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zekeyspaceylizard · 2 years

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Grief is a hell of a drug.

There was a time when I was younger that I didn’t think internet friends were as important as real life ones. Then I met Oliver. Oliver was a fan of mine from the old Newgrounds and AlbinoBlackSheep days. We met on steam and got along well. Very well, in fact. We had similar senses of humor, and many of my favorite jokes and memes and gags came from him. He lived in the UK and I lived in the US and we talked via Steam for years and later, when it was available, Discord.

Oliver was like a brother to me. We talked about frustrations and pain in our lives we didn’t share with anybody else. We’d theorycraft about updates to DOTA2 and other games we liked to play. Discuss stupid crap in pop culture and shoot the shit for hours. Oliver always believed in me and, like many of my other online friends, never quite understood why I’ve become such an unlucky massive disappointment as an adult, potential all squandered. He always told me he wished our lives were better. So we could both be happy.

He’d send me music sometimes for bands I’d never heard of, introducing me to things I’d never experienced. Through him I started to realize that he was just as important to me as any real life friends I’d had. Even more so in many cases as many of them got older and found success and moved on with careers of their own, while I continued to struggle here and make something of myself.

He was there to console me when I had my nervous breakdown in 2009 that lead me into a deep depression. He was there to cheer me up when I turned 30 years old and was depressed again. He never got a chance to turn 30.

A bit over a year ago he was feeling poorly and saw a doctor and learned he had lymphoma. The prognosis was good and he felt confident he’d beat it. He’s show me photos of the giant ghastly lumps on his skin where his lymph nodes used to be. And I hoped and prayed to whatever I could that it would all go well and he’d recover and have a normal life. But I wouldn’t be writing all this if that were the case.

A couple weeks ago he had lost the ability to walk properly due to developing anasarca as well. It made him unable to visit family in Germany which broke him as he wanted to see them one last time. His last couple of big outings was meeting his boyfriend in the US and later attending a Newgrounds meetup where he got to hang out with Luis, another Newgrounds animator he was friends with. He was in bad shape at that point, a bag of fluid around his heart mutating into a giant growth that protruded from his chest. But even that he took lightly and would crack jokes about. He was just that kinda guy.

Over the years I had drawn stuff for him, usually involving his beloved orange tabby cat, whom he had raised from a kitten. The week he had learned he had lymphoma, that cat was hit by a car and killed. He grieved for it a lot. He loved that cat and would send me pics of it all the time. I even painted that cat as a kaiju once, lording over a city. That illustration is lost to time. I wish I’d kept it.

The one bright spot was months later he found an abandoned black kitten and adopted it. It was one of the few positive things in his life anymore.

As his condition grew worse, I asked him a handful of times if he wanted me to draw or paint him anything to cheer him up. As an artist it was all I could really do for the guy. I’d have donated my own lymph nodes or heart to him if I could have, but such things arent possible. About a week ago he finally had a request. He wanted me to paint something from the game Jet Set Radio and Jet Set Radio Future, which were two of his favorites as a kid. He was eager to try out Bomb Rush Cyberfunk since it looked like a spiritual revival of that series.

So I painted like a madman. Painted as hard as I could, sleeping little, hoping to make something he would love. His birthday would have been last Thursday, just a couple days ago. At around 1 am, the night prior, I sent him the painting. He was offline, which struck me as odd. He was one of those guys who was always connected to the web, usually playing Runescape. It was ominous.

Then 24 hours passed, with him neither online on Discord or Steam. I had a bad feeling that he was already gone. And learned hours later, from his other friend Luis, this was indeed the case.

My beloved friend Ollie died the night I finished his birthday gift. He never got a chance to see it. He never got to celebrate one last birthday. I wish I’d sent the unfinished version when I had the chance. I wish I could have made him happy, even for a little bit, in the multitude of ways he often brightened my days.

But it won’t happen now. It’s a very strangling feeling. Like someone has wrapped razor wire around my throat and is winding it tighter and tighter. All we needed was one more day. Not a lot to ask for, in the grand scheme of things.

There’s not much more else to say so I’ll end this with a link to a video he and I used to reference all the time. A cartoon we often chuckled at, and one of his favorites. We Get The Night.

Rest in Peace, Ollie. You absolute lad. You beautiful bastard. I hope if there’s a heaven that you save me a seat, man.

#oliver #jet set radio #gum #graffiti #art

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powerfultulips · 4 years

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weird asks?

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?

coffee mugs

2. chocolate bars or lollipops?

chocolate bars!

3. bubblegum or cotton candy?

both?

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?

probably something along the lines of “weird, but brilliant. also really small and tiny”

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?

plastic cups

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?

ideally, grunge

7. earbuds or headphones?

headphones all the way babey

8. movies or tv shows?

not really a big fan of either

9. favorite smell in the summer?

um, like campfires and stuff

10. game you were best at in p.e.?

didn’t really have p.e. in school, but i always liked kickball and dodgeball

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day?

just a spoonful of peanut butter, along with my meds

12. name of your favorite playlist?

either “h” or “oliver!”

13. lanyard or key ring?

key ring i guess

14. favorite non-chocolate candy?

smarties?

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?

hamlet, probably. if you’re looking for a novel, a prayer for owen meany.

16. most comfortable position to sit in?

the comfy one

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?

i have these shitty dad shoes (air monarchs) that i wear a lot. mostly because i keep them tied, and i often don’t feel like tying another pair of shoes when i go out. so they’re basically slip-ons

18. ideal weather?

70 degrees, mostly cloudy, maybe a light rain, or a soft breeze

19. sleeping position?

i usually sleep on my right side, but sometimes i roll over to my left

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?

depends what i’m writing, but i like notebooks and my laptop

21. obsession from childhood?

quite a few. gas stations, legos, baseball, phineas and ferb

22. role model?

not sure i have one, i look up to all of my friends in different ways

23. strange habits?

i chew on my knuckles a lot, it’s a nervous stim i’ve had since i was young. dunno if i have any others

24. favorite crystal?

um.... the pretty ones

25. first song you remember hearing?

i have no fuckin idea my guy. maybe 99 luftballons

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?

exist in an air-conditioned room

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather?

put a hoodie on and go for a walk

28. five songs to describe you?

“your heart is a muscle the size of your fist” by ramshackle glory; “after you” by good morning; “dip you in honey” by the wombats; “i’m against the government” by defiance, ohio; “new loved ones” by toro y moi

29. best way to bond with you?

probably helping me out when i’m in a bad situation

30. places that you find sacred?

dunno that there are any, really

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?

karkat t-shirt, black jeans (that unfortunately don’t fit me anymore), probably some cute socks

32. top five favorite vines?

hang on i have a list. mychael with a B, this bitch empty YEET, the AA-AAA-AAAA battery one, bbq sauce on my titties, and “is that allowed?”

33. most used phrase in your phone?

i. what does that mean

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?

none, fuck capitalism

35. average time you fall asleep?

probably like 2am

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing?

i. have no idea

37. suitcase or duffel bag?

suited case

38. lemonade or tea?

tea

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?

pieeee

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?

one time a teacher set a dollar bill on fire, i think. i wasn’t there. also a bat got into the bathroom once or twice

41. last person you texted?

my sweet, precious baby boy @literally-an-envelope

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets?

p a n t

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?

hoodie!!!!

44. favorite scent for soap?

vaniwwa

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?

sci-fi perhaps?

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?

i usually sleep in a tshirt and pj pants

47. favorite type of cheese?

pepperjack probably. i had a dream about gouda last night, though

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?

a blackberry. idk

49. what saying or quote do you live by?

“All people are good for something. The important thing is finding what.” (Tom, MLB Power Pros 2008)

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have?

fuck if i know dude

51. current stresses?

is “everything” an answer

52. favorite font?

helvetica

53. what is the current state of your hands?

slightly sweaty

54. what did you learn from your first job?

sprite with grenadine.... tasty

55. favorite fairy tale?

idk bro

56. favorite tradition?

my family usually goes to chuck e cheese on new years eve. its fun

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?

bold of you to assume i’ve overcome anything

58. four talents you’re proud of having?

writing, singing, pitching (baseball), and punting (football)

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?

y’know, like nya?

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?

slice-of-life, or a sports anime

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?

shrugs

62. seven characters you relate to?

are these all gonna be homestuck characters? probably. karkat, tavros, kanaya, dave, john/june, jade, and kankri. ok those are just my favourites but fuck you

63. five songs that would play in your club?

i’d probably have a really chill “club” that just played like, indie music from bands i like

64. favorite website from your childhood?

poptropica

65. any permanent scars?

yeah i have a few, although they’re fading and healing, idk if they will be on my skin forever.

66. favorite flower(s)?

i like tulips

67. good luck charms?

stuffed animals

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?

black liquorice

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned?

fun fact! why do they call it oven when you of in the cold food of out hot eat the food

70. left or right handed?

right, but i swing left

71. least favorite pattern?

idk

72. worst subject?

like in school? physics

73. favorite weird flavor combo?

shrugs aggressively

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen?

like 5

75. when did you lose your first tooth?

i have no clue

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)?

probably fries

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?

shrug

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?

neither?

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo?

school id, i think

80. earth tones or jewel tones?

jewel tones

81. fireflies or lightning bugs?

ain’t those the same thing

82. pc or console?

i guess i prefer console, but most of my games are on my laptop

83. writing or drawing?

writing

84. podcasts or talk radio?

podcasts, i guess?

84. barbie or polly pocket?

shrugs

85. fairy tales or mythology?

mythology?

86. cookies or cupcakes?

cookies !

87. your greatest fear?

losing my loved ones

88. your greatest wish?

am i allowed to say “to be dead”

89. who would you put before everyone else?

my fiancé, for sure

90. luckiest mistake?

i.... don’t know

91. boxes or bags?

🅱️oxen

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights?

sunlight!!

93. nicknames?

yeah

94. favorite season?

spring

95. favorite app on your phone?

tumblr, or discord

96. desktop background?

something from homestuck. it’s terezi

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized?

four (mine, dad, mom, fiancé)

98. favorite historical era?

i don’t know that i have one

#asks #thanks bby

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Seeing Game Of Thrones, and its Dimly Lit Battle, in a Whole New Light

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It’s been a year and a half since Game Of Thrones aired its final episode ‘The Iron Throne’ (although it feels a lot longer thanks to 2020 time dilation), and now a ‘Complete Collection’ box-set has arrived.

It’s slightly odd to behold these 33 discs, squeezed into eight Blu-ray cases, snuggled up in a lovely box, with a little booklet nestled in. So much time has passed since the world watched that finale and the online discourse erupted with the fiery ferocity of Cersei’s attack on the Sept Of Baelor.

With so much vocal negativity surrounding season eight, it feels as if Game Of Thrones has ended up in the big pop-culture bin of shows that nobody talks about anymore (unless they’re taking the mick). But this box-set is a chance to revisit and reappraise, and see if that sentence is really fair…

“You were the best of them”

When season eight was first released in 4K Ultra-HD at the end of last year, word filtered down that it was the best way to watch the infamously dimly lit Winterfell battle episode ‘The Long Night‘. Having originally squinted at this episode (which I streamed on Now TV through a 1080p TV back in the day), I was keen to see how it would look with a 4K-enabled Xbox Series X console hooked up to a shiny new 4K ASUS monitor.

Long story short, it did look better than I remembered (although, who’s to say that I’m not remembering it worse than it was at the time because of all the memes). I wouldn’t necessarily say that the whole thing looks brighter, but that the nuance of the lighting and the rich details in certain shots are a lot easier to make out and understand with a Blu-ray disc and a proper 4K set-up. So yes, I felt I could properly watch the episode this time, with a far greater sense of what I was meant to be able to see.

Putting tech specifications to one side for a moment, there was also a simple joy to be found in seeing these actors and characters together again on screen. With Game Of Thrones so quickly having become meme-fodder and the inspiration for countless angry comments, it’s easy to forget how excellent the cast and crew clearly were.

Although there isn’t much in the way of dialogue during ‘The Long Night’, it’s moving to be reminded of that sweet exchange between Sansa and Tyrion in the crypts of Winterfell. Reminiscing on their fraught marriage of many seasons ago, Sansa tells Tyrion, “You were the best of them.” It’s a reminder that Game Of Thrones isn’t just about big battles and questionable writing decisions – but also lovable characters, memorable arcs and great performances.

“It’s chaotic for a reason”

There are two commentary track options on ‘The Long Night’ disc, one with director Miguel Sapochnik and cinematographer Fabian Wagner. Listening to it, I’m reminded again of how I saw Game Of Thrones before that final season, back when Sapochnik was heralded as the genius director of such iconic battles as Hardhome and Battle Of The Bastards.

On this commentary track for ‘The Long Night’, which was clearly recorded after all the backlash about how dark the episode was, Sapochnik is in very candid form. It’s refreshing to find something that sounds so honest, and very far from PR speak, on what is clearly an HBO-approved product.

Sapochnik and Wagner reflect on the gruelling 55 days of night shoots that brought this episode to life, a discussion which, on its own, is enough to remind us that a lot of people put a lot of hard work into making this show – whether or not they agreed with the top-level decisions about its direction.

It’s also interesting to hear Sapochnik’s take on why this episode is so dark – it was, of course, a conscious creative decision from the director and the writers, as opposed to a hapless work experience kid in the editing suite accidentally thumbing a big switch labelled ‘brightness’ in the wrong direction.

“It’s chaotic for a reason,” Sapochnik explains, as the dead descend on Winterfell on a jet-black night, bringing wind and snow with them to baffle and disorient their human enemies. As Davos squints in the abyss atop the Winterfell battlements, Sapochnik jokes that our beloved Onion Knight should’ve bought a better TV.

As well as providing some laughs, this insightful commentary can also help fans gain a better understanding of this episode – it wasn’t meant to be a traditional battle like the ones we’d seen before. Rather, it was a descent into hell for all of our beloved characters, brought to life by a crew that spent almost two months working through the night to make it happen.

“The hardest episode of TV anyone on this show has done”

The special features of this mammoth box-set include more than 15 hours of special features, so it’s a huge treasure trove for fans of the show. There’s access to basically every resource you could want. Say, for example, you wanted to know even more about ‘The Long Night’ episode. In the Bonus Features disc from the season eight case, you could check out ‘The Last Watch’ documentary, which includes footage from the first-ever table read for that episode – complete with Maisie Williams’ utter joy when she finds out that Arya will be killing the Night King, and Kit Harington’s bemusement at that same revelation.

There’s also ‘When Winter Falls’, a documentary which shows exactly how ‘The Long Night’ came together: you can see which bits were special effects and which bits were built in real life, and you can hear the cast and crew reflecting on the harsh realities of making what Harington calls “the hardest episode of TV anyone on this show has done.” Emilia Clarke is convinced the episode must have broken some sort of “work endurance records,” if such a thing exists.

If Game Of Thrones had ‘stuck the landing’ with its final season and somehow managed to please every different subsection of the show’s fans, a bountiful box-set like this would probably look like a tempting investment to a lot of people. And, to be honest, even though I wasn’t utterly convinced by the final season, this treasure trove has reminded me that there was a lot more to the series than just the showrunners’ decisions in the finale.

“All this chocolate fell out of his secret pocket”

In the ‘Bonus Features’ case are three discs of extra-extra features, which couldn’t be crammed onto the dedicated discs for each season. Across these three discs, you’ll find even more goodies to grow your Game Of Thrones appreciation. On one disc you’ve got ‘Conquest & Rebellion: An Animated History Of The Seven Kingdoms‘, a feature-length animated special in which cast members narrate tales of Westerosi history. (This could be handy knowledge to have if those ancient history prequel series end up happening.)

You’ve also got numerous chunky featurettes in the categories ‘Behind the Scenes’, ‘Inside the Visual Effects’ and ‘Anatomy of a Scene’. I particularly enjoyed the Anatomy of a Scene on Sansa and Joffrey’s wedding – I’d forgotten quite how ridiculous it was, and again, it’s a great reminder of just how much great content this show has given us, how many brilliant performances Game Of Thrones boasts, and just how much hard work went in behind the scenes.

The ultimate fan-friendly celebration of Game Of Thrones can be found on disc one from the Bonus Features case, under the title ‘Game Of Thrones Reunion Special Parts 1 & 2’: it’s basically a two-hour love-in, during which Conan O’Brien interviews pretty much everyone you’d hope to see in a cast reunion.

Serving as the satisfying season finale to my rekindled Game Of Thrones fandom, this Reunion Special has so many moments of squee-inducing glee: there’s a fabulous montage that shows how lovely a time Emilia Clarke has had over the last eight years, compared to Kit Harington being caked in mud and left out in the cold at every opportunity (the gentle roasting of Harington is really quite heartwarming); there’s also a fun anecdote from Mark Addy about Sean Bean hiding chocolates in his costume; and Sean Bean himself turns up for a joyous reunion with his on-screen children, as well as being reunited with Ned Stark’s severed head.

Seeing the cast and crew laughing together under Conan’s playful questioning, I’m reminded again of all the terrific actors and talented crew members that put years of their life into making this flight of fancy for us. And even though the decisions of the final season may not sit well with everyone, I’m glad that I dived back into the Game Of Thrones fandom and rediscovered what made me love it in the first place.

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Game Of Thrones: The Complete Collection is out now.

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matthillica · 4 years

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Pandemic - Day 50

When I picked this blog back up again back in March, we were still very much getting used to the word “pandemic”. Although I’d been preparing since mid-January for a worst-case scenario, 50 days in and I’m still not sure I’ve fully reckoned with whatever the hell this new reality is.

I’m not sure why I’ve left this sitting for the last month. I guess once the initial shock and fear of that word subsides, life becomes deceptively boring. Thanks to the internet, we’re constantly connected and have plenty of memes and TikToks to take the edge off our situation, but the number of experiences we now encounter on a daily basis that, three months ago, would have been completely foreign to us is pretty striking.

Grocery store trips are a perfect example.

Three months ago, our family made weekly trips to the grocery store, typically on Saturdays or Sundays. They were leisurely, especially since moving to Atlanta where there’s a grocery store on almost every corner. We usually circled the lot once or twice looking for a race car cart Caroline could ride in. She loved using the steering wheels to drive the cart and the distraction helped us keep her in the cart and shop more quickly.

I can’t remember the last time Caroline was in a grocery store... probably late February? When you pull up to the store now, the race car carts are all lined up neatly curbside, waiting for kids who probably also haven’t been to the store in months. I can’t remember the last time I saw a child at a grocery store.

Our trips now are biweekly. We usually plan them four or five days in advance. We’re now buying for our family of three plus Laura’s folks. I think they’re still secretly stealing off to the store now and then for produce or a six pack. It definitely causes anxiety, but I think I need to just get over it and keep telling myself that by shopping for them, we’re making their trips to the store fewer and shorter... at least that’s the hope.

I think I’ve taken about 3 post-pandemic grocery trips at this point. Enough that they’re becoming more routine, but I still tend to lose sleep the night before I go. I’ve started going to the Parkaire Kroger, which is about 10 minutes further from our house, but it is a larger store with much wider aisles, so it’s a lot easier to avoid other shoppers.

On Monday, my boss’ boss reached out to me to let me know that I’d be receiving a letter extending my furlough through July 6, at least. She said that although she’s still working, she hasn’t been to the office in over a month. She also said that as the company struggles to restructure and stem the losses, that my position will likely be eliminated after July 6 and I should start hunting for new work. I asked her if there was even a chance that I’d be brought back and she said no, very flatly. I mean, it is what it is... not surprising since I’ve only been there a few months, but man... back to square one again. In a pandemic. With 30+ million other people also searching for work. This should be fun.

I’m definitely disappointed about losing my job, but I think of all the jobs I’ve either lost or left, I feel the least “bad” about this one. Completely out of my control and there are lots of others in the same boat... small consolation, but consolation nonetheless.

The good news is that I’ve got content creation work coming in from old coworkers, so that’s helping to make ends meet while we wait for the state/federal government to get their butts in gear with Unemployment Assistance.... I’ve still received nothing except my Trump Bux check a few weeks ago. Just one more headache.

I’ve talked for years with my wife about becoming an independent contractor, so maybe now’s the time.

Mom sold her house in Kansas last week, in other good news. I really didn’t think there was even a chance, particularly in McPherson, Kansas, people would be buying a house right now, but I was wrong. She managed to push the closing date back to July 1, so hopefully some of this will have subsided by then and she’ll be able to make the trip safely.

The last few days have been a mad scramble of Skype calls and emails with our agent here as Mom set to work trying to find a place to live.

In case you’ve never done a house hunt from a different state during a pandemic where you can’t leave your house or travel or go get tattooed freely (inside joke for us GA folks), it’s an interesting process.

Mom is ridiculously organized, so she had a list of about 10 properties she’d found and was interested in seeing. I connected with our agent Josh and, amazingly, he was able to get appointments to see all of these homes in one day.

So that was most of my day yesterday. I met Josh at the first property. We drove separately, we each wore masks and gloves. I’d pull up to the property, get out my phone and call Mom on Skype. We’d spend the next 10-20 minutes walking her around the house, answering questions, trying not to touch stuff but also trying to look at closets, pull back shower curtains, get into attic spaces.

Four weeks ago, if you’d told me I’d be going through that process at 10 different houses, I’d have been too afraid. I think the fear is still there, there’s just been a numbing of sorts. I keep thinking this must be what soldiers in war experience... I know that’s probably a really unfair comparison for me to make, but there you go. It’s like... you can’t be terrified of being shot forever... you can’t be paralyzed by it for ever. Your body just runs out of terror. Your brain knows the potential for harm is still there, it’s just out of the resources you had at the beginning to be completely gripped by fear and all the potential for harm. You’ve resigned to it a little bit. At least that’s what I imagine being in a wartime situation must be like... I don’t know.

I digress... we saw a bunch of houses Mom liked and she wound up making an offer on the second to last one. After some quick back and forth with the owner, who wasn’t thrilled about a July 2 close date, they accepted her offer. So now it’s fingers crossed that the inspection process, appraisal, etc. all go through without a hitch and she’ll be here in a little over 2 months... another, huge, silver lining.

A bit of a rambling post, but they probably all will be for a while... when I get around to writing them anyway.

50 days in and we’re still kicking. Although the country is still shut down, GA is starting to reopen... many think too early, but only time will tell. There is plenty to fear, lots to be anxious about, and I think we’re all coming to terms with the passing of life as we knew it a few months ago and understanding that it may be a very long time before we’re able to get back to that, if ever.

But you know what? That’s okay. We’ve survived joblessness before. We’ve survived fear of death, we’ve survived anxiety, we’ve survived health scares, and we’ll survive this.

We have so much to be thankful for. We have our family and their health, we continue to grow closer to one another and we have new appreciation and love for those people we hold close. Most of all, we’re so thankful for the people who are out there in this. We are incredibly fortunate that we’re able to quarantine in our house for weeks on end and couldn’t possibly do it without the grocery store clerks, gas station attendants, farmers, and truck drivers who are soldering on through all of this.

I’m grateful and optimistic... and ready for this shit to be OVER.

#pandemic therona quarantine

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thelittleredheadedmusician · 7 years

Note

For the batfam week prompt meme could you write something with either Jason and Damian bonding or Tim and Damian bonding and Dick being proud?

Absolutely! To me Damian and Jason bond in a mutual sense of “no judgement” so I hope you enjoy! As always it can be found here on my ao3.Rating: PGWords: 870Gen

The windows and doors had been bolted shut but thatapparently didn’t matter to Damian seeing as how Jason found the kid fastasleep on his couch. That wasn’t as annoying as the fact that Jason obviouslyhad to either find a new safe house or at the very least change the locks. Sincethe baby bat was inconveniencing him the least Jason could do was inconveniencethe baby bat. Pulling up Nirvana’s SmellsLike Teen Spirit on his phone Jason queued up the loud instrumental breakand turned his volume all the way up before holding it next to Damian’s headand pressing play.

Damian woke with a jerk and rolled off the couch,from his new position on Jason’s area rug he glared up at the older boy. “Wasthat really necessary Todd?” he spat.

Jason shrugged, “Was breaking into my apartment justto nap on my couch really necessary?”

Damian gave his signature “-tt-” with a sniff. Hegot to his feet and made a big show of brushing himself off. Jason rolled hiseyes and went to go make the two of them breakfast, if the kid was going spend thenight he might as well have some pancakes too.

“So, Pipsqueak, what brings you here?” Jason asked,pulling out a frying pan and setting it on the stove.

“I am not a pipsqueak,” Damian replied indignantly.He sat himself at Jason’s kitchen island and watched as Jason started stirringthe pancake mix.

“Alright then, short stuff? Smalls? Baby bat? Batbrat? Tater tot? Shorty?”

“Todd!” Damian finally snapped at him. Jasonchuckled and turned back to pouring mix into the pan. “If you must know, Drakewas injured last night on patrol and I fear the Grayson may blame me for it.” Hestudied his nails with a practiced look of cool disinterest. Jason saw rightthrough it.

“What happened to the Replacement? And be honest,you’re afraid B is mad, not Dick.”

Damian pressed his lips together until they were atight line. He sucked in a deep breath and nodded, releasing it in a huff. “Wewere both working a case on an incoming drug shipment. I entered the warehousebefore realizing Drake was already there and inadvertently gave away hisposition. The drug runners saw him in the light from me breaking the door downand shot at him. We were able to subdue them until GCPD arrived but a bulletgrazed his thigh.”

“Well that sucks,” Jason responded bluntly. “But he’sgoing to be fine and it’s really both of your fault.” Jason gave the pancakes afinal flip before loading them on to a plate and passing it to Damian.

“What do you mean?”

“You were both working the case and it’s obvious youdidn’t tell each other. I mean, I at least tell Barbie what cases I’m workingso B and the rest of you know and stuff like that doesn’t happen.”

Damian nodded as he chewed. “I had noticed that youand Father were not crossing paths on cases lately.”

Jason finished the batch of pancakes for himself andturned off the stove. He carried his plate over, sitting on the stool next tohis little brother. “I know you two get along worse than Timmy-boy and I do butyou’ve at least got to be professional.”

Damian nodded and continued to eat his pancakes insilence for a few minutes. Jason munched on his own and pulled his phone out,sending a quick text to Dick so he wouldn’t worry about the kid.

“I’m curious,” he said to Damian between bites. “Whycome here? You could’ve gone to Steph’s.”

Damian shrugged and ducked his head a little. Jasonwas surprised, the youngest Robin hardly ever seemed this young. A part of himwanted to put an arm around the kid’s shoulders but a larger part of him wantedto keep his arm attached to his body.

“I knew that Brown was on friendlier terms withDrake than you. She might not appreciate that he had been injured.”

Jason nodded, finishing his pancakes. His phonebuzzed with a response from Dick. “Big Bird wants me to send you home, whatshould I tell him.”

Damian looked at him in surprise. “You’re notkicking me out?”

“Why should I? You both did something dumb, Tim’s definitelygonna live, and Bruce can wait a few more hours to lecture you. You wannaleave, fine but I’m not forcing you.”

Damian blinked at him a few times. “If you willallow me to I’d like to stay.”

“Alright. I’ve got a few videogames around heresomewhere, help with the dishes and we can play them. I’ll tell Dick Ikidnapped you.”

Damian snorted. “Whatever Todd.” He carried hisplate to the sink and began rinsing it off.

Jason smiled as he typed out a reply to Dick. Don’t worry. Baby bat is gonna play somevideo games with me til B cools his jets.

A few seconds later his phone buzzed with Dick’sresponse. Thanks. I’ll text when thingscalm down here. Then an immediate You’rea good big brother Jay. Jason smiled as he went to go setup his console.

#batfamweek prompt meme #dc comics #writing #own writing #my fic #jason todd #damian wayne #dick grayson #batbros

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perhapsthevision · 7 years

Text

ok I don’t think there are any security questions in here so why not

Tagged by my sister @prodigaldaughteralice. Also, tumblr is bizarrely laggy so now I'm typing long posts in a text editor like it's 2005...

1. Coke or Pepsi: I don't actually dislike cola any more, but I also don't drink it enough to have an opinion or be able to tell the difference. Anyway, I'm white so I can hand anything to a cop and be okay :p

2. Disney or Dreamworks: I can't tell if Dreamworks actually hasn't made anything good lately, or if knocking Dreamworks has just become a meme. But their old stuff was good. Disney always makes a few really good things, and then a lot of dreck. But I kind of resent them from keeping anything from passing into the public domain, as long as their lawyers have money.

3. Coffee or Tea: I probably drink more coffee per day, but tea is the one I have opinions about. I drink coffee with a lot of milk and am just looking for something that doesn't taste nasty; tea we keep a lot of varieties of and pick based on how we're feeling.

4. Books or Movies: In the abstract I tend to prefer books, but I enjoy both.

5. Windows or Mac: I typically prefer Apple stuff and my primary computer will probably always be a Mac. But it is one of my someday goals to build a PC to act as a media/game center.

6. DC or Marvel: I'm not that invested but I think there's more Marvel stuff I like.

7. X-box or Playstation: I've always had Playstation consoles but I have nothing in particular against the XBox line that I know of.

8. Dragon Age or Mass Effect: I stopped playing DA:I when I learned Cassandra was straight and I've never had access to the ME line of games. But I'd still give this to ME since my partner loves them and he's showed me hilarious stuff from them.

9. Night Owl or Early Riser: I really enjoy being up late, sleeping, and being up early, so I think my chronotype is officially "gets all her sleep in a time machine". But when I was really little I was a super early riser and I wouldn't be surprised if my body eventually shifts back toward that.

10. Cards or Chess: There's a running joke about me hating chess but I'm not that into card games either.

11. Chocolate or Vanilla: Chocolate for most purposes but my test of an ice cream brand is whether or not they can make a really good cream or vanilla.

12. Vans or Converse: I haven't really found either to be supportive enough for me to wear.

13. Lavallan, Trevelyan, Cadash, or Adaar: Apparently this is a DA thing?

14. Fluff or Angst: I don't really like either if it's just that and no plot. But I guess I'd go with fluff because lately I don't like even very good media that are just All About Pain.

15. Beach or Forest: Forest, but the beach can be beautiful too.

16. Dogs or Cats: I prefer cats but dogs are pretty great. If I had a giant house with a big yard I'd give my cat his own personal army of large dogs to ride into battle.

17. Clear Skies or Rain: I've lived somewhere really rainy for eight years and I loved it, especially since I'm light sensitive and sunburn super easily, but lately I've been really into clear skies for weird psychological reasons. (OK, not that weird: someone I care about a lot passed away and then we kept having storms and rain.)

18. Cooking or Eating Out: I make the majority of the food we eat, and lately I've been trying to spend more of our food budget on good food to cook and less on going out to eat, but there's a great food scene here so I really do enjoy going to restaurants and food carts.

19. Spicy Food or Mild: I like it when the person at the spice store is like "it scares me that you're buying this"

20. Halloween/Samhain or Solstice/Yule/Christmas: Christmas is my favorite holiday. My family tends to come together and most of us have time off from work to spend together, and then we get to both give and receive presents, and the cookies are good. Kids don't come by where I live and I was never into Halloween parties, so Halloween kind of fell off after I got too old to trick or treat myself.

21. Little too cold or little too hot: Little too cold -- but lots too hot.

22. Superpower: There are others that would do more good in the world but for myself, flight or time travel.

23. Animation or Live Action: There are a lot more live action things than animated things, so it seems unfair to compare them.

24. Paragon or Renegade: Like I said I haven't played ME so I never had to pick. In general, I usually want to play evil as amoral/practical, and way too many games instead present save puppies vs kick puppies, which pisses me off. Also, when it seems like you're picking good for less reward vs evil for more, but you KNOW that good gives you a better reward down the line, it really saps the meaningfullness of the choice.

25. Bath or Showers: On a daily basis showers are way more practical. I do like a nice bath now and then especially if my muscles are achy, but our tub isn't really deep enough to get comfortable. Also I get bored in the bath and have to listen to music or something.

26. Team Cap or Team Ironman: No, you move! Which is weird because I otherwise find Iron Man a way more interesting character.

27. Fantasy or Sci-Fi: Lately I've been picking up more sci fi but I don't have a hard preference.

28. Fav Quotes: I could make a post at least this long with random quotes I like.

29. Youtube or Netflix: They fill pretty different roles though I know YouTube is trying to get into the business of movies/tv and original content.

30. Harry Potter or Percy Jackson: Harry Potter was a generational thing, Percy Jackson came out after I was too old for it.

31. When I Feel Accomplished: When something works out, particularly if I get praise for something I've been trying very hard to do. Lately I got praise for my coding style and was told that I'm personable and easy to work with, and both of those made me really happy because I've been putting particular effort into them.

32. Star Wars or Star Trek: There's a special place in my heart for the original SW trilogy but there's much more of the Star Trek verse that I'm into.

33. Paperback Books or Hardback: I usually buy paperbacks because they're cheaper and easier to carry around, but really beautiful hardbacks are cool as art objects, and more durable.

34. A world without literature or music: Would probably mean some fundamental change in the psychology of humans. Even dictatorships tend to have state-produced art to use to control the people. I don't think it's sustainable to have humans and not have some of them trying to make art.

35. Who was the last person to make me laugh: My cat being cute. Are you gonna tell him he's not a person?

36. Sour or Sweet Candy: Sweet, I've never gotten the point of sour candies.

37. Believe in aliens?: There is probably some form of life somewhere but I have no reason to believe it's interacted with or been exposed to us.

38. Dawn or Dusk: Probably dawn, but I see a lot more of dusk.

39. Piercings or Tattoos: I see more people with a lot of tattoos that I think look good, than people with a lot of piercings that I think look good, but that is my personal aesthetics and obviously nobody made that choice to appeal to me. I have pierced ears and want to get a (particular) tattoo on either my wrist or ankle someday but it keeps getting pushed down the priority list.

40. Girls? Hot?: Is this a choice or a song reference or ...?

41. Snow or Fog: I have a thing about snow because snow shut my city down repeatedly over the winter to a downright embarrassing extent and it probably accelerated the wear on my car. In a city with decent infrastructure I'd dig snow. Fog is pretty until you have to drive in it.

42. Sleep facing the wall or room: I share a bed so I always sleep facing the outside of the bed, I don't care which side I'm on.

43. TRC of AFTG: All Google tells me is this is some series I've never heard of

44. Horror or Drama: In terms of movie classifications, drama. But again it's much broader.

45. Orcarina of Time or Majora’s Mask: I haven't played either, the only Nintendo products I ever had were DSes

46. Living in nature or city: I think about this a lot, nature appeals to me but I can't actually handle living in a remote area.

47. Any addictions: TBH this is a weird question to put on a lighthearted quiz, like it's written only expecting caffeine and "lol this fandom pairing" answers but it's actually very personal information?

48. Languages: English natively. Still pretty good at Japanese though I'm a bit shy about actually using it any more. I can passively understand some Mandarin but I don't tend to speak it myself because I probably couldn't keep up with a conversation. (Though I feel like a donk because people speak Mandarin around me a lot and I feel like they should know I understand like 60% of their conversation?) French and Latin didn't really stick at all. I can discuss who's making the coffee/tea in Korean and I'm trying to learn more, it's a goal of mine to get in a real class when I'm out of grad school.

49. What music do I listen to: I draw from a bunch of different genres, the core ones are probably indie rock, k-pop, and electronic. Then I tend to be picky about which artists I actually like. Since I got a streaming account I've been enjoying trying out a lot of new stuff.

50. Fav mythical creature: uh do mindflayers count?

51. Safe zone: My apartment I guess? That's where I can change into sweatpants and not feel self-conscious so let's go with that.

52. First fandom: I think it was Utena. That was definitely the first one I was really into and old enough for the internet for.

53. Cartoons or Adult Shows: No matter how you define cartoons there's way more "adult shows" than that, unless maybe you mean "adult" shows, in which case this question gets even odder.

54. Current music: Dishwasher Noises by My Old Tiny Dishwasher. It's an ambient classic AND gets most of the dishes mostly clean.

55. Favorite starter?: I'd better go with the one in my car so it doesn't get offended and act up. (Litten though.)

56. What would your witch’s familiar be? Maybe my cat, or maybe a floating land octopus. Or a hawk. But that might eat other people's familiars.

#perhapsthevision personal

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tedisdillon1299-blog · 6 years

Text

Getting Situated

Upon awakening to the loud traffic I checked the time. 8 A.M. It was time to take a trip to that shelter. They wouldn’t arrive until 11AM, but I sat right in front of the door until then to make sure I had a place at this shelter. When 11 came through I found out I made the right decision arriving early, only two beds were open. Awesome. After the paperwork it was time to eat. You might be wondering who I met while getting inside. Well, none of that is important to me, meeting people has always been the first step to another downfall. A lot of people here might have good intentions, but this shelter is awesome and it’s not a place I want to get thrown out of. Computers, TVs, meals, a store right next to the shelter, and most importantly, a bed and shower. The staff here seem very pleasant and professional, none of them appear to be on a power trip. After my meal, they situated my bed, and gave me soaps to wash myself with. The bathrooms were like locker rooms for athletes, in the sense that I’d have to get comfortable with penises flopping about, as well as my own. Nothing that bothered me, other than the awkward moment where two naked dudes try to pass each other but get stuck in that left right dance, and the moment where you accidentally look at a dudes dick and he sees you look for that tenth of a second but he lets you know that it's alright because that shit happens by not acknowledging and looking away. Yeah. Before showering I wanted to wash my clothes but they informed me that they would have to sit in an anti bug tent or something to make sure I wasn’t bringing in lice. Okay. Well I wouldn’t get them back until next morn so I would shower anyway. A long. Hot. Shower. With Soap. Oh what an amazing day. After that I watched Tyler Perry and enjoyed typing my next post of the day. Most of that day was spent relaxing and getting used to the way the shelter works. Oh. And a nap. A nap in a bed. Seemed my illness was healing as well, and enjoying my free time stress and hungry free gave me time to dream. Not much else to say about my day, maybe a hundred beds here, I think I even saw a PS3 hooked up in an entertainment room. When it’s free I will play for a bit. Haven’t touched a console in a while. I knew my next day would have me job hunting… or sorta job hunting. Most applications these days are online. I went to bed around 10 that night, and slept like a baby. The next day was sorta unproductive as well, I was still weary from the days on the street. However, I did muster the energy to do a little job hunting. I wanted a job at the Georgia Aquarium, unfortunately those jobs require degrees for the most part, and I knew it would be unlikely that I’d acquire one. I hoped to obtain maybe unlimited access to a place of meditation. The security and photo portions of that job are outsourced jobs, so I probably wouldn’t get to enjoy free visits. I will however make it my mission to visit at least once before I leave Atlanta, I couldn’t just pass up an opportunity to revisit a good memory from my childhood, and this time my deceased dad won’t be in the picture to control the entire visit. After visiting many places I found a lot of jobs recruited on Indeed.com. (Yes Indeed you can send money to my paypal, indeed) I applied to be a cashier at Jimmy John’s, some store or some shit, off of Indeed. I decided to wrap up my walk and shoot for the shelter. I thought we weren’t allowed in until 4pm, but no one said anything to me, so off for a nap and some mobile gaming for me. I’ll go ahead and shoot to the next day since those two are fairly short, while this one is more interesting. When I awoke I decided to head for job recruitment program about a forty five minute walk away, unaware that there was one ten minutes away. Oops. I got mad when I found out that with this particular program had moved another 20 mins up the road, and google had no idea, and none of the reviews took the time to say where the new address was, just complain about late checks. I’m not either. It’s a running meme trying to find the place for new people, it should remain that way. A two hour walk back, for nothing. I was pissed. I had no money to ride the train, so I decided that I didn’t need to have money. Just brains. Sorry but at the moment I did not feel guilty for attempting to rob the train station a total of one dollar and fifty cent. Well once someone opened the electronic gate with their ticket into the place, I quickly rushed in behind him. A guard saw me. “Hey I haven’t seen someone do that in a while! *Chuckling* Young man! Turn around. JUST turn around… *lol*” Welp, guess I’m walking back. Upon returning I came in and took my seat, waiting for lunch start, I talked to an individual who said you could go work at a place called First Step, orientation one day, work the next, however, I would receive a reply from the place I applied at on Indeed, and would end up doing that. Unfortunately, I learned that I was not supposed to be inside until 4, use the computers, or the weights over the current day and next. Some of the staff just doesn’t care and that’s why I wasn't explained any of the rules. Some of the people that stay here however like to have THEIR privileges, I guess feeling exclusive really gets their dicks hard… so they’ll snitch whenever you’re doing something you aren't allowed too. Usually I find that the same people snitching are the same ones complaining about the snitching. I think theblast time someone whined about me and told the staff I mumbled, “Whiney ass motherfuckers don’t know how good they got it.” “Hey! It’s okay mister that bad attitude those are the same ones who get outed.” Well. Whatever. Some asshole decided he was gonna steal my charger last night and did. I also think we stopped a possible thief. This asshole was standing at the edge of my bed, with a hood on and shoes well after bedtime, looking at me on my phone, and around him. He was up to something, and/or on dope. The guy he was standing next too saw him as well and said, “Hey, what the fuck are doing bro?” “Shiiitttt, somebody’s phone has been making noise keeping me up.” I was on my phone, but the volume was super low and he was practically on the other side of the building. No way he heard it until he got close to my bed. Clash of Clans in case you were wondering. “Bruh, you been standing here for like five minutes, what you mean find out?” I locked my phone to listen. “Bruh I can’t sleep cause-” “Why you got a hoodie on bro? And shoes on!? Go back to bed. Whatever you about to you gonna regret it man you better believe me.” He took off to the bathroom. “Hey man.” he said to me in a whisper. “That dude was staring at you didn’t you see?” “Yeah I saw, I think he out to steal.” “That’s what I think, keep an eye out man this place ain’t bad but you gotta watch yourself.” *nods* Then I fell asleep. And woke up to a stolen charger. Yee.

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