#5 YEARS ?!?!!? got damn just look up a walkthrough at that point | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

utterlyinevitable · 1 year

Note

Becca/Ode is finishing her shift when Ethan surprises her with a mysterious date invitation, refusing to reveal any details. How does she react? What has Grumpsey planned for them? 👀💖

Amazing (1/2)

Pairing: Ethan x F!MC (Becca Lao) Rating: Teen+ Summary: Ethan doesn’t understand new workplace technologies. He does understand how to woo his unofficial girlfriend. Trope: Fluff; Date; Secret Relationship

A/N: Hilde my LOVE! thank you for sending me this a million years ago & so sorry it took so long to answer. also sorry that i’ve answered with a fic that is is old(er than the ask). like summer 2020 old. don’t hold it against me 😬

__________________

The last dregs of sunlight spills through the glass walls of Edenbrook’s diagnostic office, highlighting paragraphs and pages of paperwork Rebecca Lao was finishing off at the team table, all the while her boss huffed at the screen behind his desk.

“I don’t understand this damn system!” Ethan groaned with a slap of his mouse down onto the sturdy wooden surface.

The hospital board had just implemented an app called ‘PocketDoc’ to hopefully help drum up more patients by doing video appointments, and in hopes of freeing up the clinic. Every senior attending was required to hold 5 video appointments per shift. As a department head Ethan Ramsey also was required to oversee that his team did in fact meet their quotas. All-in-all a truly insufferable feat.

“It’s a video chat, Ethan. What’s not to understand?” Becca asked incredulously from where she sat folded in her chair.

He glared at her in the way he does when she is being far too insufferable.

Becca could feel his eyes burning a hole into her cheek. So intense she had to bite back the snide smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.

“Haven’t you ever done this before?” she asked, ever the picture of professionalism, setting her pen down and closing the last file. “You must’ve if you’ve consulted across the country.”

“If I am ever required to be visible, I use the ready set-up in one of the conference rooms. What am I supposed to do with this?” He motioned to the computer screen.

“Your job.” She couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “Do you need me to walk you through it before I go?”

“No,” Ethan’s quick to retort, eyes glancing at the clock and the overtime she’s already well into. And anyway, he’s an adult. The smartest man in Edenbrook. He can figure this out but it’s just taking so long and there’s so much other more beneficial things he could be doing than going through this software walkthrough. “But if you wanted to…”

She rolled her eyes as she closed the space between them. Ethan’s eyes watching her as she saunters over with infernal pride and pink lips pulled knowingly. As she presses his shoulder, pushes just hard enough to roll him back so she could squeeze in and perch herself on his desk. It’s 6:17pm - the hospital is still buzzing, people everywhere with peering eyes landing their way at any minute, and Ethan knows it’s much too early to be playing these games.

“This here is the camera,” she points, stretches across to tap the device at the top of the screen. “You look into it and the person on the other side can see you.”

“I understand that,” he chides; and before Becca could continue her Training 101 session, added, “I know what a microphone is too.”

That sweet smile she shoots him is all he can think about as she runs through all the relevant capabilities of the program. Cheeky, yet reserved, with sparkles in her brown eyes. The kind of smile he’s sure it’s just for him. He’s sure Becca knows that his heart beats just a bit faster every time she looks at him like that - that it renders him helpless. That every time she smiles like that he remembers all the times she’s done it before, when they’ve been happier than they’ve ever been.

“And here's where you can order a script,” she says with finality. “Got it, old man?”

There’s that smile full of mirth.

A short exhale and Ethan’s back in the workplace - “I think so. Thank you for your assistance, Rookie.”

He watches as that smile takes over her entire face at the pet name he so seldom uses since they’ve crossed the line.

“Anytime.” Becca slides off the desk, smooths out the creases of her trousers to look anywhere but at the poorly concealed heat in his stare. “Wish I could be there for your first video call - that’d be a sight.”

“What do you expect?”

“A total disaster. Hopefully something embarrassing behind you.”

He smiles back. “I’m glad you have such little faith in me.”

Evening has firmly become night and the garden apartment is a full house - Becca’s roommates are settled among blankets and pillows camping out in front of the flat screen of their living room.

“Becca,” Sienna calls as Becca shuffles back in juggling more snacks. With a regretful lilt and a wave of her phone, Sienna informs, “Dr. Ramsey wants you to answer your phone.”

Oh the groan that crawls up Becca’s throat is a mix of emotions. Flabbergasted that he would be texting her friend. Annoyed for not wanting to deal with a case on her evening off, the only rational reason he’s texting Sienna about her. And happy, because she always is when his name is tied with hers.

Everything ok?

Not even a full heartbeat after she shoots off the text does Becca get a conference call notification through the PocketDoc app.

“Really?”

“You said I should practice.” That shitty smirk that shines through the screen and shows off his laugh lines nearly knock her knees. “You also failed to mention the conference call option between physicians.”

“Maybe that was intentional.”

He laughed. Low and jubilant and just for her.

“Did you call for a reason or…” she asks, strolling through the apartment towards her room.

“Sorry for interrupting your evening.”

“That’s fine, we were just relaxing and watching reruns of Doctor Who. For a second I thought we got another case and I’d have to skip family night.”

“Nothing of the sort,” he says, and she can tell that there’s more too it between the words he does say and the way he’s sitting in his living room. But instead, his eyes squint and he’s nodding towards something behind her. “What’s that?”

With a frantic look over her shoulder, Becca hung up and logged out, leaving Ethan shocked at the curt informality.

Seconds later a Facetime call took over his screen.

“Hey. Sorry. Bit unprofessional to have a personal conversation on a work app.”

Ethan’s eyes only rolled halfway into his head when some sort of deep violet fabric overtook the video screen.

“That’s my new child,” Becca giddily explained. “Got it 75% off. No idea when or where I’ll ever get to wear it but I needed her in my lie. Look how pretty!”

“It is quite nice,” he adds in between Becca’s excited camera panning in and out of every notable feature. The long lace sleeves, the deep v neckline, and the peep of a skirt slit.

“Nice!? It is the most perfect piece of fashion I have ever come in contact with.”

She flopped on her bed. The video going black and then turning so he could see her face. Laying on her stomach, her chin resting on her forearms.

“What’s Jenner up to?” she asks, knowing he’s watching his dad’s dog for a few days.

“Sleeping. What else does he do?”

“Lemme see!”

And Ethan did show her the dog sleeping at his feet, even holding his phone so she could ask the animal about it’s day, winding him up until the old boy’s tail couldn’t wag no more and he fell right back to sleep.

They talked for a while, Ethan and Becca. Long enough for her to strip down to her pajamas and tuck herself in bed, and for Ethan shred his shirt and relax with his feet up on the couch more comfortably.

“What’s with the face?”

“What face?”

“You’re staring.”

“Can’t prove it.” Her pink cheeks betrayed her, though neither were hiding their heated gazes. “Are you going to bed any time soon?”

“Probably should - it is getting late.”

“Yeah… it’s my day off tomorrow.”

“I know. Do… you have any plans?”

“No. Sleep in hopefully, maybe treat myself to brunch. The guys are all working so it’s just me.” The mention of sleep had Becca’s eyes closing and her body slumping further into the pillows. “What’re you doing?”

“I planned on going over some paperwork I’ve been avoiding.”

“Nerd. Get a life, Ramsey.”

The sound of his chuckle lulled her to sleep.

___________________

a/n: sorry it’s garbage! but this trash can gets a part 2 soon!!

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

#open heart #choices open heart #ethan x mc #ethan ramsey

21 notes · View notes

richsretroreviews · 4 years

Text

Star Wars Knights of The Old Repbulic II Review

Release Date: NA; 6th December 2004 (Xbox) 8th February 2005 (PC) EU; 11th February 2005 (Xbox & PC)

Developer: Obsidian Entertainment

Publisher: LucasArts

I had gotten my Xbox Christmas of 2004. It was the crystal one too and I had been wanting one all year. I kinda spoilt the surprise for myself though because in a poorly chosen hiding spot by my parents I found the crystal box poking out of a bag. It was torture to occasionally look at it and do nothing with it but gawk and wait until Christmas and almost feign a reaction to it. Sorry mum and dad…

But Knights of the Old Republic II was the third game I got myself? I think? First two I can remember were Ninja Gaiden and Soul Calibur 2… let’s just say Kotor 2 was the third game I got for myself.

So I went down to Game, saw the cover with that haunting image of Darth Nihilus on the front, nabbed it, got home, played it for the weekend and got bored of it… Shamefully. There were parts that I liked but it played so differently to other action games I was already accustomed to at the time it threw me off. Little did I know how much of an RPG it was and the action was so different to what I was used to.

The initial problem I had with this game was it didn’t meet my expectations of what I wanted out of a Star Wars game, especially one where I knew you could create your own character and make them Sith or Jedi. Perfectly what I wanted. But after playing it for 12 hours and still on Telos and still without a lightsaber, I lost patience with it and gave up. How foolish my 13 year old self was. I then traded it in and got something else instead. If I remember right they even had Kotor there as well…

But so ignorantly did I miss out on one of the greatest games and greatest Star Wars games of my budding teenage years that it wasn’t until 5 years later I gave it another try and since then it might be one of my most played games without even realising it.

I got it again on the Xbox, played through it with a video walkthrough and I completed it. Although this first run through felt a little disconnected because I was almost playing it alongside the video and didn’t fully experience it all myself with my own choices and completely understanding what choices I was making. But the fact was I completed it regardless, I got my damn lightsaber—lightsabers even! Goddamn plural!—and loved the characters and every moment of it. The story was completely different to any other Star Wars story I was accustomed to which delved into themes I didn’t fully understand yet, but I loved it all the same.

I loved the planets, the characters, the combat I grew to love, the music, the voice acting, the twists, the scope it all conveyed and perspective it gave on the force and the Sith and what it is to be Jedi. All of it influenced me even and inspired my own Star Wars stories I want to write.

Since then I have played and completed it 3 more times. Once more on the Xbox, a save on the 360 I completed and a Sith run I started, and recently on PC. I’ve only ever completed it as a Jedi and the Sith run I still haven’t completed after… 6 years now I think? Maybe? Probably longer than that. But the best thing about all the times I’ve completed it is that as much as I have tried to stay close to what I will always do in the games I have always gotten a different outcome in the end. I’ve had an ending where no one survived, where some survived, and where everyone survived, and another where all survived but Atton died. And I know next time I play through it again I’m going to get another ending completely different. That’s the best thing about this I think, that each ending isn’t guaranteed to be the same even if you play close to the same as before.

So, how this game plays. It’s space D&D. The game uses a d20 system so it was akin to playing Star Wars D&D. You can even see these roll stats in the game in the journal, message log and combat filter. Kotor also used this system. And you know what? The system works. Not only for its combat mechanics but for its character creation. You can have more freedom to play about how you want to build your character and class as you level up.

Want to be a Jedi Knight? Consular? Sentinel? Just be a Scoundrel or Scout and be allergic to lightsabers? (Weirdo, how would you not want a lightsaber?) A Techie? Sith Lord? Jedi Master? Sith Assassin? All these classes and builds gives such freedom and variety it begs for multiple playthroughs with its open ended opportunities for how you want to make this story go and develop your character. You can go on with a single lightsaber or sling dual lightsabers, optionally with a short lightsaber in your off hand (it works better that way), or go all Maul and swing about a double edged lightsaber, mow down rebel and Mandalorian scum with a mini minigun. You can rely solely on force powers and go all Palpy or completely ignore using the force and stick to your guns. (Seriously, why not use the force or lightsabers? Goddamn weirdo you are.)

You get a multitude of gear to equip that can help out your stats further, naturally. And you can modify your own lightsaber! When you’re on Dantooine, the home of the Jedi Academy that has long since been abandoned, you can delve into the Jedi caves that house the crystals that all blossoming Jedi in training go to when it comes time to build your own lightsaber. And in this crystal cavern you can find your own special character specific crystal. Of course you can find other crystals in this cave to help power up your lightsaber and other colours (I’ve always gone dual orange and yellow), but this crystal holds a special connection for your character both narratively and gameplay wise. As a gameplay mechanic; when you level up or change alignment from light to dark, or just get lighter and become Keanu Reeves or more darker and go goth, you can take the crystal out of your lightsaber, take it to Kreia and she will enhance it to better reflect your character’s growth. So if you’re majoratively light you can gain more damage to dark side, or if you’re dark you gain more damage to light, more attack power, more damage etc.

As a narrative device, it works for the Exile’s lost connection from the force.

Which, now I think it’s time to get to the main appeal of this game.

Knights of the Old Republic II is possibly the best Star Wars story ever told next to Knights of the Old Republic and the films themselves.

You play as The Exile, a Jedi exiled by the Jedi council because you chose to defy them and go to war with Revan and Malak against the Mandalorians before they slaughtered everyone. The bastards. Who’s the bastards? The Jedi council or the Mandalorians? Maybe both? You be the judge.

Seriously, you get to decide who the bastards are. Disagree with the council? Agree with them? Resentfully chose to fight the Mandalorians? Or gleefully sided with them and fell to the dark side because everyone are bastards and you wanna watch the galaxy burn?

Hell, maybe you’re the bastard…

Anyway!

That’s all you’re given. You get to weave your own story throughout this. If you’ve played the first Kotor then you know the deal with Revan and Malak. If you’ve read the Revan book as well then you will know too that this Exile is canonically Meetra Surik. You can make and choose whoever you want easily. Want to be Revan again even? Go for it. But she’s the main character of this story and it finishes on the light side.

As Meetra, you wake up on a Peragus mining facility in your undies with amnesia. You run into a cranky old woman called Kreia and an imprisoned dodgy scoundrel named Atton. You eventually come across this game’s resident R2, T3-M4, returning from Kotor. You escape the doomed planet with the repaired Ebon Hawk-- also back from Kotor-- as the Sith arrive, who is led by the walking zombie Darth Sion. You arrive on Telos, get your barings, either help some environmental Ithorians or corporate Czerka, solve a few security cases before you’re off and on your way to the big wide galaxy ahead and the story opens up.

Now, you’re being chased by Darth Sion because he and Darth Nihilus believe you to be the last of the Jedi (ha.) But you are not! Your task is to find the remaining hidden Jedi masters and, depending on your alignment, gather them together at the ruins of the Jedi Academy on Dantooine or kill them.

Along the way you’re going to meet new party members and Kreia will train you in the ways of the force.

Then, you get four planets to choose from to find these masters; Dantooine, Onderon, Korriban, and Nar Shadaa. And you can go to any of these planets in any order you like. Though, my order has always been Dantooine, Nar Shadaa, Onderon, Korriban.

I’m not going to go through each planet and explain what happens and spell it all out, but you find more party members to help you along the way, find the masters and then shit unfolds in a greatly unexpected way…

Mandalore, another returning character from Kotor, at one point on the Onderon moon of Dxun has a confrontation with Kreia and tells a fellow Mandalorian “Forget the Jedi. Keep an eye on her…” Which, seriously. Keep a very close eye on Kreia, pay attention to what she says, what she does and how she can influence others. She’s the most curious of all your party members…

Which, speaking of, as Kreia teaches your character and you grow and you attract more followers, you eventually get the chance to train your party members into becoming Sith or Jedi. Those who are force sensitive are the Handmaiden, Mira, Bao-Dur, Atton and the Disciple. Although, the Handmaiden is a character who you can only recruit when you play as the male. Taking Handmaiden’s place when you play female is the Disciple, someone you meet in the Jedi ruins on Dantooine.

And then comes the romance options! Because what RPG game wouldn’t have one. As the male character you get Mira, Visas and Handmaiden, and as the female you get Atton and the Disciple.

I’ve always gone the way of the male and choosing the Handmaiden. Helps she’s voice by Grey Delisle…

Anyway.

Time to get into the story more.

So, you’re trying to find these Jedi masters while running halfway across the galaxy from a zombie Sith and a gluttonous Sith.

Sion is a man who should long ago have since died, but is using the force to keep himself held together. His body is decayed and falling apart, he’s got one working eye, his voice is dried and husky. That is a man whose sheer force of rage and anger and willpower to control the force as such to keep himself together and alive is incredible. I’ve never seen something like that nor someone use the force so creatively.

And then there’s Nihilus. A man no longer who feeds on the force. A wound in the force who feeds on all life throughout the galaxy. He sees not the form of flesh and sinew in front of him, but the living force around him and all is his for the taking, to consume and draw on until there is nothing left. He is a vampiric, poisonous leech the likes of which no Sith has ever matched before. Again, something I have never seen before in how a character, or even how the game’s developers, has ever used the force, to bend it to his will and develop the force more into something greater and more mysterious and powerful than the films have ever elaborated on.

And that leads me into my next point; the force and Kreia. Which, spoilers for the twist and ending. (I know I said earlier I won’t spoil but this needs talking about! At least I’m leaving some mystery.)

Kreia is a Sith… Or is she?

Well, she is truly Darth Treya. If Sion is the Sith of pain, and Nihilus is the Sith of hunger and annihilation, then Treya is the Sith of betrayal. And therein lies the twist.

Kreia is seemingly a Jedi at first, perhaps even a grey Jedi the more you talk to her. I mean, her alignment on the character screen is permanently neutral, no matter which side you sway to the heaviest or how much you influence her. Until eventually you come to learn she was once Darth Treya, a powerful Sith Lord who once had the galaxy firmly in her grasp accompanied by her pupils Sion and Nihilus. Until those two overthrew her and imposed her into her own exile. Now, where else have we heard of that…?

So naturally, with Kreia wise to the force and of the Exile’s being, she works to control Surik and do her bidding no matter which side she may fall on. She manipulates all that occurs right up until the game’s final stage; Malachor V, the final battleground and graveyard of the Mandalorian wars, where so many Jedi died and where Meetra Surik became a wound in the force herself.

Once you have defeated Nihilus and convinced Sion to finally die and let go of the force, you face Kreia. Or, Treya, rather. And it is here you learn more about the force, its sides, its control, Treya’s motivations and the why of everything.

Treya, hates the force. The reason why she does what she does is because she hates it. She wishes to see it dead and destroyed because of the hold it has on all those in life. And, as much as she betrayed Meetra Surik, she holds a special kind of love for her. She doesn’t wish her dead or any kind of harm or anything like that to have happen to her. But for her to understand more on the force.

This is where the best part of this whole game and story culminates, the reflection on the force and what the force is.

The force is a powerhouse. The force is a living beast. A galactic behemoth that is almost a deity or living entity that is all that lives. It is not these midichlorians, this kind of blood bacteria. It is not this mysterious magic. The force is an all-consuming, all controlling, all illuminating and suffocating creature that presides in everyone and everything. It controls the motion and flow of everything. It is reactive to emotion and try as they all might, the Sith and the Jedi may never really fully understand what the force is other than be a slave to it or try to control it to their will.

There was once this one interesting theory I read about what the force is and related it to a swimming pool. The Jedi only swim in the shallow to middle part of the pool. They can see how far the pool stretches and understand its breadth but dare not delve deeper into it else they get lost or drown within it, and so stay safe and respect the shallow part of the pool. While the Sith dive deep into the pool and swim far and wide into the deepest parts and soon find that it is really an ocean and discover all these other monstrous beings deep below. And that makes total sense honestly.

I love more the concept of the force being this uncontrollable being, this literal special force that is everything and there are a special number who are sensitive to it and can control and use it. And not just for magic tricks like lifting things and confusing chumps, but to use the force to manipulate, influence and shape things as sizeable as an entire galaxy. To control something on that scope with that kind of a power is intangible yet fascinating.

And so, regarding that, Treya hates that people in the galaxy might not have full control over themselves and she wishes to see the force die. And that is an immense ambition. How could you kill the force? Could you? Darth Nihilus fed on it and wiped out star systems, Meetra Surik was a wound and brought death and suffering to those around her and amassed a loyal following that fought when she fought (a very, very clever piece of writing to implement a simple game mechanic such as levelling up into the story as for each enemy you defeat or kill the stronger you become), and Sion relied on the force to live until he gave it up. There are those who rely on it who perhaps shouldn’t be around and those who are a poison with the force.

And, perhaps, even all of Treya’s ambitions aren’t really her conscious choices either? Maybe in that, the force controlled her choices because that is what the force wills and dictates…

Maybe the force wills to die too but learned it cannot…

Who knows!

It’s this writing and Sara Kestelman’s acting as the conflicted Sith Kreia which helped this game win awards and cement Kreia as one of the most recognisable and compelling video game characters ever.

And that’s another one of this game’s strengths; the voice acting. Everyone does stupendously and there’s not a wrong word put out or spoken.

Either way, Knights of the Old Republic 2 is an incredible Star Wars game and an incredible Star Wars story that is critical and self-reflective on itself, superbly creative, immersive, poignant, and did more to develop the Star Wars lore than it is recognised for.

Do yourself a favour and play it and play it again.

If you’re playing it on PC, get the Restored Content mod that fixed everything Obsidian didn’t have time to fix and which includes all cut content. Go fulfil your Sith or Jedi dreams and get lost.

I have spoken.

Where to Purchase:

7/02/10

Steam: £7.19, $9.99

Amazon: £2.33 - £15, $17 - $70

Ebay: £1.25- £59, $7.67 - $325

GoG: £7.69, $9.99

#star wars #knights of the old republic 2 #kotor 2 #star wars knights of the old republic 2 #xbox #games #video games #reviews #video game reviews #pc

2 notes · View notes

blueeyedbesson · 6 years

Text

Taking You: Chapter 21

21: War Paint

Series Masterlist Masterlist

By the time Tuesday rolled around, I had a better idea of how to be a band manager. Tyler taught me all the smaller details and helped me walkthrough it.

"The boys still don't know about this, do they?" I asked Tyler as we sat in the bus and waited for the boys to come back from sound check.

"Not yet. When they get back, I'm sure they're going to ask what's next for them and that is when you'll tell them the rest of their schedule for the day. Which shouldn't be hard since its literally just sitting at the beach until they have to get ready for the show."

"Thanks, Tyler. You have no idea how much I appreciate this."

"No. Thank you, Abby. I really need this break." he smiled and I hugged him.

"We're back." Jack cheered as he walked onto the bus with the boys and the girls. I pulled away from the hug just in time to see Jonah walking over to us.

"Hey Tyler. What's on the schedule for today?" he asked. Tyler just looked at me and smiled. "What's going on here?"

"Nothing." I smiled and looked at the schedule. "You just have a few hours to spend at the beach until you have to be back in time for the show tonight."

"And why are you telling us all of this?" Jack wondered.

"She's gonna take over for me for a few days as your manager." Tyler replied.

"Why?"

"Because he needed a break and I wanted to give him one. He was getting stressed out."

"Is that what's been going on for the past 2 days?" Jonah asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah. You don't need to worry." I kissed his cheek and earned a smile in return.

"Good. I don't want to lose you."

"You're cute." I giggled.

"I heard that we're going to the beach so let's go get ready." Belle cheered as everyone ran into the back room to grab their clothes. I already had my bikini on under my clothes so I stayed in my spot at the table. Tyler rested his head on the wall and looked at me.

"Think you can handle it?" he smiled.

"Yeah. Thanks again for teaching me what I need to know."

"No problem."

"1 ready, 8 to go." Daniel smirked as he was the first one ready. "It's going to be fun."

~~~~~~~~

"You can't do that. It's not fair." I laughed as Jonah and Jack threw me over their shoulders and carried me into the ocean. Jonah handed me to Jack and he dropped me in the water. "You're both supposed to love me, you assholes."

"We do love you. That's why we wanted you to you us in the water, dude." Jack laughed as he helped Gabbie onto his shoulders. Daniel pulled Aubrielle up onto his shoulders and they began a game of chicken. I swam over to the others and splashed Zach. He tried to fight back but got Belle instead.

"Jerk." she giggled and they started a splashing war.

"You're chaotic." Corbyn laughed as we watched everything that was going on around us.

"I try my best." I smirked and looked over at Jonah. He was helping Angel onto his shoulders while Zach hoisted Gabbie up onto his.

"You're going down, Gonzalez." Angel laughed as they began the fight.

"Jack, can you be my partner against the winner?" I asked him and he nodded. Just then, Angel went into the water. "Looks like you gotta go against your girlfriend."

"You got this, Abby." he smirked and easily pulled me up onto his shoulders.

"And go!" Jonah shouted and stepped back a bit so we could begin. I grabbed onto Gabbie's arm and we started pushing each other. A few moments later, we were both landing in the water. "That looked like a tie."

"Gabbie hit the water first." Jack laughed and held onto his girlfriend.

"No, Abby hit the water first." Zach replied.

"You're the judge Jonah. You decide."

"He's going to pick his girlfriend. We need a judge who isn't dating or related to any of the contestants. Aubrielle, can you decide?" Zach asked as he looked over at her.

"Okay. Um..." she began and looked at us. "Sorry Abby. I saw you hit the water 0.3 seconds before Gabbie."

"Thanks for being a fair judge." I smiled and swam over to Jonah. "Would you have said I won?"

"Yeah." he smiled then whispered into my ear. "But only because she hit the water before you."

"I love you."

"I love you too." he smiled and pulled me close. "I don't want to creep you out but Eben is looking at you and I don't like it."

"Awe, Jonah. You're so cute." I giggled. "Eben is the least of your worries, my dear. I love you more than anyone."

"I just love you so much & you've known Eben longer than any of us. You two have a connection & I'm afraid that it'll grow."

"It definitely won't, I promise you."

"Good." he smirked and kissed me.

~~~~~~~~~~

I sat backstage with the other girls, Eben and Tyler as we watched the boys perform. My 5 favorite guys are up on that stage, doing what they love and they are doing so great. I honestly couldn't be more proud of them.

"I can't believe you're the manager for the week." Eben smiled as he sat next to me.

"How is that going?" Angel asked.

"It's going well. Tyler has taught me everything he knows and I'm so happy that I get to help someone I care about."

"Again, thank you for doing this for me. It was stressing me out a little." Tyler smiled and put his hand on my arm. "I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome." I smiled and rested my head against him. "I know what you mean though. It does get stressful."

"You're doing great sweetie." he smiled in return.

"The boys are doing great too." Aubrielle smiled and stared out at the stage.

"Look at my baby go." Gabbie stared in amazement as Jack danced on the stage.

"You guys are so cute together."

"Jabbie is definitely my favorite couple." I smiled, earning a chorus of 'same' from everyone.

"I don't know. Arbyn was my favorite." Eben said as he looked down at me, causing Angel to raise her eyebrow and look at him. "Don't hate me. I'm just stating a fact."

"You only like Arbyn because Corbyn didn't really stop you from flirting with Abby." Tyler chuckled. "You know that Jonah will not hesitate to kick your ass if you even think about his girlfriend."

"True. But Arbyn was cuter, no offense Abby."

"None taken."

"Thank you Chicago. You guys were amazing. Goodnight everybody." Zach cheered as he ran off the stage and went straight into Belle's arms. It was so cute.

"You guys were amazing. Wow." Aubrielle greeted the boys. Jonah came and plopped himself across Tyler, Eben and I.

"Damn bro. You're heavy." Eben groaned and tried pushing him off.

"He weighs the most out of the boys." I sighed and joined in helping Eben push him off.

"Do not push me off Abby. If you do, I swear I'll never speak to you again." Jonah chuckled and grabbed my legs tightly.

"You would never." I smirked and looked down at him.

"Try me, bro." Jonah smiled and held onto my legs. Tyler smiled and helped us push him down. "No longer talking to either of them." Jonah said and pointed to the 3 of us on the couch. Everyone laughed.

"You can't just ignore your girlfriend, bro." Zach chuckled. I got down and laid on top of Jonah.

"I love you. Don't hate me." I pouted and stared down at his face. He looked away from me. "Well, if you don't want to talk to me, I guess I'll just spend my time with Eben."

"I don't think so." he stood up fast but held onto me so I didnt fall down. "You're my girl & my girl only. Stay away Eben."

"Relax bro. I'm not interested in your girlfriend."

"I know. But I'm just saying. Just in case you decide that you want her at one point."

"Jonah, come with me for a second." I grabbed his hand and brought him into the dressing room.

"What are we doing in here, babe?"

"Do you feel threatened about how close I am to Eben?"

"Yeah. I think I made that pretty clear earlier at the beach." he sighed. "I don't want anyone looking at you the way he always does."

"Jonah, it shouldn't matter how anyone looks at me. I'm never going to leave you." I smiled and placed my hand on his cheek. His instinct kicked in and he leaned into my palm. "You're always my #1, behind Jack, of course."

"You mean a lot to me, Abby. But what happens if one day, you get tired of me and decide you really do want to be with Eben?"

"Jonah, that's never going to happen. Believe me. If i wanted to be with Eben, I would've stayed with him."

"What do you mean?"

"If I honestly wanted to be with Eben, I never would've broken up with him back in middle school."

"You and Eben dated?"

"Yeah. Like 6 years ago for a few months. I've mentioned this several times."

"No you haven't. Not to me anyway." he sighed and looked down at me. "I-i thought you were never interested in him."

"I never said I wasn't ever interested in him. I said I wasn't interested in him now."

"How am I supposed to believe that?"

"Come on, Jonah. Would I ever lie to you?"

"I don't know. You've been covering up a lot recently."

"No I haven't. I've always been honest with you."

"Bullshit."

"What's gotten into you lately? I thought coming on this tour was going to be fun because I got to be around the guy I love. But the last few days, all you've been doing is feeling threatened by the friendships I have. The keyword there being FRIENDSHIPS Jonah."

"I thought you coming on tour would be fun too. But then I learned that not 1, but 2 of your ex boyfriends are also on the tour."

"What am I supposed to do about that? One of them is your bandmate & the other one is somebody who YOU asked to join you on tour. I can't exactly stay away from them."

"It's be easier if you weren't around."

"Fine then. If that's what you want, I'll leave the tour." I sighed and looked at him for some sort of response. When he didn't give me one, I turned towards the door.

"Abby..."

"What Jonah? What could you possibly want now? Are you gonna bring up some more of my mistakes & secrets? Because that'd be great." I rolled my eyes and turned to face him.

"I'm sorry. I never should be said that. P-please don't leave me."

"It's too late for an apology Jonah. I already got my mind set on leaving. It's crystal clear that you don't want me around anymore so what's the point in staying?"

"I don't want you to leave. I'm just an idiot. Please don't leave."

"Jonah, if i stay, do you promise to stop getting jealous of Eben, Corbyn and even Tyler?"

"Yes. I promise. I promise a million times."

"Do you promise to stop bringing up my past?"

"Yes. Absolutely."

"I love you Jonah. You need to understand that."

"I do, I do. I swear I'll never doubt your love again." he got down on his knees and held my legs. "I love you too & I want to show you just how sorry I am."

He stood up quickly and looked at me with a look of fire and lust in his eyes I've never seen before.

Were we fixed? Was everything going to be okay?

Liked by jonahmarais, seaveydaniel, BbyAngMarais and 346,972 others

abbyavery: no matter what challenges we face, no matter how rocky this relationship becomes, I want you to know that I'm always gonna come back to you. i love you so much hoenah & I hope you never ever forget that @jonahmarais 😚💕

jonahmarais: i love you so damn much. you are my angel & you make me so happy 💕💕 jackaverymusic : just a heads up @jonahmarais if you break her heart, i break your face 👊🏻 abbyavery: awe @jackaverymusic I love you so much 😊❤ jonahmarais: don't worry @jackaverymusic. i don't plan on it 😊 abbyavery: ^ily dork 😙 fanuser03: these are cute. I love polaroids tatedoll: 💜💛💜💛 AubrieBesson04: ^ @tatedoll why are you here? leave Jonah and Abby alone. they're happy and don't need you to ruin it like you ruined my relationship with him 😒🖕 fanuser06: #jonaby is goals. so jealous of you 2 ❤ abbyavery: i love you @AubrieBesson04 😊💕 seaveydaniel: you are cute @jonahmarais 😍😚 jonahmarais: i love you @seaveydaniel ❤ seaveydaniel: more than @abbyavery ? 🤔 jonahmarais: @seaveydaniel you bet 😉😍 abbyavery: @seaveydaniel @jonahmarais rude 😒😭💔

Tags: @ijustreallylovethem @samithepixie @averysgarl @jackaverybabe @trustfundshawn @lovableherron @beautybesson @jackaverx @scenteddanielseavey @beccagraceseavey @dolantwinmagconwhydontwestan-de @lilah-or-lily @dailydoseofherron @hales-a-bells @obsessedlittleangel-deactivated @zaddydaniel @brizzebesson @ramenavery@splendidseavey@smilingseavey@ilovejackavery@polaroidseavey @poutyavery @loveherron23 @sleepybesson

#taking you #chapter 21 #war paint #why dont we fanfic

6 notes · View notes

schrodingers-rufus · 7 years

Text

So. Marble Hornets Haunted House AUs.

Historically, I tend to inflict Haunted House AUs on every fandom I find myself in. (And I’m not talking literal haunted houses here; I’m talking about those places that pop up around Halloween or year-round, where you walk through spooky sets and actors jump out at you. Sometimes there are free-roaming actors in scarezone-type things.) I just...love haunted houses/haunts. Very much. And therefore it becomes fun to think about how a cast of known characters might behave in one of them.

Harbly Marblies, however, is a little tougher, because here we’ve got a cast of characters who are living in a modern-day world where haunts would exist...but who are also deeply traumatized by supernatural spookythings, probably to the point where there is no chance in hell you’d ever get them through the front doors of a haunt.

So we’ve got some options here. Here are a couple of them.

(Cut because holy cow this post got longer than I expected.)

Option #1: Everything Is Fine AU. Nobody’s been affected by the Operator, but for the sake of recognizable characterization, everybody’s still got some existing issues. Let’s say this is the October after the movie shoot, so now the gang all knows each other.

Going to the haunt was Alex’s idea, because of course it was. Brian may be the Alpha Extrovert of the gang, but Alex is the Idea Guy. Alex comes up with stuff to do, and Brian’s the one who actually ropes most of the gang into doing it.

Alex: “It’s Halloween. This is what people do on Halloween. If you’re too old to go trick-or-treating, you get drunk or you get scared.”

Brian: “Or both.”

Alex: “Definitely both.”

Jay tags along because he guesses Alex is a friend, and friends hang out, right? That’s what they do? Also he’s been curious about this place for years, but it’s not like people go to haunts by themselves. And they definitely don’t bring cameras. That would be weird. (He definitely was planning to go by himself the previous year and upload footage from it in case the internet might take interest, but he got struck down by midterms and a nasty cold and had to miss it.)

Tim’s not sure if he can handle it, but Brian’s going, and maybe if he makes himself small enough the scareactors won’t notice him. Also, a part of him cynically points out, he’s probably seen worse.

Jessica’s going because Amy’s going because Alex’s going. Amy might or might not be hoping Jessica latches onto Brian in fear. Or Brian’s cute friend Tim, but she doesn’t really know if Tim’s on the market. Maybe Jay? She barely knows Jay, but she’s not sure if she wants to inflict him on her poor sweet roommate. They’d probably just stare awkwardly at each other for hours, and cute as that is, it’s lacking in passion. Also she heard a rumor that Jay has secret cameras set up in his apartment, so not the place for romance.

Seth and Sarah tag along because they don’t have anything else going on that night, and they get discount tickets through the university. Also Sarah and Brian have a running bet that Seth’s going to try to use her as a human shield when something scary jumps out.

Everybody piles into the disaster of a minivan Brian inherited from his parents. (Everyone except Sarah and Seth, that is, because they want an easy out in case the place sucks.)

The structure of this place: Five “mazes”, a couple of “scarezones”, and a few food trucks/pop-up food vendors. The whole thing’s held in a pair of old warehouses, and it makes the property-owners enough money that they keep the warehouses empty in the off-season. It’s like the Spirit Store of haunts.

Alex is insistent: They’re doing all five mazes, crowds be damned.

The Line of Suffering--i.e. the order they follow when going through the first couple mazes--is structured thus: Alex out front, with Amy behind him. Jessica’s holding onto the back of Amy, and Jay’s behind her (trying very carefully not to lay hands on her). Brian’s behind Jay, with Tim next to him, gripping his arm like a vice. Seth and Sarah bring up the rear. (Seth is indeed using Sarah as a human shield, but since they’re at the back of the line, this means she’s behind him, defending from any surprise threats from behind. She thinks he’s an idiot, but she’s endeared.)

Alex tries Very Hard not to jump when scareactors target him. And oh do they target him. They know an easy mark showing off for his girlfriend when they see one, and he’s painting a target on his forehead by leading the group.

Jay knows there’s a method to the madness. He’s seen enough horror movies (and watched enough haunt walkthrough videos online in preparation) to recognize the old tricks--hallways lined with doors, windows that can snap open, a room full of dummies mixed in with actors--and he is ready. His head’s on a swivel, camera roving over every inch of the walls. They won’t get him. They won’t. He has to keep the camera steady or the footage won’t come out right. He wonders if he’ll have to go through each maze twice, once with night vision and once without, like the other walkthrough channels do.

Tim knew this was a bad idea. He’s praying that he hasn’t actually bruised Brian’s arm, but he knows he’s probably left a mark. Seeing things twitching at the edges of your vision is one thing, but having a real, solid person in a rubber mask jumping out at you activates a whole different set of instincts. Tim nearly socked the first guy in the face, and since then, his grip on Brian’s arm is half to steady him and half to keep himself from reeling back and doing it again.

Amy thinks this is the best time she’s had in months. Jessica’s in a constant state of “AMY WHY”. Alex is Amy’s meatshield, while Amy’s Jessica’s meatshield. It works out.

Brian doesn’t want to let on how much this place unsettles him, but it’s really starting to wear on him. After the second maze, Tim asks if he wants to duck out and get a hot dog or something, and Brian happily agrees.

After Maze #3, Alex insists that “we should all stop for a snack” (because he’s getting burned out, but he sure as hell doesn’t want to say that). The gang sees Brian and Tim finishing off a truly ridiculously large order of chili cheese fries. Alex didn’t even notice they were missing.

Jay is exhausted from being so wound up and too wound up to calm down. He wonders if the scareactors are allowed to mess with people at the picnic tables. He wonders if he’ll die if he drinks a can of Coke with his burger. He buys it anyway. He leaves the camera running. Tim sees his hands shaking and gives him a look. Jay doesn’t think anyone who ducked out after two mazes is qualified to be giving him a look.

Seth and Sarah leave early. Seth says he has a project he has to get started on. Sarah wants to point out that it’s the middle of fall break and that he literally told her this morning that he didn’t have any homework over the break, but she doesn’t need to. Even Jay seems to have noticed how flimsy his excuse is. Sarah’s pretty wiped anyway, so she basically says, “So long, suckers,” and leaves the rest of them to suffer without their Rear Guard.

Tim and Brian rejoin the gang for Maze #4, now emotionally recharged and full of chili cheese fries.

Alex is very, very tired of being out front, but there are only two more and he just needs to power through it. (Also, he doesn’t feel like it’s right to force anybody else to take the lead, and nobody’s asked, so he’ll just suck it up and keep going. Somebody has to be out front, and it might as well be him.)

This house has a trick where a hatch slides open at about knee-level, and a scareactor reaches out for your legs--not close enough to touch, but close enough to make you notice. Jay doesn’t see it coming. He makes a truly embarrassing noise, a noise that will forever be immortalized on film. (No, he’ll edit it out in post.) At this point, Jay is well and truly shaken. He thinks he sees spots flashing in front of his eyes, but it’s too dark to really tell. It’s probably from the strobes from earlier. Maybe he’s breathed too much fog machine fog. (Is it true that stuff can burn holes in your lungs?) Jay’s fine. Really, he’s fine.

The gang shares a look of weary resignation before getting in line for Maze #5.

The last maze is alien-themed, something about invaders from another dimension. It’s new this year, and it shows. The animatronics are smoother, the sound design is great, and the makeup is--

One of the monsters has no face, just pale latex skin stretched taut.

Brian’s not sure why Tim just hid his face against his back, but he’s not going to make him move. Sure, he’ll miss the neat sets--Brian’s especially partial to the rusted-out feel of the old spaceship; it reminds him of Alien--but Brian’ll tell him about them later. Brian inches forward, and Tim follows, gripping the back of Brian’s sweatshirt for dear life. Brian wonders if they’ll have enough time to get another snack before they leave; chili cheese fries may not fix anything, but they seemed to help before.

The maze culminates in a brief scripted battle, as a pair of actors wearing scuffed-up space suits fire on the aliens while strobe lights fire off from a truss above the set.

Jay thinks something feels off.

Jay wakes up outside the maze, splayed out across the grass and surrounded by paramedics. No, he doesn’t have a history of epilepsy. No, it’s probably just anxiety, really, we don’t need to go to the hospital.

Jay wakes up in the hospital.

A few hours later, he’s finally released. (Brian stays in the waiting room while Alex and the rest of the gang drops Tim off at his apartment to get his car. Yeah, I’m good to drive. Just a bit shaken, that’s all. No, really, you stay here, and I’ll go. I hate waiting rooms.)

Jay comes out with a doctor’s warning and a six-month driving ban. (Tim snickers into his hand when Jay tells him.)

Jay laments the fact that his footage for the last maze is unusable and asks if they can go again. Tim somehow manages to give him a look while still keeping his eyes on the road. Jay’s as impressed as he is offended.

Option #2: The Gang Runs the Haunt AU. Alex’s family runs a haunt and they’re short on help, so Alex ropes the gang into helping him.

The Kralie haunt is pretty small-scale, as haunts go, but it’s been in the family for generations. (Well, Alex’s dad and grandfather started it in the early 80s, so Alex thinks that counts as “generations”.)

Growing up around all this stuff helps mold a young mind sometimes, and while Alex is still pretentious as all get-out, he wants to make horror movies. He wants to elevate the genre.

Alex suggested to his grandfather that they try one of those “intense”, full-contact haunts one year. His grandfather looked him straight in the eyes and told him that was the stupidest thing he’d ever heard, but if he wanted to be an idiot, he could make his own haunt.

(Alex did not have the resources to make his own haunt. He’s still biding his time. Waiting.)

Jay tagged along with Alex’s family to an out-of-state haunt convention that spring, and he helped them pick out some spotlights and a new projector effect.

This may have been what planted the seed in Alex’s head for an idea that August: friends = free labor, right?

Jay agrees to help build sets and set up lighting on the condition that he’d be able to shoot some footage for his midterm project on-set. (The thing’s not due until mid-October, so the sets’ll be done with enough time to film and edit, right?)

Brian agrees to do the same on the condition that he’d be able to play a monster on the weekends. (From Alex’s perspective, that was a no-brainer; double the free labor!)

Tim agrees because he knows Alex is garbage at sound design, and he’d like to do something that’s actually helpful for once.

Amy’s been looking into being an SFX makeup artist (maybe as a full-time job, maybe on the side; competition is steep) so she wants all the practice she can get.

Amy tries to convince Jessica that monster makeup’s “just like regular makeup, really! It’s easy! Come on, I can’t do all the actors myself!”

Monster makeup is not just like regular makeup. Jessica feels a lot more comfortable painting sets, but she doesn’t want to throw Amy under the bus, so she also does a little bit of the makeup, too. She thinks her monster stuff looks awful, and from the look on Amy’s face, she knows she agrees. At least the haunt is dark.

Alex picks up a pair of stilts at a nearby Goodwill and begs Amy to design a monster for them.

Various ideas are brought up and shot down, including The Obvious. Tim vocally objects to The Obvious, for Obvious reasons. Alex concedes.

The haunt that year is themed after a haunted crypt (just like it was the past five years), so they wind up with Alex dressed as an eight-foot reaper in a cloak. (The cloak is to cover up the stilts.) Alex thinks it’s corny. (He secretly likes lurking around and looming into the edges of people’s field of vision. It’s satisfying. He Likes To Be Tall.)

Alex initially plans to make Brian a forgettable background skeleton, but then his mother has the idea to make Brian into a skeletal “barker” character who stands out front and improvises banter with the guests. Brian’s been taking some improv classes since that summer, and the improvements are noticeable. (Alex entirely blames the classes. No way was his lousy script to blame for Brian’s lackluster performance that summer. Alex is a genius. Brian’s just a psych major.)

Alex calls Brian “The Cryptkeeper” once. Only once.

Brian knows too many puns.

(Ten years later, Jay thanks every deity he can name that Undertale didn’t exist during the fall of 2006.)

The sets come together in time (barely).

Jay shoots what he needs for his project in time (not really, but what’s a few all-nighters among friends).

After an extended battle with a speaker rig that looks like it hasn’t been updated in fifteen years, the ambient sound design comes together in time (barely).

Jessica looks up lots of makeup tutorials.

The First Weekend of October Is Coming.

Actors: hired

Rehearsals: done

Costumes: done

Lighting and sound: checked and re-checked

Sets: safety regulation compliant

Everyone: smells like liquid latex and fake fog

The First Night Arrives.

Alex has a fever of 103. His parents say that, between school and the haunt, he must’ve overexerted himself.

Alex has seen Tim coughing the past week or so. Alex knows Tim is Patient Zero. Tim should’ve dropped out the second he started coming down with something; now he might’ve spread it to the whole crew.

Alex calls Tim up and curses him out through a sore throat. Tim can barely understand what he’s saying. Tim eventually hangs up.

It’s an hour until doors open, and somebody needs to wear the reaper outfit.

Brian’s already in costume as the barker, Amy and Jessica are busy, and everyone knows the last thing Alex will want to hear is that Tim took his part.

So that leaves Jay.

Jay has never worn stilts before.

Jay has never scared people before.

(Not on purpose, at least.)

Jay tries his best.

Mercifully, he doesn’t fall over, but he does get close a few times. He has to grip the foam-painted-to-look-like-stone wall for support for most of the night. The cloak would look baggy on anyone, but Jay’s swimming in it.

He still gets a few good scares in. (He sees why Alex likes it. It’s a power thing, he thinks.)

The next few weekends, once Alex is back on his feet, Jay shoots promotional footage of the guests going through the haunt. Jay prefers this job; he gets to dress in stagehand-black and lurk around the sets trying not to be noticed.

He gets some of his best footage out front, watching Brian. The guy really is a natural at this.

Tim stays backstage every weekend, monitoring lights and sound. Jay gets a little footage of him, too, to his mild annoyance.

Jay tapes interviews with Jessica and Amy one Saturday before the doors open. Amy turns the whole thing into a tutorial, seemingly out of pity after Jay stumbles through a couple of awkwardly worded interview questions.

When Alex’s family realize he didn’t set aside any money in the budget to pay his friends, they swiftly correct the error. The gang doesn’t make much, still, but it’s a nice surprise.

October ends. The sets are dismantled. The costumes are put away.

Brian tells Alex that if he ever needs more help next year, he’ll try to be around.

Brian’s off to medical school at the end of spring semester, but he's going to try to get into a program in the area. Alex rolls his eyes and tells him that maybe they’ll be able to come up with a mad doctor for him to play.

“Mad psychiatrist.” Brian wiggles his eyebrows.

“Isn’t that an oxymoron?”

“Not as often than you’d think.”

Jay cuts his footage into a trailer for the website. Alex’s family is thrilled. Jay asks if can bring his camera to the haunt convention next year, and the answer is a resounding “absolutely”.

Jay might have found His Element.

It gets worse when he discovers that unsolved crime forums are a thing.

Then Jay’s either traveling around taping haunt walkthroughs or trespassing on private property looking for evidence.

Alex thinks Jay would make a great character in one of his movies.

The gang keeps coming back year after year, especially Jay and Tim. Brian has to miss a few years because of school. Jessica ends up at a grad school out of state but comes back as a guest a few times. For Tim and Jay, though, it’s decent seasonal work.

Alex is still trying to elevate the genre. Tim and Jay have a running bet on how long it’ll take for one of Alex’s movies to get wide enough distribution to win a Razzie.

Everything Is Actually Fine

#marble hornets #tim wright #jay merrick #alex kralie #brian thomas #jessica locke #amy walters #haunted house au #plotbunnies #You Have Activated My Special Interest #my fanfiction #sort of

173 notes · View notes

truewadanoharafacts · 7 years

Text

Why the WATGBS manga was disappointing

(im gonna use capitalization and punctuation, not like my usual typing style, bc i think it looks better)

Did you know there was a WATGBS manga? I’m sure many have known, but for the ones who haven't’, it’s true! And damn, did it hype the shit out of everyone. On August 13th 2015, Funamusea / DSP officially started work on the Wadanohara and the Great Blue Sea manga. It had promise! Funamusea was already a pretty well loved creator. Well, at least their work was well loved. We can point out that other stuff later, though. Their games got popular and a good following, spawning a big fandom with art, fanfics, and even blogs dedicated to them! Wink wink.

Wadanohara and the Great Blue Sea was one of those games, coming out December 12th 2013. So we do have a good couple years of hype already built for this beloved game. With the fandom growing and fans wanting more and more content...the next step was pretty obvious. This couple come with better art, and hell, maybe some fresh story telling! Answers to things we want! Characters seen more and more! Funamusea is no stranger to mangas. They have another one, Obsolete Dream, which has a good following as well! Same with small comics on the side for their other works. So, this was promising. Everyone was so excited!

Now...excuse my language, but...

WHAT THE FUCK WENT WRONG.

Before I delve into this shitshow, first I want to get some stuff outta the way:

I am no way a professional reviewer or whatever. I’m simply a fan who has been interested in WATGBS since 2014, around when it was translated into English. WATGBS was my very first game into the fandom, and has a lot of importance to me. I’m just sharing my opinion on this matter.

Spoilers are ahead for the game and manga. So, be careful!

Again, please keep in mind that I’m not saying I’m absolutely right about my analysis here. Did I say something wrong? You can correct me. Did I leave something out? You can correct me! I want to hear your opinions as well!

With this said, lets start with at least an overview of the games plot, shall we?

Wadanohara and the Great Blue Sea has a simple plot that isn’t too hard to follow. To be honestly I actually started on a very, very long winded and detailed overview...then I started resorting to going onto a walkthrough.

Here’s the video if you want to watch. It’s...6 hours long, but you can easily just jump around.

TL;DR? I’ll try to make a small version for you

Wadanohara is a sea witch who lives in the Sea Kingdom with her familiars; Fukami, Memoca, and Dolphi. Samekichi was a familiar of hers who apparently became a traitor and now tells her to leave the sea for some unknown reason.

She goes to Princess Uomi who wants her to restore the moonstones, which keep a barrier around the Sea Kingdom to protect it after there was a war with the Sea of Death. The Sea of Death war was between Uomi and her sister, Mikotsu, who was angry that she wasn’t chosen to be princess. Meikai, Wadanohara’s father, was the Great Sorcerer who sacrificed himself to seal the Sea of Death away, becoming the Cast Pearl. The moonstones need restored because the other kingdom, the Tosatsu Kingdom, is apparently mad at them for some unknown reason and keep sending in troops to hurt and/or kill. And, the moonstones where broken for an unknown reason.

After restoring the moonstones (with a ring Sal gave you, this will be important later) Wadanohara comes back and has a party thrown for her. Everything seems fine, then Wadanohara runs into Laurentia, a demon who was hired by the Tosatsu Kingdom. They break the barrier and shit goes down.

Princess Tosatsu has her army completely take over the place and starts a war. Wadanohara rushes to the castle to protect Uomi, while also running into the Merc Trio (Laurentia, Ver Million, and Vendetto) along the way, and when she get’s there it’s too late. Tosatsu is already there and ready to kill Uomi. But then, Uomi somehow calms her down and they hug it out. It’s super cute? It’s adorable.

Then we know why Princess Tosatsu was so angry. Apparently, the kingdom was killing her subjects and left a note to antagonize Tosatsu. But, no one ever knew of this. Wadanohara suddenly starts seeing red and runs outside to Tatsumiya.

Then, the cast pearl shatters.

Hey surprise surprise, Sal is the traitor all along!! And Samekichi was trying to protect you in the most emo way he can. After all that, the Sea of Death comes and...

You know.

This doesn’t even matter when it comes to the manga. You know why?

It was canceled before we even get past the part where Princess Tosatsu and Princess Uomi make up.

Yup.

The manga was officially canceled by 12 chapters. But here’s the kicker. How do you fit all of THAT up there into just 12 chapters? Simple! You dumb everything down. You take out the padding needed for the game, so the manga isn’t so long drawn out and gets to the good stuff.

Which, that’s not a problem. Writing down a story and playing a game is different. In a game, so much padding out and being somewhat slow for gameplay is going to happen. It’s not a game without gameplay. Even if the gameplay is going isle to isle to fix every moonstone on there. In a manga, you can’t exactly convey the same feeling as a game feeling. You are going to have to rewrite! But, Funamusea made some mistakes here and there.

They’ve taken out characters. Miyura, Seguro, Minero, Creamil, Rimorimo, Tomoshibi, Laurentia, Ver Million, Vendetto, not even Cherryblod or Doloz show up in the manga at all! This has some ups and downs to it.

Ups: Minero and her crew are honestly not really involved in the story. Same with Miyura and Seguro. Cherryblod and Doloz did have some involvement in the game, but it was very small and not needed in a written story.

Downs: The Merc Trio WAS important! They where actually VERY fucking important! And even though the others aren’t important to the plot, they’re already characters in the lore! They should have at least been shown to exist in the manga. Irena and Aom where shown...but, they’re background characters too! Aom only spoke a small handful of times! Why do they get special treatment?

Back to the answer to my question though...dumbing everything down. Funamusea fucked this up. VERY badly.

Princess Tosatsu was the most useless villain in the manga.

She was! And here’s how.

By chapter 5, this is when you first hear about the Tosatsu Kingdom threat. They’re attacking the kingdom for unknown reasons, and even fight Wadanohara and her gang! You finally get to see this in action by chapter 6. You see a huge crown of Tosatsu Soldiers attacking and being wiped away by...Samekichi. Not Wadanohara.

Some rewrites are fine here and there, and this is an okay rewrite. Right when Wadanohara leaves the castle in the end of chapter 5, chapter 6 instantly starts with them attacking. Samekichi appears and helps them by protecting Wadanohara from a hoard of buns. We get to see how Samekichi seems to resent Wadanoahara...but his true feelings are masked away. It’s a good rewrite that I personally see no issues with.

BUT! Back to Princess Tosatsu being a terrible villain in the manga.

So a couple chapters pass. Wadanohara goes out to restore the moonstones and that’s pretty much all that goes on. I mean...in one of the chapters Fukami beats the shit out of Samekichi. It does show that Fukami cares a LOT of Wadanohara though..so it at least has a reason to be there. By chapter 9, we’re already at the part where they celebrate the moonstones being fixed. I didn’t exactly skip much...

And, by the end of chapter 9, Wadanoahra leaves the party to see Samekichi. The cast pearl shines brightly suddenly and Samekichi runs up to the surface. Wadanohara follows and is impaled by a Tosatsu soldier spear... Where originally Laurentia was supposed to appear.

Now things get not only weird with the rewriting, but it’s EXTREMELY RUSHED.

Chapter 10 has Wadanoahara waking up, going to where Fukami and Dolphi are fighting soldiers, and Princess Tosatsu shows up. There’s only a small build up for her appearance, for being hinted of in chapter 5 and 7, but it’s a pretty interesting reveal. Suddenly, a new and menacing character just appears before Wadanohara. Having someone else unkown with her (Being Hofuru), they suddenly just disappear as more soldiers surround the gang, ending the chapter...

It’s honestly super cool! You don’t know much other than this girl is out for blood. It’s tense!

But...alas...chapter 11 comes. Keep in mind this is not ONLY the second to last chapter, but the last one isn’t even about the main story! It’s backstory!

Remember how in the game there was the Merc Trio? They not only caused havoc to stall Wadanohara and her gang, but Ver Million is a friend of Wadanohara’s! There was some interesting character building...how does Wadanohara know a demon of all characters? It gets people thinking! They’re not in the manga. At all. Oh! How about how you had to rush to the castle with time on your heels, the suspense of making it riding the story and keeping you invested? Wadanohara is literally shot right into the castle room by Chlomaki after 3 pages into the 14 paged chapter. There’s no rush. No suspense. Wadanohara is instantly there.

But, maybe Wadanohara got there just in time! And she did! She is ready to fight for her princess a-

..Oh.

She’s instantly smacked aside.

O..kay, I guess. This can be suspenseful, right? Maybe if she put up more of a fight.

Then Princess Uomi shows up. Talks to Princess Tosatsu. And instantly hugs her. Tosatsu cries and makes up.

Chapter 11 ends. And so does the manga.

This...is disappointment. Chapter 12 isn’t even important to this, so I won’t even talk about it.

Keep in mind that these chapters are 15 pages MAX. That’s nothing for mangas! You blow through these updates, that at the time, came at sudden random weeks at a time! The wait isn’t even worth it. There’s nothing to hold this story. Absolute NOTHING. Suspense of Princess Tosatsu? Nonexistent till the end of chapter 10, which is then instantly wrapped up in the next chapter. Anything else? You get nothing. The manga is canceled.

This is not how you do a manga adaptation. All you can say about this manga is that it answers meaningless and small questions, and it has pretty art.

Wadanohara is a weak little cute girl. One who was even appreciated by Idate for her strength is just a cute face for Samekichi to protect. Fukami, Memoca, and Dolphi feel more like side characters. Fukami has more character, but Dolphi is literally unimportant to the story. She barely even talks. Samekichi gets only slight character development, but the most out of everyone. He’s seen smiling, emoting, and caring for Wadanohara when he’s trying to chase her away.

That’s it.

In the prologue, you actually get to know why she went to Witch World. To restore her memories. It does leave a question, for those who haven’t played the game, of what is she trying to restore? And it answers the question of why she was gone in the first place, for those who have played the game. It’s a good bit of info that does foreshadow.

But you’re not gonna get that shit now!

After a very short chapter with promises of learning more about Wadanohara and Samekichi’s relationship, Funamusea officially stated they’re not going to continue the manga due to it being “too stressful”. Which is a valid, yet heartbreaking, reason. But...is it the real reason? Some people doubt it.

This is the era I called the Satanivlis era. Well...it’s not exactly an era? But, it’s something I will bring up.

There’s been some speculation on why Funamusea really did cancel the manga. This suspicious thinking came from when Funamusea announced The Gray Garden to have a remake, seem to have gone pretty well into development, then suddenly cancel it.

Around the same time, Funamusea suddenly started to work on a comic about Satanick, Ivlis, Kcalb, Etihw, and Siralos. It seemed like just a tiny preoccupation for Funamusea. This is fine and dandy! They can do whatever they please. But, then this is when they started drawing heavy amounts of Satanivlis (Satanick x Ivlis) after making a lovechild for them, Licorice.

The problem with this is how MUCH we are seeing this. And it’s not just shipping art. No, it’s r*pe fetish art. Many, MANY amounts of r*pe fetish art suddenly pours into their website. This continues for quite some time.

Till very recently (as of making this its March 26th, 2017), they start showing previews of what looks like to be a manga... Funamusea makes a yaoi r*pe fetish manga that’s for SALE suddenly, out of the blue. And this is why everyone is suspicious.

Funamusea makes the WATGBS manga for fans. The updates are slow, the chapters are rushed, and then it’s suddenly canceled for being “too stressful”. We get no more info on it. Unknown if they will continue or not. No real communication or hope for the manga to ever be good.

Then after months of updates involving Ivlis being r*ped as a joke or to look sexual, and even being r*ped by his own child, we get a manga. Out of no where. Just for the fun of it.

Funamusea is the problem with this whole situation. Why the manga was shit, and why we got nothing but the same shit over and over again. Funamusea doesn’t communicate. Funamusea doesn’t realize they have a fanbase that sticks around to see more of content they love, or new content to love.

I’m making chrome crash with how long this is. So I’m going to stop.

TL;DR: Funamusea sucks at writing and cares more about their yaoi ships than their fans.

thank ya for readin my dumb opinion. you dont have to agree but ay it was fun to salt. heres to hoping funamsuea will draw ur fave character again

-mod kichi

#fuck this is super long im sorry #mod kichi #not a fact #rape mention /#incest mention /

59 notes · View notes

sherrbel · 7 years

Text

A Full Month of Bullet Journaling - May 2017

I have not embarked on any serious project as of late that I feel that this bullet journal thing is also going to meet an premature demise but hey sometimes you might surprise yourself.

What is a Bullet Journal?

Read about it here : http://bulletjournal.com/about/

or if you are more of a visual person, here’s a video guide : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm15cmYU0IM

Note : We shall refer to bullet journal as bujo from this point forward.

I have been reading about this thing for months now. I’ve watched a tons of videos, scouring Instagram posts on bujos for months. But I couldn’t get myself to do it. Mainly because; (1) I am pretty sure I will quit halfway and (2) heck all these bujo layouts are so damn creative and pretty with shitload of hand lettering and doodles and arts. I can’t do that.

But in April 2017, my curiosity got the best of me. Instead of looking up for just bujo layouts, I changed my search terms. I looked up for bujo posts by men. Yes, men who is not creatively inclined and just using bujo for its functionality instead of filling it with doodles and pretty watercolor arts.

Resources:

A Dude's Bullet Journal Walkthrough : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8STQ1C8nP0

One Man's Bullet Journal : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rKQQByxaBw

AND THAT GOT ME HOOKED.

Now, people starts bujo-ing for various of reasons. I saw bujo exclusively on wedding planning, bujos of motherhood (pregnancy, managing your family), fitness-related, studying etc.

But me, I just want to get my shit together. I want to be more organized, try to do more creatively, keep track of my *coughs* fitness and health-related shit and most importantly grow spiritually.

So, I find a notebook that I’ve only filled up a few pages of. I don’t want to spend extra money on this, I said to myself. I’m going to use what I have lying around the house. Notebooks, pens, markers... (I have lots of those, I keep buying stuff you see).

May 2017 is the month I start to do this shit. And yes, I did it *pats self on back*

Here’s a flip through of my bujo. Remember, you can customize this to any way you wanted. This layout works for me with all my intended goals for starting this.

THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG WAY.

1. Start with the Index.

This is where you put the page numbers of your entries. Like a book index. You can fill this after you finish setting up or completing a full month. My May daily logs is from page 7 to page 20. Set aside around 3 to 4 pages for this.

2. The keys

Keys are indicators of the things that you log. There are varieties of keys. You may refer the official bujo website or hey come up with your own. Now this is one of the most interesting traits of bujo. Say if you have a task for the day; if it’s completed, you can mark it with the completed key. Or you can migrate it to another day, cancel it or even rescheduled it. Because you can see all your daily log, you can manage your tasks well and be less of a shitty person. I use the bujo for my personal tasks. For work, I have my own planner at the office so I choose not to integrate it here. That works for me but if you want to combine everything, go ahead and do so.

3. Future log

I know it’s an eyesore. Bear with me.

A future log is where you lay out your entire year of planning. Now, we can’t predict the future, right? So you can structure it where you can jot down the future events at the empty space. I use pencil, if the event is confirmed then I write it down with a pen. You can fill this with birthdays, anniversaries, public holidays etc. A future log is great to help you review your year.

4. Checklists / bucket lists / or whatever lists you fancy

After the future log, you can set up anything you want. I saw some people puts movies they plan to watch, lists of books they read or plan to read, bucket lists etc. I set up a checklist for my wedding planning (at this point still empty *coughs)

5. Monthly log

Now, you can set up your monthly log. This is like a mini future log where you break down your month. You can list out what goals to achieve that month. Mark out the major events. I don’t really have anything going on in May except for the brush calligraphy workshop, hence why it is so empty haha.

6. Habit trackers

I have two major trackers this month.

a. Spending less than RM20 per day / workout / no sugar / vegetables only

I found this incredibly useful. I fill this up at the end of the day. Major success was keeping track of my spending. The rest, not so much. *coughs*

b. 30 Days of devotionals

OK it’s supposed to be 31 days but never mind. I read devotionals daily and jot it down here. I journal about it also in the daily log. I am so proud of this. One of my goals is to grow spiritually and bujo is a great way to facilitate this.

I did these two trackers but you can also do other kinds. Some people track their mood, water intake, workout, the possibilities are endless.

7. Daily log

This is where you jot down your daily tasks, inspirations, ideas, notes of any kind. Corresponding with my devotionals, I also journal about it here as well. I saw most people set up their daily logs but I find it hard to predict how much space I required daily. Some days I wrote a lot, some only took 2-3 lines.

So that’s it. Best thing about bujo, you can start anytime. Use any notebooks, fancy planners or even exercise books! Keep it functional and minimalist or go crazy with the doodling and stickers. Use a plain notebook, lines and dotted page (the original format use dotted lines)

Again, NO RIGHT OR WRONG WAY TO DO THIS.

I’ve already set my June journal, experimenting with different layouts but still struggling with the aesthetic bit haha.

Go ahead and try this!

xx. Sher

#bullet journal #bujo #beginnerbujo

1 note · View note

kepesh-yakshi · 7 years

Text

I’ve been tagged!!!

I was tagged by @wyndx (you’re awesome!) great questions in this one! I’m going to answer yours, my fair tumbling friend!

Rules:

a) Always post the rules, answer the questions, then write 11 questions of your own.

b) Tag 11 people.

1. Do you have a hobby outside of gaming?

I have a few, though gaming has been taking up most of my recent time. 1) I am a writer by both hobby and pseuo career (aka, I do not yet make enough to cover any bills, but I get something for it sometimes). 2) I love archery, and thus play an archer in most of my games. My favorite bow is my newest: a Bear Cruzer, it’s blaze orange, though I don’t count it as one of my “required orange” wearables. To be honest, I like to deck out in all blaze, so other human hunters can see me while most animals can’t discern my orange from actual camo. 3) Most of my work life has been devoted to security of some kind. I spent ten years with the TSA, and now am in retail security, and though it is my job, it’s also a major interest, and in a way, hobby of mine. Enough so that I read and chat with others in the field about it.

2. What Dragon Age companion could you see yourself actually hanging out with in real life?

Honestly? Cassandra. In real life, my closest friends (I have three) are all tall, strong, beautiful women, all but one are of culture aka, they choose a non-mainstream lifestyle and are proud of their heritage or path or belief(s), yet are still welcoming, open-minded, intelligent, forthright, and forgiving. Great role models. I stand 5′8″ - shortest on mom’s side, tallest on dad’s. Cassandra would be one of those three. I could see her in modern day calling me for a cuppa coffee and talking about her newest discovery in classic romantic literature.

3. What is your favorite movie?

Shawshank Redemption, hands down. But...Dumb and Dumber is my favorite laugher. Arlington Road pisses me off to tears, so it is among my favorites because it moves me so much.

4. Which DA game did you play the most?

Inquisition. It was my “welcome to DA” game. I am on Windows 10, and the other games don’t play well with this OS. and that sucks. But I am working on it. Origins, so far, has been a blast to play, so far! I have not really started DA2. But I can’t wait to get into it.

5. Would you ever move somewhere else to live?

Yes! I lived in Durango, before, back in the late 90s. I’d definitely do it again! Beautiful place with great people!

6. Do you have any new year’s goals for 2017?

Two: one is recurring and doesn’t count because I do it every year. “physically” get back in season. Enjoy the summer months in a great body, then throw it back to the fat hell in the winter months. Wash, rinse, repeat. But this year, my goal is to not have to explain myself for what makes me happy. I am me, I do me, and if people don’t like it, that’s their shit. I just dropped a long time friend of six years because she took my self-deprecative humor personally. Tired of that shit. I am not a doctor, psychologist, etc, and i don’t want your family drama, and i should not have to explain in detail why i do not wear makeup when YOU KNOW I am transitioned to male. UGH. I do not and will not explain myself.

7. Do you have any pets?

One cat. I rescued her over the summer. She was five when I met her. She actually picked me out. We’ve been best buds ever since. Her name is Crackers.

8. Where in the world of Thedas would you a)live b)vacation c)avoid?

Live: southern Marches or northern Fereldan. Close to water (fishing!!!!) and seems to be a nice easy community gathered around the area.

Vacation: Nevarra or Western Approach. Culture and food for the former. Hunting and endles beauty of the sands for the latter.

Avoid: seheron. Stories like what comes out of there kinda push me away.

9. Are you a reader? What is your favorite book?

YES!!! Classic Lit. Favoite book is The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay. A pro hockey player friend gave me a copy. I’ve shared it with many. I also love The Count of Monte Christo (Dumas) and The Idiot (Dostoyevsky), but I can’t limit to just three. I have so many I love and so many I have yet to read.

10. Any secret talents?

I am left handed to a fault -- I crook my hand when I write. So my secret talent is that I can sign my name upside down, right side up, top to bottom, left to right, and even backwards. I can also blow bubbles out of my left eye (dog attack severed my tear duct when I was 13). And I was a goalie for an inline hockey team in an all-mens league between 2001-2005. Once held 6 records before it got popula. 1) most shutouts in a season (36). 2)most wins in a season (36), 3)first female goalie to make it to regionals (lost 2-1 in triple overtime, other goalie bought me dinner, I thought I had a husband at that point LOL) 4) longest game ever played (still in the record books at 4 hrs 36 minutes) 5) hottest game ever played (126* outside) 6)coldest game ever played (-20 outside) -- last two records were october 2003 in Texas within three weeks of each other. the last three still stand. LOL.

11. Do you ship any rarepairs?

Rarepairs? OH like leliana and sera?

My questions:

1. If you could pick any superpower to have what would it be?

to be able to see 5 minutes into the future.

2. What is your preffered race and class in the DA games? human rogue archer

3. Favorite food? Grilled chicken breast.

4. If you could choose to live in any fictional universe which would you choose? Either Dragon Age or Elder Scrolls

5. Anything you really want to see in DA4? Nevarra

6. Are you in any other fandoms? Elder Scrolls

7. Biggest fear? Death :( it’s something we all will deal with, but I fear it. I have heard that fear of it means we have much more to live for, and we need to be stronger in our own personal convictions.

8. First Video Game you ever beat? Legend of Zelda (Adventures of Link) or Shadowrun (on Genesis), I forgot.

9. What’s your hogwarts house? (if you know) Slytherin -- which is funny, because I hated that house in the first movie.

10. Are you a night owl or a morning person? All-nighter, baby!!!

11. What’s the best advice you’ve ever recieved? Don’t give up on you!!!! My 11 Questions (answered) : 1. Who is your hero? Me, first and foremost. I’ve been through shit that people often write books about. And I’m still here and still enjoying life. But I also love my life coach, J, who guided me through the process of dropping all hindrances and learning to love my inner child. 2. Have you ever met someone you looked up to and were happy about it? YES!!! She left me with some keen advice. Sylvia Browne is her name. She passed into the next world, so to speak, but when I met her, I was working the walkthrough at TSA, and she was in a wheelchair. I was pre-transition (I am ftm), and she complimented me on my kindness and asked if she could give a reading. Of course I agreed, after complimenting her on her books. She said to me, “you are going to change. A metamorphosis. It will be painful but worth it to you.” Almost exact quote, that was back in ‘08. She also said that I would be a beacon to others who need to grow out of their boxes if I overcame my own obstacles. She’s been right so far. 3. What are your three current favorite songs? Sorry - Justin Bieber (the kid is good, I have to give props here -- I jam to this) Can I get a - Jay Z (high school favorite, still a favorite) The entire Under Reprisal CD by Threat Signal -- I kill workouts to this CD Anything at all from Fear Factory -- because again I KILL my goals with their music blasting. 4. Favorite pizza topping? Meat. 5. Favorite obscure movie? Hmm...The Upside of Anger (Joan Allen and Kevin Costner). Joan is my favorite actress. 6. Are you a sports fan at all? YES to almost everything. I played goalie in roller hockey. 7. What tumblrs do you follow and love but haven’t given love to? (tag the person) @meridok and @customhawke ... and @my-mother-mercury

damn fine tumblrs, there. 8. Any crazy bad habits? I bite my nails almost religiously, though they’re quite healthy, despite this. 9. What career do you think you had in a past life? A scribe or bard. I love to sing and write, now. 10. What is your best feat ever? Ran 2.6 miles in an airport terminal to exchange switched laptops between two high-up people in two major and well-known companies. Both offered jobs to me afterward. Hmm, perhaps I should contact now for career purposes. 11. What is your favorite motivational quote (or one you made up)?

“The ability to not know is an essential quality in learning anything.” -Jeff Brooks (article here)

My 11 Questions (for those I’ve tagged) : 1. Who is your hero? 2. Have you ever met someone you looked up to and were happy about it? 3. What are your three current favorite songs? 4. Favorite pizza topping? 5. Favorite obscure movie? 6. Are you a sports fan at all? 7. What tumblr do you follow and love but haven’t given love to? (tag the person) 8. Any crazy bad habits? 9. What career do you think you had in a past life? 10. What is your best feat ever? 11. What is your favorite motivational quote (or one you made up)?

I’m breaking the rules and tagging less than 11 people (sorry). Tagging: @meridok @archievement @customhawke @cuddlingcassandra @fereldan-dog-lord @my-mother-mercury @solasofficial @dragonageconfessions @dawriting @earthen-soul @fantasyartwatch

#me #about me #questions #tagged #tsa #hockey #books #reading #classic literature #LOVE THIS #i love this

2 notes · View notes

ecotone99 · 5 years

Text

[RF] Thats Life

Hey guys, this is a culmination of real life experiences. The story itself is fiction, though I hope the real aspects appeal to you, and you find them entertaining and maybe humorous. Open to any feedback and appreciate your time. Planning on releasing more content each week!

Thats Life

“Fuck this, I’m going vegan.” Michael thought to himself.

Sitting down on the big brown couch, they’d purchased off craigslist, Michael waited for dinner to arrive. A rack of ribs, side of gourmet sliders, and macaroni in cheese.

“Tonights the last night.” he told himself that he’d maybe let his roommates know tomorrow.

Michael Fontaine planned to make a change.

Twenty minutes later, his best friends returned back with the takeout they’d ordered from Babes Barbecue. The 1,200+ calorie meal had costed them $70 in total with tip. Only thirty dollars cheaper than the crappy couch that had sunk their asses into every Monday Night for football over the last 5 years.

Tonight their hometown team, the Pats or New England Patriots, faced off against the Buffalo Bills. Unloading the food onto the table in front of them, they dove into their greased paper bags, hunched over, their bellies hanging over their waistbands.

Double rack of Ribs, three sliders, and a pound of Mac n Cheese with a side cup of St. Pauli's girl lager, filled to the brim. The U shaped seating arrangement allowed each of them to take their place around the knee high table while they stuff'd their faces.

Within the first three minutes of the game,Tom Brady marched the Pats down the field for the first score.

“Yo, TB! The fackin goat!” Reggie yelled with a mouth full of macaroni.

“My guy! Lets go baby! ” Franky cheered with a half eaten rib in his hands.

Michael sat between them and agreed, clapping his hands. He also knew something else about Brady. The guy didn’t eat Babes Barbecue. He didn’t barely ate meat at all, the guy is a 90% fackin vegan for christ sakes. Taking another gulp of his beer, Michael toasted to the guys, knowing it would be the last for a while.

(Two weeks later)

The alarm began to ring. 5:45am, or two hours before work. Michael hadn’t had a piece of meat yet. Every other morning, he'd started going on jogs around the neighborhood. In total he’d run 6 miles over the last two weeks, which was great compared to the zero exercise he'd been doing before. Pressing the snooze button, Michael went back to sleep for another 30 minutes which he concluded, he'd deserved by how sore his body felt.

When he woke up next at 6:15am, he figured he could still go on his run, but would have to make it quick. Putting on his new Nike sneakers, he walked into the kitchen where he found Franky up early, dressed for work.

“What’re you doing up so early?” Michael asked.

“Today’s a walkthrough with Phill, shouldn't be much working." Franky answered with a yawn. Standing behind the bar in their living room, Franky began pouring himself a cold cup of beer.

Franky and Reggie worked for William Caldwell, a construction company. The days were hard physical work though it definitely beat going to school to study. Both Franky and Reggie had started community college, but left soon after they got their first paycheck, realizing they could enjoy life much more putting their money towards experiences, like Sunday Ticket or NBA League Pass.

“Where you going with those new shiny shoes?” Franky asked pointing to the clean white and blue sneakers.

“Oh, just down to Dunkin to grab a coffee. Got these shoes, my damn feet have been killing me.” Michael lied.

“Could of bought you a nice steak dinner with that money. Guess getting old means taking care of yourself eh?” Franky laughed, and Michael raised his eyebrows in unattested agreement.

Michael walked out of the apartment into the cold morning. The fall weather felt perfect, cold enough to wake you up, and just right if you wanted to break a sweat. Seeing other people out and about, he felt more motivated, and got moving into a comfortable pace when about a mile away, he got an incoming call.

It was Franky.

“Yo, whats up Frank.” Michael answered, slowing down to a walk.

“Think you could pick up two vanilla caw fee’s for me and Reggie?”

“Sorry, Franky I forgot my wallet. I’m actually coming back now.”

“You sound out of breath, everything okay?”

“Yeah yeah, everything is fine, just running a little late thats all.” Michael lied.

“All right well don’t go getting yourself a heart attack.” Franky joked.

(3 months go by)

The alarm went off at 5:30am. The Rolling Stones "Start me up" came through Michael's phone, a song he’d added to pump him up. Jumping out of bed, he grabbed his running shoes, and was out the door, on the streets by 5:45. Snow had built up in Boston, so he had to buy traction grip so that he wouldn't slip on the ice or snow.

Michael finally was in rhythm with his life. Over the last three months he had failed, and given into old habits. After his first two strong weeks of no meat, he decided to get drunk for a buddies birthday. It all started with just a bite of a street dog, and ended with a late night delivery of Gino’s sausage pepperoni pizza. After that, Michael’s discipline fell apart. He began to cheat a little bit each and every day, until he found himself back in the groove of meat a few times a week.

About two and a half months ago, Michael set the intention to get out of this funk. He had wanted that next step in his life. His dream had always been to become a teacher, and then principal of a Middle School. Trapped by the circumstances around him, he made excuses why it was so hard for him to get his act together. Soon after his buddies birthday, Michael got back to his routine of health and running.

This time though, he'd eliminate drinking. A decision, that like eliminating meat, he decided to keep away from his best friends.

Walking back into the apartment, the time read 6:23. Michael could smell eggs, coffee, and cigarette smoke. Alice Cooper’s “Poison” was playing on the kitchen speaker. Turning around to greet him, Reggie looked and smiled with a Marlboro in his mouth.

“Good morning putz! Where you been?” Reggie looked like he’d just woken up. He wore a big Green Celtics robe, undoubtedly hungover.

“Just took a walk to get some fresh air” Michael lied, giving him a high five as he walked by.

“Yeah, yeah don't lie to me. You were jerking off in the park again, weren't you? Whats up with all the sweat?” Reggie joked, using the wooden spoon as a prop as if it were a penis.

“Yeah jerking off to your mother.” Michael responded flipping Reggie the bird.

Jumping into the shower Michael felt amazing. His endorphins were through the roof and he looked forward to the day ahead. His buddies hadn’t noticed, but he lost almost 20lbs, dropping from 200 to 180. Michael could now run a mile in under 8 minutes.

While Michael showered and got cleaned up, Franky and Reggie put on their pants and jackets, getting ready for work. The 1,500 square foot project they were set to work on today, was for a new pharmacy down the street.

The guys walked out of their apartment but not before leaving an extra plate of scrambled eggs on the counter for their buddy. A nice gesture, that would be met in the trash can as Michael left for work.

The guys got in their truck and drove to the location of the site. Supposedly, the previous establishment would be easy to spot, it still had the sign up front that read "We are Kids!". A toy store that had been there for over 30 years, had been bought out, as parents now purchased video games and skateboards straight from the internet.

Arriving at the sight, Reggie and Franky walked into the store dazed. The walls were amusing to them both, painted in yellow, green, and orange. The project manager Phil, stood behind a counter, next to an older man in a suit. Signaling them over, Phil looked stressed.

“Hey guys, I’ve got to go for the day. They’re having me do a deposition for that gym off of 42nd street. You two clean up this place, and I’ll be back this afternoon."

For the next hour, the guys demolished the stores interior, pulling out and breaking down cabinets where stuffed animals and bikes once stood. The lawsuit Phill had been spoken of was to their knowledge was out of their hands. Many of the details had been kept secret, though rumors spread that the explosion of the circuit breaker had nearly killed an electrician.

(Another Month Goes By)

“Hey Mikey, we’re ordering pizza. You want in?” Mikey!?”

“He’s not here.” Responded Reggie who was already on the couch with a beer.

“But it's the Pats and the Giants. Where the hell is he?” demanded Franky.

Reggie shrugged. “Who cares, just order the pizza. I’m sure he’ll have some”

Around halftime Michael walked into the house. He’d spent the day visiting colleges in Boston where he’d potentially return to get his teachers certification. Maybe even a masters one day.

“Hey, heard the game on the radio. Pats are down?” Michael asked his two roommates who were sprawled out on the coach. Between them, was an empty spot, where Michael used to sit.

“Yeah, fucking Brady threw a pick 6, could you believe that?” Reggie responded, taking another large gulp of his beer.

“We got you some pizza Mikey, Sausage and Pepperoni your favorite.”

Taking off his coat, Mikey wasn’t sure how to respond. He hadn’t had a conversation about his diet in the two months since he made the transition to vegetarianism.

“Thanks Franky, I’m not in the mood for pizza. You two can have it.”

The guys looked at each other rather annoyed. They had spent an extra $15 with tip to get the largest pizza. Eating the rest of their pizza, they waited for Mikey to return, however he just stayed in his room to finish review of his top colleges.

“Hey has Mikey lost a lot of weight, his neck looks thinner.” Reggie spoke out loud.

“Yeah, I think he’s sick or something. Not eating like he’s used to.” Franky responded, taking another bite of pizza.

Reggie contemplated saying something else, when suddenly the Patriots defense scored a touchdown. His train of thought interrupted by his love of the Pats, he ignored the idea, of his best buddies new change. He and Franky both went to sleep feeling great, as they watched their Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles.

(Later that week)

“Alright Reggie, you and Franky never saw or used electrical wires or anything.” Phil began. Dressed in a suit and tie, he looked more nervous than before. He had been to two depositions already.

The attorneys expected it to be a multimillion dollar case. The victim, Rafael Munoz, hadn’t had an issue with his work in 35 years as an electrical engineer. Now, badly disfigured from the explosion, Rafael may never work again.

The attorney for William Caldwell spoke to Reggie and Franky once. He knew that the two of them would not do well in court or in front of a judge. Both of them were 29 years old but could have passed for much older, and in the attorney's eyes high probability of "slipping up."

Reggie and Franky shook hands with Phil, and got back to work. They were extending the size of an old laundromat on Main Street. Finishing their daily work surprisingly quick, they headed out to the local Sports bar "Champs" to grab a beer.

Across the street, Bailes Munoz watched the men get into their truck and drive away. She had been sitting and paying for the parking meter for over 2 hours, contemplating whether to go through with this. Her husband had put them both in debt after the accident. The attorneys told her that Rafael would win, and his medical expenses paid for and more. This didn't help the fact that she no longer loved her husband. Only the day before the accident, she had caught him cheating.

Remembering what their attorney told her, she took a deep breath and turned on the ignition. Following the men, she felt like one of those detective's from Chicago PD, “Anything they say can and will be used against them in a court of law.”

(At Champs)

The Celtics were playing the Lakers in the rather empty bar.

“Two St. Pauli's please” Franky paid the bartender in cash.

Returning their change, Franky tipped the man kindly.

“I’ll have a tequila soda, two limes”

Bailes sat down a seat away from the men, she looked beautiful. In her late 40’s she stayed in great shape. Wearing a hot pink dress, with black & white striped heels, the guys took notice, nudging each other at the elbow.

Pulling out her American Express, she handed her card to the bartender.

“Keep it open.”

By the middle of the first quarter, the guys had finished their first beer and were on to their second. The Lakers were winning by 10 points, and Bailes cheered as they continued to pull away.

“Laker fan huh?” Reggie asked rather indirectly.

“Damn right, born and raised in Inglewood California” Bailes responded with some spice.

“Oh shit, the hood?” added Franky animatedly.

Bailes laughed at this, and confessed that she sure as hell was raised in a tough neighborhood.

“What about you boys, you from Boston?”

“Born and raised. The city of Champions” Reggie began, as he pointed to the banners that hung across the bar. “More than any other city in the United States,” he continued.

After some back and taunting, Bailes began to open up the conversation more personally. A real estate agent, she hustled selling mid level properties all over the city. The confident and spunky persona that brought her success, she now used to coerce the construction workers who she caught multiple times looking down her shirt.

“So whats a beautiful real estate agents like yourself, doing at a bar all alone?” Inquired Reggie.

“Well, I’ve got this lawsuit, but you guys wouldn’t understand.” Bailes responded, her gaze focusing on the tv in front of them

“I’m sorry to hear that, what happened.” Franky asked.

Bailes began to tell her a made up story, about how she had been wrongfully accused in a deal with a home buyer.

“Someone is saying that I lied in my appraisal, that I didn’t follow through with my work. I don’t think I’m going to lose the lawsuit, its just that I feel guilty. I’m not sure if it was actually my fault.”

Bailes reached into her purse, and clicked the red record button on the tape player her attorney had given her.

After a few more questions, and lies, Bailes eyes were red. She had finally finished her story, and used all of the pity she felt for her cheating husband. Finishing her tequila today, she waited earnestly to hear if one of these two jokers would bite.

“Would you guys like anything else to drink?” interrupted the bartender.

“I don’t know, we’ve had quite a few.” Reggie answered. They related with Bailes story, it had definitely rattled them a bit.

Getting up from her seat, Bailes went over and kissed both men on the cheek, leaving a smudge of pink lipstick on their cheeks. Her arms resting on both of their shoulders, she continued.

“I don’t expect you guys to understand, maybe I'm just crazy for worrying like this” she began to pull away again, as if she'd leave their lives forever.

“We understand more than you know.” Franky blurted out.

“Damnit Franky, we’re not supposed to talk about it.”

“Shut up Reggie, she deserves to know. We understand completely, let me tell you…”

The lakers were up now by 20 points.

(The next day)

“Hello Mr. Jurist, this is Balies Munoz. You haven’t returned my calls, please get back to me, I have new information to discuss with you.” Bailes, had called her attorney three times that day, and still nothing.

It was the end of the day now, she’d just shown an open house, and now had to pick up prescriptions for her cheating husband. A small private pharmacy had opened up down the street where that one toy store used to be. Charging the amount on her American Express, Bailes felt stressed.

Even though she’d gotten the guys to talk, she felt wrong for helping Rafael. He’d been having an affair with his coworker's wife. For how long, it was anyones guess. She thought back to how they hadn't interacted at the 4th of July at a party she’d thrown last summer. Carol is her name, she thought.

Carol was younger by at least 10 years. Her husband didn't seem to have his life much together, though genuinely seemed to try to do well for his family from what Rafael had told her. Maybe that was a lie.

Bailes often times had flashbacks to the day where she found them together in their guest room. She'd called out of work, feeling sick, and come home early. Their two story apartment was big, but echoed as all rooms led to the great room. Hearing them make love in the guest room where her Mom often stayed during the holidays, she felt even sicker.

Taking blame for everything wrong in the marriage to this point, she began to think back to her mother who'd always distrusted him. Particularly when they found out about his infertility, and subsequent unwillingness to adopt. Her mother had told her to leave him, he cared more about himself than anyone else.

She had planned to tell her mother as soon as she found out about the affair. To hell with "Till death do us part" she thought to herself. This was the last straw.

Then she received the voicemail from the hospital in the early morning about the accident. Life had once again put her in position to play the good wife.

Stopping by Trader Joes on her way back home, she needed food for the week. Food for herself, and her handicapped husband.

As if on autopilot she went through the aisles, picking out the food she always did. In the same quantities she had always done. Enough for two, with more to spare. Leftovers were welcomed kindly in the Munoz household. Her favorite things to munch on the next day, were the extra veggies and salads she would munch on in her tuber ware containers.

Arriving at lane number 1, Bailes began unloading her grocery cart.

“Hi how is your day going?” asked the friendly cashier.

“Good, good.”

Reaching into her purse, Bailes pulled out her wallet to find her American Express missing. Roaming around, she felt many things. Like lipstick, receipts from the hospital, proscription medication, and of course the black tape recorder. Opening up her billfold she only had $30 dollars in cash, the rest of her cards were with Rafael.

“Is everything all right Ma’m?” inquired the cashier.

“No, no, I’m sorry I think I left my American Express at the Pharmacy down the street”

“Here, I can help. How much is it?” A young man, maybe in his late twenties walked up behind her. He wore a sweatshirt and running pants, with white and blue sneakers.

“With that $30 off, it will come out to $70.85 total.”

“Here, I’ll take care of it.” handing over his Visa Rewards card, the cashier accepted and charged it.

“You don’t have to. Oh my gosh, thank you so much. I promise, I’ll pay you back.”

Walking out of the grocery store, Michael carried his two full bags full of vegetables, while Bailes pushed her cart.

“This is so embarrassing, I’m so embarrassed.” Bailes kept apologizing to the attractive young man, unsure how else to respond.

“Thats okay, I understand these things happen.” Michael smiled back, noticing the diamond on her hand which they both noticed together, though Bailes wished she hadn't.

“Well how about I get you a drink, or something. You know to thank my extraordinary grocery store super hero?” Bailes made a stupid joke, something she only does when nervous.

“My name is Michael, and actually I don’t drink. Maybe we could grab a bite, if thats okay with you or your husband?” Michael responded in a friendly manner.

Touching the ring on her finger, she she smiled and looked down. It wasn’t a date, she thought. He took paid for our food, and now I can pay for his. We’re not drinking so everything should be fine.

“Okay, yeah lets go. What do you like?”

“I’m on this plant based diet, so how about Shang Ru Lah?”

(Three hours later)

Bailes hadn’t planned on having more than one drink. One mojito she thought, thats all I'll have. As she spoke more to Michael, she admired him for his courage. A well fit, motivated young man, who really cared about himself. She found herself marveling at the way he carried conversations confidently and respected her.

Ordering a full vegan meal, she felt good about herself too. The last time she had felt this way was when she'd told her mother off, how she wasn't leaving Rafael regardless of the adoption argument. Reflecting on that battle since the accident, she had felt trapped in a cycle of guilt and shame which Michael seemed to change.

He had a new energy. How he openly talked about his struggles in life and his dream of one day being the principal of a middle school. He mentioned living with tough roommates and how he would be moving out of his apartment very soon to get his own place.

Only loosely he talked about his roommates and how they had held him back in some ways. He loved them both, and Bailes admired how he could compartmentalize between the two. Admittedly he confessed that life could be so much better when he had the right people in it, eliminating the things that didn't serve him.

Bailes heard these words, relating to the fateful truth of her own story. Two drinks later, Michael decided to drive her home, though she lied that she lost her keys. When he offered to pay for a hotel room, she kissed him, and so went back to his place.

Opening her eyes the following morning, she saw pictures of Tom Brady, and other Boston greats hung up on the walls of Michael's rather small room. There were stacks of books and letters from colleges he’d applied to on his desk. Feeling somewhat relieved, she looked at her hand and saw her ring was missing.

Grabbing her purse, she found the ring, and a note.

“Went for a run, will be back by 7:00am” - Michael

The clock read 6:38am. Bailes put her clothes on, and left as soon as she could. Opening up the door into the living room she smelled beer, and saw a box of pizza on the floor. Sports center was playing on the TV, and she swore she saw the body of a guys asleep on the couch.

Luckily Michael lived only a few blocks away from the restaurant. Getting to her car, she expected to see a parking ticket, as the meeter started at 6:00am, but nothing was there. Arriving home 30 minutes later, she opened up her trunk to find that all of the meat had spoiled, only the veggies remained.

Tossing the eggs, steak, chicken, and turkey into the dumpster on the way in she was surprised to feel relief, and not guilt. Maybe it was the healthy meal last night, or possibly the sex she hadn’t had in over 6 months. Greeting the lobby manager, she smiled, holding only three bags of groceies, waiting for this weightless feeling to subside, and the truth of her actions to set in.

Arriving on the 12th floor, Bailes walked down to her room 1204, and opened up the door, to their apartment. Placing the groceries down, and putting them away, she decided she'd make a healthy breakfast. Oatmeal would do just fine for her and Rafael. Thankfully she wouldn't have to go through the chore of making pouched eggs benedict as he had often requested.

“Raffy, I’m home!” Bailes called out, her voice echoing through the house.

Bailes phone buzzed, and saw the text message. It was from Michael.

“Have a great day :)”

Boiling the water, she accidentally made only a cup, or enough for one. Cutting up strawberries and cleaning blueberries she turned on some music. It was a playlist called “love in the morning” which her mother had sent her.

Thats life began playing by Frank Sinatra.

“Your’e riding high in April, shot down in May, but I know I’m gonna change that tune, when I’m back on top, back on top in June”

Pouring the boiling water into a fresh bowl of oats, she covered it with foil to cook it faster.

Rafael couldn't answer he, he likely was asleep Bailes supposed. Eating her own bowl of oatmeal, she took 30 minutes to herself before she wet downstairs to find him.

Their bedroom empty, she couldn't imagine where he had gone. The only other place would be the guest room. Walking in, she found the bodies of Carol and Rafael and Steve. and two others in the guest bedroom. Steve his coworker, and Carol his wife.

The Police officers would report that Steve his coworker and understudy had been responsible for rigging the fuse box which exploded at the gym, almost killing Rafael. Investigators proved an act of passion, when they found the video recording the night before.

Carol had come to the Munoz apartment, and Steve shortly after. Drunk from the way he stumbled through the lobby. They discovered that Steve had found on Carol's text messages in the weeks leading up to the accident, which would prove motive.

Bailes screamed when she found their bodies across the floor, a pool of blood suround each corpse. The corrinors office reported an act of extreme violence, due to the viscious stab wounds, displaying that Steve hadn't made them suffer much, and acted rather impulsively. Steve's body was found in the closet a bottle of perscription medicine laid with him, where he'd poisoned himself.

And so it goes, Reggie and Franky never had to go to court, and never heard anything come back from the lawsuit. They didn’t read the papers or pay attention to the news outside of sports. Every once and a while they’d talk about the hot latina woman they’d met in the bar and how she was into both of them, but that she was married and thats why they lucked out.

Michael moved out of the apartment in June, and started school that same August at Boston University. He never saw Bailes again, though they messaged each other so often as if to catch up. Bailes needed a real man, and Michael had only just begun his journey of becoming one.

(6 months later)

“Hey Bailes, how are you doing. Its been a while?”

“Great. Never better. :)”

submitted by /u/Shortfunnystories [link] [comments] via Blogger https://ift.tt/2OplTrA

#Blogger #Story

0 notes