#R.I.P. my motivation lol

[aioliravioli-69]

After the whole cat book arc, I was thinking: Ey, what about the rodents?

So I drew Chase as a mouse princess and Buddy as a rat queen

The reason he looks so appalled is because of a headcanon that Buddy, while ok with bugs and critters, HATES and I mean ABSOLUTELY DESPISES rats.

Hey, who knows, maybe the Ex Libris building had a bad rat problem and Buddy hated seeing them scurry around his room at night

(Also! Yes, I'm still working on those dresses for Silver, I just wanted to drop this quicklyy. Btw: I'm still taking suggestions, so if you run into anything that might suit her, I'd be really happy if you sent it to me!!)

[supremechancellorrex]

Ok, so I was just replying to someone on how the Bad Batch take Omega on dangerous missions (although my thumb kept fighting me on that today by brushing reply too early, clearly a TBB sympathiser) and we agreed that not helping regular clones with the excuse Omega 'needs to be protected' has been a little weak, especially with fact they keep running into the Empire anyway, and that got me thinking. Now, I know they're at Pabu now, trying to give her a childhood for now because of Phee's suggestion (we'll see how that lasts, lol. They didn't give Omega a pretty plasma energy bow so she can put it in a box), but it opens up questions about the Bad Batch's behaviour and motivations this past season.

Protecting Omega

So, TBB act like they want to protect Omega and keep her safe, and that's part of the reason why they don't really want to help the normal clones who are currently enslaved and being tortured and killed off by the Empire, too much heat supposedly. I'm not gonna get too into how the Bad Batch's apathy here is actually odd and terrible because I already did a previous essay post on those issues and how the underdeveloped 'bullying/isolation' excuse doesn't actually work writing wise. The problem here I want to focus on is how the Bad Batch want to keep Omega away from the good fight (*cough* and leave millions of slaves to get continuously railed by fascism *cough*), yet the Bad Batch take Omega to the Imperial Centre, to Coruscant, just because Rex asks for them (I mean, it is Rex, the goddamn king, but it's not like Rex asked for Omega specifically).

Moreover, when the Bad Batch get to Coruscant, they drop her off with Senator Chuchi, a civilian who already accidentally got another clone killed (R.I.P Slip), and let Omega just waltz around the Coruscanti back alleys and Senate building with Chuchi where creeps like the Emperor can be. THEY PUT OMEGA IN THE SAME BUILDING AS THE EMPEROR! And Rampart and corrupt, sleazy senators that support fascism! How can the Bad Batch be 100% sure no one else ever found out about Omega? I mean, they have no confirmation that Nala Se, the Kaminoan Prime Minister Lama Su or Crosshair didn't talk or let something slip. They don't even totally know if more Kaminoans knew about Omega, and they can't assume everyone on Kamino died without being utter morons.

Additionally, Rampart had a lot of time on Kamino in Season 1, so what if Rampart had realised the little girl standing next to Chuchi looked like a clone cadet? Omega did manage to blend in with them at some point. It doesn't matter that he didn't in the end, it was a risk.

Confusing Motivations

This is one example where the plot of the show jars and is at odds with the character motivations we've been shown previously. Another is that most of the named clone characters the Bad Batch know (Rex, Howzer, Gregor, Cut, Cody, etc.) over both TCW and the Bad Batch series are actually rather nice to them and help them out, which you think would make their heart twinge for the normal clones' plight by Season 2 as they realise they're individuals they share DNA with and increasing connections, but nope, because Hunter tells Echo this in Tipping Point.

Hunter: "Echo, you've seen the power your up against. We can't defeat them."

Echo: "It's not about that. It's about fighting for our brothers."

Hunter: "I understand why you're doing this. When will it be enough?"

Yeah, Echo, 'when will it be enough? When you gonna start letting your reg bros be tortured and die again? You can't keep this up, Echo! Omega misses you, Echo! I get your choice, Echo, but don't get obsessed with saving people's lives, your reg brothers' lives, because over all it'll be pointless!'

Funny enough, as Hunter tries to put down Echo's, you know, mission to save his brothers from slavery and systematic neglect, experimentation, mind-control and death, Echo had just saved Howzer, who'd helped the Bad Batch out in Season 1 by warning them of Crosshair's trap and got himself captured and sent off to get experimented on. If I was Howzer, I'd be pretty pissed off, just saying. If the writers want Hunter to be unlikeable and mind-bogglingly unempathetic, well-done.

---

So, what does this mean? It looks like the show wants to have it both ways. It wants the Bad Batch to be about clone rights and continuing TCW plot points with Echo and the Bad Batch meeting up with beloved characters like Rex, Gregor, Howzer and Cut, but it also wants the Bad Batch to be a special, distinctive-looking unit of elite savants that go on dangerous episodic missions, pull at your heartstrings by playing house and are too cool to bother with mundane regs, even though normal clones desperately need help as they're slaves being treated like absolute crap and dying off right now. Don't you get it guys, protect your own only, Omega's more important and needs to have a childhood (except also put her in real danger when the episode needs it?), screw everyone else but we'll still accept help from Cut and Howzer debt-free or never feel any motivational accountability or guilt over accidentally helping screw all clones en masse by playing into Palpatine's hand in the Clone Conspiracy Arc.

These conflicting elements are muddling up their motivations and characters, and makes the Bad Batch come off as perplexing and surprisingly cold and awful at times as they continue to help more non-clones they only just met than clones. Why even have a story about clone rights if the protagonists don't really care?

[aangelfreckles]

I'M NOT DEAD I SWEAR! I'm so sorry for like- evaporating into thin air like that, life took a huge beating on me and I wasn't making content for my Tumblr because of it (⁠´⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠.̫⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠`⁠)

Now, if you only care about my content here then I understand, feel free to skip my explanation and just know I'll continue posting tomorrow :)

If you do wanna hear my explanation on what's been going on with me here we go

First thing, I was working on an ask for my Twin rulers au and I was pretty much done until my drawing system crashed and deleted the entirety of Sun's part of the ask and half of Moon's!! I was honestly so upset and already stressing about school and my shitty job that I kinda just abandoned it for a few weeks because I was so pissed

After a while tho I got over it... kinda. I re-did the part I lost of Moon's! But I ultimately decided I would just explain Sun's part in words because I was still upset I lost all of his (⁠ ⁠≧⁠Д⁠≦⁠)

And now the big thing that ultimately left me a huge mess- I had a cat for 15 years. I loved him so much, he brought me so much comfort, he would sleep with me every night, he was so well behaved and sweet and he would bring me dead creatures as gifts lol. Well a few months ago we had to put him down. He had liver cancer and it got to the point where I could see he was starting to struggle to walk and do basic things, I saw him turn into a different cat and I didn't want him to struggle anymore so we made the hard decision that it was time for him to go. I didn't have the motivation to do anything after he passed. I was in my last few months of senior year and I pretty much used all my energy to make sure I graduated. I wasn't eating and my sleep schedule was worse than before and I wasn't drawing for a while(hence why no content on here)

I was making stuff for my insta but if I'm being honest, everything I posted was super half-assed and I hated it.

It took me a while to accept his passing but, I'm doing better now! I graduated highschool, got a new job, and started drawing better again!

I've accepted the fact that he gave me all he could and I'm happy for the years I had my cat r.i.p fluffy bud :)

Anyways, tysm for listening to me vent a bit, I love the community here on Tumblr and I have no plans on leaving anytime soon! and I promise I have some Twin rulers au content that I'll post tomorrow! :D

[juscallmetru]

You fought a good fight Grandpa I didn't want you to go but God had better plans for you it's time for you to your rest. You're gone but won't be forgotten that's for sure, all the stories you told and all the love and lessons you taught and poured into the family will forever live on through us, we will definitely keep your name alive. Until we meet again love you always my Snapchat buddy as you would say Snapjack lol R.I.P Rayfield Perkins 🙏🏾😢🕊

#RIP #RayfieldPerkins #RIPRayfieldPerkins #PerkinsFamily #TakeYourRest #GoneButNotForgotten #CherishFamily #CherishYourFamily #RIPGrandpa #LoveYouAlwaysGrandpa

#GodFearingMan #NoKids #SixFigureMan #ReadyToBeAHusband #HusbandMaterial #DaveFenley #Grandpa

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[pariisxoxo]

movie watch pt. 6

disclaimer : these are my opinions so don't take it seriously whatsoever!

Somewhere in Time (1980 - Jeannot Szwarc)

rated : PG

have you ever wanted to watch an aesthetically pleasing movie but also with a beautifully written plot and beautiful music? this has you covered. from beautiful actors (cough cough christopher reeve) to memorable music. i loveeed this movie, i feel like it's such an underrated 80s movie, it's barely talked about. thankfully i have my mom to introduce me with many 80s movies. but seriously. it's needs it's hype for the aesthetic of it. my goodd did i want to be jane seymor in this movie 😭. this movie can possibly raise your standards on how you want someone to love you because it sure did for me.. somewhere in time is a really beautiful romantic film. like for real!, if i were to make a list of beautiful movies this would be in it as well as la la land or with anna karenina and even atonement. it just would like fit in that bunch if you were to put them all in a group together LOL. i highly recommend this movie if you enjoy watching 80s movies, romance movies, if you love christopher reeve (r.i.p ☹️), and if you like to watch aesthetically pleasing movies if ykyk. thank you for reading <3

10/10

p.s i know i'm supposed to be doing a big hunger games movie review, and i PROMISE it's still in the works, i have mocking jay part 2 left literally the last one lol, i just haven't gotten the motivation to sit and watch a long 2hr movie :sobsss: but i had motivation to watching somewhere in time because i've been wanting to watch this movie for months now so

[itsthenovelteafactor]

The Hargreeves + Love Languages

Not technically for Valentine’s Day, but the timing lines up pretty well! Here are my theories for the Hargreeves and their primary love languages. 💕

Luther: Words of Affirmation

“Sometimes these things just take time.”

Luther both expresses and seems happiest receiving affection through words of affirmation, which makes a lot of sense for him, given how Reginald used the faintest scraps of praise to earn his undying loyalty for years (the only positive about this man being back is that now the kiddos get a chance to kill him themselves). We see it in how he interacts with his siblings. When Allison confesses how lost and alone she feels after losing Claire, he gently encourages her. When he and Vanya begin to mend their relationship he instantly becomes her #1 hype man (we love to see it). Even Elliot! We also see how even the smallest encouragements from other people clearly mean so much to him, whether it’s his siblings, or, you know, Jack Ruby. 

Diego: Acts of Service

“I know what it’s like to love dangerous people.”

Ah, Diego “I have to save everyone, wtf is self care?” Hargreeves. Not only are acts of service the primary way he shows affection, they are also pretty much the only way he knows how to. Like, Diego will tie Klaus to a chair to help him get sober, and attack a bunch of angry vets for him, but when he tries to talk he ends up wistfully recalling the time Klaus got his mouth wired shut. He gets incredibly attached to people who help him, even if they have ulterior motives for doing so (read: Lila and to some extent Herb), and goes to ridiculous lengths to help them in return (literally throwing himself in front of a huge onslaught of bullets to protect Five). Which makes sense, considering his relationship with Grace really developed because she was willing to help him work on his speech when no one else would. 

Allison: Receiving Gifts

“I’m the luckiest man in all of Dallas.”

“Is that right?” 

Okay, first of all, Allison Hargreeves is 100% the kind of person to pick up little gifts for Claire literally every time she’s out of town. We see the two people in the series that know her best, Luther (who’s attachment I’m deciding to interpret as 100% familial... don’t ruin this for me) and Raymond, both give her gifts to show her how loved she is. Ray picks up a book for her, and she just about melts on the spot. She kept the necklace Luther gave her for years. We also see her giving gifts as a form of affection, from using her powers to get Ray a nice suit, to the “feast” she sneaks in for her and Luther as children. It makes a ton of sense for her as a character, too. I think on some level, Allison fears that none of her relationships are as real as she wants them to be, so having someone say “I was somewhere else and thought of you, here is something that it never occurred to you to ask for” means so much to her in proving that she is loved in return as fiercely as she loves. 

Klaus: Quality Time

“Logging in some quality bro time before the end of the world.”

We see multiple instances where Klaus is seeking out time with his family as a way of expressing affection. He leaps at any opportunity to accompany Five on a mission, and the aforementioned incident with Diego. He takes Allison and Vanya for tacos to spend time with them. He just wants to spend time with his family, y’all. It’s honestly kind of adorable. It’s how people show affection to him, too. Diego drives him places, and we see when Klaus is at a low point, he takes special care to come back in and check on him. It also makes sense for reasons of sad, because we know that Klaus is never really alone, and the constant presence of ghosts is dulled by spending time in other people’s company. Because of this, he associates spending time with the people he’s close to as being both comfortable and safe. 

Five: Acts of Service

“Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for my family.”

This little gremlin really went out and said “I’m going to save the whole entire world for my family,” like, honey. Doing stuff for people is the primary way he shows affection. He’s constantly fighting to save his family, and carries Dolores around constantly. He shows up when Vanya asks for help. We also see it in the way he responds to other people. Like, Hazel does one nice thing for him and he’s like “oh, we’re friends now.” Vanya makes him sandwiches to show him that he’s being taken care of. Reginald actually gives him legitimate advice for once. Donut shop guy (R.I.P) buys him his coffee. That small smile he gets in the elevator when they all show up to talk to Reginald together and he sees that they actually do care. Five has been doing everything by himself for so long, and having someone else step in, even if he won’t ever admit it, means the world. 

Ben: Physical Touch

“Can you hug me as I go?”

Ben was a little harder because we don’t really see him interact with that many people other than Klaus, but he really made it his mission to hug all of them, so it kind of works. The moment with Vanya, the hug with Diego, even how he just wants to occupy the same space was Jill as soon as he can, Ben just really wants physical contact with the people he cares about. The first thing he does when he realizes he can touch things is play patty cake with Klaus. Which makes the fact that he spent 20+ years incorporeal and unable to touch anyone... kind of devastating actually. It also makes sense because we know that Ben hates the destructive capabilities of the Horror, and the fact that someone is okay with being physically close to him means that they trust him and aren’t afraid.

Vanya: Words of Affirmation

“You’re plenty elegant.”

All things considered, it makes a lot of sense that words of affirmation would be the way Vanya feels most loved, most seen. Reginald Hargreeves verbally dismissed her whenever he had the opportunity, and we see her clinging to anyone who says nice things about her. Leonard talks her up constantly, and she falls for him instantly. In a much nicer (and more genuine) way, Sissy tells her frequently that she’s valuable, that she’s wanted. Vanya talks herself down a lot, and Sissy will not hear it, lol. We also see it in the way she reached out to other people! She’s so encouraging and supportive of Sissy. In a beauty parlor, she just gushes to both Klaus and Allison, “this family’s amazing” even though they’ve kind of just exposed themselves as the trainwrecks they are. It’s cute af. 

[katieskarlette]

My WoW Villains Tier List

Kakio made a WoW villains Tier List, and I filled out my version here.  This is based completely on my own preferences and interests, not on their power level or even necessarily their impact on lore.  My personal biases toward the black dragonflight are very much in evidence.  ;)

S-Tier:  

Arthas --  Doesn’t really need an explanation.  He’s iconic.  His theme music, the epic cinematics, his personal connections to so many other characters, the wide impact the Scourge had on Azeroth, the Shakespearean fall of a shining hero into a despicable villain...he is THE villain.

Illidan --  Villain, anti-hero, whatever he is, I love the smarmy, snarky bastard.  He has ridiculous schemes and fails a lot, but he never gives up, and he never asks his underlings to do things he wouldn’t do himself.

Nefarian --  His high ranking is definitely due to my extensive headcanons and fanfics, but really, how can you not enjoy a mad scientist dragon?

Denathrius  --  I’ve said it many times, he should have been the headlining villain of Shadowlands.  He may be a new character, but he’s got deep ties to past lore through the dreadlords in a way that feels way more organic than “the Jailer was scheming behind the scenes all the time.”  His aesthetic is badass, and I’m a sucker for suave, haughty villains.

Deathwing --  I’d rank him higher than low S-Tier if only more of the scheming, clever character from the books appeared in-game. I still love the big fiery galoot, though.

A-Tier:  

Kael’thas  -- I almost put him in S-Tier, but settled for high A.  He’s a complex character with a rich history, understandable motivations, and a gorgeous aesthetic. 

Azshara  --  She deserved her own expansion, not just a tier of BfA.  Ancient, brilliant, immensely powerful, confident, cunning, beautiful, elegant, ruthless...she’s got it all.

Onyxia --  I wanted to rank her higher due to the aforementioned black dragonflight bias, but she got edged out by her big brother simply because I like his personality more.  She certainly deserves A-Tier, though.

Kil’jaeden --  He had a long, significant history in the lore, and his personal past with Velen and Archimonde made him compelling.

Garrosh -- His story got so much development from TBC through WoD that,  although his swerve into villainy wasn’t as smoothly depicted as it could have been, he earned his time in the spotlight instead of just appearing out of nowhere.

Gul’dan --  Truly the most evil guy in the cosmos.  A lot of other villains I both love and love to hate.  Gul’dan is only the latter, but he’s so good at being unapologetically horrible that he earns my respect.  (R.I.P. Varian, though.)

B-Tier:  

Sylvanas:  She’d be A-Tier if it wasn’t for the endless fandom drama about her, and the way Blizzard dangled her mysterious master plan in front of us for years only to have to it amount to...well, Shadowlands.

N’Zoth -- Hugely significant in lore and tied to my beloved black dragonflight, but given a disappointing finale (for now) in game.

Yogg-Saron --  Was felt all over Northrend and added a different kind of unsettling creepiness to WotLK over and above what the army of the undead provided.

Kel’Thuzzad --  Interesting backstory, long history in lore, lots of personality, and he loves his kitty cat.  LOL

C-Tier: 

Sargeras --  Powerful, yes.  Iconic, yes.  Fleshed out individually?  Not so much.

Ragnaros -- Too much nostalgia to rank any lower than C-Tier, but “Bwahahaha burn burn burn” as a personality/motivation only gets you so far.

Archimonde --  Not as charismatic or interesting as Kil’Jaeden, but still a big deal.

C’thun -- Not as much individual personality as Yogg-Saron and N’Zoth, but AQ is epic and the vanilla nostalgia is strong.  Plus those whispers are still legitimately creepy.

Lei Shen -- Unique kind of villain, cool lightning aesthetic, but didn’t have any influence outside of his own expansion.

D-Tier:  

Grom Hellscream -- DrAeNor iZ FrEe!!!!1  Sigh.  So much wasted potential and such an undeserved “redemption,” if you can even call it that

Millhouse Manastorm --  He’s amusing in small doses, and he gets points for not being a hyper-masculine hulk like so many villains, but the memes are getting old at this point.

Argus --  He was there.  We fought him.  There were mild feels about how he’s been tortured and twisted for millenia.  He died.  Okay.  On to the next thing.

F-Tier:  

Zovaal --  Surprise, surprise.  He had potential and I really wanted to like him, but holy cow did he fall flat.  I could rant at length, but I won’t.

[prettyxholic]

100 Questions To Lolita

Hello! I’m prettyxholic and I decided to answer the 2001 “100 Questions To Lolita” questionnaire! I found this first on the website of lolibrarian Raine. Please take a look at her answers too, and keep in mind the historical context of the post! http://www.rainedragon.com/100-questions-to-lolita-2001-quiz/ 

1 Please tell us your screen name, date of birth, and origin. 　→ prettyxholic, February, and I’m from Maryland (USA)

2 What is your height, weight, clothing size, and shoe size? 　→ Height 5’1″, 90lbs, JP medium, 22.5cm shoe

3 What made you start doing Lolita fashion? 　→ I was feeling lonely due to life circumstances. I even stopped being a musician and couldn’t be in any ensembles anymore. I had plenty of time to be alone and I stumbled on lolita fashion again. The memory is vague, I don’t remember exactly what motivated me to look for my first piece

4 What is your favorite Lolita genre? 　→ Sweet lolita! Although I’m not sure if I will ever be OTT sweet, lol

5 Do you have any particular commitment to that genre, or your own definition of it? 　→ I’m a sweet lolita who loves fruits (mostly strawberries), and I hope I can get more prints that have desserts. The phrase “a sweet lolita who wears sweets” speaks to me

6 Do you have your ears pierced? How many piercings? 　→ I have 5, but I don’t wear earrings that often anymore

7 What is your favorite brand? 　→ Baby, the Stars Shine Bright! I also enjoy Angelic Pretty, Innocent World, and Sleepyland!

8 What is your favorite outfit? 　→ Juicy BABY Love Love Berries skirt in ivory and Strawberry Doll jsk in pink are fighting for the number one spot in my heart, LOL. I wear them with a white blouse, wooden sole shoes, and various accessories

9 How many lolita friends do you have? 　→ There are many people I admire, but I don’t have any friends that are so into lolita. I do have a dear friend who likes to talk about it with me and even owns some jsks from AATP and AP, but she is constantly in fashion crisis Q^Q

10 What was the best thing about doing Lolita? 　→ I feel happy when I wear my things. Buying is also part of the fun for me, I like to collect as much of each set as I can in my preferred colorway(s)

11 On the contrary, what is the most disgusting thing? 　→ I fear for people who do not wash their clothes. In 2022 I would hope that we have all made an effort to learn laundry skills or find a dry-cleaning business owner to date

12 What is your favorite magazine? 　→ N/A

13 Headdress group? Team Bonnet? Team Headbow? 　→ Team headbow! I don’t actually own any bonnets yet

14 Do you have bloomers? 　→ Yes, they’re essential

15 Do you tie your headdress in front? or are you on the team that ties it behind your head? 　→ The first time I wore a rectangle headdress I wanted to tie it in the front, but I’m shy. Next time I will definitely tie it proudly in the front

16 Do you have a favorite music genre or band? 　→ I like several genres, but I will always be thankful to Vocaloid producers and many utaite/youtaites for making me feel love towards music for the very first time. Wowaka (r.i.p.), Soraru, Mafumafu, Jubyphonic, Hachi, Hitoshizuku x Yama, ryo, and more: thank you for everything!

17 What is your mobile phone ringtone? 　→ Apple default…

18 Do you go to lives in Lolita? 　→ I don’t go to lives. I get worried about being crushed to death in a crowd

19 For those who go to lives, do you headbang? 　→ If I went to lives I would move my head to the music a reasonable amount, and probably jump

20 What color do you like? 　→ Reds and ivory are my current favorites! Pinks are great too, of course

21 What are your hobbies? 　→ Music appreciation, watching anime (Bungou Stray Dogs my beloved), studying Japanese language, and playing rhythm games

22 Please tell me if you have a favorite perfume. 　→ I have no favorite, I just tend to go for something that is vanilla

23 Is there anything you say “I’m careful about this” when it comes to lolita? 　→ I put on my shoes carefully and always keep them in the dust covers

24 Where are the places you visit / hang out at frequently? 　→ I’m a student, does my university count? T^T Otherwise, I like to be at my own or other peoples’ houses

25 How many times a week do you wear Lolita? 　→ At this time, once a week maximum (though I’m slowly building up my wardrobe so I can be a lifestyler one day). This summer I dressed up on Saturdays to go to a friend’s house to play board games. His family has never paid any mind to what I wear, so I always end up feeling comfortable

26 Please tell us the most embarrassing episode you had when you were a beginner in Lolita fashion. 　→ There was no extraordinary incident. My coords weren’t always good when I was just starting to wear the fashion, though… and it is so hard to do a suitable hairstyle

27 What is your hairstyle and color now? 　→ Long curly (3C) hair. No particular cut, and no bangs (I’m aware that I should do something about this). I tend to tie it back in a few different styles. The color is multiple shades of medium-dark brown, but I would like to dye it all a single darker shade of brown sometime

28 How long have you been in Lolita? 　→ About 2 years

29 Do you have a dedicated lolita storage space? 　→ I’m currently moving, so it’s all in storage bins rn www (although I’m planning to put it in my tiny closet at my student apartment)

30 Have you ever thought about leaving Lolita? If so, why? 　→ I think I will be much older (35?) when I start thinking about what will ultimately become of my lolita wardrobe. Right now, I’m happy. I hope to wear this fashion forever and be buried in my pink Angelic Pretty Strawberry Doll jsk set LOL

31 What is your motto? 　→ Drive fast and leave a sexy corpse 

32 What are your dreams for the future? 　→ I want a good job (hopefully doing something about sustainability/environmental management).  I want time to spend composing music. I also want to live close to a physical location of BTSSB, it would be nice to no longer have to pay for shipping

33 “This person would definitely look good in Lolita!” Are there any celebrities you think that about? 　→ I don’t pay much mind to celebrities

34 Please tell us the item with the most memories and those memories. 　→ I think it’s too soon for me to answer a question like that

35 What was the first item you got? 　→ Cheese Cocoa “Deer in Forest” OP + Barette… I was too excited to buy, it is not my style at all

36 Do you have a signature pose for taking a picture? 　→ I learned this from another lolita, who posts on instagram: positioning one leg in front of the other and turning the toe inwards creates a longline, it helps me look less short. Then I do something confident with my arms or show off my bag

37 What is the “Bible” of your heart? (Like what Books, magazines, CDs, etc. represent your inner self) 　→ My iTunes library… full of Vocaloid music www. Maybe my old marching band uniform counts too

38 How many centimeters tall is the highest heel you have? 　→ My Victoire shoes from BTSSB are 2.55 inches… not very impressive

39 Have you ever worn a tiara? 　→ No, not my style

40 Do you want to be a prince once in a while? What kind of prince? Dark system? Hakubakei? 　→ When I was younger I thought it would be cool to be a dark, calm prince. I can look pretty androgynous but I’m too short and not at all mysterious ^^’

41 What kind of lace do you like? 　→ TORCHON!!!! I will never tire of it

42 Do you own a (ball jointed) doll? Those who have them are usually so enthusiastic about them! 　→ Not yet. I avoid looking because I need to focus on buying clothes. It is not good for me to yearn for things that aren’t attainable yet

43 What’s inside your lolita bag right now? 　→ Can’t say wwww

44 What is your favorite flower? 　→ I think orchids are the prettiest, but I would be happier to receive anything in relation to spider lilies 

45 What is your favorite accessory right now? 　→ My 2012 BTSSB Cherish my Juicy Cherry Hairpin! AATP’s Eat Me Cookie Rosette is a close second

46 Please tell us your favorite / recommended cosmetics. 　→ I haven’t had time to practice or get into makeup T^T I never even wear eye makeup or lip makeup at the same time. I own a few things but I don’t recall the names exactly

47 Bright eyes are the hallmark of being a doll! So do you use false eyelashes? If you have any tips on how to use them, please let me know. 　→ My eyelashes are pretty full, even at the bottom. I don’t foresee myself using false eyelashes often (if at all), but nothing beats falsies

48 What is your particular eye makeup style? 　→ I have hooded eyes so I get discouraged. I could put on so much eyeshadow only for it to disappear as soon as I open my eyes. For a couple years now I’ve preferred to do my eyes like this: I put an understated amount of sparkly red under the bottom outer half of my eyes and lengthen my upper lid just a bit with thin eyeliner. Very basic, I’m trying to change T^T

49 Is your lipstick red? Blue? black? pink? 　→ I prefer gloss. Something subtle and reddish or deep pink suits me

50 What color do you often use for nail polish? 　→ Due to the nature of my major (biology) I don’t dress up my nails. Lab work could mess them up. I also keep them extremely short because I dislike the thought of bacteria under my nails

51 Have you ever changed your clothes in the toilet at the train station? 　→ Never! I get dressed, go to wherever I’m going, hang out, then go home lol

52 Have you ever had twin loli or triplet loli? Impression? 　→ Not yet! My friend in perpetual fashion crisis and I both have the Gathered Chiffon JSK, though (mine in white and hers in black x iris). I hope we will twin one day <3

53 What are you doing to keep in shape? Recommendations? 　→ Even though I could take the bus, I walk to my classes/work to manage my heart health. I recommend taking a multivitamin. In addition to my multi, I take an iron supplement and a calcium+vitamin D supplement because I'm deficient. In terms of the 2001 meaning of this question, I’m a picky eater so I have no troubles

54 Are you calm when alone in lolita? 　→ There’s no point in getting dressed to be alone. When I’m alone I like to be studying or rotting away in bed

55 How much do you spend on lolita each month? 　→ Hundreds (irresponsible for a student, I know). Next question!

56 Did you have any time lag between learning about Lolita fashion and actually doing it or resistance to starting? 　→ I was first exposed to it when I was 14 via Pinterest. Obviously I couldn’t afford it at that age so I forgot about it, and at 18 I realized I could actually do something about my desires 

57 What is the most expensive thing you have ever bought? (In relation to Lolita) 　→ Difficult… if it wasn’t my Victoire shoes, it was the Strawberry Doll JSK, which was about 200 USD + domestic shipping. Excluding shoes, most of my brand items are secondhand, so that helps with the price

58 Lolita really costs money, doesn’t it? How do you pay for Lolita? 　→ I’m a tutor and grader for my university, and I’ve had a private student too. The subject is statistics

59 Just here. How much is the total cost you have spent so far? 　→ 2,000-3,000? It’s not so bad

60 Is there a store you would like to see nearby? 　→ Baby, the Stars Shine Bright! I don’t live remotely close to one, though

61 Just between us, is there a store that makes you say: ‘that’s a rip-off!’? 　→ Not a store, but some resellers. About a week ago somebody sold their AP Melty Chocolate JSK+Beret with the starting bid of $1400… TWO people bid on it (insane, all of them). I actually have a bit of a grudge against that same seller LOL

62 Have you ever used an online shop? If you have, please give us some advice on the good points and bad points. If you haven’t, tell us why not. 　→ I buy everything online! It’s a very accessible and reliable way to shop in 2022 ^^

63 Just between us, even if you want to keep it your own secret, what’s an indie brand that makes you go “this is exactly my style”. 　→ There’s nothing that matches my style exactly, but I’ve been obsessed with Dreamy Pebble recently! Her heart-shaped old school headdresses and cat bags are so cute

64 Absolutely out of reach! But I want it! Do you have any brands or products like that for you? 　→ Vivienne Westwood rocking horse shoes……. one day T^T

65 What do you do with your tired old clothes? 　→ I’ve sold some things on Lacemarket, but most were NWT. I store/clean my things properly and don’t wear them that often, so nothing has gotten worn out

66 What was the most recent lolita and non lolita item of clothing you bought?  　→ Lolita: A white cherry-themed cardigan from BTSSB. Non-lolita: A brown cashmere turtleneck for my twin

67 What is something you missed out on that you’ll never see again, but you can’t forget? 　→ 2008 Innocent World Stella JSK in black x black… gone but not forgotten :(((

68 What do you think of dressing as a Lolita only during live performances? 　→ I don’t see any issues. It might even be the only option for a lonelita

69 What do you think of No-Makeup-Lolita? 　→ Me… T^T It’s fine but I’m trying to change one day

70 You suddenly meet another person totally wearing Lolita! What do you do? 　→ If I recognize the brand of the main piece I would attempt to strike up a conversation about the print name or their favorite brands. At the very least I would find something to complement about their coord

71 How old is a Lolita allowed to be? 　→ How long can humans live? It’s that number

72 Under what conditions do you think Lolita should graduate? (You can answer ‘continue forever’) 　→ Graduation should occur when the fashion no longer sparks joy. It might also be practical to graduate if financial circumstances become unfortunate

73 Stop this! Are there any things no one should do in Lolita fashion? 　→ There is a fairly obvious answer (fairly obvious if you know the fashion’s history and the principles it stands for). Also, body contact sports. Imagine playing soccer and somebody’s AP resin necklace swings and smacks you in the face

74 Do you have a specific sense of what a perfect Lolita should be? 　→ A perfect Lolita is someone who can tie their own waist ties and tighten their own corset lacing www

75 Other than what you said 73, what is something you wish people wouldn’t do? 　→ Alterations aren’t bad. Everyone should be able to fit into their clothes the way that they like. Stop telling people not to alter their brand

76 What do you think about Lolita fashion for men? 　→ Any gender = OK!

77 Have you changed in any way since you started Lolita? 　→ I appreciate indie brands more. Dreamy Pebble, Sleepyland, Moonrise Theater, The Black Ribbon, and Fuwaya are some brands that I favor

78 What do the people around you say about you wearing Lolita? Do you accept it? 　→ Everyone supports me (in an outspoken or quiet way). My twin ties my waist ties for me and helps me put on/take off my shoes. My grandma helps me do up my corset lacing. I’m thankful

79 What kind of lolita fashion do you do in the hot summer months? 　→ I’m always indoors, so I’m still able to wear layers and wool/knit cardigans without worry

80 Do you go to school or work in Lolita? 　→ No. It could be distracting to others and is potentially hazardous in laboratory settings

81 What is your usual outfit style? 　→ I didn’t grow much past middle/high school, so I continue to wear a lot of clothing (hoodies, sweatpants, jeans) from that time. I can wear it to class because most of it is lab safe. I also get hand-me-downs and gifts from my partner, who is taller than me

82 Do you have any objections to second-hand goods? 　→ Stained bloomers and socks give me the ick… in addition to visibly yellow sweat stains…. Please continue to cherish it, repurpose it, clean it, or recycle the fabric

83 Do you have a boyfriend (or husband)? Does he understand? 　→ I have a girlfriend. We always support each other

84 Please tell us your ideal male image. 　→ Fukuzawa Yukichi of Bungou Stray Dogs. He would be incredibly marriageable if he wasn’t already married to his job www

85 What kind of person is the Lolita who left the biggest impression on you? 　→ Tyler Willis is rough around the edges but can be soft at the same time. She has a sailor’s vocabulary but also spreads messages of kindness and encouragement to other lolitas. Tyler = strong boundaries, firm beliefs, and wicked humor wrapped up in an OTT sweet package. Historically, I’ve had a tendency to be too nice–– I’ve become wiser ever since I watched her videos

86 Have you ever made your own clothes? What kind of clothes is it? 　→ I’m not a sewist ^^’

87 Have you ever made an accessory yourself? What did you make? 　→ I’m not creative or skilled at crafting anything other than music

88 This thing I made was a great success! Is there anything you feel that way about? 　→ A great success in my life was making jello with whipped cream on it on my own for the first time… delicious

89 Tell us if you have an ideal Lolita outfit or coordination. 　→ The Juicy BABY Love Love Berries set in ivory (SK, KC, OTKs) with a princess sleeves blouse, wooden platform shoes, brooch, and lots of BTSSB hairpins. I’m about to acquire the OTK’s but the KC is hard to get

90 Is there anyone you admire? What kind of person are they? 　→ I follow a bunch of cool lolitas on instagram! Lolitadebtcrisis is incredibly funny, relatable, and stylish. I’m always cheered up when I see a new Lolitadebtcrisis post! There are others, but I thought of this one first

91 You can date any person for just one day. The other person will also dress however you want. Who is it and what kind of date? 　→ They would be fictional wwww If I could go out with Ozaki Kouyou of BSD I would ask to go to a botanical garden or drink tea with her. What she usually wears already is beautiful

92 What kind of store would you like to have if you were to open one in the future? 　→ Cat café. I love cats

93 When looking at lolita, your eyes will go straight to this motif. What is it? 　→ Strawberries. AP prints with strawberries always make me check my bank account www

94 Do you want your child to be a Lolita too? 　→ I would prefer it if she could follow her heart and continue to sleep all day

95 How much can I spend on one loli outfit? 　→ At this time? Not more than $550 for the whole coord, and I spend the money over time instead of all at once

96 This is quintessentially Lolita! Is there a certain gesture that makes you think this. 　→ Bringing the hands in front of the chest to show off one’s rings and necklace at the same time! I love coords where the jewelry is all AP resin pieces

97 I want to wear that once in my life! Do you ever think that about any style other than lolita? 　→ Not really… I wanted to get into light academia before but that’s another financial commitment and it takes time to thrift

98 Looking at your Lolita collection or style, what one word would you use to sum it up? 　→ Cutie

99 What is your ideal Lolita image? 　→ A super cute and polished sweet lolita. Layering perfectly and always having a bag to go with my outfit while not looking OTT. Wearing plenty of skirts. Styling my hair without any hairs being out of place

100 Thank you very much! Please give us your impression of answering 100! 　→ I had a lot of fun! I want to update some of my answers in a few years so I can see how I’ve changed.

[nattikay]

Woke up this morning with the sudden overpowering urge to make some fursuit heads and decided I shouldn’t squander it so I went to the store to get some foam and extra hot glue and got started wooo

In the past I have made a total of 3.5.5 heads (3 finished ones and 2 unfinished ones). The first three were foam bases, the very first of which being NattiKay 1.0, the second being a commission (“Tucker”), and the last being a random character made from the leftover materials (nicknamed “Purple Guy” since that was the primary fur color), which never got finished. I had finished the base and was halfway through sewing the fur when I graduated and decided not to bring him home with me cuz he took up more space in the car than he was worth. Purple Guy currently resides in my friend Talon’s care, and perhaps maybe possibly will one day get that majestic purple coat glued on but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  who knows lol

That was all about 2-3 years ago, though. Since then I have made Natti 2.0 started Natti 3.0 (got close to finishing the latter but it was my first time trying to shave down the fur with actual clippers and I didn’t do a very good job so I want to refur her but have not yet gotten around to it). However, both of these were done on 3D print bases rather than foam bases. 3D print bases definitely have their pros, but they also have their cons. One of these is the open back--it wasn’t too big a deal with 2.0 since her face is so short, and did make travel easier since she can “collapse”, but it’s been a struggle with 3.0, who is longer and heavier, and I’ve had trouble finding a way to wear her comfortably without slipping out of position--which in itself might have been overlookable (depending on how uncomfortable the slipped position is) were it not for the fact that she’s meant to have a moving jaw, which doesn’t function unless my chin stays in exactly the right spot. Given that having the moving jaw was the whole POINT of making 3.0...well, that’s an issue lol. Then there’s the fact that since I do not own a 3D printer, I’d either have to order it from some manufacturer or ask Talon to do it (he owns a printer and printed 2.0 for me) and have him ship it to me, and alas both of these options would take way more time than I’m currently prepared for as I feel like by the time they actually got here my rush of motivation/inspiration will have fled r.i.p.

SOOOOOO I decided to dip my toes back into good ol’ foam bases. I want to make 2-3 if I can keep up the stamina for it (though whether they will actually get furred or just remain blank bases for maybe-later-use, well, we’ll see what I’m up for after all the foam sculpting lol). I’m gonna start with at least a canine and a feline; if I decide to continue on to furring I’ll probably pick some friends’ characters or something. Not planning to do Natti again since as previously mentioned I already have 2.5 of her, buuuut if I like how these come out, and am not burned out, I miiiiight just make another of her haha whoop

Anyways, I started the canine today. Spent about 5 hours on it before calling it a day...I think it’s coming out pretty good so far! Definitely not done, there’s still foam to add and spots to smooth, but I think it’s a decent start, and if nothing else definitely a step up from my previous foam bases.

Pics and more rambling about the process under the cut:

Like I said, still not finished...but a decent start!

I am using a pretty similar process to the one I used before, but with a few adjustments that have (so far) made a huge difference. One is the technique I used to shape the muzzle which looks sO MUCH BETTER than the other one hnnnggg!!

The other is starting the “bucket” base with half-inch foam instead of one-inch foam, which makes the overall head smaller and lighter. 

To show what I mean, here’s le WIP doggo next to Natti 1.0 (my first ever suit attempt don’t judge too hard ^^”), who as you can see is way bulkier:

Definitely a notable difference!

For perhaps a better comparison, since Natti 1.0 is furred, here’s some old pics I dug up of Purple Guy’s base--aka my most recent foam base before WIP doggo

........yyyeah I like to think WIP doggo is an improvement oof ^^;

Anyways, here’s hoping the current project(s) come out well!

[makeste]

There's been a lot of talk about Mina's optimistic line about how they'll all be fine and back to class is a death flag, but if anything I think it's a desth flag for U.A. They'll be fine, but they won't be back to class as normal, because there won't BE a class to attend(RIP Shinsou)

seems like everyone in the fandom is talking about death flags and kids dying and society falling to pieces these days lol. fwiw, as I’m sure most people have seen by now, Viz’s translation showed that Mina was actually talking about Midnight, so if this really is a “famous last words” situation, it would apply to her rather than the kids.

but it seems like the speculation hasn’t really died down despite that! so since the whole “kids dying” thing keeps coming up, I’m gonna go ahead and weigh in on it again here and say that I don’t think it’s going to happen. so far I’ve mostly been trying to keep my reasoning short and sweet and leaving it at “it would be too dark”, but in truth, the real reason why I don’t see it happening is because I don’t think it would serve any purpose.

here’s the thing about character deaths: assuming that the writing is any good (which I would argue that it is, in BnHA’s case, although you are free to disagree!), they should always serve a purpose. and in most cases, that’s going to mean one of four things:

it serves as a way to write the character out of the story for whatever reason (for instance if the character is getting in the way of letting a plot be resolved, or if the actor is leaving, which of course doesn’t apply to BnHA but is a huge factor in a lot of other media). an example here would be Twice, who was written out of the story because his quirk would have prevented the heroes from having any chance at all of winning.

it sets the stakes and takes away the audience’s sense of security by establishing that No One Is Safe, and that People Can And Will Die. this is important in that it builds suspense and makes the audience more invested than they might otherwise be, because they can’t be 100% certain that their fave is going to make it out alive. a good example of this would be the recent massacre at Jakku, which showed in no uncertain terms how powerful Tomura has become, and also demonstrated that Horikoshi has no qualms whatsoever about killing off any number of pro hero characters in this arc.

it completes that character’s arc and serves as a fitting (if depressing) end to their story. this is probably the most controversial as far as “reasons for killing someone off” go, because it’s so easy to fuck up, and because someone will almost always argue that there were other, better ways for a character’s story to end. most “redemption” deaths fall under this category, as do the “character makes the ultimate sacrifice to protect their loved one” deaths. if Endeavor ends up dying there’s a good chance it will fall under this category. so far though, BnHA has been pretty light on these types of deaths, which tbh suits me just fine. ideally this sort of death is supposed to provide some sort of closure, but in practice it doesn’t always work out that way.

lastly, the death furthers the story in some way. it galvanizes another character into action, or serves as a motivation for them. or maybe the death shifts the political landscape of the story and sets new plots into motion. most tragic backstory deaths fall under this category; for example, pretty much the entire Shimura family (r.i.p.). this is another potentially controversial area though on account of there being many other ways to move the plot forward without resorting to killing someone off. not to mention that “fridging” deaths also fall under this category -- deaths where one character is used as a plot device to move another character’s development forward. Nana, unfortunately, is an example of this, but that’s another rant for another day.

anyway, so these are the four biggest reasons to kill off a character in a story. there are others as well, including simply adding some more tragedy and emotion to the story, but IMO that doesn’t really apply to this particular genre. BnHA isn’t a tragedy, nor is it the kind of bleak, grimdark narrative where killing off characters more frequently would make sense. this isn’t the kind of series where gratuitous character deaths are necessary to add shock value or realism. making the shift into that kind of writing this late in the game wouldn’t make much sense, and IMO would do a lot more harm than good.

so as far as I’m concerned, this means that if Horikoshi is going to kill someone off in this arc, that death needs to come under one of these four categories. oh, and something I forgot to mention before -- it should be necessary, as well. in other words, it accomplishes one of these four things, and is the only way that said thing can be accomplished. those are basically my criteria for a “good” character death.

and as far as I can see, none of the kids’ deaths would currently fall into that “necessary” category, or meet any of those other four criteria. none of the kids are so powerful that they need to be written out of the story (and even if they were, there are other ways to do that with AFO and the quirk-be-gone bullets now in play). they don’t need to be killed off in order to raise the stakes; clearly, fandom is already very convinced on that front already, or people wouldn’t constantly be freaking out over death flags and such in the first place. and none of the kids is anywhere near the completion of their respective story arcs. maybe if one or more of them had been featured more often recently, and there was some actual buildup, like we saw with Mirio right before he lost his quirk, or with Nighteye before he was killed. but we haven’t seen anything like that recently for any of the kids, with the possible exception of Bakugou (hence why I’m still pretty certain that he’s currently heading towards what Aizawa would call a “death”, with quotation marks, i.e. the loss of his quirk).

so that just leaves us with “their death would further the narrative in some way”, which is probably the most open to interpretation of the four. but for the life of me I just can’t think of any way that the death of a kid would advance the plot in a way that couldn’t be achieved by other means. want society to freak out about children being involved in a war? just injure a bunch of them, or have one of them lose their quirk on live TV with the world watching. want to traumatize the other child soldier characters for some reason? kill off one of the teachers, then. or, again, take away one of their friends’ quirks, and have them feel some misplaced guilt over not being able to stop it. this was the winning formula for the Basement arc, so I don’t see why it wouldn’t work here as well.

tbh a lot of this does depend on what exactly Horikoshi’s goals for this arc are, which still aren’t 100% clear even this late in the game. I’m not sure right now what he’s planning for the aftermath of this thing. will it be like Kamino and Fukuoka, where society is shaken up but still rallying behind the heroes and giving them their support? or are we instead building up towards a scenario where society’s faith in heroes finally crumbles and people are left totally demoralized in the wake of yet another brutal attack, and the total decimation of the Billboard Top 10? the latter outcome is seeming more and more likely to me, but an awful lot of it depends on how the next few chapters play out.

my best guess is that we end up with a scenario where the heroes succeed in staving off total disaster, but at a heavy cost. a lot of the pros are either dead or out of commission, Tomura and the League are still at large, and everyone is basically just sitting around trying to process what just happened and figure out what to do next while they wait for the other shoe to drop. word gets out that the kids were pretty much the only reason the battle didn’t end in even greater disaster, and as a result they get swept up in the ensuing political drama. the HPSC tries to parade them around as the next big thing; humanity’s hope for the future. but meanwhile a growing faction of the general public is furious at the government getting children involved in a war, and start arguing that the hero program should be shut down and U.A. should close its doors. and in the midst of all this, the kids try to lick their wounds and deal with the aftermath, and enter their second year very much unsure of what the future will hold.

anyway, so this all got very long-winded and out of hand as usual, but to sum up, I don’t think any of the kids is going to die here, and I think there will still be a year two of U.A., but that it’s going to feel very different from the U.A. we’ve known up to this point. if the threat of Tomura is still looming over everyone’s heads I very much doubt the kids will be able to focus much on their studies. but it may also be a case of them trying to cling to what little semblance of normalcy they have left. the teachers might decide to press on simply because it’s the only thing they can do. basically I’m anticipating something very similar to the aftermath of Kamino, but with the tension ramped up to 11, and with the adults fighting a losing battle to keep the kids from getting caught up in the middle of it all.

in other words, I don't think it’s an actual death-death we need to worry about here. rather, it’s going to be a much slower and much more subtle death by a thousand cuts. but it’ll be the kind of angst the characters can still work under; the kind that, rather than suffocating them, instead makes them grit their teeth and find a way to push forward. so yeah! anyways though, now that I’ve said all this, watch as Horikoshi goes and fucking decapitates Aoyama next week or some shit. lol maybe I should knock on wood just in case.

[latesummernights]

WHAT. A. STRANGE. YEAR.

-is what I think when I look back on 2020. Today is 31 Dec'20 & I feel like I wanna write something. Not really sure about what to write but I think I'll just take this moment to be honest & vulnerable, pouring my thoughts & feelings about 2020 - the strangest year ever.

Let's start with something cliche: what I'm most grateful about. As you might have known, I've been working on Peach Over Berries, a business I started back then in mid-2019, and been focusing more during pandemic due to more free time. Still remember last Dec'19 we hit 1K followers (took me ~6months!!! Super slow) However this year it's growing really well, much more than I expected (P.S I'm the type that always set achievable goals for instant gratification lol) Never thought I'd think that I'll be able to live from Peach Over Berries, even tho my 9to6 job is still my main source of income. I used to think Peach Over Berries is my happy space. A playground where I could pour out my creativity & idealism, as well as try & fail & try again in many things. I have this weird urge of wanting major control in things that I do, which I can't really find in my 9to6 job. But as I’m getting more serious about it, somehow, sometimes, it begins to feel like a burden. I saw it coming tho. I expected it. I know when we consider something as our career, as something that could feed us, it’s not gonna be entirely a happy space. It’s going to feel like a burden at some point. I think I’ve said it somewhere in this blog that I’m naturally & raised as a competitive person and as I started to keep track of the numbers: followers, revenue, profit, engagement, etc - the burden starts to feel more & more real. Now the next step is, which is also something that I need to seriously think about: how to make peace with the burden & keep moving on. Anyway despite the negative feeling, I’m still tremendously grateful. Without the pandemic I don’t think it would happen this soon.

Moving on to something more personal… Prior to pandemic I’ve mostly been living apart from my family for years. I used to dislike being at home cause of some things I don’t think I’d share here. Turned out after ~9months of living together with my family again, actually it’s not as bad as it was before…and I kinda enjoy it?! I used to hate when people change as if I forgot that it could be for a better direction but now I’m happy to see our personal growth. However, I still feel like something is missing. I once read that we can never really relaxed & rest assured unless when we’re really alone - and I resonate with these words extremely well. Living with my family still feels like I need to be available all the time & I’m not sure how to explain but saying “don’t disturb me” won’t be a great help. Also, have I told you that my room has no window & there’s a hole for shared air-con with my brother? R.I.P privacy lol. I enjoy me-time a lot when I’m just doing my things with minimum distraction or just getting lost in my thoughts. Besides, when I’m completely alone I feel like I could be more honest with myself. I hesitate a lot in showing my hardships/crying in front of other people & as this pandemic brings a lot of negative feelings - it’s not easy to release them when I’m not alone. Well I hope by sharing this I don’t come off as if I don’t love my family cause I love them & I care about them. Heard it somewhere that distance is the 6th love language and I think if it’s included in the test it would be in my top 2 list lol. (#1 would still be act of service, I believe…or not?) Anyway I’m considering to rent a room next year & see how to balance my time alone while still connecting with my family. Finger crossed!

Despite my need of being alone, after all I’m still a human… and humans are social creatures lol. My family is quite strict about the pandemic (me too). Me & my brother are both working from home. We don’t really go anywhere, only eating out sometimes (MUST be outdoor & not too crowded so we could still apply social distancing) or rent Airbnb in town. We spray alcohol over everything that we touch. We limit interactions with other people and we do voting every time a family member wants to meet others. That being said, I rarely meet other people... and the pandemic makes me realize that my virtual social interaction capacity is actually pretty limited. Even with my closest ones, responding to text often feels heavy as well as initiating or joining calls. I desperately miss “real connection” with my closest ones and I truly hope next year will be better. I’ve shared about this before in my previous post so I won’t talk too much about it.

Talking about closest ones, I only have a very few of ‘em & I’d like to keep it that way. However, I love meeting new people and being inspired by their different ways of living. I constantly think that we’re only one decision away from a totally different life - but that one decision needs to be considered carefully, don’t you think so? There are consequences of each of the decisions that we make, and by knowing “real” people who take similar decisions, I believe I could make better assumptions of the consequences. I have some ideas in my mind on how to connect with more people but then…. the pandemic came. I guess for now I’ll just stick with watching Terrace House.

Lastly…I would like to share about the familiar feeling that I’ve been feeling all my life, which is getting more obvious during pandemic: emptiness. I feel like it’s becoming more often for me to suddenly pause when I’m doing something, questioning why the hell am I doing this. Then the circle of questions comes: okay I do this for this objective - but then what, then what, then what? I’m not a religious individual but I understand the main goal that I should aim according to my religion, but feels like I’m getting even further from it. I constantly find myself easily demotivated, it could be even just a few seconds away after the burning motivation that I felt. The thought of wanting to disappear also comes more often than ever. Can’t believe there’d come the day when I’d say this - but I miss joining intense meditation retreat. I think I’ll sign up for one after the world gets better.

—

Wow what a long post! Just realized that I shared lots of personal struggles (even tho not in detail). Actually one of my main sources of insecurities this year is that almost everyone around me seems to be doing just fine despite the pandemic, meanwhile I often feel that I’m not fine. The ones who share their struggles are usually the self-help accounts that I follow on social media, or people I don’t know personally. Thus I hope if in any way you’re experiencing similar feelings like mine, this writing could comfort you that you’re not alone. Also hope the world will heal soon & 2021 to be a better year for us!

[klvht]

The Occult vs. “A Cult”

The Occult vs. “A Cult”

How many can agree that Christianity is a cult?

I thought so too, at first.

I grew up in a Catholic faith, went to a Catholic church, and attended a Catholic school. Over the years, it has changed. I have been to a few different churches, but all focused-on God.

I believe a couple days ago, that God put it on my heart to write about the occult and witchcraft, but I wasn’t sure how to, in order to get my full point across; So I figured I’d just share my journey.

As many of you know, I used to live in Salem, MA & have been visiting there for most of my life. (Shout out to Mr. Roy who had brought my father up there almost his whole life as well, R.I.P.) Don’t get me wrong, Salem is a BEAUTIFUL place, and I love it there, even til this day. The area is super peaceful, has an amazing history, and is overly beautiful. I believe that Salem is one of the centers of witchcraft, and unfortunately, I got into it too. I used to read oracle cards, use a pendulum, practice spells, create sigils, the list goes on. Even as a little girl, my parents were getting their car fixed, and there was a witch there who wanted to speak with me, for whatever reason, which now I find funny that I ended up walking down the same unrighteous path as her later on in life (but as early as 12 years old).

Let’s go back to the home that started it all... upstate, NY. I got my first pack of oracle cards when I used to live in a house built in the 1800’s; my mom purchased them for me. They were contained in a beautiful package littered with “Angel” messages, that would help me tell the future. I also had my first pendulum in that house that I purchased from a visit in Salem. It was a beautiful home, the first one my parents purchased, and we had acres of land, including and above ground pool, a separate garage/bay/barn area, chickens, guinea hens, and an awesome pup.

Above the garage/bay/barn area, there was a door. You walked up the stairs in my backyard, up the hill to the right, and found it. It was very weird, but since the home was so old, we never thought anything about it. I remember the first door, and first room. It was wood, dark, damp, and gross lol. But if you kept walking forward, you came to this second door. I cannot stress enough that this door had Satanic writing all over it, including warnings saying “demon/devil inside”, “do not open”, had a big pentagram on the door, as well as sigils written all over it in what I believed to be red paint or ink. Thinking about it now, I wish I never had the curiosity to open that door, I wish I understood that it was a true warning, whether people believed it to be or were just fooling around. I truly believe upon opening that door is what could have led to the outpouring of demonic and evil spirits in that house, and could have latched on to my family, because once we moved into that home, things were never the same. I remember a trap door being in there, and I remember a burst of warm/hot air that came out as soon as I opened it. It took me a while to open that door, and I’m not sure if that was the only reason, but there were ghosts in my house, and demons, and no one knew any better. My mother saw, felt, and heard a few different ghosts in that house. One she called the ‘cowboy ghost’ which stood in the doorway in one of the hallways that went by my living room and led to the upstairs. She was also in our downstairs bathroom one time, and heard a woman call out “Hello…” as if she just wanted my mother to know that she was there. Lastly, my mother was asleep on the couch one day, and woke up to something screaming in her face, which I know now, had to be a demon. My sister at the time, who could not have been older than 4 when we were living at that house, saw a little boy ghost walk straight through the wall. I never saw anything, but I never really have, I’ve just always been the one to feel presences.

There was sooo much negative energy in that house, and sorry to say it, but so much had manifested over time and had increased the greediness, heartlessness, separation, and negativity in my family. I didn’t see my parents much, they ran a successful construction business out of the home, us kids would NEVER go downstairs or walk around at night by ourselves, and my brother was definitely attacked and latched to in that house.

Upon seeing, feeling, and experiencing all this, my mom went to the local psychic to find out what was going on. She did not know, but trust me, you guys should NOT be relying on a psychic to tell you about your life. The psychic may tell you true things, they may be able to see your home through their ‘third eye’, and they could probably predict things that actually came true at a later date, BUT their messages come from Satan, and other evil spirits who wish to destroy, manipulate, and kill. I’ve experienced this a few times, I’ll elaborate in a few paragraphs to come. The psychic my mom went to, described our home “to a T”. She spoke about my grandfather who had passed, and other life experiences my mom had gone through, which most psychics start off with to gain trust. Then she moved on to how a dark entity was basically scaring my brother day in and day out; he wouldn’t even shower alone. She told my mom how our home was a “walk through” for spirits because there were two cemeteries on each side of the home, down the road both ways. I don’t remember if we ever tried to pray Jesus over the home, or had a priest bless the home.

My mother became ill in that house. Long story short, she collapsed on her and my father’s wedding anniversary in 2005, and my dad resuscitated her. I fully believe she has been latched on to, regardless of what anyone says. It has been 15 years, and the doctors STILL don’t know what is fully wrong or what happened that day. She has had multiple operations, been on a variety of medications, and still, cannot seem to get better.

My most recent encounter was with the New Age religion, earlier in this quarantine time, sometime in February 2020, which seems to collaborate all types of faiths, such as buddhism, chakra practices, satanism, witchcraft, meditation, spirit guides, and even some excerpts from the Bible. The problem was, that I have always known that I had a type of psychic gift, as well as, I considered myself to be an empath; and while that may be true, I did not hold the true meaning or source of these gifts, that were given to me by God, and manipulated by Satan.

What I got out of being involved with multiple groups of “The Great Awakening”, moving from “4D to 6D consciousness”, practicing “meditation” to find my “spirit guides”, “the law of attraction”, etc. was that it is ALL motivated by Satan and manipulated to deceive the souls created by God, to fool them, and to use them for his purpose, just by putting a simple twist on the subject, and to practice this type of inclusivity that the world had never seen before. That’s the thing about Satan, he appears warm & fuzzy, cool & collected, cares about all types of love and inclusivity, JUST to deceive people. He’s an evil mastermind. Remember that when he decides to reveal himself and push his new world order, just as the Bible says will come in these end times.

Let me tell you, the New Age religion is false. I found myself headed down the path very abruptly, and it was like I could not focus on anything else. Whatever demons I was letting into my life legally, (because that’s what you do when you welcome and practice in sin, worldly matters, emotions, feelings, and forms of witchcraft), were now starting to manifest and turn my whole world upside down. I was in a dark and depressed time, suicidal thoughts were again surfacing, I wasn’t caring about my wellbeing, I was hateful towards others, the list goes on.

One day I was meditating to find my “spirit guides”, and idk maybe about 10-15 minutes in, while focusing on my ‘third eye’ chakra, I saw a demon. A literal demon. It was crawling on all fours, had menacing, scary, sharp, flesh ripping teeth, and it JUMPED at me. (Think of those stupid jump scare videos on social media). As SOON as that happened, I called out to Jesus and said the ‘Our Father’ prayer, and instantly at once, I felt safe again. It was either that day or a few days later, that Jesus visited me in a dream to save me once again, because I had decided to focus on dark powers to give myself purpose, identity, and power. He was there for me, even though I left the path that He was with me on.

Others that I have spoken to that once practiced meditation and finding ‘spirit guides’, said that as soon as they turned to Christianity and Jesus once again, the same thing happened. These ‘spirit guides’ were demonic in spirit, but appeared as nice, helpful beings initially. This is terrifying stuff guys, but that’s what Satan is all about. He wants to deceive you until the very last second when Jesus comes, just so you will worship Satan and his beasts, rather than knowing that you can call on Jesus anytime to come help. There really is no way to “close the circle” as some witches call it during some of their sacrificing, or “white magic” rituals.

I have to admit, that I do feel guilty and a bit of groaning within me because I waited so long to write on this, because God put it in my mind and in my heart a couple days ago. And now look, there’s a full moon/eclipse that’s happening tonight, and witches all around the world are trying to “hex the racists”, “restore order”, and “bring peace” with their practices TONIGHT. I’m just glad that God showed me that before I went another day without writing on this subject.

Again, if you have any questions or want to hear more about my experiences, (I have plenty more that I may write about), feel free to comment or inbox me.

Thanks for reading,

God Bless You,

Jesus Saves.

I love you guys.

[unordinary-analysis]

“Joker”

Call me extra for this, I don’t care. Lol. I liked this theory a lot and I will get my proper analysis of it, thank you very much. Even if this turns out to be a huge joke later on, which… oof, I don’t particularly care. I had quite a bit to say about this. Also: the only reason this took so long is because I’m literally stumped on the “who” bit of this and I’ve decided to leave it as it is :(.

So, if you keep up with my account, you will know that recently, I’ve been having a tiny crisis thanks to one comment that @sunshines-and-tatertots ertots made on my episode analysis on episode 157 (thanks for that by the way). And basically: there’s this theory concerning Joker and his appearance in the recent episode. Some people are wondering whether or not he was actually John.

Now, yeah that sounds like kinda crazy right? Like right off the bat? How could Joker not be John..? I was thrown off by this comment because lmao…. what? I stared at it for a solid two seconds before losing it. God, I’m sad I haven’t given the concept of this any thought before (at least I don’t think I have lol. Maybe in some random episode analysis who knows). The idea is amazing and god, im not even saying anything about it, just hyping it up eirughweiufbekgf.

We are talking about an imposter here, a borrower of the Joker mask, the mantle. Do you guys remember when Joker was Tuesday and when people first saw how powerful he was, they assumed he was Arlo? This is like, similar to that? But opposite..! And I was hyped about the student body thinking that Arlo was Tuesday. Anyway: if someone is trying to use Joker’s identity to gain authority and power, it would be totally easy. The fact that a large group of people thought Arlo was Tuesday supports the inference that behind that mask, nobody really knows anything. Nobody knows that John is Joker. Nobody knows when Joker isn’t John.

And the thing is, it makes so much sense that someone would try to take advantage of an anonymous king. There’s little stopping any other students from wearing a similar mask and using Joker’s influence to get anything they want. And it would really be very hard, or maybe lucky is the better word, to uncover that “Joker” is a fake. And one of the only ways of doing so would be to properly face Joker in battle, and even that has a failsafe. Obviously, if someone wanted to fight Joker for some reason, maybe revenge or maybe ambition, they would find out pretty quickly if Joker was the real one. Two things: ability and strength. Joker has a very recognizable ability: he can copy others. That wouldn’t be too hard to fake considering that it’s easy to assume that any power Joker is using, he stole from someone else. But his strength? Different story. And yet… because of that same reason, wouldn’t the other students avoid conflict with “Joker”? I know this whole argument is how someone could uncover a fake Joker when engaging in a fight with him, but what low/mid-tier would be willing to do that? The thing is: they wouldn’t. Joker has proven his power and established his authority so well, nobody is likely to question it. And, if a student poses as Joker, the same behaviors would extend to him. People are scared of Joker, they’re not about to fight someone they think is him. It really would be easy to “become Joker”, and it makes sense too.

But the specific piece of evidence presented to me in a comment was that John’s eyes as Joker glow a different hue of yellow than the new Joker’s. And if you would please hear me out after saying this, I know it’s not much to go off of, and I give a reason later on for why that was done. But the supposed imposter from last week’s episode (fight with Gavin btw in case I’m not being clear enough about when the Joker onscreen is an imposter) has brighter, more yellow eyes than John. Which, is easy to notice once you’re looking for it, let me tell you.

Another piece of evidence, though small, was also brought to my attention by someone else (It’s a bad week for original thoughts guys lmao). @fuegy-fuegy-fuegoleon messaged me recently saying, “If you look back to all Johns fights as Joker or Tuesday, he has his sleeves rolled up! This new guy doesn’t!” And I was like damn you are really on top of this, I’m still in shock lol. Anyway, they’re right. I went back to look in the comic and, more often than not, John rolls his sleeves up. It seems to be some mindless mannerism because John does it pretty casually in episode 153, and he also does this in episode 2. It’s probably just a habit from when he worked out with he punch bags. But, the imposter’s arms are covered… Now there’s a possibility this isn’t very important because the “imposter’s” hand is bare and we can see that he has a similar skin color to John’s (and literally every else in the comic R.I.P.). The only reason why his sleeves wouldn’t be rolled up is because the character’s mannerisms would be different than John’s and he probably didn’t take enough time to notice this small detail. And honestly, it is really small. And like I said about the eyes, there’s a reason for that.

Another small thing is that Joker didn’t use any ability in episode 157… hmmm….

Anyway, besides the solid pieces of evidence supporting someone taking advantage of the Joker identity: the consequences of an imposter at Wellston and why they would even try to be one also intrigue me because, well, it’s not a very good theory if it doesn’t make sense now does it? Things don’t just happen because they can. And I know I already said any mid/low-tier would jump at the chance to wield the power that John has, even for a little bit, but the “imposter” in the episode doesn’t actually reveal themself. They don’t even say anything or use Gavin’s belief that they are Joker against him… Now, what purpose would a Joker imposter have if they don’t actually use his influence, which is really the only thing to gain. Or at least if the imposter was a low/mid-tier…

You have to remember that while mid/low-tiers are the obvious suspects for Joker impersonations, a high-tier could easily have mixed himself up in this. Maybe to create chaos in the new abolishment of the hierarchy to get John to realize he needs to bring it back. Maybe just to annoy John, because, hell, I would. Plus they’re wearing a mask so it’s not like John would be able to find them. Or maybe a high-tier would just want to know how it felt to have total freedom and complete anonymity. These people have been scrutinized all their lives. And if one of these is the case, if they already have authority, they wouldn’t need to borrow Joker’s, which would explain why the fake didn’t take advantage of Joker’s position.

What I’m really interested about, concerning all of this, is that as much as this fake Joker would be a ploy to trick the students at Wellston, it really would have a similar effect on the readers as well. The small clues pointing out the differences between our Joker and this one are difficult to spot. I didn’t even realize anything was off until I got a comment about it. Hell, I wrote a small analysis on it. What I’m saying is: if uru-Chan really is trying to create a Joker imposter, then she’s taking care to do it subtly enough so that it is practically impossible for casual readers to pick up on the changes. And, I’ve been thinking… Remember the example I brought up earlier concerning Arlo when he was thought to be Tuesday because of his ability and strength? Well, guess what, Arlo’s eyes glow bright blue. They glow bright blue. Not some color close to the yellow that John has. Which is why I don’t think the orangish color of our current imposter’s eyes is able to be seen by any bystanders or students. I think the mask hides it all, or at least, they go unnoticed by anyone. So, if the students thought that Arlo, whose eyes glow blue, was Tuesday, it wouldn’t be necessary for an imposter’s eyes to closely reflect the color of John’s as no one would notice. This is one of the main reasons why I believe if there is indeed a Joker impersonator, uru-Chan is going through some lengths to ensure that not only do the students in the comic not notice, but the readers don’t as well. This isn’t really a theory, more of an inference based on observation, and obviously this isn’t even important. The only thing I’m trying to prove here is that Uru-chan is literally the best author ever and I hope you guys already know that lol.

The one thing that I’ve really been avoiding here, however, is the who of this theory… Is it really a mid/low-tier? If so, then why didn’t they publicly reveal themselves as Joker? Why didn’t they do anything as Joker? And on the other hand, if it’s a high-tier…. which one could it possibly be? I had an idea for who it could be, and a motive to, but Blyke’s in the hospital which I realized embarrassingly late… And, honestly, damn. I could have argued for a long while about how either he wants to improve his powers and prove himself by defeating John or how Arlo and the other former royals convinced him to pretend to be Joker to unsettle the school and cause John a few headaches. They sound weak right now, but they would’ve been so fun :(.

The thing is: I’m lost. And that’s pretty new for me for this kind of thing. Usually I have some guess that’s based upon more than, well, just guessing. I do, in fact, have a guess though. I really don’t believe that we have been introduced to this character yet, so I’m going to say that Lin, the low-tier, is the Joker imposter for no more reason than he has a small history with John. Not even that. I really don’t believe it’s him.

Anyway, here’s a few other characters I could find that have yellow eyes. Take your pick or maybe go find more I doubt I even got half:

Rouker

Skrev

Darren (lol)

Ability gouge (literally like impossible but who knows what kind of stuff EMBER is doing these days)

So this kind of ended badly for me, but I wish it didn’t. Please post your own ideas below or something because I don’t want this to die :(

[majesticpolyglot]

STUDY PLAN!

In which I make another poor awesome attempt at being organized...

¡Hola a todos! Qué tal tu día? Bueno? Muy bien! A parte de hoy, he estado aprendiendo español durante un mes! And I’m also kind of shocked at just how much progress I’ve made! 

I’ve definitely learned a lot about myself and my learning style this past month and although I think I still have room to grow, I think I’ve found a schedule that I don’t feel too overwhelmed by, which is...

Daily: DuoLingo (don’t judge me, I’m addicted to keeping the streak going), Anki Flashcards (10-20 new terms a day), Pimsleur/Language Transfer lesson (which I usually do while exercising so I don’t feel too pressed about these), Hiragana study (30mins before work - see below for more info!)

Bi-Weekly: Speaking/Reading practice with iTalki (I’ve found it’s a lot less stressful to space out my tutoring sessions - for now! Just to give myself the time to learn and integrate new vocabulary before trying to put it to use) I’ve been missing a couple beepboop sessions (I’ve just been too tired...), but I’m thinking about re-adding them for the weeks that I don’t attend iTalki tutoring sessions.

Monday: Movie day! On Mondays the plan has been to watch a YouTube video, Netflix series, or movie! I’m thinking about using the site Lingopie since I’ve heard it’s the best for picking up vocab and studying actively while watching!

Tuesday: Reading day! I’ve bought a box-set ebook of these very simple A1 level reading passages that I just go through on my kindle while noting the vocabulary. I usually take any new words I pick up and add them to a quizlet set. I think this was a much easier way to start than say... reading a whole novel (R.I.P. Eleanor Y Park...I just wasn’t ready)

Wednesday: Writing day! I’ve been using the prompts I posted a while back, but also planning to pick a weekly theme and try to struggle through at least one page in Spanish journal!

Thursday: Rest day! (Sort of!) I don’t have plans to do any intensive/supplemental studying on these days. I usually catch up with things for my classes work, so I think it’s important to have a day where I prioritize those things and don’t stress myself out if I miss something. (except DuoLingo because that owl will hunt you down...)

Friday: Review day! Going over vocabulary, notes, etc. I’m also considering using this day to record a video of myself speaking so that I can track progress with that as well.

In addition, I’ve joined a study group that’s focused on Japanese! Although I was a bit apprehensive (no, very apprehensive) to start another language before my Spanish challenge is over... I’ve been slowly learning Japanese for the past week and I feel comfortable adding it to my daily schedule! The goal is to master hiragana (and maybe some katakana/kanji) and once I finish my Spanish challenge, to devote my complete energy to learning Japanese (second six month language challenge anyone???). 

I’m starting off very slow, though. So far I’ve just been focusing on thirty minutes of hiragana study in the mornings before work and I’ve found it kind of...nice? In a way I look at it as a method to prevent me from getting burnt out on Spanish by putting my mind on something else, but still keeping me in language learning mode! 

So, that’s all for this month’s check in! If you made it to the end of this long post make sure you drink water, take a deep breath, and treat yourself to a good snack! #selfcare=betterstudies (Below the cut is just some reflection notes for myself, so I can kind of check in and track my progress, so please feel free to ignore!)

-- And as a side note (if you were curious enough to actually click this after reading all of that), I know I’ve got a lot of stuff packed into my week, but this is just the study plan that works for me and it’s going to look different for everyone. What I don’t list is the amount of time I put in per day which ranges from 30 minutes to an hour and a half one day, then could drastically drop to 10 minutes the next day depending on my schedule. The biggest thing is to stay consistent if you want to see rapid improvement!!!

[ Month One Reflection ]

Listening: I’ve noticed that my Spanish comprehension skills have improved tenfold over the course of the month. I’ve been using a lot of YouTube series (which I will probably post about soon!) to study, and every day I noticed that I’m able to follow along more and more based off the dialogue and not just context clues! It’ll be interesting to go back to these shows at the end of the six months and see how much I’ve improved!

Speaking: Eh... Está bien... más o menos. I’ve got a long way to go, but I’m always excited when a native speaker understands what I’m saying LOL. However, I think compiling a list of phrases that come up in natural conversation would serve me well going forward.

Reading: I just honestly need to do this more. I’ve started using some chat/language partner apps (which are def hit or miss for me since a lot of people feel more comfortable practicing English...), but I think just putting into the time to do this...even if it’s just reading subtitles in Spanish I might have a better time.

Writing: See the above! The only time I wrote in the past two weeks was actually for one of my iTalki sessions and even with that I wrote something up the day of... I think forcing myself to actually sit down and do it... even if it's just on Wednesdays, will kick start my motivation for writing in Spanish.

[neverwatchedonepiece]

603-604: "Launching the Counter Attack! Luffy and Law's Great Escape!" and "Get to Building R! The Pirate Alliance's Great Advance!"

DING, DING, DING! It’s round two. And you know Luffy ain’t playing this time.

Not a huge amount happened over episodes 603 and 604. Still, the episodes were essential. The story needed a transition phase to tie up the plot threads and set everything up for the final push against Caesar.

Everyone is safe inside the lab, the Strawhats are all accounted for (sans Chopper, who is still in Caesar’s lounge), Luffy is in an alliance with Trafalgar Law and - I never thought I’d say this - Vice-Admiral Smoker of the Marines!

Actually, what the hell am I talking about?

Loads of big things happened.

Including this sweet and juicy nugget of off-island context that has me rubbing my hands with glee.

Juicy Opening Reveal Alert!

Attention: Kidd, Hawkins and Scratchman Apoo are discussing an alliance. This is not a drill.

It started out fairly innocuously. I say “fairly”. The Brokers and Dodgy Characters of the OPverse were kicking back and watching Caesar’s madness play out. Pekoms and Tamago had some lines, so I focused in on them.

“How did those big names get caught by Caesar?” Pekoms asked. “So that’s where they are now. What should we do?”

“We wait a bit and see how things play out,” Tamago answered.

This was a teeny tiny scene. But it was interesting. Why? It revealed Pekoms and Tamago know Caesar by name. Maybe Caesar introduced himself to his audience and I missed it, but if he didn’t, then that’s interesting.

After that, the action switched back to Kidd, who had also been watching Caesar’s broadcast. Kidd has earned himself a 470 million bounty, which is impressive. His right hand man, Killer, has a 200 million bounty. Less impressive. Kidd seemed happy Luffy had finally made some moves. He switched off the feed. “You’re not the kind of guy who wants to play an arms dealer, are you Killer?”

Not sure what Kidd meant by that. Does he mean Killer’s not interested in what Caesar has to offer? Or that he doesn’t want to get involved with an obvious head case like Caesar? 

They walked off through their extra edgy hideout complete with gloomy paint job and atmospheric candelabras (lol). They discussed Law and his shenanigans on Punk Hazard. Kidd couldn’t believe they were all there together. He thought Law had lost his mind when he became the World Government’s lapdog. But now... Law was definitely up to something. Kidd does not want to fall behind, so they’d have to make a move too. 

Upon opening the door an explosion boomed them right in the face. It was Scratchman! At first I thought, is this an assassination attempt? Then the camera panned to Hawkins and I thought.... okay, so a team-assassination attempt?

Nope. Killer had called them to Kidd’s hideout to discuss forming an alliance.

This is cool. I like this seemingly random development. Oda has made a good move here showing the other rookies in the Worst Generation are also working hard behind the scenes. They’re in the New World now. The Yonko are a-callin’. If they don’t team up, they’ll be destroyed. (R.I.P. Gangster Pirate dude and dinosaur guy. Still not sure what Urouge is up to.) 

I kind of hope their alliance works a little more smoothly than the Strawhat/Heart Pirate alliance does at the moment. xD

Just Get Out of the Damned Cage, I Don’t Even Care Anymore...

There are a few teething problems but I’m sure Law has now realised that Luffy is a major loose cannon and will learn how to point him in the right direction. Maybe. At some point. In the distant future. (Ahh, that golden moment when Robin and Franky straight up told Law not to turn his back on Luffy because he’ll be off like a rocket, yelling their secret plans at the top of his lungs.)

Law’s cunning plan from the episode 402 cliffhanger was revealed. It was surprisingly simple and dangerous. But then if it’s not dangerous, is it really a good One Piece plan?

Absolutely not.

Law asked if anyone could set the nearby broken ship on fire. Franky obliged.(That fireball was badass, by the way. Just need that on record.) Once the rising smoke had obscured Caesar’s view of the cage, Law revealed his sneaky ruse. While he had freeloaded at Caesar’s house, he swapped most of the seastone chains with normal ones. Law broke free from his and freed Luffy, Robin and Franky.

Once he had failed to convince Luffy to stop cheering like a madman, Law dealt with a spot of business.

Smoker and Tashigi. They knew too much. They knew Joker’s real identity. He had their destiny in his hands. I knew he wouldn’t kill them (not evidence for that, I just didn’t think Oda would go there) but I was not prepared for what would happen next. 

Law unshambled them and struck a deal: he would spare their lives because if they made it back to Marine HQ it would make life difficult for Vergo. In exchange, Smoker and Tashigi were to FORGET everything they had heard about Law and Joker. This was not a favour. It was a condition of their release.

Now, this had me bewildered. Why, if Law is no longer working for Doflamingo, is he still protecting the guy? If Doflamingo goes down, then surely Vergo will also go down and the whole operation will fall to pieces? Unless what you guys hinted at is bigger than I thought and Doflamingo has so many side hustles that some Marines being mad at him is small potatoes.

At any rate, the deal was accepted, despite Smoker’s pride, because of Tashigi’s sense of duty and practicality overcame it. She basically said, “Yes, untie us for the love of god. We need to live because if we don’t, we can’t save our people from Vergo and we can’t rescue Caesar’s experiment kiddies!”

So the deal was done. The neatness of Law’s plan was totally ruined when Luffy bent the bars of the cage and pinged out in a fit of enthusiasm. Then Franky basically turned to Law and said, “Yeah, I’m gonna pass on the plan. I’m off to look after Sunny.” 

Then he farted himself out of the plot.

I think I just made a new sentence there.

Deal done, Law roomed them all to the back door, whereupon the sneaked inside the lab and pulled a Very Important Lever that meant the Fodder Marines outside did not die a horrible, painful death from Caesar’s chemical weapon.

Yay!

And there was this great, dramatic reveal moment. 

Look. Look at this Beautiful Shot

While Luffy, Law and Smoker stood with their backs to Caesar’s bemused minions like total badasses, the poison gas rolled over the island. 

Zoro, Sanji, Brook and Foxfire still hadn’t caught up to the dragon. However, Sanji because super motivated by tits and found a sudden burst of speed. The only thing was, the dragon wasn’t quite good enough on its own. It was tiring too.

Luckily, Nami and Usopp rode up on the back of Brownbeard and caught Brook just as he fell off the dragon. They all leapt on Brownbeard’s back (dragon included) and galloped to the front door.

Which was rapidly closing, as the Marines had all scuttled safely inside!

Indoors, the Marines squinted. What was that white, powdery cloud in the distance approaching at speed? 

It was the rest of the Strawhats trying really damned hard not to die.

Zoro and Kinemon teamed up to slash the doors and force their way in. I thought it was majorly dumb at first (to be fair, so did most of the other characters). But the Fodder Marines patched up the hole with a speed that makes me think they’ve missed their calling and should be flipping houses instead.

Still think the gas would probably seep through those gaps but maybe Caesar’s got some wicked air filtration system going on. I mean, it is a state of the art lab specialising in chemical weapons research.

Have I Left the Stove On?

There was a moment after the Strawhats reunited where the action cut to a shot of the devastation Caesar’s weapon had wreaked across Punk Hazard. 

If you thought the island was screwed before, it’s beyond help now. Utterly Pompeii’d. Every inch of it is covered in petrifying, poisonous ash. There is nowhere on Punk Hazard that is now habitable. Caesar took immense pride in this achievement. Some people just love destroying stuff, right? The only thing that survived outside was a single DDM protected by a bubble for Caesar’s broadcast. 

Brook’s ghostly form confirmed it. Going outside would be a Bad Idea.

Inside, a lot of guns were pointed at the Strawhats and Brownbeard (Brownbeard was just pleased the Marines had remembered his name. Awww...you’re infamous now, Brownbeard. Just like Luffy. Enjoy it!)

Once the plot threads and outstanding issues of the whole reuniting scene were dealt with (Law unshambled Nami and Sanji and also told Smoker not to let his men stand in the way of the pirates), the plan to fight back against Caesar and escape the hell of Punk Hazard began.

As Law had been a guest at Caesar’s Weird Hotel, he knew the layout of the labs. They were in the foyer of Building A. To escape, they must force a path through to Building B, the large central area. There, they would find a gate at the back leading to Building R and a door marked R-66. Behind that door, is a passage to the sea that would be unaffected by any poison gas.

Law declared he’d rather not have to create a massacre, but could only give everyone about two hours. To anyone staying longer than that, Law could not guarantee their safety.

And the idiots still tried to attack the Strawhats, so I don’t have much hope for them.

One of the most interesting scenes here was the one between Zoro and Luffy. While fighting Marines, Usopp updated Zoro on what had happened. Caesar had soloed everyone with his de-oxygenation trick. Even Luffy had fallen for it. Zoro took that hard. He had flashbacks to Sabaody, to everything he had trained for in the past two years. What the hell? How could Luffy just lose like that?

Luffy (who had hatched a secret plan with Robin I know nothing about yet because Oda did let us hear it), was heading for the next room. Zoro caught him before Luffy barged his way through.

“LUFFY! GET A GRIP. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF THE NEW WORLD!”

And Luffy replied, “YEAH, SORRY. I WON’T LET MY GUARD DOWN AGAIN.”

Then he tried out a hilariously dumb UFO move on the Fodder Marines and Zoro performed a mental facepalm.

I liked that glimpse of the relationship between Luffy and Zoro there. Sometimes, even though Zoro has his moments, he’s always there to give Luffy a kick up the arse and deliver some home truths on occasion. And because Luffy respects Zoro, he will take them on board and acknowledge them. But of course he’ll still have a damned good time and try out dumb moves on fodders because when else can you do that, am I right?

He Did Not Leave The Stove On

In the lounge, Caesar was about to take a special delivery from the Bad News Fairy.

One of the nice things about Caesar is that he is not a total dumbass. He looked at that cage. He noticed there were no petrified bodies clawing at the front door. He *knew* something wasn’t quite right. He asked Monet and Vergo. Vergo actually hypothesised that the Strawhats had broken free and helped the Fodder Marines escape too. But Caesar ignored him.

Then the Bad News Fairy arrived. A minion burst through the door. “Master! All of the enemies have entered the lobby with Strawhat Luffy in the lead!”

You all probably remember Spandam and Enel and those golden freakout faces. Caesar is giving them a run for their money. I love how he can shift seamlessly from twirling round the room in joyful glee, to “wait a minute....” suspicion, followed by shrieking outrage.

Two in-universe hours, Caesar. That’s how long you have.

Can’t wait to see what nasty tricks you’ll pull in your increasingly futile attempts to cling to power in Punk Hazard.

And they will be futile, because if there’s one thing we all know about Luffy, it’s that he always, always learns from his mistakes.

He is going to kick your ass and kidnap you.

At least he recycles?

[latelyineversleep]

Ooohhhh the beach!!! That’s the first song of them that I ever listened to and was obsessed with, to this day that is still one of my all time favourite songs! Headphones on and fully merge with the music 😩 actually that whole album (Wiped out!) is like that! R.i.p. 2 my youth is also just one of those songs for me that I can not get enough of no matter how many times I listen to it, it just keeps hitting right! Another album of them that I really like is ‘hard to imagine the nbh ever changing’, that’s the album with softcore and paradise on it. Contrary to Wiped Out! It has a more soft and vulnerable side and Wiped out! Is edgier and sharp :’)

Oh yes Chase Atlantic definitely a good group to get in the ✨mood✨ to, also amazing to listen to in the gym, makes me want to get rid off all my frustrations 🌪

Yeah i really like Wiped Out! And oh gosh, RIP 2 my youth, I think I've been listening to that song ever since I was 17 :') it hits me every time! I do like Wiped Out more than the recent album, I don't know why though, maybe because I get nostalgic feelings when listening to it!😅 And yes, chase atlantic really helps in the gym! I listen to anime soundtracks though :') idk it gives me motivation lol