#then adult human stylists are running these things by him and he is saying yes

[gotyouanyway]

First Elliot Page got that godawful haircut. The bangs look absolutely atrocious. Now he’s wearing the most boring prom-ass outfit to the MET GALA. Come on bro

IT'S TOO BIG FOR HIM TOO and with the clunky bad shoes bro!! i know you know you look 16 WHO has a gun to your head

[nightswithkookmin]

I saw this question n i really want to know yout pov . JK is a troll and he's using both JM and Tae. Lets see. JK wears a purple and green shirt the other day. Purple and green earrings during Muster and purple and green bracelets. But then he says Purple goes best with Yellow and wears matching clothes with JM. He grabs Tae away from Jin, but then grabs JM from people. So is he purposely being a fan service troll or is he stringing them both along? I don't think he knows what or who he wants anymore. he's just enjoying the attention from Vmin.

JK IS STRINGING VMIN ALONG??? I 👁👄👁

I feel like I've answered this Ask before.

I think the problem with such rhetorics for me is, it strips Jimin and Tae completely off their self agencies and reduces them to a bunch of fabled dickmatised pick me hyungs waiting on a patriarchal head with a self acclaimed big dick who then is Jungkook to choose between them to move the plot.

If that is true, then I recommend Vmin go and love themselves or better yet fuck eachother to liberate themselves from this mental hebetude.

Photo: Two pathetic dick whipped men comforting each other over a piece of dick

What at all makes y'all think that Jimin who have categorically stated he doesn't share his friends, would be ok sharing his boyfriend with his bestfriend and soulmate?

Didn't you hear BTS, Suga complain that Tae's friends are like unicorns and that he talks about them alot but none of them have seen those friends ever in one of the team building run episodes they did recently?

What makes y'all think a man who tries to keep his intimate friendship groups separate and compartmentalized from his work friendship groups- what makes you think he would be ok dating a bandmate in the first place much less share his partner with another bandmate?

Y'all make it make sense to me please.

Y'all create this rhetoric of V and Jimin so in love with their Maknae they would allow this goofy ass gen z to play them like booboo the fool. But frankly I think none of them would shed a tear over a piece of dick. I'm sorry but I just don't see them that way.

Jk barely has the reins on Jimin, how he's gone manage Tae and all these other idols yall ship him with on top🤣

Jimin is slippery than y'all think he is. He'll be gone before JK makes up his mind chilee. And if he won't go, I and JK's mom will carry him kicking and screaming cos we love us some self confident self respecting Park Jimin.

May be I'm gay but I don't think dicks are all that great for two full grown adults like Tae and Jimin to sob over. The misogyny of it all!

Now this whole fan service troll bit however...

I think I have said a couple times that Jikook, Jk especially do intentionally troll us from time to time with certain things he does with Jimin- the tissue thingy he did with JM, the pinkie ring thingy, the bottle thingy and certain "fan service" interactions with Jimin and certain members, blowing Jin a kiss and making sure it was captured etc.

It's all part of his persona I suppose and I think it's cute frankly. I just know he laughs his butt off at certain edits and analysis we throw out there. He does. Lmho.

Photo: Jimin and Jungkook watching shipper armys be clowns

Lmho.

Do I think he trolls us from time to time? Yes. Sometimes we catch on, sometimes it flies over our heads completely. I guess we need to pray for the spirit of discernment to be able to clock these moments cos 👁👄👁

That however doesn't take away from that he has genuine interest in his relationship with any of these men. It in no way invalidates what he has with Jimin. Or Jin. Or Tae because like I said, his right to be a fuxkboy is contingent on the self worth and agencies of these autonomous human beings with brain and self determination.

He can be a fuxkboy just not in Jimin's space. I would fight him otherwise 🤺

Jungkook is not a fuck boy. He values the people he loves- y'all uWu and akekeke when he shows loyalty and commitment in caring for Army's health and often praise him for how thoughtful and empathetic he is but then somehow y'all imagine the exact opposite of him in his private life. That he is a community penis who doesn't care about hurting his boyfriend, someone he claims he loves and goes ahead and falls in love with his bestfriend anyway.

Worse, those two besties obsequiously wait on him to choose between them.... why?????

Now, I don't think it's fair for OP to opine on the aesthetics Jungkook gravitates towards in this way. It feels like they are stripping Jk off his agency and self determination and reducing him to a caricature who exists solely for a ship and thus everything he does is interpreted from a ship lens. I think that's a low blow.

BTS have said their looks and style are often curated by staff- they have stylists for a reason you know? Granted, these stylists often make sure Jikook or other pairs are matching clothes or wearing complimentary outfits or hairstyles most times- like JM says, there is a reason for that.

And yes, sometimes they do make their own decisions as to what they want to wear and how they want to look- because again, agency. We've seen it and the stylists have said so themselves.

How you interpret these clothing choices is totally up to you. But do not judge them for the interpretation you give to these choices they make. Sometimes they wear stuff cos they like it. It may coincidentally be your faves favorite color- it don't mean they were trying to imply subtext.

Sometimes too, they do that to actively feed a ship agenda- like Vmin and their soulmate agenda or Jikook and their I am you you are me agenda or even Sope or Namjin.

It behooves you to discern and to be able to discern the intent behind such decisions and choices. And when you do, understand it's only speculation.

I think Jungkook knows who and what he wants. You corny for saying he don't. So cheesy. Lmho.

He has shown that again and again y'all just wanna act blind. Jimin is not confused between Jungkook and Tae. JK is not confused between Tae and Jimin- for the simple fact, they each bring something different to the table.

He can have a boyfriend and have a partner in crime. Just as Jimin can have him and have a bestie he calls soulmate. Jungkook is also, a complex human being with complex emotions. He is capable of having different emotional depths and connections that don't at all necessarily mean he is fucking them all or wants to fuck them all. Hell is wrong witchu?!

Perhaps, rather than brush Jimin and Tae as occupying the same spot in JK's heart and wants, try and understand what each mean to him because trust me they don't mean the same thing to him at all.

Personally, I think Jimin is the love of his life. Period. Tae is his childhood bestie whom he grew apart from and have in recent times rekindled that friendship. He is not fucking Tae and he doesn't want to fuxk him. We DO

I'm calling Jesus on y'all cos the things yall be imagining in this fandom is hell worthy🤧

Besides, Jk is not at the center of VminKook. Jimin is. Vmin are not vying for Jk's affections, but Tae Kook are vying for JMs you coconut head 🙃

Tae: Jimin I like you the most

Y'all: 🥥🥥🥥🥥🥥

This man don confessed his whole chest on his feelings for JM on national television and yet yall gonna act obtuse.

When Tae wanted to fix his relationship with JK he said it to y'all's hearing in Soop. When he wanted to confess his feelings about Jimin he did that too. He is not hiding his feelings for Jk or Jimin for yall to concoct these elaborate theories about him and JK.

If I master black magic, I will turn y'all into coconuts so your insides can match your outsides😫

FREE JK

Signed,

GOLDY

[softcallofdutyimagines]

The squad with a curly haired gf

Adler

Can you say, iconic hair duo?

Because, yeah lol

Russell is the rare example of a man who won’t give you shit for taking extra time to get ready to go out

Primarily because he also requires extra time to get ready to go out

It’s not that he makes a big deal of trying to ensure every last strand of hair is perfectly in place, mind you

More so that there’s a lot of steps in between when his hair is freshly washed, and when it’s ready to go, all gelled up and styled like it is

The cabinet under your shared sink is divided right down the middle with yours and his hair products

Of course, you would have no problem sharing, and you do in fact share certain things that you can

But your hair simply has different needs moisture and support wise, so you get all your own stuff

However, you have put some curling gel in his hair at least once, just to see how he'd look

It was not a very good look, but you both had fun trying it

Hudson

The exact opposite of Adler lol

While you and Adler would draw appreciative looks, you and Hudson get more like bewildered stares

It makes a bit of sense, considering just the powerful contrast between your glorious mane and his stark baldness

Hudson doesn't mind however

In fact, if anything, he finds it quite amusing

However, he could live without you draping your hair over his head now and then to "see what he'd look like"

Regardless, he does love your hair

It's so different from what he's use to, namely his lonesome bald himself, that is

He likes the soft texture between his fingers and against his stubble, and the fruity, flowery scent it always carries

Hudson has about zero skill with hair care, but if you're patient and willing, nothing would make him happier then learning how to help

This may come as a bit of a surprise to you, but he really is glad to do it...

As long as you can keep his secret safe ;)

Lazar

As an ethnic Jew, I think Lazar would have a lot more experience with luscious, curly hair then you'd think

He is undoubtedly a master braider and knows exactly what kind of protective styles would look good on you

Additionally, he loves doing this for you!

His mom has basically been preparing him for this all his life, so he's excited to flex his skills

And, while he doesn't necissarily use them himself, he has great recommendations for what kinds of creams, oils, and gels you should try

Personally, I suspect Lazar also has naturally curly hair, he just brushes and gels it to match the current style

However, if you encouraged him to go natural, he totally would

You'd be kind of like the sign he's been waiting for to do it lol

With a little shape up and some care, he looks amazing with his little floof top

From them on, the two of you strut around as the epitome of curly haired couple goals

And yes, you both do take great joy in telling people this is your natural hair when they ask where you got your perms from

Mason

Mason, sort of like Hudson, is a big of the unique smell and texture of your locs then anything else

He finds it comforting, and before long he starts to identify the most prominent smell from all your creams and oils as the smell of home

It's hard to explain, and he's afraid you might think he's strange for it, but...

Something about the reminder of you brings him to a safe place in his mind

The kind of place he didn't even think he had up there anymore

However, you don't find it wierd at all, quite the opposite in fact

You're glad that something as silly as the smell of your hair makes him feel at home, both physically and mentally

So, you makes sure to keep that particular product in your rotation whenever you can

Alex is not very good with hair care/styling however

He will try to learn if you want to teach him, but it just doesn't seem to click

So try not to expect much more then him helping you administer product and brush it through

This plays to his advantage though, as he's able to learn what it is that makes that smell he so adores

I say advantageous, because when he has to be away for longer periods, he buys one for himself, just to have

When he particularly misses you, he puts a dab of it in his own hair, just to have the smell follow him around

And why not? If nothing else, his justification is that it keeps his hair just as nice and silky too

Park

She's. In. LOVE

I hope you're ready to have your own personal stylist, because that's exactly what you'll be getting with Helen

Growing up, she was a big fan of playing dress up and princesses with her dolls

Now imagine how she'd feel as an adult with such a gorgeous head of curls in front of her

Unfortunately, doll hair and human hair care are quite different, and while she's easily able to grasp this of course...

She will need a bit of guidance on your hair care needs

But no matter how complex, she's game

It's very hard for her to pick out one thing she loves about your hair tbh

But, if she had to choose, she enjoys braiding it the most

It's also quite nice because, while her own hair is rather low maintenance, she does pick up a few useful tips and tricks from you on hair care

Of course, she does also appreciate that you don't mind returning the favor and giving her hair a bit of love

Before long the two of you would be walking around with absolutely perfect, hydrated and glowing locs

The effort may be a bit time consuming, but all that time together, and particularly the result it has, are so worth it

Weaver

He thinks your hair is the most gorgeous thing he's ever seen

If you two wanted to/were able to have kids, he'd be the type to pray all the kids get your hair

That's not to say he dislikes his natural, smooth and straight hair, that is

Just that he'd feel like quite the proud dad to have his beautiful little floofy haired family running around

But for now, he's more then happy to dote on you and your hair

He can manage a very basic braid, which might come as a shock to you, but if you want him to do anything more complex, he's going to need a minute or three

Also, he's quick to be proud of your hair on your behalf when someone compliments it

Considering perms were all the rage in the 80s, you basically get worshiped and for your curls and asked where you got them done a lot

It's funny at first, but a little tiring after a while

However, Weaver never seems to get tired of bragging on you

After a while, he's pretty quick to be the one saying "It's all natural" to those who inquire

You find it a little funny, but it does feel good to be appreciated so

Woods

Of all the others, he'd be the one to tease you a bit

Nothing all that mean or rude of course, more like in an endearing way

He nicknames you "Curls" almost immediately

At first it runs you the wrong way, and so he has to dedicate some effort to prove that he doesn't mean it like that

But in the end, he does manage to pull it off, and his teasing becomes something of an inside joke to you two

Only he is allowed to make jokes like that though, anyone else who tries it, even in a friendly way, gets snapped at

You do wish he'd ease up a little about it, but he can't help but be protective of you

Frank is a total lost cause when it comes to styling your hair

Honestly, you're lucky to convince him to even consider doing up your hair, but that's another story

He's one of those where if he can't get it right the first or second try, he gets to frustrated to keep going

With a little encouragement, he might be able to manage a basic braid

It does not look very good at all, but he tried

At first, he's a bit pissy over all the "girly" smells from your products overwhelming his living space

As well as the amount of time it takes for you to get ready in the morning

But he grows accustomed to it after a while and it doesn't bother him anymore

In fact, he goes down a similar route as Mason, and starts to identify the smells with a feeling of security

Woods would never go so far as to put scented anything in his hair, even as a token reminder of you, but...

He has been known to swipe one if your conditioners before a deployment, just to bask in the comforting smell now and then

It's probably stupid, but he likes to think it brings him luck, having that tiny piece of you with him out in the field

Just a little something to remind him to come home safe <3

[threewaysdivided]

Yo hey!!! I just read through your YJ:DW series and I absolutely love it??? So much??? You write absolutely marvelously and have such a wonderful devotion to characterization and everything feels very Real and Natural. Your pacing is most excellent, you really know when things need to be lingered on and when they don’t need much more than a passing mention. And g o d I absolutely adore how you characterize so many characters, but particularly Danny. Like, he’s still the same Danny from the-(1/?)

show, but he’s changed in very particular ways that really match with what he’s been through. He’s very cautious and nervous and frightened after everything that’s happened, afraid to trust, to let people know too much. And that makes sense with everything he’s been through! He’s been on the run for so long, settling in one place definitely chafes at him. More than he feels it should, but it does. And like! He’s so wary and on edge with meeting the Team and the League members. I am def- (2/?)

-initely looking forward to seeing even more of their interactions. And like!!! The team’s reactions!!! Are so well thought out and just fantastic. Like, how Robin is aiming for a mix of normalcy and just a touch of protectiveness. And M’gann is curious and welcoming and doing her best to be Team Mom without being overwhelming. And how Wally is so intensely disbelieving and flippant QND almost abrasive to Phantom. I really wonder how he’s going to change in his approach to Phantom,- (3/?)

-like if he’ll dig his feet in even further to the point of rejecting reality in an attempt to maintain the reality in his own mind, or if he actually will start considering the science behind ghosts possible. I’m so excited to see how that develops. Also, aside, can I just say I loved getting Black Canary’s perspective on things with the last chapter? It revealed a lot more of Danny’s proper abilities and strengths than ya’d necessarily be able to piece together with a younger perspective-(4/?)

-and it just really helps develop the dynamics of everything even more. I’m wondering if you’re going to end up giving Danny enhanced strength or not, and if so to what degree, as an aside, explaining a bit more why he might be pulling his punches. I also wonder if he has any hesitation with fighting living folks who aren’t actively trying to hurt him, seeing as he mostly has experience fighting Ghosts and Hunters. Also also, I’m just so excited to see them all go on a mission!!! (5 or 6/?)

-Aaaah I could keep gushing for a Good While but I’m forgetting how many asks I’ve sent and I don’t want to bother you toooo much, so Imma just finish with you write beautifully and I’m So EXCITED to see where you go with things and like aaaaaaaaah, ya kno!!! (6 or 7/ 6 or 7)

Okay, first things first, you are absolutely not bothering me.  You found a piece of free content that I put up and - with no obligation or expectation -  sent me six messages detailing how much you liked it, and that’s Delightful.  It made my morning.  ‘Bothering’ is more than welcome on this blog.  Encouraged, even!

We’ve got a lot to cover so let’s get to it:

Danny’s Characterisation

Danny’s character has been a bit of a challenge to balance at times but I’m pretty pleased with how he’s shaping up.  There was this trend I noticed back when I started where - even in fics I really like - people had a frustrating tendency to swing him too much in one or the other direction; either turning him into a confident wise-cracking hyper-powerful hyper-skilled Troubled Badass™ who everyone respected even if he was humble about it, or into a Sad™ Broken™ Tormented™ cinnamon roll who just wanted love and who trusted and is trusted by every hero with minimal persuasion, when really he’s somewhere in the middle.

He’s a hero, yes, but he’s also a teenager.  He’s experienced and competent, but it’s in the self-taught way that leaves him with rough edges, blindspots and a lack of technical skill.  He can be a good, confident leader when the situation calls for it but he’s also someone who reads as fairly socially introverted and canonically has personal self-confidence issues, anxious and depressive traits and really wants to be accepted by his peers.  He’s friendly and funny and likeable but lacks social experience in a casual setting and can struggle with expressing his feelings, knowing the right thing to say/ do and being open with people.  He’s not just one or the other.  He’s both.

I also really wanted to explore the Death and Secrets plot points with more emotional detail.  It felt like a lot of the time in stories where he lost his family, Danny would either stall out in a tormented Grief State right until a Power of Love/ Friendship-prompted revival toward the final act, or he’d be sad for 5-10 short chapters then bounce back to his old self and go off with his New Family like it ain’t no thing.  With Deathly Weapons I want the characters to have to grow and come together naturally; to earn their healing and show why/how they’d come to like and trust each other, or decide that the other person is worth making the investment.

The Team

It’s kind of funny in hindsight but the Team’s development was a oddly late addition to the planning.  Which was fine for Arc I - being very Danny-centric - but then, as I was brainstorming Arc II it kind of hit me that if I was going to call this fic Young Justice: Deathly Weapons I should really try to showcase what I liked so much about the series.  And then I realised how much Danny’s experiences (canonical and DW-verse) and Team Phantom paralleled different members of the S1 cast, and how much character exploration potential there was to be had.  Arc II is basically just 8 teens looking at each other and going “We’re not so different you and I” in various settings for 20+ chapters.

There’s this nice quote from Stieg Larsson that I think sums up how I see both Danny and the different members of the Team fitting together: 

“I’m not going to compete with you. I’m better than you are at what I do. And you’re better than I am at what you do.”

All of them have at least one thing they’re good at, and at least a few weaknesses that other members can cover.  Their skills are complementary, their personalities and experiences are complimentary and none of them feel redundant in being there.  And with the extra challenges a DW-verse AU opens up, it creates a space where Phantom can slot in without having to displace an existing well-established member.

It also makes revolving perspective a lot of fun as I can tag in whoever’s mindset and perspective best fits the tone and information that needs to be delivered, rather than risking any one character losing their characterisation to their role as de facto narrator.

Despite how he’s acting right now, Wally is actually one of my favourites.  Needless to say there’s a lot more going on with our resident speedster than simple garden-variety ecto/paranorma-phobia, but that’ll be explored more in the chapters Flashpoints, Combustion and Equilibrium.

Training and Powers

Bruce and Dinah both make fun writes because they’re adults with more maturity and experience, which makes them great sources of diegetic exposition and perception that the main Team wouldn’t carry as well.

I’ve gotten a few questions about Danny’s powers in that chapter and how close they play to canon, so I should probably clear that up.  First thing is that DP’s canon is very wibbly wobbly about Danny’s power set (Is it super-strength letting him lift that or is he touch-transferring flight to make it weigh less?  Are those ectoblasts actually fire or was that just an animation flourish?  Can he teleport or is he just really fast and invisible? Does him lifting a rake that one time mean he has telekinesis or was it just a quick sight-gag?) so I’ve had to make some calls with grouping and sometimes dropping or altering edge-case powers to create a system that makes sense.  The other thing is that Chapter 17 is Danny explaining the things he consciously uses on the job and exploring how they compare to similar DC powers, rather than detailing out every single aspect that makes him different from regular humans.  (Kind of like how you wouldn’t bring up your own lung capacity, 20/20 distance vision or excellent patellar reflex unless someone drew your attention to it).  The chapter mostly serves to do some character set-up for later and drop some needed exposition so that Danny won’t have to be breaking the flow of future missions to explain very basic facts about his abilities the first time he uses them.

As for pulling his punches, some of it is certainly to do with him being uneasy about fighting breakable living beings when he’s used to ridiculously tough Ghost Beasts, and some of it was specifically due to who he was paired against.  But again, that’s something we’ll explore in future chapters.

Pacing and Writing

At this point I can only put this down to lots of planning, drafting and taking inspiration from the styles and structures of some very, very good published authors.  Quite a few chapters started out as simple exposition dumps or time skips before I realised that they’d have more value expanded out into full entries of their own.  (My drafting process = step 1: write too briefly, step 2: balloon to massively bogged down self-indulgent explorations, step 3: reign it in to something readable).

Books I definitely took stylistic influence from:

1. Steig Larsson’s, Swedish crime-mystery series The Millenium Trilogy.  Lisbeth is one of my character references for writing both Batman and Robin.(NOTE:  Hard MA+ rating, cw for explicit discussions and depictions of misogyny, homophobia, violence, gendered violence, sexual assault, stalking, drug use and Nazis.  Good books but Discretion Advised.)

2. Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief.General influence/ reference for prose and imagery, especially for the tone of Roads to Safe Places (ch.15).(Beautifully written story about humanity, but set in WWII-era Germany so be advised that Nazism, Nazis, War and Death feature heavily.)

3. Patrick Rothfuss’ The Kingkiller ChroniclesGeneral influence/reference for style and prose, YJ:DW Ch. 15′s title is a deliberate call out to the same title in Chapter 18 of KKC Book 1.(Fantasy books with some fantasy violence and a little bit of sex but nothing especially shocking.)

I’m just so excited to see them all go on a mission!!!

Me too!  Quick question though:

Just one?  Or are all of these okay? 😏

Now that I think about it there’s a weird dearth of story missions outside of the one needed for set-up in most YJxDP stories.  Not sure why.  Anyway, Deathly Weapons is a beast, we’re going to do at least 10.  I gotchu fam.

Aaand I think that’s everything.  Thanks for dropping in, feel free to stop by anytime.  Hope to see you around! ❤

[repeatsfate]

A, K, R!!

vidya games!

K – game you’re most looking forward to? 

at the moment it’s super mario odyssey and pokemon ultra sun and moon! and, uh… my inner 12 year old is rearing her ugly head to force me to admit i’m also pretty hyped for sonic forces, oops. lOOK IT LOOKS FUN, OKAY…

i’m looking forward to fe musou too but also i’m pretty neutral on it– everything they’ve revealed has been super incredible so far and i’m looking forward to maining my birb, but i’m more interested in the confirmed fe16 and i’m looking forward to hearing more about that when the time comes.

R – most underrated game? 

hmmmm… while xenoblade chronicles itself would certainly fit the bill despite shulk being a giant meme now, i think i’ll take it a step further and go on to say xenoblade chronicles x deserves a bit more love than it got– 

despite the very real flaws with the game and some aspects of the story, a thing that draws me to it aside from the ‘if you can see it, you can go to it’ MASSIVE open world and setting on a foreign planet was just how human its supporting cast and even minor npcs are. the game does an excellent job of portraying raw humanity in both ends of the spectrum– where there are heroes, there are people even in man’s most desperate hour that took that second chance as an excuse to be horrible, horrible people. the encounter of alien life goes as swimmingly as you expect, with the remaining fragments of humanity split on how to deal with these new beings in their midst. some choose to try and form alliances and bonds, the others shun and fear the outsiders– many quests actually revolve around the racism in what’s supposed to be a safe haven for the aliens pledging themselves to humanity’s side. the conflict taking up the last leg of the game is one born of human grief and the sting of loss– and when you really get into the motivations behind it it’s so easy to understand why the person did what they did but also acknowledge yeah no you did bad buddy you gotta pay for it now. i just???? it’s so good????

the planet and creatures that make up the game’s setting are imaginative and beautiful, i honestly love just booting it up and wandering. sometimes it’s scary as all heck because OH GOD GIANT MONSTER OUT OF NOWHERE but also… that just adds to the immersion and feeling like you’re a tiny fish in a big, big sea… and when you’re strong enough to stand up to those monsters it’s the most satisfying thing in the world.

the musical direction is honestly up to taste- i personally adore xcx’s soundtrack, but those not a huge fan of hiroyuki sawano’s works might find it lacking. here’s a personal favourite! 

point is, it’s super fun, i want to do an araceli run sometime if i can ever be arsed to go back on my wii u or it gets a switch port, and a verse would be fun to play around with… i’m not a huge jrpg person, but i really really like xcx. also, fans of matthew mercer– he’s in this one, too! he plays lao huang, one of my all time favourite characters tbh

point is it is flawed, yes, but it’s also a very solid jrpg that i had fun sinking hours into and i’d totally do so again

A – favourite game of all time? 

my top fave game of all time? easy! it’s the legend of zelda: wind waker! 

it wins in both nostalgia points and a critical eye as i’ve gotten older– as a little kid, it was the first game i ever actually beat all by myself! the gamecube was the first home console i ever got to own– for a while i lived with my granny, who wasn’t very big on gaming if that makes sense? and then after moving back in with my mom she got me one for christmas and a friend lent me wind waker after i tried playing it at his house and repeatedly got stuck in the forsaken fortress. the excitement of finally making it past that and seeing this big, bright, beautiful world and story unfold before me has stuck with me to this day?? idk how to explain it i just. wind waker was an important game in my childhood, and i’ve played through it a loooooot– mostly i’ve noticed it was during times of stress or particular loneliness. everyone has that one game that’s been there™ for them during times of duress, and wind waker has always been mine. 

okay i’m read more-ing the rest of this because i… went on for a WHILE. which is also why i answered it last oops. tl;dr there are many reasons why i love this game and it’s still my fave even now that i’m nearly 23. 

as an adult, i’ve found that from a technical standpoint the game holds up really well, too– even without the hd remake on the wii u wind waker is still a very beautiful, stylistic game; a major benefit to having taken the art in a more cartoony direction is that it prevents the game from aging too much; if you were to look at the vanilla gamecube edition now, it still holds up amazingly! (meanwhile, i find that while twilight princess is still lovely, the more realistic art direction tends to date it a little. i could look at the original and just know the era it was made in, whereas if i never saw wind waker before, i would question it.) 

the textures are rather blurry, sure, but that was a product of the time– hypatia on tumblr actually produced a mod with hd textures for roms of the gamecube version– check out these comparasion shots of the then-work in progress mod versus the original textures… and then here’s a few polished shots of the mod with a few extra effects dolphin/ishiiruka can provide. in short, the original wind waker is a very, very beautiful game and age has done very little to tarnish that even with the remake’s updated graphics. 

but obviously graphics don’t make or break a game, though proper presentation is important– wind waker’s story also resonates with me deeply in various aspects. as an older sister, the initial quest to set out and rescue your younger sibling in danger caught my attention and held it fast; they do a very good job of making you feel attached to aryll, and the scene where she is kidnapped always tugs at my heartstrings every time i see it. watching this young boy who lived the world’s most quiet little life on a tiny island suddenly get swept up into this grand, big adventure to rescue someone dear to him and becoming an actual hero – despite having no relation to oot link whatsoever! – is the quintessential coming of age story that most people can relate to, and watching that change as the game plays out is always really sweet???

 it was nice watching link’s development through his little actions: the backing away from helmaroc king when he first storms the fortress and then confident staring it down the second time and then giving it what for– aside from ganondorf himself that’s my favourite boss in the game if only because of those moments of development. link’s not just some kid from outset in over his head anymore– he’s a hero who overcame the trials of the goddesses himself in the name of protecting his baby sister, and he will not fail again. and then, after he could easily just throw in the towel and take his sister home because he accomplished what he set out to do, link goes on and sees it through to the end anyways because restoring order to the world is the right thing to do– there’s no legacy of knights looming over his head like several of his other incarnations. there’s no grand kingdom, there are only desolate little islands. there’s a princess, but… he barely knows her. hell, she didn’t even know she was a princess until that moment. 

the story also touches on themes of death and the ends of eras… but also ends on a note of hope and new beginnings– clinging to the past only leads to ruin, and we must create opportunities for ourselves and the world to grow. hyrule is actually completely washed away by the end, and ganondorf goes with it– unless we assume breath of the wild is in the adult timeline, that’s it. he’s gone FOREVER in the subsequent games, with bellum and malledeus taking his place as the main villain. the kingdom link and tetra found is called new hyrule, but that’s all they share in significance– it’s their own land, just like the king said. that final scene of wind waker with the king always got to me– that message of hope is so poignant and powerful, i just. i don’t know how to put it into words, but it’s a scene i love dearly. 

then there’s the music and cast of characters, and even quests and gameplay? i know the sailing could get tedious but i always liked it; it was relaxing to me just watching the virtual waves and listening to that beautiful score?? the characters are all bright and unique and fun– they’ve got their own little lives and you can impact them in so many different ways and things definitely change once you do?? like starting windfall vs windfall after you do a few sidequests or even turn on the ferris wheel and lighthouse again feel so different? it’s a neat little detail i’ve always found!!

…i really need to stop rambling about wind waker now i actually dozed off a bit typing this post, oops.

[biofunmy]

Jewish Summer Camp With Campfires, Crafts and No Lights Out

As if on cue, the first camper I meet is a guy named Josh: a nice, 27-year-old Jewish boy with kind eyes, a subtle smile and the same name as my husband, another nice Jewish boy, back home.

“Do you know where Malbec is?” asks this Josh, Josh Blake, rolling his eyes, and then his suitcase, over a wide dirt path flanked by rickety cabins that have been renamed for the weekend. (Malbec and Cabernet, for the men; Pinot Grigio and Rosé for the women; Raisins for all.) “I don’t want to walk all the way over there, if it’s back there …” he says, sounding not unlike Woody Allen.

I don’t blame him. The camp is desert-hot and dusty. And he’s ultimately here, he later admits over bagels, because his parents paid the all-inclusive $525 for him to be. They met on this very land, albeit half a mile away. “Talk about pressure!” he says, laughing.

Ilana Rosenberg, 31, sitting nearby, agrees. “My mother said, ‘Have fun! Go meet your Jewish husband!’ My sister was like, ‘Mom, she could find a Jewish wife, too, you know’.”

American Jewish University owns these 2,800 acres in Southern California’s Simi Valley, which is home to rolling hills and herds of cows, the university’s Brandeis-Bardin Campus and Camp Alonim. Over the next three nights and four days, this 66-year-old summer camp for Jewish kids has been commandeered by a new kind of summer camp — Trybal Gatherings, for Jewish adults.

Trybal Gatherings was founded by Carine Warsawski, 34, a buoyant, Boston-bred M.B.A., with the goal of fostering lasting community among Jews in their 20s and 30s, and, ahem, a few in their 40s.

She held her first Gathering at Camp Eisner in the Berkshires in 2017, roping in mostly friends of friends. Over Labor Day weekend, it sold out, with 125 campers and a wait-list dozens’ deep. Last year, she added Wisconsin; next summer Atlanta, and has plans to expand from Seattle to Austin to Toronto.

Whereas traditions like Birthright Israel offer free trips to the homeland, Ms. Warsawski’s aim is to offer an immersive, low-commitment experience closer to home — one rooted not in Zionism or religious doctrine, but in the shared nostalgia of a Jewish-American rite of passage, complete with archery and horseback riding, and a roster that reads like it’s from the Old Testament. (At one point, I’d forgotten my name-necklace. “That’s O.K.!” someone joked. “It’s probably either Sarah or Rachel.”)

There are two main differences between Jewish kids’ camp and Jewish adults’ camp: No bedtime, and booze, lots of it. Kiddie-pools brimming with hard seltzer at Bubbe’s Beer Garden. Bottles of cheap wine at supper. Compostable flutes of bubbly at Arts & Crafts.

Also, adult campers have careers, though no one talks about them. Web developers and screenwriters, wedding planners and wardrobe stylists. And yes, a few doctors and lawyers. The majority came solo; others hand-in-hand and interfaith or happily married in matching outfits, like Emily and Rachel Leavitt — my Secret Santa, er, Mystery Moses.

It’s a mix of die-hard camp people reliving their glory days, once-homesick campers redoing their awkward years, and first-timers wondering what all the fuss is about. “My parents were immigrants from Iran! They didn’t know about camp!” says Baha Aghajani, 30. Neither did Saraf Shmutz, 39, who moved from Tel Aviv to San Diego. “My summers were ‘go play soccer and bug off.’”

As a writer who hasn’t been back to her camp, Young Judaea, in New Hampshire, in 25 years, I signed up to learn what’s moving Jews to opt for uncomfortable bunk beds and kosher-style mess halls, in lieu of a real vacation.

Trybal isn’t the only over-21 camp cropping up these days. Nor is it the only Jewish one. Camp Nai Nai Nai, which also operates on both coasts, and attracts a post-college, more conservative crowd. And “55+” Orthodox Jews have been davening at summer retreats for decades at places like Isabella Freedman where campers crochet kippahs and take day trips to Tanglewood, in the Berkshires.

Trybal is arguably the only camp, though, that starts the day with an “Abe Weissman Workout,” a calisthenics routine straight out of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” (Tomato juice refreshers included, but no rompers.)

It’s also, explains Ms. Warsawski, “a place for people who are more -ish than Jew.” Like Molly Shapiro, 28, of Berkeley. ““This is my jam!” she says. “Synagogues today aren’t really designed for us. We want something less traditional, more affordable, more fun. I mean, playing cornhole isn’t Jewish, but we’re playing cornhole together!”

Togetherness is what Trybal is all about. The schedule is packed from early morning to midnight with get-to-know-you-games and group activities like partner massage and mah-jongg, pickling and pool time.

The next morning, I pass up dreamcatcher-making for challah baking. “Oh yeah, this is what I’m here for,” says Abel Horwitz, a young Robert Downey Jr., kneading dough we’ll later braid and adorn with toppings beyond the traditional sesame. Rainbow sprinkles. Peaches. Jalapeños. “Will 20 loaves be enough for all 60 of us tonight,” some Jews worry.

Next, it’s a tossup between the relationship workshop and the ropes course. I decide I like humans more than heights and head over to hear what the visiting Rabbi Sherre Hirsch, has to say. She reads a passage from the 20th-century philosopher Emmanuel Levinas and tells us to partner up. A 26-year-old named Sam and I stare into each other’s faces for a full five minutes. “Sit with the discomfort,” the rabbi urges. Reluctantly, I do. I smile. He winks. I wiggle, examining his wrinkle-free forehead and bushy eyebrows bound to grow bushier in old age, until my awkwardness turns to calm. I’m overwhelmed by a deep feeling of curiosity and compassion for this man, for myself, for humanity.

“That was a good reminder,” Ms. Aghajani says afterward. “To give people more of a chance. To not swipe so fast.”

After a grilled cheese buffet, there’s solar art and yoga and Slip-n-Slide kickball. I head for the hammocks, where a guy with long red hair is lounging in a tie-dyed Helvetica T-shirt that reads “Falafel & Sabich & Hummus & Schwarma.” It’s his third Trybal. He is the camp guitarist, and a rocket scientist in real life.

“I come to be a kid again,” Jeremy Hollander, 34, says. He pauses. “And to, you know, be with my people.” In real life, he doesn’t bring up the fact he’s Jewish. “‘Hollander’ isn’t ‘Schwartzenbaum’. People see me and usually think I’m Scottish or something.” He feels safer that way. Especially today, he says, with rising anti-Semitism. “The flame is being fanned. You never know who has what opinions. Here, I can let my hair down.” (Although, technically, it’s in a ponytail.)

“The only one thing I have to worry about at camp,” he says, “is when am I going to squeeze in a shower?”

Still, before sundown, we all emerge from our bunks neat and clean and dressed in white. “Can you believe I got this for $2.99 at Saks Off Fifth!” exclaims Lauren Katz, a volunteer staffer wearing lace. (We can’t.)

Picture time. “Say Cheese!” the camp photographer instructs. “But we’re lactose intolerant!” someone cries from the crowd.

We gather in a stone-lined grove, to sing and sway and cheek-kiss “Shabbat Shalom,” before making our way to the dining hall for a sit-down dinner of roast chicken. And, of course, plenty of challah.

It’s all so familiar to me. The tunes are different, but the Hebrew words are the same. The trees are eucalyptus, not pine, and Mr. Hollander is not the longhaired, tie-dye-clad musician from my old camp, and yet — he could be.

I agree with what he said earlier. There is something easy and assuring about spending a summer weekend like I used to (albeit for eight whole weeks): with my people. Or, at least with people who remind me of my people. New friends bonded by old memories.

Trybal is like a modern millennial shtetl, where gesundheits fly. And “Hava Nagila” plays at a Hawaiian luau. And campfire stories include, “How I Became a ‘Nice Jewish Guys’ Calendar Model.”

It’s an alternate, insular world where I find myself running through a field, streaked in war paint, chanting: “We have spirit, because we’re Blues! We have spirit because we’re Jews!”

It’s a universe where conversation flows from the Netflix show “Shtisel” to the lack of Jews in Santa Barbara to the universal disdain for online dating (despite the fact that Trybal is sponsored by JSwipe), to whether Ms. Rosenberg indeed met her future husband.

“We’ll see,” she says, smiling. She did make-out at Arts & Crafts with the Trybal barista: a boy she barely remembers being at her bat mitzvah.

On the last night, I slip quietly out of the luau, where the D.J. is rocking “Lean On Me.” I leave the Leavitt ladies in their twin Hawaiian shirts and my Rosé bunkmates dancing the macarena. Mr. Shmutz and the Cabernets are making reunion plans. Mr. Blake is flirting with one of his crushes.

I have an early flight to catch. Back to my husband and kids and, in a way, the future. In the morning, I’ll miss the friendship bracelets and the compliment circle and, like a true last day of camp: tears. For a moment I have FOMO. And then I realize, it’s fine. Sometimes an Irish goodbye is just as good as a Jewish one.

Rachel Levin is a contributor to the Travel section and the author, with Wise Sons Deli, of “EAT SOMETHING,” to be published in March, by Chronicle Books.

52 PLACES AND MUCH, MUCH MORE Follow our 52 Places traveler, Sebastian Modak, on Instagram as he travels the world, and discover more Travel coverage by following us on Twitter and Facebook. And sign up for our Travel Dispatch newsletter: Each week you’ll receive tips on traveling smarter, stories on hot destinations and access to photos from all over the world.

Sahred From Source link Travel

from WordPress http://bit.ly/2LHUz87 via IFTTT

[reynewcw-blog]

“Uncle Zhen.”

Zhen cracked open an eye to see the soft tear-streaked face of his nephew Brandyn, or Bran for short, standing before him in his galactic PJs, his inky black hair a bit rumpled and skewed. It was easy to wake up, it always was, but especially when he caught the decrepit stench of sickness. The flush high on Bran’s face also gave him a better understanding of just why Bran would be standing at his bedside.

Sitting up, Zhen’s hand pressed against the mattress as the other reached to feel his nephew’s forehead down to his cheeks. “You’re sick.”

Bran nodded, black eyes watering and lower lip quivering. “I made a mess,” he lowered his eyes, ashamed, “I’m sorry. It’s on the floor. I just woke up a-and-” His breath hiccuped, a sob starting to work its way up his throat while Zhen shook his head and slid to his feet.

“No hey, you’re fine. There’s nothing wrong. You did nothing wrong. You’re sick, kid. It happens. You know how many times I woke up puking on the floor? Too many times.” He bent his knees and scooped up his nephew. “Here’s the deal,” he glanced at the alarm clock and saw it was two in the morning. “I’m going to run you a hot bath so you can clean up. First, brush your teeth though and then after, get in. As you get clean, I’ll clean...yeah? And I’ll make you soup. You want soup?”

Bran rested his head on Zhen’s shoulder as he walked out of the bedroom and into the restroom. Within a few moments the tub was filled with steaming hot water while Bran brushed his teeth with the minty adult toothpaste since he always thought the kid’s brand tasted horrible. Zhen left him to get undressed while he took one deep breath and set off for the supplies.

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

“101.3” Zhen frowned at the thermometer and clutched it marginally tighter in his hand, clearly concerned as his nephew stayed in bed that morning. “A little better since before. You sure you don’t want to go to the doctor?”

Bran shook his head sharply a few times, “No I just want to stay home. Please?”

Zhen didn’t like going to the doctor either and Bran hated it even more. Still he did give his nephew a long look and replied, “Fine but if you go over 103 I’m taking you. I’ll be checking every hour understood?”

With that said he rubbed Bran’s head and stood as he handed over the tablet, “Now listen it’s fine for you to lie here and watch videos but it’s better to sleep. So don’t fight it.”

“Okay. Thanks Z,” Bran whispered while getting settled back in bed with his nightstand of orange juice, water, crackers, and animal cookies to settle him while he pulled up Youtube.

Zhen left the bedroom, hand dragging down his face as he went into the kitchen. It was five in the morning now and he had just spent the past three hours cleaning the room, bathing Bran, and then staying up with him as he puked once more before he finally got into bed.

The aftermath meant Zhen had to clean a little more of the two bedroom apartment to make sure no puke remained and the sweat soaked sheets Bran had been in before Zhen changed them were in the wash. After, Zhen sat on the couch, tired from only three hours of sleep and the concern of caring for a sick child. He turned his head and glanced up the wall to see one of the few photos he actually had hanging. Daiya was in it with a baby Brandyn, smiling sweetly with her arms wrapped around her son.

He could recall that day as a ten month old Brandyn was dressed up in a tiny suit and bowtie while Daiya fussed over what to wear.

“Dai,” Zhen sighed, clearly tired of hearing the same line from his sister as she tore through her closet. “No offense but no one is going to give a shit about what you’re wearing. It’s all gonna be about Bran. He is the focus of the picture. And besides you’re gorgeous, you don’t need to go to a stylist beforehand.”

Dai shot Zhen a scathing look, “You suck at talking people up. I know I look fine enough for a photoshoot but I want this to be special! We missed our first appointment when he was five months old because of how sick he got, remember? I just.” She picked at the sleeves of her dress and frowned, “I want it to be right. I want this photo to stick around on our walls and for him to look back on it in ten years and appreciate having this. Without his mother looking like a train wreck.”

“You don’t look like a train wreck,” Zhen gruffly responded. “Yes you worked two shifts back to back but you look great. You shouldn’t be so concerned. It’s fine.”

“I want better than fine,” Daiya grumbled as she kicked off the heels she had on and exchanged them for slide on flats. “...And I want you in the photos too.”

Zhen shook his head, “No can do. No. Sorry.”

Rolling her eyes she said, “Zhen come on if you’re worried about your scars I can get some concealer and hide them. We can get them to photoshop them out. Please,” she pressed her hands together, lip puckering out as her lashes fluttered. “For me? For Bran?”

“I can’t,” Zhen’s voice was concise, a bit strained. “I have...I have to meet with my superior officer. This is the third debriefing I need to go to.”

“How long ago did they tell you this,” Daiya furrowed her brows, skeptical of her brother who only scratched over his jaw. “Mm. They called last night. You know I can’t say no.”

“Haven’t you already been through that case? It’s over, it happened. You told them everything you could why do they keep harassing you,” Daiya was annoyed now. She moved without all her usual grace as she looked at her reflection in the dresser mirror and lined her eyes in kohl.

“They use methods to see if there might be anything I forgot. The shock of the attack muddled my memories,” Zhen’s voice was monotone, a clear repetition of what he had heard a thousand times before. “Through certain psychotherapy methods and tactics they can begin the process of untangling my memories and figuring out if there are any missing pieces.”

“Sounds like a lot of bullshit reasons for them to keep tabs on you and try to trip you up.”

“Dai-”

“Just be careful alright. I know you’re all ‘hoo-rah the army rules’ but these people are not your family. The ones in your special ops team might have been but the ones that sent you on missions could not give a shit about you or how you’ve recovered the last few months.” Daiya reached into the crib by her bed and pulled out the sharply dressed Bran. “They don’t care that you’ve woken up screaming or that I myself had to shake you awake when your whole body became paralyzed in your dreams. They don’t care that you’re still in pain or that you flinch anytime the microwave goes off.”

Zhen’s shoulders raised and his arms tightly wound over his chest, “If there’s any...any chance that I can remember a detail to help them close this case and find the head of the ring they’re looking for then I’ll do whatever they need Dai. It’s not about them or my honor it’s about cutting away someone who has terrorized innocent people for the last decade.”

Daiya frowned at him sadly, “...For you it is. For them? It’s not. It’s really not Zhen...look just. Lock the door when you leave. I love you.” She left with a kiss to his cheek and headed out with Bran.

The photos had turned out to be beautiful. As Zhen expected them to be. And as per her hopes they lined the walls here and there while all the rest were tucked away in storage. He regretted not being in them, but they had enough candids of day by day moments that it sort of made up for it. He couldn’t recall what all happened in that meeting that day but he did remember coming home that night and having to be talked down in the kitchen by Daiya. It had been a blur of pain and panic and he had ruined her day double by coming apart in front of the fridge curled up like a child while her baby cried in the other room.

That was the weekend before he decided to finally go to a psychologist and start taking meds. He only ever went to his appointments when it was time for a refill and liked to avoid anyone else from trying to shrink his head.

Doctors in general were avoided but he just felt guilty that his aversion seemed to be sinking into Bran as well.

“Uncle Z,” Bran’s voice cried down the hall. Zhen instantly got up, racing from the living room to the bedroom he stopped in front of the door.

“Bran? You alright,” he rushed over, hands hovering, but Bran just nodded.

“Can you lay with me,” Bran asked, voice small. “I want to sleep but I…”

“Yeah buddy,” Zhen didn’t need to hear the rest of his reasoning, he climbed right in and shifted the pillows up so he was elevated. It helped his feet not to hang completely off the mattress and so he opened his arm up so Bran could snuggle right in against him. “Just try to sleep alright? I’ll be waking you up from time to time to check your fever but we should be okay.”

“Alright,” Bran whispered, yawning as he rested his head on Zhen’s chest. “Thanks Zhen.”

“Sure thing.”

As Bran slept, Zhen would doze in and out of his subconscious, mind flickering to thoughts of Daiya as his mind also took sharp turns thinking of what he needed to do to avenge her.

He could hear her voice, soft and insistent, “They don’t care…”

He thought about the folder in his car that detailed a few suspects that also fed on sexual energy handed to him from a handler. “They don’t care…”

Frowning, Zhen turned on his side and pulled Bran to his chest, rumbling with anger and sleepy irritation. He didn’t care if they didn’t care. No one else was going out there to rid the world of demons that drained humans dry and wrecked people’s lives. If he had to keep pushing himself to find her killer then he would. The Handlers could use him as much as they wanted while he used them in return for their information.

If it meant keeping people safe, if it meant keeping Bran safe...then to hell with it. He’d risk everything.

“They don’t care that you’re still in pain…”

Yeah well, Zhen didn’t care that he was still in pain either. None of that was important when he had a kid to protect and a demon to rip apart for what they did.