#very long read but 100% worth it holy crap

[parallelunivrses]

[image transcript: Sowing that distrust is why Williams is going on the record, albeit without his original name. He still plans to release thousands of files after this article is published — evidence tying sheriffs and police officers to the movement, his proudest coup, plus other records he hopes could become ammo for lawsuits. But Williams wants to let his former comrades know “a faggot is doing this to them.” He thinks his story could be his most effective weapon.

Every time militia members make a phone call, attend a meeting or go to a gun range together, he wants them “to be thinking, in the back of their heads, ‘This guy will betray me.’” /end transcript]

Outraged by the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, a wilderness survival trainer spent years undercover climbing the ranks of right-wing militias. He didn’t tell police or the FBI. He didn’t tell family or friends. The one person he told was a ProPublica reporter.

This is such a wild story like holy shit dude

[pretentious-art-love]

Film Reviews #7 - Madoka Magica the Movie Part III: The Story of the Rebellion

Spoilers for both movie and show will follow ahead!

This film, and the TV show itself, have a lot of flaws, like holy crap there are so many flaws that I just feel lazy when I think about listing them all.

Anyway, let's list them all, first and foremost, the pacing is incredibly convoluted, like bloody hell the first time you watch this you will have eyebrow pain from frowning so much and you will be mentally exhausted of all the things you have to keep to track of to puzzle the story together in a overarching arc that feels as long as listing all the digits of Pi, and most digits of Pi serve no purpose whatsoever! The thing is that, this movie would have worked a lot more as a full TV season for the show, things are so heavily compressed and the pacing might start slowly but then goes super fast and then builds up an important scene and then moves to another part of the plot! The TV show does have this same issue as well, since while it builds up nicely around the beginning, some things are cut short and that makes some scenes feel underdeveloped, like the whole arc with Sayaka and the pain of feeling like a lich, or a zombie, we got to see her pain and her reluctantcy to talk to the boy she likes, but we didn't get to see or feel what bad things she felt would happen in a relationship in the state she was in, I have dealt with dysphoria myself, so I understand her predicament to an extent, but I know a lot of people will think she is just dumb, the friendship of Homura and Madoka could have been expanded more to make us feel the importance of Madoka in Homura's life, and at the end she just comes as a very obsessed lesbian, I can go on and on, but again, I am getting a little lazy, the first season could have even been 24 episodes long, this movie, 12 episodes long, but with its movie running time it has at the very most 8 episodes worth of runtime, and that hurts the storytelling a lot.

Because of that, there are scenes with a lot, and I mean a lot of exposition, with Kyubey being the equivalent of the exposition pug from the Men in Black series here, while in the show he still had a bigger role in the story despite also delivering a lot of exposition. That makes the whole story feel clunky, convoluted, and nonsensical, we don't get shown what it is happening, we get told about it more than what it is healthy for a story. There are some characters, like Bebe, that are introduced in a very quick way and then work as a normal part of the rooster without us getting to know her backstory, I only know it myself because a friend told me about it from something she read about a gacha game that expanded her arc. All this, all these issues, and more, that it's hard to call it a good movie, let alone a good show because of that, and the thing with animation and art like this is that knowing how to use your screen-time properly is really really difficult, and no matter the path you pick (either some scenes of quick exposition or basically not explaining it at all just to leave it to additional material) will end up leaving at least some people unhappy.

So, what about the goods? Is there anything good in this movie at all? Yes, there is, starting with the eye candy that is Shaft's visual direction, with that heavy French New Wave influence and featured not just here but also in the Madoka show and the Monogatari series, for the whole 100 episodes of it, its an absolute joy, the surreal atmosphere with complex backgrounds, overbearing lighting, characters that talk in such a idiosyncratic way that feels unique to them, and the cutout animation that mixes with the more traditional characters to create this scary but beautiful aura with the unnatural creatures and happening of this world, for eye candy like this alone I would rate this movie 4 stars, and out of all the discourse people seem to bring from this movie, it is at least the general consensus that the visuals of it are great!

But! That's not the thing, haha, you see, because the reason I like this movie so much… the reason I like this movie so much it's because of its writing! Yes, that is right! Yes, I know, you might be saying the obvious, how I, with all the issues I see about this movie and the TV show, saying that the best thing about Rebellion being the writing is bogus, so now, just stay still, and listen. You see, the Madoka TV show was fine… it was fine, it was a fun show, you know, a normal deconstruction of the super hero genre, even if you aren't into magical girls, as long as you know what a super hero is, and are familiar with the trope of the normal person protagonist thingy being chosen to save the world, you will enjoy the show, the TV show has some twists and turns that make you wonder who the real villain is or what it is going to happen next, but there are things that you can easily predict from the first episode alone, and as the story goes along, these predictions get confirmed to you, and the end of the show does not really come as a surprise when you reach it, you say, ahh, yeah, that makes sense, that was nice.

Madoka the TV show takes the whole idea of the Magical Girl/Super Hero and shows us a story where the only way to save the world is sacrificing yourself, even at the cost of your humanity, and plays with the idea that maybe the best option for you is to not become a super hero, a magical girl, because the cost for that power and that responsibility can be too great to bare. The show ends in a bittersweet note, and plays with the idea of Godhood and the ideal time loop after a sacrifice has been made, that idea is very fun on its own, there are interesting rules within the show that allow Madoka to propose a cohesive idea of God without becoming a power trip story, like the idea that God is in every place and every time in the universe, but can't directly interact with us because its fighting to keep the balance of the world as we know it, making it no more than a mere observer that cannot alter our life on its own will despite being omnipresent.

The idea is good, and I like it a lot, even when there are shows that have used this idea to make things a lot more interesting things with them, like it is the case of Serial Experiments Lain where its ending is not only an exploration of godhood but it also plants questions about our identity on itself, and about who we are now in the digital era, which makes more the message a lot more personal to the audience. So, the show itself is fine, yeah, the ending had been done already before and after, the plot is a bit convoluted and characters arcs cut short, but overall its a fun ride with its own self contained ending, not life changing or anything but really good for the fans of this kind of media.

Anyway, the show become super popular and a movie sequel was approved, so what are we gonna do now? The show had already used the concept of alternative timelines for its main plot, so if you are going to make a sequel or alternative version, using them to spicy things up or continue along with the characters its a no go, its a really big task to continue things from the point the TV show ended, and the struggle does show, some people call the movie unnecessary, and I can see why would they think that. The movie does have also some well known tropes like the ideal/dystopian timeline that starts the new arc of the franchise that has been shown in anime like… well, I don't think I can say it without making it a spoiler, but if you want to know, ask me, it's a fun trope to write, and a confusing one to watch. In that part, it is nothing new, and the pacing is a lot more convoluted than the TV show, not just reducing character arcs and growth to mere one liners but also making the whole succession of events a mind boggling mess to watch the first time.

But around the end, around the end, it happens, it just happens. Homura's arc in the show was good enough, she acts as the quiet, traumatized hero, the martyr that is under the scenes and tries to save people despite looking as a cold hearted foe in the outside, she was someone with extreme methods that could involve even killing Sayaka or letting Mami die as long it meant to save Madoka, there are great moments she has like in the episode 10 where she and Madoka are about to become witches, and Homura says that as long they are together, she doesn't care if she destroys the entire world with her, and that she would destroy and unleash her despair on the whole earth as long she gets to be with Madoka, which I found quite passionate, the way she remembers her after everything has passed, and how get to see her more and more as the protagonist in the show as it goes on.

The thing that… her character as it is its fine, it is just fine, like… she is a good character, but maybe not the most memorable character ever? I mean considering that the trope of the martyr hero that is silently suffering but is helping the hero from the shadows its a very well known trope, it doesn't come as a twist, it is something that you can even see from episode 1, and a lot of people did, myself included, when the flashback scenes come, you say, yeah yeah, I see it now, but there is not really a twist, not the twist the show wanted you to experience, it was heavily implied and when you see it come, you watch it mostly because you want to know the how, not the why, of her character. So yes, the character its fine, it is a good character, but it doesn't change things too much, it just serves as a another spring in the perfectly tied together clockwork that is the show, it has a nice conclusion, all answers are given to you, when you look at it, it does feel as what you would expect, it is a fine good clock, aside the pacing, you could say the TV show its a good clock, maybe too good in fact, too tidy and perfect for its own good, it is a story that ends as how it should have, with protagonists that end with the character growth that they should have… Madoka does the sacrifice of losing her humanity to save all magical girls, and Homura is finally able to express her pain directly to the person that she loves, and is finally able to break the time loop she is in, living now in an universe where magical girls don't become witches, and continues as a silent hero that fights from the shadows, with her sad backstory, and her resolve to go on, it's all really nice, a really tidy and clean ending for a show…

But, if you allow me to be a bit pedantic… I think that's boring, super and incredibly ultra mega boring, it is boring, boring boring, super boring, expected, already shown, already made, predictable! It is boring! BO-RI-NG! It is too by the numbers! And yes, sure, Madoka started as a deconstruction of the Magical Girl genre, and it might have been seen as something that subverted the source material it was inspired from, but that is only if you came to it blind, all blind, expecting something cute and fun, so in other terms, it relied in nothing more than a marketing gimmick, and when your movie relies in a marketing gimmick, once that gimmick is gone, half of its appeal its over, just like with The Blair Witch Project, sure it was supposed to be a real found tape, but of course you can't keep your actors locked in a basement, so the immersion is absolutely broken out of the gate with that. I did my best, and I watched Madoka as blind as possible, not knowing anything about the plot, anything, I didn't google it, checked it or did anything or research about it, but even then, when people mention Madoka on the internet, they say, oh Madoka… haha, Madoka is not what it pretends to be! Mwhahaha! If Madoka comes up as a random conversation topic in your discord server, that is the bare minimum you are going to hear. I can say that in this day and age, it is incredibly obvious from the get go that you come to Madoka looking forward to it pull a fast one on you, and with me having watched stuff like Magical Girl Site around 2017 or so and being used to a whole fanfare of violent magical girl shows, I arrived to Madoka and I kept asking myself, where is all the blood? Where is the angst? The edgyness? Sure, a character just died in episode 3, the cutouts are artsy and fancy, but to be honest with you, I'm not feeling subverted right now! I am waiting to see the most shocking and grotesque thing to exist! Where is it?! And then, I have to adjust my expectations, the plot it is very interesting with the material it works on, people say Kyubey did nothing wrong, and that is a discussion you can argue with very solid points, but if you are familiar with the the time loop genre or time travel stories, you will see that Homura is a good girl from episode 1, from episode 1.

I kept eating my nails waiting for Madoka to become a magical girl in every episode, just to start to realize around episode 5 and 6 that it most likely wouldn't happen in the whole anime, and if it did, it would probably be only at the very end, because the story is about avoiding letting Madoka become a magical girl. When you realize what kind of story it is, you can see the whole picture of it before it ends, it is just so tidy and clean to the point it is almost antiseptic and symmetrical, just uncannily geometrical, it just feels artificial, and fiction is that, artificial, but the magic trick is about to make it feel like its not. Sure, you are going through a very elaborate and carefully made build up, but even when I am in that slowly but surely ascending roller-coaster, I could be ripping my eyes out because I just want the roller-coaster to start to descend! I am seeing the whole landscape from up here already! Just shake me right now! Scare me away! Even when the show ends with a character turning into godhood and rewriting the entire world and history as they knew it you can't do anything else than say… yeah, that was a good ending, all arcs were written… all characters were there… and the conflict was resolved as it should have, it was all done, in a tidy neat little bow, overall, it is one of the TV shows of all time.

Listen, I know that there is only 7 basic plots for all fiction, I get it, and it is not easy to making something properly satisfying when you have to handle several characters, fantasy worlds with rules on their own, the feelings you want to convey and handle the life of all people that live temporarily in your head, but I just want to dream! Is that so wrong? Is it wrong of me to wish for a character that makes me feel absolute and complete rage even when do not actually exist? To want to feel inspired by a conclusion a character reaches that is actually taboo for the place they and I live in and that makes the audience raise an eyebrow because it defies the status quo? To have a Chekhov's gun unfired the whole play? I just want to feel that the world I am watching to feel real! To have the gun there just because it happened to be that there was a gun there! Not because it was left by the karmic threads of destiny for the heroes to pick! That is what I want, it will make people angry, it will make people confused, but that doesn't matter, because at the end of the day, that's what I really want, I want to feel things! Not to account for all the mathematical equations the screenwriter is trying to balance on a narrative!

So, in this movie, we see something further beyond than that perfect, tidy ending of the show, we see that Homura, despite Madoka's promise of being always everywhere and every time, is still afflicted by her inability to interact with her, to see her or talk to her, to see that Madoka cannot see interact with her friends, her family, and that for most purposes, she is as good as dead to the world. Because all of this, she ends up, due to Kyubey's meddling and others, creating a fake reality where she and her friends are all fighting as a group of friends, always together, and living a happy life following their own duty as magical girls, the life they always dreamed. After a lot of suspicion and her good detective skills, she realizes that the city they live in is no more than a mirage, and that the friends she has been fighting with have been trapped due to her own grief. Even Madoka, who used to be an omnipresent being, had turned into her previous, human form, and it is interacting with the world just like she used to. After all this, Homura, yet one more time, decides to follow her path of a martyr, and tries to sacrifice herself now that she has gotten her wish to talk to Madoka yet one more time, she doesn't want to keep her friends in a glass prison where everything is fake, where they fight threats that do not really exist, where Madoka is not doing her duty saving other magical girls, and she cries because she knows that even after the sacrifice Madoka made, she is still unable to move on, and it is heartbreaking.

Just before she finally jails herself in an eternal prison where not even Madoka to save her, ready to experience eternal pain, her friends come to save her, Mami and Kyoko, who after realizing they have been trapped they decide to help, and even Bebe and Sayaka, who had died in a way or another in the past, are in a way, alive, helping Madoka, and are working together to save her. It is all a nice display of the power of friendship, and a nice ending, so nice, so wholesome and cute that almost makes me puke, hehe, even Sayaka says that they are kinda like Madoka's secretaries and are moving through the cosmic plane in a carriage, isn't that nice? Since they are all working together, why not start giving presents to the kids every 24th of December as well? Why not make it a tradition? Call it, I don't know… Christmas or something! Even when had experienced those characters death's, it's fine! They will just go back to the main dusty cloud of the whole universe hivemind, where they will continue to do good deeds like the super heroes we are in our own life! Haha! Haha! How nice! Isn't it?

Don't make me laugh.

Anime has touched a lot of times the idea of instrumentality, right? The idea of being part of a whole, huge massive being, Evangelion, Kaiba, Code Geass, and Ghost in the Shell have mentioned the idea either as a main plot device or mentioning it as something they want to avoid, right? Because the unknown is scary, that's the basis of cosmic horror, the basis of losing our own individuality, our self, and become something that might not even be truly alive to our own eyes. So when Madoka takes Homura's hand and promises to take her with her, to that afterlife, so they can be together forever, I can feel the fear, I can feel the wish, the need to avoid that to happen, because even if there is a promise for her to be together forever, Homura has already experienced the pain of being unable to interact with Madoka in the human world, the pain of knowing Madoka wouldn't be able to interact with other people, her friends, what does even mean to be a god if you can't put your own will of your own in the entire universe? If you can't experience what it is to have your own senses? To be a fragile and mortal being? After Homura remembers all the pain she went through to keep Madoka alive in every loop, and the pain she experienced even when she somehow achieved with Madoka entering into a new plane of existence, she decides that that's not what she was to have, and an awesome thing happens.

She takes Madoka and breaks her apart, stealing her power, and yet once again, jailing her in a reality she has herself made, just as she said herself, a new demon is born. The story, in a way, ends the same as it just started, but with the big difference that Homura has turned from protagonist, to antagonist, from secretive hero to anti hero, and the people who trusted in her, the audience as well, felt heartbroken, felt disappointment, and condemned the movie because of it. But the thing is that, even when the pacing is convoluted and filled with a lot of exposition and shortcuts, the story on itself it is not! It is not, I can feel the character's pain and their whole psychological progression, I can deeply relate to them in a way that feels so real that I can almost touch it, the trying to help behind the shadows, the failing and succumbing to despair, the accepting the bittersweet solution and gray reality of things, and the pain that comes from realizing that you can't really accept that bittersweet reality and you just break over again! Like, to put a very personal and specific example, I am trans, right? Trust me, this is relevant. So, I start realizing I want to be a girl, and I say, yeah, this is a phase, this is not right, and then I try to push it inside, and I try to be more manly, and I try to become more outgoing and talk with girls the way it is expected from me, and I fail, and I fail, and I am awkward, or I do things I don't understand and that do not work because I just don't like acting as a man, but I keep trying, and I end up having a lot of faux passes and sour memories of all my high school life because of it, and then I just start to understand that I am no more than awkward boy and that I am fated to be an awkward weird boy all my life and that's just how things are, that girls can do certain things, and I can do certain things as well but not what girls can't, and that dream girl that always inhabits my mind its just someone nobody else can really see, just like Homura accepting that Madoka wouldn't never turn into a tangible person in her own world.

But, I can't accept it! It is unbearable, it is really really unbearable, and not really a fair compromise at all, even if I am not trying to date anybody, even when I am trying to be on my own, be with myself, I just can't accept being a man, because it makes me miserable, seeing myself in the mirror, it makes me sick, my voice, I hate it, the relationships I have with other people, they are noting more than a mask, nothing more than a facade in a shell I am carrying and in a body I can't even use to express myself well! So what do I do? I do what I should not do, I do something that could be considered a crime, against what our religion told my family! What everyone thinks is right, what even my own biology gave me and what should be the right path to take, instead of forgetting about all those desires that I should not have, I take the bite, and I start a physical transition, even if it means losing the friends I had, even if it means probably losing my parents! Even if it means becoming a stranger to the people that knew me and making cry to the people that took care and grew up with me all my life! Because that is my desire, because that is what makes me happy! Oh and because screw you, that's why. Wouldn't destroying the God that reigned over your life and do whatever you want completely outside of the plan he had with you the most liberating thing you could ever do? Wouldn't that be the ultimate expression of your own free will? See? This is what is so good about Homura's character this arc, not because being becoming trans is akin to becoming a villain or any nonsense like that, but because to have what you truly want, you sometimes you will have to take decisions that will make others unhappy, because sometimes you just can't play the good girl all the time!

After this, Homura turns from the tidy and fated secret martyr hero of her perfect and tidy story and turns into something a lot more real, she turns into someone you can't really agree with because turns to be heavily flawed in her morals, but that you still deeply relate with, and that emotion she felt around the end of the movie, I felt it deeply and intensely, and you feel it too, because we have seen not only her breaking point, but also the whole arc and descent into madness. Despite all sorts of bad villains we have had in super hero fiction lately, villains that end up evil because of an accident or just because the protagonist didn't pay attention to them for long enough (looking at you Iron Man 3), Rebellion, despite being a super hero film, it takes its time to make its own protagonist, a real and true villain. In anime we have had villains with enough sympathetic qualities, like with 千と千尋の神隠し [Spirited Away] where we can see the need for control and order that help us see her in a more humane light, but they still have a certain, really clear defect like greed that give enough reasons for the audience to not side with her, in films like A Clockwork Orange we have seen villains so vile and disgusting that you would never want to side with them, but have some compassion for after they lose a bit of their humanity, and in recent films like Joker, we have had villains where you feel so close to them that you can't help but say, it is me! I am a villain, if I was in that person's shoes, I would turn into a villain all along, I would be the one to hurt you, because this is what my pain has turned me into! Because I simply can't hold it together any longer! It is me! Me! Me! Its that kind of villains that makes you really tremble, that make you really scared, villains like Joaquin's Joker, like Homura, because you are scared not of anything fantastical, or a fictional concept, someone with a powerful gun or over aching politics that are outside of your own reach, you are afraid of your own self, and the horror that creeps within…

I have seen people even argue that Homura did nothing wrong, but even when you agree, like me, that she did something truly wrong, just because she was in love, you just can't help but feel for sympathetic for her, not even because we have been love, or we also have had a crush, but because we all have experienced grief in a way or another, and we are afraid of the unknown. There is something that I really like about cosmic horror and the fear of the unknown and I think turning humans themselves the mere sources of that fear of the unknown that you can use to evolve the genre in something new. With the ending, the whole movie and the franchise altogether breaks into that neat tidiness and clockwork precision of character arcs and destroys a character that people liked making it into something really different, but you want to know why this is great? Because it all felt real, because unlike all the rest of the shows answers and questions, that moment alone felt like a break into the perfectly synced chain of events that lead Homura's life. This is why, even with all the qualms I have with the movie, with the show itself, with the things I don't like and the things I can laugh at, this is why, this movie deserves my absolute and guaranteed five stars, making it the top of 10 movies I have ever seen, because what I felt with it, I felt it so vividly and so intensely that for a moment I felt I could see a real person in its plot, rather than a mere sets of puppets pulled by a writer's strings.

I remember a comment about Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens [Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror] where a person said that in their class the people who watched it kept laughing the whole way through the movie, making fun of the techniques, the plot and the tropes of the time, even after when the movie finished and they all left, but there was one moment, one single moment around the end where Nosferatu dies and turns to ashes, everyone stayed silent, surprised, and for that moment alone, they felt the surprise and shock of the character's death, without saying anything, only feeling what was really happening, and they commenter said, that is cinema, and that's right, that is cinema! Even when I did not understand Броненосец «Потёмкин» [Battleship Potemkin] the scene of the stair kept me fascinated and horrified the time I watched it, and with this movie, I got shaken to my very core at the end, do you understand what I am trying to say? Sometimes we will interact and understand movies and fictional media as much as we do real people, partially, only in bits, but if we do, that moment we connect with each other will become something truly special.

Even when there are unanswered questions at the end, even when there are characters that could have gotten more screen time, even where the pacing could have been a lot slowed down, even when things could have been shown instead of told, even when the character design is too chibi-like for me to call it actually interesting, even when its just a goofy magical girls movie with all those idiosyncrasies that this Japanese sub genre of super hero fiction for kids has that seem silly to me, even with all that, I think this movie is truly great, not just because of its artistic direction and animation eye candy, but also because its with its conclusion that the movie achieved something that felt real and unique. Stories about exploring godhood are incredibly fun because they are stories where you can get really creative with the stakes of the plot and it's conflict. In the movie, that whole concept in the movie morphs in an amazing idea, filled with lots of possibilities, from the silly little comedies like Bruce Almighty where Godhood comes as something that might not work for you because the balance in the world is too big for you to keep in control on, or action films like The Matrix Revolutions where your mere existence as a God is part of the chain of events that keeps the world fated to die, will you keep your power at the cost of everything else? Or would you sacrifice yourself? On games we also have theories like the ones of the Elder Scrolls franchise where it is implied that the universe is simply a dream of The Godhead, so keeping him asleep becomes part of the thin thread that keeps your existence, and the laws of your world can become more flexible since everything your characters know is purely oneiric on essence, and that is just an incredible help for your world-building when you are a writer!

This movie plants the idea of a demon trying to keep God asleep because they are in love with them and for real though, that is probably one of the funniest ideas to come out from fiction in 2013, there are other anime like the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya that play with the concept of Godhood and the task of having to keep a God asleep but this whole series turns that concept with an antagonistic lenses, which makes it a lot more fun, since the biggest catastrophe is not something you want to avoid, but something that you live in every day, in the story. I know, I am afraid and excited for the upcoming sequel, because just as I can feel a great connection with an artist, or a person, that something can always change after we all move to the next stage of our lives, just as a franchise moves to a (probably final) sequel, and a new arc, still though, I know that was done here will always mean something to me, it is not a simple retcon, it is not unnecessary, it felt warranted, it felt genuine, and it made me feel truly intense things.

And that is, my whole review.

10/10

[has-gilgamesh-doneanythingwrong]

Let There Be Cake!!

In which an assortment of Mastersonas visit Seihai’s Chaldea for some tea.

Disclaimer: Err well this may be a very random representation of all the masters, but I hope you enjoy it. (lmao) This may be a bit ooc ;; don’t destroy me pls

Decorating the tables with napkins and cutlery; Mash, Gudako and Seihai helped prepare for today’s meeting.

“I can’t believe so many masters are coming to visit,” Gudako grinned, as she nudged Seihai in the ribs- her eyes gleaming with mischief. “You’re lucky that I managed to get people like Emiya to lend a hand with the cooking!”

Rubbing their side indignantly, Seihai grimaced. “Hey, don’t nudge me like that! And yeah, I’m grateful...I almost had a panic attack once I caught sight of the guest list.”

Seihai was struck with awe once they realized how many different Chaldeas existed concurrently amongst one another. All they had sent out was a measly little pager, yet it had managed to make a huge impact.

“...To think that parallel worlds really exist...I dunno what to say, really.”

“Haha, try seeing it this way instead- if we can even summon servants from mythological epics, then who’s to say that only one version of this world exists? For all you know, we may live in an entire realm of endless interdimensional universes!” Spreading her arms wide, Gudako reared back her head with laughter, as Seihai accidentally tripped over the table. “For all you know, there may be 100 Gudakos! And they probably all have a nice harem tucked under their sleeves, as well!”

Before Gudako could lapse into yet another one of her much-loved rambles, Da Vinci rushed towards the door of the canteen. “Yahoo! The guests are all here, Gudako, Mash, Seihai. I sure hope you’re prepared!” And with a wink, they were back out the door again.

“Senpai, I think that’s our cue to go now.” Mash cuts off Gudako’s resistance by wrapping her arms around them. “No, senpai. Let’s leave Seihai to deal with teatime today. Good luck, Seihai.”

“Thanks....” Seihai muffled a laugh when they caught sight of the flailing Gudako, who was passionately yelling “NO, I DON’T WANNA WAIT ‘TIL LATER! I WANT TEA NOW!”

‘Gudako sure is an interesting master...’ Taking a deep breath, they went to greet the guests gathering within the hallway.

As soon as Seihai turned the corner, a ginormous loaf of bread was thrust in their direction.

“GWAH!” Leaping back in surprise, Seihai almost tumbled to the ground, until another master with cool, black-lace boots helped them up.

It was Candace and Quin!

“S-sorry about that. You know...I saw your face, and the bread. Yes, well here’s some bread.” Candace smiled softly, as they passed their loaves to Seihai. “I wanted to pass a gift for today.”

“Thanks, that’s nice of you. This bread smells amazing...I feel like I’m in bread heaven...” Turning back to face Quin, Seihai grinned. “Thanks for the save there as well, Quin. You have great reflexes.”

“Ah, that’s nothing much! I just wanted to help, that’s all.” Quin smiles sweetly, as they peer at the bread. “Ooh, that does look tasty...”

“It’s bread courtesy of my own Olive Garden,” Candance’s eyes gleamed with pride; as Quin giggled softly.

“I’ve heard the tales of your Olive Garden as well. BB says that she’d like to make dragon steaks there someday.” As Quin cheerfully shared this, Seihai paled in terror.

‘BB? DRAGON STEAKS? SHE’S NOT GOING TO COOK LIZ AGAIN, IS SHE?’ Only Seihai worried about this, as Quin and Candace enjoyed a good conversation about all of the madcap shenanigans that occurred in the Olive Garden; as well as BB’s cooking skills.

Once Seihai lead them to their seats, they greeted the next group of visitors. There, was none other than Kiryu- with a shy Bunyan lurking by their side, as they held hands- and Julius, holding a rather interesting contraption.

“Nice to see you both,” Seihai waved. As they peered down at the trembling Bunyan, concern flickered across their features. “Is Bunyan okay?”

“She’s just a bit shy,” As Kiryu patted her head, Bunyan smiled brightly. “Hope you’ve got some good drinks and snacks for today.”

“Err...Well we have some tea and stuff....Hahahaha...” In fact, Seihai had no idea at all what was going to be served for tea. They had more or less left everything up to Emiya. “Yeah...”

“I’m looking forward to it too,” Julius unleashed a rather huge machine. “In order to celebrate, I enlisted the help of a few allies to make a ‘magical tea’ device.”

“Cool, what does it do?” Kiryu gave it a light tap.

“It can create tea; in any flavor you want.” Julius explained excitedly. “And by any flavor, I mean any.”

“Nice. That’s more my kinda style.” As Kiryu hi-fived Julius for his genius idea, Seihai clapped with wonder. Julius’ inventions were awesome.

“Thanks, Julius. Well, the canteen is just by there. I’ll see you in a bit!” As Seihai went to look for the other guests, they were caught off guard by an array of floating cards.

Yes, floating cards.

‘B-bruh..what?!!!’ “Y-yo...” Seihai smiled awkwardly as they backed away from the dancing cards. ‘Shit...Where’s my runes? SHIT!’ Worried that they were magical spirits or something, Seihai was about to unleash the algiz rune to make a protective ward- until the cards transformed into people!

It was an amazing magical trick. Arising from a sparkling array of stars was none other than Faye and Vann; two mages that were very adept at magical skills. As Seihai breathed a sigh of relief, Vann posed.

“Yo, it’s me! I’m excited for some tea today.” Vann gave both Faye and Seihai a fist-bump.

“Me too, it’s my first time visiting here! Glad to make your acquaintance.” Faye shook Seihai’s hand.

“Nice to meet you both as well." As Seihai greeted them, the two began to discuss their various skills.

"I'm amazed you also know some card skills and tricks, Faye. Think we could work together?" Vann summoned a card from thin air.

"Hehe, I was taught them by some good allies of mine. Sure, why not?" Pirouetting, Faye invokes a supreme burst of magic, as a bunch of photos land in her hands. "I've been putting my magic to great use lately."

"Ehh! Lemme see!" Vann and Seihai clamored around Faye, as they peered at her photos. "WHOA!!!"

In her hands was none other than a gleaming collection of rare Ereshkigal and Serenity photos....photos that were worth their weight in gold.

'Hot damn, that's so adorable...' Seihai's eyes watered slightly when she caught sight of the cute shots of Serenity laughing and Eresh blushing. 'Faye has some mad skills.'

"Whoa, you gotta teach me that sometime...Wait. Seihai, where are we going again?" Vann looked up suddenly. "Aren't we going for tea?"

"Ah, yeah...I forgot. The canteen’s just by your left.” As they went off on their way, Seihai freaked out in horror as yet another card leapt into their face-Vann grinning mischievously at them as he and Faye walked along.

“H-holy crap...card magic is so good, yet so scary at the same time...” Seihai hoped that they could be as good as them at magic someday. Finally turning to look for the other masters, they bumped into some familiar faces.

“Oh, there you are! We got lost on our way to the canteen,” The final group of masters stood nearby, waiting in the wings. Maya, Val and the mage trio of Kat, Cris and Jeanne greeted Seihai, as they lead them to the location of the tea party.

“Ah, sorry about that. Actually, I also got lost trying to locate you all,” Seihai grimaced. They had lived in Chaldea for god knows how long; yet still struggled to find their way around!!! “How are you all doing?”

“Never been better.” Maya spun to the side, tapping their feet. “It’s a nice break from my regular duties.”

“Ooh, you mean your duties as the CEO of Chaldea?” Kat shot them a wide grin. “How’s that going?”

“Perfectly well! I’m having a lot of fun. What about you? How’s the trio doing?”

“We’re doing great! Although Spartacus ran into a bit of a frenzy during the movie shooting recently,” Jeanne spoke reflexively, stroking her chin.

“Haha, sounds just like him!”

As they burst into rancorous laughter, Seihai tapped Val lightly on the shoulder. “How about you, Val? Are you doing alright?”

“Huh...? Oh, yeah?” A light blush sprinkled across her cheeks. It seemed as if Val was hiding something. And Seihai definitely wasn’t the only one to notice. Leaning towards Val, Maya cheered.

“You hiding a little something?” As Maya winked, Val’s blush deepened.

“Er...Well, you see...” Sucking in an enormous breath of air, Val swung a ginormous box out of thin air. “The girls and I picked out a bunch of tabletop RPGS for us to play! But I was a bit worried that you guys maybe wouldn’t want to play...So, yeah. Well, you know.”

“Val...” Seihai’s eyes glimmered with unshed tears. The fact that Val had gone out of her way to bring games that she carefully selected with the people she loved...It was adorable. So sweet that Seihai clutched their heart. “I really appreciate the sentiment. Thank you.”

“Yeah, we do too. Games are good fun,” Cris patted Val on the back, as Maya helped Val carry the enormous boxes. “No need to worry.”

“Trying out new hobbies is good! Besides, I read Jeanne Alter’s doujinshi on a daily basis. There’s no way I’d judge you for that.” Maya was right. Hobbies were great to share!

“...Thank you...”

Once everybody had gathered for tea, utter chaos ensued. As Seihai panicked, Emiya was competing against Julius’ tea machine. That’s right; Julius’ tea machine was a challenger in Emiya’s eyes. However, Emiya won the competition once he showed off his brilliant bartending skills- by elegantly pouring Kiryu a nice cup of beer.

“Heh. Not even a tea machine can match up against my bartending skills.” His expression was smug.

“He’s got you beat on that one,” Kiryu conceded, as he took a nice sip of beer. “Wow, this beer’s amazing!”

On the other hand, the other masters were cheerfully wolfing down Candace’s baked loaves, and a wide assortment of cakes that had been ever-so-kindly prepared for them. Even Bunyan was treated to a special pile of pancakes.

However, problems began to occur as masters started to arm wrestle over who’d get the biggest slice of cake. Despite this, Quin defeated every single challenger as swiftly as possible.

“I love cake,” She exclaimed, as she took a glorious slice. Nobody could defeat her!!

‘I’m so damn jealous...’ Seihai sighed, as they settled into a small slice. After that, things went even more nuts when playing some of Val’s tabletop RPGS. Even though magic was meant to be banned when playing games, that certainly didn’t stop anybody!

By the ends of things, the canteen was bustling with fun; laughter; and a massive pile of cards.

Once Seihai saw all of the masters off, they chortled. ‘That was a lot of fun...’

They hoped that they’d all come back again soon.

Lol it’s finished. Sadly, I couldn’t go into detail about the tea time events as there were so many visitors! well hope u enjoyed. XD

List Of Mastersonas Included (tags):

@hasabbydoneanythingwrong @hasishtardoneanythingwrong @hasereshdoneanythingwrong @hasnightingaledoneanythingwrong @haspaulbunyandoneanythingwrong @hasspartacusdoneanythingwrong @havetheavengersdoneanythingwrong @hasbbdoneanythingwrong@hasnobbudoneanythingwrong

[boompowkablam]

Favorite Fic Rec- List # 3

WALKING DEAD LIST

Just a list of some of my favorite stories. I’m gonna act like I remember how to link stuff it will be great. Pairings are going to be Daryl/Glenn and Daryl/Jesus. Maybe a Daryl/Rick thrown in IDK .

     How These Days Grow Long  By Never_Says_Die

This work is COMPLETE!

Written in response to a prompt on The Walking Dead kink meme:

Rick & Co. are finding it increasingly difficult to deal with Daryl's outbursts, his racist remarks, and easily-ignitable temper.  They are in fact, considering just cutting their losses and telling him he has to leave when they come across another group of survivors...one of whom is very, very special to Daryl.

AU in which Glenn and Daryl have been in a relationship for a few years before the ZA, and were separated when Atlanta was overrun.  Each think the other is dead, and Glenn ended up with a different group of survivors while Daryl ended up in the quarry camp.  Story also assumes Merle would've turned his back on Daryl for getting involved with Glenn, so they parted ways long ago.

Action , Adventure, Love , Suspense,Sadness,Longing, Its just everything you want from a fic. Word count 100,538. Pairing Daryl/Glenn

     The Diary of Glenn By  ornategrip

Seasons 1 and 2, as seen through Glenn's diary.

This is so funny I love it! I wish I could make a podfic for it like whoa.

Word count 4,938. Pairing Daryl/Glenn

     Ghosts Among Us  By  TWDObsessive

Daryl sees the dead.  Not the walkers, the twice-dead once they become ghosts.  It started since the turn and he assumes it’s his body’s reaction to the walker infection they all carry.  One by one he experiences losses of loved ones and each of them come to visit him.   And they all seem to be guiding him to Rick.

This was really good but also really sad to me. Mind the tags so you don’t read something upsetting . Word count 6,422. Pairing Daryl/Rick

     Picking Up the Pieces  By  Riastarstruck

When Rick works night duty while recovering from the shooting, he becomes friends with Daryl, the young guy working community service as a janitor in lieu of prison time.

"If you found an animal in an alley and it was raining and you approached it, it would try to bite you. But if you could get it inside and feed it and take it somewhere warm, it would follow you forever. He's got that kind of vibe to him." -Norman Reedus on Daryl Dixon

This one is cute but also makes me feel sad even though it’s not sad.

Word count 21,161. Pairing Daryl/Rick

     While the World Falls Down  By  oleanderedits @oleanderedits​

They were supposed to have ten days to dispute the quickie wedding they'd had the night they'd been drunk. The world went to shit three days later. Part 1 of a series re-write focusing on Glenn, Daryl, Merle, and Maggie as what it means to be 'Family' is stretched, twisted, and redefined by circumstances no one should have to live through. Covers Seasons 1 and 2 and mostly follows the canon storyline.

This is hands down 100% my absolute favorite walking dead fic. It is so good I have read it so many times now. I seriously can not get enough of it.

Word count 48,284. Pairing Daryl/Glenn , Glenn/Maggie , Daryl/Maggie , Daryl/Glenn/Maggie.

     Friction Match  By  vegarin

It's the end of the world. You can be anyone you choose to be."  Daryl Dixon, at the end of the world.

I am not sure what it is about this story that makes me love it so much! I am working on a podfic for it right now so at some point I’ll have a link up for that.

Word Count 24,769. Gen no Paring.

     Fall Into Your Arms. By  doctorkaitlyn @banshee-cheekbones

“I am done with dating.  And I mean it this time.”

Glenn is sick of his friends setting him up.  He’s sick of going on bad dates and he’s sick of getting his hopes up and never hearing anything back.  In all the time he spends not going on dates, he can do things that he actually enjoys, like sleeping or marathoning a television show or trying to find a better job.

He is done with dating.  Seriously.

At least, that's what he says before he meets Daryl.

This is so cute and awkward I love Glenn’s bad luck.

Word Count 4,549. Pairing Daryl/Glenn

     Dear Mr. Hawkeye  By  Psmith73 

@psmith73

AU. Glenn is a struggling student neck-deep in debts. One day while trying to earn some money he gets himself in serious trouble. An anonymous benefactor offers him help in return for weekly emails describing events of his life. Jean Webster's "Daddy-long-legs"/TWD fusion. COMPLETE.

This is really good I dont know why I want to say human disaster Glenn but im  gonna. I think its cause it references marvel hawkeye but also Glenn kind of is.

Word Count 20,552. Pairing Daryl/Glenn.

something keeps pulling me back to you  By  wardeness

 Daryl Dixon sat on the steps of his porch, elbows resting on knees as he sharpened his knife. Katydids called around him in a chorus of chirping crickets, the sound only interrupted by the rhythmic scratch of metal on stone. The heavy air—a sure sign rain was coming, Daryl predicted—felt moist and honeyed against his bare arms. The evening was calm. Peaceful, even.

 Peaceful, that was, until Jesus appeared.

AU after 6x11. Slow burn.

Super cute .Super fluff.

Word Count 64,037 . Pairing Daryl/Jesus

Daryl's Addiction By  DestielHardcoreLove @bugandkitlove

Paul had no clue what was going on.  It seemed as if every time he turned a corner he would find Daryl on his knees with someone different from the community.  He didn't know what to make of it, what to even think but he did wonder how to get on it himself.

This was just really funny to me. Instead of talking I’m gonna make sure you catch me blowing the town.

Word Count 7,702. Pairing Daryl/Jesus

  Against the Dying of the Light  By   LottaCharlene

After escaping Terminus, Rick's family is at their strength's end. When the walls of yet another community loom over their heads, they must decide if they take the risk to seek refuge in this new community. They are met with a strange tradition that they are still willing to follow through for the sake of their family's well-being. Soon enough, they realize that they found a place that they could call home again. But the peace is treacherous and yet again they have to fight for their freedom and the lifes of the people they love.

Unexpectedly, Daryl is the one that has to fight for more than just his family.

So very good and sweet and sad and Gregory is a nut sac but you already knew that. Also I fucking love arranged marriage fics.

Word Count 108,454. Pairing Daryl/Jesus.

 Ripples on a Black Shore  By  Mugatu

For Daryl Dixon the world ended days before it did for almost everyone else, and it was heralded with a prerecorded phone message instead of a bang.

An AU fic where Daryl met Paul several years before the apocalypse.

Kind of sad but with a happy ending.

Word Count 200,540. Pairing Daryl/Jesus.

 Cross Your Fingers  By  starclipped

Daryl finds himself wrapping his fingers around Paul’s wrist before a bandage can be pulled from the tattered box. And Paul peers at him when their skin touches, fierce eye to fierce eye, with… with such veneration. Daryl wouldn’t know that feeling if he saw it, he thinks he’s seeing it now and he can’t believe it, but he can sure as hell feel it; rolling off his hippie ninja in waves, seeping into Daryl’s soul. A gasoline soaked rag, simply waiting to be set aflame. That's what he's become. He swallows the foreign emotions that suddenly make him feel too big for his body.

So very good and kind of sad worth the read for sure!

Word Count 204,186. Pairing Daryl/Paul

 Finders, Keepers  By  Joel7th

Jesus came to Alexandria to do trade and to see a certain grumpy hunter. However, he didn’t see said hunter; instead, just outside the walls of Alexandria he found a black cat – wait, was that really a cat?!

I found this so funny!

Word Count 10,148 . Pairing Daryl/Jesus

 All you need is twinkling stars and ancient cities  By TooRational  @toorational

Daryl Dixon of all people turns out to have the Ancient gene.

Go figure.

Or: The unlikely tale of a redneck from Earth and a Runner from the Pegasus Galaxy, and how they fell in love.

I fucking love Stargate Atlantis Crossovers and this was amazing !!!!

Word Count 16,454. Pairing Daryl/Jesus

 Help Wanted  By  Scababagorn

Daryl Dixon hasn't believed that he deserved to be who he really is. He hasn't ever felt safe enough. Is the reason that so many of the people he loves are dead. And then, suddenly there is a man named Jesus. And he likes to call Daryl "Dixie"

Cute,cute, cute I love it!!

Word Count 22,618. Pairing Daryl/Jesus

 if the world should break  By  transstevebucky @gaydaryl

It's not like Daryl hates the guy. It's exactly the opposite.

Very cute. Be mindful of the tags daryl gets outed without his permission.

Word Count 36,343. Pairing Daryl/Jesus

 Misunderstandings in a Car Crash By  Neeka

Misunderstanding. [mis-uhn-der-stan-ding]

Noun 1. Failure to understand correctly; mistake as to meaning or intent

Warning: Does not mix well with love and may lead to heartbreak

Dude like super sad face for like half of this but it gets less sad .

Word Count 18,614 Pairing Daryl/Jesus.

 Breaking the Cycle  By  AidaRonan @bisexualstarbucky

Daryl's life seems to follow a cycle of pain and violence. So when he starts falling for his new roommate, he's more than wary about what it might mean.

But sometimes breaking a cycle means making a choice.

So very cute a little sad also be mindful of the tags.

Word Count 7,416 . Pairing Daryl/Jesus

 Fables of the Reconstruction By  Mugatu

It’s more than two years after the end of the world and six months after the war with the Saviors when Daryl Dixon returns to Alexandria.

This is just so good holy crap and glenn lives which makes it even better!!

Word Count 91,918.  Pairing Daryl/Jesus

 You're Like Me (a goddamn idiot)  By  yellowhairedrobot

Jesus tilted his head to the side. “If I tried to kiss you right now, would you kick my ass?”

“Yes,” Daryl answered, way too quickly.

This is funny and gives me extreme second hand embarrassment.

Word Count 6,395. Pairing Daryl/Jesus

 the streets are full of strangers  By  smilebackwards @smilebackwards

When Deanna asks Daryl to leave Alexandria, he meets Paul on the road a little earlier.

I would like to say cute-meet . lol its very good and very cute.

Word Count 11,563 . Pairing Daryl/Jesus

There is also a podfic for this.

     [Podfic] the streets are full of strangers  By  Boompowkablam   @boompowkablam

Length 1hr 7 mins

  a heart that's on loan  By  smilebackwards @smilebackwards

Aaron and Daryl discover Hilltop on one of their scouting trips and find that the community has an interesting throwback custom for establishing alliances: marriage.

I LOVE ARRANGED MARRIAGE AND THIS IS THE BEST ONE!

Word Count 11,686.  Pairing Daryl/Jesus

 Just Another Day  By  PezzieCoyote                   

What if Daryl was the one in charge? How would things be different? And what secret is he hiding?

Supernatural elements you know besides the zombies .

Word Count 9,950. Pairing Daryl/Jesus

  Escape  By   AbigailHT, TooRational  @toorational @abigailht

  By the time the song starts drilling into his head worse than the headache, he's come to the conclusion that he can't do much.  There's no way to get out unless someone unlocks the door, and even if he could, he has no idea where he'd go once he's out anyway. Nor has he any idea who has him. Or why. Or where. Or where home is. Or—Basically, he doesn't know anything, and even the things he does know are mostly instinct and completely unverifiable anyway.He's contemplating sitting back down again — he'll have to do it at some point, if only to preserve his strength, but the cold, and the dirt, and he's naked, his skin crawls at the mere thought — when the song shuts off abruptly.

Or: The Saviors' latest prisoner isn't quite what he seems.

Its just like everything you ever wanted out of Jesus in the show. So good a tiny bit sad.

Word Count 6,894. Pairing Daryl/Jesus

There is a podfic for this.

  Escape  By  Boompowkablam @boompowkablam

Length  45 minutes.

[genos-walking-autoclave]

Update on my OPM Journey

An introduction to how I ended up here and what I’m looking for:

Season 1:

Like many of us here, I watched the first season of One-Punch Man when it arrived on Netflix around 2016. It was fun. I enjoyed the humor and the characters. Finished the few episodes that were available and went on with my life with the faint but idle hopes of another season. If you were to have asked me about OPM back then I probably would have said something about it being ‘a fun anime’, ‘worth watching’, ‘entertaining/amusing’, without much additional thought. Then, Season two came out. I was almost surprised that a second season actually came out, it had been so long. I wish I could explain to you how and why the second season hit me like it did, (the quality was not as compelling as the first for one) but that’s a story for another time. 

Season 2:

I was idly curious how the author would keep the concept of ‘a hero who can defeat any enemy in one punch’ fresh and interesting. Superhero franchises often suffer from the crushing pressure to continue to escalate threats indefinitely to always keep a hero’s journey relatable and interesting. When you’re faced with overpowered superheroes like Superman plots can become ridiculous fairly quickly. What I noticed watching through Season 2 (and then season 1 again and then season 2 again) was clear indications that this tired ‘treat escalation trope’ was not at all what the creators were leaning on. There were really powerful conversations and questions being presented by or through characters. Saitama’s conversation with King is one that stands out to me in particular:

I was floored. And suddenly my level of investment in this content went from 20% “eh, it’s fun, I’ll check for new episodes.” to “holy crap I neeed to figure how what is happening here this is f-ing amazing!” 

And so began my ongoing quest to figure out what ONE is trying to teach us through this story.

I started reading the manga. 

At first I fell easily into the habits of most half-invested fans, clinging to overused tropes, enticed by fan predictions that feel more like conspiracy theories now, generally ignoring some of the themes and ideas that more observant fans are able to uncover. I’m getting closer but I feel myself getting frustrated, there is more going on here that I’m not seeing. My internal predictions about what will happen in the manga as I read through were getting closer but I keep missing the mark so far on some areas that I felt blindsided. 

I need to re-evaluate how I’m looking at this. I need more information. 

I started reading the webcomic. 

The webcomic really helped clarify some things for me, it was de-convoluted and direct. It was like looking at the bones of the animal. I could see it’s joints, where it bends and where it’s rigid. You really start to get a sense of what this story is built for. The scenes and dialogue are poignant and every frame has a purpose.

Still, this wasn’t good enough for me. My research is not over. I keep mis-attributing things, and missing clues. Through this process I’ve been getting better at uncovering my own biases and learning how to separate them from my interpretation but my biases are a continual stumbling block. For one thing I don’t value all the characters or the lessons they have to teach, I find my lazy brain getting annoyed at some characters and hoping their voice in the story is minimized while hyper-laser focusing on other characters to the point that they become muddled images, grotesque self-projections, or over-complicated distractions. I need to get out of my head a bit, not forgetting my own biases, and I need to start seeing how ONE thinks, who he is as a person, what he values. 

I need fresh source material. 

So, I watched Mob Psycho 100. 

That gave me so much hope and optimism for what ONE has in store for his characters. I’d gotten used to authors who create characters for the purpose of their deaths. Who creates characters who are intended to be ‘terrible, awful, and no good’ to highlight how ‘amazing, sweet, and good’ other characters are. But that’s not what ONE seems to do (imo). It’s not that he doesn’t use characters to contrast other characters, but that’s what it is, a contrast more than a judgement. From my perspective ONE understands the importance of consequence, he values inter-dependency gratitude and accountability. 

That said, he shows that a character's actions have consequences. It’s not necessarily moral judgement against a person to say that if they make fraudulent claims they may be found out and shamed, or if they’re standoffish they’ll have trouble building connections, if they use power to manipulate and control people with fear they might lose people (especially if that power is taken away). The use of consequence seems to extend past a person’s choices and include the consequence of a person’s circumstance which may not actually limit a person in a meaningful way, but will impact how they’re able to achieve what they desire. There is a moment when Mob runs for student body president and he’s put a lot of additional work and practice into the speech he’s required to deliver, he stretches himself, but unlike other stories he doesn’t have a ‘surprising under-dog upsetting the establishment’ moment. His natural shyness, low charisma, and the lack of real public speaking experience result in him standing in stunned silence during his entire time slot.

He doesn’t win the vote. Similarly, Mob sets an ambitious goal to come in the top 10 people in a race, but as a consequence of being a naturally small kid who has only just begun actively trying to improve his body, he is unable to accomplish his goal. However, as a direct result of the effort and determination he’s put into his goal he does much better than he’d ever done before. 

I had no idea before watching MP100 how much ONE thinks about interdependence and now I have a new perspective on the tension between the hero associations and the heroes, the teams of heroes and their individual strength, how well a team works together or not and why seems to be a very important topic of exploration for ONE. There is a very powerful moment when Mob confronts some esper goons who are looting a store after the destruction of part of a city. When he confronts them he asks “could you guys manufacture this can? Could you actually grow the vegetables in this sandwich?” and concludes that thought with “You should realize that you’re only able to survive thanks to the help of others.” 

There is another powerful moment when Mob is being confronted by another bitter and disillusioned esper who tries to get Mob to tap into his negative emotions to increase his power. He tries to get Mob to despair in humanity as he has but Mob is able to turn the tables on the interaction with gratitude. By recognizing how fortunate he is and how many good people are near him he is able to pull himself (with a little help from Dimple and friends) out of despair. It’s a truly heartwarming moment and it leaves you really feeling bad for the antagonist in that situation. 

Conclusion for this post, (but not the conclusion of my research):

This is getting a bit long so I’ll conclude. Taking this dive has certainly given me some perspective and I have an overwhelming buffer of new OPM analysis that’s just waiting to be put to paper. I absolutely recognize that MP100 =/= OPM and ONE may indeed be exploring entirely different concepts. I don’t believe, however, that ONE’s values have changed much (although I’m sure they’re in constant development) and I’m grateful for the opportunity to see what he thinks about. I’m grateful for the time and effort he’s put into communicating and sharing his ideas though his comics. I still have a lot of personal biases to identify and overcome, that will be a constant struggle. However, part of the charm of my meta’s is that they do come from my own perspective. This little story is only a hint at some of the fish in the ocean of thoughts I’m swimming through trying desperately not to drown in as I open my big mouth to try to share with you all. (Welcome in, the water’s fine.)

[artyrogue]

Blind Date Gaming: Konami GB Collection Vol. 3

Boy, I am WIPED after my date last night. It all started out as it usually does -- a quick visit to PRANG for an introduction to my next potential video game suitor. Who could have guessed that I would served up 4 dates! They all came together at once under the guise of Konami GB Collection Vol. 3.

I was greeted at first by an anime schoolgirl with a huge hand and quite possibly a contender for the weirdest hairstyles I've seen in a while. What is that, a grass-inspired mohawk laid over top a normal haircut?

Is this what the cows that make cowlicks eat?

What happened next was an eventful set of speed dates. This onslaught left me with no down time, thus the exhaustion. However, I did end up meeting some nice games. I'll speed through them each quick-like to keep this from being overly long. Luckily each of the games are pretty short (as expected from Game Boy games)!

First up is Gradius II! Now, I've never actually played a Gradius game, so I can't say if this is a port, some reconfigured version of Gradius II, or what. What I CAN say is that it has tight controls, beautiful graphics, interesting bosses, and some fun gameplay.

Looks like a rocky magic 8 ball

You start off hangin' out with what I assume are your dad and mom starships. Aww, family time! Soon, however, someone decks your old man and blasts your momma fulla lasers. Obviously disturbed, you fly forward and get chased by the perpetrator through a buncha rocks until you escape.

Good thing this guy doesn't feel like firing at me for whatever reason

...Except you kind of don't? You end up going through a bunch of planetary landscapes, shootin' dudes and grabbin' powerups that let you fire lasers and stuff. Pew pew! You eventually get captured, break out, and summarily fly through a ship, an asteroid belt, and I think some alien's guts? I'm not sure; I never went to med school for interplanetary digestive systems. Bosses fight you at every turn, and they are so sweet. Like, I don't always know what I'm attacking, but it just looks so cool that I really don't care!

Ever want to fight a kneeling, fanged alien stuck in a wall with detachable mouthy-brains? Yeah, well now you do, obviously!

In the end you find the enemy ship that assassinated your nuclear family with nuclear weapons, commit your own brand of galactic revenge, and I assume go on with your day in a half-arsed way, never addressing the journey you just went through for fear of sparking up some majorly weird PTSD.

Next up is some Castlevania game! It claims to be Castlevania II, but don't think it's Simon's Quest since it doesn't have slow-scrolling text boxes telling me that night is a poor time to explore the world when suffering from a magical adversary's angry sentiments. Instead, you just go about whippin' junk. Alright, I can be a lion tamer for the undead.

Why do cultists always gotta wear hoods? Can't they wear like a polo and some comfy slacks?

So in this installment, you can apparently shoot fireballs from a fully-upgraded whip, so it's instantly MUCH easier than most Castelvania games. The list of enemies is kind of lacking, but it was enough to feel competent. The level design was pretty spot-on, which is par for the course, though for some reason this game has a love affair with ropes? They're EVERYWHERE, but there's enough variation in the levels to give them pass. For example, some areas have auto-directional-pulling ropes, some ropes are spider webs made by enemies, some require quick sliding to avoid obstacles, etc.

You gotta wonder, does the guy living here have to go through all these traps every day just to get his mail? And how does he carry groceries back to his (probably rope-decorated) kitchen?

The boss fights were definitely memorable. Some of their designs were flat-out brilliant, and they were all pretty fun! Your sub-weapons weren't really that useful here, but that's fine. The bosses, too, were made a little easier with the projectile whip, but the designers struck a good balance between fun and hard.

These guys shoot out vertebrae in an arc, transferring them from one head to the other. I don't have a quip here, it was just a stupidly awesome designed boss that I wanted to gush about for a bit!

Well, perhaps I spoke too soon. The bosses were all fun except for the last 3 in the game. Allow me to whine and complain about them for a bit, if you will! The first was a tunneling snake on a forced scrolling screen that made you take damage unless you memorized where he was going to surface next (I HATE memorization-by-death gameplay). The next was a fellow Belmont who would relentlessly whip the crap outta you, throw swords all over the screen, and would probably be nigh impossible if I didn't have Holy Water. The final was Dracula, who I suppose gets a pass for being hard since he was the final boss...but he, too, was pretty much a memorization-by-death fight, too. The dude has 6 orbs revolving around him that spread out, essentially making 85% of the screen unsafe. Unless you know the specific spot to crouch down for the given position he's in, you get hurt, and you get hurt pretty badly. Oh, and you can really only hit him once per attack, so you'd better learn the safe spots for all 8 of his attack spots and hope you can hurt him and get into your safe position before taking damage.

ouch ouch ouch OUCH

In the end, it was overall a pretty fun time. Konami definitely knows how to make a good sidescrolling action game, which is probably why they're half of the name of the 'Metroidvania' genre. Go team Belmont!

Next up: Yie Ar Kung~Fu! What is this? I've never heard of it. It's a simple fighting game where you face off against 5 fighters, each with their own weapons and special moves. You play as a normal weaponless guy who can only kick and punch, because that's fair? Regardless, you must persevere through 4 rounds of these 5 fights, each time with your foes getting slightly harder.

Mmyep, this is fair.

My trademark fighting game strategy of sweeping seems to work for the most part, though as the difficulty ramps up, the other fighters move with ridiculous speed between attacks. Eventually, the game just becomes 100% about approaching a foe with more range than you, which obviously is the main focus of fighting games. What's that? Combos? Pffft, those are lame, just have the enemies fly across the ring like a sugar-high Jack Russel Terrier.

So this guy's power is to propel himself like a missile and look like an absolute goon while doing so

There's also a mini-game where you hit things thrown at you, but like they show up so quickly and your animation speed is so slow that it's impossible to do very well. It was an okay game overall, though, but I can sort of see why it isn't as well-known as Gradius or Castlevania.

Last game: Antarctic Adventure! It's a penguin-based racing game! I think? Does this count as a racing game? Well, you race against the clock, so sure. You gotta move at top speed through an icy wasteland, avoiding sea lions and holes in the ice.

I like how this sea lion looks after getting plastered in the face by a penguin moving at ~120 km/hr. Is he in shock? Is he alive? Should I notify his next of kin?

The lore is actually pretty deep in this game. The world has fallen into ruin due to global warming, and the glacier sheets on Antarctica are slowly melting away. As a penguin trained in espionage and terrorism, you must travel to the different embassies that many countries have propped up in an attempt to stake a claim in possibly the only livable area in the near future.

The french are planning to build replicas of their famous landmarks here, like the Ice-full Tower and Arctic de Triomphe.

You're not exactly racing as much as you are keeping ahead of the authorities pursuing you for planting bombs in the embassies. If you successfully plant your payloads in all of the embassies across all of Antarctica, you destroy their chances of bringing cultural imperialism to the local wildlife. Your customs are at stake! You must cast your empathy aside for the greater good of penguin-kind!

Also, you can sometimes turn into a helicopter? Not sure what that was about.

Okay, okay, yeah, I may have embellished a bit there. No, it's not as cool as that. You just run from one place to the next and heck if I'll ever find out why miscellaneous countries happen to have little castles in a barren arctic wasteland. People's taxes at work, I guess!

Oh right, there's also a fifth option on the main menu. It's Ms. O.C. Anime Girl explaining things about the games to you. I can't read anything she's saying, though, so I can only imagine the shady koala statue in the back has some relevance to her dialogue.

So that ends an exhausting series of dates. Whew! Glad you toughed it out with me. As I've completed all of the games this time, I didn't think another date was warranted. However, Gradius and Castlevania were fun enough to say that sure, I guess, it's worth going on another date in the future. Maybe it'd be better to find the original games, though, instead of this particular port. I can only assume the extra screen real estate, better sound effects, and greater ROM size would only enhance their experiences. And speaking of experiences, grab a Sprite of Passage from the jar over there on your way out! It's mint-flavored and can double as a water purification tab if you're ever stuck somewhere in the wilderness!

Man, I would kill to watch a skeleton ballet

[sobeautifullyobsessed]

((YOU NEED TO SEND YOUR FICS TO SCOTT DERRICKSON SO HE CAN READ HOLY CRAP))

Awwwww, thank you! You’re very kind to say so, and I’m gonna cherish that comment for a long, long time to come!

I like to think I “know” the MCU version of Stephen pretty well (in my own special way, anyway; the mileage on that varies for the many people who write fics featuring him).  “My” Stephen is almost exclusively predicated on Benedict’s magnificent interpretation, so I probably miss a lot from comic book canon.  As you may know, I focus on his brilliance and angst, his unselfish service, and that he doesn’t see himself as a hero, let alone worthy (due to his past) of love and forgiveness.  And ofc, I try my best to give him someone to love him unconditionally, and elevate his perception of his own worth.  In both fluffy and…um…smutty ways.😉

But that’s probably a far, far cry from the way Scott Derrickson or anyone involved in Strange’s franchise, see him.  Of course, if they came calling and asked for input, you better believe I’d have my pencils sharpened and ready to go!

Since we’re discussing Strangebatch fiction, please let me recommend a couple of my favorite authors, whose work with my beloved Master of the Mystic Arts I never miss:

@aelaer​ – SIMPLY BRILLIANT! And amazingly prolific. Original storylines, works equally well in angst, hurt/comfort, and humor.  Stephen is 100% in character all the time, and you can feel how much the author loves and respects him. Besides their work on AO3, they’ve done an FANTASTIC series here on tumblr for Whumptober 2019; blogger hasn’t missed a day yet, and all of them either feature Stephen or someone closely connected to him.  You really should stop what you’re doing right now and GO READ…if you love Stephen as I do, you’ll be hooked!

@strangelock221b​ – She writes fluffy, romantic fic (like me ;-) ), with just the right share of angst when needed. Has a beautiful grasp of Benedict’s Stephen, and writes with astonishing economy, stirring the feels we all enjoy from fic reading with far less need for embellished language.  Couples him in ‘rarepairs’, finding in characters pulled from elsewhere the MCU, the ideal paring for him—to give him the love and comfort he so richly deserves.  I absolutely find myself wishing I could be the lucky ladies she matches with Stephen.  She’s Dreamin on AO3, and if you visit there you’ll find a wealth of MCU and Sherlock related fics to fill many happy hours reading!

[sometimesrosy]

You really think they’re going to go back to earth?? I mean, I could see Bellamy and Clarke landing at the dropship site all ready to rebuild humanity with radioactive playing softly in the background, fade to black. But I can also see them really leaving earth in book one.

It is, of course, only a speculation. I don’t know. I recognize that I am leaping ahead of canon evidence to make that speculation, but then, I have done that before and been correct. I guessed, from out of nowhere that cryo sleep would be a solution, but my guess came too early. I guessed that for the COL they would save everyone instead of losing everyone like MW, because that’s the kind of twist that would keep an audience on it’s toes. Once i accepted the time jump and clarke left behind, I guessed that she would become a mother, although I said it woud be bellamy’s child. So i got the motherhood right but not the shipping spec. When you spec on this show based on shipping it’s almost never right, that’s not how they make their narrative choices. I guessed that s5 would end with Bellamy and Clarke would lose the war for Eden (McCreary cheated) and take their people who stopped fighting into the wastes for an exodus. As the season went on it became probable that the exodus would be in the stars instead of on earth. So like, these big conceptual stories? I’m picking up on. I think it’s because I speak the same language as JR, 90s scifi geek who went to college to study writing. We have the same references in our heads. Once I started LOOKING for his symbolism and allusions and archetypes, the whole show fell into place and made a lot of sense to me. This show is NOT random. He’s not changing the story to please fandom or to hurt them (except in cases where he can WORK with the changes.)

I’m not intending to brag, I’m intending to show you that although my spec seems like it comes out of left field and there’s no basis for it, the basis actually comes with the TYPE of story he’s telling and the common language in the GENRE. Like, I started picking up on his symbolism in s3, but if I didn’t keep getting confirmation that I was right with the themes and archetypes and symbolism and allusions, I would have changed my theories. But I keep getting confirmation that I’m on the right track. JR is going down a familiar path for me. So I’m trying to find the street signs and show them to you so you can follow the path too.

So WHY did I come up with this wacky theory about Clarke and Bellamy returning to earth? HOW? It didn’t happen until s5 was over and I started getting asks and started reading/watching those references he told us about and started thinking how all the storylines converge.

long and involved, so, below the cut.

Snarky foreshadowing– This was when I first went, wait, what? Raven, when she flew the last ship off of earth said, “Just once I’d like to take off from a planet while it wasn’t burning.” TWICE she’s done that. Third time’s the charm. They’ve been fixing the traumas, I think we’ll get this one again too, only this time the planet won’t be burning. They’ve got ONE planet left. The new one. Therefore, they will be leaving the planet and it won’t be burning. But WHY would they leave the planet when it’s not burning? Then I had to find a REASON for them leaving the safe haven planet. 

History repeats itself– This story is about how pre-apocalypse humans were ruining the world. Becca is the real wanheda. She, her creation, eradicated humanity. That’s the genocide. She started the harshness of the Ark because of her madness. She started the harshness of the grounders as Pramheda. She came back and we saw her trying to fix what she’d done. She ALSO had to do with the eligius program and invented their nightbood. THEREFORE, the new planet colony is a descendent of Becca’s original crimes against humanity. Was it all an accident? Sure? But also it was the result of her choices, her hubris, her genius.  She is Doctor Frankenstein. (Actually I just made that connection and I feel stupid for missing it. Does it work? Anyone see it also?)

You are responsible for your monster when you let it out– Lincoln’s words. VERY IMPORTANT. This makes EVERYTHING in the story make sense. If people don’t take responsibility for their evil, they are the monster. If people TRY to take responsibiilty for their evil, they are the hero. That’s why leaders sacrificing others is not a sacrifice, they aren’t taking responsibility they are using people. But Clarke or Bellamy risking their lives to fix their mistakes IS heroic. It’s not always smart, but that’s the good guy move. hero/monster has been a theme since s1.

The structure of the story is a spiral– They are returning to their greatest traumas and FIXING them. Making the right choice this time. Teaching others to make the right choice, learning from their mistakes instead of doubling down on their evil actions in order to make it worth it, like Octavia all season 5. Or Lxa in s2. Or Jaha the whole show. Or Cage Wallace. Redemption comes through recognizing your monster and DOING BETTER. Redemption is a MAJOR theme of post-apocalyptic stories. 

Eligius 3 are Colonialists, NOT refugees– Monty said that they went to the new planet to USE the resources because the resources of the earth were used up. They aren’t looking for a home, they’re looking for another planet to consume. THIS IS WHAT STARTED THE ORIGINAL FALL OF HUMANITY. They reflect the values of Mount Weather who believed the earth was their birthright and treated the people on the surface as cattle to be used and tortured. This is a repeat of the MW conflict.

Eligius 3=Mount Weather– that means we’ll be getting a redo of the biggest and most traumatic “failure” that Clarke and Bellamy had. Except, it never really was a failure. It was the RIGHT thing to do. It happened also to be best for their people, but it was GOOD, even though it caused harm to some innocent people, because as Maya said, none of them were innocent. They were the disease. Clarke (med student, remember?) had to KILL the mountain to put it out of its suffering (like Atom) and to save the rest of humanity. This means that Eligius 3 will ALSO be the disease. They ARE the disease that caused the apocalypse. 

JRs reading/viewing list: all about the aliens– Weird non linear, non reality hybrids of alien and human. Consciousness. AI. Philosophy. Religion. I have not gotten to see ALL of the films or read the books, but I’ve researched them all a bit and they share themes. Also Avatar (blue not airbender) And I believe that we’ll have a non-humanoid kind of alien that bonds with the humans to create something new (also if you’ve ever read Ender’s Game which JR certainly did, it actually moves on to tell the story of Ender as Speaker for the dead, and his psychic connection, facilitated by an AI in his head [JANE!] who brings back the dead species and allows another very odd species to be recognized as sentient.  HOLY CRAP Madi is the speaker for the dead. omg i just realized!

If humanity is to be redeemed, they have to be responsible for their monster – They have broken the cycle of violence amongst themselves. They encounter a society that will be JUST as poisoned as the pre-apocalypse society that started this all. Russell’s people will BE the monster. Their enemy (the aliens who are NOT their people) will be the victims.  To be the good guy, they will have to CHOOSE their enemy over their people. Lincoln did it. Maya did it. They were The Good Guys. Clarke and Bellamy will have to end Russell’s people. In doing so, they will replay the MW trauma, but this time they will understand WHY it had to happen and will heal the trauma of the past, because they are HEALING humanity.

If humanity is to be redeemed, they must FIX what they have broken, that is The Earth itself– They can’t drop Earth when it’s no longer providing for them and move onto another planet that they can use up. If you look at The 100 in terms of environmentalism, which you can, you can see this would make them the bad guys. To be the good guys, they have to go back to what they did and start over. This fits the spiral structure, as well as being the Good Guy and being responsible for your monster. 

They aren’t going to discard the earth, or humanity– Why? Because they wouldn’t let Octavia martyr herself. She represents humanity. She will now be forced to WORK to redeem herself and fix what she did. So will humanity. They do not OWN the Earth, the Earth owns them and they are the caretakers. Octavia needs to go back to earth and treat it like her responsibility, not her property. She needs to follow what Lincoln believed. The attempted martyrdom was a reference to Lincoln. But she was cheating. She can’t cheat redemption.

THEY CAN’T CHEAT REDEMPTION: THEY HAVE TO GO BACK TO EARTH. In real life, none of this would have to happen, but this is not real life. This is JR with a story he wants to tell. The story is about the redemption of humanity and two mythic heroes who save humanity, not by keeping them from dying, but by leading them to redemption. THIS IS EPIC. 

When I started thinking about all these thematic questions, I saw that it started to form into a narrative, and many of the characters had roles to play within this narrative, some more than others. When I looked at those characters and their relationships, it completely connected to the long game stories of the relationships of the delinquents and the storylines that are actively being told and have been left open at the end of season 5. 

This theory slots the character arcs into the themes of the show as a whole AND the new main plot story of aliens, new planet, russell’s “peaceful” (yeah sure) society, bellamy and clarke’s commitment to be the good guy. 

So yeah. I see them leaving the new planet to take responsibility for the planet humanity killed, destroying russel’s peaceful society so they can’t destroy the new planet, and leaving Madi behind (she is special) as the steward for the new people. 

Because of the ORIGINAL foreshadowing that brought on this spec, Raven wishing to take off of a planet that isn’t burning, we know that they won’t destroy the new planet. They will save it. And leave it. In order to redeem humanity. 

leaving madi and echo behind with the aliens is not necessary for this redemption plot, but it fits the youth shall inherit the earth generational story and reflects Abby’s struggle with letting go of Clarke, and also Echo’s story of belonging and family and loyalty, and with her stated backstory. You see how this theory connects the larger themes to the character arcs? it just makes sense to me. It isn’t convoluted to me. It is a direct if this, then that, kind of logic. It’s just that it is bringing together MANY past concepts and lessons to save humanity. I don’t know if it sounds convoluted to other people, so if it does, ask me question and we can see if i can get it any clearer.

I can tell the entire story now, with places for the main characters dealing with their personal stories. And it all fits. It’s CRAZY but I’m so excited about it, I can’t wait to see if I’m on the right track. Because if I am it is going to be SO GOOD. Like REALLY. Like miraculous. And everyone who ever hated on this show is going to have to eat their words. Just. I mean. WOW. 

And all the characters people think were discarded and deserved better? They all have an important place, too. Wells has the vision for a life well lived. Lincoln’s idea of being responsible for your monster. Lxa’s power will actually be related to how they can save the new people (the flame), Maya’s conviction that she needed to stop her people because they were doing the wrong thing. Jasper’s belief that the problem WAS humanity and it might not be worth saving. Luna’s desire for peace. HOLY SHIT. 

[falloutdialogue]

Diamond City Security Dialogue

One Liners

Yeah. It's true. I got shot in the ass last year. Long story.

You been to Goodneighbor? Friggin' hole. Ghouls and chem heads all over.

A beer and my slippers after this shift. That's all I ask.

Hey, you that trader, up from Quincy? You sell any ointment? I got me this itch...

I hear you been asking questions around town. What, Diamond City's got two private dicks now?

Wanna do something fun? Run the bases. Trust me.

Ahem. Well hello beautiful.

Now what can I do for you, sweetheart?

Broke up with my girl. She kept the cap off the toothpaste. Know who does that? A synth.

Word of advice - never call your mother a synth unless she really is one. Yikes.

Crouching

Get off your knees. You look like a jackass.

What the HELL are you doing?

Whoa, whoa, no public squatting. Go find a bathroom. Jeez.

Intro Scene/Fighting Supermutants

Super Mutants!

Here's some Diamond City firepower you green uglies!

[Player helped fight] Damn. Not afraid of mutants, huh? You're our kind of guy/gal.

[Player helped fight, but didn’t get any kills] Mutants sure are hard to kill, huh? Thanks for the assist.

[Strong is a companion] Hey, uh, appreciate the help and all, but maybe keep your big, green friend out of the city, yeah?

[Strong is a companion] Hey, uh, welcome to our town and all, but maybe leave your big, green friend outside the gate, yeah?

[Player stood by] Not eager to get into a fight with mutants, huh? *sigh* I guess I can't blame ya.

[If there were many casualties] Dammit. Lost a lot of good guys today... When are the mutants gonna stop, huh?

Protecting Diamond City from Misc Enemies

This is our city, you fucking machine!

Suck it, you Protectron wannabe!

Die, you Institute asshole!

Time to beat down another crazy...

Batter up, asshole!

Code Red! CODE RED!

Welcome to Diamond City, motherfucker...

Game over, asshole.

That's what I call a strike out...

Posted Outside the Wall

Can't believe I'm posted outside the Wall. Who the heck did I piss off?

Feral Ghouls like to hide in the dark. Makes night patrol a real fright-fest.

Caught Picking Pockets/Stealing

Damn pickpockets!

I saw that!

Theft! Look alive, boys!

Hey. Klepto. Nice try.

Pretty sure that's not yours, pal/lady...

Great. A thief.

Whoa. Slow down there, sticky fingers.

Seriously, pal? Stealing?

Player is Taking Items of No Value

What? You picking up the trash?

You know that's junk right?

Got an amateur janitor over here...

Ain't everyday someone picks up the garbage for free...

Picking up garbage. You an old-time scavenger?

Hey, you wanna pick up trash, I ain't stoppin' ya...

Conversation with Sheng

Sheng, what have I told you about keeping the lake clean? Don't make me shut down this little stand of yours.

Sheng: Every drop of water comes out of that filter 100% pure. Why's a legitimate business man like myself always gotta be hassled by city regulation, huh? 

It's a health hazard, Sheng.

Sheng: It's a PROFIT hazard, is what I say. I manage the water. And I'll do it without your interference, thank you very much.

Eating Outside the Dugout Inn

Can't believe you eat that food. Only one thing worth buying in the Dugout Inn, and that's the booze.

Resident: Man's gotta eat, what can I say?

A real Diamond City boy eats at the noodle stand.

Factions/Main Quest

[If institute takes over commonwealth] These synths just showed up. They're not doing anything wrong... so... we're not sure what to do.

We're getting a lot of graffiti these days. Pictures of lanterns. Know anything about that?

Ask you somethin'. Crazy question. You didn't see a... flying ship recently. Did you?

You see that big blimp? What's the Brotherhood of Steel? Why are they here?

I was on duty when I seen that airship fall out of the sky. I wonder if anyone survived.

[Liberty Prime] Holy nuts! A giant fricken robot just walked by here like it was nuthin'. Now I seen everything.

You keep looking at me like that, I'm gonna start thinking you're a synth...

The Institute. Pfft. I ain't scared of them. No... really. I swear...

You read that article? In Public Occurrences? Damn synths could be anywhere.

Don't worry. You're safe from the synths here in Diamond City. I hope...

So it's true, then? You're leading the Minutemen? Good for you. Great cause.

I'm too friggin' slow to join the Minutemen.

How come whenever something interesting happens around here, you're right in the center of it?

[Excited, then slightly embarrassed] The legend him/herself! Way to give it to the Institute. You're like my hero or something...I dunno. Thanks.

There he/she is! The man/woman of the hour!

On behalf of all the guards here in Diamond City, I just wanted to say thanks. For saving us. All of us.

In the Newspaper

Hey, you were in the paper, right? 

You're 200 years old? Lookin' pretty good for your age, huh?

Vault Dweller? Huh... you seem pretty normal.

Vault Dweller with a thousand guinea pigs? What kind of twisted experiment was that?

Read that interview you gave. That thing you said at the end? 

About having hope? Good on ya.

About getting revenge? Right on.

About taking one day at a time? I can relate.

Player is a Known Criminal (but is now free to walk around)

Well, look. Diamond City's number one troublemaker. Oh, I got my eye on you. Oh, look here. It's the troublemaker.

Don't think we've forgotten about you. Play nice from now on, hear me?

[Player stole from someone] Hear you don't know what "private property" means. Just keep your hands to yourself.

[Player attacked someone] Ain't you the one who's been roughin' people up? Got my eye on you.

[Player killed someone] You're a freakin' psychopath, you know that?

Holidays

Today's Halloween, but do we get treats? Nooooo. It's all tricks, all day.

Can you believe today's Christmas? Ho ho friggin' ho.

Painting the Wall

Hey, you're the one made the Wall look like a lemonade stand.

Heard you're responsible for that new coat of green on the Wall. Looks nice.

The Wall's looking as green as the day she was built.

You. You're the one turned the Wall into some kind of... blue monster.

Ain't never gonna get used to the Wall looking like... that.

Reactions to Companions

What a mangy mutt.

Filthy animal.

Get out of here, you.

Well hey there, pup.

You keep an eye on that thing. I don't want to hear about anybody getting bit.

Hell of an animal you've got there.

That thing's not a stray, is it?

Nice dog.

Listen, um... Your pal there is kinda... scaring the crap outta me...

You and your mercenary friend keep your guns in your pants. Capiche?

Whoa, whoa. No Ghouls in Diamond City. Get that thing outta here.

Oh, man. You got a robot butler? I want a robot butler...

[Sarcastic] What kind of person pals around with a robot. Oh my God... you're not a synth. Are you?

Your friend looks like trouble. Make sure she's not.

I ain't telling you how to pick your friends, but Piper's kind of a troublemaker.

So what, you're in the Brotherhood of Steel now?

You know, your friend looks kind of familiar. Maybe...

Heard you rescued Valentine. Good work. Most synths scare the hell outta me, but Nicky, he ain't like those Institute psychos.

Hangin' out with Valentine, huh? Good for you. Nicky's good people. Ah, you know what I mean.

Dear God. Your friend. He's not a... you know. One of them super things. Is he?

Your buddy there's pretty intense. Brother needs to lighten up.

Chumming around with a merc, huh? I don't want no trouble on my beat.

Hey, you know the rules. No Ghouls in Diamond City. Get your friend outta here.

I know an ex-Raider when I see one. Make sure your "friend" plays nice inside the Wall, hear me?

[Sarcastic] Hey, ask your knight friend if they got shuffleboard up on that fancy ship.

What's with your shady pal, huh?

Got our eyes on you. Even if you are pallin' around with Nick Valentine.

Your Frankenstein friend there ain't gonna start eating people, is he?

[Sarcastic] Hey, tell your robot we're fresh outta crumpets.

You know, with McDonough out of the picture... We're gonna need a new mayor.

[Sarcastic] You make that robot yourself? You must be wicked smart.

You keep some weird company, pal/lady. Androids, reporters, dogs. Know any gorillas? Heh heh.

If I didn't know better, I could've sworn I saw you hanging out with a Ghoul. Here in Diamond City. But that's impossible. Right?

You're getting pretty chummy with that reporter, huh? Be careful, there. The mayor's got it in for her.

Reactions to Equipment/Armor/Weapons

Ho. Lee. Shit. Now that is some armor.

See you got one of those fancy Vault suits. Those one size fit all?

That a real Vault Suit? Damn.

Is that a Pip-Boy? Give my left arm for one of those.

Geez, pal/lady. I like guns, too. But you think you might be overcompensating there?

Nice piece you got there. Just keep it holstered.

Look, that armor's great, don't get me wrong. But how the hell do you, you know... Pee?

Hey, I ain't sayin' I want to shoot you, 'cause that would be rude. But would you even feel it?

A Swatter's man/gal, huh? Nice.

Nice hat.

Whoa! You look just like that Silver Shroud guy. From the radio.

Now you have the right idea. Power Armor. Only way to travel.

[cromulentbookreview]

Orange Whip!

Who wants an Orange Whip?

Orange Whip? 

Orange Whip? 

Three Orange Whips!

The world misses you, John Candy.

And by that, I mean: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon!

A world divided. 

A queendom without an heir. 

An ancient enemy awakens.

An orange with an impossibly soft rind.

Ok, so I added that last one. Only, the oranges in the world of The Priory of the Orange Tree seem to have these easy-to-chew-through rinds. Like, characters just take a bite right out of them, no problem. I mean, I can imagine doing that with a clementine, but with an orange? Like, an actual, gigantic and delicious navel orange? Not sure if I could do it. I mean, orange rind is not only tough, it’s really not that tasty. It’s all bitter and weird. You’ve got to candy orange peel before you eat it. Or, you know, just peel your orange and use the rind for zest like a regular person. Don’t get flavedo stuck in your teeth.

None of that really had anything to do with Samantha Shannon’s book. Sorry. I just really like oranges. And citrus fruit in general.

So,  The Priory of the Orange Tree!

At well over 800 pages, the book is a figurative doorstop.  And, if you’re in a pinch, a literal one, too.

I kid, I have an actual doorstop. Don’t use a book for a doorstop.

Anyway, if you’re not big into long reads, and you’re perfect novel is roughly 250-300 pages long, uh...you might have a hard time here. But if you’re willing to give it a go, there’s something oh-so-satisfying about a self-contained, one-volume fantasy epic. There’s a beginning, a middle, and an end. There’s no Game of Thrones-esque situation where you’re endlessly waiting for the next book which may or may not be over 1000 pages. The whole story is there, in one big volume, no waiting for sequels. I didn’t realize just how sequel-fatigued I’ve been until I sat down and made my way through this book. No mentally steeling myself for a cliffhanger followed by a two-year-wait. I haven’t felt this way about an epic fantasy novel since Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Who knew you can have an entire world confined to one volume! Hurray!

As a slow reader, it took me forever to make it through Priory (uh...like three weeks...) but holy crap was it worth it. It’s difficult to describe the plot, because, well, 800+ pages, four main POV characters spread throughout the world...the plot goes tons of different directions before coming together in the end. But the novel takes place in a world inspired by medieval Europe, Asia and Africa. Shannon’s East, like Japan until the 1850s when Commodore Perry waltzed in, guns blazing, is closed off to the nations of the West, mainly out of fear of the draconic plague, aka the “red sickness.” Foreigners are not welcome in the East and that’s the way it’s been for a good long while, to the point where there’s a huge gap in the understanding of Western dragons (similar to Western European portrayals of dragons, i.e. winged firebreathing murderous hellbeasts) and the dragons of the East (wingless, more serpent-like, think Haku from Spirited Away). 

In the East, dragons are revered and considered gods. In the West, well, winged murderous firebreathing hellbeasts. The worst of these firebreathing hellbeasts is a massive dragon known as the Nameless One, who wreaked havoc a thousand years ago, before being wounded and left dormant under the sea. The way in which the Nameless One was bound up in the Abyss is the basis for an entire religion in the Western nation of Inys, and the backbone of the monarchy - Queen Sabran IX of Inys is said to be the direct descendant of the knight who defeated and bound the Nameless One, and so long as Sabran produces a daughter, Inys will be protected from the Nameless One. So Sabran needs to get married and have a kid, like, immediately.

Sounds great, but what do you do when it starts looking like that might not be true? What if Sabran’s existence has nothing to do with the return of the Nameless One? How do you keep the Nameless One at bay then?

That’s the main plot of Priory of the Orange Tree put very, very briefly. The story is told from four different perspectives, so...let’s meet our POV characters!

Tané: a young orphan from Seiiki who has spent her life training in hopes of becoming a dragon rider in the High Sea Guard. It is her actions that spark the events of the rest of the book.

Niclays Roos: an alchemist in exile in the East. He was banished from the West by Queen Sabran IX after failing to produce an elixir of life. He now lives in the teeny tiny Western trading post of Orisima in Seiiki.

Eadaz du Zala uq-Nara aka Ead Duryan: A Southern mage and initiate of the Priory of the Orange Tree currently embedded in the court of Queen Sabran IX, posing as a lady-in-waiting. Her mission is to protect Sabran, but she must keep her true identity hidden, as magic is super-duper forbidden in Inys.

Arteloth “Loth” Beck: A close friend of Queen Sabran IX and a member of Inys’s (Inys’?) nobility. He and his best friend Kit are forcibly exiled from court after Loth’s closeness to Sabran is viewed as an impediment to her marriage prospects. 

The novel itself begins with Tané, hanging out on a beach in the East when, gasp! A foreigner shows up. By all rights, Tané should just kill him and be done with it, but, fearing that a dead foreigner might put a damper on her chances at being a dragon rider, what with all the questions and plague checks she’d have to go through, she decides to hide the foreigner instead. She recruits a friend to smuggle the foreigner over to Orisima, the only Western trading post in the East, to the home of one Niclays Roos, an embittered doctor/alchemist who once worked for Sabran. The foreigner, a kid from Inys called Triam Sulyard, has some crazy notions: East and West should unite because the Nameless One is coming back, whether or not Queen Sabran has a kid. Niclays, of course, is far more concerned with being caught with an unauthorized foreigner in his house.

Meanwhile, over in Inys, Ead Duryan witnesses first hand the pressure Queen Sabran is under from all sides to get married and pump out a daughter ASAP because she’s, gasp, 28 and still hasn’t had that kid yet. Ead is in a precarious position at Court as she’s a foreigner and a (supposed) convert to Inys’s religion, which worships the knight who bound the Nameless One. And she’s secretly a mage and Inys is super backward about that sort of thing. Ead just wants to stick to her mission - protect Sabran - and then hightail it back to the Priory of the Orange Tree. Only some chance encounters with Sabran herself lead to Ead being promoted into the Queen’s household, and next thing she knows, she and Sabran are forming a connection that’s causing Ead to question her loyalty to the Priory.

Meanwhile, Sabran’s childhood friend, Loth, has been banished because men and women can’t be friends without people starting to imply things. Loth and Sabran’s relationship is 100% platonic, but no one cares, least of all the Queen’s spymaster, who rounds Loth up in the middle of the night and ships him off to the nation of Yscalin, which has, very recently, turned to the dark side and began worshiping the Nameless One. It’s one of those “diplomatic missions” that is almost guaranteed to end in death.

And while all this is happening, both Tané and Niclays experience the blow back of letting a foreigner into the closed East.

Also, I should mention: yeah, the Nameless One is totally starting to wake up again. In fact, his buddies are starting to go around and wreak havoc. Better have that kid quick, Sabran!

So that is the basic plot of The Priory of the Orange Tree, in a nutshell. I really, really, really do not do it justice, but to do the plot some actual justice takes an 800 page novel. Priory is nothing less than epic. In one book, Shannon manages to create an entire world, complete with over a thousand years of history, various conflicting religions, generations upon generations of royalty, dozens of nations, and a sea full of pirates. Pirates! There is pirate action in this book! Are you not convinced? I mean, there’s dragons - and not just one sort of dragon, either. Also, did I mention the whole book has a very, very strong feminist bent to it? How much more convincing do you need? If you like dragons, if you like epics, if you can make it through 800 pages, then you need to read Priory of the Orange Tree.

Funny thing is, I was over 700 pages into the book when I realized that I’d mixed up East and West. See, right-left confusion is something that legit happens to people and definitely doesn’t mean that they’re dumb or anything - it happens more often in the left-handed and women, both of which I happen to be. I’m really good at reading maps, but when it comes to actually being in place and telling one direction from the other...uh...it doesn’t often end well. I’ve had people tell me to turn left and, without thinking, I turned right, thinking that I was definitely turning left. Yeah, it’s a thing. So, throughout Priory, which is divided into chapters characterized by East, West and South, South I was able to get pretty easily. South is easy. But I was roughly 80% into this book when I realized that I’d inverted the whole map of the book’s world - I’d pegged Inys in the East, and Seikii in the West. The whole time I was envisioning people heading East, I actually had them heading West. Derp. Derp. Derp. 

It also doesn’t help that advanced copies don’t come with finished artwork, so I’ll have to wait til the book is actually out to see if there’s an actual map of the world of Priory. Having a map makes things much easier. I can refer back to a map to confirm which direction is which. 

Fun fact: most of the time I can really only tell East from West based on whether or not I can see Mt. Hood. For me, it’s always been Mt. Hood = East, the Coast = West. One of the perks to living on the West Coast. I’ve had a hell of a time establishing East from West (and North from South) when I’ve traveled to places that don’t have a Mt. Hood to keep myself anchored, direction-wise. Sometimes I just had to pick a place and determine the directions. 

How is it that Samantha Shannon is a year younger than me and has already written a series and an 800+ page fantasy epic? Meanwhile, I’m a year older than her, have finished no story I’ve actually started and have generally failed at everything I’ve ever attempted. Well, I did make some pretty good overnight oats. But it’s really hard to fail at making anything that contains both Nutella and peanut butter. 

Bah, I says. Bah. 

I need an Orange Whip.

Mmm...I should go get myself an orange.

Anyhoo! Priory of the Orange Tree. It’s good. You should read it.

RECOMMENDED FOR: Fans of one-volume feminist epic fantasies featuring more than one type of dragon. Also, there’s pirates!

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: Anyone with no time or attention span. Or who dislike feminist fantasy for some reason.

RATING: 4.5/5 (half a point off for being 800 pages, also for some George R.R. Martin-esque descriptions of food which were not the best thing to read while recovering from a severe bout of food poisoning).

RELEASE DATE: February 26, 2019

DRAGON RATING:

[kizardofkoz]

Muscle

It was a little over a year ago and we were visiting with our best friends over Labor Day weekend. I was still in my first year of new baby, knee deep in first-year-baby-love and my all too familiar struggle of *bouncing back* (which has Never been my actual experience. It’s more like a slow rolling on the ground mixed with some crying, disgust, guilt, disgust at my guilt and guilty about my disgust, very slow muscle gain and trying to figure out how many WW points are in the scones I just made - because friends, I make a mean scone) and I was just feeling so irritated with where I was compared to where I wanted to be. Our friends looked so lean, healthy, toned -and I? 

I was jealous. 

I felt soft and annoyed. While I was grateful that I carried a baby for the fourth time, I was So. Over. Losing. *The Baby Weight*.

They said the only real change they had made in their lifestyle was that they had been running. (They also only have half as many children and are in a different life stage with their ages, but we’re focusing on the health portion here.)

And so.

I began running. 

100% it was born out of a competitive desire to look and feel better and become a runner. But I actually found a part of me that I lost during quarantine, and the several year pattern of having and raising baby boys. 

I would leave my house for 30-60 minutes, put on a podcast that scared me (it was early fall when this love affair really began to take hold and I would listen to Spooked! - holy crap, it is absolutely terrifying. So I would throw in some true crime, just to shake up my amygdala) and as the weather started to cool and leaves started to turn, I found my alone time, running the streets of my neighborhood. 

And it was good. 

Necessary. 

Healing.

_______________________________________________________________________

I have had an interesting relationship with running and fitness my entire life. Exercise, up until this past year probably, was usually a punishment. A method to burn off the calories that I so painfully counted and tried to delete one way or another. (For several years -junior year of high school through sophomore year of college- that would involve sticking a finger down my throat, which is not a unique story for a teenage, American girl, yet it still feels quite vulnerable as I have never publicly mentioned it, like on this blog that has hundreds of thousands of followers. ;) I grew up sitting on a piano bench. I was never a super athletic kid (and was often told that) and things like running, and sports and physical coordination seemed like another realm that I would never know. So I would admire all of the athletic kids that looked so sinewy and strong and natural, and I would feel embarrassed and frustrated that God gave me the body that I had. I was grateful for my artsy, musical abilities, but in this culture, as a young woman especially, there is no greater skill or attribute, then to be small, smooth, and beautiful. 

I am still trying to figure out how to undo parts of this thinking. 

Stretched skin, years of confidence building, therapy and relearning that food is actually really delicious (who knew!) has helped tremendously. I wish I could hug younger me. 

But she had to learn this on her own. 

In her own way. 

In her own time.

So at this time, as a matured 37 year old, I went into running differently. I would leave my house and find new paths that had more gradual hills because you don’t realize how hilly your neighborhood is until you try to run. Or ride a bike. Or in my case, walk a bike up a hill.

But I would also allow myself to slow down. To walk. For the first time in my life I listened to my body, and if she was tired, I walked. If she couldn’t breathe, I slowed down to catch my breath. And it changed everything. I built strength and avoided injury. I looked forward to my next run because I wasn’t too sore, and because once I had quit using running as a method of torture it actually started to become quite rewarding.  My soul needed the exercise as much as my muscles.

Minus all of the true crime and ghost stories, it was kind of like prayer at times. Or some really bizarre, spooky therapy.

_______________________________________________________________________

Three weeks ago I had the absolute honor and life blessing of being able to attend a women’s retreat in Estes Park, CO. I flew there early on a Thursday morning to meet up with 20 women who I had never met to reconnect with a God that I was missing dearly and to find myself again.

Oh my gosh. 

I can’t even explain the exact magic of that weekend and I actually won’t give away too  many details because part of the retreats’ (there are two: a mens ones and they just began a women’s one last year) magic is the slight, secret-society-ish-ness of it, so a previous group won’t ruin the experience for those that follow. 

But I felt so taken care of and loved. I have not had the time and space to release and let go the way I was able to. In years. Every meal was prepared and cleaned by a woman named Jess. Every activity was thoughtfully planned yet not overbooked. I didn’t have to make a decision, make  breakfast or make a to-do list. My nervous system settled and my brain was clearer than I feel it has been in my adult life.

And my heart. 

I didn’t realize how lethargic I had become in my own faith. Of course I love God and Jesus and my faith is the most important thing to me, but was I actively doing anything to strengthen and encourage it? Negative. 

And this is where muscle comes in. 

I have been running and conditioning my body over the past year to run miles, to handle hills, build my stamina and improve my pace. I have put in the work and time and my body is stronger. Muscle memory.

In Estes, I feel like I just went through a spiritual bootcamp. I received a megadose injection of peace, love, refinement, depth, stillness and Jesus. I can either keep going and try to maintain and strengthen this muscle, or I can become apathetic, put it off for tomorrow, make excuses that were never meant to be excuses and just not prioritize this thing that I claim is the most important thing to me.

Guys. (And gals!)

I did it.

I’m doing it.

I am actually carving out time each day (mostly) and I am keeping a prayer journal and reading from a devotional (I go between Shauna Neiquest’s “Savor”  - thank you Meredith Hopping and Sarah Young’s “Jesus Calling”, thank you Mom), and I am Reading My Bible. (I’m a Message girl, which should not be surprising at all. The Poetry and FEELINGS!) And I am actually WANTING to read the bible. Like, I am finding it interesting and I actually kind of look forward to reading it the next day because I want to know what happens and not “I am reading this because I am Supposed to and because I have promised God since I was a child that I would read the whole thing and there’s no time like at age 37 to make good on a promise to Jehovah that I made as a 6 year old. That makes sense.”

I say all of these words NOT TO BRAG AT ALL BECAUSE NO NOPE NOPE NO NO, but to hopefully encourage others out there. (PS, I’m reading 1 Kings - if you’re Trump, that would be “One Kings”, I’m also praying for compassion and less judgment from myself. And that was the most compassionate way I could say that.:) I realized that just like with exercise, I often felt that if I didn’t have enough time to really sit down and read chapters of the bible, or have 10-15 minutes for a deep, thoughtful prayer, then it wasn’t worth giving God any time at all. I was being a perfectionist with my faith life and refused to not partake if it couldn’t be what I thought it would be. Or should be. 

And I don’t really think God, in the end, gives a shit. 

I think God wants any and all. God will take a 10 second, or 3 minutes or half hour long prayer. As long as it is authentic and humble and vulnerable because I think that is what God works with best and how we can refine and mature the most. I also think intentional longer prayers that include time to pause and listen (especially with the terrifying, faith building fear of But what if God doesn’t answer).  God and I have always chatted throughout the day, but overall, I realized that I was getting in my own way with some twisted perfectionism, when all God wants is my truest, most imperfect self.

Along with this, I have also been much more gentle with myself. I skipped a day the other day. (And yesterday!) And this is okay. I wasn’t able to get it in and instead of shaming myself and feeling guilty, negative and embarrassed, I gave myself love. I let myself  walk instead of run because there are busy days and hills and we aren’t made to run and dominate every single one of them every single time. 

 It is also important to note that I spent much of this weekend eating chips and birthday cake as it was our eldest’s first sleepover party. I stepped on the scale this morning and it was 2-3 pounds higher than it normally is. And you know what? I am actually okay. I am probably the most okay I have ever been in this situation and I am absolutely floored and comforted that I know God sees me and knows what I need. I know that in time I will get back to where I was, not with punishment but with mindfulness. And to stop eating the cake (it was so good though). And maybe ease off of the chips. 

And to joyfully run.

God’s grace is so wild, and beautiful, and abundant. 

I think I grew up with a bit of a childish, lopsided idea of God. I don’t know if it was my education, my church, my family or my own absorption and interpretation, but for a very, very long time I knew God was loving, but I also knew God was wrathful, jealous, vengeful and judgmental. After years of growth and exposing myself to other theologies, biblical philosophies, and finding my own spiritual and path, I have rediscovered Jesus and God in a whole new way. I have been reminded of, or relearned, God’s tenderness. 

God’s Gentleness. 

God’s Compassion. 

And I truly think if we could remember these qualities first, and also use these qualities first as Christians - to one another, to ourselves, and to *gasp* non-Christians - the world would literally be a different place.

So. 

I am going to continue building these muscles. I have worked really, really hard to get to where I am physically and I am really, really proud of it. I can run and keep up with my children, I have no idea what I could bench or deadlift but I can pick up our enormous <99% 1 year old multiple times each day and I feel like that in and of itself could be a really popular WOD. “The Kepler”: pick up 35 pounds 50 times and run across the house between each set of five. Then halfway through you change the laundry over as fast as you can and at the very end you realize you forgot to push start on the dryer. 

Repeat as necessary.

And I am going to continue building my spiritual muscle. This looks like prayer time, bible reading, (I even installed a wall light so I can read in this special spot because we know that special spots are really important to Jesus.) and prioritizing this priority to me. 

And this also looks like tenderness. 

Gentleness. 

Compassion. 

Because even God knows we need a sabbath and sometimes the body just needs to rest. 

The soul, too. 

And I am learning to be gentle with myself. To love me and give grace to me even when I skip a day. 

At least spiritually. 

Because physically, I am still doing “The Kepler” daily. 

Even more exhausting because my warm-up is “The Wyndsor”.

The charcuterie board that puts all other charcuterie boards to shame. Jess, a pilates instructor with a gift of hospitality, healthy cooking and presentation made us the most beautiful meals. And coffee. And wine. And pop corn. And fudge. I miss Jess.

I know what you’re thinking - *Now I see why they have 4 boys!* BECAUSE I LOOK SO DAMN GOOD IN OVERALLS!!

Just 20 something of my new dearest friends. I can’t wait to see them again next fall. So I can start crying every six sentences and zen out in all of God’s natural beauty coming through the landscape, the carved out time and the stories each of these women are carrying. Ready to drink around a fire with all of you again. I will try to stay up later this time. Maybe. (Who have I become??!) #Revel2021

[6stronghands]

please read. it’s long. but i need to say this:

Broken in the past year:

Dishwasher, refrigerator, microwave, furnace, water heater, toilet, gas fireplace, TV, 2 laptops, 2 cellphones, my eyeglasses, the locking system, door handle, driver window (stuck DOWN not up, of course) and catalytic converter on my 15 year old minivan and the other car, a 22 year old beloved 4 Runner had to be junked because it was so decrepit and unfixable (it’s a credit to those amazing early generation Runners though, because it made 260,000 miles and basically ran on Marvel Mystery Oil, Seafoam, and pep talks at the end), then I found out that my home has serious foundation issues, and now, NOW, the dryer. 

My new (used) Mustang got hit ONE WEEK after I bought it, by a drunk guy in a big ol F150, as I was my way home to kansas after caring for three (3!!!) family members in the hospital in Utah for four months. The whole time I was in Utah, I was like, holy god these guys are shockingly bad drivers (and I’ve driven extensively around a ton of states). There’s this move I call The Utah Special, a lane changing move where they don’t signal, they don’t check their blind spots, they don’t move vertically….they just horizontally zoom into a space they want in the next lane. I saw so many near misses and actual accidents during my time there. And lo and behold, LITERALLY AS I’M ON MY WAY OUT OF THAT HELL STATE, at the motherfreakin base of the canyon, four hours from Colorado and freedom from the religious insanity and repression that manifests as the angriest, most aggressive, flat out incompetent drivers I’ve ever seen, a jackalope did the Utah Special on me and my new car.  

It screwed up the alignment and tire pressure monitor and left a big dent on the drivers door. Luckily i didn’t run into the giant concrete wall that he spun me into, because I’m an experienced driver, esp in correcting a bad, fast turn, but it was close. The guy is now trying to avoid payment so I’ve been driving around with a beatup looking car. 

One month after i got back to Lawrence, a guy backed into me at the store, and I ended up using the 100 bucks he gave me for groceries, and trying to buff out the back myself, which didn’t work. This is my childhood dream car btw, the only nice thing I’ve ever owned (and it looks a lot nicer than it is, it’s very bare bones inside and out, it just looks slick. It took almost two years and three states of looking to find a good Mustang for such a low price). 

And now. 

Now I’ve got a gutted dryer, parts spread out to hell and gone, because Samsung dryers have the worst design and the cheapest parts (seriously, don’t ever buy Samsung appliances. Three different parts stores and repair people told me they refuse to work on Samsungs or carry parts for them any more because the design is so bad and the parts are so cheap). I thought I fixed it by replacing the circuit board, but now I think it’s the thermal fuse switch which is located UNDER and BEHIND the drum, not in the more accessible places other brands put it. But that’s not irritating enough, no no, now it turns out I have to learn how to solder because they didn’t use screws or plugs for the fuse mount, no no, they soldered it on, so I had to drill the fucker out and and buy a solder iron and now I’m watching how-to-solder videos on youtube. 

And (of course there’s an AND) the charging port on my 3rd used cell phone broke, and I don’t have time to order a replacement port and do it myself, so I took it into one of those overpriced walk in places (for $130 dollars!!! for fifteen minutes work). Picked it up five minutes before they closed last night, and now the screen is unresponsive. According to the good people of the internet, since I can’t get it to reboot, it’s probably a badly seated digitizer that got bumped when they did the replacement. I have to take a break from my how-to-solder videos and go in and convince a bunch of 20 year old guys to fix my phone and not charge me for it. 

So. This is a lot. 

And because we are in the aptly named bad timeline, my personal life has pretty much echoed all the broken down stuff. I have had some weird, hard to diagnose, health crap that cost me one job and has prevented me from finding another. So I just do a bunch of volunteer stuff now, and keep applying to worse and worse jobs, hoping someone, somewhere will take me. My new dog (who I adopted because I’ve been so overwhelmed and stressed, I was freaking out one day and my sister was like, I KNOW WHAT YOU SHOULD DO, YOU NEED A DOG, and she was one hundred percent right, everything is better with a good dog) got attacked at the park, by a Husky owned by a RedditGuy, who then RAN when I was trying to revive my dog, and drove away in a Mercedes with a license obscurer. The only reason I know who he is, is because a quick thinking teenager ran after him and tried to get his name (which the guy wouldn’t give) and the teen took pics of him with his cellphone (don’t shit on Millenials around me, just don’t. All I see are good kids doing good stuff under bad circumstances). (Also, just fwiw, there are all kinds of Huskies being surrendered at shelters and involved in attacks because, and this is so dumb it just kills me, people are watching Game of Thrones and deciding they want their very own Direwolf, without having the experience or willingness to take on a breed that needs a lot of training and reinforcement and care. Huskies are great dogs if they have great owners, like a lot of other great but high-care breeds). 

The medical bills were over $4000, which I had to take a loan out for. There was a court hearing, and the judge ruled in my favor, and ordered the guy to pay, by March 1st. You won’t be surprised at all, because FML, that the guy hasn’t paid, and is contesting it, which means more court stuff. This has all been stressful as hell, but this dog is genuinely the most amazing dog I’ve ever had; he is worth any trouble and expense. I would sell my Mustang, if I had to, to keep this tiny, adorable fuzzball (some kind of poodle-terrier mix, I think, I dunno. He was a rescue dog who was fostered with an inmate in a local prison, Safe Harbor Prison Dogs, check it out, they’re great) I’ve never had a companion dog before. I’ve had family dogs who have all been great, but I’ve never had one where they are bred to be a companion, that’s their work, like a work-dog needs work to be happy and sane. He is carrying my kid and me in his soft little paws; he does good work, this guy. He is always happy, very energetic when you want, calm and cuddly when you want, incredibly sensitive and attuned, unnervingly intelligent and a joy to train, and as soft as a bunny. I have to brush him every single day because of his crazy Fizzgig hair, but that’s fine. He rides on my shoulder in the car and fits inside a tote bag so I can sneak him lots of places. I’ve socialized him from the beginning (which is why I was at that damn park) so he’s totally silent in public places like stores. He loves people, especially kids, and if I ever get off the job-hunting, broken-thing-fixing treadmill, I’d like to volunteer him as a therapy dog in hospitals or wherever. He’s like my very own Daemon, my own Pantalaimon. A gift and a blessing at any time, but especially now, when things are Challenging. 

Then. Then the worst thing. Something really bad happened to my one of my kids. Something so bad that I can’t talk about it in a public place like this. I can barely talk about it in my Al-Anon support group. I spend a lot of energy not thinking about it. I have learned a lot of things in the past few years, like A LOT. I know so much more now, about so many, many things. But this bad thing is something I wish I never knew, and it’s not fixable, only recoverable. 

I have never, ever been so continually sad and angry. It’s been bad timing for my mental health, the Me Too movement. I had a friend visit and he was talking about it, and was telling me that it’s turned into a witch hunt, that things aren’t really this bad for women, that maybe women and men just speak different languages and have different needs and wants, that if things have been this bad, why didn’t women say something sooner, and I just….I couldn’t talk. He wanted me to give him specific examples of male violations in my life, and I literally didn’t know where to start. I can list so many, like every woman alive. I could list hundreds of small things, things where you just accept it because what else can you do, and other things, things that were not small, but you ignore, because you actually know the guy and you know he’s genuinely a mostly good guy, or trying to be, or will be some day, or has a family who loves and depends on him, or maybe I didn’t have the vocabulary or confidence or experience to safely call him out then, or maybe I didn’t know if calling him out would ruin his life, and for real, I could see that he would some day evolve into A Good Man, An Ally, and I didn’t want to jeopardize that. Because that’s real, that dynamic. It doesn’t fit into any black and white social media woke doctrine, but it’s real. I have hurt people through ignorance, and I have learned and evolved, and there have been a few specific times where I can look back in gratitude that someone educated me in a gracious, patient way, because it changed me for the better. Do men know this? That people like me aren’t calling them on stuff? That the problem is much, much worse than the revelations of the Me Too movement? That we let pretty much all the small and medium stuff go? Do they know? Are they so uneducated, so culturally indoctrinated, so blind, to other men’s bad behavior, to their own, that they really think that this is all an over-reaction or mixed signals or just women looking to be angry about something??? 

 I know it’s a lot more complicated than that, because goddamn life usually is. There have been hundreds of not-terrible and semi-bad violations in my 40 years, that I’ve just lived with, and then there’s been a handful of genuinely, life-altering-ly bad ones. The ones that teach you to to beware, that there are predators who prey, and you are just meat. But I couldn’t articulate any of this to this friend, this guy who feels so defensive and attacked by the movement. No one has accused him of anything, he’s just feeling defensive. He thinks people are unfair to men, that men are trying their best, that women need to explain more nicely. 

I have been so angry, about so much, for months now. I usually blow up fast and I’m done. I’m usually the poster girl for Onward And Upward, Life Is Beautiful, Everything’s Awesome. This constant anger is exhausting. And I wish I was only angry, but I’m also broken-hearted. Broken. Everything’s broken, everything keeps breaking. Bad people, careless people, indifferent people, they keep ruining things and getting away with things. The news isn’t good, not politically, not economically, not environmentally, not anything. All signs point to things getting much, much worse. 

I will say this, I am smarter than I was a year ago. 

I seem to only learn by doing, to learn the hard way. I know a lot more now. Like A LOT, in a pretty short span of time. I am not the same person I was a year ago. I am not as sweet, and not as optimistic, but I am seasoned. I’m better at problem solving. I know there's always going to be another damn thing, whatever it is. I know the importance of good tools and resources and support, whether it’s fixing broken cars or broken hearts. That came out trite, but it’s true. I’ve learned that sometimes the only good thing to come out of a bad thing is knowledge, if you use it to recover or evolve, or to help someone else. Sometimes the only silver lining is that you’ve got newfound empathy. We need more empathy in the world, so that’s not nothing. I am so, so worried about the future, about what my kids are going to have to learn in order to navigate their own personal and cultural despair. They’re gonna have to get tougher, faster, while protecting their gentle hearts and giving natures. That’s tricky. I hope they’ll remember that we’re in this together, that the only way to survive is by leaning on and helping each other. Another thing that sounds trite, but is the truest thing I know. I’ve learned to talk about things, to ask questions, to ask again if I don’t understand (and again, and again), and to say to people, I need you, I’m stuck, I’m headfucked, I’m heartfucked, help. Help me. Using your resources, whether they’re youtube how-to videos, therapy, doctors, friends, Al-Anon groups, dogs, whatever, is the only way I know how to get over and through. 

It’s kind of strange to FEEL how much stronger I am right now, than a year ago. Because things are much worse; something that would have broken me for good, if Then-Me had known. But Now-Me has soldiered through some shit by leaning hard on my resources, and because of those resources, not through inner grit or stoicism, but the resources, I’m tougher, smarter, better equipped. I am not exactly happier, but I do have happy moments. That’s a big deal. I am afraid for the future, but I know that, at least as long as I’m able to fight, I CAN fight. 

I have leaned on some of you here. Some of you are my safe places, are resources, tools, friends. Genuine, real ones. I am stronger because of you. I can write and write, but never truly articulate what that has meant, what it means to me. You know how vets are with other vets? The way they’ll meet up after they leave the military, and fall into each other’s arms, the way they trust each other for the rest of their lives? I feel that way about you guys. I’ve been in the motherfucking foxhole, and some of you guys climbed in and covered my head and held my shaking hands. I just have no words. The ‘no atheists in a foxhole’ thing isn’t true. I still don’t believe in God, but I believe in friends, in good people, in the righteous fighters who get no acclaim, no awards, but quietly, bravely, change the world around them a little at a time, to great cumulative effect. I can say I love you, I’m so grateful, you’re wonderful, but really, I have no words other than, thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU. 

[taaroko]

Post-IW MCU Rewatch: Captain America: Civil War

Time for a bunch of in-fighting!

Was there any significance to those code words?

Howard and Maria. :(

Freaking Runlow.

I read something about how they’re all being very bad at undercover, sitting around in sunglasses and hats. They’re being like actors undercover from paparazzi, not low-profile spies. Whoops.

Runlow’s team is kinda lucky the rubble from that crash didn’t block their entrance.

This is some top notch fighting from both Cap and Sam. Sam’s wings are super versatile.

Whee, Steve getting a telekinetic boost from Wanda!

Ohh, it’s Nat who used the motorcycle as a projectile in this one. Okay. I thought it happened at least twice.

Heeeey Cap’s shield is half covered in soot. Symbolism.

FREAKING RUNLOW.

That blast was either going to kill everyone in the square or the people in that building. If it had been the former, it wouldn’t have been a big international crisis.

Aged-down Tony is easily the best of that kind of special effect we’ve ever seen. *suppresses memories of CG Leia*

I think that seminar was the first we've seen of the "philanthropist" part of billionaire genius playboy philanthropist. (Donating a collection of modern art to the Boy Scouts is too weird to count.)

Hi Dean Pelton.

Awkward actress recycling! But it was worth it. She’s so good as Mariah.

Vision’s social graces are so funny.

Uggggggh General Ross. Who is now Secretary of State.

Man that footage would’ve made Bruce so sad.

“For the last four years, you’ve operated with unlimited power and no supervision.” Wait does that mean it’s been four years since Winter Soldier? This timeline is a freaking mess.

I know where Thor and Banner are!

Okay, Zimo talks about painstakingly decrypting the Hydra files Nat leaked on the internet, but did he start doing that before Ultron or after? How long has it been since Ultron?

Tony’s face.

What makes this movie so good is that both Tony and Steve have very good points and multiple movies of backstory that brought them to those positions. The Tony of IM1 would’ve been anti-Accords, and the Steve from the ‘40s would’ve been pro-Accords, but here they are now. And the Accords were very inevitable after Ultron.

Noooo Peggy.

Headcanon: the non-Steve pall-bearers were Peggy’s son and grandsons.

“Plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye, and say ‘No. You move.’”

I love that Nat’s priority is sticking together as a team, but she does get Steve’s position. (I mean obviously; she defects to his team halfway through.) Steve’s friendships with Nat and Sam are so wonderful.

Hey T’Challa!

Does the actor who plays T’Chaka have a glass eye? *internet research* Holy crap, he does. This is from John Kani’s IMDB page: Kani lost his left eye during a beating by South African police after returning home from a Broadway production of "Sizwe Banzi Is Dead", which was critical of Apartheid. He survived after being left for dead and subsequently won a 1975 Tony Award for his performance.

They did a really good job introducing T’Challa, and his arc in this movie is excellent.

Dangit Steve and Sharon would’ve kissed if Sam hadn’t interrupted.

More hats and sunglasses. You guys look real suspicious wearing hats and sunglasses INDOORS, especially when you start passing files around.

Man, Bucky just wants to buy some plums. Also, so cool that Seb got to go home to Romania and speak his native language for this bit.

Isn’t it easier to shoot out the lock than all three sets of hinges?

Bucky just came here to buy some plums and honestly he’s feeling so attacked right now.

So much multi-storey falling! I know these guys are all tougher than normal people but it’s still very stressful to watch!

These movies are always doing ridiculously cool things with motorcycles.

Rhodey makes a pretty good enforcer.

Vis and Wanda are adorable. But the conversation about the Mind Stone is really painful now.

The heck?! Tony thinks Wanda is unstable enough to cause another “incident” just by going to the store? Do Tony and Wanda still dislike each other or something? I guess they never reconciled over the whole thing where his tech killed her parents and she used her powers against him.

A fancy pen is not a convincing argument, Tony.

Steve was so ready to be thrilled for Tony if he and Pepper were gonna have a baby!

Tony just called Wanda a weapon of mass destruction. Either he’s playing devil’s advocate or he’s being really unsympathetic right now.

Bucky! Plug your ears and go LALALALALA!

I like how every time someone does the sleeper activation codes, he walks around Bucky in a circle. Is that part of it or just a cool filming thing?

Aaaaargh that elevator shaft fall.

Tony’s face when Bucky fires his gun into his glove.

Nat’s signature move is useless against Bucky.

RECOGNIZE YOU FROM WHEN?! The mission he foiled, or something else? I must know. Please answer this question, Black Widow movie.

Okay. The helicopter thing. It does not make sense. It should’ve just lifted Steve right off the ground. It is capable of carrying several passengers. One dude hanging onto it when there’s only a single occupant would not weigh it down. The part where he holds onto the railing and keeps it from flying away does work, though.

Heeeeey the scene with Bucky’s arm in the clamp is the exact midpoint of the movie. I don’t know why I find that interesting, but suddenly I very much want to analyze the significance of these moments. This one is a major turning point. The revelation of other Winter Soldiers. Team Cap now has an urgent mission.

Tony has an arc reactor scar!

HI PETER! *hug attacks him*

I love every single second of Peter’s intro scene.

“It’s a long story. I was—” “Lordy! Can you even see in these!” Bahaha, Tony cut off even a conversation of origin story.

Okay, the moment Tony leaned forward while Peter was talking obliquely about great power and responsibility. That was when he became emotionally invested in this kid. They’re both motivated by a sense of guilt and obligation.

Wanda and Clint’s methods for getting past Vision makes their team lose a bit of high ground.

Steve and Sharon’s kiss could’ve been handled less like an afterthought, but the reason I’m still cool with it is Sam and Bucky’s reactions.

How’d these three big dudes end up in a little VW Beetle anyway?

Hahaha, each team has a fanboy on it. Scott on Team Cap and Peter on Team Iron Man.

“Thinks for thanking of me!”

Yessss. Airport fight.

Um, why did Tony not even pause when Cap mentioned the other five Winter Soldiers?

Oh Peter I love you so much. And I love that Tom has this rivalry with Anthony and Seb in all the behind the scenes stuff.

“He also said I should go for your legs.” Man this is almost a vine reference.

Scott in Tony’s suit is hilarious.

Scott’s reaction to becoming Giant-Man is probably the single greatest two seconds in the movie.

Man, Clint just wants to make new friends, but T’Challa isn’t interested in this Avenger nonsense.

More tasing!

100%, Peter is trolling these geezers by pretending he’s not a gigantic Star Wars nerd.

It took me several watches to realize that when Scott says “Does anyone have any orange slices,” he’s making a reference to little league sports, and how the moms bring orange slices for after the games.

Tony went to check on Peter even though they hadn’t caught Steve and Bucky yet!

Rhodey’s fall is horrific. And the way they frame it so that you only see the ground when he hits it. Agonizing.

Part of me thinks Rhodey should’ve died right there, but there is rather a lot of precedent for falls not being fatal if you’re in an Iron Man suit. And if he’d died, I don’t think they ever would’ve been able to get past this split. Getting kinda paralyzed is an acceptable compromise.

“Are you incapable of letting go of your ego for one goddamn second?” Okay that is a really interesting line. Tony is being pretty egotistical about the concept of surrendering accountability to the UN. He has been rather bad at considering alternatives. Admittedly, he’s on the clock, and then worse people will go after his friends, but he’s allowing for zero nuance here. He knows these people. He knows they don’t do things without good reasons. Steve was right that you can’t let accidents stop you from doing the right thing. Tony is letting it cripple him.

Tony is practically on Team Cap at this point, with the secretly flying after him and all.

Hahaha, Nat has a labeled gun rack. And Bucky is using her guns!

I’m freaking pissed at the trailer for this movie. It would have been a very good twist that instead of going to Siberia to fight five more Winter Soldiers, they were walking into a trap where the in-fighting was about to become far more personal. But I didn’t get to experience that twist, because the trailer includes shots of Tony fighting Bucky and Steve in this location. That trailer made me stop watching trailers entirely for over a year. I do think trailers can be good so you know at least the type of movie you’re about to see, but they should not give away stuff like this. I think Marvel has gotten better at that since then.

Okay, so it’s been over a year since Ultron.

Green is not a flaw in blue eyes, jerk. It’s cool.

Surveillance cameras don’t usually have sound. But oh boy this is devastating.

This moment. Tony coming apart and attacking Bucky. This is exactly the same thing that Peter Quill does to Thanos. This is the reason Tony figures out what Peter’s about to do before he does it and tries to get him to stop and think. But he knows pretty well that there’s no stopping and thinking in a situation like this.

Zimo is a lot like Frank Castle, except that his family died as accidental collateral damage, not a targeted setup.

“The living are not done with you yet.” Such a great line.

“I could do this all day.” Tony has taken the role of the bully from the first one now.

I think for a second, Tony was legit afraid Steve was going to kill him. But Steve was never the one driven to that point. This still does not count as Steve having a dark side.

Okay, Steve dropping the shield was pretty much a concession. You don’t want me using the shield your dad made if my best friend killed him? Fair enough.

TONY STANK.

Tony trolling Secretary Ross will never stop being funny.

Okay, on the whole, while I sympathize more with Cap, I think I’m actually on Team Iron Man when it comes to the Accords. The Accords are an overcorrection of long-running problem. There should have been oversight this entire time, and I think the idea is that SHIELD was that oversight until Winter Soldier. Steve didn’t want to be the dupe of a corrupt system again, so he no longer tolerated oversight, but that really can’t be his call. How transparent are the Avengers being about their missions? He doesn’t run around saving people from street thugs, he does military-style operations all around the world. That’s not the kind of thing anyone should be able to make unilateral decisions about. He’s doing what Tony used to do in his solo films. But now that the PR has gotten bad enough and the novelty of superheroes has worn off, suddenly everyone realizes it’s not a great plan to let them run around unsupervised.

But Cap’s side of the argument is valid too. Superheroes save the world. Collateral damage is a much better outcome than what would’ve happened if they hadn’t been there. Obadiah would’ve continued supplying both sides of conflicts in the Middle East, stoking the fires of war for his own gain. Red Skull would’ve blown up most of the major cities in the US and taken over. Killian would’ve had the world on its knees with his scam. Malekith would’ve destroyed all the nine realms. Loki would’ve taken Earth. Hydra would’ve wiped out anyone who could challenge their reign of terror with Project Insight. Etc. Some of the villains rose up as consequences of the heroes (Ivan, Ultron, and Zimo, for instance), but most of the threats exist independent of the heroes’ actions, which is why we need heroes.

After how much I’ve loved Tony in all the movies so far (though he was a bit iffy in Ultron), I was really surprised by how many moments he has of being kind of a jerk in Civil War. But it doesn’t make me dislike him. This is his guilt complex on overdrive. And losing it over finding out about how his parents died is heartbreaking. But the most redeeming thing for him in the movie is Peter Parker. He recognized a similar guilt-based motivation in Peter while they talked, and in that moment, he became extremely protective of this kid. He brings him in because he knows he’s got a really handy method of incapacitating people without harming them. He’s not recklessly endangering a child, because he knows none of the Avengers will use lethal force. And his concern for Peter’s well-being is actually what costs him victory in the airport fight. He could’ve apprehended Steve and Bucky, but instead he had to make sure Peter was okay.

So...if Thor and Bruce had been in this. Thor wouldn’t be cool with being beholden to Midgardian governments. He cooperates as a courtesy, but he doesn’t actually answer to Earth authority. And I’m pretty sure he’d be very sympathetic to Steve about Bucky, given that it’s a rather similar situation to him and Loki. Bruce, on the other hand, has never felt confident about his ability to stay in control, and he was a major source of collateral damage in multiple countries in Ultron, not to mention the extra footage Ross showed the team. He’d probably think Bucky needs to be under guard for the same reason. I think he’d not only side with Tony but be relieved that Tony was on the side of the Accords. However, you really can’t have two powerhouses like Thor and Hulk in this fight. On their own, they could demolish the entire opposing team. The only option would be to keep them fighting each other the whole time, which would be kind of lame. Much better for them to have a gladiator battle on trash planet where no on else can steal their thunder. (I am not sorry.)

My mind is pretty much blown by how well the MCU has traveled the path from the first few movies to here, and from here to Infinity War. The Avengers have pretty much been getting broken down since Ultron. This was where they fell apart. Infinity War is the consequences of falling apart.

[allenmendezsr]

Best Storage Auctions Program - Earn More With A Storage Leader

New Post has been published on https://autotraffixpro.app/allenmendezsr/best-storage-auctions-program-earn-more-with-a-storage-leader/

Best Storage Auctions Program - Earn More With A Storage Leader

 Buy Now

    ATTENTION: If You ever wondered about “Storage Auctions” and are looking to make great money in this struggling economy we may have the solution for you in the most important letter you’ll read all day. . .

Storage Auctions revealed in this new tell-all about tactic winning auction tips and you’ll get them all here – & win every time . . . Even if You Never Went to an Auction Before

Date: From: Lorenzo Lee

I f you are headed out the door to your boring job or off to the unemployment line… STOP – if for just a moment, and read what I have to tell you about storage auctions and how they transform lives all over the country.

You are going to fit into a category of the following people: retirees, those about to retire, unemployed, employed but bored, underpaid or looking for something where you can work from the comfort of your own home. Why wouldn’t you want to manage your home, be able play with your kids and not worry about how much gong out to eat costs for the family?

If you’ve just lost your job and you were standing in an unemployment line wondering how you are going to take care of your family; you’re stumped, clueless and at your wits end… What can you do in this economy? Even if you can find a job, you’ll be lucky if it pays half what you were making.

It wasn’t that long ago that I was in those same dire straits. Dodging calls from bill collectors and even hiding my car around the block so it wouldn’t get repossessed. But Mom always told me, “When one door closes, another opens.”

I never understood what she meant, until now. You see, even in this bad economy with millions and millions of people out of work or stuck in jobs they can’t stand and don’t pay enough to live on, there are still opportunities being created every day. Big Opportunities. REALLY BIG OPPORTUNITIES!

It was just a little while ago that one of those Big Opportunities came knocking at my door. And now it’s knocking on yours. What I am about to show you is not MLM or some get rich quick scheme. You will have to work at it, but with simple instruction and our Secret Weapons you’ll be able to get your slice of the money pie. Best of all you will once again have a reliable, stable income month in and month out.

I know you are thinking you will need a special skill or a specialized degree. All I have is a high school diploma, but you don’t even need that! And you won’t have to borrow a bunch of money to get started either!

This business is based on a very simple formula that has made millions of people rich for thousands of years.

It’s a very simple concept; you’ve probably even heard it before. It’s just four little words…

BUY LOW, SELL HIGH!

STOP! This is not some bs stock market or investment scheme. They require far more risk than I would be comfortable with, especially in this economy. They also require very specialized skills and knowledge. Not to mention a LOT of money to get started. Nope, this is different. Completely different.

Imagine a business where:

You don’t need CREDIT!

You don’t need a lot of money up front to get started.

You don’t need a college degree, special certifications or specialized knowledge.

You don’t have to take a lot of risks.

You don’t need an office, any employees or special equipment.

As the economy gets worse, your prospects get better!

You can start with less than a hundred bucks.

You don’t need a college degree, just a tiny bit of instruction and our Secret Weapons.

You set your own schedule and sell your merchandise from your own kitchen table or out of your garage.

You can do this ANYWHERE, because there are 30,000+ storage facilities all over the United States and Canada (We will even give you access to this list!)

You can be young, old, retired, in-between work, guys or girls and make good money, lots of it! ANYONE CAN DO THIS!

Imagine going to a storage auction, winning the auction with $50 and finding $2500 worth of merchandise for you to sell. You don’t have to just imagine it, you can do it! With our easy training course and Secret Weapons you’ll know exactly when, where and how to turn a unit into a great income as often as you want! This happens every day across all 50 states and Canada. In fact, it is not unusual for a self storage auction unit to be won with a single dollar, but inside the unit are things you could sell for several thousand dollars.

What kinds of items can you find in a Self Storage Auction?

Frankly, just about anything! For Example:

Cars (vintage cars, 4x4s, sports cars, motorcycles and RVs too!)

Boats (fishing boats, jet skis, watercraft of all kinds)

Tools (professional and typical homeowners stuff)

Specialized Business Equipment (from gyms, salons, restaurants, construction, etc.)

Collectibles (Toys, Books, Coins, Cards, Antiques)

Hollywood Memorabilia … items found in storage auctions:

Nicholas Cage’s Stolen $1Million Comic book

Madonna’s personal photos and signed work

Paris Hilton’s personal journals, videos and photos . . . more Hollywood treasures are found everyday!

Could you imagine stumbling onto the motherload of all Hollywood memorabilia or even one prop once used in a movie? What could you do with that kind of money?

With all of the possible valuables available at a self storage unit auction, it’s possible to replace a full time income from only a few hours work each week!

But don’t take my word for it. There are popular TV shows on major networks devoted to Self Storage Auctions. Keep in mind these shows are entertaining but they also show what can happen to someone who knows what they are doing in the storage auction business.

Inside the Best Self Storage Auction Course you will learn:

How to spot a great self storage unit auction quickly. (pg 28)

Doing these few things wrong can can land you in court! (pg 112)

How to bid on a unit and make others back off! (pg 65)

A simple, legal tool to save $$$$ on your taxes (pg 46)

What you MUST know BY LAW… BEFORE you bid! (pg 104)

The difference between a bad locker and an early Christmas (pg 84)

How to go to a storage auction fully prepared, unlike the other bidders. (pg 76)

How to avoid getting stuck with a unit full of junk you can’t sell or worse, have to pay big bucks to dispose! (pg 44)

How to reduce competition and lower your winning bid! (pg 127)

How to sell your items quick & get CASH in your hand right after the auction! (pg 81)

Why am I willing to share these secrets with you?

First, since I was a little boy I was taught “what goes around, comes around” and “if you help others, someone will be there to help you” and of course “Do unto others…” It’s kind of ingrained in me to share.

Second, I know what it feels like to be one step away from living in my minivan. Collections, bankruptcy, eating PB&J (without any PB… or J!). I’ve heard my family telling me, “You’ve got to get a job!” “You need to make some money!”, or my favorite, “You need to make more money”… only there weren’t any jobs for 50 year olds without a college degree, even if you did have 25 years experience in construction.

But then this opportunity came along for me as it is for you now. You don’t need a lot of money to make money. You can start this with less than $100. And truth be told, you really don’t have to work all that hard either.

Let’s imagine that you’ve completed the course and located an auction. You’ve got $150 in cash, you’re a little nervous, but that’s ok because it means you’re ready to go since you know that you’ve completed the course and you know exactly what you want to do as soon as you step foot on the lot.

The Auctioneer comes out of the office and leads you and 4 others to unit G167. Sure, the others are there for the same reason as you, but they haven’t been through the course, they don’t have the knowledge you gained from the handouts… but you have. You’re here because you know which auctions to go to and which ones aren’t worth the trouble.

As the Auctioneer opens the door to the unit you notice the others getting excited, one lady is even bouncing up and down clapping her hands as everyone begins to see the unit is stuffed to the brim with computer monitors and other electronic gear. You allow yourself a wry smile, you learned on page 35 of the course that many times storage units are used as “dumps” for broken, worthless electronic equipment to avoid paying the high disposal fees… fees that the “winner” of this units auction may have to pay. In the time it takes you to finish this thought the currently happy lady has “won” the auction for $250.

Secret: If you can get the other bidders to spend all their money on crappy units, you can walk away with a fantastic unit for little to no money as they run out of funds.

As the Auctioneer opens the door to the next unit you notice the others pointing at the boxes, card tables and mattresses piled up with garbage bags. Unlike the last unit they seem to grumble a bit, but you see a sliver of wood you know to be a china cabinet peeking out from behind the mattresses. Lots of fine woodwork in what little you can see. It might even be an antique…

You get startled a bit as the Auctioneer breaks the silence with “The bidding opens at $25.” No one moves, and the auctioneer calls out again, only this time he lowers the opening bid for fear of not selling the unit today. “Lets get the bids going, who’ll give me $10?” he cries…

…after a short moment you give a wave of your hand at the Auctioneer. He’s a good Auctioneer and soon you’re bidding against a “happy lady”. You know from the course that doing this one thing will make her back down… She does, and before you know it you hear “$50 going once, $50 going twice, Sold to bidder #67.” $50… to bidder #67… holy crap that’s you!

Your heart is racing but you manage to keep it together long enough to pay the Auctioneer and lock your unit. Finally the auction is over and you go back to the unit you purchased.

That china cabinet might be worth $200, maybe more. But first you’re going to have to go through everything else to get a better look at it. It’s mostly old clothes and the usual “kitchen items” but one of the boxes is quite heavy and has some collectable memorabilia from an old TV show and another some baseball cards from the 1970’s. You’re feeling pretty good, it looks like you might be able to at least double your cash from just what you’ve found so far!

Finally you can move those mattresses…

You find yourself having to lean against the side of the unit for fear of falling down.

The China Cabinet is gorgeous. Worth at least $700 and based on the glass style it does look antique so it could be a lot more. But that’s not why you’re having trouble standing. You see, it’s full to the brim, with Depression Glass. You’ve seen a single piece of Depression Glass sell for $25 and there must be 50 or 60 pieces in this China Cabinet!

Luckily for you, our BSA Auction checklist has you totally prepared for this…

Following the few simple rules of the course, and the “members only” checklist, your grin got even bigger as your favorite antique dealer handed you $500 before he took the China Cabinet away. All packed up, you hurry home with everything you’ve found. After an evening of research (using some of our special tips and bonus material on valuation) you’ve learned that the cards and TV show stuff are worth an easy $400…

But the reason your wife is whistling as she is preparing for a night on the town, the first time in months… is because the antique dealer also handed you $1400 for all that Depression Glass!

This is not just a fantasy. Finds like this happen almost every day all over the USA. It’s happened to me, it can happen to you. All that is left for you to decide is will it be a fantasy for you or will you take the necessary action to make it your reality?

I know that times are tough right now. Spending anything is a major decision. But I am going to eliminate all of the risk for you.

Are you serious about earning great cash for your family with Self Storage Auctions?

Then take a look at what we’ve created for you. This is the Masters Degree program at the Self Storage Auctions University. You’ll learn the secrets and insider tips to show you how to avoid the expensive mistakes and take the straight and narrow way to big profits.

One of the best things about this course is that you don’t have to go to a class somewhere or wait for a package in the mail. Everything is 100% downloadable and you can get started learning your self storage auction lessons the easy way, right away. You’re about to become a private member in an exclusive club in this ground floor opportunity…

This course will show you:

Bid Secrets, how to keep from spending too much.

Which units are the most likely to make you money.

Which units to avoid and which ones to “drop”

All of the legal ins and outs of self storage auctions

What you must have with you at every auction.

How and Where to sell your finds for top dollar.

  …and a whole lot more!

But that’s not all… we have more to give you – Keep Reading!

You remember above I kept mentioning our “Secret Weapon”? As part of our easy course you will receive membership access to our database of self storage businesses all across America. More than 32,000 storage facilities, each with hundreds of units and each one an opportunity for you to make great money once you’ve completed the course. PLUS other great bonuses… and we mean a lot of freebies – keep reading below to discover all the goodies we are combining with this course:

BSA Storage Lien Law Book – All US States – 322 Pages

Storage Lien Law Book – All US States! – don’t go to another auction in your state or any other state without reading the state lien laws as they pertain to storage auctions. There are some things you must know before you bid on a locker or may have found in a locker – be prepared and get all the details in this huge compilation of US state lien laws.

At 322 pages this is a ton of information and we value this book at $27 – but if you order today its yours FREE!

Get the facts about any state storage auction info as just one of several fantastic bonus gifts. It’s also an instant download! No waiting for snail-mail!

BSA Vehicle Storage Lien Laws – 196 Pages

BSA Vehicle Storage Lien Laws! – did you spot an automobile, motorcycle or ATV in a storage unit and think you were just going to have it towed home? Think again, this book delves into the state rules for vehicles left abandoned in storage units. Know the facts before you lose your cash!

Our valuation on this whopping 196 page compiled vehicle lien law book is $19 – but, ordering the course today – you get this FREE!

Get this fantastic bonus gift as an instant download.

BSA Coin Finder – How To Spot Expensive Coins Quick – 67 Pages

BSA Coin Finder – How To Spot Expensive Coins Quick! – You won’t want to discard a coin that could be valuable while organizing your storage unit. Learn these facts on how to spot coins on the fly.

How many times have you walked past a coin on the street and didn’t give it a second glance? Often with storage units people leave precious metals behind to keep in safe storage… you’ll be spotting winners in no time!

If you had to buy this online we think you would need to pay $14 – but, today this book is our free gift to you, but you must order today!

Get this fantastic bonus gift as an instant download.

BSA How To Spot Antiques For Beginners – 235 Pages

BSA How To Spot Antiques For Beginners! – You’ll be super impressed with your skills at picking the expensive antique items from amongst the junk in everyday storage units. With a bit of reading and a few simple tips and tricks you’ll be spotting the real antiques from the re-manufactured stuff in no time.

Comes complete with how to spot woods, precious metals and special markings.

We think it should sell for more because we know how much key information it holds, but we modestly value this gift to you at $19 – but, ordering today its yours FREE!

Get this fantastic bonus gift as an instant download too!

We Saved Some of the Nicest Bonus Gifts for Last… and we are the only ones to give them to our members – FREE!

Membership To Our Storage Auction Community

Membership To The BSA Storage Auction Group! – You’ll be in good company with storage auction enthusiasts, newbies and pros just like yourself. Share ideas, pick each others brains, trade your finds on the forum – all at no additional cost.

PLUS: We will be giving you access to our 32,000+ record database of just about every storage facility in the United States and Canada! Don’t think there is a storage facility in even the smallest town? You bet there is! And would they have a storage auction, all it takes is a quick phone call!

Unlimited Free Search By Home Computer or Mobile Phone!

If you plan to attend auctions in a few states or maybe you are on a sightseeing trip and just want to check out how auctions are run in another state – check your private database of storage facilities to see who you may be close to

So, to recap, BSA Membership Includes:

Access to the database of 32k+ Storage Facilities in our private members only area

Access to the private members only forum – Buy – Trade – Sell – Communicate with other members!

Access to all the forms and books plus freebies and giveaways for members only

Your own website complete with your very own shopping cart – stop paying eBay fees and sell from your own site… oops – we weren’t supposed to tell you about this unless you really weren’t sure about the course… but if you want to see the Storage Auction Demo Site – CLICK HERE FOR DEMO SITE

      … and much, much more!

This lifetime membership sells for $97 – but if you order today – your membership is all-inclusive and FREE!

PLUS – just to make certain you know you got your moneys worth, and we are serious to see you succeed, we are giving you even more bonus swag to make you even more successful – – – our trademark Auction Worksheets!

As a member you’ll have access to these forms 24/7 – so even at 5am when you are preparing your auction, print off a few copies, enjoy your coffee and go to the auction later that day armed with everything you need to win big:

BSA Storage Auction Checklist bonus

BSA Storage Auction Checklist – don’t go to another auction without this awesome tool! You’ll be able to head out the door in the morning on your way to a local auction and be confident knowing you have everything you need with you for a productive and cash filled day.

BSA Storage Auction Expense Report bonus

BSA Storage Auction Expense Report – keep track of your money on each and every auction. Not only does it help you to be prepared but you’ll get to know how much each day will cost and tally up everything at the end of the year for instant tax savings. Your accountant will love you for it!

BSA Storage Inventory Worksheet bonus

BSA Storage Inventory Worksheet – know what came out of every unit and how much you made on each piece. This is an invaluable tool should something arise out of the sale of this unit you’ll be able to immediately determine where an item went. Oftentimes you will come across personal paperwork, knowing what you did with that paperwork will certainly help if the need to find it arises.

WE HAMMERED DOWN THE PRICE TO ONLY $37 TO SAVE YOU EVEN MORE MONEY!

    DOWNLOAD THIS OPPORTUNITY NOW, EVEN IF ITS 2AM

I promised to eliminate any risk for you, so this course comes with my personal 60 day 100% no questions asked guarantee. If you are not satisfied for any reason just ask for your money back within the next 60 days.

Get “The Best Storage Auction Course” and all the free bonus books and Worksheets for one ultra low price … OR; do you enjoy the feeling of “not earning your potential”… AND/OR; to be made to FEEL GUILTY for not making enough money to provide for your family?

  YES,   I want and need to instantly download “The Best Storage Auction Course” to better my life and provide for my family!

Yes! I want to ease my mind and provide for my family

Yes! I want to know how the best storage bidders operate!

Yes! I want and DESERVE to be happy!

NO! I NEVER want my family to go to bed hungry or see my children cry!

Yes! I have to know if my intuition is correct and be able to get quality storage lockers

NO! I DO NOT WANT MY CURRENT CRAPPY JOB!!

Yes! I want

instant access

to your manual and the bonus material!

Yes! I want

“The Best Storage Auction Course” and all the freebies right NOW!

Click Here To Get This Instant Download

Find Out How To Get Started in This Lucrative Business… right now!

Get Your Career Started . . . you deserve MORE!

You are also backed by my personal 60 day Guarantee. If for any

reason you decide the course and bonus books are not for you simply return them for a full refund. No Questions Asked.

So you have absolutely nothing to lose by buying now and reading everything I have to say – this is a life changing manual for your peace of mind and new life and you have absolutely everything to gain!

If you are at all concerned with being financially stable in this crazy economic recession and the “fear of living paycheck to paycheck“.

Again, I urge you to download this manual right now! Not only will you save yourself $$$ but you’ll also have the peace of mind you fully deserve. We completely guarantee it!

Stop dreading the outlook of another bad paycheck… and go with your intuition and gut instinct

At Only $37 and a Full Guarantee How Could You Go Wrong?

You *could* try self storage auctions “on your own” or with some cheap ebooks thrown together from publicly available information. But just one mistake could cost you thousands or tens of thousands of dollars out of your pocket. Money you can’t afford right now –

Remember this is not a get rich quick or “easy” money scheme. It does require work on your part. It’s not rocket science, especially once you’ve completed our training. Don’t forget about our Secret Weapon… you will have access to our regularly updated database of Self Storage businesses in all 50 states with full up to date contact information for each one.

There is nothing else to buy. Once you’ve purchased the Self Storage Auction course you’ll have instant access to the course as well as all of the bonuses and our Secret weapon… forever!

If you are a quick study it is quite possible to order the course Friday evening, win your first Auction Saturday morning and have it all sold on ebay come Sunday afternoon! Even if it takes you a little longer to finish the course, as long as you follow the plan you will make money!

You have nothing to lose; I have taken the risk for you with my personal 100% guarantee. The sooner you get the course, the sooner you can get started making money!

Do you want a reliable income that you can count on?

Do you want a business you can start without spending a lot of money?

Do you want a business you can start without a lot of education?

Then the Self Storage auction course is just what the doctor ordered, a reliable income with a small investment and only a little education.

Once you’ve completed the course you are going to be excited. You will know that you KNOW how to do what you need to do to make a lot of money. YOU will have a PLAN that you can get started with quickly and making the money you need to support your family.

Ok you’ve read this far but still haven’t committed to buying the course. So I’m going to toss you one final bonus, this bonus only goes to those that click on the BUY button below.

We want you to be successful in this business and we know that with a bit of a push we can help you achieve your goals, so we would like to give you this fully functioning website as an additional bonus gift for you. It has all the necessary features of a shopping cart with pay functions – so all you need to do is load it with goodies from your storage auctions and sell it like crazy!

If you can use Microsoft Word then you can write in your own blog! There are functions to make something BOLD, Italicize, Underline, choose from a multitude of colors for your fonts, include your images and even videos in your posts. Anything is possible and we empower you with the tools to make it happen.

BONUS: Free Website with Shopping Cart!

CLICK HERE TO SEE DEMO SITE

    So How Much Does This Information Cost?

Well, first I’d like you to consider what

you could possibly lose

… your freedom, family, possessions and anything else you hold near and dear to your heart. What do you think happens to your belongings if you cant afford to pay for them? Or what about your mortgage – who is going to pay your mortgage?

The value of what you are about to access is literally priceless as it concerns your very livelihood and in this strange topsy-turvy economy – you must know that doing the same old thing just won’t work…

Get Best Storage Auctions Right Now – It’s An Instant Download!

Now then, on to your new career!

P.S.There is no time like the present to get a new career started in the right direction and really where you believe you need to be – I should know – I was in your shoes only a few short years ago.

P.P.S. Your future depends on what you DO TODAY, in this moment. Not what you put off till tomorrow.

P.P.P.S. Don’t forget, when you are sitting at home wondering how to cover next months light bill… you’ll have two types of thoughts racing through your head:

The way it was

The way it could have been… what’s it going to be for you?

Click Here To Put An End To Worrying about Job Security!

The charge will be from the secure servers of “ClickBank/Keynetics” so you know its a safe product. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by knowing how to control your financial future – its time for you to step up and take charge. Plus, we will never email you about anything. You will not go on any list, this we promise! If you wish to contact us and ask for help please do so.

Home | Order | Bonus | Privacy | Disclaimer | Terms | Contact | Sitemap | Affiliates

EARNINGS DISCLAIMER: Every effort has been made to accurately represent this product and its potential. Earning potential is entirely dependant upon the person using the information included to this site, the ideas and techniques. There is no guarantee that you will earn any money using the techniques, ideas or paperwork provided. Examples on this site are not to be interpreted as a promise or guarantee of earnings.Simply put, every person is different and you get out of something what you put into it. More information here: Disclaimer

[jumping-with-jae]

I JUMPED WITH JAE: My Experience at the Day6 Live and Meet in NYC

Hello! If you read the title right, yes that did happen, but I’ll get to that later. I would have posted this sooner, like right after I got home from the concert, but being a college student in the middle of midterm season, I was too stressed to even get to this until now. But here I am! So without further ado, here is how my night with Day6 went!

So first of all, I got myself a P2 ticket, which means that I didn’t have to get in the line super early for the hi touch since that starts after the concert ends. I still got there by like 4 hehe. Anyway, as soon as I got to the venue, I was already met with familiar faces from the KARD concert in NYC (that I also went to and that was LIT), so I was able to wait at the door because of them. It hasn’t even been 5 minutes since I got there and I’m somehow already on Subkulture’s Twitter, like holy crap they’re fast. Trying finding out who I am from the posts that night heh. While waiting there, I got myself a free banner for the fan project (which went decently from what I saw) as well as some high quality fan made photos of my bias Wonpil for four dollars, and I thought it was a pretty great deal for four dollars!

To whoever made these photos, you are amazing. She made so many more photos of everyone else as well, and they all looked incredible. 

I met some P1 holders in the line as well, and before I knew it, all P1 holders were going in to do their fansigns. What I didn’t expect was for them to come back outside, since they didn’t do that for KARD. What was great about this though was that I could see everyone through the glass door walking out just moments after their fansigns ended, and I saw everything from happy and ecstatic to sobbing and crying, and even to some just looking flat out DEFEATED. Those kinds of reactions make my day even better hehe. On a side note, to the girl in the green sweater with P1, you almost made me cry with your beautiful reaction TT

Some of the fans came prepared to show how dedicated they were, as someone brought a Bob the Builder plushie to support Sungjin and someone even made a We Want Bald Jae 2K17 banner which was HILARIOUS xD

The people around me decided to do some sing alongs to Day6 songs, and before I knew it, I’m in the venue with $100 already spent on merch. (YIKES) Though $60 were from friends, so no, I am thankfully not too bankrupt hehe. Going further into the venue, My friend, who shall be referred to as ‘A,’ and I decided to take pictures of us sitting on the stage with the tour sign and instruments, and even though we got yelled at for doing so, we still got the pictures. Worth it!

An hour later, the concert starts, and I felt even more excited when Day6 came out than for a lot of other Kpop groups and bands. I grew up listening to alternative and pop rock music Paramore and Fall Out Boy, so I already had the familiarity of listening to a band in a concert. But at the same time, I’ve also grown to the familiarity of the Kpop chants, so that’s two in one for me! They all looked beautiful on stage, and they were all very charming, both while they’re performing and just sitting around. Some of my favorite performances of the night included I Smile, Noah, Congratulations, Dance Dance, and Free하게.

Some highlights of the night for me include Wonpil wearing a suit, the majority of the audience not knowing what Sungjin likes, and Jae getting lit during the encore. As one of my friends described it, Wonpil wearing a suit is like a child wearing his father’s suit, which just made it even more adorable to me. I actually can’t get enough of this man, like I need help. (No pictures, sadly) As for Sungjin, during the game, I feel like using Overwatch as the picture for video games baited us so hard, and when Sungjin said he likes sports more than video games, it was just so hilarious looking at almost everyone sitting down because they thought wrong. Though I felt so bad for Sungjin, like I really wanted to just hug him after that.

Now as for Jae, I first have to thank ‘A.’ She found me a spot closer to the stage to sit at, and it was an isle seat so that I could see Dowoon even clearer than before. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be writing about this, so thank you so much ‘A.’ Free하게 was just playing, and all of a sudden I see Jae get off the stage and run straight forward in my direction and all I’m thinking is “BOI WHERE ARE YOU GOING HOLD ON.” He got so close as  he stood on one of the seats across from me and began hyping up the crowd to start jumping, and before I know it, I’m jumping with Jae, who’s like only a few feet away from me, along with the people around me. No words could express how happy I was during that moment like… damn man. You’re amazing, Jae.

One thing I noticed was that halfway through the concert, I realized that I just never look at Dowoon playing the drums. Like I always forget that he’s a part of the band just because he doesn’t sing, and that made me feel really sad. So to compensate, I took a video of mainly him playing the drums for Congratulations, and it was just really nice seeing him in his element playing the drums. He looks really comfortable back there, and it made me happy seeing him just doing his thing.

Something that I also noticed is how RUDE Young K can be. Like he can get into the music like anyone else, but sometimes he’ll just be getting his groove on a little too much and all attention goes straight to his hips. Don’t you dare do this to us Young K! I don’t have any videos of this, since he kinda does it really sparingly. (And tastefully too hehe)

I honestly am trying to think about other things that have happened during the concert, but they’re all in this happy and beautiful blur, so if I missed anything else that would be a disgrace to forget, 미안해요 ㅠㅠ

So the concert ended, which means that I’m now waiting to do the hi touch. One of my friends wanted me to record her doing her hi touch and she said she’d do the same for me, but the thing that I thought was that if it was anything like the SVT concert in NYC, you would literally cut a random corner and all of a sudden you’d see the members. And that’s exactly what happened! Like stop giving us heart attacks! I was pretty much as shook seeing Young K first after cutting the corner like how I was shook seeing freaking Minghao first in line for SVT’s hi touch. The staff wanted us to go at a pretty fast rate, as seen by the Day6 members just holding their hands out, not looking to grasp your hands for longer than two seconds. The order btw was Young K, Dowoon, Jae, Wonpil, and Sungjin. So besides just saying “Hi [insert Day6 member’s name],” I tried adding personalized statements like “You’re so amazing Young K,” “You’re so cool Dowoon,” and “You were so lit Jae.” I did say all those things and they just smiled and nodded their heads, and then I get to Wonpil and things already feel a little different LOL. Like everyone else including Sungjin is like leaning in towards the table to get to eye level of their fans to say hi and high five them, and then you have freaking Wonpil who’s standing a little further back, and he’s also puckering his lips inwards, squinting his eyes a little, and doing this kind of nod that could translate to something like, “Yes I know, I know I am.” The most adorable man in the world like I actually can’t even. I didn’t personalize anything for Wonpil as a result of that shock, and then I ended up doing finger guns to Sungjin?? Cute, heh. All of that took like seven seconds, like I even said to myself “Wait can I do that again?” But yeah that was that, and like any other hi touch, I wish it lasted a little longer.

I thought I was gonna go home right after that, but then I notice the van that Day6 would be leaving in, so I decide to wait around there until they came out. The wait took nearly an hour, but the experience was more frustrating for me in the end, just because the van decides to move after the long wait, and ten seconds after that, you hear the fans at the other side of the venue scream for Day6 one last time. No, I didn’t see them there. Sad? Yeah. The screams lasted like ten seconds at most, so I assume the members just walked out, maybe gave a wave or two, then rushed into the van. I thought I’d go home in some disappointment, but one last thing actually happens as I walk back to the train station. As I cross the street, I notice a van that was “very similar” to the van the Day6 got in, and me obviously being very curious, I take a peep through the windshield and believe to see Dowoon’s silhouette. I was kinda just looking in disbelief, like “that’s no way that could be Day6′s van, but what if it is?” Because I’m a little too considerate, I end up not saying anything to the van and just look at the van in pure confusion for the next twenty seconds before they went off. Assuming it was actually Day6′s van, I wonder if, one, they actually acknowledged my existence, and two, if they recognized me from the concert. I’m pretty different from a lot of the people that went to the concert for ‘one main reason,’ so I think there’s a good chance that assuming it was them, they did. I’ll leave a picture here to ponder over.

But yeah, that’s how my night went. I took the train with some friends, slept, went to class, and went back to the rough school life. It really was one of the best concerts that I went to, like it’s at least in my Top 3. I could argue that there were some downs in the night, like how I didn’t personalize anything to Wonpil or say anything to the van, but I’m not sad about any of it really. I enjoyed my night with great friends with one of my favorite groups. It was a good night~

If you got this far, thanks for reading my ramble! I could probably talk about so many more things, but I can’t think of anything else right now, and I am also super exhausted. So I guess until the next one! Thanks again~

[screamingatanemptyroom]

Story 100!!

Hey Everyone! This is my 100th short story on Tumblr! Hooray! Thanks to everyone who has read anything I’ve written, you guys are awesome!

This story is a continuation of several short stories. Many of my urban fantasy stories are set in the same world, and the main characters in fact know each other. It’s not necessary, but I recommend reading those short stories linked here to really appreciate what happens in this one. 

First is Grace, a girl who works at a coffee shop and goes on a date with the son of the devil when Hell freezes over.

Second is Jennifer, a fairy cop who is working on a series of grisly murders by dark fae.

Third is Virginia, a werewolf doctor who faces a vengeful ghost on a plane.

Finally, a side story for Arcadeus, son of the devil, when he was a kid dealing with shared custody and visiting his father. 

This was different from stuff I’ve done before. A lot harder to be honest. I really do like these characters and wanted to give them a chance to continue their story. I hope you guys like it! 

Grace

It was a busy time at Witches Brew, the coffee shop where I worked. 3 am was our rush hour, when all the things that went bump in the night (at least the ones not getting drunk across the street) came in for a cup of coffee.

“You look delicious, human…are you on the menu?” The zombie customer was fairly articulate for one of his kind, and only partly rotten, but the breath…ugh. That wonderful combination of graveyard with a heavy dose of ethanol. I waved a hand in front of my face in hopes of improving the smell and shot back.

“I’m not a human, and you couldn’t afford me even if I was on the menu.” I pointed to the sign behind me, which listed the types of coffees and various prices. “You can order coffee, which is fresh brewed and awesome, by the way; or you can leave.”

The zombie’s eyes narrowed and it licked its lips with a swollen purple tongue.  “You sure seem human.” He leaned forward to smell me.

I sighed and gave a shrug. I was only willing to put up with so much crap from customers in the name of good service. I held up a small handful of salt and blew it gently into his face. With a shriek of pain he clawed at his yellow eyes and ran out the door, cursing the entire way out.

“Have a nice night!” I called cheerfully after him, before returning to cleaning the counter, making sure to restock my emergency salt stash. I hadn’t been lying when I said I wasn’t human. I was the non-magical daughter of a genie and a human, which came with the perk of being part of an underground culture, with the unfortunate caveat that I was mortal and actually couldn’t perform magic. This left me with the sad necessity of being prepared in other ways to deal with the occasional drunken idiot that waltzed in here thinking I was a free snack.

“Grace, you jerk! Why don’t you ever call?!” The loud voice across the café turned a few heads, but despite the sarcastic tone I couldn’t prevent the grin from spreading across my face.

“That because SOME people are workaholics and live at the hospital 24-7.” I called back at her, getting started on her favorite coffee drink: a mocha-latte with a dash of hot sauce.

One of my best friends in the world, Virginia, was an ER doctor, and one of the most awesome people to walk on this planet. She waltzed up and leaned against the bar, motioning for me to hurry up.

“Come ON, girl, I seriously need the caffeine tonight.”

I took a closer look. Her normally tanned skin was paler than normal, and dark circles ringed her eyes. Even her scrubs seemed to hang a little looser than normal.  

“Is everything ok? We’re not near a full moon or something are we?” I was only half joking. Virginia was a werewolf, even if her current ties to the pack were a bit tenuous.

She gave me a tired smile. “No, I just had the worst plane flight ever and followed it up with a double shift at the hospital. She sat in a nearby stool with a sigh.

“A terrible flight? Want to talk about it?”

She answered with a brief shake of her head. “Nope, gotta wait for Jennifer. She’s meeting us here and I’m not telling the same story twice.”

We didn’t have to wait long. Jennifer, the third part of our small group of friends from childhood, entered. She was obviously just getting off work as well, still in her suit with her wings tucked in.

I handed her a hot chocolate. “Catch any murderers today?”

“If only! I’m STILL filling out paperwork over the whole ‘partner going rogue’ incident.” She pouted a bit as she spoke, flicking the wand at her waist to summon a huge chocolate muffin. I ignored the blatant disregard for café rules regarding use of magic and eating outside food. It just wasn’t worth the fight. (Plus my boss was in the back buried in tax papers, and not likely to notice). In between serving customers we got the whole “bad flight” story out of Virginia.

“Wow,” Jennifer sipped at her hot chocolate, obviously thinking hard “We’ve had an increase in incidents with rogue ghosts lately. Did you report it to the police?”

Virginia shot her a look “Yes, Detective. I’m not an idiot. As soon as we landed I reported it to the SPF.”

“I tell you, things are getting weird lately.” I cleaned glasses while I spoke “Just last week you were complaining about the increase in Dark Fae attacks, before that it was werewolves going missing, and now there’s ghost attacks?”

“Yeah, the pack is still upset about losing so many members in such a short time.” Virginia moodily stirred her drink; “The alpha keeps bugging me about quitting my job and ‘seeing to the pack survival.’ “ She shuddered “Crawling naked over broken glass sounds more appealing.”

Jennifer patted her on the back “If they pressure you too much, let me know. I’ll make them regret it.”

“Thanks.” She raised her cup “To freedom and great friends.”

“To freedom!” We toasted with a laugh using our coffee cups.

A few more customers came in, some young girls whose horns and red eyes marked them out as demons. They ordered complex drinks and sighed loudly as they waited. I kept my eye rolls and sarcastic comments to myself, like the good barista I was.

“So Grace, you never told us how it went with Arcadeus meeting your parents!”

I groaned, not stopping in my work, handing the girls their drinks and finishing the transaction.

“I will need to be VERY drunk to tell you guys that whole debacle.” I sighed, counting out the change and dropping into the girl’s reddish tinged hand. “Let’s just say his father showed up, and watching the devil compete with my father the genie for half the night was not my idea of a great time. It started with plague rats and went downhill from there.”

“That sounds int…” Jennifer was interrupted by the demon girl I had just finished serving.

“YOU’RE the girl who snagged Arcadeus, son of the Devil?” She looked me up and down while she spoke, her tone suggesting she was not impressed.

“If by ‘snag’ you mean: he begged her for a date and his dad froze Hell over just to set them up, then yes.” Virginia spoke up, a low growl sounding in the back of her throat.

The girl snorted, “Can’t believe he’d sink so low.”

Jennifer started to stand, “Look here…”

I held up a hand, silencing her. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got this.” The day I couldn’t handle my own fights was the day I was dead and buried. I calmly turned to the girl and answered,

“Yes, person I don’t know who is prying into my personal life, I am dating Arcadeus. We are very happy, and you whining about it won’t change that.” I waved cheerfully at her, “Enjoy your coffee.”

The demon glared at me, raising a hand and chanting a few words.

I let her tire herself out, and grinned at her. “A curse of blindness? Really? I expected better.” I shook my head slowly, pulling out a small vial from underneath my shirt.

“What is tha…ARRGH!”  She ended on a shriek as I spritzed holy water on her face. She and her friend ran out, screaming curses as they left. I tucked the tiny spray bottle back into my clothing with a chuckle. The one benefit I get from my supernatural origins is a resistance to magical curses. A trait that has definitely come in handy since my new relationship started. Not that I was going to tell Arcadeus about these little incidents. It would just upset him.

Jennifer gave me a high five over the bar. “Not that I care what happens to those little twerps, but aren’t your worried your boss might be upset that you assaulted customers?”

From the room in the back we heard a gruff shout. “Not if they pay for their coffee first.”

With a laugh we settled into continue catching up through the rest of my shift.

After I got off work, I was walking back to my bike parked in the back, when I came face to face with a pale young man standing in the alley. He was slim, his pale dark hair hanging in his face. His eyes were hidden behind sunglasses.

This didn’t look good. I started to back away.

“Don’t worry, I’m a cop.” He held up a badge. Crap, it was Jennifer’s rogue partner, Alex. I backed away faster, turning around to run when everything went dark.

 Virginia

As I left the coffee shop, I let out a huge yawn. Man, taking a 24 hour shift right after that flight had been a terrible idea. I checked my cell phone, noting multiple missed calls from Jeffrey, the Alpha of my pack. I deleted the voice mails without listening to them, ignoring the instinct to cater to his every whim. I had made my position very clear last time I spoke with him. I loved my job, I didn’t love him, and neither of those statements added up to me becoming a stay at home wife/mate for him.

Wrapped up in my own problems, I almost missed the scent of distress in the air. In the corner of my eye I saw a young, thin man pick up an unconscious Grace, hefting her onto his shoulder.

“Wait, STOP!” I yelled out, but it was too late. With a triumphant grin in my direction, the young man activated some sort of device in his hand and disappeared. I ran to the spot where he had been just a moment before. There were spots of blood on the asphault. Grace’s blood. I felt my claws and teeth lengthen as anger took over. The urge to kill and tear was overwhelming.

“Virginia, what’s going on?” Jennifer had heard me yelling and was coming over to help, her wand drawn and ready for action.

“HE TOOK GRACE.” I could barely get the words out past my fangs.

Once Jennifer had gotten all the details from me, she cursed. “That must have been Alex, my old partner. I should have known he’d try some crap like this.” She waved her wand, a small golden crochet hook, snagging a motorcycle out of thin air.

“I’m coming with you!” I started towards the bike too, but was stopped by her hand in the air.

“No, sorry, but you’re not a cop, you’re exhausted and you’re not thinking straight. Frankly, you would only get in my way like this.”

With an apologetic smile, she took off, the engine roaring as she turned the corner and went out of sight.

“Screw that.” I was not letting my two friends be in danger without trying to help. Besides, what if one of them got hurt? Having a doctor there might make a difference. There was no way in Hell I was staying out of this.

Wait.

Speaking of Hell...

I wasn't adept at magic, but I knew the basics. Chanting under my breath and with a few passes of my hands I performed a basic communication spell.

"Virginia! I'm so happy to see you!" A puff of red smoke blew around her as Arcadeus stepped out. The smell of sulfur was strong in the air, causing me to sneeze.

"Oh crap, the sulfur, that's embarrassing!" He waved his hands futilely, trying to disperse it. "That's the problem with working in Hell, the smell tends to linger."  He blushed as he spoke, looking mortified.

"It's ok, don't worry about it." We had bigger issues, anyways.

"Not that I'm not glad to see you, Virginia, but why did you call? Is Grace around?" Even mentioning her name was enough to brighten his whole face, and he looked around as if trying to catch sight of her.

I sighed; this wasn't going to be pretty.

I have had plenty of practice giving bad news over the years. It came along with the whole doctor thing. I usually had a pretty good idea how people would respond. Arcadeus seemed pretty quiet and sensitive, I was pretty sure this might overwhelm him. As I explained the situation I kept a close eye out for sign of distress, ready to provide support as needed.

I shouldn't have worried.

His face didn't change at all; you would have thought I had told him about the weather, except for the eyes. His eyes blazed a fiery red, and the air around him seemed to boil. I felt the pressure of his power pushing against me, and fought the urge to shrink back. He caught my gaze and held it.

"Where?" He was still soft spoken, but the single word sent chills down my spine.

"Jennifer was tracking them on her bike, she went that way." I pointed as I spoke.

His eyes closed and he whispered a quiet incantation to himself, a language I quickly recognized as the dialect of Hell. A moment later he opened them, his face still calm, but terrifying.

"A lesser demon has spotted them on the south side of town. I can teleport us there if you want to come along?" He held out his hand. The rage in his gaze had lessened somewhat. I could see his concern for Grace shining through. I took his hand without hesitation.

"Let's go."

The world around us shimmered and faded, and soon became what appeared to be a large abandoned warehouse. Well, not quite so abandoned.

We were surrounded by a group of dark fae, creatures of every shape and size. Everywhere I turned there were fangs, claws, and the distinct black gaze that marked their kind.

I let my claws grow out, nervously shifting closer to Arcadeus. To my shock he chuckled grimly.

"When I tell you, break through and run."

His voice was pitched low enough to carry to my ears only. He drew himself up to his full height, pushing his white hair back to emphasize his horns.

" I am Arcadeus, son of Satan." I could barely recognize his voice through the freezing chill that coated it.

"You have made the grave error of kidnapping the woman I love."

I let out a quiet "Aww" but he shushed me and continued.

" I will give you one chance to escape painful demise: tell me where she is, and I will let you live." His quiet ultimatum was met with derisive laughter.

"She screams quite beautifully, I think we'll keep her."

The silence was heavy.

"Wrong answer." He tapped my shoulder in a silent sign to run. As I moved forward, the enemies in front of me disintegrated into flames. I passed through the open door, moving deeper into the building. Behind me I heard screams of agony and a roar of hellfire, but I ignored it and kept moving.

I had friends to find.

 Jennifer

I knew where to go. I had been researching into the dark fae since my partner tried to kill me. There had been 3 or 4 possible places I had narrowed it down to during my last shift, and only one was in this part of town. I rode towards an abandoned warehouse, my summoned motorcycle roaring beneath me. My mind raced as I traveled. Why had they taken Grace? It had to be a trap.

But what could they possibly gain by luring me out?

I peered in through the ground floor windows. Hundreds of dark fae stood guard.

Well, crap. I wasn't getting in or out that way. I looked up, spotting a window several stories above me. With a quick flick of my wand I summoned a grappling hook. When that didn't work (I didn't actually know how to use a grappling hook), I came to my senses, cast a quick glamour and flew up to the window through the cracked, dirty glass I could see Grace bound to a chair.  Fortunately it was unlocked. I entered the room quietly, keeping my invisibility glamour up.

Grace looked up at my approach, her natural resistance to magic allowed her to see past my spell.

"You idiot, what are you doing?! This couldn't be any more obvious of a trap if they had taped a big sign to the door saying 'Trap! Idiots welcome!'" She glared at me, a bruise marring the right side of her face.

"I'm saving your butt, you ungrateful little turd! Now shut up and let's get you free."

I looked at her bonds. Dark bands of magic wrapped around her, holding her to the chair and her wrists together behind her.

"Actually..." whatever Grace had been about to say was interrupted by a dark voice that sent chills down my spine. A voice that was all too familiar.

“Jennifer, darling, I’m so glad you could make it to our little party.”

I looked up into black, soulless eyes framed in a sweet face with dark hair. A face I had stared up into from my crib. A woman who, up until the time she tried to kill me, had been my entire world.

“Mother.” I spat the word out like a curse. She inclined her head slightly as if acknowledging the title. “What do you want?”

“Now, now, darling, no need to be so crass. I just need a teensy tiny little thing from you, and I will let you and your human friend here go.”

I took a step closer, brandishing my wand. “That doesn’t sound like much fun. How about I arrest you instead?” I edged closer. “That sounds much better.”

“Don’t take another step.” Another familiar voice, another remembered betrayal. My former partner, Alex, now a vampire, held a knife to Grace’s throat. She kept her face calm and her head still, but she was slowly mouthing at me “don’t listen to them.” He noticed the slight movement and pressed the blade in, breaking the skin slightly.

“Drop your wand.” I hesitated, but only for a moment. I couldn’t risk Grace’s life. I dropped my wand.

“Good girl.” My mother laughed bitterly and kicked the wand away. She put a hand to my throat, and I felt a prick of a needle against my neck. I struggled but she was stronger and held me still. “Don’t move, sweetie. I just need a bit of blood from your jugular, but if I don’t aim right even this little needle could cause some serious damage.”

I held still, hearing but not registering a commotion at the other side of the room. All my focus was on my mother. “Why?”

She smiled at me, withdrawing the needle now attached to a vial full of blood. “You were a bit unexpected dear. You were born between two worlds, to both light and dark fae, not that your father knew that at the time.” She smiled, “You may have noticed a slight increase in our activities lately. I have found the key to expanding our kingdom far beyond the ancient restrictions. All I need is to get rid of some pesky weaknesses natural to our kind and the world will be ours on a platter.” She held up the container with my blood. “This holds the key to making the dark fae indestructible. So thank you, dear.” With a sad sigh she pulled out a large knife. “Now that I have what I need, I’m afraid your friend will have to die. She’s only a liability.” She waved a hand in my direction, freezing me in place. “Not you though, if that’s any comfort. I may still need more blood from you.” She turned to face the chair where Grace was tied, only to be met with a fist to the face.

“That’s for kidnapping me and tying me up.” Grace punched her again, the silver knuckles she wore glinting on her fist as it made contact with my mother’s face. “And THAT’s for sticking Jennifer with a needle!” The dark fairy went down and Grace rushed to my side.

I was confused, “How did you…”

“I’m immune to magic, remember? The bonds couldn’t hold me. All I had to due was knock out creepy dude over there…” She jerked a thumb in the direction of my former partner, now unconscious on the ground. “So I could give your messed up mom a lesson in manners.” Cracking her knuckles, she grinned. “Impressed?”

I was, but wouldn’t tell her that. “I’ll throw you a parade later.” I picked up the vial of blood from my mother’s hand and smashed it on the ground. I then turned to handcuff Alex, that vampiric little rat.

“We better get you back before Virginia dies of worry. We’ll have to figure out a way to sneak out, the entrance is blocked by at least a hundred dark fae.”  

“Don’t worry, I’m here to save the day!” As if on cue, Virginia strolled in the door, claws out and ready to fight. She must have been in a few fights already; there were bloodstains on her scrubs and around her hands. She saw that we were both standing free and dropped her head dejectedly. “Dangit! I’m too late aren’t I?”

Grace went over and patted her back. “It’s ok, you can help us figure out how to escape, since the front door is blocked.”

“It’s not blocked.” Arcadeus walked in, looking tired but unharmed. “Are you okay?” He rushed to Grace’s side, gently touching the bruised side of her face.

“I’m fine, what are you doing here?” Grace hugged him tightly, and pulled him in for a gentle kiss, wincing a bit at the pressure on her lip.

“Trying to be helpful. Obviously not doing such a great job.” He grimaced and looked around. “Is the vampire the one who hit you?” His eyes glowed red and he started forward, only to be stopped by a soft hand to his chest.

“It wasn’t him, it was someone else, and don’t worry, I’ve already punched them back.”

“Where are they?”

I pointed behind me, “She’s right over… oh crap.” There was only empty space where my mother had been. She had escaped. I got a firmer grasp on my former partner. I was going to bring this one in if it killed me. “We need to get out of here.” I turned back to Arcadeus. “What did you mean the front door isn’t blocked? There was a bunch of guys there!”

I swear he blushed. “I took care of it.”

Virginia chimed in “Yeah, he was seriously awesome back there. Even I was scared!”

Grace just smiled and gave Arcadeus another hug.

We went out through the now empty front room, and headed for the SPF station. Once I talked my boss off the ledge, assuring him I wasn’t turning into a vigilante, and public property damage had been minimal we booked Alex, got debriefed and finally got our bumps, scratches and in my case, puncture marks patched up by Virginia. By the time we walked out of the station, it was late afternoon.

Grace stretched and yawned. “I better get some sleep. I have to be at work soon.”  

Virginia nodded, stifling a yawn herself. “Ditto.” She looked around. “Let’s get together again later this week. You know, catch up, minus the kidnapping and dark fae conspiracies.” She patted Arcadeus on the back, and gave him a wink, “You’re invited too of course.” He turned red and stammered a thanks, causing us all to laugh as we headed out in different directions.  

I was left alone to my thoughts.

I had not seen my mother since she tried to kill me years before. To be confronted with her so suddenly after all these years was...upsetting, to put it mildly. I thought of her words, that I was born of both worlds, light and dark, and shuddered.

My mother was still out there.

I would find her. I would end this.