S5 Ep 15 Pt 2: Don’t Trust Anyone Who Wears a Floor Length Robe Over Their Casuals in Yugioh

Hey, it’s my birthday, so I’m gonna release this early because the rest of today I just have to work like an adult and that’s no fun.

In the first half of this episode we dunked the worlds smallest plane into a lake and so this second half of the episode involved the kids running as far away from their only responsible adults as they could.

Which like...took whole of less than a second for them to peace out and enter mortal danger.

...I’ve never been in a jungle in India but...I have seen the Jungle book many times...and there’s like tigers and stuff in there, right? and tons of monkeys that are hella mean? And freakin snakes? They sing jazz and scat? That’s some terrifying stuff.

Like these city kids have to learn at some point to fear the woods. But they just freakin don’t. And strangely, the most dangerous thing in these woods isn’t even a snake or something, but a human man just being as suspicious as possible lying prone on the ground.

(read more under the cut)

The card cultist happens to have a British accent, because this voice acting team freakin loves to pull out their British accents. It’s not as lowbrow as Valon, but it’s not as...well whatever Bakura is supposed to be. He’s a lot more tame than Bakura’s, but still very British.

I don’t know if this is because British English tends to be taught instead of American sounding English in many parts of India, but, most likely they just wanted to do an accent. And like...he’s an archeologist...and so the stereotype is there...but honestly, the decision of making this guy British gets weirder and weirder as this episode goes on, get ready for it. None of you are ready for what I assume is the very obvious plot twist of this freakin guy.

Catfish of the century, this freakin guy, I’m pretty sure.

Yugi immediately believes this completely out of place white British stranger in the Indian backwoods next to this inaccessible lake and immediately thinks “yes, my Grandfather crash landed in India EXACTLY where I’m standing right now, and now I must save him.”

Thankfully, Yami exists to gently and politely tell Yugi to hella stop.

Also, I like that Yugi has finally stopped wearing his school outfit out of school. But, he is instead wearing a jacket that is so close to his school outfit I honestly couldn’t tell until the end of this episode. It’s like...I think one shade more purple, it has white piping, and his undershirt has a center seam. It’s nice Yugi has 3 versions of the same black sleeveless undershirt, and this show cares enough to show that tiny factoid about Yugi’s closet.

So, because Yugi is a dumbass and Pharaoh has to just sit back and watch this happen so he can say “told you so” later, they follow this random cultist they found in the woods. Much like Hansel and Gretel, we snack on cake crumbs all the way to the witches house, which in this case, is an undiscovered monolith you would have easily seen from outer space.

HMMMMMMMMMM.

And so get ready for this:

Hey guys.

Remember how Alexander the great was buried in a pyramid?

Now because they’re name dropping Alexander, that’s actually kind of helpful, because Alexander the Great’s favorite damn horse in the entire world died while he was at war with India so he named a city after it. It’s believed to be in Punjab, which is in the Northern part of India

Which means we first of all, definitely crossed the tallest mountain range in the world to get here, and also means that we are like...in some really disputed territory of India right now, and it is crazy that these kids went here for a vacation completely unsupervised.

Another fun fact about Alexander is that when he died, it took 6 days for his body to decompose. At the time, they thought it was because he was a God (or in Yugioh’s case, Extremely Cursed) but nowadays historians think it’s because it took him 6 days to fully die. He just wasn’t dead yet. Had to give it a minute and the ancient Babylonians just got way too excited.

Anyway, Alexander super died in Babylon so I don’t know what the hell he’s doing in India. There is a fun spot in History where his body did get dragged to a couple different places, meaning we probably did lose the original Alexander and there’s a lot of people just guessing at where he ended up...but putting him clear up in India sure was a choice when one of his assumed burial sites was literally Egypt, which would be a more fitting location for a Pyramid and a more fitting location for this show.

Especially since Alexander was trying to invent a new race and culture...it seems a little strange he’d be buried in such a massive pyramid, but maybe he got a really, really good pyramid deal from the funeral home when he was like 28 and just figured he’d change it before the time he died at 32.

Which...now that I’m older than 32, how crazy is it that Alexander the Great died at freakin 32? You blink twice and you’re 32. Is history seriously trying to tell me this guy wasn’t like secretly 62? That maybe he just celebrated his 20th for like 20 years in a row as a royal mandate? I just feel like history is playing pranks on me with Alexander.

Anyway, our weird shady new archeologist guy is named Alex and so take that as you will.

I sure hope Alexander the Great was revived to wear khakis and bother children. Guy conquered the world once and was one of history’s Freakin Worst so he does deserve it, but also...it would explain why he thinks it’s normal to wear a Darth Maul robe over your business casual.

Anyway, lets enter the obvious trap pyramid.

Joey just wanted a nice time running around Northern India. He just wanted to eat some yummy chaat and look at some tourist destinations and maybe glance at a Bollywood star or two. But instead he’s gotta deal with spike floors because Yugi couldn’t say no to a cultist.

Also...one of those spikes clearly went through Tea’s feet, right? And she is absolutely fine? Just checking on Tea’s godlike strength and clearly it is still godlike.

Alex gives us a very long explanation of how he went upstairs and Grandpa went downstairs, and there was a door or something so Alex turned back around and Grandpa was gone.

All of those steps were probably plot relevant and I’ll probably forget all about it in 2 episodes.

The thing is Alex...literally thinks he evaporated. Literally thinks that. But how do you disprove it to this freakin guy who like...might have named a city after his horse once and thinks that’s a normal and acceptable thing to do?

and so Joey immediately leaps onto the haunted playing floor.

the way Yugi said this line was sort of hilarious to me so I may cap it. If I remember to do it (I’ve been a little busier lately, with things opening up, as you can tell because my update schedule is in the toilet.)

So, if Joey jumps in...everyone else has to, also.

And we say good bye to Alex and enter the new forest zone, which looks a LOT like the other forest we were just in.

Nice Protoss armor.

We get some hijinks from the local wildlife, which are all cards but real (but not real because we’re in a board game...don’t think about it) and the off brand Sheikah tablets have helpful monsters in them if you touch em.

This season may have been better off as a video game, being honest.

Joey has gone somewhere else, despite going onto the same game tile, and he’s too busy on a mountain range to really help anyone out. So he’s just gonna vibe up here for a bit.

Tea got up after this point and said along the lines of “k, what’s next?” Because mortal danger does not affect her and she fears nothing.

At a beach somewhere, Tea and Tristan spend some quality time together forming a new family with whatever these creatures are.

And Tea’s love of her winged angel comes full circle and now I will suffer this winged orb for the rest of this arc, pretty sure.

Please admire the number of belts on Tea. Her outfit is like max 00′s and I appreciate that. We’ve had a lot of questionable fashion on Yugioh, but they actually dressed Tea pretty on point this arc. Like I often feel like 00′s fashion is hard to define or describe, but it’s Tea right now. That’s it. She did it, it’s right there.

Yugi gets a new flagship card for this arc, and this time it’s Celtic Guardian. Hell why? I feel like his defining card changes every single arc, and they need to like focus and just give him one. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s still Dark Magician...and maybe the show forgot?

Anyway, if you just got here, this is a link to read the rest:

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

I think I forgot that link in the last recap because yo it’s kind of been a while since I’ve updated, I feel. (well I had a graveyard post and those don’t count really) But, we’re back, we’re still going, slowly but surely.

Dear Mr. Fantasy

Summary: Sometimes when he sleeps, Dean sees flashes of other Dean Winchesters, in other universes. His dreams lately have been filled with himself in a thousand forms, a thousand different versions of what could have been. Dean likes to think that they’re made of the same star stuff, but whatever the cause, he feels the connection. 

Warnings: SEASON 15 SPOILERS, bit of angst. 

Author’s Note: Inspired by Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy” and the header image; prompt given by @thoughtslikeaminefield​. Love you. @cabin-fever-bang​ prompt fill. So many thanks to @cracksinthewalls​ and @there-must-be-a-lock​ for exceptional editing and motivation. Also love both of you.

Word Count: 2157

ItMightHaveBeenIntentional’s Masterlist

Dear Mr. Fantasy

Sometimes when he sleeps, Dean sees flashes of other Dean Winchesters, in other universes. His dreams lately have been filled with himself in a thousand forms, a thousand different versions of what could have been. Dean likes to think that they’re made of the same star stuff, but whatever the cause, he feels the connection. 

Some have been vastly different (he spent an entire day lost in thought about a female version of himself who was apparently a rodeo queen by day and monster hunter by night). 

Some are so similar that the lines between his actual self and the other blur to the point of confusion; is he dreaming about himself or a different Dean who made one different choice twenty years ago?

He can always tell the difference, eventually. A scar in the wrong place, an absent friend or loved one still around or maybe someone gone who shouldn’t be. In one universe, someone neglected Baby (couldn’t have been Dean, had to’ve been Sam) to the point where she pulls slightly to the left. 

Dean spends the morning after that dream with a muscle tick in his cheek and a suspicious, side-eyed glare for Sam that he never bothers to explain.

But there’s one particular Other Dean, a favorite one his mind drifts to during rare peaceful moments. Daydreaming when he should be researching, drifting off when a particular song plays on the radio while he’s working on Baby, even washing his hands sometimes will pull him back to those dreams. 

Unsurprisingly, his favorite alternate world has no monsters. It’s not that he isn’t aware of monsters in this dimension, that he doesn’t hunt them. No, in this other world, there’s no magic, no terrifying creatures of the night at all. He can feel the lightness of this world, steadiness that comes with not having to worry about whether a vampire is going to make this evening walk your last or a wendigo is going to join you on your camping trip.

Dean has a theory that this world was a test world, one where Chuck decided to just let things evolve as they would with very little interference. Humanity still has its issues: war, plague, famine, politics, streaming services that have lived long enough to become the villain. 

But no monsters.

Chuck has left this world more or less alone, and Dean is pretty sure he knows why. In God’s eyes, a world without monsters is stale. This alternate world is a world without supernatural conflict, without apocalypse-level struggle, without life and death and good and evil and all that high-stakes, cursed-destiny crap Chuck literally eats for breakfast.

Boring. This world is a snoozefest for Chuck, and Dean’s okay with that.

In fact, he loves it.

He’s been rooting for this world for a while now. He still dreams of it sometimes, so he knows somewhere deep inside that it’s still around. He knows all the worlds will be destroyed eventually, wiped away by Chuck’s callous cruelty. But this one…

Dean’s not the sentimental type, not really, but if he could send it a greeting card, it’d be that cat from years ago on the motivational poster, clawing onto a tree branch.

Hang in there, baby.

He must have done something right for once, because he drifts off and finds himself back there again. He’s a little older in this universe, and he suspects his other self is in denial about beginning to need glasses. A shame, too. A mechanic’s gotta be able to see what he’s doing, and the eyestrain headaches his other self suffers every night would probably clear up completely if he’d just go get his eyes checked.

But they both know he won’t. 

He sees better with his hands than his eyes these days. At forty-eight years old (none of that years young bullshit, either; he’s old, and he’s goddamn earned it), he’s spent his entire life in a garage working on one motor or another, same as his dad before him, and so on. 

It’s honest work, clean despite the grease, and Dean himself has used his own money to help put at least a couple of generations of little Winchesters through college or wherever their hearts took them, starting back with his brother. Dean and his dad both feel pride over Dr. Winchester, the history professor. Might not make as much as a mechanic, but he’s happy and settled, and really, what man could ask for more?

The best part of this Dean’s day, the best part of his whole life, is her. He’s known her for nearly three decades and loved her just as long. 

He was a twenty-year-old punk, learning his way through the art of motorcycles. He’d spent his life so far working on muscle cars, something he would never completely tire of, but now he was in absolute heaven. Dad’s buddy Danny Elkins had agreed to take Dean on, and Dean had taken to bikes like it was meant to be. 

Four months into his new life, Danny’s daughter brought her dad lunch, and, for the first time in his life, Dean wondered whether there might actually be a woman who could pull his attention from an engine for longer than a night or two. 

It was more or less instant attraction for the both of them, kinda like the movies that she loved to watch. Unlike those movies, however, there was no disapproving father to contend with or prove himself to.

“She’s a big girl and can crack your skull just as good as me,” he’d told Dean. “Pretty sure she’s settled on ya, so just make sure you’re worth it.”

So that’s what Dean did. 

Tonight’s dream finds the older Dean alone in the garage, and the sun is at the tail end of setting. Splashes of indigo and orange paint the horizon, framing her approach in a wash of colors blending into shadows that hold no danger.

“Figured you’d forget dinner tonight, what with your new toy. Thought we could share, and you could show me what you’ve been up to.” 

She doesn’t really care about the bikes, the cars, any of it. She only cares that it matters to him, and whatever keeps him running is something she wants to be a part of.

Surrounded by motorcycles in various states of repair and assembly, they speak quietly of their day, sharing the tiny details and separate moments that make up their simple life. She feeds him a bit of meatloaf with her fingers, and he eagerly returns the favor by sucking a smear of mashed potatoes from the corner of her mouth.

She sets the dinner containers aside, twisting to the side to reach for the apple cobbler she made yesterday, when he realizes he can’t stand even that bit of separation between. He’s been without her all day; that’s too much to ask of any man.

“C’mere,” he says.

Dessert forgotten, she settles astride his lap, arms linked around his neck, smiling that serene combination of lips and eyes and cheekbones that makes his heart twist and his groin swell same as the first time she turned them on him thirty-odd years ago. 

They’ve sat like this a thousand times, and he prays silently he’ll get at least a thousand more. When they were kids, crazy and hungry for every experience, she’d come into the garage in her little tank top, her tiny shorts showing off her new ink, heels fit to kill someone (how she never broke an ankle has always been a mystery and a miracle, in both Deans’ opinions).

She scrubs a thumb over his bearded jawline, humming deep in her chest. She’s swapped the tiny skirts for jeans, although he thanks his lucky stars every day that fashions have moved from bootcut back to skinny. Harder to get off quick, but damn does he love the lines of her legs in ‘em.

They press foreheads together as an old Traffic song plays over the radio, swaying gently, always in sync. 

“Dear Mr. Fantasy, play us a tune,” he half-whispers, half-sings, breath warm on her cool cheek.

“Something to make us all happy,” she answers in kind, eye closed. She slides her nose alongside his, runs her chin over his wiry beard, smiles into his kiss as it buffs her face red. 

Perhaps in remembrance of their long-past youth, she’s chosen her smallest tank-top, one she’d normally never wear without at least a button-up over it, and he drops his head to rub his cheeks over the bare skin over her collarbone. Her legs link behind his back, anchoring her as she leans back to allow him more access. 

God, what she can still do to him. The salt of her skin, the fragrance of her perfume that he picked out for her on their first anniversary that she’s worn religiously ever since, the silk of her hair that he tangles between fingers that still tremble with eager nerves.

Older Dean and worn-out, monster-plagued Dean sigh together, content down to their bones. This life is it for both of them. She is it. One Dean still can’t believe his amazing luck after all these years, and the other aches at the simple, total happiness he feels honored to witness.

“Dean.”

The older man runs a reverent hand down his wife’s arm, twining his fingers with hers. He kisses her knuckles, a few more crinkles lining his eyes as he smiles.

“Dean, wake up.”

The scene before him begins to fade as she takes his face between her hands, kisses his temples, the spot between his eyes, the corner of his mouth. For just a second, this Dean (the “real” Dean, as Chuck put it) feels those kisses, looks deep into her eyes and feels that warmth and light that she brings to the other man’s life. 

I love you, she whispers, and he allows himself to believe for one moment that she’s talking directly to him.

“Dean, come on, Cas has a lead.” Sam’s voice finally breaks the dream wide open, and Dean reluctantly opens his eyes. “We gotta go check it out. Get dressed.”

“Yeah.”

He sits up slowly, feeling each of his forty-one years with an ache that no longer surprises him. He swings his legs over the side of his bed, rests his elbows on his knees, and drops his face in his hands. If he concentrates hard enough, he can still feel her phantom caress, her thumb against his cheekbone, her lips on the corner of his.

I love you.

Dean scrubs at his face with hands that get a little older and a little more scarred every day. Warrior’s hands, a testament to his hunts and battles. If he squints a little (maybe he needs an eye exam, too) he can imagine they’re different sorts of scars: burns from hot engines, cuts and scrapes from tools and every-day hard work rather than knives and punches. 

He inhales, gathering strength, putting on his mental armor piece by piece. A knight, riding off to save the world from the devouring dragon. He reaches over and grabs his jeans, sliding them on and standing in a smooth motion that is accompanied by only one or two pops and cracks.

I love you.

Dean doesn’t know how this is all going to end. He knows how he won’t let it end: him against Sammy, to the death and all that biblical Cain and Abel crap. But beyond that, he’s going to fight to save his brother, all of his little patchwork family, because they’re all he has in this world. 

He wonders briefly if his other self’s wife exists in this world, or if she’s just an anomaly, a one-time figment of Chuck’s imagination. He’s pretty sure it’s the latter; a man can only get that lucky once in a thousand lifetimes, and that other Dean is that one in a thousand.

This Dean could search a lifetime and never find her. She’s already been found, and maybe, just maybe if he and Sam can get their act together and bring the final beatdown on Chuck in enough time, he can save her. He can’t have her, but he could save her world, leave her safe and happy with his other self.

“Let it be enough,” he says aloud, not sure if he’s coaxing himself or the universe. He says it again, one more time for luck. 

It has to be enough.

…

“Dear Mr. Fantasy” by Traffic

Dear Mister Fantasy, play us a tune,  Something to make us all happy. Do anything, take us out of this gloom.  Sing a song, play guitar,  Make it snappy.  You are the one who can make us all laugh,  But doing that you break out in tears.  Please don't be sad if it was a straight mind you had.  We wouldn't have known you all these years.

Survey #318

“what can you do, where can ya go, when your mama is a burnout, and your daddy is a pyro?”

Do you have your ears pierced more than once? Yeah. Do you use an electric toothbrush? Yes. When was the last time you changed in front of someone? Oh, I have no idea. That's something I avoid like the plague because I loathe my body. When was the last time you got high? Never. Do you get along with your parents? Yeah. How many bracelets do you have on your wrists right now? None. Have you ever used a Ouija board? No, I don't fuck with that stuff. Have you ever met anyone who claimed to be a witch? Yes. Do you go along with prank-callers, or just hang up? I don't answer numbers I don't recognize to begin with. Would you ever tattoo a lover’s name onto your body? Nooooo. Do you own any version of Guitar Hero? I have a lot of 'em. Do you use mouthwash every single day? No. Do you know anyone with asthma? Yeah, my mom. Have you ever walked through a forest at night on your own? Uh, no sir. When was the last time you were in a graveyard? It's been many, many years. Do you know what an ‘AMV’ is? Yep, used to make 'em. How many items are in your recycle bin? (On your computer!) Oh yikes, probably loads. I haven't emptied it in... I don't know how long. Would you rather be a bird or a fish? A bird. What’s one award show you have to watch every year? None. Who do you like more: the Batman or the Joker? Joker. Heath Ledger's is my favorite. Have you ever had a pet rock? No. How much do you weigh? Yeah, no. If you are outside, what are you most likely doing? Taking nature photographs. Have you ever lost your luggage at an airport? No. Have you ever been on a rollercoaster that actually scared you? I don’t do roller coasters to begin with. Have you ever gone in a sauna? Ugh, hell no. Has a stray dog ever tried to bite you? No. Have you ever had an eating disorder? No. Are you attracted to people outside of your race? Yes. Are you in love with anyone at the moment? No. Have you ever dated someone more than once? No. Best cough drop? Those creamy strawberry ones. If you have a pet, does it make a lot of noise? One's a snake, so she's silent as could be. My cat is generally quiet, but he has his times where he just walks around meowing, normally for attention. Are you a fan of eyeshadow? If I actually wear makeup, yeah, I like black eyeshadow. Can you tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi? Absolutely. I don't like Pepsi. Would you feel funny if you kissed somebody of the same sex? Done it before, didn't feel weird. Besides furniture, what’s the biggest thing in your bedroom? A Silent Hill poster. Which of your friends makes you laugh the hardest? Girt. Have you ever been in a Catholic confessional? Yeah, as a kid. What color was the hair of the last person you kissed? Brown. What was the title of the last song you listened to? So today I've really been digging dark synthwave/cyberpunk-ish music, and right now I have a playlist on that's currently playing "DNA War" by Absolute Valentine and Billy Mays. How far away is the closest Walmart? Not even five minutes. Can you do a backflip? No. Who is the lead singer of your favorite band? Well, Ozzy is the lead singer of Ozzy Osbourne, haha. When was the last time you went fishing? Not since Sara visited and we went catfishing with my dad one night. What brand of deodorant do you use? Secret. Have you ever liked someone and never told them? Yes. Do you regret it? Nah. Who was the last person to buy you a drink? My mom, lmaoooo. Who was the last person to buy you dinner? Also my mom, haha. How old is the oldest person you’ve dated? Juan's maybe like... 28 or something by now, idk. Have you ever run a stoplight? No. Have you ever dated someone & then dated their sibling? YIKES, no. That sounds miles beyond awkward. Are both your parents still living? Yeah, thankfully. What’s something that makes you feel more creative? Music, for sure. Do you collect Mason jars to use for crafts? No, but I do find those super cute. What gives you a quality of life? Not much nowadays, idk. What would give you a high quality of life? A sense of purpose, direction, and worth. Do you have any rugs on top of carpet in your home? We have a big one in our living room, yes. I don't get it. Do you have a mattress cover on your bed? Yeah. Do you hate taking naps during the day? No; naps are normal for me. Who has the best personality on YouTube? Maybe I'm biased, but I genuinely do think Mark for a multitude of reasons. He's just extremely likable imo and sincerely a fucking spectacular human being. Do you have any vinyl records? No, but I would love to collect classic rock and metal ones. Which serial killer(s) do you find most fascinating? I'm quite honestly not well-informed in serial killer stories. I think they're interesting, but not enough for me to learn about them. Have you ever visited any celebrity gravesites? No. How do you feel about archaeology? It's fuckin dope. Any animals whose behaviors you find particularly interesting? ALL OF THEM AHHHH!!!!! But I particularly love learning about social animals, like meerkats (mongoose in general, really), African wild dogs, wolves, etc. What are your thoughts on gun control? I don't support the idea of banning firearms altogether, but I am very much in favor of some reform. There needs to be a much, much more strict and complex system in order for you to legally own a gun, and I also support periodic "check ups" to ensure you still fit whatever criteria is laid out. "Bad people will still find guns;" yes, some most certaintly will, but you can't convince me that the numbers wouldn't decrease. It would take a serious villain to put so much effort into pursuing obtaining a firearm. Do you like animals better than most humans? Sure do. Have you ever had to block people online for harassing you? I've blocked people to prevent that. If you collect anything, what is your favorite piece of that collection? I cherish the plush meerkat Jason gave me most, probably; out of my Silent Hill stuff, the limited edition Revelation flyer I have in Japanese. Are you friends with anybody you didn’t like at first? Hi, meet my best friend lmao. Are there any musicians you didn’t like at first, but grew on you? Probably. Do you have any favorite books you’d like to have signed by the author? Not really. Well wait, Ozzy signing my copy of his autobiography would be pretty damn cool. Do you like any board games or card games? I'm not really a board game fan, but Magic: The Gathering is fun as far as card games go. What historical figure(s) are you most interested in? I'm not incredibly interested in any, but I do think Pharaoh Hatshepsut was a bad bitch. She was one of the extremely few female pharaohs, and if my memory serves me right, one of the most successful. Do you like Breaking Benjamin? I sure do. How many people of the opposite sex have you told you loved them? One. Have you ever had to change your phone number? Yes, because I was getting strange texts from numbers I didn't know. Have you ever played bingo at an actual bingo hall? No. What’s your favourite comic book/graphic novel? I don’t read any. What is something you take pride in? How far I've come as far as my mental illnesses go, particularly depression and PTSD. What’s the biggest magnet on your fridge? I'm not getting up to go look. Have you ever eaten a Big Mac? No; I hate lettuce on burgers, so. What brand is your vaccuum cleaner? Dunno. Do you believe in sex before marriage? Sure, but I don't believe it's a must for everyone. Plenty of people don't even want to get married. Be intimate once you're comfortable with the person, and be safe and smart about it. Are you for or against abortion? I'm pro-choice. Do you feel like you need to lose weight? It's fact that I need to. My body just doesn't want to, afuckingpparently. All I seem to be capable of is either maintain or gain nowadays. Is summer your favorite season? It's my least favorite, actually. Do you wear glasses? I'm basically blind without 'em. Can you say the alphabet in more than one language? Yeah, in German. What do you want out of life? To feel like I made a difference, even if it's a small one. Do you ever get carsick? No. Do you groom your eyebrows? Not really anymore, no. Have you ever liked someone who treated you badly? No. When was the last time you went in the car past midnight? Oh boy, probably not since I had my cyst in I think '16. I was in so much agony and we had no painkillers, so I had to wake up Mom to go to Walmart to grab some. They barely even helped at all. God, I couldn't imagine dealing with that again. Were your last two kisses with the same person? Yes. Do you have alcohol in your house? I don't think we do right now, no. Do you have any personal fashion rules that revolve around your own preferences/body type (e.g., you never/always wear a certain color, sleeve type, or length of dress)? Yeah; I don't wear anything that shows my legs unless I shaved, but I will never wear a dress that isn't at least past my knees. Do you remember any celebrity whose style you admired when you were a teen? What do you think of that style now? Avril Lavigne was/is an ICON. I still think she looks badass. So, is it gif with a hard G or soft G? I used to say the opposite, but I say "gif" now. Apparently that's how the creator of the term says it anyway. When you are invited to things like wedding showers or baby showers do you tend to go or skip? What about graduation parties? If Mom is able to take me, I'll try to go to the first two if they're my closer friends. Do you like spicy chips? Oh FUCK yes. What’s the last movie you watched at a friend’s house? Elf with Sara's fam. Can you remember your parents’ birthdays? Mom's, yes. Dad's, only the month. Do you read your friends' surveys? Yep, I love learning about them. Do you know anyone with a glass eye? Not to my knowledge, no. Do you ever use the n-word? Absolutely not. What piercing do you like most on the opposite sex? I tend to like lip piercings. Do you prefer beef, chicken or steak? Chicken. Ever spent the night in a tent? Yeah, multiple times as a kid, "camping" in the yard with Dad, haha. What do you call your grandparents? I called both sets just "Grammy" and "Grampa." Have you ever cried while reading a book? Oh, certainly. How many college degrees do you want? I got none, and I'm not going back to college. Do you know how to play pool? What about foosball? Yes. Have you ever attended a professional sporting event? Yeah, hockey with my dad a few times. Do you own any jerseys? No. Were you born with naturally straight teeth? No; that's why I had braces. If you were the opposite gender, what name would you like to be called? Maybe like... Victor. Idk. Do you prefer original or sour Skittles? I love both, but sour. Do you like bacon bits on your salad? Yeah. What is your favorite kind of soup? I'm not a soup person. Did you learn to type through a computer program for kids? Yeah. What do you take for pain? Advil/Ibuprofen. What is your favorite place that you’ve lived? My pre-teen and teenage years house: in the woods on a dead-end road and down a gravel path that everyone always missed when learning where our house was. The actual road itself had very, very little traffic, and there was a large expanse of cotton fields. I loved it and miss the house itself, but it's got a lot of bad memories rotting in it. Who are your favorite kids that you’ve babysat? My niece and nephew. <3 Who is your favorite cousin? I don't have a favorite. We barely interact at all. Does one side of your family live in another state? Literally none of my extended family (or half-siblings) live in NC. What states did your parents grow up in? New York and Ohio. Have you ever had an allergic reaction to an insect? No. Is there a good hospital where you live? God no. It is notoriously awful. When was the last time you were asked out? Did you accept or decline? Mid-2017. I aceepted. Does your job allow piercings or tattoos? N/A Do you want to get married? If so, what color will your dress be? Yeah. Probably white/ivory or black. Ever had a caricature done of yourself? How much was it, and were you satisfied with it? No. Do you like peanut butter and fluff sandwiches? No, I don't like the texture. If you got married and then got divorced, would you want to re-marry? Probably not. What’s your favorite amusement park? I haven't been to nearly enough to know. Do you play video games? If so, what kind? Yeah. My favorite are horror games, but I also love me some story-driven survival games like The Last of Us, and then there's "kids" games like Spyro, etc. I like a looot of different kinds. Would you buy used clothes? I don't think so. I know it's easy to wash clothes and stuff, I'd just still feel kinda... grossed out by it.

The Good Place, season 2 - Episode 03

Okay, let’s get this bad boy rolling. It’s The Good Place, season 2, episode 03! Here we GO!

-PREVIOUSLY ON The Good Place, Michael hooked on with the humans!

-And PRESENTLY ON The Good Place, “Oh, let’s not get caught up on ‘who lied to whom’ or ‘which one of us created an entire fake reality in order to cause eternal misery for the others.’ That’s ancient history.” I’m just going to let that sentence sit there and stew.

-Also Jay wants them to be The Bobcats. But Eleanor knows that there’s more going on here. Michael’s desperate. So explain. What’s changed? …It’s just like she said. The four of them keep winning. This place was supposed to psychologically torture the lot of you for thousands of years, to create a semi-self-sustaining loop of making you all make it even worse for eachother. But you keep figuring it out and teaming up!

-And now, there’s been a new development. He’s being blackmailed by Vicky. And she’s going to start over in 30 minutes. …So here’s the plan. He’s not going to reboot things. You’ve got to play the players.

-Chapter 17!

-So the humans quickly convene in the bedroom, and okay, plan? Jay thinks they should team up with Michael. Hot take, but sell it. He’s got a bow tie. You can always trust a dude in a bow tie! It’s how he got $600 for getting some weird turtles to Daytona beach! …Oh my god I swear he’s losing IQ on every reboot.

-Right ignore him. Michael’s a liar. Eleanor knows liars. She was a liar. So, look, they can’t trust him. They need information, which they will take with many grains of salt, and they need to work fast. Go? Go.

-So first out there, how the hell can they trust Michael? He’s got no reason. But, all cards on the table, here’s how things go if you don’t. Vicky comes and watches the reboot. You all go back to the zero point. Vicky’s version of things probably won’t be enough to keep you four from figuring it out. When she fails, she hides her iteration and takes the rest to his boss, who shuts the whole thing down, and you four end up in the regular Bad Place in a volcano full of scorpions. So…Less than ideal.

-Second question! Jay wants to know if the Jacksonville Jaguars won the Super Bowl. …No. Okay but about the Jaguars—

-Eleanor calls for Janet, and give this idiot something shiny to play with. So Jay’s soon got a sparkler, which leaves Tahani wanting to know just how long they’ve been doing this song and dance. Eight hundred and two, longest one was just shy of a year, this one was about a month. Shortest one was…Eight seconds. Michael just straight up sat down on the reboot button when he got in his chair, you four didn’t even wake up between that one and the next.

-Janet would like to know if she was also rebooted. Because each Janet reboot is specifically designed to increase their processing power and social aptitude, so as to limit the likelihood of needing another one. She could be the greatest Janet in all existence! LOOK! She can pat her head AND rub her tummy! holy shit

-Wait, Janet’s not one of yours? Nope, she’s a stolen Good Place Janet. Noted. Okay, so why do you look like a human if you’re a demon? Part of working for the Bureau of Human Affairs. And Mindy’s is fake, right? No, no, the Medium Place is legit. And outside of his authority or capacity to affect, much to his frustration.

-So Michael’s getting a bit panicky and look, they’re running out of time and he’s the only option you have. Their only option? “A lot of guys your age said that to me just as the bar was about to close. But I never settled for them! Because my ex-boyfriend lived nearby, he was obsessed with me, and he never slept because he was addicted to Adderall. There is ALWAYS another option!”

-…jesus fuck, Eleanor

-So after…That, Eleanor’s tapping out, she’s not in on the game. So Michael has to play one last card. You help him make this work…And he can get you all to the real Good Place.

-…EXPLAIN.

-It’s gonna take time, it’s gonna be complicated, and he will have to work out the details and work them out in secret. But look. There are ways to go from down here to up there. So the five of them can get out of this—

-Five?

-Yes, five. He’s doomed down here! He’ll sell saving you four from eternal damnation as proof that even a demon can be rehabilitated. …Look, they’re all up shit creek without a paddle right now, this might not even work, but this way you lot at least get to go in both eyes open.

-…NEW MEETING.

-Eleanor grabs Chidi and Tahani and pointedly leaves Jay out of it, and her read? This is a fresh style of torture. He’s putting them in blesser-evil, devil-you-know mess just to fuck with them, to make them squirm for a while. Teaming up with an actual factual literal demon is insane.

-Chidi fully agrees.

-But he sees no other choice on the board. …He spent his whole life trying to come to a solid grasp of ethics, to have a truly firm place of understanding of right and wrong, to try and know whether or not he was doing the right thing. And that landed him here. So right now, he’s open to damn near anything if it lets him have the time and space to try and actually improve as a person.

-Okay so that’s one vote in. Tahani? Tahani continues to believe she doesn’t even belong here. Michael! She deserves to be in the real Good Place. Take her there or let her speak to your manager. …Right, Michael doesn’t have time for this. You’ve done the dramatic realization plenty of times and he’s bored of it so here’s the short version.

-You’re here because you never cared about anyone you helped. It was for fame, for status, or to spite your own family.

-Bullshit!

-…You know, Tahani, you never actually saw how you died, in all the loops. But you know what, let’s play it. It’s very…Telling.

-FLASHBACK

-So Tahani was at an interview for International Sophisticate Magazine. And they immediately wanted to talk about her sister Kamilah, who turned down a chance to be on the cover herself…And, well, suffice to say, they wanted to use Tahani to essentially interview Kamilah by proxy, about her induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame defying all of their usual structures.

-Which led to Tahani going to that induction in a staffer’s uniform to get in. Finding her sister. And confronting her, which went from argument, to her bringing down the massive statue Kamilah had commissioned…A massive golden statue, that crushed her underfoot.

-Back in the Now. You get it, Tahani? …And it takes her a few more runs through the concept to get it, and then she just breaks down. Okay, I feel a little bad now that she actually can see herself for who she is. A little bit.

-So she’s game to team up if it means she can actually become a better person. So Eleanor finds herself the one woman out…And Eleanor, of course, is one-week-in Eleanor.

-So, uh, she’s really not taking this whole “everyone wants to become better people” thing well.

-Also, “I have no idea what’s going on, but everyone is talking and I should too!” Keep on keepin’ on, Jay. Keep on.

-And Michael just breaks down into laughter because he’s realizing how absurd it is that he’s reliant on these…glorified insects to save him. Like an exterminator needing to be saved by cockroaches. Oh, now Eleanor is PISSED.

-Chidi’s got to step in and force Eleanor to look at him, to focus, and to breathe. …Okay. Okay. Give her five minutes to think.

-She steps into her absurd clown room, and immediately calls Janet. Janet, get her a train full of cocaine, right now. She’s going back to Mindy’s place.

-And Eleanor begins the desperate escape aaaand Chidi is there at the door. So gonna talk to him about the plan now that you’re bailing, Eleanor? …She’s not bailing.

“You have a bag full of clothes, you stuffed pillows and a mop in your bed to make it look like you’re asleep, and you’re literally sneaking out the back gate.”

-Okay. Okay, she’s going to Mindy. Because an eternity with her still sounds better than a literal deal with the devil. She insists she doesn’t owe any of them anything…And Chidi, at this point, realizes the best thing he can do is just walk away.

-Because the one person Eleanor can’t come up with a defense against…Is herself. And so that’s how Eleanor ends up sitting down with Michael, and, real talk. Out of all the reboots…How many times did Chidi refuse to help her out?

-None. Every single time that you managed to find him, you’d confess your situation, and Chidi would always get in there. And every time you lot last long enough, he always succeeds. She’s…She’s not that bad of a person, on the scale of Bad Place people at least…right?

-Janet arrives with the cocaine and escape train.

-…Eleanor would like to rescind the previous question.

-So she goes to the others, and real talk, she still doesn’t trust Michael at all. But…He’s asking for their help. And if there’s one thing that Chidi has apparently taught her in every last one of these loops, it’s that when someone asks for your help, you give it. It’s what Chidi would do for any of them.

-It’s…What he IS doing, Eleanor. He’s right here. In the room.

-But okay, Eleanor is in. On one condition. Michael, you’re taking the ethics classes too. You want to get into the real Good Place when this is over? Time to learn how to be worth them letting your ass in. And, just so they’re clear? You try and play them, and it all goes to Vicky. And you join in on being fried with the rest of them.

-So, you in as part of Team Cockroach, exterminator man? Just like you said…You’re running out of time? And they’re your only option.

-On the fresh loop, Eleanor’s in the fro-yo initial style. Except of course, this time, Vicky is introduced as the official Best Person, and so sort of the mayor of the town.

-And Vicky steps up…And immediately starts to sing!

-Hard cut to Eleanor’s place. They’ve got a few hours to work while Vicky plans for the welcome party. So her plan’s basically what Michael did with this one. Eleanor’s gonna get drunk, hog all the shrimp, insult some people, and they’ll use that to build the chaos sequence for tomorrow. You’ll all need to play along.

-So Michael’s, as far as Vicky’s concerned, going to be handling surveillance on you four. Which is how they’re gonna all get away with this. Jay asks if Janet is going to keep their secrets, and on the one hand, she can’t lie…But on the other, her job is to keep humans happy. You four are the only humans here. So she’s on board! And so it’s time for a cowardly traitor, four idiots, and a robot (Janet protests) to outsmart some of the Bad Place’s best and brightest. Go team!

-Credits!

Janet gets better every time. And this is gonna be interesting. Looks like Vicky’s using a lot of the season one version of the neighborhood, but of course going in with everyone knowing the score is going to make things a lot different…We’ll just have to see how that goes next time, in episode FOUR of The Good Place, season two! Wait for it!

Musings of An Otaku #8- On Pokemon Photographs & 25 years

The 25th Anniversary of Pokemon is upon us! 25 years! I remember watching the phenomenon unfold as it came state-side. I saw a simple advertisement in the late Disney Adventures magazine or it could have been a Nintendo Power. I had subscriptions to both back in the day and lord knows my memory is not as good as it used to be. It was for the release of the anime on American television. Or thinking back on it, it could have been for the games. It really did not decipher much. Plain white page with a giant Pokemon logo on top. The slogan “Gotta Catch ‘Em All” printed under the logo and images of various generation 1 Pokemon sprawled under that. That was the entire advertisement. Nothing else. No start date, no coming soon, no channel, no information, no synopsis, no console. I remember looking at it with a raised eyebrow and was like, “What is this?” With no other information, I flipped the page and moved on.

Then all the news reports started piling in and commercials started playing over the television. It became more predominant in Nintendo Power- with story revealed, games confirmed for English release and yada yada yada. The entire seizure issue went on and of course the American media jumped on that hype like white on rice. Because of course the anime was being released shortly after on American television. 

Watched the series and watched it pretty religiously. Hated that they edited out small things here and there because god forbid Team Rocket pulls out a gun or James cross-dresses in a bikini and has inflatable boobs! NOT INFLATABLE BOOBS! AND OMG YOU CAN NOT FORGET ABOUT THE JELLY FILLED DOUGHNUTS! *face palm* Being into Japanese anime, tokusatsu and manga- even I knew that those were rice balls. WHAT IS WRONG WITH RICE BALLS?!? Silly Americans. It’s as bad as saying that sake is medicine in Power Rangers Samurai but we shall not go into THAT one- even with a 10-foot pole. IMHO, Saban totally shat on Samurai Sentai Shinkenger and walked away laughing. 

Back to Pokemon. I ended up watching the anime till the Orange Islands. Basically when Brock left and Tracy came in- I stopped. The anime was repetitive. Every episode featured the same premises- Ash travels to a location, Ash finds a Pokemon, Ash tries to catch Pokemon and fails, Team Rocket has some crazy-ass scheme to try and catch Pikachu and fails, Ash tries to beat Gym Leader but Gym Leader feels sorry for Ash and just gives him said badge and repeat process over and over again for however many said episodes. I moved on to other anime series.

Game wise- yes, I started with Pokemon Red for the original Game Boy. I didn’t play it on the brick sized system- no, I had a Game Boy Color. However, the game was not in color. It was the same pea-green pixelated game as other Game Boy game releases at the time. It was not till the release of Pokemon Yellow- Pikachu edition that I was able to see the Pokemon game world in color. Since I started with Red I went with Charmander as my starter. I enjoyed the game. Loved being able to traverse all over the Kanto region, catch different Pokemon, evolve them, unlock the mysterious behind certain areas and try to collect all the gym badges. I had all 3 Legendary birds and Mewtwo as well. 

With the games and anime series out on American shores, of course the trading card game was next. I was not big into playing card games (and to this day- still not a big fan). Only card games I play are either Cards Against Humanity or UNO. I collected the Pokemon cards to just collect them. I still have them- somewhere. In a closet, in a box...somewhere. 

Promotions were also a big thing. In honor of the series in general- Pokemon teamed up with KFC here in the states. Oh yeah, Pokemon and fried chicken. Odd combination but whatever. Needless to say, I had an entire set of the KFC plushies. Still do, found them not too long ago! For the first movie release, Burger King had kids meals and 23K Gold plated Pokemon Cards in collectable Pokeballs. Still have all of those and the infamous Pokeballs that the toys came in. The same Pokeballs that were recalled because some stupid parent was not watching their toddler and the toddler ended up suffocating itself with it. WATCH YOUR DAMN KIDS PEOPLE! The damn toy wasn’t even for that age group. I sure as HELL was not surrendering all those hard earned Pokeballs just to have them thrown away. Nope. Nope. Nope. Plus, I wasn’t stupid enough to stick things in my mouth that shouldn’t have been in my mouth. Needless to say, all the Burger King kids meal toys are still inside those plastic Pokeballs. 

This was around the time of the first movie release- which I already went into quite a long musing about already. In fact that was the very first musing of an otaku that I posted. I will not go into it again. I am moving on.

In fact I am jumping forward to the N64 era and the release of the Pokemon Snap N64 game. My sister and I got the N64 bundle that game with an Atomic Purple controller and the Pokemon Snap game. Yes, we were a little late to the N64 party. I believe we spent an entire week playing that game and then never picked it up again. The concept was awesome. Take photographs of various Pokemon in different environments. Valleys, forests, rivers, caves, etc. Simple enough. Use food to lure Pokemon out of hiding and snap pictures. The best pictures were sent off to the Professor. Okay, sure. It sounded like it was going to be an awesome game. Not so much. It was a rail-shooter. I absolutely HATE rail-shooters. I HATE being stuck on a predetermined path. I like to explore! I like going into every single nook and cranny of an area. This is why the game only kept my attention for a week. 

The newest trailer for the New Pokemon Snap for the Nintendo Switch was just revealed. I had so much hope and hype for this new version. I wanted it to be an open-world environment. I wanted to be able to walk around, maybe sneak up on Pokemon and snap pictures of them in the wild. Kinda like, how you would have to take pictures of animals and birds in the wild in real life. Being able to hide in grass or behind a tree or even in a tree to snap some pictures. You could crawl around in the environment and try hard not to make any noise at all to scare off the Pokemon. Weather patterns could play a role and could change with each play through. Different weather could trigger different Pokemon. What about seasons? I’m sure you would see different Pokemon during the fall then you would the spring. You could still use food to lure Pokemon out. Maybe have a town or village to go back to and have side-quests where people ask you to collect photographs of a certain Pokemon they are looking for or sell photographs to newspapers or whatever. Well, after watching the trailer- that dream and hope got shot in the ass. I saw the vehicle and got disappointed. Once again it will be a rail-shooter. Same concept as the original N64 version. Not an open world. *sighs* I understand having an open world environment can be a resource hog, but I think it would make the game even better. Kinda put a new spin on things. Make people want to stay interested in the game and play it longer then say...a week. 

Granted, I am just basing this judgement on what can be seen throughout the trailer. I was not impressed with this trailer at all. The game isn’t even out yet. It will not be out until March of this year. In a couple months. Will my thoughts and opinions stay the same after it is released? Will it change? Who knows. I enjoyed the Resident Evil Village Showcase preview trailer 100x more than I did this Pokemon Snap trailer. In fact, it is also the 25th Anniversary for this series as well. Possible muse coming later (maybe after the RE8 showcase on the 21st). 

With Pokemon still going strong, it will be safe to say that it will be around for another 25 years! Stay strong Pokemon fans and trainers!

I learned some things at 25

J'ai vingt-six ans . 

I have to admit. I thought it would be cool to write twenty six in french. Turns out it’d be really corny. I had a pretty eventful day today. Today (well not when you’re reading this but when I wrote this) is the last day being twenty-five. I have seen a lot, grown, and learned a lot about myself and the man I’m going to become. 

I’m pretty sure I said the same thing when I turned 21 but to be frank I didn’t know jack shit. Does anyone at that age? Anyways I went to work, got some things done, drove to Philly for a job interview then back home. Tried to make time for the gym but being behind the wheel for so long drains you. I’ve commuted waaaayyy too much for someone my age. I know my way just about everywhere. A walking atlas is what I call myself but I haven’t really walked anywhere since getting a car and now another one.

Okay. Let’s get to the meat of this. I don’t really know how to express my feelings right now so bear with me. 

Jesus.

It’s something about that name huh? In my twenty fifth year on this planet I have accomplished so so so so much. I got my degree. Well two of them. Finally. a four year journey took me double the time. I used to hear old folks say as long as it gets done it doesn’t matter. I didn’t agree with that at 17 because I was a B student-athlete and thought shit came easy. Anything worth having is met with resistance. At least that’s what I tell myself every time someone tells me “No.” I guess that’s going to be my next goal and milestone, learning how to say no.

One night last summer I spent with a couple old coworkers, a to-be trump supporter, and my coworker’s father drinking spiced rum, bourbon, smoking cigars and playing cards on his porch. Gorgeous day. Mr. Polk (my friends father) shook my hand and didn’t let go upon meeting me. My friend Charles introduced us and said to his dad “This is the guy I was telling you about.” To that point I had been a little rude to Charles because he was new there and got the job I had applied for. My boss then asked me to train him and I told him in front of Charles I wouldn’t because if you didn’t think I was qualified for the position why would you expect that of me (I did relay to Chuck that there were no hard feelings. He was simply a guy that applied for a job and got it. Why would I hold a grudge with him? We’ve been tight ever since).

After a couple of hands and drinks in fellowship his father stopped the game for about a half hour. Chuck took it as him ranting but I think I understood something in his drunken speech. At that point I took about a year off from my site www.WhatsTheMovement.net and all my music industry ventures. I promised my mom I would graduate first. She told me that if I hadn’t poured all my energy into that I’d finish school faster. After that I’d have all the time in the world to hustle. She was right. Reluctantly I went with her plan. Anyways his Dad said something to be about the word no. I was having an emotional week but kept it all inside. His father kept saying to me during the Texas hold em game “This guy has a real twinkle in his eye. It’s fire there.” The other players took it as bluffing or game tactic especially because I had shades on but he knew.

He stopped the game, I took off my shades and it’s what he said to be that has stuck for a little more than the last year of my life. It’s almost my daily devotional aside from John 15:7.

"You got all the tools already, but when you wake up and been told no a million times WHAT IS YOUR RESOLVE?" 

Damn. Right? That’s what I felt then and still now. What are you going to do when you know you’re the right person for every opportunity and they choose someone else? Are you going to quit? Or are you going to meet resistance with some resistance of your own? Funny enough I’ve only seen him twice since then but Charles always tells me his father asked about me. I’ve been trying to get that fire back. Not that the flame extinguished but it’s been put on hold for school and the promises I made my parents. 

That’s another thing I did well at twenty five. I made them a promise and I kept it. Not just one but all of them. I became a better man which made me a better son. I realized this year they are just as good at being parents as I am at being a son considering we’ve done it for the exact same time. They are human just like me. I got tired of letting them down and pointing the finger. My mother said my dad told her that me graduating is like a weight lifted off his shoulders. This was so much bigger than me. I knew it but I didn’t really understand. I’m not the first college student in my family. In fact my parents met in college and are in black greek organizations. Life happened to them in college and neither of them got to finish. Well in my college years life happened to me too. 

I wasn’t sure if I was gonna finish. I didn’t even want to finish anymore. I hated school. I almost flunked out. I ran out of money. My relationships failed. My best friend died. I started losing faith in myself. I felt like God was listening but had better things to do no matter how much I preached about his glory to everyone. I believed but I was in a dark place and I buried my feelings in the bottom of liquor bottles. I wanted to be numb. The therapist I was seeing wasn’t helping. 

One day I remember waking up and just sat there on a day off with no intentions except let’s go grab a redd’s wicked ale without eating and be buzzed before lunch. So I’d sit in my friends bedroom watch him play 2K while I got numb and listen to some Goldlink or Childish Gambino or whoever else at the time for the sake of my music blog (at least that was my excuse to be wavy). When I sobered up at 3PM and went home with nothing to do it hit me. All the opportunities in the world. All of that potential. Was I going to keep saying tomorrow I’ll get it together or was I going to start the first day of tomorrow?

Tomorrow is here. Tomorrow was yesterday. My friend who was playing 2K had flunked out of school himself. I got super inspired and went back to his bedroom and told him something that resonated and I tell people all the time.

“We are in a hole. whether we dug it ourselves or someone else did, are we gonna sit in the hole and complain about everyone else or are we going to be the catalyst for the next thing that happens in our lives? No more being victims.”

That inspiration got me out of the hole. I made a promise to him too that we’d get out and we’d do it together. Long story short I’d travel this road alone. Another life lesson I learned at 25. My friend (whose name I won’t mention for sake of respect) got back into school but wouldn’t enroll for whatever reason. I went back to school alone and embarrassed because the peers I went in with were already finished and making their lives happen. It’s about reaching your own level though not someone else’s right (That’s from Love Jones)? His life went left, he got engaged, had a couple daughters, called off the engagement, lost a couple jobs and is struggling but he’s staying encouraged. I don’t say this to shit on him even if I told him to stick with our plan. He didn’t and now tells me how lucky I am to have my degrees and the people around me instead of congratulating me on my hard work that no matter what no one can take away from me. My cousin six years younger than I is now enrolled at that same institution. I hope I’ve made her proud and inspire her. She said something to my girl at my graduation.

“He looks really happy. You really helped him a lot.”

“Nah, he did that on his own. We are all just here to witness.” she replied.

That’s what I try to explain to my friend and now you guys. Happiness is an active emotion. It’s a job. You have to always actively try to make yourself happy because you alone are responsible with your own happiness. Period.

I said all of that to say this. No matter who you are. What your situation is. God is bigger than that and I don’t mean to sound cliche but it’s for real. This is part of my testimony. I just needed to share that with someone who’s been in as dark a place as I. Tears roll down my face as I type about how much I’ve learned. I spent the last couple hours of my first quarter century alone with the lord in thanks for all he’s done for me. I’ve been broke. I’ve been suicidal. I’ve been alone. All of that sucks especially when you’ve been the opposite and lost all of it. You can either curse God and wallow in it or you can do what you need to do. Be like Job. He lost everything and praised the lord and got tenfold. He was proactive about exiting the season of his life he was in. He sowed what he reaped and that was everything God offered him and according to John 15:7 that’s EVERYTHING you ask for in prayer. Be proactive about changing your life and hopefully throughout 26 and the rest of my life I’ll follow my own advice. I’m just excited to see what lessons I learn next and how I can implement them into my life. 

We’re only getting better from here. Hopefully this touched someone that needed it as much as I wish someone could tell me back then. Yall don’t understand I really really did not want to live anymore. I am just so thankful because at any moment I could have ended it all but I stuck through, trusted the process and was strong in the last moments I wanted to throw my car off the bridge. The place I am at is not the destination or end of this journey. It’s only just begun.

Thank you Jesus. 

In the words of my fellow Scorpio Brother....More Life.

Faith - Part 3

Request: Hi I was wondering if maybe you could do a rewrite of the episode faith were instead of dean getting Tased the reader does? If not that’s totally fine also.

Pairings: Dean x sister!reader, Sam x sister!reader

Word Count: 1,820

Dean’s Age: 26

Sam’s Age: 22

Reader Age: ~16

(A/N): This is a rewrite of episode 12 of season 1, “Faith”.

Part 1

Part 2

“You really think it’s the Grim Reaper? Like, angel of death, collect your soul, the whole deal?” Sam asked, glancing over his computer between you and Dean.

“No no no, not the reaper, a reaper. There’s reaper lore in pretty much every culture on Earth. They go by a hundred different names, it’s possible that there’s more than one of ‘em,” Dean responded, looking up from a stack of papers.

“But Y/N said she saw a dude in a suit,” Sam said, making you roll your eyes.

“What, you think he should’ve been working the whole black robe thing? Look, you said it yourself that the clock stopped, right?” you asked, receiving a nod from Sam. You grabbed the top paper from Dean’s pile and held it up. “Reapers stop time.”

“And, you can only see ‘em when they’re coming at you, which is why Y/N could see it and we couldn’t,” Dean continued, taking the paper back and putting it down rather rough.

“Maybe,” Sam stated skeptically, again making you roll your eyes.

“There’s nothing else it could be, Sam. The question is, how is Roy controlling the damn thing?” you trailed off, scanning through Dean’s papers another time.

“The cross,” Sam said, sitting up slightly. You looked at Dean, confused.

“What?”

“There was this cross. I noticed it in the church tent, I knew I had seen it before,” Sam said quickly while fumbling with a small box. He breathed out a chuckle and held up a card for you and Dean to look at. “Here.”

You snatched it out of his hand, staring at the picture of a skeleton in a robe, holding a staff with a familiar cross at the top.

“A tarot?” Dean asked, leaning over to look at it with you.

“It makes sense. I mean, tarot dates back to the early Christian era, right? When some priests were still using magic, and a few of them veered into the dark stuff – necromancy and how to push death away, how to cause it,” Sam explained. You handed the card to Dean and took a couple steps back.

“So Roy is using black magic to bind the reaper,” Dean stated, giving the card back to Sam.

“If he is, he’s riding the whirlwind. It’s like putting a dog leash on a great white,” Sam said, obviously at a loss for a solution. Dean sat back in his chair and you walked to the sink, leaning against the counter and crossing your arms.

“Okay, then we stop Roy,” you stated matter-of-factly.

“How?” Sam asked.

“You know how.”

“Wait, what the hell are you talking about? Y/N, we can’t kill Roy,” Sam said, shocked that his little sister would even consider that idea.

“Sam, the guy is playing God, deciding who lives and who dies. I don’t know about you but that sure as hell is a monster in my book,” you said, looking to Dean for support but receiving nothing.

“No, we’re not going to kill a human being, Y/N. We do that, we’re no better than he is,” Sam said, making you clench your teeth and unfold your arms. You didn’t want to give in but you knew he was right.

“Okay so we can’t kill Roy, we can’t kill death,” you said, looking between them, “either of you have any bright ideas?”

Dean shrugged, turning to Sam who sighed. “Okay, um… If Roy is using some kind of black spell on the reaper, we gotta figure out what it is and how to break it.”

Dean parked the impala in the gravel lot in front of the white tent.

“If Roy’s using a spell, there might be a spell book,” Sam reminded you as he stepped out of the car.

“See if you can find it,” you stated simply, shutting the door behind you and walking to Dean who looked at his watch.

“We need to hurry up, service starts in fifteen minutes. Y/N and I will try to stall Roy,” Dean said and you nodded, following closely behind him. A man stepped in front of the three of you and handed everyone a yellow piece of paper.

“Roy LeGrange is a fraud. He’s no healer,” he said as you took the paper.

“Amen, brother,” Dean nodded, taking one for himself.

“You keep up the good work,” Sam said, also taking a paper and walking in the opposite direction as the man thanked him.

As you walked up the side aisle, Dean’s phone rang. He quickly took it out of his pocket and answered it, “what do you got?”

You looked around to make sure nobody was listening or watching.

“The guy in the parking lot?” Dean asked, his voice hushed. You looked at him with wide eyes. He shut the phone and pinched his eyebrows together, obviously concerned.

“Well?” you asked. Dean just gestured for you to follow him further down the aisle.

“Layla. Layla Rourke, come up here child,” Roy said and you closed your eyes, extremely upset that you would have to stop her from being healed. The whole crowd clapped and cheered as Layla stood up in disbelief and hugged her mom. You took your bottom lip between your teeth to prevent any emotions from escaping and turned away as Layla began walking towards you and Dean, towards the stage and Roy.

Dean grabbed her arm before she passed by and whispered, “Layla, listen to me, you can’t go up there.”

“Why not? We’ve waited for months,” Layla whispered back, stunned that Dean would want to stop her.

“You can’t let Roy heal you,” you said, standing close to them both. Layla stared at you, shocked.

“I don’t understand, Roy healed you, didn’t he?” she said. “I mean, why wouldn’t I at least let him try?”

“Because if you do, something bad is gonna happen,” you stated, trying to put it in simple terms. “I can’t explain, I just need you to believe me.”

“Layla,” Sue Ann called, holding out her hand.

“Please,” you pleaded. Layla looked back at her mother, then at you and Dean again.

“I’m sorry,” she said as she shook her head and pulled her arm out of Dean’s grasp.

“Layla. Layla!” You called, but she continued to walk away. “Dammit!”

The crowd cheered as Sue Ann helped her up the stage steps. You walked away angrily, wanting to find the protester before it was too late, but Dean held out a hand to stop you.

“Pray with me, friends,” Roy began and slowly lifted his hands in the air. The crowd did the same. You looked around frantically for something to stop him.

“Fire! Hurry, the tent’s on fire! Everybody get out of here!” Dean shouted, covering his face so no one would know where it was coming from. You heard Layla’s mother beg the reverend to proceed, but everyone was already evacuating.

You pulled on Dean’s arm. “Let’s get out of here, before they get suspicious,” you whispered, but Dean stayed where he was and fished his phone out of his pocket, dialing Sam’s number.

“We did it, we stopped Roy,” Dean said into the phone. You sighed slightly, still glancing around nervously. Dean froze. “Well then who the hell is?”

You sucked in a breath as you searched Dean’s face for answers, knowing that it must not have worked. You caught him staring at the side of the stage and followed his line of sight.

“Sue Ann,” Dean said and shut the phone. You started to speed-walk towards her. You grabbed her by the shoulder, turning her around to face you. She gasped and tried to cover the necklace of the all too familiar cross around her neck.

“Help! Help me!” Sue Ann shouted. You swore under your breath and glanced at Dean as two cops grabbed you both and pulled you away.

They dragged you out of the tent and you yanked yourself away from them. “I just don’t understand. After everything we’ve done for you. After Roy healed you,” Sue Ann said. You wanted to strangle her. “We’re just very very disappointed, Y/N.”

You stared at her without a word.

“You can let them go, I’m not going to press charges. The Lord will deal with her as… He sees fit,” Sue Ann said in fake offense and walked away.

“We catch you round here again, we’ll put the fear of God in you, understand?” The cop holding your jacket said.

“Yes sir, fear of God. Got it,” you responded sarcastically and they shoved you both harshly. You bit your tongue, and Dean pulled on your sleeve, pointing at Sam across the lot. You followed him towards the car, but stopped when you overheard Roy talking to Layla’s mother.

“Private session tonight, no interruptions. I give you my word, I’ll heal your daughter.” Roy’s words made your breath hitch in your throat and you looked up at Dean. He nodded curtly and continued walking towards the car and Sam.

You arrived back at the motel and explained the situation to Sam. He sat on the edge of the bed with you as Dean looked out the window as a precaution.

“So Roy really believes,” Sam said.

“I don’t think he has any idea what his wife’s doin’,” Dean said as he turned back towards you both.

“Well, I found this,” Sam said, handing a small book to Dean, “hidden in their library. It’s ancient. Written by a priest who went dark side. There’s a binding spell in here for trapping a reaper.”

“Must be a hell of a spell,” you sighed, looking over Dean’s shoulder as he sat down to skim through it.

“Yeah. You gotta build a black altar with seriously dark stuff – bones, human blood,” Sam explained as Dean flipped through pages. “To cross a line like that, that preacher’s wife – black magic, murder…evil.”

“Desperate,” Dean said, stopping at a page. “Her husband was dying, she’d have done anything to save him. She was using the binding spell to keep the reaper away from Roy.”

“Cheating death. Literally,” you breathed out, taking the book from Dean.

“Yeah but Roy’s alive, so why is she still using the spell?” Dean questioned.

“Right. To force the reaper to kill people she thinks are immoral.” Sam responded. You shook your head.

Dean muttered, “May God save us from half the people who think they’re doing God’s work.”

“We gotta break that binding spell,” you said, exasperated. Dean pointed at a picture of the cross in the book and showed it to Sam.

“You know, Sue Ann had a Coptic cross like this. When she dropped it, the reaper backed off,” Dean stated.

“So you think we gotta find the cross or destroy the altar?” Sam asked and you stood up.

“Maybe both,” you answered, putting your jacket back on. “Whatever we do, we better do it soon, or he’s healing Layla tonight.”

Tag List:

@supernatural-squadd @jensen-jarpad @winchesters-favorite-girl @deathtonormalcy56 @27bmm (If you would like to be tagged in everything or just something, send me an ask!)

ANYWAY! I’mma gonna talk about my playthru of Digimon World Next Order, to distract me from the fact i’m rapidly approaching the ending and have to wait to sate my JRPG tastes on Persona 5 afterwards...

* it is really really REALLY REALLY really REALLy great to finally be able to play a game in the DW series as a female character. Holy SHIT, man this is overdue! And it isnt handled awfully like in Cyber Sleuth where everyone constantly calls you male and the character design is really oversexualized and doing weirdass poses for everything. There’s still a lil bit of ‘cliche girly option traits’ but seriously she’s like the least stereotyped design we’ve had in the games since Dusk and Dawn! She gets to wear SHORTS and A HOODIE! A hoodie that has an inexplicable hole in the back for some reason, but whatever! xD Also I actually like her version of the Protagonist Hair better, even tho I think its lame they colour coded them in the ol cliche genderedness. Boy character just has one streak of coloured hair at the front, but girl has a spiralling streak on the end of her ponytail that looks like a punk poison sort of fashion~! And it leaks pixels when she runs, and has a really nice glow effect that kinda makes it draw patterns as you swing her model around. Makes me wanna run in circlesssss~ Her dubbed voice is a bit boring cliche anime love interest tho, a bit squeaky after you’ve been hearing it for hours. But the dude is Like Every Shonen Hero Voice Ever, so i think its meant to be intentionally generic for both of them. I could swear he’s voiced by a bad Tai impersonator! XD Also I’m just kinda thankful cos every other girl in the plot gets a REALLY squeaky unbearable english voice, thank god protagonist is spared...

* its a lil bit of funnyness tho that for some reason the skill list is the only place where the translators forgot about the protagonist options. Like.. a LOT of Tamer Skills are weirdly gendered when it would have taken five seconds to change that. Why does it have to be stuff like ‘Cooking Boy’ and ‘Cooking Man’ instead of basic and advanced cooking? Especially cos the other one in between is called Gourmet Cooking...

* I love forever that so many of the virus type recruitable digimon are sweethearts of hugs and joy. Now THAT reminds me of the original Digimon World! Seriously I am SO GLAD that Literally The Same Myotismon has a sidequest about rescuing his precious myobrella so he won’t faint in the sun. or like.. if its not the same Myotismon then MAN he would totally be a great ship with the other equally helpless one in the first game XD He has a nice new function as a townsperson, instead of just being ‘a manager’ in the colloseum and never even being a fight. (That annoyed me as a kid! He just stands there!) Now he runs the card gallery, cos you collect ‘antique cards’ in this game and he restores them with his painting skillz. its a nice lil in-joke cos they’re all the original first trading card artworks from waaaaay back in the first season! And Piedmon is in this one too, yay! He’s actually like the only morally dubious virus type AT ALL, he talks like a cliche mwahaha mad scientist even as he does nothing particularly evil. His sidequest is a funny thing of playing hide and seek and he sucks at it. While yelling hammily about being an evil genius! And then he has quite a useful function in the town, he does a random effect on you once per day with his evil science, and it could be good or it could be bad, but if its bad he actually pays you compensation money for it! EVEN THE EVIL GUY IS TOO KIND And OH MAN I am so happy and sad for Skullgreymon! A good guy skullgreymon was always one of my ideas for a DW fangame, im so happy it happened for real! In this game Skullgreymon is a fashion designer with low self confidence, and you recruit them by finding weregarurumon who’s their biggest fan and becomes their first friend. Its so sweet! They never actually interact once you recruit them both tho, cos they work at different parts of the town. But im still gonna assume they keep in touch! Its also a shame skullgreymon doesnt actually run a fashion shop, cos there actually WAS a fashion shop in Digimon World Redigitize aka the one damn game we’ll never see dubbed T_T Instead skullgreymon gets this kinda depressing role of just standing around outside the entertainment area saying ‘i wish i could work with children but they’re always scared of me’, and then if you bring a newly hatched digimon to see them then they gain bonus stats from being terrified somehow?? NOOO WHERE IS THE OPTION TO TEACH MY CHILDREN THAT SKULLY IS A FRIEND

* Anyway, my main digimon are (still) Hershey and Zephyr, and I love them! I’m still working on hoping to eventually get the full terriermon and lopmon canon digivolution lines with them, wow its hard. But I adore them no matter what form they take at the moment! I ended up loving them so much that i never raised any other digimon ever. i just rename them the same name every time they reincarnate, and pick the same eggs! I’ve gotten close to unlocking every single variation of the bunno brothers evo lines!! But it IS getting really annoying that you have to type the name manually every time, why no option to just stick with the previous name? DW1 had that and it was on way worse hardware! Oh, and its funny that I started off calling them the bunny brothers cos thats what they were in adventure 02, but then after playing the game for ages I’ve settled on headcanoning hershey as female and zephyr as nonbinary. And also I started off with the cliche personalities of sassy rebel terriermon and stoic lopmon like in Tamers, but Hershey ended up being the rebel instead and Zephyr is like a shonen hero cinnamon roll! They’re both equally sassy and eccentric tho XD I’m not quite sure yet what would be their ‘canon’ final mega forms that I wanna keep them in for the final boss and stuff. But hershey’s made me regain my appreciation of Ladydevimon after I stopped liking her as soon as I grew old enough to understand that most of her fans only liked her for being ‘a stripper’ :P Like.. she’s a really damn good design even without the fanservice?? I like her way more than devimon, myotismon and etc, I wish she’d gotten to be a major villain! i mean it sucks that devimon got to be one when she’s literally his evolved form. (And yes I am happy that it continues to be canon that ladydevimon can digivolve from devimon and the same for angewomon and angemon. DIGIMON AINT RESTRAINED BY HUMAN GENDER ROLES YO) So yeah anyway, I kinda headcanon Hershey as a hypothetical less skimpy redesign of LadyDevimon? or like.. if she got her own unique Mega form that kept a similar design, rather than just being retconned into lilithmon and rosemon’s evo lines. I just don’t think the skimpyness fits with Hershey’s personality but the rest of the design just has such a cool piratey thiefy type look?? And she’s like THE BEST monster girl in the franchise, she’s the only one who really gets to be monstery looking, even if she’s still an hourglass figure sex object. i mean i always thought it was meant to be a subversion of that?? She has that giant monster claw hand and is really vicious and powerful in battle! All her animations in the game are her shredding things with it and doing the classic dracula rise-from-the-grave when she’s knocked out, and just... ITS REALLY BADASS!! I didnt know how cool a fight with her could be, cos she just got that stupid ass fanservice joke slap fight in the anime... ANYWAY Ladydevimon is good I appreciate her I like her even though she’s in the general genre of fanservice digimon that I dislike. She’s like the one single one I dont hate! (Tho I still wish we had more than like.. two un-fanservice female digimon in the entire damn series) Buuuut I dont think her design quite fits Hershey even though she’s the digivolution I keep using ingame. Maybe if I can find a different Mega that I prefer, and make up a fanmade digivolution line? or I could do a fanart variation of the digimon...

* ANYWAY I kinda ended up headcanoning Hershey as a former member of the broken apart pirate crew in Mod Cape. Cos like.. what if your digimon had backstories of what their life was like before they met you! like Gatomon in Adventure, they were chosen to be partners to a destined hero but had to wait so long they’d become disillusioned. Cos when you meet em at the start of the game they’re mega level and only get poofed back into eggs cos of machinedramon’s attack. WHAT LIFE DID YOU LEAD WITHOUT ME. I AM HERE TO PROTECT YOU NOW AAAAAAA!! So yeah it would be cool to headcanon Hershey as a former highway bandit type character who has trouble adjusting to living in a city surrounded by happy innocent people and hugs. I dont see her as grumpy tho.. like, she’s kind of a bombastic trickster archetype but she’s still super cynical and ‘I only care about myself, anything else gets you hurt’. I was thinking maybe if I designed a fanmade mega for her she could be like a magician pirate zombie demon??? Like.. yknow piedmon is a deck of cards clown guy with those four daggers? i actually got Piedmon as her digivolution when she was a Ladydevimon and I was thinking MAN it could be so cool if we had like a zany zombie digimon who attacks by stabbing a sword through her own back! Like ‘watch me saw a woman in half’ XD A design where she has a load of weapons stuck in her and uses them to fight with! like how mummymon is a mummy + soldier in a leg brace design, hypothetical zombiemon could be a zombie + actual tragic assassination victim. Plus a magician. Or a clown. And ladydevimon. And a pirate. LOOK I JUST HAVE A LOT OF MUTUALLY CONTRADICTORY HEADCANONS OKAY xD

* I don’t really have as much development ideas for Zephyr yet, aside from that they’re Hershey’s more cheerful and positive sibling. But I see them as also being kinda creepy and battle-hungry and stuff? Like.. both these twins are total virus types, clown type, typical final villain type of acrobatic doom! And both are good guys deep down. But Zephyr is a more cinnamon roll type of good and Hershey is grumpy unwillingly dragged into goodness. And like.. Zephyr is a bit dotty and only accidentally creepy, not really understanding how to socialize properly. And probably they would be like ‘NO BIG SISTER, STEALING IS BAD’ *currently stabbing a guy* I think maybe my headcanon for Zeph might be that they were for some reason left completely alone while waiting for the protagonist? Hershey at least found some companionship with the pirates, even if she became super bitter after the team broke up. I think Zeph maybe started off as a wild forest mon that’d even forgotten how to speak, until by pure chance they bumped into their long lost twin sister and then met the protagonist. So like an innocent angel who’s all new to the city and excited about everything, but also kinda fighty and dangerous because of the same stuff that makes them innocent. I dunno, I might make them an angewomon or ophanimon to match with Hershey? Tho I wanted to make them both good guy virus types, it could be an equally interesting contrast to have a vicious battle-obsessed angel who’s the absolute opposite of softspoken fancyness! And I also kinda associate them with the colour green even though I ended up picking a grey themed digivolution for Hershey instead. But all of Terriermon’s natural digivolutions are all machiney and don’t suit this personality as much... I dunno, maybe I could make up another headcanon/variant type thing? Cos after all lopmon’s line gets two champion level forms and two megas but terriermon only has two recolours for the same ultimate level. Maybe even it out, lol! Or like, I’m thinking like.. what if Terriermon had a mega that suited Henry more? i was reading someone’s review where they said it was weird that pacifistic Henry got a giant robot specializing in attack while Rika got the humanoid pacifist digimon. And yeah, that IS totally weird! And it got me imagining what if Terriermon got a humanoid digivolution that was like a martial artist?? or maybe like a speedy superhero lookin armour thing! Like just a more humanoid rapidmon! or I dunno maybe if puppetmon is in this game then zephyr could be puppetmon. I miss puppetmon. puppetmon never got to be in ANY games except dusk and dawn! I WANNA SEE A 3D PUPPETMON YO!!

* Man I just spent this entire post rambling my headcanons for silent protagonist characters instead of actually talking about the game... aaaa...

Wow, the last couple of weeks alternating surging heat and grim weather has thorough melted every bit of my desire to do anything, including remembering the time before the heat haze. Still – we shall prevail! It was a quietish couple of weeks in any case, though did have a couple of cool things in it. Not least that I’ve been able to live outside in my gazebo office, and keep a close eye on our ridiculous cats and their shade seeking antics. We were all sad when the thunder and hailstorms drove us inside… Taking keen note of the foul weather I finally picked up some serious LEGO storage towers and did some reorganising. They don’t take up less space, which is unfortunate, but I can access key bricks sets much more easily!

Big fella in a hedge

Little lady in her rooftop fort

Last week turned out to be a mini podcast week, so I’ve spent more time talking than usual (taking up precious drinking time, alas). More We Are What We Overcoming, which has become a cornerstone of my fortnightly routine, and really does help me think about how I feel and how I’m behaving in this quarantini time. That’s not the same as actually changing my behaviour, but being aware that I’m doing little but drinking and sighing at the sun is a start… My other half and I were also interviewed for the Knot Ready podcast: a look at marriage from a modern, feminist perspective, since we’re nearly twenty-two years into a non-marriage we have some insight into why folks may not get married, or at least, possibly, why we haven’t. It was a lot of fun to chat about how we got together (half a lifetime ago!) and other stuff. I’ll definitely remember to share when our episode is out, but you should subscribe to the podcast anyway because Lucy is pretty ace and it’s a genuinely interesting subject.

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I am KNOT READY 💍😘 . I am ready to tie the knot! I am lucky enough to have found an amazing person who makes my life better and who I want to commit to fully 💕 . So when I say I'm freaked out by marriage – it's not a commitment thing! . I'm freaked out that this institution, this human invention, controlled by religion and the state and shaped through time by patriarchal narratives, has become synonymous with romantic love, and not just culturally but for me personally! Something has got it into my head that our relationship is incomplete without marriage, despite suspecting on an intellectual level that nothing much will change afterwards. . Why am I spending a silly amount of money on one day? Why did it make me sad to not be engaged to my person? Why is marriage so important to me? . Freaky questions! For some answers, turn to Knot Ready 💍😘 Episode one comes out this Friday! Link in bio to subscribe or learn more 💖

A post shared by Knot Ready (@knotreadypodcast) on Jun 23, 2020 at 12:13am PDT

We’ve also seen a few more genuine humans in the meatspace, a thing which makes me feel ever so odd. I suspect that I have been at home for too long… But we had a lovely slow wander around the University Park lake and a bit of the radically altered campus up the back of the Portland Building. Lots of baby birds, and our friends’ new baby of their own.

Building: LEGO Hidden Side’s Newbury Haunted High School #70425

OK, so I built this ages ago, but it’s really pretty. Thing is, in its standard configuration it sprawls a little wide, and is distressingly not quite a modular building. So I fixed it! My goal was for it to fit in with the other modular buildings, but of course it’s four studs wider than a baseplate, so something had to go. In my first attempt I tried to compact the bay windows but made a horrible mess, so dismantled the whole thing and rebuilt it using the instructions and deviating where necessary. Where necessary was a bit of a pain – to keep the play functions I needed to keep the bay windows and the full width of the clock tower. My only viable option was removing the four silver unicorn spires with their supporting arches, and that hasn’t really hurt the build much. I’m not super-happy that the decorative ground floor arches are now somewhat obscured, but I’m chuffed with the overall result. That it gave me a chance to go nuts on a swirly tiling pattern in coral pink was a massive bonus. I’ve kept all the play features, but lost some of the details inside. I may remove all the worn detailing too and just have a lovely school in between the detective’s office and the bank. As was noted in the Brickgeekz Facebook group, its colours do rather resemble the now-exceedingly rare Town Hall which I could never quite afford. Win!

Four studs too wide…

It fits!

Beautiful flooring

Play features intact

Watching: Space Force

This is certainly quite fun. A show about Trump’s cretinous “space force” which supposedly satirises the idea, but instead gets caught up doing a sort-of sincere NASA knock-off to get Americans back on the Moon. It doesn’t seem to be sure what it’s taking the mickey out of, leaving the comedy unfocused and swaying madly in each episode. The characters are pretty stock fodder: uptight air force general played by Steve Carell, who looks rather lost, desperate to make it funny by crashing in and out of character while relying heavily on clearing his throat to cover all forms of emotion; very smart scientist guy who isn’t that great with people in the remarkable form of John Malkovich, who shows off his comedy chops nicely (largely by staying in character); total arsehole PR guy Ben Schwartz, who is utterly hateable (in a good way) but of course redeems himself, sort of; space force pilot/astronaut Tawny Newsome, desperate to get on the moon and be somebody; the air force general’s neglected daughter who just wants to have some fun / get any attention at all from her dad. The supporting cast do a great job too, but the tone constantly swinging from idiots messing up the mission to “hurray USA” sentiment leaves them all out in the cold. It’s just odd. I did enjoy the show, and it certainly has some splendid moments, mostly as they get towards the moon landing itself, but I’m not going to be racing back for season two. The Chinese are the main rivals in this new space race, and it’s a bit… broad… for 2020.

Doing: We Are What We Overcome

The next of our “lockdown specials”, lovingly recorded by Zoom and broadcast live in Facebook. Didn’t quite work last week, for no clear reason, so we popped it up on Tuesday instead. We talked about the thorny subject of change, which we seem to have to deal with all the damned time! It’s an interesting issue, covering not just what change is and how it feels, but how we learn (or don’t learn) to deal with it. All terribly pertinent and that. We came back yesterday Monday 19th to discuss how we feel about the easing of lockdown (or whatever the fuck this shower of wank called a Tory government are doing): check that one our here: Facebook Live.

Kickstarter Reward: Munchkin Bricks 2

With all the global lunacy I’d quite forgotten these were on the way! The last-but-one project of Guy Himber, aka CrazyBricks. These are pretty silly accessories and things to accompany the equally silly Munchkin card/boardgame. I just thought they were really cute, god knows what I’m going to do with them. Particular favourites for me are the chibi cthulus (some may become gifts for others…) and the splendid octobricks!

Swag

Swagger

You should definitely check out his current project, which is already very well funded and heading for far-reaching stretch goals: Dino Dudes! Yep, it’s just what it sounds like. Go get em! Nicely covered here by the excellent Beyond the Brick channel:

Reading: Provenance by Ann Leckie

My first Leckie, having not yet gotten around to reading the acclaimed Ancillary Justice series, though this one is set in the same universe. It’s perfectly fine small-scope space opera, focusing on a young woman’s attempts to secure her future (by being named as heir to a senior politician – her adopted mother in a society with interesting communal creche arrangements) by breaking a thief out of prison and lording her victory over her brother. The thief has apparently nicked some precious vestiges, Leckie’s intriguing concept of highly-prized mementoes of the past, which might be anything from an actual artifact, eg a bell used in the first summoning of parliament, to a signed bus ticket on a special day. The Hwaean people are obsessed with the things, and it would be a terrible shame if they turned out to be fake… There’s lots of running around with aliens and robots and occasional murder of diplomats and so on, all risking the failure of a super-important peace accord between humans and some potentially terrifying aliens. Provenance is neatly written, though it loses something in having the plot summary on the back cover take only the first chapter or so to resolve, leaving me unsure where it was going after the exciting sounding heist was dealt with so quickly. It never quite recovered for me, which definitely confirms that I should not read the back cover of books I’m about to read. The author’s interest in diversity and multiple genders, modes of address and interesting social set ups are fun and satisfying to read about, so I suspect I’ll enjoy getting properly into the Ancillary Justice vibe; I just shouldn’t have started here.

More LEGO. SCUM: A Star Wars Story

I’ve now built the main cast of our Star Wars RPG! Clockwise from top-left: my Tusken raider with savaged translator droid strapped to my back, Jon’s Twi’lek bounty hunter, Ben’s Nautolan hacker, Diarmuid’s hapless and much abused Imperial officer, Joe’s GH7 medical droid (a real delight to assemble) his Mandalorian bodyguard (played by Charlie). It’s fun! Now I wanna build some of our missions…

Watching: Agents of SHIELD season 4

I’m sure you’re growing weary of this, but Agents of SHIELD is a goddamned delight. Best show on TV? Maybe. (Warning: many spoilers ahead.) This was the last of the seasons that I’d seen before, so was by far the most familiar. And yet, in the style of all their seasons, a MILLION things happen, overwhelming any sense I had of how long any of the events took. To give you some idea of just how wild this season is, we go from introducing Ghost Rider, in a surprisingly coherent way, to another Avengers nightmare of AI coming to life and taking over various characters with robot duplicates (in this case, Ada, built by splendid returning cast member John Hannah), followed by an incredible immersion of the main cast in a vast virtual reality “The Framework” (built by Ada, John Hannah, and Fitz) a terrifying alternate reality where Hydra has won and rules the world, busily oppressing and annihilating inhumans so that Ada can build herself a real body. Jesus Christ, it’s a lot. Add to that a new director of SHIELD, the ongoing friction between SHIELD and the inhumans vs the rest of the world, plus god knows what else that I’ve forgotten, and I’m happily mindblown. Of course, it’s also the doomed FitzSimmons romance show too, as those two get yet another absolute kicking when we see that Fitz is the chief Hydra scientist, experimenting and murdering all sorts of folk, like Simmons… How will they put themselves back together? Who the hell knows because at the end of this season most of the team is abducted and wake up in SPACE! In truth I’m already a good way into season 5 and I could not be happier.

Doing: MissImp’s virtual improv comedy drop-in

I’ll admit, I’m as behind on these as I am on everything else… First up, The Tiny Glass Person with Feña Ortalli:

Followed by the marvellous David Escobedo in Discovering Your Dynamics:

Last Week: LEGO, Knot Ready, Space Force, Provenance, MissImp, CrazyBricks, Agents of SHIELD, We Are What We Overcome… many things! I’ve gotta get back to doing this weekly… TV, books, much LEGO, some improv and podcasts. https://wp.me/pbprdx-8Gx Wow, the last couple of weeks alternating surging heat and grim weather has thorough melted every bit of my desire to do…

Yugioh S2 Ep 13: You’ll Never Guess Which Character has had a Full Back Tatt This Entire Time

I mean granted, if they sit down, the slicer also removes their butt, but like...at that point you’d be sliced well enough that...would it matter? Course, it probably would be a big deal to Pharaoh. Having an ass is one of the few things he has that makes him any different than Yugi.

Anyways, I don’t go over the card games here but uh...lets marvel at some pretty 1980′s-vibe character design decisions.

Why did they give a Gazelle pubes???

I mean...it’s clearly way more lion than Gazelle, am I wrong? Like one has claws and cat teeth and the other is some type of deer thing?

Now, I know a lot of the cards are from Konami video games...but I don’t recall this one. And I know...too much about video games...but this one...kinda looks like every cat person from every generic beat-em-up from the 90′s.

(read more below the cut)

Pharaoh is still doing his best to convince himself he’s doing the right thing by just outright killing this guy. Yugi hasn’t said much to correct him, to be fair.

Didn’t expect the card thing to bother Pharaoh so much when there’s a woman tied to a chair behind that curtain but OK Pharaoh, feel bad for the cards. Why not? I’m sure their paper feelings were very hurt.

Again, cards having feelings is just adding to the stack of evidence that these supposedly harmless playing cards are becoming real, but people ignore it and are just like “well we better keep playing this game anyway.” Maybe this whole series ends with a big ass lawsuit on Kaiba Corp?

Anyway, Tristan has finally joined everyone else and probably regrets spending about 3 episodes in a hospital when he should have been protecting Pharaoh from predatory clowns.

But it doesn’t matter because Pharaoh wins.

Like he doesn’t forfeit to save this guy’s life. He doesn’t find some work around to force them into a draw: he straight up wins because of...girl power?

Apparently he just found a lady Dark Magician and he’s thrilled that the two can hang out together in his deck. He’s just a few cards and a small little toy RV away from having a Barbie Dark Magician Dreamhouse collection in that deck of his.

And then, as this guy is dying, he just rubs it in.

Ah, never change, you asshole dark wizard. Never change.

Meanwhile, on the other side of this arena, the crew has approached a spooky Riddler door, emanating from which, is just a whole lot of hellish screaming.

Mokuba definitely earning his rent babysitting his older brother’s terrible schoolmates. Before, I was kind of wondering why Seto didn't come down here too, but now it’s becoming clear that Seto has maybe gotten tired of this sort of thing happening and just doesn’t want to deal right now.

Marik decides to show up and screw with Arcana, which, honestly wasn’t very hard to do. Like it probably doesn’t take too much magic to convince Arcana of really anything.

I mean all this happens really quickly in succession, and so sure, some of this is up to interpretation, but I just watched this and it wasn’t until these witnesses showed up:

That Pharaoh was like “oh no the morality police”

I mean it’s kind of a bad situation for Yugi to be in, because Arcana is incredibly unstable. But Arcana’s thankfully too distracted to go right back to killing Yugi like he originally planned to do walking in here.

Damn. This is so 00′s.

I was not expecting this kid’s show to go even darker, especially as Catherine the mannequin’s head falls right off while Arcana sheds a single tear.

Kind of reminds me of the Velvet Ribbon, youknow that old terrifying chestnut we read to kids for some reason. That weird short story or poem or whatever where that lady has a green ribbon around her neck and she tells her husband “don’t take this off, OK?” and he’s like “nah” and he does and her head just falls right off? Kind of like that.

Something I just noticed, and I only notice because of these recaps--Yugi sweats a whole lot more than Pharaoh. Kind of weird. Pharaoh took all the handsome figure genes and gave Yugi all the clammy genes.

Marik could just grab that axe that is right behind him, but instead decides to yell at Yugi about how much he hates his old boss. Poor Yugi has to be Pharaoh’s HR department this season between a guy who does not remember his old life/employees and a dude that has just showed up out of no where with all his baggage and is like “I want his job! I should be boss!” and Yugi’s like “of what freakin company? He’s dead!”

And for some reason, while Marik sent the last guy’s mind to the shadow realm, he decided to let Arcana go free. I mean, I guess there’s not much more damage you can do to Arcana than what’s already been done by that spontaneously exploding casket situation.

Lol they actually talk about “so what if I possess his friends?” and just kinda glaze riiiiight over that. Don’t blame them for very quickly moving on from that idea.

Anyway, so this scene starts off really normal. Marik goes off about how he hates Pharaoh blablabla, and then picks up his super special God Card, and then just, out of nowhere, this guy who has been covered head to toe this Entire Time Just:

Horny preteens rejoice, we have two Bakuras, and this one likes to be shirtless.

And if this wasn’t obtuse enough, they even threw in a crook and flail pose. Wow. Except they replaced it with--a freakin playing card. Shocked they didn’t put the rod in his other hand while they were at it, but that will probably come later.

Well, next week, on Yugioh

Does Marik ever reveal if he’s got on golden pants or if it’s just golden briefs? How does Marik put on liner below his eye without it smudging on all his undereye wrinkles (like y’all, under-eye liner is very difficult to put on because you get wrinkles under there at about age 2)??? Is Bakura just at home watching cartoons and eating cereal?

Anyways, if you just got here and you’re feeling super confused, you can start reading these recaps form the beginning in chrono order here where it’s just purely recap posts and nothing else.

Laid-Back Camp - Episode 12

Alright, the last hurrah. One last camping trip with these girls. Let’s see how it goes. It’s Laid-Back Camp, episode 12! Here we GO!

-We begin…In a possible future. Rin’s camping ways have continued, and she’s taken more after her grandfather, with a cool motorcycle and sweet boots. She arrives to a campsite to find the others already waiting for her. Chiaki’s become the new Toba-sensei, treating all camping trips as an excuse to get her booze on…Well, I said the others, but Nadeshiko is a ways out still. In this fantasy, Nadeshiko didn’t just keep camping…She now owns a camping gear company, bringing American styled equipment to Japan. Also, Aoi still hasn’t lost her fang…

-And Nadeshiko arrives…On…

-Good.

-Fucking.

-God.

-She’s in the flying tent from the opening.

-So obviously this is our title-card shot. As much as I love all the other shots of the girls all grown up…I mean, come on.

-And this is all Nadeshiko’s idea of what it’ll be like when they’re all grown up. Which explains a lot. And Rin’s gotten back with stuff! Yayyyyy.

-Opening! So here’s the magic question for you: In Nadeshiko’s possible-future, did she imagine herself and Rin being married?

-Episode 12: Mount Fuji and the Laid-Back Camp Girls

-So doggo has to go. He’s picked up by Ena’s family to go back home to warm bed, while the others scrub their dishes and ask the question of who’s gonna take advantage of the actual baths first. Well, Toba-sensei is out.

-In the end, Aoi, Ena and Chiaki end up in the bath, in an actual proper hot bath no less. Which leaves Rin and Nadeshiko to stay warm around the fire, and they end up asking Toba-sensei if she doesn’t mind being out here all alone instead of with her lover…

-…That was her sister she was with, you dorks. Anyways, all of this gender and romance confusion has Nadeshiko so off-tilt that she ends up outright asking Chiaki if she’s a girl or not when the others get back. Do you want to die?

-So round two of the baths, chatting with Toba-sensei. Who has a camping history not entirely dissimilar to Rin’s, though hers is more group-oriented. Her dad was a huge outdoorsy type when she was a kid, so the whole family would practically be out every weekend in the summers. Her sister picked up the bug full-force, and she tags along.

-Also speaking of camping, Rin still doesn’t know what that thing she saw in the darkness was. It was your teacher. Aaanyways, by the time they get back from the bath, everyone’s done their hair up in a Shimarin Bun. Nadeshiko is surrounded by Shimarins and it’s wonderful! Rin is quietly a bit mad at that name.

-So Nadeshiko has enough hair that she gets the true Shimarin treatment: Having Ena do something ridiculous to her head. Which she doesn’t see until they take a selfie together. Alas, Nadeshiko. But now they’ve kind of used up their tasks, but it’s too early to sleep…

-So Chiaki has a treat. You know outdoor film festivals, and vintage American drive-ins, and all that? (GOD I wish I could justify using that shot of Anime To the Future) Well Chiaki just signed up for a data plan and streaming services for her tablet! It’s not quite a grand projector, but they can just dive deep until they forget what time is!

-Eventually they’re all tapped out…Until everyone else is asleep, and it’s just Nadeshiko and Rin with their heads poking out of Rin’s tent way off on their own, looking up at the stars. They end up talking about all the shows and stuff they watched, and possible journeys, and New Year’s plans, and just…just talking. I’m not sure if Rin will do these big group trips very often, but I think it’s clear she’ll be doing a lot of these little trips with Nadeshiko.

-And they doze right off, as quiet comes over the campsites…And all is peaceful…

-Until the first alarm goes off. It’s 5 AM Christmas day, and Rin wakes up next to Nadeshiko, just the two of them. I’m not saying they’re a few months at most away from one of them suddenly realizing “FUCK we’re a couple when did that happen crap crap crap what’s the anniversary is it the day we met WHAT DO I GET HER”, but it was aliens.

-Also Nadeshiko you promised to make breakfast so get out of that mummy bag and make with the grub.

-Of course, Rin ends up helping…And by the time the others gather, it’s a truly traditional meal. Some grilled salmon, a miso soup, rice, even natto. Exactly what a certain hungover teacher needs to clear her head. And as they all get their grub on…The sun tips over the horizon, and it is just magic. That first light, when your eyes have adjusted to the pre-dawn, is so overwhelming, and just…Amazing.

-Of course, then comes the end of the trip. The loading of gear, the packing up of campsites. Daily coming to pick various folks up, and of course, one last photo of them all together before they scatter.

-Cut to a new day at the bookstore. Rin’s just hanging out behind the counter…And she’s thinking she wants to go somewhere for New Year’s…Which is when Ena shows up, buying a magazine on winter camping.

-Over at school, Chiaki leads the crew on a full cleanup of their club room! …That took like two minutes. Until they get Rin or Ena to actually sign on, it’s the cramped storage room for another semester. And tragically, they’re both working through the New Year’s holiday, so they can’t even go camping together…Well, except for Nadeshiko, who can’t find work.

-Cue Rin texting with a PLAN. Ena got a temp job printing and delivering new year’s cards and they need more warm bodies. It’s only a week or two of work, but Nadeshiko’s super excited at getting some cash to turn into camping gear.

-And at last, the credits song plays, as we montage over a quiet calm for all involved with the sun low in the sky. Rin’s scooter dutifully parked by her humble home. Ena’s doggo wrapped up snug in his doggo bed. Nadeshiko’s sister after another road trip to a picturesque sight. Rin’s grampa watching the sun set from his latest campsite. Nadeshiko’s folks coming home with groceries. Toba-sensei’s sister setting up camp, and she herself wrapping up a day of teaching.

-And in that little storage hall, a few more photos added to Nadeshiko’s wall…Including the one magical shot that started the series, of them all together…

-Aftercredits! And not a skit, either. It’s post-New Years, the back end of winter turning into spring, and Nadeshiko’s pedaling her humble little bike, with its rack and her bag both full of kit, to a certain campground…It’s a hard ride, but she finally makes it, checks in, and finds herself nearly alone at a pristine lake. The very place where she met Rin, damn near the exact same spot, as she dutifully puts together her setup. Her tent, her little table…And her own little treat, the gas lantern she saw in the shop that day. It’s a perfect, gorgeous setup…

-When Rin texts asking if she’s working. She’s actually out on the road, and just got to her campsite! And thus they get talking, both of them out camping solo, as Nadeshiko hides where she’s gone, until she sends the photo…And Rin’s comes in…And she’s not even a hundred feet back. They both had the same idea and came to the same place. These adorable precious girls.

And that’s a wrap.

I…Damn, this one somehow feels way heavier than it should. The show’s just so warm and comfy that I don’t want to leave it. But there’s no more left(unless they do a second season COME ON YOU COWARDS), and thus there’s no choice.

I mean, except for the fact that I obviously have already made bookmarks for the manga to chew on.

It is no mistake that this show caused a lot of people to want to go camping. This was…Damn, this was real close to perfect for me, and quite frankly the only things that would’ve made it better would be trading some archetypes around to pander to my specific tastes, rather than actually doing anything objectively higher quality.

And that fucking ending. That last shot. That was just…Pretend your favorite meme image of a chef’s kiss is here, because that was perfect.

So what’s coming up now that we did that? A hard pivot to the exact opposite of this warm comfy slice-of-life stuff, and also me trying blatantly to build my presence Tumblr-side with a big-pop. You’ll see. Wait for it!