and it will transfigure into a joke. [5]

Brad Shoup: About as funny as the related TikTok meme, though not as menacing, surprisingly. I wish so badly that Full Tac had gone full hardcore -- or even brostep! -- but am glad that Lil Mariko's Danny Brownian ad-libs and sudden reversals grind "#SELFIE" into the dirt. [7]

Oliver Maier: I need not catalogue the myriad ways in which this is transparently designed to blast off on TikTok -- you would probably know better than me -- but that cynicism detracts from "Where's My Juul??" for me. There's none of the spontaneity or sense of genuine fun that animates certain other genre-agnostic, threat-spewing, extremely online weirdo duos, more savvy than it is genuinely silly. It's not badly executed, but I felt like I got the picture before even hitting play. [4]

Will Rivitz: I get this is supposed to be more meme than song, but I so wish it had leaned into the latter for more than half its runtime. The "FUCK!!!" at the beginning of its second chorus is worth at least a [7] on its own, and its redlining nu-metal production is such a tight fusion of XXXTENTACION's sonic fingerprint and simplified TikTok trap that I'm surprised the "oh my God" ad-libs aren't followed by a "Ronny." As it stands, "Where's My Juul??" and its just-a-little-too-long interludes that grate after listen number four or so functions as a sort of "Thrift Shop" for the current day, a track defined by its novelty that we as an Internet music-Twitter hivemind all agree was genuinely good about five years after it's exited the public consciousness. It deserves more. [8]

Ian Mathers: Both less musically compelling and with less of a point than "Can I Get a Box?". [5]

Katherine St Asaph: It's kind of amazing how it took seven years for Rebecca Martinson to release her debut. [1]

Nortey Dowuona: Lil Mariko is actually kinda weird in the lol so random funny way that people think that [insert overrated white comic who had a Comedy Central show] is and has a really great metal screaming voice. I don't know who made this dull approximation of Kenny Beats and Pi'erre Bourne, nor do I care. Lil Mariko will hopefully get a recurring cameo role on Nora From Queens and get her own show from that. [5]

Mo Kim: The best joke here is the escalation of nonchalance (hey, where's my Juul?) into something desperate, and therefore dangerous: it hits like the drop in a rollercoaster when Lil Mariko finally breaks out the deep-throated metal screams, but the moment wouldn't have half the thrill without the masterful way she gradually ups the heat on the song's first chorus before that. Both of her spoken monologues, where she merges Valley Girl affect with murderous menace, only sweeten the deal. [8]

Ryo Miyauchi: "Where's My Juul??" gets spiked with an infectious dose of adrenaline when it suddenly turns a lot more aggro than you'd expect from a meme-y cross-section of Rico Nasty's mosh-pop and PC Music's ironic bubblegum. The demented beat stings with a pungent metallic sourness, and while her Valley Girl accent scans as an obvious put-on, Lil Mariko's blood-curdling scream is legitimately hair-raising. The song rapidly combusts, ensuring the joke doesn't overstay its welcome. [7]

Joshua Lu: Yes, hearing the unassuming Lil Mariko scream and snarl over a missing Juul is intrinsically funny, especially accompanied by a music video that knows exactly how to push the limits of its concept. But the real strength of "Where's My Juul??" lies in its sheer relatability. The title could be anything -- where's my wallet, my phone, my eraser -- because anyone who has ever misplaced anything can relate to the escalating panic and rage in not only the cataclysmic vocals, but also Full Tac's discordant production. Also crucial to the song is its sense of plot, as it steadily progresses from confusion to blame to outright violence. The ending, though predictable (Lizzo used the exact same twist not that long ago), is a necessary denouement, as it provides the moment where everyone involved can look back on the last minute and a half of chaos and laugh. [8]

Iain Mew: As a song structure trick, I love the fake-out final verse, those ones that seem like something slowly developing before the artist brutally cuts it off for the chorus or instrumental to come back stronger than ever; the "Don't Speak" and "Your Best American Girl" kind of thing. The key moment of "Where's My Juul??" comes in taking that same trick to a ludicrous, brilliant extreme. It has a drawn-out, jittery verse, a cartoon scowl of a chorus, and then one question into verse two it veers straight into swearing, screaming and fucking everything up. That's perfect enough that it would ideally be even shorter than it ends up. [7]

Kylo Nocom: Full Tac and Lil Mariko do in less than two minutes what took Justice five. The gimmick is the least fun part, and judging by my sample size of BigKlit's "Liar" and Full Tac's very own "CHOP" the producers behind this might not even be as funny as this video would imply. But I've long settled with music that's good on the merits of just being fun; when the production here is layered with discordant guitar sampling, analog drum kits, and distant screams of "piss!" and "fuck," I'm willing to buy into the ugliness. [8]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Full Tac returns with another take on "Liar," succeeding because the goofy conceit here finds an appropriately goofy (that is, unexpected) vocal performance. Part of the appeal is how "Where's My Juul??" could sit comfortably alongside songs from Rico Nasty and Rina Sawayama, but has the appeal of shoddy viral videos from yesteryear. It's that "Kombucha Girl"-type reaction it's striving to elicit, and it accomplishes that as soon as the screaming starts. The best detail, though, is the most subtle: the moment Lil Mariko stops herself from saying "who" and politely asks "have you seen it?" [7]

Michael Hong: Have you ever been dragged to a party only for your only friend to disappear, leaving you to mingle with a group of people you don't know? And one person makes a comment so absurd that you just giggle along with the rest of the group even though you're not really sure if they're layering their statement with even a hint of irony or if there's something much more unsettling lurking underneath? But the jokes are getting more and more uncomfortable and suddenly fewer people are laughing along, instead furtively glancing across each other with an exasperated look as if to say "is this person for real?" And instead of backing away, that person instead starts doubling down, getting more and more aggressive, screaming across the room for what feels like hours and surely people must be ready to head out. Instead, when you finally catch a moment to glance down at your phone, you find that only two minutes have elapsed since you arrived and you realize that not even a quarter of the time has passed before your ride will come and you can leave this godforsaken party. You have absolutely no choice but to continue standing in the group in discomfort, waiting for this moment that feels like an eternity to finally finish, with the only background noise being the stereos blaring what sounds like someone's first attempt at using GarageBand. [0]

Crystal Leww: While I was digging through "likes" on SoundCloud, I noticed that a friend of mine had liked "Baby Let Me Know" by Full Tac, which sounds like the synth heavy dreamy pop that was popular at the beginning of last decade. I did not stick around for "Where's My Juul??" so imagine my surprise today when I turned this on and it's umm, screaming. A consistent genre as an essential part of an up-and-coming artist's brand is less essential than ever, especially in an age where (waves hands) dance music has eaten itself alive in its swirling storm of troll energy. Chaos in and of itself is a brand -- from 100 gecs to Alice Longyu Gao's dueling sister tracks "Rich Bitch Juice"/"Dumb Bitch Juice" to any DJ Bus Replacement Service set, it has fully infiltrated dance music. How this goes from sweetly threatening to full-on psychotic and back to cutely apologetic is chaotic so yes, I think Full Tac could make some noise (both in creating a fanbase and also like literally) with this. [8]

[Read and comment on The Singles Jukebox]

[sexywmatsui48]

Acceptance | Chapter 3

Previously: Prologue - Chapter 1 - Chapter 2

CHAPTER 3

This Saturday morning, Jurina was having a hard time enjoying her breakfast fully, because of a certain very attractive long, dark-haired stripper who stubbornly refused to leave her mind in peace. Jurina placed her chopsticks aside, a small sigh leaving her lips in defeat. It had now been two weeks since she visited The Blue Moon with her best friend Mayu, and Gekikara’s spellbinding performance was still vividly engraved inside her head.

No matter how many times Jurina kept repeating to herself that she needed to forget about her, Gekikara’s image always submerged her mind with great ease, and way too frequently for her liking.

“Are you finally going to the strip club tonight?” A feminine voice suddenly distracted her from her musing.

Jurina blinked, staring back at her roommate who was sitting opposite her at the kitchen table, and casually mixing with the rice the egg she had just cracked inside her bowl. “What? Why would I go back there?”

“To see her,” Mayu replied and rolled her eyes dramatically, as if she had just asked the stupidest question ever. “I’m pretty sure you haven’t stopped thinking about that new stripper.”

Jurina widened her eyes in stupefaction. Since their visit to the strip club, she had carefully made sure not to mention Gekikara to her best friend. It wasn’t because she wasn’t thinking about the new stripper – quite the contrary – but precisely because she was desperately attempting to put that encounter behind her. Somehow, she guessed her best friend would never let it go if she confessed that the new stripper had been monopolizing all her thoughts.  

Well, it appeared her effort to keep it a secrecy was much futile. In the end, she truly couldn’t hide much from her perceptive best friend.

“I still don’t understand why you didn’t let her finish the lap dance…” Mayu mused.

Jurina fidgeted nervously in her seat. Oh yes, Mayu had definitely been startled to see her leaving the private room before the time was up, not failing to pepper her with questions when they made their way back to the apartment. Jurina was left with no other choice but to satiate her curiosity, although she cleverly made sure to leave a few details out. No matter how close they were, Mayu didn’t need to know absolutely everything.

Especially not the true impact and very dangerous effects Gekikara’s lascivious lap dance had on a certain lower part of her body…

“Anyway,” Jurina figured out her friend was unfortunately not done with the subject yet when she pointed her chopsticks at her. “I haven’t seen you showing interest in someone in several months. You should go back to the club tonight. You know, to make better acquaintance with her…”

Jurina growled. Given her friend’s mischievous expression and sexual undertones, it was more than crystal clear what plans she had elaborated in her head for her. “Gekikara is not Akane. She doesn’t offer that kind of special… services.”

“How do you know?” Mayu retorted. “You haven’t even asked her.”

“I just know,” Mayu’s persistence was getting slightly annoying, but she was not ready to relent. “And what makes you think I want to sleep with her in the first place?”

“Oh, come on,” Mayu laughed. “I’m not blind. You couldn’t detach your eyes from her the whole time. You clearly find her attractive.”

Jurina heaved a heavy sigh, burying her face in her hands in despair when she sensed she was not going to win that little argument. “Can we just… not talk about her? I’m trying to move on, and you’re not helping right now.”

“Move on?” Mayu snorted. “You’re interested in her; don’t even try to deny it. That’s why I’m telling you to stop torturing yourself and go back to the club. That’s the best advice your adorable and caring best friend can give you.”

Jurina leaned back into her chair and glared at her, wishing she could wipe off that silly smug expression of hers. Mayu pretended not to notice anything and continued to eat, a little voice soon emerging inside Jurina’s head as silence enveloped them gradually. A voice telling her that Mayu’s advice may not be completely absurd after all.

Frankly, she had a few times thought of going back to the club. Not only because the pull to see Gekikara again was getting harder to resist day by day, but also because she wished to apologize for her behaviour. A part of her still felt guilty for the way she had pushed her away, fearing her rejection had been wrongly misinterpreted by the stripper newly recruited by the club.

That day, she had assured the stripper she wasn’t in cause, but she wasn’t sure her words managed to convince her successfully. After going to the club for almost a year, it was evident to her that Gekikara was not only a new girl, but also a beginner. The last thing she wanted, was to make her insecure by believing she had made an inexcusable mistake during the lap dance.

Jurina was quite conscious that the girl’s identity was the main reason for her internal debate. If it had been any other stripper of the club, she probably wouldn’t have worried so much about the consequences of her actions. Yet, this wasn’t any random girl. Gekikara wasn’t just captivating; she had a special aura that rendered her quite unique.

A small smile moved to Jurina’s lips when she discovered her conversation with Mayu had unexpectedly managed to tilt the scale. Her mind was now made up. Tonight, she was going to return to The Blue Moon.

   The Blue Moon was not too crowded yet when Jurina entered the familiar strip club a little after 11 PM, enabling her to occupy her favourite table located in a quiet area of the club, away from prying eyes. When Anna approached her table, she ordered out of habit the usual before inquiring about Gekikara, a little disappointed when the latter informed her the designated stripper had not arrived yet.

Jurina had a clear goal in mind tonight, and she didn’t hesitate to convey her intention to spend some time with the stripper. Oh no, she certainly didn’t wish for another lap dance. The close contact with the half-naked stripper didn’t work out too well for her last time, unleashing strong physical reactions. That’s why she opted instead for a much safer solution, in the form of a casual conversation at her table. A neutral place that would also enable her to accomplish her primary objective: apologize properly for her past behaviour.

While waiting patiently for Gekikara’s arrival, her gaze wandered around the room mind-absently – recognizing easily a few regular clients of the club - before setting her attention on the stripper currently dancing on stage. The girl with long, brown hair who she immediately recognized as Haruna or Nyan Nyan - one of the oldest strippers of the club – was from far the most popular girl of the club.

The twenty-nine years old stripper had a flawless body without blemish, seducing easily the male audience of the club. Graceful silhouette, well-formed breasts, long, slender legs. Each night, Nyan Nyan delivered with great success very sexy yet classy performances, that left no one indifferent. If truth be told, Haruna wasn’t really her type, yet it didn’t mean she was blind. Jurina acknowledged her assets willingly, and understood perfectly well why she appealed to so many clients.

In fact, she was utterly convinced that woman had all it required to become one day one of those beautiful models you saw in fashion magazines.

When the show ended, Jurina fell deep into her thoughts, trying to figure out the best way to handle things with Gekikara. Once she would have apologized, she had no intention on staying much longer at the club. Gekikara had an undeniable bewitching charm, and she figured it was wiser to cautiously keep her distance with her after that.  

“Hello Jurina,” A smooth voice made her look up, and she glanced instantly at the long, dark-haired stripper smiling at her and standing by the table. That précised girl who had been monopolizing all her thoughts these last two weeks, and had those beautiful small brown eyes she found so alluring. “Anna said you wanted to see me?”      

“Yes,” Jurina nodded, her eyes not leaving the girl who was taking a seat by her side on the red sofa. Frankly, she was relieved that Gekikara was fully dressed right now. Her mere presence already offered enough distraction as it was, given the sound of her slightly accelerated heartbeats.

“How are you?” Gekikara spoke up softly. “I’m surprised to see you... I didn’t think you would want to spend some time with me again after what happened.”

Jurina widened her eyes in surprise. “You remember me?”

“Of course. It’s not every day I have a female client,” Gekikara replied, a small amused smile forming on her lips. “Besides, you were quite memorable. I never had anyone leave the room right in the middle of a lap dance before.”

Jurina tensed, looking away in unease at the embarrassing reminder of what she had done. “About that…” Jurina started hesitantly. “My friend caught me by complete surprise when she bought me a lap dance, and I wasn’t expecting it to be… you.”

“You would have preferred another girl?” Gekikara frowned a little. “But… I remember clearly Anna informing me the client wanted me and no other girl.”

Jurina tilted her head towards her, noting her confusion. Obviously, she couldn’t reveal the whole truth, yet she didn’t feel like lying to her either. “Yes, my friend chose you on purpose. I think she could see how much I had enjoyed your performance on stage.”

“You enjoyed it?” Gekikara drew closer on the sofa, casually slipping her hand into Jurina’s to lace their fingers together. “Why did you leave the room, then?”

Jurina shuddered at the sudden physical contact. If she didn’t know any better, then she could easily believe Gekikara had done this job all her life. The charming smiles, the gradual proximity, the touching… If Gekikara was attempting to seduce her to obtain more of her later, then she was definitely following the right steps.

Jurina didn’t want to mislead Gekikara into believing she had something against her, yet she judged it wiser to break the contact for her own sake. Slowly, she pulled her fingers away from her grasp, directing her attention towards her beer to take a sip. The stripper had now fallen very quiet by her side, but Jurina was much aware of the small brown orbs watching her attentively. Jurina’s thoughts drifted towards her previous question, one she had not answered yet. Why did she leave the private room that day? The answer was actually quite simple; yet she couldn’t say it.

At the club, Akane was the only stripper to ever be aware of her physical difference. She wasn’t even supposed to discover the truth in the first place; it was only the result of her drunken state that night. A moment that she truly wasn’t proud of, and that was unfortunately still vividly engraved in her memory. Jurina very rarely got drunk, but she always disliked the way alcohol made her lower her guards down, loosening her tongue so effectively. “There are certain things you don’t know about me…”

Much as Akane had thankfully not rejected her and unexpectedly even accepted her difference, she didn’t wish to take more chances. Especially not with the person she was currently having a conversation with. “I came here tonight because I still felt bad about the way I reacted,” Jurina decided it was best to change the subject. “I know you are new here, and I didn’t want you to believe you behaved inappropriately, or did something wrong.”

When her words were met with silence, Jurina looked back at her in curiosity. Gekikara’s surprise was manifest, yet her mouth soon tugged into a pleased smile. “I appreciate you telling me all this. I really do. To be honest, I did wonder if I had not offended you in some way, so it relieves me to know it wasn’t the case.”

“I’m sorry…” Gekikara’s declaration made her realize her behaviour had truly given the wrong impression. Now, she really wished it hadn’t taken her so long to muster up her courage to see Gekikara again, and she had come to the club sooner to right the wrongs.

“Let’s not think about that anymore,” Gekikara’s soothing voice brought her attention back to her. She was a little startled when Gekikara initiated physical contact again, yet didn’t do more this time than giving her hand just a brief squeeze, retracting her fingers immediately after that. “I asked a little about you, and was told you were a regular of the club but suddenly stopped coming a few months ago. How come?”

“You asked questions about me?” Jurina repeated, stunned by the revelation.

“Well, after what happened in that room, you intrigued me,” Gekikara confessed. “I hope… you don’t mind?”

Jurina didn’t say anything, still processing the fact she had been the unpredictable object of the girl’s curiosity. In truth, when she entered the club tonight, she even half expected the stripper to have all forgotten about her by now. How many clients had she seen since their last encounter? How many people had requested a private session with her? Yes, Gekikara was one of the new girls, yet Jurina had no doubt her popularity would grow in no time.

When Jurina noticed the small concerned look Gekikara was giving her, she realized she was somewhat still expecting an answer to her previous question. Gekikara’s interest in her was slightly disconcerting, but she concluded it was probably her own way of knowing more about potential customers. And, along the way, securing their loyalty more effectively. “It’s alright,” Jurina shook her head at her. “I don’t mind.”

The words were quite simple, yet Jurina didn’t miss the way the stripper seemed instantly more relaxed, a smile soon spreading across her face.  

After that, they didn’t talk about that embarrassing private session anymore, engaging instead into a light, casual conversation. Jurina shared about her daily life and her studies, answering freely to the questions she was asked. More than a few times, Jurina found Gekikara’s interest in her a little too sincere. When such an occurrence happened, she brushed it off as a figment of her imagination, reminding herself that the stripper was just only doing her job by making sure the conversation flowed naturally between them.

Jurina didn’t know how much time passed. To be honest, she didn’t expect to spend such a good time in Gekikara’s presence. Gekikara wasn’t just the beautiful stripper who had easily put her under a spell with a mesmerizing performance. During the whole time their conversation lasted, she proved to also be an educated and eloquent person, always having a very interesting point of view on many, different subjects.

Two bottles of beer had already been emptied when Anna approached their table, distracting the both of them. Jurina watched in curiosity as the waitress leaned over to whisper a few words inside Gekikara’s ear, leaving once her message had been successfully delivered. Somehow, Jurina sensed her time with Gekikara had come to an end.

“I’m sorry, but I need to get prepared for my show on stage,” Gekikara shot her an apologetic look, unfortunately confirming her predictions.

Jurina nodded silently, trying her best to hide her disappointment. Her eyes followed the other girl who was getting up from the sofa, feeling the immediate void within her at the empty space beside her. Out of curiosity, she checked the time on her phone, her eyes widening in stupor when she noticed it was already nearing 1 am. She had been talking with Gekikara… for more than an hour?

When Jurina observed from her peripheral vision that the stripper had not completely left yet, she immediately looked up to her. She didn’t have time to speak that Gekikara was leaning forward, reaching across the table to take her hand, “I know you said you didn’t wish to come back to the club after tonight, but it would make me very happy if you reconsidered.”

Caught off guard by the hand that was refusing to let go of hers, a little voice inside Jurina’s head warned her not to fall for the stripper’s invitation and seductive tone. It was only an act; she repeated to herself. Gekikara was only attempting to add her to her list of regular clients by making her feel desired and important.

Her better judgment was telling her not to come back on her initial decision. She had apologized and fulfilled her objective. Now, she absolutely needed to stay away from the strip club, especially the dangerously attractive Gekikara. Yet, she couldn’t ignore what her heart truly yearned for. She didn’t want that moment to be the last. She wanted badly to see Gekikara again.

Relishing the pleasant, soft feeling of Gekikara’s fingers inside hers, the words left her lips naturally. “Alright… I’ll come back.”

[im-not-a-what]

The Witch Doctor on Main Street, Ch. 5

Title: The Witch Doctor on Main Street

Summary: Mr. Gold runs Storybrooke’s herbal shop. He sells remedies that some people consider miraculous, although he’s earned suspicion from florist Moe French and distrust from professionals like Dr. Whale. When Moe’s daughter Belle moves into town, she gets caught up in the rivalries and mysteries surrounding Gold’s line of work. Little do any of them know the true power of Gold’s “magic touch.” But a warlock making herbal medicine may not be the only extraordinary secret hiding in Storybrooke.

Rating: G

Genre: Friendship, drama, modern-day with magic AU

Chapter: Mystery and Medicine [1] [2] [3] [4]

AO3 link

As a balmy wind fluffed her skirt and hair, and Belle was forced to push the spirited tresses out of her face, her eye was drawn across the street. The sign from Mr. Gold’s shop winked with the morning sun. The morning beginning her second week in Storybrooke, and she’d yet to properly visit. Wisdom had begged her to give the Golds space after the awkward aftermath of the school fight. Her instincts had pinched and kicked her for not taking steps to offer friendship, especially after something like that.

You barely know him, wisdom reminded her. You don’t really know him at all!

That itch in her gut, the one that inspired her to run toward the first sign of something strange and exciting, gave a staunch retort: All the more reason to learn more about him. He’s your work neighbor. He could be your new boss. You better check out his shop to make sure it’s on the up and up. If the voice had a face, it would’ve winked.

Belle gave little credence to the notion that Mr. Gold was anything besides the owner of an herbal shop and the father of a smart, sensitive, loyal teenage boy. But both individuals had become fixed figures of interest since her arrival in town, and she’d resolved to get to know them bit by bit. Well, she’d held off for a whole week. That was plenty of restraint. Perhaps too much.

All that said, action had to wait a little longer. She still had a library to help run. So in she went, leaving the playful breeze and the twinkling shop sign behind.

Michael Prentice had gradually ceded the physical duties of library maintenance to Belle throughout the week. Today, he remained nestled in the staff office organizing paperwork. Since the library had plenty of quiet troughs in attendance, Belle gladly occupied herself with not just shelving books and refining the online catalogue, but familiarizing herself with the library’s layout. She wanted to know it as well as herself. It would facilitate directing visitors to any desired section and subsection. She wanted that knowledge for her own leisurely browsing, too. She also wanted to know why the library had an elevator. Yes, there was a second floor; it housed a loft that Michael once occupied, but he’d moved out when he could afford his own house. Now it was an empty cluster of rooms right under the clock tower—a beacon of cosmic orderliness. The library kept knowledge, the clock kept time. A cozy partnership.

But there was a third facet of this building Belle could not reach and fit like a puzzle piece into the library’s arrangement. The elevator had a button for ‘2’, the floor with the apartment, and a button for ‘B’, surely the basement. When she hit it, though, the button stayed unlit. The elevator failed to budge. Her agitated gray cells insisted that another entrance to the basement existed. She hunted along the walls of the library for a door to a staircase heading below ground. None turned up. One stairwell granted access to the upper levels, none down. That was a bit barmy, wasn’t it?

The mystery nearly distracted her from the self-appointed visit to the herbal shop until lunchtime came. On her way to the staff office to ask Michael about the basement, she checked her wristwatch. It was almost 12:30. If she wanted to make the trip to both Gold’s shop and Granny’s diner, she had to head out now!

After a short, indecisive dance between the staff office and the library entrance, Belle hustled out the door and tucked away the basement question.

She had enough sense, despite her haste, to check both ways before crossing the street. Her heart giddily jumped at the OPEN sign and the sight through the window of the herbal shop’s door. It was a shadowy space, illuminated more by shards of sunlight than the two table lamps and the one overhead light. Half the windows had closed blinds. As soon as she opened the door, a bell rang above her and the mixed aromas of herbs, scented wax, yarn, and something faint, smoky and acrid seeped into her nose. A little hesitation reined her first steps thanks to the absence of the shop owner. The OPEN sign was facing out, so Belle deemed it acceptable to go in. Maybe Mr. Gold had popped out for lunch. Maybe she should’ve gone to Granny’s first, after all.

She seized the private opportunity to imbibe the setting. Even in minimal light, she could observe the full shelves. One side was designated for the kinds of bottles someone would see at a pharmacy. She recognized maybe a third of the brands. In fact, most of the bottles didn’t have a brand name or symbol at all. The labels looked professional, though. She selected a brown bottle at random and turned it a complete 360. Its label had a golden shine with black, engraved printing. The list of ingredients was meticulously honest (one would hope so), so the only mystery was where it came from. Then Belle noticed in the upper left-hand corner, almost hiding thanks to its slightly darker shade of gold, a small silhouette of a spinning wheel. She turned to the table and shelves displaying knitting and crochet kits, along with scarves, hats, socks. A closer inspection of the table and shelves revealed sewing kits, equipped with bobbins of the most handsome-looking thread she’d ever seen. She had no expertise in thread or yarn quality, but their beauty brushed away the idea of knitting and mending clothes as menial activities. They were like a set of paints and brushes waiting for someone to pick them up and make art.

Distant footsteps overlaid her own high-heel taps as she returned to the room’s center. The steps came from behind a curtain at the back of the showroom. The russet, paisley fabric fluttered, then was pushed aside. Hence emerged the previously elusive Mr. Gold.

“Miss French,” he drawled in what she hazily guessed to be a Scottish accent, “I didn’t expect it to be you.”

For a panicked moment, Belle felt like an intruder. A silly response to entering a store. She blamed his dark suit, the casual calm with which he moved into the room, and the trace of surprise in his face and voice. They impressed on her the sense that this was his special domain, more personal to him than his own home, and that her visit had not been anticipated. Again, quite silly. He’d offered her a job. Had he doubted her interest? Maybe she’d waited too long to talk to him.

“No?” Belle bucked up against bashfulness. “I hope you don’t feel I’ve been avoiding you.”

“Not at all. I imagine you’ve been preoccupied. How’ve you been settling in?”

“Quite well. The library has been slow. That’s made getting the hang of it easy.” The basement question poked its head from the “ask later” pocket of her mind. Belle pushed it back—as if Mr. Gold could answer it. “How’s Neal?”

“He’s enjoying a little spell of grounding.” Gold’s lips pulled up in a wry slant.

“Oh dear. Is he suffering horribly? Waxing your car? Scrubbing the shop floors?”

“Scrubbing, no. I’m picking him up in a couple hours so he can sweep and dust.”

Belle laughed sympathetically. “Poor boy.”

Gold shook his head. “He practically begged for a punishment. He berated himself over the fight.”

Her face kindly scrunched as she reflected with compassionate interest. “If he was protecting his friend, I can understand why he felt compelled to act. But I shouldn’t be advocating violence. At least, not where teenage boys are concerned.”

He shrugged, his smile warmer even in the dim light. “You can advocate it if you wish. Neal will do what he sees as right. That’s how he is.”

Belle’s smile pushed up her cheeks so that her eyes sweetly squinted. “You’re quite lucky.”

“That I am.” Gold carefully slid out from behind the counter, cane in hand. “Is that why you’re here? To congratulate me? Or are you here about the job?”

“I could do both.” Belle rushed another glimpse around the shop. “You’re sure you need someone to clean? It looks well kept.”

“That’s because Neal already started his punishment. Just for a week. After that, he’ll be back to spending quality time with friends instead of his old man.”

“So, if I work for you, I’d take over Neal’s temporary duties.”

“Essentially. Have you made a decision?”

It felt like a “looking a gift horse in the mouth” moment. There was no guarantee she’d find another job in short order. Moreover, working for Mr. Gold could help her forge a stronger relationship with her mysterious rescuer and his endearing son. By presumed extension, she’d also get to know more people in town, such as Gold’s clients and acquaintances. Sure, Magdalene Vincent looked imposing, and Lily wasn’t an extraverted butterfly of a girl. Those were feeble reasons not to try befriending them as well.

The one condition that barred an immediate acceptance was informed consent. Belle wanted to know as much as could be reasonably expected about the man and what kind of boss he would be.

“Well,” she said, drawing out the word, “I’d need an idea of what’s in the shop, since I might move things around while I’m cleaning. I don’t want to misplace any merchandise.”

A narrow, knowing edge in his gaze, Gold stepped closer. “Is that all? Or did your father tell you some tall tales about my wares?”

Belle puckered her lips. The question came out slick, almost joking, yet with a sardonic aftertaste. “He hasn’t told me much about anyone or their wares. He might think working as a cleaner is beneath me after all the money we sank into my education. When I last mentioned it, he got terse.”

The suggestion behind Gold’s question brought up a worthy concern. Belle held her spot while minding how much space there was between her and him. “Is there something I should know about you and my father?”

“Only that your father doesn’t like me, which hasn’t elevated my opinion of him.”

“Why would he tell ‘tall tales’ about your shop?”

Gold waved his hand toward the shelves upon shelves of medicinal jars and bottles. “This is not exactly your convention apothecary. You’ll meet more people who deem my business suspect. Medical professionals, mostly. If that’s why you’re hesitant about the job, I understand.”

Belle, put at transient ease, drifted to the shelves and retrieved the bottle--iron supplements—she’d examined earlier. The same bottle where she noticed the spinning wheel label. “I can see why people would prefer buying from the pharmacy. The pharmacy has to sell FDA-approved products.” After another eyeful of the bottle, she looked at Gold. “What is your policy on refunds?”

“I offer them, of course, if the purchase has unexpected negative side-effects. However, if you ask my regular clients about their experiences, you’ll hear little dissatisfaction. Among my detractors who’ve never set foot in here, it’s a different story.”

“Oh? I hope I’ll know who’s a trustworthy source.” Straight away she scolded herself. Not the best attitude to have when talking to a potential employer. It wasn’t going to be part of her cleaning duties to understand his health products. But working for him would mean condoning his business practices, right? She had to keep her own accountability in mind.

Gold scoffed. “Don’t expect many to sing my praises. I have several remedies for conditions that could cause embarrassment if they became public knowledge. But clients keep coming back. If my products were faulty, I’d have gone out of business long ago.”

Belle placed the bottle in its assigned spot. Facing him, she put a consciously friendly spin on the next question. This wasn’t supposed to be an interrogation. “How long have you been in business?”

“I inherited the shop from my aunt,” he said.

“Oh! A family business!” That couldn’t assuage all her concerns. But surely the shop’s longevity partly certified its value to the community. “Will Neal inherit it someday?”

“No idea. I’d like him to. He might want to see more of the world before tying himself down.”

“I was the same way at his age. I still am a little.” She covered the somber note in the remark by leaning a hand on the lowest shelf and cocking her head in a prying and inviting manner. “Is there anything you want to ask about me?”

Gold angled his head, not as acutely or coyly. “You mentioned studying nursing before you switched to library sciences. Why the change?”

Belle folded in her lips. Her downturned eyes hid behind lowered eyelids. Then she gathered a breath of courage. “I wanted a career where I knew I would be helping people day to day, and one where I would be mentally stimulated. Nursing sounded perfect. I didn’t expect it to overwhelm me the way it did. Sleepless nights studying for exams, clinic hours that worked my nerves raw. A lot of people warned me that I had to numb myself to a point, or I’d have a nervous breakdown. I could handle the work load on a part-time basis, but the long term? I don’t think I could’ve been happy or been the best caretaker I had the potential to be. I wish it’d been different. What better way to make a real difference in people’s lives? But I couldn’t make it work. I had to make a switch for my own health.”

Every word was a scratch from sandpaper. By the end of her confession, she felt a bit sore and exposed. She even rubbed one of her arms to chase off the irritated sensation, achieving no relief. Her gaze had lifted off the floor to a shelf across the room and fixed on that while she spoke. Now, her words spent, she had to look at Mr. Gold.

He veiled any feelings with professional composure. However, Belle dared to interpret the gentle line of his mouth, the small furrow in his brow, and the glance at his shoes as signs of understanding, perhaps empathy.

“It is an immense responsibility,” he half-said, half-whispered, “having other people’s lives in your hands. It’s nothing to take lightly. You did what you had to do.”

The words didn’t coddle, which Belle appreciated. Their honesty didn’t just concern her history and career choices, either.

She looked behind and next to her at the pill bottles, lotions, soaps, candles, teas, then across the way at the knitted clothing, yarns and threads. A new light fell on them.

“You really try to help people,” she said.

Gold blinked and breathed slowly. “I do what I can.”

Belle nodded. “Then I’d like to help you help people.”

She hadn’t expected the abrupt puzzlement that seized his face. It faded quickly enough, giving room to a hesitant smile and an extended hand. “Then we have an arrangement, Miss French.”

Her own smile growing, she took his hand. “That we do, Mr. Gold.”

[awkwardlyamusing-blog]

Preparing Your Pet for Your Baby

New Post has been published on http://doggietrainingclasses.com/preparing-your-pet-for-your-baby/

Preparing Your Pet for Your Baby

Minnie Zhou/Unsplash

Even if you’re not the type to throw your pet a birthday party (although I hear they are quite fun to attend), if you don’t have a child, your pet is basically the little kid in your life. You keep them on a schedule. You feed them; you potty train them; you teach them manners. You (maybe) put cute bow ties on them. You lavish kisses on them. When you have a baby, though, everything changes for you and for them. When you know you’re expecting, here are some tips to help prepare your pet:

1. Train now for the behaviors you want in your pet.

Enroll your pet in an obedience course if they haven’t been trained already. Besides the basic sit, stay, come, and the ever-important combo of leave and drop it, you should also make sure that your pet greets with you without immediately jumping up on you in excitement. After all, in the coming months, you’ll be holding a baby in your arms.

One command that is less popular but quite useful is “go away,” “back up,” or the more specific “go to place” (accompanied by either a finger point or a specific pet bed). That way, your pet can either leave a situation or have a designated spot to wait while you do tasks with the baby. If you want to get fancy, you can train your dog to do behaviors such as lying down near you while you’re nursing or in the baby’s room.

As with most training programs now, positive reinforcement and redirection is recommended: You don’t want your pet to associate anything negative with the baby.

Picsea/Unsplash

2. Get your house ready for the baby gradually.

When you think about all of the ways your life will change with your newborn, remember that it’s the same for your pet—except it’s freakier for them because they don’t understand what’s about to happen. Create home changes little by little, day by day. Instead of making the nursery overnight, bring in the furniture and set it up one at a time. If you start bringing in some of the baby’s toys and your pet goes after them, make sure to redirect them to their own toys.

Start putting up safety gates or barriers now, and if you’re moving your pet to a different sleeping area, do so now (with lots of treats to aid in the transition). Regarding the nursery, some people recommend barring your pet from the room completely at first, and then, when you think they can handle it when the baby is home, letting them in little by little (and always under supervision). If you do opt for allowing your animals into the nursery, make sure to create firm “no pet” zones, like the crib and the changing table.

If your pet doesn’t have a safe place to relax (or escape a loud baby), create one, preferably near its food and water. For dogs, that can be their crate with their favorite blanket and toys or a dog bed in a quieter room. With cats, you can also try getting them a cat perch so they can be aloof from all of the action.

A special note for cats:

To help make sure cats don’t climb on the changing table or the crib, placing cardboard covered in double-sided tape on those surfaces can deter them. (When the baby does lie in the crib, adding a temporary screen or tent above it can stop the cat from climbing in or urinating on it.) Also, if you are moving the litter box from one room to another, move it only a few inches each day, covering up the old litter box spot with furniture if need be.

3. Make sure your pet is up-to-date on vaccinations and that its flea or tick guard isn’t harmful to young ones.

A special note for cats:

Toxoplasmosis is a parasite that, while very rare in indoor cats, can be transferred through infected feces or soil to humans and fetuses. To make sure you don’t contract it, wear gloves and a mask while cleaning litter boxes (or have someone else do it), and clean out the litter two times per day and wash your hands afterward. (Toxoplasma doesn’t become infectious until one to five days after it leaves the cat.) You should also wear gloves while gardening or working with raw vegetables, fruits, and meat. Do not eat undercooked meat or feed undercooked meat to your cat.

Jessica Rockowitz/Unsplash

4. Expose your pet to babies and children.

Most likely, your pet hasn’t been around many infants or children. Especially if you have a dog, start by bringing it to places like parks where it’ll get to hear, smell, and see young ones and all of their chaotic cuteness. If you’re able to introduce your pet to friends with a baby, start with a far away introduction and get closer. If your pet does begin to act stressed, remove your pet to another room, wait until a few days have passed, and start again at a farther distance.

As always, with your future child or with anyone else’s, never leave your pet unsupervised with babies and toddlers.

To get your animal used to how babies sound, play a recording with baby noises, especially crying, while feeding your pet treats. Start the recordings low and make them louder as your pet gets more comfortable. To help your pet get used to how a baby might interact with them, frequently touch places that the baby might try to pet, such as paws, ears, tail, and mouth.

5. Act as if the baby is already there.

While it might sound silly, animal behaviorists recommend using a doll to initiate change in routines. That means petting your dog or cat while pretending to hold the baby or nursing, or going for a walk with your pet and a stroller. Even if your four-legged friend realizes it’s a doll, its initial reaction can help you see how they’ll react to the real baby. If nothing else, it’ll help you realize what acts might be easier or more difficult.

If your pet is on a schedule, anticipate how that schedule might change when you have a baby who keeps odd hours. Consider randomizing your pet’s food and bathroom schedule a little more (not too much of course, but just enough so they’re not on you for food and a walk the moment you walk in the door after work). You can also consider buying an automatic feeder so you have one less thing to worry about.

Also, don’t forget to plan (and have backups for) how your pets will be taken care of while you’re at the hospital.

Vidar Nordli-Mathisen

6. Keep the introductions gradual and the boundaries immediate.

When the baby is born, have someone bring home a used baby blanket from the hospital and let your pet smell it. (Don’t let your animal take the blanket—keep it firmly in your hand and show that it’s yours and that it should be treated well.) That way, when you do bring the baby home, the smell won’t be new.

Coming home from the hospital, Moms, if your pet hasn’t seen you for a few days, greet them when you aren’t holding the baby so they can let all of their excitement and happiness at seeing you. Then, similar to exposing your pets to children and infants for the first time, have your pet’s first meeting with your baby be from a distance with them on a leash. Once the pet is calm, then you can allow them to approach closer. As for your baby, right from the get go, model how to interact with your pet, correcting them when they look like they’re about to grab or annoy the animal.

And remember: Even if things aren’t idyllic the first time you introduce your baby to your pet, know that things will calm down.

Source link Dog Training Tips

[news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog]

15 fantastic horror films on Netflix that you probably haven't seen (2017 edition)

Smell that air? Feel that brisk breeze? Wearing a jacket? That's right, dummy. It's October.

And since it's October, you want to watch horror movies, don't you? You know Netflix has a ton of random-ass horror movies just leaking out of its pores, but you've already seen the great notable ones like The Babadook and It Follows. You want something new, something fresh, something that you can expect to be at least decent. 

Well, friend, I am here. 

Just like I did last year, I scoured the bottom of the Netflix bucket to see if there were any horror movies worth my time. Worth your time. And among all that dreck, that refuse, that detritus, there exists some very good horror movies. Whether independent, foreign, or just not recognized, these movies succeed in providing the best of scares that this season demands. And I have found them for you. 

You're welcome. 

SEE ALSO: 17 Halloween costumes that people need to stop wearing

Again, these are not last year's picks, many of which have sadly stopped streaming on the dominant platform. 

This is a fresh batch of horror for you to descend upon. These movies are varied and verifiably good or great or fantastic. 

Without further ado, here is what the fruit of my labor hath wrought for your hungry, depraved soul: 

1. The Void 

Image: D Films

The Void speaks to almost every aspect of the horror movies I most love. It has a limited cast, a small setting, disgusting physical effects, and an escalating amount of weirdness that evolves into all-out horror. 

After stumbling upon some strange ritual, two drug addicts flee to a very rural hospital for safety. What they find are some harried doctors, interpersonal drama between a hospital worker and a cop, and a surrounding circle of cloaked, cultish figures. Grotesque tragedy ensues.

This movie definitely wants to nod to old school favorites like The Thing, with its mix of creature design and super-visceral visuals. But it also embodies a great deal of hallowed mythos ripped straight from the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. Eldritch ghastliness awaits those who want to catch a glimpse into The Void.

2. Under the Shadow

Image: netflix

So, can we talk about the Iran-Iraq War?

This harrowing conflict, which lasted from 1980 to 1988, cost the world about a half a million lives, and is the setting for this take on the haunted house movie. Set in Iran's capital Tehran, a mother is left alone with her daughter as her husband is called to go fight on the front lines against Iraq. Just a few years after the Iranian Revolution was squashed by religious leaders, the main character has to hide her liberal tendencies and her anxieties about the modern world from everyone around her, including her daughter. It doesn't help that her apartment tower is in the crosshairs of daily bombings. And it certainly doesn't help when a goddam djinn decides to haunt the hell out of them.

This great movie gives not only a sense of the panic that existed in this volatile time, but also shows the despair of a broken family, and the fear of what else may tear them apart.  

It's not exactly a terrifying movie in a horror sense, but it's a terrifying movie in a real life sense. I love it. 

3. The Devil's Candy

Image: IFC Midnight

If you like horror movies, there's a probable chance that you've listened to metal, right?

Sure, this doesn't apply to everyone, but if you're looking for a movie that wants to tepidly explore what happens when a family of metal heads buys a demonic house, The Devil's Candy is the movie for you.

Admittedly, this isn't the most satisfying of movies, but it has some interesting things to explore. It's never campy or dumb in the way that another movie landing on the intersection of metal and the devil would be. The great performances, the weird places it goes, and the tone it sets is well worth your time.

4. Starry Eyes

Image: Dark sky films

At the beginning of Starry Eyes, I thought I knew where it was going. 

You've got a desperate young ingénue, wanting to make her mark in Hollywood, and an audition that promises all that and more. But boy, for every turn I thought this movie was going to take, it took the opposite. From a brief description, Starry Eyes could so easily be seen as a voyeuristic view of a woman's slide into depravity, but the end result is so much better and weirder than that.

In the end, it's difficult to determine whether this ambitious starlet's journey takes her to a place that is ultimately more powerful, or ultimately more horrifying.

5. I am the Pretty Things that Lives in the House

Image: Netflix

A young traveling nurse moves in with an elderly charge in an old rural house, and, wouldn't you know it, creepy things start happening. 

The thing you most need to know about I am the Pretty Thing that Lives in the House is that it's VERY, VERY slow. This doesn't bother me. I love this.

The second thing you need to know about this long-titled movie is that it ends on an unresolved note. Again, I'm not bothered by this. I enjoy the journey, not the destination.

In the end, this movie does a fantastic job of making a dreary scene all the more unhinged with the occasional creak and the sporadic death. If you kinda love SLOW horror movies (and I do), this is your jam. 

6. Abbatoir

Image: momentum pictures

Admittedly, this is probably the weakest film on this list, but don't strike it from your queue just yet.

OK. So. You've got a woman whose sister just died a grizzly death at the hands of an apologetic murderer. And, upon returning to the scene of the crime a few days later, she finds that the actual room where the murder happened is just, kinda, gone.

Determined, she searches for any answers to this mystery. And the answer is not at all what she, or you, will think it is. Abattoir gets strange after the first third, SUPER strange after the second third, and downright WTF with the last third.

Again, this will not be at the top of anyone's lists. Still, it was kinda fun to see the whole thing unspool.

7. A Dark Song

Image: IFC Midnight

A Dark Song will stand as my favorite new discovery on this list.

In very rural England, a very private woman rents a very big house in which to hold a very mysterious occult ritual for six months. A Dark Song follows that story.

Tiny cast, limited setting, and a lot of quietude before the increasing horror begins ratcheting up to a frenzy? Chef's kiss. A Dark Song has many layers that gradually unfurl and the route that it takes to get to its ultimate form is a silently terrifying one.

This movie is subdued, bizarre, and I ultimately think it adds a deep wrinkle into what we think of as compassion. It surveys humanity trying to wrestle with the unknown and the consequences of what happens when we brush up against it, and what happens when we ask something from it. Those answers are hard to ask and even harder to receive the answers. 

This movie questions the fact of reality, the supposition of need, and the dire warning of repercussions. Loved it.

8. The Den

Image: ifc midnight

The Den represents a growing sub-genre of horror movies, one that brings the worst cyber security anxieties to life. 

A normal student, studying online communities, is thrust into an escalating situation of horror when someone hacks her computer camera, records her in a compromising act, and sends it to her administrators. 

The ensuing blackmail transforms into a heightening nightmare of intrigue and violence. It maybe leans a little too heavily on the voyeurism theme, but all in all, it makes for a pretty solid horror movie. 

Don't forget to tape over your laptop camera. 

9. Tales of Halloween

Image: Epic pictures

First and foremost, this is a goofy-ass movie. 

It's an anthology of 10 different interwoven stories, directed by 10 different directors, based around Halloween in a sleepy town, a la Trick 'r Treat. That sort of mass collection definitely invites some unevenness in the whole product, but if there's one thing you can count on, it's having a good time. 

Tales of Halloween's stories range from silly to violent to scary to deadass dumb. But all along the way, the tone revels in celebrating this spooky holiday in the weirdest way possible. 

If you like horror movies, you're going to have fun with this one.

10. The Presence (Die Präesanz)

Image: Netflix

Just to get it out of the way, The Presence is a found-footage haunted house movie.

I am well aware that that particular sub-genre is rife with subpar trash not worth the hard drive space on which they're stored. But something about this German film, where an enthusiastic ghost hunter takes his initially-excited girlfriend and a douchebag friend to a spoooooooky castle, represents the best of what this sub-genre can do. It's true that the actual plotting of this movie might follow a somewhat predictable path. But the forked way it takes to get there will leave you haunted and nervous of what will come next.

Before the 500th Paranormal Activity sequel ruins what found footage horror can do for you, watch The Presence. It just might renew your faith.

11. The Bar 

Image: netflix

When eight people find themselves trapped in a bar by their own fear, after seeing a man die just beyond the only exit, anything can happen.

That's the promise and mostly the execution of the Spanish film The Bar. What starts as an ensemble cast bewildered by the events taking place mere feet away from them, turns into an all-out paranoia bonanza as tempers flare, suspicions rage, and violence begets violence.

It's mostly really good. Things get weird and the pacing takes the appropriate long time before you know might actually be unfolding. Only in the final act does the movie get unhinged, and not in a good way. The murky ethics and confusing narrative, that make the film's beginning so fun, gets stripped down into a bit of a disappointing climax. Still, The Bar is a ride you'll probably want to take.

12. Clown

Image: dimension films

Before writer/director Jon Watts made the very well received blockbuster Spider-Man: Homecoming, he made an extremely creepy movie named Clown.

Check this premise: A realtor finds a clown suit in a house he's selling and performs at his son's birthday party to everyone's delight, only after it's all over, he discovers he can't remove the suit. Tell me that's not creepy. I dare you.

What follows is a subdued story of real horror, where the main character learns what has happened to him, what will happen to him, and what he slowly begins to want to do to others. 

Though it has a few moments of goofiness, this is a real gut punch of a horror movie. And the way Watts shoot the movie, in a quiet, cold, largely music-less fashion, makes the whole thing so much more compelling.

13. XX

Image: magnet releasing

As that picture up there hints, XX is an anthology film of four short films by four women writer/directors. And it is totally worth your time.

As with Tales of Halloween, an collection like this leads to some inconsistency. Two of these shorts are great, and two of them are just pretty good. The law of averages says that you should probably watch this movie, right? Here, I'll sweeten the deal.

The first short, titled "The Box" written and directed by Jovanka Vuckovic based off a story by Jack Ketchum, is full stop one of the most haunting and terrifying horror stories I've seen in many years. And it does it all with no violence and basically no gore. It just plants a question in the watcher's head and lets it fester, lets it take root, until all you're left with is this veritable redwood stretching out of your head and screaming into the void.

The final story is a fantastic, and brutal, culmination. And the things that come between it also deserve to be seen. So go do that.

14. Dig Two Graves

Image: area 23a 

And here we have what is probably the least scary movie on this list, but I still maintain that you should watch it. 

Dig Two Graves is a ghost story, a revenge story, and a making-deals-with-the-devil story all wrapped in one lovingly shot film. When a small town girl promises to jump off a ledge into a quarry with her brother, reneges on the deal, and watches her brother sink without coming up, things all around her take a big turn. Slowly, but surely, she begins the (maybe metaphorical) process of selling her soul, while her troubled grandfather tries to steer her towards an ethical ideal that remains super blurry. 

And all you can do is watch as the moral compass of this movie waxes and wanes and hope to not get swallowed by the fire. 

15. Raw

Image: Focus world

Raw is one of the absolute best movies of 2017, horror or otherwise (technically released overseas in 2016, but only made it stateside this year).

It follows an awkward girl, raised strictly vegetarian, as she enters her first year in veterinary school. As part of the really rough hazing process, she is forced to eat meat. That small bit gives her a taste for so much more. 

Raw unspools in crazy ways that you really never see coming. It's a story about self-discovery, family drama, and the limits of self control. It's a weird, hallucinatory film that constantly makes you think that the main character is dreaming, but no, it's all really happening. Such. A. Good. Movie. 

I'm sure I didn't get all of Netflix's hidden horror gems on this list. I'm only one man and I only have so many hours in a day. But if you're a horror fan, I'm certain you're going to find something on this list to creep you out this October. 

WATCH: 'Stranger Things' is now a retro-style 8-bit mobile game

[blessuswithblogs]

Thoughts on The Surge: in the future, nobody has guns

~there are, by necessity, spoilers on The Surge in this post and also a lot of rambling holy cow~

Yesterday, I finished the Surge. It was not something I was particularly expecting to do at that juncture. I was getting very close to beating a boss, but I had about 5 minutes to go before I had to go raid in FF14. I figured that if I beat the thing, I would just save and quit and come back to it and that would be that. Imagine my surprise when it turned out this fairly nondescript monster was actually The Final Boss of the game and immediately after beating it, I beat the game and the credits rolled. I was a bit nonplussed by this, both because the game only had 5 bosses in it and because I had to hurriedly explain to my raid group that I was going to be a few minutes late because I Accidentally Finished A Game, Oops. After some reflection, it occurred to me that this experience was quite emblematic of the whole game: a strong start with good ideas that never really go anywhere and sort of implode on themselves at random intervals without warning.

Let's start with brass tacks. The Surge is Souls-like. Not one of those games that games journalists think are souls-likes because they're fucking awful at video games and they died a bunch, but an actual honest to god "our mission is to make dark souls with robots." product. The systems, mechanics, and level design philosophy are extremely similar to FromSOFT's critically acclaimed action RPGs. The Surge is from the same developers as Lords of the Fallen, which was a putrid mess. Their sophmore effort is much, much better. I quit Lords a few hours in while I'm considering a second playthrough of The Surge. One of the big problems with Lords was that it was seemingly designed from the perspective of someone who played Dark Souls 1 exclusively clad in Havel's armor and the Dragon Tooth and thought that playstyle wasn't quite deliberate enough. The Surge, conversely, is much faster and more responsive, about on par with Dark Souls 3. It also gains a lot from its unique aesthetic sensibilities, at least at first, but more on that later.

The big mechanical selling point of The Surge which differentiates it from other games of its type is the practice of targeting specific limbs and body parts. It's not at all the first Dead Space parallel one might notice, and certainly not the last. At first, it's quite novel, but The Surge never quite leans into it enough to make it very deep or rewarding. Invariably, the strategy is "attack the unarmored parts, idiot." If everything is armored, it's "attack the head, idiot." The only real exceptions to this rule are when you are engaged in the tedious process of farming gear or when the game forgets its major draw and simply throws enemies at you that don't have any limbs to target. Initially, the process of getting new gear is kind of exciting, as to acquire new weapons and armor, you have to target the body part of an enemy wearing it and successfully do a finishing move to cut it off and receive a schematic you can bring to Operations (the bonfire equivalent) and build. This sounds like a reliable and engaging way to improve your character, but there are some issues with it. To build a new piece of armor, you need to use specifically Mark 1 upgrade materials. Which is fine, at first, but as you progress through the game, enemies will stop dropping this teir of materials. They will not stop dropping new schematics, however. After a certain point, to create new pieces of gear, you need to backtrack to an earlier area just to get the proper parts, and then a different, slightly later area, to get parts to upgrade them. It's real bad. Bad enough that I'm doubting my own experience with the game. Surely, there was some way to buy older parts or exchange them that I missed? Please somebody tell me I'm wrong I hate living this world where there are no alternatives.

REVISION: I did miss something!! You can actually just skip upgrade tiers entirely by using higher grade parts, though it costs more scrap. I feel silly for not catching it myself, but it seems that a lot of people didn’t. Either way, this significantly alleviates some of my major issues with the upgrade system! Praise IRONMAUS!

At any rate, the intent is to create a tension between going for easy kills by targeting unarmored body parts and going after armored parts for more difficult fights with better rewards. It's a good idea, theoretically, but the execution of the idea makes it tedious and grindy. The Surge is extremely crotchety about experimenting with new things, both because of aforementioned weird upgrade material scarcity issues and because the game's difficulty curve is a stickler for wearing gear that is up to date, unless you like getting killed in one hit. I, personally, do not. I find it to be quite frustrating. In my theoretical second playthrough I'm going to just stick to one set and not bother with branching out. There aren't very many armor sets to begin with, so it sort of balances out. You tend to have more freedom with weapons because they use a universal upgrade material all enemies carry, though I personally found most weapon types to be way too slow and awkward for my liking and stuck with the Vibrocutter for 90% of the game. That seems altogether too subjective to really count against the game, and is also the focus of my next playthrough: trying to learn weapons I passed up on in my first.

Character progression is done via upgrading your Core Power level with tech scrap that everybody drops on death. Core Power determines the quality and quantity of gear pieces and implants you can have active at any one time. Core Power also gates progress behind overload nodes that require a certain power level to activate, one of the more random and haphazard mechanics in the game. It's usually not an issue, though you will occasionally run into nodes with requirements so high they might as well read "backtrack here later asshole." Progression itself is kind of muddled by the way implants work, which is somewhat too broadly. Implants can provide minor bonuses, but they can also dictate your entire suite of healing options, maximum HP, and your ability to see enemy healthbars (which is quite important when you need to keep them alive long enough to cut off their limbs, because it would be rude to do that while they're dead. You find implants all over the place in various grades. I assume that the idea is to gradually upgrade your older ones as you go along, but I always felt a bit lost about where exactly the Surge wanted me to be at in regards to my implant setup. I would count this against the game less if I didn't consistently run into points where I would find a new enemy that just killed me in one hit from across the room and feel very sad about life.

This brings me to what is one of the game's biggest design problems: enemy variety, or lack thereof. The designs of the enemies are more than a little uninspired. For a good 80% of the game your only foes are Zombie Men in Robot Suits, Small Drones, and maintenance/security robots. There's enough room for variation in the zombie men that it's tolerable, but the god damned leaping security robots show up everywhere, are never any different, and are incredibly obnoxious to fight. High defense, hypertracking, and the ability to leap across the room from any angle and deal what is consistently 80% of your healthbar in damage is nightmarish, and certain areas of the game are just CRAWLING with these fuckers. You can cut off their tails to get some implants you can sell for scrap. That's something. But god I hate these things. The crystalline nanofriends at the end of the game have many of the same problems with unreasonably high damage and absurd tracking, but I found them much easier to deal with because of how easy it was to bait out their railgun attack.

The bosses in this game are a mixed bag, which is usually okay, but there's only 5 of them. I try not to harsh on games for not having enough content for value, so believe me when I say that my criticism here is based on the fact that bosses are desperately needed to cut up some of the monotony of samey enemies. The first two bosses are big robots, as they should be. The camera is a little shitty in spots but they're big and tough and impressive looking. You can also fulfill special criteria to get Super Strong versions of the weapons they drop during the fight, but there's no way to actually know what those criteria are and some of them are eso-fucking-teric. The first boss, the P.A.X., has a mechanic where you can lead its own missiles into it to stun it and make it vulnerable and the game telegraphs it fairly obviously. To get its special drop, you have to not do this. Conversely, the second boss, the Firebug waste disposal robot, has a special weapon you can get by specifically doing the mechanic that is presented to you and cutting off all its limbs. Then the next boss, the Big SISTER construction platform, needs you to not kill any limbs at all. It's extremely inconsistent. These first 3 bosses range from good to serviceable, and are pretty good spectacles. The last two, however, are ffffucking dire.

The 4th boss of the game, the Black Cerberus, is a fight against a human opponent with military grade equipment. It's pretty fun to start out with, requiring different strategies from the huge robots previously fought. Things go south extremely quickly when the boss, after taking some damage, becomes invincible, runs away, locks himself in a room, heals himself, and summons a P.A.X. for you to fight. There are only 5 bosses in this game and they still found a way to recycle them. So you kill the P.A.X. and the actual boss comes back powered up. Fine. Alright. However, you have to do this cycle 3 times. 3. fucking. times. It's actually inexcusable that this is a thing in a game made in 2017 and I get mad just thinking about it. It makes the Bed of Chaos look like a reasonable fight because it at least had the decency to save your progress. You can get a beefed up version of his energy axe thing by cutting off his right arm but who even fucking cares. The final boss is a sort of neat looking monster made of nanomachines but I think it's borderline plagiarizing a bit of fanart I saw once for a Cyber-souls game. It's kind of whatever honestly. You have to kill the parts that glow white until the whole thing glows red, then you have to... hit a button? It's weird and random but I figured it out quickly enough that I'm not going to say that it's bad or unintuitive. Then it turns into a humanoid swordfighter guy with no armored parts at all and you just stab him in the head until he's fucking dead. It's a joke of a fight. You can get some Super Good Claws if you cut off his right arm but at that point I just wanted the boss to be dead so I went for the cranium. All throughout the boss spouts off voicelines from other characters in the game because of some bullshit about nanomachine networks that's extremely underdeveloped and tacked on. It's a fine boss fight, but the fact that it's the final confrontation and the last bit of gameplay in the whole game makes it such a wet fart of a thing I still feel kind of depressed about it.

So now we come to my biggest complaint about the game. The gameplay is mostly good with some tedious parts and some fucking awful parts. The story and setting, however, are just. How do I even put this? Imagine if System Shock, Dead Space, and SOMA got mashed into one thing by a thirteen year old. Let's start with the good, because there is good in here, and it kept me going for a long time even if I was ultimately disappointed. The game starts out with an extremely Corporate Culture advertisement for a job at CREO, which is probably an acronym for something, but hell if I can remember it. What is immediately striking is how true to life that ad is, stuff about cybernetic enhancement aside. CREO ends up as this sort of idea of "what if Apple dealt in sick robot arms and rockets instead of phones", which I feel like is a concept that is going to become more and more popular to explore in the near future. At any rate, the protagonist, Warren, accepts the job offer and goes off to his first day of work at CREO HQ. The first thing we learn about Warren, aside from looking like an average mainstream western video game protagonist, is that he has to get around in a wheelchair. The reveal of this is one of the very few character moments we really get in this game, and it immediately gives us some insight into why Warren was so eager to go work for a company that turns you into a fucked up robot man. Being a fucked up robot man is probably a pretty sweet deal if you get to Ambulate With Your Legs again. So Warren wheels his way into the lobby to check in and get kitted out with his Rig, an extremely Dead Space name for a sort of power loader exoskeleton wot lets you do the cool robot things as happy corporate music plays as a hip young guy on the monitor extolls the virtues of working at CREO, the revolutionary company out to save the world. Then he gets into the Robot Chair and has extremely invasive surgery done on him without anaesthetic because I guess the opening was just too down to earth and needed some fuckin gore.

I personally feel like the surgery scene is ultimately unnecessary and tacky, serving no real purpose in the narrative except to hint to more trusting players that "maybe CREO bad???". That notwithstanding, the opening is very strong because it establishes a very intriguing world. The Surge is set in the 2060s, or thereabouts, making it near-future firm-ish scifi, and the world of 2060 and beyond kind of fucking sucks. Not because of any great cataclysm or alien invasion, but because late capitalism is a hellish, undying force of destruction on a planetary scale and Earth is rapidly approaching a point where it can no longer support human life due to pollution and over-exploitation. That's about as hard sci-fi as it gets. There's mentions of failed nations, wars, riots, famine, and all of the lovelies we can expect in the next half a century. CREO's mission statement is to use revolutionary new technology to save the world and undo the damage with Project Resolve. Project Resolve is a sort of nebulous terraforming initiative involving CREO shooting rockets into the upper atmosphere that release chemical agents that will gradually repair Earth's atmosphere. The science becomes much squishier here but that's honestly fine with me because it sets up the core tension of the game: how can the same institution that destroyed the planet for centuries turn around and save it? Turns out it can't.

After Warren awakens in the junkheap, about to be disposed of for being "defective", he goes on a fantastical journey through CREO HQ to accomplish basically nothing. Everything in the facility has gone completely off the rails, with the majority of employees hooked up to rigs having completely lost their minds due to some sort of technical malfunction in the neural network. Warren is presumably unaffected by this because he wasn't linked up to the system yet when it happened, and so can adventure around and kill lots of deranged construction workers. You learn more about CREO from audio logs (it's a gritty sci-fi game with pretensions of being scary so naturally everyone in the world compulsively records their thoughts on things on oversized PDA things), environmental storytelling (blood on the walls, skulls in the toilet), and more promotional company videos about how great CREO is. The latter is the most organic and believable mechanism of exposition, and provides a strong sense of juxtaposition between Corporate Image and Reality. It's at times a little on the nose, but, well, art imitates life.  The real problems with the narrative occur after you meet Dr. Chavez, a disgruntled former head of R&D at CREO who worked a greatl deal on Project Resolve. It comes out that there's a problem with Resolve that basically makes it poison to living things. Chavez believes she can fix it, but is unceremoniously fired and replaced by another scientist more willing to compromise. This is fine, and is a great illustrative moment of how even something as noble as saving the world becomes harmful when performed by a beuaracratic, for profit institution. The problem comes from what Dr. Barret, Chavez's replacement, cooks up. Instead of just holding steady on the flawed Project Resolve, Barret decides that's not villainous enough and creates Project Utopia, an alternative to resolve that will absolutely repair the Earth with the small side effect of killing 97% of the current human population.

It's at this point that things start straining that suspension of disbelief, both because of the general unbelievability of something that can wipe out the vast majority of humanity by itself, in a short enough time period that no other organizations would be able to counteract it, and simultaneously restore the environment and because it's hard to believe that a profit-oriented organization like CREO would willingly kill off 97% of their consumer base. The mechanism by which Utopia works isn't revealed until the end of the game, and it's a bit of an eyeroller: nanomachines. The game's sudden, weirdly low-key shift from all-too-believable corporate negligence to literal grey goo end of the world shit is jarring and makes a lot of what came before weaker. Warren is no longer just a Guy With a Robot Suit trying to make it, he's the world's last, best hope to not die horribly. This raising of the stakes was honestly quite unnecessary. Simply finding the cause of the CREO-wide malfunction and reversing it was a worthy enough goal, but I guess it just wasn't enough. Also Dr. Barret is a literal mad scientist making human-machine hybrids and waxing philosophical about the necessary evolution of mankind while all this is going on so there's like 4 unresolved plot points sent careening on a collision course with eachother with not a lot of game left to wrap it up, and also like 2 of these plot points are stupid.

The final area of the game, the launch facility for project utopia, is infested with nanite monstrosities that look kind of cool at least. Up until now your primary foes have actually been company security personnel, hilariously enough, who are largely unaffected by the big neuronet hiccup from earlier. I had no problem with this, honestly, because beating up rent-a-cops sounds like a good time to me. Where it gets weird is that the rent-a-cops are seemingly 100% on board with global genocide of everybody ever. ACAB, and all that, but maybe not to that degree. So you get this weird scenario where you can find security guards harmoniously cooexisting with nanite gestalts of an emerging consciousness spreading and repurposing the launch facility. The guard posted at the entrance to the launch site even gives you a verbal warning to back off like there's nothing going on, something that no other security guard has given you since the beginning of the game. It's super bizarre. There is a subplot of an NPC who gradually loses their identity and memories and joins the guard, so there is evidence for some weird neural implant fuckery. I think I might be missing some information, since I didn't get all of the audio logs and shit.

Basically the climax of the game is that you go to the Nucleus launch facility to try and stop Utopia from getting into the atmosphere, or at least slow it down. You get a virus from Dr. Chavez you can upload into the payload to weaken the nanites. You would think that would be the Main Goal of the Game, but it's actually a totally missable side thing you can do if you feel like it. The actual end point of the game is getting to the rocket launch platform and fighting the Rogue Process, who appears to be guarding the rocket. The rocket launches anyway no matter what you do so the whole situation seems forced. The trigger for the fight is overloading a node by the launch panel. Prior to that the Rogue Process just sort of hangs out in noncorporeal form babbling nonsense at you. If you put the virus in the payload, then what are you even doing here? Just let it do its work and don't fuck around with nanites and rocket engines more than you have to. If you decided that you're okay with 97% of the population dying, then what are you even doing here? Just hang out or try to escape. You fight the Rogue Process because the game needs a final boss, and for no other reason. The damn thing doesn't even die if the ending is to be believed. This whole part of the game left me feeling extremely perplexed, like there was a big chunk of the story just missing. Like a conclusion. Or hell, even a climax.

My working theory of it all is that the Rogue Process developed sentience at some point before Warren arrived and started working on getting Utopia into the atmosphere to spread itself, heedless of human casualties because there's no possible way an AI developed at CREO could have any ethical considerations. It needed the board of directors to vote in favor of the launch, and engineered this impossibly convoluted chain of events to kill one of the no-go voters by Doctor Octopusing him to his chair in the board room. Or something. It might have been one of the board members who became unhinged? I'm really genuinely unsure of what actually happened except that Warren basically didn't do anything the whole game. You've got this very system shock style of progression where voices on the other ends of speakers yank you around to do stupid bullshit and you just sort of End Up where you end up. It's not really so much uncovering a mystery as desperately searching for a supervisor to give you some form of employee orientation, which, to the game's credit, is appropriate. I have no problem with vagueness in video games, being a noted devotee of Dark Souls style storytelling. It just feels extremely random and haphazard in The Surge, like part of the game is told one way where Atlas is asking if you would kindly fix the valves on the bathysphere and another part is digging for Lore on the Ancient Board of Directors Who Passed Long Ago to figure out what any of this even means. Except the Lore is audio logs. Some people don't like Lore. -I- don't like audio logs.

In the end, the whole thing starts strong and doesn't, or can't fulfill its promises. I'll say one thing now: the overall package would have been better and more coherent if they had just leaned in on the nanomachines. One of the things that super bugged me about The Surge was the death and recovery mechanic. The currency in this game is tech scrap. Little bits of metal. That's lying around everywhere. It is not precious or special in any way. There is no diegetic reason for why you drop it on death, and why Warren can come back from being bisected. It's there purely for gameplay purposes, To Be Like Dark Souls. And that just drives me up a wall. Demon's Souls and Dark Souls built their entire worlds upon the cycle of Try, Die, Repeat, Succeed. It's engraved upon the very DNA of those games, from top to bottom, mechanically to thematically. The Surge just does it because it feels like its supposed to, and that is a rotten reason to do anything. The timer mechanic, which was present in Lords of the Fallen, which had similar issues with nebulous "Experience Points" being lost on death, adds insult to injury because it's ridiculously Video Game-y. There's no reason why an inert pile of scrap would disappear after two minutes or why killing some random drone halfway across the map would extend the timer. The reason I mention this with the nanomachines is because nanomachines provide an elegant solution to the dilemma. If you're so damned determined to be like Souls, then just use nanites as the diegetic justification for death recovery. Nanites can reconstruct your body after lethal trauma, but it means that the excess nanites you were carrying are discharged or used up to do so. Something like that. Expand on the nanomachine constructs from the end of the game, and the neat adaptive nanite armor some of the endgame enemies wear. I personally prefer the initial approach the game takes with less apocalyptic do-anything technology, but I would totally respect the decision to go whole Metal Gear hog on nanotech to explore some of that Try Die Repeat Succeed theming.

Also did you know that they even managed to stick in some poison swamps? Please. Please no more. Stop. I guess that brings us to environments? They're kind of bad in The Surge. It's all just industrial zones with occasional but extremely appreciated detours to greenhouses (poison swamp greenhouses!!!!), a show floor, and swanky executive offices. I think what really wore on me was the maintenance tunnels all looking identical. So many dark yellow cabley tunnels. Why didn't we ever go to space? The entire game takes place in a rocket production facility. I feel like there's a whole other act that takes place on a satellite or the fucking moon or something that got cut. Let me go to space you cowards. The NPCs are all extremely forgettable, too. They're all bland character archetypes with no agency and they all die. Not that I really cared. But god even in Bloodborne a couple of characters made it through the night! Even if it was only like Suspicious Yharnam Man and the Chapel Dweller. But the Chapel Dweller was a good person, at least. I guess if you don't give The Crazy Widow tech scrap to make a weapon Hobbs will survive. Maybe the doctor also lives? His robot-daughter doesn't, which is a shame, because she was like the one character I did enjoy. The whole game is very soulless, despite best efforts, another problem shared with Lords of the Fallen who in my 4 or so hours playing did not have a single character I did not wish violent death upon. It's a step up that only a couple of The Surge characters fit that criteria. I guess.

In conclusion, I still don't really know how I feel about the Surge. It's.... worth playing? Like I would enthusiastically recommend Bloodborne or Dark Souls 1 and 2 to anybody who likes video games, but I think the only people who would enjoy the Surge are those who specifically enjoy Souls-like games. I think most players would find The Surge needlessly awkward and difficult without much payoff in other areas. You can cut off heads real good, I guess, but if you're really hankering for satisfying dismemberment for some reason, you'll get a lot more mileage out of 2016 DooM. The Surge wants to be too many things at once and seriously Warren just feels so much like off-brand Isaac Clarke after the opening when his one defining characteristic is no longer salient. They're both engineering types, have Rigs, and their arsenals are comprised entirely of power tools being used in the most unsafe ways conceivable by the human mind. That's not really a criticism. More of an observation. I don't know. God I wrote lots of words about this. I hate video games.

[megamanxfanfics]

S.IV Episode 0 is done.

YES!!

I finally finished a 1st draft of S.IV Episode 0.  Gonna give it a full read today and make any necessary adjustments.  Then I’m going to post it!!

Further commentary will be added later.  In the meantime, look forward to reading “S.IV - Episode 0:  A Different World”  soooooon.

.     [4/12]

..    [4/13]

...   [4/14]

....  [4/15]

It’s later.  Let’s talk about the episode.

Starting off with the very beginning of a Season III Flashback was a risk, but it ended up being a very smart one to take.

By chance, Shield Sheldon’s death, which ties into Gate’s slow motivation toward his X6 disposition, featured Dragoon and his unit.  Which ended up being perfect regarding his major turn of events by the end of this episode.

Writing a nice, peaceful, happy conversation between Gate and Alia about the Sky Lagoon felt like a perfect way to set the new time-frame of X4 while also re-introducing them.

This was another thing I was unsure of, because if you read Xtreme 2′s Epilogue, I planted a seed there that Alia was about to go after Ground Scaravich.

For quite a while, I was mulling over, “How do I do that death scene without it coming off as completely random.”  Then I decided to play the slow build up to that with these Pre-bumper scenes.

You can count on seeing Alia take down Scaravich, but you’re gonna have to be patient and wait for the flashbacks to catch up to current time.  (Which won’t take long, really.)

But yes.  As of this peaceful conversation with Gate, you can surmise that she has taken care of Scaravich, gotten over it and then brought up this new exciting news to Gate.  Perhaps even as an ice-breaker.  Who knows?  =)

Moving on.  We get to the actual episode.

That somber Cain Funeral took forever.

Don’t ask me where I got Edwin from.  It just rang so well that I had to go for it.

Jonathon Crowne was a sweet name that I pulled out of my ass for the pastor as well.  Definitely wanted to make this funeral service sound as authentic as possible and I looked up sermon formats and stuff and everything.

I found a great poem, that almost fits in with Cain’s life-style perfectly, so I had to quote it.

I already wrote a whole thing about how I made great progress on the funeral scene, but then it got botched up when transferring data to different computers.

Regarding the planning process, I definitely wrote short dialogue or near-full scenes for later stuff too, first.  So when this botch up happened, the silver-lining was that it only affected the Funeral.  Which at the time, definitely seemed like the hardest part to re-create.  However, there was a tiny bit of General/Colonel stuff that remained, as well as a very different, but still semi-decent set up scene for Dragoon who was about to teleport to Burn Dino-Rex.

So anyway.  After the Cain Funeral, I had fun introducing our Mystery Narrator.  It turned out way better than I thought it would, but I wonder how well it will be received.  [Can you guess who it is??]

The Narrator was the perfect person to guide us through the non-transitional things like giving us quick exposition about Xtreme 2, which just happened.  Retelling this became necessary because the Repliforce was involved.  It served as a re-introduction to them.  Then, it served as a great transition to Sigma’s continuity, which I’m actually very proud of.

Do not want to forget to mention the camaraderie between Colonel, X, Zero and Iris.  I really enjoyed that peaceful, sad/silly talk between the 4 of them.  Establishing a rapport right now is huge at this time, because then we’re gonna really feel it later when these guys inevitably have to fight each other.

I also really liked being able to delve into X’s psyche regarding the absence of Marty and his recent tryst with Berkana.

So.

With the aid of our trusty Narrator, we were able to recall the events of Xtreme 2, the immense help that Repliforce was, and I was even able to squeeze a quick cameo of Red recruiting people in there.

I will fully admit, this recruitment scene is absolutely gratuitous and unnecessary.  It actually messes up the pacing of the Narrator’s recap.  But...  I always pictured doing SOMETHING with Red in the first episode of X4, since I started this project.  So I simply Had to put it down.  With the way I formatted this thing, that was kind of the only place for it.

..Either way..  After the funeral was concluded and I was able to show everyone Leaving the place, we finally got to Sigma’s big bad re-introduction.

This was a scene that took a short bit of motivation to write, because the only idea I had was just that Split Mushroom and Isoc do something sciency to bring Sigma back to the physical plain.

One thing that was awesome about the Xtreme 2 Epilogue, was that I didn’t exactly have to show how Cyber Peacock brought back Sigma in Cyber Space.  It can just sort of be assumed that Sigma’s virus form was already in Peacock’s programming, as we already saw him turn Isoc in the very beginning of Xtreme 2.

...That said, I enjoyed concocting this ‘energy converter’ machine and imagining that his ‘DNA Signature’ was being shot into a physical body.  Furthermore, I liked the idea that he always had that grim-reaper cloak design ready to go at all times.  [I want to sort of keep it a mystery as to what he really looks like, until the end.  Not that his design underneath the cloak is really all that great.  It’s very X-Men if you think about it.  (Think short-haired Bishop circa 1998)]

Anyway.  I always love Villain behind-the-scenes stuff.  I feel like I didn’t do it enough for Doppler in Season III.  But now in this moment, I could have our guys establish a rapport, and set out a new plan in real-time.  I also loved being able to name-drop Doppler once more, regarding where Cyber Peacock came from.  This was another wonderful tie-in to the flashback at the very beginning of the episode.  The idea that Cyber Peacock was truly his last contingency plan.  Its an incredible thought.  Especially since Doppler was around for Xtreme 1, and absolutely knew about the Maverick Hunter’s troubles in Cyber Space.

So.

They make their plan to create Dark Necrobat and plot a bit while they study the Repliforce.  And then its finally time to set up that meeting scene between Sigma and the General.

To make the General not seem so dimwitted, I had him already know he was Sigma.  Just not intimidated by him.  Because there’s no way in that scene that General wouldn’t be suspicious of an ominous forboding grim reaper type figure. 

I was handicapped by the Canon dialogue, to not be able to have the General ask how Sigma came back.  But sometimes in life, things happen so fast, you don’t get to say what you wanted.  So, this is something I’ll get to play with in the future I think.

At this point...  I didn’t know where to go.

I knew that Dragoon was gonna fight Dino-Rex, but I needed a good way to get there.  I had thought about X and inserting a training scene way earlier, and then I realized there was no room for it, so I dismissed the idea.

But now, I realized this was the perfect place to put it.  1.  It refocuses us on our Main Character.  2.  It shows us where he is at physically & potentially.  The whole point of that scene was to show that, he’s beginning to explore a new form, but he literally can’t get there yet due to the limitations of his Third Armor.  3.  It shows us where X is at mentally.  He is dry-eyed and focussed once again.  I got to name drop Doppler & Berkana once more, realizing that at this time, in November, Xtreme 2 only happened 5 months ago in June and that Season III ended in April.

Its been a shitty year for X where a lot of friends died, and he had near-death experiences himself.  Not only that, but Doppler made him realize he has some wicked dark potential within him in the form of iX.  Something that he vows never to become.

Giving X this dark edge definitely opens up the character to new possibilities.  The Manga infers that his new X4 armor has a dark power within it, to which grants him the power of the Ultimate Armor, but at a price.  I really like that a lot.

I want to adopt something similar, but not copy-cat it completely.

So anyway.  This Training Scene was the perfect transition to shifting to Maverick Hunter business, and finally getting to that Magma Dragoon/14th Unit scene that I wrote as early as the planning stages.

I’ll admit, it runs a little long, but it absolutely tells us why he has to investigate Burn Dino-Rex.  And I’d like to think I did a good enough job to explain why he had to go it alone.  Dragoon felt that he’d get NO information if they all went as an intimidating group.

Then came the Dino-Rex scene.  This was new.  I only wrote it the day I posted this entry.

I think I might’ve felt the pressure of being at 35 pages into the script at this point.  I was WAY over my usual page count limit.  But I had to keep this going. I had a lengthy Season III Ep. 0 too.  And probably the same for Xtreme 2.

So, I did my best to move their quarrel along w/o making this a major be-all end-all fight.

Cutting to the 14th Unit was the perfect move for me, but perhaps at the expense of the reader.  We see their reactions to the fight and then their feed gets cut off.  [That was the whole point of the scene.]  But then, dialogue wise, it opened up this new avenue at a discrepancy between Freeze Alopex and Blaze.  This was an opportunity I had to explore, because I was planning on having Alopex & Frenzy switch units anyway.  [I always had this planned for after Dragoon turns.]

So...  I had them tiff for a second, before cutting back to Dragoon’s fight.  And because the feed was cut off, I had to decide how Sigma was gonna intervene. Was he gonna talk to both of them?  Or just one.

I was happy to be able to give Dragoon a win.  It shows us that things were actually going according to plan before Sigma threw a wrench in the works.

When making Sigma tempt Dragoon with his Scythe/Virus slash, I tried something a little different.  This sort of gradual, influenced turn.  Rather than having Dragoon immediately sound evil and out of character.

I liked that it was Sigma who made him look into himself, or possibly even influence his own thoughts into this deep rooted envy for X & Zero.

And then, I finally resolved my Repliforce conundrum by having it be Sigma’s idea that these two DO talk and actually completely cooperate with one-another.  He guarantees that Dino-Rex will let him into Repliforce and share his secrets with him, so long as he keeps his operation a secret.  And the affected Dragoon doesn’t care about allegiances with the Maverick Hunters at this point, because all he wants to do is fight X.  So he had no problem with playing a Double Agent now until that time.

The scene was getting kind of long, so I loved being able to have Cyber Peacock cut in and tell Sigma that he’s gotta wrap this up soon if they’re to make his feed cut-off look authentic.

At that point, I was surprised that it happened this way, but once Sigma left there was nothing else to be done!

The 14th Unit got their feed back.  It looks like Dragoon had a major win with a little damage to the chest.

Dino-Rex had not woken up yet or cooperated with Dragoon yet.  So the best I could do was to have Dragoon tell them that he’s got this and he’s closing off communication.

[This may or may not be the best idea, because we all know what’s going to happen next.  We don’t necessarily need to END this issue with Dragoon jumping on to the Sky Lagoon.  We already know he’s going to attack it.]

I did want to have Dino-Rex talk and cooperate first before the feed came back, but the pressure of time and length hit me.  It felt more authentic this way.

So closing off communication gives me the idea that, maybe they could see him from the Satellite, but they certainly couldn’t hear him.

Especially if they both talk in a warehouse off-camera.  Then Dragoon really has the opportunity to plot his own way.

...But, that’s all he wrote folks.  And it was a lot!

It took a while to get there due to a move, a new computer set up, re-syncing issues and then figuring out a new rhythm to finding the time to actually dedicate to this thing.

I’m happy with it though.  I’m proud of it.  It’s very different, but certainly not boring.  I knew Cain’s Funeral was gonna take a somber toll on the episode, but being padded with Gate continuity, and exposition about Doppler, Berkana and Sigma’s return, it really made for a nice reset button.

Now at Episode 1, we’re gonna know where everyone is.

Ending Episode 0 with that Narration was awesome.  I’d like to always have our guy talk about the Maverick Hunters AND the Repliforce if I can.

This episode took a very long time to drop, but I certainly hope it was worth the wait.  I definitely had a lot of fun writing it.  Now that we’re getting into the actual game I should be able to dole things out a little sooner.  Maybe.

I’m gonna have a lot of fun plotting Episode 1. =D

Stay tuned for updates on that next month.