#i'm also like. all of 9 hours into this VERY LARGE FEELING game. so take MY opinion with a grain of salt too

[revvethasmythh]

How do you find the writing in veilguard? I won't be able to play it for a while but I'm curious how it holds up because I've heard it reads like a YA novel or that it tells instead of showing. (I'm definitely taking online reviews with a grain of salt.) Is it enjoyable writing, especially the dialogue?

Frankly, the dialogue is fine. It is nothing more "YA novel" than anything done in Inquisition that I can think of--though I do generally take umbrage with any criticism phrased like that simply for being entirely too unspecific to mean anything at all. It implies the dialogue is unsophisticated by invoking a genre that, in actuality, represents a wide variety of writing quality (just like any genre of anything ever). I've read YA novels darker and more sophisticated than some piles of adult books, just as much as vice-versa. It's a lazy critique that tells you nothing. Is all the dialogue utterly fantastic? I mean, probably not but I'm having too much honest fun to waste my time worrying about if something is kind of cliched. My biggest pros for the writing are that a) Rook has an actual personality, and b) I don't have to wade into an empty field for an hour just to hear my companions say one line of dialogue to each other (Inquisition, the game that you were, you gave me such low standards). Your mileage may vary on what you think is good writing or not personally but I think the dialogue is just fine--and, yeah. A grain of salt is good to have with critiques like that. If they can't give clear examples and break down what they mean by that in more depth, I tend to ignore critiques of that variety in favor of my own opinions, which I recommend you do for yourself as well.

[ijichi-nijika]

Warm - by Butterfly-Latte/Krispy Cat.

So this might be a bit strange, seeing a random game review from random tumblr user ijichi-nijika. I have wanted to have a list of games I play in general and to write down my thoughts, immediately upon finishing them. I apologize if this is strange, but I will put my thoughts below a drop down so you can simply skip past these if this isn't anything you wish to read.

However I will link to the game above my review with my own score, so people can read it for themselves proper without any spoilers, and an except from my review so you can get a general feel.

"As a person who has felt numb for a large portion of her life, I really connected to Warm. I really think its worth a read. Short and sweet, with tense moments. I really loved the characterization of Megumi a lot."

Score: 9/10.

When I randomly went through my downloads folder tonight looking for a few files before I went to bed, I didn't expect to stay up to read a visual novel. Let alone one that I think is genuinely good. I had gotten Warm from a bundle years ago, but never touched it since I had no idea what to play from said bundle at all. So, flash forward 4 years and now I have.

To describe Warm in one word, it would be - Healing. Warm takes place in a small town in what I assume is Japan, from context clues alone, and is centered around a 11 year old girl named Megumi. Megumi has gone through most of her life so far feeling, what I can only describe as numb. Unfeeling, lonely, depressed. This continues, until one day a transfer student named Hinata, moves in only a few blocks away from her. They, with some predictability, become friends, much to Megumi's confusion. And she outwardly expresses said confusion, on why anyone would even want to be around her. To which Hinata simply says "Because you're nice."

I won't go to further into too much detail, but the slow friendship that the two grow into warmed my heart a lot. Megumi, not easily understanding social cues, to Hinata's simple and quick solutions such as when she starts doing a hand gesture to show that she is joking. And the feelings beginning to grow into liking one another on both sides, made my heart feel extremely full. While the plot gets a tiny bit predictable, I do think for such a short visual novel, the detail and events that take place are still extremely well written, and felt real for the most part. Even the final act of the VN, while I could tell it was coming from a mile away, still felt impactful, at least to me. As a person who has been hurt before by people who simply were not in control of their emotions, I felt for what happens to Hinata in the final hour of the game.

The way that the game treats another character, Inoue, on the other hand, I don't like as much. In the first few acts I felt for the character. There was simple characterization to imply that she had some sort of social or learning disability. The game, doesn't make fun of this, and attempts to sympathize with her at least, a tiny bit. But I don't personally agree with her being the crux of why the final act happens as it does. Conflict is fine, I am all for it to make a better story, and mistakes also happen. But it didn't feel very good to hear that this character, after severely burning another character, is simply expelled from school and we never hear from her again. In fact, any plot point after the final argument of the game that involves discussing Inoue, just didn't feel good to me. I could tell, at least from my reading of the novel, that the character had a lot of jealousy, and needed help but couldn't vocalize it in a way or attempt to get the help in anyway that would possibly lower how people saw her, even if the other way was pushing every character to hate her. But once again, I am reading the feelings of children characters from my adult perspective, so perhaps I am reading too much into it.

The music, fits the game exceptionally well. The best way I could describe it is melancholic and at times, tense. There is at least one happy track in the game though, for the many scenes that warrant that. I think the score of the game really helped me get into how Megumi feels.

As a person who has felt numb for a large portion of her life, I really connected to Warm. Megumi's depression and general anxiety, to even her disconnect from how she can even perceive herself being so vastly different from reality? That's how I used to feel a lot. And sometimes I still do. I think while simple, the lens of numbness that the novel shows us from her lens is realistic, and not blown to proportion. And it made me think of how I've felt with others for most of my life, and how it could have possibly played out. Food for thought.

Warm is a really good yuri vn, with a heavy focus on relationships from the perspective of a young numb girl. And I think reading it, was probably extremely beneficial to myself. And not too many games nowadays really make me feel like that.

[writteninlunarlight-years]

hiii :) I'm requesting a marauders match up plz <3

Gender: female

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: demi-sexual/pan-romantic

Appearance: white, dirty blonde hair that's just past the shoulders and messy/wavy, glasses, green eyes, plus size (large belly and butt), I have two cartilage piercings and usually wear fun, colorful earrings and rings.

(MBTI &/or Engram if you would like to take the tests and add it): when I took the test, I got a 9, but my therapist told me I'm a 4 (do with that what you will)

Personality: big platonic lover - love telling friends I love them, but I'm pretty shy with romantic/sexual attraction. I'm loud when I start to feel comfortable in social situations, I'm very anxious about how others perceive me and I like to be prepared for anything (e.g. I always have band-aids, safety pins, allergy medicine, tums, etc.)

Likes (at least like three things): hanging out outside when the temperature is like the perfect fall crisp (kind cold, but not quite) - extra points if there's a fire pit; hosting a party to get all of my friends together; feeling cared for; putting together legos/puzzles; card games; laughing

Dislikes (at least three things): olives; when it's too hot outside (like 75+F); people who are passive aggressive/can't hold space for others

Extra fun fact (this is about whoever you are describing to me): I have, on multiple occasions, flown across the country or driven 6+ hours to surprise my friends/family.

thank you so much <3<3<3

(ps. If you match me with Peter, I will trust your instincts, but I will also cry thank you)

~~~~~ MATCHUP ~~~~~

Marauders Era

Regulus Balck

~~~~~ HEADCANON ~~~~~

He is a quiet man himself. He noticed you hanging out with his younger brother's friends, and something about your warmth melted his icy heart.

He loves how you care for his brother in a way he can't.

He admires your beauty from afar and asks his brother when they talk about you often.

After Sirius left their home to live with James, he bucked up the courage to talk to you.

He knew it was a risk, but your light was so warm that he couldn't bear to miss out on you.

He was terrified of any physical contact for a while.

He always asks for permission before he does anything to you out of fear you will abandon him.

One night, he snuck into the Gryffindor common room with all of you and sat around the fire with everyone, actually smiling and laughing for once.

That same night, you two shared your first kiss.

Sirius thanks you every day for saving his brother.

As Regulus's seventh year approached, he became much more withdrawn and cold to you.

When you found out his family forced him to be a death eater, you stayed by his side in secret, only meeting occasionally and traveling far distances to avoid the eyes of the others on you.

~~~~~ BLURB ~~~~~

You were sitting near the black lake, where a fresh blanket of snow had just fallen the night before. You knew if Regulus was going anywhere after an altercation with his family, it would be out here. Earlier in the day, you heard in the great hall as a Howler from the black family ripped into Regulus; ever since Sirius left, the abuse had only gotten worse on the older sibling. Not too long after the letter chewed itself up, you saw Bellatrix talking to her cousin, and it probably was nothing good. As you were trapped in your thoughts, you failed to notice the presence standing next to you by the water. He cleared his throat, and you turned to look at him. He seemed reasonably okay, but just because the scars weren't visible didn't mean the hidden ones weren't deep.

You smiled at the man and held your hand out; he looked at it before slowly taking your hand, allowing you to lead him wherever you intended to. As you two made it over to the tree line, you pulled out a blanket from your bag and made a somewhat cozy spot to sit until the snow melted through the thick layer. Regulus sat down beside you, looking out on the lake again. You sighed, " I heard what happened; how are you holding up." Regulus shrugged, "As good as I can, now that Sirius is safe out of the house, I am the new target of all problems for the black family." You nodded solemnly as you took in his words. Trying to think quickly on your feet to fix the situation and bring Regulus at least to his default bored expression, you came up with the perfect plan. You stood up and extended your hand out to the boy.

He took your hand once more, trusting you to guide him. You remembered that the boys and Lily planned to go to the three broomsticks today to relax. Nothing made Regulus more happy than seeing you and his brother happy. Leading the way, you soon entered the establishment. As if almost on queue, the group excitedly shouted to the older boy, smiling, waving him over. You could feel Regulus warming up; something about finally belonging always made him happier. As you enjoyed your drinks and games, you noticed your partner relaxing and forgetting all the hateful stuff his family had said. Who could ask for more than to see your partner happy to be alive?

~~~~~ EXTRA ~~~~~

(Regulus and you were sitting at a park swinging on the playground, watching as a storm rolled in.)

Y/N: Do you ever think muggles who believe witches melt in water also believe that all magic folk can do is cast curses.

Regulus: They probably also think we are green with warts.

Y/N: We dork, but they obviously only think magic folk are women. Have you seen all their plays and shows?

Regulus: With these gorgeous locks, I could definitely pass.

Y/N: Maybe we should test their theory by staying out in the rain and seeing if we dissolve.

Regulus: Honey, all you will accomplish is get a cold again.

[saneandrocking]

I'm happy you're home

Walks for hours in the dark feeling all hell Of course, going out at dawn wouldn’t be a good idea, not in a city like this, not for someone like him. It was a stupid idea from the start, when he woke up on an uncomfortable mattress in a cold room, staring at the ceiling as if looking at a monster capable of swallowing him whole. He thought about it when he got up, when he put on his sneakers, when he walked to the door, and when he left. Geo was nothing if not a realistic person. That’s why, when he heard footsteps behind him while walking between an alley and a large wall covered with bushes, he knew it wouldn’t end well. He knew that if he turned his head, he would find something inappropriate, at the very least. Even so, against all the warnings in his head, he did. He found a silhouette, almost ghostly. You got a 9 to 5, so I'll take the night shift He recognized it and stood there, waiting for that ghost to step into the light, if it had the courage to do so. The street was dimly lit by a streetlight about 5 meters away from Geo, meaning he himself was in a region of semi-darkness. The ghost had also stopped when he did, confronting him with its presence and low, interrupted breathing. Geo scoffed and, turning on his heels, resumed walking. And I'll never see you again If I can help it He didn’t feel intimidated by his pursuer, who was slow and indiscreet just to provoke a reaction from him. When he heard a cough, an involuntary shiver ran through his body - you can train your mind, but your heart is unfaithful to your principles. Nevertheless, he kept moving forward, feeling more alone than ever. In five years I hope the songs feel like covers Now, if when he got home he saw a bruised face, with cyan eyes staring at him as dull as stone and thin lips curved in a smile, he told himself that none of it really mattered. Mentally, he convinced himself that it didn’t matter that the blood on his brother’s clothes didn’t seem to be his. Or that even when Hyugo seemed exhausted, he heard him say he was happy to be home. He did avoided thinking that he too was happy at that. Am I a masochist, resisting urges to punch you in the teeth, call you a bitch and leave Why did I come here to sit and watch you sit and stare at your feet? What was the plan? Absolve your guilt and shake hands?

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The Kid at the Back does not belong to me, and I have no rights over the game, nor will I be earning anything from this work.

Since I found out that Geo and Hyugo are brothers, it has been on my mind. Could Hyugo be doing whatever he's doing to climb the hierarchy? Does Geo know? Is Hyugo doing this for Geo? Do they live together? Is Geo the kind of brother who loves his older brother, but something tragic happened, and nothing is the same anymore? Is Hyugo a good brother trying his best?

[sillythoughtsaboutstupidthings]

I want shorter games with less stuff by people who are paid more to work less and I'm not kidding

After recently re-playing through Ace Combat 4 and 5 I've come to the realization that I prefer more concise and focused games.

Although Ace Combat 5 is largely an improvement over AC4 in just about every way I still find myself having more fun in AC4. The main difference between the two is a larger focus on story and storytelling through gameplay in AC5 with things like having your allies on the ground (or sea) actually being vulnerable to enemy fire and losing all of them being the failure state of multiple missions. Also having your squad mates participating in the battle and actually helping out, generally having a story that is more complex, more varied objectives and even some superficially branching paths (you can pick version A or B for two different missions). Despite all this the simplicity of AC4 appeals more to me. Every objective is just some variety of destroy enough stuff or a set of specific things within the time limit. Even so the simple arcade-style fun of just trying to destroy stuff with the greatest possible efficiency beats out the greater immersion and story engagement.

The games are also quite different in length, AC4 took me 9 hours to beat, while AC5 took 14. I really feel like AC4 nails its length, it takes just as long as it needs to and has a very linear sense of progression throughout with the same being true for the difficulty curve (aside from the spike in the second to last mission).

There are of course other things that could've influenced my enjoyment. Maybe it's a case of escort missions being bad, maybe it's the frustration of failing a couple of mission towards the end repeatedly that soured the experience.

Either way the difference is that AC4 left me wanting more, AC5 left me feeling relieved it was over. That's not to say I didn't enjoy AC5, it was still a great game, just not as fun.

To return to my overarching point I've found the same thing to be true with many sequels to games I like. DOOM (2016) -> Doom Eternal SUPERHOT -> SUPERHOT MIND CONTROL DELETE Sly 2 -> Sly 3 Jak 2 -> Jak 3 Infamous -> Infamous 2 Fire Emblem The Blazing Blade -> Fire Emblem The Sacred Stones Portal -> Portal 2 That's not to say that the sequels are necessarily bad games, I just didn't enjoy them as much as what came before. Games that were simpler, had less mechanics and stuff in them and in some cases also were significantly shorter.

[jingerhead]

See You Latte and A Hero’s Heart seem like my cup of tea (I say, as if I wouldn’t read anything you wrote) if you’re willing to share their WIPs?

Hi lovely! So sorry it took me a day to get to this, but I'd absolutely love to share! Play the WIP game with me!

See You Latte

It may sound exactly like what it is - a coffee shop au! This is actually one of the very first wips I had for aftg, and when I couldn't make it work the way I wanted it to I decided to temporarily scrap it. But I decided to return to it 'cause everyone needs their own little coffee shop au, right? Here's a little snibbit from it!

~*~

Letting out a sigh of irritation, Andrew’s eyes flicked upwards when the door opened again, nearly choking when he caught sight of who had just entered the small cafe, which was empty other than himself and two soccer moms sitting in the comfy armchairs by the window. The man who just entered was wearing the most horrendous thing he’d ever seen in his life: black sunglasses, gray hat, green sweater at least two sizes too large, white athletic shorts despite the fact there was snow outside and sneakers. He was so appalling to look at Andrew knew he’d ended up staring longer than was appropriate, especially when the man’s eyes caught his own while he waited for his own drink.

Quickly looking away and pretending he hadn’t just seen the fashion disaster of the century enter the quiet coffee shop, Andrew decided it didn’t matter what he was writing so long as he pretended he was busy. He quickly began to type out the worst dialogue he’d ever written in a panic, fingers hitting the keys harder than usual. But even as Andrew kept his eyes glued to his laptop, he couldn’t not notice the man walking towards him, stopping on the other side of the table.

“Hi,” the man greeted. 

Andrew glanced up, fingers halting on the keys. He hadn’t looked closely enough to see the guy’s face, but now that he was Andrew found that he couldn’t look away. The man’s blue eyes were chilling in the best way, a crystal ice blue that could’ve pierced through his soul. Auburn curls flared out messily under the hat he wore, and on both his cheeks were noticeable scars. On his left were cuts that had healed almost crudely, and under his right eye the skin was puckered in burn marks. But despite them, the man was beautiful. Infuriatingly beautiful.

It was at about this moment Andrew remembered how gay he really is.

“Can I sit here with you?” the man asked with a smile. “I need to charge my phone.”

Andrew didn’t want a table partner, but he wasn’t feeling inspired at the moment, so if the guy was annoying he could just leave. He ended up nodding and mumbling out a “Yes,” deciding to take a sip of his own drink while the man sat down, plugging in his phone. Andrew tried to go back to his writing, managing to continue his terrible dialogue, sure that he wasn’t going to get anything productive done today. Despite the fact that the redhead wasn’t talking, he was still very distracting while he made no noise or move to start a conversation at all.

Andrew glanced at him once in a while, but the redhead never met his eyes. After a half hour of silence, a bit of inspiration came to him, and he ended up on a roll, typing a bit aggressively. All of a sudden two hours had passed and the redhead left with a small wave. For some reason the place felt emptier.

A Hero's Heart

I am a huge Zelda fan so of course I'm going to write a LOZ au at some point. One of my friends also really pushed this idea at me and I finally caved, deciding to write it. While it's inspired by LOZ and the lore of it, it's actually an original story that just so happens to take place in the LOZ universe? Kind of like what I did for my PJO au.

Basically, this fic is based off of my misunderstanding of the LOZ story when I was like 9. One of my friends attempted to explain it to me but I don't think she knew ANYTHING about LOZ so she just made it up to hold my attention? But anyways, when I was really little I used to think that Link and Zelda were siblings, and that Link was on a mission to save his sister. I decided to take that idea and run with it for this fic, having Andrew as the long-lost twin brother to Prince Aaron that only just discovered his heritage and is now being asked to save Hyrule. He's left without much choice to go on this adventure, meeting Neil along the way. The plot is still a big work in progress, but I'm excited about it, especially with the way I plan to incorporate the LOZ lore. Thanks for asking, lovely!

[catherinekal]

So this got me thinking about my average work day and how I manage all this shit. I work retail, usually 8-4 unless I get fucked with my schedule. I get up about a hour and half before. Mainly to get a shower in and eat. I don't do oats, but I do just eat greek yogurt mixed with peanut butter, fruit, and a slice of cheese. Simple, not to hard to make, and very little dishes to wash later. The rest of the time is for waking up and lately getting to my car early to defrost it. I don't work to far so my commute is small so that's nice. My job is mostly walking all day doing curbside pickup. Can be fucking brutally busy or not much at all. If I need groceries I just shop after work, one advantage of being in retail. I get home and I either spend a fucking hour making a large batch of lentil stew in my instant pot. Gives me 3 hearty meals. On days I don't have to do that I heat it up and exercise after. Usually takes a hour to do that as I just do some basic full body home exercises. Usually around 6:20ish or so I'm done. I try to exercise 3 times a week and never cook stew on the same day I work out because fuck that would take to long. Then I either hand out with my lovely friend online and play games/watch anime. until sometime between 8-9. Or I just watching shit on youtube or play games myself. Then I try to get some German studying in there though that's been hard to make a habit still. No matter what I try and get at least a hours worth of time writing at night. I should be sleeping by 10:30 on work nights, but it's usually close to 12 by the time I'm in bed. I do lose sleep and legit haven't had a night of more then 6 hours of sleep in so long. But I make do and its important to write. On days I don't work I can sometimes get more sleep. I save general chores for those days like laundry, taking out trash, and shit like that. Therapy to is on off days if the schedule fits, it doesn't always. Once it gets warmer I'll be adding photography to my off days, but fuck trying to take pics in the cold. I also cook breakfast on off days to. I used to cook more in general, but lentil stew has not gotten old and is pretty cheap for how much I can get out of it and it's just a hour twice a week for 6 meals. Be shorter with some proper knives, but fuck spending more money on shit. The way I see it my life is about slow progress until I can hopefully get the hell our of the U.S. I could drop writing or german for more games time or quit working out, but fuck that. I've spent most of my life doing fuck all and now I'm 31 unhappy in a shit state with not much reason to stay. The repeated days can be draining, but honestly my friend helps so goddamn much and having a goal in life feels nice. I've just accepted video games don't get hours each day like they used to and that's ok.

[knigaworm-dot-com]

Rambling Review: In a Violent Nature (2024)

Rambling Review, Large Edition

WARNING! All the spoilers ahead!

I'm not sure and I'm not gonna check, but this movie might have invented the concept of Horror ASMR. As in, the movie that masquerades as horror but is really not, in actuality is an ASMR video of a man walking through the forest for most of the runtime. Essentially, this is a 90-minute video of nature sounds, steps, and characters with the IQ of teapots talking really slowly and quietly, so it's perfect for those who have trouble falling asleep. 

I wish I was joking but this is what the movie really is. The characters seriously talk like ASMR YouTubers and I can't believe that we're at a place in human history when that is an acceptable way to talk to people. 

If I hadn't read the brief description of the movie, I wouldn't have known that the killer is a resurrected corpse of a boy who was thrown off a fire tower or something, I fell asleep when they were telling that story by the fire, and somehow a golden locket being removed from the tree branch where the corpse was buried had reanimated him, so he now must walk for what feels like eternity to retrieve the stupid locket. And I guess he's a real connoisseur of jewellery cause the first golden locket that he found in some guy's house wasn't what he was looking for. 

Btw, if the reanimated corpse is the boy who was thrown off the roof, then why did he grow into a six-foot-five man while being buried in the ground? Someone said that this was like Friday the 13th and I'm just gonna take this explanation at face value cause I'm not well-versed in Friday the 13th lore.

Anyway, apart from this lump of a killer we have a collection of cardboard cutouts of idiotic characters like:

1: Man who, upon seeing a scary monster in his house, runs away into the forest as opposed to anywhere else, screams for help to.. the birds, I guess, and proceeds to fall into his own bear trap that he had somehow forgotten about even though he was berated for the traps just five minutes ago by a police officer;

2: Man who gets half his face cut off for telling the most boring story ever, or at least that's how I interpret why he was killed;

3: Woman who goes swimming in the lake and gets cut up/drowned/dismembered/beheaded in the water - who can tell when nothing is shown and the movie is more interested in showing that the Killer Corpse can walk under water;

4: Woman who, upon seeing a scary monster approaching, tries to step back, sees that she is at the edge of a cliff, and proceeds to quietly accept her fate instead of trying to run away in literally any other direction;

5: Man who, upon hearing a car horn blaring, yells at no one so loudly that he can't hear the very loud footsteps behind him, however at least tries to fight the Killer Corpse, gets hit in the thigh with an axe and acts like he is now paralysed, as he proceeds to crawl on his elbows instead of trying to run while the Killer Corpse smashes his head with a boulder;

6: Man who shoots the Killer Corpse once and thinks that it's enough, doesn't bother to check if the Killer Corpse is breathing (which he very clearly is, but also why is he breathing? He is no longer human and he can't be killed, so why are his lungs pumping oxygen through his body?), and then gets an axe thrown at his head, fatally;

I can't continue to write about the kills anymore, suffice it to say the characters get progressively more ridiculously stupid as the movie goes on, and on, and on. Seriously, how is it only 90 minutes long but feels like 9 hours?!

Btw, we get treated to the visage of the Killer Corpse when for half of the movie his face was strategically hidden, and I suppose they thought it was going to be a pivotal scene in the film to fill the viewer with even more horror and dread, but all I could think about was, Hey look! It's the Mountain from Game of Thrones! 

I was so bored that I took a break from this movie and now I can barely force myself to keep watching. I understand that people praise this "unique concept" - fine, maybe it's interesting to watch a horror movie entirely from the killer's perspective. But not when this killer is a reanimated corpse with one goal in mind - retrieve some stupid locket - and absolutely no charisma, personality, or in fact anything interesting about him to follow. And yes, there is blood and gore, and the yoga kill was semi-interesting but it's executed so poorly - the movie clearly didn't have the budget for realistic effects so it went with the Terrifier approach - that there is absolutely no impact whatsoever. And I'm not even a fan of Terrifier, but Art the Clown is at least a charismatic devil of a killer who's actually exciting to watch and even with the terrible dialogue in those movie, there are some memorable characters. 

Oh no, the surviving Man just yelled "What are you waiting for?!?" to the Killer Corpse and he didn't even do it in an over the top, Jennifer Love Hewitt way. WTF?!?! And now we're hearing their idiotic dialogue at full blast, well full whisper-blast, but still. And... I refuse to write about this stupidity anymore, it's insulting at this point.

Oh look, the Final Girl got stabbed through the ankle with a tree branch (at least I think that's what happened - it was too dark to see clearly and also, I don't care), yet she is limping along on both her legs, unlike that previous moron who got lightly grazed in the thing with an axe and acted like he got paralysed. I guess they're hinting that she will make it, and she might as well cause the Killer Corpse is no longer the POV so I guess he will go back to ground now with him stupid locket intact. And now we must look at the girl walking because there hasn't been enough walking in this stupid effing movie. And now she's been picked up by some woman and she won't even say what happened, not even a hint? That's an interesting strategy. The girl was completely calm when the Killer Corpse kept pounding the ground where her boyfriend's head used to be, so maybe she's into this kind of stuff and she doesn't want to tell anyone about what happened cause she wants to go back and do some funny business with the corpses and maybe dig up Johnny the Corpse Boy? That would actually be interesting, so of course we're not gonna have that in this boring ass movie. 

Btw, I still don't understand what this movie's tagline is even about - Nature is unforgiving. Like... huh? What the eff does that even mean? If anything, it should be - Nature doesn't give an F about you! Cause the final nature shots are pretty clear - no matter how many morons died in these woods last night, nature just keeps going like nothing ever happened. Like, tomorrow you ain't gonna be here, but nature sure will be.

[pwblogarchive]

January 2005

January 2, 2005

the dog update. so alot of people seemed concerned about marley and that made me feel better. he puked every five minutes for a day or so and then went to the emergency vet. there they injected him with saline solution that made his back feel all bumpy when you petted him. now he's doing better. thank god i don't have to punch anyone cause i'm pretty little and don't like to get punched back. marley is doing pretty good now too. he's not bumpy anymore so he's back to his handsome self. all the chick dogs think he's super hot, trust me. my other dog pandora tries to hump him all the time. it's pretty gross you know. but you can't fault them for being in love. like that one disney movie lady and the tramp.

i got a new years wish about you.

- petey

January 6, 2005

chicago to los angeles survival guide: uncrustables, XOskeletons, capri suns, seinfeld seasons 1 and 2, the weakerthans, etc.

how about how the transformers was supposed to take place in 2005.

now it's here. where are all the fucking autobots.

love peter

- petey

January 7, 2005

“you are the tiny in my heart”

i haven't "blogged" anything in here in quite some time. i guess first off i must adress that i had loads of fun on our last five day stint with the midtowners, acadameisters and the gym class-o-sauruses. seeing all the people there at the shows caring about us and being totally rad and cool and awesome makes me smile from the left to right. no half smiles here. it was an awesome time for sure. anyways, im home now. it snowed tons the past few days here. i had to shovel at least a foot of snow off my car yesterday just so i could get groceries. i framed a star wars poster for my room the other day. im really happy with how it turned out. nothing else really going on. just been spending time with some friends and seeing my family. ive seen my dog a little. he's big. quite large in fact. im sorry this is a short and crappy entry but i have to go to the bathroom so bad. ill make a better one later. i promise.

January 9, 2005

“wake the dead”

i promised a more well written journal entry, and one shall be written, right now. first off, ive been home since decemeber 29th and i must say i'm lovin' it, much like the people who gorge themselves with the royal with cheese while shooting hoops. but in all seriousness, ive been hanging with my friends, seeing my family, watching my dog pee on the carpet, and it's all good. so i ate a lot today. sue me. that's right, i said sue me. just like you used to in 5th grade. and you know what? i'm still freakin hungry. i'm sitting here at my apartment, it's quarter after 5 am, theres a scary looking corpse-like women on tv telling me how to discover free money, and i have to be up in less than 6 hours for a fun filled trip with some of my friends to the field museum, or as it should be called, the natural history museum. i'm going to touch dino bones. i cleaned out my car a few days ago to find nothing of interest except i guess i spilled some coke everywhere and forgot to clean it up and my car was very syrupy. ew. funny thing happened today, i was leaving to go to my friend's place to play some card games and enjoy spicey chinese food that made my tounge cry, when this awesome homeless couple was hanging out by the garbage can in back of my place. they were really cool. they gave me one of their beers which i think i left in my friends fridge, and we talked about my car for a while because they were suprised someone had a black toyota rather than a white or red one. they assumed i had a black car because i wore dark clothes. they also thought i was a "computer whiz". i just nodded. they were really nice. i felt bad i didn't have money to give them. i also felt bad taking a beer, but i wouldve felt just as bad turning it down. it was kind of awkward. but none the less very pleasent folks. so im putting some cds on my computer to put on my ipod. im gonna continue on that path and then head to the resting place. nights.

currently enjoying:

music:

m83-dead cities, red seas and lost ghosts

the dears-no cities left

nick drake-pink moon

darkest hour-hidden hands of a saddist nation

(sorry, nothing new)

dvd:

the micheal gondry. chris cunningham, spike jonze dvd set

south park season 3

garden state

books:

none my friend

other:

-cooking steak

-putting up my empire strikes back poster after i framed it

-playing apple to apple

-having ipod parties with my one friend who would hit me in the goods if i said his/her name, so we'll just call this person 'sanders'

January 10, 2005

“its funny the way people only say stuff like "you could never be replaced" right before they replace you”

the sky is out again. i let myself get drawn into airing the dirty laundry in this funny place we call the internet again. and as much as i say "never again"- i am sure it will happen. once again proof that i am just as flawed, if not more, than anyone else. that being said. i feel happy right now- okay, like sunny and 75 degrees. thanks for that. we've got all kinds of plans that no one knows about. go listen to the new academy is song over at www.purevolume.com/theacademyis

what it looks like from the valley: Its been pouring rain here for four days straight- this isn’t a metaphor for a thing, It’s just how it goes. Even the sewers are sick of it- they’re spitting water back out. the city’s in a suspicious green light not quite haunted but definitely considering it. The boarded up windows aren’t for keeping anything out, they’re for keeping secrets like treasures inside. The basement window is cracked like a spiders web only without the queen in the middle. I pull it up and slip inside. Breathe in a hundred years of disappointment in the form of dust and water stained paper. These places are never quite like in dreams or movies but they are gold none the less. What the fuck could a kid like me ever know about LOnelyS ANGELES. I just want you to know the only reason I ever had double standards is because I cant stand the thought of just one of anything, it just feels so lonely. Pull the chain on a light that doesn’t work- pretty much that sums it up. Climb creaking stairs to rooms that used to be alive. The sunlight cuts in green-white between boards on the windows. We’re not getting out of this one. Its times like this that feel safe to be all alone. Because its my choice. I am the boarded up windows. I am the old man asleep on the porch across the street, dreaming in black and white. take a screwdriver out to fix all the bad habits that I had foolishly broken in anger- There is a chest in the corner. I crack it open and it breathes deep like it has come back to life. i read "There are two sides to digging up the past- pros: you remember things you had forgotten about, cons: you remember things you had forgotten about". Sit here on the floor barely breathing in all the dust hanging in the air like gray and brown stars. Think about the way none of these stories are finished ever because that’s how I am. I cant close the door on a thing. I just sit back in the cut and wait to be called out. never putting down the last period. Never signing off.

you feel like a new sweater on the first day of school- perfect but nervous-and tonight is just off of rocket sHIPS.

January 11, 2005

so we heard that the fob xmas cards from the tour are being sold on ebay. we think that is bullshit. they were always meant to be free for our fans and friends. we have some left so if you send a self addressed stamped envelope to korean tom cruise he will send you one. head over to his livejournal for that. www.livejournal.com/~asiandan

do not pay for them online! 

p.s. today i told patrick he needed to turn down the patitude.

- petey

January 12, 2005

ive got my stitches stitched, ive got my fixes fixed

so an actual update. so pretty much our dates consist of: i dream. i wake up at around 10 and watch lifetime movies for an hour. then i yell into patrick's room cause i am pretty much his mom out here. we then get into the car, not talking because we're both kind of grumpy in the morning. luckily the oldies station is badass out here and we become best buds again when we sing along to UB40's "i can't help falling in love..." and tony bennet's "it's not unusual" or whatever it's called. the car pretty much becomes this sweet vegas lounge. when we get to the studio, i go right to computer and pretend to work on lyrics but pretty much just play this game called runescape where i get to kill goblins and barbarian women. patrick goes and works on guitar. we eat deltaco which is like taco bell only better (if thats even possible). we then go and work on vocals whcih mostly just consists of me and patrick making fun of eachother and doing imitations of eachotherback and forth. we have some cool guests on the record, some suprises. one is flying in from chicago tommorrow, we are pretty excited. we finished a song today called "my name is david ruffin and these are the temptations"- you either get it or you don't. the record is gonna be called: from under the cork tree. again, it refers to something we think is pretty amazing. i need to get back to eating burritos and killing goblins.

peter

January 13, 2005

“bass boost”

my friend drew and i are sitting here on seperate computers. im typing a lot and drew is messing with his ipod. i got the newest mos def cd finally and i love it. i also got the todd barry cd which comes with a dvd. its extremely hilarious. on top of that, i rewarded myself with season one of x-files. not much else to report. all i have is jibberish. we both know it. im sure you feel the same way, but unfortunatly you are hungry for more words and i have the ability to feed them to you spoonful by spoonful. im worried im getting lazy. ive been sitting around and thinking about it, i recently finished doing my part of the record, and we did our 5 day tour, and that was all amazing. by the way, someone asked on our messageboard (yes i read it), what me and andy are doing in the studio. we finished tracking our stuff and are at home playing eachother in nhl 2005. anyway,now i have nothing to do, and thats cool for a while, but now im extra lazy. i mean, ive been sleeping until 5pm soley because i wouldnt know what to do if i woke up any earlier than that, so i stay up extra late so i sleep extra late. thats gonna fuck me over soon. i am excited to go out to la again, even if its for a few days. that should be nice. at least the weather will be a redeeming quality compared to the current downpour chicago is enduring. i dunno, im not bored, just worried im getting into a habit of laziness. i hope not. im gonna go to bed in 4 hours. bye!

January 14, 2005

i cant stop/stand myself

new photos and love

January 16, 2005

“in a world of sluts i keep the wet dream alive”

sorry the lj is over for now. i read everything you liked/disliked about yourselves so i feel like it went out really well. thank you for sharing that with me. though towards the end there was too much fighting and ridiculous stuff being said- including calling my friends sluts and all. i can'[t control anonymous posters except by deleting the entire thing- and you've heard it before you can say whatever you want about me but as soon as it involves my friends, i wont deal with it. it's just not what i want to read- instead i am going to read: the stranger by Camus- i'd recommend it to you. on our messageboard recommend one to me and then go outside and play in the sun or the snow depending on where you live.

cause you aint got nobody and i aint got nobody either- so lets be alone together.

January 17, 2005

“namedropper namefucker”

on my daily quest to find idiocy in human nature, i have come to a final conclusion: that many people out there are just vegetables and do not take the time to think or learn, but rather to repeat hackneyed concepts and thoughts that they have heard from a much wiser being. and usually these versions of what they have heard are botched and have been through the telephone game so many times that by the time they repeat them themselves, they come out usually as fart noises. i guess im just in a bad mood. but the only things in life i find to be genious are george lucas, jrr tolkien, morrissey and david cross. and if you think the new star wars movies suck, why don't you try and come up with different worlds, a complete history, and array of creatures and characters, and everything else it takes to make such an elaborate world that star wars is. im sick of people hating on phantom menace and attack of the clones. i cant wait until revenge of the sith comes out so everyone watches and just gets the shit knocked out of them. seriously, if the force and lightsabers arent good enough for you, then you seriously need to re-evaluate your life. anyways, i love you all and this is has nothing to do with you. it just has to do with the haters and the half-glass empty assholes who want to make the world a bummer.

January 19, 2005

“your lack of faith is disturbing”

if anyone is complaing about the "corny" level of star wars episode 1 and 2, watch episode 4,5 and 6 and try to tell me mark hamill wasn't pretty much the cheesiest dude on earth. plus, let me relay this harrison ford/carey fischer conversation at the end of empire strikes back that even though it's cool, harkens back to the essence of cheese: leia "i love you", han, "i know". i rest my case friends. cgi's aside. and no one is arguing that jar jar was awesome, but no one ever brings up the gay droid marriage between c3p0 and r2d2. im not trying to compare jar jar, but just think about it. take care!

January 20, 2005

“more…”

im quite bored and im going to continue with this. this is in response to our beloved message board. first off, someone mentioned that the original star wars weren't corny at the time of their release. just because something is corny doesn't mean it isn't good. original trilogy was delightfully corny by past and present standards. talk to my parents, they saw all three in the theaters and will tell you the same. second, qui-gon jinn was totally undeveloped and one of my least favorite jedi to grace the films. hayden as anakin rules cause he's super pissed off and he's totally gonna flip out in episode three. look at his huge flip out in episode two: when he went on a tusken raider massacre. that was excellent. anyways, i cant wait for lightsaber technology. sign me up for the testing. cut my arms off, i just want to see that thing in action. am i a big enough nerd to sit down and figure out the star wars theme? yes. well, most of it. i could probably play it with my vader mask but that thing is a bit to small for my head and makes my face sweaty. my big nose makes it hard to wear. oh, and thank you liz for the info on darth tater. im gonna have to pick that guy up as soon as it hits. its darling. i do lots of bad lightsaber and spaceship noises when im bored or when i space out (no pun intended). i have a list of star wars things that ive been compiling in my head for everyone who likes star wars, minus the obvious ones like watching the trilogy:

-check out imdb.com and search under the star wars movies and check out the trivia, really interesting stuff about people they were going to originally cast, original versions of charcaters and such

-if you're into video games, most of the star wars games out there are really lackluster but there are a few that i love. both knights of the old republic and knights of the old republic II: the sith lords are totally amazing. they are sort of prequels to everything that happens in the first three episodes of star wars and there are no familiar characters whatsoever. those are probably some of the most addicting games ive ever played. also, star wars battlefront is awesome. it has sort of a halo aspect to it and takes place both during the clone wars and during the rebel/empire wars and you can play on both sides. i also sort of liked the jedi academy games but the controls suck and action games get really boring.

-the clone wars comics are totally awesome and tell you whats going on between episode 2 and 3.

-theres also lots of star wars books, but a lot of them aren't great.

-the clone wars animated series vol 1 is being released on dvd in march. i liked it a lot. also, episode 3 comes out in may and the episode 3 game, which looks cool as hell, comes out in may as well, about 4 days before the movie.

im a nerd for real. most of my opinions are really biased. dont be like me. go outside and go sledding or learn to knit or start working out. bye!

January 24, 2005

“isn't it messed up, how i'm just dying to be him”

sometimes i look back at the things i write and just want to throw it away. its like when it gets kind of bad the words just fall off my tongue and fingertips. but when it's at it's worst- its just contrite and cliche. not that any of this matters. but when posts are disappearing it's just me realizing i am being overdramatic. we're looking in mirrors and laughing cause we're in on it (princes of the scene, makeout queens).

you're making it okay: uncrustables (strawberry only), tiny hoodies from the little boys section of thrift stores, new bright eyes, this movie windy city heat- i swear to god it is the funniest movie i have ever seen, elliot smith "from a basement...", chocolate cake milkshakes, full moons, 80 degree weather in january, catcher in the rye (almost as cliche as me, but its the best there is, its safe), stealing clothes from photoshoots instead of doing laundry (never should have let us try on the clothes hahaha), the san diego zoo, bob for buying me an electic scooter-FBR tour is gonna be radical, new panic at the disco song, patrick laughing at me trying to squeeze into hilarious jeans- i promise you it's gonna happen, champaign for my real friends- real pain for my sham friends.

i think you're gonna like the new record, it's like a day away from being finished- at least the recording part....

as for the internet drama. its over. we're all friends- and fob fans are way cooler than any other bands. you are the only thing that makes it worthwhile.

"it feels like the first day of my life, glad i didn't die before i met you".

peterabbit

January 25, 2005

“technology doesnt work”

so i just wrote a really really long entry on this thing using my sidekick. hell, i even referenced sanders. yea thats right sanders, whatcha gonna do about it? nothing cause your hands are too small to punch a hole through my gut. so anyway, my sidekick took a crap on it. so now i have to write a WHOLE new one. ugh. the things im compelled to do. first off, what the hell is with celebrity weddings and e! thining we give a fuck about them? seriously, i dont care what slutty dress barbara walters is wearing to trumps wedding and i dont care about trump and his lackluster combover. he spent 35 million on his wedding. what a moron. seriously dude, spend 100 bucks on a vegas wedding, put the rest on black, double your money, buy some of those sick wrap around oakleys and do a bachleor walk down the street telling everybody that you're hot and these babys aren't even close to street legal, and refer to your awesome thighs when you say that because you know youll be wearing bike shorts. So I want to own a bear that rides a motorcyle with a shark on his back. Seriously, that dude would be like "I'm sort of in your face, I don't mean to be, but I'm a little in timidating. Please, stop making fun of us because we do two on one cycle here. Its how we like to ride. Its comfortable that way." And then he'd be like spear spear spear spear victory ride! so im excited to get home, see the folks, see the friends, see the woodsman, study on some boron, just get all the things done i need to. allright, this is my entry substitute. the other one was better but i forget most of what i wrote.

January 27, 2005

holy fuck.

please be my date to this [link to corpse bride trailer]

Oh yeah and "the boy with thorn in his side" is now available in all hottopics. Thanks to you guys for bugging em to get it in... Now pick up a copy there!

Peterpan

January 29, 2005

we have finished recording our new record and have a couple of weeks of mixing before we head home to chicago. just to let you know this was one of the hardest and most important things i have done in my life. i spent hours and hours trying to think what words would mean the most, what we had to say.

i am listening to the rough versions of the songs.

i hope that when it's finally said and done it means as much to you as it does to me.

p

- petey

[girltomboy]

I have been feeling empty again since going back to work. Working between christmas and NYE at my non-essential job is soul-sucking, especially considering the fact that the teams we collaborate with for 80% of our work are not working these days. So we just send off a bunch of workload their way, and then nothing. Even the non-stop fast food in my area is closed (or has shorter hours/is not non-stop anymore, not sure) these days. Anyway, I have to do some chores tonight that I haven't been looking forward to (I already did some, just need to complain is all). And I'm already having PMS like 12 days before my period, and a blood shot eye. I haven't even had the energy to do yoga yesterday, and I have to squeeze it in tonight, in between chores and my shower or something. And I took a nap today after work and dreamed that I was teaching this little girl how to avoid strange /creepy/dangerous men. And she was looking up at me with such love and gratitude and called me cute, and we entered this cycle of hugging and complimenting each other. Then I was following my parents around their town, they were on this tour where they visited key places there. In reality there's not many places like that (almost none lol) but in the dream they were very committed and even had a little list going on. And I also saw this photo of an absurdist's living room, and it was this large living room with lovely vintage furniture, and the only two things that were a bit out of place there were this blanket on the couch that was dusty pink and had these shapes and swirls on it, and a wall-mounted flat screen TV. I looked at the blanket and thought yeah that's surely an absurdist's blanket. Cause of the shapes on it I think lol. Anyway the room looked super cool. And then there was this new League champion that my bf was playing in ARAM. It was a god and was huge, and looked a bit like Jinbe from One Piece (it was fat and blue with black hair and a half bun) only it had a red kimono with yellow edges and an elephant trunk. Probably tentacles too. And it became extremely large and like stopped or slowed down the time. Like the time in the game. And it was a bit terrifying ngl. And then in the last part of the dream for some reason my grandma was this highly wanted war criminal or something, but she was actually innocent. And idk how but she got shot and I started hugging her and crying and she kept telling me to stop crying. Very categorically, as if I was really crying for a silly reason. So idk if in my dream it was really her that got shot or whatever, but it felt that way. But I was too in between states to really tell the difference.

Anyway, I did some laundry and changed the table cloth in my room, which was a whole ordeal because of how much stuff I had to move and then put back. On the table. I need to change the pillow cases, clean the fridge, do the dishes, do yoga, find something to munch on for dinner, and then finally take a shower. This shouldn't take me long but I'm in the mood to go back to sleep. Or just lie in bed. Technically I shouldn't need rest but my energy levels are far away. I'm also cranky because it was grey, cold, cloudy, and fucking dark outside the whole time I was free. And the day, the very day I went back to work. The sun came out. And don't get me wrong, it's still nice even if I can't enjoy it directly. But I really needed some sunlight. And that couples awfully with the fact that, well, I have to work my useless job. For 3 days. Doing fucking nothing but still having 9 hours of my day eaten up by it.

[rimaiahwrites]

Red handed—

Chapter seven

After Erik drove away Israel came in to the house grinning even though he low key pissed her off.

She was still happy that she got to spend time with him, Erik was actually bringing happiness and excitement to her dull life and she couldn't be happier about it.

Israel walked right passed her brothers and into the kitchen, not even noticing all her brothers and their friends sitting in the living room looking at her like she lost her mind.

She grabbed a water bottle and began to chug it. Until she heard someone clear their throat. She turned around and started choking on the cold water. Noah got up from the floor and made his way over to pat her on the back.

When she got her choking under Control, she waved at them giving her best smile trying not to look suspicious.

"Who the fuck was that nigga you was wit'?" Her smile dropped.

"What are you talking about I-" Jay cut his eyes at her, daring her to lie to his face. Israel rolled her eyes trying to play it off. "He's Just one of my friends jay, relax."

"Since when do you have guy friends?" He asked walking into the kitchen. Everyone now quiet like he was some sort of king.

"Since when did I have to answer to you?" Israel spit back, looking him up and down. Jay was a bit taken back from her tone because it wasn't like her to get go smart mouth with him.

"Since you were born fuck you mean when? You forgetting that you the youngest?" He said cocking his head back like she just said the most stupidest shit ever. "no but You keep forgetting I'm grown. I can do as I please." She hissed slamming the freighter door shut. "I'm not no damn baby anymore, stop trying to tell me what I can and can't do I'm grown rather you like it or not, the fuck" she said stepping up to him as if he wasn't 6'0 and bulky grown man. not even realizing that she had raised her tone with him...or that she was cussing.

"Girl-" she quickly held her hand up to hush him. "No! I'm so done with this shit! Y'all three get to do whatever y'all want and y'all still live in mom and dads house and don't nobody say shit to y'all but when I hang out with someone of the opposite gender it's a problem? as if you did just sneak that girl In your room not to long ago, as if y'all wasn't fucking in there while mom was downstairs right under your room." She spit out dropping her head down a bit to give him a death stare. She was so irritated and had so much adrenaline running through her, she was shaking.

"You really can't say shit to me jay!" She said slapping her hand on the counter, and her other hand in her hip. Looking like a middle aged black mama yelling at her disobedient child while jay just stood there staring wildly at her but there wasn't much he could say. It was all true. She cut him up and now he was stuck not knowing what to say.

It was quiet in the living room and kitchen.

Jays friends didn't say a thing but they were fully entertained with the argument going on between the two Sibling.

"So what you just fucking random niggas now? Huh? That's where you was last night? At that niggas house being a hoe?" He shouted, veins popping out the side of his head. Israel face dropped at his words and they stung more then she thought they would.

You could hear a pin drop nobody made a move or spoke a word. Just a silent staring contest between the two. Jays fists balled, shoulders squared looking like he was ready to fight while Israel on the other hand was her eyes were getting glossy and her breathing heavy. She could feel the lump in her throat getting harder to swallow.

She cleared her throat and turn to walk back to get her bag by the front door. And heading up stairs, there was nothing else to be said. Israel now knew that her big brother saw her as nothing more then just a hoe, he has made it very clear today.

Israel waited until she was 18 just to talk to men and now he was calling her a hoe not even knowing that she only stayed for the night, And that was all. But there was no point in arguing with jay, he was stubborn and a asshole. if that's what he thought that's what he thought.

She shut her bedroom door and headed straight to her bed, stuffing her face in her pillow tears coming down like a waterfall.

She was Tempted to call Erik just so he could come get her of the hell hole she called home.

Maybe that was over dramatic but she hated it here, she loved her family but being with them 24/7 wasn't something she planned on doing once she turned eighteen. She honestly thought she would have been treated like her brothers were but then again she was never given a fraction of the freedom her brothers has. She was never treated like her feelings mattered, everything has always been about the boys.

You would think that since she's the only daughter her father has she would be treated like a princess and get away with everything but that definitely wasn't the case with her father. She was always the one to get yelled at first, she was always the first one to get blamed for something she didn't do and was always the first to get it the worst of her siblings.

Her father was a strict, mean military man that had no Sympathy for anyone and he clearly passed that down to his oldest son.

She was so sick of crying over them, she was so sick of being mistreated.

With tears still running down her face she sat up and took a deep breath feeling like she was dropping down into that deep hole she liked to hide herself in when she was feeling down.

His words replaying in her head like a broken record. She wasn't a hoe and she knew that and she knew that she didn't sleep with Erik but some how his words sank into her skin so deep that she felt dirty. Like she had committed some sort of sin.

She was only having fun, and finally getting the teenage experience she never got to have when she was younger.

Israel was tired of crying over things her family has said to her it was time for her to stop letting their words hurt her and effort her mental health.

She stood up from her bed and decided that she wanted to take a flower bath and just pray her troubles away.

-

Erik parked his black Mercedes-Benz G-Class outside of the were house he owned. This was the place he kept all of his weapons, books, important papers and information he had collected over the years of him being in college and the navy.

He and ten of his close friends that he met in the navy had formed a elite group of former navy seals. Their jobs were to Take down small governments and expose them. They also would kill small amounts of police officers and clans men which 9 times outta 10 were the same group of men.

About six months age they made a little mistake that almost got them caught which would've cost them their lives which is why they took a break to regroup to better themselves. Erik and three of his boys ace, zeik and Rae all trained the hardest they ever have far as fighting techniques, Brent, rocky and von all worked with weapons and the rest of the boys were hackers.

Today was their first meeting in six months. Erik has changed Plans and moved things from the original date so this meeting is important.

Erik walked to the side door of the warehouse and slide up the side  paneling to reveal the handprint scanner, that was the only way to get into it up less you climb to the very top and through the window but the chances of that happening was slim. Once he was into he went to the corner of the large warehouse and behind the staircase that lead you to go upstairs which was empty.

He walked into the staircase little door where there was a another door that used Voice activation to open. "State your name please." a robotic voice said as it Scanned his face. "Erik Stevens."

"Face scan complete, welcome back erik." The voice said as the heavy Metal door opened to Reveal his underground lab.  "Feels good to be back." Erik Chuckled as he walked down the steps. All of his boys turned their heads from the game of pool to Erik. "Ayo Erik where you been at motherfucka you was supposed to be here a hour and a half ago." Erik grin as he dubed ace up ignoring zeik interrogation. "Right and you be the main one mad if Someone else late to the meetings." Rae butted in.

Erik rolled his eyes.

"If y'all don't shut the fuck up, I gotta life to I just got caught up." He shrugged them off as he walked over to his desk. Rae eyebrows raised as he looked at the rest of them and they all were just as confused as him. Erik and "personal" just didn't go together in the same sentence, if he wasn't working out he was working. Erik was always work, work, work.

Brent smirked as he grabbed his water  bottle and took a sip "him must got a new bitch or sum'" ace snorted "nigga yeah right that nigga ain't been in a relationship in years, Erik fucks and dips." It was true. That just wasn't like Erik.

"All I hear is you motherfuckas being worried about me let's get to work!" Erik clap his hands exactly as he went into the meeting room with the rest of the men following.

-

After a four hour meeting they had finally figured everything out. It was now 10:46 and Erik was tired, Israel sleeping over had him exhausted since it fucked up his sleep schedule. On a normal day Erik was in bed 11 o'clock and up at 6 o'clock in the morning. Sleep was very important to a healthy life style. It was Proven that people that get at least 7 hours of sleep they live longer.

Soon as Erik got home he took a shower and got straight in bed. he didn't even bother putting on clothes.

It's almost been a week since Erik has last spoken to Israel since he had been so busy. It's been strictly wake up, eat, work, train and work some more he didn't really have time to hang or call.

He felt a little bad for it but he knew that she knew he wasn't ignoring her intentionally...at least he hoped she knew that.

Today Erik was going to the gun range with ace just to do some training and catch up with him since they really hasn't had the chance to do that.

Since ace's car was in the shop right now so erik decided to pick him up instead of him catching a Uber. Soon as erik pulled up to aces Apartment he saw he step out of his door and jogged over to the passenger side.

"Wassup E," he said as he sat his bag down in the back seat. "Wassup bro you ready to show these niggas how to aim?" Erik said jokily as he drove off.

Erik cooked his AMT and aimed it at the head of the paper man all the way in the range and let multiple bullets fly from it giving him a slight rush. He adjusted his safety glasses and gripped the handle of the gun again before pulling the trigger but aiming at a different figure. Him and ace were both in their own little worlds before the ringtone from Erik's phone pulled him back down to earth, it caught aces attention too.

It was Israel.

Erik beamed down at the screen but Debated if he should answer it or not, he wanted to he really did but decided it would be best if he called her later since he could barely hear from all the gun shots being fired.

"Who was that? Got you smiling and shit..." ace asked with his eyebrows raised. Placing his gun down to face Erik. "Nigga why you so damn nosy?" Erik cut his eyes at him while blindly putting his phone back into his pocket.

"What you mean nigga? I'm just trying to see who making my dawg so happy is that a crime?" He said jokingly jerking his head back. Erik rolled his eyes.

"It's was one of my friends." Erik stated before grabbing his gun again trying to get off the topic. Ace put his hand out and pushed the gun down before he could pull the trigger.

"What friend? cause the last time i checked we had the same circle of friends?" Erik sigh getting annoyed with aces interrogation. Did he want to tell his best friend about Israel? Hell nah. Because he know his best friend and he knows he's going to go over bored and start doing the most with questions.

"You don't know her. Drop it nigga."

"Her? So you got a bitch or sumn'" Erik shock his head not even meaning to slip up and say anything. It was to late to take back now. "Nah she not my girl, we just been chilling." Erik shrugged, as he corrected him.

"Lemme see what she look like nigga how you know I don't know her?"

"Hell nah nigga stop being nosy-"

"Ok but if I had a bitch I would show you-"

"She not a bitch tho." Erik said sternly in their back and forth bickering. As annoyed as Erik was ace had a point and they both knew it. Ace talked to him about everything and if he was interested in a girl Erik would be the first to know about it. Erik put his gun on safety and sat it down before digging In his back pocket to grab his phone.

He scrolled through his camera until he found his favorite picture of Israel. It was one she sent to him not to long ago, her hair was wild with tiny ringlet coils. Her lips and mouth were stained red from the dumdum that hung from it. She had her white silk night gown on and a dainty rose flower necklace that hung between her collarbone.

Erik handed him the phone and watched as he brought his fist up to his mouth. "Nigga she fine as fuck damn where you find her at?"

"A party I went to not to long ago, she was shy as fuck she would barely talk to me." Erik chuckled taking his phone back to put it back in his pocket. "We been hanging out the last few weeks, she cool." Erik said nonchalantly to make it seem like he wasn't feeling shordy as much as he was. To someone like didn't know Erik as well as ace did he would've them really thinking he didn't like her and it wasn't a big deal but ace knew.

"You feeling her?" Ace asked facing Erik now, Erik shrugged.

"Like I said she cool."

"Mm." Was all ace said. Erik didn't need to answer, ace already knew the answer.

[mr-entj]

Hello Mr. ENTJ 👋🏻 ENTP girl here. Like any other Ne-dom I have major struggles with discipline and commitment. This ended up, obviously, screwing my life and I have no idea what to do. I have problems figuring out what career should I choose, and this is depressing me because I'm ambitious and would like to find my place and succeed. What advise do you have on discipline? Or on how to stick with something even when is not fun all the time? I know that for us is very difficult and that maybe an advise for others might not work so good with us (our brain is programmed to jump from one topic to another) but is there anything you know that could help with this?

Sorry for the long ask, and thank you so much.

(ps: I have depression, which I'm already working on with proper help. But discipline related to study/work and goals is something I still haven't found an answer)

Related answer:

Hello! I've been trying to be better about procrastination, because I realize how detrimental it can be, not only to myself, but also to other people in group project situations. Do you have any tips on pacing comfortably or figuring out how to have an equal amount of school work each night?

Hey there. Full disclosure before I go into procrastination: I don’t procrastinate, I’ve never struggled with it, and throughout my life I’ve done everything in my power to avoid procrastinating for reasons we’ll skip because they aren’t relevant to your ask. For that reason, I struggle to answer questions around this topic because I have limited personal perspective and my default response tends to be: “Don’t wait, suck it up, and get it done.” Plus, what works for my personality type may not work for yours.

The good news is that I have extremely brilliant and insanely accomplished colleagues and direct reports with your personality type who have found ways to manage procrastination. Here are some of the solutions we’ve come up with and they’ve used that’ve worked which may be helpful for you and others.

Managing procrastination for xNTPs (applicable to xSTPs)

1. Choose goals you’re excited about. This should be inherently obvious but it’s actually a common problem. Do you even want to achieve the thing you’re trying to achieve? If not, achieving it will be an uphill battle from start to finish. Here’s my framework to get you started.

2. Fail early and fail fast. High Ne users need to explore possibilities before they can make a decision so explore them early and move on. Do you want to study art or music? Take both classes, now. Remove the question mark.

3. Create an external support system. Go talk to other people about your goals: friends, colleagues, classmates, family members, mentors, and have them keep you on track. Even better, get a therapist if that’s an option. You mentioned depression and that you’re working on it which is great, keep your mental health up. Set up weekly, bi-weekly, monthly check-ins with them to measure progress. This helps with two things: 1) it pulls your goals out of your mind and into reality by speaking it into existence (as an intuitive, this is a constant struggle) and 2) it creates a system to keep you accountable to those goals especially if you’re not making progress. Ask for help if you need it.

4. Get a mentor. Find successful people who are where you want to be that you want to emulate. Talk to them, ask them questions, and keep them close. If you don’t know anyone like that, then research them online, watch videos, read books, and study their thought processes and habits. This helps because you’ll be able to see that someone has already walked the path you’re on and it’s completely achievable. You need to be able to see the result, not just imagine it in your head. The second benefit is that you’ll be able to check your internal logic against external facts. Are you doing what you’re supposed to be doing to succeed? Is your method actually feasible? If not, what facts from other successful people contradict your logic? Compare, analyze, adjust, and adapt.

5. Choose your friends wisely. Most people are influenced by their environment and their social groups, but xxTPs are especially vulnerable to social influence due to having extraverted feeling (Fe). If you’re trying to become a neurosurgeon but your friends are playing Fortnite 14 hours per day, then you’ll feel a strong pull to do the same thing they’re doing. For this reason, you don’t need to cut them off, but you’ll need to distance yourself from people who are interfering with your ability to do deep work. Set expectations with them: “I can game on weekends only for 2-3 hours” and enforce those boundaries. Then, add new friends to your social circle who have similar goals as you.

6. Work in groups. There’s a quote: “Many hands make for light work.” If you’re studying for an exam, then study with other people. Schedule a study group where everyone is expected to contribute notes to review and discuss. Global pandemic? Schedule a Zoom studying session. This accomplishes a few things: 1) it distributes the burden of crappy tasks and dense material among many people to become more manageable 2) it checks your logic and understanding of the material to ensure it’s accurate 3) it creates external accountability as covered in #1 and 4) it builds relationships with other people who may have similar goals as you and who may become part of your lifelong network. In general, xNTPs struggle with self-imposed deadlines and internal discipline but they tend to respond better when there’s a risk of letting other people down.

7. Break large goals into small chunks. Self-explanatory. Take a large goal like becoming a doctor which can take 10+ years (4 years of undergrad, 4 years of medical school, 2+ years of residency) and break it down into smaller goals like 1) master biology 101, master chemistry 101, etc. 2) get a research lab position studying something you find interesting 3) talk to some physicians in the specialty that you’re interested in 4) complete a few MCAT classes, etc. Small wins build confidence, increase momentum, and create gratification. 

8. Burn all bridges. xNTPs are masters of creative excuses and you must destroy all possible escape routes that can be used to get out of doing the tasks you must do. If you’re trying to get into better physical shape, then sign a non-refundable gym membership so that you’ll lose your money if you don’t go. If you’re trying to be more consistent with studying at the library, then volunteer to drive your study group so that you’ll let them down if you don’t drive. If you’re distracted by television, then sell your TV and cut your cable subscription. If you’re addicted to Tumblr, then delete your account. 

9. Summon the procrastination demon-- early. You know the demon I’m talking about, it’s the one that comes out right before a deadline that chases you to finish your work. Summon it yourself. Have you been wanting to write a book? Send out invitations to your friends and family to schedule a reading.

10. Show off. When you accomplish something, talk about it with other people. Share your knowledge, teach a class, write an online post, and distribute that wisdom to other people. It creates an added layer of gratification from your success.

[pbandjesse]

I accidentally took an almost 4 hour nap. Oops. I apparently really needed it. Honestly I'm still very tired. But it was a good day. Just really rainy and tired.

I fell asleep before James last night. That almost never happens. I was out like a light. But I would still feel exhausted when I woke up.

I got dressed. I wore socks and sandals because it was raining and I did not have my rain boots. I felt very cute. My fingers weren't working well and James had to button the back for me. Love them so much.

We left here and got breakfast but I was still so tired. I could barely keep my eyes open all the way. I looked exhausted and I was exhausted. Ginny, from the bakery, saw me sewing all two dozen bears I brought and she was like. You are always working! You should take a break! And I just said I will fall asleep sitting here if I stop moving. I'm like a shark!! Gotta keep moving or I will die.

I got so much work done though. Three of the bears need extensive repairs so I did not get those done, I want to get those fixed on my sewing machine. But everything else got done and I made a bunch of tiny felt bears to make more pins. It was a good morning.

Dad texted me and we brainstormed about my sister's headstone. Which I think he is going to go with my idea, so that feels special. But even not I am glad he felt safe asking me. Love my dad. Tombstones are very backlogged and backordered. But she's going to get a pretty little heart and it's going to look really nice.

It was wildly rainy. It started drizzly. And it was fine. But then it was a down pour. And it was just a lot!! And then there was vender drama. Because of the rain Ann gave a spot in the pavilion to a parking lot vender who was in time. Because that spot was for someone who hadn't shown up. Like it's 930 at this point. We are supposed to be done setting up by 9, and can get there at 8, which is what I do.

But of course the late vender shows up right after Ann gave the spot away. So they had to set up a tent in the rain in the parking lot and they were so mad. And like I get it. But also you were wildly late. And then weren't set up until almost 1030! They sold out, so people do like their product and that's great! But people need to be respectful of the rules of the market. Please. It makes me so stressed out.

I didn't have high hopes for sales today. Because of the rain people were running in and getting their food and running away. So no one was really stopping to look at my stuff.

But I would make two sale! Sold 4 things. And that was great. So not my best day but almost 3 times better then last week. And people were really nice. I also had some very sweet interactions with kids, including the little girl who bought the large bear last week. They named it crewmate!! That's such a cute name. She said they had the bears birthday last week and they are getting alone very well. Hilarious, I love it.

I would go in to give James a hug. And we got baked good earlier in the day. And the rain would calm down a bit. I was excited to go home.

I decided to take myself and it takes me about a minute and a half to clear my table and pack everything up. Less then 5 minutes to get everything in the car. It was raining but it wasn't to bad and I got all my stuff in and my person only got a little damp. Maybe a little more then damp.

But I went home. As soon as I got in the house poor Sweetp threw up. Like as I was walking in and he seemed really distressed. And then he stated throwing up again but in the carpet and I quickly picked him up and moved him just in time. No idea what was wrong but poor baby.

After I cleaned up Sweetp, and the floor, I got changed, had lunch and laid down.

I was out out. I slept for 4 hours. Give or take. When I woke up at 6 James wasn't here because they were at Lane's house using their washing machine. Thank you Lane. I played Stardew and married my in-game girlfriend who is now my in game wife. Her name is Emily and she has blue hair.

I was still playing when James got home and I was able to beat a very hard level and get to the top of the mountain and was really proud of myself. James cheered for me and I felt very accomplished.

I took a bath and folded some stuff for camp. Me and James talked about our honeymoon and are moving forward on figuring out when we should go. I think April. But it might be later. We will see. Maybe a one year from the wedding? Who knows. But it's fun to think about.

Now though I want to go to sleep. James made me a little sandwich. And I am very tired. I hope tomorrow I feel more human. I hope everyone at camp is doing well. Sleep well everyone. Take. Are of yourself.

[scribbleshanks]

9, 10, and 25 for the artist ask thing? Hope your day is going well :D!!

Oh hello! :D Nice to see you!! ^^

I actually answered all of these questions before if you'd like to take a look back at the previous asks, buuut to tell you the truth I would like to expand on a couple thoughts that I don't think I included before; I hope that's okay :)

9.

I said I can draw for about 5 hours in a single day, and that's true, but only when I'm in tip top drawing mood, and that means after a good warmup.

I've found that I benefit greatly from doing warmups, and though I once complained a lot about it when I first started to try them, I since learned that I would rather do a lot of sketchy circles and lines than to go straight for a sketch that would take me a good hour or so of cleaning up (which infuriates me because I want a clean and concise sketch for the lineart stages, grrr).

I underestimated the power of warmups 0_0; I personally draw a ton of little beans and spidermans because they help keep me on my toes about my sense of anatomy and gesture. On top of that there’s also lots of shading boxes full of different values so I can work my way into revving up for shadows, and that reaaaally helps my brain get ready for a good detailed cloak full of folds and creases.

After a good 15 minutes of warmups, I feel very comfortable easing into a high effort drawing that would require my full concentration for the next few hours (with breaks in between, of course). On days like this, I can draw for a good 5 hours.

There are days when I can't manage ten minutes of drawing or warmups, and that's okay! I take the edge off by playing video games or reading to let my drawing jitters rest.

10.

I mentioned that I've gotten more confident thanks to learning from my Hollow Knight fanart and from studying resources that provided guidance, and I want to explain a little more on the latter.

I have not taken many classes involving the technical side of art, so I'm very used to being intensely self taught. My learning process is largely based on observation, feeling, and intuition without the monitoring or guidance of a more experienced artist to help. This in of itself is not a bad thing, because it takes many self taught artists a lot of work and time to hone their craft without that same structure, and that's very difficult. My particular struggle with being self taught, however, is trying to shake off any bad habits that I developed, which I’m still trying to do.

Being aware of my bad habits and of my struggles made it hard for me to want to learn, and that took a hit to my confidence for a long time.

Wanting to improve on my Hollow Knight fanart, however, gently encouraged me to seek online help, and I'm glad I did.

I feel better about confronting my weaknesses while acknowledging my strengths, and I didn't used to do that before 2021 :)

25.

I mostly listen to music when I draw, and even then I'd rather listen to an hour long video of someone playing video games than music.

Silence is near insufferable to me, and I find it funny that I can focus less when I have nothing to listen to as opposed to being incredibly laser focused when I have someone yapping in my ear in the background.

I think the only time I would have preferred drawing in silence was when our neighbors had two plump chickens in their backyard, and I would have listened to them pecking around the ground for seeds. Bird’s gotta bird.

Not...that the chickens have anything to do with your ask, but I do kinda miss those them.

I also hope your day is going well! :) 

[high-functioning-lokipath]

SH - Sherlock & Mycroft Friendship/Brotherly Bonding - Prompt: Holmes brothers as kids, Myc being a good brother, playing the deduction game. - Words: 1,715

WARNING: MYCROFT IS A BIT NOT GOOD AT THE BEGINNING. THIS IS NOT MYCROFT HATE THO! ALSO, DEVIL CHILDREN WHO DON'T LIKE SHERLOCK MAKE AN APPEARANCE. IT DOES END WELL THOUGH.

That being said, I guess I should add a Trigger Warning for bullying.

I do hope you enjoy the story! Let us know!

"You simply are not trying hard enough, Sherlock! It's quite obvious!" Mycroft yelled. The Holmes brothers were standing in the living room in 221B. Mycroft had decided to pay his brother an in-person visit rather than just turning on the security camera he'd installed. Sherlock had decided to ask Mycroft to play the deduction game with him over a cup of tea. Sherlock was rarely so cordial with Mycroft thus Mycroft was, not that he'd admit it, concerned that something was wrong. He realized he'd miscalculated greatly (again, he'd never admit that) when, only an hour later, a shouting match had ensued.

"Really? Obvious? You're bloody insane, Mycroft! That solution is simply not possible!" Sherlock yelled, dressing gown swishing dramatically as he waved about.

"Look at the facts little brother. We've eliminated the rest. And what do we say about what remains?" Mycroft attempted to bring his voice back down to it's normal, placating, patronizing tones.

"Must be the truth," Sherlock replied, hanging his head low as he finally came to rest on the couch. Mycroft briefly, and rather guiltily, pictured Sherlock as a whipped puppy tucking its tail between its legs. He hadn't intended to hurt his brother so, but the damage was done.

'Nothing worse than past fights,' Mycroft thought. 'He'll recover in a few hours.' He decided not to reconcile at the moment as that could quite easily be taken as caring. 'Sherlock knows I care about him, I just don't want to appear too soft,' Mycroft justified mentally.

"Very good, Sherlock," He said aloud. "I understand you couldn't see it my way today. Perhaps one day you'll be able to think clearly about things." Mycroft turned to walk away. "Perhaps once your brain recovers from your last overdose. Maybe then it will return to acceptable functionality."

'Why did I tack that last jab on?' Mycroft wondered. 'Perhaps I really am becoming too calloused.' He shrugged off the thoughts for the moment as he got in his usual black limousine for the ride home.

Back in 221B, Sherlock sat crying on the sofa for some time. Soft whimpers of "Myc" fell from his lips occasionally. Eventually, he fell asleep, although not a restful one.

"William! Come outside! It's a perfect day to explore!" Sherlock's mind palace had conjured up the memory he was trying so hard to forget. He saw everything so clearly though. Mycroft, still as proper as ever, yet this Mycroft was more free, more innocent. About 14 years old and just under 5' 7", Mycroft had already adopted most of the personality that would stick with him for the rest of his life. Sherlock was seeing his memory as though it was a movie he could walk through. He didn't see it from his 7 year old point of view. Rather, he watched on the sidelines. He looked around and found himself in the backyard of their childhood home. Mycroft was examining a particularly bright patch of flowers by the corner of the house. Some of them had been crushed, others torn up.

'The old tabby cat,' Sherlock remembered fondly. 'Mrs. O'Malley did always let that cat wander too much.'

"I'm coming, Mycie!" Sherlock heard behind him. Turning about he saw himself, right at 4' tall, running out of the house to join his brother.

"Tell me, William," Mycroft said. "How do you think these flowers were destroyed?"

"The old tabby cat, Mycie! That's easy! Find me something harder!" His 7 year old self exclaimed. Mycroft smiled approvingly and patted little Sherlock's shoulder.

'I can't seem to recall why he ever stopped calling me William,' Sherlock thought. Shaking his head in his dream, he chuckled silently. He knew he would remember, but his mind was attempting to fool him.

"Timothy Lexington," Mycroft called out, tossing a frisbee to young Sherlock. He caught it absently, brows drawn together in thought.

"Blond and blue, 19, 5' 9", science class, held back a year," Sherlock replied, throwing the disk back with a smug grin.

'The original deduction game!' Sherlock thought with an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia. Sitting on the grass, he settled in to watch.

Mycroft had gotten into the habit of having Sherlock deduce his classmates to the nth degree.

"Why was he held back?" Mycroft quizzed, returning the frisbee.

"Cheating," Sherlock replied, about to throw it back. "Wait," he paused. "Cheating and skipping class." With every throw, Mycroft would ask a question or name a person, and with every catch, Sherlock would answer.

"Samantha Hanshaw."

"Red and green, 17, 5' 5", fairly intelligent. Moved ahead 2 levels over the summer." Mycroft was just about to catch the returning disc when Sherlock added, "And she has a crush on you. She likes your intellect." Mycroft completely froze. The frisbee hit him squarely on the forehead, snapping him out of his trance. "Mycroft! Are you ok?" Sherlock yelled, all deductions forgotten.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Mycroft assured him. "Let's go up front." The two Holmes children ran around to the front yard and Sherlock hurried to catch up. As he was about the round the corner, he noticed a group of boys, about his younger self's age, bicycling down the road.

'Oh,' Sherlock remembered. 'This was it.'

"William! Want to come and play with us?" One boy yelled, coming to a stop in front of the house.

"Can I, Myc? Please?" The younger Holmes asked. Sherlock could see the love and care in Mycroft's eyes. But also the sadness.

"They're no good for you, Will," He whispered, kneeling down to his brother's level. The younger's face dropped, tears welling up in his eyes. Mycroft hesitated briefly, hoping with all his heart he was making the right decision and that his initial readings of those boys were false, and added, "But if you want so badly, I suppose an hour or so wouldn't hurt." Sherlock lit up and hugged his brother around the neck.

"Thanks, Mycie! I'll be good! I'll be back in 1 hour!" Sherlock then ran across their large front yard to the road to meet up with the other boys. Mycroft began to walk into the house when he heard yelling.

"Where's your bodyguard now, William? Think you can just use your brain to get out of this, William?" Mycroft's heart sank. Those scumbags were holding Sherlock down on the pavement, kicking him. "Freak! Weirdo!"

"Leave him alone!" Mycroft bellowed. Sherlock had been struggling, trying to get away from them, but there had simply been too many. The bullies quickly scattered, grabbing their bikes and running off. Mycroft pulled Sherlock onto the grass immediately.

"I'm sorry," Sherlock whimpered.

"No, no, William. You don't have to be-"

"Don't call me that!" He yelled. "Never again! If I'm to be a freak, I'll be named as such. Never call me by that name again. Call me Sherlock from now on." Sherlock's face had turned adamant, a preview of his future personality.

"But-"

"Please?" Sherlock begged, face softening once again. Mycroft silently nodded and pulled Sherlock in for a hug.

"Come on inside. Let's get you washed up and have some cake together, hm? Sounds good, Sherlock?" Mycroft asked, the name feeling strange on his tongue. He certainly did not think the name sounded freakish, nor was his brother a freak, but he would, at least for now, make his brother happy.

"Yes, please."

"And Sherlock?" Mycroft continued, pausing his steps. "I'll always love you and I'll always take care of you. I will never hurt you. Never forget that."

Sherlock woke up with a start, gasping and still sobbing a little. His face was sticky with half-dry tears.

"I will never hurt you." Those words echoed in Sherlock's mind. It seemed that these days all Mycroft had done was hurt Sherlock.

'Not that it was really his fault,' Sherlock thought. 'I'm really the cause of it all. Maybe if I could find a triple homicide I could finally make him proud.' Sherlock shook his head. He'd already solved those types of cases. He really didn't know what to do to make his brother happy. Turning over on the sofa, he looked to the abandoned mugs on the coffee table. No doubt, the contents were far past cold so Sherlock got up and took them to the sink. Hearing the door lock click, he readied himself for an intruder since no one else he knew should be coming in at this time of day.

"Sherlock?" He heard a voice call out.

'Mycroft?' Sherlock wondered. 'Why is he here?' Slowly, Sherlock walked out of the kitchen.

"What do you want?" He spat, unintentionally angry.

"I wanted to apologise. I'm sorry," Mycroft said, absolute sincerity showing on his face. Sherlock was surprised beyond words. Mycroft quickly took in his brother's appearance and realized he was responsible for it. Mycroft sighed lightly before continuing, "Lately all we've done is fight. That's not right for brothers. Even arch-nemesis brothers," He said with a smirk. Even Sherlock chuckled at that. Turning serious once again, Mycroft continued, "Please believe me when I say I'm sorry. I-" He paused for a moment, deciding he may not have another chance like this for a while. "I'll always love you, little brother, and I'll always take care of you. I will never intentionally hurt you. Never forget that. I may be harsh sometimes and say things I don't mean when I'm especially frustrated but I'll try to say 'I'm sorry' a bit more."

"I love you too, Mycie," Sherlock replied, hugging his brother tightly. Mycroft smiled fondly at the man who, at the moment, was burying his face in Mycroft's suit jacket. Mycroft hugged Sherlock back.

"I'll always care, William," His brother's name finally felt right again after all these years. "You're never a disadvantage."

"Neither are you, Myc," Sherlock replied with a smile. "But you know you're not allowed to call me that around anyone else. Not even Mummy and Daddy." Mycroft nodded. "Good. Now why don't we stop this emotional madness and finish what we started," Sherlock commanded. To the average person, it would seem Sherlock had gone back to normal. But Mycroft saw the glint in his eyes. "Chocolate cake with whipped icing?" Sherlock offered.

"Of course," Mycroft smiled, taking the plate and sitting again in the living room. "Cluedo?"

Sherlock BBC Taglist

@lucywrites02

@delightfulheartdream

@bartv21

@another-crazy-fangirl

@ladylulu143

[ubernoxa]

Broken Voodoo: The Story of the band that brought Rock N’ Roll back to life

Chapter 1: From the Begining

Prologue

Red, pinks, and yellow hues filled the sky as I watched the sunrise while the plane began to descend. It reminded me of one of the paintings that hung in the law office where I worked; however, instead of a small lake with a sailboat, the city of Los Angeles was staring back at me. A very intimidating city, if I may add. I would much rather have the calming lake staring back at me. Now before you begin to think that I am a lawyer with some fancy law degree, I should let you know that I am by no means a lawyer. I don’t even have a law degree, I have a two year degree in English. I performed patent research and proofread reports at the law office. Don’t get me wrong, some of the research is interesting and it's always exciting to work with inventors, especially when I help make the patent for their invention a reality. The only downside is that I hate working with lawyers who see me as a second class citizen with my English degree.

Luckily for me, the office was rather large, and my desk was far away from the condescending lawyers that filled the office. I would go about my day with ease only dealing with them for a couple of hours a day while I sat in their long boring meetings where I would constantly debate how much I actually needed this job while they would try to one up each other by playing the game I like to call ‘I am the smartest one in the room.’

I was able to keep to myself away from the lawyers for the most part, until a few months back when I thought I was going to get fired. It all started when I sat down at my desk one early Monday morning, and saw a handwritten note from my boss’s secretary saying to visit his office as soon as I arrived. Unsettling is one of the many words that came to mind when I first found the note taped to my desk. I would get fired if I said the other words that came to mind. I took one last glance around the room, making eye contact with one of my coworkers who shared a similar facial expression. There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to be fired.

Dead girl walking.

“Oh Andi, I am glad you could join me,” I sent a soft smile to my boss as I closed the large wooden shrieking doors behind me.

“No problem at all, the meeting seemed important, so I moved my calendar around,” I replied, making sure to keep my hands under the table. They weren't shaking, they were trembling. I was terrified by not only the eyes that were now watching me through the large glass wall that he had in his office to make it a ‘friendlier’ environment, but also by the fact that I may be fired in the next ten minutes.

“Do you still play guitar?”

I could feel a confused look flash across my features as he spoke.

“Yeah, helps me relax after a long day. Why?” My mind was racing in circles trying to understand why he had asked me to come to his office first thing in the morning.

“Would you be interested in playing in a band?”

I let a nervous laugh escape me before I replied. “I am sorry what? Did you call me here to fire me or not?”

I was met with a hardy laugh from my boss. “No no no, to make an incredibly long story short, my niece’s boyfriend’s band entered into some silly band competition, and they need a replacement guitarist for a competition that is in a month. I have heard rumors around the office that you played, and I wanted to see if you could help out my niece. To be honest, I haven’t been the best godfather, so I was hoping you could help me out by joining the band for a month to play at the competition. My niece, such a foolish girl, believes that her boyfriend will become the next rockstar.I hope she quickly realizes how irrational she is being, and moves on. Hopefully sooner rather than later.”

“Yeah I would love to help,” I quickly responded, trying to hide how off put I was by his casual nature towards me. Within a couple of days I was Skyping the band for an interview and the rest is history.

I was pulled from my thoughts as the pilot announced that we had landed and welcomed us all to LA, the city of dreams. An older man helped me remove my carry on from the overhead bins, and after what felt like hours, I was off the plane. I felt like I could finally breathe again the moment I stepped off the pain and walked into the airport.

I watched through the skylight as the sun continued to rise, as if mocking me that I was still in the airport. Lucky for me, everything I needed was in my backpack and after a quick debate with the flight attendant who said I couldn’t bring my guitar as a carry on, I didn’t have to go to baggage claim. One of the few perks of working with lawyers and doing law research for a living is that I came prepared with a printed section of the FFA Reform act that said I could which quickly shut her up.

I kept my eyes peeled as I followed herds of people who appeared to be leaving. I felt like I was in pandora's labyrinth weaving through the various waiting areas, food courts, and shops. This airport must have been at least ten times larger than the one in Maine. I felt relief fill me as I finally spotted some familiar faces.

I spotted Jax’s blonde hair first as he towered over several of the people around him. Holy shit, at 5 ft 4 inches, I was going to look like a munchkin standing next to him. He stuck out like a sore thumb as he stood next to a smiley Robin in his leather pants with a jean vest. I guess shirts were not required in LA like how they are in Maine. He sent me a wave which I quickly returned as he motioned for us to meet off to the side, and not in the herd of people that were looking for relatives or loved ones.

I only knew three things about Jax.

He was currently dating Robin, but after talking to him over Skype during band meetings, I wondered how long that would last.

He was a charismatic and a good dancer, just like every lead singer in rock band before him

He may not look like it, but he had the voice of an angle from the heavens above.

I smiled at the small sign that Robin was holding that said ‘Welcome to California Andi’.. I felt underdressed in my athletic shorts, hoodie, and sneakers as I approached the pair, secretly wishing that I had worn a sundress similar to Robin.

“Welcome to LA, is it everything you hoped for?” Jax smiled as he welcomed me.

“It’s sunnier than Maine,” I replied once again looking at one of the hundreds of skylights.

“Well it’s good to finally meet you in person, let’s get going to the car, so we can get the fuck out of here,” I nodded at his words. Getting the fuck out of the overpacked busy airport felt amazing. For the past 9 hours I had felt like a sardine in a can. I craved fresh air.

“Here let me take that,” I cautiously eyed Robin as I handed her my guitar case.

“How was the flight?” She chirped walking by my side as we followed Jax to the parking garage.

“Can’t complain much. I had to fight the flight attendant about having my guitar as a carry on, but I won in the end. She was a bitch to me the entire flight though,” I replied earning a small giggle from Robin.

“How did you manage that?” I had assumed Jax had tuned Robin and I out as we made it to his truck.

“Law says I can bring it as a carry on, so I printed out the section I needed. Once I handed the paper to her she shut up. I hate causing problems, but there is no way I was ‘gate checking’ my guitar. I didn’t want some random guy tossing it around on the tar mat, or watching my baby slide down the luggage ramp before it slammed into a wall,” I quickly replied before hopping in the back seat.

“So I have to ask, what is it like working for my uncle?” Robin was currently sitting shotgun, as Jax backed up the truck and began to leave the spaghetti jungle that was the parking lot.

“I honestly only talked to him twice. The first was on my first day at work when he introduced himself to me. The second was when he asked me if I could help Broken Voodoo out which by the way I thought he was going to fucking fire me when he called me to his office,” I laughed at myself thinking back to the moment only a month ago.

“Ohh Sorry about that Andi.”

“Don’t worry Robin,” I smiled back, earning one in return.

“So the plan for this morning is to drop you off at my place to get some additional practice with the rest of the band while I head up north to check us into the competition. We won’t be playing until day two so we don’t have to get there until tomorrow night,” He said as he pulled up into some random parking spot.

“Don't you need to practice with us?” I asked out of curiosit.

“Honey, don't worry about me. I'm so good I don't need to practice,” I was glad we were walking up a creaky staircase as he replied. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep my jaw from dropping to the floor. I was impressed by him and his ego could fit through the small doorway that led to his apartment. No, it was not an apartment. It was a studio. I placed my guitar by the drums and other instruments that took up half of the studio.

“Hey Andi! Welcome to California!” I turned to see Oli shout across the studio the moment he saw me. Before I could respond, someone threw something across the room at Oli.

“Shut the fuck up, Oli. It is too early for you to be this loud,” I didn't have to see the bassist’s face to know Seb was the one over in the corner on the paper thin mattress.

“Oli, Robin and I gotta head out to sign in and get our backstage passes for the competition. Get to practicing to get her ready,” Jax said before leaving the pathetic excuse of an apartment.

“Don’t worry Andi, I have heard you play countless times, you’ll do fine. It is more of the stage presence we are worried about. We should have plenty of ‘stage presence’ with that throwing trick you came up with, but we have to cover the whole stage,” Oli patted my back as we headed over towards his drum kit.

“I’ve been practicing with the rod you sent a few weeks back, we can practice the trick once we get our instruments good to go. We sound the part, now we have to look the part,” Seb paused as he took a second to look me over. The worst part wasn’t that he was being incredibly obvious he was checking me out, the worst part was the unsatisfactory look he had on his face.

“You don’t look like a rocker,” I scoffed at his comment. Of course I didn't look like a rocker. I just got off of a nine hour flight.

“Well, you look like a complete dick, so at least one of us is dressed appropriately,” I sassed back before moving towards my guitar to retune it.

“Alrighty!” I was brought from my tuning by Oli who was once again playing peacekeeper by breaking the silence and clapping his hands.

“Alot is at stake here, so let's get to practicing,” he added once he was seated behind his drum kit.

Seb counted us in, and we began our setlist from the top.

I brushed off Seb’s comment, and began to focus on the music.i could already feel the pressure to perform perfectly. As a rhythm guitarist, playing as the solo guitarist felt foreign. As we played through our setlist, I tried loosening out by copying some of Seb’s dance moves. I chose not to mimic the ones that looked like just sex.

Oli was right, there was a lot at stake here.

I was surprised when I found out that there was no cash prize. Instead, according to Jax, there was something more valuable. The shot at a record deal.

With this competition only happening once every couple years, this was their shot to make it big.