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shhhlikeme · 4 years ago

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Hello! I want to start off by saying you’re really pretty and your writing is amazing 🥺👉👈 Could I request a oneshot where the s/o of either Yamaguchi or Suga (which ever you prefer they are both my babies) get into an argument and the s/o ends up flinching out of habit during it, and maybe some cute fluff at the end?

Sugawara Koshi x Reader Angst Fluff !!!!

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A/N: Hello! EYEEE want to start off by saying im blushing thank you angel💖💖💖 of course you can. Request anytime I’m all ears and keyboard taps!

This is super fluffy so I hope you like it!!!!

Yams is my favourite but I haven’t written a Suga story yet and I have a little crush on him so I’ll pick him, yay! (Also, Suga’s voice actor in the dub sounds so attractive to me ugh)

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“Hey baby!” You walked into your boyfriend’s room that his parents let you into. You flicked the lights on.

can we all collectively agree that Suga’s parents are some Queen Elsa & Jack Frost looking mfs?!

Surprised because you didn’t tell him you were stopping by, Sugawara’s eyes lit up when he saw you

“Y/N, what are you doing here?” He scrambled off his bed to you, giving you a chaste kiss.

You can’t tell anyone this, but Suga’s parents secretly invited you because they have been worried about their son

From their perspective, Suga came home everyday seemingly drained and depressed

He would mutter a hello to his parents, go straight to his room and lock the door

You didn’t know this, because your boyfriend was completely normal with you and with his friends from school

He was his regular cheeky self that you loved

But you couldn’t deny his parents anything and you wanted to see your baby so you agreed to come over one night after school to kind of “catch him in this act” that his parents described

You scanned your handsome boy’s face and it made you frown

He did looked drained. That’s not normal considering school had been out for maybe an hour and you just saw him during last period looking chipper.

He had lines under his eyes and his shoulders were slumped/lower than usual. Not to mention his eyes betrayed him because they looked like someone who was really going through it, even though you could see that his spirits lifted with your entry

You didn’t say anything, opting to poke his stomach instead and smile up at him

for someone’s whose weak spot is his ticklish tummy, the joy from his laugh didn’t reach his eyes whole heartedly like they normally did

You tested one last time.

“I made you tempura, just the way you like it,” You placed the wrapped dinner plate you bagged on his dresser, gauging his reaction.

Koshi appeared like he was a stage actor when he gave you a big smile and said thanks.

Your heart immediately sank then, because you knew his parents had been telling the truth.

There was something wrong with your Koshi. Very wrong.

Ok. Here goes.

You turned around to lock his room door and took his hand

You gestured for him to crawl back into bed which he seemed genuinely happy about.

You straddled his waist, sitting in a position where he couldn’t hide his face from you nor could he escape when this questioning started

“Uh oh. You only sit on me like this when you want “to talk.”

You nodded. He knew.

Your boyfriend liked talking about his feelings but not when they could potentially bring down the mood of others.... and with this specific circumstance where he was able to hide his sadness from you so well, you had no choice but to jump straight into playing hardball.

“Shishi.” You used the embarrassing pet name you made for him and he slightly blushed.

Marry him, aight?

“Yeah? You okay? I’m listening baby tell me.” He looked at you with his shining eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

Suga didn’t miss a beat. He was well rehearsed. “Wait—me? This talk is about me? Nothing. Why do you ask?”

“Well why are you laying in your bed with the lights off at 4pm? You’re usually doing your school work at this time. That’s what you text me.”

Suga sighed. “I was just tired today, that’s all.”

“Shishi.....”

“Y/N, baby. trust me I’m fi-“

“Is it about volleyball?”

Koshi sat up quickly, cradling your back to make sure you were safe. He scooted backwards, making it so his back was leaning on his headboard.

“Can I please put you next to me?” He asked.

You mentally noted that he didn’t answer the question.

And that he wanted to get out of this “truth spell” position

So it was about volleyball. You ignored his question back and pushed forward.

“Did something happen? Is Daichi injured again? Or is Ukai quitting—“

Suga locked his jaw, looking away from you. “No no. It’s not that— I’m fine. I’m good.”

You couldn’t tell who he was trying to convince more: you? Or himself?

You pushed a bit further.

“Tomorrow is your Senior game, right? You, Asahi, Daichi and Kiyoko will be awarded for the years you put in, right?”

Suga, looking pained, gently moved you off his lap to sit next to him. He got out of bed and paced the room. You knew you were about to crack him but you weren’t too concerned because he needed to let whatever this was out. It’s bad enough that your baby was having such internal conflict like this. It was depressing him and he was dealing with it all by himself.

You stared at him and moved to sit up on your knees, prepared to deal the final blow.

“Are you sad about not playing, Shishi?”

The volcano that Sugawara had been trying so hard to keep in finally erupted at your words.

“SAD?! Am I sad?!” He practically roared at you loudly.

You flinched because it was the first time you have ever heard your boyfriend raise his voice in anger, let alone at you. You remember that he told you he’d only shown his team that side of him once during a game and they were shook, rightfully so. He was kind of scary like this.

“YES I’m sad! But mostly, I’M PISSED! EVERYONE expects me to walk on stage tomorrow and accept an award I had no part in contributing to?! I have been on this team for 3 years, 2 of those years as a starting setter and those two years accounted for bullshit seasons for Karasuno. The one year I sat my ass on the bench is the year we WIN! The year the crows got their wings back I AM SITTING OUT! No one wants to admit it but what the fuck does that tell you, me, and everyone, huh?! It tells us that I was the problem. I was the broken part: the gear that caused the machine to malfunction. The gear that Kageyama came in and fixed—2 years my junior. I’m pathetic, you know?! How many captains sitbon the fucking bench while I watch my best friends play the sport we all love equally? Then I have to walk around all day pretending I don’t feel this way because I am too busy stopping Kageyama and Hinata from pummelling eachother, telling Tsukishima to stop being so mean, mitigating Yamaguchi and Ashai’s panic attacks, Forbidding Tanaka and Noya’s anger issues and the reward I get for all it isn’t the luxury of playing like Daichi who does similar work. I get no reward. I pretend to be happy the Sugawara that I used to be. I’m not happy. The only time I take off that mask off is when I get home and by that time I’m so exhausted from keeping up the facade that staying in the dark until I have to go to school again and put the mask back on is the only way I can cope. So YES I’m fucking sad, Y/N. Sad is an understatement.”

you stayed silent as you listened to every emotionally charged word, letting him catch his breath

Your heart had been shattered around the 4 second mark of his speech, hearing the mental turmoil your baby had been going through in his voice

He was going through all of that pain...

And in spite of it he would still call you every night and listen to you talk about how annoyed you are at your little sister for stealing your shirt

He didn’t change for you because he didn’t want to stress you out and that made you feel like a failure as a girlfriend

After a few minutes of Sugawara calming down, you opened your arms for him invitingly

“Come here.”

Suga looked at you, obviously fighting back tears. Not being able to bare going through it alone anymore, he mounted the bed again, hugging you then maneuvering your bodies so that he was spooning you.

“I saw you flinch. I’m so sorry for scaring you.” He whispered as he kissed the back of your hair. “I love you. So so much, Y/N.”

You reached back to run a hand soothingly against the side of his face. You felt wet tears there and you repeated the soothing gesture. “I love you more, Shishi.....” You backed up so you were pressed closer to his warm body, reinforcing the fact that you weren’t going anywhere. “And Shishi when you’re ready... I can’t wait to tell you all the reasons why you’re the team’s and my....MVP, alright?”

Sugawara nodded into your hair before tightening his grasp on you.

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A/N: This is probably the post I’ve written that is the most realistic in terms of cannon character sentiment. As an ex competitive volleyball player I believe this is truly how Suga feels :( at least youre there to cheer him up!!

#haikyuu boys #haikyuu!!#hq sugawara #hq headcanons #haikyuu headcannons #sugawara koshi #sugawara x reader #haikyuu fluff #fluff #haikyuu stories #haikyuu scenarios #haikyu requests #sugawara x you #sugawara headcanon #sugawara x y/n #haikyuu sfw

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completely-zucked · 3 years ago

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Kazakhstan: The Greatest Country in the World

I'll readily admit that my knowledge of American history (particularly when it comes to the oppression of BiPOC) is a little sketchy in places. So I conflated Juneteenth (the fact that certain places didn't emancipate slaves for 2.5 years after they should have) with the Tulsa massacre. However, I hope it counts for something (however small) that I at least knew it was something horrific to do with racist and oppressive BS, that noone in their right mind would be so callous or insensitive to wish anyone hapiness/celebration while remembering that. I wonder how many white Americans can honestly say the same. It seems that I am at least one step ahead of them. Most just take what they learned in K-12 and accept it as the whole truth. K-12, though? That strikes me as a class for advanced students. It seems to me that the average American isn't much more intelligent/educated than the average K-9. (It's one of the reasons why I'm proud to not be an American.)

Too Little, Too Late

Honestly, more white Americans know the history today than did a month ago, and more knew last summer than did the year before, which is definitely … something in the right direction?

Yeah, it's fucking sad, and infuriating, though. Your schools don't teach you this shit, or about Tulsa, or about Rosewood, or Rosa Parks, or about the legacy of lynching, or anything much beyond "slavery was really bad and then we fought a war to get rid of it and then it was mostly better and then Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech and made it all the way better". (Sometimes it's even worse. I know someone who had a friend who grew up in the South and though he admittedly didn't pay a ton of attention in history — with no serious repercussions because he's white — it was at least into his twenties before he realized that the Confederacy lost. He thought that they must have been fighting to end slavery instead of keep it! I mean, how problematic and appalling is that?!)

You don't teach kids about indigenous genocide, either. They don't learn about how their government has (sometimes quite literally) stabbed them (and the first nation's people) in the back over and over again. Growing up, I didn't learn about how Lincoln ordered the largest mass hanging in US history, executing 38 people who had fought because they were starving as a result of their lands being stolen (not just their original lands but part of what they had been forced onto, too) — and that a bunch of the names we saw everywhere like Ramsey and Sibley were dudes who were heavily involved in that "conflict", but I was taught the gist of the attrocities committed by men like Custer when the West was lost.

Your shit's fucked up from top to bottom and side to side.

Your whole education system is garbage, not just your History. Your countrymen (collectively) can't spell, have poor reading comprehension, struggle to identify their own country on a map (never mind anyone else's), are still stuck in the 1960 as far as race relations go, have no grasp of basic Physics or Biology, lobby against teaching evolution in schools (as opposed to Creationism), ad infinitum, ad tedium … Yet I, an individual from a Third World country, have a better education (Cambridge syllabus) than the average individual from what is allegedly The Greatest Country in The World™ Hmm … Something doesn't add up here (but then again, my country's Maths literacy is a known weakness). #JustSaying

Honestly, if my country of origin was one that once housed the thousands of minds that successfully worked out and executed the challenge of going from near-Earth orbit to manually landing a craft on the moon and getting it back to Earth without incident in less than a decade (using technology less powerful/accurate than the average pocket calculator, nog al); a feat so statistically improbable as to be practically impossible … to this sordid state of affairs, I would either retreat to the backwoods and whittle while seriously contemplating my ancestors' poor life choices or I would dilligently apply myself to getting a proper education through online courses. I certainly wouldn't run my mouth about how great my nation is when it's clearly appallingly and embarrassingly backward. Only an idiotic, ignorant, arrogant motherfucker does that. This is far beyond something rotten in the state of Denmark. So yeah, I'm very much anti-American and I'm definitely not ashamed of it.

Now, I realise, of course, that generalisations are generally wrong and not every American is an illiterate and poorly-educated backwoods hillbilly, but fuck me, the smart ones are needles in the haystack (and it's a very big haystack).

Perhaps if your government spent as much on mitigating its education, housing, medical aid (health insurance), unemployment and potable water shortage crises as it does on exploring the Universe and persecuting/murdering BIPOC (particularly non-Christian ones) around the world while claiming to be "liberating" them of anything other than natural resources (particularly gold, diamonds, oil and tungsten) and their lives while foisting cheap crap on them, I might not be such a harsh critic. But don't mind me; I'm just an anti-consumerism anarchist with no idea of how the world really works.

Having worked for some morally bankrupt organisations myself, I'm certainly in no position to criticise, but I do think it's at least a little hypocrytical for someone who worked for Baby Killers International to wish BIPOC a restive and peaceful Juneteenth.

The idea that it's made a holiday is all well and good, but the government still allows cops to murder minorities. It's a consolation prize and a hollow one at that. Not teaching why it's even a holiday in the first place is all sorts of problematic, but only in America. The government has been scared to death of its people (all of them) since the 60s (which is a good thing). Now, they're seeing a lot more whites side with BIPOC than did back then. The only thing keeping them safe is their brainwashed right-wing. This is beyond disturbing.

The Greatest Country in the World

"We're The Greatest Country in the World™", you cry? Maybe sixty years ago you could broadly claim it was heading there and maintain a straight face (if you ignore a lot of problematic shit like abusing Oppenheimer's genius in order to commit war crimes). It certainly isn't any more. Why; what the fuck happened to a nation that used to be an inspiration? Well, you didn't just rest on your laurels; you destroyed them. Meanwhile, the rest of the world struggled and persevered to become what you once were. Unfortunately, we bought into the nightmare of consumerism and greed you packaged and sold to us as The American Dream™.

So, in short: Fuck you very much! Enjoy your fucked-up holiday. Coke (which used to containe cocaine), nutrient-devoid cardboard "food" and heart-attack-inducing "energy" drinks white America!

https://vimeo.com/134492436

#juneteenth #USA #us army #your fave is problematic #amerika

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neophix · 6 years ago

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Elsword PvP Stereotypes: 2nd Edition

Alright. It’s been a year and a half. Let’s do this again, sure.

Unlike last time, where people salting at me during the match contributed to a large portion of the character stereotype, I only have their gameplay to work off of this season. Mostly. Rage whispers have gone down significantly which honestly is a change that's good for everyone. {Nod nod.}

{Additional commentary by @demos-cloud will be in braces}, and my responses to her commentary will be italicized, since I’ve ah. Ranted to her about a lot of these before, and asked her to help proofread.

Elsword: Bullheaded, stubborn, and does not think very far ahead.

This is mostly thanks to the amount that they've built up Elsword's defensive options lately. The changes to Autoguard mean that Knight Emperor doesn't really have to worry even if he gets caught (I've had more games turned around thanks to that than I care to admit). Infinity Stoic is still a thing, not in the least helped by the large number of quick, stoic approaches and normals he has. Melee Elsword gameplay basically rewards LEEROY JENKINS. Rune Masters are surprisingly rare.

Aisha: Still Bullies.

This has always been the case. Though lately I've come to the realization that Aisha, and Void Princess' line in particular, usually stays out of PvP unless she has access to something dangerously close to hacking. Meditate+Trans slot cooldown drops are always popular, but Oz Sorcerer lives and dies depending on whether she can pretend-hack or not (looking at you, Angkor Millions and Shadow Body). Metamorphy's population likewise dropped drastically as soon as they nerfed the stoic on her >>X(Z). {Her damage output was also hit hard by the Impact Zone nerf in PvE.}

Rena: Slime.

There's been a lot of complaining about the changes to the NF system, though honestly it's probably better for PvP-health in the long term. Now, instead of basically being guaranteed to eat 3 cancelled Violent Attacks to the face in the middle of every single combo, you probably only have to worry about it happening once or twice per game. They're still really slippery, thanks in large part to physics bending over backwards around her and >>Z being so fast, though their PvP numbers have taken a drastic drop since the nerf.

Raven:

Basically only the oldest Raven mains are left, a corps of elite veterans who know their character and yours inside and- oh and I guess you have the bandwagon RH horde. {Man the bias is practically dripping out of your mouth here Ketsu.} The majority of my Raven matches are against players who I recognize on sight, though. The canon Raven has certainly been getting spoiled, comparatively speaking, though the fact that KoG nerfed M.Maximum Drive almost immediately is a good sign. RH is still probably the most consequence-free Raven at the moment; he doesn't really have to worry about taking combos because it's extremely likely he'll be able to mash a Spread out and revenge-catch you if there's even the tiniest delay or mistake.

{PvE is full of old, rich, Ravens as well. BMs/FBs especially are the oldest and most funded. Yeah they know their class in and out, but they’re also not above shelling out $200 to +11 that glorious Void weapon. VCs are dead.}

Eve: Nasod Bitch. Runs on money. {はい、はい。}

Eve on the whole is very confrontation-adverse, and all three of her classes avoid direct combat. Good thing for her, too; aside from the Exotic line Eve's combo game is so poor she can barely hold anyone in place on her own. All three Eves have very strong utilities kits which are supposed to come with a weak damage-per-hit ratio, but Eve players are already very strongly conditioned to spoil her rotten. Nobody's ever been accused of spending too little on her, after all. Codes 4v1 and Sariel both just dunk on melee-centric characters, and Ultimate has enough unsafe-cancels and core synergy that you'll be spending more time eating lasers than spears. {Like I’ve been saying for the past four years, Eve’s Core Release system was built for CN. Of course she has the best Core synergy out of all Eves.} Illusion Thorns' debuff field really should not trigger core. Raven's lingering skill effects (grenade fires and smoke clouds) have NEVER triggered his core, and those at least deal damage, but I guess even KoG isn't tired of spoiling Eve just yet. {Maybe it’s because Illusion Thorns’ debuff area only lasts a measly two seconds compared to Raven’s lingering AoEs (dead laugh).} Raven’s lingering AoEs also only last for a couple seconds, too, though. {oh.}

Chung: HERE I GO. {HERE I GO!!}

Hoo boy. Okay. After the absolute Chung dominance in the 1v1 tournament, there's been a significant rise in Chung PvP populations. Sure, Base Chung has Heavy Stance to mitigate being slow and getting caught, but these three basically never have to deal with such puny things as "consequences" and Heavy Stance itself has actually been vanishingly rare. {DC really should not have so many Heavy Stance/stoic opportunities, given that his whole backstory is based around being faster and thus, being less defensive. IP’s ridiculously high attack speed is abnormal and needs to die. Even back in S1 it was a pain to deal with…} Back Blast and Reload are core skills not because of utility or reload, but because they're such hard to deal with panic buttons when strung together. Cannonball management is a total farce. Super spoiled, getting amazing tools and mod skills with each update. A few significant differences between them:

Comet: Basically indestructible. Will not die. A rocket powered turtle who can strike you from anywhere in the map and always has an advantageous position. The new goddess of PvP, stripping Yama Raja of the title. You could just tell that a couple of the tournament finalists were screwing around and winning anyway, and that flagrant disregard for consequences has been adopted by the bandwagoners. {I feel like having one of the IP semifinalists intentionally handicap himself of the class’ best skills, fool around, and still manage a strong victory.. Really says a lot about the class’ current standing.}

Phantom: Homing Ruthless attacks for days. Mod Shooting Star caused a lot of passive ruthless to get stripped, but I guess there was enough of a Chung tantrum that they got it back on base Shooting Star AND in M.Burning Punisher. Could probably win a game blindfolded thanks to all the high-damage homing at his disposal. A non-berserk awakening is so rare you honestly think it's a glitch. {Remember when it was only like a 25% activation chance. lmao.}

Centurret: After a long and arduous process of moderately intelligent cockroaches bashing on keyboards tested every possible configuration, tactics have been finely reduced to "if your dog craps on enough lawns, someone is going to step in it." Instant-hit Grav Shots are far more than any character deserves, especially when they have practically no vertical limit, and whoever approved of this as an Siege mode option should be spaghettified.

Ara:

Lately, the number of Aras who fully depend on the X or ^X loop has gone down. Devi is still incredibly oppressive, able to basically slam their face on the skill bar whenever they're in trouble to turn it around with any one of their many, many incredible utility actives (with skill storage). Shakti populations have been on the rise in comparison, though as a Shakti main myself I can't really comment on any other trends without being... more biased than usual. {Dead in PvE, though very willing to shell out money. More-so than other Ara classes, I find (even Devis, yes!)} Apsaras generally rely way too much on Kite or Suppression and barely have two brain cells to rub together, having godawful combo maintenance outside of the aforementioned X loop, despite Ara's strong kit. {They changed how ZZXX works how else am I supposed to do fancy combos nowwwww} It feels like if they did have any more to work with they would've job changed to Devi by now.

Elesis:

Population is in decline, but still powerful. Empire Sword still has some of the most safe combo maintenance in the game, and it's exceedingly rare for her to make anything remotely resembling a mistake. {The fact that she has such a high DPS ratio in PvP really hurts, what gives.} INJECTION finally got the nerf it deserved and is starting to sound like a word again. Fire Wallsis is still horrifically oppressive if it goes off, however, and reduces many games against her to "play perfectly or die."

Add:

Doom Bringers are vanishingly rare. Dominators basically all spontaneously ceased to exist once Charged Impulsar got nerfed and they realized they'd actually have to try in PvP again. Paradox is, once again, the most popular PvP Add, and for some reason still has an infinite. Purple is the color of bullies, it turns out. {Death to purples.}

Lu: Almost as Leeroy Jenkins as Elsword, but not a large sample to work with.

If the dive that magnetically homes in on targets wasn't enough of a giveaway, Lu's ability to zero in on a target is still very high. Diangelion's switch-attacks have the same bizarre hitboxes and gravity as ever. Lu in general seems to be about throwing giant hitboxes around the map and hoping they hit something, and her combo game is so safe that there really isn't need for precision there, either. {If she can’t hit you with a command normal or a skill, she’ll lag you out with her FPS-killing abilities. Surprisingly not very high up on the whale list, and even lower on the whales-for-fashion list.}

Ciel mains still don't exist. {Nobu would be sad to hear this.}

Rose: Rich, but shallow.

You're basically not even a Rose main if you don't have an 11+, the same way you're basically not a Chung main if you can't get 4+ X-drops in a single launch. {I am apparently no longer a Rose/F. Gunner main. Okay.} Their gameplay shows no personality to speak of, and you'll be fighting the same kind of Rose tactics at Rank C that you will at Star. Despite being the only non-Chung in the 1v1 Finals, Minerva has actually seen something of a population decrease lately. I imagine a lot of players disliked the fact that the player got to finals by using a Freeze Grenade infinite.

{POs seem like one of the most funded Rose classes, despite being lowtier in both PvP and PvE. About 20% of them have an elitist complex, and another 40% only play her because “OMG MECHA WAIFU”. I’ve only encountered like two POs who acknowledge that she feels and plays nothing like her DFO counterpart, and the fact that I had to argue with a super stubborn NA forumer about this is flat-out stupid. Ah, also. TBs are dead now. Unsurprisingly.} PvP Rose is actually mostly TB thanks to her pseudo-meditate.

Ain: I was horribly, terribly, no-good very bad wrong about the prediction last time.

PvP Ain is as homogenous across all three paths as Rena: {はい、はい。} Base Ain normals are so strong that the only ones his other classes really use are dives. Otherwise, you can treat all Ains the same. Watch out for airdashes, stomps, Xes, and basically a full kit of backwards melee hitboxes (we got rid of that on the Polar Bear suit for a reason, right? Right??) which are all so strong that, even though the bug has been patched out, Schwert Platzen is still a core PvP skill for all Ains. Bluhen is very rare in PvP, due mostly to the fact that he doesn't have a dive combo. Richter basically plays "The floor is lava" the entire game. The stomp noise is as annoying and stuck in my head as Aisha's "HYA" voice clip now and is a standout among Ain's generally obnoxious sound design. {Maybe if KoG gave us more combo options my fellow Richters wouldn’t have to sink this low.}

his german is off but i appreciate the effort.

#Elsword #elsword pvp #Neophix is rambling again #long post

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dipulb3 · 4 years ago

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2021 Honda Accord Hybrid is an efficient sedan without compromise

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/2021-honda-accord-hybrid-is-an-efficient-sedan-without-compromise-2/

2021 Honda Accord Hybrid is an efficient sedan without compromise

This fuel-sipping Honda hybrid’s front end was slightly tweaked for 2021.

Craig Cole/Roadshow

The Honda Accord is like a blue-chip stock: always a smart buy. For 2021, the hybrid variant makes a strong case that it’s the best all-around model in the Accord range, building on the nameplate’s fundamental excellence by offering far greater fuel economy.

Good low-speed acceleration

Excellent driver aids

Quality trimmings

Roomy interior

Don’t Like

Annoying regenerative braking paddles

Real-world efficiency can disappoint

Meh infotainment system

To keep the Accord at the top of its game, this venerable Honda was mildly tweaked for 2021. Its grille is wider, and the Honda Sensing system’s front-mounted radar sensor is slightly less prominent. Improved headlamps have greater reach and a wider beam pattern for enhanced visibility at night.

As for the hybrid, not much sets it apart from other Accords, at least visually. A blue-accented Honda badge on the grille hints that something a little different lurks under the hood. There are hybrid badges on the front fenders and trunk, and really, that’s about it. Separating it from more plebeian variants, the top-shelf hybrid Touring model rolls on stylish 19-inch alloy wheels wrapped in Goodyear all-season tires. Despite a tread pattern that looks optimized for fair-weather use, these rubbers handle ice and snowy slop with ease, though a set of winter tires would certainly increase driving confidence.

2021 Honda Accord Hybrid: Miserly motoring without the misery

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The Accord’s interior is as nice as it’s ever been. The 10th-generation Accord has aged extremely well, basically because Honda did such a phenomenal job from the get-go. Aside from the unconvincing simulated wood accents, the textures are rich, its leather is of good quality and all the switches and knobs feel premium. Ergonomics deserve praise, too, as nearly every control is within easy reach and is clearly labeled.

The 2021 Honda Accord Hybrid’s front bucket seats are soft and supportive, plus its rear bench offers miles of legroom. Taller folks will pine for a skosh more noggin space, however. You do sit somewhat low in the Accord, not that your butt is on the floor, the car is just very close to the pavement, which can make getting in and out a challenge, especially for older folks.

Spacious, comfortable and beautifully assembled of high-quality materials, the Accord’s cabin is tough to top, especially in the midsize-sedan segment.

Craig Cole/Roadshow

As for amenities, hybrid models come standard with remote start and a multi-angle rearview camera. Push-button ignition and heated side-view mirrors are included at no extra charge as well, while full LED headlights are standard on the EX grade and higher.

One nice upgrade for 2021 is the infotainment display. An 8-inch touchscreen is now standard across the board, complete with Apple CarPlay (which can connect wirelessly on EX Hybrid models and above) as well as Android Auto. Abstain from using either of these smartphone-mirroring systems and you’ll have to contend with the Accord’s embedded infotainment system, which looks pretty dated with its busy interface. Aside from those goodies, the Accord also gains a rear-seat reminder feature to help prevent drivers from forgetting small children, pets or other precious cargo in the back. Low Speed Braking Control is a new feature, too. Standard on Touring models, it’s designed to mitigate or even prevent collisions at lower speeds, such as while parking.

The hybrid powertrain’s small lithium-ion battery pack is mounted underneath the backseat where it eats up no interior space. This means the Accord has the same generous 16.7 cubic feet of trunk volume you get in non-hybrid models, a figure that compares very favorably to the 2021 Toyota Camry Hybrid, which offers 15.1 cubes’ worth of room and the 2021 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, which serves up 16.

This car’s powertrain works well, providing plenty of zip without drawing attention to itself.

Craig Cole/Roadshow

Bringing this comfortable and capacious family hauler to life is a two-motor hybrid system. Doing most of the work is a 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine, one that’s backed up by a propulsion motor in addition to a separate motor that handles starting and generating duties. Total system horsepower measures 212, while peak torque clocks in at 232 pound-feet just off idle, figures that put this hybrid between the base Accord with its 1.5-liter engine and the top-shelf version with the 2.0-liter turbo. The hybrid’s output figures won’t set the world on fire, but in everyday driving they’re more than up to the task. Curiously, this hybrid system doesn’t have a transmission since, in normal driving, the engine powers a generator, which then runs the propulsion motor. An EV mode allows the car to operate solely on battery power, but at higher speeds, the engine directly drives the wheels through a lockup clutch. Voilà, no transmission required.

This Accord’s performance is quite strong; it’s peppier than you might think for something wearing hybrid placards, which is usually shorthand for driving doldrums. Thanks to electric torque, this big sedan scoots around town, pulling with authority when taking off from stoplights and responding nicely when you give it the spurs. Yes, the acceleration does taper off noticeably after about 60 mph where the powertrain gets a bit winded, but it still delivers more than adequate performance. For 2021, small tweaks make the drivetrain more direct and immediate, with the engine better responding to throttle inputs. In fact, aside from a touch of droning at higher speeds when working hard and a bit of that rubber-band effect often associated with continuously variable transmissions, the Accord Hybrid’s powertrain feels totally normal.

These wheels are unique to the Touring model.

Craig Cole/Roadshow

Touring models, which sit at the pinnacle of the Accord Hybrid range, sticker at 44 miles per gallon city, 41 mpg highway and 43 mpg combined, impressive figures to be certain. Unfortunately, in real-world driving, I’ve only managed to coax about 34.8 out of this example, which is stellar for a large sedan, but still pretty disappointing considering it’s off the mark by more than 8 mpg. I suspect the car would do better in warmer weather, since it’s been pretty cold during my week with it. Lower-end versions of the Accord Hybrid are even more economical than the Touring model, stickering at 48 mpg across the board, which is comparable to the most-efficient versions of the 2021 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and 2021 Toyota Camry Hybrid LE, both of which return 52 mpg combined.

Mounted to the steering wheel are two paddles, but they’re not for shifting. Instead, they allow you to fine-tune the amount of regenerative braking that happens when you lift your foot off the accelerator, which is a great thing to have — in theory. I like maximum regenerative braking for a one-pedal driving experience, however, whenever you roll to a stop, the system resets. It doesn’t hold the regenerative-braking level you’ve selected and that’s annoying. Another misstep, the paddles seem to be labeled backwards. Clicking on the minus one increases the amount of deceleration while the one labeled plus decreases it. I’m not very good at math, but I’m pretty sure that’s backwards.

The Accord Hybrid’s ride is quite firm, but well controlled. This car’s interior remains hushed at speed, and the chunky steering wheel rim feels great in my hands. This sedan’s weighty-yet-quick steering makes the Accord feel far more agile than you might expect for a car of this size.

The 2021 Honda Accord Hybrid is one of the best family sedans you can buy today.

Craig Cole/Roadshow

Honda Sensing is as good as it’s ever been. This suite of advanced driver aids is one of the best in the business: attentive, smooth and very easy to use. The lane-centering system is phenomenal, helping the Accord track as straight as a San Francisco cable car. The adaptive cruise control works effortlessly, collision mitigation braking is waiting in the wings should you make a critical error and traffic-sign recognition is always there to remind you of how much you’re speeding. EX and higher models also come with blind-spot monitoring, while parking sensors are fitted to EX-L and Touring variants, the latter of which also gains rain-sensing windshield wipers.

Owning a Honda Accord Hybrid is a great way to save money at the pump, but it’s economical in another way, too. The base price is an eminently reasonable $27,565, including $995 in delivery fees. That makes it about $700 less than an entry-level Camry Hybrid and nearly $1,200 more affordable than a comparable Sonata. Even the Touring model I’m reviewing here with all its bells and whistles checks out for $37,590.

With its spacious interior, upscale trimmings, generous equipment and good performance, the 2021 Honda Accord Hybrid is an excellent family sedan. But its smooth-running, fuel-sipping drivetrain is what really makes this model the pick of the Accord litter.

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crystalelemental · 7 years ago

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I've gone on record stating that Gen 3 is not my favorite, and I stand by that. I think Team Aqua/Magma had a lot to do with that, being far less interesting than they should have been. As much as we mock IGN for it, the fact that the latter third of the game is a bunch of surf routes with the same Pokemon over and over is also frustrating. Also, since I'm in the middle of playing the remakes of ORAS, I find it really frustrating the things that they changed, with my biggest gripe being that I wish my rival would go away forever. That said, the Pokedex itself has always been something I appreciated. A lot of my favorites came from Gen 3, so I tended to remember the Pokemon in the region fondly, even if the region wasn't my favorite.

TOP 15: 15) Mightyena line - There was so much competition for this slot, it's ridiculous. Ultimately though, I have to give it to Mightyena and its pre-evolution, Poochyena. Both have great designs, but the thing that stood out to me most was that, in the early game, we were given a Dark type. That's really atypical! Usually you go through the normal types, the Flying types, and the bugs, until after the first gym. But Gen 3? You got things like Mightyena right away; it wasn't even rare! Combined with things like Seedot/Lotad and Ralts, you had some interesting types going into the first gym. Mightyena is a great starting point for introducing how unique Gen 3 and its Pokedex are, and I think it stands out a lot because of it.

14) Nosepass - Imagine being a kid who had faced Brock back in gen 1. Imagine again that you started with Red and Blue, and didn't pick Charmander. Odds are, you blasted through him without a second thought. Literally no issue. Now, imagine going to Roxanne, blasting through her Geodude like they're nothing, and then encountering Nosepass, who can tank those Grass and Water hits just fine, and hits pretty hard for early game. Nosepass is awesome. It's a fantastic tank, who can take all sorts of hits in that early game. While it doesn't hit particularly hard later on, its main draw is as a wall among walls, with great support options. The concept of basically being a walking easter island head statue is also comical. It looks funny, but it's adorable too, making for a fantastic overall Pokemon.

13) Absol - This is a Pokemon that gets a lot of favoritism based on aesthetics. It's a sleek and pretty Pokemon, but also has a great role. It tells of impending disasters, and is a fun but short-lived character in Red Rescue Team as well. I really like Absol, and just wish it could be a bit faster so it could have a solid competitive niche.

12) Aggron line - We've had big bipedal rock monsters before, like Rhydon and Tyranitar. But Aggron is just a different kind of cool. Its sleek metal plating and terrifying design are fantastic. The fact that it starts out as the cute little Aron only helps add to its charms. Best of all, you get it super early game. Rhydon was surprisingly late-game, and Tyranitar was literally only attainable when you had nothing left to do. But Aggron? You can run one the whole game. I love the ability to do that.

11) Metagross - YEAH! Metagross is a beast, and a strong contender for my favorite pseudo-legend. It's literally a walking tank, with the glorious Steel/Psychic typing. It had one of the few Steel moves in the game that was actually useful, and back before the nerf, Steel covered all of Psychic type's weaknesses, making it a defensive and offensive nightmare. I love the entire concept behind this behemoth, too. It's a walking robot monster, whose evolution is basically just it gaining more legs until it becomes Omega Weapon.

10) Breloom - I'll get to a similar case later, but Breloom is a favorite based on typing. Grass/Fighting was unreal at the time, and it did super well for itself. Plus it's just cute. A tiny little punching mushroom child, with stubby little arms that apparently shoot out to hit really hard. It's a quirky concept with a fun design, and I adore it. Plus, Spore with the abilities it would later get made it a surprisingly brutal enemy to face.

9) Roselia - IT'S SO PRETTY! Such a gorgeous Pokemon. Grass/Poison was pretty overdone, even at this point, but I just loved the appearance of it.

8) Swampert line - Dual-type starters, at this point, were still relatively rare. Venusaur had Grass/Poison, but so did every Grass type in gen 1 barring Tangela. Charizard had Fire/Flying, but the fact it wasn't Dragon is stupid. Gen 3 introduced new dual-types for starters, and one great one is Water/Ground with Swampert. While the combination had been done before with Quagsire, Swampert offered far better overall bulk and damage output, on top of its excellent typing. It's also goofy-looking, but in a really charming way. It's just so loveable, and every evolution retains that cute look.

7) Flygon - Flygon is just cute to me. It looks like such a friend. Being a Pokemon that exists in the sandstorm-focused desert area was also cool. I really liked that there was an entire region dedicated just to the new weather effect. Shame that Sandstorm was such a pain in the ass, but it's a really cool area!

6) Altaria - Altaria is so pretty. Just a fluffy cotton ball bird...dragon. It's apparently more of a songbird, too, which is just heavenly. It also got a great mega evolution, receiving Dragon/Fairy typing, which is hilarious and excellent.

5) Latias - I'm guessing this run of Dragons is proving I really like the soft, friendly dragons over the big intimidating ones that actually do well, huh? Dragon/Psychic was, at this point, the coolest typing I had ever heard of. But what's cooler than that? How about a super adorable Dragon/Psychic type. Oh, what's this? It gets a hold item that boosts special attack and special defense 50%? That's ridiculous, I love it. Latias is the more defensive option of the two, which I always felt was better if you factor in hold item. The added defensive bulk is going to matter more than slightly more physical offense from their perspective. Of course, Latios having much better special attack is ultimately better in competitive, but Latias still has her use, and is super cute.

4) Blaziken line - Remember when Fire/Fighting was a novel type? Remember when its introduction was a kick-boxing chicken creature? Those were the days. Torchic is one of the cutest starters, and its final evolution is surprisingly still an elegant design. It was such a cool idea, and I love that Hidden Abilities brought it back to the top.

3) Mawile - It's such a cute little creature. Cute and terrifying, and excellent combination for sure. It's a shame that Mawile ultimately was a forgettable Steel type in terms of competitive use, but the acquisition of Fairy type and the best mega really helped it out on that front, too. So I guess it's basically perfect? Sounds about right.

2) Milotic - I never caught one in gen 3. Not fairly, anyway. I could never figure out how to get Feebas to show up. In fact, I don't think I've ever captured a Feebas. I've always traded for it. It's just so hard to find. But man, is the final form ever beautiful. It's such a gorgeous Pokemon, and an excellent tank to boot. Everything about Milotic is wonderful.

1) Gardevoir line - Don't you judge me. We all knew this would happen. If you read anything in this post or the ones before it, you know elegant and cute are the biggest draws for me. Gardevoir is both. It's also a Psychic type, so bonus points there. Also, as mentioned in the Mightyena entry, it's super early-game. Rare, sure, but you can have a Psychic type from nearly the very start of the game. I love Gardevoir so much, it's definitely an all-time favorite, and it should come as no surprise that it winds up being the favorite from this generation.

BOTTOM 10: 10) Pelipper - I like Pelipper. Its reason for being here is that so many Gen 3 Pokemon are great, it just doesn't stand out as much as the others. I have literally no complaints, I just locked myself into "it has to be 10" and here we are.

9) Huntail - Same as above, it just doesn't hold as much aesthetic appeal.

8) Seviper - If there's anything I actually dislike here, it's just that it's pure-Poison type. We had a Poison snake already. I would've liked to see a different typing added in. Poison/Dark at this phase of the game would've been amazing.

7) Zangoose - Still good, but it loses points based on my frustrations with Pokemon Coliseum.

6) Glalie - Getting closer to legitimate frustrations, Glalie is here because its design doesn't captivate. Snorunt is cute, but it evolves into an angry face in a block of ice. Not exactly all that interesting.

5) Volbeat - Did nothing legitimately wrong, but I am upset that Volbeat gets a lot of nice and unique tools that Illumise does not. I like Illumise. I think its color scheme is a lot better. But Volbeat gets the nice tools, so whatever I guess.

4) Ninjask - Please stop speed boosting, I am begging you. You do nothing else but Swords Dance, Speed Boost and Baton Pass, please do something else.

3) Slaking - Okay, actual legitimate complaints. Slaking's problem is it goes backwards. Vigoroth was a nightmare to face, and I have a friend who stated that facing Norman's was the reason he started to respect Normal types as something other than early-game fodder. But Slaking? It re-acquires Truant, which is an awful ability by any standard, and requires very specific team support, on Doubles only, to mitigate. Anyone who sees Slaking knows exactly what will happen, and is probably more than prepared to shut it down. It's a nice design, and a nice concept, but it's been so ruined by the ability it is burdened with that it's virtually unusable.

2) Plusle/Minun - Possibly less legitimate complaint, but I feel more strongly about it. Plusle and Minun are cute and have solid designs, but their great sin is being Pikachu clones for the new area, kicking off the trend of needing an electric rodent in every area. Worse, they do not evolve, offer little in the way of any competitive value, and existed to show off the introduction to Double Battles with their unique abilities and access to Helping Hand. Beyond this, they offer very little, and are the reason we have to always have a new electric rodent that ultimately winds up having no competitive niche.

1) Grumpig - Literally the only one on this list I dislike. Spoink is cute, and Grumpig is...not. It just looks irritable and not all that friendly by comparison. It's also nothing too impressive competitively, and offers little in the way of uniqueness, losing the quirk of constantly bouncing around like Spoink did to...just be grumpy. It's a Pokemon I might like more on its own, but as an evolution of Spoink it doesn't seem as interesting.

#regional pokedex opinions #hoenn pokedex

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ekebolou · 7 years ago

Note

#20! Tenor Group

Hahahahaaaaaaa I accidentally kinda went off on this one. I have another idea for a shorter one, but who knows if I’ll get to writing it down. Anyway, I spent way too long on this hope you like it :B

For once, all six of them were together, walking down a far too chilly hallway on a floor higher up than their own floor in the Tenor Building. Because of the separate elevators for different stretches for floors, they had assumed the elevators for the stretch of floors above them simply didn’t connect to their floor (or, in Bosh’s opinion, they didn’t exist). The suit who had come to get them, however, had opened a panel and inserted a key and suddenly they were going up.

It was hard to avoid the conclusion that they were in trouble.

“You shouldn’t have gone in on that bank robbery,” Bosh hissed at Seth’s back. This wasn’t smart, since the vast majority of her road rash received during said bank robbery was on the backs of her arms, making her somewhat sensitive to changes in the air behind her. Also, it was unwise generally, because in her extremely short words on the matter yesterday, she had been ‘having trouble regulating heat.’

Decon, in his head, had likened it to speaking near a guttering candle – every breath moved the flame. Except it wasn’t very apt, because instead of going out, the flame reared up and swallowed your face.

At this moment, however, she chose not to respond.

“We aren’t supposed to have anything to do with crime-fighting, or whatever the fu–”

“Bosh,” Decon said.

“Fuck off with that propriety shit, Decon, you two just blew our whole future here—”

Fir pushing past him to take the lead stopped his talk – or maybe it was the slightly obnoxious smell of the black licorice from the bag cradled in his arm. “He’s not correcting your potty mouth, he’s trying to make sure she doesn’t fry you before we get to the boardroom.”

“You assholes haven’t ruined my chances,” Julie said. “Or you better not have, because if you have…”

“Julie, you weren’t even there,” Decon said gently. “There’s no way you’ll be held responsible.”

Looking no less sour, Julie pressed her lips together and looked away. The others were thinking of upgrading their estimation of Decon’s abilities to include disagreeing with Julie without the situation escalating.

“Yeah,” Firmament offered, walking backward in front of the group and speak around the strand of the licorice wheel he was unpeeling, “the ol’ man nee’s you to make ‘im nukes or whatever anyway. ’S just us.”

“The fuckup trifecta!” Bosh cried.

“Wes was there,” Decon said.

“Wes didn’t fuck up. He doesn’t have any powers, he can just go back to a normie or whatever.”

Everyone (except Julie, who disdainfully looked the opposite direction) looked at Wes. Wes shrugged.

“It’s not fucking up to help people,” Fir drawled. “Anyway, nobody used their powers,” his eyes slid over to Seth, “proveably, anyway.”

Decon saw the candle flicker vividly in his mind. Not for the first time, he had reason to marvel at the human tendency to just stop and watch, say, an explosion, rather than running for their lives. Otherwise he was mentally joining Wes in a contemplation of what, in fact, would happen to Wes should he lose the sponsorship of the group. At this point, going back into the care of Dr. Hardwick, however vital she was to him, was not promising. Unlike Firmament, he had disposed of all of his scrubs.

“It is when there’s a fucking law, or congressional act… thingie, or amendment, or whatever to keep you from doing it! Or else what was our fearless leader’s big talk about ‘not raising concerns’ or ‘keeping a low profile’ or whatever that nonsense–”

“Bosh,” Fir said, “she is going to set you on fire.”

Because Bosh could check on the reality of that statement, and he did, he stopped talking.

“How is there this long of a fucking hallways in this building,” Firmament said, turning slowly as he walked. “Who actually has big, dark, secret boardrooms at the tops of towers? I feel like we’re going to fight a wizard, not get a scolding from our boss,”

“A scolding would be lucky,” Seth said.

Everybody stopped talking.

It was a long and quiet walk.

There was an anteroom to the board room that made it feel like they were being decontaminated before entering a delicate environment. All glass walls but for the one with the door, which helped the light fight against the abyssal darkness of the polished black walls and floors. The normal stream of inane music which occupied Bosh’s thoughts had given way to the ominous sound of Darth Vadar breathing, though amazingly he hadn’t mentioned it to anybody.

A secretary got up to greet them without saying a word. He took out his phone and silently indicated turning of the volume, prompting them all to check, and by way of suggestion making all of them subconsciously concerned they were breathing too loud. Julie’s sneakers made a noise on the floor, and she actually looked mortified, rather than as if it was somehow their faults for hearing it. Seth’s grim silence had evolved into the rocky, thousand-yard-stare of a political veteran about to not just bite the hand that feeds, but potentially tear it off at the wrist.

Firmament found Seth inspiring. Decon was putting together a list of contacts and organizations he knew of to help everyone get resettled after they were fired, particularly Wes. Wes was trying to remember the supposed difference between “Ice Ice Baby” and “Under Pressure”.

The secretary, using signals only perceivable to himself, waited until the proper moment to slide open the completely silent black glass door. Firmament barely managed to stop himself from asking who the hell would have a completely opaque black glass door. He was allowed to take his licorice in, so he thought it best not to push it.

Now there was a lot of light, since the boardroom seemed to be in a corner of the building. They had a magnificent view of the city, right down to the water, fog, and bridges. The only pieces of furniture in the room were a hideously large black conference table with equally large black chairs, and a tiny rolling service with an airpot of coffee and a pitcher of water on it at some arbitrarily declared but somehow aesthetic distance from said table.

Mr. Tenor was on the phone.

Rather, a voice was coming out of the weird plastic star on the conference table with a phone-like quality, as Mr. Tenor sat at the end of the table, steepling his fingers and listening. He motioned for them to sit.

Seth stalked stiff-legged to his right hand, while the rest of them trailed after, reluctantly admitting to themselves that this wasn’t a moment that would allow them to sit at the back of the class. On his right were Seth, Bosh, and Decon; on his left, Fir, Wes, and Julie.

The voice on the phone was saying, “We’re old friends, we go back a long ways, and I just want the situation to be clear between us.”

“Yes,” Mr. Tenor said.

“You know I wouldn’t be doing this if I weren’t facing just the utmost pressure, just the greatest possible… it’s really tough, you know?”

“Yes,” Mr. Tenor said.

“And, you know, I use my influence wisely on your behalf. You wouldn’t appreciate me just throwing it all away to fight for a dead cause.”

“Yes,” Mr. Tenor said.

There was a pause. The sound of various rustlings, a hesitant breath taken that turned into a politely quieted cough. The pause dragged.

“So… so you see what I’m saying, don’t you?” the voice on the phone asked.

“Of course, Senator,” Mr. Tenor said.

Even Seth got a little pale at that one.

“So… I mean, I have to take this course of action. My hands… I’m really… my hands are really tied.”

“Of course they are,” Mr. Tenor said.

There was another pause.

“So…?” the voice on the phone said.

“So, let us be absolutely clear,” Mr. Tenor said. “The next thing you plan to do is to make a speech to Congress decrying the actions of a group of young people under my care. You anticipate their possession of special abilities will somehow mitigate the damaging effects of a United States Senator taking a group of teenagers who risked their lives to save others to task on a national stage. You also expect that this will mitigate the effects of the federal government bringing its full power to bear in prosecuting children…”

“Not the full power – and not the Feds, not really…”

“No, Senator, it will be the federal government. It was the federal government who put this law into effect regarding their conduct, and I will want no less than the full power and discretion of the federal government put into effect on their behalf. If you think for a moment, Senator, I will allow this to stay on a state level, where any number of factors will interfere in the absolute impartiality of judgement, you are much mistaken. You see, too many people know me in this state, Senator. You are not the only one, Senator. And there are only more people the further down the hierarchy we go. I could not allow the judgement of these young people to rest in the hands of those compromised by familiarity, for the sake of the comfort of a small and personal stage. Oh, no, Senator, I will not. The only direction this goes, is up.”

Seth was decidedly pale. Even Firmament had a disarming seriousness to his gaze. It was good nobody knew what Wes was thinking.

The voice on the phone had not expected Mr. Tenor to pause. “…I… this is really unprecedented, Mr. Tenor, I don’t see what you expect…”

“It will be good to set the precedent, Senator,” Mr. Tenor said. “I am always pleased to help.”

“I… this is all… I meant, intentions are all well and good, Mr. Tenor, but I’m not sure the Feds will be interested in pursuing…”

“I can assure you that they will be,” Mr. Tenor said.

Another pause happened. Decon caught Julie’s eye and held it, taking long, slow, breaths, which she soon began to imitate. Bosh’s knuckles were white on the table edge, so in accord was everyone except Mr. Tenor; his empathy, as usual, found Mr. Tenor like a clouded sea, the waves of which pushed him away, whereas the others he felt like still, clear water. The contrast was making him seasick.

“Look, this really doesn’t have to be this big of an issue,” the voice said, more combative than it had been.

“You and your colleagues made it this big an issue when you put the Acts into effect, Senator. It was a nice way to do something about regulating the actions of Islanders after the fact, and in a lull in which you would not be forced to face the consequences of your actions – but now, here we are. And if you are prepared to argue that a seventeen year old girl who was shot and nearly buried under rubble deserved to take no actions in her defense despite her ample ability to defend herself, I am prepared to make sure those arguments are heard by everyone who have been living under the Acts that make it so.”

“That’s not even the question,” the voice said, “that’s not even the direction we’re going to take this…”

“Oh, but it is. Because it cannot help but be relevant to the question of why that building came down on her in the first place when she had with her another young man perfectly capable of preventing it, who legally could not.”

“You use ‘young man’ a little freely, don’t you? That ‘young man’ should be safely locked up,” the voice spat, “there is no evidence that the building coming down isn’t his fault in the first place, and it’s not like he doesn’t have a history…”

“There will be evidence that it is not, Senator,” Mr. Tenor said. “As should be expected, I have people gathering the facts of the matter as soon as they are available. I have it on good word from my friends in the bomb squad that there is no evidence implicating Firmament.”

“Regardless,” the voice said, “there was no reason for them to be there in the first place…”

“At one of my banks? Where they have some of their savings from my program invested?”

There was another pause. Now, Seth just looked slightly guilty.

“People died, Mr. Tenor,” the voice said. “We can’t ignore that people died…”

Seth paled again. Firmament sat up in his chair such that Mr. Tenor’s gaze actually flicked to him, acknowledging his agitation.

“Criminals died, Senator, in the commission of a crime. Shot by their own weapons in the confusion. And people lived, Senator, because of my team.”

“So you admit it, then, Tenor? This is a team – this is your way of setting up a new wave of violent vigilante justice teams, using children–”

“They are my team,” Mr. Tenor said, his voice dropping, “because they are my children. I have taken responsibility for them. Both their parents and the various entities with guardianship have been assured of no less from me than to treat them as my own. We are working together to do something important, something good – doing something, rather than the nothing the rest of the nation has done by hiding under the covers and pretending Islanders don’t exist, denying them both acknowledgement and aid because you are afraid – acting as if you could legislate away their abilities by forbidding them to use them, on pain of prosecution. It is unfair, Senator, and it is inhumane, and I won’t allow it to happen to my children, and I will gladly stand before the nation and insist it should never happen to anyone.”

The silence stretched, not even a rustling on the other side, just the quiet buzz of the phone still operating.

“This was a courtesy call,” the voice said sharply. “I shouldn’t have even informed you. I’ve done this a favor for all that you’ve done for me in the past…”

“Thank you,” Mr. Tenor said.

There was another pause. A sigh. “I… so we’re good then?”

“Your secret is safe with me,” Mr. Tenor said. Looking up at the team arrayed around him.

“Are you sure there’s no way… are you sure this is the course of action…”

“Absolutely.”

Another pause followed. It was like they could hear the sweat on the Senator’s brow. “I’m sorry you feel that way about it, Mr. Tenor, but maybe it you gave it some thought—”

“I’ll see you in Washington, Pat.”

Mr. Tenor pressed the button to end the call, then leaned back in his chair again. Everyone had nothing better to do for a few moments than to look at one another.

“Seth,” Mr. Tenor said, gently. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” Seth said, when she was able to make her mouth not quite so dry. “I’m… better. Recovering very well.”

“I just want to make sure Susan’s come up and talked to you?”

“Yes,” Seth glanced nervously at the others, a blush rising, “I… I mean… Decon mentioned she visited. I mean to get down there, and… I definitely will take advantage of that counseling…”

She glanced at Decon, who with his usual pleasant forbearance gave no sign of what she had said, loudly, about his suggestions she take Susan up on her offer.

“Good, and thank you Decon,” he said, smiling. “Getting shot would have an effect on anyone, it’s really just a good idea to check in.” He glanced at Bosh. “It wouldn’t be too bad an idea for you, either, you know.”

“I wasn’t there,” Bosh said.

“I just mean in terms of sharing professional insights – you might just have things to learn from one another. It would be a shame not to take advantage of some of the resources you have here for exploring your own abilities.”

This wasn’t the first time Bosh had been told to do his homework, but it was perhaps the only time he hadn’t given a smart-assed response.

“And Decon,” Mr. Tenor smiled, “I just want to thank you for taking such an initiative in looking after your teammates.”

Decon nodded, with a little smile. Maybe he was referring to taking the sometimes literal heat for pushing Seth to go see the counselor. Maybe he meant illegally using his abilities to dig Seth out of the rubble at the bank. Decon had a feeling that there was a reason he’d been thanked twice.

“Firmament, I assume you’re feeling well,” Mr. Tenor said, gesturing at the bag of licorice wheels. Fir offered him one, which he declined with a smile.

“Good,” Mr. Tenor said. “It’s good to see everyone’s recovering.”

“Everyone who needs recovering,” Julie hissed. This signal return to form was like everyone getting to let out a long-held breath.

“I just wanted to check in,” Mr. Tenor said. “I’ve been lax. We should be having these slightly more often. It’s just been a little busy of late – and I know you all are busy. I wouldn’t want to stick my nose in.”

A bolt of unease shot through the four members of the fuckup trifecta. So, Mr. Tenor knew (or suspected) what they were up to…

“Julie, at some later point, I want to talk to you a little bit about expanding your research. I would like to see you more involved with the rest of your team – strictly within the bounds of what we have discussed with your lab of course. Perhaps just a more active, daily check in kind of research. Comings and goings. Environment changes, that sort of thing. Does that make sense?”

“We can discuss it,” Julie said, folding her arms and frowning.

Mr. Tenor smiled. “I can use the money at that bank to help fund this change in direction. I had only recently decided to open accounts for you there. Surely you must have seen notes I sent to that effect, which explains why you went down there in the first place.”

They all looked shame-facedly down at the table. Fir stuffed a licorice wheel in his mouth instead of saying, ‘No, Mr. Tenor, of course it wasn’t the news coverage of the robbery! They certainly didn’t run out half-cocked and unthinking to try to test themselves in a dangerous situation! It was a note. About their savings.’

Julie sniffed disdainfully. “Research. Sure.”

Mr. Tenor smiled at her. “Well, glad to see everyone’s doing so well. We’ll have another chat sometime soon.”

So dismissed, they all got up, shuffling at various speeds towards the door.

“Wesley,” Mr. Tenor called, as they exited.

Wes jogged back to the table.

“Wesley,” Mr. Tenor said, “At the bank...”

“Oh,” Wes said, once he understood Mr. Tenor’s hesitation, “Don’t worry. No fingerprints.”

Mr. Tenor nodded, and Wes left with the others, humming softly.

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wildefiction · 5 years ago

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Of Course...Mr. Collins

ELEVEN

“Good afternoon folks, we’re now making our initial descent into Honolulu. You can expect to be on the ground in about fifteen minutes. If everyone would kindly raise their seats and tray tables into an upright position, that'd be super. Thank you!”

Stirring as the voice floated through the cabin, you fumbled for the button that would raise your seat back into its starting position while stifling a yawn. Blinking a few times, you turned, noticing Misha was still asleep. Quietly you watched him for a few moments; the steady rise and fall of his chest relaxing as you rubbed the sleep from your eyes and stretched.

Reaching across his sleeping body, you began searching for the button to raise his seat as well, wondering if you could sit him up without waking him.

The unfamiliar weight pressing into his body woke Misha, his cerulean eyes widening at the sight of [Y/F/N]’s breasts pressed against his broad chest.

“Well hello there.” He chuckled, effectively startling the woman looming over him.

“Fuck, sorry Mish, I was trying to find the recliner button without waking you. We're almost there and they want us to sit up now.”

“Well if I had to wake up, I really can't complain about how I was woken.”

One bright eye winked at you as he struggled into an upright position while you sat back in your own seat, hoping he hadn't seen the blush or noticed the way your heart raced.

“Do you want me to hold your hand for when we land?” You were pleasantly surprised at how matter-of-fact you sounded as you held your left hand out towards the man beside you.

“I'm usually okay for the landing, but I won't say no to some extra contact.” Another wink.

“Fuck.”

You groaned to yourself as his warm fingers interlaced with your own. Closing your eyes briefly in an attempt to not over-think the action, you cleared your throat before speaking again.

“Aahem..so what's our first order of business boss man?”

A slow smile spread over Misha's face and you noticed, perhaps for the first time, that when he smiled, his entire face changed. The corners of his eyes would crinkle, his nose would scrunch up, and those perfect white teeth would show. Your heart rate increased again and somehow Misha noticed, squeezing your hand in his own.

“Well, we've got about a thirty minute ride to the hotel from the airport. I've arranged a driver to pick us up as Clif won't be in until Friday with the boys.” “When we get to the hotel, we'll get checked into our rooms and from there feel free to have a look around and just hang out. I'll have to go check in with the convention organizers, but aside from that, we'll just chill and maybe hit the beach?” Rob and the band are getting in tomorrow and then Kim, Briana, Osric, Ruth, Mark and the boys will be in on Friday.”

An hour later, you had de-boarded and were carrying the bags out to the parking lot to meet your driver. The luggage cart wobbled precariously as you guided it through the busy airport. Though it was early afternoon, you managed to get outside without incident.

“Aloha! Welcome to Hawaii!” A small man in a dark suit hurried to your side as soon as he noticed you.

Laughing happily, he took the handle of the trolley from you and guided it to the waiting SUV where he loaded the bags quickly. Turning to grab Misha, your chest tightened when you didn't see him immediately. Raising up on your tip-toes, you scanned the crowds around you. Everyone was hurrying to their respective shuttles and your boss was nowhere in sight.

Just as you were pulling the phone from your pocket to send him a text, you saw him. About twenty feet away, a family was taking a picture and Misha crouched down on the ground with their kids, smiling and laughing as the shutter clicked a few times. Stepping forward, he shook hands with the man taking the picture before raising his head to find you. The shining white vehicle was cool and dark inside as you leaned over the door frame to set your smaller bags next to the seat.

“Hey, [Y/F/N], wanna get lei’d?” You tensed, but slowly turned toward Misha’s voice. You startled with how close he was standing next to you. In his hand was a beautiful, double plumeria and tuberose lei, the magenta and soft cream flowers gave off a heady, sweet scent as Misha placed it over your neck to rest around your shoulders. You flushed briefly before shoving him playfully as he waggled his thick eyebrows at you.

“Welcome to Hawaii Ms. [Y/L/N].”

You hadn't expected Hawaii to look so….city. All the pictures you'd seen on the internet had showed rolling beaches and beautiful, tropical plants everywhere.

“Honolulu is a very busy city but the convention hotel is right on the beach, so it'll seem more familiar once we get there.” Misha assured you.

Soon, the driver, whose name was Tony, pulled into the large circular driveway of the hotel. As soon as the door opened, your jaw dropped. Beautiful stone walkways led from the car to the outdoor reception desks, fragrant plants and trees clustered tightly throughout the immense space. A loud cawing drew your attention to a pair of wild macaws who sat grooming themselves on a nearby tree branch, their teal and scarlet feathers striking against the green canopy.

Chuckling, Misha tipped the bellhop before gently taking hold of your upper arm to guide you towards check-in.

The sharp, metallic sound of a keyboard tore your gaze back to the present as the woman behind the desk chatted animatedly with Misha.

“Beautiful, isn't it?” The woman's soft brown eyes lit up at the wonder on your face.

Nodding, you reached for the packet she handed across the desk to you.

“Alright, you're all set, here are your room keys, you'll be staying in Rainbow Tower, directly overlooking the ocean. Rooms 2612 and 2614. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to give us a call, enjoy your stay!”

Throwing an arm around your shoulder, Misha turned the two of you towards your rooms.

“Usually I just share a room with my assistant, but since we met less than a week ago, I wasn't sure how you'd feel about that.”

The easy laugh that followed made you smile. The thought of sharing a room with Misha Collins had you giggling to yourself, thankfully quiet enough that if Misha did hear you, he chose not to comment.

The spacious glass elevator provided a beautiful ride to the top of the looming rainbow-washed tower.

Stepping into the cool hallway once you reached the top floor, you noticed there weren't as many rooms as you had initially thought there would be.

“Usually one or two entire floors are reserved for the cast, helps mitigate the more...exuberant fans from following us to our rooms, hah.”

You hadn't even considered the idea that people would do such a thing. Sure, you’d daydreamed about ‘accidentally’ running into someone from the cast at a hotel or in an elevator, but you’d never seriously considered following them or sneaking onto their floor. Sometimes it was hard to remember that Misha and the rest of the cast were well known and had a large fan base. Granted, you hadn't met the others yet, but you assumed they were all regular, laid-back people like Misha.

Sliding the thin plastic card from the envelope clutched in your hands, you pressed it into the small slot on the door once you stepped up to your room. A soft click accompanied by three rapidly blinking green lights allowed you to turn the handle and push the door open.

A large, California king sized bed graced one wall, the white linens covering them soft and airy. A dark lavender sectional rested against the adjacent surface. The third and largest wall was completely made of large, floor to ceiling plates of glass and had two sliding doors set into each side leading out onto your balcony.

Stepping out onto one of the covered sections, you were able to see the ocean, stretching for miles out in front of you before it was lost to the horizon.

Back inside you were excited to see the deep soaking bathtub and separate glass shower stall, where not one, but two rectangular shower heads were set into the ceiling. Was it bad that you were excited to test out both the expansive shower and the bathtub?

Wandering back into the main room, you noted a locked door. Assuming it was Misha's adjoining room, you flipped the deadbolt and pulled it open. Calling out to him as you walked over the threshold, you quickly noted his room had a similar layout.

Walking out of the bathroom, he flopped backwards on the bed, a sigh of contentment bursting from his chest as he closed his eyes briefly.

“I have to go check in with Creation here in a few minutes. If you want, when I come back we can have some lunch and talk properly?”

His blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight that streamed through his windows, one corner of his mouth pulling up into a mischievous grin.

“That would be great, I think I'm going to go test out that amazing rainwater shower while you're gone.”

Misha stilled as images of you in the shower blossomed through his mind.

The steam and cascading water ran over the soft curve of her hips, her sk--

“Misha? Is that okay? Did you need me to do anything first?” Staring down at the man spread out on the white bedding, you smirked as he groaned - and you got the distinct impression it wasn’t from fatigue.

Gingerly, he lifted himself from the bed, trying his best to adjust the uncomfortable constriction of his pants without [Y/F/N] noticing.

“Sounds..uh..nice. Have a good time.” A quick wink and Misha pulled open the door before disappearing down the hall.

CHAPTER TWELVE

TAGS: @jamielea81 @wings-of-a-raven

#WildeFiction #Misha x Reader #Supernatural Fanfiction #SPN x RPF

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dorcasrempel · 4 years ago

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From delayed deceleration to Zooming

On Nov. 21, 2019, the sun had set just a couple of hours before on an unseasonably warm day, and Jacqueline Thomas PhD ’20 found herself sitting on the edge of her seat in a typical meeting room in the William J. Hughes Technical Center, part of the Federal Aviation Administration, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Thomas, a graduate student in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AeroAstro) at MIT, focused intently in front of a small monitor, her eyes fixed on the black screen illuminated by a white outline of the U.S. East Coast and the small, neon green dot that showed the Boeing 777 commercial airplane, which had flown nearly nine hours from Frankfurt, Germany, and was just about to land at Atlantic City International Airport. The last three minutes of this flight were crucial, and it was exactly the moment Thomas had been waiting for.

Accompanied by her advisor, R. John Hansman, professor of aeronautics and director of the MIT International Center for Air Transportation, Thomas felt her heart pounding as she monitored the data the plane generated as it landed in real time, which she checked simultaneously against her predicted outcomes based on her computational model. These final moments of this particular aircraft’s journey would determine if the model that formed a significant portion of her graduate thesis worked in the real world. And it did.

“We waited all day for these final three minutes, and as we watched the plane land through the monitor, my advisor John kept asking if the plane was doing what I expected it to, and it was! Even though I predicted it, it was still surprising,” says Thomas. “I knew the science was sound, I knew the math was sound, but even when everything is going as planned and you are actually seeing it happening with your own eyes, it’s still surreal.”

Just a few short months earlier, Thomas proposed her idea for a “delayed deceleration approach” to Boeing under their ecoDemonstrator (ecoD) program. Essentially, the Boeing ecoD acts as a “bench-to-bedside” innovation accelerator, inviting researchers to pitch novel concepts to improve aviation safety and efficiency that solve real-world challenges for aviation and the environment, where they are tested in real aircraft to demonstrate feasibility. Thomas’ proposal outlined a new flight procedure for pilots to follow while landing that improves aircraft performance around two major challenges the airline is currently facing: carbon emissions and noise pollution.

According to a report released in October 2019 by the Environmental Protection Agency, air travel currently accounts for nearly 2.5 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, and it is increasing at a much faster rate than initially anticipated. In addition to the negative environmental impact, the increase in the number of commercial flights has increased the number of noise complaints from citizens who live along flight trajectories beyond the jurisdiction of noise regulations, which are typically localized to the areas immediately surrounding airports. The pressure is on for airline companies to work quickly to address these issues, and Thomas proposed a concept that decreased the noise and emissions of existing aircraft without having to modify the aircraft itself, which could be a cost-effective way for airlines to mitigate these issues.

“As soon as a plane is built, it’s hard to change its function. It will generate noise no matter what state it’s in,” says Thomas. “I chose to approach the problem like an integrated system — if you can change the input, you can change the output. In other words, if you can’t change the aircraft itself (the function), you can change how it’s flown (the inputs).”

Using this idea, Thomas built a computational framework to analyze aircraft noise and measure the impact of making changes to the operational flight procedure. For her analysis, the inputs included how all of the aircraft components move and interact to generate noise, as well as flight performance data, which accounts for how the aircraft generates noise at different points as it moves through its environment, such as when it accelerates or slows down. The output from this framework was a full-scope overflight noise model, which was then analyzed against community data to paint a clear picture of how making tweaks to the inputs would impact the noise pollution in surrounding communities.

“What resulted from this framework was my concept for the delayed deceleration approach, a new flight procedure where the aircraft remains cleanly configured for as long as possible during approach, meaning the flaps, slats, and landing gear remain upright for as long as possible,” says Thomas. “When the aircraft has a clean configuration, it is more aerodynamic, creating less drag and allowing it to maintain engines at a lower power setting for longer duration in the flight. As a result, the plane burns less fuel, decreasing carbon emissions, and generates less noise for the community on the ground.”

Under the ecoD program, Thomas handed her procedure over to Boeing engineers in Seattle, Washington, who communicated it to the crew throughout the flight via a chat feed that Thomas and Hansman could see on the monitor, along with the plane’s location. Immediately following the landing, the all-women flight crew joined Thomas, Hansman, and the group of Boeing engineers and administrators from the ecoD program for a debrief.

“The pilots reported they felt very comfortable with the procedure, and didn’t experience any flyability issues. When the models say that it works and has all of these benefits, and the pilots say ‘yes, we can fly this,’ and a commercial plane actually flies the procedure and matches the predictions from the models, then it really shows that we can do this, and we should because it’s a win-win for everyone,” says Thomas. “My goal for the future is to make this a standard flight procedure, which means I need to keep working on refining this process so we can scale it up in a way that makes sense to implement in real airlines operating today.”

After nearly six years and countless hours spent at the computer in the lab, this was an extraordinary opportunity for a graduate student; it can take years to put together a flight test, and thanks to the Boeing ecoD program, this test came together in a matter of a few months. It was the perfect way to begin winding down her final year at MIT.

With the excitement of the ecoDemonstrator behind her, Thomas set her sights on preparing for one of the biggest milestones in a graduate student’s career: the thesis defense. Typically, this rite of passage is a celebratory one that comes after months of coordinating busy thesis committee schedules and practicing presentations backward and forward. Thomas was also in the process of job hunting, interviewing for academic positions in between putting the finishing touches on her thesis presentation. And then the coronavirus hit. As the pandemic and MIT’s response to it rapidly unfolded, campus closures, travel restrictions, and stay-at-home orders snapped the public health crisis into focus. Everything became a scramble as Thomas watched months of planning go out the window, and she knew she would have to improvise quickly.

“I had to move my defense online, and my internet at home is really sketchy, so I was terrified,” says Thomas. “It was weird not worrying about the typical things you would normally worry about before a thesis defense, like wondering if my presentation was good enough. I was more nervous about needing to defend my thesis by holding my phone up to my face.”

Thomas submitted a formal request to MIT to use one of the few classrooms that remained open on campus by appointment only to defend her thesis. Instead of defending her thesis to a room full of people, she was in an empty room on a Zoom call, where she could only see five attendees at any given time. When she finished her presentation and answered all of the questions from her thesis committee, she was asked to log off of the Zoom call, where she sat in silence in the cavernous room, alone. Five minutes later, she received a congratulatory phone call, and just like that, she was a doctor.

“It was bizarre. Normally you are with other people to talk to and celebrate with, but I was just in a room by myself, and there was no one else at MIT,” says Thomas. “One of the cool things about holding my defense virtually was that my friend in Japan logged in to watch, even though it was 2 a.m. his time. But my fiancé, who is also studying aerospace as a grad student at Georgia Tech, wanted to come be with me for my defense, but we decided together that with the safety measures asking visitors from out-of-state to self-quarantine, it just wasn’t possible.”

Thomas, like many graduate students, lived in an off-campus apartment with a roommate, a postdoc at a neighboring university, who had only recently moved in. Since graduate students and postdocs spend so much time on campus, this is a typical living arrangement. Many graduate students attend school far from home, so the stay-at-home order can be particularly isolating, especially when you are living with a near-perfect stranger without work to focus on.

Since turning in her thesis, Thomas kept busy with early-morning runs around the Charles River, refreshing her Japanese and Spanish-speaking vocabulary, catching up on TV shows she’d fallen behind on while dealing with the demands of graduate school, and trying to maintain glimmers of normalcy, such as attending regular church services (albeit virtually). While exciting career opportunities are on the horizon, many other personal plans, like her wedding date, are at a standstill as we remain in the grip of uncertainty at the mercy of a global pandemic.

“It feels like I’m in a limbo state, because my work is pretty much done and I’m just waiting for the next chapter to start, which feels like it’s taking longer than usual because so much of it is spent alone,” says Thomas.

For Thomas, one of the more difficult aspects she is grappling with is the abrupt ending of her time at MIT. As a first-generation college student, Thomas’ family had set aside money for the major expense of traveling to experience MIT Commencement with her, and it was tough to watch her families’ travel plans, and the hard-earned money put toward them, evaporate.

“Grad school is hard, but looking back, you realize how much you grew throughout the experience, and I wanted to tip my hat to MIT when I left,” says Thomas. “This is my sixth year here, and it’s a long time to be involved at a place and then suddenly, it leaves you within three days. I think the hardest thing for me has been this lack of closure. It’s like a severed connection.”

Thomas is hopeful for the future. She will become a member of the faculty at her alma mater, the University of California at Irvine, where she will teach and continue her work on aircraft noise mitigation and pursue exciting new directions studying electric aircraft. She also hopes for future events that could bring the Class of 2020 back on campus to say a proper goodbye — once it is safe to do so.

From delayed deceleration to Zooming syndicated from https://osmowaterfilters.blogspot.com/

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chemorygunko · 7 years ago

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Global Check In - 3 April 2018

Kids, Selfishness & Irritation; Kidneys; Fatigue & Lack of Focus; Spiritual Journey Reality Checks & Recommitment; Internal vs External Validation; (Ego) Death & Resurrection; Big Level Ups; and Mercury Retrograde Downloads have started

Hi Beautiful Souls <3

So if you were looking for me the past few days and weeks, I know I’ve been a bit scarce - I am sorry lol ;) Been busy with stuff and then really needed some downtime.

LOL as we’re talking and actively planning the Sanctuary, I keep thinking to myself how much I’m looking forward to living somewhere where I can take a practice of silence for an extended period. The more I embrace the ascetic lifestyle, the more value I see in it, and being able to do a month of silence seems so amazing for me now.

I remember, about 14 years ago, thinking to myself that at some stage in my life I would take a year and REALLY study A Course in Miracles (ACIM)… and I’ve done that now and it was amazing. And for Lent we gave up difficult stuff (milk and related products, bread and related products, and shaving), and that was easy to be honest…. the shaving got to me a bit in the end and I was grateful to shave again, but sticking with it was easy.

Also I never thought, in my wildest dreams, that I could ever be happy with anything but a life of money, comfort and excess, but wow…. things look different when you don’t view them through the filter of ego’s desire hey?

Speaking of which, how did your Lent go? Did you make it through? Any thoughts on the next fast period and what you’d like to restrain yourself with?

Next fast/tapas period is Ramadan, which runs from 15 May this year, to 14 June.

So, yes, it’s been a BUSY period as you can see above from the keywords list!

** Kids, Selfishness & Irritation

I do lump pets into kids because they are like that for many of us - and where this one played out for me was among my birds. So kids jealous and fighting and being noisy and generally getting in the way and demanding focus and attention.

This could also be a group of people, that look up to you, vying for attention, with bickering and politics among them.

Also a fascinating energy of one of a group of kids being clingy and underfoot. For me that meant I had Custard hanging from me all the time the past few days… I’d move her and she’d have climbed back onto me within a few seconds.

This of course led to irritation, which was then coupled with an energy of feeling selfish for not wanting to focus on them and wanting your own space.

Of the people I chatted to, quite a few fell into the guilt of selfishness. I had a different approach, obviously. LOL.

Each time it came up, I was reminding myself that we are their entire world - they don’t go out, do anything different. Their little setup and what we do with them is their entire existence. So I had to have compassion for them - in the end. Was just plain irritated the first few days lol ;)

Once I calmed down, the boisterous play fighting did not stop, but they did become more loving and less aggressive. Two of the birds are still being territorial over me though.

But I keep reminding myself we are their world - and getting irritated by them is akin to being rejected by God. It sucks.

So interesting worshipper level lesson there too, which I suppose is a God level lesson: understanding and having compassion for the experience of the worshipper.

Also an ego level lesson on how to attract ego… you attract more flies with honey than vinegar.

Explains why we couch this all in all-loving first and only introduce the truths later. If people didn’t believe that God loved them deeply, they would never move towards God.

** Kidneys

Kidneys represent fear metaphysically… so if you were one of those with kidney pain or problems, look to the fears you have.

What do I fear? What do I not fear? What should I fear? What do I wish would fear me? Who do I fear? Who do I not fear? Who should I fear?

You can always break questions down by when, where, what, who, why and how.

When do I fear? When do I not fear? Where am I scared? Where am I not scared? What am I scared of? What am I not scared of? Why am I fearful? Why am I not scared? Who makes me scared? Who doesn’t make me scared? How does fear impact me? How does lack of fear impact me?

In addition to the 5W&H, always flip dualities and ask the polar question to any question you ask, as above. You’ll be surprised at how we play out our resistance by asking a polar (opposite) question in the first place, when then polarity question we created second was actually the question we needed.

In simpler English, in case I fluffed that with my retrograde brain… you’ll often ask what makes me scared when you need to focus on what doesn’t make me scared kind of thing.

Your ego interferes by getting you to look for the opposite (wrong) angle. It’s one of the ways ego uses distortion.

We talk about the dark corrupting and distorting things, doing them backwards… this is an example of ego doing it on a personal level.

Remember ego is the dark.

** Fatigue & Lack of Focus

I was originally planning to work over Easter, but the fatigue was crazy. I was exhausted all weekend.

Largely this had to do with the holiday energy - most countries had a long weekend, and so the world’s morphic field was in holiday mode. This made focus really difficult.

Second reason was Easter weekend itself and what it means - especially if you are at or near Christ Consciousness on your journey.

If this your first year with Christ Consciousness then you can expect this slump pretty much every year over Easter, so prepare for it. And don’t plan to go away on holiday over Easter weekend ever - you’re very likely to want the Sanctuary of home base during this energy.

I had planned to work (going against this advice), because if I force myself into it, and push through, I can often slide into a workflow. I failed miserably this time LOL. Energy was way too overwhelming.

The reason for the slump is the death of Jesus… he dies the Friday, and we go through an ego death. It might not always be the kind of ego death you’re used to though - it could look like a recommitment or just a lot of exhaustion and hibernating. Then when the resurrection happens the Monday, you resurrect too.

So it will always, at minimum, hit you as a needing to hibernate and rest period. Being at home will just lighten your cognitive dissonance load and give you privacy if you need to have a more traditional ego death or spend some time wallowing or releasing emotion.

Remember that we now entering the speeding up shifting period (21 March to 21 June to 21 Septemeber plus 3 weeks’ integration til mid-October), so the fatigue is likely to be quite constant from here to mid October. The boosts you need now are energetic.

In practice, this means that you need to ignore and push through a lot of the physical pain and exhaustion. It’s shifting overload you’re experiencing.

Also remember your butterfly releases daily - http://lifecoachestoolbox.com/index.php/butterfly-release-videos-by-life-coaches-toolbox

Butterfly Release takes care of one the biggest ongoing physical challenges you’ll face with shifting, releasing your SB Junction. When you shift too much, it gets stuck.

Butterfly Release is a craniosacral therapy mechanism to unstick the bone, and will help you get unstuck as well. Often, feeling stuck in your journey is about the SB junction. Powerful little piece of knowledge to have if you shifting ongoing. So please use it!

** Spiritual Journey Reality Checks & Recommitment

So I’ve noticed a few people breaking through the free will stage of reality checks and commitment - big yay and awesome well done to you if you have: this is a big level up! Proud of you.

What this means - and looks like - is the following:

Up until this stage of your journey you’ve made commitments to the next stage of your journey without knowing what that actually means and how it will play out in your world - both the good and bad stuff.

Now however, because you have advanced far enough, you get to see the bad stuff that could happen before you commit to a stage. What takes more time to get used to seeing is the good stuff - that takes a few go rounds of this before you start looking for the good stuff.

What’s happened is that you’ve mitigated your ego enough that you can control it now - even if it’s still a stretch to do so. Therefore, you are being shown the consequences because they know that it won’t chase you away immediately anymore.

Also you’ve started seeing enough about how lessons play out, so you understand that something bad now can turn into something good later on - and you’re not looking for the instant gratification. So you can accept that, for example, you will lose friends or a specific relationship, without it being the end of your world. So they show you it’s a possibility.

If you’ve reached this stage, go out and do something to celebrate it today. This is a big level up and you deserve acknowledgement for it. Reward yourself because you should be proud - this is a huge milestone. You’ll only understand that in retrospect, so just trust me and go celebrate it today lol :)

The advice for this stage is look for what the positive benefits and long term benefits of this could be.

So short term I don’t pay bills and I feel ashamed, but long term I move more into an ascetic lifestyle and learning how to live without money so that I can create a money free world.

Short term my kids are angry cos they don’t get what they want, but long term they learn patience and to appreciate what they get.

Short term I act the way people want so that they accept me (external validation), which makes them instantly happy and me instantly unhappy and leaves me feeling disingenuous, OR I stand firm in my beliefs (internal validation) and watch how God rewards me with more detailed information because he’s seen me prove that I can stay true to him.

It’s always a trade off.

With recommitting, always remember that it is better to say no if you don’t feel ready, than it is to say yes and break your oath. So if you aren’t sure you’re ready then say not now, I’ll try again later.

But if you feel you can push through then my advice is do it.

You can always say to God that you will try and you will give it your best shot, but that you might need help. And then ask for the faith to know that you will succeed and can succeed - and keep asking for help.

** Internal vs External Validation

The internal vs external validation level up came to a lot of people this past week and weekend, so it’s worth touching on.

I repeat this often because it’s important: THE TEST FOR ASCENSION IS INTERNAL VALIDATION.

I can tell you this final test because you cannot fake your answer - you can either validate for yourself what is happening to you or you can’t. You can accept it or you can’t.

You can’t fake that resonance.

Internal vs external validation plays out in cognitive dissonance…. do you stand by what you know inside, that which comes from God, or do you bow to the pressure of what the people around you expect?

When it comes to choosing to listen and act, do you choose for God or the people around you?

You can only serve one, and you always serve one or the other.

The more you cater to people, the more you serve ego, because catering to them is catering to the demands of their egos. Just like people demand of God without giving thanks, treating God as if he is a servant there to fetch and carry for them.

Conscious manifestation and law of attraction anyone? Just tell the universe what you want and it MUST deliver - because God is BOUND to honor your free will and manifest what you create, if you create it properly.

They just forget to mention that this means you are rejecting God and treating him like a servant. We call this the Great Deception.

So, if you are not good at manifestation practice, it’s because you’re moving closer to God. It’s why so many of us battle with money and manifestation.

On the downside…. and there are always both down and upsides… on the downside, people are not going to like it when you stop catering to them. So this is going to turn into people rejecting you and problems taking place in your life.

On the upside, the more you listen to God and your internal promptings, the more God gives you in terms of information and downloads and understanding. And the better detail you get.

It’s a lesson of faith… you give the faith to God, and trust yourself to get the right answers and NOT let your ego filters get in the way, and in return God gives you better detail. And it comes more easily.

Because you have proven that you will stand firm.

So one hand yes, you face turmoil, but the rewards are faith, trust, patience, inner peace, security, self-trust, and surety. Knowing. I’d say that’s a fair trade lol :)

You can go through lessons energetically if you chase them and push through them as quickly as possible - this causes less life experience events to have to play out in your life.

It’s the miracle process: a miracle is a collapse of time that means that future events (arguments, clashes, break ups) do not have to take place in order for you to reach understanding. It’s a shortcut to a higher resonance.

So, if you choose to really forgive someone now, it’s a miracle that means that you don’t have to keep fighting with them for months, in person and in your head, to understand their point of view or why they did this.

The forgiveness miracle causes a collapse of time that means you don’t have to spend hours thinking about it and feeling generally crappy. That time can now be used for another focus area.

This also means that if you get through the lesson quickly, then you do not have to live out the experiences. So chase the lesson.

How do you chase the lesson? Mirrors lets you mine all the statements. Your job is to keep answering as many questions on the theme as you can within the first week.

Once you have the lesson and the resonance, then the life event experiences won’t need to be called into play.

Free mirrors of relationship tools at http://lifecoachestoolbox.com/newmirrors/

** (Ego) Death & Resurrection

So if you did have an ego death this weekend, as mentioned above, it was the death and resurrection energy.

Many of the ego deaths were linked to recommitment and level ups - and the ego death will happen because you have personal layers that prevent you from seeing the energy for what it is. You’re seeing it through those ego filters, which causes misperception, and so those ego layers need to go so that you can see it clearly for next time.

So it’s always the same energy arriving, but if it triggers your ego layers first, then that will cause an ego death.

They just keep coming back until you have cleared everything that stops you from seeing it.

You should have started feeling lighter yesterday and today…. if you aren’t then YOU ARE PERSONALISING - end of story. If you want to stop suffering, then you have to stop personalizing.

Pain is inevitable - suffering is optional.

So look for the relief and lightness. It is there in the field and many are responding already.

If you aren’t feeling it then you are stuck in your own suffering, caused by an ego layer you’re viewing this through.

SO FIND THE MIRROR or ego layer of separation! http://lifecoachestoolbox.com/newmirrors/

That mirror is a layer of your ego that stands between you and the truth.

Who’s going to win that battle… you or ego? Who’s calling the shots here? Or are you ego’s whipped little bitch lol?

** Big Level Ups

If you haven’t personalized too deeply, and you managed to pull yourself out of the ego death slump, then you’re probably noticing a big level up this morning.

Stuff you’ve been battling with for a while, you’ll suddenly understand. Concepts that seemed out of reach are suddenly easy…. why couldn’t you see this before?

This is a good time to laugh at yourself… it always seems so obvious once you’re there.

If you’re feeling the level up, then well done.

If you matched all or most of the symptoms listed, then super well done - you were linked to the morphic field and in sync with us, and experiencing field level lessons.

That’s a massive sign of how far you’ve moved out of personalization.

One major level up happening that is worth a mention is that a lot of people got their spiritual names in the last week or two.

So if you felt you got all or part of your name, then you were on cue too, yes.

** Mercury Retrograde Downloads have started

So if you are feeling the level up then you’ll have noticed that retrograde downloads have started.

Retrograde messes with communication and you’ll still get that to a large degree, but the reason for that makes it worth it…. most of the time we are sending messages to God, but over retrograde the communication “reverses” and we get messages FROM God more intensely.

So that 24 weeks of retrograde and shadow becomes the periods in which you get your best messaging and flow, past a certain level of enlightenment.

I have gotten some real gems already - including one I’ll do a separate post on this morning, an experiential analogy that helps you understand how layers of thought in agreement create reality.

So watch out for that post straight after this one.

If that’s not a complete wrap, well it’s pretty close hey ;) LOL :)

Do a Butterfly Release and a Go Ape if you need - instructions on my site and YouTube Channel or just google the terms with life coaches toolbox and you’ll find instructions.

So if you’re looking for any of my stuff just add life coaches toolbox to the google search phrase and you’ll find it pretty quick - should be first results.

This is a great way to search the blog too - I know it’s huge, but each article is a layer of a shift, and sometimes you just need that layer. So get into the habit of searching phrases and terms with life coaches toolbox added to the search to find stuff on the site more easily.

Otherwise, learn to use the sitemap at http://lifecoachestoolbox.com/index.php/sitemap-lct

The sitemap contains text hyperlinks to all the articles and resources. The articles are all plainly titled, so pretty easy to move around.

There are over 1,000 pages of content on the site - tools and info to suit pretty much every need.

However, using the google search option and the phrase life coaches toolbox means that you search articles by content and not just title.

So make it an intuitive challenge to zero in on the search term and see what answers that leads you to. Just remember to add "life coaches toolbox" to the search query :)

And to end, I’m going to repeat the Butterfly Release link to make life easier on myself: http://lifecoachestoolbox.com/index.php/butterfly-release-videos-by-life-coaches-toolbox

Some places you post pull the first link to create the linked item, and some use the last. Putting it in both places keeps you covered lol :)

There’s a random piece of social media posting advice for you ;)

Hope you have a good week - do your basics!!

Light, peace and harmony, Amara xo

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peanutdracolich · 7 years ago

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Peanut Dracolich Watches Horror: Child’s Play

So besides knowing that this was the movie that introduced Chucky and vague knowledge that Chucky was a murderous doll, and one of the big horror franchises (though not one of the best regarded) I went into this blind.

I’m going to give the final overview first, since it’s not got as many spoilers (though a spoiler for the final overview I didn’t like the film that much), and then the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of it before my play by play reactions.

Overall: I was not impressed. The film was almost so bad it's good; like it might be fun to watch and laugh at with a group of people. But as a horror film nah. 0 feet raised with fright (like with Alien 3). Honestly I think Alien 3 if you stopped near the hour and a half mark (the length of Child's Play) is a better horror film, and it was strictly a mediocre film even with Charles Dance. This one... well I enjoyed it more than Halloween, but I personally hated Halloween, and I'd put this well below Ft13... and I don't like Ft13; though on the 13th I will be watching Ft13 part 2 if all goes according to plan.

Still the film relies upon Adult Fear, but is not enough of a psychological film to truly capitalize on it. You've just got a killer doll that, as far as killer dolls go is relatively non-creepy. As a concept the story is good, but the idea is far better than the implementation.

My final verdict is... I wasn't scared. It plays on adult fears, but it also has enough bad moments. I'd say watch Fright Night (by the same director) over Child's Play, while also not scary it was a much more fun movie; or watch Child's Play with a group to enjoy the bad. It was in fact bad enough but in good enough ways to maybe be so bad it's good. Still if I was rating it out of ten it'd not do too well.

The Good:

Adult fears are scary. It is a natural thing to be concerned about child endangerment. Kudos on using it.

Chucky’s penultimate fight. This is actually a pretty good fight, that puts me in mind of the Terminator and when Chucky is by and far at his most bad ass. It’s a good and enjoyable scene.

The Bad:

Adult fears are mitigated by the heavy supernatural. Child is left alone with dangerous thing, scary. Child is wandering downtown alone, horrifying. Child has a killer doll chasing him to steal his soul... actually less scary than if he was chasing an adult because the movie has managed to convince you it will stick to the standard ‘no child will be harmed’ rule.

Chucky’s final fight. His threat has been narratively void for a while now. This is just padding the film an extra 10 minutes. Die already doll.

The Ugly:

Adult fears make me feel worried in an unclean and unfun way. The final fridge horror of ‘they’ve got no proof it was the doll, everyone will still think it was the boy’ leaves a bad after taste.

Chucky’s other fights. The special effects are admittedly good. The basic filming choices and choreography of people’s interactions with the doll when they are not in full use is bad, and even with good special effects half of Chucky’s fights look comical, and only one of them doesn’t leave me taken out of the atmosphere of horror (a bad thing). I think the director would have been better off making a more openly comedic film that more directly poked fun at the horror genre... like Fright Night... which was made by the same director 3 years earlier.

The Play by Play:

I know nothing about Chucky. Dolls are creepy, but as a child Chucky always seemed to be trying to be creepy too much and didn't look normal enough to be creepy in that way. Dolls were admittedly less creepy as a child, but the commercials (admittedly for later films in the franchise) came off as rather humorous and not scary.

So while I'm gong on about how the later films looked, from commercials, to be child friendly entertainment about a doll murdering people (I can't remember how old I was when I first watched evil dead, but given things I watched as a child... I found films with death to be child friendly), the film has been playing. Eddie has ran off on his partner, and the partner has been shot, and the criminal is now... praying to Satan? I think he's praying to Satan to becme a doll. This is simultaneously better than expected, and silly and something I'd have totally enjoyed as a child (though I'd have taken it as just a magical chant). A quick google tells me he's praying to a god from voodoo which actually makes it a little less fun (in the same way if he was praying to Zeus it'd be less fun for the demonization factor).

So already this film is much scarier for me now than it would have been as a small child. The Good Guy is the kid's TV show hero, he has Good Guy cereal, he dresses like the character from the show, so that makes it extra scary... as an adult. As a kid I'd have noticed less. And oh the kid is not making his own breakfast, he's making his mom breakfast in bed at 6:30 AM. This makes it less terrifying that he's being made to feed himself given he obviously cannot.

Lot's of adult fears, not managing to get your child what he wants for his birthday, having to work through it to make ends meat, having... That doll is such an ugly doll. It's not a creepy doll that feels like it's watching you, ready to eat your soul, it's just a bad looking doll. It does look better than my memories of commercials as a kid, less beat up and repaired.

The doll is trying to make the small child help him. And the babysitting friend of his mom is really careless of his new toy, hitting its head into everything while walking. No wonder the doll turns murderous. I mean that's just not how you take care of a new toy.

And Chucky is now watching the news as he wanted... Maggie (babysitter) assumes that this is Andy (small child) doing stuff. Still we're almost 20 minutes in and something scary needs to begin.

And as I type that, there is the pitter patter of Chucky feet after the child has been put to bed and the babysitter is alone in the other room. We start getting music to put nerves on end, a scene made for it at last. Pacing wise I feel less primed than usual, the opening didn't prime for horror, but still the scene is doing well and a priming isn't actually necessary.

Still this is so putting me in mind of Scream and the films it was mocking the sort of 'something has fallen' 'phone rings' scares without the general build of terror of something like Alien or Evil Dead. I am startled, I am physiologically affected (the music and Maggie's panic does that and I'm trying to let it affect me). And then Maggie is hit by the hammer and for a moment I feel fear... when she stumbles into a wall and then redirects herself towards the window to fly out of it I just sort of laugh because it makes no sense for that to have knocked her out of the window given the scene from the front. I am not scared because special effect fail that while not actually as bad as the xenomorph rotoscoping, is just something that pulls you out of the film with its ridiculousness and makes things... Farcical.

I will try to get back into the horror mood. I mean it's not late enough I'm getting sleepy, but I am alone, in a dark room, with a cat occasionally moving about in the darkness to make sounds of something creeping towards me... I am doing my best to be in a horror mood, but it's more adult fear that the detective thinks that the small child might have done it than horror fear. In fact the cool down scene has not made getting into horror mood after that fail easier.

Still the adult fear becomes a horror fear when the music changes and Andy looks at chucky's feet and sees the flour. Andy must die now. The film relies on adult fear, which is not a bad thing, but does mean it would not have scared me as much as a child.

Andy's mom does not believe that Chucky is alive. Poor kid, and silly woman. Not only is he alive but he has massively superhuman strength, and the ability to strike someone so that they fall backwards into a wall and thus fly out the window beside their shoulder. The choreography was bad.

Now it's time for a day of school... except that Chucky has Andy sneaking out. Yay adult fear! The child is now on a street full of drug dealers, and the homeless, and... I'm just sort of worried for the child.

Andy goes to go pee, and Chucky goes to kill his former partner. The Chucky PoV is sort of nice. The rats are cute, the murder method (stove gas + fire) is one that doesn't have the issue of Maggie's death and thus works better for horror as it doesn't pull you out, and with an armed escapee and a kid in close proximity the adult fear is strong. Kid don't run towards the sound of gunfire! Kid stop! No! The armed, drugged out dude does NOT fire on the kid while trying to figure out who is in his run down hideout, and the kid walks away before he does fire causing an explosion. Is this the most realistic explosion? I can't say off the top of my head, but it doesn't pull me out like Maggie's death (or most of the death scenes in Halloween) so kudos. The fact that I'm still thinking about Maggie's death does however pull me out.

And now Andy is being questioned by the police at the precinct. He says that Chucky scared Maggie out of the window. His mom is terrified that they're going to take her son away. The adult fear is palpable. Kid tells about Chucky and the psychiatrist asks to take him for a few days. Of course kid did say that Chucky would kill him if he told so... ADULT FEAR.

We go home and the mom realizes something. The batteries aren't in. Maybe he son is telling the truth and it really is a demon doll. And we get a legitimately good moment when she goes to confirm. For the first time in the movie I truly feel tense and my attention engages. And... So there's a traditional issue of horror movies about showing the monster. The murderer in Friday the 13th is sinister until we learn he's an aging lady. Michael Myers is scary until he picks up a dude and gets ninny slapped. Alien is very sparing in showing the xenomorph. Frankenstein holds back on overusing Boris despite his pure menace. Chucky is almost scary until his physics defiant struggles look more comical (as they don't look like they're supposed to be physics defiant) than scary. How the monster is shown can make or break a movie, and Chucky has, when shown, not helped the movie much.

As we shift to the mother's battle, and attempts to get the detective to believe her, the adult fear is actually fading and wiht that fading... there's just not much fear. The music and general scene dressing is supposed to be scary, the fact that she's in a horrible part of town, but... There's just not a lot of fear. Well to be fair it's supposed to be prepping, but it doesn't prep well. And attempted rape time, only to be saved by the detective man.

So this brings up a comparison to Alien 3 and its attempted rape scene with someone saving the heroine. I liked that one better. It was a moment that established character for both the convicts and her rescuer, character that we had been hinted at but which still established things. Here it lacks some of its strength. You know it's not going to be gone through with (it's not that sort of film) and it doesn't really further anything except a brief attempt at using rape to do a quick and easy scare because rape is scary and traumatic. Over all it feels cheap here, cheaper than in Alien 3.

Still we get a good scene soon to make up. Again the more they show of chucky the less scary he is, but when he's almost entirely shadowed and rising up in the car to murder someone he's scary. When he is poorly stabbing at someone with no success... I think it's actually supposed to be funny. I don't know but I'm laughing. I have laughed more at this movie than been scared of it. But hey the detective is now a believer, it only took a doll trying to murder him a lot from inside of his car while he was driving it.

We see Chucky's old home which fits the serial killer he was supposed to be and has what I assume is (at least the movie's version of) Voodoo imagery, especially once it becomes blatant voodoo imagery. And someone is coming up behind the mom. It's obviously the detective but he's still scarier than Chucky. They must look for the Voodoo Priest.

The Voodoo Priest considers Chucky an abomination, and the Voodoo Priest prepares to... um... call the cops? He picks up a phone to stop Chucky, not you know using magic of some sort, but... phone. Still Chucky has prepared he has Voodoo Priest's Voodoo Doll of Voodoo Priest. Why he has a voodoo doll of himself I'm unsure, maybe there's a reason? It seems silly from most depictions of voodoo and I have always heard that voodoo dolls aren't really from voodoo so it just seems reeeeaaaaly stupid. Still Voodoo Priest sics him on Andy telling him that he can only get out of the doll's body (which is becoming human and vulnerable) by transfering his soul into Andy's... Chucky then finishes him off because of course he does.

Adult fear is supposed to have returned. Especially when Chucky starts breaking into the mental asylum (I think, I mean it's a place for mentally unwell... small children? with doors that only open from the outside and bars on the window and... surgery rooms for... dissecting them?) the kid is in. He gets into Andy's room and... Andy tricks him with pillows under the bed. This place creeps me out with the amount of scalpals just laying about the place, and low security for... wait if you're in the hall you can just go into the OR where they have an electroshock machine that uses lethal voltages? I... I... I don't know whether to laugh at this film for being so what the bad place, or try and take it seriously. I'm not sure I can, but I think it expects me to. I can't speak for the rest of the series, but I think this one expects me to take it seriously.

The film's reliance upon 'oh excrement he's after the child' is undermining it a bit here in that... I don't honestly believe anything bad will happen to the kid. And then just as I'm trying to get back into the horror it shows Chucky's knife that looks rather colorful (red and white pattern on the blade, a pattern that looks almost plastic) and I start to laugh a bit. Of course Chucky does manage to hit the boy on the head with a bat and knock him out which ought to be putting the child, whose body he hopes to inhabit, in some serious danger. But it's hollywood head wounds and that's an 'acceptable break from reality'. The artificial thunderstorm looks silly but that too is acceptable, and the ritual actually has some tension and horror to it... except that you can't believe he'll succeed on a child; the rule is children don't die. There are films that make exceptions to this. That gets terrifying. This film doesn't seem to be one.

Now that it's the nice detective hunting Chucky in the house after the ritual you feel a bit of fear for the detective. Though there's enough of a romance subplot you expect the mom to save him when he gets in trouble and that's exactly what happens. Chucky continues to be more comical than scary the more they show him, and the mom looks more inept than struggling which again undermines the horror. Andy gets a good pre-killing one-liner and the doll burns.

But because they don't check the body well, this isn't the end. Horribly burnt the doll comes for one last attempt, and looking like Freddy Krueger's midget cousin Chucky is finally almost scary. All the doll horror is gone. He's just a burnt undead midget. Who stops stabbing halfway through a door, because... um... stabbing the part the screams are coming from is a bad idea? He's an incompetent one. Still Chucky's undead body being shot piece by piece is almost a good scene. I say almost because it lacks the build up to make it so. While in theory the events have happened, they've made me laugh too much.

And when the film doesn't end and the detective man's partner comes you know the doll has one more one last return from death. Yes I know Jason and Freddy do this, and they were told they had to get the heart, but... eh it just feels like they're stretching it to make it an hour and a half at this point. Like the killer doll, the movie has outlived it welcome but just won't stop.

The kid leaves the room, waiting and watching for the sign that the doll is still in fact alive, just like the viewer is, and it ends with the child's face.

#peanutdracolich watches horror #Child's Play #Chucky #Watch Fright Night #It's better than this

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rachelderocher-blog · 8 years ago

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Personal Creativity Reflection

I have always been inspired by inspiration; by that I mean I always been chasing that feeling you get when you’re walking away from a speech that completely changes your outlook on life. Ya know, the kind where it feels like everything is suddenly so clear. You walked in thinking you knew the answer to life but you walk out with the realization that along the way you had forgotten that there’s still so much to learn and you’re so excited to learn everything and do everything that life has to offer. I have never wanted to just exist in the bubble that becomes everyday life. I want to constantly pop that bubble, discover new things, and bettering myself. The manifestation of this in me is constantly reshaping.

Growing up my parents tried to give me everything they didn’t have. They instilled in me the importance of honesty and integrity. They bent over backward to make sure that I was a well-adjusted, well-rounded child. Since I was very young I have always been very active. I never had a school night where I wasn’t involved in an after school activity. I tried every sport from basketball to tennis, to swimming. I did girl scouts, robotics, and volunteered with kids for church events. I even sang in the choir. All this and my family still found time to go camping, hiking, and play board games together. I tell you this because in order to understand me you have to understand where I came. They are the reason I am who I am. I have strong moral and ethical convictions and the drive to do things ‘the right way the first time’ because of them.

I started off my college education at Capitol Technology University. It was a very small school with only 124 beds on campus and another 250 off campus. I lived in an apartment style dorm so I learned how to cook, budget and I live on my own. I quickly made friends and joined clubs on and off campus. My sophomore year I became an RA, simultaneously I got a student management position in the school’s library. I loved the freedom it allowed me. Not only did I not have to worry about paying for housing I was also earning my own money for food, gas, and whatever extras I wanted.

These jobs had given me a sense of purpose. I got to plan events, guide and mitigate conflicts for students and work alongside faculty. I felt it was a great place to start, that going forward I would be able to do more and greater things from the lessons I was learning and the connections I was making. A few months in I started to notice things that were unusual about the environment. Working in residence life and in the educational center of the school put me in a unique position. I had all the inside info, heard about all the problem that were going on and watching the school cut corners to solve these problems; disappearing money, renewing their licenses by stretching the truth, and telling prospective students they had things that didn’t. I saw why it was attractive to take these shortcuts, I knew how tempting it must have been, but it really bothered me. They were ripping off students, parents, alumni, and everyone who had ever been involved in the community. I disagreed with how the school was being run and I struggled with it the entire year. Students around me didn’t want to be there, they were not interested in learning only the piece of paper at the end. I didn’t want that. I truly did want to learn. It was so frustrating to me that I had come to a place of learning, to be in a culture that encouraged self-development, yet the institution had created a place that stifled it. It was a hard decision to leave a small pond, where I was a big fish, but I had stopped progressing. I decided to leave and find somewhere that could again inspire me. The next year I started my first semester at Maryland.

Even though I had felt I had wasted precious time and money there, looking back I would not trade that experience for a different one. Growing up I had been instilled with the values of honesty and integrity but I had never gotten to really challenge that in a meaningful way. My time at my first school gave me such an opportunity. It’s one thing when someone tells you the best way to do something but when you experience it, witness it, it gives you a whole new appreciation for it. That experience fostered the strong conviction and appreciation I have for doing things correctly. It is the characteristic I am most proud of in myself.

This semester I needed to fulfill one of my general education requirements. I was not looking particularly looking forward to it, I wanted to find a class that I was going to enjoy and learn from but nothing sounded interesting. Until I came across BMGT 289B. How do Innovators Think? The first day I attended I knew I made a good decision. The course work sounds interesting, things that I would read on my own time, thoughts that I would like to talk to my peers about.

Taking this course furthers my horizons. I want to grow in a way that will help me live out my passion for getting things done in the best way. I want to think like an innovator. I want to look around every day and be inspired to create. I want to become a life learner. This course work will help me do so. I am excited about learning and working on becoming a lifelong learner.

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byakuyanya-purinsesu · 8 years ago

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Underestimated Odds {feat. @lambentlodestar}

Starter for @byakuyanya-purinsesu because these two haven’t been through enough hell

After learning to fight with not only spears, but magic and knives as well, Shanzira felt quite a bit more confident going out on her own to do errands. In the very rare times some brigand had seen her appearance– garbed in gold and sable of a Nohrian Dark Falcon– and figured to shake her down for verious goods, she’d done a good job of ripping his guts out with her life-taking knife. It never really hit her just how morbid and horrifying it was, except when she actually saw the innards she spilled and the pained face she elicited from the brigand.

So Shanz felt pretty chipper on the way back to camp with a basket full of daikon, up until she saw a retinue of Vallite shadows between her and the camp, coming for her. She’d still not replaced her mount since its demise in the subspace incident, leaving her to fight about fifteen invaders on foot. She could try to make a break for the camp and run around them, and pray reinforcements came to rescue her before it was too late. Putting her faith in her incredible luck, she did just that.

“HELP!”

And luck was in her favor! Help arrived but not in the form of arrows… but instead magic trees that impaled effectively a good third of the assailants that were coming after the redhead.

“These foul mock-ups of life will not claim the lives of others on my territory.” rang the voice of a certain blond royal. Indeed, the savior that came to Shanzira’s rescue this time was not her beloved… but instead his Nohrian counterpart. Upon turning to see exactly who it was he saved, he paused for a moment and called out to her.

“Hold on… you–” He stopped himself short when he had to instruct his steed Krieg to skip backwards, avoiding a Spear Fighter’s swing of a Steel Naginata.

“Never mind. Talk later. Can you fight at all?”

Just as the crowd of invaders was about to crash into Shanz– being weighed down by a basket of radishes did not help her terrible running speed at all– trees sprouted in the forefront of the group, right in the faces of those closest to Shanzira. A look revealed a mounted dark mage, Prince Leo of Nohr. When she considered the effect his attack had had, Shanz quickly laid aside any and all complaints about who had rescued her.

“Gee, why do you think I wear this getup?” She brandishes her knife to gesture to her armor, plates she’d thankfully never neglected to don each morn. “Sorry– trying not to panic–” Her words cut off abruptly as an outlaw shot at her and hit, a disastrous blow that not only forced her to drop the daikon but cracked her breastplate and spilled blood. A scream of “FUCK” erupted from her mouth in reaction, seconds before she twirled her the sacrificial knife and sank it into the outlaw’s leg, a blow which should have forced any living human to one knee, though this one stood straight as before. The knife’s magic mitigated her pain somewhat, but couldn’t undo the damage to her armor.

“Gods… it seems you’re always in peril, aren’t you?” Leo remarked, annoyed at this most unfavorable of situations. The numbers definitely were not in their favor and he had no means of calling for more help. Their only means of living to see another day would be to abandon this fight and flee, as much as he’d love to stay and see them all crumple to his might.

Loosing another slew of branches that did away with the attacking Outlaw up close, he turned and beckoned the injured woman over to him.

“Pair up with me! We’re leaving. NOW!”

She didn’t need to be told even once; that had been her thinking as well. Leo had some semblance of defensive capabilities and a mount to flee on; Shanz didn’t, again thanks to her lack of mount. She held her chest with one hand, trying to stem the tide of blood released by just a single arrow. That arrow would’ve killed her if she had been astride a falicorn, she realized– even in death the poor beast still saved her life. But then, she would have gotten to market and back much faster on wings…

Crawling up the prince’s horse proved to be a challenge with her own slick blood on her hands, sabotaging her ability to grip. “I swear to the gods, I was never a trouble magnet until I woke up here,” she panted, using conversation to curb her urge to whine in pain. A glance back while she struggled to climb up revealed a sky knight, flying straight for them at full tilt with a raider naginata– it took all her self-control to stay where she was rather than flee.

Great. Bloodstains… that’s a saddle that’s going to require some thorough washing later.

Putting that minor grievance aside, the dark knight saw that quite a few of their pursuers wielded some sort of weapon that was superior to his own on the weapons triangle. Cursing himself for not having any of those admittedly genius inverse weapons that the Hoshidans crafted, he instead took hold of a Nohrian blade, further upping his already superior defense.

“Blast…!” He got away without a scratch but unfortunately missed his retaliating swing. The rest of the enemies began closing in on them from afar, their range slowly creeping up on the duo. It was histurn to make a move now… and it had to count. Analyzing his surroundings and his foes… he knewjust what to do.

Map Definitions: Green Squares (Forested Areas, slight evasive boost to those within) Red Starred Square (Use to Flee the map and escape safely)

Units:

Black King - Leo & Shanz (Paired) White King - Sorcerer White Pawn - Ninja Black Pawn - Mercenary White Horse - Sky Knight White Castle - Spear Fighter Black Bishop - Outlaw White Bishop - Samurai

“Over there!” With a forward pull of his horse’s reigns, the prince instructed Krieg to move slightly away from their current attacker and into a place on the field that might help them survive a little longer.

“I don’t like this… but we might have to take a little punishment if we’re to make it out alive. When you’re able to, jump and deflect any oncoming blows with that paired perfect guard. You won’t be engaging in skirmishes any longer… but surely, you’re capable of at least that much yes?”

“Yeah.” She was able to give him a nod as she fought back tears from pain, agitated only further when she snapped off the greater part of the arrow’s shaft that had pierced her. If she was to take a defensive role, then she decided to change weapons to the iron spear she carried– it was much easier to block with that. “Sit in the woods, huh?“ Not what she would’ve done– but Shanzira was generally of a mind to route, and make such a goal possible if it was unlikely. They were drawing well into the shadows’ reach, which meant that if they wanted to escape…

… They’d have to kill all of the enemies now coming to surround them.

An outlaw and ninja came first, the former picking a grassy place to shoot from while the latter came around from their side. The outlaw thankfully missed– Shanzira silently thanked her lucky stars at this– but that was not the case for the ninja, whose shuriken bounced off of Leo’s armor faster than Shanzira could stop. That… wasn’t good. That left two sky knights, a spear fighter, a samurai, and a mercenary to all come and swarm them… though strangely, one sky knight stayed back, holding its position by the sorcerer. Shanz gulped and prepared herself to stop the next attack– easy enough for melee weapons.

Their goal was in sight, and the dark knight was not about to lose it all now. Begrudgingly, while the forested space provided cover, it didn’t allow him; as a grounded mounted unit, to move his full 8 steps when moving out of it. So instead, he guided himself and Shanzira forward atop Krieg to the next forested space.

“Begone! Contemptuous fool!”

From there he quickly loosed a vine from his Brynhildr that struck down the enemy mercenary where it stood. While having his magic equipped, he knew that they’d be able to dispose of more of the opposing forces as they came along to face him. But on the other hand… he was also prone to taking more damage as a whole.

“This is where the true survival test begins… we’ll have to both be on point to make it out alive.”

Nooo kidding. Shanzira gulped, honestly praying to whatever gods might listen that they’d make it out alive. As she turned her eyes skyward to do this, however, she saw something– that sorcerer, way in the back, waved around a peculiar staff and–

Oh no you don’t– “Stappit!” This wasn’t at Leo so much as it was at the Sorcerer now pointing the staff at them, though of course the walking corpse couldn’t hear her anyways. Shanzira stepped in the staff’s path and took the enchantment meant to affect Leo. She smirked as its effect was not readily apparent– as long as she was still able to do the occasional guard, they’d be fine. “Hhh hh, tht s––”

Silence. No voice. Of course.

She observed as the ranged units of the enemy came in and arranged themselves to attack again. Well, this time, Leo could retaliate. First came the outlaw whose arrow missed– Shanzira would have given him a loud HAH if her voice were operable. A heavy strike hit the Outlaw back, not enough to kill but enough to severely wound it.

Next, a ninja– but only one; the other hung back for some reason. Their shuriken came at the pair and honestly might have struck a killing blow if Leo’s armor wasn’t spectacularly well-tended. The ninja suffered Brynhildr’s wrath shortly afterwards, leaving it at the brink of (re) death. Shanzira may have been robbed of voice, but the enchantment didn’t stop her from blowing raspberries at the sap.

Lastly, the melee fighters– a sky knight, samurai, and spear fighter. The samurai landed a light blow; the sky knight struck twice and Shanzira managed to block one– but only one, and indeed managed to strip Leo of his armor with the second hit. Averting her eyes proved to be unwise as it meant Shanzira couldn’t block when the spear fighter came in to strike. Thinking to undo this annoying effect, Shanzira only handed him her cloak. You’re distracting.

“Gods! What the–”

The next thing he knew, the blond was suddenly bereft of his clothes sans his undergarments and seeing the woman’s cloak flashed from the corner of his eye, he hastily took hold of it and covered up the indecency. “Who the hell even made weapons that could do that!? More importantly… these odds…”

Looking around, he quickly saw that the enemy forces had surrounded him on all sides. He let loose another set of vines from Brynhildr and did away with the enemy Outlaw, trying to eliminate as many ranged opponents as possible. The dark knight was growing fatigued… and he wasn’t sure how much longer they could hold out. Things were looking dire…

“THORON!”

And then suddenly, someone wearing robes eerily similar to Shanzira’s made an appearance, bringing with it the most powerful Thunder spell Leo had ever seen. It had been focused into a beam of lightning that blasted by and tore through the last Spear Fighter. The caster was a white haired man of unknown origin, holding a peculiar yellow tome.

“You two need some help, it looks like. …And a change of clothes?”

That was the last person Shanzira had expected to see coming to her aid. It wasn’t impossible, but she’d not considered it in the slightest– she’d been hoping for more royals to hide behind. When she twisted around to wave and greet her help, a tide of pain cut off her words. That was right, she still had a damn arrow in her chest and a broken breastplate.

Distracted from socializing, her eyes drifted towards the enemy they fought. Six left. Two sky knights, two ninjas, one samurai, and the sorcerer remained. One each of the sky knights and ninjas stayed behind for some reason. An opportunity revealed itself to her eyes– so she darted forward and threw her knife, successfully sinking it into the sky knight’s neck and ending its usefulness. When the knife magically returned, it bolstered her strength and halted the bleeding in her chest entirely. Inspired by her success, she couldn’t help but puff up proudly.

Her voice returned even as the ninja and samurai made beelines for her�� ninja first. The shuriken sank into her, but its poison didn’t harm her– it gave her strength and helped her stand. “Y’done fucked up,” she whispered before burying her own dagger into the ninja, then against the odds dodged the samurai’s stroke and hit back, killing it as well. The sorcerer directing the invaders seemed to stare in befuddlement, if she could discern a face.

She turned around to the newcomer, excitement on her face. “Wow, that bolt of Thoron was just what we needed!”

Seeing the enemy sorcerer’s behavior change, the tactician moved forward and went in for the kill while they were focused on the shocking display that the female had just put on for them.

“Let’s wrap this up…” the newcomer was going to strike from a blind spot and attempt to end the enemy commander’s life with one blow but in Shanzira’s gratitude, she also drew attention to him; making him drop the element of surprise just as an Ignis imbed Thoron was fired. While it made direct contact, the enemy still stood with only a sliver of health to call its own.

“Damn… they’re a lot more resilient than I remember.” Afterwards he was met head on with a icy blast of Fimbulvetr, not being able to swiftly dodge as he might when faced an element of magic he was accustomed to. “Gah, that’s c-cold! Freezing…!”

And it was at this point that Leo was tired of being shown up, having charged forward with what was certainly an unorthodox weapon, one in the shape of a bottle, to land the finishing blow. It might have been a more heroic sight… if not for his being bereft of the majority of his clothes. Honestly, it was more comical than anything. With that foe down, the way to camp was at last left without a barricade. Safety was calling their names.

“There’s our chance for escape! Let’s not dawdle here for a second longer!”

Shanz had to take a moment to stare at how sheerly bizarre that sight was. A prince of Nohr wearing almost nothing but her cloak, clocking a zombie dude over the head with a heavy-looking wine bottle. It even made a little conk noise. Having taken the moment to zone out with an expression of ‘what the fuck,’ the shout to flee managed to startle her, though she managed to jump into a sprint quickly enough, trying to clamber onto Leo’s horse while she was at it so her feet wouldn’t murder her later on.

The remaining ninja and sky knight attempted to give chase, but the small party was by then close enough to camp to threaten loads of reinforcements– and one person did show up to defend them; a diminutive woman in a verdant dress. After clucking her tongue and opening a tome, she tore the sky knight apart with a single blow of a tome foreign to Nohr– Rexcalibur. When she turned to throw her magic at the ninja, it vanished, finally seeing the futility of the attack.

Once back at the camp, Shanzira flopped over gratefully onto the ground, at long last safe. Gods be praised, she was alive and mostly unhurt, but that arrow in her chest needed work. She laughed weakly, then winced in pain. Hurt to laugh. And it hurt even more when the witch showed up again and simply yanked the arrow free before hovering a Mend staff above her. “Haha, thanks, that hurt, oh wow I almost died.”

Figuring to go to business, Eruca stepped to Leo– only to try very hard not to roll her eyes at his state of undress. It helped that the stranger in the cloak which matched Shanzira’s was there, drawing the witch’s interest with ease. “… Exactly what manner of shenanigan happened there? And who is this fellow?”

“Simple shopping trip turned attempted homicide… that’s what happened.” Leo cursed beneath his breath, pouring some vulnerary onto his own wounds and inwardly lamenting just how out of control that skirmish became. “Now hold on a second…” The half naked prince stood, still wearing Shanzira’s robes and stepped outside only to find his noble steed, Krieg, emitting a weak whinny and struggling to stand on its right back leg.

Upon closer inspection, he found a stray shuriken stuck within it and after hastily removing it from the injured animal, it collapsed in pain and the blond struck the ground with his fist in frustration.

“Damn it all, I was careless.”

As grateful as Shanzira was to be alive, it was plain to see (and hear) that saving her life had come at a cost. She sat up, removing her damaged breastplate as she did, and frowned at the collapsed horse. Not good, not good at all. Eruca, being capable of actually doing something about it, knelt by the animal and examined the wound.

“… You’re very fortunate, Prince Leo; the blade came close to touching bone, but the damage that has been done can be easily mended.” She whipped a mend staff out of seemingly nowhere and began to turn its healing powers to Krieg, brushing the beast’s side with her other hand to comfort it. She murmured small things to it as well, nothing more than things like “you’ll be fine” and “everything will be okay.”

After witnessing that, Shanzira turned her head to Robin in curiosity. “Hi. Thanks for your help, I was pretty sure we were just about dead there. But, uh, other than saving strangers from random zombies, what are you doing here?”

Leo’s eyes narrowed, watching the wound slowly close up and feeling pangs of guilt at seeing his animal partner in any kind of agony… and all because he hadn’t been on top of his game as he ought to have been.

“I don’t want to put him through this again… others might view their mounts as replaceable…” reaching forward, he gently ran his hand atop his head. “But there’s only one Krieg.”

“Hello.” the white-haired male spoke. “I’m just a traveler… and I had heard that there was a camp of people fighting together, unified from two rival nations. Looks like I found it.”

Shanz glanced at Leo, thought of Takumi, and nodded. “Yup, you found it. Whatever you need, I’m pretty sure you can talk to him about it.” She nodded her head at Leo before standing up and patting the dirt off her rear. There were nine royals in this camp, and while ordinarily each of them would have ceded leadership to Corrin, there was a little problem of Corrin being missing. (Well, there were actually eleven royals, but hell if Shanzira knew about the two who kept their status secret from the rest.)

Eruca approached then, having healed the injured horse. It was time she learned a thing or two regarding why a tactician of Ylisse was here, near the border between Nohr and Hoshido. “Your garb is not Nohrian, Hoshidan, Nestran, Izumite, nor of any land known here. Best I can tell, you are from beyond the Dragon’s Gate. What brings a man from so far away, possibly beyond dimensions, to us? If you’ve come to ask us for aid in some war elsewhere, I’m afraid you’re out of luck as we’re quite busy with our own matters.”

Not Nohrian, not Hoshidan… the words rang around in Shanzira’s head, but applied to a different topic. The warriors who had attacked her had consisted of classes from both lands, and were evidently undead. Unmistakeably, they were Vallite, but… why would the Vallites be after her? She had no divine weapon, no dragon’s blood… They shouldn’t even know of her existence. But they did… and she did possess knowledge, knowledge of three possible futures…

“You’re perceptive…” If he didn’t know any better, the tactician just might consider the witch his intellectual rival. With a little more strategy training and years of experience under her belt, she just might surpass him.

“I could ask the same of you though… that spell you used back there… it’s on par with my own, and I know these tomes aren’t easily acquired… they’re alien here. And you as well–“ he paused, pointing at the other redhead. “Call it Veteran’s Intuition but I’ve never seen a power quite like yours… if I had to guess from how similar you two appear… you’re not from around here either. Guess we’re allforeigners then, huh?”

“And what does that mean?”

In stepped the prince butting his way into conversation and now fully clothed once again in another set of his specialized armor. “I’m grateful for your assistance earlier… but I’d prefer you not heckle those in my employ…”

Shanz threw up both of her hands defensively. “Hey, I just stacked a personal skill of mine with some decent weaponry. My body inverts little magical effects that slow me down or make me stronger, so I grabbed a knife that would drain any ordinary person’s life force and made use of it to heal my wounds. Funnily enough, it also works on shuriken poison.” It was an incredibly awesome skill of hers, just so long as she stayed away from the rally parties– sometimes, those downright caused her to collapse on the floor.

Eruca, feeling a far greater need to keep secrets than Shanzira, simply stayed silent. She eyed the Dreamer, recalling how much more graceful under pressure her mother was. True, the tome she had used was very foreign. ‘Twas difficult to justify the existence of Rexcalibur but for the truth that she’d simply brought it with her from home. “I do not accuse, wanderer. I ask what about our camp draws your interest. We’ve all our reasons for being here; I wish to know yours, that we may perhaps aid you.” So rude, so quick to assume the worst. Nothing at all like the woman her father had trusted so much…

Sitting on the ground and watching things subtly escalate, Shanzira felt a strong need to defuse the situation. Arguments weren’t great to have, they’d just come off a fight– this was the worst time. She stood up before speaking. “I’m only here because someone in this camp found me and took me in when I was starving, and I decided it’s as good a thing to do as any. I’ll do any kind of work if the company’s good enough, and I’m pretty content with the folks here. Maybe you might figure the same one day, who knows.”

“Maybe I just might…” he answered with a chuckle. It was a good thing he hadn’t thought of Rallying their spectrum at the time, or else he might’ve unintentionally did her in. The one sitting down seemed to have a good head on her shoulders all things considered… her look-a-like who spoke with more skepticism, appeared to be a lot more reserved and full of secrets. He wasn’t one to pry… but he didwonder…

Then entered the other male he met on the battlefield… who upon closer inspection actually appeared familiar. “You… don’t remember me, do you?”

Leo merely blinked in response. Trying to recall his face… but nothing immediately came to mind. “Should I?”

“We met at that dinner party you held not too long ago… when you [pushed your associate onto me] in an attempt to get her to socialize.” he spoke in a lax tone, smiling knowingly.

“My name’s Robin… and I hear you’re one of the associates in charge around these parts. I come from a place far away named Arena Ferox where battles are rampant… and I’m not sure how it winded up there exactly but I found something there that led me here to these lands…” Shuffling through the deepest innermost pockets of his robes, he pulled out a particular weapon that ought to have been familiar for the rest of those present.

“Does this belong to someone you know?”

The first notable reaction was Shanzira’s. She jumped up and down excitedly, blathering unintelligible fragments at first: “That’s– it’s– you found– bow!!” And without another thought, she swiped it and ran off, searching for a very particular tent she stayed in most of the time.

Eruca had only raised her eyebrows, then chuckled at Shanzira’s response to bounce everywhere like jelly. “Yes, it’s a divine bow belonging to one of our best snipers. He’s very fun to tease but otherwise a good soldier. I can only assume the little… one… she’s taller than me, isn’t she… I can only assume she means to bring it to him. He’ll be very glad to have it back in his hands.” Eruca didn’t keep a close eye on either of them, but the Hoshidan prince had been very nervous since it went missing. Knowing the import of familiar weapons when it came to personal security, the witch had refrained from teasing him about it.

Meanwhile, Shanzira dived into a tent and tackled straight into someone very familiar, someone she spent more than a little time cuddling with. “Takumi!” Messy as this pile of two people and one yumi was, Shanzira managed to untangle herself, still holding the divine yumi. “Hey! Yeah! Your thing’s back! Someone found it, come on with me!”

“She’s… an excitable one, huh?” the cloaked outsider noted, blinking and peering out of the tent flaps in the direction she ran, practically high-tailing to its supposed owner regardless of injuries. She was honest… but an odd one, that woman.

“Huh? What is it–Oompf!” And then they disappeared under a mess of blankets and long hair, never to be seen again… but only momentarily. Sitting upright, he halted all silliness, cheerfulness and merriment to pin her down; overjoyed he should have been to get his regalia back, but he was examining what was unmistakably a wound from an arrow. There was no pulling the wool over his keen eyes, and instantly, his expression soured.

“What the hell happened? Who did this to you?”

“Hah?” Shanz paused trying to drag him back, taking a moment to process the question. She looked down at herself, noting the front of her tunic was still torn and bloody from where the arrow had pierced her skin. “Oh! Yeah, that. I went out to get daikon and there was an ambush waiting for me on my way back. It looked dark for a bit, but Leo and this stranger came along and bailed me out. And the stranger had your yumi! I don’t think he knew what it was, though.”

She was smiling far too excitedly for the tale she’d just recounted– just barely skirting the fact that she had nearly died. “I’m fine right now, my trick dagger stopped the bleeding and then the woman in the witch hat finished healing me.”

‘Fine,’ she said. Absolute bullshit. But at stupid as it was, even Shanzira didn’t see it yet– didn’t see that she was taking every immediate distraction possible to not think about how it hurt to take an arrow through her breastplate, to avoid thoughts of what might have happened if Leo hadn’t shown up. It wasn’t even her first brush with death– the previous one had been worse, had been something out of… no, it had been an actual nightmare. She’d awoken screaming and crying, prompting her family on the other side– the side without magic and dragons– to ask about a ‘dream’ she couldn’t bring herself to think on.

“Damn. I think that’s another one I owe Leo for. But you’re safe now…” he leaned forward and brought his lips to her cheek for a quick peck. Cupping his lover’s cheeks in his hand and squishing them together in a silly fashion, as if to reaffirm this to be the genuine article. His expression changed to one of simultaneous relief and worry, contrasting feelings to be sure.

“Now you said someone, the guy who saved you, had found the Fujin? Can you take me to him? I need to thank him personally.”

Shanz gave Takumi a playfully exaggerated frown at her face being squished before nuzzling his chest. The affection done, she took a step back and happily presented the divine yumi to Takumi, glad to put it back in the hands of the only man who could use it properly (who also happened to be her lover.) But as Shanzira turned around to lead Takumi to Leo, she had to pause for a moment to recall the path she took– and then she tugged him along at her usual slow jog.

Perhaps the first thing Takumi might have noticed was the stranger’s cloak, and its striking similarity to the one Shanzira usually wore (hers still being in Leo’s hands.) The first thing anyone said was from Shanz, preempting the conversation with a timid voice towards Leo. “May I have my coat back? It might be hard to wear with this armor, but it’s a nice coat.” A nice coat that she felt safe and secure in, at that.

Shanzira’s impetuousness did not go unnoticed by her mysterious ‘twin,’ who lightly sighed. She wasn’t about to further interrupt things, and she didn’t have anything to say as of yet. She would much rather observe in this conversation than contribute, as it likely related strongly to her own goals.

The blond, now fully clothed once more, shed the coat used to cover his indecency prior and handed it back to its rightful owner. Shame, when he went to change he thought it actually kind of looked goodon him. First words afterward came from the archer who eyed the stranger up and down curiously.

“So, I have you to thank in addition to Leo for keeping this troublemaker safe–” he ruffled her hair playfully then faced him once more. “And returning the Fujin? Words alone can’t express my gratitude… but I have a question for you.”

“Think nothing of it. My name’s Robin by the way. I actually had a question for you too, but you go first.”

Takumi’s expression then became denoting more seriousness, his tone of voice adapting to fit it as well.

“You, Robin. You and Leo both have the power to protect where I lack it… what does it take and what does it mean? To obtain that strength for myself and use it properly?”

Shanz happily snuggled her coat once it was in her hands again and resisted the urge to throw it at Takumi in return for ruffling her hair. It took effort to maintain– he should know that, given her morning routine with it. She silently listened… but then looked aside and to the ground upon hearing Takumi’s question.

The power to protect was something she desired as well. It was true that there were not many people in this world she would use it for, but elsewhere, she saw it being very important. But she didn’t have it, nor did she feel she had the capacity to acquire it. It was as if she could do absolutely nothing to fight for those she loved.

Although this question was put to Robin, Eruca responded to it. “The power to protect is a simple thing, but easily misused and brought to harm. It is born of love and resolve, the resolve to do what must be done and accept the costs and consequences. This includes honing oneself to learn to think strategically and attain strength, and in the moment when this power must be used, acknowledging and accepting whatever consequences may arise of your choices in that conflict. You name Lord Leo and our new friend Robin, Takumi, but there is another here who has put this power to use, and for you, no less: the woman you are so fond of.”

Eruca was right, Shanzira thought. She hadn’t been strong enough at the time, but she had attempted, once, accepting death as a consequence of failure but certainly not what actually had happened…

“Um… yeah, what she said. I don’t know what your guys’ situation is, but I’ve seen what one does when they try to use that power for good but go about in a way that leaves innocents war-torn and ravagedfor the sake of a campaign ruled by absolute might.” It was true. The conqueror’s reign, at least until he and his best friend brought him down, was one of extreme difficulty from both an ethical and moral standpoint. Especially with what came after it.

“Alright… truth be told, I think I’ve exhausted my training options here. My ability to improve, in both strength and strategy, feels stagnated… I don’t know what more I can do.”

“Well, that’s actually a good segue into my question. So, Takumi…”

“What would you say, if you came with me somewhere for a little while, in an effort to make us both more powerfully andstrategically sound?”

Shanz looked even further away at this turn of the conversation. She knew what Takumi would say, and he’d say it was to protect her along with everyone else he loved… But gods damn, perhaps it was selfish of her, but she did not want to be left alone. She feared what Takumi might return to if he left her alone with her thoughts– assuming he returned at all, given that their lives were always at risk. She didn’t oppose him picking up strength, she simply didn’t want to be alone. The simplest solution would be to come with him, but… She was still uncertain, still afraid.

A thought cut across her mind then, a simple one: It’s just that I’m afraid of change in general. With that in mind, her course became clear. She looked to Robin, looking him in the eye as she never did, to deliver her question. “May I come with? I… I’d like to get stronger as well.”

“Well…” for the first time since they’d all encountered the tactician, he began to show the slightest twinge of uncertainty; taking to scratching the back of his head before clearing his throat. “You see… I can’t physically bring you along with us. For where we’re going requires the use of a sacred fighting tool of some kind.” he paused to retrieve the book from within his robes to illustrate.

“Like this special tome I carry… and his bow. The latter of which being what led me here in the first place.”

“Just a moment.”

This time it seemed Leo had to interject, a flag of concern in his brain being raised from the stranger’s words.

“You wouldn’t happen to be talking about bringing him to a magical set of doors that lead into what might be described as a mostly white void that expands nearly infinitely, would you?”

“I suppose that’s the most apt description for it–wait, how’d you know?”

Oh– that place. Shanz stiffened defensively upon recalling the place– though in her memory it was not a white void, but a place or magically dark clouds that thundered but produced no rain. Goosebumps showed up on her skin, and she shuddered at the memory of that place.

“We’ve been there before. It wasn’t a pleasant experience. And I’ve gone through those doors on my own before. They just opened right up for me, I didn’t have any different weaponry than what I now carry.” If those doors linked different worlds… then it was feasible that whatever controlled them recognized that she didn’t originate in this world. “I mean, we’re talking about the place where… y’know… that thing lurked.” Again, shudders ran through her body as she recalled the fight and its consequences.

“If that’s true, then you’re a fucking madman to go through there and risk finding it.”

“I… feel like there’s some missed communication here.” never minding that little bit of coarse language there. “What you’re describing, and where I came from are two very different places… I hail from a place where heroes battle for sport, sharpening our skills with each match that’s played out to its end…” he explained.

“But you needn’t answer right now… I mean, most of us here are still just returning from a battle. And also…” he paused to glance over at Leo before nodding, as if silently confirming something. “I’d like to share something with you as well, if you don’t mind.”

… Well, Leo had been through there, but apparently Shanzira hadn’t. As usual, she was out of the loop. “It was full of dark and ominous clouds when I was there,” she huffed to herself. “But those were a pair of red doors with a silvery blue frame, right?” She remembered them very distinctly, as if she’d seen them more than a few times before– but never in the context she had on that day. “Yeah, I went through those. But–”

Having spent much of the conversation quiet, Eruca felt it necessary to interrupt. “Once the enemy there was felled, the darkened clouds yielded to bright light and became the white void Robin described. You were unconscious for this, so it follows that you would not know. But,” she turned around to Robin, “she is right in that a terrible foe lurks in that realm, but if it is as wide as I imagine it is, the odds of encountering it again are remote.”

Some comfort that was, Shanz grumbled to herself. She tightly hugged herself ‘round the sternum, more than a little… upset at recalling those memories.

“Oh man… there’s definitely a lot going on around here, huh? Well… if you’ll have me, I’ll stick around until you decide on an answer. Don’t think that means I’m asking for free. I’ll fight for your cause too, there are things on these lands I wish to learn and following you seems like the best way.”

“An interesting proposition… I’ll give it some thought after you discuss this thing with me. Come along.” Leo beckoned Robin to follow him elsewhere so they might discuss this matter free of unwanted ears to listen.

“To protect…” and that left a lone Takumi with the two girls to ponder whilst clutching his coveted regalia close to his body, silently vowing never to lose it again.

#lambentlodestar #v3 #archived

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