#this took me like 15 to 20 minutes so it is not very polished at all bear with me okay

[catboy-draws]

Quick wip before she gets fuckin murdered

[campbyler]

ok. a genuine question. how do u guys write 20-30k *chapters* bc i will outline fics minutely or i will just let myself start writing based off a vibe & either way i will get 600 words out of maybe. two hours of work. on a good day with no distractions/interruptions, & i very much do not have an uninterrupted two hours to write very often, so you can imagine how slowly things get written T_T so i’m interested if there’s any aspect of any of your writing processes that really enables u guys to write so much or if it’s not really something you think about? anyways i really like ur guys’s work, & thank you for deciding to write for byler bc i know me and a lot of people enjoy it a lot. thanks!!

hello !! this is a super valid question and i’ll try my best to answer it for you 😗✌️

andi infamously writes a lot faster than thea and i do (she finished draft 1 of chapter 3 in like. two days. which was so scary. i’m in awe of her fr) but she has also spent a lot of time editing ch3 so it’s definitely not like these chapters are publish-ready in a short amount of time by any means! it took thea a couple of months total to fully write + edit ch1 and it took me about 3.5 weeks to write ch2 and another two weeks to edit it which is part of the reason we’ve spaced out our posting schedule like we have — we put a lot of effort and care into these updates and we want to give ourselves as much time as possible to get ahead before all 3 of us inevitably get so super busy with work and/or school in the fall!! so while we do write a lot, please don’t think we are so insanely speedy about it because unless we are having Really Good Writing Days, that’s definitely not the case. sometimes we do have days where we are really in the zone and write more than usual, but at least for me, this is so so so rare. whatever i write in this time gets heavily edited because so much of it was nonsensical brain vomit LOL

as far as writing process goes, i think one of the things that motivates us a lot is that we genuinely do just talk about this au constantlyyyyy like we’re always coming up with silly little hcs or drawing for it or adding to the Lore ™️so we’re always getting inspired to write! all three of us are definitely people who use writing as a way to relax or even reward ourselves after a long day; we would probably die if we had to go too long unable to :/ messages like “i can’t wait to get home and write after work today” or “i’m going to write a little bit of ___ before bed because i deserve it” are very commonly found in our gc because we really just look forward to it so much! as for our scary word counts, i feel like there is a lot of worldbuilding in this universe specifically, and pacing is really important to us — we want to make sure introductions and set-up to a scene and character interactions are meaningful and flow naturally, and building tension (which is a hallmark of this fic hehe) does take some time, which can definitely add up word count-wise.

for the most part, none of us usually have a solid few hours to sit and write either (unless it’s on our days off or after work if we’re not too tired) and we get a lot of writing done in chunks! we hold each other accountable for short check-ins (“ask me for a snip in 30 minutes”) which is super helpful when you’re stuck, because it kind of forces you to get Something down without worrying if it’s super polished and edited and perfect. if you’re writing on your own, something i’ve started doing lately is setting a 15 minute timer and just seeing how much i can get done in that time, and then setting another and doing it again (up until however much time you have to write that day). i’ve found that the artificial deadline helps break the monotony of sitting in front of your computer for Hours on end with nothing to show for it bc TRUST we’ve all been there and it sucks so bad 😔✊

this got super long so i apologize but i hope at least a little bit of it was helpful! it definitely helps that we are constantly feeding into each other (i.e: having brainrot) and offering inspiration and advice, which does wonders for creative flow tbh. we’re definitely not cranking these chapters out as quickly as people might seem to think — thea started chapter four, which won’t be posted for about a month, maybe a week or two ago. i just started chapter 5 — about 6 weeks away — yesterday lol so we do take our time! don’t be scared by the giant chapters, we just had a lot of content we wanted to include in each one and are in too deep to take anything out 🥳🥳 thank you for the question! good luck with your writing we believe in you 🫡

[nonuggetshere]

If you don't mind asking, what was the longest time you ever spend in a drawing? -🦂

Oh jeez, I think it must be this one commission I did for a friend that took me like 19-20 hours (painted background, detailed shading, all that jazz). But it's very possible that it's actually a different commission for the same friend that was all painting, but unfortunately, I don't have the raw file anymore to check the time. But I think it'd also be around 20 hours

These are the extremes though, most of my fully finished artworks take around 3-7 hours to complete, depending on the polish and the detail. The longest I took on a non-painting drawing is 9 hours, and it's this one

Didn't even do the background, lol, it's just an edited photo I took. I fully blame the jacket for that time

If we're counting other art projects, my Brutus animatic, Poplar St MAP part, She Wants Me (To Be Loved) MAP part and Spiral of Ants MAP part 22 triumph over anything else. I can't give you the exact numbers but I can make an estimate

Brutus I made in 3 days, barely sleeping and just chugging through that bad boy like my life depended on it. It was fully made in FlipaClip so I'm not sure about the exact time but excluding the time I slept, rested and ate, it probably took like around 12-18 hours. Which is insane considering how unfinished it is compared to the other projects on this list LMAO. I just remember it took a long time and I was exhausted by the end.

She Wants Me (To Be Loved) took me around 6 hours and 35 minutes to draw character references, then 15 hours and 35 minutes on all the frames, then putting it all together in FlipaClip and tweening it probably took me like another hour? So around 23 hours total.

Poplar ST was my first fully lines and coloured frame by frame animation. The references for the characters took me 4 hours and 15 seconds, and all of the scenes combined took me 26 hours and 12 minutes, then I had to put it all into FlipaClip and animate it which I'd again estimate to around an hour of work, makes it an around 31 hours long project.

Spiral of Ants part 22 was a massive beast, but not even because of the finished product but mostly because I almost finished a different version of that part before losing momentum and deciding on something else entirely. The three frames (one of which is lost to time) of this original concept took 12 hours and 27 minutes to make. Unfortunately, the reference sheets were on my old phone so I don't know how long they took, but seeing how long the other references took me and considering the amount of characters in this, I'd say 4-5 hours is a fair estimate. Then after that didn't pan out, I made two storyboards for my ideas for this part, which took me 3 hours and 54 minutes. Then the references for that took me 4 hours and 51 minutes. Then making the frames for that took me 11 hours and 30 minutes, and tweening I'd say took me around 2 hours in total. In total, that's roughly 40 hours of work for one MAP part.

But these are all animations, so it's a given that they'll take way longer than a singular artwork

As a bonus, have these frames for the original Spiral of Ants concept that never was and some of the refs that survived Nuking (phone change)

(that fire frame alone took me 6 hours)

[vickikowalewski]

Day 17 - June 8, 2023: Zermatt

I checked out of my Airbnb in Lucerne. It was a very nice stay but I was excited for Zermatt. I had two choices of trains but I decided to take the slightly longer train that didn’t switch platforms in Bern. Sometimes smaller stations are just easier to switch platforms and my check-in wasn’t until 4pm so I had time. I forgot it was a national holiday so I saw my train had food service, but I realized it was closed when I got on the train. Ugh, I needed my coffee. I ended up having a 20 minute layover at a smaller station and amazingly, there was a Dunkin’ and it was open! I laughed talking to the worker at the Dunkin who looked very young (traditional Dunkin worker), the American company doesn’t follow traditional Swiss holidays. It’s always open! I ordered a coffee crème donut which was to die for. Tastes nothing like Dunkin’ in the USA. A million times better.

I finally arrived around 2:15pm. The train from Visp was more chaotic than I expected and this is the low season. I managed to get luggage storage and a seat but there was nowhere to sit or put luggage for many people. The conductor was yelling at everyone to take a seat and store the luggage somewhere safe. Lots of non-English speakers who had no idea what was going on. Also, all the toilets except one was broken. I waited over 15 minutes for a very questionable toilet. It was a mess.

Eventually I arrived to Zermatt. Wow, what a place! I didn’t realize it is a car free town. Only cars you’ll see going by are small electric taxis and hotel shuttles. Some of the hotels are on hills so I understand it would be conducive to have a shuttle for heavy packers.

I had some time so I took some pictures because the weather was nice and the Matterhorn was peaking his head, which I’ve heard seeing the Matterhorn in Zermatt is very hit-or-miss. You enjoy the views and weather when you can because the weather is completely unpredictable.

I had tons of recommendations from the Canadians living in Switzerland so I decided to consider trying those places out. I was planning on heading to a recommended pub when I saw a Creperie place called Stefanie’s Creperie that was highly recommended to me. I was told it’s supposed to be open daily but she’s Swiss, so she opens and closes whenever the hell she feels like. Sometimes she’s even closed for days or weeks at a time if she doesn’t feel like working. It’s a tiny place you go to the window and it’s cash-only. Below and behold, she was open! I went ahead and got a crepe for her because I didn’t know when she’ll be open again. There was also no line, which I was told there’s always a long line. I felt like I hit the jackpot even though I heard Stefanie is can be super rude, which I can confirm she is rude. I got a salmon crepe and it was divine. I ended up washing it down with a beer from the Brown Cow Pub, another recommendation to me, to kill time until check-in.

I wasn’t 100% sure what to do after check-in because everything closes so early in Switzerland. I decided to use another recommendation from the Canadians to hike up to Edelweiss restaurant at the top of a mountain before it closed at 6pm. It was a challenging 45 minute uphill hike but the really amazing views at the top made it well worth it. I was surprised to learn that it was a hotel too and people have to hike uphill with luggage to stay there. The owner was so kind and gracious. Really, really nice guy. How can you be stressed when you live with those views and peacefulness? It started to drizzle at the top so I went inside to enjoy some famous homemade apple pie and homemade iced tea.

I eventually got back to my hostel and freshened up, then went out for a light dinner but ended up ordering meat fondue. I knew the weather would be nice tomorrow and I would be hiking a lot so I felt okay with my decision. When I got back to my hostel, I met a Polish Norwegian who was a nurse and we had a great chat. Even better, there were two open beds for some reason so we basically had a 4 bed room to ourselves. It was great. I was exhausted so I passed out fairly early knowing I needed to wake up early to go hiking.

[fivelakesinwriting]

The Other Woman {Ward Cameron}

Author's Notes: Ward has a mistress - but part of me also feels like Rose was the mistress at another point in his life. I have a feeling this story is very niche, but I wanted to write it. So..here we go. Please let me know what you think if you have a moment! xoxo

Warnings: Cheating, obviously. Character is very much of age - I'm thinking mid 30s.. Drinking, Sexual tension - sexual references/innuendos

Requested? Nope, kinda think this is just for me.. Requests for OBX are open.

*My work is not to be transferred, copied, translated or reposted to any other sites without my permission. Please see my masterlist for all other works and warnings. Thank you! xoxo

His house was quiet, and that wasn't very common. For a man with three children - all within their teen years- it wasn't often that he had his grandiose home to himself.

Ward Cameron sat at his large, well polished desk and looked out the bay windows at the expansive property he had worked so hard for. He reached into the crystal vase upon the desk and pulled out a cigar, running his fingertips over it as he thought about the time he had to himself.

He placed the cigar delicately back on the desk and then reached for his cell phone. He opened up his contacts and scrolled through to find her name, then hit the dial button.

The phone rang, rang and rang. She liked to make him wait despite the way he had told her, many times, he didn't like to be kept waiting. He tapped his fingers impatiently against the wood of his desk as he approached the sixth ring, her voicemail about to pick up.

"Hi." Her voice sang on the other end of the voice, out of breath.

"Where were you?" Ward asked gruffly as he placed his cigar back in the crystal vase. He wasn't ready for it just yet.

"I just got finished working out, Ward." She breathed out.

"Yoga or Pilates today?" Ward inquired, his voice low.

"Treadmill. I'm sweaty and disgusting." She replied, that cocky smile and eyebrow raise beyond evident.

"Good. Don't change. I'll be over in 15 minutes." Ward stated as he stood up from his executive seat, and reached for his keys at the edge of his desk. He hung up the phone and made his way quickly from his office at the corner of the house and out to his vehicle, still warm from the setting sun.

He made it to her home in record time. The small house that could fit inside Tannyhill almost three times over sat between The Cut and Figure Eight - No Man's Land - as his wife kindly called it. There wasn't a lot around, not even other houses, but he knew that's why she liked it.

Ward parked his car, his shiny black SUV a sore thumb in front of her home. He clicked the lock button on his fob twice, to be sure, then made his way towards the front door.

"A 7p.m booty call? Man, you are old." She smiled as she opened her front door, and leaned against the frame to watch him as he made his way up the steps of her porch.

"Well, some of us don't have the luxury of living alone. Do we?" Ward asked as he ascended the stairs and made his way over to her, slow but with intention.

"Where is our friend Rose tonight?" She questioned as she pushed her body of the door frame to stand in front of him, her eyes scanning his body. So perfectly dressed for every occasion.

"At a meeting for the Women of Outer Banks Ladies Who Lunch Event." Ward grinned, his hands in his pocket.

"That's disgusting." She grimaced as she stood on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck.

"Ladies need lunch." Ward replied with a shrug while he removed his hands from his pockets to place them on her hips.

"I wouldn't know. I don't get invited to those types of events." She replied as she placed her hands on his shoulders, then slid her hands down to his chest.

"Yeah. Well, you don't want to be around those women anyways." Ward mumbled , his eyes looking just passed her and into the small home.

"Come inside, Ward. I'll make you a drink. Something fun. You've been drinking straight from the bottle for too long." She smiled as she removed her hands from his chest to take his hand and pull him inside.

Ward let the woman lead him inside her home, his eyes all over the objects inside as he familiarized himself with everything once more. He closed the door gently behind him then made his way up behind her as she looked over her small collection of bottles on a small bar cart.

"I always keep just a tiny bottle of scotch here for you, even though it's disgusting. I think you should have something fun, with lime or something. But it's your choice." She stated as her back was to him, the bottles clanking together as she read the labels.

Ward closed the distance between them, his chest pressed to her back as he stood directly behind her. He took hold of her waist and turned her around. A small smile passed his thin lips as she gasped at his firm touch. His rough fingertips smoothed over the curves of her body, catching on the material of her clothes.

"You're not that sweaty." Ward mumbled as his hands reached beneath the waistband of her shorts to gently touch her skin.

"It took you forever to get here." She quipped with a smirk, a small shiver running down her spine at the feel of his hands on her.

Ward chuckled at his lover's impatience. The drive from Tannyhill to No Man's Land was less than 15 minutes, 10 with the way he drove. He rolled the waistband of her tight workout pants down, showing off her hips. He pressed his forehead to hers and let her unbutton the first few buttons of his shirt.

"How do you feel about going for a ride on the boat next weekend?" Ward asked as he pressed a kiss to the side of her face, his hands firmly on the sides of her ass.

"You want to take me out on your yacht?" She questioned as she pulled back to look up him, a smile crossing his face.

"I wouldn't call it a yacht, but yes." Ward grinned, a hand removed from her backside to reach up and push a piece of hair behind her ear.

"What about -"

"Rose and the girls will be out of town for some sort of bonding trip. And Rafe will be, well. I don't know where Rafe goes, but he won't have the boat." Ward replied with a soft sigh as he placed his hand on the side of her neck.

"You know, you're too hard on him. You were a 19 year old boy at one point your life, too." She stated as her fingers continued their trail down his shirt, undoing his buttons.

"Well, when I was 19 years old I was working three jobs and paying my own way through school. Not asking for handouts on top of allowances. He and I, we're different." Ward sighed as he removed his hands from his lover, slowly backing away from her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up. I know that he's kind of an issue for you right now." She replied, as she ran her hands over her face.

As Ward opened his mouth to reply, he touched his pocket, a deep sigh rumbling in his chest. He pulled out his phone and brought it to his ear.

"Hello, sweetheart." Ward greeted, pasting on a beaming smile despite how his eyes looked so sad over at his lover.

"I'm just at the office finishing up a few contracts. Do you need me now?" He asked as he placed his other hand in his pocket, pacing the small living room.

"Okay. I'll be there in about 20 minutes, meet me in our usual pick up spot. Love you too, Wheezie." Ward ended the conversation with his youngest, then placed the phone back in his pocket with another heavy sigh.

He looked across the room at her again, his eyes apologetic. He took the few steps over to her and wrapped her in his arms again, placing a small kiss to the top of her head.

"I have to go." Ward mumbled as he pulled her close.

"It's okay. Guess I'll just shower without you." She replied, a small smile on her face as she pressed a kiss to his chest.

"I suppose so. But next weekend I'll be here early in the morning to pick you up to take you out on the water, okay? I promise." Ward stated, a smile of his own crossing his lips.

"Whatever you say, Ward." She shrugged as she placed her hands on his sides, under his unbuttoned shirt to keep him close.

Ward leaned down to press his lips to hers, the whiskers of his beard tickling to soft skin of her face. As quickly as his lips were there, he pulled away. He took his hands off of her to begin buttoning up his shirt once more. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and slowly made his way towards her front door again, his fingertips touching his lips before he turned back to her.

"9am. Saturday. I will be here and I expect you to be out front waiting for me." Ward stated firmly, a small smile on his bearded face.

"Yes, sir." She replied as she brought her hand to her head for a salute.

Ward pointed a finger at her with warning before he tossed her a wink and walked out the front door towards his car, which he was always surprised was still there. He got in the car and drove off of No Man's Land, his hopes alive for the chance to come back on Saturday to take her for a ride on his boat.

Please let me know what you think if you have a moment - perhaps a sequel for a boat ride, if there's interest? Thank you!! xoxo

Requests for OBX are open!

[rigelmejo]

An interesting bit from the Listening Reading Method article http://users.bestweb.net/~siom/martian_mountain/!%20L-R%20the%20most%20important%20passages.htm#What_you_expetct_if , since I'm rereading it:

---

I read a page in Polish, I listened to German and looked at the German text, I paid attention to the meaning, grammar, and letters-phonemes correspondence.

Then another page, and so on, until the end of the book. I understood almost everything.

It was the first day.

The second day:

I only read in Polish and listened to the German reader and the same time. I understood everything.

The third day – I only listened to the German reader. I understood almost everything.

I worked ten to twelve hours a day. I made 15-minute breaks every 45 minutes. I did some physical exercises.

I had three meals a day. I slept eight hours a day. I was healthy.

And then I tested myself:

I took a recording in German – it was The Snow Queen by Andersen. I hadn’t read the story before, so I knew nothing about it. And... I understood it...

I noticed something very interesting about intensive L-R (and then natural listening) – after a while (two-four weeks, 10-15 hours a day), speaking (and writing for languages with alphabet) come naturally, there are only two conditions to activate the skills, phonetic training and repeating after the recording here and there while listening to something you understand and enjoy.

ONE MORE THING:

if you’re unable to attach the (or at least some) meaning from what you’ve just read to what you’re LISTENING to, you cannot say it is L-R. I would consider it pointless.

Let me say it once more: L-R is not mechanical.

If you know hardly anything about the language, the first 3 to 5 hours need to be translated word for word with some grammar commentary, the way I did for French, English, and German for Polish learners of the languages. Examples of literary texts for zero beginners. To download:

http://users.bestweb.net/~siom/martian_mountain/mL-R/ai.7z

---

My notes:

I'm of the belief Listening Reading Method works. I tried it for chinese, I did about 20 hours of it one month so I did a slower version of the steps, rather than doing 10 hours each day like the person above I instead did 1-2 hours a day (20 minutes of audio for each chapter so 40 minutes per chapter to do L R Method with the chinese text then English text).

After ~20 chapters doing Listening Reading Method with zhenhun by priest, I was able to go and read stuff that was a bit easier. I was also able to go listen to children's audiobooks and had much better Listening comprehension - before the 20 chapters of L R Method I couldn't follow any audiobook, afterward I could follow the audiobooks of easier reading level stuff like Alice in Wonderland. So i did notice an improvement in "natural listening" skill for easier texts. With some re-listening of chapters I'd done L R Method with (re-listening 5-15 times), I noticed I was able to start following the main plot and many details when Listening to the zhenhun audiobook. So I could listen to the audiobook for main story now (including chapters I hadn't read yet). I also noticed I was able to go from needing to intensively read zhenhun, to after the L R Method experiment being able to extensively read the novel and follow the plot (and a portion of details) fine. So after the L R Method experiment I extensively read 100 pages of my print copy of the novel.

L R Method was by far the fastest way I'd picked up new vocabulary and improved my listening and reading comprehension level. I think if I had stuck with it and done ~40 hours like the person did (so twice as many hours as I did), then I would've noticed my reading level come up to the actual books level detail comprehension and and all, and I would've noticed my natural listening significantly better (as in most to all details) for easier audiobooks (whereas I only improved to "main story gist comprehension" of easier audiobooks after the 20 hours of L R Method I did).

I also think the total-beginner version of L R Method works well with Pleco app. For zhenhun, I would click the loudspeaker button and listen to the TTS as I looked at the English definitions popping up for each word. Then I'd click the loudspeaker again, listening to TTS as I followed along with only the text and ignored the English pop-up definitions. I did these 2 steps, along with re listening to the audiobook chapters using Avenuex's audiobook instead of TTS in the background during work, for 20 chapters of zhenhun. It worked well. And using Pleco gave me a word-for-word translation which made it easier to learn new words and follow the audio initially. So yeah, I definitely think L R Method can work as good as implied if given a proper chance.

[daonepiece]

Heyy artist chan! Im back with questions. AGAIN... so ignore if you dont wanna answer. No pressure. Its for fun!!

On the average, How long does it take to make 1 art piece?

For how long have you been into art? What inspired you the most?

How did you learn anatomy? Do you have any suggestions for learning it?

If inspiration doesn't hit you during some time, what do you do?

What is the longest tine you took to make an art?

Abhi-swannnnn 💖💖 It’s my delight to answer your questions. They are a healthy exercise for the mind. 🥺

========

On the average, How long does it take to make 1 art piece?

It really depends on how much fire I have at the time. Taking my best condition into account, then usually about 2 hours for one shitposting post (😂) and 10-15 hours (about one week in real-time) for one polished art, with neat line and color and all. 

For how long have you been into art? What inspired you the most?

Omg now that I have to count, it’s been almost 20 years since the day I can draw a legible human. O___O The one thing that doesn’t change since day 1 is that human’s beauty fascinates me. I like drawing people so much, mostly their faces and hair!

How did you learn anatomy? Do you have any suggestions for learning it?

1. Observe! Observe! Observe! Observation skill plays a big role. The quicker you develop your ability to look at something and be able analyse it (simplify body parts into basic shapes for example), the easier your learning process will become. 2. Learn about perspective along the way. 3. Put what you learned into practice. 5 minutes figure drawing is definitely a great art workout.

4. Don’t dread if you got something wrong, take note and improve it in the next drawing! Noticing errors in your old works is proof that you’ve leveled up. :D

Here’s some of my sketch => lineart. The initial sketch is often a quick figure drawing, it gives me a general idea about the pose I want, details and further corrections will be done on lineart.

If inspiration doesn't hit you during some time, what do you do?

I take a break! Looooong breakkkk. But when there’s a deadline I can’t avoid then I’ll force myself to cough up some ideas so even at the worst scenario I still have some thing to work with, however terrible I might think they are.

What is the longest time you took to make an art?

About six months... It was when inspiration didn’t hit. It was also a commission I had to finish no matter what. The agony.. TT_____TT Any personal work that took me more than one month to finish is very likely to stay a WIP forever.

========

That’s the end of this wall of text! Thank you for these lovely questions, Abhi-swan X”D

[starry-skies-116]

Gregory Quotes (My AU!!)

1.) “Mother of mercy… Freddy, are you alright!? You look like someone banged you up real bad!”

2.) “My god, there are so many DISEASES in this singular vent…”

3.) Chica: "Freddy... he wants to see you after what happened between the two of you."

Gregory: [visibly afraid, diving under the blankets on the couch and quivering] “Oh, shit- I’m not here, I’m not here! Tell him I’m not here!”

4.) “Damn, I am good.”

5.) “Ah- verbal threat, threatening! I’m being threatened, weewoo, sirens alert, help!”

6.) “That still doesn’t answer my question, Mister Fazbear. Why do I sound like ten-year-old Optimus Prime on a gallon of helium?”

7.) “1 AM. 6 AM is a whole five hours away.”

8.) “No, I’m a hobbit- lady, of course I’m a child! Who else do you think I’d be!”

9.) “I like the dark- the stars shine the brightest in the night.”

10.) “Your desk is made of polished acacia wood with steel bordering painted gold, isn’t it? The coffee table nearby in the corner of the room, too.”

11.) “Life gets busy sometimes for adults. It’s not in my nature to be so judgemental.”

12.) “... I’ll neither confirm nor deny such claims. I don’t trust you enough. But you’re right about my skillset, I’ll say that.”

13.) “...Are those Ferrero Rocher chocolates? In that small wooden bowl on your desk, I mean. Right over… there. Can I have one? Chocolate candies soothe my fears more often than not.” 

14.) “...Is this some adult thing I’m too young to understand?”

15.) “...I want a happy life. Happy and perfect aren’t the same. I just want to be together with my friends and family again… I want to feel safe and loved again.”

16.) “My siblings were affected the most- and we went our separate ways afterwards. That’s what makes me the saddest… I was always a family person- perhaps I loved them wrong. Maybe I’m the reason everything fell apart.”

17.) "NO! No... no! Everything's not okay! I'm a gross, robotic, blue-blooded monster, I hurt you! I hurt someone I cared about and loved! I said horrible things to you, I scared you, I made you cry! Just- leave me alone, okay? I'm sorry!"

18.) “You’re walking on thin ice, Father. I already told you we were over- done. You’re dead to me, you’re just a memory, you hear me? I will NEVER forgive you for what you’ve done to me, and ESPECIALLY to my friends and family. You took my humanity and dignity as well. You’re not my father, my father died that day- you’re my enemy. You get it? You’re DEAD to me.”

19.) “T-They say… you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. Only now do I realize what they mean.”

20.) “Who’s the ‘they’ that always gives me earth-shattering advice, you ask? Well… the entire world, if I have to get specific. It’s not just words that shape my values- experiences are something people tend to remember more prominently, y’know?”

21.) “I’m no longer a memory. I exist- I am alive, reborn again."

22.) “Wait, seriously? Did you really think Father would buy you a Cadillac for your seventeenth birthday?”

23.) “It’s Thirium. The blue stuff is Thirium. I’m losing Thirium, someone hand me a refrigerated canister, please, por favor, hook a friend up?”

24.) “Ten minutes till shutdown, enabled by hardlock settings… yeah, I got time to say my last words, preferably in the form of a tragic Shakesperean monologue, don’t worry.”

25.) “Refer to me as an ‘it’ one more time. I dare you.”

26.) “You gave me my Thirium dose in a juice-box? I… very creative. And how especially considerate of you. Thank you.”

27.) “Excuse you! I’ll have you know that blue blood tastes delicious, and this is coming from someone who’s designed to artificially digest human food!”

28.) “Your negotiation posture is VERY questionable.”

29.) "Be very careful with my biocomponents and follow every instruction down to the last damn word, or there will be hell to pay- I am placing my damn life in your hands, so take care of it, alright?"

30.) “My plushie would always say that tommorow is another day, another life… I’ve had enough of tomorrow. I want to make tomorrow today- what matters is us, and what matters is the present moment- what matters is now. Let’s stop feeling sorry for ourselves and the past- let’s stop wishing for the future and hope for it instead, okay? Better yet… let’s work for it. Together.”

31.) “God be my witness- if this place shall be my living space from now on, I’ll never go hungry again.”

32.) “Haha, yes! Eat my street-rat shorts, you floridian tin-can!”

33.) Gregory: “Uh, yes, I know how to hotwire a car. Of course I do. I interface with technology all the time- I thought all children knew how to hijack a car? What, do they not teach that at school?"

Monty: [visibly exasperated and baffled] "Uh, no- of course they don't! That would be irresponsible, what kind of child-!"

Gregory: "Man, school is lamer than I thought it would be.”

34.) “Oh, what’s that? ‘Androids aren’t programmed to translate information to their receptors as pleasure or pain’? Uh-huh, tell that to my LED raving like a disco on my left temple and giving me a damn-near headache, will you?”

35.) “Fine. I won’t drive, for your sake. Oh, hey, I almost forgot! Shotgun!”

36.) “It says here that you’re cauc…asian. Well, they got that dead-wrong, because we both know you’re white and we were Brits in America.”

37.) “I swear, Michael, you lob one more wisecrack back at me and I just might lose it.”

38.) “Animatronic spaghetti blob monsters… why, oh why does it have to be a bloody animatronic spaghetti blob monster!”

39.) “Oh, so I’m the only one that actually BITES into the Kitkat instead of breaking it apart? Y’all are weird, I’ll be honest.”

40.) “The problem with a lifetime spent seeking knowledge, and a second lifetime spent programming random subroutines in your pastime, is that you know too much, and because of that, you’re bored. And deviants don’t handle boredom too well, y'know?”

[jenivi7]

First Lines Tagging Meme

I'M SO HAPPY TO BE TAGGED IN THIS TWICE!  Thank you @ink-flavored and @clyde-side !! (I almost just did this on my own too because I love babbling about my own fics...)

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line.

Now pinned and under a cut because it became a really long, really good introduction to me and my stories! 

Hello!

Unnecessary and overly wordy introduction/personal musings: I love opening lines so much. When I worked at a bookstore, I used to open books and hardcore judge them on their first lines. I had barely any free time to read at that point so if it didn’t grab me in the first line or two, I put it back. The first Harry Potter book is actually in my pile of really good openers. “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.” (Subtle alliteration, HELLO??) So I'm super excited to see if my own first lines come even close to the standards that I apply to other people lol. MY OWN MONEY IS ON NO. I have the feeling that I'm so frantic trying to get the story down on paper before the good words disappear from my head that I'm not actually paying attention to the first line. BUT LET'S SEE, SHALL WE.

So just straight up going backwards, I've written and posted TWO BRAND NEW THINGS after being away from fandom almost entirely for 10+ years! They're drabble length but they're shiny and new! <3 (All available fics are linked!)

1. Tango:

She teaches them to dance so that they can dance with her but when Atem gets that mischievous smirk on his face and pulls Yugi into his arms, their bodies spark and the dance floor smolders at their heels.

(The fic is so short that this is a full 1/5 of it but actually, I think I crammed all the good stuff right into that first line. This already might be my favorite. Like it says there in the line itself, Puzzleshipping.)

2. No Betting:

Anzu sat at the kitchen table writing carefully calculated answers onto sticky notes before attaching them to a fourth-grade math worksheet.

(Peachshipping! This one doesn't pop off until about line five so here's the rest of that bit:)

She had the same arrangement with her spouse as most parents had. When the kids were good they were hers. When they were bad, they were his. And when they were winning at games because they picked up rules with uncanny speed and read their opponents with more insight than ought to be available to a child, they were definitely, definitely his.

3. If you wanted honesty that's all you had to say (working title):

When he realized that the figure sitting under the game shop display window and smoking wasn’t Ryou, the physical body response was as though it had discovered a coiled snake not two feet away.

(This one! It's a NEW half finished(?) WIP. I actually started this one before the drabbles but wanted to finish before posting it. Then it got out of hand, then work got out of hand, then I started a couple more projects and well. I keep putting words on it though and eventually there will be a Kleptoshipper that turns into Puzzle and Tender for your reading enjoyment. Also, fair warning - don't use song lyrics as a working title. Every time I look at the document I get the song stuck in my head.)

Now we have polished up reposts of old stories for their move to AO3, where I'll basically keep my master archive. Not full re-writes but I fixed a bunch of typos and awkward sentences and they're much stronger for it. Most of these are from a pairings contest way back when so LOTS of different pairings and lots of AUs!

4. Human:

It was like a bad noir, the thought crossed both of their minds.

(Scifi AU, Rivalshipping. That one's not bad for a first line. Actually no link at the time of writing cause the re-edit is going up in like, a half hour? an hour? a half day? It's my next project after finishing this, finishing up the edit and posting it on AO3. Now with link!)

5. Blood:

Fingers through midnight black hair, whispers in his ear, touches that sizzled along the skin, awakening nerves and senses. 

(Dungeonshipping, Pegasus x Otogi, vampires AU. Oh that’s a nice first line! <3)

6. Crazy for You:

The keys are too large and too heavy for the doctor more used to more modern facilities but she doesn't say anything, just follows the orderly as he pulls the large door open.

(Manipulashipping, Anzu x Marik, Psychward AU. Still one of my favorites from that era. Big bold warning though, THIS ONE CONTAINS NON-CON)

7. Finality:

“What are you doing here?”

“Saying goodbye.” Bakura’s translucent arms swept across the graveyard. “Is this not an appropriate place for it?”

(First two or so bits of dialogue as the first first is a generic question. You can tell this is one of the really old ones just by that but it's a sweet, sad little Tendershipper that still has a special place in my heart.)

8. Pieces of You:

Glitter caught the light, leaving shimmering trails in the air as it got everywhere.

(Glittershipping, Anzu x Kisara. Another one that's special to me. Kisara is my girl and my first writing muse. <3)

9. Cambodia:

“It was summer of fifty three...”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute, it can't have been fifty three. You might be that ancient but I'm not. It must have been sixty three.”

(Jiishipping. Yes. Sugoroku x Arthur. HEY, IT CAME UP IN THE RANDOM DRAW FOR THE SHIPPING CONTEST OK. And my writer's brain hasn't backed down from a challenge yet... Another one that takes 4 lines to pop off but it's a good start. Actually, here's the rest of the bit just because I cannot get enough of these two bickering:)

“What do you mean it must have been sixty three? You don't even know what story I'm trying to tell.”

“Am I in it?”

“What?”

“So you're deaf now as well as daft? AM I IN IT?”

“Of course you're in it, y'old coot. Don't know why I'd tell a story without you in it when both grandkids are sitting here.”

10. Coffee and Cigarettes:

"Cigarettes and coffee? That's not a very healthy lunch." 

Mana crossed her legs and took a refined sip of her own coffee even as her company was not. 

(Mischiefshipping, Mana x Thief King Bakura. Oh this one I'm actually sad that it doesn't immediately sparkle in the first line cause it's one of my absolute favorites of everything I've written. And I think it's the only time I've ever written Mana but I LOVED IT AND HER. Oh no! I lied, I've written her at least one other time though I don't think that one quite captures her sheer chaos energy like this one does.)

11. A Million Missed Chances:

Somewhere along the line, someone made a choice.

(This one. THIS ONE. I think this is by far the most epic idea I've tackled. I still don't know if the sheer scale of the thing came across in the actual fic but in my head it was massive and I remember pounding away at my teeny tiny laptop late at night because the whole thing hit me maybe a day or so before the story was due for the pairings contest. We only had a week to write each fic and my really good ideas never came to me before the very last minute. T.T Conquestshipping, Mai x Valon.)

12. A Fear of Falling:

She drove.

Like she always did when something bothered her.

(Oh the first chapter on this is also one of the really ancient ones. Like one of the very first things I wrote. That first chapter really shows its age and is a little shaky but the others are better and the last one is what fits into the chorological order here. Polarshipping, Jou x Mai. One of my very first ships. Probably THE first actually <3)

13. What Our Creators Make Us:

"Well, well." The match flared, scattering dark shadows until it was blown out and the only light that remained was the red glow from the cigarette end. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

(Psychoshipping, Marik x Spirit of the Ring Bakura. With a bit of Bronze, Angst and Tender in the follow up. Old but I'm ridiculously proud of it, hence it's place in the master archive. Ahaha you can tell how old it is though by how clever I think I am. I thought it was funny to make my audience figure out who was talking and not reveal the characters for a good fourth to third of the fic. Ahhhhhhh. Sorry about past me.)

14. A Revolution of the Spirit:

It wasn't fair.  It just wasn't.

That they were close was understandable (you don't get much closer than sharing headspace) but that even now, after deals were made with gods, endless arguments, compromises and the ultimate guilt trip that he had only been a teenager when he willingly sacrificed himself for all of humanity, things she had only half seen and only partly understood even though they had all been there to witness, that even now Atem continued to invade Yugi's personal space as though he belonged there got on her nerves.

(Woah Nelly! That third sentence should probably be three, four and five. Even if I just split it in half we'd continue the pattern of things popping off in the fourth line. I think that's one pattern that's emerging! A really good bit takes me about four lines to set up and deliver! Oh, the challenge was Revolutionshipping, Anzu x Atem, but the fic is actually Spiritshipping, Anzu x Yugi x Atem.)

So confession time, I haven't been out of fandom completely, I just hadn't written my own standalone stories in a very long time. There are a few (ok ok more than a few) long-running rps that @miss-moberg and I have been adding to on and off over the years. I can't resist throwing in a couple of these.

15. Cafe!

The door shut behind them with the soft click of the latch and the exhale of a breath long held.

(This opening line was from December of 2020 when we rebooted a very old Prideshipper and that is a damn good opening line if I do say so myself. I can definitely see the difference now between the newer works and the older ones. I've gotten better, she's matched me pace for pace and eventually something will be finished, I'll work up the courage to ask permission to post it and the whole internet will get to see how brilliant the two of us are together.)

16. Treasure Hunt!

"Ryou, I think you're going to regret letting me tag along on your adventuring this time."  Yugi didn't bother turning away from the airplane's tiny window to see if his seatmate was paying attention.  He was more thinking out loud with his friend playing the role of a convenient sounding board.  "Because I think this trip is the only thing I'm going to talk about ever again."

(One more from RP because it's got that fun, four line punch that we've discovered is a pattern for me! Opening entry is from 2017.)

Also, in truth, my count is a little off when I say I'd been out of fandom 10+ years. I've been away from YGO for that long but I did spend a brief stint in Homestuck where I read a ton of fanfic, flirted with a couple group RPs and even wrote a tiny bit. 9 years without writing a new fic isn't as impressive as saying ‘over a decade’ but it is a little more accurate.

17. What You Will:

In the land of fair Illyria, along a small, sandy stretch of its rocky shore, a ship has come to ruin and one lone woman lies still as death among broken wood.

(The beginning of a Homestuck/Twelfth Night crossover that I'm still determined to work more on someday. It's only got a single chapter but it's magic though now I'm concerned about not being able to recapture that. Not a bad first line though. The style is so different it took me reading it a couple times before going, oh yeeeeeah, that's pretty good!)

18. Relentless:

You pull him to the deck and then across it by the remains of his shirt. Let him say one last goodbye. His ship pillaged, his crew murdered, his hands bound behind his back and at your mercy.

Funny word, that. Mercy.

(The first line is pretty decent but there's that four line combo again! Five but I could basically fix that with a comma. Featuring the troll ancestors Mindfang and Dualscar because every time Hussey introduced new characters they were instantly my favorite.) 

19. Black:

There is dark and there is dark and there is dark and then there is black. She is black. Licorice and coal. She is hate and resentment and everything that tastes bitter, the kind of black that coats the tongue like oil, drips down the back of the throat and keeps going.

(Oh wow. Am I allowed to say that about my own work? A Terezi/Vriska drabble that I'm putting as much here as I think I can get away with because it's so good that it fucks me up a little going back and reading it.)

And here it gets tricky because I think the more recent of the old, old fics are in the Drabbles and Shorts collection on ff.net and I can't see a post date. So I'll just pick a good one to end on.

20. Two Princes:

It was inevitable as the rising of Ra's chariot after a long night, as the flooding of the river banks every spring, and Atem always knew that Yugi's kiss would be as warm and gentle as the evening breeze in the summer that brought relief from the scorching day. It was.

(How about the final honor going to more Puzzle/Blind? This probably has the strongest first line of its era. Actually I'm not sure when it was written. It was just hanging out in my writing folder and, thinking about it, I probably wrote it when I was fading from fandom the first time around but still trying to hang in there. No wait! That’s too sad, we can’t end on that! Lets add one more to the list for the sake of personal narrative!)

21. Linger:

The world doesn't need him anymore. It doesn't need his sword and it doesn't need his pen.

(A tiny Princess Tutu afterward that I wrote for myself. Nice one-two punch in the opener. Also it rounds out the personal story that accidentally developed here with a line later in the fic, "Words, however, never stray far from a good writer..." Like, wait, stop. Past me, how did you know T.T)

Did that take a sudden emotional turn for anyone else or was that just me. Can I offset that a little with an honorable mention? Let’s do that while I collect myself. Here’s one more.

Honorable mention: Ryou and the Thief

There was a storm gathering and too much magic in the air. Much more than occurred naturally and magic at this level was never a good thing.

(I can’t have a list of things I’ve written without having Ryou and the Thief on it. If you click on this one though, BEWARE, it’s old, it’s silly and it has a ton of explicit gay sex that… would be written very differently if we were handling it today I’m sure! This is the first RP @miss-moberg and I ever did together and our excuse to Gemship and Puzzleship turned into us running the boys through a whole adventure based on the Osiris myth. It’s the longest thing I’ve ever completed and I’d still consider it kind of my legacy.)

And that’s the last 21(+1!) stories that I’ve written! 

The clear winner of best first line for me is 15. Cafe! It’s short, elegant and manages to contain a whole mood even without the context of what’s going on and who’s involved. (Spoilers: It’s Seto and Mokuba making an AU escape from Gozoboro.) Close second is Tango, the most recent story. It’s neat to see just how much better I’ve gotten and also really cool to see that even if the first line itself doesn’t contain a punch, it’s usually because there’s a nice, strong idea being set up and delivered in the first four lines (or so). What a pleasant surprise!

AND WOW, this whole tag thing didn't need to be so long! Or personal! Seriously, if you get this tag from me the challenge is only to list the first lines to 20 stories and maybe try to draw one or two conclusions from them. You all thought I was joking when I said I loved talking about my own writing! But actually, I guess it’s fine like this as I ended up using it as a way to re-introduce myself. Like, "Hey, I used to live here a long time ago and oh my god I love what you've done with the place!" Rather than being someone who's just popped up out of nowhere a few weeks ago to creepily bother all your best of the best creators so....

^///^ Hello!

Thanks for letting me ramble!

Tags! I think I've seen most of the authors I follow do this already but on the off chance you haven't been tagged yet: @elexica (checked your blog to see if you'd already done the tag and saw that you're another person returning to writing fanfiction after 10+ years. Same! Hello!!), @danieco, @draconicmaw, @nedjemetsenen (has someone tagged you already?) and two shots in the dark, @miss-moberg and @edmondia (I'm so sorry you two. T.T Please feel free to block me forever.) And please, anyone else who wants to babble about their own writing! Do this, it was so much fun. <3

[9firefly9]

All because of a dare//Tododeku

Midoriya’s POV

Works been pretty slow today. Most of the time I get many people coming to me for tattoos but today only a few people have showed up. I sighed and sat down in the chair behind me and pulled out earbuds. I clicked on Spotify and picked a playlist and waited, waited for someone to show up and ask for a tattoo while I listened to music.

After 20 minutes the door opened. I looked up and standing by the door was a boy with white and red hair. There was a scar on the left side of his face, and even though the scar was there I thought he was beautiful. He was wearing a dark blue shirt that was slightly too tight so it showed his muscles. His gaze was intense but there was a kindness behind it.

He looked at me and walked over to me. “Are you the tattoo artist?” He asked “Yep that’s me.” I said with a kind smile. “I’m assuming you want to get a tattoo.”

“Yes.” He said with a sigh. “Alright then, come and sit over here.” I said patting a chair beside me. He sat down in the chair and I left quickly to gather some tools I needed to give him his tattoo.

Todoroki’s POV

“I dare you to get a tattoo.” Natsuo said with a mischievous smirk.

“Fine.” I sighed and walked over to the Tattoo store near us. I opened the door and looked around. My gaze landed on a boy sitting on the other side of the shop listening to music. He looked up at me making it so I could see his face. His hair was green And he had an undercut. He had black stud earrings and a nose ring on the side of his nose. He has many small cute freckles peppered all over his face. He was wearing a black crop top which gave me a perfect view of his six pack abs. His leg was bouncing up and down which caught my attention. He was wearing skinny jeans and sneakers, there were many stickers on his shoes one of the ones that stood out the most said “Plus Ultra”. I asked if he was the tattoo artist and he happily said he was. He told me to sit down and left after that. Now I’m sitting here looking at the pictures on the wall of tattoos. I had no clue what I wanted to get.

The boy came back and pulled over a rolling table. “So do you know what tattoo you want?” The boy asked reaching for something in the drawer next to me letting me see a skull tattoo on his left arm. I quite liked the skull. It looked nice on him. “Umm could I get a skull tattoo?” I asked nervously. “Sure you can!” The boy said with a smile. It was blinding, I felt like I needed to shield my eyes. “What type of skull were you thinking?” He asked. I pointed to his arm. “Oh, oh ok Yep I can do that. Where do you want it?”

“I’d like it on my right arm.” I said kindly

“Ok.” The boy smiled. He reached over to my arm and examined it for a second. He placed his hand on my arm and I saw he was wearing black nail polish. He looks good in black.

“Ok, you ready?” He asked looking down at me. “Yeah.” I replied.

Midoriya’s POV

Wow this guy must have a very high pain tolerance. The only thing he’s said is said ow a few times. “Is this your first tattoo?” I asked hoping to create conversation “Yes.” He said. But that’s it. He didn’t say anything else. I sighed. Why wasn’t he talking more? “My name’s Izuku Midoriya. What’s your name?” I asked. “I’m Shouto Todoroki.” He replied.

“Well Shouto good news, your tattoo is almost done!” I said grinning.

“Are you always this happy?” Todoroki questioned. “Yep!” I said with a chuckle. I looked over to his face and saw a small smile form on his lips. He’s gorgeous.

After a few hours later I stood up and set my tools down. “Okay it’s all done. Now how would you like to pay, cash or credit?” I asked tilting my head.

“Credit.” Todoroki said. I stood up to go get the credit/debit machine. I came back and handed it over to him. He stuck the credit card in and a name popped up but it wasn’t Shouto Todoroki’s name, it was Enji Todoroki’s name. “This isn’t your credit card?” I said nervously. “No it isn’t. I took it from my dad.” He responded. I was shocked the boy would do such a thing but I let it slide because it wasn’t any of my business. “Thanks for the tattoo.” Todoroki spoke “No problem.” I said with a small smile. “Here.” He said passing me a small piece of paper. The paper had a phone number on it and on the back it said “Call me sometime.” And with that he walked out of the shop.

Todoroki’s POV

I CAN’T BELIEVE WHAT I JUST DID! What will Natsuo say?

“Heyyy Shouto, let me see the tattoo.” Natsuo said with a smile running over to me examining me trying to find the tattoo. I laughed and pointed to my arm. He looked over at my arm and gasped “It looks great on you.” He said his eyes sparkling as he did so. “Thanks.” I said with a small smile.

“Hey Natsuo?” I asked

“Yeah?”

“I didn’t just get a tattoo...”

“Did you get a piercing?!?” He said in shock.

“Uhhh-no. I gave a boy my number.”

“Oooooo my baby brother has a crush~” Natsuo smirked elbowing me in the arm.

“Ahaha, ok! Let’s head home.” Natsuo said and went to walk forward and suddenly froze in place. He slowly turned around and whispered “Don’t tell Fuyumi that I dared you to get the tattoo, ok?” He said with a hopeful smile. “Alright I won’t say anything.” I replied. “Alright! Thank you Shouto!” Natsuo yelled.

Midoriya’s POV

I’ve been staring at the piece of paper Todoroki gave me for 15 minutes now wondering if I should call. What if I mess up my words and embarrass myself, O-or he doesn’t remember who I am, or He gave me the wrong number and I call the wrong person. OH IM JUST GONNA CALL HIM! I picked up my phone and dailed in the number.

“Hello?” called Todoroki’s voice through the phone.

“Hi Todoroki, it’s me Midoriya the one you gave your number to after I gave you your tattoo.” I said nervously.

“Oh, Hi Midoriya.” He said sounding slightly shocked.

After that they talked for hours and hours on end everyday and one day they were no longer talking as friends but as lovers. Every holiday Midoriya’s mom insisted that Todoroki came over to celebrate and Todoroki never complained, he liked hanging out with Midoriya and Inko. A few years later Midoriya and Todoroki moved in together and got married. Two years later after being married they had a child. The child was a girl named Hikari with green hair and had the powers of one for all, fire and ice. Her eyes were grey and turquoise. She was really nice but could also be extremely sarcastic.

Midoriya is very happy with this life. He doesn’t know how he got it but he’s glad he did.

[miyaniacs]

collaboration between @shhhlikeme and @thosenerdy3amthings​

about: Casually scrolling though YouTube Hanamaki suddenly stops. His eyes scan over the title again and again “Most Handsome & Beautiful Haikyu!! Faces”.  As soon as his brain comprehended what he just read, he clicked on it. There was someone out there, ranking him, his friends and the people around them? He HAS to tell Matsukawa. There is no way he can not. Not after what he just saw. Let the vicious cycle begin … 

Link to the video and credits are in the masterlist

Introduction /Oikawa and Iwaizumi

Kageyama and Hinata

written by @shhhlikeme​​

“Hey Kageyama!” Hinata greeted the man standing on his lawn, hopping out of his house like an orange bunny. 

“Why were you calling me when I told you I’d be here in 2 minutes, boke.” Answered the setter, skipping hellos and turning his back to walk to the library. Hinata caught up with him. 

This afternoon, the two college boys / ex teammates planned on heading the local library. Even though they attend different post-secondary schools, they had gotten so used to cramming together everyday in high school for three years that they find comfort in working alongside eachother to pull out the grades they need, even though neither of them were willing to admit it. 

“Oh! Because I thought of something I had to tell you and I didn’t want to forget it when I got out here!” 

Kags was annoyed, as per usual. “Alright.... So are you gonna tell me what it is..........?” 

Hinata‘s mouth formed an “O” as he lifted up his index finger excitedly to say what he’s been itching to tell his friend for weeks......only to not have any sound come out: because he forgot. 

Kageyama glared at him. “You forgot.” 

Shōyo waved his arms around maniacally as they walked. 

“Well crap! Maybe if you got here on time I would have remembered!” 

“Boke. Think. What was it about?” 

Hinata raked his memory with all his might. “Uhhhh......Twitter. Something about Twitter. Oh, right!!! I sent you something funny of Twitter!”

“I’m never on Twitter. And I won’t find it funny.” Tobio mumbled, sliding his phone out of his pocket, unlocking it with his thumb, he pressed the Twitter app that might as well have cobwebs on it. Tobio had like 50+ mentions and 20+ direct messages. 

Looking around his arm to see, Hinata pointed to the screen. “Hey.... why is The Great King messaging you??” 

Tobio was suddenly very interested. “What? He did? What did he say?!”

Retrieving the iphone, Hinata opened the direct message, taking the liberty of shoving his face closer to the screen and reading the message out loud: 

“Oikawa said..... ‘ha guess who’s better again’ ...............then he said..........’once second best, always second best ..... nail polish emoji.....middle finger emoji..............sticking tongue out emoji’............and then there’s a video link. A rank.”

“A rank!?” His blood boiling because his ex-mentor could easily get under his skin, Kageyama ripped his phone out of Shōyo’s hand and brought it close to his face for analysis. 

“Someone put out a ranking?” He inquired. 

“Ouuu lemme see! I think that’s our old coach Takeda on the thumbnail!” Hinata grabbed the phone back, getting excited. 

“No, Boke! Let me hold MY PHONE!” 

The two began a scrappy cell phone tug of war, resulting in a toss of the phone several feet in the air into the neighbours yard. The video had begun playing as they threw it.

The two competitors paused - looked at eachother, then hurdled over the fence, jumping over the lawn gnomes and raced over to the phone that was playing the Rank video. During the race, they slid onto their stomachs on the grass, immediately trying to pry it out of the other’s hands before settling on placing it in the middle as they both held the device.

“Whoaaaaaaaa.” Hinata widened his eyes as he saw the pictures roll to left. “How did they get all these pictures of everyone?!” 

Taking the phone completely and pausing the video, Shōyo rapidly scanned his surroundings as if he’d just seen a red target on Kageyama’s forehead from a distant shooter. 

When he figured the coast was clear, he brought his attention back to the video. 

“WHOA OVER 400,000 VIEWS?!” 

Annoyed, Kags pressed play again. 

“I mean maybe there’s no spies around but it is kind of scary. Where did they get these pictures!?” 

Lying on the grass, Kags bumped Hinata’s shoulder with his own in an attempt to get him to shut up about random shit. “What’s my rank.” He inquired. 

“Hey they put Aone-san at the end all the way at #166!? Well, that’s mean.” 

Kags nudged Hinata again with his shoulder. “What’s my rank, Boke.?”

“And hey that short Ace that you said I fly higher than back in 1st year is at #115! I think he’d be really angry to see that.” 

I don’t care: Kags thought. 

Nudge. “What’s my rank, Boke?” 

“HAHA! ONION HEAD IS AT #77! .......But how did he beat out Lev, looking like a human onion?” Hinata scratched his head. 

Shut up: Kags thought. 

Nudge again. “What’s my rank, Boke.?” 

“Hmmm.... I see a lot of old heads on this list! I guess the person who made this list likes grandpas!.” 

Harder nudge. “What is—“ 

“Awesome! Inuoka is in the Top 50?! Way to—“

Never the patient sort, Tobio Karate-chopped Hinata on the head. 

“WHAT IS MY RANK, YOU IDIOT—!” 

Hinata yelped in pain, turning to scream back in his ear. “—I DON’T KNOW KAGEYAMA, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVEN’T SEEN YOU OR ME IN THE VIDEO YET SO—“

“—WELL SKIP TO AT THE END, THEN! YOU THINK I WOULD BE RANKED ANYWHERE NEAR THE PLAYERS YOU JUST MENTIONED—“

“FINE! I’LL FAST FORWARD IT BUT ONLY IF YOU STOP YELLING IN MY EAR! I NEED TO USE THEM TO PLAY IN MY GAME TOMORROW—“ 

“HEY YOU KIDS WHEREVER YOU ARE GET THE FUCK OFF MY LAWN WITH ALL THAT YELLING BEFORE I CALL THE COPS—“ Yelled a shaky elderly voice from the grumpy old bat that lived on Hinata’s street. 

The boys froze as if that would render them invisible. Kageyama quieted down so that his idiot friend could just fast forward quickly. Given the circumstances, Hinata did, to top 15. 

“Oh, hey! There’s Asahi!” 

The two boys whisper-exclaimed in unison. 

 “Tsukishima should not be in the Top 15.” 

They also said in unison, deadpanning.

“Hey look! It’s me!” 

Both boys exclaimed, seeing rank #13 and #12 roll across the screen.

“At least whoever did this knows I’m better than you, Boke.” Kags muttered.

“Why should you be higher than me?!” Hinata yelled. “You look like the monster Natsu thinks is hiding under her bed!” 

“Oh shut up....” 

Glancing back to the screen, Hinata gasped. “AND THERE IS THE GREAT KING! At Number 5, wow!” 

Kageyama was not happy.

“I mean, I guess I can see why they would mistake Oikawa because he is in all the magazines so they probably have seen him more so I’m only a little insulted about that. But the real question is... WHY would they think Coach Ukai—the guy who smokes a pack a day and can barely jog one lap around the gym—is a better player than ME?! I’m disgusted. And Kiyoko?! She only serves underhand! What kind of stupid video is!? Show me who made it I’m going to send them my highlight tape right now so that they can correct this shi—“ 

Hinata blinked, interrupting his frenemy. “Uh, Kageyama....?” 

Kags stopped his angry rant momentarily to glare at his old teammate. 

“What?!”

“...You do realize that this isn’t a rank for greatest volleyball skill, right? It’s uh..... for looks. How attractive we all are.” 

Upon hearing the new information, Kags’ infuriated face fell. 

“....Really?” 

Shōyo nodded.

“Oh.” 

Kageyama’s entire demeanour changed, switching from shifty— to absolutely careless. He stood up calmly from the grass and dusted off his attire. 

“Then I don’t care.” 

He stated simply, turning to head in the direction of the library again, expecting Hinata to follow with his phone.

“Wait! What are you going to answer The Great King!?” 

Tobio shrugged as he walked away, so, naturally, Hinata took his response literally. Not wanting to be rude and still holding onto Kags’ phone, Hinata responded to Oikawa’s dm that had the viral ranking with a: 

🤷🏻‍♂️ 

Immediately, you could see “.....” on the screen because Oikawa was typing. 

Oikawa: WHY AREN’T YOU ANGRY 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻

“Hm. I guess Oikawa-senpai was hoping for a better reaction out of Kageyama.....” 

In the distance, Kags yelled, 

“HINATA! We have to study. Let’s go!” 

“Coming!” 

Shōyo called, quickly forwarding the video to his own Twitter so that he could send it to Kenma later. He does that with every interesting video he comes across, so maybe Kenma would get a kick out of it. 

Shōyo did not remember seeing Kozume on the list because Kageyama had gone into his distracting rant about unfairness, but Shōyo just figured he had skipped his anti-social friend’s rank when Kageyama made him fast forward to the Top 15. 

Little did he know.......... that the quiet cat boy’s ranking..........was even higher than Oikawa’s.

 taglist ( open ) : @your-local-bnha-writer​​​ @chaichai-the-weeb​​​​ @kageyamasbraincell​​​​  @nekxrizawa​​​​  @ushiwakaflaka​​​ ​ @tendouthighs​​​​  @brokeyiam

[anti-social--princess]

2021.01.02 - a reflection of the best selling Japanese album nearly 22 years later

So this is my latest iteration of attempting to blog about music. Thanks for looking. Let’s get down to business. I kept languishing over what the hell to post about for my first entry in this blog, and it came to me this morning as I was info-dumping to a friend about Hikaru Utada and her debut album First Love (because we were watching Gravitation -- a first for her -- and I had flippantly remarked that Ryuichi Sakuma’s successful USA career was unrealistic and my explanation used Hikki’s disastrous attempt at a USA career for a prime example). Why not reflect on this album, even though clearly so many others have waxed endless about it?

I was 15 years old when I discovered this album -- the same age as Hikki when she released it in 1999. I was 15 in 2005, and to put it simply, exploring the world of Japanese music back then was really something. Newbies have it too damn easy these days. But I digress. And I think it’s important to highlight that bit about being 15. I simply saw her as a musical genius -- more so because I learned that is the all-time bestselling Japanese album and she was my age when she made it. And that simply threw young me for a whirl. Ayumi Hamasaki was my favorite person back then (and she still is, 15 years later), but I couldn’t deny Hikki’s “inherent” artistry.

Now, as I tumbled through my 20s, I had a problematic tendency to regress into a more immature state of mind and follow what some of my friends in the jpop fandom were saying about this album. Which is to say, they derided this album and considered it beyond overrated. At age 30, I have seen the error of my ways, and while I don’t venerate it as I did when I was a bright-eyed teen, I still regard it as a pretty damn great album. And it’s one of few jpop albums that my mom can listen to all the way through without complaints, which is great for me since it’s often a struggle to reach a middle ground with my mom about my niche interests, haha.

To someone growing up and forming their musical taste during the Y2K era (late 90s/early 2000s), the sound of First Love is really nothing special at the end of the day. Hikki was simply chasing a rising R&B trend in Japan and copying the current American R&B trends to put her own twist on the Japanese trend. She ended up setting the standard for that era’s Japanese R&B scene. Mai Kuraki a year later would try and capitalize on it with her own debut album delicious way, and it kind of worked--that album is in the Top 10 bestselling Japanese albums. MISIA was better equipped to become successful and to this day remains one of Japan’s R&B icons. I could go on with the impact, but anyway!

Being from the perspective of a 15 year old girl, I feel, is what makes this debut album so remarkable, all things considered. The debut single, and respectively the opening track of the album, Automatic is an extremely catchy, timeless bop about, well, catching feelings for someone. It’s also one of the rare occasions where I actually enjoy the first single of an album cycle being the first song on an album (a pop music practice that aggravates me and in my opinion, it has hurt the long-term success of many pop albums because of the general public’s short-term memory and tendency to buy a CD for “that one song”). In My Room is a comfy little mid-tempo further exploring the experience of catching feelings. It’s more or less a universal experience for a teenager. However, this becomes more apparent when you take in everything about the title track, First Love. It’s a beautiful, relatively simple yet impeccably produced ballad about her first major heartbreak. A lot of comments over the years have mentioned her shaky voice is a turn-off for them but I think it works and it’s why I kind of sit there stoic when I hear a more competent singer cover it (and I have heard MANY covers of this song, it’s ridiculous how often it gets covered to this day) -- the competence just doesn’t fit for a song like this. Heartbreak when you’re 15 is like the freaking end of the world and you don’t know how to unpack it, and you have to figure out how to keep it together. Keep it cool, ya know. The inexperience is what makes it. Which is why it’s frustrating to hear songs like Amai Wana ~Paint it, Black and B&C at my age because she just sounds so obviously trying to act like a grown-up when she’s very much still a child.

Sometimes the attempts at sophistication worked in the album, though. Never Let Go is another simple mid-tempo that samples Sting’s work, and as someone who grew up with a mother whose favorite band is The Police and also loved Sting’s solo work (I’m more partial to his solo work, myself), I can’t help but enjoy it. Her voice here is just so cute. And it’s an earnest cute, not cutesy for the sake of it. Another Chance is an example of how you can take a song about heartbreak and polish it with a dance-style backing track and it just works. For a more contemporary example, I’d recommend Kesha’s Dancing with Tears in My Eyes and Rina Sawayama’s Tokyo Love Hotel (the bonus to listening to this one is that Rina is a huge fan of Hikki so you can easily hear her influence on it).

However, there’s moments in the album that test my patience. Movin’ on without you is a little too polished and slick, and Hikki honestly just sounds like she’s dissociating throughout the song, which is a pity considering it’s sandwiched between two strong tracks and the lyrics give the impression of confidence. Ayumi Hamasaki’s cover of it in 2014 is vastly superior, personally. She had the aid of the renowned producer RedOne (you would know him best for working with Lady Gaga) and a more natural tendency to sound genuinely confident. Give Me A Reason is just simply too long even though the production and vocals are fine. There was no need for it to be nearly 6 minutes long.

The kicker about First Love and Hikki’s career overall is that she was more or less pressured into it. Her father Teruzane Utada was a big-shot producer and her mother Junko was a legend in her own right in the enka scene as Keiko Fuji. This also explains why the album sounds really good. She admitted in later interviews in her 20s that she was doing music because she felt there wasn’t any other choice for her in life. No wonder she took a 6-year hiatus to recoup. She just wanted to feel like a regular person.

And I think, again, Hikki being 15 is why people were so infatuated with the album. The general public saw her as a young musical prodigy. It also calls to attention the misguided impression most people have about the concept of talent and prodigies: the impression that talent is natural and practice/access aren’t necessary to make it in the industry. Hikki has skills as a musician, no doubt, but it’s not because she was born with it. She grew up surrounded by musicians. She had access to practice and the tools needed for success. This is not to dismiss her artistry in any way; I am merely pointing out her privilege. And what did this privilege gain her? She’s a legend.

Certainly, in 2021, no other album will ever top the smash success and sales of First Love. But they can damn well try. And really, who can blame anyone for chasing the halcyon days of an era long-gone from the music industry?

[withabackpackandcamera]

June 30th, 2021

Day 5: A Day in Myvatn… And A Night in Myvatn… 

Having a home base in Akureyri the last few days was amazing. It’s always so nice to be able to stay somewhere for more than just a night. You get to spread out, get comfortable, drive less, and not have to keep moving your stuff. So this morning, it was slightly disappointing to have to pack all of our stuff again and pack the car for the long road trip ahead to Seyðisfjörður, where we’d only be staying for a single night before packing up and leaving again. But before leaving Akureyri, the family and I walked downtown to purchase some pastries and baked goods for the road from Kristjan’s Bakari. We briefly walked through downtown and took some photos before we turned back toward the house to grab the car and start our very full travel day. 

The first stop on our itinerary for the day was the Myvatn geothermal area, a place I had visited very briefly the last time I drove around the entire Ring Road. We stopped by the pseudocraters at Skútustaðagígar and briefly hiked in to see the windy views from there before driving on and making quick pit stops at the Myvatn Panoramic Viewpoint and Dimmuborgir. At Dimmuborgir, we actually left the car for a short stroll down a paved walkway through the lava rock formations before circling back out to the parking lot to continue our drive. 

Next, we accidentally drove out to Hverfjall, an old cone volcano, because the GPS led us there thinking the area was the stop for Grjótagjá, a hot spring cave that is famous for some love/sex scene in Game of Thrones (which I have never seen). But after finding the right location for Grjótagjá, we turned out of the Hverfjall area (without hiking or doing anything memorable) and drove over to the original destination of the hot spring cave. The Grjótagjá cave was a pretty neat area to see. The cave was dark but had lots of little cracks for lights to seep through. The scene created by the incoming streams of light in conjunction with the blue-appearing spring water in the cave was pretty cool. Minh and I spent some time here trying to take photos of the cave but gave up before long as all the photos started to look the same. 

As we approached the mountain pass out of the Myvatn area, I took my family over to the Myvatn Nature Baths to give them a brief window tour of the bathing area that I enjoyed with some friends back in 2017. Because we were short on time and no one was particularly excited about paying to jump into a hot spring, we decided to skip soaking in a hot bath this trip and reconsider it again if we had time later on during the trip. But it was a good thing we didn’t bathe today because the wind was crazy and that would’ve made for a subpar bathing experience. 

After we left the Myvatn Nature Baths, we made one last geothermal stop at the Námaskarð Geothermal Area, an rotten-egg-smelling area well known for its geothermal activity expressed in the forms of colorful landscapes, bubbling mud, and natural vents of sulfuric gases. Because it was so ridiculously windy and sandy in this area, we didn’t stay for very long. At first, the family wanted to skip the area and move on with our trip given the wind conditions. However, because of the uniqueness of the site, I made a very real effort to get Cynthia and my dad out of the car to quickly view the area. And I was successful in doing so. With the wind howling and throwing sand and dust everywhere, we quickly ran through the area as we shielded ourselves from the violent wind and the sand it was pelting at us. But it was worth it as my dad and Cynthia got a chance to see some very unique sights. It wasn’t long before we ran back into the car to get away from the elements and braced ourselves for the start of the long leg of the day’s travels: the 3.5 hour drive to Seyðisfjörður. 

With a big dust storm slowly blowing across the landscape in front of us, we drove for about 10-15 kilometers from Námaskarð before the unthinkable happened. Our car started to go haywire before breaking down completely… in the middle of the road… in the middle of nowhere. 

So, let me paint the picture of the situation for you. About 30-60 minutes prior, while driving, I noticed that some random warning lights (namely an A symbol with a circle arrow around it) on my dashboard had started blinking and I couldn’t figure out why that was the case. So after some quick troubleshooting (and not figuring it out), I didn’t think anything of it and continued to drive. Then, after we left the Námaskarð area, I noticed that the engine light had turned on, which is a very, very strange occurrence for a brand new car with just over 2000 kilometers on the odometer. And that was slightly concerning. But after consulting my handy-man dad, we carefully continued our drive. 

Until I started hearing not-normal sounds coming from under the hood of my car. Something that sounded like it was not spinning the way it should under the hood of the car. Like, in the engine or something. At this point, I got very concerned. And things only got worse when, in conjunction with the weird spinning sound, I saw more dashboard warning lights start to light up and blink. Not good. That then quickly spiraled into an actively malfunctioning car. First to completely go nonfunctional was the gas pedal. Oh no, not good. Because the gas pedal died while we were cruising at a speed around 70kph, the car just slowly and surely lost its speed as it kept rolling along on the highway. 70…60...50...40...30...20...10… Zero. 

At one point, as the car was slowing down due to the road’s friction and its nonoperational gas pedal, I looked out to find a safe gravel turnoff to steer the car into. The first turnoff I noticed was slightly dangerous and not ideal given that it was sloped down from the road into the lower area beside the highway. Wouldn’t want to get a dead car stuck facing downhill. So I pushed our luck and kept waiting, since we still had some momentum left. But eventually, the car died JUST before we reached a safe, spacious gravel turnoff/lot that was a much better option for parking a dead car. Because we didn’t make it there with just our momentum, my dad and brother had to quickly jump out of the car and push the car 20-30 meters while I steered it off the road. Once we were situated in the gravel lot, the car, for the most part, died on us. The engine no longer worked and the steering wheel no longer turned. 

But the family and I stayed very calm under these distressing circumstances. Everyone kind of knew what needed to be done. We briefly checked under the hood of the car to see if there was anything we could diagnose. Nope. Then Cynthia quickly called Blue Car Rental with our (luckily strong enough) 3G cell signal to notify them of the situation and get directions on the next steps we should take. All the while, the dust storm in front of us was blowing by and, fortunately, not toward us. 

Once the rental company was contacted and our screenshotted location was emailed over to them, all we could do in the car was sit there and wait for a mechanic and tow truck to make their way out to us in the middle of nowhere next to a dust storm. And given combination of the protocol of needing a mechanic to first diagnose the car problem, the lack of a Blue Car Rental office anywhere outside of Reykjavik/Keflavik, and the fact that another car could not quickly be made available to replace our car, we weren’t sure how long it would take to get things resolved so that we could hit the road again. So we sat there. We waited in the car. We briefly spoke with one random passerby who had stopped by to make sure that we were OK. We took some hilarious modeling photos with the car. And we watched the sandstorm blow by. 

Then, Martjin the Polish Mechanic came to our rescue! And it was unexpectedly fast! Within about 30 minutes of our initial contact with Blue Car Rental, they were able to get in touch with Martjin, who works/owns a car shop (Six60?) on the edge of Myvatn near the Myvatn Nature Baths and was contracted by the car rental agency to help out in these situations, and send him over with his excessively huge (and fittingly American) Ford truck with a tow bed behind it. It was while I was photographing Minh modeling next to the dead car that we saw the big truck and big, burly mechanic approach. 

Once he was out of his car, we introduced ourselves and I explained the situation to him. And the first thing he (basically) told me as he was assessing our red 2021 Kia Sportage was….”This is the fourth car of the same make and model from Blue Car Rental this week alone that I have had to tow for similar reasons.” It was the fourth car that he had towed because the car (a brand new Kia Sportage in all instances) had died all of a sudden despite a full fuel tank, good oil, and with everything else checking out OK on initial investigation. 

It was only while he was preparing to tow our car that he received a call from Blue Car with the answer to the car problem he had been stumped by for the last week. The crankshaft sensor in the car was not working in these models and that it was a manufacturing issue, an issue he himself could not figure out, solve, or fix with his mechanic skills alone. With that new information, he pulled our car onto his tow bed and loaded us into his car to take everyone and everything back to his shop. 

Along the 30 minute drive back to Myvatn, he presented us with several options (some doable, some not so doable) for how to proceed with our situation. Normally, Martjin has two spare Blue Car rentals at his shop for these exact situations. But unfortunately, given that this was the 4th issue this week with Blue Car Rental, there were no spares left to offer. So that wasn’t an option. The other options were to try to get a car rental here as soon as possible (and it wasn’t going to be that soon since Blue Car had to find a replacement car, load it up, find a driver to tow it out to Myvatn, which was 6-7 hours away) to continue the trip later this evening (but actually, in the wee hours of the morning) knowing we had an AirBnB already booked in Seyðisfjörður OR to stick around the Myvatn area for the night and restart our trip in the morning with a new rental that would be towed ALL THE WAY from Reykjavik and arrive by morning. After he made some quick calls to assess all other options and my family and I had discussed the options, we ended up making the safest decision, which was to stay the night in a hotel in Myvatn, take it easy, and make up lost ground once we had our car delivered tomorrow morning. 

Once that decision was made, Martjin made a ton of calls to all of his contacts and quickly made a three-room booking with the relatively fancy and expensive Sel-Hotel Myvatn for the night. We made a pit stop to pick up his “little blond devil” of a son from the nearby kindergarten and then stopped by his shop to wait for him to finish up some things before he dropped us off at the hotel. While waiting at the shop, we met a nice couple, Will and Mary, from Miami who had also run into some car issues and were also on their road trip around Iceland but driving in the opposite direction of us. We had a nice conversation with them and even shared our trip experiences and trip tips as we passed the time. 

Before long, Will and Mary were ready to hit the road again after their flat tire was replaced, and we were ready to head to our hotel with Martjin. A short ride later, we were dropped off at Sel Hotel Myvatn, where we spoke with and checked into our hotel with the very nice and welcoming front desk lady named Kate. After we were given the keys to our three rooms, we moved upstairs to our rooms to get situated and get Cynthia ready for her work day. We hung out for a bit in the hotel rooms before heading down for a relatively early dinner in the nice hotel restaurant downstairs.

At the hotel restaurant, we treated ourselves to a nice and relatively expensive dinner (assuming that we’d get reimbursed for it by the rental car agency as part of the hotel stay). We ordered their Northern Diver Pizza with bacon, ham, and pepperoni, tiger shrimp scampi style scallops starter, lasagna, trout dinner, and pulled pork sandwich. It was so yummy! Though I wish we had gone haywire and ordered even more yummy food to fill up on! I guess we did the responsible thing… for the car rental agency, hahaha. 

With stomachs filled with delicious food, we went to chill upstairs while waiting for our hotel sauna shed/room to be prepared. It took about 30 minutes for the hotel staff to ready the sauna room but once it was ready, the family minus Cynthia sat in a steamy, hot, humid, and very uncomfortable indoor sauna for about 30 minutes or so. My dad and I were the first to exit since we couldn’t deal with the heat and steam anymore. I guess it was slightly cleansing… Once everyone was done with the sauna, Minh and I headed to the hotel lobby to play a couple games of pool before my dad and I did the same. And funnily enough, in-between games with my dad, a little Iceland kid on his way to the Westfjords with his family wanted to jump in and get a game with me. So we played a couple of turns before he had to leave with his mom. Funny kid. By this point in the evening, the family was getting tired. So everyone except me and Cynthia headed upstairs to turn in for the night and get some much needed rest. 

As for me, I hung out downstairs with Cynthia while she worked before going out and exploring the area right across from the hotel that we had briefly stopped at earlier called Skútustaðagígar, where all the pseudocraters were located. I left the hotel around 10pm and hiked along the different paths leading around the pseudocraters before I came across a nice wildflowery slope with the sun setting in the background. With very few, slow-paced moments to do landscape photography on this trip, I wanted to make the most of this particular scene. So I ran back to the hotel to grab all of my photography gear and headed right back out to the flowery slope where I spent an hour watching the sunset while attempting to capture a photograph worth writing home about. 

After freezing outside in the Myvatn wind for an hour or so, I headed back into the hotel to clean and wash up before going to bed. Cynthia wasn’t yet done with work by that time so I went to bed first because I knew that recharging for tomorrow would be a smart thing to do given the ground we had to cover due to the unfortunate circumstances we ran into today. 

Looking back at today’s debacle, our impromptu back-up plan wasn’t too bad! But here’s to a more reliable car and a more productive day tomorrow! 

5 Things I Learned/Observed Today:

1. The Myvatn area is named after the large lake in the area and there is no associated town called Myvatn town.  

2. Lake Myvatn is a bird-watching haven for tons of tourists. If you see heavily-armed photographers with huge lenses and camouflage, they’re probably there to take photos of birds. 

3. Much of the Myvatn area is formed from the interaction of lava and water. For example, the lava rock formations at Dimmuborgir formed when lava spilled over water-filled depressions or marshlands forming a lava lake. Due to the overlying magma and lava lake, the sub-surface water layer heated up and created steam that escaped to the outside through vents that eventually became surrounded by solidifying magma. Over time, the results of this process were lava pillars, columns, and ridges like the ones at Dimmuborgir, which are the remnants of the steam vents of old. Similarly, you have the pseudocraters of Myvatn which were formed from a similar process. When molten lava flowed over water or wetlands, water became trapped underneath the lava field and started boiling. The pressure caused explosions where the steam escaped to the surface. Over time, the repeated explosions ripped apart the lava, which piled up around the steam vent, forming a pseudocrater (per the infographic sign at the site). 

4. Brand new car rentals are not fool- and fail-proof. Always be on the lookout if your engine light turns on randomly and unexpectedly. It’s never a good sign for a new car. And when things like that happen and the car company needs to send a mechanic out to inspect it and tow it, it’s really expensive for the car rental agency. Per Martjin, it costs about 1000 Euros to send him to check out and try to diagnose the car issue at hand. So that’s for the service. On top of that, it costs approximately 3000 Euros to tow a rental car from Myvatn back to Reykjavik. VERY VERY EXPENSIVE. Luckily, if it’s a manufacturing issue, it’s not on us, the customer, to pay any of that. Thank goodness! 

5. Lake Myvatn is considered the land of midges. They are everywhere. And they are a nuisance. Luckily, when it’s super windy outside, they pose no problems at all because the wind sweeps them away. Per the hotel, if the midges fly into your rooms due to open windows, just leave your windows open as they will attempt to fly out right away, thus causing little issues. An issue only occurs when you close your windows and they’re trapped inside.

[post-itpenny]

“ Am I fonder of dolls or of goblins or shoes? “

Ok, tagging @grodygabe because Bastian is here for a moment as well. Some slight angst for you.

Primadonna 

The lobby of the theater looked as vibrant and new as the day it’s doors first opened. A polished wood floor with rich red carpets draped over it. Velvet curtains covering windows and the bottles that lined the bar sparkling with whatever substances they held from their corner of the lounge. Plush chairs and couches touched with the slightest scent of smoke. Around the walls was cream colored wallpaper with gold filigree as a border.

It looked lovely and new, which meant it was a collection challenge.

Perhaps that was one nice thing about this map. They could tell what they were in for based on its mood, it’s state of grandeur or decay.

Granted, several killers had collection-type challenges. Collect the thing- bring the thing to a designated spot- win an escape for your efforts.

But Thomas was with the group this time and he shivered the moment he walked in. So… they knew.

“So you just know?” Their newest one-a girl named Chloe asked. “Just get a vibe?”

“Only if it’s the killer you came with.”

She nodded, seeming to relax a little now that she knew how to spot her’s. Thomas almost felt bad for her, should he tell her what was coming?

Mary beat him to it.

“The old hag is a handful and she can get you at a distance. But you just keep running and it’ll be just fine.”

“She’s a hag?”

Mary laughed. From where he stood, Bastian gave a small snicker as well. “You can call her that if you want, just be ready to dodge.”

“Does she throw things?”

Thomas frowned, “no.”

Before he could elaborate the doors to the theater opened with the slighted squeak, the Edison bulbs above flickering out.

Show time.

…………………

“What the hell is she wearing today?”

“I have no idea, but that’s a lot of pink.”

Mary and Chloe hissed to each other as they snuck around the diva. Climbing through a tunnel formed by stacks of clostume trunks and crates.

They froze as The Muse turned in their direction, head tilted to the side as she floated just slightly off the ground. Chloe holding tight to the photograph in her hand. In an instant, she was gone, chasing after someone else.

………………….

One thing Thomas could never figure out was just how lucid Irene was in a match. Between trials she was clearly with it, at least enough to be an absolute bitch to anyone within 20 yards. But it was here that he honestly had no clue. Sometimes she was, yelling at Mary or taunting him, but other times she seemed so focused… but also not. Looking at them like she didn’t know who they were (which couldn’t be true by this point) but so intent on killing them. And then there was moments like right now-

From his hiding spot, Thomas watched as Irene chased Bastian as if she was moving through a dream. Perhaps it was because of the photograph held tight in his hands. Her movements slow but fluid. Her body flickering in and out of existence. She caught him in her strings, only for the new girl to purposefully crash into her.

Irene felt herself slamming back into her own skin at the sudden impact, reeling at the sound of fabric tearing.

“You stepped on my dress why?!” She screeched before turning the swipe at the intrusive nat with her weapon. The girl yelped in pain as the blade nicked her shoulder. The boy- Bastian. His name was Bastian, she knew this by now- grabbing her arm and pulling her to safety. Irene felt a tug at the back of her brain, screaming in frustration before the overwhelming feeling of being yanked back out and to wherever she had come from consumed her.

………………………..

You could hear her yelling in nearly every corner of the theater. The diva’s presence was constant, regardless of whether she was in the room with you or not.

They were rehearsing for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the very unfortunate girl playing Peasblosom having stood too close to Irene and stepped on the hem of her skirts.

“You stepped on my dress!” Irene screamed down at her. “Idiot girl, do you not have any sense of space! Do you know where your feet go?! Or are they with wherever your brain left?!”

The younger actress was crying by this point, looking wildly around for someone to do something. But even their so-called “director” was suddenly very preoccupied with his notes.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you!” Irene snapped. “I swear I-“

“And I swear I can hear you all the way from the street my dear.” A gentleman said as he hooked his arm with Irene’s and pulled her away from her victim. “My dear there’s no need to ruin your voice with so few days before the opening night.”

Irene snatched her arm back, “you! You don’t get a say in this! You’re late!”

“Only 15 minutes.”

“Where were you?!”

“Forgive me Renie sweetheart, but why fret over such trivial things?”

Irene sneered, “I’ll give you trivial you-“

“Irene.”

“Charlie.”

Charlie sighed with a smirk as he fished a box from his pocket. “I need a smoke, come join me dearest.”

He liked arms with her again and pulled a still bickering Irene backstage. Looking over his shoulder with a wink towards the relieved younger actress.

…………………..

Charlie casually blew a cloud of smoke into the air as he skimmed back over the script. looking up occasionally at his friend as she carefully stitched the torn hem of her dress. Whispering the opening verses of The Habanera from Carmen. When and why she took the time to learn it Charlie had no idea, but he wasn’t surprised.

They lazed on a set of plush chairs, leftover props from some long forgotten production. The crew left them out knowing they were the preferred seats of the primadonna and her co-lead..

“You know, if you went to one of the seamstresses in the costume department, they could fix that for you.”

Irene hummed in response but did not otherwise comment.

He watched as she sewed, noting just a few wisps of gray hairs on his friend’s head. Musing that she shouldn’t frown so much less she gain wrinkles from it.

“You know I do wish we could adjust the lines.”

“It’s Shakespeare Charlie, the lines stay the same.”

“But the part between Oberon and Titania-“

“The lines. Stay. The. Same.”

“The mention of India seems so out of place though.”

“Did you read the books I lent you?”

“Books?”

Irene arched an eyebrow. “Yes, the ones on Celtic and Geek cultures? The ones I asked you to return to the library when you finished?”

“Ah.”

“Ah. So you’re paying my late fees.”

“I bet you were once quite the precocious child.” Charlie teased.

Irene smirked, “I used to lay on my bed and wonder am I fonder of dolls, or of goblins, or shoes?”

“And what were you the fondest of Renie?”

She looked up at him with a smile. “Silence, in a small house with so many people, I was fondest of silence.”

……………………….

The sound of heels clicking broke the early morning. Even before sunrise, stagehands milled about and janitors polished and dusted fixtures. But this woman moved with purpose. Cradling several items in her arms, any of which threatened to spill should she make the wrong move.

She made her way backstage, finding a particular pair passed out on a set of plush armchairs.

Irene and Charlie were deep asleep, legs tangled together as they shared the same automan. Charlie with his hat covering his eyes and Irene using Charlie’s coat as a blanket.

The woman sighed in annoyance, kicking Charlie’s foot. “Charlie Devough how dare you sleep at work again.”

Charlie sat up with a shout, Irene grumbling as she crawled out from under Charlie’s coat and snatched one of the coffees the woman carried. Making a face at the first sip. “So bitter.”

“Because that one wasn’t meant for you,” the woman chastised as she traded coffees with Irene and passed it over to Charlie. “Only this oaf here is foolish enough to not appreciate cream or sugar.”

“Why add sugar when I know you bought danishes? I can smell them love.”

The woman sighed again and handed over a paper bag she had also been carrying. Taking over the automan as she sipped on a coffee of her own. “Did rehearsals run that late?”

“We were running lines and lost track,” Irene murmured as she rubbed at the ruined mascara on her face.

Charlie leaned over to kiss the woman, “thank you for the breakfast Evelyn dear. I’m sorry to worry you.”

“You should have let me know.”

“It’s my fault, Eve.” Irene yawned.

“No it’s not you liar, how dare you cover for him.” Evelyn teased. “Irene, you look like you’ve been crying with your makeup like that.”

“Irene?”

……………………………

Irene looked up.

She hated collecting trials. She never knew what memories it would send her mind tumbling through.

She sat now in her dressing room, roses in various states of decay filling every free space.

The trial was a disaster, her new dress torn thanks to a new brat. She still remembered that young actress. Three productions later and she seems to think she could replace Irene since she was casted as lead once.

Irene also remembered the feeling of shoving the point of her stiletto through the girl’s throat.

Irene sat in her dressing room and tried to wipe her makeup off. For a moment she looked normal, even despite her bluish skin. But then she felt a stinging sensation in her eyes as black tears fell and stained her face again.

She growled in frustration and stormed out of the room, making her way backstage till she found her destination- a set of worn, plush armchairs. Sitting on the floor next to what would have been Charlie’s.

[willkillforgoodmemories]

Schools Re-imagined

Okay fellow guys, gays and ladies (all beings are invited), TODAY on quaran-talks (get it, quarantine but replace the tine with talks, never mind), we will be 

“RE-IMAGINING SCHOOLS” (Mostly High school and it’s equivalents around the world)

so that they actually do their job and prepare us for the real world, which they haven’t. They have, however given me sleep-deprived days, traumatic memories and snakes for friends. 

ASPECT NUMBER ONE

Changing when school starts. I mean, whose lovely idea was to start school at 8.00. Many schools also start schools at 8.30 but lord, imagine how happy we all will be if schools opened a little later.

  According to the National Sleep Foundation, the sleep requirement for teenagers is between 8-10 hours per night. That indicates that the earliest healthy wake-up time for teens should not be before 7 a.m.

I propose that schools start not earlier than 9.00 am. That way one does not have to bear with the absolute feeling of grogginess of completing tasks on auto-pilot (when you complete tasks by doing the bare minimum because your brain is not awake), not rushing through morning routines (rushing can cause stress and anxiety) and can start the day on a good note.  All those you thrive on 3-4 hour naps, it is in no way healthy and in some ways, not even your mistake. Moving on,

ASPECT NUMBER TWO

The marvellous blame-game. The student is usually the pawn. Don’t get the concept while in class, the teacher will probably say that you weren’t listening. 

Ma’am or Sir, it’s your job to make sure the students understand what you teach. Be patient and stop telling them it’s wrong if they don’t understand the concept.It won’t hurt if you take out some time and teach them the concept again. 

If you don’t get the concept during homework and use the reference guide, the parents will usually say that they weren’t paying attention in class and should know it. The reference material was made for a reason, and that was so that the student could use it. If the student wasn’t able to understand in class, there is a high chance they would be able to understand it on their own with their own research. Don’t doubt a student’s ability, even a little pat on the back can go a long way. More on this later. 

ASPECT NUMBER THREE

A very popular opinion is that schools kill creativity. They don’t out right kill it, they just suppress it until it never come backs. In other words, it’s there but not quite. (confusing, just like the world’s education system). If the student says a wrong answer, don’t outright say no or prompt the class to laugh at them. Question their understanding in a polite way.  Promote creative thinking and finding different ways of solving problems. Creativity can be found in all subjects, you just need to find a will. Don’t suppress interests such as liking of a particular aesthetic, genre of music or style. 

ASPECT NUMBER FOUR

There is no space for individuality. Uniforms are okay because you don’t have to go through the hassle of picking out clothes but limiting other choices such as style of hair, use of accessories and nail polish and colour of hair should not dictate what kind of a student they are. Teachers and Administration should not care about these things because every student needs their own way of showing creativity. These things do not dictate what kind of student they are. There is a common misconception that students who do the above mentioned things will distract students and disrupt the class. The students usually compliment or comment on it and move on with their day. The teachers, however will call them out, fine them, give them detention or some other kind of punishment. The only people that are getting distracted here is the staff who takes the time out of their day to call a student out on their mode of expression. All those teachers who support their students’ choices are pure gems and deserve all the love in the world. 

ASPECT NUMBER FIVE

The ungodly amount of homework. This is an extension of ‘aspect number two.’ I along with many other teenagers believe that the homework should be limited to two hours a day. No, I don’t mean two hours per subject. I mean two hours total. It can be extended to 3.5 hours but not more than that. Take the example of a GCSE student. A normal student takes about 9-12 subjects. Depending on the intensity of the subjects,the student should spend about 15-20 minutes per subject. During tests and exam weeks, this can be bumped up to 5 hours but still, testing a student’s skills of memorization does not prepare them for the real world. After spending six hours in school, this time should be taken to go over material and identify weak points in their understanding, not increasing stress.  

ASPECT NUMBER SIX

The unhealthy expectations which really effect a teenager’s mind, and not in a good way. Many people are out here judging a student who excels in art on it’s ability to do STEM subjects, and vice versa. That’s like judging a fish's ability to climb a tree. Let the student pursue what they like without a thought in their head, “what will everyone think of me.” As a human being, they’d support and not belittle your choices. Let them pursue what they like. If they get bad grades, ask them about it. Don’t start shouting. Teachers, do not announce grades in class, you are literally creating students who build up low self-esteem. How hard is it to understand that teenagers are human beings. They’ll learn. If a previously-gifted student gets a bad grade, don’t make them feel bad about it.

ASPECT NUMBER SEVEN

Actually take a stand on matters that make sense. Stop bullies, racists, homophobes and sexists. Don’t go around nit-picking students who have long nails and unkempt hair or uniform if you have these problems roaming around. That just says that you are only caring about your outer appearance at the expense that most of your students will grow up to be ignorant citizens. A teenager mirrors their surroundings and if you can create a positive surrounding, it’s your part towards a more understanding society.

ASPECT NUMBER EIGHT

WHO thought that giving extra homework on weekends would be a good idea. Like, WHY? Weekends should be for relaxation and for revising topics. Wouldn’t it make sense if students took time to, I don’t know, go over the work from the week. That way, the information can be retained for a longer time. I also present to you the idea of making open book tests the norm. What many schools don’t understand that not everyone can memorize entire books. A student who does well on assignments but not on exams clearly shows that they understand but can’t remember it. The real world clearly shows that you don’t need to remember things because resources will always be at your disposal. A student should know how to apply concepts because 85% of the stuff they learn in school is utterly useless in real life. The remaining 15% are basics of subjects which should be learned. 

ASPECT NUMBER NINE

The schools either need counselors that actually do their job or teachers that are willing to go the extra mile. Counselors need to understand the students’ situation and help them. Don’t blame everything on the phone. (Phones are least of our problems). Normalize opposite-gender friendships. Lastly, with classes algebra and all that, wouldn’t also having classes like etiquette's, how to file taxes and other worldly classes actually help.  

REVISED TIMETABLE

As per the guidelines above. 

Biological sleep patterns shift toward later times for both sleeping and waking during adolescence -- meaning it is natural to not be able to fall asleep before 11:00 pm.

Sleep between 11:00-11.30 pm. Wake up at 7:45 am (Assuming you slept at 23.15 which is the halfway point, you got a sleep of 8.5 hours, which is healthy)Getting ready and having breakfast at a peaceful pace takes an average of 15 minutes. You will be done by 8:15 am. An average school commute takes about 30 minutes so you should have 15 minutes to spare before 8:30 am strikes and you leave for school.School starts at 9.00 am and ends at 3.00 pm. (Schools here last for 6 hours).Go for extra-curricular activities. On average, extra-curricular activities last for 1.5 hours so you should be free by 4.30-5.00 pm. That leaves you with 6 hours. Even if you take an hour long nap and take exactly 2 hours,no more or less for your homework, you will still be left with 3 hours of leisure. These 6 hours can be scheduled how ever you like. 

Now compare it to my timetable that was in place before the lock down. I woke up 6.00 am (Usually woke up early to complete homework which was impossible to complete yesterday) Left home for school at 7.15 am, usually made up for sleep in the  car. 

Reached school by 7.45. School started at 7.50 am and went on till 2.00 pm. All extra curricular activities were suspended due to tests and exam prep. Reached home at 2.40 pm. (Was picked up from school at 2.10 pm because group assignments roles cannot be assigned in class for some stupid reason so a lot of work has to be done outside class). 

Refresh and have lunch, start homework at 3.00 pm. Went on till 5.00 pm, took a 15-minute break and again continued till 9.00 pm (This is just homework). Picked up the assigned reading and assignments, that went on till 10.00 pm. Time with family till 10.45 pm. 

These were the good days. The days I was assigned art homework were torture. I have gone to school with only 3 hours of sleep many weeks. 

For a system that is suppose to help the students, the education system sure does hate students.

[bltngames]

SAGE 2020: The Usual Suspects

Hi, folks! Back when I used to work at TSSZ a lot of people really enjoyed reading my articles where I’d talk about various games at the Sonic Amateur Games Expo (SAGE), and I’ve gotten more requests in the last month and a half to continue doing those types of articles than I think I’ve ever gotten about anything else I’ve ever done before. So, here we are!

But I also need to be real with you: there are a lot of games at SAGE. It was exhausting enough when there were 70, 80, or even 90 games. Heck, the one year I wrote about 85-something games by myself, I sort of felt like I was going to die. This year, there are over 220 games at SAGE. It is physically and emotionally impossible for me to talk about everything, and it may even be impossible for me to play everything. Things will fall through the cracks. Most things, probably. Though I am responsible for basically inventing SAGE 20 years ago, I am also a human. I have my limits, and I am sorry it has to be this way.

Structurally, we’re going to be doing things a little bit differently, and you should expect this to be a little fast and loose. Since I’m not talking about every single game on the show floor, articles are going to be broken up into types:

“Usual Suspects” will be for games that either appeared at previous SAGEs or that I’m at least aware of.

“Fan Games” should be obvious, and it’s whatever doesn’t fall under Usual Suspects.

“Indies” is the same deal, but for original games.

And finally, there will be a “Honorable Mentions” article for whatever random leftovers I don’t cover in the first three articles. Looking forward to me talking about your game, but I don’t mention it? Tell me about it and maybe it’ll end up here.

Without any more delay, let’s talk about those Usual Suspects...

Sonic GT

Sonic GT has always been kind of a difficult game to control, but usually it just took a little bit of getting used to. There was always a period of adjustment, where you had to learn the game’s quirks. But, over time, I feel like the game is also just getting… quirkier. Every time I come back to this, I slam head first into the Sonic GT’s learning curve, and it always feels just a little bit steeper. This is one of those games that tries to fit a lot of abilities into a tiny amount of buttons. It works, but it feels like you have to memorize an operator’s manual. It’s all about figuring out which button to hold when to get what state. But, man… when it clicks into place, it’s still kind of magic. And, at the very least, the levels have all been reworked to take better advantage of Sonic’s high-flying, death-defying acrobatics. You’ve just got to be willing to learn. The real downside of this new version is the inclusion of a proper story mode -- I don’t have anything against having cutscenes in your game or whatever, but for the purposes of reviewing these games, some ability to fast forward through the talking heads so I could get back to the gameplay would’ve been nice. You can skip ahead in cutscenes you’ve already watched, but that doesn’t help when it’s your first time through. Oh well. So it goes. (Update: in the process of getting this article posted, Sonic GT has been patched to make cutscenes always skippable.)

Project SXU (Sonic X-treme Unity)

Another year, another Sonic X-treme recreation. This one’s interesting because it seems to be the most “complete” yet, offering the four most famous levels: Jade Gully, Crystal Frost, Red Sands and Death Egg. Intentionally or unintentionally, this also seems to replicate quite a few quirks we’ve seen in Sonic X-treme’s controls in the videos that have been released of the in-development build. Which means that it, uh, kind of sucks to play. I realize that’s kind of rude, but I’m sort of allowed to say that. 15 years ago, I was basically the only person on the internet that cared what happened to Sonic X-treme, so... I started contacting developers, starting with the game's producer, Mike Wallis. He lead us to Chris Senn, and that broke the dam on information about this game. Now, I don’t claim ownership over everything that came out of this, I’m simply saying I was the one who got the ball rolling. I watched the mystery of Sonic X-treme slowly get uncovered with as much intent as one could possibly have. It is a fascinating piece of lost media, but as a game… well, I think it got canceled for a reason. SXU shows us a clear vision of that, with a game that’s disorienting to look at and hard to control. Heck, if you’re using a controller, you can’t even use the analog stick -- you have to use a d-pad, leading to controls that feel frustratingly twitchy. But that's true to the experience. I probably spent almost as long in this demo accidentally slipping into bottomless pits as I did exploring its levels. Again, this more or less feels accurate to what we’ve seen in videos, though I do think Sonic probably feels a little too sensitive, here. Regardless, it’s still absolutely fascinating.

“Sonic Infinity Engine” Games

I’m cheating a little bit, here. This is technically three entries, but it’s in “Usual Suspects” because there’s been Infinity Engine games at SAGE for a few years now. Listen, it’s my site, my rules, and we’re playing fast and loose, baby!

Adventure Pack 2

This claims to be a “pack” of multiple levels, but the one level I played went on for over 25 minutes without showing any signs of ending. The level is… well, it’s the kind of stuff we’ve seen at SAGE for years and years and years, a space previously occupied by SonicGDK and BlitzSonic before it, where somebody is clearly starting out learning 3D level design, has some prefab assets, and goes to town creating a huge, intricate environment… that doesn’t fit a Sonic game at all. Too many tight spaces, too much enemy spam, and too much labyrinthine pacing. This is “Sonic Visits Anor Londo,” and while it looks interesting visually, it’s easy to get lost, or worse, killed because something isn’t functioning right. Like a lot of Infinity Engine stuff, it’s a bit hit or miss.... And now, also cramped.

Infinity+ Colorful Combat

The primary goal of this seems to be to update the Infinity Engine with extra features, something that I think is pretty welcome. The Infinity Engine is okay, but it’s missing a little bit of polish that the original developer neglected to give it before abandoning the project. This helps tighten some of that stuff up, while also introducing Wisp powers and more playable characters. Some of the new characters could still use some work, yet, but given the project is still in active development, that’s pretty much a guarantee. This could end up being the defacto version of the Sonic Infinity Engine.

Sonic Reforge: Red Ridge (Blockout)

This is what’s called a “Grey Box.” Rather than build out a fully-detailed level, you get a rough estimate on how the stage will flow before you put all the graphics in. What’s here is okay, I guess, but the level loops back on itself in ways that can be kind of confusing. There are a few places where it’s not really clear where you’re supposed to go next, and I spent several minutes running in circles. I’m also not a huge fan of the changes to Infinity’s physics; jumping off of ramps is a key part of the Sonic experience, but there are several places here where that doesn’t work -- to get the height needed to progress, you just need to roll really fast. It works, but it doesn’t feel like the Sonic I’m familiar with.

Sonic World DX

I have a bit of history with this game. Or, well, with a different version of this game. I wasn’t kind to some of the original entries at SAGE many years ago, but over time, they’ve cleaned the game up and streamlined it a fair amount. Now we have the “DX” release, a further cleanup effort splintered off from the main project, but to be honest, I’m not entirely sure what’s different from the previous release. The main version of Sonic World supports an absolutely gargantuan amount of content, with 50 playable characters and at least that many levels. It was big, and weird, and impressive. This demo ships with three or four playable characters and eight stages. Beyond that, there’s not much else to say -- it’s still Sonic World, though this release doesn’t work right with my controller. It picks up the controller binds from the main version of Sonic World, correctly assuming I’m using a DualShock 4, but none of the buttons are correct. When it asks me to press the X button, I have to press Circle for it to properly register. Not only that, but the right stick camera control is completely broken. Switching to an Xbox controller fixes the camera issues, but now the face buttons have the opposite problem: when it asks me to press A to jump, I have to press X. Throws my whole vibe off, like wearing your shoes on the wrong feet. The menus are bizarre, too -- while adjusting the volume, you can’t push left or right to adjust the levels, you have to use controller face buttons for some reason. This whole thing feels like I stepped back in time to 2013 in a bad way.

Sonic Freedom

I feel like I’ve been waiting to see a major development from Sonic Freedom for half a decade at this point. The art considerations for this game are no joke, and I do not envy anyone trying to make a proper high-def 2D Sonic game that looks this good. But, well… it’s another year, and there’s not a lot here. It plays fine, I guess -- the controls are decent, at least. The problem is the level design. Does this level even end? I’m not sure. I know previous demos for Sonic Freedom have had more than one level, but the stage you start out in here is a confusing, empty labyrinth with respawning enemies and a finite number of rings. You climb up and up and up, but eventually I reached what felt like a dead end. Visually it will always look incredible, but I’m wondering if it’ll ever actually become a game at any point in the future.

BraSonic 20XX

Here’s a strange blast from the past I wasn’t expecting. BraSonic is an old fangame from probably more than a decade and a half ago. It was so long ago that I can’t even actually remember if I played the old version of the game or not, but I definitely remember the name. What really throws me for a loop playing the 20XX version now is how much it feels like a game from back in the early 2000’s. The artwork, the sound effects, the locations, all of it makes me feel like I’m 19 again. Thankfully, this doesn’t play like a fangame from 2004; physics seem pretty solid, level design flows pretty well, and it generally seems to be fun, weird, and most importantly, unique. There aren’t many fan games here at SAGE that open with their first boss fight being against Sonic the Hedgehog. If you find yourself getting burnt out from so many Sonic fan games feeling same-y, this could be a good change of pace.

Sonic Frenzy Adventure

Maybe it’s the fact that this is the 20th Anniversary of the Sonic Amateur Games Expo, but here’s another very old fangame coming back out of the woodwork for an enhanced modern re-release. This game was a mainstay of the mid-to-late 2000’s SAGE events, after which it disappeared before being finished. Well, maybe it was finished. Again, a lot of this stuff was so, so, so long ago that this poor old man’s memory just can’t recall it. Seeing Frenzy Adventure back warms my heart, though. It’s an old friend in what has proven to be a very challenging year. Admittedly, parts of it still feel a bit mid-2000’s, but I consider those charming quirks. Throwbacks to a simpler era. At the very least, controls have been improved, so it does play better than the old releases did. Good stuff. Glad to see you again, dude.

Sonic Speed Course

This was a game that turned up last year, but in the kerfuffle I didn’t get around to trying it, even though I really wanted to. This is clearly a game inspired by Kirby’s Dream Course, but instead of Nintendo’s pink puffball, we have Sonic and friends. Whereas Kirby gained abilities by bowling through enemies, this adapts a more traditional Sonic gameplay structure of item boxes filled with shields and other powerups. But here’s my deep dark secret: even though I love Kirby’s Dream Course in concept, there’s a part of me that feels an intense hatred for that game. I have distinct memories of renting Kirby’s Dream Course as a kid and getting really far into the game, but trying to play it as an adult I’m baffled at how difficult it is. The main problem I have is that every stroke you take subtracts from your health, meaning you can only hit the ball so many times before you just… die. This makes for a very, very steep learning curve that discourages play and experimentation. Every shot truly, deeply matters and eventually I find myself caught in a death spiral and staring at the game over screen. All of this is replicated in Sonic’s Speed Course, which, much like with Kirby, I find myself drawn to like a moth to the flame -- only to come away feeling dejected and like I’m just not good enough. For fans of Kirby’s Dream Course, this is undoubtedly good news, as this means Sonic Speed Course is faithful to the tone of that game. But I find myself wishing there was a practice mode or something that let me play these courses without the punitive health system, because I’m ready to love them.

Sonic: Triple Trouble 16-Bit

When you write about so many games at SAGE every year, things start to blur together... a lot. I seem to recall that Triple Trouble 16-Bit last year was good, but had room for improvement. Well, this year, this demo feels… really quite good. I’ll admit, I was a little skeptical about remaking this game. Sonic: Triple Trouble was among the first batch of Game Gear games I ever owned as a kid, and while I liked the game, in my adulthood, I feel like I’ve come to appreciate Sonic Chaos more. But so much has been added to this game that it’s really come into its own. It uses Triple Trouble more as a jumping off point to become something fresh and interesting, and on top of that, this demo is pretty polished. This game was kind of always on my radar, but it’s really turning into something special.

Battle Cross Fever

Every year, I download this game hoping for some kind of single player offering, and every year I’m let down. Battle Cross Fever is a fighting game that plays a lot like Smash Bros., but contains elements that pull it closer to traditional fighting games like Street Fighter. It’s the kind of game that can check with the server to make sure you’re playing the latest version, but doesn’t have true online multiplayer -- instead advertising that you should use a piece of screen sharing software like Parsec to accomplish online multiplayer. In their defense, the few times I’ve used Parsec, it’s basically been magic for how well it works. But I just want, like… anything that I can play by myself. Even if it’s just a super basic arcade mode with brain dead AI, anything is better than nothing. But, I suppose, I am an outlier. Judging by the horrific character select music I landed on, Battle Cross Fever has enough of a community that they could get fans to sing along to “Ghost Town” from Sonic Forces -- which is a fun idea, don’t get me wrong, but when you have loud voices over cheap microphones, well… I hope you aren’t wearing headphones like I was. Anyway, this game’s always seemed solid, but I’ve also never played it with another human being, so really, I’m speaking from the perspective of admiring the diverse roster and all of the fun arenas they’ve ported in. Maybe someday it’ll get some single player content.

I’ll be back with another article… uh, eventually. In truth, I was only going to feature five games here, but it ended up being ten, so we’ll see how many are in future articles when we get there!