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#i miss san franciso
rickollie · 2 months
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The Universoul Circus
“I just don’t like the circus.” July 8, 2023|SFBayArea      The following piece was compiled by my longtime friend Diane Blake, as she spent the afternoon attending The Universoul Circus in the San Franciso Bay Area. I have never been to a circus and thought she’d like to have a little fun with it by showing me what I’ve been missing. Afterall, I have been in a change altering mode as of late…
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akfanficlove · 4 years
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“So will I” - #Seblaineweek2020
Written for Seblaine Week 2020 - College
The song used it the beautiful “So will I” by the amazing Ben Platt
Check out all of my other Seblaine-stories here at AO3 :)
He stared into the flames, his body turned towards the heat that should’ve comforted him more than it did. He felt the fire warming his thighs, his hands, his face but at the same time something was choking him and there was nothing he can do. Because Sebastian was so far away. Because Blaine knew it would be hard to live on two different continents, Sebastian gone to Paris for six fucking months, Blaine staying all the way here in San Francisco.
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  But Sebastian had seemed to be excited when the internship was offered, and Blaine knows what an amazing opportunity it is, and he didn’t want to hold him back from something that could be changing ways for his boyfriend’s career. He knew that before. What he couldn’t have known was how hard it would actually be.
  A single tear dropped, rolling down his face, over his nose, wetting the pillow his head was resting on. The song changed to „So will I“ by Ben Platt , part of a Ben-Platt-only-playlist Blaine had been listening to for basically the whole day because Ben was actually one of Sebastian’s favorite singers and sometimes when Blaine missed Sebastian as much as he did now, Ben’s voice actually helped soothing the ache in his heart. Most of time Blaine could convince himself that “it’s not that long”, that soon he’ll “hold his boyfriend’s hand again while wandering around Fisherman’s Wharf”. Sebastian would scoff when Blaine insisted that they go to the little beach in front of the chocolate factory whose name Blaine can’t really pronounce. The beach which was hardly a beach, more like a strip of sand, populated by tourists and people who work nearby, going out for their lunchbreak and a quick smoke of weed.
   Besides that it was a long time and they were only halfway through the semester.
   “Well, I can't fight your battles
But I sure can hold your hand and promise you
That the sky will still be up there
And the sun will always shine
The stars will keep on falling
For the ones who wish at night
The mountains won't start moving
And the rivers won't run dry
The world will always be there
And so will I.”
   Ben sang and a sob rippled through Blaine’s chest.
   “You say, what if things start changing?
I say, we'll be changing with them
We'll just sing a different melody
And dance at different rhythm
You say, what if I give up?
I say, that it's one thing that I'll never let you do.”
   And it was exactly what Sebastian would’ve said, actually pretty close to what he really did say the night before he left for France. The night where neither of them really slept, nor talked, both of them just basking in the presence of the other. Blaine’s head on Sebastian’s chest, listening to the dull beating of Sebastian’s heart against his ribcage, the fingers of his right hand curled in the crook of the taller’s neck, tangled in Sebastian’s hair, stroking lightly. Sebastian’s left hand cradling his cheek – a little damp from silent tears – fingers lightly tugging at his curls, Sebastian’s right arm securely wrapped around his body, holding him close, holding him tight, protecting him from the daylight that is about to tear them apart. Blaine had looked up while Sebastian whispered sweet nothings against his forehead, trying to memorize every freckle on his boyfriend’s handsome face. That face that could smirk when his mouth tossed out innuendo like it’s candy, that face that frowned when he helped Nick with his French assignment because “Nick, c'est quoi ce bordel? Qu'est-ce que tu fais?” and that face that smiled brightly when Blaine finally agreed that yes, blueberry pancakes with powdery sugar taste better than chocolate (it’s only a little lie to finally end the discussion, Blaine will always be a sucker for chocolate). The face that smiles fondly after he kissed the tip of Blaine’s nose when it was could outside. Or that smiled a barely-there smile, just gently tugging at the right corner of his mouth when Blaine did something Sebastian thought was adorable but didn’t really want to show that he thought it was cute. Blaine really missed this smile.
   “Even if the sky is falling
And the sun don't want to shine
If the stars we used to wish on
Disappear into the night
Well, I can move a mountain
But only by your side
Just say you'll always be there
I know you'll always be there
And so will I.”
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   A soft melody interrupted the silence between two songs. Blaine blinked, imprints of the flames still dancing in front of his eyes. He got up to grab his phone from the table. “Hey killer”, Sebastian’s voice softly whispered in his ear. His voice, thousands of miles away, still thick with sleep because it was like, what, 9 a.m. in France and Sebastian never liked getting up early on weekends. It was those two words that tore down the wall that Blaine had tried to keep up all day, keeping his tears and emotions in check, not allowing himself to miss so much – and now he was lost. Had no words to answer his boyfriend because the only thing that tumbled out of his mouth was a stuttering breath before he was bawling, tears streaming down his face, his hand clutching his phone close to his ear while he fell back on the couch. Two words and he was coming undone.
   Sebastian on the other end of the line was silent, maybe a little confused, because his next words were soft and laced with worry as he asks: “Blaine? Blaine, hey, what’s wrong? Hello? Shh, hey, talk to me.” And Blaine wanted to answer, like, really wanted to answer, wanted to tell him to come the fuck home right fucking now and hold him like he did that last night in January, 95 days ago. But all he managed is a quiet “Seb, sometimes I miss you so much…” - his voice seemed strangled and he didn’t want this, wanted to be brave and strong because he knew it was hard for Sebastian, too, to hear Blaine complain about professors and rehearsal time and not being able to wrap his arms around his waist and kiss the frown away. He didn’t want to make it harder but here he was, crying while his barely awake boyfriend felt helpless, being on the other side of the planet.
  “I really miss you, too, B – you know, I do. We both knew it wouldn’t be easy and, I mean, it’s amazing here, truly, it’s great and I really like being here, but… you know I miss you a lot and it’s harder than I ever imagined and…” Sebastian fell silent. For someone who had always been quick with his tongue, he was an utter failure at offering comfort with his words. He still remembered awkwardly patting Jeff’s back when he made him cry during Warbler practice (again) or bringing Nick a fresh mug of coffee after he got so frustrated during his French assignment that he had thrown his hands up in the air and with them all the sheets of paper (again). He also remembered his last night with Blaine, his heart filled with excitement and pain and the fear of losing Blaine while he tried to hold onto his small body as tight as he could because what else could he do?
  “I know”, he heard Blaine say, his voice a little louder now. “I know and I’m so happy for you, I really am, Seb. I hope you have the time of your life and maybe next year when college is over and we’re working, we’ll go back together, and you’ll show me all your favorite places and kiss me silly under the Eiffel tower…”
“I’d really like that.”
“It’s just that right now, it’s pretty easy to feel alone –”
“Blaine…”
“and I don’t want to feel that way, I really don’t. I don’t want you to feel guilty or ruin your experience –”
“Blaine.”
“or make you feel like I don’t trust you because I do, Sebastian, I – “
“Blaine!”
Sebastian’s tone made Blaine fall silent because, great, he made it, he made his boyfriend get upset when he probably just woke up. Tears threatened to spill over once again as he listened to Sebastian’s breathing.
  “I am not there with you, that’s true. But that does not mean I’m not there. I always am, I promise. I can’t promise to make the pain of me missing you and you missing me go away but I can promise that I’ll try. Call me at night when you had a bad dream and I’ll tell you bad jokes until you feel the urge to hang up just to make me stop. Call me when you had a shitty day and you just want to rant but also call me when you had an amazing day. Call me when you can’t sleep, and I swear I’ll drop everything to sing to you. You can even call me an idiot because I know it means you think I’m adorable and you love me.” Blaine snickered. “Call me, text me, send me a carrier pigeon, for all I care. We’ll both be busy sometimes and I know sometimes you think that whenever we talk it should be meaningful, but I really don’t mind the nonsense you sometimes ramble about. Nothing could make my life here better than your nonsense, to be exact.”
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  Blaine sniffled but now it was because he really felt the need to grasp Sebastian’s face and kiss him senseless. “Tu me manques…”, he whispered because yes, he tried to learn French for next year when he’ll be walking the streets of Paris with Sebastian (also because it sounded so sexy…) and the French term somehow was more fitting than any other language: Tu me manques – you are missing from me. Only this time, it was laced with less pain and more affection.
  “Tu me manques aussi, ma biche…” Sebastian answered and the lump in Blaine’s throat that had tried to choke him disappeared, making room for a warmth that spreads from his heart through his body until it reaches his fingertips.
“Oh, and Blaine?”
“Yeah?”
“There is really no reason to be jealous. There is no one around here with an ass like yours and I spend way too much time getting your cute little ass to let you go now before I can at least touch it once more.” Blaine can hear the smirk through the phone.
“Oh, shush you, you ruined the moment, Sebastian!”
  He heard Sebastian laughing on the other end of the line. 95 days done, 88 more to go.
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Has your heart ever yearned to be in specific place?
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yellow-lemon-lime · 2 years
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If I had to make a Wreck It Ralph 3
Prologue. And basically we’ll see how it goes
February 6th 2027
”Good morning, this is Sandra Calliwell with your 8’oclock news report. There has been a drivers accident in Los Aburridos. One person is confirmed dead on impact, another person has been transferred to the UCSF Medical Center in San Franciso. We will update you as soon as new information becomes available”
Marie Bent sat with her head bowed her hands folded. Praying. Normally she didn’t pray – heck she didn’t even believe in any god but seeing Laura lie there, in the hospital bed, covered in wires, with all sorts of equipment attached to her, was too much to handle. So she prayed. Prayed for her survival and prayed for justice.
There was a knock on the door. A nurse came in: “If you’d like some food, we’re serving breakfast in five minutes.” Marie nodded. “Thank you.” The nurse smiled sympathetically at her. “You’re doing alright? Have you been offered a psychologist?” Marie nodded again “I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about it yet, I want to wait until I know what the outcome of this will be” “I understand, remember if you need assistance just pull the red wire” “Thank you” Marie said smiling slightly at the nurse. “What’s your name if you don’t mind me asking?” “Cassandra” the nurse said “But everyone calls me Cassie” “Nice to meet you Cassie” Marie said “and thank you for all what you and the medical team has done for Laura” Cassie smiled, then looked serious “We’re all thinking of you.”
There was another knock on the door. “Sorry for interrupting, said a secretary, but I’ve got the police here to talk to Mrs. Bent about her daughter.” Marie looked at the secretary. “The police?” Marie looked confused. As far as she was concerned, the police had gotten all the information about the accident from witnesses. A car had missed the red light on a high road and crashed into Laura and her friends car. The friend had died on impact and Laura was now, lying in a hospital bed, wired up to machinery maintaining her vitals. “I’ll go talk to them then” Marie said and went with the secretary into the secretary office. “Mrs Bent” the police officer said “My name’s Frank Guyes, and I’m an investigator, we need additional information about your daughter’s whereabouts and contacts” Marie looked puzzled, but nodded “What information do you need?” “Does she have any enemies or people that want to harm her?” Frank asked “I can’t imagine who would want to harm my daughter!” Marie responded “Why are you asking that?!” “We found these messages on her friends phone” The police said Laura: Hey girl, what’s up? Debbie: “Laura, where are you?” Laura: “Home, why?” Debbie: “Good, whatever you do, don’t go racing Laura: “You’re just afraid to lose again” Debbie: Fr Laura you need to take this shit seriously!!!!! Laura: Oh come on, you don’t seriously think they’re going to kill me Debbie: “I’m serious. Those people are not to be messed with. And they want to hurt you when you least expect it. Please don’t race, for me” Laura: Ok, I won’t race, for you. Love you Debbie: “Love you too” mwah!
Marie looked with horror at the messages. Who were “they” and why did they want to hurt Laura? “I’m sorry I – I didn’t even know. Laura never told me about that sort of thing” “You aren’t close with each other?” “Yes we are, but oh dear if I’d known she was in any trouble I would have done something about it.. And poor Debbie’s parents! Have you talked to them too?” “We are in contact with Debbie’s parents, but as you probably understand they too are experiencing great crisis over the loss of their daughter” Marie understood. Even though her own daughter was between life and death, she couldn’t quite grasp the thought of her actually dying. Not yet.
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you, this is all new information for me” “And the racing is too?” Frank asked. “No, no, no. She told us when she was 12 or so, that she wanted to be a race car driver.” “A race car driver you say?” “Yeah, and her coaches said she did have the talent for it” Frank nodded. “We will contact you as soon as we gather more information. Best wishes to you and Laura, Mrs. Bent” 5 minutes later, Marie was trying to focus on the food she had been served. But it was so hard. Who was Laura’s enemies, and what did that have to do with racing? Why did she even have to want to have such a dangerous hobby in the first place? Her mind wandered and she got lost in her own thoughts
December 1st 2012
Mom, dad, guess what! Laura came running into the kitchen. Marie was making pancakes. Laura’s dad, Thomas was in the living room listening to some old fashioned country music. “What is it, sweetie?” Marie asked “I beat the high score on Sugar Rush with this new character who has a really cool super power!” “That’s nice dear, want any pancakes?” “Mom, I’m serious! And I’m gonna be a racer too! Just like Vanellope!” “Penellope? Is that a new friend of yours?” “Noooo, mom “VANellope. She’s a new character in Sugar Rush, and she can glitch through things. It’s awesome!” “That’s very good to hear dear” “Mom, can I go try out racing?” “I will talk to your dad, and if he agrees we can sign you up for gokart racing” “Hurray!” Laura jumped, and sat at the table, taking some pancakes “I’h gwa e a waser wike Vanwope” “Laura please don’t talk with food in your mouth” “Sowwy mom” Laura said and ate the pancakes.
Marie went into the living room, where Thomas was still listening to old fashioned country music. “Now she got the idea that she wants to be a race car driver. I think she got the idea from one of the arcade games” Marie said “Yeah she loves that place” said Thomas “but she also has no keep up with school” “Yes, but we could give her a hobby as well” Marie said “and maybe she’ll get more self esteem that way” “You’re probably right, Marie. You can tell her we can sign her up for gokart racing, but she needs to keep up in school” Marie went into the kitchen “I’ve discussed with your dad, and we agree that you can take up gokart rac- “Yuppie!” Laura exclaimed and hugged her mom “But remember to do your homework” “I will mom, thank you so much!”
February 6th 2027
There was some rustling, which brought Marie back to the present. “Laura?” Laura groaned a bit. “Laura, sweetheart can you hear me?” Marie pulled the red wire. Cassie came into the room after a few minutes. “Anything you need?” “I just heard Laura groan” Marie said “I’ll get the doctor here immediately” Cassie said. A few minutes after the doctor was observing Laura’s vitals. There was another groan. “Laura?” Can you hear us, you’re at the hospital, and your mother is here too. “Mom…” “Yes sweetie, I’m here, Laura can you hear me?”
February 8th 2027
Laura was still coming to terms to what had happened, and that Debbie was dead.
“I’m so sorry mom, I was driving accordingly” “I know dear. It wasn’t your fault. It was the other driver who crossed a red light and crashed into you” “Mom, I don’t think I’m ready to talk about the accident just yet” “I understand sweetie” Marie said, caressing her daughters cheek When you’re ready to talk about who “they” are I will listen to you.
“Mom?” “Yes, dear” “I dreamt I was back at the arcade, but I kept losing, because Vanellope’s kart kept resetting” Marie stroke her cheek once more “I know that character meant a lot to you” “Mom, she’s literally the reason why I started racing. It’s too bad the arcade had to shut down during the pandemic. Some times mom, I wonder what happened to her, and to the Fix-It Felix Jr. characters.
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bryan360 · 3 years
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My YCCTEAM's Wireless Switch Pro Controller - Part 16/Final (Career Mode racing in Asphalt 9: Legends)
What's up guys? Welcome back to be at another YCCTEAM Controller topic review share, but guess what? This will be the final video post that I've been waiting for a long time or in case a year half and months since the beginning of revealing my controller back in 🎃October 3rd, 2020. Even though it needed takes time to make sure to correct in details such as doing comparison from my other controllers, testing its buttons, battery charging to battery life results, and pretty much else I've been gone through in months. However, there is one more topic review post that I'm bringing to an end as of my decision; especially when if I'll be doing other topic reviews to my new items soon.
For today's post though, I decided to merge two videos as originally gotten both recordings from last week I've been saving. It's something that I should've done from my past video postings while I'm in YCCTEAM Controller topic reviews, but nevertheless it was alright when I'm getting used to. Anyways, I'm back to try out my final testing as you expected while I'm at Asphalt 9: Legends again. This time I'll turn up the notch by doing real racing with other opponents in career mode and both of the control settings to use after from doing tutorial last month.
Here it is as I'm in track based on San Franciso; the same place I've already cleared its first challenge back in January 18th, 2020. Link Here
I also did the second challenge during part 3 of my Asphalt 9: Legend’s career progress to remember. Link Here #2
However for this topic review post to share, I wanted to go back its first challenge to race through like I did in last year, but showing off my YCCTEAM Controller again and using the same car of Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution; as I previously used on few challenges or just one during my career progress from last year. I'm giving some upgrades along the way, but hoping I can show it during my contining Asphalt 9: Legend's progress soon. Let's get into it as It'll be the final topic review post for my controller.
During two of my recording videos being merged, I'm using my controller to show as I'm racing through San Francisco track against other racers like I previously did in January 2020....two times to be exact when I used both different control settings from manual to gyro like last time when I'm showing off during tutorial mode last month.
It's gonna be different to see which settings I can used for my career mode in progress; despite being obvious it had to be manual settings with pressing buttons for acceleration, brake, and nitro boost. I'm just making this as I'll go along when using both settings once again. I'll even bring the results after crossing the finish line for the races end and how much did I do in time. If I can remember my first one back in Janaury 2020 was 00:43.366 or 43 minutes and 366 seconds while during its first challenge I gotten. Here's my last year's screenshot in high quality to get a better look.
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Just wondering how it can compared to my other two racing results during this recording. Well I'll tell ya this is gonna be interesting and hoping to my closest friends to see as well.
On first half until 1:22, I'm doing my first racing through San Franciso track in title "City Dash" where I needed to reach the goal from other opponents they'll trying to catch on me. I did good while using my YCCTEAM Controller in manual setting with the steering analog stick and some tricks like jumping on ramps. However, I was bumping into things while I'm trying to press the left button for brake and drifts, but other times was performing the 360 move at opponents for no strange reason that I'm trying to get knockdowns. ^^* (at least I did have one knockdown on first half, though) Anyways while continuing my race, I made it to a finish line at the end from doing turns, jumping into ramps like two times, and some bumping into walls that I'm trying my best to dodge those. So my racing time results was unexpected since January 2020 is the very first one I've gotten while I'm in manual. Instead, my new racing time results change to 00:44.647 or 44 minutes and 647 seconds while I'm in manual settings a second time as before. I was so close that it should've been much lesser than that if I could make some room in obstacle or something. Nevertheless, it was of really was while doing my YCCTEAM Controller post to share, but at least it was a good first half.
As for the second half though, I'm switched up to gyro control when using my controller to move left and right. During another racing track through San Francisco, I've gotten into somewhat good start as well when using my controller to move my car and the buttons for acceleration, brake/drift, etc while reaching the racing goal again. That being said however as I'm still working on some "errors" while having to race against opponents. Mostly though was while perform my ramp jump, I've almost getting crash into the wall just before landing on the road by luck. It happens at 02:14 to 02:18, but man that it was still lucky or otherwise would've been ruin if I'll start all over again. I tried to steer to get away from and some others that I've keep bump into to get knockdowns at opponents. Nevertheless, it was not bad second half to make while moving my controller in gyro settings; just wanted to work on its sensitivity of adjust along the way. How's my racing time results during it though was really unexpected is 00:43.334 or 43 minutes and 334 seconds to compared on others. (January. 18th, 2020's and September. 8th, 2021's in two recordings merged) Let's just say in other words, the gyro setting I did during second half takes the top spot here by surprise. Maybe because I putting nitro boost for its speed just to catch up at opponents before reaching the finish line? Or simply put on fate to see how do well in gyro settings I've been practicing; like last time when you've see me during my past topic review post while I'm in tutorial mode. Either way, it was pretty not bad to know how I managed to get there during second half recording I gotten; after checking the racing time results changes to 43 minutes and 334 seconds.
My thoughts and a final conclusion for this topic
Just like from last month when using my YCCTEAM Controller for tutorial test, I did really well for this one when I'm in career mode racing through San Francisco. After doing two settings both manual and gyro motion was another review test to see how which would I prefer to use when I can continuing on my career mode in progress and another for hoping there's normal race mode to unlock. I had missteps along the way; including the one during second half where I was almost crashed into the building's wall until I safely landed. Nevertheless, they're both alright when I'm taking my time off to see what racing results I have in both. Unexpected for gyro motion controls having to recognized that it compared from what I did in Janaury 18th, 2020 when clearing its first challenge at 43 minutes and 366 seconds. However for manual settings like I did before that was so close to match; as it underperformed at 44 minutes and 647 seconds. Thought I could handing well like last time if needed, but guessing I've miss calculating a little. So that's means gyro motion setting won? Doesn't matter though as they're both good tests while using my YCCTEAM Controller to show; just like last month when I'm cleared through tutorial mode. However, I'll be closing this topic review to an end after long time of giving details, comparison to other of my controllers, batteries, and more I gone through so far.
🐰🖌Maxwell: Yeah. We've been waiting for after year and the half when he did his best of reviewing this alternative controller to work on his Nintendo Switch system. If I could remember, there are good ones to choose from other past posts; like when he did on Super Smash Bros match with Mario against Banjo & Kazooie.
🐰👊💥May: There's more than that, Maxwell. Like doing his button test it works alright; especially knowing fits well then previously use his Joy-Cons when it had the R button stop working and of course drifting. Hoping it won't effect his YCCTEAM Controller anytime soon.
🦊⚽️Sam: You said it. At least rest assured when it comes to making his topic review, the YCCTEAM Controller had a good run with its battery life, the design to make as a similar Switch Pro Controller, and impressive feedback or response when playing those games in manual or gyro motion setting in Asphalt 9: Legends for example.
Thanks, Sam. I think I can give this a positive thumbs up 👍🏼 for how I using my YCCTEAM Controller to my Nintendo Switch system. Except some minor cons like when turning the rumble features on to my controller that it keep on rumbling through Super Mario Odyessy's cutscenes.
🐰🖌Maxwell: Or another one when you trying to turn on your Nintendo Switch system with your pro controller's home button, but doesn't work it right unlike your used Joy-Cons for some reason.
Yeah, that too. I'm fine to turn on my Switch system manually anyways, but would like that if the developers ever updated my controller so it can be easy to press the home button to activate my system just as easily. Someday, but not today I guess. Anyways, hope you guys and my closest friends to check out my lastest YCCTEAM Controller topic review to share and to my final conclusion after giving my thoughts about from year and half ago. I'm hoping to take it rest and continuing on other stuff like I'm promised to bring my own Super Mario 3D All-Star progress to share for example. I had too much things to get through that I nearly forgotten. Sorry if it happens. 😔
There's one more thing, though. If you finded interests about getting the YCCTEAM Controller like I have, then maybe you can check out at other online stores such as Amazon.com. it cost $25.99 or $26.00 in price which it can affordable if you called that in different way. I even check through search to see its there and it was still available as I link to this one. Link Here
Not sure if it'll work on other countries, but I would like to see when my P-Pal managed to get those in other online stores he could find, but just saying. 😅
Previous Posts for my YCCTEAM’s Pro Controller Topic:
Wireless Switch Pro Controller for Nintendo Switch/Switch Lite (Part 1) - Link Here #1
My YCCTEAM’s Wireless Switch Pro Controller for Nintendo Switch/Switch Lite Unboxing (Part 2) - Link Here #2
My YCCTEAM’s Wireless Switch Pro Controller for Nintendo Switch/Switch Lite Comparison with my Xbox One (Part 3) - Link Here #3
My YCCTEAM’s Wireless Switch Pro Controller for Nintendo Switch/Switch Lite Comparison with my Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Cons (Part 4) - Link Here #4
Testing Buttons (Part 5) - Link Here #5
Rumble Feature Testing (Part 6) - Link Here #6
Battery Charging Test (Part 7) - Link Here #7
Playtime Battery Life Results (Part 8) - Link Here #8
Gyro and Motion Controls 1st Half (Part 9) - Link Here #9
Gyro and Motion Controls 2nd Half (Part 9.5) - Link Here #10
Playtime through Super Mario 3D All-Stars game in Super Mario 64 #1 - Link Here #11
Playtime through Super Mario 3D All-Stars game in Super Mario 64 #2 - Link Here #12
Playtime through Super Smash Bros Ultimate #1 - Link Here #13
Playtime through Super Smash Bros Ultimate #2 - Link Here #14
Tutorial through Asphalt 9: Legends #1 - Link Here #15 Tutorial through Asphalt 9: Legends #2 - Link Here #16
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December 15th: i love you
Nico loved getting home when he was slightly cold, only to crawl under the blanket on his couch, preferably with a slightly smaller resident next to him. Wrapping his arm around him and pressing a soft kiss against his shoulder before they’d watch whatever was on TV until their stomachs would alert them to move business to the kitchen.
This year was different though.
Never in his over two years in Seattle before, has Nico sweat this much in December. As soon as the first snowflake hit the ground, Nico would have gotten his warm coat out of the closet and bury himself in his thick hoodies when he gets home, because this damn winter was just too much for him. Seattle was so much colder than San Franciso.  
Back home, there was no need for anything more than a thin jacket. Back home, he could strip down to his underwear and a shirt in December as soon as he came home, no questions asked.
Here in Seattle that would just turn him into a frozen chicken like the ones his mom used to buy to make Samgyetang. He missed his mom’s food. Especially on cold days the ginger and ginseng in it would get his body to warm up again.
But nowadays not a day has gone by on which he didn’t sweat through his Physician Response Team uniform. Ever since he saw that magical vehicle that was the PRT truck, Nico had been absolutely obsessed with how cool that whole concept was and how much he wanted to be a part of it. And then, when Ben asked if he wanted to be his partner in crime, Nico almost felt like he was cheating on Levi because of how over the moon he was to be asked to join.
The life as a surgeon on the go was just as exhausting as it was thrilling. He loved the adrenaline. The stress. The pressure. It’s what gets him into the zone. It was already there every time Nico stepped into an OR, but this was different.
Because in this moving OR, Nico could save so many lives. And knowing that, was an incredible, almost indescribable feeling. Knowing that he was actually making a difference in this world. That thanks to Ben, he was finally able to make use of every aspect of his abilities.
He loved his job.
He wasn’t so sure if his boyfriend did though.
For the past few months, whenever Nico came home, the first thing he did was to faceplant on the couch and not move for a solid hour. That was, if Levi wasn’t there yet. If he was, Nico would do the same thing, but bury his face between Levi’s shoulders, snoozing off until his boyfriend would move slightly, reminding him that he wasn’t just a big nice-smelling pillow.
“I love you,” he muttered, eyes still closed. He felt the soft movement rumble through Levi’s body as he chuckled quietly.
I love you.
He said it more often nowadays. Every day after coming home, he’d lay down, sometimes having to wait for Levi to lay down next to him, snooze for a few minutes and then tell him before going back to sleep. He made it a point to tell him every single day. No matter how busy or tired he was. He would say it and make up for the times he was unable to do so before.  
Working in the PRT truck with Ben, saving lives day in, day out changed him. It changed his view on life and made him realize how quickly it could all just end.
On his second week, they have been called to a patient that slipped and fell down in the Washington Park Arboretum, having been impaled by a not-so-small branch as he hit the ground. The man was young, maybe a few years younger than Levi and he kept talking about how he had to survive this because he had a cat at home that he needed to take care of and a mother who was counting on him building her a new shelf in the kitchen.
And somehow... That day he couldn’t wait to just get home to tell Levi how important he was to him. That he wanted to fall asleep and wake up every day next to him.  
“I love you too,” Levi replied quietly. Nico could hear his smile in the way he spoke. His voice would be even softer than it already was. Nico melted every time.
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norcalbruja · 4 years
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The issues with cultural appropriation
One of my Filipino friends misses the Japanese festivals that would have been happening around now in San Franciso, and she believes “there is no cultural appropriation as long as you have the right mindset!” I’m still debating on if I should 1) post this long-ass thing as a comment, 2) post the gist of it so I don’t leave an essay on her page, or 3) post it at all because since it’s her page, all the comments basically agree with her on the “love and light” thing. --- Learning about other cultures is great, but I'm just tired of East Asian culture being 90% of "Asian Culture" here in 'Murica. And as a Filipino specifically, I keep noticing all the double standards where East Asian culture is "cool," but Filipino culture isn't. Unless it's the stuff that mainstream folks approve of. Catholicized Filipino culture is fine, but getting tattoos or being fascinated with pre-Catholic mythology gets us laughed at for "being a jungle Asian" or "trying to be Polynesian."
I have no problem with people admiring other cultures, but when I can't tell if Pastel-colored Kimono Picture #128327642 is from an actual Asian, or a whyte person who fetishizes Asian culture while blaming real Asians for the coronavirus? Or when Filipinos "love" other cultures because they've been brainwashed to hate the non-colonized parts of their own culture?
Who gets to share their culture and who gets laughed at? Who's sharing another person's culture without permission, and ignoring the other person saying they don't want to share anymore?
Everyone loves kimonos, but indigenous Filipino clothes are "primitive." And nobody likes to talk about the Barong or the Maria-Clara being Spanish because "that happened so long ago, why bother still being mad?"
Everyone loves Shinto for being animistic, but Filipino animism is "superstitious."
Everyone loves Japanese mythology, but when people (especially the diaspora) start digging into MULTIPLE Filipino mythologies, we get laughed at because we're "jungle Asians" or "we want to be Polynesian." Like, I'm sorry our ancestors have so many chiefs, sailors, or gods rolling up from the mysterious eastern ocean, teaching us navigation, stealing fire, making islands, fucking up the Sun in a fight, and growing coconuts from dead gods' corpses. And this is the stuff that SURVIVED. We have all sorts of gods whose just barely exist as names and footnotes in Spanish records.
Even the ones who don't laugh at us just go "that happened so long ago, there's no point bringing it back," while praising East Asia's culture for... being really, really, REALLY old? Why is East Asian culture praised for being 3000 years old, but 500-year-old Filipino culture is too far gone and we shouldn't bother bringing it back? Because we started believing the conquistadors who called us stupid, primitive heathens while deigning to write our “quaint” beliefs down?
---
End the soapbox rant.
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jaynedolluk · 3 years
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TV OF 2020 PART 3
Another part ...
BBC continued with a run of great documentaries. I particularly like their music-based ones – this year, their Top of the Pops series got up to 1989 and 1990. Mark Gatiss did a couple of documentaries on Dracula and Aubrey Beardsley and Chris Packham did ones on the issue of over-population and what punk meant to him. Irvine Welsh did one for Sky about issues of taste/offence/censorship and Jo Brand did an A to Z one of ways of coping in this pandemic world. Tony Slattery did a very moving programme about how sexual abuse had affected his life + his mental health problems. I also thought Robert Rinder's documentary on the Holocaust was incredibly moving and emotional.
Mark Kermode returned with his Secrets of Cinema series – he also did another show with Simon Mayo reviewing TV/films available over the lockdown period called Kermode and Mayo's Home Entertainment Service (which I would really love them to bring back). Channel 4 did a short series of shows with each one having a different host/decade + a countdown of people's favourite shows from that time. A lot of my favourites got mentioned but I was surprised at some of the omissions (like Misfits + Utopia). I also liked Between the Covers which was BBC2's book review show where every week a group of different guests discussed a couple of new releases as well as their favourite books. BBC did The Noughties which had various guests looking back on the events + popular culture of the 2000s (which doesn't seem that long ago but weirdly, it is!). Andrew Marr did a really good series called New Elizabethans where he looked at different people from throughout the Queen's reign who show how much society and culture has changed in that time. Stephen Fry also did one of 21st century firsts + it was so crazy to see how so much stuff we take for granted now only came along comparitively recently. I thought the series Celebrity: A 21st Century Story was really interesting as it examined how celebrity has changed in the last 20 or so years.
Back In Time returned for a look at corner shops through the 20th century and Lucy Worsley did a series on Royal History's Biggest Fibs (which as usual was an excuse for her to tit about in fancy frocks). BBC did one of the events surrounding Miss World 1970 (it was the 1st time a black woman had won the competition + it was also the subject of feminist protests). In a similar vein, Channel 4 did a documentary on Page Three (which did highlight some of the issues around it – for those outside the UK, Page 3 was a feature in The Sun, the most popular tabloid newspaper, where topless models appeared + it was hugely popular at the time).
Some of my favourite US TV series returned (The Umbrella Academy, Westworld, The Walking Dead, Snowfall, and The Blacklist) and The Deuce finished off with its final series (I do think some of the others should be looking at wrapping things up rather than continuing to drag things out). Tin Star did a final series set in Liverpool which was basically just loads of people getting shot. I really loved the 2nd series of Warrior (about a Chinese man in late 1800s San Franciso who's involved with the gangs) – I really hope one of the other streaming services like Netflix step in + save it.
New shows included Perry Mason (a reboot that acts as his origin story – I really liked it), Lovecraft Country (which I thought was excellent + really well-done), Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (set in post WW2 Los Angeles – I found it a bit uneven but it did have its moments), and Why Women Kill (looking at 3 different women who commit murder in 3 different time periods – loved its wit + excellent performances – my favourite being Lucy Liu – and I'm really pleased to hear its been commissioned for a 2nd series). There was also Trickster (a Canadian production that has a largely Indigenous cast + crew and a setting/story that uses elements from modern life as well as traditional myths/practices) which I really liked + I hope they do another series. I think my favourite would have to be Prodigal Son – it's just so deliciously good in all the best ways – amazing cast + writing plus the amount of epic whump that the extraordinarily pretty Tom Payne gets put thro' will always ensure it's a fan favourite.
It seems like so long ago that The Trial of Christine Keeler was shown so I think a lot of people have maybe forgotten just how good it was (it's based on the true story of the Profumo scandal from the 1960s – I hadn't realised just how young Christine Keeler + Mandy Rice-Davies were when they were involved in it). There were a couple of true crime dramas which I think managed to do a decent job without being too exploitative – Des (based on the Dennis Nilsen case) and White House Farm (based on the Jeremy Bamber case). There was also Quiz (based on the 'coughing major' case of the man who supposedly cheated on Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?).
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Back to the Start (Thomas’s Journal)
*This is technically Faux Pas Part Seven, but it’s more of a standalone story
Part One: Long Distance Part Five
Part Two: (Not so) Long Distance
Part Three: Emphatically, No
Part Four: L.A. Baby (Where Dreams are Made of to be broken)
Part Five: (I’m Sorry I Can’t Be) Perfect
Part Six: I’d Do Anything
* * * The Art of Loving Thomas Hunt Fan Fiction Masterlist * * *
– – –
Characters: Alex (MC), Thomas Hunt Mentioned Characters: Marianne Delacroix, Bianca Stone, Matt Rodriguez, Chris Winters
Setting: This takes place between Red Carpet Diaries Book 2 and 3 (Red Carpet Diaries 2.5).  However, the majority of the content recaps RCD Books 1 and 2 from Thomas POV. In my fanfiction writing, this takes place immediately after Faux Pas Part 6. Previously, Bianca Stone shared part of Thomas’s private journal about his feelings about Marianne Delacroix. Thomas also agreed to model for Faux Pas with Alex for Addison’s photoshoot despite not initially wanting to.
Rating: PG-13
– – –
Thomas sat down beside Alex on the couch, wrapping his arm around her. Alex let him pull her into his chest.
“Thank you again,” Alex lifted her head to place a kiss on his lips.
“It was my pleasure,” Thomas kissed her again.
“Can we put all of this behind us?” Alex suggested.
“Agreed. However, before we do...” Thomas began hesitantly. He took a deep breath. “Since Miss Stone was kind enough to share what I had written about Marianne, I thought perhaps you might want to see what I’ve written about you.”
Thomas held out a black journal. It had several pages flagged.
“Thomas, you don’t have to,” Alex offered.
“I want to,” Thomas insisted, putting the journal in Alex’s hands.
Alex leaned into Thomas’s arms and opened to the first flagged page.
[Hello, Hollywood]
Today, I went to another insipid Hollywood party. The meaningless blather of conversations at these affairs is irritating. Finding someone to have an actual conversation with proved impossible. Perhaps the most interesting thing of note was a party crasher. I commend her risk to network–she seemed to handle herself with unexpected grace. Unfortunately for her, this town is filled with other naive, beautiful Hollywood hopefuls.
[The Big Premiere]
Rarely am I stirred by current Hollywood indie films, tonight I witnessed a rare break in the drivel of underwhelming attempts at true art. Tender Nothings was not terrible. That is to say, it was quite good. The film owes its success to a newcomer, Alex Spencer. I was pleasantly surprised by not only her raw talent but her charm and decorum. I had the privilege of speaking with her at Matt Rodriguez’s party. Alex has mastered the Hollywood charm offensive, even if she insists she is just being honest. I hope to work with her in the future. I find her talent magnetizing. I’m drawn to her and I’m not sure why that is. She’s like a lightning bolt–she’s completely compelling.
[Leveling Up]
I do not believe in fate, and yet, it seems Alex and I continue to cross paths when I least expect it. A potential client failed to show up despite insisting we meet at this abhorrent excuse for a public venue. Forget the music, they used bagged ice; how artless? As I thought the night was a total loss, I found Alex in the cacophony of sounds and lights. She continues to bewilder me. She willingly left her friends and the party at hand to accompany me to Noir Bar. Alex talks with maturity and dignity beyond her years; and yet, she has a way of–how do I put it–teasing me in a manner to which I am not accustomed. I offered Alex the part of the Duchess; unfortunately, she is attached to another film. This, of course, is disappointing; however, that is not to say the evening was disappointing. I quite enjoyed myself.
[Fired-storm + Take Two]
The Last Duchess has been stuck in a state of uncertainty for a few weeks now. I have not found anyone who could portray Frances with all the nuances the performance requires. It is with conflicting emotions that I finally have my Duchess. I somehow found my way to Alex again. I was pleased by her enthusiasm and interest in the role, although I abhor the reason for which she was let go from her prior engagement. Even sitting across from here, I felt fire run through my veins as she told me what Viktor tried to do to her. I knew he was vile, but this was different. I had never felt so much hatred before; even with everything that happened between Viktor and me.
As I sat with Alex and saw the light of passion in her eyes, I knew it was fate. I finally realized why I couldn’t cast the Duchess. It was always Alex. She is everything I admire in Frances. I know she will bring undeniable life to the role. Nevertheless, Alex is also dangerous. I’m drawn to her in a way I haven’t been in a long time. I almost kissed her. I wanted to. But after Viktor, I can’t. I will protect her, even if that means from myself.
I gave Alex a day to think about my offer before returning for her reply. I did need her answer readily, but the truth is, I couldn’t stay away from her.
[The Underdogs]
Today was the first day of production for The Last Duchess. I wanted to film a few test scenes to provide potential producers and investors in hopes of securing funding. Alex and Chris were impeccable even on their first attempt. I hope the investor we are meeting with tomorrow sees the potential of this film.
As the title character of the film, it was natural to ask Alex to accompany me on the trip to San Franciso. I expected that eventually, I would discover something about Alex that would help quell the distraction she has become to me. The trip had an adverse effect. Alex continues to demonstrate she is a capable woman in all regards. I took her to a few of my favorite places. She genuinely appreciated them all. When I showed her all of San Francisco from Twin Peaks, she asked where I lived. Maybe it was the memories that filled my head when she asked about my former house, but I was pulled toward her. I didn’t want to stop. The way she looked in the moonlight. She was exquisite. Her hand on my jaw was electric. I could feel it radiate through my whole body. It was just the shock I needed to remind me of everything I could lose if I had let myself continue.
[I'll Take The High Road]
Production of the Last Duchess headed to Cordonia. Alex continued to overwhelm my thoughts. I offered her an extra seat on the plane. If she had brought someone else, then I could let the thought of her go. I want her to be happy, even if that is with someone else. Regardless, she declined. I smiled when she turned down the offer.
On the set Chris–for all his talents–had difficulty today exuding the right mix of restrained desire and infinite decorum the scene required. I offered to demonstrate what I was looking for. I have done this countless times on prior films, and yet, this time it was different. I ran the scene with Alex– the anticipation and intensity were palpable. I am hopelessly at her mercy.
[Happily Ever After...Right?]
The Last Duchess was complete and yet, I felt compelled to head to the studio to attempt to make it even better. As if I were not distracted enough by the mere thought of Alex, fate decided yet again to test my resolve in acting on my desires for her. Alex drives me to distraction. She challenges me. I confessed my desire for her. Remarkably, she felt the same way. When we kissed, I felt contended. My thoughts were quiet for the first time in months. I relinquished my future to her, should she feel the same way as I.
The wrap party for The Last Duchess was an overwhelming success. The film received much praise and yet for the first time, the acclaim was distant. As to be expected by now, Alex captured my whole attention. She chose me. I might never understand why, but I will never stop trying to make her happy.
Apparently, Alex is a distraction I’m supposed to have. I can’t fight it anymore. I won’t.
As Alex continued flipping through the other entries, tears cascaded down her cheeks and flowed across her smile. She had not thought it possible to be more in love with Thomas than she already was, but she was wrong.
“I can’t believe...” Alex’s words got caught in her throat. She shifted until her lips were hovering over Thomas’s. “I love you, Thomas Hunt, more than I have ever loved anyone.”
“As do I, my Alex,” Thomas admitted.
Alex pressed her lips against Thomas’s. Alex kissed him long and slow. Thomas responded by pulling Alex further on top of him until she was straddling his lap. He ran his hands down her back and lower, eventually settling his hands in the back pocket of her pants. Alex smiled against his lips as Thomas squeezed her. His touch caused her body to quiver pleasantly in response.
Alex pulled away for a moment to catch her breath. “I noticed you did not include any specific details about the wrap party. Perhaps you need a refresher of the highlights from the evening?”
Thomas cupped his hands around Alex’s face. “How did that scene go again?" he teased.
Alex traced a finger up his arm. Her touch still sent shivers through his body; she smiled lightly. "I believe it started with desire," Alex whispered as she pressed her lips to his.
Thomas wrapped his arms around her and picked her up. Alex wrapped her legs around him. They passionately kissed their way over to a table in the corner. It wasn't a desk, but it would do. Thomas and Alex kissed fiercely as they let their memories of that first night overcome them.
----
Thomas Tags: (Let me know if you would like to be included :))
@hopelessromantic1352; @alleksa16   ;  @mfackenthal ;  @alj4890  ;  @the-soot-sprite  ; @twin-skltns  ; @pb-boeboe  ; @lilyofchoices  ; @flyawayboo
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sheff-adventurer · 5 years
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hello all!! it's been a minute since I've posted on this blog (and without any real updates! shame on me! jk I've just been wildly busy - these past few weeks have been crazy!) anyway, thought I'd post an update of my life in Sheffield so far: last week was Orientation Week with the university, and was mostly geared towards international students so there were lots of meet & greet activites, city and campus tours, and various logistical events such as the collection of visas, univeristy ID cards, and Biometric Residence Permits (basically the little card that lets me live and study here for the year - and, as always, my photo is terrible). I've made friends! a little group of mishmashed international students, but honestly mostly German, with one French girl as well as girls from the Czech Republic and the Netherlands (fun for me but also when I say my dad's side of the family is Dutch they always ask if I speak it! which, sadly, I do not). it's funny to me that I've met more Germans than Americans (we are few & far between; I think I've met 2), but I'm quite thankful for my little group of gals (+ one guy). there are so many cute little coffee shops here! & if you know me, you'll know that I'm in heaven because of it. there are three on my walk to school alone, and I've been to a grand total of 10 in the 2 weeks I've been here so far, but there are countless others I've seen around the city and am dying to try. also, coffee and groceries are amazingly cheap here - I've yet to spend more than £3.20 on a coffee drink, especially since there's a big push for reusable coffee cups and most places offer discounts if you bring your own (bad for my wallet, good for my soul). also, a bonus is that the coffee shop closest to me also sells delicious artisan bread loaves, which I paid £2.50 for but found out if you come in at the right time, they give yesterday's bread to students for free! there's also a tiny fresh fruit/vegetable grocer just down the street run by two older men who are incredibly kind and who love to chat - I've been two or three times now and every time they have something to say (plus the produce is also inexpensive: 86p for a little box of blueberries!!) I'm living in student accommodation, which, although far from the university itself, is located just outside the Peak District (aka one of England's massive national parks) which means there's so much greenery outside my window (the photo with all the trees and buildings in the distance is the view from my kitchen!!!) that it feels like home...I went hiking with my friends in the Peak District on saturday and hit 37,000 steps for the first time! the top three photos above are from the trip; I didn't take them, a new friend of mine has a knack for photography and brought her camera along for the trip. the weather was beautiful, and just for us! the day after it poured, a true British welcome to the country. another thing is that there are so many hills in the city (think San Franciso or Seattle on steroids) and I do a fair bit of walking/biking (everyone bikes here!! it's so convenient) so by the end of the year I'll be a pro at trudging up and down steep hills haha. ok last thing before I sign off, but it's been wonderful exploring a new city on my own - school starts on Monday so I've had plenty of time to wander all over the city, which was great because I feel like I know my way around! and there are so many amazing little nooks and crannies chock-full of exciting things to do and see, so I know I'm going to have an amazing time here, even though I do miss home & everyone in Cleveland. until next time! cheers, Marika p.s. they say "cheers" here for literally everything and I am LOVING it
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rklena-blog · 5 years
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hi friends ! thank you for all your lovely welcomes. this actually isn’t my first muse at rookies--i’m nik, also the mun of rkxsungwoon 🎔 lena is a muse i’ve had in mind since last year and i’m excited to finally be bringing her into the rp ! a little bit about her: kang lena is her full name, she’s currently sweet sixteen and a second year at sopa. she was born and raised in san franciso and only moved to korea three years ago but so far, she likes it here. and uh, what else... she really, really wants to be an idol because she likes the attention... she’s like tinkerbell but like... she needs applause to live. anyways, here are her profile and background pages, and i also have a plots page up for her like a good mun, but i’ll also drop a tl;dr and some wanted connections under the cut ! otherwise, you can hit the like button if you want to plot and i’ll hop into your ims ! thank you for loving my smol daughter !!
about lena:
like i mentioned, sixteen and a second year at sopa
grew up in san francisco, only moved here 3 years ago because her grandparents came into some money & property in korea
her family is pretty wealthy by the way and lena spends money like it’s no one’s business
has a much older brother who lives & works in silicon valley on some tech-y stuff. she loves him but also thinks he’s a super nerd
her mom put her in beauty pageants when she was a kid up until her teens and it just... really fucked her up in a bad way
i don’t want to get into it it’s all in her background but it left her like... simultaneously hating herself and like craving attention
idk she’s still unpacking all that
the one good thing her mom did do was put her in dance classes & lena quickly fell in love!! she’s most comfortable with ballet but she’s been taking jazz and modern dance classes for a while too
anyway, after moving to korea she decided to be an idol because she felt like it would be the perfect thing for her. so she’s working towards that now
she can be a little bratty and like, arrogant/cocky i guess and she has trouble genuinely connecting with people but she’s a good girl
she just like, never learned how to make friends and now she’s a mess
#richgirl so she spends money frivolously but also showers her friends with gifts
is a fledgling fansite master like she’s not good at the photography part yet but she’s working on it
girl group enthusiast by the way........ #STAN_ECLIPSE 
she’s a good girl please love her ):
connections:
friends... please... like i know she can be prickly and hard to get to know but please give the girl some friends... even friends who don’t like her that much and are using her for the $$$ literally anything
rivals?? enemies?? Her Nemesis?? she speaks her mind and can be a baby bitch sometimes so there are bound to be a few of these
she really really likes girls but pretends she doesn’t so as to not freak her friends out. naturally i would for her to have a crush on a girl and be really weird about it or alternatively use some boy as a beard
older sibling figures because she misses her brother a lot and has no adult-ish figures to rely on so someone to take that role on her for her would be great
she has a really popular eclipse stan twt so anyone she can interact with on their would be cool... fellow eclipse stans in general would be cool
trainees to fawn over!! she will send you fan gifts and take your pictures and be your number one hype woman ( girls preferably... she doesn’t like boys )
idols to fawn over too, once again, would prefer girls but some of the convex boys are okay.... she guesses... 
idk what else i have some more ideas on her plots page! 
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falselyprofound · 5 years
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i figured i should ask u some questions about your trip!!! it's kinda late but ... what was your favourite part of canada? what about the US?
Pfhaha, no worries! I'm always happy to talk about my trip. (Also oh god speaking of lateness it just occurred to me that i missed your birthday so HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY KYRA)
But god, it was such a long trip, it’s sorta hard to decide on one or two parts. Might just be easier to do a highlight reel.
Despite the fact that Vancouver kept pouring down with rain, I thoroughly enjoyed any hiking I did there! Aside from, like, the Ghost Tour I did on my final night in town. I was a dumbass and left both my hiking shoes and rainjacket behind, and wound up sharing an umbrella with another member of the tour.
I was then up until two am, taking a hairdryer to my shoes and backpack, just so they'd be dry enough to wear on my flight out. GG.
Excluding the stuff we did together, Capilano was probably a personal highlight. Gorgeous scenery, and the fact that the weather was at peak crappiness meant that nobody was around and I could take my time.
Sure, a squirrel might've tried to mug me for the cookie I bought at the café, and sure, I couldn't take as many photos as I wanted b/c my camera was slippery with rain and I was terrified of dunking it into a river, but what a view.
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(...Side note. I just realized never went to Tim Horton's while I was there. Who goes to Canada and doesn't get Tim Horton's? I feel like such a sham.)
America was a bit more of a mixed bag. Colorado was great, loved hanging out with Kiwi, but after that I was baaaasically out of action for a week because of a nasty cold. Made it through Jado's wedding in Minnesota, and didn't get lost in any airports, but Christ I was exhausted. I wish I could've done more with them and their friends...
Once I got my energy back, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Orlando. I did all the usual touristy shit - swore loudly on a rollercoaster at Sea World, went on the Spider-Man ride at Universal, sent friends gifts from weird Men In Black-themed Pokéstops, bought a wand at Harry Potter world, and bothered Alex extensively at her workplace! We also went to a book store and learned 2 draw anime. Good times.
After that it was on to California-- which was also pretty nifty, despite me almost losing my luggage and my general exhaustion. My dad and I did a bit of hiking in Yosemite, before moving onto San Franciso... Where my dad proceeded to stop and take a photo of every fuckin' tram he saw. I love him dearly, but I wish he would walk at a consistent pace.
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Oh, and I DID wind up visiting AJ in the end after all! It was a very last minute thing, where we basically just went to a coffee shop and talked for six hours, but I loved it.
I consider myself insanely lucky to have so many good friends in so many countries - you included - and that I can get along with them all in real life as easily as I do on the internet. (Kid me was always so paranoid one of my friends would turn out to be an axe murderer. I’m delighted that’s not the case)
I dunno if/when I’ll get the chance to do something like this again, but... I would certainly love to. A month and a half really wasn’t enough time to do everything I wanted to do.
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geetahvrrison-blog · 6 years
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( NAOMI SCOTT, CISFEMALE, SHE/HER ) meet GEETA HARRISON, the BASSIST of the band SHY VIOLETS. the TWENTY-THREE year old is definitely DEDICATED and CLEVER, but can also be kind of COCKY and CONFRONTATIONAL. i hope she finds success with the band. after all, it’s not easy to make it in the music business these days.
— ✧ HISTORY
your first memory is her laughter. years later it still rings in your head, it resounds against the walls of your chest. it’s still in you. the sound of her voice as she cradled you, sang with your head against her chest. you still don’t understand the language, but the soft hums and vibrations tell you that you are oh, so wanted. oh, so loved. 
your parents are DAVID and SAMIRA. your parents were young and in love. your parents were broke. your parents moved to SAN FRANCISO and started a band. you weren’t planned, but who cares about plans anyway ?
you are born from their music. you sprout from the fingertips that caress the piano keys, or strum the guitar. they name you SONG, in your mother’s native tongue ( GEETA, GEE-TAH ). you were always meant to make music. to BE music.
you never knew silence. there was always MUSIC, always beautiful harmonies filling the air and flooding your lungs. the beatles, the stones, hendrix, joplin, dylan, bowie. you don’t listen to the radio. you only know your father’s records, and your mother’s voice. the strum of his guitar. her fingers on the piano keys.
you turn TEN years old and you hold a guitar for the first time. he teaches you his favorite songs, which are also yours. you take to it like a duck to water. you were B O R N from music, like athena from zeus’ head. you were ALWAYS meant for this.
school lets out, and you run to the music store. you make music for the people, take advantage of the instruments on display. you learn how to play on borrowed keys and strings.
the first time you hold a BASS guitar in your hands you’re FOURTEEN. you feel as if part of your body has been missing until this very moment. it’s a tan-colored stratocaster, and it feels like coming HOME.
the summer after you turn FIFTEEN, you’ve got your eyes set on a seafoam green fender. you work all summer. you don’t see your friends. you bring her home and name her PENNY LANE.
in high school, you join every band that will have you. you just want to play music, you don’t care about the genre. you NEED to play. at home, you write your own songs, but you keep them to yourself. one day, they’ll find the right outlet.
you’re EIGHTEEN and almost out of high school when some drunk asshole C O L L I D E S with your mom as she’s driving home one night. they rush her to the hospital. you’re hanging out with your band after a show when you get the call. your father is holding her hand as she takes her last breaths, moments before you come running in. you’re too L A T E.
you almost don’t graduate. you stop playing. you stop writing. you live with your father in complete silence. the next year passes by in a foggy blur. suddenly you’re NINETEEN and nothing has happened. you haven’t moved an inch.
one day, you sit down at the piano your mother used to play. it doesn’t sound the same as when she played it, each notes bouncing off the walls of the apartment you grew up in, but it kind of feels like she’s still THERE. your dad starts crying.
the next day you pack your things and drive to LA. you don’t have a plan yet, but you’re not too worried. again, who cares about plans ?
you find a tiny apartment, you get a job at a music store ( those have always felt like home, no ? ). you join a band called SHY VIOLETS. you’re back to playing the bass, and you feel like you have a home again. THIS IS WHAT YOU WERE MEANT TO DO.
— ✧ PERSONALITY
ZODIAC SIGN: aries-taurus cusp ( april 20th ) PERSONALITY TYPE: estp – the entrepreneur ENNEAGRAM: type 8 – the challenger TEMPERAMENT: melancholic HOGWARTS HOUSE: gryffindor MORAL ALIGNMENT: true neutral PRIMARY VICE: pride PRIMARY VIRTUE: diligence ELEMENT: earth MORE STATS HERE !! [ coming soon ]
okay !! so !! geeta’s a pretty quiet and reserved, she just really wants to focus on her music and being the best bassist she can be / making the band the best it can be.
she’s all about the music, she does very little that isn’t music-related. definitely needs to learn how to relax and get a life outside of the band. music is just...her life. she doesn’t care about other stuff.
she’s pretty great at what she does and she knows it, so she can get cocky sometimes. she’s very proud of the band and what they’ve achieved, and sometimes that can go to her head.
she’s stubborn as a mule and that definitely shows when dealing with the band. she knows what she wants and has trouble compromising. shy violets is all she has so she’s fiercely protective of it, and extremely loyal to her bandmates.
she doesn’t trust people easily, so she’s very cautious when making band-related decisions. who they sign with, where they play, etc.
she’s a generally friendly person, but she doesn’t open up easily and plays things close to the vest. she’s only comfortable enough to be emotionally open with a few select people. or, of course, through the music she writes.
she can’t back down from a fight. it’s a problem, and she knows it, but she can’t avoid confrontation, she runs headfirst into it, even if she’s in the wrong.
she’s always listening to music. she’s that – *planet explodes* *removes one earbud* what – meme
a bicon™ because i’m a firm believer that straight people don’t exist.
you will all learn soon enough that my specialty is sad girls™ and this is. only the first. it’ll only get sadder from here on out.
— ✧ EXTRAS
BASSIST CLAIM: laena geronimo from the like THEME SONGS: some nights – fun. | don’t take the money – bleachers | everybody lost somebody – bleachers | wake me up when september ends – green day | ( more later ) PINTEREST: xx PLAYLIST: [ still very much a wip ] xx
— ✧ CONNECTIONS
i’m probably gonna work out a page for these, but in the meantime, i’m just gonna list some general ideas in case anyone is interested !!
best friend, ride or die, soul sister, platonic life partner ( jade vandermeer )
roommate !! ( nate taylor )
first friend she made in LA ( ricky clark )
old coworkers from when she worked at the music store
shitty ex she does everything in her power to avoid
hookups ( could be more than one )
that one person she kinda hates but still hooked up with once and now they won’t let her forget about it because she’s so easy to annoy
crush she’s still in denial about ( ricky clark )
coming up with connections isn’t my strong suit but i’m open to pretty much anything !! hmu here or on discord and we’ll talk !!
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tcsparky-blog · 2 years
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A few thoughts on the NFL playoffs
Well NFL fans, it is that time of the year. As one of my co-workers said a long time ago, "this time of the year is even better than Christmas." Yes, for fans of the National Football League which is the most popular sports league in the United States this is a very special time on the sports calendar. 14 teams will compete for the prestigious Vince Lombardi trophy. The fun will kick off this weekend with 6 games. I have always loved the NFL playoffs for one reason, there are no long and drawn out best of seven series. Every game is like a game 7. Lose and you go home. In this type of format, there is always plenty of drama. Before I begin, let me remind anyone reading this that I am not a professional sportswriter who sits down for hours analyzing the matchups and breaks down each game. No, that is not me! I just have a few of my opinions and thoughts that I would like to share. Much like my posts on current events.
One of the things that really intrigues me about these playoffs, more so than any other year, is the amount of parity in the league. Of the 14 playoff teams, you can legitimately say that at least 8 or even more have a realistic shot of making it to the Super Bowl. And what team is really heads and shoulders above the rest? There is no team like that. It might be a stretch to consider a win by an underdog an upset. I expect many close and tight games. The difference might come down to a crucial turnover or missed extra point. This parity should make for great viewing for us fans. Other thoughts about the playoffs are the following.
1.Bye week. The NFL decided this year to add an extra team in each conference to the playoffs. You now have 7 playoff teams in the NFC conference and 7 playoff teams in the AFC. The top seed in each conference gets a bye this weekend. Do you like this idea? I personally do not. A team can play in an easy division or have an easier schedule than the other playoff teams and rack up more victories. The strength of schedules is not the same for all of the playoff teams. Why not just have an additional team from each conference make the playoffs, 8 from each conference? That way there are no byes for just one team. Nobody has a bye. Teams with the best records would still have home field advantages.
2. Team under the most pressure. Which of the 14 playoff teams face the most pressure to advance during the playoffs? For the lower seeds, this is not the case. An underdog team really has nothing to lose. In a close game, the pressure is really on the home team and favorites to win. There is a playoff team this year that has a tremendous amount of pressure on them to advance to the Super Bowl. I cannot think of a team in recent memory that has more riding on these playoffs. That would be the Green Bay Packers. Everything is perfectly set up for them. They have a first-round bye and two playoff games at home. What more could you ask for? If you are a Packers fan, you have to be feeling pretty good about your team's chances. But having said that, there is a tremendous amount of pressure on the Packers. They have lost their last three conference championship games with a Super Bowl trip on the line. Furthermore, what are the odds of Aaron Rodgers staying in Green Bay if the Packers stumble again? I think anything short of a conference championship would be devasting for the organization.
3.Dark horse team in the playoffs. Keep an eye out on the San Franciso 49ers. Every year, some lower seeded team comes in and wreak havoc in the playoffs. SF could be that team. They rallied last week in the final game of the season to clinch a playoff spot. They played a very tough schedule with lots of success in the last half of the season. This might be the most dangerous lower seeded playoff team in a long time. I would not want to play them in any round.
4. Most intriguing first round matchup. There are two games that really interest me in the first round. The Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals tilt and more so, the Dallas Cowboys, San Franciso matchup. The latter could set a huge tone in the NFC playoffs. A win by San Franciso and watch out! Dallas appears to be healthy again and they can make a huge statement with a convincing win against the 49ers. It might set them on course for a Super Bowl appearance. The Cowboys have as much talent as anyone in the league.
5. X factor of the playoffs. As with most teams, the general health of the team and injuries usually play a vital factor in whether a team will advance in the playoffs. This is especially true with the Tennessee Titans, the top seed in the AFC. Their star running back, Derrick Henry, has missed nearly half the season due to an injury but he is scheduled to come back for the playoffs. Even without Henry for a number of games, the Titans earned the top seed. If he comes back at nearly full strength, this will be a very legitimate Super Bowl contender. But how healthy is Henry? That is the biggest question mark in these playoffs.
Having said all these things, my Super Bowl picks will be the Kansas City Chiefs and the Packers. I believe the Chiefs will prevail 31-24 in the Super Bowl. Grab some couch fellow football fans, some popcorn and maybe an adult beverage and let's enjoy this postseason.
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yellow-lemon-lime · 2 years
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My Wreck-It Ralph 3 story part 2
Second prologue/Chapter 1 - sorry for any mistakes
April 8th 2022
Vanellope von Schweetz had been wandering around in the internet when the big news screen had brought the news of the arcade’s demise
I hope they’re okay she kept thinking to herself. They being Ralph, Felix and Calhoun. After she had left Sugar Rush they had interacted mostly through video calls and visits here and there, but she had to learn that Litwak had died from a heart attack via the news. Litwak had, had some hard years. The pandemic had basically shut his business in the head, because there couldn’t be anyone at his beloved arcade, but he had refused to sell it. It was his child, and he cared deeply for the arcade games. Sure some were more popular than others, but he loved seeing kids – and grown-ups cheering at both new and old games. So he hadn’t given up on the arcade, until his heart gave up on him.
Vanellope sighed. Goodbye Litwak, goodbye Sugar Rush, goodbye Arcade. She knew she shouldn’t really be missing Sugar Rush, but she couldn’t help it, now that she knew it was definitely game over for the game.
“Vanellope!” There was a familiar voice. “Ralph? Ralph!” Vanellope ran to him “and Felix and Tammy too! What are you doing here?” “You’re not going to believe it” Ralph said “Some guys came in and just started unplugging the games, so we fled as quickly as we could” “They shut down the arcade, Ralph, Litwak’s dead” “Dead? What do you mean, and how come you knew before us?” Calhoun interfered “I saw it on the news on the big screen. “Well then, that explains a lot” Calhoun said and looked around “Well hopefully the arcade will be up and running sooner than we think” “I am afraid it won’t, Tam. Litwak didn’t have any children” Calhoun looked perplexed “But there was so many kids at the arcade, one of them surely had a parent who knew about business models and whatnot who could help when the arcade screamed for help” “Well apparently nobody must have listened because you’re here now”
Felix, Ralph and Calhoun all three looked at each other “Well, seems we have to make the best of it” Felix said. “Vanellope, why don’t you show us around? This place seems pretty big” Vanellope nodded, and gave them a tour of the essentials.
“That’s pretty much it” she said “Welcome to the Internet I guess”
The four of them had built a great life on the world wide web, well basically they had all found a game each where they could use their skills. Calhoun became a bonus character in an FPS online shooter game. Felix and his trusty hammer became an important pair in a house building game, and Ralph became part of a game where the premise is to deconstruct things. So they all had a great life, or as great as you can make it. When they weren’t at their respective games, they would hang out, competing on who could ask KnowsMore the silliest questions
February 6th 2027
It had been a quiet day – well as quiet as it can get when you’re throwing pies at an unsuspecting carpenter and his wife. They had hunted Vanellope all around the place, and Calhoun was about to catch her when suddenly the big screen flashed ”Good morning, this is Sandra Calliwell with your 8’oclock news report. There has been a drivers accident in Los Aburridos. One person is confirmed dead on impact, another person has been transferred to the UCSF Medical Center in San Franciso We will update you as soon as new information becomes available”
“That is in our city!” Ralph said. “I wonder if it was anyone we knew. “There was so many people in the arcade all the time, I don’t think it had been in it’s place to form any sort of connection with them.” Calhoun responded “Well, I quite liked the blonde haired girl with the pink glasses?” Felix said “Yeah she was really cool!” Vanellope said “She beat the high score in Sugar Rush with me! I wonder what happened to her”
“We all do” Ralph said, remembering that she was one of the players who insisted on playing his and Felix’s game as well, and basically made it popular again. “We all do”
April 4th 2027
Good morning. This is Sandra Calliwell, with an update on the accident in Los Aburridos. We are happy to report that Laura Bent has been discharged from the hospital this morning. We are also commited to say that the accident is still under ongoing investigation. With my reporter Martin Hawk are the families of the individuals who were in the accident, as well as the lead investigator
The picture switched to a filming of 6 people.  A police officer. Two older looking people holding a picture of a young woman in their hands, another two older looking people, with the woman having her arm around another young woman’s shoulder. The young woman looked familiar to Vanellope
Good morning, my name is Frank Guyes and I’m an investigator for the Los Aburridos Murder and Violence Department. I’m speaking to you America directly, as well as the rest of the world. We’re looking for Carmen Dallas. Carmen Dallas if you’re seeing this, we advice you to contact us right awa- you killed my daughter! The man holding the picture suddenly shouted and the picture quickly came back to Sandra Calliwell.
It is as the police has said, if you have any idea of the whereabouts of Carmen Dallas. Please call police right away.
There was quiet – and yet so much noise. “That woman…” Vanellope said and ran to find the others as quickly as she could. The first person she saw was Ralph “Ralph! It’s the girl, the girl was in the accident!” Ralph looked confused at her. “You mean the one that beat your games high score?” “Yes! She was in the accident, but she survived! And they are looking for someone named Carmen Dallas”
April 8th 2027
Carmen Dallas was not a very happy woman. Firstly, she hadn’t been able to kill Laura Bent in the “accident” secondly, now the entire world was on the hunt for her. David, her friend and generally good at punches guy had witnessed her pacing back and forth for the last 10 minutes. “What do you suppose we should do?” “Well, what the fuck do I know?” Carmen snapped at him. David stared wide-eyed. “I thought you had a plan for taking out the bitch” “Yes, HAD, but I can’t really drive around town crashing into people anymore, can I?” “I suppose not, but I never understood why it is you want to get rid of her” Carmen sighed annoyed “She beat me at one of the most important races in my life” “So what? It’s just a race” Carmen was getting more irritated “Well let me put it straight for you, races have prizes. Big money prizes. You know what you can buy with that money? Medical assistance and other important stuff. If you don’t lose to Laura-fucking-Bent!” She slapped her hand at a nearby table “Well, isn’t 2nd place worth some coins too?” David hesitantly asked “Well, it’s not exactly legal what we’re doing, and the investigators are only interested in paying the winners, not the losers” Carmen said “And because of Laura, my sister is dead, so the only good outcome is to find a way to take Laura out too, and trust me, she will be going down one way or another.”
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crossedbeams · 6 years
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ROSE REVIEWS… THE X-FILES - S1.E11 Eve
<<1.10 Fallen Angel ———————————  1.12 Fire >>
I’m salty today and what better way than to transfer that into something positive than to finish this long overdue and almost certainly irrelevant recap of Eve. Read on for children who are almost as scary as their acting is bad, prison aesthetics and idiotic blithering by me.
THE PLOT
The fathers of creepy children are being exsanguinated on opposite coasts and Mulder wants to know the aliens have upgraded from cows. IVF suspicions run wild and with a little help from good old Deep Throat, the terrific two suspect genetic government experiments gone wrong may be responsible for the shenanigans. When the creepy kids go missing, things escalate and soda becomes a very dangerous refreshment...
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Let’s go...
MY STREAM OF SEMI-CONSCIOUSNESS
Ah. The X-Files, the show that is always a scenic autumnal bath for my eyes…. And where under the leaves there is probably a dead person eaten by a molewoman or an alien. Honey? I’m home.
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We find ourselves in an idyllic suburban neighbourhood, (always bad news on screen), where very concerned joggers approach an underdressed child and her stuffed animal. It’s hard at this stage to decipher whether the kid is creepy or just a really bad actor but the suspense synth hardly encourages us to give her the benefit of the doubt...
They head to the backyard, where peppy jogging neighbour fails to notice that the kid’s dad is dead coloured, posed like a corpse and basically, stereotypically and obviously dead... until he claps him jovially on the shoulder causing a tragicomic half slump of dead dad, and exposing vampiric looking marks. The kid screams, not sure why, she’s way too far away to see anything. This is the point at which I begin to suspect that she is both a bad actor AND entry #224 in the Vancouver local listing of Creepy Kids for Hire. Move over Conduit boy!
CREDITS!
This week we only wait 2.5 mins for our special baby Agents to materialise, Scully dressed as a Catholic grade schooler and Mulder wearing a tie designed, as far as I can tell, to look like mushroom soup with licorice allsorts floating in it.
Their poor fashion choices don’t seem to put them off them though, and we zigzag between lip biting (Mulder), making weird moany noises (Scully), and the level of inter office eye contact we’ve come to expect from these fluffy baby agents all set to a soundtrack of cattle mutilation chatter. And our series first (!) cow slideshow!
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Scully is still naive enough to ask why Mulder believes cattle mutilation is linked to aliens. Give it a few weeks and you’ll realise that aliens is pretty much always the answer to “Why….” on the X-Files and that eyebrow is the only appropriate response before you just go with it.
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I can’t wait :D
As Mulds and Sculls traverse some stairs, I realise that creepy kid #1 is called Teena. Spelled the same as Mulder’s mum. Because apparently the X-Files name bank isn’t only shallow in the male department. Also is Teena a normal spelling in the States? Here it’d only really be Tina….
I then get distracted by Scully in the biggest of purple coats. I’d love to see S1 Scully’s closet. A symphony of oversized pastels with overcoats to clash… don’t worry though hon. You’ll get some style later though for the bargain price of two (2) family members and also your ova. Poor Scully.
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Scully also looks incredibly young in this scene, speaking all soft to the kid. Moments like this I struggle to believe that Mulder “never saw her as a mom” until Home. She’s all melty round the edges even though the kid is weird and creepy.
When creepy Teena starts talking about red lightning, the massively coached and unnatural pauses in dialogue and the trouble pronouncing exsanguination are just so glaring you can’t believe that this kid’s innocent charade will hold up as long as it does. But it all adds to the creep, just in time for…
**bring bring ** Scully leans in to kiss her spoopy partner tell Mulder there has been another murder. Darn. Seriously though. Close talkin to the power on uuuungghhh right here. No wonder this fandom is so thirsty.
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We’re in Vancouver San Franciso, still in giant coats, for another exsanguination and what we now know is death by digitalis. Mulder says that the two estimated times of death were at the “exact same time” and I chuckle to myself like the pedant I am. Estimates cannot be exact dumdum. It also takes the edge off him mansplaining timezones to Scully. SHE IS A MEDICAL DOCTOR DAMMIT. 
This scene has very nice warm, sunsetty lighting which is nice as our Spooksters demonstrate why the X-Files department is always over budget; they’ve flown cross country to do two laps of a crime scene while reading a file aloud and the kid they wanna question isn’t even in town. Where is she? I’m glad you asked, coz remember that sunny warmness? Well it’s over.
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Back on the east coast, creepTeena is getting outcreeped by a thunderstorm and what appear to be disembodied footsteps at her door. We see nothing but a flash and then the door is open. It’s tense and I’m pretty sure this is never explained, raised as a concern beyond “she got abducted”?
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A new day means new suits, Mulder in a tie inspired by parquet flooring and Scully in eggshell and pinstripes and a brown trenchcoat named regret. It’s a lot to process and they still don’t seem overly concerned about Teena’s kidnapping. Despite his post Samantha abduction PTSD, Mulder’s only contribution is a dramatic sky point and the suggestion the cops need to look up, but then dun dun dduuuuunh - there’s another one.
Sinister Cindy in the house. Literally.
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She informs them she has lived there “since she was born eight years ago”. Zero inflection with that info and a sentence structure as unnatural as the phenomena Mulder wants to blame. Deffo a rent-a-creepykid. 100%. The woodenness only adds to it.
Commence super awkward kitchen convo where they Mulder and Scully try and fail to find a tactful way to imply Cindy might not be this grieving wife’s legitimate child. A birthing video is offered and declined. Thank god. Imagine is CHris Carter had to watch rushes of an actual woman’s vagina with a female child emerging. 
Mrs Reardon’s insistence that Cindy was daddy’s girl is pretty horrifying once you know how it ends. Damn creepy kids. Listening in while watching politics, Cindy is infinitely creepier than Teena and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not for this kid “actor”.
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Back in the car and Mulder is still pretty blase about Teena’s abduction/kidnap, though I forgive him because his flippant potato/potahto is adorable and he does hang out in the bushes to try and protect Cindy from getting nabbed sending Scully off to the IVF clinic alone. Ahh... the foreshadowing is out there.
At the Luther Stapes Medical Centre, a doctor mansplains IVF to Scully. She does not punch him. Another way that she is better than me.She does however, maintain super intense eye contact with him for the entire walk and truly it is a miracle she doesn’t fall over.
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The next scene is pretty uneventful except that I can honestly say that Sally Kendrick is the last human I would want toying with my cervix. She’s...robotic and it looks like she has to work out how to sit down like a human. She could give Theresa May lessons.
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Back at the hotel there’s some funky camera panning that I am here for and also I think there is some dialogue but let’s be honest.... this is more important 
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Yes Professor I would like some extra credit and may I also just smooth your poofy hair.
Even Scully knows it. Hence her confusion at being ushered out, for no obvious reason. She just wants to look at him and maybe get inside his shirt and ... and... Mulder’s “what’s a girl” is cute.... but this is cuter. (even more overanalysing of this scene here for ya glasses lovers). 
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Instead of meeting a girl, Mulder meets Deep Throat in an excessively aesthetically pleasing place. Honestly, Eve is a beautiful episode. Despite the creepy kids and imprisoned women. (Eve Aesthetic here). DT seems very concerned that Scully not be invited and while I’m sure that this has some link to the possibility of spy!Scully, it reads more as jealous older manfriend wants pretty Mulder to himself. And honestly I get it. God, fic has ruined me. Anyway, enough of that, enjoy this picture of pensive waterside Mulder and try to recall the specifics of the Deep Throat reveal. Project Blah. Boys called Adam. Girls called Eve. Clones. Bad. Disaster. EVE-il is at work. ¬¬ (sorry)
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Mulder has brought sunflower seeds because meeting an informant without snacks = rookie error. 
The important thing to note is that Deep Throat basically sets the stage for the Super Soldier Arc and everyone forgets about it when they actually get to the super soldier arc. God, for a continuity pedant, my fave is SO problematic!
Deep Throat finishes by telling Mulder he’s scored him front row seats to what’s left of the whole fucked up thing.
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Cut to the most aesthetic Institute for the criminally insane and after some hot DAMN camera angles we get panic buttons and a tromp into the deeps where they keep all the government created monsters, including Eve 6.
I just wanna take a moment away from my snark and give a huge shout out to Harriet Harris who is SO good and creepy in this episode. A lot of the Season 1 extras/bit parts are average to the extreme and honestly, Harris makes this episode. Without her eyeball biting, jerky, wild eyed delivery, this ep would be as mediocre as the creepy twin actresses.
Now we’ve got that out of the way - we find out that Eve 6 screams when the lights are on but is fine with  an industrial sized flashlight being shone all up in her face.  Nobody’s ever got a good look at her... except presumably the person who undoes her straitjacket so she can pee? And now Mulder and Scully.
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Eve 6 is my fave Eve tbh. She’s this perfect mix of terrifying and pitiful, alludes to the telekinetic connection that the younger Eve twins later reference, and is the kind of proof of government misdeed that and older Mulder and Scully despair of, delivered while they’re way too young in their partnership to do anything about it. She tells them that Eves are into suicide, psychosis and murder, and on exiting, our baby agents still don’t suspect the kids.
(Break for actual analysis) It struck me during this scene how this case tunes into both Mulder and Scully’s demons. For Mulder, it’s the missing girls and the incarcerated Eve represents a scenario that could explain Samantha’s absence in the most horrifying ways. What if she is a locked up experiment just like Eve 6? For Scully it’s a visceral representation of her struggle between scientific duty and Christian morality. The creation of Eve 6 is an aberration against both good scientific practice AND the divine right of Good to control life and death... and yet she is also a victim who did not choose too be engineered and while Scully tries to question her, maintaining composure, this face/stress swallow really says it all.
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Just to double the sucker punch we cut to Cindy asking the lord to take her soul, her mother looking on with a mournful doomladen stare before telling her daughter how special she is. Cindy is unmoved, because she is special(ly evil) and Mama Reardon leaves, bereft of her husband and unacknowledged by her kid. We get it Chris Carter. Genetic experimentation BAD, family GOOD, foreboding, CHECK.... now can we just-
Mulder Scully stakeout! There is no iced tea in the bag and when Mulder posits that the adult Eves 7 & 8 did done the murders, Scully pulls this face, and mutters without much conviction that she was beginning to suspect the girls. 
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GOOD CALL SCULLY
Except Mulder then says “no no and here is why” and Scully just goes with it. The whole delivery at set up of this scene feels very Season 1, by which I mean Scully vacillates wildly between submitting to Mulder’s experience and being done.with.his.shit, Mulder gets all the big lines/theories/feelings/hunches and Gillian especially (and David to a lesser degree) seem unsure how to play their nuances and dynamic. Essentially it all becomes irrelevant because CRISIS takes precedent but being the super-nerd I am, this stuff fascinates me as evidence of them still learning their characters. No way S5 Scully gives up on a plausible theory so easily, even if it makes 8-yos into suspects. If cats can be evil, these staring, soulless kids can be too.
Cue Mark Snow jangles and Cindy and her similar to Teena’s bunny rabbit run away from her terrifying wall dolls and many crucifixes towards the window where she makes terrifying eye contact with Scully’s binoculars before getting grabbed by someone who is considerate enough to announce themselves by turning on the lights?!.
Mulder will take the back! (any time Mulder. Any way ¬¬ ) and sets off with his almost convincingly held gun/torch combo while Scully takes the indoors. This is, invariably, only going to go one way.
DOWN GOES SCULLY!
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Sally Kendrick/Eve? leaps through the window where Mulder confronts her by asking her which Eve she is, allowing her a chance to pull a gun, shoot at him and escape and this is why you don’t want S1 Muldo and Sculls handling your home invasion. I mean who holds their gun like this, takes out a psychopath and ends the day without a hole in them?
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Fox “Thinks he can outrun a car” Mulder is who. 
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I love his idiot face though.
Despite the fact that Cindy didn’t struggle/scream/react to her apparent kidnap at all, Scully’s remaining focussed on the adult Eves in support of Mulder’s dismissal of her earlier theory... well I already said it but - *sigh*
After Scully briefs the police and Mulder tries to reassurea distraught Mrs Reardon that her increasingly abnormal daughter will be found we get the kind of side by side, meaningful  moment that I am here for all day long. Except that the height difference is so extreme that they never actually get Scully in focus!
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And Scully’s “and then what” brings us back to unsettling truth that even if the kid gets found, things aren’t looking good for her given how much murder is in her genes. Poor Mrs Reardon.
Very X-Files, through-the-motel-sign shot and we see Sally Kendrick taking Cindy into motel to meet Teena. The girls look... creepy... and Kendrick looks weirdly and simplistically happy given that she has multiple abductees, severe genetic issues and the FBI on her back. Maybe poor old Sal just wants a normal life? Unlucky girl, this is the X-Files, no happy ending for anyone EVERR. Except possibly a two-faced rapist who likes Cher but that’s for another time.
Back to Sally Kendrick who is rocking a poloneck and showing a remarkable lack of nutritional concern for someone supposedly a genius. Pretty sure 8 cartons of fries are no better for psychotic murder-kids than regular ones. She begins to explain that she was pretty hopeful that she’s evolved the murdering out of her second batch of Eves but turns out she actually made it worse! Let’s pop a check in the box for “playing into popular concerns about genetic testing” and “reasons you shouldn’t do it yourself”. She tells Cindy and Teena she’s “disappointed” that they’ve done murders ahead of the curve. They are not bothered which is unsurprising given they don’t know her/are psychopaths.
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Aesthetically this scene is very pleasing and the lack of stilted kid dialogue “we just knew” vs. long sentences definitely adds to tension. As does the total lack of background music. Hearing even these fairly limited actors candidly and remorselessly admit to murder is effective. And Kendrick’s slightly desperate plea that they not think that way, that they be “better” as she designed has the double effect of showing her own Eve-y instability and her very human desire to not have made a horrible mistake in creating this terrifying she-devils.
Sorry Sal.
Genetic destiny’s a bitch
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And the X-Files narrative demands that when you play god you get dead. unless you’re the CSM in which case you probably drink digitalis and kale for breakfast to aid skin regrowth. Bye bye Sally Kendrick. Thanks for the creepers.
On attending the crime scene, Mulder and Scully are midway through being told that the scene is undisturbed when they hear stuff breaking. This prompts some X-Files-Action-MagicTM and some truly outrageous faces by Gillian.
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Yup
What is most disturbing on rewatching is that with the scene secured, Scully confirms death and Mulder goes to gaze out the window while the Creeper twins cower and cry on the floor. Noe we know they’re guilty AF by this point, but in the narrative DumbScull and MulderingItOver haven’t quite got there because they’ve been too busy gazing at each other so we have two children just whimpering in the corner while Scully pokes a corpse and Mulder mulders about. 
Scully does eventually go and pat them. And again I say fuck you CC and anyone else who “didn’t see her as a mother”.
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Mulder volunteers to chaperone the creepsters to hospital and beyond and the guy in charge kinda just goes “meh”. Pretty sure some liberties have been taken with child service procedures but hey, at least this means we’re almost at the crescendo moment. Right?
Having loaded them into the car, where their spiffy red outfits match the velour upholstery and promised they’ll talk about “what happens next” (again, is this really FBI jurisdiction? Fox Mulder counselling bereaved kids seems like a HORRIBLE plan to me) , Scully and Mulder note the girls attachment and somehow miss the horrifying expressions of murder on their creepy little faces. 
Again though #aesthetic
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Cue some spangly night driving music, Mulder looking all pops over a red vinyl steering wheel, Scully playing mom and the creepsters plotting murder in the back. Ver ver X-Files. They pull up to a used car lot masquerading as a rest stop and go for a group wee,Mulder makes the rookie error of a) hyping evil kids with sugar and b) letting them order a murder weapon, and as soon as Scully’s distracted, one of the creepsters, possibly Sinister Cindy creeps out to spike the drinks. 
Now at this point, honestly, I’m questioning the kids narrative motives. Yes they’re murderous, but aren’t they also meant to be hyper intelligent? Amd getting marooned at a nowhere rest stop, with the corpses of two FBI agents seems SUPER dumb. Like they’re a bit small and loudly dressed to hitch a ride to Vegas and make it on the strip. What gives, creepsters?
The waitress tries to stop her plan by insisting she wait to take the soda until it’s paid for, but is way too easily placated by the kids excuse. Stick to your guns lady, you might just stop a murder.
Although apparently nobody is paying any attention because THIS ISN’T SUSPICIOUS AT ALL IS IT?
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Apparently Mulder doesn’t think so, even knowing digitalis is sweet and that there is something weird afoot, he doesn’t question his super sweet diet drink or the kids totally normal and not at all weirdly resistant to drinking sugar free soda and just does this. Seriously it’s like he wants to die in agony.
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Scully’s not much better, simply commenting on the “syrupy” taste. MMhmm. Bitch. You’re a medical doctor with a previously voiced suspicion. Quit sipping the murder juice.
Fortunately, after some suspenseful drawn out paying and a forgotten key excuse, Mulder FINALLY twigs when he finds some green goop on the table. Apparently murderTwin is cackhanded when she pours and Mulder, having licked the poison just to check it’s murdery enough (I just cant even) rushes outside to karate chop Scully’s drink away from her in a way so unsubtle that the creepers escape.
Which is actually great news because it gives us all the chance for a nice dark, X-Files bread and butter cat and mouse around a truckstop, cool lighting and tubey-arty stuff sequence. Which I’m here for. 
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Despite some pants ruining puddles, the twins are quickly apprehended except for some gun wielding truckers interfere because in this universe regular citizens can hold law enforcement at gunpoint and prevent them doing their job/identifying themselves and anyway everyone almost gets shot and the kids run off again. I should probably insert some pithy political point here about arming the kids too but I’ve been writing this review for 84 years and I don’t have the energy.
Fortunately, at this point Mulder and Scully rediscover some investigative nous and having flashed an ID and truckboy, they trick Sinister and Creepy into thinking they’ve sped off after a school bus. Mulder goes full on child catcher and nabs them with a “gotcha” and is finally deaf to their “we’re just little girls” plea.
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I’d like to take a second to flag up his response “that’s the last thing you are” because he’s wrong too. They are little girls, as well as psychopaths, and everyone’s insistence that they must be one thing or another is a device for narrative obfuscation as old as the bible. The appearance of beauty/youth/innocence is not mutually exclusive of the presence of malign intent or evil. Just ask Henry James/Oscar Wilde. Or me. I literally wrote a dissertation on this so. Yeah. They can be little girls and killers Mulder. Don’t be reductive.
But I guess we do need the simplicity of “this kid is evil” otherwise Mrs Reardon ripping her daughter out of a picture and burning it would be more conflicting and we’re only on season 1. 
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Likewise the disturbing concept of two eight year olds in a secure prison. I mean yes thy’re creepy but - duh duh dunnnnh - rescue is at hand! Eve 8 shows up for them and once again thy “just knew”. This is the kind of X-Files ending I love. This is the kidn of story I would have loved the revivals to pick up. Imagine (recast) grown Cindy and Teena, off doing murdery clone stuff. Yep. Okay. I’m done now. This is the end. 
Except the score. Which is...
A solid “C” Grade (26/50)
Plot 6/10 - It’s entertaining and a good idea but I penalised it because it depends on Mulder and Scully being super slow on the uptake. That said, they do actually solve the case.
Mulder  6/10 - Mulder is in charge (thanks S1) and presents a mess of grieving brother, heroic car catcher and good cop. Good, in character stuff but not exceptional.
Scully  4/10 - Scully seems to forget she’d an MD and a badass here. She lets Mulder talk her out of (correct) suspicions, gets taken down in the action scene and generally second fiddles. She’s a cute mom but not the Scully we want to see.
USP 3/5  - This was an ambitious idea, beautifully presented, and while it didn’t quite get the polish to make it iconic it is memorable, creepy and a good representation of S1 bread and butter eps. 
Other Characters  5/10 - These points are all for Harriet Harris. None for you creeper twins. None for you.
Bonus points 2/10 - One for being aesthetically pleasing. One for the dorky, cute, feeling out Mulder/Scully moments (motel urnghh) and also their mom and pop act at the rest stop.
That’s all for now folks. I’ll probably have the next one done this decade. Fire. Goodie.
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