#Then that’ll be the first 10 complete! I was planning to order the first batch of stock then

[fantasykiri5]

Update; I got back into working on charms today!

I had a busy last week or two and hadn’t really had a chance or the energy to start drawing this once since i finished Ayda, for reasons that frankly are a bit boring to go into detail about here, but I’m excited to get back into the swing of things now!

I’m really quite happy with his wings so far, i think i figured out a good method for drawing them >:3

[hqxreader]

hi hello can i please have a kei tsukishima ,yaku morisuke,and Yuu nishinoya first dateheadcannos, like what they would do on their first dates. Hope that helps thanks.

Hi lovely Anon :) I just kinda went crazy with this. They’re probably both ooc (Noya feels like it at least) 

I wasn’t able to write Yaku and I’m really sorry, I don’t have a good grasp of his character and I tried writing his but it just wasn’t flowing. I put what I had planned for him though and I hope that’ll make you somewhat happy.

First Dates

Warnings: This is chaos, crack, and fluff 

Tsukishima Kei

*y/f/d - your favorite dessert

- For Tsukki I see the first date being at a cafe of the sorts? This man loves his sweets yes? 

- You two know each other from let's say.. you’re in the same class together yeah? You two are always teasing each other until one day you teasingly ask him if he’s ever been on a date before

- “Well Tsukishima, if you’re so smart, shouldn’t you know how to treat a someone properly on the first date?”  

- And thus, the first date was set, and you were able to get Tsukki to go on a date with you (little did you know he was just as happy)

- Even if this is a date, this man will forever be a salty french fry, it’s in his blood 

- He teases you about what you’re getting, if you can see the menu or not 

- “Are you sure that’s a good choice Taylor? I heard that it makes your breath smell bad, not very first date worthy.” 

- “You know Tsukishima, they say when strawberries are out of season they can really mess up your body, I’m sure we don’t need that for volleyball.” 

*please note i am completely making that up (i hope)

- Customers and employees are just watching you two tease each other while waiting in line and they wonder, ‘Are they really on a date...?’ 

- Back to our main focus - You guys order, Tsukki of course getting a slice of strawberry shortcake and you getting y/f/d. Tsukki is still a gentleman through and through and pays for the food

- So you guys sit down and start to eat and you’re actually talking like real human beings

- There was no full out teasing like normal, just light conversation about school and simply how everything was in life, learning more about each other

- You would get a smile out of Tsukki sometimes and you’d point it out, but he’d just frown again, look out the window and say that the food was so good it made him smile 

- you guys finished eating like 10 minutes ago. Okay tsukki sureee

- You wrapped it up and left, and now Tsukki’s walking you home, your regular teasing conversations have started again but you’re still making little talk (does that make sense??)

- “You really mixed up baking soda and sugar when baking cookies? I don’t think I'm ever going to eat something made by you.” ''Okay listen I was like 12 years old, give me a break okay? I bet I can bake you a delicious batch of cookies now.” “Thanks, but no thanks.” “Okay! I’ll bring you some tomorrow Tsukki!” “Wha.. What?! Don’t call me that!” 

-cue blushing tsukki-

- ah yes young love. Well after that little conversation it’s quiet and you kept brushing your hand against his as you’re walking, a little ‘yoo hoo hold my hand’ signal but this man just smirks and waits to see what you’ll do 

- You take matters into your own hands (haha get it, hands? Oh man im horrible) and slowly slide your hand into his and interlock your fingers, nervous to see what his response would be

- he gives your hand a little squeeze and you guys just keep on going to your house, a comfortable silence in the air, a smile on your face and tsukki is internally celebrating 

- After that you’re officially dating and you’re making non-poisonous cookies for him and the team from now on. He’s very hesitant to eat them though. 

Nishinoya Yuu

- Okay let’s run through my train of thought with this bundle of energy, at first i thought ooh amusement park! But then I was like mm on the first date? No not yet, but i still wanted all the fun rides and such that an amusement park has, so I thought how about a fair/fairground? But then I thought, do they have those in Japan? For the sake of this story, yes, yes they do. 

- Alright lovies, you’re a friend of Yachi’s and she forgot something in her last class of the day, so you come to the volleyball practice to give it to her

- You’ve visited the team on various occasions, so you know them all pretty well and you’ve noticed the glances Noya gives you from time to time (ya know those looks? Ok let's go with it)

- That weekend there’s a fair in town, so you thought ‘ooh fair + Noya = awesome time’ which I mean, you’re not wrong

- You stick around the whole volleyball practice and wait for the boys to finish up, and once they’re done in the locker room you start walking with Noya and Tanaka 

- “So um Noya I was wondering-” “Taylor I thinking about maybe-” 

- You two just laughed at how you interrupted each other, Tanaka even chuckling as he watched this go down (he’s no dummy, he knows what’s going on between you two) 

- Noya speaks up again, “I was thinking about going to the fair this weekend, it sounds so cool! Would you like to come with me? It’ll be a blast!” “So like a date..?” 

- Noya’s cheeks go red and he just nods, scared at what your response could be, and Tanaka is still watching this (gotta support the bro right?)

- Of course you say yes to the date, and you two decide to go that Saturday afternoon

- Once they drop you off at home, Tanaka and Noya start jumping around like crazy in celebration

- mini time skip to Saturday thanks to chocolate milk -

- You guys are at the fairgrounds and Noya just wants to do everything

- Fair games? Let me win you something! You win a huge stuffed crow

- Mini barn set up with cute barn animals you can pet? Let’s go pet every single one of them Taylor!! Noya tried to impersonate a rooster, right in front of it.. it didn’t end too well… 

- Cotton Candy and funnel cakes? Taylor are you hungry? Let’s eat! Now you’re on sugar highs and even crazier

- Do you see all the crazy rides and the spooky fun house? Taylor that was crazy!! Let's do it again!! You went on it about 5 more times (he might've gotten sick, no one else needs to know though)

- Now it’s getting dark out, beautiful sunset, and it's time for the ferris wheel ride finally (oooh)

- You guys get on the ferris wheel and slowly start making your way up to the top, chatting about your favorite parts of the day as you see the whole fairgrounds in a different view, the purples, reds, and yellows in the sky mixing together like a bob ross painting (jk jk jk okay let me rewrite that)

- The sunset looked gorgeous as you guys reached the peak of the ferris wheel, and you grabbed your phone out of your pocket for a quick photo

- “Hey Noya do you want to take a picture with me?” “Oh yeah for sure! First date memories!” 

- Little does he know of your secret plan, a great secret plan 

- You extend your arm out and get close to Noya, grinning from ear to ear and take a cute photo with the sunset in the background

- You pull away real quick, “Hey can we take another one real quick?” “You can’t get enough of me Taylor?” 

- So you extend your arm again, get close, but this time right before you take the picture you close your eyes and lightly press your lips against Noya’s cheek 

- Noya’s just sitting there in shock of what’s happened, eyes wide and mouth open, and you’re giggling at his reaction

- You guys eventually make it to the bottom of the ferris wheel, and get out, by then Noya’s out of shock and is grinning ear to ear, begging you to send the pictures to him

- The picture is now both of your phones lock screens and you couldn’t have had a better first date

Bonus: “Yu how was your date?!” “Ryu they kissed me on the cheek!” “WHAT?!”

Yaku Morisuke

- My plan with Yaku was to have him and his s/o go star gazing out in Sendai. In Tokyo you can’t see stars all too well so I figured why not take a train out to Sendai and go stargazing. Reader has a summer house they spend the night at and it goes from there. (NOTHING DIRTY YA NASTIES) 

- I just couldn’t get his character as I was writing it, it felt.. wrong? you could say. So I hope the plan i had is okay :)

[etirabys]

// Attention conservation notice: describing an intended social media regimen. Boring to most people, but posting it on my blog increases likelihood I stick to it.

After thinking about different addictive subcomponents of tumblr, my current plan is a 10 day schedule where I can read my feed one and and post (queue) everything at once five days apart.

On posting days (next one is 10 days from now): Freedom to post during the entire day. Responding to asks and replies should happen today and no other day. Queueing is recommended but not required. I can check notes of posts from the last batch for reblogs and replies with interesting commentary, but not check notes of post I made on the current day.

On reading days (next one is 5 days from now): Freedom to read during the entire day, but recommended that I do it in one or two big gos rather than peppered throughout the day whenever I’m bored. Liking posts allowed, but not reblogging. I can check notes of my own posts when I run across them in my dash, but not go out of my way (i.e. by checking my blog) to get this same information.

Days are strict 24 hour windows starting and ending at the midnights bracketing the day, PST.

I can read or search my own blog (without checking notes) at any time. I have some leeway to log on and edit minor mistakes out of my posts, because they bug the hell out of me. I can add citations, but not new content.

I have no power to force my future self to follow any of this, and forgive myself in advance if I’m having a bad day and want the anesthetic of the online. But the default mechanism I’m setting up for handling rule breaking is:

If I came online to read my feed, take 0.5 hours off the next online day as posts I scrolled past. So, if I logged on and read 6 posts, I get a 21 hour window, ending at 9pm. If I use up all 24 hours by reading 48+ posts, just forfeit the next day. I can choose to switch the alternation order. (e.g. If I forfeited a writing day but was really looking forward to making some posts, the next allowed day can be a writing day, and the next a reading day, etc.)

Same punishment goes for checking on notes on posts on a day that is not an online day, or checking current-batch notes on a posting day, or checking non-dashboard notes on a reading day. 0.5h off the next window. If I am currently in a reading or posting day, shave that time off the current day. “Checking on notes” means seeing a list of notifications, not looking at the number.

If I came online to post a thing on a day that wasn’t a posting day, take N hours off the next online day, where N is drawn, in order, from: [3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1, 11]. So the first illegal post I make shaves my next window to end at 9pm, the second shaves it to 6pm, then 4pm, 2pm, 1pm, 12pm, 1am. The last jump is meant to disincentivize making six posts and then going “I never tumblr between 2am and 12pm anyway, might as well make 10 more posts”.

I’m trying very hard to design something that’ll shape my future self’s behavior when my future self includes a bored monkey who wants to smash all sorts of buttons, so this definitely feels like playing 4th dimensional chess with an opponent who needs to be coaxed into staying with the game.

Outcome: I was completely successful at abiding by the rules, and after a month or so started being so apathetic about tumblr that I’d go “yeah, I’ll make a silly one off post and then log out at 9pm, I don’t care if I don’t get those 3 hours”. Also I think I was unhappier because I wasn’t getting the tumblr nutrient, and my productivity wasn’t changing much.

Made up metrics:

Willpower required: 8/10 -> 2/10

Perceived benefit: 3/10

[reciperesolutions]

THE FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES!! This is an Italian/Italian-American Christmas Eve tradition that I’ve been wanting to host since I learned about it. Originally, I was going to make the feast a potluck - everyone brings a different fish dish - but as I started the serious planning, I realized, shy of being too prescriptive to my guests, that was likely to be a REALLY fishy and imbalanced meal. So instead, I decided to develop a menu for the feast myself, leaving appetizers, desserts, and wines (white) up the the guests :) It worked out magnificently and I got to really stretch my menu crafting skills: I’ve never done anything close to a seven course meal before and - at the risk of being overwhelmed with fishy flavors - I tried to embrace the seafood profiles in some dishes while providing balance with tangy, citrusy, and fresh flavor profiles in others. Welcome to my menu!

COURSE 1: Seafood Chowder. Delish. Going on The Brick House Menu. Based on recipe comments, I modified the recipe by replacing the evaporated milk with 1 can of creamed corn and 1 cup of heavy cream (it was supposed to be half and half, which I bought for this very purpose, and then completely forgot about as I was finishing the recipe). The recipe didn’t specify what kind of potatoes to use but butter potatoes turned out really well.

I also seasoned heartily with S&P, and put in about 3 tablespoons of Old Bay. Earlier in the morning, I made a batch of thick-cut bacon and crumbled the best pieces to sprinkle on top of each bowl - it was a perfect and necessary topper. Next time, I’ll also add a dash of Old Bay to top off each bowl (with the bacon) and truly dice the veggies (especially the potatoes - I got a little chunky with them).

This one was very true to the serving size (8 meal-sized bowls), so we had plenty left over. It was also great the next day!

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/12732/fish-chowder/?internalSource=hub%20recipe&referringContentType=Search&clickId=cardslot%203

COURSE 2: Kale Caesar salad with homemade garlic croutons. I’ve never made traditional Caesar dressing before (there are sneaky anchovies in there!) but I’ve had really good luck with other homemade dressings (ranch was so good). The Caesar dressing came out BANGING - it was SO rich and good. I’ve never even had Caesar dressing like this. Only difference from the recipe is I wanted the salad to definitely have a refreshing zing of citrus to cut some of the rich fish dishes so I used the juice from a full lemon instead of just 1 tbsp.

I used an incredibly soft and delicious half-bread loaf that was (unfortunately?) just as soft and delicious the day after I bought it. I didn’t use enough oil for the croutons but with some low heat (once all the oil was absorbed) they still turned out pretty well. The garlic quarters really flavored the oil nicely.

Many years ago in Nashville, I had a really great kale Caesar salad where they julienned the kale and massaged it with the dressing to soften it. So I took a page from their book and thought - like lettuce - if I let it sit for a little it would soften all the more. Nope lol! Turns out, kale (unlike lettuce) actually absorbed the dressing, but not in a good way...after like 2ish hours of sitting, it was just a liiiiiiiittle on the dry side. And this was after I actually thought I may have added too much dressing. It was fine - the croutons were great, and the flavor was still good just not quite as show-stopping as it was when I first tossed it all together. So definitely makes the Brick House Menu but with the lesson learned of not assembling too early to maximize impact!

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/14172/caesar-salad-supreme/?internalSource=hub%20recipe&referringContentType=Search&clickId=cardslot%2010

COURSE 3: Mediterranean stuffed, roasted red peppers with homemade ricotta. Winner winner! Though (due to totally unrelated shenanigans of the night) I didn’t get a chance to serve these warm. They’re definitely better that way but still a crowd fave.

https://reciperesolutions.tumblr.com/post/186616160460/roasted-red-peppers-and-cherry-tomatoes-with

COURSE 4: Girelle and shrimp with sundried tomato cream sauce. This was a showstopper! My favorite compliment of the night: ‘This is like something you’d get at a fancy restaurant. Like it’d be really expensive but worth splurging on.’ I used large shrimp which were the PERFECT size to go with the girelle pasta I found at Wegman’s. Was initially looking for fusilli (spirals) but this looked even more fun and just as good at capturing the sauce. Which, by the way, was AMAZING. I’ve never cooked with vermouth before (and went with sweet vermouth, not the extra dry) but it was a game changer for me...so, so good.

Biggest lesson was I don’t have a large enough bowl to make a double batch lol. Also, that for this feast, a single batch definitely would have been enough. So good though! Sent two people home with leftovers they liked it so much, and had 3 portions leftover for ourselves (so...maybe a double batch was just the right amount)! Oh, and that was also after I totally forgot to save fresh basil to mix in...that’ll make it all the better next time around. Brick House Menu!

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/pasta-with-shrimp-in-tomato-cream

COURSE 5: Grilled salmon fillets with homemade yogurt dill sauce. Classic! :) Seasoned with S&P then grilled the 6ish oz fillets 4ish minutes skin-side up and 2ish minutes flipped (though didn’t use enough oil on the grill so none of the skin actually made it onto the plates lol). The dill sauce is my own!

https://reciperesolutions.tumblr.com/post/172874494098/tomato-dill-salad-broiled-salmon-and-dill-sauce

COURSE 6: Charred asparagus with citrus bagna cauda sauce. I checked on the asparagus after 5 minutes, then 8, then figured I’d give it another 3 or 4 but forgot about them and probably went close to 10 - but they turned out perfectly charred. (Which was pretty lucky.) I got distracted and missed the finishing steps of sauce (forgot to put in the S&P and citrus juices) so I threw those remaining ingredients in right after I poured the sauce over the asparagus. It was good but not mind-blowing so a retrial may be in order. Made a double batch.

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/char-broiled-asparagus-with-citrus-bagna-cauda

Technically the course numbers are a little skewed, as course #1 was actually tuna fish bites brought by our friends - the perfect appetizer and the final (/first) dish needed to reach the coveted 7 courses!

- - - -

Lessons learned from my first Feast:

1) We had 6 people and most dishes were 4 servings (except when I doubled them). Doubling was definitely not necessary, except maybe for the asparagus. (Just two of us usually go through one whole bunch of asparagus...though now that I’m thinking about it, we had nearly half of the asparagus leftover, so maybe a single batch of that would have been okay?) We ended up giving two tupperware’s of the pasta away, then had 4 meals (2 dinners and 2 lunches for 2 people) leftover. It actually worked out really well: I did a LOT of cooking for the feast and then got to take the next two days completely off!

2) Though the traditional Italian full-on meal consists of cold appetizers, hot appetizers, salad, pasta, protein, etc., I wasn’t actually convinced we needed a protein course by the time I got to eating it. I was thinking that 3 oz instead of 6 oz for the protein would have been better, but as I’m typing this, I’m realizing (having made one fillet per person) we only had half of a fillet leftover (which was actually mine). So, actually, maybe 6 oz was perfect as planned for everyone else’s appetite!. And skin-on is great, but I haven’t quite mastered that technique on the grill yet lol.

3) Keep everything warm once it’s finished. Nothing was bad at room temperature but some of the dishes would have just been so much better if I’d thrown them in a 170 degree oven while they were waiting to be served, having finished them up early.

4) Prep it alllllllll ahead of time (except combining the salad+dressing lol). I started prepping food around noon but had (likely a couple hours’) interruptions through the day. It all worked out perfectly in the end and I got to enjoy the meal with everyone for what felt like most of the courses, but that was mostly luck. My original plan was to serve everything in waves, which ultimately fluctuated a little to be: apps as people trickled in, then soup, then salad+stuffed peppers+veggies, then pasta+protein shortly following. Having a ‘first serving’ allowed me to whip up the mains (neither of which took much time at all - which was both intentional and, admittedly, very smart of me) then sit down and enjoy them with everyone and all the other food already on the table. But it could have gone a little smoother if I’d finished all the prep for everything (except the quick mains) before people starting arriving.

5) Compostable bowls are not a great idea for soup.

6) Asking for apps, desserts, and white wine from guests for this ‘potluck’ was definitely a good strategy!

I’ve hosted a LOT of potlucks in my time but really liked the sit-down-dining style of this dinner party with the waves of courses. Definitely a lot of work to do regularly but worth it once a year! Also one of the most interesting observations for me was being very full by the end of the night but not totally overstuffed and feeling grossly overeaten. I like to think that’s a testament to the well designed menu and dishes that - save one or two with some cream - were really pretty healthy. All in all, a WILD success and I can’t wait until Christmas next year!

[recentanimenews]

THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH Continues with Episodes 8-14!

Welcome to the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! I'm Kara Dennison, and I'll be your host this week as we make our way through all 220 episodes of the original Naruto. Last week, we covered episodes 1-7, and we continue this week with episodes 8-14.

  This week, Team 7 pushes through on a bodyguard mission that is way above their pay grade. Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi-sensei deal with a town living in fear, a ninja who's as pretty as he is deadly, and another who just refuses to die. And the new Genin continue their training with their toughest challenge to date: Chakra-assisted tree-climbing!

  Before we discuss these episodes, let's check out some questions and comments you had from our last installment!

    Several people asked if we would be doing a Dattebayo/Believe It count.

  Kevin: As the person actually doing the counts, I am totally willing to add another to the list. Admittedly, this one would be a bit more difficult, since I would need to actually pay attention to find all of the instances, instead of just noticing when there are multiple Narutos or a bowl of ramen on screen, made more difficult by the subs seeming to be inconsistent with how the phrase is translated. Someone who actually speaks Japanese might be a better choice since they’ll catch it more easily. Regardless of who though, if we’re adding it, the earlier the better so that the counter can go back and get the count for all previous weeks.

  We were also asked about doing reaction videos rather than write-ups. We'd love to do this! Unfortunately, the spread of our Features team across several time zones combined with how long it would take to assemble and edit videos like this means that we couldn't move at the speed we currently are! We hope you enjoy the write-ups as we go!

  Remember, you can leave us questions in the comments for the next set of episodes, and we'll answer them together in the next update!

  Now, let's see what the Crunchyroll Features team thought of this week's episodes!

    We’re into our second week of viewing. Has anything happened to change your early-stage feelings about the series last week? On the flip-side, has anything happened to cement early feelings?

Joseph: Despite the fact that this leg of the series introduces the whole “spend the first 10 minutes recapping what happened during the last 10 minutes of the previous episode,” Naruto is surprisingly fast-paced. In many ways it reshapes my previous feelings about this being a total shonen crawl, because Naruto and the team do manage to learn quite a bit in under a dozen eps.

  Paul: It's still too early for me to offer any specific criticisms about the show or its qualities. Naruto is still a shouty shonen protagonist, Sasuke is still the broody support character with the tragic backstory, and Sakura is, well, still the generic love interest. I hope she doesn't get left behind in terms of development and cool character moments. On the flip side, Naruto and Sasuke teaming up against Zabuza does cement my opinion that the fight scenes are pretty cool.

  Peter: I forgot how fantastic the early dynamic amongst Team 7 was, especially how Sakura was every bit the little piece of shit Naruto and Sasuke were. I’m actually afraid of new plot developments now since I can’t recall exactly how long this equilibrium lasted before… Well… Maybe that’s why One Piece and Black Clover make me feel so nostalgic, both have similar character chemistry but have stretched it out for their entire runs.

  Danni: This batch of episodes established some of the characterization that felt absent from the initial episodes. I like that we’re already seeing a friendly rivalry develop between Sasuke and Naruto rather than an antagonistic one. I’m looking forward to seeing that relationship grow.

  Carolyn: There were still many moments when I felt quite bored. I can’t say why exactly, but the show doesn’t fully capture my attention. That being said, I was glad to see a lot less Sexy Jutsu and for the most part less pining over Sasuke. It’s starting to become more of what I seemed to remember. I’m very impressed with how driven Naruto is and how much he dedicates himself to his goals. He’s a much better-written character than I realized the first time I watched the series.

  Jared: There was less of a pull on emotional storytelling in these episodes, although Inari’s backstory was a wild roller coaster. That continued the trend of this series really knowing when to make story bits impactful. I also liked Naruto and Sasuke’s rivalry becoming more friendly than the two of them being jerks to each other.

  Noelle: These episodes are mostly refreshers for me, but it was nice to see Naruto and Sasuke’s rivalry really start to form, instead of the short initial bursts we got in the first few episodes. Now it really feels like there’s more of a competition. On the flip side, well, it is still a shonen show, and all that comes with that.

  Nicole: Team 7 is really starting to come together. Naruto and Sasuke each have their desire to improve and be the best they can possibly be, but they won’t dare lose to one another! I wish Sakura did more though; yes, her control of chakra is exceptional, but I’d like to see her kick some ass too, please. Meanwhile, Kakashi remains my favorite character and I wonder if that’ll change as we watch the entire series.

  David: I’m glad that there is some thematic meat to this arc. Naruto’s story is still relatively basic for the genre, but the dynamics of the bridge builder Tazuna trying to help his community while fighting against the much more privileged shipping magnate Gato are genuinely interesting. Zabuza and Haku are the main combatants but they are sympathetic, essentially also being tragically used by the real villain Gato. I wish Naruto and company were more closely tied to the conflict, but as it stands I’m impressed.

    So we finished out the fight with Zabuza… and now we’re in the middle of the fight with Zabuza and Haku! What’s your take on the action in this batch of episodes?

Joseph: The first round of the Zabuza fight ends with what is probably the most exciting moment of the series so far: Naruto and Sasuke’s double-team trick attack that involves Naruto disguising himself as a massive shuriken to mount a sneak attack from behind. The physics implications alone send the mind reeling. I love this and some of the other key action beats, but I just have one beef: this early on, the move is too brilliant for Naruto. I just can’t even fathom that he came up with it knowing what we know about him at this point. It still kicks ass, though!

  Paul: What pleases me about the action sequences is not just the presentation of far-out effects from the Jutsus, but also the little bits of business such as Naruto and Sasuke sharing a smirk when their Shadow Shuriken plan comes together. That reversal of expectations – from success to failure back to success again – is a dramatic structure that Naruto does well.

  Kevin: In general, I quite liked the action. The end of Team 7 versus Zabuza showed off teamwork and ingenuity, Naruto versus Gato’s goons evolved the “Shadow Clones transformed into Shuriken” concept, and Sasuke versus Haku showed off 1-handed signs and Kekkei Genkai. The last one doesn’t necessarily have the most exciting action, but it develops the ninjutsu system nicely.

  Peter: I’m once again awestruck how easy Kishimoto made this adaptation. They pull so many dynamic layouts straight from the pages of the manga. Sasuke’s windmill shuriken reveal was every bit as peak goth as I remember. With a lot of Shippuden and Boruto’s action more clear in my mind, it’s really awesome how many details have carried throughout the series. Also I totally forgot how bad Haku seems to eat it every time he actually gets hit. Two blows to the face and each time you get this lovingly animated neck snap and flop over.

  Carolyn: I actually noticed a lot of thought processes going on that I found very interesting. Were those there last week and I just missed them? I enjoyed hearing Sasuke put pieces together to figure out what the course of action might be in the face of danger. Or Kakashi figuring out the fakeout death. I like that we get to see a little bit of the brains behind the brawn.

  Danni: It felt a bit more slow-paced this time, like every move required a set of reactions followed by a complete explanation of what just happened. That aside, I appreciate all the trickery that’s been going into the current battles. It engages me to a point where I’m watching every battle trying to predict the moves right along with them.

  Jared: These fights definitely ramped up the danger aspect compared to the first set of episodes. The teamwork shown from Naruto and Sasuke in the first Zabuza fight was great. I thought it was interesting that even though we’re still relatively early on, Haku’s jutsu was stuff that had never been seen before by even people like Kakashi, which I’d have figured would come later. Naruto and Sasuke both did get their moments of looking cool, so maybe Sakura will get hers soon? Hopefully?

  Noelle: Really, the shuriken bit from the first fight was pretty great. Yes, it was cool but what I most enjoyed about it was that it shows that Naruto’s still learning. He may be stubborn, but he’s pretty adaptable too! That makes the small victories that come with it feel a lot more earned. As for the second fight, it is dragging a bit.

  Nicole: That shuriken moment was totally brilliant, and the smirk both Sasuke and Naruto share as it catches Zabuza off-guard is gold! They worked seamlessly as a team, and this seems to be just the beginning of this beautiful teamwork. Getting to see their different styles is refreshing; Sasuke seems to do things in order, whereas Naruto is more of a experimental type of ninja. Sakura… well, we’ve yet to really see her in action, so can’t really say much about her. But getting to see how they work, how they think and how they’re learning as they go is pretty neat!

  David: Unlike the first batch of episodes, where the action seemed like it had potential but was held back by stilted animation for the most part, the fights here are all fluid and impressive. The Naruto-shuriken gambit is incredibly cool, but even the more basic hand-to-hand combat between Sasuke and Haku is just a joy to watch. They have magic powers, but the fights still manage to avoid the ‘floaty’ feeling shows with magic-infused combat sometimes fall into - hits always feel like they have a real weight to them.

    We also get a second viewpoint on the situation in the Land of Waves via Inari and his family’s history. How do we feel about that storyline?

Joseph: Episode 10 introduces one of my favorite low-key shonen tropes: the “jaded child who no longer believes in heroes”! I like the way this one plays out. Tazuna seems kind of shady when the squad first runs into him, but the story he presents about Inari and his family is really heartfelt, and cements this bridge as something worth fighting for.

  Paul: I know I'm not supposed to want to drop-kick the small child who has been repeatedly traumatized by bullying, poverty, and the murder of his adoptive father, but if they wanted Inari to be sympathetic, they shouldn't have given him that awful hat. It looks like at any moment he's going to try to sell me crypto-currency or hector me about how the workplace wage-gap is a myth.

  Kevin: The backstory was well constructed and made the characters’ motivations understandable, I just wish that I cared about Inari nearly as much as I do his dead foster dad. Did we really need a second kid for Naruto to impart wisdom on because the kid’s going down the same path as him? Wasn’t Konohamaru enough?

  Peter: I’m sure everyone on the team who watched MHA before Naruto is starting to make some connections with Inari. Mostly I am, and always have been, fascinated with the world that Kishimoto has created. I heard he grew up in a military town, but I’m curious about what personal experiences led to him developing this world with such a laser focus on how the prejudiced and violence of adults pass down to their children.

  Carolyn: This universe is not gentle to orphaned children, that’s for sure. It’s kind of sad how often they are treated badly for literally being traumatized. Also, screw that kid for throwing the puppy in the water.

  Danni: Listen, I’m on board for any storyline where a monopolistic corporate a-hole is the bad guy.

  Jared: I sure wasn’t expecting Inari’s backstory to feature attempted dog murder and then death by crucifixion and stabbing. Or the fact that this was going to be about class warfare. If anything though, maybe Inari will help bring the bucket hat back into style.

  Noelle: Inari comes as the second of ‘kids that Naruto relates to’, and it’s slightly different than Konohamaru. I admit I don’t really care deeply for Inari, even though I certainly feel bad for him because his dad’s murder is a lot more brutal than I remember. It’s also a lot more ‘greedy businessmen are bad’ than I remember, I was definitely more focused on ninja action than the ‘existing power structures will backstab you’ part as a kid.

  Nicole: So when are they gonna punch Gato? When is Gato gonna get his? I didn’t remember the Land of Waves being in such a dire situation. And I certainly didn’t remember Inari’s dad getting publicly executed! Yeah, Gato needs to go, ASAP.

  David: The hero of the people being literally crucified by the unrelenting capitalist overlord was a little on the nose, but considering the entire theming of the arc already surprised me with its thoughtfulness, I’m not really complaining.

    We’re also seeing lots of new moves! What’s been your favorite new Jutsu?

Joseph: My favorite Jutsu would have to be the way Naruto and Sasuke used the transformation move, which is something I’m sure was on a lot of minds during this batch. Beyond Jutsu, though, I gotta give a shout-out to some of the new concepts Kishimoto cooked up. I love the idea of tracker ninja and the notion of having to recover or destroy bodies before their ninja secrets can be revealed.

  Paul: I don't know if it counts as a Jutsu specifically, but Kakashi using his Sharingan to copy (and surpass) his enemies' techniques was pretty dope, if only for the imagery of dueling water dragons.

  Kevin: While it’s not technically a jutsu on its own I completely forgot about the “Shadow Clones turn into shuriken” combos, and I love seeing them. It’s a level of strategy that Naruto doesn’t normally employ, and I hope that there’s more stuff like it in the future.

  Nate: I'm always partial to Naruto's training, in this case something super basic (for a ninja) like running vertically up a tree--the series always does a great job breaking down a technique so the characters can fully understand it, which then means that we understand it. Later, when the characters use the technique, they don't need to explain anything and can just let the action do the talking.

  Peter: Naruto loves breaking its own rules. No sooner did they bother talking about hand seals than a character is introduced who can do it with 50% less hand. That said, some of the shit Sasuke pulls later on with seals is some of the most awesome fight choreography in anime. Also Kakashi’s use of sharingan is really bizarre at this point. I’m really curious what Kishimoto’s original plans for the doujutsu were before developing it (or not) later on.

  Danni: Does the sharingan count as a jutsu? I hope so, because that’s my favorite. It’s the shinobi equivalent of the kid at recess going “I just learned all your moves and can deflect all of them now.” It’s way too OP. I love it.

  Carolyn: So. Many. Clones. I don’t think it counts as jutsu but I am a definite fan of the pretend death needles.

  Jared: Haku’s hidden jutsu of ice mirrors is rad from the sense of a technique that could seem as if there’s no means of beating it, but also you could have a nice side business by having a portable house of mirrors.

  Noelle: It’s not really a jutsu, but I still love the sharingan. I also completely forgot about the shuriken transformation so that was great to see it again!

  Nicole: That would have to be that one scene of Zabuza doing the Water Style Water Dragon Jutsu and Kakashi copying all of it like it was nothing. It was so cool to see all the hand signs in motion like that for the first time!

  David: Haku’s ice mirrors genuinely frightened me as a child - I was completely convinced Sasuke was just going to die there back then. It’s still very cool now. Getting a hint of the more high-powered fights watching Zabuza and Kakashi go at it is also neat but I’m more impressed by the smaller powers I think.

    And of course, to close things out, what’s everyone’s personal high and low points of episodes 8-14?

Joseph: I think I’ve made my high point clear enough: LIVING. SHURIKEN! As for the lows, Sakura is still getting the short shrift. Naruto and Sasuke are constantly growing, yet she remains far from the spotlight. There’s one moment where she approaches Tazuna and says she’s in charge of guarding him while Naruto and Sasuke continue to practice climbing trees. I don’t really see how she can help; shouldn’t she be back there training, as well? At this point she seems like an afterthought that’s used more as a wedge to place between two characters who don’t really require any additional tension.

  Paul: Low point–Inari's mom being menaced by a pair of leering, sword-licking samurai goons. High point–Naruto delivering a righteous head-kicking to said goons. Sometimes the baddies just need to get roundhouse kicked into next Tuesday.

  Kevin: High Point- Naruto asking Sakura for tree climbing help. First, I’m a sucker for shonen training, so seeing the main characters get a week to practice a new skill is great on its own, especially since we see the start of Naruto and Sasuke being actual rivals. Even better though, the show builds on the previous idea of teamwork being more important than anything else by having Naruto realize that he can improve more quickly by asking a teammate for help instead of (in this case almost literally) running into a wall. Low Point- Sasuke in the Ice Mirrors. I know that he’s being pinned in and this is the first time that one of the kids is seriously in danger, but it’s also a problem that can be solved by covering your head and running in literally any direction to get out. Worst case scenario, you have a needle somewhere vital that it stopping you from bleeding out due to the needle being in the way.

  Peter: Once again my highs and lows are mixed. I’m really loving the interactions between Team 7 but you can already feel a growing disparity between the characters that indicate it won't last. The relationship between Sakura and Naruto specifically is super rewarding. You discover they have a lot in common and she softens on him once she realizes he isn’t 100% a troublemaker. Him showing humility and asking for help is also A+ shonen stuff. Loved the “I’m not telling.”

  Carolyn: I have been paying extra attention to the art style this week. I love the watercolor look of the backdrop and the occasional Ben-Day Dot style flashbacks. I also have been very much liking Naruto’s continued growth, being happy for Sakura’s success but still admitting his jealousy (emotionally mature in my book!) and coming to her for help. I continue to be surprised by how much depth he has when he isn’t being a punk. The low point, sadly, was still my girl Sakura. I swear I remembered her as being a stronger character but she just isn’t there, yet. She got much closer this week … when she had things to do. But then immediately followed that up by needing Sasuke’s approval before taking pride in her accomplishments.

  Danni: The lowest moments in these episodes are easily the all-too frequent flashbacks. I know, they’re an easy way of filling extra time, but as a viewer I feel insulted! Please, trust your audience to have a memory span longer than that of a goldfish! That aside, I can’t tell you how psyched I got at the shadow shuriken throw Naruto and Sasuke pulled off. I live for tech like that.

  Jared: This set of episode had to have at least 10-15% of them made up of flashbacks which felt like such a drag. Episode 14 is especially egregious with this since 10 minutes of it are just that for whatever reason. It didn’t help as well that the recap seemed to really nail what the series thinks of Sakura currently with that she just has the hots for Sasuke. Can Inari’s hat reminding me that I own a New Radicals CD be in between high and low moments? That said, the fights were a lot of fun, Haku proving that characters named that are cool and dangerous, and Naruto and Sasuke’s team up were all good moments.

  Noelle: The fights were fun! Even though Team 7 is made up of kids and one (relatively young) adult, it’s good to see that the kids aren’t entirely outclassed. Normally you’d expect the adult enemies to steamroll them, but the team is holding their own, and adapting to new situations. It’s good, not just something stagnant. As for the low points, boy there were a lot of flashbacks! It’s standard, I know, but it felt a lot like padding, if that makes sense. Trust your viewer to remember something that happened recently! Also Sakura’s treatment, but that is well, unfortunately a genre staple…

  Nicole: Low Point: Sakura not really doing anything. She is praised by Kakashi, but why hasn’t she really shown off what she can do? High Point: The overall growth of Team 7 as they trained and battled! Naruto asking Sakura for tips and then not sharing what she said with Sasuke was hilarious, but even in those moments of rivalry, they care for one another as a team.

  David: High point: Again, the Naruto-shuriken strategy is incredibly satisfying to watch unfold. It is the first time it really feels like the show has not only a solid understanding of its own mechanics but also the cleverness to utilize it for cool and exciting moments. Low point: kind of cheating, but the half-episode of recap in episode 14 isn’t just boring, it is also horrendously placed. Right before that, Sasuke is trapped by Haku, everyone is in peril, and Naruto appears to save the day at the very end of the episode! There can’t be a worse way to follow that up than by riding that excitement and suspense directly into a recap of the entire show so far.

  COUNTERS:

Ramen consumed so far: 2 bowls, 1 cup

"I'm gonna be Hokage!" count: 11

Number of Shadow Clones summoned: 52

And that's everything for this week! Remember that you're always welcome to join us for this rewatch, especially if you haven't watched the original Naruto!

Here's our upcoming schedule!

-Next week, on FEBRUARY 1st, we discuss EPISODES 15-21, with KEVIN MATYI hosting! Not only do we start the Chunin Exam arc, but we get our first FILLER EPISODE! THIS IS THE ONLY INSTALLMENT WE'RE ACCEPTING QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR THIS WEEK!

-Then, on FEBRUARY 8th, we'll discuss EPISODES 22-28, with JARED CLEMONS as host! The Chunin Exam kicks into high gear!

-On FEBRUARY 15th, we'll discuss EPISODES 29-35, hosted by DANIEL DOCKERY as things heat up in the Forest of Death!

  Thank you for joining us for the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! Have a great weekend, and we'll see you all next time!

Have any comments or questions about episodes 8-14? What about our upcoming installment, featuring episodes 15-21?

-----

Kara Dennison is a writer, editor, and interviewer with bylines at VRV, We Are Cult, and many more. She is also the co-founder of Altrix Books and co-creator of the OEL light novel series Owl's Flower. Kara blogs at karadennison.com and tweets @RubyCosmos.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[valenka072vbucksgaming-blog]

I beg your pardon? Figures out Fortnite gold Stand for?

Yesterday Epic Games delivered the big 3.5 patch for its popular battle royale game Fortnite, but within hours users started having trouble logging in. Around 6 PM ET yesterday the servers went down for good, and later the team tweeted "We're bringing the servers offline for emergency maintenance. We apologize for this inconvenience. We currently have no ETA on when servers will be back up." The game's status page has been updated several times since then referring to a database problem, but there's still no word when it will be back up.

With the outage nearing half a day, anxious gamers worldwide have been itching to get back to the action, not to mention the many people who live stream for others. As of 3 AM ET, the Twitch category for Fortnite showed nearly 50,000 viewers, who were mostly watching archived replays or streamers just hanging out chatting. Record holding streamer Ninja logged out after averaging 80,000 viewers even during the outage.

So if you're still up, let us know how you're dealing with the down time. Are you heading back to PUBG, watching old archives or just finding something else to do entirely?

As part of Week 8’s challenges for Battle Pass holders, players will be tasked with finding and dancing on a number of disco floors hidden across Fortnite’s map. While it might sound simple, it can be pretty difficult if you’re unfamiliar with the ins and outs of the game’s vast map.

There aren’t actually that many Dance Floors across the map and they’re tucked away in locations that can be a real struggle to find. Thankfully they stay locked in one position, so it’s not like you’ll be rooting around for a randomised location. This also helps us, help you.

We’ve put together a guide down below that’ll take you through all the known Dance Floor locations across Fortnite’s map, along with a helpful video that’ll illustrate exactly where they are.

Fortnite: Battle Royale is the hottest game on the planet right now, partly because you can play it just about anywhere. Epic Games' wildly popular survival shooter is available on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mac and iOS (with Android coming soon), and even allows some of those platforms to play with one another.

The iOS version recently went public for iOS 11 users on iPhone SE, 6S, 7, 8, and X (as well as any plus versions) as well as iPad Mini 4, Air 2, the iPad 2017 and iPad Pro, so anyone with one of those devices can play on the go.

Battle royale game Fortnite is down, meaning millions of gamers are in need of an outlet. Many of them have elected to switch to Radical Heights, a similarly http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch/?action=click&contentCollection&region=TopBar&WT.nav=searchWidget&module=SearchSubmit&pgtype=Homepage#/computer colorful, free game, bringing unexpected attention to the company behind it.

Fortnite is currently one of, if not the most popular game on the planet. At last count (by Epic Games’ stats), the highest number of concurrent players in the game was 3.4 million, and 45 million players overall.

Epic Games officials last night announced they were taking Fortnite offline for emergency maintenance, and it was down for roughly 14 hours by my count.

Update: Fortnite developer Epic has postponed the start of Battle Royale's new limited-time mode, 50v50 v2, to next week. In a post on Reddit, the developer announced, "You may have seen information or even a video about the 50v50 v2 Limited Time Mode going live today. Due to the account service issues we've been experiencing, and in order to preserve your play experience this weekend, we will be delaying it to next week." This delay comes after Fortnite experienced a significant bout of downtime that lasted nearly a day. The original story follows.

A new limited-time mode is starting soon in Fortnite: Battle Royale. Following the release of the game's 3.5 update on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and mobile, Epic is planning to kick off the 50v50 v2 event, a modified version of the game's very first limited-time mode.

As its name suggests, 50v50 v2 pits two teams of 50 players against each other. In this mode, players will have full access to the island for 10 minutes before the storm begins closing in. Supply drops will also fall every two minutes in batches of three to six, but they will only land within the final storm circle.

In addition to that, Epic has adjusted the spawn rates of loot in 50v50 mode. The likelihood of floor loot spawning has been increased 15%, and farming resources has been increased by 75%. Supply drops also spawn double ammo along with an extra consumable, trap, and resource drop, while chests spawn double ammo and consumables.

Epic hasn't announced an exact end date for the 50v50 event, but limited-time modes are typically only available for about a week. As this event is a "large squad" mode, it won't track players' profile stats. However, players will still be able to complete all non-squad-based Daily and Weekly Challenges. You can read more about the mode in Epic's patch notes.

50v50 is set to begin shortly after the release of Fortnite's 3.5 update. That patch added another new item to Battle Royale: the Port-a-Fort, which can construct a huge fort in a few seconds. Along with that, the update makes an assortment of balance tweaks and bug fixes, in addition to introducing new cosmetic options in Fortnite's paid Save the World mode.

[derrickappleus]

How to Make A Healthy Coffee Creamer

Java, bean juice, cup of joe. Call it what you want, if you’re a coffee drinker, coffee is really only one thing: necessary. Also necessary for lots of coffee drinkers? A quality healthy coffee creamer recipe.

In case you haven’t heard, those of us who like our coffee really. like. coffee. All those sassy mugs and tee shirts that say things like, “Don’t talk to me before I’ve had my coffee” keep selling for a reason. Coffee drinkers don’t just like coffee, we love it.

Meanwhile, caffeine dependency is practically a competitive sport. “Oh yeah? You drink four cups of coffee a day? Well, I literally need coffee to sleep at night!” Oh, and if you dare mention you’re not particularly fond of the stuff yourself? Don’t think that’ll get you off the hook and end the conversation. If anything, a coffee drinker will just take that as an excuse to brag all the more intensely about their obsession with the stuff.

I don’t know, coffee drinkers are intense. Maybe it’s all the caffeine.

That said, not all coffee drinkers necessarily love the taste of coffee itself. Some people (allegedly) love their coffee black, but not everyone wants to start their day with a hot mug of bitter black liquid. For many coffee drinkers, coffee creamer is a must have, but fitting it into a healthy lifestyle or diet can be hard.

I’ve been a devoted coffee drinker (caffeine addict?) since high school. Raised in a house of fellow coffee drinkers, there were a few unwritten rules when it came to the morning brew. Rule number one? If it’s not black, it doesn’t count.

I listened to my dad make fun of my pale, sweetened coffee for years. But I just wasn’t going to give up something I liked for something I didn’t. And neither should anyone else. All you have to do is find a healthy coffee creamer recipe.

When it comes to starting a new diet or nutrition plan, cutting out habits and vices is usually where people start. Unfortunately, that usually includes their morning cup of coffee. Whether you cut it out completely or just nix the cream and sugar, editing your coffee order is one of the first diet changes people make.

Sure, cutting out creamer can definitely save you fat, sugar, and calories. But that doesn’t mean you have to go without.

With this healthy coffee creamer recipe, you can drink your coffee as light as you want it, without sidelining your clean eating goals. Made with nuts (of your choice), vanilla, and dates, this simple coffee creamer is clean, healthy, and vegan. And if you like your coffee sweet like I do, the dates in this recipe help add the perfect amount of natural sweetness, no sugar necessary.

I like to make different milks every few weeks, mixing up my choice of nuts for flavor variety. Whether you find a perfect fit right away or keep experimenting, making the switch to plant based coffee creamer is an easy and satisfying transition you’ll actually want to keep up. Check out the instructions below for a healthy coffee creamer recipe that will start your day off right.

How to Make Nut Milk and Coffee Creamer

Whether you’re making almond, cashew, hazelnut, or macadamia nut milk or creamer, use the following amounts as a guide:

For milk use 2 cups raw nuts and 8 cups water. And, for creamer use 2 cups raw nuts and 4 cups water. Also, combine two nuts for deliciously different taste. If you prefer a sweeter cream or milk, increase dates accordingly. Honey or maple syrup can also be used as a sweetener. I use 1/4 cup raw honey for one quart of creamer but prefer unsweetened nut milk.

Soaking Time for Nuts:

Almonds – 8-10 hours, or overnight

Cashews – 2 hours +

Hazelnuts – 8-10 hours, or overnight

Macadamia nuts – 4 hours + (makes an ultra creamy milk)

If you’re like me, you prefer creamer that’s warm and creamy. My morning nut creamer is added to an automatic milk frother that heats the creamer and gives it just the right amount of foaminess. Starbucks? I must say, “my coffee, with it’s rich nut cream” is better, and a whole lot less expensive.

Print

How to Make A Healthy Coffee Creamer

//<![CDATA[ window.ajaxurl = "https://skinnyms.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php"; //]]>

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Yields: 5 cups | Serving size: 1/4 cup | Calories: 110 | Total Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 2mg | Carbohydrates: 10g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Protein: 3g | SmartPoints: 4

Ingredients

2 cups raw almonds were used in this recipe

8 pitted dates, (more or less depending on how sweet you prefer)

4 cups purified water for creamer and 8 cups for milk

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla, or 1 vanilla bean

Directions

Add nuts to a glass or stainless steel mixing bowl, add enough water to cover completely, cover with a kitchen towel and set aside. Do the same thing for the dates, a soup bowl is fine.

Allow almonds to soak 8-10 hours at room temperature, or overnight. Cover dates with water for in a small bowl, 2-3 hours only for dates.Discard soaking water.

Rinse almonds in a colander. Add almonds, dates, and water, to a blender, high powered blender if available.

Blend until almonds and dates are thoroughly ground. For most blenders, this will need to be done in two batches.

Place the nut bag over a large bowl and slowly pour in the contents of the blender, be sure to keep not to allow the milk to spill out. Slowly squeeze and twist the bag, using both hands, until most of the liquid is out. Add vanilla and stir until blended. The left over nut milk can be frozen and used later in smoothies or other recipes.

Store the milk or creamer in a covered glass pitcher.

Nut milk/creamer will keep in the fridge for several days.

4.4.2.1

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