#The New Adventures of Diaper Don | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

yamithediaperdork · 3 years

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Cry baby and Pee pants, part 1 (Digimon)

Matt cussed loud and long as he searched though his locker and the dressing room for the 5th time. The young blond had been trying out for a band, hoping to launch his music carer after more or less calling it quits as a digi destined, after barely keeping Tokyo from being blown up by a rouge digimon. This was actually his 6th audition, his young age and well, not exactly stellar skills on the guitar meant that he was told thanks for trying out, but he wasn't right for any of the bands till now. The leaping lizards had gushed over the raw talent being there, and had welcomed him on board, even pouring him a couple drinks of sake despite him being underage to celebrate. The last thing Matt recalled before waking up five hours later was them laughing at how stupid he was and.. Giving up the search, he had to finally admit the truth. they hadn't ever been serious about their offer to join the band and had just wanted to steal his guitar, a newer model and worth at least 300 bucks even being pawned. 'I suppose I should feel lucky I woke up with both kidneys.' Matt thought to himself. 'But how the fuck am I suppose to try out for the lone wolfs in two days with no instrument?' There was NO way he'd be able to get his parents to get him anther guitar, he'd had to basically break out the water works and plead on his knees for a month to get the last one. His antics had earned him the nick name of cry baby around both his dad's house and his mom's, and TK still wasn't letting it go and would ask if baby wanted his ba-ba. That left asking the others for a few loans, and most of them weren't too pleased he'd given up the hero game for fortune. Joe was blowing all his money on his studies anyways, Izzy on computer junk.. Sora and Mimi had been giving him the cold shoulder and he knew neither Kari nor TK would have the cash. '...I wonder if Tai's still hella gay?' Matt though, a Cheshire grin coming across his face. the always needy boy kisser had been good for getting a few video games before and junk, it was like 20 minutes of gay stuff like smooching and cuddling and then a little shopping spree AND Tai had just come into a fat wad of cash after a uncle that adored him had left him a big hefty inheritance. 'I can gay out for like, a hour for this.' Matt thought and getting his bag (and of course finding his wallet dry) he headed towards home, thinking about getting a even better guitar then before.

Tai was shocked when Matt called him the next morning, asking if he could meet up. After Matt had ditched the team only Tai and TK made any real efforts to hang with him, and TK only because they were brothers. In truth Izzy was giving Tai a hard time about it, but since Izzy was being a little bitch about a lot of things lately Tai just ignored his on and off again boyfriend. 'I mean, I was willing to get him that new computer he wanted and he couldn't rock a pamper butt for me? RUDE!' Tai thought and huffed. It was Tai's new fetish, and one he'd discovered by mistake when googling more on that Willis kid and finding out the little cutie had a website set up to show him modeling in diapers. Naturally seeing that Tai had begged and pleaded with Izzy to try out diapers but apparently Izzy had been a late bloomer and had only recently gotten out of daytime diapers before their whole adventure started. Naturally this had only made Tai wanna diaper him more, but again, Izzy was being a little pecker head about it. (at least from Tai's point of view.) 'heh. if Matt is expecting a little shopping spree today..he's in for a surprise. the boy is gonna earn it.' Tai thought, and went and checked on the supplies he kept under his bed on the off chance he lucked into a diaper boy. there they were, 2 packs of the diaper brand Willis recommended on his site, nice and thick, and a few onesies along with a changing pad and pacifiers and a baby bottle. 'Oh yeah..come onnn Matt..be desperate for money~'

Matt made sure to wear a nice tight sleeveless top and a pair of tight jeans (So tight he'd needed TK's help getting into them.) and made sure to spike his hair just the way that Tai liked it. TK wasn't dumb though, and knew what Matt was doing. "Looking good for your sugar daddy Cry baby." He teased and winked. "Your lucky Tai's expecting me, or I'd give you the noogie to end all noogies." Matt said, raising a eyebrow. it was just the two of them at their mothers apartment at the moment and TK used to know better then to push his luck when it was just them. "Mmhhhhmm.. your dadddy calls and cry baby Matt comes running. maybe HE'S gonna give ya yer ba-ba~" TK giggled. the giggles died off as TK saw the look on Matt's face, and when their mom would get back she'd find TK hanging by his undies from a nail on the wall. "...pushed cry baby too far again huh?" she asked, smirking and taking off her jacket. "Y-Yeah..uh..a little help?"TK squeaked. "Righttt after I put the groceries away.. think of this as time to reflect on watching your mouth." mom said and walked away. "B-But my undies are so far up my crack i can taste themmm!" TK whined. "then I don't need to worry about lunch." came the reply. "...Funny fucker aren't you." TK huffed under his breath, crossing his arms. "I hear that!"

Making his way to Tai's Matt got more then a few looks from both guys and girls, and likewise, a few wolf whistles. He ignored them for the most part, but had a smirk on his face knowing just how sexy he looked and soon was knocking on Tai's door. Tai gave him a once over as he opened the door and Matt smirked, he was almost drooling. "So, Like what you see?" Matt asked, and flexed a arm. "heh, Oh yeah. so gonna stand out there and look hot, or come inside and tell me what you want?" Tai asked, standing aside and gesturing into the apartment. "Don' worry, Kari had a school thing out of town and mom and dad are with her.I have you allll to myself." Tai added, slapping Matt's ass as he walked past, making Matt yelp and blush. Still, Matt knew what was expected of him for the most part and just flashed Tai a grin and blew a kiss. 'fucking bastard! he knows i hate spanking stuff!' Matt fumed. Matt went to sit down on the couch by Tai had closed the door and taken a seat in a arm chair, then patted his lap. '..He's totally getting me the latest guitar if he keeps this shit up.' Matt fumed, but walked over and sat on Tai's lap,putting his arms around the bigger boy. Matt might of been taller, but with all the sports that Tai played he had a bulked up look and was pound for pound much stronger. "So, You normally only get THIS dressed up if you want something, so what's my little Mattie need?" Tai asked, cradling Matt in a way that Matt recognized as using back when TK was toddler. "I..I uh..I have a band audition coming up..but some jerk's stole my guitar..and um.." Matt swallowed and then batted his eyes at Tai. "I was wondering, hoping if maybe you'd get me a new one.I've been practicing my kissing and we can cuddle and stuff for like, 2 hours even!" "heh. Well that IS a tempting offer. doubly so when your cute ass is in my lap. but I have a boyfriend if I just wanted to make out with a cutie. and Izzy is willing to go all the way." Tai chuckled. "O-Oh..but..I uh..I'm not..you...know..I'm.." Matt stammered. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna make you suck dick or take it up the poop chute. and I WILL get you whatever kinda guitar you want for your silly little audition which by the way is when?" Tai asked, kissing Matt's forehead and making alarm bells go off in the blond mind. "I-It's tomorrow at 3 pm sharp. And..what do you want then?" Matt asked, a nervous twitch to his voice. "Oh nothing too much. something really easy actually." Tai said and smiled. 'Bullshit' Matt thought but kept the smile on his face. "and that is?..." "For every say.. 20 dollars I spend on your little guitar I get one hour with you being my darling little diaper boy." "..What?!"

Tai smirked as he got ready to put Matt back into padding. the blond was looking huffy as fuck, but was keeping his mouth shut all the same, likely trying not to blow his semi good deal. Tai of course fully understood WHY Matt wouldn't be happy with the deal, but couldn't help but tease the impending little uy a little bit. "Awww come on widdle Mattie, can't you give daddy a smile? Your making daddy think you don't wanna do our widdle deal." He he teased, reaching over and tickling mat''s chin while the blond sat cross legged next to him. "...Your a sick man, you know that?" Matt asked, but he was grinning all the same, though whether it was from the chin tickles or humoring him Tai couldn't be sure. "Flattery will get you everywhere." Tai said with a wink, and as he finished getting the changing pad (with a adorable teddy bear print) set up and the changing supplies ready, he looked over Matt's jeans as he tugged out 3 of the thick puffy diapers. "So, are gonna be able to get out of those by yourself? they almost look spray painted on." Tai asked. "I can totally undress myself!" Matt huffed and stood up, unbuttoning the jeans and sliding his thumbs into the belt loops and tugging. And tugging some more. and then more tugging as they didn't budge. "You were saying?" Tai asked, in a clearly delighted tone. "..Shut up and help me get these things off." Matt huffed.

Matt was crimson after they FINALLY got his jeans off, partly due to the fact it had taken 10 minutes of effort, and well, needing Tai's help to undress. Not helping matters was the fact that Matt had chosen to go commando and well, liked to keep it shaved down there. "Awww somebody was a good boy and knew what was coming and saved daddy some time!" Tai teased. 'oh shut the fuck up!' Matt thought. "Yeah, let's go with that." was his sulky reply. Tai had oddly grabbed a razor blade all the same and cut silts in the back and front of two of the three massive diapers he was planing on putting on Matt, making the blond give his impending 'daddy' a weird look. "It's so when you go tinkle, the wetness is shared and you can go longer in your diapies. Same for when you go boom boom." Tai said cheerfully. THAT had caused the blush to leave Matt's face, at least for a little bit as he paled. "W-Wait.. you mean..you want me to.. uh.. go.." Matt stammered, and the blush returned as he struggled to say the words, then hissed and blew a raspberry. "in my diapers!?!" "..Ok that was hella cute. and Yup, I'm even gonna be nice and let you use them all on your own for today, though if I don't like the results I'm seeing I'll be sure to get you some potty med's to help." Tai said and winked, then patting the changing mat. "come on Little guy, let's get your diapies on and then you can sit in daddies lap while we order you a guitar so you can make music for daddy." "But..I thought we were going and getting one today!" Matt whined. "Oh, does somebody wanna go out shopping in his diapers? So bold!" Tai teased. "NO! I just..uh.." mental images of Matt waddling around in the big bulky diapers, holding Tai's hand and sucking his thumb flooded his mind and he started to squirm lots even as he laid down on the changing pad. "Don't worry. I'll pay for rush delivery. if we get it in town it'll be here by this afternoon. Maybe I'll let my little exhibitionist answer the door." Tai teased, and grabbed the first diaper. '...I could really go for anther glass of sake right now.' Matt thought and lifted up his butt like a good boy.

Back at the apartment TK was having pain fueled day dreams of all the times his undies hadn't of been lodged up his crack and wished his mom would hurry up and come and get him down. Not helping the whole situation was the fact that he had a growing bladder issue and any attempt's to shift around and relive the pressure there only made the undies ride up more. His mom had gone from putting things away to excuse herself to the bathroom, an like she was the worlds greatest comedian she'd told him not to move, and to hang in there. TK had wisely kept his opinions of her humor to himself as he had a sneaking suspicion that his earlier comments had helped extend his wedgie time. Still as the need to tinkle grew more and more TK couldn't keep quiet. "MOMMY! I hafa go pee! if you don't wanna clean up a puddle you needa get me down NOW!" He called. the bathroom door opened and Nancy walked out, smirking. "Why didn't you say something sooner wedgie boy?" she asked, taping a finger on his nose. "...You were just waiting in there!?!" TK shouted and huffed, crossing his arms and glaring. Sadly as his attention was focused on his mom and being mad at her, it was diverted from where it needed to be. "Well you were being a little brat an-" She started, then looked down as a hissing noise was heard and looked at the growing wet patch on the front of TK's undies, and the puddle that was starting to form on the floor. "Really?" "T-This is your fault!" TK huffed even as she grabbed him under the arms and lifted him down, though holding him away from her so she didn't get any pee on her. The flow was weakling and stopping as she got him on his feet, turning him so he could add to the puddle while not standing in it since he was in socks. (not that they weren't already wet) "Mhmm.. Well go and finish in the bathroom and clean up." She said, rolling her eyes then noticed a super guilty look on TK's face. "The..flow DID stop because you got it under control right?" She asked, a smirk tugging on her face. "Er..well..see.." TK said, rubbing the back of his head and chuckling nervously. "Go grab a shower pee pants, and meet mommy in your room. you know the rule for pant's wetters in this house." She said and turned away to go and get the mop and bucket as TK whined. "MOOOM! NOT THE PULL UPS!"

Back at Tai's and Matt was powdered and tapped in his triple thick white diapers, and squirming like crazy as he looked at himself in the mirror. Tai had tugged off his shirt so at the moment Matt was JUST in his white socks and white diapers, and he couldn't even close his legs! and as bad as it looked from the front, once he turned around and looked over his shoulder it was WAY worse in the back! He hadn't of even been able to get to his feet without Tai's help (well, he was gonna use Tai's bed to pull himself up but Tai had insisted daddy was here to help) and to say he was waddling was a massive understatement. "So what do you think little guy?" Tai asked, coming up behind him and making Matt look front ward in the mirror again, kissing Matt's cheek as he patted Matt's fat diapered bottom. "...I feel like I'm gonna knock lamps off of end tables, and there should be a beeping noise when i back up!" Matt whined. "heh, cute idea. I'll see what i can rig up for your next diaper day with daddy." Tai chuckled and kissed Matt's cheek. 'I need to stop giving him ideas.' Matt mentally groaned. "Can I at least put my shirt back on or something? or you have some shorts I can put over these? I wanna try and cover the diapers up!" Matt whined. "oh, You're just in luck little guy! Daddy DOES have something to go over your adorable huggies." Tai said. The old familiar warning bells were going off in Matt's head as Tai went and reached under the bed, and pulled out two onesie's, or as Matt called them, diaper shirts. One was light blue with a yellow trim on the sleeves, neck and leg hole, and had a yellow star on the front, that had a smiling face and said 'daddies little star' under it in yellow text. the second one was a white one with a dinosaur print all over it, and Matt fought the urge to facepalm. 'I really need to start watching my goddamn mouth.' he thought. "So buddy, what do you thin? wanna be my widdle star, or a dino boy?" Tai asked. "Gee, they're BOTH so tempting." Matt said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. If Tai noticed though he didn't show it and just nodded instead. "You're right, I'll pick for you." '...REALLY need to just keep my effing mouth shut!'

In the end Tai went with the little star onesie, though he'd over estimated just how thick he could go and still use them as it was a bit of a fight to get the crotch snaps to close. "I think after we get you your little guitar, we'll go shopping and get more cute outfits for my widdle musician." Tai said. He could tell Matt was less then pleased, but the boy forced a smile on his face and nodded. "whatever you want ta-" he started to say. "ah ah ah, when your butt is in diapers, it's DADDY. Got it?" Tai said, wagging a finger and smirking. "..Yeah OK." Matt replied, rolling his eyes. "yeah OK what?" Tai questioned, the grin getting bigger. "...Yeah OK daddy." Matt said, smiling but clenching his teeth. Tugging Matt over/ helping the padded cutie keep his balance, Tai sat down in his big comfy computer chair and tugged Matt into his lap, giving the big baby's neck a kiss. "Now did you have a certain store in mind, or just want me to google and shop around?" Tai asked.

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erinevrly · 4 years

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timeline.

november 8th, 1963.

don everly and venetia stevenson are officially a family of three ! the singer and his wife welcome their first child together ( a baby girl ) and name her erin invicta everly. instantly, their hearts double in size and the unforgettable adventure of sleepless nights and dirty diapers begins. their daughter may look like an angel with her bright blue eyes and rosy cheeks but she doesn’t always act like one. she’s by no means a quiet baby and demands constant, undivided attention.

january, 1967.

venetia has big plans for her only daughter — she wants her bashful little girl to come out of her shell and become a hollywood superstar in the future, learn how to be more confident. erin takes her first ballet classes and dancing quickly becomes one of her biggest passions. not even horseback riding can compete. she’s still very shy on stage but she adores her pink tutu and the smile her mother always graces her with after each performance !

august 25th, 1968.

erin is beyond thrilled to become a big sister ! she falls in love with her little brother almost instantly, the second her eyes land on his little face — she makes it her priority to protect him and keep him happy. she eagerly shares all of her toys with him, feeds him, talks to him about her day and even helps her mom bathe him. late at night, when the everly’s household thrums with loud voices and cries, she finds safety within the walls of his nursery, surrounded by teddy bears or curled up in his crib, under his soft blue blanket.

september, 1968.

erin starts school. she’s a shy albeit friendly and sweet child, stealing her teacher’s and classmates’ hearts with one smile. it’s easy for her to make new friends. she can go on and on about her love for horses and dancing, always helpful and extremely thoughtful even despite her young age. that’s when her dyslexia gets diagnosed — she has trouble learning how to read but it doesn’t discourage her. now, she has to work harder but she doesn’t give up.

march, 1970.

venetia and don decide to go their separate ways. the last time when erin sees her dad is when he takes her to their favorite restaurant to get milkshakes and chocolate cake, talks to her about going on a long, long tour and hugs her a little too tight while dropping her off at venetia’s doorstep. she doesn’t understand what’s going on and waits for him to come back, runs to the window every time a car passes by their house . . . but it’s never him.

july, 1970.

her mother packs their bags, sells her house in the valley and moves to lafayette, indiana. she opens a flower shop downtown and tries to put her life back together, away from the place that she used to call her home.

november, 1979.

erin develops her very first crush ! and it’s not something that she’s proud of. she falls for the boy named bill bailey but he’s a year older and her mother forbids her from hanging out with him and his friends — they’re trouble, you stay away from trouble. she admires him from afar, keeps this little secret to herself and draws hearts all over her notebooks . . . all for billy, of course.

august, 1981.

rumor has it . . . bill has a girlfriend. girlfriends. who knows ? he hangs out with dangerous people and ignores her. erin suffers her first serious heartbreak but tries to move on from it. she begins dating a boy named valentine, one of the popular kids. the biggest brat on the planet. she’s blinded by the idea of being loved by someone and naively trusts him. she drifts from one group of friends to another, trying to find her place in the world.

november 12th, 1982.

valentine’s best friend is throwing a party and everyone’s invited. it’s the very first party that erin’s ever attended. she gets drunk and later that evening a fight breaks out. bill bailey comes to the rescue and things get a little out of hand. erin loses her virginity and gets her heart broken for a second time.

december 16th, 1982.

PREGNANT ! erin takes five pregnancy tests, finding it hard to believe but . . . all of them say the same thing — she’s having a baby. she decides to keep it a secret, at least for now, until she makes up her mind on what she wants to do with it.

december 23rd, 1982.

she eventually decides to keep her baby and drives to bill’s house to tell him about it. unfortunately, he’s not there. she takes it as the third time that he’s let her down — they don’t need no men like her own father, right ? they will be fine. at least, that’s what she tells her.

march, 1983.

her belly’s getting bigger and people are beginning to talk about her. no oversized t-shirt can conceal her little secret. she finally tells her mother about everything, leaving the piece of information about who the father of her baby is out. venetia ends up kicking her out and erin goes to california, hoping to find bill but eventually giving up and focusing on making a better life for herself and her baby.

july 25th, 1983.

erin becomes a mom to a healthy little girl and names her evangeline faith everly.

february 6th, 1984.

happy birthday, bill !

#lmbo okay so i decided to fix a lil timeline bc im not sure if that i covered everything in that drabble :')#i dont remember mentioning that erin was born in 1963 smh BECAUSE IT ONLY MAKES SENSE WHEN SHES A BIT OLDER #SO HERE :')) A LIL EXPLANATION JUST IN CASE I MADE SOMETHING UNCLEAR JNFJKD bc you know how i am :')

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patronusofthepugs · 5 years

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We Have Our Champions

Imagine this

There is Dorothy, emerald empress of Oz.

There is Peter, brash general of a feral army

There is Alice, Wonderland’s truest knight.

Three children of immortality, the guardians of mystical lands that demands sacrifice.

Oz, Wonderland, and Neverland, three hungry, writhing lands of magic and blood. They howl at their guardians to fight. Every century, one land emerges from the fog. The portal opens to the other world and then it can feed. But there can only be one. Dorothy, Peter and Alice have all paid the price long ago for their adventures. Now they act as ambassadors for their hungry lands and gather their champions. Three kids will fight for the honor of each land.

Dorothy who’s regal air and soft hands are a far cry from the farm girl she used to be. She gathers her emerald gown and emerges from a corn field in Kansas. There she sees her champion.

Ruth Ann, the eldest of ten is weary. Her life is grey, working on the farm, taking care of the babies. Her Pa made her drop out of high school and every time she closes her eyes, all she can see is endless diapers and rough callouses. Her future stretches out before her, flat and steady like a strip of road.

Until one night, winged monkeys sneak into her room and carry her away. They fly into a tornado carrying the screaming Ruth Ann in their hairy arms. When she wakes up All she can see is green. Shining green glass that stains her skin, her world explodes with color. She drinks in the nut brown hair of Dorothy, her ruby smile, and green eyes. Bewitched by a promise that life can be so much more, she pledges to fight for Oz. The emerald Land roars its approval of Ruth Ann and gifts her brawny strength along with a long scythe so she may cut down her enemies like fields of wheat.

Peter Pan has no problem with picking his champion. Ever since he had bewitched Wendy all those years ago, she had devoted her entire lineage to him. Every daughter in the Darling family is raised with stories of Peter. Of how brave he is, how cunning, of how his black eyes shimmer in the moonlight. Each daughter dons that frayed blue dress and wait by the windowsill, dreaming of the day where Peter will come for them. He goes through generations of Darling girls, taking them on adventures and promising to come back for them. Slipping in hints that he likes girls who fight. Girls who have a blood lust to match that pretty face.

The latest Darling girl is a product of generation manipulation and Peter couldn’t be more pleased. Moira Darling is a pale thing with scowl that could frighten a thunderstorm. She is a trained warrior who plans to usurp Peter as the immortal child. She plays the game well enough, simpering and curling her platinum blonde hair. But when Peter flies her to Neverland, she smears mud on her face and howls from the trees. She demands to be the champion and Neverland accepts. She crushes a handful of fairies in her small hands. She gobbles their flesh and drinks their blood. There’s no need to think of happy thoughts, not when she has flight imbued in her. Her weapon is a long jagged tooth that she tore from the mouth of the crocodile.

Wonderland’s champion was found in the sewers. He was rummaging for treasure in the tunnels below the city when he saw a blonde girl smile at him from inside a grimy puddle. He leaned in closer and was dragged in.

His name is Grub and he’s no hero. Just a smelly New Yorker who lived under a bridge and occasionally in an abandoned ice cream truck. However, Grub’s personal motto in life are Nope and Fuck it. It serves him well in Wonderland as he just decides to go along with the batshit insanity that he encounters. Unlike proper Alice all those years ago, he doesn’t question anything. Talking Flowers? Sure why not, let’s get into a Yo Mamma fight with them. A Mad Tea Party? Fuck yeah, it’s his unbirthday, pass the tea. Grub takes to life in Wonderland and agrees to be Wonderland’s champion because why not?

Alice grows fond of the smelly boy who wears flowers in his hair and debates with possums. She trains with him so he can have a fighting chance. She reminds him to paint the roses red with blood. No matter what, just keep swinging that ax and snicker snack those heads will be rolling. Grub is gifted with many weapons from the citizens of Underland. He arrives to the battle with the Mad Hatter’s Hat, the Cheshire Cat’s Smile, and the Queen’s Ax.

First the champions must survive in each other’s land before the final battle.Then they will fight in Avalon, a magical land of neutrality. The waves will foam with blood and the sky will be filled with screams as the champions battle. Neverland. Oz. Wonderland. There can only be one. Who will it be?

#Alice In Wonderland #peter pan #wizard of oz #dorothy oz #Alice Liddell #crossover #modern disney #just an idea #like hunger games #disney

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bluerosesburnblue · 6 years

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Liz Liveblogs Bravely Second: Chapter 3

Bravely Second Chapter 3: Up, Up, and Away is now on, and being posted in a decent amount of time. I think we’re gonna go steady straight to the end of the game at this rate!

Agnès seems to be okay in the wake of the Skyhold getting hit and going down. She didn’t even notice. Her knitting got messed up and she’s mad. God, if Agnès ain’t me

Oh, and Tiz spotted her lost yarn through video call. Cuuuute

SP reading from Luxendarc? VP Appleberry, explain!

There was nothing to explain. The laser energy was the same as the stuff we use in the Bravely Second hourglass. I sense a meta chapter coming on

Something is sealed in Skyhold. The Kaiser and Anne are worried it may break free. And they’re refusing to let Nikolai look into the laser. They’re sending Geist, who I remember from the demo. His asterisk job was kinda useless, at least for my playstyle. So they’re sending a torturer because... why not

I don’t know if I mentioned it, but they pronounce “Anne” as “Ann-eh” and that kinda messes me up?

Game is crazy if it thinks I’m not going to immediately turn around and grind out all of the ocean’s bestiary entries

Monoceros are terrifying oh gosh I think that was my first game over so far? I got unlucky with a group of four lurking out of sight

Also, Striped Rabbies are fish? Weird

Hey Liz what did you do today? Oh, you know, spent three hours completing bestiary entries

Man, I’ve gotta be about halfway through the game at this point. The team’s level 45, bestiary entries are about 50% complete in all categories that aren’t Dragons and Bosses... There’s supposed to be six chapters, right? Maybe some of the later ones are shorter

It’s the prettiest city in all of Luxendarc: Florem!

Staging, huh? Tell me it’s not another beauty pageant

Oh are those Ancheim NPCs there because I took deRosa’s side in the sidequest? Sorry guys... if it’s any consolation I intend to undo evicting you from your homes?

Ah. Flower Festival time. Of course. At least the festival workers seem to have realized their errors from last game and they’ve replaced the beauty pageant with another contest, and they pick both a male and female winner now. Exciting... I guess

Nobody in Florem knows anything about the Skyhold or the attack on it, but the Matriarch is gonna send their baby vestaling, Sylvie, with us to put up a shield. I... do not have high hopes for this child’s continued existence

Just put the barrier up and Sylvie is not dead yet, but I’m still worried for this mute child

Oh??? My God??? Is the “Revealing Outfit” that Magnolia found just a cloth diaper? Isn’t that the DLC outfit for Tiz?

Great, the Empire’s here for an inquisition. Because Florem totally has a giant laser cannon, guys! This random passerby definitely knows where that came from!

The Florem battle background is gorgeous, though

What is Geist’s accent? It’s as unplaceable as Tommy Wiseau’s

Also he just killed two guys on stage. I guess the Kaiser doesn’t care about subtlety if this is the guy he’s sending

And he’s using his gameplay gimmick of undoing turns to revive them. While I appreciate the nod to his job class, does this really count as a “turn,” Geist?

Also it’s kind of messed up that he can kill someone, revive them, and they retain their memories of dying. Though is it really any worse than normal JRPG resurrection?

How did this man, completely covered in blood, manage to make his way to the stage completely unseen in the first place?

Alternis, baby, back for the save yet again!

...aaaaand he’s down yet again. But now he’s taking advantage of his Dark Knight abilities to hit Geist back

“What a power couple!” They all ship Edea/Alternis

The crowd is naming Edea and Alternis the winners of the pageant because Edea would sacrifice herself for the city, and Alternis would sacrifice himself for Edea

“It seems that even with my helmet donned, I cannot hide my manly charms.” This isn’t Alternis, is it? Thought his line delivery was a little different. That’s gotta be Ringabel, at least in this scene

The mood whiplash in this scene is incredible! We’re going from Geist threatening to brutally maim everyone, revive them, and do it over and over until someone confesses, to “OH AREN’T ALTERNIS AND EDEA A CUTE COUPLE haha what a situation” gags

So no one seemed to understand Magnolia’s burst of French, which is understandable since contact with the people of the moon has been limited, but this guy in the crowd speaks French, too???

“Our” tongue? Do we have a moon immigrant on our hands or something?

“The language of the Sagitta”. So the Sagitta are an ancient tribe that defeats Ba’al. Speaking of Ba’al, I feel like we’re probably about due for another fight with one

So I guess we’re gonna go chat up the Sagitta elder. Give them info on the moon for their info on the giant laser of death

Lotus of the Sagitta. I see the symbolism. He’s gonna die, isn’t he?

Helllooooooo sidequest. Guide says Barras vs. Einheria

Well, Edea’s the new superintendent of Florem schools because the old one got tired of it and Edea was standing close by. Seems legit

So survey teachers on Co-ed schools vs. Non-Co-ed. So is that the big fight this go around?

“Ms. Rhea Veeling”? Ohhh boy

Swetti Tracsute... in Eternian sky night garb? Was he from the first game or has it taken me so long to play this one that it feels like he was from a whole other game

Eugh. It’s a battle of gender stereotypes. Can we noooooooot

For the record, my stance is that the owner of the school or whatever should be free to choose whether it’s co-ed or not. That’s it. If there’s sufficient demand for both, then neither of you are in the right. HOWEVER, since this doesn’t seem like it’s going to be about the school itself, per se, but about the equality of the sexes. In which case, uhhhh there shouldn’t be any discrimination by sex on a legal level?

Aaaaand Swetti’s lost me with his “school is about falling in love, not learning!” spiel

You’re both wrong. Sidequest closed. Give me both jobs already. I’ll fight both of you if I have to

So while Bravely Second’s sidquests are an interesting idea, I do wish they’d mixed it up a bit. Every single one of them feels like I’m resolving some petty childish squabbling on the side. None of them are relevant to the story and they’re just getting predictable at this point. Remember in Bravely Default when we had a sidequest where the party’s alternate-universe selves all died in one of the other universes they went to and got to see what the people they loved were like without them? Tiz’s brother Til, Olivia Oblige, Alternis and Braev... yeah, I remember when they were deep and poignant. Now look at us. We’re deciding what the Florem school district should do with its time, and it will inevitably end with two people from the last game fighting and us having to defeat one of them. They’re just so... irrelevant and not even well-written to compensate?

In general I’m on Swetti’s side. Cooperation between the sexes is the only way to get rid of discrimination between them, and Florem doesn’t have ANY co-ed schools yet, so opening one up is probably a good idea. So naturally I gotta kick his ass, for Worst Timeline purposes

Or kick Barras’s ass, since he’s here now. Hey, dick. How’s your bitch girlfriend doing now that she’s doomed the continent of Eisen to a slow economic death?

So Rhea was one of Einheria’s soldiers in the Bloodrose Legion in the last game, just like Swetti was one of Barras’s. There’s the tie-in, I guess

And Rhea is just being obstinate... for the aesthetic? To keep Florem beautiful? She isn’t even making a point! She just doesn’t like the idea of guys being around! “I’m all for equal rights for men and women but they’re just so grosssss...” that’s not an argument. Stop.

And now I’ve gotta battle through the Twilight Ruins to make my report. This is so aaaaaaarbitrary

The bestiary entry for the Twilight Ruins enemy, Dark Stomper, has Voice call the moon civilization “our civilization”. So Voice is a Moon man?

“Your decision is probably going to drag us into a battle against the losing faction” even Tiz is pointing out how same-y these all are

Guess the sidequest is over already. Just time to kick Barras’s ass for being right

I may have charmed Swetti and let him do most of the damage to Barras. Whoops?

Seems like the anti-co-ed argument is BUT TRADITION. CHANGE TAKES TIME. Yes but opening up a school with optional enrollment is exactly the small change that would... oh forget it

Innovation>tradition for me. Sorry, it just is

And Rhea has a crush on Swetti. Because that’ll be a healthy relationship where all they do is scream at each other

Whatever, let’s get back to it with the Sagitta

THAT GIANT OROCHI SKULL IS METAL AS HELL

And the Sagitta forest is gorgeous. I’m so glad this is what we get after that abysmal sidequest

I worry that a boss is coming up every time the Adventurer gives me the option to rest in the cottage

I never thought I’d hear “open sesame” spoken in French but there it is. The password for Sagitta Village

OH MAN IT’S ONE OF THOSE FLOATING VILLAGE DEALIES that’s rad

“You fear this is the end? True despair lies in the lack of a future. The unchanging world... We call it the end layer” The first NPC I talk to in a village shouldn’t be allowed to be so ominous OR title drop!

So the Sagitta were told that they descended from the moon people, but few believed it was true

And Elder Sirius is determined to blow the Skyhold to pieces, Agnès’s safety be damned. Okay, dude, chill for five minutes while we grab her, then you can do it. No? Christ, what a dick

Nooo Agnès is being self-sacrificing again through pendant call. I love how Edea turned Agnès’s “Unacceptable” catphrase back on her for that suggestion

“We’re Agnès’s Avengers, remember?” Hey, I thought we agreed that we were Yew Googlymoogly and his Three Yutzes now

At least Lotus wants to help us get transport to the Skyhold

Aww, Lotus has a son named Procyon. And his deceased wife was the Elder’s daughter, so Procyon is the big heir to the position

Procyon thinks Tiz’s hair is funny... but I have Tiz as a Catmancer so the zoom in on the ears was comedy gold

Confirmation that the Sagitta fired the laser, and they have no clue where their SP cannon comes from

Edea’s plan was to fire us out of the cannon... Edea, it’s not a normal cannon. It’s a laser. It’ll disintegrate you

They don’t know what SP is, just that it’s produced from “the flow of time” just like how wind turbines collect energy from “the flow of wind” which... they just convert kinetic energy into electric energy so that’s not quite how it works but okay

It’s also harnessed from people sleeping. I can see where this is going to get meta. The Bravely Second hourglass charges when the 3DS is in sleep mode, in other words, when the “player” is asleep. So to them it looks like it’s charging automatically, but it’s actually harnessing the player’s sleeping energy. Given that last game implied that the player was a Celestial watching the party, it has to be intentional

Now to have Lotus and Procyon guide us to Old Sagitta so we can see if we can use SP energy to fly!

Oh no another sidequest’s opened up

What on earth did Edea just throw at that man

And he sings every other line. Wow. That won’t get old

Rocca Pellar, grandson of bard Arca Pellar, owner of the baton that we used against Praline last game. She’s gonna be in this quest, isn’t she?

At least the party’s as done with his singing as I am

...why are we in deRosa’s molestation basement?

Buddy no. Do not use this as a studio. Some dark stuff went on in here

So Praline and Barbarossa are both harassing Rocca for an old song his grandfather wrote. And Rocca describes both of them as having voices so bad he couldn’t understand them. Rude

And Edea’s gonna help because they’re both Kamiizumi’s people and she feels responsible

This Jpop song is so loud I can’t hear what they’re saying. I see they haven’t fixed the mixing from the last game

Praline wants to remix the song and pass it off as her own. I’m gonna imagine Barbarossa wants it released in its original form. On the one hand: potential art theft on Praline’s part. On the other, since the original artist is dead, the song may be public domain. Though if she’s asking for rights the answer is probably “not yet”. In which case, she can wait and I want to side with Barbarossa

I forgot Yew was scared of ghosts. This ship must suck for him

Yeah. Barbarossa doesn’t want her to be able to mess up the song. I know I said tradition<innovation in the last quest, and I stand by that... but the song was never released, so it can’t be tradition. So release it in its original form, then, years later, we allow Praline to remix it. Problem solved, people just have to be patient

I like Barbarossa more. So I’m gonna kick his ass in this, the worst timeline. Which is great, because I prefer the Pirate class to the Performer class

Cutscene, cutscene, OLD DUNGEON FROM THE LAST GAME, pick a side, boss fight... I don’t even hate this quest but it’s formulaic as anything

Tent event reveals that Yew is Pellar’s #1 fan and he’s geeking out that Tiz and Edea not only spoke to his disciples, but also have his baton. And now he’s distressed that Edea used it as a backscratcher

Edea ATE the baton by accident?! Good lord, girl, how???

Another thing that bothers me about these quests is that there doesn’t seem to be much correlation between the jobs offered? Like, it’s never a choice of “defensive swormaster vs. defensive knight” where both are attacking classes that just fill different roles or something, it’s always, like, “defensive vs. summon” or “buff vs. attack.” I just think it would be cool if the jobs offered were similar in some way, just filled different roles so your choice was more necessary. Ninja vs. thief for speed-based knife users, Buffing Performer vs. Buffing Time Mage... etc.

So Pellar’s song even came with a dedication to all sailors, so Barbarossa was right that it would be disrespectful to Arca to change the song’s meaning. Though, Rocca has no problem with the remix. I stand by my previous judgement. If Arca wanted the song as-is, then give it some time as-is. Praline can wait to remix it. Especially since I’m sure she won’t be respectful to the intent of the song

To connect this to the last one in terms of innovation vs. tradition, that one involved whether to open up a co-ed school or yet another all-girl’s school. Florem had none of the former, and people willing to run it. The issue was more large-scale and governmental in nature. The old law didn’t have feelings, it’s not a person, so innovation was the go-to. This quest has the direct notion that Arca would not want his song changed. Arca may be dead, but his wishes for his work should still be respected. It was a personal project, not a governmental one, and one that never got released so he wasn’t able to control what happened to it. The school benefits all of the guys in Florem who are now allowed rights there, and would change the way the country works forever. The remix would just make people happy for a bit and then be dropped once it’s no longer popular. It’s fleeting and shallow. So I guess artist’s rights>governmental innovation>disrespectful innovation>gender segregation?

Also, Arca can’t be that long gone. At least give him 100 years in the grave before screwing with his work

WOW Edea, that logic SUCKS. “The world doesn’t care about your grandpa’s wishes, they just want Praline, so screw your grandpa. You don’t owe him”

“Let Praline make a mockery of your grandfather’s legacy because pleasing the masses is the only thing that matters!” What... the fuck, Edea?

God, I love Barbarossa. “If you want to be taken seriously, face their legacies head on! Put some blood, sweat and tears into accomplishin’ somethin’ of your own!” He’s having none of this. And I do agree. If Praline has to piggyback off of someone else’s work to be popular, is she really that good?

deRosa, DeRosso, Barbarossa... the last game really loved using similar sounding words that mean “red” for its villains, huh

Benediction Wall is so good holy shit

Praline’s song is kind of annoying. Also sounds like it would fit in Splatoon more than a fantasy game like this

Old Sagitta is AWESOME. Blue/green glowing mushrooms and ancient runes in a dark temple? That’s my aestheeeeeetiiiiiiic

The music is chill, too

I really like Lotus. He doesn’t like that his son’s the heir of the elder because he wants his son to be able to go out into the world and form his own opinions. Heck, he wants his son’s beliefs to be challenged so that he grows. Procyon shouldn’t be performing the duties of the Sagitta halfheartedly, but because he’s seen everything there is to and come to the conclusion that he agrees with their ways regardless. And if he decides he doesn’t like the way the Sagitta do things? Then Lotus will accept that. I’ve got a lot of respect for that. It’s open-minded, but the fair kind. The kind that implies thought, not believing everything you hear

It’s just a shame that that kind of stuff is a death flag. Especially with Geist running around

Neat gimmick. There’s invisible floors and illusionary walls, so the path forward isn’t always clear, though you can see them if you look hard enough due to their sheen

This Ancient Sagitta document is playing the same music box tune that shows up for the ending narration. It’s a gorgeous piece, but now I’m sure this document is really important to the story. Moreso than I suspected before

A Professor Altair of the Dimensional Bureau made a device that allows you to jump to any point in spacetime. The “spaciotemporal compass,” which I believe the Kaiser’s army stole in the chapter with Minette. So his aim is to travel across time, huh?

Seems Yew’s an amazing chef, while Magnolia is... not. I see who’s gonna be doing the cooking in that relationship

The spaciotemporal compass was stolen. The Sagitta people came about because Director Sagitta felt responsible, and dedicated his life to fixing his mistake. They boosted security, but it didn’t fix the problem

Altair was around when Eternia was founded. He died of colonic disease, and his dying words were a wish to see “Vega” again. Vega is probably a woman, and given the music box theme, I wouldn’t be surprised if she turns out to be that lady doing the monologues at the end of each chapter

Shit, Altair was 34? Damn, poor guy

Yew is not pulled in by this lore. We gotta hit up the Skyhold, guys!

It mentioned a Buster Ship, which Magnolia seems to think is significant. Was that the ship she came to Luxendarc on? I can’t remember

It’s pronounced “all-tire”???? “ALL-TIRE”??? Guys that’s... that’s a real name! And it’s pronounced “Ahlt-air”! You can’t just keep pronouncing things in the most asinine way possible!!! (It’s like KH’s “ay-vuh” vs “ah-vah” thing all over again)!!!

So Tire man’s got a tablet listing all of his inventions. He’s invented everything. Including the airborne battleship Sagittarius. Sagittarius. Sagitta. Duh

Lotus knew about the battleship. Because it’s gone. The SP cannon is all that’s left of it

“The Ba’al and the empire are quiet” OH GOD LOTUS WHY DID YOU JINX IT LIKE THAT. I CAN JUST FEEL THE DRAMATIC IRONY

Yew... where are you sneaking off to at night?

Ah, he’s going to sneak into the Sagitta underground and figure out how the village floats to see if they can use that. And Magnolia’s coming, because.

I’ve got such a bad feeling about this whole endeavor. No music... just wind sounds... ominous

Aw, Yew wanted to be a scholar. But after his big bro disappeared, he abandoned his own dreams to fulfill his brother’s. That’s some familial dedication

Giving someone a flower on the moon means “I will protect you for as long as we both live.” Yew’s flower meant everything to Magnolia because she was terrified and alone, and then Yew showed up with nothing but the promise of unconditional support. I’m actually tearing up right now, that’s really sweet and it’s paired with the most amazing music

And the thing is, Yew was alone, too. He’d just been betrayed by Janne and all he really had was Edea. He needed Magnolia. Someone to commiserate with. Who understood how afraid he was and who wanted to help, too

Ugh, Voice, you’re ruining the scene

“So, too, will your passion bear sweet, sweet fruit” VOICE YOU’RE MAKING IT WEIRD

Oh shit Yew fell off Sagitta and Magnolia jumped after him. They survived because it turns out the rock Yew broke off floats. Magnolia’s “I knew I’d be fine because I trust you” was... cute, but amazingly stupid

And Voice is a shadow against the sky? Or was that supposed to be someone else?

“I woke up and everyone was gone!” ...so where did Tiz go, then.

The shadow is both Tiz and Voice. I’m just gonna guess that the soulstone we shoved in Tiz to wake him up at the beginning was Voice’s soul

AND VOICE IS ALTAIR. Tire man you’d better have a good explanation for your bizarre vegetable rants last chapter

I guess this also explains how voice was writing in our journal. Tiz had plenty of access to it

An intruder? Probably Geist.

...definitely Geist

And he followed us here. Of course he did

Lotus stop telling him exactly what everything is and what it does! It’s just gonna make him want to break it more! This is not a man with empathy, he’ll use that information to cause more damage!

So Tiz is possessed by Altair for this battle, which seems to effect nothing but is certainly happening

Oh come ON. The fight ends when you get one volley of attacks off on Geist? I could’ve torn him a new one I’m so overlevelled!

Altair says that Geist’s pulling a Life is Strange and rewinding small bits of time every time he “undoes” something, but that makes him susceptible to being attacked by large bursts of SP. Lucky for us he decided to fight us next to a giant SP fuel tank, I guess?

Also lucky that Altair invented the tank and knows the secret override code (seriously, no one ever changed that in the hundreds, maybe thousands of years since it was made?)

...the fight seems to be taking place in the Ba’al dimension with the music box theme playing, and Altair says it’s his memories they’re seeing, because emotions and time are inseparable.

Just gonna guess now that the Ba’al are the physical manifestations of Altair’s memories, given form by corruptions in time or just time energy. Paradoxes. It’s Final Fantasy XIII-2 now. Everything is paradoxes

Also, Geist can still undo, just not as much. Can’t completely nerf him for the fight, I guess

Undo as much as you want, that Benediction wall I put on you heals us every time we hit you, doofus

Ah yes. Now we, too, can be blood-drenched time-warpers that look like we shambled out of Silent Hill

Lotus is gonna die protecting this tank isn’t he

OH SHIT PROCYON JUMPED IN FRONT OF HIM MAYBE I WAS WRONG ABOUT WHO RAISED THE DEATH FLAG

Oh thank God Edea jumped in and killed Geist with a katana I know she absolutely does not have equipped

His dying words were hoping that his son “Rev” is now finally free. Dude you literally almost just murdered a father and his son without mercy, now you want sympathy because you’re also a dad? Is this how you people think equivalent exchange works?

“The kaiser intends to unleash the power of the spacetime compass!” Nooooooo really, Altair? I thought he stole it because it looked nice on his wall!

So unlike the last game, where the “time loop” was actually traveling to an alternate reality, in this game it is an actual time loop. I actually knew that before starting the game, which is why I’m so flippant about getting the worst endings on sidequests. Unlike the last game, where bad consequences never got undone because we weren’t going back in time, just to a different world, in this game whatever we do here gets undone in the next loop

So Altair can only possess Tiz at night? That’s some serious gameplay and story segregation because I know you’ve been writing in our journal during the day, you hack!

God we’re gonna have to tell Tiz about this. “Hey buddy we found out your body gets possessed by an ancient scientist at night” “Oh. Is that why it feels like I haven’t slept in months? ...is that why I’m currently covered in wounds?”

Wait, Tiz has been active at night before, so it can’t be “Altair takes over Tiz every night.” So it’s just only an option to possess him at night, but he can still choose not to take control if he doesn’t feel like it?

“But before I go, I would leave you with some cherished words of advice” DO NOT RAMBLE ABOUT VEGETABLES AGAIN

He’s rambling about GRAPES well, I mean, I said vegetables specifically, so you win this time Tire-man

“Which means what, exactly?” I love Yew. He’s my son. I’m adopting him

Tiz says he kinda knew about Altair. Not specifically Altair himself, but that he could feel another presence within him. Poor guy must’ve thought he was going crazy all this time

Altair, when did you have time to write Tiz a letter explaining everything last night?

So, confirmation that Altair was the soulstone we used to bring Tiz back, and that he stayed quiet because he was worried Tiz would try to get him out of his body. But he got attached to these kids and started getting more and more involved, by writing in the journal and giving us advice while out of sight, because he basically emotionally adopted us and wanted to help protect his old world

He also gave Tiz permission to exorcise him. Altair, I may hate the way you pronounce your name and ramble about produce, but I kinda like you now. Welcome to the team, Team Dad Who is Also a Ghost

That’s such a Tiz thing. “I mean he may be possessing my body but I’m not gonna exorcise him! That’s mean!”

Time to corner the Empire at the Water Temple and put a stop to their plans!

Agnès is overloading the Crystal. And her voice is all echo-y. Don’t tell me she’s possessed, too, because I totally called that in the last liveblog

I knew the barrier wouldn’t work. After all, what’s a vestaling’s power to a full-blown Vestal?

Tiz, stop asking her to stop and grab her!!!

Now we know for sure why she was kidnapped. And why the empire’s plans didn’t seem to start until the beginning of the game

Aw, damn. Anne’s here. We’ve gotta be heading back in time pretty soon to undo this

Vucub Caquix? What... THAT’S a name

I thought this was going to be the end of the chapter, but there’s a whole sidequest and two summons on my list I never did. Did I miss them???

Actually, screw it. I saved just before this scene, I’m gonna go check

I did not. Guess this isn’t the end of the chapter, then?

Ugh. Sapp and Piddler are back on a mechanical bird that they don’t know how to fly. How dramatic

At least Anne’s amused?

It absorbs lightning damage, which would’ve been nice to know when I scanned it

And it transforms into a wrestler. I... hrm.

Nevermind, it absorbs all magic. Magnolia’s Summon in a Pinch is gonna sabotage us, I know it

Just glanced at a guide. It actually absorbs ELEMENTAL damage, so the Wizard’s Spirit spell works

So tedious. Rad death animation though

Bestiary entry stated the operation manual inside says the designer gave it “the name of one of the gods from my homeland.” I wasn’t aware that the Mayans existed in the Default universe

Oh, fuck off Nikolai. Are you actually gonna do anything or are you just gonna monologue at us?

Blah blah he was part of the original Crystalguard, they were corrupt and lost to the Eternian Anticrystalists and the disbanded Crystalguard did some shady stuff that he did nothing to stop, so now he feels guilty and joined the kaiser to go back in time and undo it. Okay. Sure. I get it. You’ve never read a time-travel story in your life so you’re unaware that “fixing the past” goes wrong 90% of the time. We get it

Yew, my precious child! Sticking up for his beliefs and telling Nikolai off by professing his love for his new family!

“He’s like a big brother to me!” I LOVE ME A TIZ/YEW BROTHERHOOD

And everything he’s said about Edea sounds like a younger sibling talking about their annoying older sibling I LOVE THIS FAMILY

MY BABYYYYYY! “The people who matter most to me are right here, in this world! And you are not gonna take them away from me!” THAT’S RIGHT KIDDO. This world may be broken, but there’s good in it and the bad can still be fixed! The sacrifice of your family is UNACCEPTABLE

“I’m gonna make it right. Here, in this world.” I. LOVE. YEW

FUCK OFF, NIKOLAI. THE ULTIMATE SIBLING TEAM IS HERE

You know, Nikolai, I can’t have Yew resurrect himself as a Bishop, so why can you?

Just stay down, Nikolai. “Show the world your coup de gravy” is some... awful dying words

Janne’s alive. Falling off a cliff has never killed anyone in fiction

Okay Kaiser’s voice sounded familiar to me so I looked it up. It’s Cam Clarke, who voiced what appears to be, no joke, a large portion of the cast of Back at the Barnyard, Toph’s Dad from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Simba in all of his non-first movie appearances, including Kingdom Hearts II, and, most pressingly the original Leonardo from the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In my liveblog of the Prologue, I noted that Yew was voiced by Michael Sinterniklaas, the voice of 2003 Leonardo. Is this the most bizarre casting gag ever???

Nikolai’s bestiary entry is complete, so this really is the last we’ll ever fight him

Oops, Empire’s already about to shatter the worlds

The Rubadub can fly? Lotus taught Sakura the controls? Yew asked him to do it with the levistone? What???

Lotus join this family forever please

We use the hot springs to heat the levistone to fly. I can’t believe we have a flying hot springs boat

There’s the sidequest. It’s Grandship, moored in the Ba’al crater in Eternia

Oh the ship lets you fast travel anywhere. Sick

Heyyyy, Zatz, Datz, and the Proprietress! ...and they’re complaining about taxes

So Grandship ran out of power, and now they’re a refugee micronation

Oh hey, Alternis. Somebody ask him about the Florem competition. I want to see his face when he realizes his alternate self is ruining everything again

No, game, it’s not suspicious at all that you’re giving Alternis an introduction card right now when he’s supposedly been part of the main plot since last chapter. Not suspicious at all

“By what strange trick of fate do your paths cross anew?” NOT SUSPICIOUS AT ALL

This scene where we hang out with our airship buddies from the last game is really cute, I’ll admit

Alternis sounds so happy the second these orphan kids come up to him. Also really adorable. There’s a lot of reasons I love Alternis

HE GAVE THEM FOOD AND GIFTS. My heart! And it makes perfect sense that he cares for the orphans given the fact that he was an abandoned kid

He’s hanging out at Grandship because it takes care of the lost. I think he’s found the perfect home

Holy shit that meal was 1,825,890pg WITH discount?! Edea what the hell did you eat?!

Or it’s just absurd taxes. But I’ve got my eye on your share of the meal, Edea!

Oh god crazy Chompcraft guy is here abort abort let’s book it

“Everyone is responsible” jackass, that ain’t how taxation works, even with a council. Stop trying to cover your ass

...Alternis’s views on taxation are not something to love him for. Sure, some taxation is always going to be necessary, especially for general welfare programs. But a nation only has so much money to spend! Eventually there’s not gonna be any left, and now everyone needs the welfare, instead of just some people, but we already spent the money funding the welfare, so there isn’t enough to go around

“We must look after the orphans and the aged” Alternis, bud, your heart’s in the right place, but that doesn’t make the system any less broken

He’s acting like by abolishing taxes we suddenly stop all welfare programs. That’s... not how it works. It just needs another source of income. One that doesn’t completely use up the rest of the nation’s cash, so that nobody can pay for the kids. We need people to be able to make money, because that keeps it flowing, both within the nation and around it. And when you open up money to outsiders, they will return with more. That’s where the money for the kids should come from. Collaboration with the rest of the world, not a drain on an already impoverished people

Please don’t let this be a repeat of the Profiteur/Holly quest where the entire conflict was “sentimental dumbass flunked out of high school economics”

I just noticed that Agnès is missing from the pendant in the menu. Sometimes the gameplay and story integration in this series is fantastically on-point

Oh neato! Since the Charybdis summon is a debuff we don’t have to survive an attack, but instead fight the Anchorite while debuffed. Cool!

And don’t think I missed the fact that they put a summon named after the Greek monster, Charybdis, on a boat

I’m glad that Yew clarified that “end layer” is just another term for the apocalypse. So the title of the game is basically “Go Back in Time: The Destruction of All”

Oh good, ex-King Khamer is here. I’m sure he knows how to run a nation (it’s so unfortunate that he’s the most experienced here in that regard)

Makes sense, though. He and Profiteur are the only people in the world who worked with finances before, thanks to the Merchantry

There were THIRTY taxes? Grandship, what are you doing?

7000pg for a SLICE of bread? Are you guys trying to destroy any potential tourist income you have AND drive away your current residents?

And hey, Khamer isn’t saying it’s wrong to help the orphans. But unless there’s reform, the poor laws aren’t going to collect any money regardless!

“Your ideals have blinded you, and you refuse to see the truth.” He’s got a point. Alternis is too caught up in helping the orphans to see that no matter which option they pick, those orphans are gonna run out of state funding real fast

This is just Profiteur vs Holly, except it’s shorter and I like Alternis and the Grandship crew, so it’s instantly better if still really dumb

I’m so on Khamer’s side here. There is no “good” option for the orphans. Either they lose going to school, or they lose THEIR ENTIRE HOME NATION. So Khamer’s solution actually hurts the kids less. Alternis is just so emotional right now he can’t see it

Worst Timeline Prerogative states side with Alternis and doom Grandship, so that’s what we’re gonna do

“It might seems crazy to risk financial ruin just to take care of the poor” Seem? Edea, dear, the poor won’t be taken care of at all without cutting the taxes

“But, if you think of the country as a family, then it’s not crazy at all” Edea, it’s a NATION. They’re not equivalent! Governments have to do cruel things sometimes because it’s their job to benefit as many people as they can, not just the ones they want!

The worst part of all of these sidequests isn’t that someone’s usually wrong. It’s that Edea attempts to morally justify whatever she does to make it sound like the “superior” option, and never for convincing reasons. It just makes her come across as shallow, and I know that’s not who Edea is. She doesn’t moralize to everyone she meets, at least, she shouldn’t in this game. The Edea from last game might, but having her be team mouthpiece here forces her to ignore her character growth from last game in realizing that situations can be morally ambiguous and need COMPROMISE, not just picking one side and calling it a day. It doesn’t always have to be either-or, and this game’s Edea knows that! She just sounds really immature in these sidequests. Like she can’t conceive of ever doing something morally ambiguous because it seemed the better morally ambiguous option at the time, she has to be 100% morally correct all the time

You’re all just gonna make people move out of Grandship, and now who’s going to pay the poor laws? The poor?! If people can’t choose whether to support the poor or not with their the way their money is spent, they’ll chose with their bodies by just leaving

Alternis, darling, noooooo. You don’t have the money to buy them nice things. The poor laws should only provide necessities and the groundwork for them to work themselves out of poverty. Give them assistance, not freebies that they’ll never repay

I agree with everything Edea’s saying, but we literally picked the option that DOES NOT ALLOW FOR THAT PLAN

We just created a socialist hellstate. Great.

No one’s concerned that I switched Tiz to Exorcist and he’s just sitting there, covered in blood

They’re trying to claim that everyone’s making enough to support the taxes and that the kids are gonna grow up and help the nation, but... that’s blatantly false? We saw they couldn’t literally last night? And the nation’s gonna run out of cash in two weeks, so... this ending’s bullshit?

And Khamer wasn’t a citizen so he shouldn’t have been in the council in the first place and went broke, but he can take advantage of the poor laws despite that? Has anyone considered that he went broke BECAUSE THE TAXES WERE SO HIGH?!

Also, this whole thing comes off as just... desperately trying to justify bad decisions based on emotion, which it REALLY should not. The government needs to be held to different standards than a person. Just own up to the fact that you fucked up, guys. Stop trying to sugarcoat the fact that Grandship is gonna go broke in two weeks. It all sounds like a lie to make sentimental fools feel better

By invalidating Khamer like this, the sidequest loses ALL impact. Everything would be so much more poignant if he was a citizen, was really going to be effected by everything, and the choice had actual consequences. Heck, outside of this scene, people are still complaining about the taxes! You talk to anyone but the orphans on this ship and they talk about how they’re lucky to get by! Writers, it is OKAY to admit that your protags made a bad choice. No one learned anything here, and Grandship is still going to go bankrupt!

I really wished that quest had spawned before the battle at the Water Temple, because it killed the pacing

They’re gonna sell merch featuring the Warriors of Light. Yeah, sure, that’ll fix it. You solved the economy. Congrats. Just... someone buy Tiz that mug with his face on it and we’ll call it a quest, yeah?

I’m gonna go grind out Everlast Tower and snag the Girtablulu summon, then see if I can call it a chapter

Half of it’s locked down, but I snagged the summon and did as much as I could. Onwards!

Everyone’s saying it’s the point of no return. By name. Think it might be the Point of No Return™?

Wait, it’s the female voice. The chapter’s already over? Wow.

“I waited - how long I waited - for the day when the two of you would meet again.” I want to know who she means. She says “you,” not “us”

Well, I guess that was the end of the chapter! My guide says there’s only one Asterisk next chapter, so I feel it’s gonna be a short one! Definitely a Disk One Final Dungeon at the Skyhold

“Great Distance” is, as always, a pleasure to hear

I cannot believe how many characters raised death flags this chapter, and yet no one died. I also can’t believe there wasn’t a Ba’al fight! This game is screwing with my expectations and I’m happy Lotus and Procyon are alive but also???

I really enjoyed this chapter. Not the sidequests, which is to be expected at this point. It feels like they’re written by a completely different team than the main storyline, and I wonder if that’s the case, because they’re so tonally off and the main story is doing GREAT at moral ambiguity, which makes the complete lack of it in the sidequests despite the fact they act like there is, completely baffling.

But! We got some wonderful interactions between the main cast, especially the part where Yew tells Nikolai that he’s got a family now and he won’t just let them be erased, and then goes one step further and vows to fix the Crystalguard’s past mistakes without taking the easy way out and just undoing them! Some amazing lore reveals and worldbuilding with the Sagitta, my new Favorite Dad, Lotus, the airship (finally!), and the SP plot involving Altair finally makes its appearance. So I genuinely like this chapter, and I can’t wait to finish up the first “arc” of Bravely Second before things start getting real. Since Chapter 4 looks to be short, I’ll be checking back in real soon! ‘Till next time!

#bravely default #bravely second #liz liveblogs bravely second #as usual the sidequests bombed #but this was the best chapter yet #especially right at the final boss for the chapter #i can't wait to hit up the disk one final dungeon next round and hit this game's 'airy was evil' grand reveal next chapter

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dawnofspeed · 6 years

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ok this is gonna be a sort of mini rant/feels thing so just bear with me.

so i went through the tornado twins tag, and there’s a lot of great things in there. wayyyy more than there used to be bc the show has gained traction, and westallen is all the rage and then barry mentioned the ‘we need more diapers’ line in new season, which added to previous foreshadowing everyone believes THE TWINS ARE COMING or a baby is at any rate. and while that’s great, and i love the excitement, heck i’m excited and i love that it renews interest in dawn and don, there’s something that’s troubling me. i’m worried guys, and here’s why.

dawn and don have always kind of been a footnote in the comics, besides from providing the odd storyline for wally west angst and for giving the grandkids from the future, bart and jenni, the twins kinda sorta basically didn’t exist. but there’s still a discrepency between who kinda sorta got more erasure than the other- dawn.

dawn in the comics had the first interracial relationship and she had a daughter. compared to don who appeared way more ‘traditional’ and had a son. in fact, his relationship was way more fleshed out and he got way more references than dawn ever did, possibly also because bart got way more attention than jenni. not to mention, his love interest, meloni thawne appeared quite a few times after don’s death (and retconned deaths). don’t get me wrong, i love meloni and i love bart but doesn’t it come off, well... BAD that the women characters and the mixed race fam had significantly less development and ‘screen time’ than the straight laced boys club?

which brings me back to the dc and cw problems at hand. i’ve been kinda vocal for a while now about a few shows- dc’s animated stuff has come up a lot. i’m a massive fan of both young justice and their superhero girls programs. in fact, yj was one of the first things that moved me over to dc. before that i was pretty marvel based. and bart’s appearance on the show is awesome. but... it does piss me off too. because bart had already had a tv show appearance- smallville. and the cartoon already had a male speedster boy- kid flash. jenni had just as much right to be there, and ties to barry. and i get from a commercial standpoint- bart has a huge fanbase and the show was trying to appeal more and more to boys. but it would have meant so much to have a biracial speedster girl on that show. then you go to superhero girls... THE NAME OF THE SHOW is superhero GIRLS. the only speedster making an appearance? barry. an older guy. dawn would have been easy to introduce in this alternate universe where harley quinn and poison ivy hang out with batgirl and supergirl. barry’s speedster daughter who is learning to use her powers and wants guidance from older more experienced girl role models? like?

so now we go back to cw. and we have fans calling on the show to introduce bart. skip the twins altogether. some people calling for the twins to be replaced with a son called bart. other people suggesting that there will still be twins, but called bart and nora but nora will stay to help iris deal with some problem in the future and bart will go back in time and get stuck.

don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with speculation and a lot of people are very articulate. i mean there are some who have whitewashed bart and don in castings (not kidding, someone suggested a white guy for don but a biracial girl for dawn, that was weird.) but here’s why some of this bothers me and why i’m imploring people to think about what they’re posting about the twins and how we want the cw, and the show’s creative team, to look at what we say about this. as someone who just got their degree in film, and had to FIGHT HARD even in SMALL productions to get people of color and their stories made we have a huge thing in iris west, and the west family, being black now. and a biracial family at the centre of a superhero show. not only that, women of color at the centre of a superhero show. but if we go the way of the comics and past adaptations, as much as we loved them, those women will be cast aside. disappear. get no screen time or mention. and we might also get some heavy whitewashing.

so please, PLEASE, do not advocate for bart to be the next key core member. as much as you love him. or, if you do, implore for jenni to be there too. cousins in hand, front and centre. girl speedster RIGHT THERE IN YOUR FACE. implore for dawn and don to be equally present in their parents lives. ask for dawn to be in on that adventure as much as her brother (or nora, or whatever you want their daughter to be called). i worked at a kids care centre for three years and girls were always being teased for their superhero interests, until superhero girls came out, and supergirl and wonder woman. we want our girls of color to believe they can be that special speedster kid as much as any boy. especially when the flash is finally getting to a good place of including women in their show, even if they still use a slur for one of them.

#long post for ts #long post #tornado twins #dawn allen #don allen #... i'm probably gonna get backlash for this but it's important you guys #as much as you love some characters there needs to be changes #there needs to be more inclusion #women matter. girls matter. people of color matter. BOTH IN ONE PERSON IS HARD.

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safitheartist · 7 years

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Goofy helping Donald when the kids were babies is a good and pure headcanon....here have some feels :). "Thanks for helping out." Donald said as he was changing Louie's diaper, he was still new to all of this so it didn't come easily to him. Goofy gave him his signature laugh, "Gee, of course Donald. What are friends for? Besides, little Maxy adors the boys." He said as he was feeding Huey. Max, curious and adventurous as he was, was trying to climb into Dewey's baby bed. Goofy skillfully lifted him off the ground, tugging him to his chest, before continuing to feed the baby in his other arm. It was a stark contrast to his friends normally clumsy movements. Donald sighed, how should he ever be able to get the hang of this? He wasn't ready to be a parent. He wasn't patient enough, he wasn't financially stable enough, he wasn't.... He wasn't his sister. "Hey, Don? Are you okay pal?" Goofy was giving him one of those stares, those stares that have been following everywhere lately. He felt sick. "I'm fine." He said as he took Louie over to the bed, lying him next to his brother for his afternoon nap, "I have to be." "You don't sound fine." Goofy noted, he put Huey to bed next to the other boys. Max yawned, clearly it was time for him to take a nap too, so Goofy approached the makeshift guest bed Donald prepared for them. "And I don't think denial is going to help you being fine any time soon." There was that tone, the one that he always had when he was thinking about *her*. Sometimes it was easy to not remember, Goofy always was so cheerful and bubbly, nobody who just met him would suspect that he went through so much not so long ago. "I'm fine." Donald repeated, it didn't sound convincing at all. "I'm fine, I just-" He couldn't remember when the tears started or when Goofy got up to embrace him. He just clawed his hand into his friends shirt. "I miss her." He said in between his sobs, "My sister Goofy she is-" He broke off, thinking about it hurt. "I know. I understand. This is good Donald, you need to grief old friend." Goofy's hand was rubbing gently over his head, Donald shacked his head stubbornly, "I have to be there for the boys I- I can't." "I know how you feel. But your boys need you to be okay. You can't force yourself. It will destroy you. Please Donald, we all are here for you, let us help you." Donald burried his forhead into the taller man's chest, he didn't try to hold the tears back anymore. For the first time since Della disappeared he let himself grief.

#ducktales #fic #my writing

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vlkwsouthpens · 4 years

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I hope this post finds you all well and taking care of each other and just as importantly-taking care of yourself. This week we see signs of re-awakening as some restrictions are beginning to be relaxed. It feels like spring is arriving after a long hard winter. But remember to be cautious, and take it a bit at a time. And that will still give you plenty of time to read. Which brings us to our guest author��

. r. e. joyce writes Epic Fantasy and all books can be found through Draft2Digital worldwide

Stories by r.e.joyce I write to express the joys and adventures I have found in this world. Most come from the grace of being chosen to guide two beautiful souls through the adventure of growing up. It is my children, Stephanie and Bill, who make this life worth living. The grandbabies are a marvelous recreation of the joys I experienced without the diaper changes – such a fabulous gift! Do you want to have a taste of the worlds my mind creates? Come and Join in the fun: https://books2read.com/ap/KnAMpn/R-E-Joyce

Why Write? They say that reading fosters the urge to write and experience chooses the genre.

As to the first, I can attest. My world in the 1970s and 1980s consisted of work-centered travel. My last job in New York was a one-hour-forty-minute commute into the Big Apple if all connections were properly made. It gave me time to read and I ordered the Franklin Library Book of the Month Club Classics for the train ride, promising to read each one before I picked up a dime store novel. Month after month I would struggle through Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain or Homer’s Iliad awaiting the day I could call it read and pick up Stephen R. Donaldson, Ursula K. LeGuin, David Eddings, Terry Brooks and of course C.S. Lewis and JRR Tolkien. It was in the fantasy worlds of these great writers that I found a place for my mind to take flight. For four-and-one-half years I clickety-clacked down the tracks and let these fantastic worlds open within my mind allowing me to become part of so many epic adventures. Then the urge took hold. I could write one of these epic fantasies! The scolding of my English teachers and the wanton grades they scratched into my report cards could not deter the building desire to put words together and go on my own adventure. The writing bug bit and I was destined for the torment and elation I never expected in life. We will get back to the swings of emotion later. For now, with pen in hand (soon turned to computer keyboard) I used the spare minutes of my life to write—catapulting me into the wonderful world of epic fantasty

Meanings The explanation of my life is Grand Poobah-dum. I have no timeless words of wisdom beyond those that guide my life. Live to serve and serve until it feels good. The world will be better for it.

I, like Tevye, wish for a little wealth. I promise to pray more if…

I, like Joseph, find strength in quiet support of family.

I, like Don Quixote, always seek the windmill over the easy path.

It started as an urge and took root in the rich soil of familial love. The experiential writings made spirituality all the more real for me and touched a life of one or two along the way. The honing of skills hardened my resolve until I allowed myself to stand before all as I am. The wayward critics seek to mold me in their image. I choose the one that is God-given and life affirmed. I am a story teller and if you have a moment I will share with you worlds that can enchant and even make you dream. If you need proper grammar I have some teachers I can recommend. If you want to touch life, I believe I have some ready for you.

Where do you get your inspiration? There are experiences directly related to my feeble first attempts. Stephanie came to me with skinned knee and turtle tears, clutching her pink unicorn. Holding her, I whispered if she would allow me to clean her boo-boo, I would write her a story about a unicorn. Oh, did I fail to mention that God graced me with two of the most beautiful gifts a man could ask for. To give this justice, we would need to consider a longer story format. For now, I will affirm their epic effect on my life. Stephanie came into the world pink and beautiful and when the nurse placed her in my hands a fear, beyond anything ever imagined came over me. How could a lumbering old fool like me ever care for such a precious princess? She seemed to fit within the palm of my hands, and my trembling left others to wonder about my joy. Nothing can ever exceed the gift I held that day and that I continue to embrace as she explores her own world. Now Bill, having arrived three years later almost to the day, bounced out and the now trained hands of a father gathered him up, placing my hereditary standard on the boy with the quiet soul. He has been more than and continues to amaze me with the deep-seated love he shows the world around him. We will have an epitaph written or imagined at the end of our stay here on earth. Mine will contain the blessing from God of these two souls. If nothing else graces the journey of my life, I am fulfilled.

Back to the story… The boo-boo healed and the little girl grew up and the scratching of a novice writer found its way to the page.

My mission in life:

To write is to place love in the hands of generations to come. The rest of my day is giving to helping others…

Seven Stars of Midnight The Finding

You can connect with r.e. joyce at Vision Management Publishing and find his books at books2read.

I leave you tonight with r.e.joyce’s beautiful covers to look at and be inspired…

Meet r.e.joyce I hope this post finds you all well and taking care of each other and just as importantly-taking care of yourself.

#books #inspiration #life #work #writing

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recentnews18-blog · 5 years

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New Post has been published on https://shovelnews.com/capt-bobs-bull-statue-gets-new-home-in-delaware-wtop/

Capt. Bob's Bull statue gets new home in Delaware - WTOP

DAGSBORO, Del. (AP) — Some people living in Delmarva may be surprised to hear that a giant bull statue is set to stand outside a Dagsboro family farm next year.

But for many who have lived in and around Ocean City and Chincoteague, it’s simply the next adventure for the 44-year-old Eastern Shore landmark.

“It was a must-have,” said Paul Parsons, owner of Parsons Farms, the statue’s new location after the purchase in August.

Parsons credits his mother, Cora Parsons, for finding the storied statue on Facebook and getting in touch with its most recent owners in Chincoteague, where it has been for 15 years. Most remember the bull, famous for wearing sunglasses, a chef’s hat and scarf, from its days on 64th Street in Ocean City, where it blazoned Capt. Bob’s Steak and Seafood House for nearly three decades until the restaurant closed in 2003.

Parsons grew up visiting the bull at Capt. Bob’s, named after the owner, Bob Wilkerson, who passed away in 2013. He now plans to have the edifice outside the market on Armory Road, where he hopes it will advertise the family farm’s locally raised beef and on-farm bakery starting in the spring.

“The chef’s hat is going to go great with all that,” Parsons said, adding that the bull will be “back to, hopefully, the way everybody remembered him.”

The statue is being restored in at a custom fiberglass repair shop in Ocean City known for its boat work and large blue crab sculptures of the same material seen around town.

The towering fiberglass statue, estimated to weigh over 1,000 pounds, has resided in Chincoteague on a plot of land behind Maria’s restaurant on Maddox Boulevard, where those unfamiliar with its history mused over its increasingly hazy origins. Those familiar with Capt. Bob’s, meanwhile, feared it was becoming a forgotten piece of Delmarva’s past.

For the owner’s daughter, Donna Wilkerson-Gutridge, the bull was also a large part of her upbringing. She didn’t know it had a new home until she got a call on Nov. 7.

It was her friend who was traveling behind a trailer carrying the ungulate on its side down Route 611 on its way to Ocean City, where it is being restored.

“I’m stoked,” Wilkerson-Gutridge said.

She added that she thought about restoring the bull herself, but wasn’t sure where she would have put it once it was refurbished.

“He’d look kind of funny as a lawn ornament,” she said.

The statue, dubbed “Mr. Ocean City,” or otherwise known as “Capt. Bob’s bull,” stood proudly outside the family-run restaurant from the mid-1970s until 2003, when the restaurant closed, family members say.

“My dad was always a very astute businessman,” Wilkerson-Gutridge said. “He wanted something that would set us apart from all the other places up and down the beach.”

Ocean City native Bob Wilkerson and his wife, Kayrell, were master barbers and co-owners of the Delaware Barber School in Wilmington until they relocated to Ocean City in the 1960s and opened up a restaurant, Capt. Bob’s Steak and Seafood House, on Coastal Highway and 64th Street.

Then, several years into the business, the owners decided it was time to redecorate.

Kayrell Wilkerson said her late husband decided on the large statue outside his restaurant after spotting a similar steer outside a business in Pompano Beach, Florida. He eventually found a Wisconsin company that custom-made these fiberglass sculptures, from which he commissioned a customized bovine.

The company initially offered to put a large cigar in the bull’s mouth but ultimately decided to give it a checkered chef’s scarf and a pair of beach-ready sunglasses instead, family members said.

The fiberglass sculpting company is likely the same one that’s still up and running in Sparta, Wisconsin. The organization said it does not have financial records dating back to the time of Bob Wilkerson’s purchase.

But its general manager, Darren Schauf, said he is “confident” that the bull came from their company, which he said still employs some of the same artists it had 45 years ago.

“They really become icons for communities, especially smaller communities,” Shauf said about the statues. “They can end up becoming almost symbols or logos. When they disappear, people are genuinely disappointed.”

Some believe the bull stood outside another store in Beltsville in the 1960s, followed by a stint as the gold-painted bull on top of the Golden Bull restaurant in Adelphi that has since shut its doors. But accounts from natives and the Wilkerson family dismiss those theories as urban myths.

If you ask Wilkerson-Gutridge, the bull arrived to Delmarva in 1974. The family waited at the restaurant for the towering, bespectacled bullock to come rolling down Coastal Highway. They were surprised when, instead of being hauled by a tractor-trailer, the restaurant’s mascot and soon-to-be town staple arrived on a flatbed tugged by a station wagon.

“We thought it would be so much heavier,” said Wilkerson-Gutridge. “I can’t imagine the stares and the comments as it came down the country, going down Route 70.”

Any stares from Midwestern drivers on its road trip to the Eastern Shore would be just the beginning. Many remember the ox donning homemade costumes, made from king-size bed sheets and chicken wire, for each holiday: a ghost costume for Halloween (“Boo Bull”), bunny ears for Easter, a baby diaper for the New Year and an “Uncle Sam” beard for the Fourth of July — outfits that were routinely designed by Kayrell Wilkerson and her sister, Loretta.

“It was good advertising,” said Kayrell Wilkerson.

But the attention soon led to pranks. Many remember illicit, after-hour attempts to climb the towering edifice under the streetlights in the summer heat.

This happened so often, Wilkerson-Gutridge said, that her father would cover the monument in petroleum jelly to deter people from hurting themselves when scaling his gargantuan, eponymous bull. At some point, Kayrell Wilkerson said, the owner even surrounded the beacon of their business with a fence.

Its signature sunglasses eventually broke after multiple attempts from visitors, some less gentle than others, who tried to steal them. The bull would eventually get a makeover with homemade metal frames and a red scarf, one of several re-paintings that Kayrell Wilkerson had done, which it would then wear all throughout its time in Chincoteague.

“If I had a dime for every picture taken of that bull, I’d have long been retired,” Wilkerson-Gutridge said. “You’d say ‘Capt. Bob’s’ and they’d say, ‘The place with the big bull with the sunglasses?’ It really put us on the map.”

Sharon Lynch, a previous employee of the restaurant, said the bull served to show that Bob Wilkerson, known for cracking jokes and taking pride in his business, “backs his food up.” The statue sent a message that his ribs and steaks all came from the “best fed bull,” she said.

People would pull in without planning to have dinner, Lynch said, because they saw the bull. Tourists constantly asked questions about it: Where did it come from? How much did it weigh?

Tim and Kayrell Wilkerson said that they would meet people when traveling across the world — Jamaica, Mexico, North Carolina — who knew about the bull when they mentioned their family restaurant in Ocean City.

“The bull is what had the reputation,” Lynch said. “Once people come down in the summertime, they would tell their friends. And their friends would come. They would say, ‘Just look for the bull.’”

For Lynch, the bull represents a part of her life that she remembers fondly.

“So much of my life was in that restaurant,” said Lynch, who worked multiple summers for over two decades at Capt. Bob’s starting in her early teenage years. “It really kind of made me for who I am.”

Like many on Delmarva, she often wondered about the bull after it was sold. After the restaurant closed, she began working in retail and was often asked about Capt. Bob’s for years following.

“I really missed it,” Lynch said, adding that she “can’t wait” to see the bull once it is restored. “I thought about it all the time. . . . I just thought that bull would be there forever. I don’t know why.”

But she doesn’t make a lot of visits to the restaurant’s location, which has since been replaced by Dead Freddies Island Grill.

“I can’t even go by there now,” Lynch said. “They changed it. The bull’s not there, it’s not right.”

When the family business closed and began auctioning off its belongings, Parsons and his father were perusing the walk-in coolers when they noticed the bull was also up for sale.

“We really wanted to bull,” he said.

But for years, it would be a pipe dream. The bull was instead auctioned off to George Katsetos, owner of Maria’s in Chincoteague, who kept it next to his restaurant for a short time before the county told him that the bull exceeded an ordinance prohibiting statues over 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide.

The conflict wasn’t unlike that of the original, late owner’s claimed disputes with Ocean City government, though his wife remembers him convincing the town it was “just a big lawn ornament.”

Katsetos wasn’t as lucky, and had to place the bull behind his building where it would stay until last month. During that time, circa 2008, workers were cutting trees when the debris impaled the bull’s backside, leaving a hole still in need of repair.

But Katsetos said never stopped road-trippers from visiting Mr. Ocean City starting the first week it arrived to his property. A high school senior class even took their school picture with bull one year, and just last month, several college students from the College of William & Mary took pictures with the statue, he said.

Some of those visitors included other potential buyers. One was Bradley Wells, who works for one of the “Bull on the Beach” restaurants in Ocean City.

Wells, who also remembers the bull from its days outside Capt. Bob’s, envisioned restoring the animal and putting it either on top of or beside the restaurant, which is adjacent to the ocean, so that “we would actually have a bull on the beach.”

But a busy summer season, he said, slowed him down from finalizing the purchase.

Schauf said a new version of the statue would cost just over $20,000 today. Katsetos and Parsons would not disclose how much the bull was sold for in August, but Katsetos said it was a “real good bargain,” adding that he “just wanted somebody to take it and fix it.”

The Chincoteague resident claims to have spent $2,500 on the statue when he bought it from the Wilkerson family in 2003.

Kayrell Wilkerson said she visited the bull in Chincoteague several years ago, but was sad to see it had been damaged.

“I was just heartsick,” she said. “I said, ‘I’ll never go back.’”

Parsons, a self-proclaimed lover of history, hopes to get the bull back to its original look so that passersby recognize it from its Ocean City days. He wants people to drive by and say, “I know where that bull came from.”

“It’s wonderful,” Kayrell Wilkerson said. “My Mr. Ocean City bull will bring him in some business.”

Parsons said he also plans to continue the tradition of costumes for each holiday, and let people take pictures of it when they visit so that “you don’t lose the history of it.” He added that the bull will require security and safety measures, which will likely include 24/7 surveillance.

“He (Parsons) is appreciating that this is not just some fiberglass animal,” Wilkerson-Gutridge said. “He (the bull) had a great life, and now he is continuing that. … It’s just heartwarming to know that my family had that much impact on people’s vacations and memories and lives.”

___

Information from: The Daily Times of Salisbury, Md., http://www.delmarvanow.com/

Source: https://wtop.com/funny-weird-news/2018/11/capt-bobs-bull-statue-gets-new-home-in-delaware/

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