#originally there wasnt any plot area this would take place in but i put a place for a reason your about to see

[s0lar-ch3ri]

im at season 1 ep 22 and i just remember like when they were omn the train and shit and bizly was just so happy someone else (ashe/yakko) had to witness the insanity of his players

the fucking heist episode has me in tears i can’t it’s so funny 😭😭 my favourite part is definitely vyncent tapping on the keypad randomly and david is just reacting like anyone would “what are you doing?” “why are you doing that?” “what the hell?” IDK ITS JUST SOMETHING ABOUT BIZLY PLAYING CHARACTERS LIKE HOW REAL PEOPLE ACT AND THE OTHER THREE BEING BATSHIT INSANE THAT SHIT IS SO FUNNY TO ME 😭😭

[delfinodreams]

OKAY i said i would make a post about my thoughts on paper mario a while ago and im finally writing it out

ill put it under a break because its probably gonna be long-ish

update: yea this bitch is LONG

okay so overall i really really enjoyed it!! it was really solid for the first entry in the series and i could definitely see the inspiration that ttyd later took from it. one thing that i didnt know about was partners not having HP, which threw me for a little bit of a loop. partners as a whole in this game don't play as active of a role as i wouldve expected because they have so little lines but using them in battle is still very fun! another small thing but i also hadn't expected mario to be completely silent, but it later grew on me!

i'm also gonna list my experiences and opinions on each chapter so here we go!!

chapter 1 - pretty alright for an introductory chapter! i didnt find anything especially notable, apart from getting 2 partners in one chapter. navigating the koopa bros. fortress was fun, and i loved the battle at the end!! their theme is SUCH a banger i had to sit back and listen to it for a bit when the fight actually started ehe

chapter 2 - not quite a fan of this one imo? i liked the first part through the mountain, but the trek though dry dry desert kinda took it out of me. BUT the addition of my favourite partner made up for it! parakarry my beloved <3 also the cutscene where dry dry ruins rise up??? that shit was SPECTACULAR. i absolutely loved how it turned dark when it first came up, i wish it stayed like that for more than just until you entered the ruins. the boss itself wasn't too exciting for me, probably because there wasnt much of a story?? i dont know how to describe it. actually its like that for quite a few of these bosses, but its the first entry for this series, so i wont fault it too much.

chapter 3 - this might be my FAVOURITE chapter- the suspense buildup throughout the entire chapter was AMAZING holy moly!!! first through the forever forest when you have bootler ask for you, and then wandering the mansion itself. i TOTALLY thought that boos were gonna be actual enemies when i saw them floating around. sneaking around tubba blubba's castle was so so fun to do, and i legitimately panicked when you ran into him in the hall and also when he wakes up and chases you back to the windmill. i didnt actually think the heart itself was the boss, just a miniboss, so i freaked out when i left the windmill and was immediately thrown into a battle with tubba blubba. i cannot express just how much i enjoyed this chapter, seriously!!

chapter 4 - coming back to toad town with the music change threw me for a bit; i wasnt expecting action to pop up so soon! figuring out that you could actually go into the toybox was such a "wait, what??" moment for me, but like, in a positive way. it was really cool to navigate this chapter and the lantern ghost encounter genuinely creeped me out at first because it was COMPLETELY dark. the fight against general guy is also a BANGER i could listen to it all day

chapter 5 - man i LOVE the whale. just a big guy willing to take u across the ocean :^) i really appreciated how you weren't stranded on the island too, like how you were on keelhaul key in ttyd. the ravens are also funky little guys, love them too. again, the lava piranha didnt really have any substance to it BUT it was a nice fight nonetheless! when it popped up again i was shocked but i made it through!! also fuck kolorado he doesnt deserve his wife

chapter 6 - this one's formatting is really neat- one central area with lots of branching paths, which i hadnt seen in my past pm experiences! i loved the quest leading up to the big beanstalk, plus the environment was so pretty!! the little part with the sun tower popped out to me, i'm not sure why though. maybe it was the music, it was so different from the flower fields theme. at first i had actually expected to go up to the clouds earlier, maybe like midway through the chapter. i thought that would be the "dungeon" of this part, so i was a little bit let down when i realized that the fields were the majority. however, the bit of the clouds we do see is SO good i LOVE the atmosphere!! huff n puff was actually relatively easy, using parakarry and lakilester for their all-around attacks. the guitars were a nice touch for his theme as well!

chapter 7 - oh dude i LOVED this chapter. i didnt know what i was expecting when i first went into the pipe in the sewers, whether it would put me into a village immediately or if i would have to make it through some screens before. needless to say, i was relieved when it popped me out into shiver city. the whole place felt "warm" which was really nice!! i was comparing it to ttyd's chapter 7 and fahr outpost which i didn't really vibe with, so it was a nice change! the whole murder plot was also unexpected but i enjoyed the whole "whodunnit" mystery! omg as im typing this i realize just how many aspects of this chapter i love this is gonna be long,, the entire snowy atmosphere is just so PRETTY and starborn valley felt so solitary to the rest of the land, like its own little bubble. i also had no idea that ninjis were in this game so when i saw one at merlon's i was like HUH?? anyways the way up the mountain to the crystal palace kept me on my toes; i thought that was the dungeon at first! the small bit where you see madam merlar and she tells you the story of the palace really got to me i have no idea why. the music and mysticality of it all was just SO good. dont even get me started on the crystal palace itself HOLY MOLY. the whole reflection bit was SO SO clever and the moment you realize its NOt actually a mirror?? fucking magnificent. this has to be my favourite dungeon in the whole game because it has such a NEAT gimmick!! it also has my favourite mario enemies, duplighosts! FUCK the crystal king though. he stunlocked me with his freezing move because i could not get the hang of blocking it. my partners really carried me for that battle; thank god for quick change

chapter 8 - THIS CHAPTER DELIVERED. the buildup for the entire game leading to this point. OUTSTANDING. i had to sit back and admire star haven because its so pretty- did i mention i love the water graphics in this game?? it has a pixelly look but it works SO WELL. going to the ship to take you to bowser's castle really felt like a "this is it" moment. the entirety of bowser's castle was So Good, it kept me on my toes the entire time!! slowly advancing as the music got more intense REALLY pumped me up. tracks that start off with only a couple instruments and eventually add more as you progress is one way to make me go BONKERS. the one bit where you make your way outside on the bridge and the music dials down and then you re-enter on the other side to it SLAMMING you in the face- that was Great. and then the complete silence as you get outside peach's castle HOLY SHIT. and then you actually enter the palace and the music is SO EERIE and youre like OH SHIT THIS IS REALLY IT. seriously, the buildup for this entire castle is done SO magnificently. i hadn't expected to fight bowser twice, i guess it was the game's way of letting u level up One Last Time before u got to the big bad. that being said, i wasn't too worried on getting a game over since i was fucking stacked on items. but that's besides the point- the fight itself got my heart POUNDING. the effects for the star rod and the star's powers were really nice to see in action, and the little section with peach and twink was so cool! i was expecting a little interlude where you would get your stats maxed out because thats how its like in every pm game, but it was still moving :)) bowser's final battle theme fucking SLAPS. the guitar especially sounds AMAZING. you really see him as a threat here and its so badass. his healing move fucked me over multiple times- i probably ended up having to deal with double his base HP over the course of the fight.

after the fight was over and you got to see peach's castle float down with the soft music in the background, it really hit me that its done, its over. again, the effects in this game are so pretty and theyre utilized SO well for the n64. visiting toad town one last time with all the npcs was a really nice touch- for some reason i really loved being able to interact with vanna t. (chuck quizmo's toad assistant) she's ADORABLE and i will probably end up drawing her sometime :)) the credits were also something that i really enjoyed- i LOVE the ongoing theme of parades at the end. seeing everything and everyone in the game condensed into a short 8 minutes really got me, i cant remember but im pretty sure i was smiling the whole time! and a small sidenote- TOADS WITH GLOWING SPOTS ON THEIR HEAD HELLO?????? I WANNA DRAW THAT SO BAD.

the ending screen with peach and mario looking at the fireworks made me really soft and i teared up a little because i was finally finished. the addition of pop diva's solo in the track was also so touching, it was my favourite sidequest in the game so hearing it again brought up Emotions :')

one thing i wasnt sure of was if there was a post-game mode and my completionist heart was disappointed a little when i found out i couldn't advance from the end screen and was forced to reset. although not many games from this era had post-game content so i cant dock too many points for that.

the paper mario series has a fond place in my heart, and finally being able to play the game that started it all really was a special experience. it really cemented my love for the original formula and i could see many places where ttyd took inspiration from. this game really is fun, and i would highly recommend playing it yourself if you have the means!

[the-house-of-the-nine]

In Mind of Misery: Reflections, Part 4

[Forward:  Since the end of “In Depths Below” the Nine have been busy trying to reclaim Lazarius’ family fortune, rebuilding, and forging new allies.  We are current in the WoW Timeline with this entry, NZoth has risen, the world is in chaos, and now, the Council of Nine are at a disadvantage.  New Readers, please note each of the roleplayers as the following...

[ L.K ] - Lazarius Kashebahl,  Algus Kross, Doctor Whistletorque, Marseille

[ V.D ]  Verzatea Duskflame , Pame

[ S.K ] Siida-Ray Kashebahl

[ K.A ] Koltun Ancientveil

[ J ] Jursol (AND JIMBA!)

And as always, thank you so much for continued support, posting, reblogs, likes and friendly messages!  Please enjoy! ]

[ V.D ]   The rush of emotionally provoking events had been lost upon the Confessor. True, she'd admire the affection shared between old friends - a welcome moment of serenity and wholesomeness - but there was the weight of Lazarius's original decree. Temporary leave? Loss of precious lives, of the Nines council no less, on top of the sense of hopelessness that awaited the world.

Rather than stand and fight, they had to thin out to ensure longevity of their people? War was afoot. A raging war of titans beyond mortal knowledge come to wreak havoc in ways few were prepared to fight. And the Nine were meant to hide in their underground layer and... Wait? The structure could very well become their tomb if they weren't careful.

But in Teas heart, while she wanted to remain and protect the last of her family... She also wanted to protect them in ways that meant directly fighting the enemies threatening their world, outside of the Bastille, in the battle fields. It wasn't long before the confusion became an expression of determination, her eyes flickering down toward her wand briefly before tucking it away.

If magic was out of question for the time being, then perhaps she'd have to touch up on her skills. The art of the sword had been a passion before the wand became a new challenge for her to perfect. But of course this entire monologue went along in the span of a minute, filled with silence from the shifty eyed Confessor who'd return to writing in her journal.

This would be timed perfectly with Lazarius's quiet plea for validation of Varis safety-- it'd surely mask Teas plotting with a look of discomfort over the possibility of Varis fate that lay in the unspoken sight... Koltun walked in alone.

Pames silence could easily be written off as the kaldorei doing what she did best. Quietly lurking in the solitude of being the wallflower, her arms remaining firmly crossed over her chest whilst observing. Soaking in the whims and words of those inhabiting the library. Though it was clear in Pames eyes, similar to Tea, she had a distant reflection in them. What the world was coming to made right and wrong a difficult game to play.

[ K.A ]  Vari wasnt here... The line of Koltun's back stiffened beneath Lazarius' question, his expression darkening. She should be here. There were no other places she would go, would even WANT to go after everything in Silithus. He couldn't look at Laz or the others, dipping his head down and to the side to avoid their looks and nearly smacking Laz on the head with a horn.

Stupid stupid stupid stupid. She should BE HERE!! fury welled within the pit of his stomach, coiling about the ball of fear that forced his gaze away and burned it's way up into his chest.

Felfire seared dark circles through the worn fabric of his bandana wrapped about his head, covering the empty sockets of his eyes.

"We got separated." The hunter practically growled, inhaling deeply to try to calm the building storm within him.

“There was, an attack.  Not just our operation, but the Alliance and Horde.  Silithid swarmed from the gates, overran everything.  We fought as long as we could. . .Loki, Krazzlowe. . .everyone that was there, gone.  If we weren’t fighting or killed, they were rounding up anyone who was alive.  We had to abandon the site. . .”

The demon would slam his fist into the table as he snarled.

"I searched for her and her forces in Silithis with my elite, but their trail was lost within a storm of sand."

He licked his lips, taking another calming breath.

"I broadened my search the next day but all my men and I could find were strange, mutated Silithids... they wreaked of the old God... "

Whatever happened after that seemed to pain the Bladewarden, clawed hands clenching into fists until the leather wraps around his fingers creaked.

"Vari and I had decided should we become compromised or separated, we would rendezvous here... after I salvaged what I could and helped whoever was still alive. . .I buried my men and returned here as we had planned..."

“By the sunwell... dont let me lose her again..” he thought.

[ S.K ]  Hearing what had happened to her sister, after trying so hard and spending so much time attempting to bond with her; the young heiress would calmly stand from the table and walking out the back door.

 She needed to center herself, find calm, and hopefully make things right here.  If she had lost her elder sister; it would not be because she failed, nor would she allow anyone else to falter because she was not upholding her duty as Matron of this order.

[ L.K ]  Lazarius would not let the man who had come to be his brother suffer in his rage.  Nor would he allow him to blame himself. “Koltun...”. Lazarius exclaimed; rather direct and form.

“You saved innocents by doing what you did.”. He placed his wrapped mummified hand against the chest of his brother. “Vari too.  None of us could have prepared for this . . .”.

Lazarius was partially gripping Kolts shoulder and squeezed, it was enough to give him that reassurance. “We WILL find her.”.

“If I may...”

Suddenly from the back of the room came a voice that split the hardness of the reality.

“...I will find Lady Kashebahl, walking death myself I am much closer to the realm she suffers.” Kross was not wrong, and Lazarius knew this when he peered over at the families eldest; the old steward who had cared for their family for so long.

“You would venture out? Alone? Find her?” “Lazarius peered toward the old Gilnean.

“Should I fall in my quest my phylactery remains hidden; it will take time for me to be restored but as endless as my service to you; so too will be my determination to find Pyravari.”

Lazarius would look toward Siida first; he knew she would approve, but his eyes fell on Koltun.

“You need rest, and to see the doctor.  Hydrate and get well.  I will need you to help us...will you allow Kross to go in your stead?”

[ V.D ]   There was a pause for a moment, one filled with Verzatea watching quietly before finally putting herself to action. She moves across the small area, walking on the outside of their gathered circle to touch and brush her fingers across surfaces, her fingers swirling with a pale purple magic. As she walks the magic could be visibly connecting each surface she touches with a thin solid purple line (as thin as twine, surrounded by a pale haze).

In the end, after completing the circle, those physically outside of the drawn circle would hear muffled voices speaking utter nonsense. In other words... She sought to offer them privacy.

"Surely the spectral alone is not all to be sent for our Harbinger?"

Verzatea weighs in then, confident to speak with added privacy, concern evident in her golden irises.

"The prospect of Old God soldiers having been so close--," Tea sighs softly, shaking her head before remarking,

"There’s a chance great peril is at hand. Too much for a one man rescue team. I'd recommend more going with Kross to scout the area; Defenses are sparse with lack of bodies to fill the guard roles, but the Bastille will protect it's patrons. We can spare the expense of lacking bodies for these two missions-- Both the issue of Raelyndias magic. . .,"

Teas eyes review Lazarius before eyeing Koltun,

"And locating Pyravari."

[ L.K ] “As you say the world is falling into chaos and You would risk the lives of our own in a time of great peril, than allow me to do my job.  I cannot die again Confessor.” Kross stated as he peered between the other members of the acting council.  

“Any additional aid will not only slow me down but get in the way.  If NZoths forces kill me I will return to my phylactery.  If they capture me; they will be in desperate need of aid...” Kross remained firm in his stance.

“I can do this...it is my duty to this family...and to someone I am especially fond of.  Please...”

[ K.A ] None of what was occurring around him helped his anger. It bubbled violently, rumbling up through his chest and out into the thunder of an agitated growl. Such were the issues that arose with the particular brand of demon Koltun had; out of hatred and despair, chosen to bind himself too. He had gained a temper. Felfire eyes darted between Laz, Kross and Tea, chest rising and falling with each desperate inhale of fury.

They each quarrel over what is mine to find, and seek to ground me! his thoughts rampaged. weak, in need of rest? Stay and do nothing? Break the promise? NO!! "Enough!!"

The hunter suddenly bellowed, large, leathery wings snapping out in dramatic emphasis to his command. His inner self fought to reign in his anger, cracking his voice when next he spoke, sweeping the others with his glowing gaze.

"Kross is right. But I will not be grounded here. I'm going with him."

Koltun looked to Lazarius, regarding the man briefly before covering his bandaged hand with the clawed one of his own and squeezing.

"I am fine. Give me supplies. It's my duty as much as Kross'. I failed her once, Lazarius. Please don't make me fail her again. I can keep up with Kross, and should Vari's mental stability be lost to us, I can bring her back. What is left of my elite will stay here with you and set up defenses. I cant take them with me anyways. Few can fly and to become what we are, you have to lose a part of your mind. They would be a liability... I've already witnessed it."

He sighed, anger leaking away to leave his shoulders slumped slightly.

"I lucked out. I got the broken piece back, and  that piece is out there now. Besides... Kross loves my company, right old man?"

[ V.D ]   There was genuinely nothing that had encouraged a reaction from Pame throughout the conversations besides the roused aggression of the demon hunter. The Kaldorei stiffened, her eyes fixated solely on the side of Kolts head whilst a single hand dropped to grip the handle of her blade. Yah know... Just in case. She wasn't terribly familiar with the being, though he certainly made her feel .. On edge.

Verzatea's narrowed gold eyes soaked in the hypocrisy that was the senile old ghost, deeply offended at the prospect of him accusing her to be... Stupid? Naive? How fucking dare! The grip she held her journal and quill with tightened greatly in an effort to ground herself before her lips part to defend her position.

Though it was Koltuns timely flare of anger that roused the Confessor. She'd instead stare at Koltun, brows furrowed now whilst glancing around for other reactions. Surely no one else thought his behavior normal and acceptable? Well, when ever had Tea been one to quietly abide the recklessness of others without challenging them. Thus, with as level a voice she could manage, Verzatea appeals toward Koltun,

"I'd recommend against you aiding the spectral. Rest assured, its not a matter of you cannot help, but rather your affections for the missing in action could cloud your judgement. Perhaps your... Anger," she carefully jots down something as she speaks,

"Is better spent on another job to distract you; Otherwise, in certain scenarios that are probable, your anger and gung-ho attitude could be a liability."

With that concern raised, Tea interjects secondly.

"Though if you genuinely will entertain his request, Lazarius, Id recommend that before the mission starts you should have Whitsletorque give Koltun a mental and physical health check before sending him back into the field."

To Be Continued: In Mind of Misery: Reflections, Part 5

@pyravari-kashebahl

@miss-irascible

@thebladeitself

@whatadarkbitch

@siidaraykashebahl

@zandalaridruidofgonk

@frompage112

[knightdale-secret]

Bee Stings and Board Members

Nothing sets a fire under your ass to get something done than a literal burning behind haha.... 

yesterday I received a detailed response from Melissa in Archaeology regarding the contents of the surveys conducted on the site. She couldnt show me the actual surveys but she did kindly type out all of their contents that she could share. I asked her if the surveys may have lent any information for dimensions or size but she said they did not. here is the email: 

The rest of the graves may still be there, just without any surface evidence. From what little they wrote, I take it that even 20 years ago they were mostly only identified as grave depressions. It's very easy for unmarked (or no longer marked) graves to become lost in the leaflitter or depressions erased by erosion.

I would check to see when that fence went in. If was close to the 2000 survey, then it probably was laid out when the pin flags were in place, meaning everyone was caught within the perimeter. If it was much later or after the flags were removed, then there may be folks north and south of the central part of the cemetery. The way it's written on the 2000 form, I would say that the cemetery is oblong or rectangular, so I would expect any missing folks to be found north (heading towards the pool) or south (within the confines of that treed area).

If you look at the tax parcel maps (

https://maps.raleighnc.gov/iMAPS/

), "WIDEWATERS VILLAGE COMMUNITY ASSN INC" is listed as owning that huge parcel (PIN 1744638638). There's no reason why they didn't sell the rest of the plots except to avoid the cemetery. I think that's why they had that contract archaeology group come in.

If they had moved the graves, there are NC General Statutes that cover the process (

NC GS 65-106

). If you want to double check the law states that you have to file a cemetery move with the county board of commissioners. But again, the plan listed on the 2000 form was "avoidance," so I bet they're all still there. They may be less visible on the surface but are still resting in place.

Melissa A. Timo, M.A., R.P.A.

Office of State Archaeology

Historic Cemetery Specialist

This did not tell me the exact size of the area, which according to the article by Schulz was greatly reduced from 130 plots to about 50. It did however tell me that there were 30 rows of graves, so that would be about 5 or 6 per row. roughly. Keith offered to meet me there and see if we could identify the rows and work out how many there are and if its all contained in that fenced area as Melissa thought they should be. 

I met him there at 7:30 and we walked the site. he showed me the remnants of some of the flags him and his party had placed years before at graves they could identify by sight (depressions in the ground with a head stone and foot stone). when we counted across it did appear that there may be enough area there that they are all safely contained and not built over as previously devised by Schulz. Sadly, he is no longer with us so we cannot ask him what the area looked like before construction. 

So, although that means there is less scandal to uncover here, it is reassuring that they did not build on top of any graves. they all appear to be able to fit in the fenced area on the top of the hill. we can only confirm for sure the number there once we get approval to have the ground penetrating radar examination conducted on the site. Unfortunately, I walked over and stuck my foot into a large ground bee nest - which caused an angry swarm of bees to attack me all the way out of the woods and down the sidewalk .I received at least 10 good stings on my bottom and arms, back and leg. the bees were still attacking my ankles so I took my sneakers off and after making sure none were in there walked back to the cars parked in the swimming pool parking lot in my blue socks. I havent been stung by a bee since i was a little girl. i forgot how much it burns. My back and rear were instantly on fire. If i had been alone or with someone who wasnt a stranger i would have surely put up a lot more of a fuss, but i was mostly embarressed. So i put on a brave face, winced thru the pain and swelling and when he suggested we go to look at Clay Hill cemetery area, i said “sure!”

We road out to Clayhill and tried to identify the cemetery grounds there, but there was a driving range put in that has since been closed down and grown over in that area so the ground has been much disturbed.  I thought he had eyes on the cemetery before and knew where it was, but when we got there we walked largely the same areas I had trapsed blindy with my mother and there were no identifiable depressions or stones there that I could see. We hope to add a marker for that cemetery too and maybe have the radar guys come out and do their thing, but its hard when we are not sure exactly where it is. Schulz said at one time it had a stone wall around at least part of it. There was some cement chunks under a tree discarded, not sure if that was part of that wall, but could be from the putt putt so hard to say. I want to go back and look around another day to try to find something. There is also supposed to be evidence of indian burial mounds around that area since Tuscarora lived by the Neuse River there as well. 

after that, he rode me around to look at the neuse recreation area on Old Milburnie I hadnt known existed and showed me the damn there and we looked at the plaque installed by the daughters of the Revolution marking the site of Clay Hill Plantation and he took me over to an old abandoned clubhouse lodge deep in the woods behind a trailer park by the river where the KKK meetings allegedly took place presumedly after the clay Hill house, the original clan meeting site, burned down in 1923. THe lodge sits in sad disrepair, a place that could be fixed up and put to good use by the trailer park residents, but it seems now to just be a place to store old junk. A neat building of wooden beams and round stones. 

Correspondence:

Yesterday I also reached out to someone affiliated with Wake County Historic Preservation who i saw on an article regarding the proprosed move of the Hinton family cemetery plot and they wre trying to deny the Hinton descendants request to have it moved stating that they wanted to let the majora nd his family rest in peace - arguing that their graves should be “incorporated” into any construction. i thought maybe they had a hand in the incorporationg of the slave cemetery in my neighborhiood’s constructio then. So i sent an email to the contact there, Terry Nolan, to see if he had any information about it he could share. 

His response:

Dear Ms. Chiari,

Thank you for your email. I consulted with our staff member who processes grave removals and he did a little research on this particular site.  He believes that the subject cemetery is intended to be permanently preserved within the open space/recreation area for this subdivision (which was platted in 2003).  The cemetery (and the subdivision) is located within the town limits so anything related to the subdivision or the cemetery must be processed through the town. Town staff may know more about any private efforts to restore and recognize the value of the site. I encourage you to contact Jason Brown with Knightdale. Jason.brown@knightdalenc.gov

The Historic Preservation Commission has a small budget of a few thousand dollars that is used for small studies as well as plaques for landmark properties. They are meeting today and I will bring this up with them and get back to you.

Regarding the Hinton family cemetery’s relocation—the county did not make any financial contribution to the moving of that cemetery, the reconstruction of the stone wall at the reinterment site, or the rededication ceremony at Oakwood Cemetery.  The county involvement was limited to the formal review and processing of the grave removal petition made Board of Commissioners via a public hearing.  If you are interested in learning more about that process please feel free to contact Keith Lankford at (919 612-6744) in our office.

Sincerely,

Terry Nolan

Hi Summer,

The members of the Historic Preservation Commission offered up some ideas. Not exactly sure what you need but if you are looking for assistance with research and documentation Sarah Koonts with the state archives can help. Also, Wake County’s Olivia Raney Library has historical documents. The state has grants for research and interpretive signage. There is no public funding for restoration that our board members know of, however, they mentioned Cary Christian Church privately raised funds for a project and may be good to talk to.

Best wishes,

Terry

Okay, so that provided an idea about some potential funding and he gave me a contact for the town. I emailed that person and have yet to receive a response. I also havent received a response from Widewaters yet. 

After I returned home and licked my wounds, it was clear that do anything further on this project, we need to open a dialogue with WideWaters that owns the land there. Keith suggested i try the NextDoor app to see if any members on it would know who to talk to about it. I grabbed the 5 member association member list from the association side and went to work. 3 of the 5 were on the app and I sent them all the same message letting them know what I wanted to do and asking who to talk to. 

Benjamin was the first to response, but he wasnt very helpful. He said to try to contact the town, but i let him know i did that already and since widewaters owns that land anyway, we probably need their approval to do anything. He said he’d talk to the board and get back to me within the week on who to speak with about it. 

One other of the 3 responded and basically said the same. 

so now we wait. Who do i talk to next. Whose door do i beat down next? I already have a Plan B and C if they tell me no. If they tell me no, then we go to the media. if they tell me no, then we go to the BLM advocates and the papers and local community and the churches until we get some pitchforks and torches and make something happen. 

i’m really hoping it wont come to any of that. I’d like to quietly get the approval, assemble the interested parties who want to help and clean it up, clear it out, get the ground penetrating radar guy in there to do what he does and mark the graves and get the funding for the plaque marker and have that placed identifying the cemetery and work out who will maintain it and the funding for where that would come from. 

I just need the GREENLIGHT. I am really grateful for all of the help from those i’ve reached out to thus far. I hope that this can be started sincerely in the very near future. 

[mobianstrip]

sonic forces me to analyze the game

this is by no means a full, in depth review of sonic forces. however, since im working on a Forces au i think its only fitting to talk about my personal gripes with the game. just to be clear, i dont hate sonic forces by any means! there are some really neat concepts about it that i enjoy, which ill include my thoughts on as well! though with that said, theres a lot about it that could have been dealt with better. this post is gonna be a bit long and messy, sorry!

now i cant speak for what the gameplay controls itself are like since i havent actually played it with my own hands, so my primary focus will be the story and general format of the game. everything under the cut!

ill start by saying that in hindsight, i think the general premise of the game is actually really neat (had the war framing of the plot not been so overly glorified and bland. more on that below). eggman taking over most of the world is very reminiscent to the initial circumstance of mobius in the early archie sonic publication. it seems especially reflective of the comic in the fact that sonic forces takes place on a planet setting more akin to that of Mobius than that of Sonic’s World/Earth, the difference being the lack of human beings aside from Eggman. while this does somewhat bother me for the fact that it paints an inconsistency with the setting, im also all for the planet being strictly Mobians + Eggman again tbh. the concept of sonic being on earth populated by humans, complete with a mock version of the united states, never really settled well with me. it always felt like just a means to make sonic more relatable, which is true, but not done because it made anything more interesting. a problem that then arises is that the origins of shadow and silver/blaze would be radically different or at least would need some retcon alterations to make sense...but thats a topic for another day

overall, looking past the inconsistency with the setting and its implications, i enjoy how the premise of the game feels like going back to the basics. but even the premise still has its problems...which is never a good sign, and this point practically sealed forces’s fate of inconsistency: the theme of war and how it frames the story is so, so poorly written

starting with whats presented at the beginning of the game, sonic is captured by eggman as a prisoner. if the writing had just left it at that, fine. however, the exposition goes on to say that sonic has been there for six months being tortured...and that tails has completely lost it. again id be fine with this - the theme of war is a darker one so these two events would make sense in this circumstance. however, that tension is just totally lost in a matter of a few episodes. you rescue sonic who is just as cheery and jokey as ever, somehow able to fight a boss despite being supposedly locked away and tortured for six months

of course i understand that its not like they could give sonic ptsd and make him look tortured and weak and so on - but why even mention the torture thing at all? the same problem is apparent with the first cutscene with tails. tails is hardly given enough time to seem like he has "lost it". i will say though that tails WAS given a bit more of an emotional response to work with than sonic overall. particularly when tails is about to be attacked by chaos, and he ducks his head in fear and calls for sonic to help him even though sonic isnt there - i actually enjoyed this small segment bc it does reflect some of what was said about how he reacted to sonics capture (aside from also being across the planet...for seemingly no reason except bc he "lost it" and to get him away from the main group so that classic sonic can appear)

frankly speaking from these two points alone, the games tone just feels kind of confused. its obvious the writers wanted some parts of the darker theme of war...and its also obvious that going all out wasnt gonna be an option bc of the nature of sonic as a character and franchise being about more lighthearted, easier to relate to stories about sonics heroism. which im fine with that being the case; sonic is a hero and more importantly a mascot that profits off of kids being able to relate and look up to. my issue is simply that the premise of this game makes consistent writing kind of doomed from the start if the writers are trying to appeal to both the kids AND older fans. they cant go to the lengths necessary to adequately build the narrative. cant go too dark, cant go too lighthearted, and not finding a balance between to two gives you a confused and bland story 

on that note,  i personally find the theme of war to be...uncomfortably glorified and unchecked (adding to the tone confusion and blandness). sonic forces is named so because...yknow. armed forces. armies. the whole point of the game is that theres a war going on and youre on the good guy side. i mean its not as if youre fighting against other living creatures, just infinite and eggmans robots, but still. i think what put me off the most is the first comic with the soldier cat. after they save the day, the last lines are "I'll do better. I'll be better. I'll become a real soldier and a real hero." now slap that as the tagline to a united states army corps commercial and suddenly its really...sour tasting

war is just one of those subjects that i think needs to be handled with a bit more care. i mean think about it: the primary gimmick of forces is that you get to make your own character, to be the sonic version of yourself in this world. the plot of the game is that theres a war, and your character joins the resistance to defeat eggman. this game is pretty blatantly glorifying the idea that joining in on a war can make you a REAL soldier, a REAL hero. to some kids, that might sound pretty cool. but theres no nuance to it whatsoever, nothing thought provoking on the subject. no one steps back to be like ‘its good to do good things but wars are tough and not fun, and being a hero isnt everything’. none-a that

now do i think a sonic game could get it into a childs head that they should join the army for real? no, not necessarily. i think its possible, but i think that would also be due to a larger issue of military glorification present in modern culture in general (especially in america). mostly i just find the implications at play with glorifying the theme of war in conjunction to the avatar gimmick to be in poor taste and also entirely avoidable because...

i dont think the war and army framing even had to be a thing. not only is it just so sloppily done in general, with that fact that the supposed soldier forces on the Resistance side are literally never seen on screen except for some dialogue boxes in one episode and the rest of the time only being mentioned through other characters, but i seriously think never saying the words “war” or “army” and not including literal soldiers would have worked just as well and even been the better route. they could have just been like yeah heres eggman taking over the world, heres the resistance fighters that have come together to stop him, they are opposing forces and you play as your avatar to stop eggman - and just leave it at that. it wouldve made the glorification of war less obvious and the handling of the topics at hand appear less confused, appealing to a more lighthearted tone rather than weighing it down with frankly out of place hints to a darker subject of war

finally i wanna talk about the story as it relates to how its told through the game. the plot itself is fairly standard - eggman starts war, captures sonic, takes over planet. you rescue sonic, and together you fight eggman and infinite and ultimately defeat them. thats all good and well even if its cheesy sometimes. the REAL problem is how its executed. a lot of the exposition is given not through cutscenes, but through spoken dialogue with text box subtitles over the episode select screen. and it just feels so...stiff. it doesnt feel like world building, it just feels like being forcefed information with no substance behind it

i get that fully rendered cutscenes throughout can be expensive and time consuming, but shoot id take in-game rendered cut scenes at least. (like in sa, sa2, shadow 2005...) anything that could have provided the world building with a bit more ground to stand on would have been great. sure, there are levels to traverse which look cool...but they dont provide any sense of scale, they dont tell us what the area is like, and more importantly, you never see the other characters who are supposedly on the battlefield "alongside" you in a couple episodes. the storyline from the exposition along sounds like it could be an epic journey - but the way its told with the given game mechanics (i.e.: stage-based gameplay with no open worlds to explore) leaves a lot to be desired

i feel like the stuff explained in the comics should have just been cutscenes or exposition or something to pad out the game a bit. the comics are so short anyways so why just put it in the game? maybe not the first comic about the rando soldier saving the day or w/e...but the comic with silver and knuckles fighting chaos? the comic about infinites origins? all of that could have easily been included. at LEAST the comic with shadow was part of the DLC...but even thats just so gimmicky. they provide important background to the main plot of this game so i really dont understand why it was sidelined to comics and not just included from the beginning

the tension that the exposition already fails to build up is brought down even worse when coupled with the confusing timing of the stage complete screens, where you get your completion rank and see what new character creation items you unlocked. listen, i know immediate gratification for completing the level is important and all...but i swear, having these screens between the end of a boss fight and the cutscene showing what happens to them after being defeated seriously impairs the flow of the game. maybe having it there allows for the cutscene to load up in the background to improve efficiency, but personally id prefer seeing a loading screen as the break between a boss fight and the following cutscene after it and THEN the stage complete screen to finish the sequence off. the boss fight end cutscenes arent that long anyways for the most part, so its just nonsensical to have the stage complete screen interrupt the action when theres only a two minute scene left to it

i cant stand how streamlined forces is to the point of the main plot. what happened to games that actually take the time to explain stuff, show us extra bits to the story and how they connect? and even when forces' does explain SOME stuff, its through audio/text only dialogue. nothing visually interesting, just...dialogue. and then its off to the next level. forces' feels very bare bones honestly. the story is supposed to feel big and epic but it just wasnt given enough to bring that feeling into fruition. this is probably the only thing that saves forces’ from the war glorification issue because the game simply fails so miserably at telling a compelling story due to poor writing and poor formatting that the war stuff gets lost in the mix - and thats just sad

all of this brings me to my conclusion. fuck i wish sonic forces was a better written and executed game, because i do think it could have been so cool. i really like infinite as a villain, in both his design and personality. yeah hes kind of a whiny, edgy bitch - but he had potential. and its really gonna suck if this game killed off all that potential in one fell swoop

(then again, thats why we have fan content and aus :3)