#also kudos to you on being a swim teacher! I always loved my teachers as a little kid for swimming but my goddd I feel like I was

[hotcinnamonsunset]

I'm a swim teacher (mostly little kids, but I've taught a few beginning adults), and treading water as a means of keeping yourself alive used to be taught, but is really not considered watersafe anymore.

(because treading water requires so much effort/energy, eventually you will get tired and not be able to anymore, so the solution now is a good float on your back which requires next to no effort)

If you want to improve your swimming, you should work on your float in an area of the pool that you can comfortably stand up in.

You do that by trying to float (either in starfish position or with legs together, both are equally valid). You just float for a second and when you feel you've gotten a good float, just stand up.

Another thing you can do is, (again in the shallow area you can easily stand up in if you need to), retrieve coins or bottlecaps (anything that sinks) or something from the pool bottom in the like 3ft/1m section of the pool. Diving down to the bottom helps you learn so much fine motor control of your buoyancy and swim and really improves your confidence and watersafety, try to swim with your belly just above the bottom of the pool so a length of at least 6ft/2m or so (still in the shallow end, but if you get more confident in a few weeks/a month-ish you can go deeper).

Oh my goodness, reading this is a relief! Because while I can tread water, as was taught back when I had swim lessons, it was never a favorite of mine because it is so exhausting after a while.

So! Knowing that floating on your back is the recommended course of action is huge because that’s, like, the one good thing I can do! I never really saw that as being the most useful skill except for a way to pass the time doing nothing in a pool but now that it has been deemed with life saving properties, hooray😅

Back strokes were my saving grace, it’s the face-in-water swimming that’s my downfall. I have no qualms about using flotation devices though no matter how dorky🤿thanks so much for the tips!

[ladyautie]

get to know me more!

@funyasm​ tagged me and I’m bored after writing my chapter, so here it is!

✨ what do you prefer to be called name wise?

My name’s Sophie. My friends call me Spencou or Spence. We met on a Role-Playing game forum where I played a character named Spencer. We’re used to call each other by our characters’ names and nicknames, most of the time. My brother calls me Sis’.

✨ when is your birthday?

15th november 1993.

✨ where do you live?

Paris, France.

✨ three things you are doing right now?

I’m watching an episode of AT4W on youtube, scrolling on Tumblr and I’m drinking a coffee.

✨ four fandoms that have piqued your interest right now?

Definitely It and especially Eddie Kaspbrak and the ship Reddie. I’m kinda obsessed right now, writing fanfic, reading fanfic, daydreaming about it and all.

I just played the Last of Us 2 and I’m currently watching a let’s play from my favorite youtubers, Mari and Stacy from Geek Remix. I’ll probably read a few fics as well.

The tv show Barry (HBO) is a definite special interest for me. I’m probably going to watch it all once again real soon and I’m planning on writing a fanfic or two in the future. I’m dying for the third season to come.

Finally, I’m probably going to be super into The Umbrella Academy once again, when the second season will be released. I’m just really into Vanya, Klaus and Allison and I can’t wait to see more of them.

✨ how is the pandemic treating you?

None of the people I know have been contaminated, so I’m lucky about that. I’m not quarantined anymore, back to work, and the transition is not easy. 

I feel like I’m more openly autistic than I used to be and that I can’t stand the rest of the world for a long period of time. I’ve experienced multiple meltdowns and shutdowns and I have real difficulties to socialize with most people or to focus on my work.

I feel incredibly naked and vulnerable whenever I’m leaving my flat without my mask on, so I think that’s definitely something I’m gonna have to work on in the future.

Leaving Paris and meeting my folks for my mother’s wedding, I found myself surrounded by people who mostly didn’t care about the virus, kissing each other on the cheek in true french fashion to say hello, hugging, not wearing a mask, not respecting any kind of social distance. 

I was quickly overwhelmed by all of that, plus the noise, and I had to isolate myself in my parents’ car, sobbing hysterically and willing to suffer in a overheated car if it meant having a bit of peace.

There are definitely going to be long-term consequences. I can only hope that my physical health will remain okay, though.

✨ song you can’t stop listening right now?

Keep On by Sasha Sloan. I just really love the lyrics and the message.

✨ recommend a movie.

Whenever I have to think of a movie to recommend, Frank by Lenny Abrahamson is the first one that comes to my mind. This movie is an obsession for me since the first time I watched it and I often find myself watching it again and again. Despite its heavy subjects, it’s definitely a comfort movie for me.

Too often, movies featuring mentally ill characters will aim for the characters to “get better”, which doesn’t mean for them to find healthy ways to cope with their issues, but usually for them to look more “neurotypical-like”, if you know what I mean. Frank  doesn’t go that way at all. On the contrary, it pushes the viewer to empathize with the main characters and to understand their point of view, their way of being.

It’s so incredibly comforting to watch a movie featuring mental illness realistic and not romanticized and to have the movie say “you’re different and you have issues, but you’ll find your tribe someday and be able to find your own happiness, even if it’s unconventional by society’s standards”.

I don’t know, I just have so much feelings about this movie. Plus the music slaps, the humor is hilarious (kudos to the random French guy who can perfectly understand English but refuses to utter a single word if it’s not in French) and the actors are truly on point (I can only salute Domnhall Gleeson, among everyone else who is also worthy of praise, because he definitely managed to make me hate his character in a way I almost never hated a character before).

Watch it!

✨ how old are you?

I’m 26 years old.

✨ school, university, occupation, other?

I used to be a librarian, but I couldn’t find a stable job in this field, so I passed an entrance examination and I’m now working in the tax administration. Yeah, not really glamorous, but it pays the bills and I’m accommodated for my disability, so it helps. 

✨ do you prefer hot or cold?

Definitely cold. When I was a kid, I used to swim in mountain lakes, at temperatures close to 13° celsius, and I still take my showers mostly cold. I can’t stand heat, I get headaches very easily when it’s sunny and I’m getting confused easily whenever it’s too hot. I recently had a nosebleed at work so intense that I found myself spitting blood (it went better once I got a fan, making the temperature bearable).

✨ name one fact others may not know about you.

I used to be allergic to my own sweat when I was around 18, until my early twenties. Whenever I was doing a mild physical effort or getting stressed out, I would get hives and itchy skin rash all over my whole freaking body, which was so exhausting that I would fall asleep immediately as soon as the rash was gone. 

It disappeared as suddenly as it appeared, without me ever doing something about it. I still don’t know why I experienced that and if I’m going to experience that ever again. I hope not.

✨ are you shy?

My autism makes social interactions complicated, but I’d say I’m mostly impaired by my social anxiety and the various traumas I’m dealing with daily.

Traumas I got after having been bullied pretty badly by kids and teachers during my school years, my stepfather being borderline abusive and different traumatic experiences, including my childhood crush dying from a ski accident when I was 15 or so (and me never being able to tell him that I loved him) and people betraying me so many times that I can’t even recall every little thing.

As a result, I find myself doubting constantly that I’m worthy of love, affection and respect and I often wonder when I’ll do or say the “wrong” thing that will cause me to lose everyone I care about. I also have a hard time knowing who I am and, as a result, allowing everyone to know who I am as well. 

I often don’t know what to say and will find myself keeping my mouth shut, even on topics I’m knowledgeable about, because I’m scared of people shutting me down, among other things. My friends make it easier for me to talk about things I like and all, but I’m still heavily doubting myself.

I try to challenge myself regularly. I’ll force myself to take part in events that are taxing or that are forcing me to perform in front of people. That’s how I found myself taking part in the casting part of the french equivalent of “American Idol” (I merely met the pre-judges, but I did manage to sing my whole song in front of them). I needed to prove to myself that I could do it.

✨ do you have any preferred pronouns?

I’m using she/her, but I don’t mind people using they/them to talk about me if they don’t want to be gender-specific.

✨ any pet peeves?

I hate how people can freely and openly be homophobic, racist, ableist, transphobic, sexist and so on, but as soon as I open my mouth to let them know that what they said/did wasn’t appropriate, I’m labelled as one of those “hysterical feminists” or a “party pooper”. s/ Sorry if your antisemitic joke isn’t making me laugh, my “dear” colleague... /s I hate whenever people infantilize me, especially my mom. She’s still keeping an eye on my bank account, despite me telling her that I didn’t want her to do so again and again. I don’t dare to block her out, because I’m scared of her emotional reaction.  I hate the ugliest parts of fandom, notably the obsession with “who’s topping / who’s bottoming” whenever there’s a gay pairing or the racism / ableism / transphobia / homophobia I’ve witnessed again and again.

I don’t dare to engage in the Last of Us 2 fandom because of that and the way some people describe the character of Abby (a very muscular woman), focusing on her physical appearance and calling her awful names (being downright transphobic when they thought that she was the transgender character that Naughty Dog announced there would be in their game). 

✨ what’s your favorite “dere” type?

I had to google it, because aside from Yandere and Tsundere, I didn’t know a thing about it. I guess you could say I’m a Dandere (someone who is quiet and asocial. They are afraid to talk, fearing that what they say will get them in trouble.). 

My favorite type is Kuudere though, when it comes to anime in particular (someone who is calm and collected on the outside, and never panics. They show little emotion, and in extreme cases are completely emotionless, but may be hiding their true emotions. They tend to be leaders who are always in charge of a situation.). 

My favorite anime character, Kiyotaka Ayanokōji from the anime Classroom of the elite, is the most extreme case I can think about. He’s completely expressionless for most of the anime, talks with a very dull voice and it’s impossible to know what he’s thinking about at all times or what’s his overall plan. His hidden depth makes him all the more fascinating. He managed to keep me interested in a mostly meh anime.

✨ rate your life 1-10. 1 being really crappy and 10 being the best you could ever be.

It’s a bit hard, but somewhere around 5 or 6? I went through tons of crap in my life but I’m still here and able to live on my own, even if my quality of life isn’t all that good. I live with nearly daily suicidal thoughts since I was a teenager and have to compose with my meltdowns and anxiety attacks as well. I feel “other” most of the time and I can’t relate to most people I’m meeting and interacting with, which can sometimes feel very lonely.

On the other hand, I have wonderful friends who are willing to put up with my trauma crap and are overall amazing to talk to and be around. I have a cat I love dearly. They’re the reason why I’m still alive to this day, giving me a reason to say fuck off to my suicidal thoughts. 

✨ what’s your main blog?

My main blog is Ladyautie and is about autism. I have another blog, reddie-4-more, focusing on the It movies and Eddie Kaspbrak and Richie Tozier.

✨ is there anything you think people need to know about you before becoming friends with you?

So, uh, don’t be weirded out by the kind of things I can tell you about my past. Even if it seems a lot, all of it is definitely true. 

For example, I was almost kidnapped when I was around 8 or 9 by a random guy, while I was camping with my father. 

My father and my paternal grandmother actually kidnapped me and my brother when I was around two and I stayed with him until the social workers determined that my mother had to raise us again because our well-being and overall life were threatened. 

Lots of events of my life seem far-fetched or out of a movie / a book or something and I had people telling me that I must be lying or that I’m over-exaggerating, something that always hurts deeply.

I’m terribly awkward and more or less openly autistic, so you’re definitely going to notice something different about me. I can’t change for you and I’m not willing to hide my traits only to make you feel more comfortable about frequenting me, so if you can’t handle my socially anxious and disabled ass, then just leave.

I need people to actually tell me what they think or feel. I’m very “first degree” and I’m pretty bad at guessing what people are thinking about. Don’t be afraid to be frank.

Finally, never, and I mean never, infantilize me. I’m a 26 years old woman. I’m not a kid.I’m fine with my friends offering to help or making sure that I’m okay or so, but never assume that I don’t understand something and don’t force your help on me if I say that I’m okay.

That’s it, those who want to take part in this exercise, don’t hesitate!

[datleggy]

a list of every anime i love/recommend, accumulated over the last 10+ years

1. NATSUME YUUJINCHOU 

SUMMARY/REVIEW: 

The main character is a teenage boy named Natsume, whose parents died when he was too young to remember them properly. He’s passed around random relatives homes, but because he can see yokai (spirits), he’s ostracized by classmates and his foster families (ALL HIS CHILDHOOD FLASHBACKS ARE SO FUCKING SAD) and eventually very distant relatives (an older couple who never had kids of their own and have so much goddamn love to give D:!!!) take Natsume in, and the story basically starts from there. 

It’s a very heart-warming story following Natsume’s new life in this new town, accepting his ability to see yokai, forging new relationships in the form of friends and family, and even with the yokai themselves. 

This is honestly probably my favorite anime/manga period, because it’s so sad but so cathartic and you watch as the main character grows and learns to trust those around him, and finally gets the unconditional love he’s always deserved, not to MENTION THE FACT THAT THEY DO A WHOLE EP WHERE NATSUME IS TURNED BACK INTO A LITTLE KID AND IT IS SOOOO GOOD OMG

Plus for those of you who enjoy whump, this show has a decent amount of it. Mainly emotional whump, but also some episodes where Natsume is injured or sick--as well as I believe one where his companion (the chubby cat on his shoulder who’s actually a pretty badass yokai) gets shot with an arrow and is down for the count. 

10/10 would and have watched again. 

2. KODOCHA NO OMOCHA 

SUMMARY/REVIEW:  The main character is a sixth grader named Sana. She’s a gifted actress on a t.v. show everyone likes and she’s silly and fun, very intuitive and surprisingly empathetic for a child. 

Her main problem is in school, where Akito, who she deems the leader of her class’ wolf pack of rowdy rude boys, lets them terrorize not just the teacher, but all the girls in class, as well. 

I don’t really want to give a lot away, so I’ll just state the obvious. This anime/manga is shoujo, which means that it does focus on a romantic relationship throughout the series. Mainly the one between Sana and Akito. Sana is absolutely oblivious about her own feelings, while Akito is a stubborn little shit. 

I remember watching this at like, age 12 maybe? And I really enjoyed it because (although I do enjoy your typical silly doesn’t take itself too seriously slice of life shoujo) this particular anime, while super funny and light hearted at times, was also really dramatic and even kinda dark, which was surprising considering the characters ages and the general kid-friendly vibe (especially the opening for the anime). 

3. DETECTIVE CONAN

SUMMARY/REVIEW:  Our main character is initially Shinichi Kudo, teenage detective, who’s on a date with childhood sweetheart Ran (whose father also happens to a detective but like....not a good one lmao), when his nosy ass self decides to go and check out some shady business and gets “poisoned”. 

The poison he’s given is intended to kill him, but what it actually does is turn him back into a child. And now, as Conan Edogawa, (who’s 7 but like....we just supposed to believe all these cops and detectives on the force are cool with a seven year old wee lil babe on these really gruesome ass crime scenes??? lmaoooo) we follow him on his adventures as he solves crimes and tries to solve the biggest mystery of all, his own! 

I absolutely LOVE this anime/manga, even though I’ll be honest, there is SO MUCH FILLER, but I like the characters enough that I really don’t mind. The show is at least 900+ episodes in at this point, and there are a total of 26 movies so far, last time I checked. 

Also, the show is a whump fangirls’ dream come true. The main character is thrown out of windows, balconies, shot at, and in one occasion actually shot, he’s had broken bones, sprains, almost been blown up or drowned/burned, been sick, and oh, his occasional transformations from child to teenager are incredibly painful. 

This show is probably at fault for my love of whump, since it was one of my first animes at like, age 9. smh. 

4. THE DEVIL IS A PART-TIMER!

REVIEW:

I’m not even going to summarize this one. The title does it for me. This is truly one of the funniest animes I’ve ever seen. Motherfuckin Satan works at a McDonalds part time and it is the BEST. 

Technically I would count this show as a kind of harem, but only because there are like three main girl characters after the overlord Satan himself. I usually dislike harem type animes but the way this is done is sooooo good I couldn’t resist. 

I would watch a million filler episodes of Satan trying to solve problems at his minimum wage job tbh. I love every single character, I love the plot, I love everything about this anime! In terms of comedy (with the occasional plot driven serious moments) this is IT bro. 

5. BLACK BUTLER

SUMMARY/REVIEW: 

The main character is Ciel Phantomhive (roughly 14 years old). His parents are killed, his house is burned to ashes, and he’s kidnapped (around age 9 or 10 I believe) and abused. During this abuse Ciel calls upon a demon to free him and help him get revenge on those who harmed the Phantomhive household, which is where Sebastian, one “hell of a good butler” comes in. 

We then follow Ciel and Sebastian on their path of vengeance, and along the way we meet Ciel’s human servants, three very clumsy and seemingly bad at their given tasks characters (i love them all), and some of his extended relatives and connections. 

My favorite thing about Black Butler is the art, both in the anime and manga. Everything is so detailed and pretty! 

The characters are interesting, the plot is dark but they manage to make most of the series overall pretty light-hearted and funny in general. Though of course there are chapters/parts of the series that get really grim (which duh, the whole thing focuses on revenge so...) 

I have to say, the arc I enjoyed the most has to be the movie, Black Butler: Book Of the Atlantic. It is beautifully drawn and sooooooo entertaining. 

6. INUYASHA 

SUMMARY/REVIEW: 

Our main characters are Inuyasha, a half-demon, who’s been in a sort of spiritually binding coma for the last few decades, and fourteen year old Kagome, who falls into an old well in her family’s shrine and finds herself being transported into another time period. 

Together, she and Inuyasha travel across the lands in the feudal era to find the scattered shards of the shikon jewel, a powerful jewel which grants anyone who possesses it ultimate power. 

I was too young to stay up and watch Inuyasha on adult swim, so my mom would tape the show on a VCR for me to watch the next day after school--yes, I’m old old. lmaoooo I ADORE this show. 

It’s so good! It’s got everything! A tortured lil half-demon with a sad past who’s stubborn and rude but got a good heart! A fierce and equally as stubborn main protagonist, who’s whole ass family knows exactly where she goes off to??? and are supportive af????? like???? her mama packs her and her squad of demon/exorcist/demon hunter pals bentos?!?! lmao i love it. 

The characters are awesome and funny and likable as all heck, and of course they all have their sad backstory, but like, unlike some animes (lookin at YOU Naruto) they don’t go mega overboard on it, at least not without some plot behind the episode. 

7. YU YU HAKUSHO 

SUMMARY/REVIEW: 

Before I even start in on the summary, ya’ll should watch this soley bc of the cute ass 90′s style animation alone. LOOK AT ALL THAT SHINY HAIR!

ANYWAY. Main character is teenage hooligan and overall cutie pie Yusuke! He gets struck by a car and fucking DIES in the first episode after shoving a little boy out of the way, only to end up in the spirit world where the head honcho up there (who looks like a wee baby) tells him “Oh shit, didn’t expect you to like, actually do anything self-sacrificing EVER so like, you’re not on our list of people who were supposed to die today...” 

And uh, I don’t wanna give anything away, so I’m just gonna say that if you haven’t seen this anime yet, you definitely should! It’s hilarious and dramatic, the fight scenes are very well done, all the side characters, who eventually become main characters are a blessing (specifically Hiei, who’ve I’ve had a crush on since I was 12) and the ending is a satisfying one, which you can’t really say for a lot of media. 

8. CHRONO CRUSADE 

SUMMARY/REVIEW: 

I still get weepy when I think of this anime, so all I’ll say is it’s about a badass demon slaying nurse and her demon companion and some very tragic shit. 

It’s a great anime overall, especially if you like crying yourself to sleep at night :) 

9. GHOST HUNT

SUMMARY/REVIEW: 

The main character is high school student Mai, who is hired by Naru, the head of a Shibuya psychic research, and together, with a group of questionable exorcists/psychics, they encounter paranormal phenomenons and some outright scary shit. 

I’m not really a fan of the horror genre tbh but I do like mystery, and the series deals with that quite a bit. They deal with each case for several episodes so nothing feels too rushed. 

The series is really fun in a creepy, wtf is that way. I recommend the manga, only because it’s more detailed in terms of plot than the anime. 

10. ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM 

SUMMARY/REVIEW: 

I didn’t really make this list in any particular order but if I had to say, Assassination Classroom and Natsume Yuujinchou probably tie for BEST ANIME PERIOD! 

This anime is about a weird ass “alien” creature, no one knows where it came from or why tf it’s here on earth, all they know is that in one year it’s threatened to blow the world up. 

His only request to the government is that they let him become a teacher for Class E, the worst class of Kunugigaoka Junior High School, and he will stay put, so that they can attempt an assassination on him during this one year period. 

AND LISTEN! I am a shallow hoe, so I literally never would have read this manga or watched the series had I not been roaming Barnes and Noble one day with my S.O. and picked it up to read as a JOKE! 

I was hooked after the first chapter and I am soooooooo glad I picked this manga up, bc it is absolutely not the type I would normally go for, cover art wise. I finally, after many many years, learned not to judge a book by its cover bc LORD this anime is so goddamn good, you don’t understand! Like, I’ve watched it so many times and still laugh at the same parts, cry at the same parts, am proud af at the same parts! like, this anime is an instant classic and should definitely be more popular than it is. 

assassination classroom and natsume yuujinchou????? MASTERPIECES! 

[sparklyaxolotlstudent]

More than 900 notes on the “Lila gets Exposed” ficlet? I love you guys.

And writting Lila liying stupidly and being caught stupidly is fun. so yeah, I might make this a series on different characters catching Lila lying. At least I have some idea on how Alya, Chloe, Nino, Rose and maybe Juleka might catch her. 

These are meant to be unrelated and one shots, but I will try to kept characters other than Marinette and Lila out of the fic that aren’t their so they can still form a coherent narrative if the reader want to feel like Lila was caught by everyone.

———————-

Lila gets Exposed As The Lying Liar Who Only Lies

Marc and Nathaniel.

“Did you want to see me?”

Marinette got inside the classroom of the art club, where Marc and Nathaniel were waiting for her.

“Hiya Mari!” greeted overenthusiastically Marc, guiding her to a seat near a table where Nathaniel and he had been working. They had something covered in cloth, which Marinette found a bit suspicious, but was used to how theatrically dramatically extra those two could get.

“What’s this?”

“Well, remember our comic?”

“Which one? Where Super Nathaniel saves me from Stormy Weather and Lady Wifi and then we ki��”

“NOT THAT ONE!” reacted Nathaniel not so quickly, blushing so much his skin got the same color of his hair. “Ahem. The one where Might Illustrator and Reverser teamed up with Ladybug and Chat Noir for…”

“The double date one or the one where they fight Queen Wasp?”

“… Queen Wasp.” Marc turned to Nathaniel. “You told her about the double date one?” Nathaniel shook his head, both looked at Marinette confused, but she just smiled innocently and sweetly.

“Ha! You guys are so transparent. I was just guessing”

Marc made a face “meanie” he added a raspberry for emphasis. Nathaniel just kept his red hue.

“ANYWAY. The comic with us as heroes being heroes alongside the heroes of Paris” said Nathaniel very quickly.  Marinette giggled at how easy was to push Nathaniel’s buttons.

“And you’re our Everyday Ladybug, so we decided it was only fair that you would join the team!”

“We actually wanted to say you’re the real Ladybug, but realized that would be a bit problematic… and Alya would freak out big time”

Marinette had never panicked and been relieved so quickly in her life.

“Yeah, right, clumsy old Marinette as Ladybug, who would believe a loser like me was a superhero?”

Nathaniel and Marc looked at each other.

“Marinette, sweetie…” Marc said, holding Marinette’s hand “We love you with all our hearts, brains and other internal organs, but if you dare to call yourself bad names ever again, I will be legally and morally obligated to slap you silly until you learn to appreciate the wonderful human being that you are.”

“Duly noted”

“SO! Since you have never been akumatized –kudos for that, by the way, you rock – we didn’t had anything to base your herosona with… so we started thinking, and your main forte is designing, but bringing stuff that you draw to life is sort of Mighty Illustrator gimmick…”

“It’s not a gimmick!”

“Right right… so, Nathaniel thought about the hat you designed and we basically took a peek at your sketchbook, and we decided that fashion was going to be your thing!”

They grabbed the cloth and pulled it at the same time, uncovering a series of illustrations of Marinette in several hero suits. Some very elaborate some more simple. The main one seemed to be a play on her normal clothes, with a dark pink bodysuit with white details, including a belt, a dark grey jacket, and a brooch that resembled the ladybug earrings, just in the same shade of dark pink as the body suit.

“We based her a bit on Ladybug. With the brooch she can switch between suits, and the brooch changes colors to match which suit she is using. Her standard outfit is the pink one, which we based on your clothes, and it gives her agility and strength. The other suits are more specialized, like the blue one allowing her to breathe underwater and swim more efficiently.  We’re thinking a rainbow theme, with 7 suits plus the pink one. We might squeeze a black and white one too, although that is Reverser gimmick.” Nathaniel looked at Marc with a sly smile. Marc rolled his eyes.

“Touche. Anyway, we call her Fashionette, unless you want to be called something else”

Marinette couldn’t help but notice that they somehow had made the power of the suits match the power of the potions that Master Fu had given her. Still, it was different enough from Ladybug to throw suspicions… even though Nathaniel had made an illustration of Ladybug, ‘Fashionette’, Chat, Reverser and Mighty Illustrator. To Nathaniel’s credit, he had made Ladybug with longer hair, taller and more muscular than herself. She then wondered if that’s how other people saw Ladybug or if it was just Nathaniel’s artistic view.

“Marinette as a hero? Wow, you guys are so talented!”

They had been so focused on their explanation of Fashionette that they hadn’t noticed that Lila the lying liar who lies had entered the art room. Marinette closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Oh, and you did a drawing of her with Ladybug, my best friend.”

“Well yeah. We’re making a comic and including Marinette as a hero with us. I’m sorry, who are you?” asked Marc sincerely, as he had no idea who this girl with sausage hair was, but felt weird for how she was talking.

“Oh, you don’t know me? I’m Ladybug’s best friend, Lila Rossi”

“Isn’t Ladybug’s best friend Chat Noir?”

Lila’s eye twitched, but decided that Marc probably would question her if she kept that lie. Marinette smiled wide at that, hoping that Lila would go, but alas, she just approached the table and grabbed one of Marc and Nathaniel’s comics.

“Oh, a comic book. Cool. I know Stan Lee, he basically based Spider-Gwen on me. I might be able to get you to meet him someday.”

The three art kids looked at each other, a bit confused.

“Are you going to use a Ouija?”

“What?”

“Stan Lee died last year”

“And Spider-Gwen was created by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez, not Stan Lee”

“I… I was just testing you. I meant he based Spider-man on me, way before he died, of course.”

“Didn’t know you had a time machine. Must be awesome”

“What?”

“Lila, Spider-man was created in 1962, so either you have aged really well, or you have a time machine.”

“Ugh you guys, always misunderstanding me! I mean the spider-man from the movie!  He’s my best friend!”

“Didn’t know you and Tom Hiddleston were friends”

“Of course, we are very close!”

“Hiddleston is the guy who plays Loki. Holland is Spider-man.” Lila was speechless.

Marinette was using all her power to not fall from her chair laughing. Lila trying to outgeek Marc and Nathaniel, comic book fans extraordinaries, was the funniest thing she had ever seen. Even more fun than when Chloe fell in a puddle of mud.

“Ugh, you suck!”

Lila threw the illustrations to the floor, without noticing that Mister Perrault, the art teacher had gotten in the art room just that moment.

“What is going on?”

“This girl who I am still not sure who is” said Marc quickly, as he could see Lila was going to respond something “started trying to impress us with her lies, but since we didn’t believe her, she just threw our work”

“They were being mean to me!” Lila tried to sob, while the other three teens were gathering the stuff she had thrown.

“Regardless of what they might have said, I caught you on the act of trying to destroy the work of art they had done for Marinette, and if there is something I will not tolerate in my club, is precisely that. Follow me to the Principal’s office… whoever you are.”

The trio smiled. Marinette couldn’t help but worry at Lila being akumatized yet again, but she also wanted to put some input on her “super hero” persona that Marc and Nathaniel had created with so much love for her.

——-

Art Teacher has no canon name, so I landed in “Perrault” after searching for french last names. If you don’t know who Charles Perrault is, I weep for your childhood. 

And I do accept suggestions for “Fashionette” canon name, which would be also my Akumanette, should I ever write one. 

[recsnrecaps]

A Love So Beautiful Episode 2 Recap: Can I Hop On Your Bike?

Netflix oh Netflix. Why do you tease me so! With that picture, I suddenly have visions of these two all grown up and married. No!! Please just let me live in their teenage past and experience their budding love.

So. The world building continues in episode 2. Jiang Chen still appears to be an emotionless robot, but the writers have crafted a believable sob story to explain his emotional detachment and why Xiaoxi is so protective of him.

I’m still not taken in with Jiang Chen’s character yet. And the issue isn’t with the acting at all. For the stoic lead, he has a generous amount of micro-expressions and his “poker face” matches his sarcastic quips. However, something in the writing/directing leaves more to be desired. The parts about Jiang Chen’s past feels like clunky exposition to me.

On the other hand, I’m really liking the second lead, Wu Bo Song 吴柏松.In any other show, Bo Song would have been the main lead. He’s a charming and sporty dude with a sense of humor. I do feel kinda upset every time he interacts with Xiaoxi though. As the second lead, he’s fated to not get the girl. But he really puts in so much more effort than Jiang Chen - it’s not fair!

At Bo Song’s swim competition, silly Xiaoxi jumbles up the characters on her hand-drawn cheer poster, leading to a "Wu Song Bo" instead. Hahaha! Later on, after the race, when Bo Song was getting harassed by interviewers, Xiaoxi and her poster comes to his rescue with a giant cheer. Bo Song appears really touched by her support, so much so that he offered to trade her for the poster.

The camera work during the dinner scene deliberately included many many lingering closeups of Bo Song's hopeful face. As well as his repeated requests for the poster. It's obvious to us that Bo Song places a great significance on what happened and really wanted a keepsake. However Xiaoxi doesn't place the same importance on the interaction. In her eyes, she was just keeping her word to come and watch the race - she was merely being a friend, and not a very good one at that (the poster typo being an embarrassing bit of evidence).

So. Storytime now. As an old codger I watch shows like this and cringe unabashedly at scenes of young love like this. I have been Xiaoxi in various situations in my life where I have been absolutely oblivious that my actions were leading someone on. I was just being myself, you know? In interactions with said guy, a sentence might have some significant meaning to the guy, but because things seem innocuous on the surface, I end up answering carelessly and hurting his feelings. 

Here, Xiaoxi is so preoccupied with her life (and Jiang Chen) that she isn’t able to be properly present in the conversation, thus completely missing the social cues from Bo Song.

Personally I find Bo Song’s attraction to Xiaoxi far more organic and interesting rather than the shoehorned Xiaoxi and Jiang Chen childhood friends next door arrangement. Perhaps it's because Bo Song is such an expressive actor. He also has such a natural chemistry with Xiaoxi, I enjoyed him popping up to save Xiaoxi and giving her bike rides. And the impetus for the bike rides are so spontaneous and fun. Early in the episode, he smoothly glided up to save her from a group of girls. And in another instance, when they needed to escape quickly from their teacher, she just mounted up on his bike and they sped away crazily. Ah, youth.

Of course, the title of this episode “Can I Hop On Your Bike?” actually refers to the bike ride that Xiaoxi wants Jiang Chen to give her. It’s establised early on in the episode that Xiaoxi lost her bike. So it’s a running gag that throughout the episode, Xiaoxi gazes mornfully at Jiang Chen whenever she needs a ride, and he always ignores her. But in end, he eventually does give her a ride to school. 

Unfortunately, the payoff is so disappointing in this episode. I don't feel inclined to root for Jiang Chen at all, not even when I learnt that he doesn't have parental support. Nor does Jiang Chen's discovery that "someone" came and looked after him when he was ill make me feel like there was any significant development in their relationship. The bike ride at the end seems more like “payment” for Xiaoxi’s care, rather than an actual joyful and spontaneous event. I personally feel like this cheapens Xiaoxi and Jiang Chen’s interaction. A key part of my inability to accept their relationship, is due to the lack of communication between them. Well, Xiaoxi tries. She has made her intentions Vey Clear. But Jiang Chen is still a closed box. And until he opens up and reciprocates, their interactions just seem awkward and forced.

On to other stuff now. This story occurs in 2005 and in this episode the directors do try make an effort to pay homage to the era. I'm reminded of my trusty old Nokia phone whenever one appears on screen. In those days, everyone had a Nokia. A phone was literally only able to be used for calling and texting. Apps hadn’t even been invented yet, so the telcos had a powerful monopoly on phone usage. Depending on your phone plan, every month you had a finite amount of call minute and text messages to make. Any extra text message past your limit would cost a ridiculous amount of money. You had to stay within the character limit for each text and ration your texts or end up with your parents refusing to pay your phone bills. I’m so glad that telecommunication these days have improved so drastically.

Speaking of communication, the Internet was a vastly different place back in 2005. As we learn in this episode, being a moderator for a fangirl website is a big honor. Back then, going on the Internet did not consist of scrolling mindlessly on Facebook. You actually had to look for the content you wanted. Thus, there were hives of activity on specialty sites, and each community developed their own form of management. Typically websites would consist of a forum section where users could post their questions and comments on various topics. For a fangirl site, this forum is arguably the most important part of the website. A moderator would have the power to highlight or sticky a post to the top, or delete and ban users.

Although Facebook was not available yet, there were various blogging and sharing sites on the Internet in 2005. As shown in the episode, QQ was widely popular in China (and still is). Each user account could access various functions on the platform which included a friends list, chat message, a personal blog and private memos.

Next historical relic spotted, the Warcraft poster pasted on the door of the Internet Cafe that the boys frequent. Warcraft was released in 2004, so that was absolutely the era of the original Warcraft game. There has been loads of Warcraft sequels since, but the poster is the classic original one. Kudos to the props team on that one.

In the previous episode, the boys spent time in the Internet Cafe as well, and I'm pretty sure that the game they were playing was Counterstrike - another massively popular computer game in that era. Counterstrike is a fantastic bonding game. Every round is approximately 2 to 5 minutes. There is almost no learning curve to this game. You literally team up with your buddies, connect to a game, and try to shoot down anyone who isn't on your team. In an hour, you theoretically could play 50 short games. It's low stress and involves loads of incoherent yelling. It's therefore really believable that the guys could become fast friends after just one gaming session. And that they would make plans to go regularly after school.

That marriage game though............ I'm not sure I ever encountered anything like that. It’s also not within my personal experience that any 16 year old guy would be interested in broadcasting his impending marriage with his virtual waifu. Haha, just my take but this mindset seems too modern for 2005.

I'll try to keep my eyes peeled for more 2005 pop culture references throughout this show.

[fox-and-benedict]

[Fanfic, 100% Orange Juice] Free Lunch

Series: 100% Orange Juice / QPverse Words: 1705 Characters: Aru, Krilalaris, QP, Syura Originally posted: February 13, 2017 (blogspot version) A/N: Apparently this was a joke Valentine’s story. I basically forgot all about it.

Even in a world full of mythical beasts and godlike battle-maidens who could strike down the unworthy with only a few sparse clusters of glittering bullets, there was one rarity greater than any other: the legendary 'free lunch'. Aru knew this. She knew that other, less savoury things often masqueraded as free lunches to trap the unwary, like a mimic assuming the form of a treasure chest before it gobbled down a greedy adventurer. But then bunny in red was, well, in the red, and a lunch she didn't have to pay for in cold, hard cash might be worth the price extracted. “So, Aru,” Syura began, assuming her businesslike smirk. “I assume you want to know why I invited you for lunch today.” “I want you to tell me what you want so I can refuse outright before we start negotiations,” Aru replied grumpily. “That's why I like you, Aru. You always cut straight to the chase. Oh, Krila, if you're hungry you can eat the rolls.” Krila, although bemused at being summoned by a girl she rarely interacted with, needed no encouragement. The lady in black was also, perenially, in the red. Cleared of any obstacles to her moral dubiousness, Syura adopted her most businesslike voice, which was not particularly businesslike at all. “What I want in exchange for this lunch is very simple. From you, Aru, I want information. Specifically, how far you've gotten with QP. And Krila... well, I don't actually know what I want. I felt sorry for you, I guess. Just try to act like a normal person long enough to gossip with me about my best friend's love life, and we'll call it square.” Krila nodded vigorously. “I shall make the attempt, but I warn thee, the mantle of banality may be too great for my dark soul to –” “I'll take it. Aru, you can start.” Aru glowered, and tapped her index finger against the pristine white tablecloth. “The answer is nil. We're friends. We were hungry at the same time and place. We ate lunch together. She paid. The end.” The waiter arrived, brandishing breadsticks and condiments. Krila seized upon them with a force that might well have been demonic. Aru had never before seen a girl consume an entire breadstick without chewing, but she was pretty sure it broke public indecency laws. Aru and Syura looked at each other. “Krila,” Aru said quietly, “Has anybody ever told you that you should consider performing at birthday parties?” “With the right audience, I think we – I mean, you – could make a lot of money,” Syura added. “Of course!” Krila said, squeezing her doll close to her chest. “I have performed my Dark Shadow Boundary Dance on numerous occasions. All I require is a sacrifice of tiny sausages and chunks of cheese, impaled on the same length of unholy wood.” Aru decided that Krila was an utterly innocent babe and, as a gesture of mercy, decided to omit certain words in the last sentence from her memory. After a moment of bemused silence, Syura returned to the point at hand. “But you went for lunch together! There was a time, a date, two pretty women that I most definitely don't feel attracted to on any level. There must be details, and they have to have been scandalous. All details are.” Aru looked around the crowded restaurant, at the linens and the candlesticks and the happily besotted couples surrounding their table, and began to worry about a number of things. Her stomach, however, continued to growl, and she settled for just appraising the nearest convenient escape route rather than fleeing immediately. “What am I supposed to say?” she asked, holding her palms up. “The food was good. The company was good. We talked about socks. She has radical opinions on socks that I don't necessarily agree with and wouldn't want to repeat around innocent children.” She broke off to look meaningfully at Krila, before continuing. “I don't really know what details you expect me to have, or how they could be anything interesting.”Syura heaved a deep, indulgent sigh, like a teacher about to bestow a valuable lesson upon a wide-eyed schoolchild. “Well, there's the question of what restaurant it was, and who picked it. Remember before you answer that I'm buying you lunch.” Aru groaned. There was the leverage she had been expecting. If Syura decided she didn't want to pay, Aru didn't have the funds to cover it. She'd have to dine and dash, and as an upstanding citizen and as a business owner who understood the true weight of the transgression, she couldn't allow herself to do it. Her hands were tied. But, she thought, there was a way out. If she simply ate as many complementary breadsticks as she could, she could leave before the meal was served and still not be a bad person. It was a risk, since if she ate too many breadsticks and stayed she would ruin the value proposition of the meal by not being hungry, but it was a gamble she was willing to take. “We went to that little tavern place by the market. The one where you sit on barrels instead of chairs. QP suggested it,” she answered at last, trying to sound as defeated as possible. If she seemed like she'd lost, she could maybe get away with being sparse with the details and Syura would assume there was nothing else to tell. She quietly stuffed a breadstick into her mouth. Krila's eyes widened. “Oho! I happen to know that those barrels are in fact casks of dark essence, in which swim the Serpents of the Braided Venom Willows. You have my respect for surviving such a trial, as does the Holy Beast Maiden.” “Krila, I don't know what you just said. I just heard a string of nouns,” Syura said cheerfully. “But what I do know is that that place is super romantic.” Aru looked at the candlelit dinners being dispensed around them, and wondered if, like the average videogame character, Syura just didn't have the equip slots necessary for a sense of irony. “What did you eat?” “I had braised vegetables. She had steak.” Aru ate another breadstick. “Ugh. That's so unfair. She should be, like, a ball of dough by now. You get meat, or you get sweets, one or the other. And if you get both, you get fat,” Syura groused. Krila, upon hearing sweets and steak being discussed in the same sentence, began to drool. “Did she try and make out with you?” With the most absolute calm, Aru picked up her glass of water, took a hearty swig, and immediately sprayed it back out. “Such commitment!” Krila murmured. “I guess it's true what they say. A true artist makes their own opportunities rather than waiting for opportunities to show up,” Syura nodded. Aru, having achieved the required dramatic effect, set her glower to stun. “Don't you think that question skipped a few steps? You could have asked if we held hands, or gazed deeply into each other's eyes, or anything, but you went straight to making out?” Syura shrugged. “Go big or go home.” “I agree! What would you rather face, Rabbit of Crimson Moons: a dragon, or a really big dragon?” Krila asked. “Right now I'd rather go home. I've had enough breadsticks to make this worth my time,” Aru said, standing up. Syura's mouth hung open in a little gasp as she leapt to several conclusions, all of them wrong. “She did, didn't she? Did she have dog breath? I bet she had dog breath. You should carry some mints around in case she tries to kiss you. I know I do.” Aru groaned, attracting suspicious looks from any number of surrounding lovebirds. “That is, in order, wrong, probably wrong, and really weird. I'm leaving.” “Waitwaitwaitwait!” Syura gasped, lunging over the table and catching hold of Aru's sleeve. The candle wobbled precariously and would have toppled, but for the timely intervention of Krila. With a speed and clarity that she had clearly purloined from a ninja, she shot out a hand and seized the candlestick. Unfortunately, she squandered any kudos from her endeavour by suddenly realising that not so very far from a sword, and immediately attempting to wield it in the name of the forces of darkness. “Aru, I'm sorry. Listen, I probably pushed you too far, but... I just wanted to do the romantic gossip thing, like in all the VNs I read. I never get the chance to, because my best friend is QP and she's totally like a dense RPG protagonist when it comes to romance.” “I agree with you there. She's like a dwarf star. You just can't avoid getting caught in her gravitational field.” The two looked at each other and, for a moment, smiled. Krila stole a candlestick from another table and began dual wielding, finally living her lifelong dream of leveling in the rogue class, so that one day she could prestige into an assassin. For a brief moment, the world was at peace. The chef, having heard the commotion, marched out of the kitchen with her kitchen knives in hand; Aru recognised her as Natsumi, and briefly marvelled at how small the world was. The knives began to fly, and the world returned to the natural order of things. *** “Hi, Aru! I came again today. Hey, what happened to your face?” QP, her face full of concern, pointed at the band-aid on Aru's cheek. The bunny winced, and searched for an excuse that didn't involve being violently ejected from a restaurant with two weirdos. “I cut myself shaving,” she said, studiously looking in any direction apart from QP's. “You shave?” QP asked, blinking. “My legs, yes.” QP's brain worked for a moment, before filing the anomaly under 'too much effort' and continuing on the path of the conversation she had planned on having. Aru noticed her fiddling with the hem of her dress, and felt her own heart sink. “Sooooo, um, I don't know if you know this, but there's a rumour going around that you and Syura were eating together at a romantic restaurant, and I just wondered...”

[aubreyhans-days]

24 going on 25

As I start the countdown, I decided to do something that I have not been doing for years: writing a birthday reflection. Now I think ever since Mummy passed away I have not been doing my reflections because I begin to view time as something precious, and to maximize it, I believe we have to look forward instead of looking back. Plus the working world does not give you time to do so: it’s aways learning through doing; correcting mistakes as you go through the notion…so on and so forth. Hence like our students, reflection becomes something “useless and a waste of time.”(I wonder what counts as not wasting their time sometimes, given how they waste their time every day)

But for some reason I am still awake at this hour and it has become a habit that I do not do any work at home, so here I am sitting on a tin can far above the world…OK sorry I am just lazing on my bed balancing my phone precariously, preventing it from slamming flat on my face while typing a post on my tumblr.

OK moving forth to my reflection. 24 was a rather interesting year, going back to school and being a student with the mentality of an adult(tendency to chao Gen is super high) hurhurhurhur and living in hall for one last time. Then fast forward to this Feb, when I almost have the biggest breakdown in my life because of a rough practicum, and then bamp you get thrown back into the workforce. Countless lesson prep, 273736635 conflicts that could have been solved if teachers can give one big slap to students or use super glue to glue their mouths shut or flush them down the toilet bowl for every curse word. Not forgetting the 183736 arrows shot at you plus countless taichi sessions so that you can leave the office in the evening with minimal injuries. So yeah, I can feel the tough reality grinding me pretty much every day. So much for smirking at the presenter who said the first year of BT-ship will make you doubt yourself and burn you out.

On a bright note, I begin to understand the job of a teacher better and see for myself that some of the things that I was so adamant on seems to not work for the 00s kiddos. I still have a lot to come to terms with but it is good that my first school is doing a very excellent job bursting bubbles of my dreams. The days when I am disappointed with my darlings taught me how to lower my expectations so that my health does not take the brunt; the days when I was shocked by how lax I was with them taught me that I must stick to my principles and not lose myself to the easy way out. So yeah, kudos to myself for being able to see learning points from every experience.(now I sound like Raju from “the guide” because his words were shit with bits of gems inside) In essence, 24 is a year of getting jolted up from my dreams and facing the harsh reality and working world.

Next 24 is also a year of crisis. Bad skin with frequent outbreaks, tyres round my tummy, recovery rate slower than before…things you took for granted because you are young COMES TO A HALT AT 24. Never have I thought I will live long to see myself go swimming on a regular basis, or getting a gym membership because I need to stay healthy. In the past I was a heck care fatso who believes that being a healthy fatso is all that matters. NO. Being a fatso makes it easier for guys you like to be taken by other girls. Being a fatso means that your are that 1 in a million unsuccessful cases that can’t get a match on dating apps.(pretty much like that 0.1% germ that couldn’t give Dettol a perfect 10) But being a fatso cost you more money and also makes you recover slower, because your demand for the repair mechanics in your body starts to increase compared to the supply. Which makes you feel tired easily, and makes you feel awful for yourself(so much that you enter the vicious cycle of feeling awful then you comfort yourself with ice cream and wine, only to eel even more awful) Then you realise train tracks are appearing everywhere, even on your hands which were FREAKING SMOOTH THANKS TO NATURAL FILLERS CALLED FATS. So you started using a part of your money to buy better skincare and makeup, so that you feel better for trying. While you are still healthy, you realised your body may soon be showing obvious signs of aging, hence you decide to be a exercising fatso that takes care of your skin, so that the future you will be better. So yeah, 24th crisis also makes it a year of self-discovery(the innocent kind) and then trying to make yourself prettier and healthier, all for the sake of your future. So kudos for finally being able to become a better you just for yourself and no one else!

Lastly, 24 is a year of being comfortable with yourself. I hated that part of me that wants to be lazy on some days, and that part of me that loves being alone. It seems so quiet and still that the part of you that was conditioned to be a group dweller wants to silence this ‘loner’ you. But at 24, I learn that while some people might point fingers at you and whisper behind your back, you just…learn to say “no” or tell them your actual desires at times. Because you need that me-time to stay in your man cave. The tension and stress at work is so high these days, so yeah it’s OK to leave some time to be lazy, and maybe throw in another few mins/hours, BECAUSE YOU AIN’T A FREAKING MACHINE. Come on, even machines need downtime and maintenance. So kudos, for finding that part of you that was stifled by the judgements of others.

So marching into 25, I hope that I can learn more on how to improve on my time management, especially at work so I don’t make the same mistake like now where I have to think hard about how to finish my SOW. I hope that my relationship with others can improve, so maybe I won’t be Dwight from “The Office” and hopefully not be the last one left on the shelves. Next I hope that I can watch my spendings so I can afford to live a wonderful spinster life if it is so. Lastly I hope that my friends know how much I live them and that I am always thankful and grateful that they decided to stick to me like how Doraemon sticks to Nobita even though he suck big time.

It was a great 24, so let’s rock it, 25!!!