#I know this was like 5 weeks ago but I'm still HYPED

[big-cheesy-productions]

Nothing has made me more excited for the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie than them using an epic instrumental version of "Live and Learn" in trailer. Sonic Adventure 2 is one of my favorite games of all time and for its story to be getting its moment with this amount of care? I could cry. This movie was made for ME and I can't fucking WAIT.

[miriadalia]

Things you can comment on the fanfics you love when you have no idea what to say

From what takes less time to what takes more

~show those writers your love, please!! They do it for free T-T and they deserve better

1. Emojis

You know the vibe of the fic you're reading, chose the ones that suit it better.

❤❤❤

💔💔💔

🙈🔥🔥

You may think this is kind of stupid, but trust me, it is NOT for the writer. It shows you've read until the end of the chapter and that you liked it so much that you decided to say it publicly. Your presence means A LOT.

Also, leaving kudos or votes takes literally just 1 second, what are you doing NOT doing that?? 🤨🤨🤨

2. Simple phrases

I loved it so much!!

Can't wait for the next chapter!!

This was just so good 😍

Amazing as always, keep it up!! 🙌🏼

Writing is a lonely work if you think about it. When I'm in a writer's block, just one sentence can hype me up for the rest of the day and give me the spirit I need 💪🏽

3. The emotions you felt

Yes, you DO matter. That fanfic author cares more about your opinion than your stupid ex so you better write to them instead 🧐

The plotwist was so unexpected, I'm shocked 😱

You can't end with that cliffhanger, how am I supposed to wait another week??

Excuse me, I will now lock into my room and cry all night, thank you 💔

I've read some people saying they won't comment how they felt because they feel ashamed or shy. Take it as if you were about to post a tweet or comment on a friend IG's story 👍🏻

4. One piece of dialogue/prose that really amazed you

Oof 🔥 this happened to me a few weeks ago and that comment still lives in my mind rent free. There's no better way to compliment a writer's work than to highlight something they wrote that left a true impression on you.

And it literally takes no time:

[Insert piece of dialogue], oh she didn't just say that, imma throw hands 🤬🤬

[Insert piece of a description], I could really see it with my own eyes, loved how you described it!

5. Hopes and wishes for future chapters

C'mon, you're going to comment this anyway with some of your fandom mutuals or friends, why don't let the writer know that too?? COPY AND PASTE IT ✍✍

I just need Chatacter A and Chatacter B to kiss, how long is it gonna take?? 😩

Watching that scene in [Canon series name] would have been awesome!! Maybe in future seasons 👀👀

I hope [Ship Name] don't break up in the next chapter, they are so cute 😭

6. Character discussion

Okay, we're entering deeper waters here.

But the truth is: if you love that fanfic that much is because the characters really resonated with you. So express your first thoughts without any fear:

[Chatacter Name] is so important to me, like you have no idea. All the things they went through... But they still manage to be a better person ❤

[Chatacter Name] was so forgotten in [Movie/Series Name], I'm glad they're getting the development they deserved here!

7. Scene discussion

Again, you might think the comment section is no place to start "fangirling" over the stuff you liked. But IT IS!! And the writer wants to know your thoughts on their work, especially if your opinion is all positive 💞

This will take more time, sure. But if you're going to write it anyways for other people, COPY AND PASTE AGAIN, hon!

8. How this story is impacting your fan life (or even personal life)

You don't need to overshare, but simple comments like:

Your fic has really changed the way I think about [Character Name]'s decisions, I feel like I can understand them better now.

This story has motivated me to rewatch all the episodes again 😢 the nostalgia!!!

What you did with [Character's situation] was incredible! I've been there myself and I could have not explain it better 😔

... They will be the ones the writer will remember the most, I can assure you that.

9. A simple THANK YOU

At the end of the day, fanfic and fanart creators only have your feedback to rely on when the block or discouragement hits... This is about showing appreciation to someone you may not know at all, but that has brighten your day with their creations and efforts ❤

[bloodyshadow1]

so x-men 97 ended a month or so ago, I just finished last week and wanted to compose my thoughts.

the Bad

the soap opera level nature of the show is back and I get why it's there, but damn I was sick of the relationship drama when I was a kid, now that I'm 30 and don't care about any of the pairings in the show it's even more annoying. Except Romy, I love them, but could have done without a second love triangle.

Roberto's character felt weird and should have either been cut or been more involved with the X-Men as the new guy. He only really interacts with Jubilee because they intended to make them a couple from the start. There were better ways without just making them a couple or projecting it so hard.

I think 2 episodes were bad, ep 4 and ep 6. I personally don't care for the Shia'r or Prof X. The Jubilee stuff was fine but felt like filler which isn't really needed for a 10 ep show. And I don't think Storm's story was done justice.

Storm was underused. She's my favorite character and had a story about being depowered and getting them back that I thought started strong but didn't live up to the hype. Then despite coming back she doesn't have much plot significance and is just a powerful member of the team. Maybe season 2 will change that and I'm jumping the gun, but it felt like a waste. '

Morph was cool and I'm happy they are nonbinary in this show despite the writers keeping it in the 90's timezone. Not a huge fan of their character still though, I thought they were more cool with their powers than interesting as a character. Hopefully that will change in season 2

Magneto's plan by the end made no sense to me by the end. I know he was angry and pushed too far once more, but killing 7 billion people, mutants included. Yeah he made an offer to the x-men, but there are still hundreds of mutants that survived Genosha and he's putting a target on their back and they will also die without power. and he has 3 people in an asteroid above earth, what is the plan for things to continue

Also Bastion's plan was good, but I don't agree with the whole, people's response to tragedy that they don't care about is apathy. it's a hard world, but people care far more than you might think. It felt poorly written, like the show wanted to make all humans monsters so that's what happened. If the plan was to destroy Genosha and then let Magneto do his thing to get people to hate mutants because of what he would do afterwards I would understand, but it wasn't.

The Good

Overall, the whole series is a good adaption of the 90's series, warts and all. The love triangle stuff is annoying, but part of the show so I accept it and even the dumb puns made me smile. But the fact that they aged it up worked amazing, they blended seamlessly to me.

The action and animation were perfect to me, crisp and clear and dynamic. It let the characters show off what they could do in ways the 90's show and their restrictions wouldn't allow them to.

I liked most of the characters, Storm is my favorite character, Scott is my second, and Kurt is in my top 5. I mention that Storm kind of shafted, but Scott and Kurt were allowed to shine.

Kurt and Rogue's relationship was great, I'm glad that the writers remembered they were adopted siblings, I wondered after ep 5 if they did, but I also think calling each other sister or brother in the ep would have been awkward. The way they interact in later eps was perfect to me.

I like that people kept tell Xavier to shut up because I don't like him as a character. He has done so much shit and is still considered a hero in the comics, it makes him at best a naive fool and at worse the real villain of X-Men.

I like that Cyclops was so much more than the block of wood a lot of the fandom and even some writers make him out to be. He's a complex character and it's good to see that not only a deep character like he's supposed to be, but a good hero and leader.

I also like how the Cable stuff was done. like it's rocky and quick because they only have 10 eps but it was nice to see since Cable never revealed himself as Scott's son in the original show.

I love that the show wasn't just another version of the wolverine show. I like the character, but he's been over used and makes his appearances over saturated. He still had a presence in the show, but it doesn't make him the main character while shutting down other characters.

I will always love the family aspect of x-men, angry and fighting but loving all the same.

8 episodes of the show were great and I loved them, I would recommend it to anyone.

Ep 5 was the standout, and amazing. I loved how Gambit was portrayed as sympathetic and a good person with his relationship with Rogue and accepted that she wanted to be with Magneto. It was great to see him being allowed to be a badass as a swansong, even if I think he'll be death in season 2

[ghouljams]

omg ghoul can i have 5 book recs pls? i just went to go look into rothfuss’ series and apparently i added it to my tbr ages ago and forgot. it could be ur 5 fave books fiction or otherwise or genre faves or most recent faves etc pls & ty 🙂‍↕️

So I have a preference for Sci-fi over fantasy but my rec list includes a lot of that lol. In no particular order:

"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by Philip K Dick is a really fantastic adventure/love story in a cyberpunk dystopia that feels possible. There's an overarching question about what it means to be human and the way that humanity rejects anything different. It's a short read but well worth it. Very different from the Bladerunner movie that's based off of it.

"2001: A Space Odyssey" by Arthur C Clark a classic in sci-fi and also one of my favorite movies. If you like the movie version you will love the book. Another shorter read (in Sci-fi terms) that builds this increasingly tense atmosphere until you're left wondering if we truly live in an uncaring universe or if perhaps God is closer than we think. A lot of people get upset about the ending but it's just a literal metaphor that sort of goes over people's heads.

Literally the entire Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Series by Douglas Adams. So funny, I read the whole thing in like two weeks in high school and I still go back to my favorite books in it just to relive the adventures. A really optimistic view of cosmic horror that doesn't feel horrific in the slightest. Great characters and a compelling story that builds on itself. Douglas Adams has a really unique narrative voice that isn't for everyone, but I love him.

"The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss. I know I mentioned this in my fantasy recs, but it is truly one of my favorite books of all time. The magic system is amazing, the characters are witty and fun to follow around, and the questions just keep building! What are those weird spider things? What king is going to be killed! How can Kvothe do so much in the beginning of his life but have all the heroics happening at the end??? Also I love a good framed narrative, enough said.

AND I'm gonna throw you a curve ball from my recent reads: I have really been enjoying the "Ice Planet Barbarians" books. I know I know, it's a modern penny novel that's been hyped to shit on tiktok, but I find the narrators to be funny, I find the romances interesting, and I think the smut is genuinely good for traditionally published literature. I'm also just a huge fan of books I can eat whole in an afternoon. Do I care much about the overarching plot of the books? Eh, not really, but I do care about the characters and want them to succeed in making their lives better. Also the aliens are genuinely alien enough for me to enjoy the monster fucking element, so there's that.

[pocket-elf]

New Years questionnaire for 2024/25

(I used to this this back during the LJ days, and a few times here as well, including last year. So let's keep going)

1. What did you do in 2024 that you’d never done before?  Proper hiking in the mountains! No tent, but day trips from a cabin. It might also be the first time I went north of the arctic circle (not sure if my childhood friend's cabin was just north of it?) Definitely haven't been that far north before.

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't tend to do resolutions, not even fun ones. And I don't think I did crafting goals this year either. I did succeed with my main reading challenge early and changed it twice. For next year I will set another reading challenge, and in general just wish I keep pushing to do more creative things in my spare time.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Nope.

4. Did anyone close to you die? We weren't close anymore, but my childhood best friend died in May. Despite her living just across the street from me the past few years we never hung out. Had drifted apart long ago. But I kept thinking I'd contact her again and ask her over but never got around to it. They still don't know what happened. She just collapsed on her balcony. Autopsy showed nothing, and when I last talked to her mum (I wanna say beginning of October?) they still hadn't gotten the results from all the tests done.

5. What countries did you visit? France! Finally got to see a friend of mine in person for the first time. We must've known each other for... at least 15 years. I've been to France before but it's been more than 20 years.

6. What would you like to have in 2025 that you lacked in 2024? As always... a girlfriend. Hit me up ladies and enbees! I'd also like some more energy and definitely would like some sewjo. It was DEAD all year. I crafted in other ways though thankfully. And MCR5...

7. What date from 2024 will remain etched upon your memory? I am very very bad with dates. And I don't think there's a single date this year that I remember.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I think the whole hiking trip. The fact that I could do it physically and didn't complain and it remained fun. And I didn't hate dad afterwards haha (it was just me and dad that whole week). Creatively my cross stitches should probably be seen as achievements. I just keep trucking along with them but my parents are hyping them so hard, telling me I don't understand how brilliant it is. And well, my very first one; the Gerard Way Black Parade one, has over 2000 notes and I am living for the tags people give it.

9. What was your biggest failure? I don't know... I feel a bit stagnant maybe? But at the same time that just feels like normal life when you have a stable job? I don't love my job though so I guess that helps in making life feel a bit meh. Not sewing any clothes feels like a failure compared to my past, but I just need to reframe it and think about the cross stitches I've made instead! I'm still being creative with textiles and whatnot. It's just different. And I did end up knitting a sweater in December so.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? No injury. But worst timing, getting a fever the day Callie arrived for her visit and spending the first week she was here with I guess the flu? It sucked. But that's been the worst of it.

11. What was the best thing you bought? So I prepped this thing in my drafts a few months ago when I was bored and felt like not much will change until the end of the year and I'll edit the last small things... and I said that this was such a hard question cause I I forget what I buy and when. But maybe my record collection? WELL, no. Assuming everything turns out alright, the best thing I bought was a ticket to Long Live The Black Parade for July 2025.

12. Did you try any new crafts? Nope! Unless using contact vinyl to make a piece of ikea furniture look pretty counts? But in general my crafting has been mainly focused on cross stitch. Finish up Gerard and then just falling head first into portrait stitching. Ended up with three more portraits on my wall (Kellin Quinn and two Alex Gaskarth) and one of Bob Dylan as a christmas gift for dad. He requested it. Halfway done with another Gerard, but didn't have the right frame for it so didn't know what to do about the torso. I have now though. But half of november and all of december has been full on knitting instead. Nice to get back into that too tbh.

13. Did your home change in any way? I moved some stuff around on the wall of my bedroom that isn't a big gallery wall... so that I could start I guess a second gallery wall of just cross stitch. They all hang above my bed now. I also added a clothing rack to my bedroom for things that need to be ironed and on hangers, but that I use fairly frequently. My closet is too crowded so even hanging stuff might get a bit wrinkly. This was I see it too. Gods there's a big pile of ironing to do though.

14. Where did most of your money go? I know it's bad but Temu is a trap. I mainly get crafting supplies though. And honestly yeah, that probably is where most of my money has gone. Various crafting supplies and a few books etc. Or maybe it's been records? Yeah records are expensive!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Music still. Not as much as last year though.

16. What song/album will always remind you of 2024? Hmmm... I guess something All Time Low? They've been the big ones this year I feel. Not sure which song will stick as a 2024 song though. Maybe the re-record of Remembering Sunday? Cause I remember listening to it for the first time on that vacation to the mountains.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: i. happier or sadder? Maybe the same? Just a bit more... blah. ii. thinner or fatter?  Slightly fatter I think iii. richer or poorer? Richer as I'm not a huge spender and I have had a full year of stable income and no extra big purchases.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Sewing for sure.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? The answer to that is always work. But we live under late state capitalism. I don't have a choice. Disregarding that though... napping? I mean I love napping but time disappears.

20. How will you be spending Christmas and New Years? Christmas was spent at my parents'. Very chill. A good dinner (not christmas food), some gifts, christmas sweets I brought while watching some tv... After parents went to bed I watched the second half of Fellowship of the Ring.

Tonight, New Years Eve, I plan on making salmon for dinner and then a classic Swedish 80s dessert (pears cooked in simple syrup and then quickly broiled in the oven with After Eight on top) I will end the year by crying to Return of the King.

21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with? Eron or Callie.

22. Did you fall in love in 2024? With more idiot boys who make music, but not love-love.

23. Did you try any new exciting food? I don't think so? Had some great pastries in France of course but nothing like new and revolutionary. I've had French baking before!

24. What was your favourite TV programme? At first I typed that I don't think I watched any proper tv, but when I scrolled down to things I look forward to next year and saw that a year ago I was looking forward to Doctor Who... well I did watch the new season of that! And enjoyed it.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Not really no.

26. What was the best book you read? For sure Geoff Rickly's half fictional biography Someone Who Isn't Me. I'm so happy Jacey managed to send it to me finally.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? All Time Low for sure. My sweet sweet idiot boys. I think Pierce the Veil and Sleeping With Sirens found their way to my heart towards the end of last year.

28. What did you want and get? To see the northern Swedish mountains. Or more precisely, to see Tjuonavagge (The Lapponian Gate) with my own eyes. Also Black Parade tickets.

29. What did you want and not get? We all know the answer to that, the same as last year: MCR5 and a girlfriend.

30. What was your favourite film of this year? I watched pretty shitty movies this year haha. But since I'm doing a LotR rewatch... that. Does that count though? It's like the 10th time. Movie watched for the first time this year though is tough. It's a lot of Hallmark. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice for the aesthetics? It didn't blow me away of anything but I didn't adore the first one either. Only one I've seen at the cinema (because the showing times for movies I've been interesting in towards the end of the year have been shit. Gonna try for Wicked next week though) Of the Hallmark movies I think maybe The 5 Year Christmas Party. This is ofc if we don't count the music documentaries that I do log on Letterboxd though, cause obviously ATL's It's Still Nothing Personal is a delight.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 37. I worked, and then I went to dinner at my parents' place. Very chill. The weekend after (I think? Or maybe before) me and Mandi went to an all you can eat berry buffet, and it was great.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Having more free time, while still having the same kind of economical situation (or better obviously)

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2024? Just kinda lazy with my workday uniform being skinny jeans and a band tee, or variations thereof. I did buy a couple of beautiful pieces from Disturbia though to change things up sometimes. But in general lots of black with printed tees.

33b. Any other changes to your looks this year? Nothing radical. By the end of last year I had buzzed the sides of my head already. But this year I did move towards a mullet hawk. And I did try green for the first time! And some more tattoos of course.

34. What kept you sane? Same as last year: music and talking to people online. And way more so this year, especially during summer and fall/winter: having a creative project going at work. I've even inspired my coworkers to start crafting! Has made the office environment so much nicer tbh.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I can't choose between my emo dads now can I?

36. What political issue stirred you the most? Same as last yeah: I am just so very tired. But gods, Palestine.

37. Who did you miss? Always friends.

38. Who was the best new person you met? I mean she isn't NEW but I did get to meet Sky in person for the first time

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2024. I don't know if I learned any specific life lessons? But once again the fact that making things for yourself is important. Just for the same of making them. Create beauty, even if it doesn't turn out the way you intended. You still <i>made something with your hands</i>. Having inspired my coworkers to start crocheting and knitting really showed that again for me. The energy at the office completely changed.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Well, the years start comin' and they don't stop comin'

41. What is the thing you most look forward to in 2025? <i>Long Live "The Black Parade"</i> of course.

42. What is the first thing you look forward to in 2025? Probably tattoo appointment as it's two weeks in to the new year. Nothing big or fancy but still a lil something.

43. Any upcoming releases make you excited? I will never stop hoping for MCR5. But I feel like 2023 was a big release year, with 2024 not so much. So maybe 2025 will have a bit more. I'm expecting a Sirens record, cause I know they've been working on it. Same with Kellin's side project. A bit curious about Dunes' new one that drops very soon, but not exactly hyped. The first few singles didn't do it for me, but <i>Paper Tigers</i> was pretty nice. And I'm sure ATL have shit brewing, they always do. The new season of Doctor Who might be fun? Oh and Wheel of Time season 3. And I am actually really interested in Mark Hoppus' memoir that comes out early April, despite not being a Blink fan whatsoever.

44. Do you have any big plans for the coming year? California in July with My Chem as the focal point, but of course then a couple of weeks of hanging out with Jenny and exploring and such. Sweating my ass off.

45. What is something you want to accomplish in 2025? So as I said earlier, the funny thing is I typed up a lot of the answers to this around Halloween I think, cause I was bored one evening. And for this I had typed "I said this last year but I will again: I would really like to go to a concert. Is that accomplishing something?" And now that is at least planned! Maybe some new cool cross stitch. Maybe trying some more embroidery techniques, branching out. Finish some knitting projects etc. Just get somewhere with my making hobbies.

And some stat ones (new additions last year):

46. Number of books read According to Goodreads, 77 That does include a few kids books, and a bunch of graphic novels.

47. Number of movies watched 44 at time of writing. Should be a yearly total of 45 with Return of the King tonight. I usually watch more than this. Interesting.

48. How was Spotify Wrapped? As we all know it sucked. But at least seemed decently correct in the basic Top 5 artists and songs. All my top songs were ATL, with the new Remembering Sunday at the top. Could've predicted all five of them tbh. Top bands were ATL, Sleeping with Sirens, Pierce the Veil, MCR, and Fall Out Boy. In that order. I didn't know if Simple Creatures would beat FOB this year, but apparently not according to the AI.

45. How many tattoos are we at now? Last year we closed out at 8. This year... 13. New additions: excited ghost with its hands up (we all know this is actually Gerard, I even made sure he got gloves on. Friendship tat with Callie), a needle and thread, a beetle (friendship tat with Therese), two bird of paradise flowers (the biggest one, and my very subtle nod to Farscape), and finally a few mountains with fires at two of the peaks (friendship tat with Jenny. The beacons are lit!) Number 14 is scheduled in a few weeks and will be a moth.

[8flix]

One Last Troll Before I Go Dark

Well Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to those who celebrate!

Yes, I'm still here. No doubt a disappointment to my biggest stalkers...err, stans.

So, December 31, 2024, I will go dark until the ST5 part 1 premiere. I'll remain active on socmed (except for Xitter) but I will not be talking about Stranger Things... not even to gloat about, oh I dunno, a few things that have happened in the last 30 moths... and/or what will happen in the next 12. It's time for the real P&A to begin. ;-) In the words of Doc Brown, "You're about to see some serious shit." (BTTF, 1985).

But, one last troll before I go.

First, let's talk Super Bowl LIX. I've ruffled a few ignorant feathers about this one, apparently. There are published lists available of which companies bought ad space ($7,000,000 USD per :30 second spot this year). And in typical la la land fashion, the movie studios and streamers have opted not to publish their buys this year.

Some are speculating that Netflix has shelled out a little more than $14,000,000 to tease a few of their biggest releases in 2025. One being the next "Knives Out Mystery" (tentatively called 'Wake Up Dead Man' starring Daniel Craig and Josh Brolin). And the other is believed to be #Stranger Things 5.

Advertising during the Super Bowl is not about "needing" recognition or a following. It about branding. It's about hitting a target audience that will most likely be watching. The Super Bowl is the most watched sports event in America. And, as silly as it may seem, there are millions and millions of people who've not followed Stranger Things' off-season antics. A Super Bowl ad is the biggest stage in the world to remind fans -- new and old -- that in October, its the beginning of the end.

All just speculation, but the timing is about right. For the next 10 months, P&A will be hyping ST5 to keep everyone interested.

So, about a week ago Forbes published an article which touched on nearly everything I wrote about in August, including a possible October/December release. (read it here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2024/12/19/some-disappointing-news-about-stranger-things-season-5s-release-date/)

Okay. So everyone saw that emotional goodbye MBB gave to the cast and crew? She posted the video on her IG page. (Damn those goodbyes always make me ball my sys out).

So, what if I told you that video was shot in May... before she got married (end of May) and left for her honeymoon (July).

If that's the case, then MBB wrapped her season at the halfway point.

Early death of El, or were her scenes shot out of order? I'll explain.

It doesn't make production or financial sense to allow an above-the-line actor to leave in the middle of production for two months. Actors are insured while in production in case of serious injury, sickness, etc. The point being, if an actor has to take time off because of an injury, or if an actor passes away in the middle of filming, insurance will foot the bill. Other actors and crew still need to be paid, and the show must go on. So what if some horrible life altering event happens while she's away?

Knowing who runs the show at Netflix in Cali, there's not a chance in hell Mills would have been allowed to take two months off in the middle of production. And it's doubtful insurance companies would have covered her or the production. Stranger Things is an anchor for Netflix, and with a $200M+ budget, it's doubtful that Netflix brass would take the gamble and let Millie leave in the middle of production.

It's more likely than not that Millie's scenes were shot prior to her wedding... and she wrapped in May. Or, maybe El dies in Episode 5.

No doubt there will be blood and death this season. More than one regular/above the line cast will be killed off.

Okay, any questions before I go on December 31? Any keyboard warriors want to debate my knowledge? Bring it on.

Oh, and Cara sweetie, sociopathic and narcissistic behaviors on Xitter are expected, but you're a Civil Servant in the employ of a local government and you should know better. You've stalked these kids long enough, now you're getting really creepy. You're, like 40. Time to stop obsessing over teenage boys and teenage shows, and do more adult things.

And while you're at it, stay away from me. I know you're obsessed with me, but it's gross. Even if I liked women, I wouldn't be attracted to you, not emotionally, not sexually (and that has nothing with you being a childless cat lady... I love cats, and Taylor Swift, and women in an emotional way... but not you. You’re like a human black hole—no emotions, no personality, and somehow still sucking all the energy out of the room. Let me guess, your idea of a fun Friday night is googling yourself while plotting your next attack? If charm were currency, you’d still owe the bank. But hey, chin up—at least you're consistent. And by consistent, I mean consistently making everyone want to socially distance�� permanently.

And for the record, you're not a writer. Stop telling people you're a writer; it's an insult to real writers. In fact, you've literally insulted the writers of Stranger Things because you didn't like something they wrote. WTF, lady.

Writing fan fiction or a blog doesn't make you a writer. But you know what does? Being a part of a team that's won six Emmys (so far). I'm a real writer. I know what I'm talking about.

XOXOXOXO ~ Nicky <3

[rorywritesjunk]

There's no race, no ending in sight

r rating. title comes from "two of us on the run" by lucius

(enjoy. since i'm so invested in this now i wanted to do a ✨flashback✨ part and i love emporio ivankov and been hyping myself up on trans croc lately too so... this happened. mentions surgery but nothing graphic, threats to others safety. also mentions of someone's first time)

taglist: @hey-august @thoraeth

pt 1 + pt 2 + p3 + p4 + pt 5 + p6 + pt 7 +Pt 8 + Pt 9 + Pt 10 + Pt 11 + Pt 12 + Pt 13 + Pt 14 + Pt 15 + pt 16 + Pt 17 (End)

Pt 9

twenty years ago

"I'm sorry, what?" The nineteen year old looked confused by the demand. Sunny had only been at the job for five years, she still had so much to learn, but this customer came in, one she had seen frequently in the last year, making adjustments to their clothes when it didn't feel right in the arms, the chest, hips, and length.

"I said marry me, shop girl." The cigar smoke was awful, lingering in the air as it dissipated. He was grinning at her.

"M-Mister Crocodile, I can't. I'm only half way through my apprenticeship and... and we don't know each other very well." Sunny tried to reason with him. Why would he want to marry her? "Besides, um, I'm not... ready for marriage."

He chuckled, reaching across the counter to touch her cheek gently; she shuddered, his touch was dry and coarse, like sandpaper against her skin. "It's not in your best interest to say no to me, girl, not when I can show you everything in the world, all the riches you could ever want, the prettiest clothes you could ever wear."

"I don't-"

"Saying no to me means you care little for your friends and family, you know. It won't be hard to destroy their livelihoods in an instant." He continued, tilting her head to look up at him. He was so much taller than her, larger even, that she was scared. Was he threatening Miss Pins and her parents? Why? Why did he want her out of countless others?

"But-"

"Just say yes."

Sunny's eyes widened. She didn't know or understand what this man could be capable of but she feared him. She couldn't risk her family being hurt or her boss. She didn't want to die either, not yet.

"Promise?" She asked as he studied her face, raising an eyebrow at her question. "Promise... you won't hurt me o-or my family. And... and I'll marry you."

His face split into a grin. "Good girl. I'll make sure you're happy."

~

Sunny didn't understand where they were. A man taller than her husband greeted them as they arrived on a new island, calling him "Croc-boy" which Sunny found kind of funny. They'd been married three months now and while he would call her darling, she hadn't thought of a pet name for him yet. Nothing seemed to work for him.

"Who's this sweet young thing?" The man asked Crocodile, giving Sunny a look over. She stood beside her husband, trying not to stare up at either of them. She felt so small beside them even without the height difference.

"My wife." Crocodile said as the three started walking along. "I decided to get married before coming to you."

"Hello! I'm Sunny." She said, not wanting to be rude. "I, um, like your outfit."

The outfit being a one piece leotard with very little front, showing off his chest and stomach. Despite working with clothing, Sunny wasn't quite used to seeing someone that exposed but she shook it off. Her parents and boss always taught her not to judge someone's clothes or how they presented themselves.

"She's cute." He chuckled. "My dear, I am Emporio Ivankov, but you can call me Iva if you please." He didn't hesitate in pulling Sunny away from her husband, having her walk beside her with Crocodile behind. "So, he's finally settling down. I hope he's treating you well."

"He... is." She said, glancing back at him. "Um, he's kind to me. I appreciate it." She looked back up at Iva. "Why are we here?"

"Oh, he didn't tell you?" Iva hummed softly. "Figures he wouldn't, but won't worry about it. You'll only be here a few weeks and then you can continue on your way."

~

A few weeks of Sunny staying by Crocodile, making sure he ate while checking his bandages with Iva. The marks on the side of his body looked fine, they healed quickly, but the ones on his chest would take longer, according to Iva. He couldn't use his abilities to take care of that.

Sunny didn't ask questions at first. Her husband wouldn't answer them anyway, but when she was making lunch for him, she finally had to ask Iva.

"I don't understand what you did or what happened."

"Oh, honey, your husband just wanted to be himself, that's all." Iva told her as Sunny put the bowl of soup on a tray. He looked her over again, a grin on his large face. "You really don't know your husband, do you?"

"No, not really." Sunny sighed. "I don't know if I even want to."

~

Sunny only saw her husband naked once before his visit with Iva. It was the only time he seemed uncomfortable around her, his unwanted body exposed to her. She was kind, not saying anything as she kissed him, unsure of what to do, but she told him she thought he looked so handsome, that his body was beautiful, being mindful where she touched him. She meant it. Sunny never wanted someone to feel uncomfortable around her.

After the surgery, however, he didn't have any problems with nudity around her. He seemed happier, more relaxed when he undressed around her, smirking at the way she stared at him as her cheeks reddened.

He was gentle with her the first time, knowing he was much larger than her, not wanting to hurt her or make it a horrible experience. It was a uncomfortable for Sunny but only because she didn't now what she needed to do for him. He insisted she just needed to let him do everything and that she just needed to enjoy herself.

~

She was allowed to visit her parents a few times. It was awkward introducing her husband to them. He really didn't care to meet them but he put up a front of loving husband, gifting them jewels, spices, and other things from around the world.

Her parents weren't stupid but Sunny insisted she was fine and that she was happy with him. He took good care of her and loved her, never raised his voice at her or threatened to hurt her. Everything was fine.

~

She didn't like Alabasta. It was too hot, dry, and she hated spending most of her time at home. Sometimes her husband would bring her to his casino, and sometimes she'd put on different clothes and sneak out to walk around the town but it wasn't often.

When that boy in the straw hat showed up and defeated her husband, allowing him to be arrested by the Marines, she finally felt free, even after interrogation after interrogation, she insisted she knew nothing, that she thought her husband just ran a casino and everything, she had no understanding of what he had been up to or what Baroque Works even was.

Which was a lie, Sunny knew more than others thought. She had listened in on some of his conversations when she'd bring him lunch and he'd hold her in his lap, giving her a kiss on the cheek while having a meeting over a transponder snail or in front of others. They didn't make any comments about his wife. They knew better.

~

Her freedom didn't last long. He managed to track her down in a little village far from Impel Down. She wasn't sure how he did, but seeing him again after time apart was heartbreaking. She didn't want to return to him but he maintained his original threat when they got married: he would never hurt her but the same couldn't be said for her family.

~

"I'm sorry, a clown owns you money?" Sunny thought that was the funniest sounding sentence to her and she snorted. "Why did you loan him money in the first place?"

"There was promise of repayment." Her husband replied, stubbing out his cigar on his plate. She had made him breakfast, one of the few things she enjoyed doing for him. She took a sip of her coffee and frowned.

"Huh." She grinned. "Good luck getting it back. Maybe he spent it all on peanuts for an elephant or something."

"I don't see how this is amusing, darling."

"It's not, really, but the idea of a clown owing you money is funny to me." She shrugged. "Have you talked to him about getting it back?"

"Not yet." He sighed. Sunny nodded and set her coffee cup down, sitting up in her seat.

"Can I go talk to him?"

Crocodile looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Why would you want to?"

"Something to do." She shrugged again. "I'll talk to him and see if we can come up with an agreement about paying you back in a timely fashion, how does that sound?"

"We'll talk about after lunch." He said as he got up. "I have things to tend to."

[diamondsandlemons]

Tulip's best of 2024

honestly it wasn't a huge year for media for me. I had to pair down some of the categories because I didn't have enough nominees that really fit the bill (in my opinion, of course). Still, some of what there was was really great, so let's take a look:

MOVIES (mixed 2024 originals and belateds):

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

The Wild Robot (2024)

12 Angry Men (1957)

the Yuru Camp Movie (2022)

the Mystery Cuddlers pilot (2024) (does a cartoon pilot count as a movie??? it kinda does if we’re using anime terms…)

(^case in point about there not being a lot of options 😅) Mystery Cuddlers was cute and I'm glad Pen Ward is still working on original stuff, but this would absolutely not be here if I had seen another Really Good movie this year.

The two robot movies at the front are surely not a surprise if you know anything about me lol. Ghost in the Shell was a lot more talky and philosophical than I expected it to be, which is probably what saved it from being placed a couple spots lower on account of there being a lot* of gun-based action scenes, which are often boring to me. That said, it was never gonna be that low, being a robot girl movie and all, lol. *At least that's how I remember it from when I watched this one six months ago. Grain of salt, I guess.

The Wild Robot had been hyped up a bit before I saw it, and it (mostly) lived up! I also feel like it has a bit of a pacing issue, and a weird sequel hook that's kind of abruptly resolved at the end(?), and I was a little conflicted at first about the fact that it's a talking animal movie (I hadn't seen any trailers or anything beforehand), but nah actually that one scene where Roz learns to speak animal language is peak enough to be worth it imo. Enjoyable film 👍

Anyway thank god I'm not strictly adhering to last year's structure or else I'd've been forced to put Megalopolis on here, and no one wants that.

TELEVISION 2024 originals:

Dungeon Meshi

Girls Band Cry

Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night

Oshi No Ko

Star Trek: Lower Decks

HONORABLE MENTION: Game Changer

Surprising no one, Dungeon Meshi was my favorite thing to watch this year after I loved reading the manga last year. I don't think there's a higher honor I can bestow an anime than watching the new episodes twice every week just because I wanna see what the dub and sub are doing differently.

GBC and Jellyfish are both great and it's really noticeable how extremely similar their premises are for shows that were airing simultaneously; I couldn't bring myself to put one on here without the other. GBC edges ahead only because I'm in love with the way those 3D models move. like how did they do that

RIP Lower Decks, you will be missed 🙏 Back when it started I checked it out because I was in the mood for a funny scifi show, and not only did it deliver on that front, it also got me very attached to its characters and, to some extent, its world, even though I didn't understand any of the very frequent Star Trek franchise references. Will this be what finally entices me to get into Star Trek more generally...? Only the new year will tell.

belateds:

Re:Zero (2016)

Spice and Wolf (2008)

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2018)

Pokemon Concierge (2023)

Northern Exposure (1990)

Okay look. As the wide genre of generic isekais go, Re:Zero is really good. You have to be prepared to meet it on its level, but if you do that it WILL hook you. It will make you cry. You just have to let it work on you. There's not that much anime bullshit, even. Way less than other shows I've liked. Also uhhh I just realized that this should technically go in the above category since it did have new episodes airing in 2024. but. whatever ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

RotTMNT may or may not be on next year's top 5 as well, depending on how I end up feeling about it at the end of its run. I'm only half way through it rn but I really like what its doing (...for the most part. This is my first foray into Turtles but even I can tell they kinda ruined Splinter).

Of the shows that my mom wants me to watch, I think I'm actually enjoying Northern Exposure a bit more than The X-Files. I'm always intrigued by the way it gently pulls at your suspension of disbelief that it takes place in the real world. It wouldn't surprise me if this show eventually gets JoJo's Bizarre in a slow way that makes it feel totally natural.

BOOKS (mixed 2024 originals and belateds):

Tamsyn Muir - Nona the Ninth (2022)

Terry Pratchett - Equal Rites (1987)

Tamsyn Muir - The Unwanted Guest (2022)

Alex Hirsch - The Book of Bill (2024)

Momo Tachibana - Little Witch Academia: The Nonsensical Witch and the Country of the Fairies (2019)

yeah so Nona the Ninth is just as good as the previous two Locked Tomb books, and features an interesting outside perspective on the empire that I'd been hungry for the whole time! Can't wait for book 4! ...now, was it cheating to include the bonus short story as a separate entry? Yeah, probably. But you can't stop me.

I've also been getting (back) into Discworld this year! In high school I'd read the first two books (The Color of Magic (1983) and The Light Fantastic (1986)), which I enjoyed, but I didn't really feel the momentum to keep going with them. In 2024 I gave them another go (in audiobook form), and still had a lot of fun, and was also reminded of the ever-present classic fantasy sexism that they were rife with. The kind where only, I think, 4 women have names (across two books, and many various adventures within), and two of them are basically naked for no real reason, and the other two didn't really feel like complete people either. By the end of TLF I was starting to wonder if it wasn't being done intentionally, as part of the parody of fantasy fiction that these books are? It still wouldn't be great if so but there would be, like, a reason at least.

Imagine my surprise when Pratchett's third book, Equal Rites, is literally all about the unexamined sexism of the discworld, and stars the world first female wizard trying to overcome all of that. Without that one big problem weighing it down, and featuring the same witty writing style, it's definitely my favorite so far (I also read Mort (1987) and I didn't like it as much. But I'm still going through 'em!)

The LWA light novel probably wouldn't be here if I was more of a reader than I am. It was pretty mid all things considered, though I'm definitely glad it exists because more Little Witch Academia content is always a good thing. It's kind of a funny reading experience because (in classic light novel fashion) it's written in first person, and Akko is just not the type of character you'd ever expect to be a narrator.

COMICS 2024 originals:

Cam Marshall - Flying Saucer Video

Abe Tsukasa - Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

Aki Hamazi - Bocchi the Rock! Side Story: Kikuri Hiroi's Heavy Drinking Diary

Ryan North - Star Trek: Lower Decks - Warp Your Own Way

Keiichi Arawi - Nichijou

Look, as long as Cam Marshall is writing/drawing queer women, I'm here for it. After I read their webcomic Matchmaker and liked it enough to buy a physical copy and then immediately read the whole thing a second time, I was on board.

Now take what I said about liking the Dungeon Meshi anime this year as much as I liked the manga last year, and flip it around, and that's how I feel about Frieren. It's Frieren! It's pretty great =)

Oh, also, hello again Lower Decks. When the show ended I was curious to check out the comics, especially once I learned they were written by Ryan North, whose work I've really enjoyed on Adventure Time and Squirrel Girl. This book in particular is a choose your own adventure style story, and its written in a particular fourth-wall-breaking-ish way that kind of makes you confront the fact that you're holding a book. I really liked it, and more LD in any form is obviously always welcome.

belateds:

John Allison - Giant Days (2013) (also 2015, to print. It's a different thing)

Ryan North - The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015)

Natashi Allegri - Bee and Puppycat (2015)

Ryan North - Star Trek: Lower Decks (2022)

Shouichi Taguchi - Futari Escape (2023)

GIANT DAYS!!!!!!!!! This is probably my favorite thing that I, like, interacted with, this year. As if you couldn't tell, lol. I don't know what it is, maybe the two-parts-humor/one-part-genuinely-emotional-writing that Adventure Time turned me onto, maybe its that I strongly relate to one of the protagonists, maybe that its just that its a story about women roughly my age, maybe its the toxic yuri. Whatever the reason I couldn't put it down once I started, and I was sad to reach the end so soon. I wish there was more! I love it!

Oh, also, hello again, AGAIN, Lower Decks. This volume has Dracula in it. So that's neat!

VIDEO GAMES (mixed 2024 originals and belateds):

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (2024)

Splatoon 3: Side Order (2024)

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (2012)

Pseudoregalia (2023)

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies (2013)

Oh yeah! It was also the year of Ace Attorney! In particular, the year that I caught up with every game in the series. Now let me tell you, I've heard a lot about how aa5 and 6 are the black sheep of the franchise, and after having played them, I wholeheartedly agree that Spirit of Justice is fucking abysmal and the worst game in the series by far (except for Uendo, he can stay). Dual Destinies, though, isn't close to being that bad. It's not a great sequel, and its kinda frustrating how little it seems to care about anything that happened in aa4 (and they fumbled another trans woman character, but at least this one is likable and not purely a caricature at our expense), but as a game onto its own, I actually really like its cases and the story they tell altogether. And what more can you ask from in an Ace Attorney game?

Now the Layton crossover is a beast unto its own. This game is insane. That's an understatement, but I really can't express to you how much I never could have predicted how this game starts, much less how it ends. It's a wild ride but its worth it, trust me.

No comment about Paper Mario. You already know it's good.

Honestly Pikmin should be considered an honorable mention here too. After playing every Pikmin game last year, I went through them all again this year with my girlfriend, and then a third time by myself again. I ❤ Pikmin.

ALBUMS 2024 originals:

Louie Zong - BYTE BALLADS

Louie Zong - RAT TAXI

Even Call - Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (Original Soundtrack)

smiling broadly - for a moment i saw myself as inexorably beautiful

penny pyrope! - cat allergy

belateds:

They Might Be Giants - My Murdered Remains (2021)

The Beths - Warm Blood (2016)

ThorHighHeels - POSITIVE YELLOW DX (2021)

Belly - Star (1993)

Uchu Conbini - 染まる音を確認したら (2013)

As weird as it to say, I'm kind of new to music. As in, I never really used to be someone sought out bands or albums, I just found one song that I liked at a time and downloaded it and that was that. That's been changing ever since I started my TMBG journey in, like, 2020? but its a slow process, and, as I think this list clearly demonstrates, I still don't really tend to seek out new artists. And I definitely still don't feel equipped with the language to talk about music. These were all albums I really enjoyed though! Check 'em out! And maybe my horizons will be further expanded in 2025.

[unlikelysaintdelele]

Just gonna post a snippet of my lil Amren theory because I'm getting lowkey annoyed by certain parts of the fandom on their theories of who they think the next ACOTAR books are about.

First and foremost, an SJM interview that I've posted before:

Pay attention to the blue.

"based after and before ACOWAR."

and now I'd like to bring your attention to an interview that came with certain versions of ACOFAS (I don't recall which, maybe hardback, but that info isn't relevant to the theory so moving on...):

"through a course of events that I'd love to tell one day"

"I've got an idea for a prequel that takes place a long time before the events of Thorns and Roses."

The fact that she mentions wanting to write Amren's backstory and follows that up with discussion of an ACOTAR prequel (and then follows THAT up with discussing her future novels) makes me suspicious in the best way possible.

On top of that, she's been really vague about the last novel. I know she says she's keeping herself open to ideas... but she's lied to us before in order to steer clear of spoilers. For TaR, she hyped up Tamlin and lied through her teeth about how she felt about him and Feyre. She knew from the beginning that Tamlin wasn't Feyre's endgame and she still didn't gush about Rhys in the early days because SPOILERS. This woman is a planner. She doesn't outline her stories, but she KNOWS what she wants to happen and makes it work.

Back to the ACOFAS interview, there's a portion where she talks specifically about Elain:

"everything I did during those weeks became research for her book."

She has mentioned an Elain spinoff before in this interview:

"[Feyre's] sisters come back in the later books, and I’d love to write their own spin-off books one day."

With only two novels and one novella left, I'm seeing a lot of people map out the books like this: ACOTAR 5 = Gwynriel, ACOTAR 6 = Elucien, and the second novella is Mor x Emerie. Which is understandable considering that, in the interview I first listed, SJM stated "each standalone will follow a different romantic pairing". But she also mentioned that she has five ships to choose from for the sixth novel. FIVE. This makes the mapping I've seen so far hard to believe because Elain is just not involved in five ships.

SJM has wanted to write an Elain spinoff for a while and she knew who the first two novels following ACOWAR/ACOFAS would be about, which leads me to believe Elain's book is next since that is the only character who has been confirmed by SJM as someone who will get a book so far.

I also don't think the second novella will focus on a couple. I think it will be more similar to the first novella in that it will be multiple POV's.

Now I bet you're wondering where Amren fits into all of this...

Well, Elain's story is obviously after ACOWAR, but Amren's backstory is before. And if anything, Amren's backstory could open the door to future connections and stories... Crescent City is an obvious one by now. But let's not forget about SJM's Twilight of the Gods WIP.

Amren arrived to Prythian while it was still forming, which was thousands of years ago... and consistently throughout SJM's novels, the Fae (and other supernatural beings) are settlers that arrived to their respective worlds thousands of years ago. There's also some CC2 spoilers I've vaguely heard about that lead me to believe these are connected in some form.

Based on what I've mentioned above, I think one of the books will focus on Amren, or at least provide more detail on her backstory in relation to the histories of the separate SJM worlds.

This makes my mapping of the future ACOTAR books: Elain, ???, and Amren OR Elain, Amren, and ???.

[marvosa-yroz]

9 people you'd like to know better

I was tagged by @rainy-circle! Oh my gosh! It has been a while, hello!!

1. Three ships:

a.) Benson/Mordecai from "Regular Show" (classic, and the most relatable)

b.) Mipha/Revali from "Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" (it's my dream fairytale ship), and most recently, surprisingly(?)

c.) Caine/Pomni from "The Amazing Digital Circus" (omg, literally just a few days ago?!) (also experimenting chaotic/anxious duos, and dang do THEY embody that!?)

2. First ever ship: My very first most passionate hardcore ship was either Ink!Sans/Error!Sans, or Reaper!Sans/Geno!Sans. Both from their respective Undertale AUs! Maybe I shipped them both at the same time, who knows? (Still can't believe my first ship is sanscest lol.)

3. Last Song: No Exit by longestsoloever (replayed it like 3 digits, only knew the song yesterday����)

4. Last Film: Barbie (2023). Only watched it a few weeks ago, and it's AWESOME!

5. Currently reading: ...Does drabbles of Caine/Pomni in AO3 count hehe?

6. Currently watching: The Amazing Digital Circus! (Go watch it peeps! It's SO GOOD! It deserves the hype!)

7. Currently consuming: Just had spicy noodles earlier I guess.

8. Currently craving: Literally, something hearty, umami, and spicy (again). Figuratively, MOTIVATION (because I seem to lack the energy of doing stuff I REALLY LOVE for some reason, I hate that I'm like this).

Now for my 9 mutuals, where you at? I want to know more of you peeps around!

@mrbigboisprite @loneliness-suffering @starstriix @ambersuperstar @apocalypticinsomnia @tsugiset @e-ampersand-c @matchamabs @raitnrong

Also, to my mordeson and miphvali mutuals, I'm sorry if I haven't been interacting with you all in Discord for almost a...YEAR now? I swear, my mind just...sucks ass. I'm still here, and not dead lol. The reality I'm currently experiencing in this mortal plane has made me feel pretty overwhelmed, and stuck. Maybe I'm experiencing some 20's existential crisis haha? But anyway, just letting you all know I'm pretty much alright, and sane enough to push through. Hope you're all doing fine and well there. Miss you guys.

I swear I'll come back. And chat and stuff like we used to. I'll just get myself, and my mind to sort things out (hoping before the end of the year because it's been taking forever)...and also my Discord account (stupid password).

Sorry for the rambling, have fun tagging and posting stuff though!

[writermuses]

Hello darlings!

I'm still alive/here. I know I owe all the things and I appreciate you all following my "queue that" rule because I haven't been on my computer to write let alone draft. In case you're wondering what I've been up to I'll give you a bulleted list of the teacher life near D.C. under the read more.

🩵 Natty

Here's some chaos:

My student pulled the fire alarm and rather than addressing that for the felony it is, kiddo is on a 1 month suspension (you get 45 days for fighting) Worth noting this student was previously expelled 2 years ago for a gun situation.

We've had 2 mob fights at my school and another at the next closest high school (they also had a stabbing and the response was "well at least it wasn't our school on the news this time")

I've had more meetings than there were days of the week and worked past 5 nearly every day (we love unpaid work... i'm talking like full time job hours of unpaid labor)

My school has gone through more than 12 principals in my 6 years here and the new one has given me 9 blocks of classes to have my students research, make posters, assemble 550 meal kits, complete a reflection, and present a summary (to whom? idk bro) All while never answering my emails... in case you're wondering it costs 20k to get the groceries for this task alone. As of right now I have 3 students that can build the 550 meal kits. We have 2 80 minute blocks to build them all or our low income families have nothing to eat over spring break 👍

Our bell schedule is changing so that we'll have 3 lunches with students required to be in the cafeteria, instead of 2 where they're in our classrooms. This will end all in school clubs (RIP Four Square Club 😢 ) and we need 350 more chairs in the cafeteria 😂 fyi I had to have 3 students standing per block for 4 weeks because we couldn't get desks and chairs for my classes of 33. When I got desks they gave me elementary cubby desks. (I teach HS. The average 'kid' is like 5'5 hahaha)

The students booed the new principal so loudly at the pep rally that I could hear it with earplugs in and she didn't send their bitch asses back to class. She said, "Hmm, I think I hear some boos? Wouldn't be the first time, won't be the last."

Here's some cute shit:

My nearly non-verbal gem of a human told me a joke: Why did the sun go to class? To get a little brighter!

That same student: His current hyperfixation is roasting my lack of an immune system. He calls me his weakest superhero 😂

In a room full of extremely politically divergent teenagers, they almost unanimously agreed that a person facing criminal charges shouldn't be allowed to run for office and then had civil discourse about it.

The hype of my Afghani students getting to teach their class the Arabic alphabet when we started our new module. (Also their hype over the teachers showing up to their club's fundraiser)

A parent made shirts for the seniors on our 🏀 team (just 4 boys). They got to pick their favorite and most impactful teacher and she wanted each one to have a different teacher wearing theirs but 2 of them insisted it be me and wouldn't budge 😭 (also one of them interviewed to play ball overseas so 🤞 for him)

A parent made the staff valentines day cupcakes

A student in culinary arts gave me a banging cinnamon roll the size of my head

A quiet student from last year came by to tell me he bowled nearly 300 and made brownies- they were not pot brownies, I took the risk and it was worth it 😂

2 of my kids with over 100 absences showed up this week! They won't pass but 👍 nice to know they're like alive

[twinsunstars]

Looking Back On My Star Wars Journey in 2024 - A Reflection Post

Today is yet another joyous Star Wars Day, where we celebrate everything Star Wars. When I was younger, I knew was Star Wars was, but I never was that interested much in the series. I never knew what it was really about, but everyone around was obsessed with Yoda and Darth Vader. I had watched The Force Awakens when it came to DVD since my mom wanted to see it, and I was both confused and a little intrigued. But I still never fully got into Star Wars.

I was a high school sophomore in my second semester during the immediate start of the pandemic in March 2020. Right after the week my school shut down and everyone went into a lockdown at home, I decided to try out The Mandalorian, which had recently come out not a long while ago. Despite knowing nothing about Star Wars, it was so popular at the time that I had to see what the hype was about. I found the first episode very interesting, and around the time of the pandemic (I think, my memory's kind of a blur), the seventh season of The Clone Wars had begun. I never heard anything about it before, but it looked really interesting to me.

I won't lie, I started watching Season 7 just to keep up with the weekly episodes even though I knew nothing about Star Wars (and this allowed me to be introduced to the Bad Batch and loving them on first sight), and at the same time I was going through the rest of the earlier episodes and watching all the movies to understand what Star Wars was about. I even started Rebels a bit later on and would always wake up at 5 AM to watch it while my family was asleep (I had so much energy during the pandemic. I barely slept I don't know how). I managed to catch up on all of Clone Wars in 4-5 days so I could keep up with Season 7, and it took me probably two to three weeks to fully get the gist of Star Wars (with research) and watch everything. I really sped through all of the content available on Disney+ at the time. I had so much time on my hands with the lockdown, and I got so obsessed that it became my life during the lockdown.

I still fully remember the day the last episode of Clone Wars had released. I had woken up at 6 AM and immediately sat down on the floor (I wanted to be close to the TV lol) in front of my TV while everyone was asleep, turning on the episode and watching closely. I was sobbing, as I had only become a Star Wars fan a while ago and I was crying over the clones' deaths and Ahsoka leaving her lightsaber behind, only for Vader to find it.

As I became a high school junior that year while still stuck at home with online classes, I continued to obsess over Star Wars, watching everything and even starting to get into the books and fanart. Honestly, I'm a prequel girlie today, but when I was younger and started out I was so obsessed with the sequels for some reason 💀, but nothing tops the original movies. Star Wars kept me going during those hard times, and they still manage to keep me comfort today, even if they cause us pain.

In 2024, now currently being a college sophomore (soon junior in the fall) and a Star Wars fan since 2020, I look back on how I've made myself a spot in such a large fandom that feels like a family. It's honestly wild to me that I became a Star Wars fan that long ago, but it feels like longer with the amount of information I know and studied. I'm still learning a lot about Star Wars (I still don't know anything much about the High Republic 😭) and I got some of my family to become fans like me, even if they are still learning a lot and trying to keep with with all the names of every clone

Today, on May the 4th, I thank Star Wars for all of the joyous moments, comfort, and pain that it has given me. Without Star Wars, I don't know where I would be today, and I'm glad to be surrounded by other fans who enjoy everything Star Wars has to offer on this blog.

May the 4th be with you!

[little-bit-of-everything-tbh]

Fake boyfriend..?

Bakugou Katsuki x reader x Kirishima Ejirou

Read first: announcement

Read next ^^ - here

Tw: cursing, also maybe some spoiler

Things you should know:

1. I will follow my storyline, there may be some spoilers! I will not focus on anime storyline, sure it will be there but I will focus on my storyline mainly.

2. I decided that this will be story, I don't know how long it will be, how much chapters will it have, I'm doing all this spontaneous and I just hope to have a good time writing this, and I hope you have a good time reading it!

3. No hate! If you don't have anything nice to say don't say it. I accept criticism but not hate thank you very much.

4. This is my first time actually posting what I write so please don't be too harsh on me :>

5. Reader is going to be using she/her and will be referred to as female

6. I may or may not change name of this story because I'm still not sure what to call it. If you have any suggestions you can comment or put it in my ask box or whatever it's called I'm still trying to figure out things here.

7. And the most important! Have a good time reading this. If you have any suggestion of how can I update this story/chapter don't be afraid to text me or comment or whatever!

Part 1 - 2 weeks before U.A High

Kirishima is my best friend. We met when we were little and we were practically inseparable, and, if we're being honest, we still are.

Now it's about 2 weeks before end of the middle school, and we're sitting in class talking about what high school we want to access. We were supposed to choose what school will that be like 10 times till now but I still don't know! I'm indecisive so it's hard for me...

I groan to myself and hit my head on the desk but it doesn't go unnoticed from person behind me. That's when i heard it—

"Pssst!" and a little poke to my back.

I slowly turned and I made eye contact with scarlet eyes that belong to my one and only best friend - Ejirou Kirishima.

"What?" I asked not in a mood to talk.

"Have you thought about that thing?" He asked all excited and happy.

"..." I broke eye contact, not answering.

"C'monn what's the worst thing that can happen if you choose it??" He insists.

I was quiet for a few more seconds and then I answered him.

"Fine, I'll enter for that stupid school" I said and rolled my eyes at him, not even a second later grinning from ear to ear.

"YES! You will not regret it y/n! I promise! We will go and be heros together. Man, i can't wait..." he then started mumbling to him overexcited self about how its going to be the best time ever, or something like that.

I just laughed a little and turned around waiting for class to be over.

When the bell finally rang for the end of the class it was lunch time.

"Yess babey! Lets go eattt!" I jumped and hyped up Kirishima to hurry up with getting his things.

"Jeez, y/n, calm down. I'm coming im coming!" He said getting his things in hurry.

"That's what she said!" I laughed out loud and exited the classroom waiting for him outside.

After a few second he exited as well and I 'boo'-ed at him scaring him.

"Jeez! You were dead 5 seconds ago and now you're all overjoyed!"

"I knooww, but now I get to eat, so I'm not grumpy" I laughed.

He just rolled eyes at me and continued to walk.

When we got in cafeteria someone yelled my name. I looked right and left only to find one and only girl who could yell my name in the middle of cafeteria. It was non other then pink alien girl - Mina Ashido.

"Hey Min!" I waved at her like fucking sims - getting my hand all the way up and then waving maniacally.

She came over and we started making small talk until we got our food and sat down at the table.

"So." Mina said shortly and clear.

We looked at her in confusion, then at each other and then again at her.

"So what?" Kirishima said while I was drinking my chocolate milk.

"Are you two together yet??" She asks and get up all excited, expecting for our answer to probably be yes this time.

We just rolled our eyes and i groaned.

"Mina, if you're gonna hang out with us only to try and get us together then we can't be friends bestie" I said half sarcastic half honestly.

She fake sniffed and just answered, "but you have to get together ONCE ALREADY"

"Yeah, but Mina you're trying to get us together almost 3 years now. Please stop for our and yours sake too" Kirishima said and I nodded agreeing.

She huffed, rolled her eyes and just said "Fine"

Later on we just had some small talk while enjoying our food. When lunch was over, there were some boring classes and I almost fell asleep like 3 times, but every time Kirishima poked me with a pencil, and whispered for me to 'stay awake'.

When last class was finally over, Kirishima and I walked out of school talking.

"So tomorrow you're going to train with me" he said

"What? I did not anticipate in that!" I disagreed

"Well, you didn't do any training all this time, and you have about 2 months before the exam. You better start as soon as you can." He reasoned.

And he was right damn it. "Fine. We'll train tomorrow, text me about time and place okay?" I asked and he just nodded.

"Will it be hard training?" I asked, not really wanting to die out there.

"You'll see" he said and just chuckled.

Great. I'm gonna die out there.

[wraenata]

Here's a question. How much of pokemon have you played? (Mainline series, side series, etc) :3

Pokemon long rambling activated :3

Seriously long post

So before my mom banned pokemon from our house (probably when I was around 7?) we loved Pokémon. We never had a video game console but my cousins did. So technically pokemon stadium is my first pokemon game! Only ever the rentals haha. But we loved playing the mini games.

When my mom banned pokemon and sold all our plushies (rip butterfree plush, I'll get you back some day) it was a pokemon drought. Until my cousin went to college and gave me her pokemon card collection. (Supposedly the halo mew is worth $100?! But I treasure them) and the brainrot infected me once again.

I started learning everything I could about game mechanics. This was when Gen 5 came out in Japan so you didn't even have the English translations yet! I made lists of what my teams would be in each game, how to divy up the HMs, how to get certain egg moves. All without playing a single game lol.

And then I found playr.org. It had all the retro game boy games. Including Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, and Crystal. Unfortunately the saving system wasn't so great and got corrupted a few times (rip shiny ekans) but I did mostly play Silver or Crystal. (This is where the name Wren for my character was born!)

I craved more but I didn't know how to download emulators safely :( I watched playthroughs to get by. To this day let's plays are a comfort source for me <3

By the way I did all of this without my parents ever knowing. I was very good at hiding it from them XD

I think it was finally like freshman year of college when I figured out the pokemon fan games. I'm talking Uranium, Phoenix Rising demo, Ethereal Gates demo, Solar Light Lunar Dark, Sage, aka non emulator ones. Basically any I could get my hands on. I also started drawing fakemon in my sketchbook. I kind of want to revisit those some day. I still have the sketchbook somewhere.

Then I figured out emulators FINALLY. At least enough and got an emulator and mystery dungeon explorers of sky, MY BELOVED! I have played through the rom many times. I have a randomizer. Also a few years ago I found Sky Temple for editing the rom aka different starter pokemon. The discord server is always working on making new sprites so you can be any pokemon you want its very wonderful.

Junior year of college, I said I'd had enough. I spent an entire year hyping over Sun and Moon and my bestie/roomie convinced me to treat myself, something I literally never did. I bought a 3DS and Pokemon Sun and never looked back. I loved it. My first real pokemon game. (My parents were not happy when they found out lol). I spent so many hours. I got big into breeding perfect IV pokemon (idk why cause I never did online battles) or shiny breeding. I used to work til 11 pm some nights and before bed I'd just do some breeding. I would have the pokemon in the perfect ball and have all the egg moves and perfect IVs and nature and have the perfect nick name cause I was obsessive like that oof. I got ultra moon when it came out as well and loved it. I also bought pokemon X and Omega Ruby which I enjoyed. But Sun and Ultra Moon I played many times and bred so many perfect pokemon.

I did pick up roms around this time for Heart Gold, Soul Silver, Black and White and the sequels, and maybe Platinum? But they ran really slow on my computer so I never made it far. I preferred playing on my 3ds. But I still played quite a bit of Sky rom.

I was, less excited about Sword and Shield. I saved up a whole year to buy my switch and bought Lets go Eevee, Botw, and Sword when Gen 8 came out. I did inhale the entire game of Sword in one week, but I don't think I ever finished a second playthrough. The story was really disappointing and I did not like the gen 8 pokemon as much. It's hard when you're not a big fan of any of the starter evolutions, cause pressing B for every level up is tedious :(

I did enjoy Lets Go Eevee but after I loaned it to my bestie I had troubled getting back in. The ball throwing was a little off putting.

Oh I also bought Mystery dungeon Rescue Dx and I enjoyed that quite a bit!

Last summer I was struggling a lot with my emotions and frustration with my mom and as a form of therapy started spending money oof. I wanted a second DS so I could trade back and forth and make my life easier. It took a lot of bidding on Goodwill online but I snagged a second 2ds, legit copy of pmd sky! and pmd gates to infinity. And Pokemon Soul Silver! Also I bought the digital versions of gen 1 and 2 before the eshop closed.

I also bought Shining Pearl cause it went super on sale, but after I lent it to my bestie I haven't played since. I actually dont like too many gen 4 pokemon besides Glaceon, Leafeon, and Chatot.

Playing pokemon mystery dungeon on a 3ds instead of a computer keyboard was so much more satisfying. I played through Sky and loved it of course. Then I picked up Gates to Infinity which I never knew the story. I enjoyed it! I was and Oshawott with partner Snivy.

This brings me to last late summer, and the turtle brainrot set in and grew. Less pokemon, more turtles! I debated back and forth whether to get Scarlet or Violet up til the day it released. And then I just didn't. I watched playthroughs though. Seems pretty good and I like a lot of the pokemon, especially after gen 8 when I struggled to find enough to fill out a team of 6. I only like to use pokemon I like. I'm sure I'll get it someday but for now, turtles have my brain.

And that's my pokemon origin story! Still mad about my mom selling all our pokemon plushies. I do still have my cousins pokemon cards and I treasure them <3

I am very adamant about my pokemon having the perfect nick names.

Umbreon is my favorite pokemon <3

Not surprisingly this got very very long. If you made it this far, have a Leppa Berry <3

[auncyen]

WIP List meme!

Tagged by @bad0mens, tagging @nautilusopus, @cateringisalie, and @darrelodin

Actively Working On (for a certain value of working on...I'm going to say wips I've touched recently lol)

Sneaky Santa fic it's partikari. I can say that without giving away who I got LOL

In Stars and Time Isabeau's First Impression of Sif this is mostly stalled in that it's just a character piece and idk like. I don't have a way of making it interesting yet.

In Stars and Time Alt Act 5 SO. I wrote an alternate scene for act 5 about a week or so ago I think? and I wasn't sure how to continue it but that sure has been floating in my brain now. without spoilering act 5 is the climax of ISAT so it'd basically be exploring a different way for things to hit a climax and how that might play out. I STILL DON'T KNOW IF I WANNA DO THIS AS A FIC, PARTIALLY BECAUSE I AM TAKING COLLEGE COURSES ATM BUT ALSO I WANNA GO BACK TO...

Backburnered Fics

Speaking of fics floating in my brain for a long time.

When the Cat Dragged In the Trickster-p5, au where Ann is the leader and the PT only know Ren as the delinquent transfer student who keeps getting falsely flagged on the Phansite until Morgana runs away and teams up with him. it feels like this fic is going to haunt me until I die or it gets finished LMFAO I haven't had any new p5 fic ideas recently, this 100% is what I'd be going back to writing in the fandom for if I do. Why has it been stalled forever? I hyped the next chapter up too much for myself. What other fic did I do that with?

Overcast. This is a mostly canon-compliant (I'm pulling a little timeline fuckery with crossed paths so the group has a half-sane itinerary) OT2 fic mostly exploring Hikari and Castti through each other's eyes. It started as Castti-through-Hikari but then I suddenly got an idea in the Timberain chapter and was like "NOW HIKARI". the problem: I feel like I have to do something really big with Hikari's Shadow besides what happens in canon and I'm not quite sure what that is. Like yes, he's having more trouble with it and I have one idea for how Castti might react to it, but...hrm. HRM.

Doubt Before Dawn. OT2, slight au during the Journey to Dawn chapter where Temenos' good intentions pave the way to hell. ...Okay they were mixed intentions but he didn't mean to hurt Throne. I think this is probably the backburnered fic I should go back to first even though/because it's the one I'm least "hyped" about because it is fairly straightforward in what it needs (just one more chapter).

[leontyne]

I lost my mother last week. You know this kind of thing happens.. it's almost guaranteed to lose your parents, unless something terrible happens and your parents lose you first. I know it could.. but nothing can prepare you for it.

My mother had 5 children. I was her 3rd and only girl. When I was younger I remember getting upset about not getting a sister. My brothers had a sister and 3 brothers. I had 4 brothers and no sister.

My mum handled it like a champ of course. She wanted more girls but 5 was her limit of tries. So her solution was to step in for anything I might need a sister for. Helping me pick clothes, doing my hair, helping with makeup, explaining puberty, answering embarrassing questions, hyping me up when I needed, befriending my friends, pushing me when I needed it, giving me the tough talks.

My mother became my best friend and I never once got embarrassed by her despite her worrying qbout that. Alot. She'd ask if I'd rather go to this movie with friends or hang out with someone else for the day instead of her. No. Of course not. I was so proud to have such a wonderful mum. She was fun, smart, hilarious, caring, brave, protective, beautiful, kind and so incredibly good. How could I ever not want to spend time with her?

Some of my friends had different relationships with their mums, ranging from the typical "That's my mum, she buys me stuff and cooks for us and helps me when I get hurt. I love her" to the "She's so annoying, why can't she just leave me alone" relationships. If I had to hang out with friends that treated their mums like c**p for no reason I'd go home and immediately crawl into my mums arm and hug her (even as an adult) and tell her about how horrid they were to their mum and how I could never do that. She always hugged me tighter at those times.

She got sick 3 years ago, and after months of blood tests and iron infusions she ended up in the ER and was admitted and kept for 18 months. Eventually she was diagnosed with Refactory Celiacs and they started trial drugs and treatment. After her bone marrow transplant and chemo she stabilized enough to come home, not because she was better but because her mental health was so low from being away from home for so long that the doctors and nurses insisted she should be allowed home.

Home helped her happiness but the pain never left, the symptoms never left, the disadvantages and restrictions never left. She persisted though. She had to go back sometimes when an infection came up or she lost too much blood or, as her last admittance, she had difficulty breathing.

Her last stay was 2 months long. She couldn't breathe easy which they'd found shadows on her lungs but biopsies showed nothing. Her right arm was no longer responsive, she'd be lucky to move her fingers. Doctors did a few lumbar punctures but only found 2 types of t-cells present. Her last operation was to get more punctures but they took too few so they were rescheduling. Her liver and kidneys were failing because of her TPN but she was dependent on that so she was told she'd be eligible for organ transplants as she didn't drink or smoke.

She also developed an infection they diagnosed as staff a week before her passing before changing that to sepsis as her oxygen got so low they had to keep uping her delivery of such (nose hoses, then mask, then hood, then eventually the throat tube). She was moved to ICU, put on every antibiotic they can physically put in her body, put her in an induced coma and hooked her up to the oxygen tube and dialysis. 6 hours later we got a call from ICU saying she had took a turn and another 6 hours of sitting by her side holding her hand, still in her coma, they had to start turning the machines off.

My world narrowed at that point, and we hyper focused on mums funeral which we had yesterday. It's been a complete blur and I'm still struggling to understand that she's not here. I reach for my phone to call her. I push share on a cute puppy video. I order her lollies and get excited to surprise her. I hear something funny and have it half typed out before I stop. I look towards her chair to smile at her. I sit in her seat in the car and plan to move when we pick her up despite that not being the meaning of the trip. I write another chapter but I can't get her to read it. I push my anxiety limits and fears and beat them but I can't tell her or see her massive grin and hear her tell me how so very proud she is and plan with her what we'll do when we're both better. I cry from my thoughts and heart. In public. In private. I cry hard, loud and I can't stop until I'm exhausted. I can't look at my ceiling because she covered it with glow in the dark stars when I was 20 while I was at work. Half my books she bought me. Half my plushies she bought me. Half my clothes she bought me. Half my room is her and memories of her. Her dogs, her cat, her photos, her seat, her trinkets, her renovations, her art, her tissues, her lollies, her hoodie, her shoes, her spare room/clean room, her blankets, her pillows, her everything is everywhere..

My mother was my biggest fan, my rock, my best friend and the bravest person I knew and I can't wrap my head around not being able to speak to her again.. she is everywhere but nowhere to be found. I catch myself talking aloud to her. I talk to her in my mind and memos and I say our catch phrases and my laugh is hers and my smile is hers and my face is hers and I'm so so.. numb.. empty.. lost.. broken. I'm 32, my mother was 53. I thought I'd have so many more years with her.. but now she won't see my wedding, or any of the boys. She wont meet any of my kids or any more added by the boys. She wont help me move or drive or write or pick me up after a break up or help me with advice for wooing a pretty girl or picking my next pair of converse or drag me to watch ANOTHER Fast and Furious movie or get to watch the 2nd season of Wednesday or go camping again.. she had so many plans.. and I don't like knowing how quickly all of that.. life.. is gone. I'm terrified and heartbroken and angry qnd I can't even go to the one person who could help me sort through it.

My mother was the biggest part of my life and now that part is gone and I have no idea what to do.. I'm eating because she'd want me to. I'm sleeping because she'd want me to. I'm going outside and talking because she'd want me to. I'm keeping in contact with the boys because she'd want me to. I'm keeping dad grounded because she'd want me to. But I don't want anything.. I don't know how to deal with that.. so instead I'm here writing a long a** post that will not be read and hoping it helps my heart feel a little less like a broken mess.