#by vibes people will make me Crey

[professorspork]

i know I always say this, but, last night REALLY WAS the BUSIEST OF DAYS in the Reaper War

before I get into yesterday’s gameplay, I realized I forgot to react to the fact that Jacob got Brynn pregnant, which -- again, I suppose that wraps up everything about his backstory in a nice little bow, lad of the bad dad gets to be good dad, but like... it still gives like they gave his character incredibly short shrift. so. humbug to that.

but I have bigger fish to fry (ha ha, literally, see what I did there?) because ALL OF THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE, AND ALL OF THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN. I rescued Ann Bryson, and learned that -- shocker -- she had a bad relationship with her dad. I uh may have condoned her getting a bit of a nasty nose bleed in order to track the Leviathan to Despoina, where as ever I got to read a bunch of people’s weirdly specific sad diaries. my jump into the depths was very cool and scary (does no one get the bends in the future???) and I enjoyed my The First-style body swapping conversation with the Leviathan in which I tried to prove I’m ~special and this time is ~different. on the one hand, I don’t know why I expected the origin of the Reapers to be anything other than yet another story of AI gone wrong, but this whole cinematic parallels thing is starting to edge out of “everything matches up and is of a piece” territory and into the murkier waters of “we kind of only had one idea, actually.” to reveal that the Reapers’ plan is just stray AI code to ‘preserve life’ is at once very chilling and a bit of a let down; when I think back to when I talked to Sovereign for the first time and I had my initial “GOD IS A MACHINE THAT WANTS TO KILL US” freak out, I was in fact very on board for an evil plan too broad and complex for a human mind to fathom. for it to be this feels kind of predictable and pedestrian.

that said, watching the Leviathan take down a huge-ass Reaper capital ship with its pulse signal was very satisfying.

oh no this is going to get very long, now that you’ve had this fun teaser i’m gonna put the rest under a cut

then we kicked it on over to Thessia and I highkey traumatized my girlfriend. I feel like I should have seen the reveal that the asari were more advanced because they were hoarding prothean tech coming, but I didn’t. hearing and seeing all the asari commandos helping me get wiped out was a real gut punch, but didn’t hold a candle to my frustration at the confrontation with Kai Leng. I’m not mad that the game wouldn’t let me beat him, per se (though I still think it’s ridiculous that I’ve taken down a Reaper by myself and I’m supposed to be afraid of a dude with a knife), but I am pissed that it all happened with combat cut scene magic. this game has given me difficult combat before! if, in fighting Kai Leng, I’d genuinely felt outmatched, I think I would have tolerated it better -- or if the combat had been me fighting the Harvesters and then Kai Leng sneaked around me because that’s what he does, he sneaks. but to have such a relatively easy combat sequence with him that felt very much like winning just to have it snatched away from me... maddening. WHY CAN’T I BEAT THIS ONE GUY AND HIS KNIFE? I don’t want to be all “Kai Leng is a Mary Sue” but like... he got to murder Thane and then beat me in overtime, and his entire vibe is I exist to sell action figures even though that’s not, as far as I know, any part of Mass Effect’s profit model. so it’s just frustrating. and for them to then rub salt in the wound and have him EMAIL ME to be like “lol snowflake r u triggered” was just. MY PATIENCE IS THIN, ME3. DON’T PUSH ME.

seeing Shepard have to admit to failure was a gutting scene, though, and a necessary one. and watching Liara fight with Javik was highkey satisfying, too. 

so anyway, because i was BIG MAD at Cerberus I tracked them first to that one N7 communications mission-- 

(Sample dialogue: Helen: Why aren’t you using cover? You’re going to die! Use cover! Me, jumping out of cover and rushing Cerberus goons trying to melee them to death: BECAUSE I’M MAD)

-- and then to Sanctuary, and HOO BOY WAS THAT A LOT OR WHAT. from the second I heard Oriana’s voice I had a pretty good idea of what was going on here, but seeing in in practice was still creepy af. and like. i’m just gonna go out on a limb and say INDOCTRINATION BAD. I AM NOT A FAN. shout out to that one capitalist volus on the Citadel who was like “lol sanctuary is a scam don’t waste your money” i guess

additionally, last night was significant because I picked not one but TWO ENTIRE renegade convince options, because I saw no reason to be nice to terrorist daddy the illusive man or actual terrorist daddy Mr. Lawson. after I got through all that, Helen explained to me how difficult it apparently is to keep Miranda alive by the end of that confrontation, so I got to do some WHAT LIKE IT’S HARD? preening at how Nice Sheps Finish First sometimes. 

but as usual, the real highlight is getting to know my crew better and talking with them. I finally got some prime flirting in with Liara during Leviathan. it was VERY cute when she was like “man what’s with you rescuing damsels from dig sites? if you end up teaming up with her to save the world and bring down the shadow broker i’ll be very jealous. ... and concerned” and WEIRDLY CUTER when she was like “hey the only tentacled alien who gets to mess with your brain is ME” because Liara is like 115 by now considering how slowly i’m getting through these missions and she still does not know what romance is. 

[no but seriously, Liara does not know what romance is. half the time I’m still going WE’RE STILL DATING, RIGHT? every time she refuses to talk to me. and even after Thessia, when everyone was like “go talk to Liara, she needs you” and even JAVIK of all people was like “you’re dating Liara, right? it’s so obvious” our interactions did not feel particularly... romantic? it’s a tricky needle to thread, obviously, I’m not looking for sloppy makeouts right after millions of her people died, but it still reads as very odd to me. anyway.]

Javik’s story about how he once had a ship like the Normandy and a crew of friends like mine and they all ended up indoctrinated and he had to personally slit their throats went way harder than I ever expected it to. even just the IDEA of having to do that as my Shep upsets me. i’m legit enjoying getting to know Javik, even though i’m still GuessWhoJustGotYelledAt.jpg every time I leave his room. I HAD ENOUGH OF THAT FROM KREIA, JAVIK, YOU’LL NEVER PUSH ME AWAY.

I was surprised by how hard Tali took Miranda’s successful challenge of Mr. Lawson, though in hindsight it makes sense -- with the geth war still happening on top of everything else, I don’t think Tali ever did get the chance to process her anger at her dad being a war criminal and all. and her whole “emergency induction port” bit about the straw was cute as hell tbh. her friendship with Garrus over the comms continues to give me life. 

(in other quarian news, I AM SAD ABOUT KAL’REEGER.)

and jeff. JEFF. after Thessia i literally ran to the bridge and said aloud “Jeff, make me feel better” as I clicked interact with him, and then he made that dig about asari dancers, and i was like NO NOT LIKE THAT. (I mean, what Shep literally said was “now’s not the time for jokes” which is ironic considering she, unlike me, still calls him JOKER) but then he was all DAD ANDERSON SAID I’M SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH, I’M SORRY, I’M DOING MY BEST and like. what a fucked up little family we are. he feels guilty that I died saving him, still! apparently he asks EDI about my stress levels and they are BAD and he feels BAD! im crey. OH AND ALSO THE FACT THAT PTSD ASARI LAURA BAILEY WAS TALKING ABOUT HIS FAMILY ON TIPTREE AND I CAN NEVER TELL HIM BECAUSE THE GAME DOESN’T LET ME DO THAT???? V UPSETTING.

and then of course EDI had to TRIPLE DOWN on all these feelings i was already having by telling me about human resistance and selflessness on Earth and how she wants to turn off her self-preservation code because she’s not about that. I’M SUCH A TOASTER FUCKER HALP.

Garrus being all “well sometimes your best friend gives you a pep talk” speech was cute as hell, and I was strangely charmed when Kaidan was like YOU CAN TELL I’M EXTRA MAD BECAUSE MY VOICE HAS GOTTEN SO DEEP grumbling.

next up: shore leave, and then going after Cerberus will trigger act 3! i may one day finish mass effect after all!

#leah plays mass effect 3

[la-paritalienne]

thank youuu @weareonejazzhand, @greenandbluebubblegum, @coileoniamoremi, @peronocambiamiamore and @theymetinthetoihlet !! ♡♡♡♡ since lots of people were making two – here’s two witchy versions of me.

i tag @happinesslullaby @caroussell @solounabarca @aquarianlightlover @lesbin @lana-del-creys @turquoise-waters to make one (or more!) if you feel like it! lots of people were tagged already but if you see this and like it, feel free of course. sending love and witchy vibes ✨����💛⚡️✨💛🌙⚡️💛✨

#i've probably made lots of these but i loooove every time #thank u piccrew guys #and thank u to whoever tags me

[vaguely-concerned]

I’m back! Temeraire Let’s Read:Tongues of Serpents

- Tharkay literally shows up at the beginning of the second sentence; STRONG start, I highly approve, great improvement on every level

fsdafhsadkjlfh cooly tossing tables and throwing people’s drinks in their faces in the bar brawl fkjsdhfksdalfhasdj this ain’t his first rodeo huh

- these dumbasses having to clean up from the bar brawl before going home so their dragons don’t go out there and demand to have a word with the dudes who bullied their lil boys... oh my  g o d 

- “it was true, if one wished to be very particular about such things, that laurence was a convicted felon”  t e m e r a i r e... ~*technicality schmechnicality*~ it was barely treason at all really  

also temeraire being in super protective mother hen/older brother mode over the eggs is perfect  

- Jane Rolands bluff, jovial letter writing is Everything

- “Have Temeraire throw him overboard,” Tharkay had suggested laconically, when Laurence had escaped to his quarters for a little relief and some piquet . . . “He can fish him out again later,” he added, as an afterthought.

A VISIONARY. An unmitigated joy. “Have Temeraire throw him overboard”. He says what we’re all thinking. 

- AAAAAAAAH MUTUAL FIRST NAME BASIS!!!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL WTF HAVE THEY BEEN DOING ON THIS TRIP TELL ME IN DETAIL WHEN THE SWITCH HAPPENED PLEASE (also I really like that the first instance we see is “But Tenzing, I cannot trust myself” b/c that was literally the whole point of that scene in VoE. laurence... yes you can. tfw your crush is the goodiest of twoshoes and can barely move for it and doesn’t even knoooow)

- y’know if Laurence could get over this thought that asking a direct question to a friend is just ~*intolerably rude*~ he could get so much shit done 

(I guess tharkay, clearly a follower of the rosa diaz school of ‘no one is ever going to know shit about me’, is like fuck yeah I’ve struck gold with this one)

- “So spake the pot” oh I do love Actually Pretty Chill Dad William Laurence finally letting the snark out more frequently, it suits him very much (I guess his main claims to fame in a lot of circles is a) treason and b) spoiling his dragon rotten)

- rankin’s name is mentioned and everyone’s like HIIISSSSSSSS and RIGHTLY SO FUCK THAT GUY JUSTICE FOR LEVITAS

- temeraire is talking to the egg about consent and saying he’ll make sure it won’t have to do anything it doesn’t want to fjklsadhfkaslhfsd my heart

- lol lol lol weeeell in hindsight who could’ve guessed captain and second in command of the dragon pirates would have a materialistic superficial kid huh

- . . . Granby said, with a look half affection and half exasperation oh granby baby still carrying that torch huh

- lol lol lol just the implication of sara maden and laurence silently tops up his drink and he’s like ‘cheers’ and they’re both quiet for a moment flskdfs 

if you think about it that must’ve been such a wild day in his life tho -- like first  Laurence furiously fires him for being gone at a crucial moment and then immediately unfires him when it turns out he’s been chasing a lead and being the only goddamn person really working on solving all their problems (as is his wont), then he finds out his ex is getting married and steadfastly pretends it doesn’t even bother him, lol what are feelings I heard only losers have them (extremely relatable -- I guess he must have known it was in the cards though, because he specifically tells Laurence at the beginning he didn’t intend to go back to Istanbul, so it’s been over for a while?) then they go on a life and death chase through the sewers, and THEN, before he knows it, after half a book of being kind of a mistrustful dick to him, Laurence does a 180° and is there offering eternal friendship with big soulful eyes after seeing him get upset one time and y’know I guess I see why that got to him lol 

- aw man I know it’s never going to happen but I am getting sort of wistful and teary-eyed over this pirate (cough cough I mean legally sanctioned privateer of course) AU that’s going entirely to waste

here are some tags I left on this superb piece of fanart: #I just got to the part where tharkay makes the suggestion and like... I know it's not happening #but what a shimmering tender mother of pearl dream to carry in one's heart lol #just a lil pirate family out there wrecking shit #temeraire would get wind of what the east india company actually does and they'd inevitably turn against them and fuck 'em up... *sigh* #fix it fic: the boys kiss and the east india company is stopped from committing further atrocities! all is well

so that’s basically my position on that

- “I’m sure there’s nothing too dangerous out there, in the fucking untamed Australian wilderness,” Temeraire said, tempting fate to a frankly anxiety-inducing extent 

- hell yeah demane is the only one with presence of mind to actually find some food; you go buddy <3

- my boy tharkay slinking off in the middle of the night without telling anyone and solving everyone’s problems... *dabs at eyes* just like old times

- oh wow rankin really is just a piece of shit in every way huh

- fhasdklhfsadfsad temeraire being like ‘I know tharkay is a strong independent human who is perfectly capable of making his own decisions and don’t need no dragon... but also he’s clearly one of my humans tho why is he riding on another dragon :(’ THE CUTEST SHIT

- temeraire silently dissing his dad over refusing to believe in ghosts ~*except*~ for the holy spirit adslfhaskjdlhfs

- demane taking in the strange little hatchling... im crey... he truly hits me straight in the heart every time

also laurence steadfastly Doing The Right Thing and following his convictions is so deeply healing after all that bullshit he went through in the last book... makes me feel all safe and calm inside haha

- actually when you think about it it’s so fucked up that they apparently just straight up murder dragons with birth defects in england as a matter of course b/c like. dragons come out of the egg fully sentient and capable of understanding what’s being said around them. kulingile literally understood every word they were saying as they discussed whether or not they should be KILLING HIM.  j e s u s  thank god for demane and laurence’s stubborn insistence on being good

- temeraire going straight from mother hen to extremely impatient and jealous older brother the moment an egg hatches never gets old. all these dumb little babies just complaining and stealing his crew ugh (HOW FUCKING CUTE is him deciding kulingile could be a scholar or something tho #dragon rights)

- “I wish,” Temeraire said to Laurence, “I do wish that other dragons were not always thinking me peculiar . . . it makes one doubtful.” BABY BOY NOOOO he’s just so sweet and he’s so secretly scared that laurence might resent him a little after the whole treason business and OW right in the parental heart that fucks me up

- Temeraire’s indignant “Oh!”s always soothe my soul it’s so adorable

- little emily roland yelling “damn you all for cowards!” after a bunch of grown men fleeing while she reloads her gun and takes aim again is incredible poetic cinema (and also demane joining her... I love the bond they’ve got going on in the background here)

- aw poor sipho :( at least he still has temeraire to nerd out with and stuff but that’s some difficult shit to process for a kid

kulingile bobbing around tethered to temeraire like a small balloon at a fair is such an image, what a blessing, temeraire’s exasperated brand of babysitting is so funny

- laurence being a Dad to the kids in his crew... mana from heaven

- YESSS they crossed the endless miles of DEADLY AUSTRALIAN WILDERNESS so laurence could be MORTIFIED as the emperor’s adopted son at a party this is the content I am here for

- hell yeah let’s play a round of pimp my captain!!!!!!!!!!

“And,” Laurence said. “And you are certain that this should be appropriate for the occasion; not, perhaps, excessive?” I can’t  b r e a t h e  he can’t even say shit because his dragon boi is so happy fsaldfjsldhfasjlh and then granby making fond fun of him what a beautiful cherry on top of this sweet sweet laurence being embarrassed sundae 

- william ‘I’m here to kick ass and describe menswear in fastidious detail and I’ve already kicked my own ass twice today’ laurence strikes again

- this description of the dragons sitting around squabbling as they watch shiny sparkly things is the most endearing few pages in modern literature do not @ me

- it’s kind of fucked up that the emperor of china is giving laurence more of the sort of warmth and validation a father should than his actual dad ever did lol. u did good curing the dragon plague, weird european adopted son I am proud of you

- every time temeraire is really upset about something my soul suffers a small wound

thank god he doesn’t actually know what opium is really used for most of the time yet (also I am obligated to divulge that I am entirely charmed by tharkay’s sardonic yet clear eyed cynicism on the issue, I cannot be anything but what I am and he hasn’t had enough proper page time in this half of the book so I will take what I can get)  

- ...I kind of just realized that I imagine the sea serpents basically as long-ass gyaradoses... OH NO

I will say I respect the ‘give no fucks’ vibe they give off -- it’s a real ‘we’re here to eat fish & party and if you try to get in our way we’re gonna have you as a snack’ mood and I cannot fault them for it

- iskierka is such a fuckboi it’s glorious 

- nOOOOOO tharkay is leaving again fuck ;_______; is his life just an endless procession of semi-unwillingly having to go back to istanbul again these days 

Temeraire did not see why Tharkay should have to go so far, only to deliver news; and particularly when he did not seem as though he wished to go, very much. DDDDDDDD: THIS SUCKS you know that when a) he’s letting it show and b) temeraire notices it that he is dragging his heels big time over this lol

‘there can be very little to call you back to this part of the world any time soon’ LAURENCE YOU 24 KARAT IDIOT YOU ARE HERE HE CAME TO AUSTRALIA FOR YOU ALREADY WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS

all that said whenever I see a ‘Tenzing’ on the page my heart does a happy little dance. ah well now let’s settle in and wait for what horrible catastrophe will happen now that tharkay is gone... come back soon buddy

- ooooooooooooh that is so good, using the last chapter + epilogue to show how the... idk moral wound I guess laurence received victory of eagles has finally healed, that’s so reassuring. he just wants to do good things for good causes and can’t be badgered, cajoled, threatened or convinced to do anything less anymore and it’s all so sweet and well earned. that’s some good development through this book too, from ‘tenzing I cannot trust myself’ to this. excellent stuff

- while I did quite enjoy this book for the character moments it is incredibly weirdly structured? like the beginning drags a bit with the quite uninteresting colony politics and stuff but then they’re finally travelling and then... nothing really happens plot wise before the sea serpents freak the fuck out at the end there lol. I’m mostly a character-oriented reader tho so I’m pretty fine with it.

ETA: actually now that I think about it I’d say that my biggest gripe with this book is that it doesn’t engage at all with the perspective of the native australian people? even though one of the dragons settles down with one group? god knows it’s not like there was no time to dive into it, considering all that time spent in the fucking wilderness lol

we’re going to the inca empire next tho apparently fuck YEAH!!! that’s such an underexplored and extremely interesting part of history, my body is Ready

#temeraire #tongues of serpents #his majesty's dragon #meta #back again after a brief pause! still crying a lot about tharkay! the more things change huh

[takemetohelena]

022617: Weekend Escapade

We planned our weekend during the weekdays.

Friday : Students Jam at UL 

Saturday : Sunflower Maze, Tayug 

Sunday : "WHO YOU" day 

SATURDAY. 

It was settled. We were going with the plan until... we got into the van heading to Tayug. Charm's sister messaged Ali to tell Charm that the whole fam is going to Baguio that day and they're gonna stay overnight. 

 Naisip namin, sumama nalang kaya kami? Charm asked kung okay lang and they said okay! Okay. Kalma. Excited na meeeeeeeee!!!!! Hahahaha actually, we were a little hesitant because  

Hel: I really want to see the sunflower maze saka I had a deal with Roselyn na kapag sumama ako sa Students Jam, pupunta kami sa sunflower maze sa Saturday +++ i have plates to do!! +++ i have no clothes! And i can't go home because di na ako makakaalis hahaha. 

Ali: she has to review for her unit test on monday daw and her mami doesn't know hahaha.   

Rose: she has a practice tomorrow for choric speech. 

Pine: he has some lappie stuffs to do. 

At the same time, the thought of spending overnight in Baguio thrilled us (YAS OVERNIGHT!) because 

 1. Malamig sa baguio and I'm tortured by the Pang. weather since forever. 

 2. Sleepover in Benguet!! I've never been to benguet even though I lived in baguio for two years and it's a little far from the city meaning: fresher air, few houses and vehicles andd nice and welcoming people. Baryo > City. 

3.CRASH. We're all(almost) off the teenage phase and adulting is eating us kaya we should make the most out of every opportunity to bond and enjoy lifee! +++ we agreed of a motto for that escapade, "ENJOY NOW, CRY LATER" Hahahaha. 

Ayun na nga. Umalis kami sa van going to tayug, the driver was calling us saying, "aalis na to malapit ng mapuno!" "Wag na kayong pabebe" hahaha. No kuya, we are going North hahaha. 

Pine and Charm lend me shirts and jogging pants because I decided not to go home while Alison borrowed clothes from Roselyn. We had lunch at Roselyn's house and waited for Charm there tapos we went to the bus station going to Baguio na. 

When we arrived, Roselyn was making yaya to the skates at Burnham but we were all hungry. I wanted to make them try the sisig at Laxamana (my fave sisig when i was still in slu) so pinilit ko sila. We rode a jeep to the place, medyo kabado pa ako because baka may makita akong kakilala ko hahahaha. Ayun we ate there, Roselyn had 1.5 extra rice tapos sabi nya "hindi naman masarap" hahahaha. 

After Laxamana, niyaya ko sila sa Circle, a cute school supplies store near the the sisig and they were all like: 

 "OOOOOOH" 

"OOOOOOOOOOOH" 

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH"

Hahahahaha, pero pretty talaga yung mga notebooks dun pramis! So hipstery and tumblry. Ang ending, they all chose something, inadvance nilang lahat yung birthday gift nila kay Alison and have the notebook as the gift from her hahaha. RIP Alison's wallet hahahaha. I tried to negotiate with her na iaadvance ko na din yung birthday gift ko sa 2018 pero good for 2017 lang daw yung promo nya. Hahaha. 

After Circle, we went to the grocery store just beside it for a mini grocery twaym. Biglaan kasi ang lahat kaya wala kaming shampoo, girl echos and toothbrush(i lost my toothbrush at roselyn's house kasi huhu). While we were at the baggage counter, may tinuro akong korean kay alison and she said, "OPPA" pacute voice HAHAHA. I dont know if the oppa heard pero natatawa ako hahaha. Grocery grocery, we thought of buying chips and wine but no one wants to do the honor kaya di kami bumili hahaha. Nung nasa counter na kami, I panicked because hindi ko mahanap yung number namin sa baggage counter, nakikipag usap nako dun kay kuya na nawala ko nung nilabas ni Charm (bwisit sya hahaha). 

Nung paakyat na kami, may nadaanan kaming alcohol free taste, mukha syang empirador pero feeling ko wine lang. I was the one who drink last tapos inistraight ko, *insert dirgursting shet!* ang pait! Hahahaha, inopen ko yung gummy gummy ko agad, ang init sa throat huhu. 

Skates, Burnham. 

We payed 50 each for 30minutes of skating and I spent 20 minutes trying to stand! Andun lang ako sa gilid nakakapit sa poste, nakakakapit na nga ako napapasplit pa'ko. I heard them fall and fall and fall pero I was too focused of not getting my head bagok kaya di ko sila matawanan full blast hahahahaha. After awhile, nakakaskates na din si Ali at Charm kahit na nanginginig nginig yung mga paa nila hahahaha they wanted to help me pero ayaw kong bumitaw sa poste kasi pag nadulas ako mahirap tumayo af! Hahahaha. Roselyn was good at it kaya paikot ikot na sya sa area and Pine knows how to skate too. While Roselyn was in the middle with her monopod, a foreigner guy in skates bumped into her pero hindi sila natumba. I dont know what exactly happened, I just heard the sound of her phone flying and falling hahahaha. She went on my side (the poste and me) to check her phone tapos lumapit yung nakabangga sakanya asking if it's okay, Roselyn was inis with him, siguro she wants to ratatat him na pero he's a foreigner and di sya nakapagprepare ng english ratatat, ang nasabi nya lang dun sa foreigner, "You're bad!" HAHAHAHAHA.

After telling myself na hindi ko ikamamatay tong skates, I agreed to let go of my beloved poste and get help from Roselyn, kabado me because I know na pag matutumba ako di naman nya ako massave, mahihila ko pa sya hahahaha. Fortunately nakaabot naman ako sa kabilang side, with the railings as my new 'poste'. While I was skating while nakakapit sa railing, nadulas ako pabaliktad! And di ko binitawan yung railing kasya napwersa yung braso ko huhu until now masakit pa din. I crei. Ayun na. Struggle nanaman tumayo. Jusqlord. Habang nagsstruggle ako tumayo I see them magkakahawak kamay silang apat habang nagsskate hahahaha, I took a vid of them I just dont know if I can post it here hahaha. Inggit af me pero feeling ko pag kasama ako dun matutumba kaming lahat hahahahaha. Just when I was kinda learning how to do it, 4minutes nalang yung time huhu. Nagskate ako back to my poste, yung konting distance nalang makakakapit na'ko dun nadulas nanaman ako ugh hahaha. Sabi ko sa isip ko 'fuck this shit pagod na me' so dun ko na tinanggal yung skating shoes kung saan ako nadulas hahaha. 

All in all, my first skating experience was an epic fail pero it was fun. I want to tell in detailed how they fell and fell pero di ko masyado nakita, basta naririnig ko nalang yung pag "BOG!" ng sahig followed by "animal!" "animal ka!" and laughters hahahaha. 

Ps. Alison fell three times *coughs*. Roselyn fell two times pero both sobrang hurt hurt *coughs coughs* HAHAHA. While Charm, minor falls lang and hindi masakit kasi manhid sya haha. Si Pine, di sya nagsshare kung ilang beses syang nafall! Sa skates. Hahaha  

4:11am, I haven't had any sleep yet and I'm on a phone break from my plates. Where were we? Ayun. We went to SM to meet Charm's pemily, halos gumapang na'ko from Burnham to SM because paakyat and nagmamadali kami kasi kanina pa daw sila naghihintay tapos mag exclamation point na yung messages nila hahahaha. Nung nakita namin sila, they said we're gonna walk back to Burnham and we're looking at each other like 'fail! Hahahaha', the walk back was easier because pababa, we even saw jollibee on the way haha, I had a selfie with it (we looked bagay haha). I lost count kung ilang beses kaming nagkahiwahiwalay hahaha basta nagkakawalaan kami. Meron yung nahiwalay kami nina Pine and Ali ata sakanila because we were distracted dun sa public viewing na nagtotorrid kiss hahaha. 

Around 8pm siguro, We rode a jeep going to La Trinidad then bumababa kami somewhere I dont know to wait for a taxi. Alison and Pine rushed to the nearest tindahan to buy chips tapos we drank buko juice while waiting. Idk it doesn't seem to fit, yung buko juice tapos cold weather hahaha. Aaand may dumating ng taxi, we saw the city lights from there ang ganda! 

Longlong, La Trinidad. We were welcomed by the cold breeze in Longlong. When I say cold, I mean nilalamig ako di ko alam kung nilalamig din sila hahaha. I was wearing denim SHORTS +++ no jacket kaya malamig talaga hahahaha. Kasi naman, biglaan yung Baguio akala ko magpapakasummer feels ako sa Tayug hahaha. 

We gathered in a small cozy living room, kanya kanyang upo na hahaha. Charm's family was catching up with each other tapos nakikinig lang kami. Tapos kumain ako ng baby corn, nakatatlo ata ako! Hahahaha. Suddenly, I missed Quezon, parang ganun yung vibe dun eh huhu. May isa sa amin na nagyaya sa labas so we went. Alison was kind enough to lend me her jacket pangtulog pero masikip! Hahaha. Paglabas namin tumambay kami sa across the street while eating chips. 

And there I thought, 'I like this.' I mean I like us going cafe hops, singing at the top of our lungs in ktvs, watching movies, getting drunk at sleepovers, riding wild rides and taking lot of pictures but I like this better, just sitting outside in the cold watching few cars pass by. Maybe it's because of benguet's temperature hahaha basta something about the mood. It's tumblry hahaha. 

Few minutes later we were called to go back inside for dinner, Charm's ate took a pic of us there but it's malabo pero keri. After eating and a little kwentuhan ulit Charm's tita(ata) told us that we will walk for another one hour para pumunta dun sa tutulugan namin. Honestly, naexcite ako! Hahaha but unfortunately joke lang daw yun haha, naglakad lang kami ng konti tapos we went inside a house tapos nakamazed kami sa malaking tv tapos sa mini bar haha. Inayos namin yung mga sleeping place namin tapos kwentuhan na ulit. We planned to take a bath na that night kasi feeling namin di namin kaya maligo sa umaga because BRR tapos sira daw heater. Peroooo.. di din nami kaya haha. Half bath only, si pine kinaya nya. 

SUNDAY

I woke up around 5am, masakit na masakit yung ulo ko and i feel like throwing up. NagCR ako and naglabas ng hinanakit haha. After that I went back to our higaan and tried to sleep again pero masakit talaga and I wanna puke ulit kaya bumalik ako ng CR then *bwaaak* nireplay ko sa utak ko yung mga ginawa ko that caused this kalbaryo the *TING!* may hangover ako!! Dun sa freetaste na parang emperador! HAHAHAHA fuuu ang lakas naman nun? Hahahaha. Bumalik ako ulit sa higaan then I gently tapik tapik Alison, nung gumalaw sya i whispered "tic tac" yung candy na tic tac! Hahaha, she reached for her bag tapos binigay nya sakin yung tic tac tas tulog sya ulit haha. Ako palang gising that time and my headache is killing me huhu bwisit na hangover di na ako magffree taste (WOW HAHA). When nagising na sila Charm's ate gave me gamot pangsakit ng ulo, ininom ko then few minutes later nasusuka nanaman ako kaya naglabas ako  ng sama ng loob sa cr ulit basta feeling ko mamamatay nako! Hahaha. 

We ate breakfast and went up sa kalsada, tapos sabi ni Charm may small mountain dun na makikita mo yung roads sa baba. We went there, mini hiiike!! Parang less than 10minutes hike lang sya tapos ang ganda dunn and malamig pa, we took lots of pictures and videos. Basta maganda dun, my kind of chill place. We went down na, tapos may pick up dun na red. They wanted us to sit inside pero pinush namin sa labas haha, It’s so fun and malamig. Idk kung san kami pupunta pero dun pala sa bahay ng isang tito ni Charm, we went sa balcony and maganda rin yung view, we took pictuures. After dun, aalis na daw kami. Nung nasa labas na kami, biglang tumakbo si Charm and Ali tapos narealize namin ni Roselyn kung bat sila tumakbo, nakikipag unahan sila sa pick up para sila yung tatayo. Edi sila na nakatayo hahaha. 

Strawberry faaarm. First time ko pumunta dun, pagbaba namin there’s a kuya na nagtitinda ng strawberry icecream sabi nya puuure strawberry daw yun so we tried it masaaraaap. Thanks umma alison hahaha. Ang ganda nung farm. Nahulog si Roselyn sa idk what to call it basta yung putikan haha white pa naman shoes nya. Tapos we went to the small flower farm inside the strawberry farm, we paid 5pesos sa entrance and took pictures, kahit papano nawala yung sunflower thirst ko kasi madami rin sunflower dun hahaha. After Strawberry farm bumalik na kami sa pick up, pupunta na kami sa city yay.

While we were on the road, biglang umambon, lalo malamig wee. Tapos palakas ng palakas basang basa na kamii. Charm’s tito parked the car sa Jollibee, we all went inside and nilibre nila kami yaay hahaha. Nagcharge na din kami ng phone. Nung hindi na umuulan bumalik na kami tapos to city naaa.

They dropped us at Pines Garage because uuwi na kami hahaha. Tapos yun we said goodbye to them, kaming apat nalang magkakasama; me, pine, rose, ali.

Rose and Ali wanted to go to burnham park kasi bibili daw sila ng pasalubong so we went. They bought bracelets ako i bought a strawberry keychain na nilagay ko sa payong ko because wala lang it’s cute. Sabi ko may manghuhula there tapos gusto nilang dalawa magpahula, ako din gusto ko pero ijajudge ko muna kung makatotohanan yung manghuhula hahaha. Hinanap namin yun tapos 50each daw hula. Nauna si Alison, the way I saw it peke yung manghuhula hahaha. Masyadong play safe yung mga sagot nya like.. Alison asked.. “Magkakatuluyan po ba kami” or something like that tapos the manghuhula said, “Kung walang haharang sa inyo at malalagpasan nyo ang mga pagsubok magkakatuluyan kayo” pinipigilan kong tumawa like loool hahahha. Si Roselyn pinush nya pa rin. I forgot the convos na basta face palm hahahaha. 

After manghuhula, we bought footlongs and sweet mais tapos pines garage na then off we uwi.

I should’ve wrote this nung fresh pa ang mga pangyayari, ngayon I can’t recall the feels na, nung feb pa kasi to hahaha. I could’ve narrate the mini hike part better pero nakalimutan ko na huhu that was my fave part pa naman, tapos yung pick up rides. Pero finally nagawa ko din to hahaha. The experience was very nice tapos happy talaga me. The End.

[cap-tainwesker-gone]

some incoherent botw thoughts! contains spoilers so proceed with caution.

i've been watching a walkthrough of the game on and off since yesterday. i just got done watching the main story cutscenes and man, oh man, do i have some #thoughts (a majority of them positive, a few not so much)!

i think this is one of my favorite zelda reincarnations to date. unlike the zelda we see in previous games (the perfect and sure character that knows and takes control of her destiny), this zelda is one that struggles with her role and, as such, is very conflicted and unconfident in her abilities. she struggles with forming a connection with the goddesses and calling upon their blessing, which is absolutely crucial to stopping the great evil of ganon, and as such, she feels she's a failure and grows very disillusioned.

seeing this journey and her overcoming this obstacle, seeing her rise and being able to take the bull by the horns in the end, is really freaking refreshing. rather than the usual one-dimensional character she's painted as, this zelda feels--and is--human.

the champions are great. i don't think i dislike any of them (even revali, who is, admittedly, a huge asshole). i really appreciate each one of them and how they approach their destiny, zelda, and link.

mipha's relationship with link is really freaking cute!!! the fact that she crafted a zora tunic to propose to him with after everything was over kills me softly, and it makes it that much bittersweet after he releases her spirit and everything is all said and done. you could tell they genuinely cared about one another and imho i would've loved for them to be end game,, thanks nintendo for ruining my dreams

urbosa, of course, is fabulous. i expect nothing less from the gerudo. the gerudo is my favorite race in zelda by far and urbosa is just... i love how compassionate she is. i get the vibe that she has romantic feelings for zelda but i can also interpret their relationship as maternal and tbh, i'm fine with either one. the reference to nabooru she makes, as well as her talking about ganondorf and how revenge will be far sweeter because he was gerudo in legends of old, hit such a sweet spot for me i'm crey

(another sweet spot hit: crossdressing gerudo link. yes yes yes. give me more of that.)

daruk reminds me of darunia in many ways. i love love love the trope of goofy fatherly gorons, and daruk fits that so well.

like i said -- revali is a dick. i enjoyed the ribbing he had with link but i appreciated it even more that he admitted link was a better man than he was, and that being zelda's knight was his rightful place.

i'm simply amazed at how well they handled the npcs. everyone is unique. i'm even more impressed with how women were handled -- we had buff ladies, thin ladies, fat ladies, tall ladies, short ladies, ladies with hourglass figures, ladies with apple figures, ladies with pear figures, small breasts, large breasts, large thighs, thin thighs... you see my point.  but it's not just about their physical attributes: we had women proud of their sexualities, women who were chaste, women who were explorers, knights, researchers, etc.

which tbh zelda's always been pretty good about crafting interesting npcs but man oh man i just. this game takes the cake for me

there were, however, some things i didn't like so much, which is bound to happen because nothing is perfect

the biggest thing i didn't like was ganon's role in the game. he wasn't a character as much as he was just a mindless monster you were tasked to defeat.  all the game gives us is that ganon is a great evil who was tired of taking on his human form and decided to just attack hyrule straight on, which is okay but that doesn't give the player too much incentive to care about actually defeating this so-called "great evil".

in wind waker (and arguably oot) ganondorf was a great villain because he was sympathetic. all he wanted was to help his people. i feel like this game really could have benefited from a similar narrative (despite the fact that the gerudo are now striving), with monster ganon in the present and ganondorf in the past. knowing a villain makes a player care about that villain, and caring about the villain ultimately gives the player a greater incentive and a stronger urge to defeat said villain.

i also didn't care much for the voice acting.

it's not that i didn't like the implimentation of voice acting -- i actually love the idea of voice acting in the main cutscenes, and think it's a step in the right direction for zelda -- but that the voice acting was... bad?  there were only three voices i liked (the king, daruk, and urbosa) and the rest were... pretty cringe to me. it was very anime which i guess makes sense because it's zelda but mmm.

i'm pretty surprised how quickly i fell in love with this game. growing up with zelda, i'd like to think i'm a pretty big zelda fan, but i have to admit that the trailers and even the demo left me unimpressed and disinterested. i'm very glad i decided to give it a chance because the game proved me wrong on so many fronts.

other things i like but aren't really important enough for me to go into detail:

- confirmation that this is part of the child timeline, post-twilight princess. the child timeline is my favorite so !!! - sassy link. HE'S SO SASSY HERE?? - the divine beast designs are pretty rad - so many sexual innuendos oh my god. looks like zelda is growing up with its fanbase

other things i don't like but aren't really important/are just me being petty:

- stamina bar - can't keep horses as far as i can tell?? - stamina bar - can't date cute girls in game - stAMINA BAR

#shut it riley #botw spoilers #this is pretty long btw