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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 8 months

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About Me: Favorite Video Games

So you may not know this, but I’m a gamer. Shocking, right? Who’d ever have guessed it? But to be totally fair here, I rarely talk about video games on Tumblr. I talk about movies, and there have been a handful of times where I reviewed video games, but I focused more on the story, characters, and all that then I did on whether or not the gameplay was good. In my earliest days, before I found my niche, I talked about games a fair deal, but that fell by the wayside so I could focus on films (my true passion).

So hey, look at this! You’re all going to get to see what my favorite video games are now! Remember, everything here is just my personal opinions; I'm not trying to give actual reviews of each of these games in a couple of sentences or trying to sell you on them, I'm talking about the stuff in them that makes me love them. All of this is my subjective opinion, and I'm not asking you to agree with me here, I'm just trying to talk about stuff that I love.

Oh, and here are some honorable mentions: Super Mario Bros. 3, Banjo-Kazooie (I still haven’t finished it and I don’t want to include games I haven’t played through), Kid Icarus: Uprising, Bayonetta 2, Injustice 2, BioShock, Doom Eternal, Super Metroid, Dragon Age II, God of War II, Castlevania: Aria/Dawn of Sorrow, The Wolf Among Us, The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando/Up Your Arsenal, and Heritage for the Future. Also a shout out to Tell Me Why and Life is Strange, games I watched my wife play and loved the story of but that I didn’t actually play myself; the former in particular has all sorts of elements I love in my stories.

Now, without further ado, here’s my top 50! Oh, and only the top 30 have pictures because there's image limits on posts! What a load of BS!

50. Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Ok, maybe this game is lacking in a few areas at the expense of its massive customization system… but boy howdy what a system it is! I cannot tell you how much time I’ve sunk into decorating my island, reorganizing my villagers, and just making all sorts of weird themed areas. It’s a lot of fun, and I get to do all this work while hanging with a bunch of weird, cute animals.

49. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R

The original game was a lot of fun, but even I’ll admit it felt like it was missing something. That something was probably Foo Fighter, but guess what? She’s in the updated rerelease, along with aslew of other new characters like my favorite minor antagonist Mariah and the bane of Heritage for the Future players, Pet Shop! Add onto that a much better campaign mode with some fun little AU shenanigan matches and you have the most loving fighting game tribute to JJBA imaginable! Now if only they’d give Part 8 a little more love...

48. Batman: Arkham Origins

This is the redheaded stepchild of the Arkham series, and on some level I get why. It is very much aping City, right down to the map despite their being some expansions here and there, and the combat is much more of the same with little in the way of evolution, and don’t get me started on the fucking Joker showing up again. But this game also features some of the best bosses in the series such as Firefly and especially Deathstroke, a Bane who isn’t just a mindless mass of muscles like in the other games, and some interesting sidequests that make this early look at Batman’s superheroics a worthwhile entry in my eyes.

47. Miitopia

This is one of the easiest games out there, what with the autopilot combat and minimal difficulty (though there is a big spike late in the game). But the sheer vastness of the facial customization means that literally anyone from all of art or history can take part in a wacky, cliché RPG adventure. Hank Hill can fight the evil overlord Seth MacFarlane with a crew consisting of Chowder, Thor, and Japanese comedian/director/actor Beat Takeshi. If that’s not worth the price of admission, I don’t know what is.

46. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

The DS is where Castlevania truly shined, and my favorite of all the handheld entries is this portrait-hopping journey to defeat a mad artist and his evil vampire children. The locations are pretty great, there’s tons of sidequests and alternate game modes (my favorite is the one where you play as the Old Axe Armor), and there’s an awesome brutal bonus dungeon where you get to fight the bosses from Dawn of Sorrow without the stupid drawing bullshit!

45. Maximo vs. Army of Zin

The original game was a fun, yet very flawed action platformer. This game veers more into the hack-and-slash genre to great effect; it’s not the deepest combat ever, but it’s a lot of fun, with much better platform, bosses, and story than the first game. There’s just something cool about a world that mixes Gothic horror, steampunk, and other fantasy elements together all in one place.

44. God Hand

This is one of the most deceptive games you’ll ever come across. On the surface, it might seem like an ugly beat-em-up, but it’s so much more than that. The bosses are brutal yet fantastic, the music is fucking incredible, and the humor is just the right level of absurd to be incredibly charming. It’s ball-bustingly difficult, but let me tell you, when you finally overcome a fight or a boss battle that’s been giving you trouble? It is literally the best feeling in the world.

43. South Park: The Stick of Truth

‘Member when South Park was funny? I ‘member. And The Stick of Truth really brings back all those memories because this is a hilarious and loving tribute to the series made with the help of Trey Parker and Matt Stone to deliver the playable South Park experience of your dreams. It’s gross, immature, raunchy, and funny, and best of all it doesn’t get too preachy or up its own ass with messages—no, it gets up Mr. Slave’s ass to defuse a bomb. Peak South Park right here, though the gameplay is kind of basic. It’s all carried by that stellar writing.

42. Crash Bandicoot: Twinsanity

This game mainly scores a spot on my list for being fucking hilarious. This is the funniest Crash Bandicoot ever got, with all sorts of wacky gags and clever dialogue. Cortex really is the MVP here, with the constant slapstick that befalls him combined with his snarky dialogue making him a standout. It’s a bummer so much was cut from the game, and it does feel a bit incomplete in some areas, but for what it is it’s a damn fun time.

41. Pokemon White/White 2

It was genuinely hard to pick a single game from the series to go on here considering how much I loved Gens III – V. Emerald perfected the generation I first got into the series, LeafGreen is the definitive Kanto experience to me, Platinum polished up Gen IV’s uneven debut and made it incredible, and SoulSilver is a fantastic remake of the first Pokemon game I ever played (Crystal). But I think I have to go with the Gen V games I played as my favorites. They’re fun and challenging, and while the first game has a ridiculously restrictive regional dex and the second has an overreliance on defunct wi-fi features, the fantastic story and fun new Pokemon make up for it. Can’t be too mad at the games that let me make trashy cult classic B-movies with my boy Garbodor, can I?

40. Batman: Arkham Knight

I put off playing this for years, because I wasn’t happy with some of the things I heard about it, such as a lack of traditional boss battles and an overreliance on the Batmobile. These are still problems, but not near as bad as I feared (obviously, since it’s on this list); everything about the gameplay is the series at its peak. The main story is a bit lacking and ends up being a tad too predictable for me to love it as much as the other entries in the series, but the fact it has Professor Pyg and Man-Bat really helps make up for its shortcomings.

39. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

This game is just as silly and clunky as I imagined an older Bethesda game would be, but to my surprise I think it holds up incredibly well even compared to Skyrim. It’s a bit more complex in a lot of areas, but it’s not too daunting. What really strikes me is how this game actually has a really good story; it’s nothing groundbreaking, but when you look at how bad the Civil War plot in Skyrim was it feels like Shakespeare in comparison. Throw in a ton of unique sidequests with interesting plotlines, a gruesome Dark Brotherhood plot, an interesting villain, and Patrick Stewart for all of about five minutes, and I’d almost say I like this more than Skyrim. Almost.

38. Wolfenstein: The New Order

Sure, it doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel when it comes to FPS games, but does it need to? All I want from a Wolfenstein game is a horde of Nazi motherfuckers to mow down, and guess what this game gives me? What really surprised me was how genuinely cool and likable BJ was. He might be one of my favorite heroes ever after this game. It’s a shame they couldn’t keep this level of polish up in the sequel.

37. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

In a lot of ways, this game is objectively worse than its predecessor. Like the story is ass for sure; I could not give less of a fuck about the Stormcloaks and the Imperials and their stupid civil war if I tried. But the vast world filled with things to do is so much fun to explore, and there’s all sorts of sidequests and shenanigans to get into. This game is pure, stupid fun, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve restarted it just to play as a different race or class. Maybe someday I’ll make it to the final boss. Maybe.

36. Psychonauts

The original Psychonauts is one of the last great platformers, and among them it’s a lot more unique than many of its peers as you’re platforming through the minds of all sorts of wacky characters to help them overcome their issues. Bouncing through the conspiracy theory-addled brain of a disturbed milkman or decimating a city kaiju style inside the mind of a hyper-intelligent mutant lungfish are the kind of off-the-wall ideas this game throws at you, and in my opinion the only thing that could hold it back is if it had a really janky final level that combines meat, circuses, escort missions, and an underwhelming final boss… Oops. Still a great game in my eyes, one that’s 95% perfect.

35. Final Fantasy VI

For a lot of people, this is the best Final Fantasy game, and I definitely see why. It has a truly massive playable roster of unique characters with their own special gimmicks (of which only a handful are actually useful, mind you) and one of the greatest video game villains ever conceived in the mad clown Kefka, plus it is so focused and tightly plotted for the first half of the game. I think that after Kefka takes over the story becomes a lot more aimless and unfocused, but that’s also where the game becomes a lot more fun and challenging too. It’s a bit uneven, but after how hard the opera house scene goes I think it’s allowed to trip a little bit.

34. Dragon Age: Origins

A lot more praise is thrown at this series’ sci-fi sibling Mass Effect, probably because that series is a lot more consistent with how good it is across the board (Andromeda notwithstanding), but I’m much more fond of fantasy settings myself and this game delivers a fantastic one in ways its sequels couldn’t quite manage. This is the only game in the series where I genuinely loved every single party member (especially Leliana) and actively tried to get them the happiest endings possible—yes, even the douchebag anti-villain who joins you if you play your cards right), and the plot is just the right level of epic fantasy cheese seasoned with some delicious side quests. If the dwarf plotline wasn’t such a slog and if Varric was in the game, this would be a lot higher on the list, but this game still holds a special place in my heart.

33. Batman: Arkham Asylum

Our first trip into the Asylum really did kill the notion that licensed games had to be the most obnoxious shovelware schlock imaginable by making a Batman game that actually makes you feel like Batman. Sure, the detective part is a bit minimal here compared to the sequels, but the combat is so fun and refreshing that I’m not too bothered by the lack of crime scene investigations. There’s a clear love for the entire mythos here, and best of all a clear love for the animated series—Hamill and Conroy reprise their roles as Joker and Batman respectively, and Arleen Sorkin gives Harley one last ride before her retirement. It’s a real love letter to the Dark Knight, and it spawned one of the most consistently good video game series around, so I’ll forgive it for having the lamest final boss I’ve ever fought just this once.

32. Kingdom Hearts

What I like about the original game is how it struck such a nice balance in its absurd premise, with it never feeling like the Final Fantasy or Disney elements are really overpowering each other. We have the grandiose, convoluted plots of the former and the magic, whimsy, and awesome villains of the latter combining together into one impressive package. Yeah, a lot of the level designs are dogshit (looking at you, Deep Jungle and Monstro), and some of the stunt casting is really bizarre (Lance Bass as Sephiroth?!) but overall this is a game way better than you’d think by hearing that it’s a game where Mickey Mouse and Cloud Strife exist side by side.

31. Super Mario 64

Mamma mia! It is genuinely impossible for me to not feel nostalgic for this game. So many 3D platformers that came out in its wake took what it did and polished it to absurd degrees, but there’s still something so special about diving back into one of the portraits in Peach’s castle and going through those levels again and again. The music and atmosphere of the game add onto it; every time I play it, I feel like a kid again. It’s just such a charming game.

30. MediEvil

If Tim Burton made a Gothic horror fantasy movie, I imagine it would be something like this game. It really uses the limitations of the PS1’s graphics to the fullest extent, with the jagged polygonal looks of the characters enhancing the experience, and it has such a crazy variety of levels and enemies, from a phantom pirate ship to a crystal cave with a dragon to a village of posessed villagers to an ant hill. Sir Daniel Fortesque is one of my favorite video game protagonists around because of his posthumous journey to live up to the legend fabricated around him.

29. God of War III

Every single one of these games just escalates from the previous one. Oh, you fight the hydra in the opening of the first game? How about you fight through Rhodes and then battle the animated colossus that once stood in its port in the second? And how do you top that for the third game? Beat the ever-loving shit out of Poseidon and gouge his eyes out from his POV. And this game only gets more brutal from there! Titans and gods all fall to Kratos in epic and gory boss battles, but honestly even without that I’d put the game on this list for the simple reason that you get to fucking murder Kevin Sorbo as Hercules.

28. EarthBound

Nintendo’s quirkiest RPG makes the cut, mostly on the basis of how weird and charming it is. At this point I’ve essentially memorized everything you need to do in this game, which is good because if it’s your first time you desperately need a guide or you’ll be fucked. There are points where things get a little too grindy (mostly for Poo’s weapons) but it’s genuinely a game whose charms outweigh any negatives there are. Plus, that final boss battle is something else entirely.

27. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

Rebirth and all of its DLC updates took everything great about the original game and polished it into absolute perfection, with so many different item combos you could potentially get and so many bosses and endgames you could encounter. No two runs ever really feel the same, and it’s so satisfying to become so overpowered you nuke the screen every time you attack. The fact there’s a thriving modding community to continually generate new and crazier content also adds to why I have a ridiculous number of hours dumped into this game.

26. Resident Evil VII: Biohazard

This is the first Resident Evil game I ever played and, wow, I sure was missing out all those years! This is one of the most tense survival horror experiences I’ve played through, with a creepy family of hillbilly horrors to avoid as I creep through their ramshackle domicile. It’s fun, creepy, and even a little campy, and it has raised my interest in the rest of the series. Hopefully the game with the giant vampire mommy will live up to how good this one is when I finally get around to playing it.

25. Portal 2

Yes, the puzzles are great, but this game really soars due to its writing. The first game was fun and all, but it was mostly just GLaDOS insulting you the whole time with Chell being an entirely silent protagonist. In this game, we get the lovable idiot Wheatley and the greatest mad scientist ever conceived Cave Johnson to listen to as well, and the way GLaDOS bounces off the former and reacts to the latter help make this game a fun and engaging puzzle-solving adventure.

24. Doom

The legendary FPS series got revitalized after years on the edge of relevancy, and its return is one of the most metal games imaginable. Slaughtering your way through the forces of Hell while heavy metal blares in the background? It really doesn’t get much better than this. While I do think Eternal improved the formula and gameplay in a lot of ways (particularly with the addition of an awesome hub level), I find the original to be way more fun and balanced in terms of difficulty. The lack of Marauders is really what gives it the slightest of edges.

23. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Nobody got left behind for this one. Everyone across the series came back, and then they went and added even more to give us the most ambitious crossover of all time. Ridley, Simon Belmont, Sora, Sephiroth, Kazuya, and more all get to duke it out on the best stages of the series as well as some fresh new ones, and every character plays even better and more balanced than they ever have before. While the single player campaign isn’t quite as exciting as Subspace Emissary from Brawl, it still manages to be a pretty epic quest with fun boss battles. This is just the definitive Smash experience in my opinion.

22. Red Dead Redemption

My daughter has affectionately labeled this game “Horse Movie,” and she’s not wrong. This is a true cowboy experience right here, with lots of gunfights and horse wrangling, and it’s all a blast. The story in particular is really well done, and there’s plenty of fun side quests too. Maybe the gunfights get a bit samey after a while, but it’s an enjoyable open world to explore and is filled with oddities and mysteries galore.

21. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

The first Metal Gear game to make the list, and easily the most underrated of the bunch. It gets a lot of flak for the missing final episode that would have had Venom fight the young Liquid Snake, and while it does suck that that moment isn’t in the game, the story still feels plenty complete and well-done without it. Venom might be one of the most fascinating characters in the series, and the game has some of the most brutal gutpunches and tearjerking moments in the franchise. Maybe it’s just because I’m predisposed to love Metal Gear, but I loved this game even though I was well aware of what it didn’t have.

20. Final Fantasy VII

Not to be a basic bitch, but this is my favorite Final Fantasy. I mean, the cast is all so cool and fun, the story is great, Sephiroth is an amazing villain, and there’s plenty of obscure and obtuse ways of finding secrets that make a strategy guide practically mandatory if you want the most out of the game. What’s not to love? I think I was mostly surprised by how good the game actually was; it’s always high on lists of the best games ever, and it definitely earns that. The fact that Aerith’s death still made me tear up despite being common knowledge is a testament to just how amazing this Fantasy is.

19. Mother 3

EarthBound coasts by on its fun, lighthearted quirkiness… but what if you took that and applied heaping helpings of darkness and a more solid story? That’s Mother 3, a beautiful tale filled with the same out there humor as its predecessor as well as a lot of more mature and deeper themes than even the original tackled (mind you, Earthbound wasn’t devoid of deeper themes to begin with, so this is saying something). The ending is one of the few times I have openly sobbed while playing a video game. They need to officially release this in the West, because I will buy it day one. Fuck, I’ll pre-order it!

18. Yoshi’s Island

If this game was only one of the most charmingly animated games ever made, that would be enough to earn it at least some respect. But it’s also one of the best platformers in a series that invented the genre, centered around a truly inspired baby-carrying gimmick and featuring all manner of creative boss battles and one of the most earwormy soundtracks ever made. That’s enough to get it a spot on this list, but the fact it solidified Shy Guys as a Mario mainstay and not just a one-shot enemy? That gets it into my top 20.

17. Spyro Reignited Trilogy

It’s kind of cheating since it’s all three games in one package, but it’s my list, I make the rules. I view this as the definitive way to play Spyro; the redesigns are all fantastic (especially Elora) and the fact Tom Kenny is now the lovable purple scamp across all three games is wonderful. They even made the first game more enjoyable and even visually interesting, even though it’s still the weakest link in the series! And as much of a Crash Bandicoot stan as I am, the fact this game allows you to switch between the newly composed arrangements of the songs and the original Copeland tracks is a big W over the Bandicoot remakes only having the new versions of the songs.

16. Metal Gear Rising

This is perhaps the most badass game ever made. The first level has Raiden battling through a war zone and then fighting a RAY singlehandedly, leaping across missiles and slicing it in half while the most fucking awesome metal music blares in the background. The game just decides to get even more insane from there. People have argued against it being canon for years, but these people are stupid. This game is just as insane and politically-charged as the rest of the series, so in my book, it’s fucking canon.

15. Undertale

This game’s time in the spotlight has faded a bit, but that only makes it easier for me to look back on it and say, “Damn, that’s one of the finest games ever made.” It has all the quirkiness of the Mother series with unique combat and a stellar story, a cast of likable characters, and some of the best boss fights I’ve ever been through. Best of all, it’s a game that practically encourages and even rewards you for being nice! I still love it, even after all the discourse and skyrocketing popularity, and nothing will make me budge on that love.

14. Hades

I’m a big fan of Greek mythology, so this is yet another game that would have had to try really hard to make me hate it. Thankfully, all its efforts were put into areas that made me love it instead. While the roguelike gameplay is well done, the writing and story are really the stars here, with fantastic character interactions between desperate god Zagreus, the gods of Olympus, and the various denizens of the underworld really making this game something truly special.

13. Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time

Sometimes this game feels like the designers saw all those articles and reviews comparing the first game to Dark Souls and took it to heart, because some of the levels in this game are absolutely brutal—especially if you’re going for 100% completion. But that same difficulty makes playing through the levels a lot of fun as well; it’s probably the most challenging Crash outing to date. It really polishes and updates the Crash formula for the modern age, and hopefully they expand on this in a future game. If nothing else, it finally lets you play as Dingodile, which is a dream come true.

12. Grand Theft Auto V

It’s wacky. It’s cartoonish. It has a surprisingly good story about three criminals from different walks of life becoming fire-forged friends as they violently work out their emotional issues. There’s just so much to do and so much to see, all sorts of collectibles and side missions, and more black comedy than you can shake a stick at, and all of it is made all the more enjoyable because the main villain protagonists are a likable bunch of nutjobs. Hell, sometimes I just like to hop into a car, put on some tunes, and cruise around until I can cause some mayhem, and the fact that’s just as valid as doing a bunch of story missions really makes me love the game.

11. Silent Hill 2

While the first and third games are good in their own rights, I vastly prefer the psychological horror and the monsters manifesting as living allegories for trauma with heavy and dark symbolism as opposed to the evil cult narrative. Plus, you know, this one has Pyramid Head in it, and his presence makes sense instead of simply being there cuz he’s cool.

10. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials & Tribulations

The Ace Attorney series is one of my favorites, and I love just about all the games in it and even the ones I don’t love always have one or two solid cases that keep me coming back. But pound for pound my favorite game in the series is the third one, the one that lets you play as Mia Fey, introduces the callous murderer Dahlia Hawthorne, and has you match wits with the coffee-guzzling prosecutor Godot. Even the filler cases are entertaining, with the one where Phoenix has to get to the bottom of a murder involving his evil doppleganger being wildly amusing (which is more than can be said for that circus case in the second game or cases two through three in the fourth).

9. Live A Live

Few games can boast the sheer variety this game has on display, with levels changing up their style to give everything from standard RPG fair to a prolonged timed puzzle to a fighting game pastiche to an incredibly tense survival horror experience. We also have the precursor to Undertale here in a ninja-themed level where you can spare everyone you come across or otherwise brutally murder them. And while the stories remain relatively simple in every time period you visit, it doesn’t stop them from hitting hard when they need to, like with the fantasy RPG deconstruction that is Oersted’s chapter. This game would easily have switched places with the next game if the final level played a bit more to the game’s strengths, but hey, it’s still good enough to be in the top 10.

8. Chrono Trigger

Square’s other time travel story is definitely the superior one even if it’s a traditional JRPG through and through. Of course, that is because it completely and fully takes advantage of its premise, with actions you take in one time period affecting others in turn, not to mention the vast amount of bonus bosses and sidequests there are to keep the multiple playthroughs to acquire all the endings fresh and fun. I’ve sunk so much time into getting all the endings on the DS version, and I’ve never once been bored even after visiting the Middle Ages or the ruined future world a dozen times.

7. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

There are few games that I love revisiting more than this one. This is Metroidvania at its peak, a perfect blend of action, platforming, and RPG elements into one glorious Gothic horror monster mash package. What’s truly fun with this one is the myriad ways there are to bust the game right open. I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve grinded for hours so that I could dual-wield Crissaegrims and trivialize the Dracula and Galamoth battles.

6. Psychonauts 2

The original Psychonauts is fun and quirky, and is only really held back by a pretty sloppy final level. This game, though? This game is damn near perfect. Nearly every level here is fun and memorable, and the ways Raz has to help each person deal with their mental trauma is a lot more nuanced and tasteful than the original game’s fair-for-its-time takes on dealing with mental illness. The minds of Ford’s old crew as well as Ford himself provide some of the best Psychonauts content to date, and really, who can hate a level that ends with Jack Black as a gay psychic rock star viking performing a musical number to obliterate his own insecurities?

5. Kingdom Hearts II

This is where the Kingdom Hearts franchise peaked, and it’s a high note they’ve yet to reach again. Sure, the tutorial prologue level drags on for quite a long while, but once you get to play as Sora again, ooh boy is this basically the perfect meeting of the worlds of Disney and Square. The Disney worlds are a lot more fleshed out and have twice the plot due to midgame return visits, the combat is more exciting with fun little reaction commands to let you pull off crazy maneuvers, and you get to hang out with Tron and the most based of all Disney heroes, Chicken Little. Best of all, the story manages to strike the perfect balance between being complex and silly without disappearing all the way up its own ass like later entries would.

4. Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

In my house, there was a legend that I had beaten this game to completion one hundred times. I’m not entirely sure how accurate that is, but considering how often I replayed this growing up it can’t be too far off. This is one of the most gorgeous platformers around, and Naughty Dog’s final shot at a genre they’d perfected with their Crash Bandicoot games. Even all these years later the visuals are breathtaking; I still am in awe at how you can see the entire world from atop Snowy Mountain. Every day I cry because they decided to turn the series into GTA clones instead of continuing to explore the gorgeous fantasy world they created in this game.

3. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy

The original Crash Bandicoot was the first game I ever played, and the rest of the series were cornerstones of my childhood. Imagine how elated I was when they not only remade the games, but they created the single definitive way to play them! Sure, the soundtrack being redone can be a little hit or miss, but they completely unfucked the brutal difficulty of the first game (and this is even with adding back the ball-bustingly hard “Stormy Ascent” level) and for the most part left the latter two games entirely untouched save a graphical boost and the ability to play as my girl Coco. Playable Coco alone makes this a dream come true.

2. Batman: Arkham City

The Arkham series is one of the most consistently great series, and this is its greatest entry. The titular city is massive, with so many things to do, and the combat and puzzles are polished to perfection. Add in some actual detective work, some truly epic boss battles against iconic Batman villains like Clayface and Mr. Freeze (and also Solomon Grundy, because why the fuck not?), the ability to play as Catwoman, and one of the most shocking and tragic tales the Dark Knight has ever been in, and I’m more than happy to call it my second favorite game ever.

1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Of course, there was no hope Arkham City had at overcoming this game. This is Kojima’s magnum opus, not least because the entire rest of the Metal Gear series revolves around the events that transpire in this story. After the mindfuck that was the second game, it’s nice to return to a more coherent story, one detailing how Big Boss came to be the man that Snake fought in Zanzibar Land. Everything in the series sprang forth because of the actions the characters take here, and each subsequent game just makes this one better and better. Every single boss battle is unique and engaging, and the final battle is one of the most heartbreaking moments in all of gaming. I still cry every single time I get to the ending. It's such an amazing game, with a relatively simple yet still strong and convoluted story populated with a Russian madman with inexplicable lightning powers, a spirit medium's ghost, and a man who controls bees. God bless Hideo Kojima, that absolute madman.

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ecoamerica · 2 months

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The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

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alanshee-keeper-of-realms · 1 year

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My name is Alanshee Valera,

I've made mistakes I've made choices but I've changed sometimes not in the best way and honestly I feel misjudged right now,

I'm seeing a therapist and she answered a lot and there is going to be a astronomical amount of baggage needing to be unpacked with me, if you see me elsewhere leave me alone please during this time because your baggage may be amongst that.

This is why when things come back up, I don't know how to handle it emotionally this is me saying I am sorry, but I don't feel emotion and that has caused hurt sprinkling I don't know how to communicate properly and you got yourself a shitstorm

From birth I have had a stressful household and if you look at modern sciences on how bad that is for somebody, even in the womb affected by the cortisol levels of the mother, I learned at a young age to detach myself emotionally and this leads to problems my therapist is currently working on me to reattach emotions and reorganize my memories and emotions of each of these memories so I can actually feel them,

This is what led into the fight over these last couple of days, me genuinely not understanding why nobody was getting where I was coming from and utter confusion over the reaction of others.

If you don't know me personally, and they can lie about this if they want, but my truth is, I can't remember what I did two years ago. I'm like an amnesiac patient. How can one get better when they can't even remember what they did?

All I can remember is that Monday and the emotions of hurt pain and agony, especially when I look at the art and photos, each of them that I love and still do because somebody drew them of my beloved creations,

And at the time it was out of appreciation for my own creations, at least that's what I thought.

That same creator has now done what they have done and just added more baggage on top that I will now have to sort out with my therapist as I don't know how to make this situation out and I guess that's why I don't know when to stop,

I don't know that I can choose I don't know how to be human because from my young age I learned to again disconnect myself emotionally from any stressful situation and I'm not talking five six years old I'm talking one to two years old, all of my life

I've been like this so for now this page is abandoned I do know one emotion I am feeling right now and that is fear that is genuine fear because of Diioodles post I think they were looking for me to cry no I'm just afraid for my family my little sister my mother my father who did not ask to be dragged into this,

Even if you think that you didn't people are cruel and they've been dragged in before so yeah I feel genuine fear because I've seen what people of this fandom do to people they don't like, call me a pro shipper when I am a neutral and I will stand by the fact

Labels are stupid and lead to more fights Democrat Republican, anti-pro shipper what is the difference? All I see are two groups fighting. So why are we forcibly labeling people I didn't understand that at time I will admit,

When they said don't call us that, I immediately apologized again, the emotional aspect of disconnection. I don't think of the factor of the fights. All I know is that they were seemingly open to listening to darker subjects,

they need to look at themselves and realize that with me they had no boundaries and that led to both of us ending up hurt, because I was blindly fumbling around not knowing where their boundaries were and they didn't know where their boundaries were

For all of them,

All I knew at my core is I need to defend myself immediately because I have people attacking me that maybe she can't change because nobody took the time to realize that there's something blocking that change, like I said I'm in therapy now have been for a couple weeks we are still in the very very early stages,

It's just today that my therapist realized that we need to work on not only me recognizing my emotions but also digging into my traumas and trying to correct them put them where they need to be and help me actually carefully connect to them because my brain has them disconnected.

I'm sorry for the pain I caused but I would like acknowledgment in the future of the pain you have caused Diisdoodles like I said both of us hurt each other especially now that you have me afraid for the safety of my family, one thing I actually constantly care for because if anything happens to them I'm done.

And I'm sorry if this doesn't come across right again, communication problem this is just how fucked up I am, I don't know how to communicate how I'm feeling what are the core aspects of being Human, I only know the pain the hurt and the agony I feel

Whether or not you genuinely believe me this is my truth

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kingofthenorth49 · 3 years

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Made in China

I don’t know about you, but it sure feels like we are living through the start of World War III.

Now before you scroll past and think my tin foil hat is on too tight this morning, hear me out. It’s not like this doesn’t make sense or anything, if you connect the dots it would appear that the next global conflict will look much different than the previous two.

Think about it. China has been posturing for years to become the next world superpower, and if you can see through the medias bullshit you can read the overtures that are being made in the Asia region along with the saber rattling in the Middle East, you can see that it didn’t take long for Biden to unravel almost 50 years of progress towards peace.

War is inevitable and necessary to the state, and if you ever read Sun Tzu “Art of War”, a Chinese war treatise from the 6th dynasty you would understand the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. He also said that the outcome of war is pre-decided and gave solid advice on the best way to conduct campaigns to conquer foreign powers.

Now before you get your panties in a bunch, I’m not accusing China of deliberately inducing a world-wide pandemic through the use of a genetically modified pathogen after spending years devaluating the US dollar using printed money (not like we have room to talk, but we also haven’t been on a buying spree like the Chinese have in say, Canada for example.), but if I were President Xi Jinping that’s what I’d do. The best war is one where you risk no resources.

Again, not saying the Chinese are attempting to destabilize the United States, not at all. Just saying if I were going to take over the world that’s how I’d do it, from a far, using disinformation and creating confusion and chaos in the streets of my enemy. Not like it hasn’t been done before.

See many of you see people like me as conspiracy theorists, people who are to be dismissed because we believe in things others’ think are foolish, things that seem farfetched and impossible to be going on in a frame of present reference. I just see myself as a guy who likes history and reads a lot of books that were written before Google came along and dumbed down our nations. Anyone who has ever read a book on the rise of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party in 1920’s Germany would understand completely. If you were to pick up a couple other books on how Hilter rose to power on the back of that party, you’d understand also how quickly people can be manipulated, and how the media and ideology can quickly create a firestorm of hate that makes it easy for societies to crumble. Read even further on how the German army used deceptive tactics to invade Austria and Poland so quickly they didn’t have a chance to prepare.

That’s not a conspiracy theory, that’s history and we all know those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

I guess watering down history is a good thing, right? Taking down statues, changing historical accounts in the name of political correctness, and not encouraging people to critically examine all aspects of history to learn from them helps us become a better society.

Let me give you the Cole’s notes version of how quickly things can go off the rails when the wrong ideology gains traction in a society where people intend to do evil. Again, not saying our current situation is remotely commensurate with our current situation, but it’s a good example of how quickly things can go from good to evil.

Here we go.

1933 - The Nazi Party takes power in Germany. Adolf Hitler becomes chancellor (or Prime Minister) of Germany. Nazis temporarily suspend civil liberties.

1934 - Hitler combines the positions of chancellor and president to become “Fuhrer” or leader of Germany. Jewish newspapers are no longer allowed to be sold in the streets of Germany.

1935 - The Nazis intensify the persecution of people that do not agree with their political philosophy. Jews are deprived of their citizenship and other basic rights.

1936 – Nazi's boycott Jewish owned businesses. The Olympic Games are held in Germany; Signs barring Jews are removed until the event is over. Jews no longer have the right to vote.

1938 - German troops annexed Austria. On Kristallnacht, the “night of broken glass,” Nazis terrorized Jews throughout Germany and Austria and 30,000 Jews are arrested. Jews must carry ID cards (papers!) and Jewish passports are marked with a “J”. Jews no longer had businesses, attend plays, concerts etc. (maybe they were unvaccinated??) All Jewish children are move to Jewish schools. Jewish businesses are shut down; They must sell businesses and hand over securities and jewels. Jews must hand over drivers licenses and car registrations. Jews must be in certain places at certain times.

1939- Germany takes over Czechoslovakia and invades Poland. World War Two begins as Britain in France declared war on Germany. Hitler orders that Jews must follow curfews; Jews must turn in radios to the police; Jews must wear yellow stars of David.

Now I’ll stop there.

Those are all non-debatable historical facts, no subjectivity in my interpretation, just the facts m’am. Look how quickly one ideology took hold in a country ripe for change. At the time of the 1930’s German’s were desperate for change as they had just came out of world war 1 and were suffering from paying reparations for their conduct during that conflict and when Hilter came along he lit a fire under the German people by blaming the Jews for the loss of WW1.

Five years. Five years from the time a tyrant took power until he was able to start killing 6 million people.

Now if you are one of those types that believe “it can’t happen again” look no further to all the other genocides over the past 100 years, up to and including the Uighur crisis currently going on in China where they have over 1 million Uighur Muslims in concentration camps and they are mass sterilizing these people to the point it’s actually consider a genocide, as it’s reducing the Muslim population in the western provinces of China though declining birthrates. If these women don’t submit to forced intra-uterine devices or monthly pregnancy tests, they are put in prisons.

Put in prision because they needed to take a test, shot, or device and wouldn’t?

Say it ain’t so Joe, say it ain’t so.

Folks, some people are evil. Rotten to the core. They have no soul and are in the most desperate need of getting laid of any person on the planet. That’s reality. You can choose to stick you head in the sand and pretend the boogeyman doesn’t exist, but in truth the boogey man will always exist because humans are nasty evil creatures capable of the most horrendous conduct, and if you think ignoring them or passing laws to prevent them from doing things are going to stop them, well you are just stupid. Sorry, I can’t soften that up any because I owe it to you to be blunt in these times.

Now if you’ve made it this far I think you would agree that something is amiss these days, there’s too many conspiracy theories of the past few years that are now seeming to be true, yet no one wants to talk about where the end game is. I’m not sure what it is, but I have some theories, most involved China or George Soros, but the data indicates more towards the former versus the latter.

Trudeau loves China, he’s said so on many occasions to the point of gushing over their communist form of government. His father was a Marxist, and his mother loved communists. Literally. **bow chica bow wow**

Hunter Biden and the Big Guy are in bed with the Chinese in a different way that Margret and Fidel. We’ve seen the emails, the testimony, and the allegations. For them, it’s about money. Last week the Big Guy shut down the investigation that Trump started into the Wuhan lab. That’s now created a firestorm that will likely make 9/11 look like a traffic accident. Coincidence? I think not.

We recently had two Chinese scientists with ties to the Chinese People’s Army kicked out of our highest security epidemiology lab here in Canada after CSIS had concerns they were passing information back to the Wuhan lab (a lab so highly classified Canadian scientists have a hard time getting security clearances to access it), and Trudeau drew the ire of senior Canadian military personnel when he bullied them into allowing the Chinese to hold winter war games at CFB Petawawa. Why is Trudeau so moonstruck with China?

Dot, Dot, Dot.

Once again, I hope I’m wrong. I really, really do, but go back and walk that timeline again and ask yourself if you now understand why Netanyahu hit Hamas as hard as he did.

Never again.

Can you blame him Comrades?

Now as you sit here in North America today, especially in Canada, does it not seem eerily similar to what has happened before in history? Keep in mind that Jews were loaded onto boxcars under the premise to take them to safety from the angry German peoples.

I really do hope my tinfoil hat is too tight and it’s cutting off the circulation to my frontal lobe, I want the Canada back I grew up in, and the America I fell in love with. I just hope this really is just a bad bug that’s part of a cyclical pattern of virology and this isn’t the start of a global war to reorganize the planet power structure and de-populate the globe.

The dots just tell a different story.

Jim Out.

#ww3 trudeaumustgo wearesoscrewed enough

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r3tr0s-posts · 3 years

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Good evening tumblr, so just tried to fight the wither...here's the torture that happened

• I stupidly thought to use a crossbow and not a regular bow, meaning it took forever to reload, so it killed me quick since it stayed 50ft in the air the whole time

• I forgot to make a spawn point close by, so I had to panic and quickly craft a boat and sail back to the fight, at the same time forgetting to bring a bed which means...I had to do all this again but this time bring a bed

• Since I for some reason decided to fight it in a snow biome(ice spikes specifically), it meant their was no mobs to take it's attention off me, meaning I couldn't reorganize my inventory since it kept chasing me

• I tried to hide underwater and regroup there but, surprise, the game hated me today so a drowned with an trident just happened to be right next to where I was hiding...you can probably guess what happened

• After about an actual hour(seriously I timed it) of constantly dying and being chased by this three head nightmare, I ended up changing to peaceful so that I could take a breather...only to realize that I despawned it meaning I now have to go back to nether, find a fortress, and spend another week trying to get three more wither skulls to try again later...I'm still facepalming at how dumb I was during all of this

•Oh and to add to my suffering, I lost my netherite boots that had soul sand walking and my netherite axe in the battle...also my map that shows where my home was...so basically I'm completely lost and have no idea where to go...yay

So the end my little vent off, I just like to say

Whoever thought it was a good idea to have "Keep Inventory" disable achievements should be fired from mojang, Good night everybody!

Also drew some art since it's been awhile and I thought the world would enjoy seeing a visualization of my suffering

#idk what to tag #minecraft #maybe?#my art #idk I'm tired and angry okay #ask to tag #give me some help with this

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animeniacss · 3 years

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A Palette of Emotions - Artist!Taehyung x Teacher!Reader - Chapter 18 - You Can’t Choose Your Family

Synopsis: Taehyung dreams of being a professional and famous artist one day, but finds that the sea of creativity can be lurking with blood hungry sharks, as well as bland, motionless starfish. Swimming through the sea of opportunities somehow washed him up onto the shore of Bright Star Preschool, as an art teacher. This wasn’t where he expected to be 4 years into his career, but anything to get his big break though, right?

Feat. BTS, TXT, ITZY, Jisoo (BlackPink), Taeyong (NCT)

Genre: Romance, Slow Burn, Love Triangle, Drama, School Setting, Working!AU

Length: approx. 5.2k words

Chapter 18 - You Can’t Choose Your Family

“What do you want to talk about?” Yoongi asked curiously as you both walked out into the hallway. He pressed his back against the wall, crossing his arms. “Well, I already know, but…” He chuckled a bit. You looked at him, sighing softly.

“I just…I don’t know what to do. I need some advice.” Yoongi nodded.

“Lay it on me.” He said simply.

“Well, Taehyung and Namjoon have both taken me on dates. They were sweet, and I had a good time. That’s not…really the problem.” Yoongi nodded. “But recently, Hoseok has been telling me that he has felt insignificant now that all of these men are like…asking me out. And he knows that I don’t feel the same way towards him as he does for me. So, I’m in a pickle here. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but I just…I feel so uneasy right now. I’ve never been in a situation like this before, so I-.”

“You’re living like the protagonist of a drama and need the advice of the only guy in your life that you think doesn’t have feelings for you too?” Your eyes widened.

“Yoongi-!” You gasped, and the man snickered playfully. “You’re the worst. But to answer your question, yes…” Yoongi shrugged. “I just…well you know all of three of them so I thought you would have some advice or something for me.”

“Well…” Yoongi began. “There’s not much advice that I can give you.” When he saw your shoulders sink in defeat, he smiled. “I mean, it’s not my life. People aren’t going to be happy because you can’t pick both of them and Hoseok knows you don’t feel the same way so you can’t get out without at least one person being hurt. So, you just need to do what is going to make you happy. If you choose someone or no one, I can’t tell you what to do…”

“I guess…” You said softly.

“Hey, you’re the one who asked for my advice. And like a friend, I’ll be honest.”

“I know. I appreciate it. I just really never thought I’d be in a situation like this.”

“Are you that surprised?” Yoongi asked curiously. Your lips formed together into a small pout. He motioned back inside. “Let’s go back inside, okay?” You nodded, both heading back in. Hoseok looked up when he heard you enter, and walked over.

“Hey. A few of the kids are starting to get a bit tired. I was thinking we head back and let them take a little nap.” You nodded.

“I think that’s a good idea. Let’s clean up and-.”

“Don’t worry about cleaning up. I’ll let the boys do it. You take the kids back and get them some rest.”

“You sure?” You asked curiously. Yoongi nodded. “Okay…” Clapping your hands together, you alerted the attention of both your class and the basketball team. “Alright, class! Let’s give one final goodbye to Mr. Min and the boys before we head home.” A few kids were disappointed, but Yoongi quickly knelt and outstretched his arms. That one action had a bunch of children hurrying up to give him some of the biggest hugs. It made him grin as he tried his best to wrap his arms around as many children as he could. Those who couldn’t fit wrapped their arms around his arms or neck, nuzzling into him as they said their goodbyes.

“Thank you for visiting me guys. I had such a good time.”

“Win your fight so you can come back, okay?” Yuna’s tiny, pleading voice made Yoongi smile.

“We’ll win, okay?” Yoongi assured, and Yuna nodded. You smiled, as Hoseok and Taehyung lined the students up behind you. You waved off the boys, who waved back as you led the kids out of the door and towards the entrance of the school. They were shouting their goodbyes to Yoongi until he was out of their sight, waving excitedly until they were shuffled away.

The group walked back to the daycare in silence, a few of the kids whispering to one another. When you turned to look at the kids, hoping that by scanning their little faces you would be able to tell what had them so silent. You glanced up at the other men, who only shrugged, just as confused with the sudden silence as you were. As you watched them for a moment, finally, it began to hit you when you saw little Yuna rub her eyes. “Yuna…” you gasped softly. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want Mr. Min to leave….” Yuna whimpered.

“Me too…” Yeonjun sniffled. “I want Mr. Min to come back.”

“He’s going come back once their basketball game is over. It’s a very important game that-.” Hoseok’s attempt to make the children feel better was cut off as children began to sniffle and sob.

“I want Mr. Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!” A swarm of children began sobbing. You looked up at the adults, the four of you standing around the sea of sobbing preschoolers as you all stood in the middle of the street. Quickly, you knelt, gently rubbing the backs of Kai and Lia as they latched onto you, sniffling. Hoseok knelt as Chaeryeong and Yeji rested their heads on his shoulders, not sobbing like the other children, but their eyes still red and shaky as they watched their friends cry. Seokjin scooped as many kids into his arms as he could fit, trying to make them feel better by distracting them with funny jokes and voices, but to little to no avail. Taehyung was talking to Yeonjun and Soobin, both of whom were trying not to cry despite the tears rolling down their cheeks, and was smiling. He was amused by the children’s emotion, but of course, was trying his best to stop the crying. You sighed, trying to find the best way to at least get the rest of the kids inside the building so that they would not be sobbing in the street. Seokjin eventually got them moving by simply scooping up a few of the kids who were crying the hardest and having the rest follow.

At the end of the day, the kids were sent home after what felt like hours of children sobbing and sniffling at their desks about Yoongi. Everything that was done to try to make the kids feel better didn’t seem to work that well, and you had to just take the rest of the day to distract them all until they went home.

“That could have gone a lot better at the end…” Hoseok grinned as he began to wipe down the tables. You nodded, giggling to yourself as you grabbed hold of a few wet wipes and turning your attention towards the board as you began to clean it. “But the kids seemed to enjoy the trip and I think Yoongi appreciated it.” As the two of you got to work cleaning up the room, Seokjin, and Taehyung most likely doing the same in their rooms. There wasn’t much to say among one another, at least not at first. You didn’t know what to say, your mind still focused on the conversation that you had with Yoongi back at the school. He was right, and you knew that you were in no better place than you were before the talk.

I feel like everyone always says to do what feels right. Probably because nobody knows what they would do if it were them. You thought to yourself, a pout forming on your face. As you continued to clean up the board, you heard Hoseok call your name, and looked over in his direction, and saw him staring back at you.

“…I was thinking about this, today. I just wanted to say sorry about the way I’ve been acting recently with the whole date thing.’ You smiled a bit. “I don’t know if I’ll ever really be happy about it but…you know, won’t do me any good to be a jerk about it…”

“Well, thank you, Hobi. I appreciate that.” You smiled. Hoseok nodded, going back to clean the table. As a comfortable silence fell back over the both of you, you heard a noise from down the hallway. Turning around, you saw Taehyung walking into the room. He offered you a grin, which you were quick to return. “Get all of your cleaning done?”

“Yep. My room is as clean as it was before I ever used it.” Taehyung grinned. “Anything I can do in here to help?” he walked over to you, and you handed him a rag.

“Can you clean up the shelves and see if anything needs to be reorganized?” you asked curiously. Taehyung nodded, walking over to the other side of the shelves. Just as you were getting back to cleaning, you heard another noise coming from down the hall. You cocked an eyebrow, turning back towards the door. It did not sound much like Seokjin, you could identify his voice from a mile away. No…but you did recognize the voice. As you walked towards the door, Taehyung and Hoseok looked up. “Are we expecting any meetings with parents this afternoon?” you asked, looking at Hoseok.

“…No, I don’t think so.” He assured. You hummed, stepping into the hallway. Taehyung and Hoseok shared a confused look, wondering what- or who – the voice could belong to. It didn’t take them long to find out, as almost immediately, the boys watched as you were attacked by a flying coat, a high-pitched cheer heard from the hall. Taehyung’s eyes were wide in surprise, and he once again turned to Hoseok for some kind of nonverbal validation. However, Hoseok was just as confused as he was. Then, those confused eyes went wider.

“Hyung, what’s going on?” Taehyung asked. Hoseok immediately hurried over to him and leaned in close.

“That’s her sister…” Hoseok said softly. Taehyung blinked, looking towards the door, where you were looking down at your sister who was grinning from ear to ear. Taehyung could notice your brows furrowed just slightly as you watched your sister chatter on. Before Hoseok could say anything else, you and your sister walked inside. You opened your mouth to speak, but your sister immediately took over for you.

“Hobi-Oppa!” she grinned, hurrying over to him. She flung her arms around him and he smiled she hugged her back. “It’s been so long, wow. You look so handsome.”

“Awww, thanks, Bong-Cha.” He smiled. “How have you been?” while the duo engaged in a little bit of side conversation, Taehyung glanced over to you, watching as you stood nearby, silently. Your arms were at your side as you watched. Taehyung simply turned back to the shelf, getting ready to go back to work. However, he has quickly turned back around and saw Bong-Cha smiling sweetly up at him. From this close, Taehyung could see the resemblance to you, the wide eyes, and the bright smile.

“Hi. You must be the new art teacher my sister has been talking about recently.” Taehyung nodded. “Nice to meet you~.”

“You too.” He smiled happily. “I’m Kim Taehyung.”

“So, I was right. You’re the one who took my sister out recently. How’d it go? My sister isn’t known to be a dater.”

“Bong-Cha-.” You gasped. Your sister turned back to you, grinning.

“I’m only kidding, Unnie.” She assured. “But seriously, Kim Taehyung, how did it go? She never tells me anything.” Taehyung couldn’t help but smile a bit.

“It was great.” He smiled. “We had a good time.’ Bong-Cha grinned.

“I’m glad! I want my sister to have good dates with…” she looked over Taehyung. “Good looking people, you know?” Taehyung blinked, then felt his cheeks heat up just slightly. All he could do was offer a shy laugh. “My sister always ends up getting all of the good-looking guys recently.”

“That’s not true.” You said simply, and all eyes turned to you as you walked to your desk. “You can’t walk a block without a good-looking man chatting you up.” Though a small smile escaped your lips, Taehyung couldn’t help but feel off by your tone. Bong-Cha, however, only offered a pout.

“Aww, well thank you.” She said softly, turning to Taehyung once again. “But even so, I don’t get to have the undevoted attention of three incredibly attractive men on me all day, every day.” You scoffed, and Bong-Cha frowned. “What? I’m serious! You have the handsome businessman taking you to amazing restaurants, you have the childhood best friend who for some unknown reason still follows you around like a puppy dog-.” Taehyung looked at Hoseok, whose cheeks turned red and he immediately turned away. “And now you have this cute artsy boy who takes you out to paint and have picnics? Whatever drama life you’re living I want to be a part of it somehow.”

“Stop trying to narrate my life as if it’s some sort of movie scene.” You scoffed. Bong-Cha pursed her lips.

“Why is she in such a bad mood?” she asked, looking to Hoseok and Taehyung.

“It was a long day,” Taehyung said simply. Bong-Cha sighed, looking at you once again.

“Can you at least give me Hobi-Oppa?” she whispered. “You know, I’ve always thought he was cute.”

“Bong-Cha did you only come here while I’m working to be obnoxious?” You asked. Bong-Cha blinked, staying silent for a moment. “…Well?”

“Well, that’s not the only reason I came by.” Bong-Cha hummed. You raised an eyebrow. “I wanted to see you. You’ve been so busy you never make time for me anymore.”

“I have a full-time job, Bong-Cha.” You said simply.

“Yeah, so do I. But I always make time for my sister.” She huffed.

“Yeah, I know and you make it seem like I don’t?” Bong-Cha sighed.

“Whatever.” She turned to Hoseok and Taehyung, who were still standing around quietly, watching the siblings bicker. “You’re so sensitive. Oppa, how on earth have you dealt with her this long?” Hoseok chuckled a bit.

“Sheer willpower, I guess.” He and Bong-Cha shared a playful laugh, and Taehyung offered an amused smile. You rolled your eyes as well but offered your sister a playful smirk in response when she turned to you once again.

“One of these days you’ll give me a break.” You muttered. Bong-Cha smiled.

“Only if you agree to go to lunch with me, I’ll think about giving you a break.” As you finished cleaning up your desk for the evening, you sighed. “Pleeease?”

“Can I look at my schedule when I get home and call you?” You asked curiously. Bong-Cha pouted.

“I literally can’t believe you just said you hate me in front of your friends.”

“I didn’t say that.” You had to force out a laugh sometime.

“It is the same thing.” She huffed. “But okay, fine. I’ll be a good sister. I expect a text by tomorrow morning and no later so else I’ll be calling your phone the rest of the day.”

“Right…” you said softly. “Deal.” Bong-Cha smiled, walking over towards you. Her arms outstretched, enveloping you into a tight hug that you returned. “Now go home so I can finish up here, okay?” you asked.

“Why can’t I hang out with Taehyung-Oppa and Hoseok-Oppa?” she asked curiously. “I won’t be in your way!”

“I know, but they need to help me clean.”

“But the room already looks clean.” She took Taehyung’s hand. “Can’t he show me his art studio or something?” you glanced at Taehyung, who sighed.

“I don’t mind.” He glanced down at her, and she smiled happily. “But I do have to still help your sister. Can we maybe save it for another-?”

“It’ll only be a minute.” She assured. “I promise.” Taehyung sighed.

“She won’t stop until you say yes. Either that or she’ll say you hate her too.” You pointed out simply. “Go ahead, Hobi and I can finish here.” Taehyung sighed, putting a hand in his pocket.

“Okay then, let’s go.” He smiled down at Bong-Cha, who returned it happily before the both of them exited the room. Once you and Hoseok were alone, he turned to you and watched as you ran a hand through your hair.

“She’s such a presence,” Hoseok said, and both of you laughed. “You think he’ll survive?”

“Absolutely.” You said simply. You turned to the shelf that was still in need of dusting, and walked over to it, lifting the abandoned duster that Taehyung left. “If anything, he’ll probably come back head over heels in love with her…” Though Hoseok chuckled at the comment, your lack of amusement caused him to frown, as he watched you get back to work at tidying the final parts of the room up.

Back in Taehyung’s art room, Bong-Cha was admiring all of the children’s artwork that was hung on the walls or resting on the windowsills. When she turned to Taehyung, she saw him resting against the door frame.

“These are so cute. You’re so talented.”

“Thanks. I like to think I teach them well.” Taehyung said.

Bong-Cha nodded. “So…what do you think of my sister?” she asked curiously. Taehyung looked up. “Between you and me, of course.” When Taehyung immediately didn’t answer, Bong-Cha sighed. “I’m not trying to be shady if that’s what you think.”

“I’m not saying you are,” Taehyung assured. “But what do you need to know? You should know her better than me, wouldn’t you know what she’s like?”

“Well yeah, but my sister can be defensive sometimes. I’m sure you’ve noticed.” She said simply. “Every time I try to ask her something about her love life, she won’t tell me.”

“Maybe she doesn’t want to,” Taehyung said simply. Bong-Cha sighed.

“Well, yeah I know. Because up until now her love life has been pathetic. So, she’s just embarrassed. So, I have to use my other sources.” Taehyung frowned a bit. Bong-Cha noticed this and blinked. “As I said, I’m not trying to be shady. I just want to help her. I know what it’s like to date. And she’s my older sister, I want to make sure she makes the right choice with all these options being shoved in her direction at once.”

“And what do you think the right choice would be?” he asked curiously.

“Well, I can’t say without knowing the details.” She said simply. “She’s told me a little about the business guy, Mr. Kim? And I’ve known Hoseok-Oppa my whole life. So, there’s only you left.” Taehyung sighed.

“Well, I like your sister a lot, if that helps. I hope we remain friends regardless of what happens.” Bong-Cha nodded.

“Right…okay.” She said simply. Turning to Taehyung, she offered him a smile once again. “Then that’s all I need to know. Sorry, I hope I’m not coming off as prodding or pushy.”

Taehyung only offered her a shrug as he led her to the door. “You are. But I can sense your intentions in the right place, I guess.” Bong-Cha giggled a bit as they arrived at your classroom once again, right before both of you and Hoseok stepped out, with you locking the door.

“I’ll be waiting on that text, my dear.” Bong-Cha hummed, holding up her phone and practically dangling it in your face. You rolled your eyes.

“Right…” you said simply. “Now go home. We need to stop by Mr. Kim’s office and drop off some paperwork from our field trip today.” Bong-Cha pouted.

“Okay. I can sense when I’m not wanted.” She teased. As she walked towards the door, you purposely held Taehyung and Hoseok back slightly, outstretching your arms when the boys tried to walk past you. Bong-Cha turned around and smiled. “Nice to meet you, Taehyung-Oppa. Bye, Hobi-Oppa!” Hoseok and Taehyung waved to her. “Byeeeee, Unnie~!” she squealed afterward. You rolled your eyes playfully and waved her off as she finally headed out the front door of the preschool. Once Bong-Cha was gone, it felt as if a huge weight lifted off of your shoulders. “Oh, thank God she’s gone. There’s only so much of her I can take at a time.”

“She seems sweet,” Taehyung said.

“Seems is the keyword there, Taehyung.” You said simply. “What did she even want to talk to you about? I know she didn’t just pull you aside to look in your classroom. She’s manipulative like that.” Taehyung, hands stuffed into his pockets, shrugged.

“Nothing.” He said simply. “She just asked me about myself. I guess she was trying to find out about your newest suitor.” You groaned, shoving Taehyung as he laughed a bit. “I didn’t tell her anything, don’t worry.”

“Yeah, yeah…” you said softly.

“…I wonder what she needed my Social Security Number and mother’s maiden name for, though.” He muttered. Hoseok and you couldn’t help but laugh at Taehyung’s comment, and you headed down the hall towards Seokjin’s office.

You were the only one who needed to speak to Seokjin, so Taehyung and Hoseok said their goodbyes before heading out the door and towards the train station. Neither of them knew what to say to one another, and for a while, they walked down the street in silence. Taehyung looked around him, at the scenery as it passed him by. When he looked at Hoseok, he saw the other male flipping through his phone. “Hyung…” Taehyung finally hummed, and Hoseok looked over at him curiously. “Has her sister always been that…intense?”

“Yeah. Bong-Cha is a really sweet girl. Funny too. But sometimes, she can be a bit bratty.” Hoseok said simply. “And she knows that her sister will never really say anything to her about it.” Taehyung nodded. “Did she try to pry?”

“Oooooh yeah,” Taehyung said. “I didn’t tell her anything, though. It’s none of her business regardless of her intentions. She doesn’t want Bong-Cha to know so I’m going to respect that. My mother can be like that…” Hoseok nodded.

As if on cue, Taehyung’s phone rang. When he looked down at it, a picture of his mother and him from childhood, a bouncy Taehyung sitting on his mother’s lap, flashed on the screen. “Speak of the devil. It’s like she’s a psychic. I’ll see you tomorrow, Hyung.”

“Bye.” Hoseok smiled, continuing down the road as Taehyung stopped in his spot to answer the phone. He was hesitant at first but knew he would only be in deeper trouble if he put the call off. Sighing, he answered the phone.

“Hello?”

“I don’t hear from my son in months and this is the greeting I get?” A voice sneered from the other side. Taehyung’s nose scrunched up.

“Hello, Mother. How are you?” He repeated.

“At least sound enthusiastic.” She teased. “I’m fine, though. I was talking to the other mothers in the neighborhood and realized it’s been a while since we spoke together.”

“I’m glad your friends reminded you how long it’s been since you spoke to your son.” He said simply.

“We both live busy lives, honey. There’s nothing wrong with that.” Taehyung continued to walk down the street as he remained on the phone. “It sounds like you’re outside. Outselling your paintings again?”

“Surprisingly, no,” Taehyung said simply. “I thought I texted you that I got a new job a few months ago.” His mother hummed.

“Maybe I missed it. What job is this?”

“An…art teacher at a preschool.” He said simply. His mother was silent for a moment. “Jimin helped me get it.”

“Jimin, hm? He’s always been a good kid. His mother must be proud of him, I heard he got a promotion recently.” Taehyung pursed his lips together.

“Yes, I know.” He said simply.

“Anyway, congratulations on the job. It’s not something I would have envisioned for my only son, but at least it provides a definite income for now, so that’s good. Is it a nice place?”

“It is…” he said softly. “I’m very happy here. But I’m still selling my paintings on the side. I was at the Ilsan Art Festival recently.”

“Oh? Your father and I were going to go to that, too. Unfortunately, he came down with a cold so we decided not to. I wish you said so earlier.” His eyes rolled, not buying her statement for a minute.

“Last time I tried to invite you guys, you said no.” He said simply.

“Well, that was last time.” She said simply. “But oh well, let us know next time so we don’t have to put all our hope in mere coincidences.”

“Oh yeah, I’ll do that.” He said simply. “Listen Mother. I’m headed to the train, so I need to go.”

“Well, alright then. I’m sure you worked hard so get some rest.” She said softly. Taehyung had to admit, it made him smile a little bit. “Just make sure you call me sometime soon, okay?”

“Right…” he said softly. “Talk soon. Love you.”

“Love you.” His mother said simply. Both of them hung up, and Taehyung slid his phone right into his pocket. As he arrived at the station and waited for his train, he crossed his arms, thinking back to what he experienced this afternoon alone. He thought about Bong-Cha, he thought about you, and he thought about his mother.

It’s not something I would envision for my only son…

I wish you said so earlier…

Well, that was the last time.

He’s a good kid. His mother must be proud of him.

Taehyung knew exactly how you felt, that was for sure.

-------------------------------------------

“Thank goodness you got back to me, quickly.” Bong-Cha grinned as she rested her menu on the table. You glanced up at your sister as she sat across from you. That weekend you had been dragged out to lunch per your sister’s request, and much to her delight. You were happy to go out too, especially when Bong-Cha agreed to pay in return for her nagging. “I was preparing to kick your door down.”

“Then I would have had to kill you.” You said simply, and the both of you chuckled. A silence fell upon the both of you, and you were unsure what to say. This happened often, and while sometimes the both of you enjoyed the comfort of one another despite the silence, this wasn’t one of them. You kept sipping your water to make it seem like that was why you weren’t saying anything. Finally, Bong-Cha sighed.

“Sorry if I was too much the other day. You know I was only trying to pull your leg, right?”

“Yeah, I know.” You said simply. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Well, it is if you’re upset.” She said simply. You shrugged, setting your drink down on the table.

“As I said, don’t worry about it.” As silence fell on the two of you again, this time you were quick to make sure it didn’t settle among you. “So…what did you think of him?” Bong-Cha looked up at you as you pressed your fingers together. “You had a minute to talk to him so…yeah, what do you think?” When you looked back up at your sister, a grin formed on her face. It sent a shiver up his spine.

“I did enjoy meeting him. He’s nice, and he seems to fit in well.” She took a sip of her water, and you watched her. “Do you like him?”

“Yeah.” You said simply. “I do. I didn’t at first, but I like to think we pushed our differences aside and have reached a common ground, you know?” Bong-Cha nodded.

“Well, if he asked you on a date, then absolutely, I’m sure it’s water under the bridge now.”

“Right.” You said simply. “That’s true.” Bong-Cha grinned.

“Okay, so now we can sister talk right?” She beamed. Before you had the chance to reply, she continued. “Which boy do you think is cuter?”

“Uhm-.”

“Have you kissed any of them yet? Which one kisses better? That’s important, you know.”

“Is it?” you asked curiously. “I mean, I don’t know, I-.”

“Well yeah, it’s important!” Bong-Cha gasped. You shifted in your seat, and the sound of a sigh escaping your sister’s lips, made you shiver. “You haven’t kissed any of them yet, huh? Well, that’s alright….”

“No that’s not-.” Almost immediately you had to stop yourself before you said something you regretted. If anyone knew about that kiss with Namjoon, you couldn’t bear to think about it. Hoseok knew, and honestly, your mind kept wandering to the question of if that was even a good idea. “Bong-Cha, that stuff is the least of my worries right now.” You said simply.

“Hm? Why what’s wrong?” She asked curiously.

“Well, I just…I have these two…three if you count Hoseok-.”

“-I do,” Bong-Chat stated. You glanced at her before continuing.

“Three men who are wonderful and kind, and yes, would all make good companions. But even though I know that, I still have my morals.” Bong-Cha scoffed.

“What? That you don’t like inter-office relationships? That’s stupid.”

“Regardless of what you think it is, that’s how I feel. But at the same time, I want to continue going on these dates and working all of this out. But…I can’t help but think that I’m not the kind of person men like these should be interested in. It feels like they’re wasting their time.” After a moment, Bong-Cha let out a loud snort. The laugh alerted the attention of a few other patrons at nearby tables, as well as you, your eyes widening a bit. “What?”

“Well, yeah, duh.” She said simply. You blinked.

“Huh?”

Bong-Cha grinned. “I’m kidding…you’re too hard on yourself.” She cooed. You sighed, resting back against your chair. Bong-Cha stared at you for a minute, seeing as your face formed a deep frown, and she followed suit in one as well. “Oh, don’t tell me I made you upset. You are so sensitive, Unnie.”

“You didn’t,” you said simply. “You’re just an idiot.” Bong-Cha sighed, standing up.

“Whatever, liar. Whatever happened to you taking a joke? Anyway, I’m going to the bathroom. And I’ll see where our waitress is for refills okay?” You simply nodded, turning your head to look at your sister to watch as she walked away. As she did, you ran a hand through your hair.

Why does she always give me a hard time? You thought to yourself. As you waited for your sister to return, you tried to see if any semblance of your conversation could guide you in any way about what to do. Suddenly, you heard a noise behind you. When you looked over to the entrance of the restaurant, you saw your sister standing there, chatting up two men who seemed to be about her age. She tucked some hair behind her ear, offering the boys a playful grin and charming giggle as they chatted her up. You sighed, crossing your arms as you watched the scene unfold before you. When you saw Bong-Cha look in your direction, a grin formed on her face and she pointed in your direction. The two younger men turned in your direction, and you quickly looked away, sipping your water.

No, Bong-Cha did not provide you any advice in your situation yet again.

Return to Masterlist

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ecoamerica · 2 months

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youtube

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

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alcalavicci · 4 years

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Taken from a mid-00s magazine article. I love that Dean talks about art here the exact same way he talked about arnis in the 70s.

FEVER PITCH

Robert Dean Stockwell readies “The Spagyric Eye” at RB Ravens

BY RICK ROMANCITO

To movie buffs, he’ll always be known as Dean Stockwell, the actor probably best remembered for roles in ‘Blue Velvet, ‘Dune’ and the TV series ‘Quantum Leap.’ He also has a small role in ‘The Manchurian Candidate,’ the modern remake of the famous Cold War thriller starring Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep.

To patrons in the art world, though, he wants to be known as Robert Dean Stockwell.

In between movie assignments, Stockwell has been making art. Using stacks of Life magazines, he pores over thousands of images in a process he calls “hunting.” He picks a couple of old editions- which he located loads of at a place in the Monterey Bay area- “and I sit down and I just hunt through it for images. And, I see something and I’ll tear the page out and put it over there and I’ll see something - and I end up with boxes full of pages with different images on them. And then something will click and say, ‘Ah, this goes here and that goes there.’”

He said he had the good fortune in 1956 to meet Wallace Berman, the famous Beat collage artist who died in 1976. “He invited me to his home,” Stockwell said Thursday (Aug. 26) as his first major show was being readied for the Friday (Sept. 3), 6-9 p.m., opening at RB Ravens Gallery in Ranchos de Taos. “He had this tiny little house in Beverly Glen Canyon in L.A., and I saw artwork that I didn’t realize existed.”

Sparked by the expressive nature of collage - the selective reorganization and manipulation of existing images into new compositions and thereby injected with new meanings via juxtapositions Stockwell began seeing with new eyes, so to speak. “That began a search, as it were, that ended up with the pieces you see here.” Stockwell is no stranger to Taos. He’s been coming here off and on for the past 40 years and even had a house here at one time. “Taos is my favorite place in the world,” he said, while puffing on a fragrant stogie, “and I’m going to end up here.”

He calls actor-director Dennis Hopper his best friend, adding that he has always been surprised that Hopper acquired the “wild man” label in his youth while he didn’t, even though he was often with the “Easy Rider” star and former owner of the Mabel Dodge Luhan house when they “got into fights and were arrested and stuff.” Stockwell’s connection with Taos is also fused with an abiding respect for Taos and its people. He maintains ties to Taos Pueblo and calls Carpio Bernal his “blood brother.” Bernal, Stockwell is quick to point out, is the son of Paul Bernal, who history will show was one of the most influential American Indians in this nation for his role in the struggle to regain his tribe’s Blue Lake from government control during the 1960s.

Hopper, according to Stockwell, “is in love with Taos in the same way.”

Stockwell, Hopper, RB Ravens owner Ray Trotter and their cronies can often be seen at the Taos Country Club playing golf. Today, older, presumably wiser, and taking different outlooks on life than they did as young men, Stockwell and Hopper remain close. As for Trotter, it was he who Stockwell decided to show what he’s been up to.

All through the late 1950s and ‘60s, Stockwell made his collages, but only shared them with people close to him. “I was working principally as an actor,” he said. “And I didn’t feel, for me, that I was making things that were good enough to exhibit. I think now I was wrong.”

Obviously, if you’re working in the film industry and making ends meet in other ways, making art can be an erratic process. But suddenly, “out of the blue,” in late June and July of 2003, Stockwell got busy. Big time. “I just got into a fever pitch making these,” he said, gesturing to the works leaning on the walls around him. “I was up ‘til 4 in the morning every night for about six weeks and I did almost all of these in that time. Just in a rush.”

What got into you? he’s asked.

“I have no idea. It was just meant to happen, I guess.”

Then, he turned to his laptop computer and started playing with some of the scanned collages. Another idea. Get a serious printer. So, he goes out and buys “a small whale,” an Epson 7600 Ultrachrome with archival inks, which means he can print, theoretically, 24 inches by 100 feet.

“It’s a professional,” he said proudly. “This is not something you might find in somebody’s home.”

Why buy your own printer if all you have to do is go to someone with a disc and have them do it for you? The answer seems to be control. “I wasn’t going to make 25 prints (his edition size) if nobody buys them,” he said. “So, I’d make an artist’s proof if somebody wants one, then I make them a print and put number one on it out of 25 and send it to them.”

Stockwell is so serious about making art that he vowed, “I don’t care particularly if I ever act again. This is much more important to me. This exhibition shows something far more important that anything I’ve ever done in a career of 60 years as an actor. This is just on a whole other level.” He points to one of his pieces and notes the five-figure price, then says, “I’m not f--king around. And I’ve already sold one for $12,500. And Hopper bought two.”

While Stockwell is obviously proud of what he’s accomplished, he seems a bit at a loss to describe the imagery in his work, which seems infused with a 1960s spirit of satire, irreverence and social and political commentary. He said some people have made reference to that era, probably spurred by the sometimes dayglo colors he uses in the digital prints. But his meanings are very much up to the minute. He admits, “I can’t utilize words to any good effect in order to enlighten anyone as to meaning or whatever it is I’m doing. I’m expressing myself with these combinations of images. That’s it. I can’t go at it with words - I’ve done it with images.”

It’s intuition, the way he selects pictures, pushes them together, moves them around, cuts them apart and rearranges everything. Not a lot of thinking involved. Just doing.

One of the pieces in the show provided its overall title: “The Spagyric Eye.” “I think it applies to the whole show,” he said. Gleaned from an old Webster’s Dictionary from the 1940s, the word means “to draw, separate, to assemble ... alchemical.”

It’s about creating something from something else. Like being an actor for 60-some years and then focusing on art. It’s been there all along, just never seen in quite this same way.

#Dean Stockwell #article

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kaywriteswords · 4 years

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Snacks are good, Self-care is better

You might have noticed the title change and that my pic isn’t just my fun socks and a scale. I couldn’t decide on a new official blog title so you can expect randomness until I land on one that I love. I’m changing it because weight is not the only thing that matters. When I first started all this, dropping pounds was the primary focus with the hope that other lifestyle changes would follow as I worked toward that goal. Tracking pounds is measurable, it made sense, but after 5 weeks, it’s kind of stale and not much fun. Some goals aren’t quantifiable, they’re just a feeling. I had way more fun this week practicing self-care by focusing on my skin care routine and attempting meditation. And guess what, while I was doing all that I had less time for snacking, YEAH! This was always supposed to be about total health and wellness, a change of lifestyle. It will take time and I’m willing to give it time, but sharing the journey with all of you keeps me focused on my evolution and accountable to working toward it.

Amazingly, my weight has trended back down in the last week. Portion control wasn’t great. I cleared half a tray of lasagna one night. Honestly, all I did was cut snacking down by about half for this result. To be clear, I still ate hot cheetos and pounded down half a pack of oreos, a few other things here and there, but significantly less than what I’ve been having in recent weeks. I gave myself a hearty pat on the back for this progress because seriously, I’m subconsciously heading to the fridge and pantry when I sit down to watch TV. It’s almost involuntary. I have to retrain my brain, dissociate watching TV and eating. Now that I’m aware boredom is guiding me, I ask myself two questions: 1. Why are you looking for food? 2. When is the last time you ate?

My workouts matched my intensity levels from the previous week so another pat on the back for consistency. I did get some exercise in 6 out of 7 days, WOOHOO! My pursuit of daily exercise continues again this week with the long-term goal being that I can get an intense, sweat filled session in 5 days/week with two days for yoga spaced accordingly. If I sweat 3 days per week at this point, that would be a win. The yoga has been hard to incorporate. For some reason, leading yourself in a flow is much harder to accomplish than following an instructor. But, there is plenty of free stuff online right now so it’s up to me to take advantage of this opportunity.

I gave my body some love this past week. Sugar scrub, lip mask, clay mask for my face and I even pumiced my feet… not all in the same day. Even though we know we should take care of our bodies we don’t always. Whether it’s because we feel like we don’t have the time, lack the motivation or just completely forget because it’s not an ingrained habit, our skin suffers. Being conscious of it helps me, because even on the days when I’m not feeling like doing anything, I at least make sure to cleanse my face, tone and moisturize to keep my natural glow on point. Love your body, love yourself.

Hahaha, the meditation. I’m mainly doing it to help reduce anxiety. I get insomnia like a m*tha f*cka so this is one thing, among many different things, that I’m trying to deal with that nonsense. I made an effort to do it 3 out of 7 days, I may or may not have just blown it off completely a couple days, but that is neither here nor there. After two days of wondering if I was doing it right, I headed over to reliable old Google… The type of mediation I seem to practice (yes, there is a variety) is breath awareness/mindful breathing. Essentially, I focus on my inhales and exhales while ignoring all other thoughts that enter my mind. The batting away of random thoughts is almost constant, but I did manage to just breathe for a few breaths. My mind wanders to things like writing this blog, food, work, cheese, the fact that the dog needs a bath, food, wondering how much time is left till the 5 minute alarm goes off. I did make it to 7 minutes one day, but that was only because I set the alarm for the next day and while I was supposed to not be thinking thoughts, I thought, it’s definitely been more than 5 minutes and checked. It is what it is. Dismissing the thoughts is a work in progress and my fight continues this week!

Despite resting on Friday, I still felt like I was running myself ragged with the to-do list by Saturday. We can always find things to do, ways to keep us busy. Maybe it’s being stir-crazy that is making me feel like I should be getting stuff done, but I already waged war on my living space last year (see the Art of Purging posted Feb. 6, 2020). Too bad that didn’t stop me from reorganizing my movies by genre the last 2 days. I think the stir-craziness is manifesting as overloading myself with personal goals to-do list items. I’m putting a stop to it today because I need to find balance. A little routine wouldn’t hurt so I’m going to plan to take my dog on a few short walks throughout the day to build some structure into my aimless days and help with balancing my time. I didn’t realize yesterday was Tuesday until almost 8pm. I’m sure some of you are in the same boat being stuck inside.

My goals for the next week… Keep aiming for those daily 5 minutes of meditation, continue to love on my skin, and space high intensity workouts accordingly with restorative yoga to rest and reset. I’m going to take a pause on specific goals where food and diet are concerned and just be mindful of my portion sizes and snacking habits. Oh, and I think I’m going to allow myself to just give in to those types of days where I can just lay on the couch, take naps, snuggle my dog and do nothing productive. Ultimately, this journey is about total health and wellness, a change of lifestyle, and sometimes the best way to care for ourselves is to do absolutely nothing at all.

#kaywriteswords #health #wellness #accountability #self love #self care #stircrazy

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saiyanprince541 · 7 years

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You’re my everything

Summary: After the defeat of Majin Buu, Goku vowed to return home and settle down with his family, once again. However, after seven long years without her husband, Chi-Chi has serious doubts about where his heart truly lies. Can Goku show his wife that he still loves her, just as deeply as ever and is here to stay, no matter what?

A/N: My submission for GoChi Week 2017, "Prompt 2: Longing" (read the fanfiction.net version here).

Surprise gift for my friend PrincessChiChi99 (slightly based on some of the discussions I've had with her, @saiyanb, @maiikawriter and a few others, in the past). The is my first attempt at a GoChi fic in two years, so please go easy xD. Also feel free to check out my other GoChi fic. :D

You're my everything:

Majin Buu was at last defeated, thanks to the combative calibre of Goku, the tactical prowess of Vegeta and the staunch bravery of Mr. Satan and the redeemed, rotund alter-ego of that pink fiend. More so, all the inhabitants of Earth and the planet Namek owed themselves a huge commendation, for having generously offered up a share of their Ki, in order to help vanquish the sinister being that threatened the entire cosmos. The world could take a deep, reposing breath and revel in the peace that it had finally earned.

A short while after the hard-fought victory, all the heroes who'd gathered together on Kami's lookout, returned home with their respective families, deciding to take the rest of the day to reorganize themselves, before the morrow's celebration. A lot of answers and explanations were due, by two hotheaded women in particular, namely, Chi-Chi and Bulma. Vegeta knew he'd be on the receiving end of a verbal whiplashing, from his shrewish wife, for the callous cruelty he'd exhibited, during the Martial-Arts tournament as well as the extenuating explosion that followed, in his first fight against Buu. Goku, on the other hand, was as clueless and complacent as always. However, hours later in his humble above of Mount Paozu, the rustic Saiyan felt increasingly perturbed. Though Chi-Chi was initially head-over-heels at the prospect of her husband returning home and settling down with her and the family, she barely knew how to act around him, once the early sense of excitement died down.

For seven-anguished years, the Ox Princess had to raise her children all by herself, longing for the presence of her beloved, while he was off larking in Otherworld. Such thoughts and misgivings flooded her mind, as she lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, in contemplation.

"What's wrong, Chi-Chi?" Goku asked, concern and worry lacing his vividly dark irises, as he gazed upon his wife. Chi-Chi gave him a fleeting glance, before her eyes returned to the ceiling.

"It's just- I don't understand why you left me alone, for all those years." She muttered forlornly. "You're here now and I can't even begin describing how happy I am to have you back, but-"

She paused, a moment.

"But- what?" Goku pressed.

"I don't know, but for some reason, I can't help but think that if I stare at you for too long, you'll just disappear." She let out a dejected sigh. "It's weird, I know, but even then-"

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere." The burly Saiyan vowed, girding his sinewy arms around his wife. "I promise."

Chi-Chi was unable to suppress the distinct shudder of pleasure that escaped, as she found herself trapped within the loving clutches of her happy-go-lucky husband. All those doleful years, she'd yearned for this moment, to be held inside those strapping arms once more and now that it had finally arrived, she hardly knew what to do or how she could possibly handle it, if he decided to up-and-leave her, yet again. With a breath of surrender, she wiggled about in his grasp, till they were face to face.

"You say that now, but do you realize how difficult it's been for me, these last seven years?" She wound her slender arms, around his muscled neck, her lips quivering and eyes glistening, with unshed tears. "Sleeping on a cold, empty bed all by myself, every single night and watching Goten grow up, without his father? What made it even worse was that he looks just like you. Every time I saw him, he reminded me of you and everything you were missing. It broke my heart, knowing that you weren't there to see him come into this world, to hear his first words and to watch him, take his first steps. Heck, until recently, you weren't even aware of his existence. No matter how powerful you are, Goku, you can never bring back those moments. They're lost forever."

The Saiyan could only stare at her apologetically, as a minute of tense silence swam by.

"I- I never really thought about it that way, Chi-Chi." He confessed, eyes downcast in abjection, consumed by sheer remorse. "I- I thought I was protecting you."

"You thought wrong!" The raven-haired woman exclaimed, somewhat bitterly. "Hurting me was bad enough, but what about Gohan?! The poor kid spent a whole year, blaming himself for your stupid decisions! Do you even know just how much he looks up to you, how much he loves you?!"

Goku's heart sank to his stomach. He honestly hadn't expected such a strong reaction, from her.

"Are- are you upset that I decided to come back?" The Saiyan asked, in a defeated voice. At those words, Chi-Chi's expression instantly softened.

"No, of course not." She replied, placing a hand on his cheek and running her thumb along the hardened crook of his jawline. "What upsets me is that you left in the first place." She continued, more sombrely. "You say it won't happen again, but how can I believe that, after all this time?"

Another short pause followed, before Goku decided to say say his piece.

"Chi-Chi, I'll probably never understand how hard it was for you and looking back, I know that I definitely made the wrong decision."

"More like the worst decision." The Ox Princess rolled her eyes. "But, at least you admit it, so I guess that's a start."

"What I did wasn't to avoid you, it was to protect you, even if that meant giving you up." He earnestly stated. "Believe me when I say this, it was really hard for me too. You have no idea how much I missed both you and Gohan."

"How can you say that, when-"

"Please, Chi-Chi, just let me finish." The Saiyan went on. "At the time, I thought that by staying in Otherworld, villains would be less likely to attack the planet and in the off-chance that it did happen, Gohan would be strong enough to take care of it. But, I suppose coming back here and seeing things for myself, helped me realize just how badly I'd miscalculated."

"Oh?" Chi-Chi quirked a brow. "How so?"

"Well, despite his amazing potential, I see now, just how much Gohan hates fighting." He replied. "He just doesn't have the same passion for it that Vegeta and I do, for example. If he'd used these seven years to train, he'd easily be stronger than the both of us combined, but I understand now that he has other priorities and I shouldn't come in the way of that, nor should I expect him to fight the bad guys, while I'm off, having adventures in Otherworld. He doesn't need that burden on his shoulders, not when he has other dreams." The Ox-Princess couldn't help the smile that lit her face, at his acknowledgment. She'd never expected such words to escape his mouth, not ever. It made her heart radiate with joy. "It's my responsibility to protect you all and I know I can't do that, by being absent. I looked on from Otherworld, when Majin Buu killed you and afterwards, did the same thing to Krillin, Bulma and everyone else, all because I wasn't there to stop him." He grimaced at the horrendous memory. "I'm so sorry that it took so long for me to realize my mistakes, but that's why I'm here now, Chi-Chi. I know I don't say it very often, but I really do love you." Goku fastened his hold around her, as her smile grew bigger. "I'll always protect you, no matter what happens. You're everything to me."

"Oh, Goku." She cried, tightening her own hold around him, as she nuzzled her face in the recess of his neck and wept a stream of joyous tears. "I love you too."

"I know Chi-Chi, I know." He smiled broadly, rubbing her back up and down. Seconds later, she pulled back and pressed her lips against his. Eyes widening a moment, Goku chuckled and kissed back, re-familiarizing himself with the alluring process, before steadily slipping his tongue inside the warm caverns of her mouth and roving about, as he reveled in her fine, luscious taste. His hands roamed downwards, running along her soft, smooth contours of her thighs, before firmly grasping her rear end. Just as he was about to slide his fingers beneath her panties, however, Chi-Chi took hold of his wrist.

"Wait Goku, I-"

"What's wrong?" He asked. Usually it was her that initiated the "fun stuff" and she'd never rejected his advances, in the past.

"It's nothing, I just- I don't know, I just don't want to do this so soon." She said. "I'm still getting used to you being here, so let's not exceed second base, just yet. I wanna savor this and build slowly, till it feels right, know what I'm saying?"

"Okay sure, no problem hehe." The Saiyan let out a goofy laugh.

"That's my Goku." She smiled and captured his lips in another kiss. It would certainly take a great deal of effort to make up for all the lost time and memories and while it did sadden her that it took all these years for her husband to finally acknowledge the true depths of his blunders, she was glad he did and she truly hoped that it made him a better person.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed! Had a lot of fun, with this one!

I know there're a lot of contentions, with regards to whether or not Goku ever kissed Chi-Chi, but this is based primarily on the DBZ script, not DBS. In DBZ he does kiss Chi-Chi, off-screen, during the Androids saga, which is confirmed in Daizenshuu, so uh- yeah. Plus, I prefer it that way xD (what married couple doesn't kiss?). :D

Lastly, a big thanks to @redasuki and the others, for organizing this event! :D

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crossgartered · 4 years

Text

P5R liveblog (8/?)

(Makoto arc end)

[[MORE]]

Oh, hey, Chihaya.

Idk if I'm remembering the timing right, but it looks like they took out Ryuji's interaction with those two entirely. I told him to wait outside bc of his uniform and he said he'd kill some time somewhere until I was done

It really does seem kind of awful of us to volunteer Mishima for this, especially without him knowing.

OH HERE THEY ARE

Oh, hey, they think he's interested in drag bc of how he was looking into Crossroads. They want to help him out. Still sucks that this supposed to be something funny, and that they're dragging him off without his wanting to, but it is better than it was.

UGHHHH MISHIMA IM SORRY

Oh, this translation seems different. A bit more natural, I think. Still really harsh, though. Sae...

Makoto...

FUCKING PRIESTESS LISTEN TO YOUR INNER SELF THIS IS JUST DOING SOMETHING FOR THE SAKE OF DOING ANYTHING PLEASE PULL BACK AND THINK STRATEGICALLY INSTEAD IF GOING ABOUT THIS SO EMOTIONALLY

Honestly her charm stat is in the pits. It's kind of hilarious since you need high (max? Idr) charm to progress past rank 5 with her.

Huh, if she had social stats... High knowledge, low charm, good guts, not totally sure about proficiency & kindness but I'm leaning towards okay-low proficiency and middling-decent kindness.

Now, the others...

Ryuji would have low knowledge, good guts,

Listen, I'm having trouble with quantifying their kindness. Because, they all have differing levels of what I consider personal-kindness and general-kindness

Wait. Do I really want to get on this tangent right now? ...Not really. Hold that thought. Back to the game.

GOD this was so dangerous I am honestly amazed that she got out of this okay.

GOD THAT IS SO DANGEROUS I AM HONESTLY AMAZED THAT HE GOT OUT OF THAT OKAY

Honestly I'm kind of surprised Kaneshiro doesn't have a doorman or anything.

Jeez, Kaneshiro's face looks off compared to everyone else. Like, on its own, it's a decent face, but it looks like it doesn't belong with the rest.

Huh, I wonder how many of them actually have mommies and daddies to beg money from. Let's see... Makoto is being raised by her prosecutor sister. Parents dead. Ryuji is being raised by a single mom. Dad left a long time ago. Canonically poor. Yusuke was being raised by Madarame. Mom dead. Dad out of the picture, idr how. Canonically poor, with poor money sense. Ann has parents. Successful fashion designers that she doesn't see half the year. And the protag has an ambiguous family situation. Of course, I have my headcanons, but that's nothing. Anyway, if we were going about this the way Kaneshiro wanted us to, Ann would probably be able to provide the most, followed by Makoto. (Again, leaving Ren out of this).

Guh, thinking about it like that feels shitty.

...can you even imagine an ATM with Ann's pigtails though? I mean I know the other ATMs don't have any distinguishing features but still

Anyway

Godddd, I really love when people are given reaction shots when something another character is saying is resonating or otherwise meaningful to them

Makoto: "A lot happened after we lost her father three years ago, so it's just us living together... But I'm still a child, so all I am is a burden to her..."

Yusuke: *cut-in* "......"

Me: *chef's kiss*

...it happens at other times in this game (and other stuff), too, but I just wanted to point it out. Especially bc you kind of have to infer a lot of the time when it comes to Yusuke.

OHHHDJDJSJDJJDS HE LOOKED SO SAD WHEN MAKOTO CALLED HIM A CANINE

"IT'S FOX" HE SAYS

Both Makoto and Ann called him specifically a monster cat. I wonder if the Japanese calls him a cat ayakashi or something.

What property damage did any of us cause?

Why is Shadow Kaneshiro purple anyway?

JOHANNA IS SO FUCKING COOL GODDAMN

I love Makoto's awakening ngl

But honestly, is there a /bad/ awakening in the bunch? They really killed it with the game aesthetics, you know?

"No weaknesses. Our only chance is to make them confused" or whatever she just said about confusing them. Idk if I just tune her out or if that's a new thing

Didn't Makoto have Flash Bomb or whatever that multi-phys + chance of Dizzy skill was called? Maybe she gets that at a higher level

*heavy sigh* Okay, Makoto

"I will crush him like a fly" I see what you did there

It really is nice that they're bringing up the advisor thing instead of just her doing it herself. I still feel like there should have been a little more talk about it amongst the 5 of them instead of just the 3 human-shaped guys but w/e

The references to English songs and memes is a little jarring, ngl

Man, Sae's gonna flip her shit when she hears what Makoto did to get here.

Awww Ann & Makoto are bonding

*sigh* listen, I like Makoto, I even dated her in my first playthrough of vanilla p5, but I really dislike how they just keep shilling her around this time. It's a little off-putting. I think it's a thing Atlus likes to do.

Hmm? Is the man getting joint pain on rainy days going to affect his Mementos fight?? Interesting.

Ughhhhhh Queen choosing her name and then the """strategy""" thing is exactly the same. Like her being there even changes anything about how we go about things. And we do think about what we're doing, actually! Well, mostly Morgana bc Phantom thievery is his whole schtick. But like, outside our usual plans, we successfully pulled off the heist in the Madarame Palace, for example. We also opened the locked door and dealt with that. We go about the palaces with intent! Blugh.

"it's my role to be the brain of this team and give out orders" BLUGH

And then Ryuji & Mona are into it... -_-+

I hate this part. It's awkward and dumb. There are better ways to make her their advisor, Atlus

Also someone mention that I am field leader pls. I know you did in vanilla p5 do it now as well

I wonder if they've changed her s.link abilities? They at least have to have given her 1 more thing due to the baton pass thing

I WONDER IF EIKO WILL HAVE A SPRITE NOW?!?!? I hope so ^u^

GUH I love Makoto's Queen outfit.

Oh, whoops, I forgot about that conversation. Maybe I should have put Morgana in my party.

But heck yeah, let's do a finisher! I wonder how to get these for people.

RYUJI WANTS TO DO A SHOWTIME WITH FOX "We could call it Art Run or something" I LOVE HIM

SHIT WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME I SAVED

Ugh, it's really frustrating that they're trying to get me to showtime w Ann & Morgana when all the enemies here are weak to Zio & Bufu (with a little bit of Psi & Gun thrown in for good measure).

Okay, have reorganized my party so I don't have to use an Agi-weak persona to go after enemy weaknesses. That was so embarrassing.

Oh, neat! My sleuthing instinct kicked in! ... Makoto's abilities have to have changed.

YOU MEAN SHOWTIME CAN KICK IN EVEN WHEN ONE OF THE MEMBERS IS NOT IN THE PARTY?!?!?! AHHHH

Maybe even both, idk. Morgana seemed like the best choice to heal/lucky punch so he's in my party rn but maybe when he gets swapped out later I'll find the answer to that

...this is being surprisingly easy. But I don't think I'm overleveled... Jeez, I haven't bought weapons since Kamoshida's Palace. And they give you so many clothes in this game... And accessories! Really!

But yeah, I finished that security guy in 3 moves. Morgana - Garu (absorbed), Yusuke - Bufu (inflicting Freeze), Ryuji - Headbutt (Technical) -> All-Out Attack. I remember it being a lot harder in the original. Idk.

Okay, the next one was slightly harder. It took two All-out-attacks to beat it. But hmm.

Maybe I am overleveled, though. Apparently that miniboss (??) Was only level 21, and I am 23.

Oh, I'm getting Sigma feelings. Ann's counting down for opening the vault-like door.

I don't think I've ever noticed before how neat Kaneshiro's palace music is. Well, at least the Laundering Office, anyway. What is this, exactly? It's some version of Price - that's the same melody line, but the instrumentation is all different. That's not to say that Price isn't good; it's just that I'm weak for strings & orchestra instruments in non- orchestral songs. It sounds darker and more intense. I love it

Oho? That gold vault door seems new.

Or maybe I just don't remember it.

Anyway. I really do appreciate that Morgana mentions Shadow personalities in negotiations. Like, I read the tutorial on it, but it's nice to have him like "what's this one so happy about? Well, guess we'll play long for now" or whatever he says for an upbeat shadow. It's pretty neat.

"I wonder what it'd be like if we had Palaces instead of Personas." SAME, RYUJI, SAME 👀👀👀👀👀

Hmm, I know Joker Palace has some fics, and I think I remember seeing a Crow Palace fic, but I wonder about the others...? Hmm 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

I don't want to accidentally spoil myself, though. I'll go through the archive after I finish this.

"Your Palace would definitely be a beef bowl shop." ANN OMG

"Why'd you gotta give a straight answer right off the bat? I can't argue with that!" Ryuji pls ;u;

Why do Will Seeds all look like that? I know there are those death things with the hollow eyes like that, but is that what it is? It just seems so out of place in this technical setting. I'm kind of surprised they don't change appearances to suit their Palace. Tbh, it doesn't really look like anything that comes from Mementos, either. But I suppose it must...

WHOA, why did the Velvet Room door turn red? "I have an uneasy feeling" Same, protag, same

WHY IS THE VELVET ROOM ON HIGH ALERT

A fusion alarm? OH COME ON IT HASNT BEEN THAT LONG SINCE I FUSED ANYONE

Is this because I still have Jack Frost with me? But come onnnn I already had most of this palace's inhabitants alreadyyyy

By /fusing/ them

Could this have come at any time? Or was this scripted for now? Oh, wait, I overreacted, this says that my Personas will be stronger if I do it during a fusion alarm. Kind of incentivizes him to slack off, though, doesn't it? Lol

Oh, interesting. Look at all those accident possibilities. Nvm.

Orpheus... ;-;

Huh, I didn't realize the Picaro versions also were not just dlc

"You would like me to become your mask? Well then, let us search for the answers of life together."

*lie down* *try not to cry* *cry a lot*

Anyway.

I need to go to Mementos and find an Eligor. Gotta get that Flauros.

YES FINALLY MY GUTS INCREASED

Aww, the newspaper club girl is rooting for the phantom thieves. She's so angry at akechi rn

Oh, speaking of! Hello, Akechi!

AHHH RYUJI AND MAKOTO TEAM UP IM SO PSYCHED

Oh man it's bc of the motorcycle ISNT IT, RYUJI : DDDDDD

JDSKSKXNXJKS

The voice acting there was. Wonderful. Omfg

Actually, now that I think about it, it makes a lot of sense that Ryuji's tried to suggest team ups twice now, ever as soon as he learned they were a thing. He was on the track team, and the team aspect of that was very important to him. He likes cheering others on and being cheered on by others. Specifically by training and sweating and testing limits together - by fighting together. Of course ryuji is interested. Of course he is.

Man, I wish I had better context for the "you filthy fly on dirty money" line - I mean, obviously he's Beelzebub, who is apparently in charge of gluttony, but like, is that a phrase? Is this just a Beelzebub reference or is there more to it bc it feels like there's more to it and I don't understand bc cultural reasons

Blegh I don't want to give up my expensive items...guess I'll do this the tedious way.

Ah, here we go. Let's see how these hired guns are. Hopefully I can see the Makoto & Ryuji showtime? :3 ?

Wait, Bael? Not Beelzebub? Really? Huh?

YES IT'S SHOWTIME

HOLY SHIT I LOVE IT

I wonder why that briefcase was related to his distorted desires. We really know so little about Kaneshiro, relatively

Yusuke's kinda on the ball today.

...*snerk*

Wow, damn, Akechi was potentially onto us since the Kaneshiro calling card? He gave a list of potential candidates, maybe we were on it...

Makoto, really, it was unfair of everyone to put the burden of resolving the Kaneshiro issue on you. You really can't be blamed. you know that, right?

Oh, hey look, it's 'Gaudy Student' there in the background

Hhhhhhhhhhh there are so many choices I have 5 potential social links to do tonight. I could start Kawakami, Ohya, Chihaya, or Hifumi, or I could level up Yoshida since it's Sunday

AHH KASUMI IS SO CUTE. FUCK!

BWAHAHAHAHA justice rank 3 is. Amazing.

"I've seen everything. A vision of you groveling on the ground..." IS THIS THE THING IN DECEMBER SHES TALKING ABOUT

#p5r liveblog #p5r #p5r spoilers #spoilers #persona 5 royal #long post #no like seriously #this one gets emotional at video games

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domina-alba · 6 years

Text

Seditionis Adamas

XVIII

Reorganizing and taking stock of supplies was something Domina knew Pearl usually did. But it wouldn’t hurt to do it again. She needed to do something to occupy herself, to avoid looking at the approaching ground outside. She had asked the Renegade to fly under the pretense of not knowing where the barn was. A blatant lie that earned her a confused look from Steven. Domina moved to refold her clothes and saw Yellow Diamond staring at the power source they had retrieved from the moon. They hadn’t spoken since their argument. Domina sighed, might as well start now.

“Something wrong with it?” She asked moving closer to where Yellow was sitting on the bench across from the engine room. The Diamond didn’t look at her.

“Other than it being several millennia out of date, no, it works perfectly. Should be able to power whatever kind of monstrosity we manage to cobble together, shortly before the whole thing falls apart in the planets upper atmosphere.”

“We’ll make it work.” Domina said. Yellow Diamond snorted.

“If you say so.”

“Is that what a ‘barn’ is supposed to look like?” Yellow Pearl asked from where she was standing towards the front of the ship.

“I mean, not really. Peridot and Lapis have made some changes, I think that morp with the birdhouse is new.” Steven said

“Morp?”

“It’s what they’ve been calling art, mostly sculpture.” The renegade said, Domina smirked, last year she had spent the better part of a day looking at the duo’s ‘Meep Morps’ while she was waiting for Pearl to reform. Yellow Pearl scoffed.

“A peridot and lapis can’t create art.” She said.

“Why not?” Steven asked, though Domina was almost positive that he knew the answer to that.

“That’s not what they’re... What in stars name,” Yellow Pearl said. Domina turned to hazard a glance at the ever approaching ground. The Flourite permafusion was the easiest to pick out, but the area around the barn was clustered with people. Domina pulled her eyes away as she felt her stomach begin to lurch.

“Lars and his crew are still on planet then?” Domina asked putting the refolded clothes away.

“Yeah! He’s going to baking school.” Steven said.

“Well that’s a leg up from stealing ships I guess.” Domina said smirking at Yellow Diamond who just looked back at her blankly. Oh right. That was going to take some explaining.

The ship landed several moments later and Steven effortlessly picked up the power source and carried off the ship. In the area immediately surrounding the craft, Lion was sleeping curled up against the barn, Rhodonite was handing tools to Flourite who was working with Lars and Peridot on an ancient Roaming Eye, pulling out systems it looked like. Sadie and the Rutile twins played with some sort of... orange animal?

“Hey guys!” Steven said setting down the power source gently on a crate.

“Hey Steven.” Sadie said looking up from where the orange... thing was now licking her face. The others gave their greetings which trailed off as both Diamonds stepped out of the Styx.

“Oh, the group has returned from the moon everyone!” Padparadscha exclaimed. Lars sighed.

“Yeah, thanks Padparadscha.” He said before walking over to Domina. He glanced nervously at Yellow Diamond behind her. “Yeah, Steven’s dad said that you were... back in town.” He said awkwardly. Domina snorted.

“Yes, I suppose that's one way of putting it.” She stepped slightly to the side and gestured back at Yellow. “Steven said you know who she is. Yellow, this is Lars, he’s captain of the crew that stole the Sun Incinerator last year.” Lars tensed, along with practically everyone else in the area. Yellow Diamond frowned.

“You expect me to believe that an organic and a ragtag group of off colors snuck into a top security hanger and stole an experimental craft?”

“I... I mean yeah, it’s probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done.” Lars said with an awkward shrug.

“Yeah it was!” Steven said from the side. Yellow Diamond sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“I am positive you weren’t pink the last time I saw you.”

“Yeah, that’s a long story.” Lars said rubbing the back of his head.

“So is everything with this cursed planet.” Yellow Diamond muttered.

****

There was no possible way this ship was going to work. Domina knew it, she had to. Yellow Diamond paced along the beach.

The remainder of the day had been spent at that eyesore of a building listening to these idiots trying to figure out how to make a working trans-universal spaceship function from, well, junk. Sure, their dedication to the cause and willingness to help was admirable. Some gems that had actually belonged to her court wouldn’t go that far, not without prodding. But, this was a waste of time, it would be easier to concentrate on fixing the galaxy warp, go directly to Homeworld,

and then... probably end up getting everyone involved shattered.

Yellow Diamond sighed and sat on the sand gripping the top of her head. They couldn’t do this, she couldn’t do this. She was going to be stuck on this planet forever.

“Hey uh, Yellow Diamond.” The hybrid-Quartz said. Yellow Diamond straightened herself immediately and shot the child an annoyed look. She was surprised he was even out here. White’s former pearl had been keeping him at a distance since she shoved him earlier in the day.

“What do you want Rose Quartz?” Yellow Diamond asked, she then looked up at the darkened sky, the Ipre Cluster was 97 degrees above the horizon. “Aren’t you supposed to be asleep?”

“I mean... kind of, but I’m alright. I was just wondering if we could talk.”

“Your Nacre bodyguard is going to allow that?” Yellow Diamond said keeping her eyes trained on the sky.

“Pearl went to see Sabina, and everyone else is in the temple or asleep.” Steven said, He had moved closer towards her and sat down on her right.

“Oh.”

“So um...” He started, trailing his fingers through the sand. “Have you ever built a ship before?”

“That’s not what diamonds do.” Yellow Diamond said with a scoff.

“Domina did.”

“Domina shouldn’t have.”

“You didn’t really answer my question.” Steven said. Yellow Diamond looked at him, his face was eager, trusting, actually interested in what she had to say.

“I regularly make modifications to my personal one” Yellow Diamond said, something she really should have assigned a peridot to do. “But no I’ve never built one from scratch.”

“Oh, cool...” Steven said, he slipped off his shoes and crossed his legs. They were silent for a while “You can ask me one now if you want,” He said finally breaking the silence that had been tempered by the rolling waves. “Me and Domina take turns asking questions usually.”

“Well why don’t you go talk to her then?” Yellow Diamond said with an eyebrow raised, then she wondered if that had counted as a question.

“Because I’d rather talk to you,” He said, then looked at her expectantly. Yellow Diamond sighed.

“Very well, your defense said that you gave yourself up, why?” She asked. Stevens smile faded.

“Oh... well I...” Steven looked out over the sea and drummed his fingers on his legs. “I was just trying to protect... I thought my mom really had... shattered Pink Diamond.”

“You’re not the only one,”

“Yeah, so I... felt like I had to pay for what she did.” Steven said giving her a serious look.

“That's it?” Yellow Diamond said with a frown. Steven blinked at her.

“What?” He asked “Should there be more?”

“Well I...” Yellow Diamond said. “I don’t know.”

“So did you know that Peridot could move metal with her mind?” Steven asked. Yellow Diamond shook her head.

“Not 5XG specifically, though it’s not that much of a surprise.” She said. “In every gem type there's a certain level of variation. That's part of the reason your mother was such a successful opponent.” Yellow Diamond said.

“Wait really? How?” Steven asked, he was more alert now, the same expression Domina used to get on her face every time Yellow discussed White Diamond.

“Rose Quartzes were created to be able to care for humans, and stimulate plant growth, your mother’s powers however extended to being able to repair cracked gems. It made fighting her...” Yellow paused. “Irritating.”

“Wow, so there are other peridots that can move metal like that.”

“Probably. Not that it’s necessary, they have limb enhancers.”

“It’s still cool.” Steven said. Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes. Her turn.

“How did you neutralize the cluster?”

“Oh! Me and Peridot drilled down to where it was and we were going to destroy it but I convinced it not to form, and instead for all the shards to talk to each other.” Steven said. There was no proper word to describe Yellow Diamonds expression other than perhaps befuddlement, even that though was a gross understatement.

“I... that shouldn’t even be possible.”

“Yeah it was kind of a weird day over all.” Steven said.

“Do you ever have normal days?” Yellow Diamond muttered looking up at the stars again. Steven grinned

“Sometimes. So...did Pink Diamond have a ship?”

#su fanfic #White Diamond #Pink Pearl #Yellow Diamond #Diamond Authority #Vulgaris Adamas #Seditionis Adamas Chapters

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