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becomewings · 4 years ago

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The Most Beautiful Moment in Life <I’M FINE>

BTS Universe Story Highlights, pt. 2 / 4

« pt. 1 | » pt. 3

Introduction

JungKook’s and YoonGi’s stories are the first of the paid content in BTS Universe Story and are substantially more detailed than the episodes covered in part 1. As this led to longer summaries (4.2k and 3k), I have added “tl;dr commentary” at the bottom of the post after a section of additional thoughts. This commentary summarizes the parenthetical asides I made throughout the summaries and may be of interest as standalone reading to those who have already played the game yet would like to review its connections to the BU texts and MVs.

Content warning: contains references to death, suicide, suicidal ideation, child abuse, domestic violence, blood, homicide, depression, trauma, PTSD

This guide contains major spoilers and includes references to other BU media

Do not repost, copy, or quote without permission

The Boy on the Threshold

In this story, SeokJin works to uncover the motivations behind JungKook’s nightly street wandering, instigation of fights with thugs, and decision to jump from the roof of a construction site. He was aware of the “darkness” within JungKook but never thought that he would give up on himself. SeokJin is determined to find a way to make JungKook think “I want to live” on his own.

In the afternoon on 11 April Year 22, SeokJin drives by the crosswalk outside Songju Jeil High School. Spotting a grim-faced JungKook, he gets out to greet him. JungKook visibly brightens and pelts him with question after question, finally finishing with, “But how come you’re here at school?” If the player chooses the response “I came to see you” rather than “I was in the neighborhood,” JungKook seems a little disbelieving due to the coincidental timing but nevertheless pleased. SeokJin offers him a ride, thinking that JungKook will not carry out that night’s actions from previous loops if he gets home right away. In the car, SeokJin reminisces aloud about the day they all met. On 3 March Year 19, all seven boys arrived late on the first day at Songju Jeil High School and were scolded outside by the Dean. (Aside from the absence of extra students, this scene looks very similar to the BTS Begins Middle Scene VCR, including the detail of YoonGi arriving last. This VCR predates official BU content.) When the Dean spotted SeokJin in their lineup, he reduced their punishment of community service for one month to just that afternoon. After classes, the boys cleaned the annex. The old classroom-turned-storage room became their secret hideout where they enjoyed various activities like dancing, playing the piano, and spending time with one another. JungKook appears happy as they chat about their school days, although in one path, his face falls after he remembers when he and YoonGi were caught in the annex. SeokJin is concerned, but JungKook insists, “It’s nothing.”

They say goodbye outside JungKook’s house, but SeokJin watches to make sure he goes inside. JungKook hesitates before ringing the bell at the gate. His mom answers, surprised and at a loss by his unexpected arrival. She asks him to come back later because his father’s relatives stopped by, and the intercom cuts off before he can answer. (His mother remarried, so this is really his step-father and family.) SeokJin wonders if JungKook has no one to lean on at school or at home and if this is why he wanders the streets at night. He asks JungKook where he wants to go now. “The beach… the one I went to with you guys,” JungKook answers, then says he’s kidding when SeokJin hesitates, thinking about the night ahead. SeokJin invites JungKook home instead, hoping to keep an eye on him before he needs to save NamJoon at the gas station.

In his bedroom, SeokJin hastily takes down the map and notes pinned on the wall of the boys’ incidents around the city. After letting JungKook inside, he shows him a box of photos from their time together in school. While JungKook browses, a notification on SeokJin’s phone reminds him of Songho Foundation’s inaugural ceremony that evening. Songho Foundation is a scholarship foundation funded by his maternal grandmother’s estate, and his father formally introduces him on this occasion. SeokJin also receives a call from his father’s long-time aide, a man he refers to as Uncle JunHo, who instructs him not to be late to the ceremony. Claiming it won’t take him long, SeokJin asks JungKook to stay there and wait for him to return. He is worried about leaving JungKook alone but also concerned that bringing him to the gas station after the ceremony will make him late to intervening in NamJoon’s incident.

In the lobby of the hotel hosting the Songho Foundation Inauguration Ceremony, SeokJin recognizes many important faces from around the city: Song JunHo, his father’s aide; Seo HyunJung, the city’s deputy mayor; the CEO of Youngjin Engineering & Construction Company; a professor from Munhyeon University; and the Jeil High School principal, Jo JinMyung. SeokJin doesn’t want to cross paths with the principal but is drawn into a conversation with him, the mayor, and his father, Kim ChangJun. “Assemblyman! Congratulations on the launch of the scholarship foundation,” Deputy Mayor Seo says to Kim ChangJun. “I hear that your son has been accepted to Munhyeon University? You must be happy that he’s attending your alma mater.” Kim ChangJun shakes his head. “He still has a lot to learn.” She remarks that everyone knows how well SeokJin has grown up and inquires about his career plans. The player is presented with three choices: “I haven’t decided yet,” “I want to become a good person,” and “I want to become someone like my father.” SeokJin’s father continues to look grim while the others chuckle in response to the first two answers, but his expression softens at the third, which SeokJin knew would not rub him the wrong way. Deputy Mayor Seo proposes to Assemblyman Kim that they establish a regular meeting to discuss community development, mentioning that it would be better if he could invite the city’s prominent citizens and give a speech. Assemblyman Kim agrees, telling his assistant Song JunHo to make note of it. The ceremony concludes, and the guests head towards the hotel’s restaurant. SeokJin is wary of his father’s watchful gaze but impatient to carry out the rest of the night’s plans. While his father is surrounded by other people, he informs Uncle JunHo that he has to leave to work on a group project. SeokJin slips out of the hotel and heads to NamJoon’s gas station.

While SeokJin is gone, one of the photos in the box catches JungKook’s eye. It shows the seven boys sitting on a wall with the ocean behind them. (This photo resembles the shot in Euphoria at 5’32” except that they appear to be wearing school uniform shirts and slacks.) A flashback retells the afternoon of 12 June Year 19 when the boys cut school early and visited the sea, trudging over 3 kilometers under the scorching sun to find a boulder that is rumored to make your dreams come true. (The date is not specified in the game, but the memory closely follows this set of entries in The Notes 1.) Everyone collapses in disappointment when they can’t find the rock at its designated location. JungKook is tired but not as disappointed as the others—just walking there with them is enough for him, even though he often feels uncertain of his place among the group. He gets up on the pier railing, reflecting: “I’ve always liked walking on the edge of walls or on top of lines. Focusing on centering my gravity means that I don’t really think of anything else, and the boundary—not quite a part of either place—always felt like where I should be.” Balancing precariously, JungKook walks until someone grabs his arm. YoonGi scolds him not to do this. JungKook assures him that he will not fall but privately thinks: “YoonGi would often grab my arm when I walked on railings. The others would look after me, too, after seeing him do that. I liked their helping hands. It felt like they were telling me that I should go to them. That this wasn’t my place. Maybe their hands were why I walked on the railings.”

The story returns to the present in SeokJin’s perspective. He rushes back to his room after saving NamJoon and finds JungKook asleep, leaning against the bed with the photos still scattered around him. Feeling both relief and regret, SeokJin quietly coaxes JungKook to lay down and sleep more comfortably. JungKook wakes up and says he should go home after hearing that it’s past ten o’clock. The game cuts briefly to SeokJin’s father in his study with his aide. Kim ChangJun asks Song JunHo to fetch SeokJin, as he needs to know what goes on for the foundation. JunHo says that SeokJin must be entertaining a guest for the group project because he spotted an unfamiliar pair of shoes in the entryway.

Back in his bedroom, SeokJin is startled when his father knocks on the door. It’s rare for his father to visit the second floor of their home, so he let his guard down while chatting with JungKook. “F-Father.” Stammering, SeokJin flinches and gathers up the scattered photos. “Did you leave the ceremony early to waste time like this? Even lying to say you were doing a school project?” asks Kim ChangJun. His cold and reproachful stare suffocates SeokJin. When his father’s eyes scan to JungKook standing awkwardly at the side, SeokJin is plunged into a childhood memory. On 10 October Year 9, 9-year-old SeokJin hid a school friend who was being chased by scary men in his bedroom. His father arrived and asked if the boy was Mr. Choi’s son, saying people had come to take him. When Kim ChangJun ordered him to “be a good boy,” SeokJin froze and was powerless to stop his friend from being handed over. The following day, SeokJin was told his friend transferred schools. (This event is also depicted as the first entry of The Notes 1.) In the present, SeokJin struggles to think of an explanation, smothered by that memory and his father’s pressuring stare. JungKook timidly speaks up. “I was only here to visit for a short while. I was actually about to head home. Hey, I’ll go now.” SeokJin knows he can’t leave him alone yet and finally forces himself to move. “Father, I… I’m going to go out for a little while.” He runs outside, but JungKook is already gone.

The story cuts to JungKook’s perspective as he arrives in a familiar alleyway. He is thankful that SeokJin was so considerate to him but feels that he shouldn’t have gone to his home since it made things more complicated for his friend. “YoonGi even got expelled because of me… Why do I always mess things up for the people around me?” JungKook thinks. The player is presented the choice to either text SeokJin or call YoonGi. In the first path, SeokJin calls JungKook while he is mid-text and says that he’ll come pick him up, but JungKook declines, thanks him, and hangs up. In the second path, JungKook fiddles with his phone, wondering if YoonGi will be annoyed or even answer. He remembers when they crossed paths a few days earlier. On 7 April Year 22, JungKook heard a familiar tune while roaming the dark streets and saw YoonGi playing piano through a broken window of a music shop. YoonGi stopped and eventually staggered out of the shop without noticing JungKook reaching out to him. JungKook tried to play the music by memory, and suddenly YoonGi returned—just like their days at the classroom. (Note: In his 7 April Year 22 entry of The Notes 1, YoonGi is drunk and stumbling by an empty construction site when he recognizes a clumsy piano tune that he’d been playing “not long ago.” But when he runs to the music shop and finds JungKook, the text does not indicate that he remembers this is his second visit to the shop this evening. Additionally, the Wings short film First Love seems to reference some of the events of this night—or evokes YoonGi’s distorted memories of it, mingled with a representation of JungKook’s later accident.)

In the present (11 April), JungKook wonders if YoonGi is doing well. He has thought about him since their chance encounter but doesn’t have the courage to call him first. (The narrative paths rejoin here.) JungKook wonders where he should go now yet doesn’t want to think about anything. He stops in the middle of the road, and a passing car’s headlights make him dizzy. SeokJin arrives in the distance and shouts his name, but JungKook just thinks, “One more step from here. Just one more step, and everything ends.” He steps in front of the honking car. SeokJin calls him in the distance, and JungKook feels everything slip farther away. The glass shatters and the loop resets.

Awakening once more on the morning of 11 April, SeokJin vows to protect JungKook until the end. The memory of arriving too late as JungKook threw himself in front of the car reminds him of how he was also unable to protect his childhood friend when he was 9. He needs to devise a new plan, since JungKook practically ran out of the house when confronted by Kim ChangJun. The story cuts to that evening, with JungKook looking at the photo in SeokJin’s bedroom. This time, SeokJin ignores his phone’s buzzing reminder about Songho Foundation’s inaugural ceremony. He asks JungKook where he’d like to get next and, when he doesn’t have any ideas, offers him a tour of the university campus.

JungKook seems happier looking around the campus, the cherry blossoms in full bloom. SeokJin uses this opportunity to ask him if anything is on his mind and if school is going well. JungKook answers nonchalantly, but SeokJin remembers how grim he looked at the school crosswalk that afternoon. He asks if JungKook still hangs out with the other guys. “HoSeok and TaeHyung are working part-time jobs. The others… I’m not sure,” JungKook answers, expression darkening. SeokJin wonders if he shouldn’t have brought it up but still presses him. “How come? You should talk to them from time to time.” “But it’s because of me,” says JungKook. “The reason why YoonGi was expelled… It was because he was trying to protect me.”

SeokJin either responds “It’s not your fault” or “Don’t think that way.” Following the first choice, JungKook insists, “No, it’s my fault. YoonGi wouldn’t have talked back to the teacher if I wasn’t there.” SeokJin shakes his head. “No, you couldn’t really do anything given the situation.” JungKook replies that he should have at least apologized and that he never had the chance to tell YoonGi he was sorry. “That’s how you felt, huh… I should’ve done more. I’m sorry,” SeokJin apologizes. JungKook shakes his head with a smile, but SeokJin knows that he doesn’t understand what he really meant. (Per events in The Notes 1, it is technically SeokJin’s fault that the teacher found them in the classroom.) If the second dialogue choice, “Don’t think that way,” is chosen, JungKook questions, “How could I? When it was because of me.” “No…” SeokJin is not brave enough to say that he’s the one to blame. The camera (i.e. the animation) starts wobbling as though SeokJin’s vision is swimming. “SeokJin?” asks JungKook in concern. “I should’ve done more. I’m sorry.” The episode ends with the same dialogue and animation of JungKook shaking his head with a smile, except that in the second path the camera is still wobbling from SeokJin’s perspective. (This is the only episode I noted in the game that has a slight difference in endings based on the player’s final choice, although it is essentially cosmetic.)

Episode 5 opens with a more detailed memory of 11 June Year 20 from JungKook’s perspective. The high school was holding an open house for parents. Not wanting to stay in a classroom, he wandered off and heard piano music drifting from the annex. JungKook slipped into their classroom hideout and settled down to listen. YoonGi continued to play without acknowledging him. The music helped calm JungKook—it seemed as though YoonGi understood how he felt and was trying to console him. The sound cut off abruptly as the door slammed open. “You rascals! What are you doing here?!” the Dean of Students demanded. He slapped JungKook, knocking him down. A flurry of verbal abuse poured over his crumpled form. YoonGi shoved the teacher’s shoulder and stepped in front of JungKook. “Wow, look at this kid… You put your hands on a teacher? You better be prepared, Min YoonGi.” With that ominous threat, the Dean departed. JungKook spoke from the floor. “Hey, sorry for making you—” “It’s nothing,” YoonGi cut in. JungKook wondered why he helped him. It was the first time someone had protected him, and he believed that he would never forget the view of YoonGi’s back. YoonGi asked why JungKook was smiling. “I don’t know.” Still smiling, JungKook touched his throbbing cheek. YoonGi stared at him before breaking into his own smile and sitting down next to him. They sat there wordlessly for some time. The feeling of growing closer to YoonGi made JungKook feel giddy the rest of the day. But YoonGi did not come to school the following day, and two weeks later, he was formally expelled. (The encounter with the teacher and YoonGi’s subsequent expulsion are also referenced in JungKook and YoonGi’s 25 June Year 20 entries in The Notes 1.)

In a brief interlude in the present (11 April at the university campus), SeokJin reflects again that he does not have the courage to confess to JungKook the real reason why they drifted apart. He walks with his eyes trained on the ground until JungKook calls for him to look at the cherry blossoms floating in the wind. The scene cuts to 30 September Year 20 for another of JungKook’s school memories. He stood outside the school’s annex, reflecting that his friends probably didn’t know that he went there every day. Although school was a place he found awkward and unfamiliar, their hideout was a space for him that put him at ease. On that day however, only HoSeok was inside the classroom, gathering up the items they’d left behind. JungKook realized that the time they spent together was now a memory and would never return again. (This is also an entry in The Notes 1.) Back in the present, SeokJin notices that JungKook looks grim once more and tries to improve his mood by asking if they should go to the beach. JungKook privately wonders: “Do you think YoonGi would go? And no one knows what’s going on with JiMin. Will we really be able to go together like we did then?” Holding up his pink camera, SeokJin says they should take a picture to commemorate the evening. They’re both smiling in the photo, and he hopes that they’ll all smile together again one day. After their campus tour, SeokJin walks JungKook home, ignoring the many calls he receives from his father’s assistant JunHo.

At the crosswalk outside the high school the next day (12 April), SeokJin reflects that staying with JungKook instead of attending the inauguration ceremony seemed like a good choice. He prevented JungKook from jumping off the building and stopped NamJoon’s incident too. But SeokJin wants to keep an eye on JungKook for a few days. While he’s waiting, the principal Jo JinMyung approaches and greets him, asking what brings him to the school. SeokJin tries to excuse himself, but the principal brings up the ceremony. “I thought you’d be there, but you weren’t. Did something happen? Why weren’t you there?” Caught off guard, SeokJin either answers vaguely (“I had something important to do”) or honestly (“A friend had an emergency and I couldn’t attend”). JungKook joins them slowly during the exchange, and the principal seems a little suspicious regardless of the player’s choice. In the “honest” path, he adds, “Next time, think about what's truly important before acting.” The paths rejoin when the principal smiles pointedly and mentions that he should call the Assemblyman soon. SeokJin wonders if Jo JinMyung intends to tell his father that he was with JungKook. Kim ChangJun did not approve of the time SeokJin spent with his friends even in school. “Father thinks it’s useless to have human relationships that don’t help you succeed.” When he and JungKook are in his car, SeokJin notices that the principal ominously watches them pull away.

Later that day, SeokJin meets with his father in his office. Kim ChangJun looks exhausted. Though they’re similar heights, to his son he seems like a massive grey wall. “Why didn’t you attend the inauguration ceremony yesterday?” he asks. SeokJin either lies (“A professor asked me to do something last minute”) or answers honestly (“A friend had an emergency and I couldn’t attend”). The ultimate result is the same: Kim ChangJun speaks after a long moment of silence. “The one thing I want from you is for you to be a good son.” “Yes,” says SeokJin. “I don’t think it’s a difficult task. You may leave.” As he exits, SeokJin hears him call Song JunHo and worries that his flimsy excuse will fall apart. Running into the principal may have made matters worse too. Despite his uneasiness, SeokJin has no choice but to keep going and trust that everything will work out. While NamJoon and JungKook are safe for now, he wonders if he can be a person for JungKook to lean on for comfort whenever he needs it so that he will not resort to such an extreme decision again.

SeokJin visits JungKook after school every afternoon the following days. On 15 April, JungKook asks if it’s okay for him to come like this every day. SeokJin assures him, “Yeah. I come to see you because I want to.” He observes that JungKook still seems to take social cues from him rather than acting comfortably, so he encourages him to either pick what they do next or where they should go eat. On 19 April, however, JungKook does not appear at the school gates. SeokJin tries calling him, only to learn that the number isn’t in service. Someone shouts his name, and HoSeok emerges from the Twostar Burger across from the school. “I had heard you were back, but I didn’t think I’d see you here in front of the school.” HoSeok digs a piece of paper out of his pocket, explaining that JungKook stopped by earlier. “He said he’s switching schools.” SeokJin asks where, but HoSeok doesn’t know. This has never happened before in a loop, and SeokJin wonders if he caused it. HoSeok hands over the paper, which JungKook requested be given to SeokJin. It’s a drawing of the cherry blossom tree they saw together, with a thank you note written at the bottom. SeokJin hopes that his suspicions aren’t correct.

Hunting for clues to JungKook’s whereabouts, SeokJin visits Jeil High School’s administrative office the next day (20 April). He receives slightly more information if he acts like he knows the Director of Administration, but as the student records are confidential, the man only reveals that JungKook transferred to a boarding school. On 30 April, SeokJin is summoned to his father’s office. Kim ChangJun asks him to sit down and continues speaking with his aide, Song JunHo. He confirms an upcoming appointment with the Deputy Mayor before asking, “Oh, did you take care of that incident?” “Yes. Do you mean the one concerning the Jeil High student?” JunHo responds. “I’ve taken care of the issue with the student.” Heart racing, SeokJin realizes that his father was behind JungKook’s transfer and deliberately let it slip as a warning to him. On their way out, Uncle JunHo adds, “SeokJin. You do know how difficult it was because you didn’t attend the inauguration, right?” SeokJin promises that he’ll be at the next meeting. Back in his bedroom, he decides that he made the wrong choice in this loop. He wanted to be someone JungKook could always come to, but instead he pushed him farther away. HoSeok calls him at that moment. Voice wavering, he relays that JungKook has disappeared. Some of his classmates stopped by the restaurant that day, inquiring if anyone talks to him often.

The story cuts back to 25 April with JungKook in class at his new school. His mom likes the dormitory here, and he suspects that she feels more comfortable without him at home. School, home, the dorms—he doesn’t belong in any of those places. While pairing up the students, the teacher notices that they have an odd number now and asks JungKook where he wants to go. He closes his eyes and remembers a voice: “JungKook, let’s all go to the ocean.” He thinks, “I want to go…” The scene jumps to JungKook walking towards the ocean shore. The glass shatters.

SeokJin opens his eyes on the morning of 11 April. He wonders what caused the loop to reset and assumes something must have happened to JungKook after he transferred schools. Again, he could not keep his promise of getting them all to the ocean. The episode ends with SeokJin sitting atop the seaside observatory at sunset. (This is a key location on 22 May Year 22, recurring in The Notes and depicted in the HYYH On Stage: Prologue short film and Euphoria MV. It looks the same in the game.) SeokJin ruminates on what may have happened to JungKook and where events started going wrong. He thought he could be the person JungKook needed to lean on, but he failed. This arc concludes with him wondering: “Was my method wrong? Or is it not supposed to be me? Maybe… If the person who’s supposed to console JungKook’s scars and be there for him isn’t me… Then, who can save JungKook?”

The End of His Gaze

SeokJin’s main challenge in saving YoonGi is the unpredictability of his actions between loops. The opening of this story is no different. On 2 May Year 22, SeokJin chases YoonGi after he leaves his workroom with a heavy bag but loses sight of him in the streets. As soon as he picks the nearest motel, black smoke pours from one of its windows. (The sign matches the motel in YoonGi’s scenes of the I Need U MV.) YoonGi ignores the commotion outside the room’s locked door. Once again, SeokJin is too late, and the glass shatters, resetting the loop.

Waking in his bedroom on 11 April, SeokJin considers how YoonGi backs himself into a corner no matter how or when he tries to intervene. It’s different from the incident with NamJoon because no outside person or situation is involved. SeokJin realizes that if YoonGi’s struggle and variables that make his decision so unpredictable are within him, then the only way he can stop YoonGi is by truly understanding him. He takes out his old camcorder from high school, hoping its footage may reveal some clues. In the first video clip he plays, YoonGi is off in the corner of their classroom hideout drawing music staves but speaks up to tell HoSeok and TaeHyung not to play a prank on JiMin. SeokJin wonders if YoonGi still writes music and remembers the piano in his workroom. In the second video, TaeHyung quibbles with NamJoon, who is tired yet refuses to take a nap until YoonGi pushes some desks together and tells him to lie down. SeokJin focuses on YoonGi for the rest of the video, but he is either motionless or off camera. He finds a similar challenge within his photographs: he has less than ten solo photos of YoonGi, and though his face is visible in group pictures, he is never looking at the camera. Still perusing the photos, SeokJin overhears voices from the camcorder. “It being here is a secret. Okay?” TaeHyung whispers to YoonGi. “What’s a secret?” SeokJin in the recording asks. TaeHyung and YoonGi, standing by the piano, both whip around. TaeHyung dismisses it as nothing and shushes YoonGi when he asks, “Why are you hiding something like that?” In the present, SeokJin wonders what they hid in the classroom and decides that it’s worth investigating in case it can help him save YoonGi.

On 15 April, SeokJin visits their old classroom hideout at Jeil High School, which is still being used as a storage room. The player can choose from a total of four locations to explore, provided they select the piano last. SeokJin identifies his father’s name alongside the message “Everything started from here” on the graffitied wall (he first saw this note in his 25 June Year 19 entry from The Notes 1). Even after thoroughly examining the piano, he does not find YoonGi and TaeHyung’s secret or anything else useful. Uneasy at leaving YoonGi alone for so long, SeokJin leaves the school and parks in front of his friend’s workroom. YoonGi appears to be safely inside, so SeokJin browses through the old video files on his camcorder and finds one that continued recording after he thought he had pressed the stop button. Listening to his and YoonGi’s voices, he recalls a forgotten memory of the day they walked out of school together.

The majority of episode 3 plays through a memory of an afternoon that SeokJin and YoonGi walked out of school together (date unspecified; this event is also referenced in YoonGi’s 2 August Year 22 entry from The Notes 2 and the similar Note accompanying Map of the Soul: 7). SeokJin receives a text summoning him to the principal’s office. The office is empty yet suffocating when he arrives. Principal Jo JinMyung arrives and apologizes for making SeokJin wait. SeokJin looks down, heart suddenly heavy. The scene cuts to YoonGi entering the storage classroom as he thinks about all the days he doesn’t feel like going home. It’s not a comfortable place for him, yet there’s nothing for him at the school either, except for the group’s hideout. He feels awkward in the oddly quiet room and puts some sheet music on the piano’s rack. But when he thinks about how no one is there requesting songs from him, he can’t bring his hands up to the keys. The flashback transitions back to SeokJin’s perspective following his meeting with the principal. As expected, the principal wanted him to report on YoonGi’s behavior. SeokJin spoke carefully so as not to tip him off about anything, but he hears internal whispers calling himself a hypocrite even when he’s laughing with his friends. Fretting over how much longer he can protect YoonGi, SeokJin runs into him at the classroom hideout’s door. He hopes YoonGi doesn’t notice how flustered he is, but YoonGi doesn’t say anything beyond confirming that he’s heading home. SeokJin tries to strike up a conversation as they walk out together, but the conversation awkwardly fizzles out whether he brings up food or the weather. YoonGi points out that his phone is buzzing, and SeokJin’s camcorder falls from his bag as he looks for it. YoonGi waves him off when SeokJin films him to test that it still works. He sheepishly lowers the camcorder and forgets to turn it off. YoonGi breaks the uncomfortable silence when they are almost across the field. “Is something up? You didn’t look very happy earlier.” Heart pounding, SeokJin tries to laugh off this sharp question with an excuse, but YoonGi stares straight at him. “You’re awkward too, SeokJin.” “What is?” “Your laugh.” YoonGi pauses before continuing, “When was the last time you genuinely laughed?”

The scene fades back to the present in SeokJin’s car (15 April). He can’t make out the rest of their conversation in the recording or remember what he answered. He wonders why YoonGi asked him that. SeokJin was always tense then, afraid that his friends would learn of his meetings with the principal. Did the others notice, too? While he’s lost in these thoughts, someone outside shouts, “Fire!” Flames erupt from YoonGi’s workroom. Realizing he should have focused on YoonGi and not the video, SeokJin runs into the building. As he tries to open the locked door, he hears the glass shatter.

The fourth episode opens on the night of 11 April with SeokJin watching JungKook and YoonGi walk away from the construction site and towards NamJoon’s container. A few days later, SeokJin spots JungKook on the sidewalk on his way to YoonGi’s workroom. When asked where he’s going, JungKook avoids his gaze and replies, “I was just… walking around.” SeokJin knows this is because he has nowhere to go. Not wanting JungKook to keep wandering and remembering that he was once close with YoonGi, SeokJin invites him along. The perspective switches to JungKook as they enter the workroom. It reeks of alcohol, and YoonGi is fast asleep among empty bottles. “YoonGi… will be okay, right?” he asks. SeokJin picks up the bottles without responding. A memory from their school days occurs to JungKook. TaeHyung chased him around their classroom hideout, trying to snatch his sketchbook and succeeding when JungKook found his escape unintentionally blocked by YoonGi standing in the doorway. JungKook was dismayed when YoonGi called TaeHyung over to the piano so they could look at it together, but then YoonGi deceived TaeHyung and threw the sketchbook to JungKook. In the present, SeokJin doesn’t want to waste time while YoonGi sleeps. He taps a lost-in-thought JungKook on the shoulder and says they should leave, but JungKook responds that he will stay until YoonGi wakes.

Back again at the classroom hideout, SeokJin hunts further around the piano. He uses an old mop handle to fish out a piece of paper from underneath it. The hidden secret turns out to be TaeHyung’s abysmal math test. Dejected, SeokJin slumps to the floor. On this level, he notices a small handle on the piano’s lower panel and uses it to pop off the cover. Faded music sheets are wedged into the piano’s frame. A phrase on one of them catches SeokJin’s eye. (함께 라면 웃을 수 있다 : The Korean is not translated in game, but Google translates it as “if we are together, we can laugh.” This recurring phrase is instead translated as “we can laugh when we’re together” in The Notes 2. In YoonGi’s 2 August Year 22 entry, he also reflects on finding the note written in the margins of the music scores he took from the classroom. The handwriting isn’t his own. Additionally, a similar sentiment is expressed in a line of You Never Walk Alone, which is the basis for one of the BU-inspired Graphic Lyrics books.)

This message reminds SeokJin of YoonGi’s question: “When was the last time you genuinely laughed?” “This moment is the answer to that question,” he thinks, initiating a flashback to 20 March Year 19. The boys gathered around HoSeok in the classroom, chattering excitedly about the new club he’s leading. TaeHyung jokingly called him “Mr. President.” HoSeok told him only members could call him that before asking YoonGi if he wanted to join. “I’ll allow you to join without an audition, but only you.” TaeHyung exclaimed that he was just trying to get YoonGi to call him president. “Oh, it was obvious?” HoSeok chuckled. “Acting up again, huh?” YoonGi spoke up from the corner. The memory fades, returning to a pensieve SeokJin. He clearly remembers YoonGi’s face as he laughed with the others. “When did we stop laughing? Did it start that day, when I ruined everything?” SeokJin wonders. “It’s my fault,” he says aloud, standing there with the sheet music in hand until the sun begins to set. (Note: the date of the memory may be a typo. On 20 March Year 20 in The Notes 1, TaeHyung overheard SeokJin in the classroom informing the principal of the trouble he and YoonGi had gotten into. SeokJin realized that NamJoon heard it but not TaeHyung, who remained hidden out of sight and then pretended not to know. It’s not impossible that this memory really occurred in March Year 19, but most of them had only met at the beginning of that month.)

On the night of 15 April, SeokJin follows YoonGi at a distance from his workroom to an alleyway bar. (It is possible but not entirely clear that this is the same day SeokJin found the sheet music at the classroom, which is why I did not specify the date earlier.) It appears that YoonGi visits this bar often since the owner asks him if he has money today. SeokJin sits at a table behind YoonGi and watches him knock back shot after shot. Deciding that he shouldn’t leave him alone any longer, SeokJin musters up the courage to join him. YoonGi doesn’t look surprised to see him. He smiles before looking down again. SeokJin attempts a natural conversation to catch up. YoonGi asks why he didn’t come along the night when everyone got together at NamJoon’s container. “It’s been awhile since we’ve all seen each other, and JungKook… Never mind. You were probably busy.” SeokJin apologizes and inquires how JungKook is doing, then turns the same question on YoonGi when he replies that he doesn’t know. “Anything new with you?” SeokJin presses when YoonGi avoids his gaze. “Well, as you can see.” YoonGi dodges a direct answer.

The restaurant owner brings them a second glass. They are quiet in a restaurant full of chatter. SeokJin brings up the past to break the awkward silence, asking if YoonGi remembers the day they walked out of high school together. “Why do you ask?” says YoonGi. SeokJin explains that he remembered what YoonGi said to him that afternoon. “I want to ask you the same thing you asked me then.” SeokJin is nervous but continues, not wanting to waste this opportunity. “When was the last time you genuinely laughed?” YoonGi is silent for a moment. “Who knows.” SeokJin encourages him to think about it. “What good is it whether I remember or not? It wouldn’t change things now, even if I remembered.” YoonGi’s refusal to express his feelings upsets SeokJin more than his indifferent tone. “I just wish he would open up to me so I could figure out… anything. If only I could tell him,” SeokJin thinks. His internal narration continues over a shot of him in high school looking at his phone: “Or maybe… If I went back further in time, mustering up the courage to protect my friends, and prevented YoonGi from being expelled. If I did, maybe now we’d be…” “What’s with that expression?” YoonGi’s voice snaps him into the present, and he stares at SeokJin the way he had when they walked home from school. “Nothing, just… I feel like it’s been a while since I last saw you and I’m wasting time with useless subjects. It’s nothing—” SeokJin tries to laugh it off, but YoonGi interrupts. “You’re the same as always… There’s something there in your expression, but you say that it’s nothing.” This remark hits hard, rendering SeokJin speechless.

YoonGi’s words echo in SeokJin’s head even after he arrives home later that night. How did YoonGi notice what SeokJin thought he kept well-hidden? He once viewed YoonGi as someone who was indifferent to the world and trying to distance himself from everything. It dawns on SeokJin that he is mistaken. He opens his camcorder, hoping to see something new with this changed perspective. A recording plays in which he, YoonGi, and JungKook are the only ones present in the classroom hideout. When YoonGi starts playing piano, JungKook gets up from the desk and carefully stands by him. YoonGi doesn’t seem bothered and continues to play. Suddenly, he stops. “You wanna try?” In the present, SeokJin wonders why he asks JungKook that out of the blue and replays the footage, feeling like he missed something. This time, he notices that JungKook begins chewing his nails before YoonGi asks him. “Can I?” says JungKook. “Why not? It’s not my piano or anything. You can play if you want to.” At YoonGi’s words, the color returns to JungKook’s face and his hands drop from his mouth. SeokJin watches a little more of the video. As the recorded YoonGi patiently corrects JungKook’s wrong notes, he realizes that YoonGi doesn’t merely ask JungKook to play on a whim but out of respect for him.

SeokJin turns his attention to his box of photos. The player can choose up to three to examine. SeokJin realizes that YoonGi is a little further behind the group and not looking at the camera not because he feels left out or is avoiding attention, but because he is always watching how they are all together. YoonGi knows us very well, he thinks. He stopped JungKook from biting his nails by asking him to play the piano rather than acknowledging it directly. He saw through SeokJin and recognized when his laughter wasn’t genuine, even after several years apart. SeokJin thought that YoonGi wanted to give up everything, would never open up to anyone, and experienced feelings that were impossible for him to understand. “But if we were the ones to make YoonGi laugh… It may be possible to save YoonGi,” SeokJin reflects. With more determination, he vows to save him. “I’ll save him no matter what, because we can laugh when we’re together.”

SeokJin visits YoonGi every day after their meeting at the bar, responding that he’s making time to see him when asked if all university students have this much free time. They grow more accustomed to each other’s company, but SeokJin’s glimmer of hope fades as alcohol and aimless wandering continues to fill YoonGi’s life. Since just visiting YoonGi’s workroom seems meaningless, on 24 April SeokJin decides to show him the sheet music he found in the hideout, hoping it will encourage him to resume songwriting. Upon seeing the music, YoonGi has a flashback to 25 June Year 20, the day he received the school expulsion notice. He ran immediately to the classroom and played the piano as though possessed. The anger refused to settle. He shoved all of his sheet music into the piano and vowed to never play the piano again. In the present, YoonGi asks, “Where’d you find this?” At his cold expression, SeokJin wonders what he’s done wrong and explains aloud that he just happened to find it in the hideout’s piano. The papers fall from YoonGi’s hand, scattering across the floor. “Leave,” he spits. “What? Min YoonGi, what’s going on?” SeokJin asks. YoonGi shoves him. “Just leave.” “Don’t do this, let’s talk for a moment,” SeokJin tries again. But YoonGi replies, “I have nothing to say to you.”

YoonGi avoids him after that. On 25 April, SeokJin calls him numerous times without any answer and finds only torn sheet music and empty bottles in his workroom. He remembers YoonGi’s last words to him and says aloud, “It can’t be. No way.” An ominous thought crosses his mind, but he forces it out to focus on recalling something from memory. The story cuts to him running down a street, trying to figure out where YoonGi went to set the fire in the last loop. (It is never clarified what SeokJin’s “ominous thought” is—it may refer to YoonGi setting a fire or possibly even a suspicion that YoonGi figured out SeokJin was involved in his expulsion.) SeokJin finds the same motel (the one with the sign like in the I Need U MV) and rushes upstairs in a cold sweat. Faced with a hallway of identical doors, he doesn’t know how to locate YoonGi’s room. Whether the player chooses for him to call out to YoonGi or “think of something else” (which results in him pulling the fire alarm), the result is ultimately the same. SeokJin forces open the last closed door with a fire extinguisher, but the room is empty. Filled with regret, SeokJin wonders what he has done wrong. “Like an idiot, I… I knew that the location and method of YoonGi’s attempt could change, and yet…”

“Fire!” someone yells. The motel across the street erupts in flames. “No! Please…” SeokJin begs, falling to his knees. “How can I stop this tragedy? … Am I not enough to stop it?” The story ends as he hears the glass shatter once again.

Additional Thoughts

For me, JungKook’s arc really draws back the curtain on SeokJin’s private life. It demonstrates SeokJin’s challenge to balance saving his friends and maintaining his own daily life, particularly fulfilling the duties that fall to him as a prominent assemblyman’s son. We see little of this side of him until The Notes 2, when his perspective has already drastically changed.

JungKook’s reflection about his habit of walking along the edges of walls is an interesting moment of self-awareness. This “tightrope-walking” is depicted frequently in the MVs.

The car accident and loop reset at the beginning of JungKook’s 4th episode suggests the possibility that the I Need U MV depicts JungKook deliberately stepping in front of the oncoming car rather than accidentally. (Maybe people have already interpreted it this way, but personally the thought had never occured to me due to how it’s shot and acted.) The car accident is a recurring theme in the loops for JungKook, particularly as he is struck the night of 22 May and comes to believe that it was SeokJin who hit him.

This internal dialogue of SeokJin’s from YoonGi’s arc gives me a lot to think about: “If I went back further in time, mustering up the courage to protect my friends, and prevented YoonGi from being expelled. If I did, maybe now we’d be…” SeokJin’s first experiences of the time loops are depicted in the Save Me Webtoon. At that time, he believes that 11 April is the date that he can begin fixing things, but it’s not clear if this ability granted by the cat-like creature truly gives him control over to which date the loop resets. (It is more obvious that he cannot control what triggers the reset itself.) Does he ever go back earlier? Only *ahem* time will tell, but if you want some more food for thought, please check out these interesting quotes that occur before 11 April Year 22.

As mentioned above, the following “tl;dr” commentary summarizes the parenthetical notes I provided in the summaries in case you want to review them on their own.

The Boy on the Threshold — tl;dr commentary

SeokJin’s flashback to 3 March Year 19, when all seven boys arrived late on the first day at Songju Jeil High School and were scolded outside by the Dean, looks very similar to the BTS Begins Middle Scene VCR (aside from the absence of extra students), including the detail of YoonGi arriving last. This VCR predates official BU content.

The photo in SeokJin’s collection that catches JungKook’s eye resembles the shot in the Euphoria MV at 5’32” (the seven boys sitting on a wall with the ocean behind them) except that they appear to be wearing school uniform shirts and slacks.

JungKook’s flashback to the night of 7 April Year 22 expands the context of his reunion with YoonGi, adding that he is drawn to the music shop by a familiar tune and through its broken window sees YoonGi playing piano. YoonGi doesn’t notice him when he staggers outside, and JungKook tries to play the music by memory. In his 7 April Year 22 entry of The Notes 1, YoonGi is drunk and stumbling by an empty construction site when he recognizes a clumsy piano tune that he’d been playing “not long ago.” But when he runs to the music shop and finds JungKook, the text does not indicate that he remembers this is his second visit to the shop this evening. Additionally, the Wings short film First Love seems to reference some of the events of this night—or evokes YoonGi’s distorted memories of it, mingled with a representation of JungKook’s later accident.

I mentioned in part 1’s introduction that every episode’s ending is identical regardless of the decisions made by the player, but the end of episode 4 is actually cosmetically different (a wobbling camera/animation effect) if the second path is selected for the last choice. The dialogue is the same.

The end of episode 7 depicts the seaside observatory. This is a key location on 22 May Year 22, recurring in The Notes and depicted in the HYYH On Stage: Prologue short film and Euphoria MV. It looks the same in the game.

The End of His Gaze — tl;dr commentary

The motel sign at the beginning and end of the story matches the one visible in YoonGi’s shots of the I Need U MV.

When searching the classroom hideout for clues on 15 April, SeokJin identifies his father's name alongside the message “Everything started from here” on the graffitied wall. He first saw this note in his 25 June Year 19 entry from The Notes 1.

Episode 3 presents a memory from both SeokJin’s and YoonGi’s perspectives of the afternoon that they walked out of school together. Although the date is unspecified, this event is also referenced in YoonGi’s 2 August Year 22 entry from The Notes 2 and the similar Note accompanying Map of the Soul: 7.

On his second attempt at searching the classroom, SeokJin finds sheet music that was hidden inside the piano. A phrase written in the corner of one paper catches his eye: 함께 라면 웃을 수 있다. The Korean is not translated in game, but Google translates it as “if we are together, we can laugh.” This recurring phrase is instead translated as “we can laugh when we’re together” in The Notes 2. In YoonGi’s 2 August Year 22 entry, he also reflects on finding the note written in the margins of the music scores he took from the classroom. The handwriting isn’t his own. Additionally, a similar sentiment is expressed in a line of You Never Walk Alone, which is the basis for one of the BU-inspired Graphic Lyrics books.

SeokJin has a flashback of 20 March Year 19 in which the boys are excitedly chattering about HoSeok’s new club. However, given the larger context of this moment (both in the past and what prompts it in the present), the date of the memory may be a typo. On 20 March Year 20 in The Notes 1, TaeHyung overheard SeokJin in the classroom informing the principal of the trouble he and YoonGi had gotten into. SeokJin realized that NamJoon heard it but not TaeHyung, who remained hidden out of sight and then pretended not to know. It’s not impossible that this memory really occurred in March Year 19, but most of them had only met at the beginning of that month.

Did you learn anything new from these stories that I did not specifically mention? Let me know in the replies or tags! Please stay tuned for part 3, featuring JiMin and HoSeok’s stories.

#armiesnet #bangtanarmynet #networkbangtan #armysource #dailybangtan #bts universe #hyyh #bangtan universe #bts universe story #bts universe story highlights #seokjin #jungkook #yoongi #jinkook #yoonkook #yoonjin #bts theories

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mysteriesofmarcy · 3 years ago

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🎄 Have Yourself a Froggy Little Christmas 🎄

If you are like the Plantars and confused on the meaning of Christmas, you're not alone. No one in this episode got it right. Dr. Jan told us about some of the Christmas traditions, but even she neglected to mention that Christmas is the celebration of the greatest gift ever given: the life and sacrifice of Jesus.

Anyway, now that your existential crisis is solved, let's break down what this episode does for us and our characters.

This episode felt a lot like The Shut-In because it was a one-off mid-season holiday special, but it also reminded me a lot of Hop Luck because Anne and the Plantars were on a quest to collect the "ingredients" for the creation she wanted to make for the event at the end of the episode.

According to Triple B, Christmas takes place in what is late winter in Amphibia, proving that Amphibia and Earth definitely have different calendars. (Although, if Marcy told the newts about Christmas while she was there, and it's been less than a year since the series began, this implies that Marcy told the newts that Christmas is in late winter.) It also casts a new light on the timeline of the show from the Amphibian perspective, something I will get to in a future post.

I love how this episode brings back a lot of characters and elements we've met in the previous episodes, including the IT Gals, Dr. Jan, the Boonchuys' Thai friends, even some of the floats: Construct-a-Carnivore (Polly's challenge from Hop Till You Drop), the Mexican restaurant that Anne took Sprig to for his birthday, . The IT Gals described how they celebrate Christmas. Dr. Jan talked about the history of the holiday and a few of the pagan festivals that inspired some of our traditions. Their Thai friends helped with the float. And Construct-a-Carnivore had a float in the parade.

The best part of this episode is the visuals. The decorations. The Boonchuy house is decorated like a normal house during Christmas season. The IT Gals' party has "college" written all over it. The museum is decorated for both Christmas and Hanukkah. (Side note: I've learned more about Hanukkah from watching cartoon Christmas specials than I ever wanted to know.) Even the theme song is decorated, and I appreciate that shows are getting more creative with their opening and closing credits recently.

Now, if Amphibia thought it could sneak a Gravity Falls reference by me, they have another thing coming! When Sprig is looking for the perfect gift for Anne, he declares that "It's all garbage!" when looking at a painting of a sad clown, painted by a man who only paints sad clowns. Clearly this man is Thomas Conkelly, aka Stan's favorite artist (mentioned in this interview).

Because my stream decided to buffer a ton when it came back from the second commercial, I saw a billboard for a movie called "A Hunky Lumberjack for Christmas". In the bottom left corner it's labeled, as I suspected, a Hallmark movie. Maybe we'll see more of it in the future, maybe not.

Here's something I almost forgot about: that was a brilliant idea of Andrias's to take control of the "red suited jolly man with a beard," and then, just when you thought it couldn't get better, he turned St. Nick into a killer robot.

Next: another translation. When Andrias hacks into the Santa robot, his glasses say "READY TO ROCK!" in Amphibian.

I guess I'll finish by talking about the song. I liked how it was spread out through the whole episode. I liked how it didn't try to say anything other than "Christmas is a special time of year." I liked how the lyrics referenced lots of different Christmas traditions. And I was never a fan of Steven Universe, but I do think Rebecca has a great voice for this song.

And -- awwww, Anne has Sprig's gift on her desk as she writes her letter! I noticed that it looks very similar to his dolls action figures from Flood, Sweat and Tears, indicating that he probably crafted all of them himself. I guess this is really where the only revelation of this episode comes in: that Sasha's parents are (probably) divorced. Not that we couldn't have guessed that already, but still.

So overall, several fun observations, but not much to analyze here. This was a fun one-off holiday special to close out this batch of episodes. According to the wiki, the mid-season finale was originally supposed to be a future episode, so the excrement is about to collide with the rotating oscillator, so to speak.

Remember, if you have any further questions about this episode or the true meaning of Christmas, feel free to send me a message or an ask. I can't guarantee that I'll have all the answers, but what I can guarantee is that I will do my best!

#amphibia #amphibia season 3 #froggy little christmas #merry Christmas 🎄

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sinceileftyoublog · 4 years ago

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Georgia Anne Muldrow Interview: Rhythm Is A Form of Gravity

Photo by Antoinette A. Brock

BY JORDAN MAINZER

“The people keep you fresh. They keep you on your toes,” Georgia Anne Muldrow told me over the phone last month. The prolific L.A. musician, whose output ranges from experimental hip-hop to neo soul to jazz and everything in between, is releasing her fifth record in four years on Friday, and the third overall in her beats series. VWETO III (FORESEEN + Epistrophik Peach Sound) follows last year’s Mama, You Can Bet! (released under the name Jyoti), 2019′s collaboration with Dudley Perkins and VWETO II, and 2018′s acclaimed, Grammy-nominated Overload. Unlike any of the previous albums, it was put together with some “calls to action” in mind.

Thought some of the songs were around for longer, VWETO III as an entity was made last year, “over a course of time where things were changing in terms of different recording techniques I was trying,” said Muldrow, harking back to techniques and inspirations from her early years of music making. The record was also, obviously, formed during a global pandemic that caused folks to lock down, and Muldrow is conscious to giving listeners opportunities to reach out on her very active Instagram account. Each of the album’s singles have been paired with those aforementioned calls to action. “Unforgettable”, which combines 80′s-sounding synths with 90′s G-funk, calls for vocalists to submit performances to go along with Muldrow’s vocals on the song. “Mufaro’s Garden”, inspired by an illustrated folktale book called Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, asks for visual artist submissions. On the day of the album’s release, Muldrow will ask for dance submissions to “Slow Drag”, a throwback Hammond-guitar-piano ditty named after the juke joint dance of the same name. Next month, it’ll be “Action Groove”, with calls for turntable scratch ‘n’ sampling remixes from DJs. And it’s not just the singles that exemplify Muldrow’s desire to connect with listeners on a granular level. Many of the songs on VWETO III refer to or are inspired by specific eras, from the Afrofuturist jazz of “Afro AF” to the genre tribute “Boom Bap Is My Homegirl”. That the titles are clearly referential, too, like “Old Jack Swing” or “Synthmania Rock”, shows that Muldrow’s not winking and nodding or trying to fool us, earnestly inviting us to dive in.

Moreover, VWETO III is coinciding with what Muldrow’s calling the Teacherie, classes she’s trying to develop to spread knowledge of what she’s learned throughout her own career, everything from philosophy to instrumental-specific classes. Right now, from her saved Instagram story called “Teacherie!,” you can take an assessment to fill out what you’re interested in. “It helps me to see what skill levels people have and what they want to learn in the class,” Muldrow said. “I seek to continue to stay open enough to make relevant music and have relevant things to share with people.” Overall, Muldrow is the type of artist that uses online platforms the way they’d be used in an ideal world. Her use of NFTs, too, is noble; the album art by Cape Town-based Breeze Yoko is being auctioned off, with 50% of proceeds going to prison abolitionist organization Critical Resistance. Even when the offline world returns--Muldrow’s slated to play Pitchfork Music Festival on Saturday, September 11th--Muldrow’s created a blueprint for navigating an increasingly isolating digital world, by seeking out real connections.

Below, read my conversation with Muldrow, edited for length and clarity, as she discusses making the record, being inspired by African rhythms, the influence of Digital Underground, and why her work logically extends into prison abolition. You can also catch her tomorrow on Bandcamp Live at 8 PM CST.

Since I Left You: Why did you decide this was a good time to revisit your beats album series?

Georgia Anne Muldrow: The people love it, you know? I always like to post beats on Instagram and share my poetry or state of mind of what’s going on in the world according to my people, and provide a place of joy and uplift. The voice of the people kind of determined what songs were on there. There are some songs that nobody’s ever heard. Different ideas, something a little bit more energized.

Something for the people. It’s really great that I have direct contact with them. Some of the songs are things I like to try based on the vibes I get from their feedback. It’s great; it’s a beautiful thing for me. I’ve gone through phases where critics love me, but the voice of the people that really support your work is really cool to hear. It’s like a little focus group. I just like sharing my music with folks because it’s my way of contributing love energy to the world in a direct, immediate way.

SILY: A lot of folks are still staying home and needing that connection. You’re connecting with them but also providing a platform for them to connect with each other.

GAM: Yes. I’m way into that and seek to be expanding that in an even more literal sense with my classroom project [Teacherie], like a live webinar sort of thing, that enables folks to speak amongst themselves. A more extended form of what I do on social media. An intimate look at what’s really going on in music. They can see where my emotions end and the music begins and try to make things seamless within their own music. Teach what I’ve picked up along the way, because I won’t be here forever. Spreading the love but the knowledge, too, with the music that I share. There’s a certain quality that you can achieve if you have patience.

SILY: Did you always know you wanted to do these calls for action, like for vocalists on “Unforgettable”? And how did you decide which tracks you wanted to do them for?

GAM: It’s definitely my way of trying to promote some sort of hip hop jam in lieu of the isolation that folks are weathering...I’m really inspired by the early age of hip hop where everyone had different dances. They brought their art books to the hip hop jams. The jackets with the art on it, the MCs rapping. The breakdancing, the DJs. All of the different things in place for it to be complete. That’s part of what got me hooked on production. One night years ago, [when I first played] my stuff, and folks started to dance, it got me hooked--to make somebody move. Somebody can rap over this, somebody can dance to this or draw to this. That’s the reason for the calls to action. Opening up a hip hop jam all over the world. I hope it gains some momentum. That would be nice, for more people to put themselves out there. But I do understand we live in different times right now and people are trying to get by. I still have to post some of the artists from “Mufaro’s Garden” and these rap videos from “Unforgettable”.

SILY: You’re giving people an opportunity, even if they’re just trying to get through the day, to take a break or have a beneficial creative exercise.

GAM: Yeah. Being creative together, and togetherness. The thinking that the songs aren’t complete without dance. Lyrics are a certain kind of fulfillment of music. But the movement of the body is another one. [It] goes back to gravity. Drummers harness the power of gravity and manipulate it so things can fall at a certain time. Same thing with dance--[dancers] don’t manipulate gravity, but interact with it and create an interdependence with it. When somebody’s dancing, they come back down to the ground, and you could let that go and let gravity guide what your dance looks like. Rhythm is a form of gravity--a form of gravity engaging with life. I feel like movement is the fulfillment of all the arts. I just seek to do my part.

SILY: You mentioned being inspired by a specific early era in hip hop, and there’s a lot on here inspired by genre or era-specific trends, like the G-funk in “Unforgettable” and “Boom Bap Is My Homegirl”.

GAM: [Boom bap] is one of the things that I specialize in. It’s a home base for me. In my experience, it’s a very African point of access. A lot of the boom bap rhythms are straight from Africa. Most of them are. Off the shores of West Africa. I heard so many of them, from The Gambia, Senegal, Mali. Over there, you hear so much of it. I want to be part of that. At the same time, I might wake up and make a free jazz record. I don’t feel like a traditionalist; I just want to preserve the culture of Black music from this hemisphere. I love traditional ideas, but it’s not like I’m gonna do this one idea for the sake of staying in a lane. There’s no place that Black music hasn’t influenced, molded, shaped, nurtured.

SILY: When was the last time you were able to perform in Africa?

GAM: I believe it might have been 2017. These years have started to run together. I don’t mind it, though. Keeps me young. [laughs]

VWETO III cover art by Breeze Yoko

SILY: How did the songs on here with vocals come together, whether the ones with your singing or the ones with featured artists? Did the words or beats/melodies come first?

GAM: The beats came first except for “Shana’s Back”. Shana Jensen is my sister; she’s the mother of my niece. Every time she’d come over and I had an idea to compose songs around her, they’d end up being huge songs. She’d be like, “Bye!” [laughs] I guess she wanted something a little more understated. I’d always end up doing big Motown sounds. There’s a song on The Blackhouse called “Shana’s Groove”. It’s a like a reoccurring situation and character. It’s kind of funny at this point.

The other ones, like “Unforgettable”, I’m very much matching the vibe, the punk-funk aesthetic. Sometimes a little hook just pushes it over the edge and gets them into the mindset I was in when thinking about it. Other songs like “Love Call” I just wanted to sound like it was in an arena. Arena rock, funk, Digital Underground-inspired, all the way.

SILY: Are you a big Digital Underground fan?

GAM: I think it shows in a lot of the music I make. I don’t think I can hide it. This record has so many examples of that. I love Shock G so much. He was so bad, as a thinker, a philosopher, a community builder, artist, pianist, maestro. The “Love Call” groove, “Unforgettable”, “[Old] Jack Swing”, you can hear it. I was raised with that kind of music in my head as a child. Unashamed to be funky and make a groove have extra grease on it. That’s what distinguished our sound from other region’s sounds. Getting greasy. While still doing the boom bap and all that other stuff. For me, it was always a goal to represent where I’m from in my music in a non-traditional way. Bringing what I love about the West Coast to whatever I was working on.

Shock G lives in all of us. He brought so many different vibes. A rhythmic pocket that breathes. Somewhat right under "Atomic Dog”. It keeps you moving. It has a breath of life in it. I’m so thankful to have lived in an era where I could hear and experience his work.

SILY: How did “Ayun Vegas” come together?

GAM: Ayun is my little brother. I think I’ve known him since 2014 or ‘15. He’s quite a talent. I love his style. He’s from [New] Jersey. I love his sense of rhythmic dynamic. His use of metaphor, double entendre. I feel like he’s really a gifted poet. He can do all types of different things. He’s an amazing MC--he just released a project with Jacob Rochester called Slaps & Hugs. I’m gonna lean towards people who are creative themselves and insert themselves into everything they do.

Ayun is very secure in being different. He came out to Vegas, and I had this song. Usually, when I play leftfield stuff, MCs want that beat they can crush and not feel challenged by. This song is really old. I feel like it was made in 2016. I feel like that was the first time when somebody was willing to rap on an idea that was out of the ordinary. It’s not just in your face. It’s something different, but I want you to rap for your life on this. Something more like a movie score, where you find your character. He did it! He didn’t leave one beat behind.

He’s rhythmically gifted and quite the poet. He almost went into pro football but he chose music. He’s a very enterprising brother, doing all types of apparel. He was working in the visual artist community, in the videographer community. Any time I can showcase what it is that he got to share, I’m there. He’s not afraid to speak the truth. This verse is impressionistic. It’s like somebody is taking a really big brush and making a beautiful image, strong-arming it. It’s dope. I love it.

We did another song together on the Overload album, but it didn’t make the cut. The Japanese version of Overload has a song called “What Can We Do Now”, and it has Ambrose Akinmusire, Ayun, and me. I’d love for that to be heard stateside, because it’s definitely about what’s happening over here.

SILY: Why did you choose to have the proceeds for this record go to Critical Resistance?

GAM: I’ve always wanted my music to be a tool for the motion of people. It doesn’t stop with dance and rapping and singing and drawing. It begins with that. Where it ends up, the movement of people coming into their powers, truths that in order to have a more humane society, we are going to have to throw some of this bullshit away. The spoils of enslavement. We’ve got to get rid of those spoils so we can get to a more realistic place of folks being cognizant of the activities that they take a part in. Jails ain’t gonna help people feel like they’re part of the community. They cage people and endanger their lives and run the risk of ruining somebody’s mental, emotional, and spiritual state even if they did commit the crime they’re in there for.

There’s a sense that all crime is committed from a place of fear. Many crimes people are locked up for is just folks trying to find a way. I don’t see how more fear is going to rehabilitate. The idea that punishment leads to enlightenment. People in the public school system are taught about some of the baddest people that ever lived--mass murders. But they’re not the type of people held accountable. They’re who brought over the imprisonment systems from their failed nations.

I don’t believe in reform at all. Critical Resistance seeks to abolish prisons as we know them. I love that their resolve is so sure and bold.

Photo by Antoinette A. Brock

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ashintheairlikesnow · 5 years ago

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Pre-Trial: Introducing Dr. Rosa

I wrote half of this like forever ago and decided to go ahead and finish it, because I love Dr. Rosa and everyone should get to meet her, she’s my favorite random bit character who shows up in everything I do set in a modern universe.

Danny’ s first meeting with Dr. Rosa.

Timeline: Shortly after returning to the United States, pre-trial.

Tagging @special-spicy-chicken, @spiffythespook, @bleeding-demon-teeth

Dr. Rosa Martinez has been in the business of treating the survivors of long-term traumatic experiences for twenty-three years. In that time, the methodologies have somewhat changed, as has the understanding of trauma’s physical components interacting with its psychological ones, but she has never wavered in her commitment.

She has worked with the survivors of child abuse, rape, domestic violence, abduction cases involving non-custodial parents, one stranger abduction, a woman who had lost two husbands, firefighters both, within ten years of each other to the wildfires that race through California when the winds are hot and the air stays dry. She’s been working with an increasingly large subset of military veterans returning from war with wounds within them that struggle to heal. She has, as they say, seen (or heard) just about everything.

Today, though, she is meeting someone whose experience differs from anyone she’s treated before.

Dr. Rosa Martinez, fifty-eight years old, feels something she hasn’t felt since her first year after changing her practice to focus on long-term trauma and PTSD; genuine nerves and concern that she may falter and fall short of a patient’s needs. She pats at her hair, twisted tightly at the nape of her neck to keep it out of the way, only a few of the speckled coarse white-and-black hairs escaping here and there.

She rearranges the photos on her desk in the corner of her office, over by the window, shifting the framed pictures of her daughters with their own families back and forth, smiles at the only photo with a single person in it - a brown-haired woman smiling under the blaze of sun on their last visit back to see family down in the islands - pressing her finger to her lips and then, lightly, over the woman’s mouth.

Wish me luck, Liz.

She had rearranged the bookshelves this morning, had the cleaners come in twice this week instead of once to ensure everything is well-dusted and spotlessly clean, as she’s been informed the patient is hyper-aware of mess and might become distraught if he is not able to clean it.

She stands by the window, looking out through the blinds at the parking lot, waiting for him to arrive. The patient’s profile questionnaire and basic information rests on her desk, and she’s been reading through it over and over, preparing herself.

There is a wealth of information hidden between the lines in those questionnaires, when you know what you’re looking for. Rosa Martinez has always had an eye for the unspoken, the unwritten, the details that her patients fear to speak and so tiptoe around instead.

The younger brother is the only emergency contact. The brother’s number is listed on everything, no number for the patient himself. The brother’s name is written in the space for the potential sharing of details if considered medically necessary in the event of an emergency. The brother, the brother, the brother. There’s something to grasp onto there, a detail she shouldn’t let slide. Every inch of the initial paperwork tells her that the brother is trusted implicitly, but no one else is.

She’s seen him on the news, of course. Everyone in this part of the state has heard about the Daniel Michaelson case, his reappearance after four years of prolonged captivity and essentially total isolation. Everyone has seen his parents on the news expressing gratitude and delight that he has returned home.

But the parents are not on his paperwork, and the brother had been clear, on the phone, that they would not be attending any family sessions, only he and Daniel - and that it would be best not to talk about their parents unless Daniel brought them up himself.

It’s a situation that involves similarities to previous patients of hers, but every similarity was intensified, twisted, rearranged in new ways. The conversations about the parents suggested, to Dr. Rosa, a certain scapegoat/child abuse situation she would consider more in the future.

In the captivity there was abuse and sexual assault, but it was a vicious, ritualized cycle of violence that went far beyond abuse and into pure torture. Torture for torture’s sake, the brother told her, his own jaw shaking with the effort of keeping his voice calm in their initial consultation as to whether or not she would consider taking his brother on. Torture for fun, torture to twist his brother into something else, something less.

Neither of us is going to get through this without help, Ryan Michaelson had told her, all of twenty-four years old but with the gravity of a much older man in his voice and the way he held himself, without some help. I need you to help my brother, please, because-… because I just have no fucking clue what to do. Oh, I’m sorry for my language, it’s just been a bad few days, just… just really since he got home, he’s been-… I don’t-

It’s fine, She had said, handing him a tissue to wipe his eyes while both of them pretended the tears weren’t there. Where is your brother now?

At home with his… with… I don’t know what Nathaniel Vandrum is. But he’s home with him. I’ll bring him for his first appointment, but he’s so fragile… he picked your photo out of the others, so I think he’ll come willingly, but… please. We need help, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to make someone believe they’re human, Dr. Martinez. I don’t know how to help him.

This will probably be a challenge, even for someone with her experience, but she can’t imagine turning it down.

She twists the wedding band on one finger, letting her fingertip play over the square diamond at the top, trace the line of smaller circular diamonds that ran down each side of the band. Liz knows who the new patient is, of course, but she’ll also know not to ask - they’ve always had a “no work talk” rule, protecting Rosa’s patients even from her own family’s curiosity.

She knows some of her colleagues speak about their patients in oblique terms with their own families, keeping their identities secret but discussing the trials of their day, but Rosa has never done that. Her patients come to her with terrors they trust with no one else, and she would never betray that, not even with Liz.

Only with other professionals, in very specific circumstances, and with all identifying details carefully stripped does she seek advice or counsel when needed.

She recognizes the car when it pulls up - she’s seen it on the news, when the cameras catch Ryan Michaelson in his array of perfectly tailored suits in a series of richly deep colors when he gets out each day, waving them off, his jaw set as he gives the occasional statement as they prepare to take Abraham Denner to trial.

Today, Ryan steps out of the car in a purple sweater that probably cost more than Rosa’s health insurance premium and she’d swear even his jeans were tailored. Brown shoes, soft leather, perfectly worn. Ryan’s a handsome one, that’s for sure - all bright smiles and warm brown skin, wild black curls. He is smiling now as he turns and speaks into the car, before closing his own door, brushing some invisible wrinkles out of his sweater, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket.

First, to meet Daniel Michaelson.

She has seen photos of him, of course - but he hasn’t been in any photographs or interviews, so she was not quite prepared for the incredibly tall, thin man who unfolds himself out of the passenger side. He’s wearing an oversized, dark blue heavy sweater, heavier than the weather really calls for, with a high crew neck and cable-knit braids down the front, his sleeves pulled hard to cover the backs of his hands, head dipped down so his wavy red hair falls down over his face, wearing jeans that are clearly too big and, she suspects, only staying up because of a belt.

Daniel makes it to the curb and then stops, shaking his head, saying something to Ryan and acting like he’ll get right back in the car. Ryan steps closer to him, hands out without quite touching him, gesturing towards the office. Daniel shakes his head again, and she can see they need a minute, and steps back to give it to them.

She watches them for just a second longer, than steps out of her office into the waiting room before they can make their way inside.

“Krista,” She says in a honeyed voice, slightly high-pitched, with only a hint of the island accent she grew up with. “Send Daniel Michaelson into my office as soon as they come in, don’t make them wait. And be sure to pour Ryan Michaelson a cup of the good coffee we all pretend I don’t know you keep in the breakroom.”

“Of course, Dr. Martinez,” Krista says brightly, looking up from the book she’s studying behind the desk to give her a bright smile. “I serve everyone the same coffee, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Mmmhmmm. Oh, and don’t try to shake Daniel’s hand,” Dr. Martinez adds, and disappears back into her office.

She has everything ready, but rearranges her desk one more time anyway just to be on the safe side. She has a couple of photos, as well - a photo of Daniel Michaelson pre-abduction that his brother provided, a post-abduction photo she is keeping only for reference. I put this up on Facebook like the week before he was gone, Ryan had said, shrugging his shoulders, as he handed her the pre-abduction photo. I printed it out to bring. God, I don’t even know when the last time I actually used Facebook was…

22 year old Daniel, one week before he vanished, is at what she assumes is the company Christmas party. It has that sort of look, people milling in the background in cocktail dresses and suits. He’s wearing a navy suit as perfectly tailored as Ryan’s always are on TV, his hair clipped shorter than it seems to be now. The shoulders are thinner in the past, she thinks, but his body overall is definitely skinnier now than then. He’s holding a glass of some brown liquor, one arm around 20-year-old Ryan’s shoulder, the two of them smiling for the camera.

Then the next photo, which Ryan tells her the police took and gave him a copy of. Danny is standing in front of a blank wall, looking at nothing, his eyes focused off to the side. He’s wearing nothing but a thin T-shirt, which could not have been easy for him, since they showed up at the police station in Alberta on December 11th. All the brightness and sparkle is gone, replaced by a dull terror and uncertainty that can’t quite break through the placid submission in his face. She taps one finger over his face, the slightly bloody red wounds that cut into him, and then she slides the older picture onto the top as the door to her office opens.

Ryan steps in first, giving her a friendly smile that doesn’t quite meet his eyes. She can see Daniel just behind him the taller man has his arms folded, nearly hugging himself, his eyes focused on the floor. “Dr. Martinez, we’re here, they told us to go ahead and come right in.”

“That’s lovely, Mr. Michaelson, thank you, but I’ll have to ask you to sit outside for the duration of the appointment.”

Ryan’s face falters, but only slightly, and Rosa watches with interest and curiosity as he shifts his stance to be even more directly between she and his brother. Only name listed on any of the emergency contacts, only person given permission for sharing of medical information, and he is standing in the hallway of my office trying to protect him from me. “Are you sure? He, um, he struggles being alone-”

“N-No,” Danny says from behind him, so softly Rosa almost can’t hear him. “No, I can do it, Ryan, it’s okay. C-Can, can you let me go in? Can I go in?”

“Hey, if you’re not totally sure, you don’t have to, I can sit right here with you.” Ryan half-turns to face his brother, and they are standing within inches of each other without ever touching. Rosa watches all of it, taking the details in, committing them to memory.

“I can try to do it. I can be good,” Daniel says softly, and Rosa’s head tilts, unconsciously, as she watches Ryan Michaelson wince at the words. She’ll need to write that down, keep that in her memory, too.

It’s come in deeply handy, over the course of her career, that she has an excellent memory for the details like this.

“Okay. Let me know if you can’t do it, we can try again later, yeah?” Daniel nods, slowly, and Rosa watches Ryan take a deep breath, close his eyes, and then turn back to her. As he does, his shoulders go back, and his voice changes - the softness slides away, replaced by a kind of hard melodic sound, the voice of the company man he is being groomed into and not the caring, worried, frazzled younger brother. “Okay, here’s the thing - don’t touch him, don’t get too into his space, and, um-”

“My name is Red,” Daniel Michaelson says, and he’s still not looking up, he still has his eyes firmly on the floor. “My name is Red and I belong to Abraham Denner.”

“… and he still does that,” Ryan says tiredly, and steps back. “Call him Red, he gets really worked up if you call him anything else.”

“Because it’s not my name anymore,” Danny says, and there’s just the barest hint of annoyance there. Ryan rolls his eyes and Rosa fights back a smile; you can hold someone captive for four years, she thinks, but brothers are brothers, still, in the end.

Rosa doesn’t move from her desk as Daniel Michaelson steps into her office. He’s even taller in person than he seemed in the parking lot, all hunched over like he can make the height or his bright and eye-catching red hair disappear if he just curls over far enough. He glances at her, briefly, and she catches a hint of light blue eyes and the circle of red scarring across his face, the scars that wrap his neck like a collar he can’t take off.

She knows about the collar - Ryan warned her it comes up in conversation. She is prepared for this. She has a career uniquely situated to make her absolutely perfect for this. She has the experience that no one else in Northern California has, the experience and the dedication and the passion for helping people like Daniel Michaelson.

And yet the nerves that flutter within her stomach never quite subside.

When Daniel is all the way in and Ryan has closed the door to return to the waiting room, Rosa waits for a beat of silence, watching Daniel put his hands in his pockets, looking for all the world like a small child awaiting punishment for an infraction rather than a grown man seeking therapy. “Do you prefer to be called Red?” She asks, finally, with no change to the warmth and welcome in her voice.

“My name is Red,” Daniel says, a little more firmly this time. “You, you have to call me that. That’s my name. I get, I get in trouble if I have the wrong thoughts, and that name is a wrong thought. Puppies don’t have wrong thoughts. My name is Red and I belong to Abraham Denner.” The words seem to have a calming effect on him, some of the tension bleeding from his shoulders and the way he is holding himself. “Can I, may I have permission to sit down?”

“Of course,” She says warmly, and then watches with surprise as Daniel Michaelson sits on the floor in front of the couch, pulling his knees up to his chest. “Ah, Daniel-… my apologies, Red. Would you prefer to sit on the couch for our first session?”

“Not allowed,” Daniel says, and she watches him begin to rub, compulsively, at one of the red scars dug hard into his jaw on the left side, rubbing and rubbing with his thumb, his other arm sliding around his legs. His hands are scarred along the lines of his veins, heavy obvious markings. Ryan had warned her about those, too.

He is curled into the smallest little ball she can imagine someone so tall turning himself into.

“I’m not allowed. Only people get the couch, puppies stay on the floor. Not allowed. I, I have to be good, I want to be good. I want… I want to be good,” He repeats to himself, plaintively, and Rosa’s heart breaks, just a little.

Nothing shows on her face, but Rosa takes in the moment and wonders if she is perhaps in far, far over her head with this one.

Then she picks up a pad of paper and a pen and settles herself into a small armchair off to the side, nodding. “Is that one of your rules? Your brother told me that there are… guidelines, that you live by.”

Daniel Michaelson nods, his eyes down on the floor. She can see he’s rubbed the scar at his jaw until it’s open and a little bloody, and she takes the tissue box from the table next to her chair and slides it across the floor until it bumps into his shoes - worn-out Converse sneakers that can’t be comfortable in the rainy chill outside.

Probably they were shoes he wore before, and probably Ryan offered him new ones, and probably he refused.

Daniel looks up at her, confused, and she takes in the blue eyes again, surprisingly vibrant in the pale, freckled face. She doesn’t let her eyes drop to his scars, not at all. She holds his gaze and smiles, slightly. “You are bleeding, Red.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” He takes a tissue and presses it to his jaw, dropping his eyes back to the floor. Rosa settles back and makes a couple of introductory notes on her notepad, trying to decide where to begin.

“Th-they want me to testify,” Daniel says, surprising her by being the first to speak. “But I, I don’t want to. He’ll look at me, he’ll look at me. I don’t want to. But they said I, I need to, they want me to. Ryan wants me to. I’m… he’s going to look at me. I don’t want to, but Ryan says, but I need to be good…”

“I understand,” Rosa says softly, nodding. “So is that what you’d like to focus on, as we get started seeing each other, Red? On being able to tape the testimony for the trial?”

There’s a silence, and then Daniel slowly nods. “I want to be able to do it,” He says softly. “For Ryan. Ryan wants me to do it. I want to, I want to do it, but I don’t want to do it. I feel both, at the same time. I want to do it but I shouldn’t, against the rules, against… against the rules. But I want to, Ryan does, Ryan wants me to. I want to but I don’t want to.”

“You’re feeling ambivalent about this - torn in two directions by your competing instincts. That’s perfectly understandable,” Rosa says softly, still writing, a constant stream of her impressions and thoughts and what Daniel is saying. “I think you’ve identified a very strong starting point for us, Red. I’m very happy to meet with you today, and your brother has scheduled you to see me twice a week while we get to know each other and once a week after that. Does that sound acceptable?”

Daniel frowns at her, confused, as though he can’t figure out why she’s asking. Then he slowly nods. “Can you make me able to do it?” He asks, from behind his knees. “Talk to the lawyers about what happened?”

Rosa takes a breath. “I can’t make you do anything. But if you want to, I think that your sessions with me may be able to help you work through what you need to have the skills to make that decision for yourself, and begin building a foundation for future decisions from there. Does that sound like a good plan to you?”

Daniel is silent, tissue still pressed to his face, then he slowly nods. “Oh, okay,” He says softly. “Whatever you want. I can be good.”

Rosa nods, slightly and gives him an encouraging smile. “Wonderful. And if you need to, we can call your brother in at any time. All right, Red. My name is Dr. Rosa Martinez, and I know you’re aware of that, but while you’re in this office, I want you to call me Rosa or Dr. Rosa, is that all right?”

He nods at her again, but a little more of his face comes up from behind his knees. “Y-Yes, I can do that, um, Dr. Rosa.”

“Perfect. That’s perfect, Red. Now let’s begin.”

#Daniel Michaelson's story #introducing #Dr. Rosa Martinez #whump #trauma recovery #recovery whump #conditioning #dehumanization #pet whump #broken whumpee #Daniel Michaelson #tw: PTSD

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minijenn · 5 years ago

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Universe Falls Chapter 77, Part 1

Ah boy time to start arc 8′s mini arc that everyone keeps forgetting about in the shortest chapter UF has had in a LONG while. Also I wrote this in like, the span of 12 hours so... ya know. Enjoy! (also please don’t read this on here, dumblr won’t carry over how this is SUPPOSED to be formatted so please go read it on Ao3 or FF.net to get the experience of how this chapter is SUPPOSED to look)

Previous: https://minijenn.tumblr.com/post/190860858504/universe-falls-chapter-76

***

Chapter 77: Adventures in the Multiverse

Part 1: The Nightmare Realm

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Within the quiet solitude of his private study in the second sublevel below the shack, Ford had always found that he’d been able to find comfort and solace solely in the simplicity of his own research. Even thirty years ago, the author would frequently retreat to this tranquil space, take a seat in his favorite chair at his favorite desk, and lose himself in his work on the journals, eagerly documenting his latest discoveries within the pages of his trio of journals. Away from the world and awash in his own thoughts, reflections, and recollections, a better place to be some nights than others, especially when it came to the nights when it had still been him sitting at that desk, only with someone else taking the reigns of his mind instead.

Yet that was far from the case on this particular night as Ford described the latest happenings in the later pages of his lattermost journal. A rather uneventful entry given that the day had been sparse of any supernatural or alien encounters, yet the author still found documenting his thoughts and observations a worthy use of his time all the same.

Once again I was faced with an all-too familiar question today, one that I’ve been hearing more and more frequently from the children as of late. First it came from Dipper, not surprising given his admirable drive to learn and discover everything and anything he can (not unlike myself when I was younger). Then it came from Steven, likely as a result of the Gems leaving him out of the loop (I’ve come to understand they tend to do that to him from time to time, poor lad). But oddly enough, today it came from Mabel, which admittedly caught me off guard. Perhaps curiosity has been getting the better of all three of them in their recent idle time. Even so, as usual, I had no suitable answer to that inquiry. Sometimes it seems as though I never really will either.

The author paused his pen, letting out a long sigh as he glanced up from the journal to the flickering candlelight coming from the wick set before him. He’d never been particularly fond of dwelling on the past and yet he constantly found himself doing so all the same whether he wanted to or not. And yet this, like many things he’d been through back in the day, was one lengthy span of time he was far from keen on dwelling on.

Which was exactly why he tried everything he could to avoid it. And yet that familiar question, whether it was from one of the kids, one of the Gems, or someone else entirely, still always seemed to follow him all the same:

“Where were you for the past 30 years?”

It’s not that I’m afraid or even that hesitant to discuss any of it. The problem is, I never know how to begin or what to reveal. A lot can happen in the span of 30 years, and in my case, a great deal did happen. Moments of triumph, moments of despair, moments of fear, spread so far and so broad across so many scattered dimensions. Some days it feels as though it’s not over yet, even now that I’m back in the comfort of my own home. It’s hard to say if I’ll ever truly be able to make sense of it all, but… maybe it might be worth the effort to, at the very least, try.

Try. Try to confront something that he’d been avoiding ever since he stepped through the portal back into his basement lab. Try to stitch together the pieces of a story that spanned worlds, galaxies, even dimensions themselves. Try to face a past he’d just as rather leave behind entirely.

I suppose trying is the best I can do in this case. And perhaps writing about some of it here will help me get my thoughts in order. Perhaps it’s time I finally reveal…

My Journey

I remember those first moments after I was cast into the portal like it was yesterday.

"Stanley! Please! Tell Rose Quartz I’m sorry!” His last message to his brother, or more precisely, to the pink Gem, echoed all around him through the bright white void he’d found himself sucked into. A void that led to what could very well become his demise, a thought that he barely even had time to grapple with as he tumbled through the empty light.

The sudden feeling of weightlessness, the helpless terror, knowing that I would soon face whatever mysterious horror had driven Fiddleford to madness.

As I felt myself being sucked away from my home (a dimension I would come to learn is referred to in the multiverse as 514÷Y), I held my breath and accepted that this could be the end.

As luck would have it, it was only the beginning.

In a startling flash, the white void faded away, finally allowing Ford his first (albeit somewhat blurry) glimpse as to what lay beyond it. Initially, it almost looked like a vast expanse of endless stars, much like an earthly spacescape would appear. Yet in a striking instant, that all changed, the stars burning out as the dark skies turned blood crimson. From there, that red violently exploded into a sickening shade of green, mingled with clashing pinks and oranges. Over and over again, the expanse shifted colors, constantly changing on its own wild whims as it swirled with a chaotic, unstable sort of energy, one that Ford could feel from the moment he found himself caught within it.

Swimming through the gravity-free area of lightning and swirling colors, I reached into my pocket for a spare pair of glasses (always handy, considering how often I break them) and found myself staring at, quite literally, a living nightmare.

As a speeding torrent of blazing asteroids rushed past him, the author jolted with fear, still largely overwhelmed with shock to do much else. Disoriented as he was, some small part of his mind still tried clinging onto logic amidst the dangerous disorder he was now lost within. And as he took another look around his hectic new surroundings, he starkly realized where it all was.

“And what is on the other side of that portal, Ford?” Rose had asked him, her voice tight and intense with growing dread.

“What did you really have us build down here, Stanford?” Pearl had demanded harshly, glaring at him with immense suspicion all the while. “A portal to another dimension, or something far more sinister?”

“I know what I saw in there!” Fiddleford had cried in a wild-eyed panic as he pointed an accusing finger at the portal he’d just barely been recovered from. “It was a nightmare, plain n’ simple!”

“Let’s just say that when that portal finishes charging up, your dimension is really gonna learn how to PARTY! Right guys?” Bill had cheerfully encouraged his “friends”, a group of ghouls and monsters all eagerly awaiting the portal’s completion just as much as the dream demon himself was. Something that their sinister whispers had been reminding him of on a near-constant, maddening loop for the past several weeks now:

“The door is open…”

Ford gasped, much louder than he had meant to as the sound echoed through the immense empty space around him. His heart was hammering his chest, his panic rising as he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt exactly where he now was.

I found myself sucked through the door to the place Bill had designated the portal to access, a place called many different things: the dimension between dimensions, the in-between space, the gateway to other worlds…

The Nightmare Realm. The very place Bill Cipher himself calls home.

Bill’s universe is not exactly a dimension, but rather a boiling, shifting, intergalactic foam between dimensions--a lawless, unstable crawl space between worlds that only the strangest and most unknowable beings call home. And as the portal closed behind me, I found myself trapped there, possibly for eternity.

The entirety of the Nightmare Realm rippled with yet another wave of electric, chaotic energy, one that rattled Ford to the core with terror just as much as all of the others had before it. And yet, this one was the most terrifying by far as he spun around in the weightless space-scape, only to find a sight that made his heart sink all the way to his stomach. For the very same white void he’d emerged here from, the portal itself, his sole gateway back home to everything he’d ever known, simply exploded. In a burst of blinding, bitter light, it was wiped away like a star in a supernova, leaving nothing, no gateway out, no way to escape, left in its wake.

He was trapped here, armed with only the clothes on his back and nothing else to ensure his survival. The chances of which, he knew, were likely ridiculously low, if they were even existent at all. He was lost, with no hope and no help. For certainly, no one would be able to come to his rescue in a place like this; not Stan, not Fiddleford, not any of the Gems, not even Rose herself. And that was perhaps the very worst part of it all: he was alone.

Though the truth of it was, he wasn’t as alone as he thought. Though considering the company that was about to find him, he’d very soon wish he was.

The constant dull, inconsistent clamor that filled the Nightmare Realm was suddenly broken, shattered like glass with a piercing, shrill laugh that Ford was far too familiar with by this point. Once again, the realm shifted, landing the author in another setting entirely, one streaked in sharp shadows and the bright, bizarre sets of eyes that belonged to those shadows. Yet Ford hardly paid them any mind as he instead seized up with fear while that laugh, that wild, insane, undeniable laugh rang loud and clear in his ears, just as it had in the fitful nightmares he’d been having as of late.

He knew exactly what he’d find if he turned around, exactly who he’d have to face. And worse yet, this time, he wouldn’t merely be facing him in dreams; he’d be facing him on his own home turf. Quite frankly, he was surprised that the dream demon hadn’t already killed him the moment he found him in his realm. But Bill was never one to get to the point, which was why Ford figured he’d do so instead.

Before I had a moment to properly panic over my fate, I realized that I was hovering before Bill himself, who was perched on a bizarre throne made of optical illusions, flanked by an army of strange and shadowy beasts.

On his throne, Bill sat surprisingly calmly, as if he was hardly even surprised to see Ford, of all people in the dimension he called home. If anything, the dream demon seemed delighted, leaning forward slightly as he finally greeted the terrified author as brightly as he always did. “Look who finally decided to pay me a visit!” he quipped, his voice echoing through the infinity all around them. “Not that I wasn’t expecting you to show up, Sixer. After your poor buddy Glasses got a glimpse of the place a few weeks ago, I knew you wouldn’t be too far behind!”

This callous mention of his former friend was finally enough to shake Ford out of his initial fear, setting him off with a fuel of righteous fury toward the demon who had been tormenting him for so long now. “B-Bill…” he began, forcing himself to be steady in the face of his hated foe. “I-if you think you’ve won, then you’re sorely mistaken. I don’t know if you just saw what I did, but the portal closed. It’s over, Cipher. You lose!”

Despite this bold claim, Bill simply let out another haughty laugh, hovering off his throne a bit to gain even more height as he towered high above the author. “Aw, c’mon, Fordsy, don’t tell me you’re THAT deluded! You really think that portal of yours shutting itself down is gonna stop me? Some dumb sap is bound to come along and get it running again eventually. And till then, I’ve got all the time in the world to wait. Unlike you, Sixer. Get it? ‘Cause your time is about to run out? It’s FUNNY!”

“You’re wrong!” Ford shot back fiercely. “That portal will never reopen again, Rose will make sure of it! I know she will!”

“Oh yeah, cause ol’ Quartzy is soooo reliable,” Bill rolled his eye. “That’s why she left you hanging out to dry when your first test run went south, huh? Or why she’s NOT here to save you, her human of the week or the decade or whatever, from me! Right? RIGHT?”

“I-I don’t want her to come here to save me!” the author argued, his hands clenched in tight fists at his sides. “I don’t want anyone ever opening that portal; it should have been destroyed, just like Rose said.” Ford paused at this, letting out a sad, remorseful sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck. ��And if I’d just listened to her in the first place, then I wouldn’t have ended up here…”

“Should’ve, could’ve, would’ve, but you DIDN’T!” the dream demon mocked almost mirthfully, clearly taking pleasure in this entire situation as a whole. “But tell me, Sixer; wouldn’t you want somebody to get that portal up and running again? It’d give you a chance to get out of here, prolong your ultimately destined-to-end-anyway life a bit instead of having it cut short just by being here! After all, humans don’t tend to last long in the Nightmare Realm. We play a bit… rough around here, don’t we, boys?”

Bill’s horde of accompanying, unknown demons all let out a round of hearty, sadistic chuckles at this, laughter that sent a chill down Ford’s spine yet he refused to back down regardless. “I don’t care about going back to my own dimension,” he said firmly, and he meant it. After all, it wasn’t like there was very much left there for him anyway now. “Just as long as you’re kept out of it too, that’s all that matters to me.”

“Aw, so Brainiac wants to play the big, tough hero now, huh?” Bill scoffed flippantly. “Hate to break it to ya, Sixer, but I’m bound to get what I want either way. But it’s a shame you won’t be around to watch me tear the fabric of your dimension to shreds and grind those Crystal Chumps you care so much about to spacedust. ‘Cause ya see, Stanford, I’m not the one who’s about to lose here. YOU ARE!”

The dream demon’s golden form turned a harsh, deadly red at this, his eye pitch black as its white pupil glared down at the frightened author relentlessly. And as his usual bright blue flames erupted all around him, his eagerly watching cronies and cohorts all began to gather in closer, ready to attack.

“CARE FOR A GAME OF INTERGALACTIC CHESS?!” Bill shrieked, his booming voice rattling the entire Nightmare Realm as it took on the same sort of aggressive crimson as its king. “THIS TIME, YOU’RE THE PAWN!”

He snapped his fingers and one of his beasts, a 60-foot-fall ball of fingers and teeth, let out a howl like a humpback whale and charged a me, fingers and teeth wiggling and gnashing! Though I hadn’t had much time to think or plan since my arrival in the Nightmare Realm, I knew right off the bat that escaping was my only chance at survival.

Acting on adrenaline and instinct, Ford forced himself to spin around amidst the gravity-free expanse, frantically swimming forward in midair as the monster lunged toward him hungrily. It nearly caught him too, though the author barely managed to outmaneuver it, dodging its path in just the nick of time. Still, he was close enough to it as it passed him by to give him a window of opportunity, exactly the one he needed to get away.

For right as the creature began turning itself back around, Ford pushed himself to “jump” onto one of its many massive hands, using it as something of a springboard to propel himself away from the monster entirely. With this newfound momentum, the author sailed through the ever-changing realm quite a distance, putting some much-needed distance between himself and the monster as it attempted to right itself and go after him.

And in time, it did so, tailing him as he continued pushing himself through space with as much force and speed as he possibly could. However, the monster was every bit as persistent as he was, intent on acting on Bill’s orders and catching its prey as it continued the chase without any signs of ceasing. Fortunately for Ford, however, as he turned his sights forward once again, he found just the cover he needed to end it. Or at the very least, give him a much-needed chance to breathe amidst all of the endless insanity he was up against.

I managed to hide behind an asteroid field in the nick of time as the monstrosity passed me by, and I swam through the air in a panic as multiple beasts tore through the space rocks, searching for me.

As the author took refuge in a dense collection of asteroids, he could hear a series of approaching roars and rumbles, no doubt from all of Bill’s other beasts as they all assembled to go after him as well. Unsure of what else to do, Ford pressed tight against one of the larger rocks, hoping that he wouldn't be seen. Without any sort of weapon to speak of, there would be no fighting back against creatures as dangerous and unpredictable as these, which meant that escaping from them as all he could really do. Or, at the very least, hiding in the hopes that he could come up with some sort of plan to put an end to this madness before it was too late. And fortunately, it seemed as though some small shamble of luck was still somehow on his side in his otherwise luckless plight. For as he dashed toward another asteroid to hide behind, he happened to spot an even better escape instead.

Fleeing for my life, I miraculously managed to take shelter in the crater of a large passing asteroid as the monsters swarmed by. Hidden deep within the recesses of the stony caverns, I could hear Bill’s shrill voice:

“SIXER WANTS TO PLAY HIDE AND SEEK! FIRST ONE TO FIND HIM AND BRING HiM TO ME GETS THEIR OWN GALAXY!”

It was followed by the manic laughter of creatures large and small racing off to locate me. I was so crazed from fatigue and rage that my first impulse was to give myself up to Bill so I could curse him right to his face. And at the time, I figured I might as well do exactly that since the chances of me realistically making it out of the hellish dimension I was now trapped in here were essentially none.

With Bill’s horde of monsters and demons successfully evaded for the time being, Ford had finally found a moment to rest, not that he actually found any such solace in it though. Instead, the author slumped down against the cavern wall, staring off into the immense darkness ahead so he wouldn’t have to look back into the endlessly shifting scape of the Nightmare Realm in its place.

Had it really just been mere moments ago that he had been standing back in his own basement lab, face to face with his twin brother? Had it really been a mere moment, just one unfortunate second that had turned his life upside down, or rather, had ruined it completely? The author knew he had a long list of people he could pin the blame on for his disastrous plight: Stan, Bill, himself. And yet that blame would hardly do him much good here. Because as long as he remained entrenched in the horrors of the Nightmare Realm, then he was essentially just waiting to die.

The moment he realized this fact was the same moment he realized he was shaking, his hands trembling with cold fear that had filled him from the second he arrived in this awful place. When he had been a young, innocent boy, he’d always dreamed of going on some grand, high-stakes adventure, a dream that both him and Stan had shared. But now that he was actually living that dream, or nightmare rather, it was far from anything he’d once hoped it would be.

Amidst that chilling terror, he could also feel warmth, building up behind his eyes as they started to turn wet. A small sob choked its way out of his throat as he hugged his knees close to his chest. Briefly, he was finally able to take stock of his tattered lab coat, his fresh pair of glasses already slightly cracked from the fray he’d narrowly managed to escape. Yet none of that even remotely mattered to him now. What did matter were all of the things he was all-too-quickly realizing he’d never get to do.

He’d never see his home again, be within the familiarity of the house that sat in the shadow of a temple he’d come to see as a beacon of hope and security. He’d never see the constant stars resting over the peaceful waters of the lake or hear the morning birds greet another crisp Oregonian morning. He’d never write within the pages of his treasured journals, or explore all that the strange, yet beautiful town of Gravity Falls, a place he’d come to lose so much in such a short amount of time.

He’d never get to make amends with Fiddleford for the harrowing experience he’d put him through. He’d never get to apologize to Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl for dragging them into his disaster. He’d never be able to tell Rose just how much he valued her friendship, how much he wished he could win her trust back and how much he had trusted her, how he still trusted her, even despite everything, in turn. And even though some part of him was furious, outraged that Stan’s foolishness had gotten him into this mess in the first place, another part of him still mourned that he’d never get to see his brother again either.

He would never be able to go home again. And given the mounting list of disastrous mistakes he’d made, it was probably the only fate he knew he really deserved.

Ford had all but lost himself to grief over that fact when suddenly, a small, yet still prominent noise coming from deeper within the cave he’d taken shelter in. Slowly and carefully, the author rose to stand, peering deeper into the darkness where the faint whispers were coming from. He was hesitant to follow them, initially believing them to be coming from more of Bill’s henchmen, lurking in the shadows, just waiting to attack. And yet, these soft, almost scared whispers were a far cry from the raving, manic screams and shrieks of the monsters outside. Which was exactly why Ford allowed curiosity to get the better of him as he stepped into the darkness, not knowing what he’d find.

What he did manage to find, however, was perhaps the last thing he could have ever expected.

Pressing further ahead into the cavern, I discovered that I was sharing my hiding spot with a shivering family of intergalactic refugees.

Sure enough, a group of four alien creatures of varying species and sizes sat, each of them bandaged and war-torn in different ways as they desperately tried to keep themselves warm around their small, strangely glittering purple fire. Ford stopped short just shy of approaching them, stunned by their presence as they were by his when they caught sight of him. And yet, instead of pulling out any sort of weapons to attack, the group offered the author a series of sympathetic, consoling looks as their leader, squat, snaggletoothed, guinea pig-like creature with an eyepatch and a mechanical arm, calmly beckoned him forward.

“You lost your way out there too?” he asked with something of a folksy draw to his tone. “Can’t blame ya, you wouldn’t be the first. C'mere and join the rest of us lost souls. Warmin’ up ‘round the fire is leagues better than tryin’ your chances out there, that’s for sure.”

Ford said nothing at first, eyeing the group warily until he realized their leader was right. At the very least, these creatures didn’t see intent on eating him alive like Bill’s were.

“T-thank you,” the author said, holding his hands out toward the violet flames in the hopes that the warmth would finally cease their endless shaking. “If you don’t mind me asking… what exactly are all of you and… what are you doing in… well, to put it lightly, here?”

“Heh,” one of the other members of the group, a small, somewhat pig-like creature chuckled bitterly. “Ain’t that the story of the multiverse?”

“A tale of great sadness and woe indeed,” the most reptilian creature of the group, complete with a long neck and a bandaged stub of an arm shook his head morosely.

“One that’s probably not bound to get a happy ending at this point,” the final member of the group, a horned, fanged creature sighed tiredly.

“But before we get into that depress fest,” the leader grumbled, shaking his head at his despairing friends. “Allow us to introduce ourselves first. The name’s Yottos. Put ‘er there.” Ford shook the robotic hand Yottos offered to him before he began to go through the rest of the refugees. “That’s Hocoh,” he nodded to the pig-like creature on the other side of the fire. “He’s Qharquains.” The reptilian creature waved his stub of a bandaged arm in greeting. “And he’s-”

“I’m George,” the horned creature finished bluntly, catching the author quite off guard.

“Huh… that’s a… surprisingly normal name,” Ford pointed out with a frown.

“You kiddin’? It’s the strangest name in the whole dang multiverse!” Hocoh laughed, slapping his knee. Likewise, Yottos and Qharquains also joined in on the bout of laughter, flustering George in the process.

“So you guys keep saying!” he grumbled petulantly. “Y-you’re just mad ‘cause your names aren’t as cool as mine! You!” he looked to Ford somewhat suspiciously. “What’s your name, newbie?”

“Oh, I-I’m Stanford,” the author introduced himself. “Stanford Pines.”

The refugees fell silent at this as they all looked to the author incredulously. “Hm. And I thought George was an odd name...” Qharquains remarked, eliciting another frustrated growl from George as the other two refugees laughed once more.

“Guys! Stop it!”

“Now then, Stanford Pines,” Yottos began, his tone turning serious as he looked to the author once more. “Ya asked for our story and here it is. We were just a bunch of humble asteroid miners, hard at work for an honest day’s livin on the stardust fields just off of Oloxion 9.”

“We were just ‘bout to head home for the day when BAM! FLASH!” Hocoh exclaimed dramatically. “A GIANT wormhole shows up, clean outta nowhere, and sucks our ship inside with all us on it!”

“When we all came to, we found ourselves drifting here, within the forbidden gateway between worlds,” Qharquains explained evenly. “With our ship irreparably damaged, we were lost, in the very place where all things in the multiverse that go missing tend to end up in.”

“We barely managed to escape from all of those… horrible monsters…” George shuddered fearfully. “And we’ve been hiding out here ever since, both from them… and… f-from him…”

“...You mean… Bill?” Ford ventured, only to receive a sharp and sudden reaction from the refugees. A round of horrified shrieks rose up from the group, panic filling their expressions as they covered their ears to try to avoid hearing the dream demon’s name in any way possible. Somewhat confused, the author looked between the frightened members of the group, both understanding their alarm and trying to make sense of it all at the same time. “Is… something wrong?”

“Do not speak the demon’s name!” Qharquains warned fearfully. “He has ears everywhere here…”

“He’ll hear you, t-then show up here, a-and DESTROY US ALL!” George cried, shaking as he pulled his hood over his eyes.

“If you’re here, then you gotta know,” Hocoh said sternly, seriously. “That demon, nah, that monster is nothin’ but trouble!”

“Tch, don’t I know it,” Ford scoffed bitterly, crossing his arms. “Believe it or not, I used to consider Bill--er, t-that… demon,” the author corrected himself as the refugees shrunk back in terror once more. ��To be my muse. I let him influence me, trick me, into building an interdimensional portal and it’s because of that portal that I ended up here in the first place… And all because I stubbornly refused to listen to my closest friend when she told me he was not to be trusted…”

“Your friend sounds like she’s got a good head on her shoulders,” Yottos nodded in agreement. “Cause she’s right. Ya can’t trust a monster like him. In fact, you’d be pretty stupid to even listen to a single word he has to say!”

“I can’t believe you didn’t know,” George shook his head incredulously. “That demon’s one of the most feared beings in the whole multiverse! Everybody, and I mean everybody knows he’s always been bad news and will always be bad news!”

“Legend has it that he took over this realm eons ago,” Qharquains said gravely. “He used it as a hideout for himself and his equally chaotic allies, a place just as lawless and insane as they are. However, the Nightmare Realm is doomed for destruction. It has no consistent physics that it can adhere to, nothing to keep it stable. Which is why, in time, it will eventually implode, taking everything and everyone that calls it home with it.”

“So… that must be why Bill was so intent on that portal being built…” Ford muttered to himself, finally understanding the scope of the dream demon’s plan.

The Nightmare Realm… a dimension between dimensions that was never meant to exist in the first place. A plane of chaos and disaster so immense that even the multiverse itself wants it gone. That’s why Bill seeks a new, more stable dimension to take over, much like he had his current ruinous home, and a foolish mind willing to let him in. A mind like mine.

“I’m going to stop him!” Ford exclaimed, largely without thinking. The refugees all turned to him, dumbfounded and stunned, especially as he explained himself further. “If Bill--if that demon really does pose such a large threat to both my home and the the multiverse as a whole as you say, then someone needs to put an end to his destructive plans. And that someone is going to be me.”

“B-but that’s crazy!” George balked in utter disbelief.

“What makes you think you’ll stand a chance against someone as powerful as that demon?” Hocoh asked, not buying the author’s verve. “Nobody who’s ever tried standin’ up to him has ever lived to tell the tale.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Ford shook his head, resolved. “He has to be stopped, some way or another. Before he really can escape the Nightmare Realm. Too many lives have been ruined because of his antics, including my own. That’s why it’s time to put an end to him, to prevent him from ruining any more.”

“Tch, you’re not all there, are ya, Stanford Pines?” Yottos asked, finally cracking a wry smile. “Still, ya got guts, and we can’t help but respect that, can we, boys?” The other refugees all nodded in agreement at this, though it was clear they were still rather baffled by Ford’s unflinching determination all the same. “If you’re really dead set on facin’ that demon, then let us help ya out.” Yottos dug into his bag of supplies, pulling out a few sets of rations, mostly made up of odd, compressed mush that the author was completely unfamiliar with. Though at this point, he knew he couldn’t really afford to be picky when it came to what he ate out here. “Take these, and also this.” The leader presented him with some sort of electronic, bracelet-like device, one that the author couldn’t help but look over curiously as soon as he received it.

“What is it?” he asked, fascinated.

“Dimensional translator,” Yottos said, poking at the fire a bit. “No offense, but ya seem a bit new to the whole ‘dimensional travel’ game, so that’ll give ya a bit of an easier time when it comes to folks out there that aren’t as ‘well-spoken’ as we are. Now, it’s a bit of an older model, but it should still work just fine.”

“Right,” Ford nodded with a grateful smile as he slipped the translator on his wrist and the rations into the empty supply bag Qharquains also gave him. “Thank you all for your help. I really do hope all of you find your way back to your own home someday.”

“Eh, at this point we’re honestly just satisfied with surviving from day to day,” George shrugged. “And not getting eaten by the occasional gloop monster or eyeball beast.”

“...Um… well then,” the author cleared his throat as he segwayed into a different topic instead. “You… wouldn’t happen to know what the odds are of a portal or a wormhole opening up that would lead back to Earth, would you?”

“What’s a ‘Earth’?” Hocoh asked, completely confused.

“I’ve never heard of that dimension before,” Qharquains said, shaking his head. “But if that is the place you call home, then I’m afraid to say that the possibility of you returning there from here, by all accounts, is quite slim.”

“That’s… exactly what I was afraid of…” Ford sighed, still just as aware as he was before of his fate. A fate that seemed quite uncertain, even now. And yet despite that uncertainty, he still clung onto a sliver of hope all the same. Not the hope that he’d ever return home; he knew that ship had sailed and sunk. But rather, the hope that he’d finally be able to stop Bill and save the world, even if it was a word he’d never be able to see again.

So a plan began to form in my mind. I would travel from dimension to dimension, learning what I could about Bill--his weaknesses, his secrets. I’d gain my strength, bide my time, and once I was ready, I would return to the Nightmare Realm and destroy him once and for all. I might never see home again, but at least I could save the multiverse from his wrath, and wreak vengeance for the life he stole from me.

And that was exactly what he was going to set out to do. He’d risk anything and everything just to see Bill Cipher finally meet his end. Even if his own end came right along with it.

The refugees excitedly hailed me as a hero as I prepared to leave, bidding me the best of luck in my quest as I waved them goodbye, setting off from their asteroid to swim toward the nearest wormhole. I was ready, ready to do whatever it took to not just survive, but thrive, as I cast my fate to the wind to discover what new worlds awaited me.

Yet as I left the Nightmare Realm and all its terrors behind, I still caught wind of one final cheer the refugees offered me. One that I still don’t know the meaning behind, even to this very day:

“Praise the Axolotl!”

#jen writes #universe falls #gravity falls #steven universe #crossover #au #fanfiction #ford #bill cipher #nightmare realm #adventures in the multiverse

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akiharashizuka · 7 years ago

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Cardfight Vanguard G: Next turn 52 thoughts

Return

We’ve reached the finale...All in all, I think the episode did a great job at finishing up the U20, as well as making connections to the upcoming Z.

Also, this post will be very long...

For a moment, I thought they were going to replay the last scene from episode 51, but then this small part played out. This wasn’t in the previous episode. I was trying to decipher what Kazuma must have been thinking at that moment...Frustration that he couldn’t defeat Shiranui himself? Hope that the attack goes through? A mix of both?

The part where the hairband falls seems to be there just to make the moment more dramatic...And show us how Kazumi looks like with his hair down. Unless Chrono used his ability to summon Units from Cray (kinda like how Chronojet punched Kanzaki for real), but I highly doubt that was it. Or the new fighting system is almost as great as the GIRS.

Ok, enough nitpicking. What followed was a very beautiful moment. Kazumi and Shiranui finally have a proper interaction, having a better understanding of each other.

Also, that background is gorgeous.

I think that was a bit exaggerated. I’m surprised they didn’t fall off that platform. Still, it’s not like I can’t feel their joy :)

Why is the symbol purple? It was red up until this episode...It makes sense to be red, since that’s the color for Dragon Empire. Purple is for Dark Zone >_>

Anyway, we have a namedrop. Gastille was indeed the Unit he was talking to in that flashback. Well, the Weekly Bites kind of confirmed that too.

It seems he is starting to understand that his hatred was misplaced. I liked that he also thanked his comrades, as the cards are shown disappearing one by one, then the board (?) turns off. I never realized that the field was a giant board...

The brothers’ reunion (this time with the real Kazumi) was very heartfelt. I guess Kazumi wanted to pet his brother’s head, but then Kazuma says the “Don’t say you’ll disappear”. I simply liked that line. It shows how much he loves his brother and that he won’t be happier if Kazumi was out of picture.

Chrono and Kazuma seem so awkward xD Kazuma even seems kind of uncomfortable. Taiyou is the only one who looks natural.

Thought Rummy Labyrinth and Saya won’t appear again. It was nice seeing them hand the trophy and flowers.

It’s been a whole year since Mikuru appeared in the anime. It’s good to know that she wasn’t forgotten. I guess she didn’t have much of a role to play this time, but she’s still Chrono’s legal guardian.

I found it strange that they decided to insert the ending here. For a moment, I even thought the episode was over, even though it was way too soon xD

Ah...the usual DE Branch shenanigans xD

Before that, seeing how the U20 inspired the younger players was a nice addition. All of them were going on with Dominate, Gear Chronicle, Nubatama, GB8, even Ritual and Gold Paladin xD But...what about Genesis and Kagero?

Of course, with everyone so enthusiastic, Team Striders gets a few challenges xD

With Chrono’s newfound dream of travelling to Cray, it makes sense to ask Aichi for advice. Not only because he studies astrophysics, but also because that dream was most likely inspired by him. It’s also the idea of the old protagonist helping the new one.

It sure is a lot of work. For English, it’s not only about being able to hold a conversation and understand stuff, but also know the scientific terminology. Which isn’t that easy for someone whose first language isn’t English. Especially with Japanese being so different from it. There’s also the fact that in schools, English is taught in a very theoretical way (at least that’s what I heard...), which is far from being an efficient way. Math and physics also have to be studied at a very high level and these particular subjects get way too abstract and hard to understand. Well, if explained properly and if Chrono has a knack for science (rather than humanities like history or literature), it might be achievable. As for physical training...well, he’s going to deal with zero gravity. Astronauts have to go through special training for that, so I’m guessing it’s something similar to that. Hang in there Chrono.

Trinity Dragon also has gotten the enthusiasm. The next U20 is mentioned again, which makes me want at least a mention of how it went in the future xD

Of course, it’s the training style is typical for Kamui xD

Looks like they got the old high-tech clubroom back. I expected some students to come and say that they want to join, or, at least, Shion and Hayao having some application papers...Guess they’ll have to wait a bit until Fukuhara regains interest in Vanguard. Maybe with the new students that will enroll...

But for now, they got to deal with Rin. Well, I guess she wants to help them practice and maintain a high level, which is sort of nice of her. The way she put it wasn’t very nice. Hang in there Hayao.

Not sure how many of you got the “2nd semester of the 3rd year” part, so I’m going to explain a bit. So, after the 1st semester, 3rd year students retire from club activities in order to focus on the university entry exams (which are very difficult in Japan, it seems). That’s the usual case, but not all students want to attend university. This is also Rin’s case, so they can still participate in club activities. Whether they retire, or not, is their choice after all.

I’m glad they showed what Verno is up to as well. Definitely, her tone is different from Amaruda, which hints towards different personalities. From this scene, it seems Verno is more outgoing (guess that’s the right word).

Speaking of Amaruda, she did say that she will inform her comrades about Shiranui’s plans. Well, he dropped off, but the plan is still in action. I hope this part gets touched on in Z. It might lead to something interesting, which I’ll talk about a bit later.

Looks like Kumi joined Tokoha in Paris for a trip, probably. And, I guess this sort of confirms that Tokoha had developed romantic feelings for Miguel, but I feel like it’s still left ambiguous, so each viewer can interpret the scene in whatever way they want.

What’s I’m more concerned about is that Miguel, and, at the same time, Antero remain dead. You’d think that the writers would come up with a way to bring him back, or pull a “he wasn’t really dead”, but nope. I mean, that happens a lot in shounen anime, and those focus on card games aren’t exceptions. I don’t think it’s a bad idea though. Miguel’s death was an unfortunate and sad incident, which happens in real life quite often.

Well...Enishi returns to be the Dark Zone branch chief. I don’t know how to feel about this, since he left because he felt guilty of his actions while in Company and therefore deemed himself unworthy of that position. This season was also about him finding something he can do. I didn’t think that something will turn out to be the same thing he resigned from.

Looking from another perspective, I guess I can see why that is the thing he can do. He wasn’t named branch chief at age 18 for nothing. He most likely has the necessary qualities to manage the DZ branch. And, I think those were reflected in the G Quest. Dark Zone was one of the most unique ones (alongside DE and Zoo), which also fit the theme of the Nation it represents very well. With what he had learned during the U20, maybe he can do things even better now.

Wow...they are behaving like normal siblings xD I wanted to hear Kazuma call him “onii-chan” xD

Something I was slightly worried about is whether Kazuma’s mother is supportive of him or not...Him mentioning that they are doing fine the way they are makes me believe that she actually is, which is a relief.

Hmm, Kazumi becoming the head in the future might give him the chance to change the Onimaru family for the better. Though, I don’t know how the others will react to that...They might not be very cooperative. On the other hand, if he doesn’t become the head, Kazumi will be free to do as he pleases, for the most part.

I had a huge deja vu feeling here. It seems Chrono did too. The only thing missing was Shiranui’s creepiness.

Speaking of Chrono, the way his lines were translated is rather misleading. Here’s how I think it should be: “It’s the same as when you first came here...So that Shiranui was properly acting the whole time.”

Kazumi’s memories being fuzzy after the diffride was canceled makes sense, especially when you think that it was a forced one. Another being took over him, and Kazumi’s consciousness was suppressed. But they still shared the same body and mind, so it’s only natural for him to remember what Shiranui did, or what was he thinking about.

So, he properly explains what exactly happened to Shiranui and brought up Gastille and the Apostles. They were revealed in the Weekly Bites almost 2 weeks ago. I’ll cover this subject towards the end, when they appear.

For now, let’s talk a bit about Shiranui’s missions. Not much to say about bringing Chaos Breaker...I just wonder if there is a reason why him specifically had to be summoned. As for the 2nd one, as expected, the reason he joined U20 was to find a vessel for the master. It looks like he set his eyes on Chrono, which worries me...It’s also a matter of whether the Apostles will find him an appropriate candidate. Maybe some other possible candidates will appear...

Yes! Kai is training them! Hope Makoto and Arata will play an important role in Z. Noa is their friend after all. I would prefer them to bring him back.

Now, for the master, or, better said, Gyze. His clan is currently unknown. If I have to speculate, I’d go for Link Joker...but I’m highly unsure. From the way he is described, I’m guessing he is sort of like the Satan of Cray. Messiah already has christian references, so I couldn’t think of another comparison.

One thing that caught my attention was that he rules the void. The weekly bites translated the word as “nihility”, but it’s the same idea of nothingness. What’s interesting here is that for the first 4 seasons, the antagonist was an evil force called Void. Unlike this time, they used the English word, but considering that Gyze tried to destroy Cray before, I’m guessing that’s when it happened. It might be something else entirely, but this is when the events in the original series can be connected to those in G and I kind of want that...Plus, there were a few moments in Next that reminded me of the Link Joker arc. Not sure if they were intentional though.

And after this, the opening plays. Ok, it’s a unique idea, but it made things slightly confusing.

I’ve wanted to see this for so long! It was short, but it wasn’t disappointing. Who would have guessed that the real Saori is kind of the opposite of Dumjid...And that he looked up to him. I feel so bad for him, especially that now he gets involved in something he doesn’t want to. technically it’s Dumjid doing all the stuff, but they still share the same body and mind. Also, since it was a normal diffride, Saori’s consciousness is still around. Though, it doesn’t look like Dumjid wants to let him say anything.

The fact that he became so bitter that he chooses the antagonists’ side is intriguing to me. It’s also character evolution, but in a negative way. Which spices things up. It makes me look forward to what kind of character development is he going to have. Also, I would love to see a background story for Saori.

Here we have Gastille. he is indeed voiced by Yuuki Ono, who also voiced Kiryu in 5D’s. Hopefully his performance will be as great as that one. so far it looks promising.

There’s something that has been bugging me. He is supposedly possessing a human...Then where is his clan symbol? It was revealed that he is from Dark Irregulars so, that symbol should be very visible since he isn’t wearing any gloves. I thought it was weird when the design was revealed, but not it’s really bothering me...Especially that if you take a look at the other Apostles, all have something to cover the back of their right hand, when the clan symbol is. Noa only has his very long sleeves though...

Six G-Zone cards, so I’m assuming these are the Zeroth Dragons. These were also mentioned in the Weekly Bites. Their deal is that every single clan in a specific Nation can be used with the corresponding Zeroth Dragon. For example, the Dragon Empire one, Drakuma can only be used if the player uses Kagero, Narukami, Nubatama, Murakumo or Tachikaze. So far only two have been revealed, the one for Dragon Empire I just mentioned, and the one for Megallanica.

I like their designs, but I kind of wished they had elements from each clan of their respective Nation. I guess it’s a hard thing to achieve, but Drakuma looks like a Kagero unit, maybe a Narukami as well if you stretch it a bit. Sure, Dumjid is going to use it, but what if Shiranui was still around, for example? It would have looked very out of place in his deck, even though it’s 100% usable. Same for Megiddo. It looks like an Aqua Force unit. I guess it can fit in a granblue deck, but in a Bermuda Triangle one....Yeah...Kind of difficult. Actually, it’s pretty hard to fit a dragon in Bermuda, now that I think of it...

Now for the other Apostles. Here’s the link for the Weekly Bites that mention them, so it would be easier to follow me.

I don’t have much to say about Chaos Breaker, for now. And I’ve already talked about Dumjid. so, moving on...

It seems we have 2 Units representing Megacolony, which is peculiar. And one of them looks very familiar. I’ve also checked the VA, just to be sure and, it is indeed Wakamizu, the eccentric scientist from Company. At the end of Stride Gate, him and Handa were recruited by Chris to work at his company. That company is most likely in Singapore, where Chris and his team are from. Kai and New Nippon were shown in Singapore in the episode with Kanzaki. So, I guess the mystery of what was Noa doing there is solved. I saw a theory at some point that Wakamizu was already diffriden in Stride Gate, probably due to his quirky behavior, like him adding a lot of sugar in the coffee. Honestly, when I watched that episode I was wondering when is he gonna stop. The logic behind it is that insects are attracted to sweet stuff. And Megacolony is a clan based on mutant insects. However, I think that’s just how Wakamizu is. Also, diffriding became possible after the Stride Gate incident. And it wouldn’t have made much sense for chaos Breaker to travel to Singapore if Darkface was already around. I have one more reason, but because of Gastille I don’t know how much it counts...He had nothing to cover the back of his right hand. But now he does. So, I think I debunked that theory.

Now for the new one, Gredora. It’s a new Unit, which will be introduced in a later set, most likely. Something I noticed when I first started watching vanguard is that there were quite a few voice actors from Naruto and Bleach. Morikawa is Sasuke and Uryu, Miwa is Shikamaru and Tensa Zangetsu, there was a character who had the same voice as Keigo (Bleach), Tetsu is Komamura-you get the idea. That was only for the first season though. And now it’s happening again xD Gredora is voiced by the same person as Tenten. It’s been a while since I heard Yukari Tamura in an anime...She was quite a high-pitched voice, but I doubt Gredora is the type to speak like that, so I guess she will tone down a bit. One thing G did was make me interested in clans I wasn’t before, at least a tiny bit, as well as regain interest in some that I stopped caring about. Maybe they’ll do the same with Megacolony by introducing her... Oh, and the fact that there are 2 Megacolony Units might mean that one of them will get undiffriden. Since she is nowhere to be seen, Darkface might be the first to be taken out. Though, I’m also thinking of the possibility of both sticking around, but the one who will ultimately use the Zeroth Dragon will be Gredora.

Next up is Valeos. The details about him made me wonder if by any chance Aqua Force got sealed when he tried to defeat Gyze and, after that, for some reason he joined hands with him. It could have been out of spite, or he wants to defeat him from the inside. not sure about the holy sword. the only one I can think of is the artifact from Shion’s family, but that belonged to another Unit. Continuing the “Naruto tradition”, he has the same VA as Darui. Though, I believe he will be voice more similarly to Ushiwaka from Haikyuu. It seems to fit him better, just based on design.

The last one is Gastille, which I’ve already talked about..

Let’s not forget that they are possessing humans. I’m curious about them, how they feel about the mission and how they relate to the Units.

I guess everyone noticed that there is no one from United Sanctuary. That has to be because Claret Sword’s diffride failed. He might try again, or a replacement will be found. I’ve been considering one, and it seems I’m not the only one who wants that to happen (@floakingaround ). Remember what I said about Amaruda telling her comrades about Shiranui’s mission? What if this reaches the ears of a specific Genesis Unit...Yep, Fenrir diffriding Shinonome and becoming the user of the US Zeroth Dragon. I would love if that happened. I think he fits in very well. If you read his lore, you would see that he doesn’t have a very good reputation and is quite cold-blooded. So, I don’t think he will have any objections in joining hands with the Apostles.

There’s one last thing, concerning the Apostles, I’d like to mention. I’ve seen once a comment which highlighted that each Nation has sort of a villainous clan:

United Sanctuary: Shadow Paladin

Star Gate: Link Joker

Zoo: Megacolony

Megallanica: Granblue

Dark Zone: Dark Irregulars

Dragon Empire: Nubatama

I guess I remember them correctly. I saw that way before Next started. Surprisingly, the Apostles are from these clans, with the exception of Valeos. However, the antagonist from the Asia Circuit arc was Leon, who uses Aqua Force. So, even though Aqua Force doesn’t seem evil, it was used by an arc villain. Dunjid is also an exception, but he replaces Shiranui, who is from Nubatama. The DZ one is also questionable, since the whole Nation seems villainous. It is described as “lawless” after all. If I think about it, Gear Chronicle is the odd one, since it’s more heroic than the other 3. Though, I see why the author of that comment chose DI. It’s a bunch of vampires, demons, elves, and so on who kind of do what they feel like. Pale Moon is a circus, Spike Brothers is an American football team, and Gear Chronicle is a group of time travelers.

Lastly, the preview for Z’s first episode. It seems things start off strong, with a Chaos Breaker vs Chrono fight. It is to be expected, since Next served as the build-up for Z. The fact that the episode is titles “Stolen Chrono” worries me...I don’t want it to go the Legion Mate route and have the protagonist become the antagonist. Seeing that he is on the promotional poster gives me hope that it might not be the case. Aichi was present on the Legion Mate poster, but he was positioned at the back and looking in the opposite direction as the protagonist, Kai. Chrono stands close to Kazuma, Ibuki and Aichi, Gyze being in the back. Maybe Chrono just gets kidnapped, but he gets rescued in time.

So, see you next Sunday with Z.

#that took a lot of time...#cardfight vanguard g next #cardfight vanguard g next spoilers #Akihara's random opinion thing

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pondlinerreview-blog · 5 years ago

Text

Pond Liners – 7 Reasons Why I Don’t Use Them

Liners will eventually escape. Producers have varying guarantees, ranging from 15 to 30 decades, using a 75-year lifetime expectancy. In fact, it will surely last so long as the warranty claims as long as you leave it at the box, and also keep it on your garage.

As soon as you put it in the floor, nature’s forces start a competition to determine which will violate its water-tight ethics . Vying for the title of culprit are gophers, ground squirrels, chipmunks, rats, moles, roots out of trees, weeds and plants, sharp stones, thick stones, sharp things, and moose (if you reside in Alaska).

If a flow does grow, it’s near impossible to find it without eliminating all of the stones covering the lining, draining the pond, spreading out the liner on the floor, and scrutinizing every square inch. A very small pin hole may lose five gallons each 24 hours.

Bottom drains can’t be properly used with liners. Liner urges discount using air drains mainly because they’d rather not, because roughly one half of the resources for leaks in lining ponds are out of drains. After the lining is cut to put in the drain, then sealants are utilized alongside stress bands to create a water-tight seal. The sealants dry or break seal and down collars warp, leading to time-consuming, expensive fix.

You can’t use out-of-pond pumps. Since lining advocates do not utilize bottom drains, they can not utilize above-ground pumps, which leave no other option except to use sump pumps. These pumps were initially designed to pump water out of sump pits in basements and cellars. They aren’t meant to conserve energy; in actuality, they’re the best consumers of electricity each horsepower of pumps. The most significant retailer/wholesaler of liners, accessories and pumps sells a sump pump that generates 4200 gallons per hour in 704 g for $339.00. This pump has to be pulled in the pond to wash debris out of its ingestion display. It’s a possible shock hazard to fish and people and is full of petroleum, which has the potential of draining and covering the surface of the pond.

In contrast, an above-ground pump which provides 600 gallons more per hour (4,800) for under half of the energy price (348 watts) and prices over $100 less. Running this pump 24 hours every day will lead to a savings of more than 500 each year within the toaster. To put it differently, the electricity savings will cover the above-ground pump and set an extra $270 money in your pocket the first year .

If this is not enough incentive, another reason to utilize the above mentioned pump is there is never a requirement to fret about it clogging because we put in two 8″ anti-vortex drains on the bottom. The only maintenance required is to occasionally remove the lid from the leaf basket on the pump and dump the debris from the catch basket. Because this is a high-efficiency pump, it is extremely quiet, and standing right next to it you can barely hear it running.

With liner ponds the sump pump is located at the outside edge of the pond, not in the middle as in professional concrete and rebar constructions. We place two 8″ anti-vortex drains at the center of the pond, 24″ apart. As fish waste and other suspended particles and algae spores settle to the bottom, they are drawn into the drains and taken out by the filter. An ultraviolet light is placed in series between the filter and pond return in order to kill pathogenic bacteria which can cause disease and turn the pond green.

In deeper ponds that use liners, all the waste material settles and collects on the bottom and rots, creating ammonia that is toxic to fish and other aquatic life. Because a sump pump is located near the outer edge of the pond and not in the middle on the bottom, maximum efficient circulation cannot be reached. This creates toxic cloudy areas in the pond’s bottom. Most liner ponds I’ve seen are only 24″ deep, and flow is no problem in such instances. But, koi fish aren’t recommended in such ponds; koi specialists urge a thickness of a minimum of three feet.

You can’t utilize a top pressure care free biofilter using a liner pond. When employing a sump pump, then you’ve got to use a gravity feed bio-falls, down-flow or upflow filter. All these are ineffective and lead to high maintenance costs. They have to be cleaned regularly by eliminating all of the waste-laden filter press. To say the very least, this really is a dirty, stinky, messy occupation which my female customers nor the majority of my male customers expect to carry out.

Aqua Ultraviolet’s high pressure filter includes state-of-the-art technology allowing it to be back washed using a twist of the deal. The discharge hose may guide the fish waste and parasitic debris down the drain, or it may be used to water the garden or yard. The large pressure filter is intended to manage five to ten times the quantity of water a gravity flow unit or bio-falls may deal with.

In addition to this, the most patented gem design of the filter allows for optimum surface area where nitrifying bacteria can reside and split down nitrites. Even the”Liner Guy” needs you to utilize his cluttered, filthy, stinky ineffective filter since it’s his filter, and it costs very little to manufacture in relation to the expert bead filter. My remarks about blockers come from several years of expertise, and trying almost every one which is available on the marketplace. I jumped onto the”filter bandwagon” for a few years and employed my very own layout.

As soon as I found the Aqua Ultraviolet filter promoted in many pond publications, I gave it a go. I have been using it for more than ten years without any troubles at all. My customers wash out the filter using the aid of a deal and remain wash themselves. A fantastic side benefit to the filter is that you may have double the amount of fish into your pond compared to when using the ineffective gravity filters. Incidentally, this isn’t a paid endorsement of the merchandise!

Security is an issue if pond liners are utilized. After a pit is dug, a pond liner is set in the hole and after that it is full of water. Rocks are then put around the outside of the pond to pay the border of this pond lining, and much more stones are piled up on a mound of dirt covered with a different lining to make a waterfall. In my 26 decades of experience, I’ve discovered that lots of adults are like children when it has to do with waterfalls and ponds.

They climb on the stones of the waterfall and the pond’s edge. Since the stones are loose, they could proceed, tilt or change on the pond lining, leading to somebody falling and getting hurt or, even worse, drowning. With specialist concrete and rebar structure, all of the stones have been cemented in place, providing a secure base to climb or walk on.

Pond liners restrict pond shape and configuration. Why are most lining ponds round or oval in layout? Since pond liners are dispensed on rolls and are available only in rectangular or square shapes. Whether an L-shaped pond has been created, you would have to bunch up an excessive quantity of pond liner to the inner corner. Not only can it be wasting pricey square foot of pond liner stuff, but it makes it hard to stack rocks in addition to the bunched up lining in order to cover this up.

Oh sure,”Liner Guy” you are thinking, why not he mention that exceptional shaped pond liners may be custom made? Alright, I’ll say it! Custom pond liners could be made to order. And today I’ll say that this blossom liner will cost you up to building an expert pond using rebar and concrete that will last a lifetime. There, I said it!

Last but not least, Integrity. When I read posts written by the”Liner Guy’s” disciples, bragging about the ungodly profits derived from pond liner structure, I can not help but wonder how they sleep through the night. The gain derived from 1 day’s work — digging a pit, falling in a pond lining, covering its surface and perimeter with loose stone, and hammering in an energy-sucking sump pump — equals exactly what I created in four or five days of labour. 1 huge difference: their guarantee is 1 year, if you are blessed; but one constructed with steel and concrete is to get a lifetime!

I am the person the previous customers of”the Liner Guy” known as two or three decades in the future, requesting me to repair the flow in their stinky green liner pond. A customer in Poway, California paid $6,500 for a liner pond using a necklace of stone around the perimeter plus a 3 x 4 ft fiberglass waterfall in its border. I really had to suppress a laugh when I watched it out of respect to my customer’s despair.

This pond had a base drain which leaked; nonetheless, the significant reduction of water stemmed out of a tree origin puncture. Additionally, it was evident that this”Liner Guy” disciple didn’t possess his client’s long term financial wellbeing in your mind once I found that a cheap, 7- amp energy-sucking”Jacuzzi” pump. We replaced it with a 3.6 amp high-efficiency pump which provided almost twice the leak.

We pulled the lining, reconfigured the pond’s oblong shape to serpentine, and assembled the waterfall and pond shell with rebar (8″ on center) and 3500 psi concrete with stealth fiber added. We installed two 8″ floor drains, included a expert skimmer, a Venturi air distribution valve, a natural stone waterfall, a turtle island which encouraged that a 25 foot bridge crossing the pond, an”Ultima II” high pressure, back-washable filter, and ultraviolet lighting, lighting at the pond and waterfall. And a digital AquaFill pond water leveler. This took us from begin to finish and cost just $2,000 over the customer originally paid.

In conclusion: Is it any wonder why I despise the”get rich quick” scheme of pond liner structure? The”liner guy” hates hearing refer to concrete and rebar ponds as”professional construction.” They insist that their lining ponds are specialist structure. And if this is so, why can they market the exact same kits to home improvement homeowners regarding the building company people for hire?

I’m proud to assert over 2,000 satisfied clients more than 30 decades. Ninety-five percentage of my customers comes from referrals by satisfied clients. I do not need to wonder why this is so.

Is there a location for lining ponds? Yes, in case you are leasing and hope to move in a couple of decades. Or if you are establishing a temporary screen. No, I’m not completely against liners. They are excellent for truck beds and inexpensive swimming pools! Find out more info click pond liner buyers guide

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pondlinersreviewguide-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Pond Liners - 7 Reasons Why I Don't Use Them

1. Liners will eventually leak. Producers have varying warranties, ranging from 15 to 30 decades, using a 75-year life expectancy. In fact, it will definitely last so long as the warranty claims as long as you leave it at the box, and keep it on your garage.

As soon as you place it in the ground, nature's forces start a contest to see which will violate its water-tight integrity first. Vying for the title of culprit are gophers, ground squirrels, chipmunks, rats, moles, roots out of trees, weeds and plants, sharp stones, thick stones, sharp things, and moose (if you live in Alaska).

If a flow does grow, it is near impossible to find it without removing all the stones covering the lining, draining the pond, spreading out the liner on the floor, and inspecting every square inch. A tiny pin hole may lose five gallons each 24 hours.

2. Bottom drains cannot be properly used with liners. Liner advocates discount using bottom drains primarily because they would rather not, because approximately one half the resources for leaks in lining ponds are from drains. When the liner is cut to install the drain, sealants are used alongside pressure rings to create a water-tight seal. The sealants dry or break seal and down collars warp, leading to time-consuming, costly fix.

3. You cannot use out-of-pond pumps. Since liner advocates don't utilize bottom drains, they can't utilize above-ground pumps, which leave no other option except to use sump pumps. These pumps were initially designed to pump water out of sump pits in basements and cellars. They aren't meant to save energy; in actuality, they are the best consumers of electricity per horsepower of all pumps. The largest retailer/wholesaler of liners, accessories and pumps sells a sump pump that produces 4200 gallons per hour in 704 watts for $339.00. This pump has to be pulled from the pond to wash debris out of its ingestion screen. It's a possible shock hazard to fish and people and is full of oil, which has the potential of leaking out and covering the surface of the pond.

In contrast, an above-ground pump that supplies 600 gallons more per hour (4,800) for less than half of the energy price (348 watts) and prices over $100 less. Running this pump 24 hours per day will lead to a savings of more than 500 each year over the sump pump. In other words, the energy savings would pay for the above-ground pump and set an additional $270 money in your pocket the first year alone.

If this is not enough incentive, a second reason to utilize the above-ground pump is that there is never a requirement to worry about it clogging since we put in two 8" anti-vortex drains on the bottom. The only maintenance required is to occasionally remove the lid from the leaf basket on the pump and dump the debris from the catch basket. Because this is a high-efficiency pump, it is extremely quiet, and standing right next to it you can barely hear it running.

With liner ponds the sump pump is located at the outside edge of the pond, not in the middle as in professional concrete and rebar constructions. We place two 8" anti-vortex drains at the center of the pond, 24" apart. As fish waste and other suspended particles and algae spores settle to the bottom, they are drawn into the drains and taken out by the filter. An ultraviolet light is placed in series between the filter and pond return in order to kill pathogenic bacteria which can cause disease and turn the pond green.

In deeper ponds that use liners, all the waste material settles and collects on the bottom and rots, creating ammonia that is toxic to fish and other aquatic life. Because a sump pump is located near the outer edge of the pond and not in the middle on the bottom, maximum efficient circulation cannot be reached. This creates toxic cloudy areas in the pond's bottom. Most liner ponds I've seen are only 24" deep, and circulation is no problem in such cases. However, koi fish aren't recommended in such ponds; koi experts recommend a depth of at least 3 feet.

4. You cannot utilize a high pressure maintenance free biofilter with a liner pond. When using a sump pump, you've got to use a gravity feed bio-falls, down-flow or upflow filter. All these are inefficient and result in high maintenance costs. They need to be cleaned regularly by eliminating all the waste-laden filter press. To say the very least, this is a dirty, stinky, messy occupation which my female customers nor the majority of my male customers expect to perform.

Aqua Ultraviolet's high pressure filter contains state-of-the-art technology allowing it to be back washed with a turn of the handle. The discharge hose can guide the fish waste and particulate debris down the drain, or it can be used to water the garden or yard. The large pressure filter is intended to manage five to ten times the volume of water a gravity flow unit or bio-falls may handle.

In addition to all this, the patented gem design of the filter allows for optimum surface area where nitrifying bacteria can reside and break down nitrites. Even the"Liner Guy" wants you to use his cluttered, filthy, stinky inefficient filter since it's his filter, and it costs very little to manufacture compared to the professional bead filter. My remarks about filters come from many years of expertise, and trying almost every one which is available on the market. I jumped on the"filter bandwagon" for a couple of years and used my own design.

As soon as I found the Aqua Ultraviolet filter advertised in many pond publications, I gave it a go. I have been using it for more than ten years without any problems whatsoever. My customers clean the filter using the aid of a deal and remain clean themselves. A fantastic side benefit to this filter is that you can have twice the amount of fish in your pond compared to when using the ineffective gravity filters. Incidentally, this is not a paid endorsement of their product!

5. Security is an issue if pond liners are utilized. After a hole is dug, a pond liner is set in the hole and after that it is full of water. Rocks are then placed around the perimeter of the pond to cover up the edge of the pond lining, and more stones are piled up on a mound of dirt covered with a different lining to make a waterfall. From my 26 decades of experience, I've learned that lots of adults are just like kids when it comes to waterfalls and ponds.

They climb on the stones of the waterfall and the pond's edge. Since the rocks are all loose, they can move, tilt or shift on the pond lining, resulting in someone falling and getting hurt or, even worse, drowning. With specialist concrete and rebar structure, all of the stones have been cemented in place, providing a secure foundation to walk or climb on.

6. Pond liners restrict pond shape and configuration. Why are most liner ponds round or oval in layout? Since pond liners are dispensed on rolls and therefore available only in square or rectangular shapes. Whether an L-shaped pond was created, you would have to bunch up an excessive quantity of pond liner into the inside corner. Not only can it be wasting pricey square feet of pond liner stuff, but it makes it hard to stack rocks on top of the bunched up lining in order to cover this up.

Oh sure,"Liner Guy" you're thinking, why not he mention that special shaped pond liners can be custom made? Alright, I'll mention it! Custom pond liners could be made to order. And today I'll say that this customized pond liner will cost you up to constructing an expert pond with rebar and concrete that will last a lifetime. There, I mentioned it!

7. Last but not least, Integrity. When I read posts written by the"Liner Guy's" disciples, bragging about the ungodly profits derived from pond liner structure, I can't help but wonder how they sleep through the night. The gain derived from one day's work -- digging a pit, dropping in a pond liner, covering its surface and perimeter with loose stone, and plugging in an energy-sucking sump pump -- equals what I created in four or five days of labour. One huge difference: their warranty is one year, if you are lucky; but one built with concrete and steel is for a lifetime!

I am the person that the previous customers of"the Liner Guy" known as two or three years down the road, requesting me to repair the flow in their stinky green liner pond. A client in Poway, California paid $6,500 for a liner pond with a necklace of rock around the perimeter and a 3 x 4 ft fiberglass waterfall in its edge. I actually had to suppress a laugh when I watched it out of respect for my customer's grief.

This pond had a bottom drain which leaked; nonetheless, the major reduction of water stemmed out of a tree root puncture. In addition, it was evident that this"Liner Guy" disciple did not possess his client's long term financial well being in your mind once I found that a cheap, 7- amp energy-sucking"Jacuzzi" pump. We replaced it with a 3.6 amp high-efficiency pump which supplied nearly twice the leak.

We pulled the lining, reconfigured the pond's oval shape to serpentine, and assembled the waterfall and pond shell using rebar (8" on center) and 3500 psi concrete with stealth fiber added. We installed two 8" floor drains, included a professional skimmer, a Venturi air supply valve, a natural stone waterfall, a turtle island that supported a 25 foot bridge spanning the pond, an"Ultima II" high pressure, back-washable filter, ultraviolet light, lighting at the pond and waterfall. And a digital AquaFill pond water leveler. All this took us eight days from start to finish and cost just $2,000 over the customer originally paid.

In conclusion: Is it any wonder why I despise the"get rich quick" scheme of pond liner structure? The"liner guy" hates hearing me refer to concrete and rebar ponds as"professional construction." They insist their liner ponds are specialist construction. And if this is so, why can they market the very same kits to do-it-yourself homeowners as to the building company people for hire?

I am proud to claim over 2,000 satisfied customers over 30 decades. Ninety-five percentage of my clientele comes from referrals by satisfied clients. I don't have to wonder why this is so.

Is there a location for liner ponds? Yes, if you are renting and expect to move in a couple of years. Or if you're establishing a temporary display. No, I'm not completely against liners. They are excellent for truck beds and cheap swimming pools! For more information click https://www.theoutdoorpond.com/pond-liners/

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thelastspeecher · 8 years ago

Text

Stan Pines, Farmhand - Chapter 11: Best Laid Plans

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 AO3

I definitely did not plan on posting this today, but like what happens in this chapter, plans don’t always work out the way you want. I’m pretty excited. This chapter is really cheesy and fluffy, and so is the next one. But the one after that? ...Not quite. Also, the de-aging thing from the previous chapter was resolved “off-screen”. Anyways, enjoy!

April 1, 1977 – Gravity Falls

Stan followed his girlfriend and his twin brother deeper into the abandoned mines.

“Ya really wanna spend yer birthday chasin’ down dinosaurs?” he asked, his voice echoing. “Ya wouldn’t prefer to go to that restaurant with the ocean view?” Angie shook her head.

“That place is expensive. Trackin’ dinosaurs is free.” She looked back at him. “Ya didn’t have to come with.”

“You’re my girlfriend. It’s your birthday. If I abandoned ya, Lute’d have my head.”

“I know ya didn’t really like Gravity Falls the last time we visited.”

“Gnomes chewed through the brake wires of the car I’ve had since I was sixteen,” Stan said flatly.

“Yeah.” Angie fell back a few steps. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank ya fer workin’ past yer hatred fer this town to spend time with me.”

“Heh. It ain’t a big deal. Especially since this is way better than hearin’ Lute rant about how ‘that ain’t what southern men do’. Your brother’s got some interesting thoughts ‘bout what bein’ a southern gentleman means. And for some reason, he seems to be under the impression that I’m one.” Angie chuckled. She froze.

“Did ya hear that?”

“Hear what?” A roar echoed.

“That.”

“Yep. Definitely heard that.”

“I’ve found the nest!” Ford called. He ran back to them. “But there’s a slight problem. I disturbed the mother.”

“That’s more than a slight problem, Sixer,” Stan said. “I think it’s time to go.”

“What? But we didn’t get any pictures!” Angie protested. Stan grabbed her hand.

“If ya get killed on my watch, yer folks’ll kill me. C’mon.” She pulled her hand out of his grip.

“No, I need at least one picture.” Angie strode away determinedly. “If’n yer so concerned ‘bout my safety, ya can follow me.” A shadow fell over her.

“Angie!” Stan tackled her to the ground, narrowly avoiding the dinosaur’s claws. They tumbled down a nearby slope, coming to a stop at its base. He looked at Angie, whom he was effectively pinning to the ground. She was so close that he could count every freckle on her face and see a thin silver ring around her pupils, contrasting the bright blue of the rest of her iris. It reminded him of something. He thought back to the small box he had left back with Fiddleford, at Ford’s house.

Now’s as good a time as any. She stared at him, a pink flush beginning to spread across her cheeks.

“Will ya marry me?” he blurted out. Angie’s eyes widened.

“What?”

“Banjolina Quinn McGucket, will ya marry me?” he said, more firmly this time. “I know I’m not on one knee, and the ring’s back at Ford’s house, but-”

“Yes,” she interrupted.

“Wait, really?”

“Yes, really,” she said. “Ya goober.” Stan grinned at her.

“I’m yer goober, now,” Stan said. Angie smiled.

“Ya most definitely are.”

-----

May 1978 – Gumption

“So, the wedding’s in a month, right?” Lute asked Angie. Angie rolled her eyes.

“Ya got the invitation ages ago! An’ all the information is in that there binder in front of ya.”

“Oh.” Lute opened the binder. “Yep. June 18. Good choice. I’ve heard good things about June weddings.” After her graduation with her master’s degree, Angie had come back to Gumption with Stan, and they were currently finishing up the wedding plans.

“An’ it’s here in Gumption,” Angie continued. “In the barn. So we’ll have to clean it up a bit.”

“Why not the church?” Fiddleford asked. He and Ford were taking a break from their research in Gravity Falls to visit Gumption quickly before the wedding.

“Stan’s Jewish,” Angie said shortly.

“Right.”

“Angie, does this mean ya get to do the thing where ya step on the glass an’ break it?” Lute asked eagerly. Angie looked at Stan. Stan nodded. “Dang. That’s excitin’.”

“Y’all are weird,” Stan said, shaking his head. Angie kissed him on the cheek.

“Yer marryin’ into my weird fam’ly, though.”

“Fiddleford, Tate’s up,” Ford said, walking into the living room, holding his son.

“Did ya change him?” Fiddleford asked.

“Yes.”

“I’ll hold him, then. He likes gettin’ attention.”

“No, I’ll hold him!” Angie said immediately.

“Are you sure?” Ford asked. Angie nodded.

“I don’t get to spend enough time with the lil polydactyl.” Ford handed Tate to her. “My lord, Tate, yer gettin’ so big already!” Angie cooed at her nephew. She looked at Fiddleford. “How old is he, again?”

“He was born November 17, so almost exactly six months,” Fiddleford replied. Angie looked back at Tate.

“Yer already halfway to bein’ a year old, Tater Tot! Such a big boy!” She blew a raspberry on Tate’s stomach. He giggled. “Such a happy boy, too! What an absolute cutie-pie.”

“Since he started sleeping through the night, he’s definitely started to seem cuter,” Ford said. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. “I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been on Mom to take care of two infants at the same time.”

“It’s a good thing twins don’t run in the McGucket fam’ly, then,” Lute said, turning another page in the wedding plan binder. “Otherwise ya might have had to deal with that.”

“Are ya goin’ to have more kidlets?” Angie asked her older brother. Fiddleford shook his head.

“I think just the one child is enough,” Fiddleford said, taking his son from Angie. “I don’t plan on goin’ through that whole experience again. It weren’t pleasant.”

“Adoption is-”

“Just the one munchkin is enough fer us,” Fiddleford said firmly. “Raisin’ kids is hard work, an’ we’re already busy, what with Tate and our research.” He smiled at Angie. “I understand where yer comin’ from. I know ya enjoy bein’ an auntie, and ya like spoilin’ yer nieces and nephews. But ya won’t be gettin’ any more from Ford and myself.”

“Fair enough,” Angie conceded. She cocked her head. “So, ya had to give up doin’ research fer a while. How’d that go? Just so’s I know.” Stan looked up from the wedding plans he had been perusing with Lute.

“Uh, what?” Stan asked. Angie looked over at him.

“I ain’t pregnant now, don’t worry.”

“I know you’re not, but the fact that you’re askin’ before we’re even married is makin’ me a bit nervous.”

“It’s just fer future reference,” Angie said with a wave of her hand.

“Ya might go a bit stir-crazy when it’s yer turn,” Fiddleford told her. “I stayed inside a lot an’ didn’t do much, ‘specially near the end.” Angie grimaced.

“Yeesh. But it’d be worth it. Fer one thing, Stan’s cuter than Ford. An’ I know it seems impossible, but that means a kid of ours would be even more adorable than Tate.”

“Damn straight,” Stan said, turning his attention back to the wedding plans. “And our kid would have a better name.”

“Tate is a perfectly fine name,” Ford said defensively. “Fiddleford and I agreed to forego the McGucket naming convention.”

“Ya might have mostly foregone it, but ya did name him after Uncle Tate,” Lute said.

“So?”

“Do ya know what Tate is short for?”

“It’s not short for anything.”

“Not yer Tate. Uncle Tate.”

“Oh, um, no,” Ford confessed. Angie snickered. “What? What is it short for?”

“Isn’t he the one named after food?” Stan asked. Ford looked at Fiddleford.

“Fiddleford. What did we name our son?”

“We named him a proper name,” Fiddleford said reassuringly. “His namesake just don’t have that.”

“What’s Uncle Tate’s real name?” Ford asked. Fiddleford sighed.

“His full name is Potato.”

-----

September, 1978 – Gravity Falls

Summer was beginning to fade, and the town of Gravity Falls was bustling with citizens making the most of the last warm days. On the drive up, Angie had been bubbling with excitement over getting permission to finish her doctorate by studying some of the amphibians in Gravity Falls. Her happiness almost masked the dread Stan was feeling. Something about the lumber town felt odd to him, like bad things would happen there. But now that he was officially moving boxes into the house they had just rented, the initial unease had gone to the back of Stan’s mind.

“Thanks fer helpin’ us move in,” Angie said, handing a box to Lute.

“It’s no problem. I’m always ‘round to help my baby sister,” he replied. He tucked the box under one arm.

“It’s not like you have anythin’ better to do, anyways,” Stan said, taking another box out of the trailer. “What exactly do ya do, again?”

“Mostly just bother my siblin’s,” Lute replied. Angie opened the passenger door of the truck and took out the terrarium holding Tubbs. She went inside the house. Once she was gone, Lute turned to Stan. “So, when are the two of ya goin’ to pop out a kid?”

“Lute, what the fuck.”

“Hey, it’s a perfectly valid question.”

“We’ve only been married fer three months.”

“So?”

“Isn’t that a bit fast?”

“Not fer a McGucket,” Lute said. “Ma didn’t even finish school ‘fore she had the oldest three.”

“Well, we only just moved here. Angie wouldn’t wanna stop doin’ her research just after startin’ it.” Stan rubbed his neck nervously. “An’ I’m still lookin’ for a job. ‘Arkansas farmhand’ and ‘San Diego car salesman’ don’t make the greatest resume. We haven’t even talked ‘bout kids, beyond mentionin’ that they’ll eventually happen. So, no, Lute, we’re not plannin’ on havin’ kids. Not yet.”

“What’s that thing folks say? ‘God laughs at yer plans’?” Stan eyed Lute suspiciously.

“What are ya gettin’ at, McGucket?” he asked. Lute sighed and set down the box he was holding.

“Ma didn’t plan on havin’ the older three. It’s a well-known fact in the fam’ly that Violynn, Harper, and Basstian were all surprises.”

“I don’t think I’m likin’ what I’m hearin’.”

“Pa has seven siblin’s.”

“Damn.”

“The McGuckets are a very fertile fam’ly. An’ unless you ‘n Angie are abstainin’…” Lute eyed Stan curiously.

“Lute. I’m not gonna talk ‘bout my sex life. Do ya really want to know if your baby sister’s had-”

“Fair enough,” Lute said quickly. He shrugged. “Just somethin’ to keep in mind. Tate weren’t planned, either.”

“Lute, don’t say things like that,” Angie said, joining them again.

“It’s true,” Lute protested. Angie put her hands on her hips.

“It don’t matter if it’s true. It’s rude. But that reminds me.” Angie turned to Stan. “We’re babysittin’ Tate tomorrow.”

“Again?”

“His dads have research to do. I just want to help.”

“Uh-huh. Sure,” Stan said. “It doesn’t have anythin’ to do with how much ya like spendin’ time with babies.” Angie rolled her eyes and took the box he was holding.

“They got backed up a bit on their work after he was born,” she called as she walked back inside. “They need to catch up.”

“If ya say so.” Stan looked at Lute. “Do ya really think that-”

“I ain’t a doctor. I can’t tell ya yer chances fer havin’ a surprise kid.”

“You literally just told me you thought that’s what’ll happen.”

“…Point taken.” Lute handed Stan another box from the trailer. “If’n it makes ya feel better, I think you’d be a good dad.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Lord knows the Gucklings think yer the best thing since sliced bread. Yer a natural with kids, even if ya don’t feel like ya are.”

“I’m pretty sure yer just lyin’ to me to try to get another niece or nephew,” Stan said. Lute scoffed.

“I ain’t a liar, no matter how cute I think yer kid would be.” Angie opened the front door and stuck her head out.

“Are you fellers goin’ to bring in any more boxes or keep chit-chattin’ at the truck?”

-----

“Aren’t you the cutest lil feller I ever done see,” Angie cooed at Tate. She and Stan were at Ford and Fiddleford’s house, babysitting Tate. So far, he’d been remarkably well-behaved, something Stan claimed was due to his parents being nerds. Tate giggled and grabbed at Angie’s nose. She laughed. “Yup. That’s the fam’ly nose. And you’ve got it too, Tater Tot.” She sighed.

“What is it?” Stan asked.

“I want one,” Angie said softly. She played with Tate’s hands.

“Well, it’s not like anybody else is here,” Stan began. Angie eyed him.

“What are ya gettin’ at?”

“If ya decide to take him, I won’t tell. Ya can head for the border with Tate and I’ll meet up with ya.”

“Mexico?”

“No. Canada.”

“I did learn French at West Coast Tech,” Angie said. Her eyes gleamed. She stood up.

“Whoa, whoa,” Stan said. “I was kidding.”

“Oh.” Angie sat down again. “Uh, so was I.”

“No ya weren’t!”

“Hey, you don’t know me.”

“Yeah, I do,” Stan said firmly. Angie sighed.

“Yer right.” She kissed Tate on the forehead. “This lil feller’s just so goldarn cute. It ain’t right that Ford got a baby ‘fore I did.”

“…Why?” Stan asked. Angie shrugged.

“‘Cause it’s Ford?”

“Fair enough.” Stan leaned over to look at his nephew. Tate grabbed one of Stan’s fingers and began to chew on it excitedly. Stan softened. “You want a baby, huh?”

“Yeah…” Angie said softly.

“But ya understand now ain’t the best time fer that. We’re still settlin’ here in Gravity Falls, and ya just started your research, so we should probably wait a bit.” Angie cracked a half-smile.

“Does that mean ya want to be a dad?”

“…Maybe.”

“Glad we’re on the same page. I want a lil one, too, but we should prob’ly hold off a bit. How long do ya want to wait?”

“How ‘bout no kids ‘til after our first anniversary? That way we can go as wild as we want next June,” Stan suggested. Angie chuckled. “Think you can wait that long?”

“Yeah.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Look at ya, bein’ responsible.”

“Well, that an’, I dunno, havin’ a kid right away doesn’t seem like a good idea. I’m pretty sure it’s ruined marriages.” Angie’s eyes softened.

“Stanley, it’d take more than a baby to make me leave ya.”

“What would it take?” Stan asked.

“Why do ya want to know?”

“I wanna avoid doin’ it.”

“I can’t think of anythin’,” Angie said, bouncing Tate on one of her knees.

“…Really?”

“Darlin’, I can’t think of a single thing that would make me so angry with ya that I’d leave.”

“Nothin’?”

“Absolutely nothin’.”

-----

December 23, 1978 – Gumption

Normally, at the holidays, the McGucket house was even more warm and welcoming than usual. But Stan couldn’t help the nervousness he was feeling. Sitting next to him at the dining table, Angie grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“Darlin’, it’s fine,” she whispered in his ear. “You’ll make it through this.”

“Why do ya want to wait ‘til January, to tell ‘em, again?” he whispered back.

“Ya know why.”

“Are the two lovebirds whisperin’ sweet nothin’s to each other?” Lute asked teasingly.

“What’s it to you?” Stan asked. Lute reached out to take Angie’s glass.

“Ya want some wine, lil sis?” Angie hurriedly grabbed it from him.

“No, Lute. Thanks, though.” Lute frowned at her.

“What happened to the Angie I know an’ love? It ain’t like you’ll get drunk. McGuckets got fortitude.”

“I know how our fam’ly works, ya goon,” Angie said. She shrugged. “I just ain’t in the mood fer alcohol right now.”

“Is that so?” Ma McGucket asked. There was an odd look on her face. “Is there any reason fer that?”

“N-no,” Angie stammered. She swallowed, suddenly turning a slight shade of green. She stood up abruptly. “I’ll be back in a mo’.” She rushed off.

“She’s been usin’ the facilities an awful lot,” Lute said, taking his seat on the other side of Stan. “Is she sick or somethin’?”

“No. At least, if she is, she didn’t tell me,” Stan said. He looked at Ma McGucket again. She smiled knowingly at him.

Stan turned beet red.

#Stanley McGucket AU #Stanley Pines #Stanford Pines #Fiddleford McGucket #Angie McGucket #Lute McGucket #Ma McGucket #Gravity Falls #Stan Pines Farmhand #fanfiction #my writing #my stuff #speecher speaks

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doedipus · 8 years ago

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LP D&D: The Gang Experiences Some Personal Growth

Hey all. Here’s the first sessions’ worth of notes, for your amusement. Originally, it was in a vaguely orderly bulleted list, but I guess tumblr doesn’t like the way google docs formats shit like that, and it came out all messy. Hopefully this isn’t too messy to follow or anything. The notes aren’t perfect, and I’ve included some comments to explain minor things from previous sessions that weren’t in the plot synopsis. They’re marked with “//,” because bold and underlined text is ugly and I italicize stuff a lot already. Fuck you, programming is cool.

Anyway, content is under the break. Enjoy~

Rolen and Escrima clear up some details with Rocky about planescape and vampires.

Coy asks Rocky to hang on to the giant diamond, Rocky shows us his sick-ass vault. //Coy was able to extort a diamond the size of your head out of the child dragon we ran into back at Candlekeep.

The vault has everything of value in the multiverse

Narcovi reeeeally wants us to go to Sigil. There’s a portal in an abandoned warehouse. //For a couple sessions, Narcovi had been telepathically pestering Escrima from beyond the plane.

Coy looks around for the other dragonborn guy. He decides against being a cool guy on the chandelier.

Escrima wants to whisper something in Coy’s ears. Coy reminds him that he doesn’t have ears.

“But then how do you hear??”

“I DON’T KNOW!”

JP reminds the players to get their shit off the boat before it leaves. //I talk about over-the-table stuff a lot in the notes. JP is the name of the DM, “the players” refers to the people playing the game, and not the characters, and I listed the player names next to the characters they play in the intro post.

Greg wants to wait behind for Lucas. //This session and the one where Lucas goes to meet Gandalf were supposed to happen simultaneously in the game world.

Akim thinks the displacer cub is the greatest thing since sliced bread. //Coy bought a displacer beast cub a couple sessions prior because ???

Sometimes he fails his roll to pet because he has disadvantage.

Escrima wants to take Akim to Sigil, presumably to kill off any competition for the role of “party child”

Coy struggles with his role as a teen parent. He gives Akim a bell to ring if he needs help

“You’re a cow now!” - Escrima

Escrima is amazed that fish don’t have ears, and apparently tongues.

Coy pushes Akim off the boa- I-I-I mean, onto the docks, obvs lol

Rolen feeds Lupe the Wyvern

He sees some guys enter the brothel. They’re probably Graham’s family, but we don’t know that, that’d be metagaming!

Construction is well underway on the roof

Lupe learns “Strike!” The dragon drumstick is consumed.

Coy milks the Wyvern.

COY DON’T PISS ON THE PORTAL

Coy is indignant about the implication. //I forget exactly what happened, but I think Coy had to take a leak on the portal we returned from Sigil through after our first journey there or something. I wasn’t there for most of that session, so whatever.

PVP occurs

Escrima gets a message from mother that makes him unbearably sad.

He uses Coy as a shoulder to cry on, but Coy pushes him away

Escrima latches on to Connie

Rolen casts “sanctuary,” requiring Escrima make a WIS saving throw.

NAT 20 HOLY SHIT

He now thinks Connie is Mother for a minute

Coy and Rolen bounce out

Much mumbling and sobbing occurs

“HAPPY MOTHERS’ DAY” //IIRC, this session took place on Mothers’ Day 2016

Once he’s finished, Connie cleans both of them

Coy and Rolen saw a glowing flash from outside the warehouse due to this.

The portal wants everyone to think of bunnies

Escrima thinks of an eldritch monster he believes is a rabbit. The portal thinks about it, but lets him through.

Coy fails to use the portal at first, causing a car outside Kim’s house to honk its horn. Then he goes through like normal.

Escrima still thinks Akim would like it in Sigil. A passing devil makes Coy think otherwise.

Coy has trouble adjusting to the geometry/civilians/architecture/LOP of Sigil. What a berk!

Escrima lets Narcovi know that Coy suffers from kleptomania. Narcovi is not pleased.

Connie enters the portal. Narcovi thinks her dress is hot.

The gang is out by the hall of speakers in the clerk’s ward.

Narcovi tells us we’re her last hope.

Crazy Eyes has evaded capture since the party engaged him.

She introduces her captive, Brektol. He’s here for a plea bargain.

He’s a member of the Keepers of the Source, the organization that spawned Crazy Eyes.

Crazy Eyes is hiding out in Ecstasy.

There’s a portal in the mess hall, near where the “””brothel””” was. //During the first Sigil trip, Rolen and Escrima went to a brothel. Being Sigil, it was not a brothel, but a place where people mind-melded for fun.

The portal will only last for about 16 hours.

Narcovi warns the party that nothing gets done in Ecstasy.

Rolen tries to twist Narcovi’s arm to get a more stable portal home.

...But she’s not having it.

Rolen strokes her ego with a crit.

She gives in.

Narcovi was accompanied by that one guy who the party saved from the muggers

Coy’s existential crisis continues

Rolen and Escrima attempt to demonstrate that gravity still works

But this doesn’t help.

The gang suggests that he carry Connie around as an anchor. Connie begrudgingly agrees.

Escrima tickles Coy to try and make him drop Connie because he’s a dick

But nothing happened

Coy realizes Connie is a tiefling. Who knew! //Connie can cast the spell “disguise self” at will, and basically always makes herself look like a human to avoid prejudice. ‘Course, being Sigil, nobody cares about that, so she dropped it.

He establishes dominance by reminding her that his tail is bigger.

The gang enters the portal to Ecstasy.

Everything is disturbingly serene.

They’re met by a halfling that’s probably stoned.

#personalgrowth //During his dialogue, he said the phrase “personal growth about 10 times

Ecstasy is on the outer plane. There’s a pretty good view of the spire & sigil behind the halfling.

The village is fairly small. Lots of plinths and fields.

Hey bruh, have you heard the good news about personal growth?

PROFILING START

Escrima asks the halfling about the murders in a roundabout way, and gets a roundabout answer.

The guy at the inn probably knows something

Coy walks through a portal to Elysium, derailing JP

Elysium is not!Mount Olympus.

He has all the dosh again.

Coy doesn’t wanna leave because Elysium.

#personalgrowth

Coy goes “looking for trouble,” as he is want to do.

Elysium is a pretty nice place, though, so there isn’t much trouble to be had

He calls over a passing CR 35 angel to chat

The angel throws his ass out at a speed of about C/11

Coy has an epiphany of life and his place in the universe.

Coy gains inspiration!

More PVP!

Coy rejoins the party.

Escrima mimics the voice JP used for the angel.

Coy attempts to clock him good

But he misses

The gang enters the inn, the impulsive dabus

It’s a gay bar, of course.

One of the patrons has some cool armor with runes on it.

Coy thinks the tiefling bartender is the hottest man alive

Barkeep has had too much personal growth for that, or so his ring finger shows.

The gang asks barkeep about the murders

The victims:

Baldod, cleric of Moradin and his merry band.

Probably on some kinda pilgrimage

Female Fraternity of order member

A Sigilese human man

The bodies had 7, 8, and 9 lacerations, probably the cause of death.

Apparently, there’s a festival involving plinths and #personalgrowth coming up

Barkeep gives us room keys

Ecstasy wine is pretty great

Bartender talks about the festival and the preparations thereof

A bard named Trolen used to bring a lot of business.

He went off with some crackpot Lady Of Pain worshipper, came back and built a temple to the LOP

And now he’s spreading the gospel to the nearby towns.

Cool armor guy interjects

Trolan is in Xaos (pronounced Chaos), preaching to the people in Sigil

There’s a portal there in the Hive “district” in Sigil

The gang investigates the rooms of the victims

There’s partially used spell components all over

Crazy eyes is bad at magic, apparently.

There’s a pamphlet advertising the church of Trolan

There’s some blood on it, crossing out Trolan’s face

Crazy Eyes really hates Trolan’s guts

Trolan was in an asylum with Crazy Eyes. they escaped at the same time

The party visits Trolan’s LOP temple

Marble statues of Trolan and LOP adorn the main hall.

A priest is giving a sermon on how great Trolan and the LOP are

Crazy eyes is in the building

The party tries to approach him carefully

Rolen’s double nat 20 saves us

Crazy eyes is hovering over a cleric

He starts yelling at her to worship him instead of the LOP

MURDER

Battle versus Sougad Lawshredder, Believer of the Source!

Crazy Eyes calls the party out, attacks the cleric

She survives, barely.

Connie uses sending to contact Narcovi

Coy polymorphs into a bat and charges. //Coy has a magic item called the cloak of the bat. it lets the user fly or turn into a bat, but only in dim light

Coy realizes the building is on fire!

The upper floors are all on fire

Cleric manages to get some distance from Crazy Eyes

Rolen uses the ebony fly to move to the cleric //Another magic item. It’s basically a flying mount that shrinks down to pocket-size when not in use

Sougad is rolling poorly today, and is unable to to kill the cleric

The ceiling is collapsing! Chunks of flaming debris fall on the combatants!

The cleric is crushed by the rubble, dead

Rolen tries to pin Sougad, but fails.

Sougad performs a ritual on the cleric.

He carves 10 cuts into her body.

Crushes some spell components.

Absorbs her soul.

Strikes a pose. //Crazy Eyes is basically a Jojo villain.

As Sougad flaunts his new arcane power, a giant boulder falls from the roof onto his head, crushing him.

The temple collapses into a pile of dust and debris.

The gang tries to talk to some of the surviving worshippers

Trolan wants his followers to go to his church in Sigil

Coy warns against this, saying something about being an avatar of a god or something, but his pleas lead to no avail.

Escrima realizes that the worshippers are under some kind of spell.

Apparently a bard spell.

Narcovi asks for the party to return to Sigil when Sougad is dead

He’s probably dead, but there’s no time to clear out the “cubic shitton” of rubble to confirm.

INTERMISSION

JP has some kind of french junk food that’s like a turkey nugget with cheese in it

Also potato wedges

Narcovi arrives on the scene, wondering about why the building is destroyed

#personalgrowth, obviously

Narcovi wants us to investigate the godsmen. They may have sprung Trolan and Sougad.

The gang returns to Sigil, having grown a lot personally.

Coy is terrified of the geometry still, hugging against constanza.

Minor PVP

Rolen lies about someone flipping Sigil over at dawn

Coy is not amused

Spits a bit of acid at Rolen

Coy cringes as he didn’t actually mean to hit him

Shopping ensues

Escrima wants a tattoo real bad

The artist is a mind flayer, because Sigil

Coy considers something for a second and then decides not to.

Escrima wants an “I love mom” tattoo

In gradient

Comic sans

Tramp stamp

In celestial

Coy’s sense of design philosophy is crushed.

Coy wants to go to a “Body Sculptor”

A tiefling named Amasha runs a true polymorph shop.

HEY GRAHAM

-1500 gp from the party funds.

Coy is MTF, and has a bit (read: metric tonne) of work done.

She can probably use the broom now.

Armor doesn’t fit great anymore, and thus she is left completely naked.

She borrows a towel from Amasha

#personalgrowth4real

Escrima wants his pinky toes to be ~10x larger

...but everyone sandbags him.

Escrima takes a moment to show off his new tattoo to some passers-by

Some are intrigued, and touch his butt. Some even pay him for showing it.

The Dabuses are still malfunctioning, and the city is in disrepair

The gang returns to the Amarak embassy to check on US

Inexplicably, the building seems to have been restored.

US are very busy rats

...But they still have time for their old friends

US’s room is a goddamn rat metropolis

Coy is a bit disturbed by US

Everyone else greets them like an old friend

They’re preparing a massive amount of goods for export to the material plane

US is very good with both numbers and words

They like Escrima’s tattoo, think everyone else should get one too.

Narcovi enters the embassy, is confused in a general sense

It’ll be about a week before the rubble gets excavated.

She thinks we’re cool guys.

The gang enters a trinket shop looking for anti-vampire weapons

Coy finds a garlic necklace, but is told it won’t do anything.

Coy tries to be intimidating, but she’s barely tall enough to peek over the counter

Rolen buys a shady trinket that probably doesn’t work

“We’ll be back if it doesn’t work.”

Coy leaves half as much money as she wanted, and bolts

There’s 15 goddamn minutes before the portal closes, and all Coy can think about is clothes //”AS SHE IS CLUTCHING A TOWEL, RUNNING THROUGH THE STREETS” -Max, justifying wasting time

Shopkeeper's name is Gilmore //”copyright Matthew Mercer I steal things shamelessly” -JP

While comparing her options and showing them to Rolen she drops her towel accidently and shows Rolen ‘everything’. //futa

Rolen doesn’t really respond, other than saying ‘I dunno they um, both look ok’

Coy asks if he thinks the Trinity style would be a bit tight.

Rolen again says “Um, yeah sure”

Coy gets a flowing gown because--

GUYS THERE ISN’T TIME FOR THIS

The gang tries to find a tacky tourist shop, but comes up dry //I want a shirt that says “I a🚪 Sigil” both in and out of character

The portal home requires the party to think of the inverse of a bunny

Coy thinks about wolves

Connie thinks about crocodiles

Escrima can’t think of anything

Rolen thinks “tibbar” while holding Escrima, and they both get through.

Everyone gets a level

#personalgrowth

END

#let's play #dungeons and dragons #d&d #d&d 5e

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gabriellakirtonblog · 6 years ago

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How to Explain Weight Fluctuations to Your Clients

Key points:

Glycogen plays an outsized role in short-term weight fluctuations.

Going on and off low-carb diets can cause big changes in glycogen levels.

It takes a few days for body weight to stabilize after any major shift in diet or exercise.

Almost every religious tradition has someone who plays the role of the trickster. Nordic myths have Loki. Coyote stirs things up in Native American stories. Even the Bible kind of plods along until Satan punks Eve by convincing her that fructose is the key to knowledge.

In the religion of diet, glycogen is the ultimate trickster. Glycogen can make weight change so rapidly and dramatically that otherwise intelligent people start to believe the laws of math, thermodynamics, and maybe even gravity no longer apply.

Here’s how it typically goes down:

Betty reads an article about the benefits of a super-low-carb diet. Or a friend starts one and drops two dress sizes and a parasitic boyfriend. However it happens, she convinces herself that carbs are the devil.

She slashes her carbs to 43 grams a day, and lo and behold, she drops eight pounds in two days. Hallelujah! She’s found the secret to weight loss, and now she’s saved.

But there’s a catch: According to her faith system, if she so much as looks at a bagel with lust in her belly, she’ll gain all the weight back.

Betty sticks to her plan for six whole days, but on the seventh day, she goes out to dinner with her friends. The waiter tempts her with a bottomless bread bowl, and she succumbs.

Sure enough, when she weighs herself the next morning, she’s three pounds heavier. That’s one pound for each piece of bread.

I’ve lost count of how many clients have stepped on the scale and lost their minds when they gained weight overnight—usually two or three pounds, but sometimes as much as six. If you have clients on low-carb diets, they’ve surely reported the same phenomenon.

What’s going on here? Can you really gain and lose so much weight in so little time? If we’re talking about pounds of fat and lean tissue, the answer, obviously, is no. But you already knew that.

On the other hand, if we’re talking about scale weight, it’s not just possible, it’s probable, especially for clients who climb on and then fall off the diet truck.

Let’s look at why it happens, and how you can get your client to think about it rationally.

READ ALSO: “Five Ways to Help Your Clients Lose Weight”

The Problem with the Scale

A client who’s tracking his weight is usually advised to step on the scale first thing in the morning, right after using the toilet but before eating or drinking anything. That way he’s always weighing his body when it’s in a mildly dehydrated condition.

But that doesn’t mean it’s the same mildly dehydrated condition from one day to the next. The body’s fluid level can change dramatically, for two primary reasons.

Salt and water

I’m sure this has happened to you. You go out to dinner on Friday night, and eat a lot more food than you normally would. It’s so delicious you can’t stop yourself. One reason it’s so good is because of the sodium—again, far more than you normally consume.

When you step on the scale the next morning, you see you’ve gained five pounds. That’s a scary number for anybody. But once you get over the shock, you can probably figure out that it’s a combination of two things:

Your digestive system hasn’t had time to process all the enchiladas or deep-dish pizza or bacon-wrapped butter sticks you ate the night before.

All that excess sodium has caused your body to hold on to excess water in order to keep your electrolytes in balance.

Your body will sort out both problems in time. The food will go through the usual channels and leave your body at one end or the other.

The extra water is also temporary in a healthy person like you, thanks to a complex process involving your kidneys, your brain’s third ventricle, and the renin-angiotensin system (1, 2).

READ ALSO: “What to Tell Your Clients When the Scale Doesn’t Budge”

Glycogen and fluid

Each gram of glycogen—the stored carbohydrates in the muscles and liver—is accompanied by three to four grams of water. If your client makes severe cuts to his dietary carbs, he’s going to store less glycogen, which means his muscles will also hold less water.

How much can glycogen affect weight? Let’s do some back-of-the-envelope estimations:

According to the classic Sports Nutrition Guidebook by Nancy Clark, a 155-pound person will typically store 350 grams of glycogen in the muscles and 80 grams in the liver.

Your body will allow you to drive your liver glycogen to zero, or pretty close to it. But it always keeps some muscle glycogen in reserve. In studies using trained athletes with brutal protocols (3), 40 percent of the original glycogen was still there.

As for diet, way back in 1967, Swedish scientist Jonas Bergström showed that three days of extremely low carbs can lower muscle glycogen to a third of its previous level (4). (Nerd note: Typing Bergström’s name makes former grad students like me shudder with memories of the needle he invented being shoved into our quadriceps.)

More simple math:

Let’s assume the combination of a low-carb diet and hard workouts reduces your muscle glycogen by 50 percent, or 175 grams. And let’s further assume that you’ve depleted all 80 grams of your liver glycogen.

That’s 255 grams below your baseline glycogen levels.

Since each gram holds as much as four times its weight in water, the loss of 255 grams of glycogen plus 1,020 grams of water could mean 2.8 fewer pounds in just a few days.

And remember, this is for a 155-pound person who’s depleted just 50 percent of his or her glycogen. A bigger person with more muscle mass and a stricter diet could lose even more weight from glycogen alone.

READ ALSO: “The Myth of Fat-Burning Workouts”

Mid-day fluctuations

This example assumes the client is weighing herself first thing every morning. But if your gym has scales in the locker rooms, you’ll see people weighing themselves throughout all your hours of operation. And that really throws things open to chance.

Eric Cressey recently did a self-experiment in which he weighed himself in the morning, at night, and again the following morning. As he noted in this tweet, his weight increased by 7.4 pounds during the day, but just 0.4 pounds from one morning to the next.

What happens during the day? S*** happens, obviously, or doesn’t happen. Either way, bowel movements affect your scale weight, along with the volume and sodium content of your meals and beverages.

How Does It Work in Real Life?

Everything I’ve described so far—aside from Cressey’s n=1 experiment—is theoretical. But back in 1992, a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed how it plays out in real life (5).

The researchers put 11 female volunteers on a very-low-carb diet for four days. From an average starting weight of 196 pounds, average weight loss was 9.5 pounds. That included 415 grams of glycogen (about one pound); the rest was water.

So if you have a client in the range of 200 pounds, a super-low-carb diet can flush 10 pounds of scale weight in the first few days.

What happens after that? At what point can your client celebrate real weight loss with an artisanal gluten-free Paleo chocolate cake?

It’s a two-step process. If the client has just begun a new diet, especially one with drastically lower carbs, she first needs to wait until her morning scale weight has stabilized, and she’s no longer losing a pound or two of water a day.

The second step is to monitor her weight for two more weeks. If the number is consistently below her stabilized weight, and she hasn’t made any more changes to her diet or training program that might throw off her glycogen or fluid levels, that lower number represents a true loss of body mass. Virtually all of it should be from fat, assuming the trainer is on the ball.

Final Thoughts

You’ll notice a couple of important “ifs” in those last two paragraphs. But that’s the world you enter when your client starts a diet, especially one that’s drastically lower in carbs, with the goal of reducing her body weight.

The only way to know whether it’s working is to be both consistent and patient. Consistent with weighing, consistent with carb intake, consistent with workouts, and patient enough to see meaningful results.

And if your client can’t stick to the plan for more than a few days at a time? At least you’ll be able to explain those sudden weight fluctuations. Because, bottom line, glycogen is the ultimate trickster.

References

1. Roumelioti ME, Glew RH, Khitan ZJ, Rondon-Berrios H, Argyropoulos CP, Malhotra D, et al. Fluid balance concepts in medicine: Principles and practice. World journal of nephrology. 2018;7(1):1-28.

2. Szczepanska-Sadowska E, Czarzasta K, Cudnoch-Jedrzejewska A. Dysregulation of the Renin-Angiotensin System and the Vasopressinergic System Interactions in Cardiovascular Disorders. Current hypertension reports. 2018;20(3):19.

3. Areta JL, Hopkins WG. Skeletal Muscle Glycogen Content at Rest and During Endurance Exercise in Humans: A Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2018.

4. Bergstrom J, Hermansen L, Hultman E, Saltin B. Diet, muscle glycogen and physical performance. Acta physiologica Scandinavica. 1967;71(2):140-50.

5. Kreitzman SN, Coxon AY, Szaz KF. Glycogen storage: illusions of easy weight loss, excessive weight regain, and distortions in estimates of body composition. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1992;56(1 Suppl):292s-3s.

The post How to Explain Weight Fluctuations to Your Clients appeared first on The PTDC.

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flauntpage · 7 years ago

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Morning Wood: Sleeve of Wizard

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The truth is, I was going to use that headline win or lose. A win would’ve been better, but at least we can now link our lede to headline by saying that the Wizards kept the Sixers at arm’s length.

Welcome to the Wood. The last time I did this on any consistent basis was 2012, before the Phillies totally shit in their beds and began a five-year hibernation in it. The purpose of Wood, besides making it generally difficult to pee, is to regale in tales of the previous night and celebrate our superior team. We don’t do it for all the teams because it’s a lot of work (a grind, if you will) and something is lost when you’re trying to make tongue-in-cheek, not-so-thinly-veiled sexual references of sports conquest for dreadful teams. It just wouldn’t work with a team who counted among its standout stars Jerami Grant, or had Alexey Shved on the roster. But this team, your team, your town… well, they’re worthy of such loosely scheduled morning posting.

For those of you who are new here, strap in, because the last time this series had its lifeblood pumping, we wound up making a t-shirt of a pissing horse. And for you OG CB readers, WELCOME BACK. I’ve missed you. Let me grind up on your hip as we awake from our slumber.

Let’s Wood!

Start it off right

First, the necessaries: The Sixers lost a tight game, 120-115. Joel Embiid had 18 and 13 in 27 minutes (!!!), while Ben Simmons was borderline LeBron-like with 18, 10, 5 and 2 in 34. Markelle Fultz was, somehow, better than expected. And Robert Convington I think just hit another three-pointer from that deep, well-formed shooting pocket of his.

A loss is a loss is a stupid fucking phrase. But consider the Sixers were rolling out units that had literally never played together in a game, and two players who hadn’t yet played an NBA game, and Joel Embiid’s minutes algorithm, and Jahlil Okafor and new free agent signings, and players returning off injury against a well-formed, veteran, experienced team, on the road, and, well, yeah that was impressive. Unless of course you’re from the old school Philly sports mindset, in which case you have to FUCKING HATE EVERYTHING:

Sixers showed great promise in opener last night, but it's not enough. After 4 putrid seasons, they need to win games. And they didn't.

— Angelo Cataldi (@AngeloCataldi) October 19, 2017

This team should be beyond talking about positives in a loss. https://t.co/sfkMZCVxo2

— Reuben Frank (@RoobNBCS) October 19, 2017

It was their first game together. Their three best players had a combined 31 games playing experience. Their point guard was coming off a near season-long injury. Their shooting guard just arrived here. And they were leading at the half against John Wall and the Wizards.

Sure, I get that this might get old if they start 2-10, but let’s give them some time – I don’t know, like A GAME – to gel and get to know each other. JJ, I’m Joel, this is my friend Jahlil. I’m just kidding, nobody likes Jahlil. Want to grab a burger?

The A team

Mike Breen – “A FOUL!” – and Jeff Van Gundy calling a Sixers game. God that feels good. No Mark Jackson last night, as Doris Burke joined in the three-man (er, person) booth. She’s great, actually. I like Jackson, too. A good “Mama, there goes that man” gets me horned up for hoops action like no other. Burke gets a full-time color commentator role. But Jackson will remain a part of the A-team once the playoffs come around.

Still, seeing the Sixers get the A-team treatment from ESPN feels good. I can’t imagine this crew has called a Sixers game over the last four years. I’m too lazy to look it up, and don’t know where I would, but suffice it to say, this was rare and, I guess, unexpected. We’ve arrived. And hearing Van Gundy gush over Simmons’ height was something to behold. Otto Porter is 6’8, and Simmons is much taller than him. He might be 7’0! Or hearing Breen remark that Simmons was playing “point center” as the biggest guy on the floor. Yeah, I’m all fucking in on that.

The halftime show, on the other hand…

Paul Pierce on Joel Embiid:

“I’m tired of getting a little taste of him . I want the whole load” http://pic.twitter.com/2VUpSZKKju

— BLACK ADAM SCHEFTER (@B1ackSchefter) October 18, 2017

Delicious.

That group, besides mispronouncing Embiid’s name and not knowing how long he’s been in the league (four years), was hit or miss, though I did appreciate their loss of words at the don’t call it a minutes restriction.

Rebranding the minutes restriction

I LOVE how the Sixers have rebranded a “minutes restriction” to call it a “plan.” Nothing escapes the arm of their very large (according to this Philly.com story about their sales and marketing efforts) marketing department.

The last two days have been dominated by coverage of the incorrectly referred to minutes restriction, which, to be fair, was a phrase born more out of media branding than the Sixers themselves (Brown was clear this week that Embiid would have a range and not a hard cap). So what do the Sixers do? Let’s, ah, tweak the phrasing on that.

Brett Brown after the game:

“The rigid… whatever… pick a number. It’s more of a plan that we have this year rather than a restriction.”

And Joel Embiid:

“We gotta stop calling it a minutes restriction. I think the plan is to get out there, play, see how I feel. There’s gonna be some games where I’m gonna be tired… but yeah, we gotta stop calling it a minutes restriction. It’s a plan.”

Got it? Plan. Not a restriction. Or you can call it “fucking bullshit.”

Markelle Fultz’s free throw form

Markelle Fultz’s free-throw form still looks a bit weird.

http://pic.twitter.com/wtMSQWM9a7

— NBA SKITS (@NBA_Skits) October 19, 2017

Yuck.

But, I thought Fultz actually played well. I think that observation is based partly on the fact that we’ve all reset our expectations with him. He’s not Simmons or Embiid. Few are. Those guys are both freaks in their own regard, and it’s unreasonable to expect any rookie, even the number one pick, to come out and look like a vet like those two guys have. Fultz is not only younger, but certainly more raw. Throw in the fact that he has some sort of shoulder injury and hasn’t been around an NBA coaching staff for 12+ months, and there’s going to be more of a learning curve with him. And despite his -18 number last night, I thought he played quite well. Attacked the rim, defended adequately, and wasn’t a liability out there.

But he’s not going to be the player we expect until he gets comfortable with his shot again. I mean, SHOOOOOOOOOOOT:

He didn’t.

Robert Covington

I want to live in his shooting pocket. Just pitch a tent there and have wild sex parties. Everyone’s welcome. He shot lights-out. That pace isn’t sustainable, but him and Redick are a dynamic 1-2 three-point threat. Add in Embiid eventually getting more of his to fall and Fultz, you know, like taking one every once in a while, and that Sixers gravity is going to be full John Mayer.

But new rule: Robert Convington should never put the ball on the floor. Just shoot it or look around and pass. Never dribble.

Almost throw it down

Oh if this had gone in… http://pic.twitter.com/dXSGbkUrk4

— Dan Levy (@DanLevyThinks) October 18, 2017

so close, joel http://pic.twitter.com/xo0bV0Xuen

— ALSO, KEITHFUJIMOTO (@vineydelnegro) October 18, 2017

This would have broken souls.

Travel

Joel Embiid getting Sixers Fans FIRED UP in DC!!!#joelembiid #TrustTheProcess #HereTheyCome #nba http://pic.twitter.com/d9dlwW8klo

— Jeff Skversky 6abc (@JeffSkversky) October 18, 2017

Philly fans are the best. How many times did Breen and the rest of the crew comment on the Trust The Process chants? And it didn’t hurt that this guy was wearing a beautiful hoodie:

You can get that right here.

So close

I think he meant Markelle Fultz.

Embiid is the best

Joel Embiid does not care about your convention.

Simmons

Ben Simmons was LeBron-like. The way he moves up the court, passes the ball, drives. It all looks so familiar.

LeBron’s per-36 stats in his NBA debut (he played 42 minutes) were 21, 8, 5 and 3. Last night, Simmons had 18, 10, 5 and 2 in 34 minutes. Not bad.

Merch

You know what to do. Right here.

Morning Wood: Sleeve of Wizard published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

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spotlightsaga · 7 years ago

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Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews... The Strain (S04E02) The Blood Tax Airdate: July 23, 2017 @fxnetworks Ratings: 0.913 Million :: 0.30 18-49 Demo Share Score: 2.25/10 @thestrain-fx TVTime/FB/Twitter/Tumblr/Path/Pinterest: @SpotlightSaga **********SPOILERS BELOW********** Messy. Messy. Messy. The whole entire first half of the episode for Dutch (Ruta Gedmintas) and Setrakian (David Bradley) is a flashback, which is extremely confusing considering that the other narrative playing out involving Gus (Miguel Gomez) and his random cousin, Raul (Michael Reventar), who we've never met, not even once, is happening in the current timeline. Luckily, for Gus, Raul works at a high clearance blood farming lab at 'The Partnership' and I'm literally losing interest as I'm writing this sentence. It's crazy to think we were all so excited about the possibilities of 'The Strain' when it first premiered. It really felt boundless, a new twist on an old genre. Even more insane is that I truly believe that people actually want to like the show. About 1.5 Million Viewers tuned in to the S4 premiere, which is huge for a show that's been on cable since 2014, as very few series see actual gains in overall viewer numbers... Albeit, the gain was only 6%, but it's a rare & notable gain nonetheless. After the first episode of S4 premiered, many of us were left wondering what had become of the fate of these characters covered in this 2nd episode, the same ones that are completely absent from any scene in the premiere, besides Setrakian in a strange dream sequence. Suddenly, I wish I had never wondered or even asked. 'Time Jump' tropes can already throw a lot at you, but filling in the blanks can make it even worse. It's almost better for the writers to set the stage and insinuate bits and pieces of the lost path here & there, otherwise it becomes extremely convoluted... Let the audience think for themselves, don't dog walk them through everything, because then we're left scratching our heads, feeling confused and even a bit dumbfounded, when really it should be cut & dry. When things are supposed to be simple, but you position them in a chaotic & restricted way, it feels like you're reading a children's book that you keep having to turn back to the previous page again & again, asking yourself, 'Wait a minute... Now what just happened?!' Frankly, it's insulting. FX Networks is better than this and even this show, during its lowest of low points, have been better than this clusterfuck of an episode. The good news is that every episode of 'The Strain' moves fast as lightning... Before you can even lift up your hand to scratch your head, its over and the credits are rolling. Unfortunately for us we still have a bit more ground to cover. Dutch has been separated from Setrakian and is being farmed for breeding due to her rare and Strigoi friendly B-Positive Blood Type. One of her captive roommates is happy that she's at least safe in her bizarre, bloodletting, breeding ground, Dutch brushes off that ridiculous notion. Imagine Carol from 'The Walking Dead' being locked up with someone for some random reason and then having one of her fellow prisoners telling her, 'Well at least we're safe and breeding out new Walkers vs fighting for our lives and living in fear out there in the wild.' Dutch doesn't give 'Roommate #4' quite the look of pure disdain that Carol would return that sentiment with, but nonetheless 'Roommate #4' gets the picture and rolls out. She's weak, Dutch isn't, we get it. Thank you writers, crystal clear. If you guessed that everything was going to go wrong with Gus' plan to use his cousin for his and his ruthless crew's personal gain and then put him in danger by keeping him around his homicidal group of friends, cookies for you. The flow of the episode is such a mess at this point that I found myself flipping through IMDB to see who Directed this nonsense. Ah, J. Miles Dale. Ok, now it makes sense. Usually on a bad day 'The Strain' is still a solid '5' out of '10', but this episode is more like the bottom of a muddy, moss covered rock behind a venomous snake pit deep in the banks of the Appalachian Mountains. If you aren't familiar with Dale's Directorial Debacles, let me catch you up; Robocop: The Series (1994), F/X: The Series (97/98 - yet another needless tv adaptation), Earth: The Final Conflict (2000 - so a late series episode), Andromeda (2002-03, no we weren't aware the show even ran that long), The Skulls III (2004 - The first film was quite enough), Doc (2001-2004 w/Billy Ray Cyrus, yeah we have no idea either), Sue Thomas F.B.Eye (2002-2004 - WTF?!), Shadowhunters (2016 - Did I just hear you snort?), and every previous episode of 'The Strain' that you hated... No seriously, we looked back as we keep all of our ratings on file and the highest rating we'd given to any episodes with his name on the Director's Chair was a 4/10. Dale is not a Director, he's a producer with money and power. He's severely untalented and he's worked on some of the worst tv shows in the history of television, but he's thrown money at some decent ones... See the difference? I had to watch the episode twice, because I was so disinterested the first time, I was unable to piece together a coherent review. It was more cohesive than this episode, but it needed work. I'm a perfectionist... And I really don't like going negative, but if I have to, it's going to be in an entertaining key. Hopefully this article is far more interesting than the episode itself. Luckily we won't see Dale return to 'The Strain' until the 10th episode... But if the gravity of that reality hasn't sunk in yet, I'll give you a moment to think about it... No, go ahead, take your time. You already got it, didn't you? See, I knew it, you and me, we're on the same level. We love the #horror genre... We've loved parts of 'The Strain' and have enjoyed its lighting fast pace... We all love to hate Zach (Max Charles) and are most likely all completionists. We are going to ride S4 all the way out, we were hoping for a huge turnaround for the big series finale, but more than likely Dale has thrown a lot of money down to help sustain this project, so he's going to be directing the FINAL EPISODE. Why, God, Why? God gave us Cancer. God gave us AIDS. And God gave us J. Miles Dale. Suddenly I'm rooting for The Strigoi... And whoever they hired to write this drivel... Liz Phang, girl, what the fuck? If anyone asks, you blame it on Dale, you at least have a few good episodes of USA Network's 'Colony' under your belt. Quick 'flash review' on where we are here, mmhkay? Zach sets off a giant nuclear bomb, directly causing some sort of hazy like fog that's thick enough to allow The Strigoi to run free in the daylight, blocking the sun's harmful UV Rays... Winston Churchill did some sort of version of this in real life, wonder why people don't hate him like they hate Zach?! Everyone is fine though, forget what we know about Hiroshima and all those mutations, that stuff is happily skipped over because that might create a few more hours in the workroom for the writers (can't have that). Dutch takes lead in the B-Positive Breeding Ground, possibly showing her cards before she should play them to the 'Head of B+ Blood Type Breeding Operations', Sanjay Desai (Cas Anvar). He's still alive, who knows why, most likely to participate in ridiculous subplots like this one. Don't worry, I'm still not giving up, it's most likely due to the diligent person inside of me that can't get this far into a show and simply just stop. The most disheartening take on this whole episode, which congratulations 'The Strain', you've ensured we leave a little section for 'Worst Of' for our end of 2017 Awards (consider it a small Spotlight Saga/TV Time Community Version of the Razzies), is that the Dutch character is completely wasted. Once upon a time she was a bad ass, making sketchy decisions and given redemption arcs. Then it was made clear they had no idea what the hell to do with her next... Dutch's Fall From Grace: Unnecessary love triangle? CHECK! ✔️ Female who needs strong but damaged male character to save her? CHECK! ✔️ Almost escaping but puts another, weaker human being, Sherry -or as we referred to her earlier, Roommate #4-, (Jess Salgueiro) before her and it backfires? CHECK! ✔️ Getting her only way out doomed to a terrible fate for allowing the other useless, weak character to take her place instead? CHECK! ✔️ Its 2017. I don't know how it runs in your city, but in Miami we don't help you if we don't know you. So add 6-foot tongues in a blood sucking ancient race of #vampires that come from tiny worms that look like extremely fast moving maggots, a bustling, b-positive, baby-making, muncher snack maker, nursery prison... And then have the most intelligent & capable woman in the entire building stick the one psychologically frail woman of the group , who's already directly told her that she feels safer on the inside, into her only chance to escape... Only she doesn't even want to escape... So really this is just a way for the writers to take yet another shortcut to fuck everything up? Oh hell no! Keep with the East Coast, NYC to Miami attitude, Dutch. Walk over a bitch, before a bitch walks over you. This is a horror series, not a 'everything works out in the end' type of series. It's almost over, people. Picture me saying this next sentence with every word annunciated as if I'm asking a really difficult question very slowly in a genuine state of confusion, possibly in a massive K-Hole, or 'Stoned' for all you chemical amateurs... "I'm sure things will get better and be totally worth it by the 10th and final episode????" Inspiring confidence yet? Damn, I was sure that would work! At least we have Eph, who seems to be finding a purpose in the midst of his gloomy, dystopian, post wife and child, existential crisis. The resistance group, led by possible unnecessary romantic interest Alex Green (Angel Parker), that he stayed behind with and helped in return for supplies, conveniently has to get out of their hiding spots due to a Strigoi draining a member's blood and therefore absorbing all of his memories. Suddenly Eph can help, suddenly he wants to. It's cheesy, but Corey Stoll is very aware of that and even deliver's Eph's sudden 'back into action' style-line like a Schwarzenegger one liner from an old 80s action film with all the heart of 'one of the good ones' like Mark L Lester's 1985 'Commando'. In all fairness, barring directors like Dale from touching this show, 'The Strain' still has a chance to deliver us a semi-satisfactory ending. It's time to ham that shit up tho... Break out the Gouda Cheese, the blood red corn syrup, those creepy ass, aforementioned 6-foot muncher tongues and give Eph a whole lot more ridiculous one-liners, bomb detonators, large amounts of explosives, guns & firepower and we could still be walking out of this thing with a smile on our face yet.

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lastweektranscripts · 7 years ago

Text

Last Week I Started Vlogging Again!

Last Week # 1

March 28th - April 3rd, 2016

(These might be weirdly formatted, due to Tom’s style at the beginning of Last Week as a series)

[Hey you! So tod- Ah- Uh- Nailed it. Oh my God, okay. How do I- How do I do this?

Hey you! So, I thought I would try something a little different this week. I don’t really vlog in the traditional sense of “Whoa, look, here’s what I’m up to with my life” and I thought it’d be kinda nice to do that again.

One, because I miss making memories, and just logging my life, more than, y’know, just one day a year. And also, I just thought it’d be kinda interesting to see what happens when I start sharing my life, and my world with you a bit more. Um, I noticed that a lot of people still reference my past. They talk about my old friends, my old friendships, and I realised that not many people actually realize what my life is really like anymore. So, this is my first ever attempt at a weekly vlog. So, welcome to Last Week.

Last Week started off with a lazy bank holiday Monday which I spent most of writing... videos for. Because I don’t know how to not do YouTube, it’s- I dunno, Dunno what I’m doing.]

Monday

Today I am just hanging out in my living room, on my own, because I’m very cool. I’ve got the fireplace going, it’s very nice. Um, and I’m writing vlogs.

It really sounds like there’s a bird stuck in my chimney. This is kind of horrific.

It wasn’t a bird, it was a ridiculous amount of hail! Help me.

Okay, I have just finished writing my first vlog of the day. It is 6pm, but the vlog is 1,200 words long so...

I remember when I used to write vlogs that were like, 60 seconds long. Those were, those were good days. What do I write next? Oh I don’t know. Oh I’ve gotta write a lot of vlogs. Oh my god.

Tom: Elliot is here!

Elliot: Wh- Whaaaat What Why? What? What’s happening?

Tom: Jaffa cakes.

Elliot: Jaffa cakes.

Tuesday

So, after staying up all night with Elliot watching “Gravity Falls”, which was amazing, uh, we have come into the office very late, and we are now shooting vlogs. Elliot is now finishing off a vlog about guns, and I am hopefully writing another vlog.

[Because I wanted to spend the rest of the week with Eddie, writing, and I always get distracted when there’s lots of stuff going on in the office, Tuesday we spent writing and filming the vlogs, so that Elliot could then go away for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and edit those while Eddie and I stayed in the office and wrote.]

Aaah, so the time has come to film two vlogs, the one about money and the one I’ve just written about life goals, and all the things I want to achieve in my life. Here is the vlogging setup, we’re trying to use a nice boom mic these days. There are lights, and things, and a gun wall, I don’t need this bat anymore. Oh, that was loud!

Okay, so that’s the vlogs done! Elliot is now going to leave the office for three days and edit them. Why’re you still here?

Elliot:[Starts to speak]

Tom: Elliot, get out!

[Wednesday morning started off in Central London, with me doing some stuff for my diet, which I still haven’t really talked about, and... don’t want to yet. I don’t wanna. I just don’t wanna.]

Wednesday

So I’ve yet to tell you guys exactly how I am losing a lot of the weight, but one of the ways involves a lot of dietary supplements and nutrients, and I’m gonna go pick those up now.

I got on the wrong train, and now I am running late. I’m smart

[It also became quite apparent at this point in the week that vlogging makes most other people feel quite uncomfortable, especially when you don’t tell them you’re doing it. The look they kinda give you, it’s as if you’ve just turned around and you’ve got your dick out.]

So now we are at work. And we are going to write today.

Eddie: Yes.

Tom: [Laughs]

So I’ve just found out that we might have access to Chris Evans and Anthony Mackey for like, half an hour to hopefully shoot a sketch to help promote “Captain America: Civil War”, which is amazing and very exciting, but I’m not gonna get my hopes up too much, because these kind of opportunities usually fall through. But, that said, we are writing a sketch called- I dunno- called “Fire Man”, which I really really like, and the truth is, even if this doesn’t go through, I’m definitely going to make this sketch cuz I think it’s really really funny. Um, yeah, I really hope we get to do this.

[Wednesday ended though with me heading up to see my girlfriend because it was her birthday, and yes- yes I have a girlfriend, but I don’t really talk about that stuff publicly, I haven’t for my last, uh, couple of relationships because, pffffft, I stopped vlogging and, y’know the, obviously when you make something very public, uh, then it ends, people get- people are invested, and they throw opinions around which no-one really needs when you’re going through a breakup, so I just kinda keep that to myself now. I’m not- I don’t keep big secrets, but-]

[On Thursday morning though, I headed back into work and continued to make Eddie feel uncomfortable bu- by vlogging around him. Cuz he really likes it when I do that.]

Thursday

SO IT’S A NEW DAY! And I am wearing the same clothes, because, walk of shame. Eddie- Eddie is- Eddie is cleaning up boxes. What’s Eddie doin’?

Eddie: Cleaning up boxes.

Tom: He’s- He’s doing that. Those are for MCM.

We just finished a first draft of a new script for Crash Zoom, it is called Sky Scam, and I’ve just sent it off to a bunch of my comedy writing to be like, “Please destroy this script”, so I know if it’s funny or not.

Just came up with another idea for a sketch. It’s uh, it’s called “Incredibly Offensive” and it is- The idea is that it’s just every offensive thing ever in- in one sketch. All the things you can’t say, or do, or show, and uh, this came- this came out of me trying to brainstorm ideas with Eddie about incredibly safe sketches to do.

So y’know, when I’m in my head I’m going “Here’s all these things we can’t do”, and my brain just goes “Oh yeah, what if we just do all of those.” So, who knows if that sketch will ever get made. S’good use of my time.

[So when it comes to my weight loss and the diet I’m doing, I am doing a kinda medically supervised diet thing, which also comes with some physiotherapy, some physical treatments, and all I can really say about those right now, is that they make me wear the most ridiculous, ridiculous outfit that I am pretty sure is just designed to make me feel bad about being overweight, so that I never wanna do it again. If that is the plan, it’s definitely working.]

Okay, so exciting news. I am now officially no longer the heaviest I’ve ever been. I am now the weight that I was, back when I went on a diet in 2010, that was my previous heaviest ever, 15 and a half stone. So, I know I can do this. But I’m vlogging in the middle of the street, and it’s weird, and everyone’s looking at me, so that’s fun.

[Vlogging in public is weird though, especially when you get recognized mid-way through doing it.That’s- That’s always strange.]

Girl: I wanna say hello to my boyfriend, Eric. Hello!

Tom: Hi Eric!

[Friday was April Fools day, which basically meant that I had not planned anything, as per usual, even though I want to do a good April Fools joke. So I just improvised, and I just scared the living shit out of a lot of my friends.

Friday

Y’know, like most great ideas, in the shower I thought that it’d be kinda funny to just pretend I’m gonna do a video all about which YouTubers have had sex with eachother. Um, so I’ve just posted up a thumbnail saying it’s coming later today.

[So Last Week I was working on something called “Project Salvation”, which is basically me attempting to get my channel back on track, and make up for being quite slow over the past six months or so, not uploading nearly as many videos as I’d like to. I started off 2015 really well, uploading two videos a month, and then it just went straight down to one video a month again. So, “Project Salvation” is basically my attempt at making some really, really good, really great sketches that I really think people are gonna enjoy. And Eddie and I, we’re just kinda powering through coming up with ideas for those, and yeah we, I-I think we have something pretty good- pretty good on the way.]

Tom: It’s top notch.

[Alice came in though, to record the new episode of “Crash Zoom”, which is nice, it’s always nice to see Alice, and I wish more people would hire her to be an actress, but hey, that much I can say is- Crash Zoom, there’s new Crash Zoom and it’s coming and yay.]

We asked a lot of friends for their opinions on the script and then we cut- we cut- we cut so much script I just- All- All the jokes. Why.

[Alice screams]

Tom: I share my office building with a lot of other people.

Alice has now left us, and we are back writing again.

Eddie: Yay...

We’re good- We’re good- We’re fun people. We are writing a new sketch, which might be a spiritual sequel to another sketch that I made, with Eddie.

Eddie: Yaaay.

Which was quite popular, that involved a-

Eddie: It’s like a floor, but a lack of. Tom: Yeah.

[And Friday ended with my girlfriend coming to see me, which was nice. And I said “Goodbye” to her, and she has gone off away on holiday for two- two weeks, so now I am so alone. Just so alone.

On Saturday evening though, I headed on over to Sammy’s, and things got a little, a little off the chain. Little crazy.]

Saturday

Crushin’ mad pussy right now. Playin’ some tabletop games. We’re- Everyone’s having a good time, and I’m- Pussy’s gettin’ crushed.

Elliot: What’re you doing?

Tom: Sammy, tell us all your racist joke.

Sammy: That wasn’t racist!

Elliot: I mean, we all heard it.

Friend: Go on.

Sammy: Hang on, I have too much power here to just suddenly be like “Thanks for telling that racist joke just before the camera started.”

Tom: Haha, that was- That was racist, Sammy.

Sammy: Stop!

[Saturday ended with me and Sammy staying up until about four am, talking about things, ideas, and people. Elliot was asleep between us, on the sofa, we weren’t in the same bed, or were we? We weren’t. Um, but Sunday started with a picnic, and I say started, we didn’t really- We didn’t really get there until about 2pm because I’m good at organizing things. And also being on time.]

Sunday

It’s pi- It’s picnic day. Look, some friends! There’s one! I met a duck.

This is a friend duck. A Fuck.

Someone: Ducksquidge.

[Then we went to the pub, had cheeky, cheeky sparkling water. Okay, I also had a gin and tonic, even though I’m not supposed to on this diet. But what can I say? I’m- I’m an- I’m a budding alcoholic, so.]

We are in- In a p- with alcohols. I can’t drink.

Tom: Hey Sammy, guess what? Fuck you!

Sammy: Aw fuck!

[But then we went back to mine and played even more tabletop games because my god, are we ever cool. We’re not cool, not even slightly.]

Sammy: Oh, we’re here again, playing “Dead of Winter”, phew we live a wild, exciting life don’t we?

[Group chuckling in background]

[Finally everyone got ubers to their respective homes, and the week was over. And honestly I can say it was a really, a really good week like, it was nice to- It was nice to create some stuff. I didn’t write nearly as much as I hoped I would, but we got a lot of stuff done, there was a lot of progress made, and- And I saw a lot of people, and I socialized a lot more than I normally do. This was not reflective of kind of the last two years of my life, and it was just really nice seeing people, and- Yeah, I dunno, it was just- It’s been great to socialize, and that’s nice. I wanna do that more, I wanna live more, I wanna- people. I want people in my life. I kinda cut my social life down by two-thirds a couple of years ago, and it’s nice to socialize again.

So what have I learned from my first week of vlogging? Um, first of all, I should really probably finish this setup, which I haven’t done yet, since moving around things in the office, and also I should film more cutaways, I keep forgetting to do that. So, here’s one. Here’s a- Here’s a cutaway. Vlogging: I’m a professional. I don’t know what I’m doing, I’m sorry. But thank you for watching, let me know what you think about this, of this weekly vloggy experience. All my friends are doing monthly vlogs, so I’m gonna one-up them, or up them by four times. I’m gonna 400% them-up. 4-up them? I dunno what I’m-

I’m just gonna end this now. Thank you for watching and Tomska out.

I have no idea what I’m doing with my life.]

#Tomska #Tomska Last Week

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