#also me: still trying to figure out how this website works dangit

[of-pale]

Vergil finds a new hobby

Hobbies were a luxury, an indulgence Vergil could scarcely afford throughout his stormy existence. He was accustomed to a life of constant movement and perpetual fight for survival, each step a calculation to outmanoeuvre the demons relentlessly pursuing him. Now, however, his circumstances had drastically changed and he had to figure out how to stop and truly live. It was a strange concept, but with his brother's office as a place of sanctuary he could always return to and an abundance of free time to spare, he had to embrace just living.

Not quite sure what to make of it, he fell back on his old habit of reading. Yet, according to the members of Devil May Cry, his ‘obsession’ with books hardly qualified as a hobby; more seen as a chore or a sinister ploy to seek out power. Though some tried to encourage him to explore new hobbies, their suggestions often fell flat and failed to pique his interest.

Of all people, it was Nico who managed to recommend a compelling diversion—a DVD of a vintage painting show titled 'The Joy of Painting'. Its familiar appearance drew him in, like staring at nostalgic pieces of a bygone era he could scarcely recall from a lifetime ago. She told him to give it a shot since ‘it was all the rage back in its hay day for a reason’. Glimpsing through fragments of the show, it appeared to be a worthy time investment where his attention to detail would surely pay off.

On a day when Dante was out terrorising some unfortunate ice cream parlour for its special deal on strawberry sundaes, Vergil seized the opportunity to relax uninterrupted. After setting up the canvas and the paints, he followed Nico's instructions to play the show on the DVD player—apparently a technological upgrade to the VHS players he vaguely remembers. It felt somewhat humiliating to follow instructions that seemed to be written for a child to comprehend:

press the tiny button next to the rectangle;

place the circular thing inside the pocket that slides out;

wait till the devices figures out its head from its ass;

on the remote, use the buttons with triangles pointing up and down to select an episode on screen;

oh yeah, that sideways triangle in the middle there is the select button;

It wasn't far off from describing an infant's toy where different shapes are passed through their respective holes. ‘That's right, the square goes into the square shaped hole. Yeah! You got it!’

Perhaps, there was still hope for him as he successfully followed the instructional cookie trail, simple enough for a four-year-old to navigate, and managed to play the show on the old TV. Settling comfortably in his seat, he paid close attention to the screen. The hosts' serene attitude and passion was contagious, and the painting process itself proved to be rather soothing. Although Vergil wasn't exactly a skilled artisan, the show catered well to artists of all levels. It was something he could improve upon and, as odd as it was, he now had all the time to spare for it.

“I'm gonna wash the brush and we’ll just blend that out. As you know, we wash our brushes with odourless paint thinner and we have a lot of fun.” The host dipped the brush into a bucket on the side. “Just shake off the excess,” he lightly shook the brush, following up with a practised motion of rhythmically smacking it against the leg of the easel stand. Almost chuckling, the host said one of his signature phrases, “And beat the devil out of it.”

Vergil looked down at his brush... menacingly.

[ryttu3k]

Already finished Coteries of New York, so on to Shadows of New York! I’ve seen the first bit in an LP, at least, but the bulk of the story will be new. This will have two playthroughs, one for each ending, since at least it has them XD First up - the ‘good’ ending!

Oh dang I like the music.

Julia is a bit on the edgy/cynical side XD

Yeah, she’s got a shit deal :-\ And what’s worse is that it’s all planned out.

Interesting note - at Lodestar, there were shadowy figures in the background, but you could rationalise it as people on the other side of the windows. On the train, you only see the shadowy features, and it’s otherwise empty, so no obvious figures casting them...

I guess if you choose the ‘don’t shoot’ option, Julia gets drained and it’s an early game over?

God that Embrace scene is intense. I got goosebumps!

Spirits, huh? Oh yeah, Obtenebration became Oblivion and is now connected with necromancy, IIRC?

I’m glad she had a good few nights XD;;

Valerie Duval, she was... the scourge in CoNY hunting down the Red Hook killer?

Nice to meet you, ‘Katherine Wiese’ XD

Cool ponytail, Qadir! I really dig the relationship between him and Julia, it’s fun. ‘sup Aisling, how’s Agathon? A blood hunt, really? Y O U. Okay yeah probably better for Julia’s long-term survival for Arturo to ignore her XD;; Samira’s so pretty. Ooh this guy is Hope’s sire, yeah?

“You wanted to hear about which member of New York City's Camarilla I dislike the most?"

"Yes?"

"Too bad. They're all my dear colleagues, and I deeply respect every single one of them."

"Sure you do. Wouldn't want to blurt out something that could lock you out of Mr Vanderweyden's legal services, would you, you ass-kisser?"

"I do expect to find myself in need of a good defense attorney when my broke, incompetent, and foul-mouthed assistant finally pushes me over the edge."

THEMST.

Benoit hi!! “Got any news about Sophie Langley?” *sharp intake of breath* Benoit backstory, that’s rad. I wonder if it’ll be uncovered in-game? Like we know Arturo is still around, Panhard is still around. Presumably Adelaide Davis is still around. Callihan... well, I know what happens to him. I think Torque ditches the scene before Sophie dies?

Father Leonard seems like a good sort. I wonder what his deal is?

Dakota is adorable. I’m going to do the ‘good’ end first even though I know it’ll make me feel horrible, but dangit, the ‘bad’ end is totally going to be my canon.

...Vin Diesel? XD

DING DONG THE DOUCHE IS DEAD. ...Deader than usual, I mean.

jfc Panhard that is pretentious as hell. Both the party description and the costume, actually XD Qadir’s mask is kind of funky. Oh my god Arturo you are a Toreador is that the best you can come up with?! Nice horns, Aisling.

...Thought, given their clans, Samira/Aisling could be interesting as hell.

Man, Arturo and Panhard must be pissed off XD Unless they’ve already picked their replacement stooge?

And here’s where the plot starts! Hey, isn’t that the priest’s house? Ohh, they’re meant to be meeting with Mia. I guess they’re just reusing assets.

“It’s a list of four names. ‘D’Angelo. Hope. Agathon. Tamika.’“ *SHARP INTAKE OF BREATH* Okay, that could be the list Sophie gave the fledgling. Which one did Callihan get it from?

Oh criminy Dakota don’t tell me you’re into that Q-Anon shit XD;; Ooh okay that makes more sense. Neat.

Ahhh man I was hoping to get a lead and instead Julia has to punish this poor fuck XD;; Yeesh. Okay, Bunny as a Reporter it is, then.

Almost run over by a limo, huh? *chinstroke*

Oooh this is the lead to Hope! Yeah, I’d say she has a connection with a Montgomery XD Wonder if she did end up eating her? Huh, contact used LeakyGutSyndrome... didn’t Hope end up having to retire that one, or was it the other one? Let’s just... Dominate this guy. Sorry dude it’s for your own good.

Agathon’s missing? :( Damn, he’s like one of the only decent Tremere. Oho, a diary! Oh sweetheart :( Oh, Silvia died :( Damn, interesting past, though... and a reference to CoNY again.

Fucking shadows, I literally glanced over my shoulder.

S C H E M E S. And yeah, looks like I’m on my way to the ‘good’ end :-\

Oh shit, Adelaide or.... whatshisname, Kaiser’s dude? Oooh man who to meet first... Kaiser’s dude. Oh. That was a bit anticlimactic XD

On to see Hope at Double Spiral. I think this is one of those choices that leads to one of the endings, so what’s more ruthless and Camarilla... busting in it is.

Nastya isn’t having a good night, is she XD;; Also Hope’s suit is badass.

...huh. Sounds like she’s actually managed to get shit sorted decently XD

Interesting... the coterie members were a list of heroes for hire that multiple people had, including Sophie. Well, that widens the scope a bit! Anonymous information broker, shall I assume that’s Kaiser? OH. No, it’s her sire!

“The story going around is, he left me alone and I hate his guts. Well, at least half of that is true.” Which half, though...

Aww man I wish I had saved some of those websites! I miss SciFiVine...

You know, I’m not 100% sure Carter’s the murderer (my main suspect is Arturo at this point tbh) but damn, the bit about Stern’s show kinda makes me want to slap him anyway XD;;

Queer Catholic blues, huh :-\

“Haven’t you noticed what’s going on in the news? People are going absolutely insane about this virus, cancelling trips and orders and --” Ahh. We’re in that 2020 XD;;

Okay the scene with the kid meeting his girlfriend was cute but then spooky time?? jfc was that the Abyss?!

Ooooh did she just find Tamika solely by accident? Thanks, Abyss XD I love how Julia’s first response is ‘shit, she’s hot’. And she took out a whole SI squad herself? Nice. Calebros mention! Huh, so the SI are maintaining the status quo... they became an issue because the Camarilla tried to sic them on the Anarchs and Sabbat and it backfired, maybe it actually succeeded here?

Ooh, a history with Torque. Neat. Also not sure with the art, but are those tattoos on Tamika’s arm, or fur? I mean, Gangrel beast marks and all.

Sorry Torque I’m just trying to get the ‘good’ end :(

Mention of the fledgling! Officially ‘disappeared’, that leaves it fairly ambiguous at this point.

Oof. The Circulatory System are... not cool. And yeah Julia’s just been called tf out, I do look forward to this scene in the ‘bad’ end XD;;

COVID strikes back. The Big Beat Burger is closed :( Charlie is sweet, at least! I hope his mom is okay.

Well that rat bit was weird. Hi D’Angelo! Oh my god blood doll rats? Drunk blood doll rats?! Still a damn good detective, though, that’s good shit. On to Kaiser and some answers! ...Yeah, okay, he’s a prime suspect too.

Kaiser, you are a deeply unpleasant person :-\

...good to know pepper spray still works. And, uh, probably satisfying to beat him up XD;; And yeah, there’s the last choice for the ‘good’ ending. Sorry dude.

...huh. Okay, I was at least partially right XD;; Oh Qadir, not you too :-\

Well that’s a bit... weird of Dakota, yes.

lmao oh Benoit you absolute mess. Religion as A E S T H E T I C XD I have a theory he’s from Michael’s line and I also quite sincerely believe that Michael would take one look at him and bitchslap him into the next millennium. He’s a Path follower, isn’t he?

Father Leonard is okay. I wonder who the ‘friend’ is?

This is very Agatha Christie, revealing the killer in the midst, except I have the horrible feeling Qadir’s going to go with ‘it was suicide’ and not ‘it was everyone’.

Denouement! Before it ends, Julia’s traits:

Loyal only to myself

Glass half-empty

A little abuse of power never hurt nobody

You can’t be a writer and not lie

The ends justify the means (duh)

Honestly she may have just blackmailed her way into power, set up Carter to take the fall, and sent poor Dakota to final death, but the drama was impeccable XD Good luck not ending up in the Abyss, Julia!

[eponymous-rose]

For the next little while, a lot of scientists will be sharing a typical day in their careers on Twitter---I’m weirdly less shy about doing this for a group of mostly strangers than I would be on my professional account, so here we are instead!

I’m a brand-new assistant professor, which means I’m not teaching yet and my responsibilities mainly revolve around laying the groundwork that’ll help me fund and lead my own research group. It’s way more chill than it’s going to be in a couple months, so I’m enjoying it while I can! Let’s demystify the more mundane parts of academia...

9:00 - 9:30: Step one is some prep for my upcoming conference in three weeks. I’m co-presenting a poster with a colleague, and she wants to have it printed off by Wednesday. We had a meeting on Friday to hash out the details, so I know that my part of it is mainly just creating some graphics to illustrate a complicated A.I. concept. Fortunately, I did just that for my presentation at a workshop a couple weeks ago! All it takes is a little copy-paste, some reworking of fonts, and some cursing at what does and doesn’t transfer from Powerpoint to Google Slides, and we’re good to go!

9:30 - 10:00: I stare into the abyss of e-mails. The e-mails stare back at me. I accept a welcome-to-town invite to a dinner party with an associate dean, set up a meeting with a visiting speaker to talk about her research, flag down a grants admin to talk about a new proposal, gently ping IT to remind them I’m still missing some important software, agree to chair a session at this upcoming conference, provide passport info to the admin for said upcoming conference, shoot the hotel a question about early check-in, and check in with a peer mentoring program to find out whether it’s okay for me to miss the orientation and still participate (it is). Phew. Okay. Unless anything urgent comes up, once I’ve done my e-mail time for the day, I try to leave anything new that comes in until the next day---I’ve learned that if you reply to everything immediately, the e-mails will just keep multiplying endlessly.

10:00 - 11:00: I’ve been putting off finishing this paper review, but dangit, I gotta get it done (the deadline is on Saturday). I’m recommending that this paper be rejected because of some fatal flaws in its methodology, but I want to give the authors something to work with to potentially resubmit someday, so I trawl through the literature for a while and make a list of recommended papers to go along with each major comment I make. In all, there are about two dozen recommended papers. Godspeed, rejected authors. I’m sorry. I feel a bit better after delivering the gift of Bavarian chocolate to the professor in the office next to mine (she couldn’t make it to the workshop this year but usually attends).

11:00 - 1:00: I’m experimenting with one-hour chunks of time in my schedule, but I’m finding that really intense writing needs at least two hours at a stretch. I’m doing something I’ve never had to try before: writing a proposal for a journal article. This journal is popular enough that it has a two-phase submission system: the first phase is just an abstract describing the paper and a cover letter justifying its publication in such a far-reaching journal. Although it’s recommended that you don’t start the paper until you know whether or not it’s been accepted to this journal, I do have preliminary results and an idea of the general organizational structure, so the abstract isn’t too arduous to write, and after a couple rewrites I’m pretty pleased with it. The cover letter’s new, though, and after some blank staring at the website’s vague suggestions, I remember that a colleague published here recently and ping her for advice. She kindly sends me her successful cover letter, which makes a great template! I send cover letter and abstract off to my coauthor for his approval, along with a request for a meeting sometime before we go to this conference.

1:00 - 2:00: For the last few weeks, I’ve been working on a review of a major proposal for a big-name government agency that’s basically deciding on the next five years of someone’s research funding, so, you know. Not intimidating at all. This job has been made both easier and harder by the fact that the proposal is damn near flawless: amazingly great that I get to thumbs-up this grant, but a little frustrating that I still have to go through the motions of an arduous write-up that boils down to “you would be fools not to fund this research”. I can see the finish line, though, and after weeks of orientation videos and memorizing requirements, I finally get most of my review scribbled down.

2:00 - 3:30: This was supposed to be a short thing---getting a flu shot---but of course there’s a 100-person lineup at the campus clinic, and after I wait way too long before giving up, the one drug store I remember that does flu shots is a longer walk than I anticipated, and halfway through waiting we get evacuated because of a major gas leak down the road... well, I did eventually get a flu shot while surrounded by slightly frantic-looking firefighters, so we’ll call this a win and not worry about how long it took. Ahem.

3:30 - 4:30: There’s a seminar! It’s about snowflakes! I learn me a thing!

4:30 - 5:00: Back to the proposal review. I speed-read the technical details of the proposal, which all seem to be in order, and get to rebalance my karma after the morning’s rejection by submitting a strong recommendation to fund this research program. Thumbs up all around.

5:00 - 6:00: The poster’s not the only thing happening at this conference in three weeks: I’m also giving a presentation. The coauthor on the presentation might want to meet with me in the next couple weeks, so in preparation for that I figure I should probably put together a rough outline of a talk. It’s great that I gave a talk about a similar method two weeks ago, because I can repurpose a couple slides, and then the rest is based on a nearly-published (pending minor revisions) paper of ours, from which it’s easy enough to scavenge some figures. It looks pretty neat! Next steps will be to make sure it tells a proper story and cut it down to the 12-minute limit, but I’m pretty happy with the way it’s laid out.

And that’s a pretty average sciencey day for me, right now!

[chibipika]

Oh my god, I’m digging through old files on my backup harddrive and I found this dream from 2011 in which me, @antialiasis, and a baby dragon are on the run from The King of Everything.  It is absolutely batshit and I love it:

Okay, so for some reason I was hanging out with Dragonfree.  What the hell, subconscious?  Why do you always stick my online acquaintances into my dreams?  (I think it’s a side effect of that time in my life where all I had were online friends and the fanfic forum was pretty much my entire life, even though that was like 6 years ago.)  But at least this time it sort of makes sense—I’ve been working on an off on the Ouen dragons piece a lot lately, adding little touches here and there when I’m bored, so people often ask me what it is, so I frequently launch into explanations of, “Oh hey there’s this writer with a cool fanfic, and I’m doing fanart of it.”  “Hey what’s it about?”  “Well, it’s kind of hard to explain the plot because it’s basically an awesome reworking of silly ideas from when she was 12.” “ROFL THAT SOUNDS LIKE YOU.” “Erm….yeah.  -_-“

Okay then, random tangent aside I was hanging out with Dragonfree I guess.  No explanation given.  At least my dream self wanted an explanation, though never actually got one.  I was at my home house instead of my school house which makes slightly more sense (If I were European I’d sooner visit the US East coast/NY area than the friggin Midwest.)

Kay, I swear the plot was awesomely detailed and amazing but now it is starting to sound really silly and I’m not sure why I’m writing it down. Dangit.  It started out like...pretty mediocre at my house (or what was supposed to be my house but looked nothing like it, what.)  I think there was some subplot involving something going wrong with her website (some of the layouts weren’t working which was apparently a sign of someone currently stealing things from it?  What??? Also one of the styles was really cool and best described as a matrix Articuno.  YES.)  I dunno. And then there was a hilarious part where my sister walked though the kitchen into the computer room and said something like “When did Beth get here?”  And I’m like “Wtf, that’s not Beth.”  But then I walked into the room and it was. (So now Beth was somehow at my house too?  How did all these people get here?)  Dragonfree was in fact back in the kitchen on the computer that was for some reason there (no, not my laptop…a random desktop in the kitchen), and Beth did not appear for the entire rest of the dream. *shrug*  Though amusingly at this point I wondered, “Hey since this isn’t the internet, should I call you Dragonfree or by your real name?”  but never actually asked it.  So I went the whole dream without addressing her by any name (not as weird as it sounds—I don’t use people’s names often.)

But all of this random crap quickly derailed into something involving DRAGONS HOLY CRAP.  Okay, so I actually can’t remember how the dragons plotline started dang.  I think there were like, different types of dragons (one for each element?  This was completely unrelated to Pokémon, however. In fact, I don’t think anything Pokémon ever came up, other than that random bit about her site.  I don’t have Pokémon dreams often.  What the hell, subconscious.)  I think we had the earth dragon or something except I guess it was a baby.  And then like, the queen of the world ordered the dragons (she had a lot of them I think) to kill people, except each dragon’s power was only effective on certain people, and the Earth dragon was supposed to kill us.  I think I ran and hid in a bush (yeah…because that would save me from the elemental dragon…) but since the Earth dragon was just a baby its power didn’t kill us (and I was confused about why the other dragons’ attacks didn’t hurt because I didn’t know about the whole only-effective-on-certain-people thing).  So then I emerged from my hiding place and I think a lot of time had gone by because I saw the events in a slow, limited-animation cutscene type thing (hey…sorta like that game concept art my group’s been planning.)  Well the earth dragon was now an adult.  I met up with Dragonfree at some sort of dessert table where a servant was putting together sweets for the king.  Things like chocolate covered pretzels and bananas. I guess I felt like trolling the king or something, so I stole one of the chocolate bananas, and then we ended up having the guards sent after us (yeah, way to go dream self.)  We hopped on a train (like an old style steam engine) except it was rather small, and intended for little kids.  Well lo and behold my youngest sister was there.  We rode on the train for a bit until my sister climbed on top to check something and was doing it all very not-carefully like someone who has totally climbed on top of a train and started opening hatches a hundred times in their life.  Well something went wrong and then she fell off and got tangled in some vines and then the train tried to go through an insanely small tunnel and started shrinking, so we had to get off.  And then we found the earth dragon!  Except he was a baby again OKAY THEN.

(Thus far there hasn’t been much dialogue only because I can’t remember it.  Everyone was actually talking a lot more than this implies. They weren’t all just standing there.) Also I think I spent most of the dream wondering when Dragonfree was going to go back home.  Because “oh yeah we’re on adventure and running for our lives, but hey please don’t leave in the middle of all this I wanna hang out some more.” Uh huh.  This makes even less sense when you consider that there are no countries and the king of everything is after us.

Well this time the queen was there with the guards so we ran away into this sort of maze of stairs vaguely like a kids’ play area except kind of more serious business.  Some of the stairs were in fact escalators that were broken down, and others were so small that we had to slide down then and we were doing pretty good at avoiding the guards.  We all regrouped and figured out a way onto the third floor, at which point we were feeling pretty clever, but then WE RAN INTO THE QUEEN OH SNAP.  But she was actually on our side the whole time! I think this made more sense in the dream (maybe she knew the earth dragon wouldn’t kill us with its attack? But what about all the people killed by the king’s fire dragon?)  Well she did something to the stair area to prevent the guards from getting through while she made a deal with us.  So then we had the queen with us, yay?

We were now heading up a mountain!  I have no idea what we were looking for at the top.  Except first we had to go though some sort of summer-camp type area, where they made us go though inspection (okay?)  This involved pushing us under streams of water which I thought were going to be freezing but were actually kind of warm.  Kay then.  During the next part we were all in a building (at the camp I guess) and a bunch of the campers were watching tv. At this point I thought to myself “Hey it’s weird how this dream is still continuing even though I’m awake.” WHAT?  So I thought this part was real, but I was still dreaming it…even though it was real?  Now, there have been times I’ve been able to continue a dream while awake and have it actually fit in the dream, as opposed to the lame crap you usually try to add to a dream shortly after awakening until you realize “wait my logic works now and this is stupid.”  But anyways…I think around this point was I finally going to ask Dragonfree, “Hey we’ve been running all over a crazy kingdom all day and I’m still not sure what to call you since this isn’t the internet and all.”  But at that point I woke up.  Well…damn.  I mean, it’s better than when you have a dream end at a super-suspenseful point (since we were kind of just wasting time at a camp and I don’t even think the earth dragon was with us anymore).  But still I felt the need to go run and grab my laptop and start writing all this down and highly confusing my roommates in the process.

And holy crap LOOK HOW MUCH I WROTE IN HALF AN HOUR.  Why can’t I write my fic this fast?

[sassyshoulderangel319]

Double Date

@batboys-and-other-messes Here’s my 5,300 word Thank You for helping me with the Dating Drama saga! Since you had no words for 25-year-old Tim, here he is again! (I swear it wasn’t supposed to be this long but I got carried away and I wanted to tell the whoLE STORY DANGIT!)

Sunny and Damian were both drawing. Tim and I were on laptops, all sitting in a parlor together trying to get stuff done. I bit my lower lip and pretended I didn’t notice Tim and Sunny shooting each other alternating looks in my peripheral vision. Even though they both glanced at one another when the other wasn’t looking.

I opened a new tab on my internet page and pulled up a website. Then I opened an IM to Damian that would go to his phone.

Me: Damian, I need your help.

His phone buzzed. He picked it up, read the message, and typed back.

Damian: With what, McCloud?

Me: Okay, if Tim or Sunny ask who you’re texting, say Jon is asking you questions about strategy or something.

Me: But these two are KILLING me!

Damian: Meaning what?

Me: C’mon, Wayne. Don’t pretend you haven’t noticed them casting each other longing glances from across the room.

Damian: Didn’t notice.

Me: -_- BS.

Damian: Get to the point. Why do you need my help?

Me: I need you to be my date to the amusement park.

Damian’s eyes widened at his phone and he leaned away from the thing like it caught fire. He shot a look at me before furiously replying.

Damian: WHAT? WHAT FOR?!

Me: Because it’s cheaper to get a four-pack “family” entrance pass to the amusement park than three individual passes and I’d have a lot more fun being an awkward third-wheel if I had a fourth-wheel too. So we’ll call it a double date.

Damian: Ask Todd to be your date.

Me: Damian. Jason’s like eight years older than us. Ew gross no. Please?

Damian didn’t reply for a few minutes, ignoring his phone while I went back to typing at my original internet page where I’d been working on a case. He’d glance at his phone as though he was waiting for me to ask again. I declined to do so. In the stubborn game a Wayne would always win, but I had a stubborn streak too and I would win this one.

After a while, he picked his phone back up.

Damian: Fine. But you will owe me a large favor.

Damian: Within reason.

Me: D E A L!

Me: Okay, so the quick plan is we go on a couple rides together, make it seem fun, you know, sit couple and couple (you and me in front because I'm shorter and I want to see your face on the rides and Tim and Sunny behind because they’re taller than me or whatever as long as those two are together) AND THEN we do the LOVE BOAT RIDE!

Damian’s expression when he got to the end of my message was one of alarm.

Damian: THE WHAT?!

Me: Chill, D. It’s this weird boat ride that’s just kinda slow and steady but each boat only seats two people. There’s nothing inherently romantic about it except that the spacing between each boat means you’re completely alone with your boat partner and no one else is around literally the entire time. As kids we called it the Love Boat Ride and always tried to get in the line with our crushes so we’d have some time to chat with them when we went on school field trips.

Damian: You went to an amusement park for field trips?

Me: Yeah. Physics Day every year. Ninth grade I won the egg drop from the skyride—the one that seats like three people and glides gently from one end of the park to the other if you don’t want to walk all that way. We can do that one too and go 2-by-2.

Me: I’m just trying to get these two to admit their feelings for each other. Because it is SO OBVIOUS. Every LONGING glance they give each other is taking five minutes off my life because it’s so PAINFULLY awkward.

Me: You don’t even have to PRETEND to be interested in me. Just be mildly polite. And once we’re done with the Love Boat, you and I disappear and leave them to their date. I intend to follow them around subtly and make sure they’re having fun but you don’t have to join if you don’t want. My phone’s battery will “die” or something. ;-)

Damian: We will see.

I met Damian’s gaze when he looked up at me. I gave him a subtle wink.

Sunny looked up from her sketchbook at the same time Damian and I looked back down at our tasks. “Please tell me you two aren’t texting while you’re in the same room,” she said.

“We are not,” Damian said. “I’m messaging Kent about strategy. He’s hopeless.”

I looked around my little space. “Yeah, I don’t even have my phone,” I said.

Sunny glanced between us, unconvinced until she met my innocent gaze. I wasn’t much of a liar. I told the truth even when it was uncomfortable. That appeared to relax her. She shrugged. “Okay,” she relented.

I looked back to my laptop screen and bought the four-pack pass.

^^^^^

“Sunny!” I called, jogging up to my friend. She turned around.

“Yeah?”

“You busy Saturday?”

“Cloudy, you know I'm not,” she said jokingly, with an amused smile.

“Great. I have this four-pack pass to the amusement park in that suburb between Gotham and Bludhaven. I was wondering if you’d like to go with me.”

“Who else is going?”

“Damian—and Tim if I can convince him,” I said.

Sunny bit her lower lip. “How likely is it that you can convince Tim?”

Depends on if you’re going or not, I thought. “Pretty likely,” I said instead. Especially if you say you’re going. I bet he’ll agree to that in an instant. I didn’t say that out loud but it ran through my head.

“Seriously, Cloudy?” she asked. “You think you can drag Tim away from his work for a whole Saturday to go to an amusement park with us?”

I pretended to think for a moment, a smile playing on my lips. “I can be pretty convincing. I have a PowerPoint about the effects of stress and the benefits of play all lined up.” Not. “I mean, I already convinced Damian to go, so I must be able to do something right.”

Sunny scoffed playfully. “C’mon Cloudy, we both know Damian likes you. He’d jump at the chance to sit next to you on a roller coaster and hope that you’ll hold his hand if you get scared,” she teased.

“Liar. Damian tolerates me because we’re the same age,” I said.

She shrugged. “Can’t blame me for trying.”

“So you gonna go with me? Please?”

She thought for a moment. “Sure,” she settled on.

I beamed and threw my arms around her. “Great! Awesome! Thanks! This is going to be fun!” I exclaimed before running off.

I ran down into the Batcave and jumped on two of the wheel branches of Tim’s rolling desk chair, grabbing the arm so I wouldn’t fall off and sending the chair sliding away from the table.

“Hey Tim!” I greeted.

He swore. “Cloudy! I'm in the middle of an extremely important—”

“Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah,” I cut him off. “Listen, I got this four-pack entrance pass to the amusement park in the suburbs and so far I’ve convinced Damian and Sunny to go with me on Saturday and I want you to come too! My three best friends!”

“You count Damian as one of your best friends?” Tim asked.

“Yes. He’s not so bad once you get to know him a little,” I said. “Please come with? Please?” I gave him my puppy eyes. “Sunny’s coming!” I added with a little impish—and slightly suggestive—smile. Tim stared at me, like he was trying to figure out if I knew he had a crush on Sunny or not. Which I did because a dead body could see how bad he was pining for her and it wasn’t healthy for either of them since she was pining for him too and they were both oblivious idiots!

Ugh.

Playing matchmaker was going to be so much fun.

He finally huffed. “Fine,” he said.

“Great! It’s a group! This is going to be a blast!” I cheered before taking off out of the Batcave to find Damian.

^^^^^

Damian dropped from the stalactites and landed almost soundlessly behind Tim as Cloudy shut the Batcave entrance behind her. There was a water bottle in Damian’s hand and a casual air to his posture.

“How come that ray of sunshine is nicknamed Cloudy?” Tim asked, spinning in his desk chair to face Damian.

Who shrugged. “Her surname is McCloud and her hero alias is Cloudburst,” he answered, taking a swig of his water. “Grayson gave it to her and it stuck.”

“Fair point,” Tim relented. He met Damian’s eye. “Why did we both fall in love with girls nicknamed after the weather?”

Damian choked on the drink of water he’d taken. “I beg your pardon, Drake?” he demanded.

“C’mon, gremlin. We both know you’re crushing on Cloudy hard,” Tim said. “That’s why you agreed to go to the amusement park of all places with her. I know you better than that. There’s no way you’d go to an amusement park if anyone other than Dick or Cloudy asked.” Tim gave Damian a look with his eyebrows raised.

“I tolerate her company more than others,” Damian said, taking another drink and leaving.

“Sssuuurrreee,” Tim muttered under his breath and rolling his chair back to where he’d been working.

^^^^^

I passed the woman the passes that I’d printed out. “Just you four?” she asked.

“Yup!” I replied brightly.

She stamped our hands. “Enjoy your day!”

I smiled. “Thank you!”

Tim, Sunny, and even Damian also offered her their thanks. We ducked through the turnstiles under the wrought iron gate. I bounced up and down in excitement and looked back at Damian, Tim, and Sunny.

“Let’s do this!” I exclaimed.

“Where do we start?” Damian asked.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him to the left. “This way! Most people start by going to their right, so if we go the other way, we can avoid some of the longest lines!” I answered, glancing over my and Damian’s shoulders to make sure Tim and Sunny were still with us. Sunny was grinning with excitement. Tim looked a little apprehensive but wasn’t nervous yet.

We got in line for the oldest ride in the park—so old that it was made out of wood. It was still safe, but it was old. I suspected they’d be tearing it down within the next couple years.

Once we were in the line, I let Damian’s hand go and looked away from him, slightly embarrassed.

Somewhere overhead, speakers were playing music. Something fun and bright. I bobbed along, full of energy and excitement. It had been so long since I’d come here. The last time I could remember… I was in ninth grade and had won the egg drop on Physics Day. Wow. It had been a long time. Tim and Sunny watched me half-dance to whatever it was that was playing with small smiles while Damian just… watched. And occasionally turned away as though to signal the other patrons that he and I weren’t affiliated.

After maybe ten minutes of standing around, not even sweating because the Gotham-Bludhaven area weather was semi-constantly overcast, we boarded the ride. I insisted on sitting with Damian at the back of the ride with Sunny and Tim in front of us on the grounds that I really wanted to see Damian’s face on his first roller coaster.

“This one’s shaky,” I warned him as we pulled the safety bars down over our laps. “It’s just because it’s made of wood. Don’t worry. It’s safe and the others will be a lot smoother.”

“I'm not worried, McCloud,” Damian said.

I tapped his shoe with my toes and gave him a “thank you” smile. He gave me a nod of acknowledgment. The speaker over the ride’s boarding area played the usual safety brief about minding your hands and feet and the safety bar, and then we were being pulled up the hill.

Damian and I watched Sunny and Tim chat pleasantly about how perfect the overcast weather was for a day at an amusement park—Seriously, you dorks? Weather? I thought in exasperation—and we neared the top of the hill.

As the long string of cars crested the hill, the cheers started. The four of us were in the back two rows, so it hit us last.

We dropped. My stomach swooped like I was on a plane hitting turbulence and I cheered. “WOOHOO!”

Damian’s hands were gripping the handle in front of us so hard his knuckles were blanching. He looked slightly terrified and was obviously trying not to. I held on just lightly so I wouldn’t get jostled around too much and even threw up my hair as we climbed the next hill.

Tim and Sunny were also cheering, both of them with their hands in the air like we weren’t supposed to do according to the safety recording but no one cared.

The ride wasn’t the longest or the funnest, but it was a good time for the first roller coaster of the day.

We went through two other roller coasters (The Bat and The Colossus) before we got to the Shooting Star—a super-fast track of twists and turns where the “cars” were shaped like bullets or bobsleds and could only seat four people single-file with each person sitting between the legs of the person behind them.

When we got to that one, we put me in the front since my legs were the shortest with Damian directly behind, Tim behind him, and Sunny at the rear, claiming she liked to be protected from the wind.

The Shooting Star bullet thing literally shot off the boarding area and sped over its track at top speed. I could feel the loose hairs of my braid whipping my face and Damian’s hands around my waist, even though he could have been hanging onto the handles. I smirked slightly to myself. He was warming up to me a little.

When the ride was over, we all piled out, blinking the dry windburn out of our eyes. I did a leap of exhilaration. “Whoo! That was awesome! What next?”

“My feet are kind of hurting from all this standing,” Sunny remarked. “Skyride?”

“Sure,” I said. The queue to the skyride was close anyway. “Mind riding with Tim? I don’t want someone to ride alone since it only seats three, nor do I want the boys to get in a fight while we’re all trapped gliding gently over the rest of the park.”

“You don’t want to ride with me, Cloudy?” Tim joked.

“Actually, you wouldn’t want to ride with me,” I retorted. “I’d chat your ear off the whole time. Damian on the other hand would just tune me out.”

Damian gave me a look that I ignored as we got in the line for the skyride.

It was a short line since the skyride was essentially a colorful chairlift like those at ski resorts except going straight over an amusement park rather than up a mountain, and so Damian and I hopped on first with Tim and Sunny behind us.

^^^^^

“We’re using the rest of today to get Damian and Cloudy to finally admit they like each other, right?” Sunny asked Tim, keeping her voice down even though there was no way Damian or Cloudy could hear her from their distance ahead.

“You think she likes him back?” Tim asked, unsure.

“Yes,” Sunny said, leaving no room for question. “She grabbed his hand this morning and didn’t even complain about being between his legs on the Shooting Star. Not to mention have you noticed the way she looks at him? If there was ever a heart-eyed expression, it’d be the one she gives him when she thinks no one will notice.” Sunny nodded to how Cloudy was gesturing excitedly to Damian ahead of them, kicking her dangling legs. “See? They’re having fun. Look at Damian, though. Look at his face.”

Tim shrugged. “I don’t know. He looks as blank and bored as he usually does.”

“Maybe. But look at his eyes. He’s staring straight into Cloudburst’s without even rolling his eyes. That’s rare.”

“Fair point,” Tim conceded.

^^^^^

“Okay, so once we get off the skyride, we’re going to get in line for the Love Boat. It’s right by the end of the skyride. With any luck, you and I will get on first. That way we can take off before they reach the end of the ride and go get an ice cream or play an arcade game or something so they can start moving around the park together however they want. Ooh! Or maybe we can hop on the Ferris wheel! Because that thing takes forever so we’d be on there for a while with no choice but to not meet up with them!” I said to Damian.

“Tt. You have certainly planned this thoroughly,” Damian remarked.

I shrugged. “Tim taught me how. Don’t think he figured I’d use it against him ever but… I am now.” I grinned. “But it’s for his own good. He needs to be with Sunny. And she needs to be with Tim!” I said, waving my hands around.

Damian just looked at me, not smiling or rolling his eyes—the two reactions I tended to get from his family the most—as though he didn’t know what to say. Which was rare.

“I understand your reasoning,” he remarked finally.

I grinned brightly.

We hopped off the skyride at the other end of the park and waited just down the exit ramp for Sunny and Tim to join us. They did, grinning with a glint in their eyes that made me feel excited for the Love Boat Ride.

In the line for the Love Boat, I told Damian and Sunny and Tim about the time when I was a kid and I broke the Skee-Ball record completely by accident. Sunny and Tim didn’t appear to be aware of the nickname for the boat ride being the Love Boat, because when we reached the front, there wasn’t even any blushing when the lady asked, “Alright, who’s next?” and I grabbed Damian’s wrist and pulled him on with me.

We climbed into the boat, buckled in, and let it set off down the fake river. It was real water but the boats were on a track, not being pulled by any current whatsoever.

“Did you ever ride this with a crush when you were younger?” Damian asked.

“Hmm?” I asked, looking away from the scenery.

Damian repeated his question.

“Oh. No. When I was younger I didn’t do crushes after the age of like twelve and by the time we started coming here for field trips there really wasn’t anyone I wanted to ride this with. So I went with my best friend and we talked about video games the whole time,” I answered casually.

^^^^^

Tim glanced at Sunny upon realizing that, once the boat pulled into a tunnel covered in a beautiful mural after the beginning, they were completely alone. He couldn’t even see Damian and Cloudy’s boat ahead of them.

C’mon, Drake, he thought. You didn’t have the guts or the time to bring it up when you were alone on the skyride. Just suck it up and tell her NOW!

“Sunny?” he asked quietly.

“Mm?” Sunny glanced over her shoulder at him for a moment.

“I’ve been, uh, I’ve been thinking recently that you and I have, um, gotten really close,” Tim said, cursing his brain for being so awkward. Damian might have been cold and Jason brash, but at least both of them were eloquent. “And, uh, I was wondering if…”

Sunny seemed to sense that Tim was being entirely serious because she turned to look at him permanently.

Tim’s breath hitched in his lungs. Much as he appreciated the curtesy, it was easier without her curious and warm eyes gazing up at him.

Tim kicked himself internally, decided Screw it what’s the worst that could happen?, and looked Sunny square in the eye. “I was wondering if you’d like to go out with me some time,” he said with as much confidence as he could muster.

Sunny gasped, a tiny hopeful grin on her lips. “I… I’d love to!” she replied breathlessly.

Tim let out a breath that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in anticipation. “Gr… great!” he said. “I was thinking maybe the art museum? Or is that lame?”

“No that sounds like fun!” Sunny said. “When?”

“Well we’ll probably still be tired from this tomorrow, so maybe next weekend?”

“That would be so much fun! I would love to!” To communicate her sincerity, she took Tim’s hand and grinned from ear to ear.

In that moment, he swore he astral projected to just watch him hold her hand from above. His heart pounded somewhere but he was having an out-of-body experience. It happened and it worked! He’d done it!

“I’ll, uh, I’ll be honest with you, Sunny,” Tim said, not sure where this bravery was coming from but he was going to make the most of it. “I’ve actually liked you—as more than a friend—for a while now.”

Sunny grinned. “Me too,” she said, giving his hand a squeeze.

She didn’t let go of his hand for the entire boat ride—which was otherwise uninteresting compared to the double-upside-down loops of The Colossus and the swooping dips of The Bat—and only did when he got out of the boat. But he offered her his hand in getting out. She took it again and then didn’t let go as they walked through the gated path off the ride.

Sunny and Tim looked around. Both of them realizing something wasn’t right at the same time.

“Where… where’s Cloudy and Damian?” Tim asked.

Normally, with the life they led, both Tim and Sunny would have assumed that their friends had been kidnapped.

As it was, Sunny sighed. “Cloudy you little—” She ran her free hand over her hair. “She planned this!”

“Planned what?” Tim asked.

“To isolate us from her and Damian and then split off so the group activity became two separate dates!” Sunny exclaimed.

^^^^^

I tried not to snicker from where Damian and I were hiding. “Clever girl, Sunshine,” I whispered.

Damian took my hand. “Come. Let’s leave before they find us,” he replied quietly, tugging me behind him. We ducked into the line for bumper cars. I fished my phone out of the zip-up pocket in my cargo shorts and started tapping on my screen. “What are you doing?” Damian asked.

“Deactivating the tracking devices Tim slipped into the soles of our shoes,” I answered. “And jamming both of our phones’ GPS signals.”

“How did you…?” Damian began.

“I'm not quite as smart as you guys, but I'm equally paranoid and just as devious,” I replied. Once every way Tim knew how to track us was blocked, I shoved my phone back in my pocket.

Damian swore under his breath in what sounded like… German? I wasn’t sure.

“What?” I asked.

“They’re coming this way,” he hissed, nodding toward the direction we’d come. I peeked out of the corner of my eye.

Yup. There was Sunny’s hair and Tim’s gangly build.

I looked back at Damian. “Kiss me,” I ordered.

“What?!” he demanded, quietly. “That was not part of the arrangement, McCloud.”

“No but PDA makes people uncomfortable. If they look at this line, they’ll barely glance at us and not even realize it’s us,” I said.

“You just stole that from Captain Ameri—” Damian was cut off by me tilting up onto my tiptoes and bringing his head down to mine.

But I didn’t kiss him. I paused less than a finger’s breadth away and waited. From Tim and Sunny’s perspective, it would look like a couple kissing. But I let Damian decide.

He hesitated for a moment, taking a deep breath and then sighing out his nose.

He tilted his face forward and closed the kiss.

^^^^^

Sunny grabbed Tim’s hand as they headed to the arcade. “Hey wait,” she said. “Is that Cloudy and Damian?” She nodded at a couple in the bumper cars line.

“Nope. Absolutely not,” Tim said, paying more attention to the fact that she was holding his hand again than what she was saying. He tugged slightly to get her to keep moving. “Damian’s not a kisser and there’s no way he’d kiss Cloudy if he hasn’t admitted to her that he likes her. C’mon. We’ll look for them later. Right now I want to win you a prize just to say I did it.”

Sunny chuckled, gave the couple one last curious glance, and then followed after Tim.

^^^^^

I peeked my eyes open as Damian pulled away from me. “You think it worked?” I asked quietly.

“Well, they didn’t come over here so I assume you were correct,” he said.

“Great.”

^^^^^

Ding-ding-ding! The little speaker went off as Tim managed to knock over the stack of fake milk bottles perfectly on the first throw—earning him a little frog plushie that he immediately offered to Sunny. She accepted it and tucked it under her arm.

“My turn,” she said. They went over to the toy archery range.

“Remember, Sunny,” Tim mumbled quietly. “We’re not supposed to be vigilantes here.”

“I know how to not seem like an expert, Timothy,” Sunny teased, hefting the plastic bow and the plastic arrows. “Then again, I’ve done this a gazillion times.”

Fifteen moving targets in one minute was the ultimate goal. Last time Sunny tried, before she’d finished her training, she’d managed thirteen and won a medium-sized purple bear.

This time, she calmed down, focused, and when the bell dinged to signal the start, she went through the routine. She knew the most efficient pattern to get fifteen targets, she’d just never been fast enough.

Tim watched with a love-struck, slack-jawed expression that she didn’t even notice as she fired one shot off after another. She was quick and precise and appeared to know exactly what she was doing. Whoa, Tim thought, unable to make any sound come out of his mouth from being so awed.

When the minute was up, her tally came up on a little screen.

“Seventeen? What?!” she shrieked in excitement, bouncing up and down.

“That’s amazing!” Tim replied with a giant smile.

That earned her a giant teddy bear. She and Tim had to leave the park for a few minutes to go shove it into the trunk of the car. They showed their stamps to the gatekeeper and went back in.

“Think we should go find Damian and Cloudy now?” Tim asked.

“Nah. They’re fine. Cloudy won’t cause any trouble and Damian will keep an eye on her if someone else decides to cause trouble,” Sunny answered with a shrug. “I'm much more interested in going on the Ferris wheel!” She grabbed Tim’s hand and dragged him off for the Ferris wheel.

^^^^^

Tim and Sunny ran past Damian and I where we were sitting on a bench and eating ice cream without even noticing us—and we’d done nothing to hide ourselves. Damian glanced at me. “What’s with the frog?” he asked, noticing that Sunny had a frog in one hand and Tim in the other. I shrugged.

“One of them probably won it at the arcade,” I said, licking ice cream where it was dripping down my cone moments before it got on my hand. Damian was much more efficient at eating ice cream and keeping it from dripping.

I figured life was too short for efficient ice cream eating.

“I think it’s working, though,” I remarked. “They looked like they’ve finally at least cottoned on to the fact that they like each other. I mean, they were also holding hands right off the Love Boat Ride so hopefully they’ve even confessed. It looked like they were heading for the Ferris wheel. Let’s hope they kiss at the top.” I put my tongue against the back of my teeth and grinned.

Damian grunted. “Could you be any more cliché?”

“Yup. I'm not even trying yet.”

Damian was quiet for a second. “How are your feet feeling?” he asked. “Still sore from all the standing and waiting?”

I shrugged. “Little. The throbbing’s gone away finally though. I should be fine for another couple hours by the time we’re done with our ice cream,” I answered, raising my cone like a toast and licking more off.

“Mm.”

^^^^^

The Ferris wheel was going ‘round and ‘round. The hanging baskets could seat at least six people if not eight, but Tim and Sunny were alone in theirs. It was bright green with a fake umbrella made of the same stuff as the safe seats inside. Around the central column was a disk that if pulled would cause the basket to spin. The people in the next basket up from Sunny and Tim appeared to be a bunch of young teen boys who were pulling it as hard as they could and spinning like crazy.

Tim and Sunny elected not to do that.

“I’m… I’m glad Cloudy invited us to this,” Tim said. “And… I’m glad she and Damian planned on ditching us from the beginning.”

Sunny grinned. “I think I am too. I was hoping we could do them what they were already planning on doing to us, but I'm okay with this,” she agreed.

The Ferris wheel ground to a halt—Tim and Sunny caught at the very top.

“What a cliché,” Tim said. “You and me stuck at the top of the Ferris wheel.”

Sunny, her hand still in Tim’s, leaned against his shoulder. “Maybe we should complete the cliché. Just to say we’ve done it,” she suggested.

^^^^^

“I have figured out how you may repay the favor you owe me for being your date to the park today,” Damian said as we sat on one of the double seaters on the spinning swings.

“Yeah?” I asked as Damian lowered the bar over our laps and clipped it safely.

“Yes,” Damian said.

“And how can I repay the favor?” I pressed.

The bell dinged. The ride started to rise and spin around, giving the swings the feeling of flying. I put my arm that wasn’t next to Damian out to the side and threw my head back. I loved this thing, even if we just went in circles.

“You can be my date to dinner and a theatrical production. I was thinking Wicked,” Damian called over the wind in our ears.

“Oh my goodness! I’d love to!” I exclaimed.

^^^^^

Tim brushed Sunny’s hair out of her face. “I… I think you’re right. Just to say we’ve done it, right?” he said.

“Well, and because we like each other, right?” she teased.

“Right. Yes. Absolutely,” Tim agreed, still having a hard time believing that he’d actually told her and she’d felt the same way.

He bent down. She straightened up.

Their lips met halfway. Hands slid through hair and fingers got tangled. Excitement and adrenaline pumped through their blood. They smiled against each other’s lips before their heads tilted for better angles. Both of them wishing they could live in this moment forever.

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Grimoire of Zero 9 | Royal Tutor 10 | Kado 9 | Tsukigakirei 9 | Boku no Hero Academia 24

Grimoire of Zero 9

“You genius ball of fluff!” – LOL. He’s fluffy, but not a ball of fluff.

I always thought the clothes man was weird, but not this level of weird.

“…Dawn Tower.”

“Fair trials” are never fair when done by people. After all, people have bias.

This blue night sky…I saw it before in Hataraku Maousama. This is by Studio White Fox, right? You can tell why.

Royal Tutor 10

Note for later: this.

Wut??? I didn’t see that twist about the cousin coming. That was a fact with not much payoff though, because while the staff milked it for a gag, the colour schemes of the characters mean it was a deus ex machina of a gag – not completely believable.

Why does this feel like they’re playing endgame cards too early??? Maybe it’s so that the storyline can focus on Heine and only Heine, but I worry about this anime only ending (see link above if you still don’t know about it) not working.

“Unfortunately, I have no girlfriend.” – LOL, ouch Bruno. Self deprecation is hard to pull off sometimes…

“I’m the super hot prince of charisma!” – LOL, Licht. No you’re not. That’s the king’s job (for me).

Er, dudes? You’ve been sitting on this plot point for almost an entire season. You should have noticed this already.

What the actual flap. Because Royal Tutor is so much like Kuroshitsuji, you never expect more stereotypical anime things like sentai teams to be parodied, but that just pulled it off so well. Plus, I’ve seen a shot of Leo dressed like this making the rounds on Tumblr, so I knew he was going to dress like Yato.

Go! Pick up all the items, Yato-dressed-Leo!

It’s literally a Pandora’s box. (Or maybe a Heine’s box, to make a lame pun on Heinz.)

Cleaning fanservice stills. Well, never thought I’d say that.

LOL, Kai’s sleeping on the job.

I kind of had the suspicion the “criminal in the palace” was Heine ever since the article was introduced, but I still went “oh no!” anyway.

Kado 9

Please don’t let Shunina be evil. Pleasedon’tletShuninabeevil-oh hi. You’re still here? You’re still bothering with Kado? Thanks for snapping me out of my mantra there.

“The world continues to accelerate.” – What powerful words…breathtaking stuff.

Please don’t get Shunina drunk, Shindo. On another note, they appear to have shredded squid as a snack.

I never noticed this until now, but Shindo has yaoi hands.

Interesting to note that Indians and Africans appeared in that cutscene. This is a truly international work, even if the action’s in Japan.

For some reason, when Shindo goes, “What are your thoughts?” I’m reminded of this post by Scott from Mechanical Anime Reviews. I used almost the exact same words in talking about the show itself, coincidence or not. Speaking of which, I may get that article out someday so look forward to it.

What’s the third object, Shunina?!

I’m not sure what a signifiant (sic) is.

At least the spinning effect wasn’t something seizure-inducing (like Pokémon’s Porygon ep)…was it?

Back to “science I don’t quite understand” – here’s the law of conservation of angular momentum. Never learnt it myself, so Shindo’s intelligence is already a league beyond my own.

Even Hanamori’s in on Tsukai’s tsundere-ness, LOL. Wait – where was Tsukai’s mother?

“I love him too.” – I thought the biggest ship base in the Kado fandom was Shindo x Shunina, so now the Shindo x Hanamori fans just got some major bait.

B-But Hanamori, don’t take advantage of Natsume’s drunkkenness! Even if it’s just asking her how she feels on Shindo, can you please keep it to when she can (not drunkenly) admit her feelings?

So Tsukai isn’t with anyone. *hollers into the void* Tsukai shippers, you can take her now!

Uh-oh. So zaShunina’s speaking in the language I understand – computer terms – but that face he’s making looks like this anisotropic being’s gone mad, and I don’t like the look of that.

I thought Mifune would introduce a philosophical element to this. He did, just not in a way I predicted (which is good).

Sericulture = the cultivation of silkworms to make silk, apparently.

The “thread” reminds me of Akutagawa’s “The Spider’s Thread”.

(Trigger warning for death in this next comment) Shindo, lying on the ground…that’s either exhaustion or death. I’m scared to think Nanomis-hein can revert death.

The more Shunina smiles, the more creepy he gets…and simultaneously, the more I become enraptured by this show. It’s strange.

It seems as if Shunina is expressing regret for the first time. I don’t like his sullen face, I’d rather a creepy face I could love than a sad face I can’t love. Besides, this mysterious black figure was in the end-of-ep preview last time, I bet he’s another universe’s Shindo.

Well, my guess was right and…ovibvrnvlk! Saraka?! What in flip-flap are you doing? T-This isn’t a superhero show! W-Wh-What? That’s one killer end-of-ep hook! Does this mean Saraka is a Sailor Moon of the anisotropic?! (My brain just got bent in so many directions, I think I’m seeing the anisotropic…but man, I still want more Kado…)

This ED sketch of Tsukai is new, it seems. The shots of everyone else are familiar to anyone who’s visited Kado’s official website and seen the character descriptions though.

It’s an apostrophe. I thought that was a typo, but it’s there in the titlecard! Also, I worry about bleeding Shindo and how this may become a shonen fighter (despite “shonen fighter” being my style of expertise, writing-wise)…

Update: Apparently Shunina’s “too many belts” outfit is inspired by a king in the storybook the child from ep 2 is reading. Also, random thoughts, but Tabiuta is anime’s equivalent to the Big Bang Theory opening. (brought to you by Reddit)

Update 2: The turtle apparently appeared in ep 7, although I don’t think I noticed it. (brought to you by ANN)

Tsukigakirei 9

The Wind Rises. Isn’t that a Ghibli movie? Yeah…it is, but it’s also a story by Tatsuo Hori, apparently, from which the movie is partially based. The Setting Sun is a Dazai work, by the way.

No OP, huh? They’re dead serious about getting their plot over and done with, which is good.

You can see Kaze Tachinu (The Wind Rises) and Ningen Shikkaku (No Longer Human) on Kotarou’s shelf, alongside Pandora’s Box (Dazai), The Restaurant of Many Orders (Miyazawa), some work by an Arishima Tatsuo (although the book is credited to Arima Tatsuo in the show), Kokoro (Souseki) and Goodbye (Dazai). The one with the blue spine I presume is The Setting Sun/Pandora’s Box (Dazai) – I remember trying to spin a poem for Bungou Stray Dogs’s Dazai using the title of The Setting Sun as inspiration.

Frumpy man on Kotarou’s magazine kinda looks like what the actual Dazai is shown to be like in photos. I thought for a second the LNs were Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, but like Grimoire of Zero and Re: Zero, they only bear partially simlar titles.

I’m hollering! As much as I know how much LNs can be good, you know how the anime community sees LNs and that’s why I’m laughing so much.

I had a character called Daisuke once (he was the uncle and consultant for Tetsuya in Ro.Te.O, as well as being Katsuo’s dad), so I was startled to see this older brother figure is also called Daisuke.

It’s such a strange reversal – Kado became a shonen battler, losing the faith of most of the people who still watch it (not me, though!) and Tsukigakirei actually got good. It’s an almost sad change. Tsukigakirei also almost lost its bad CGI, which is good too.

Ike, LOL. I think that company’s shown up previously.

Dokidoki is a heartbeat onomatopoeia, so it’s not quite OMG.

Aw, Chinatsu. Please don’t make me all sour inside again. I already had that when I saw people jump ship on Kado.

I wrote on similar experiences for One Wish They Never Wanted, so to see Akane weeping over the end of one period of schooling is something I know well.

So hayashi isn’t rice in this case? It’s that dance from the OP?!

Huh, that’s interesting. My parents gave me the exact same talk for the experiences I wrote on for One Wish They Never Wanted (hence there’s a similar scene between Takuma and his father), so suddenly…Tsukigakirei has become a Kado replacement (although I still don’t love any characters in Tsukigakirei as much as I do Shunina, haha). Strange thing is, I thought I’d never go where I’d want to go and…I went where I wanted to go. *tries not to cry* Dangit, Tsukigakirei. You’re so good at bringing feels right now…it was good to wait 6 eps for the good stuff.

I only read the back half of the ED convo and it doesn’t make much sense without context…

Boku no Hero Academia 24

I read the ep synopsis…and when it says “Todoroki vs Bakugo” as the next ep title, you know Iida’s gonna lose.

Interesting how everyone loses interest in competitiors that lose. it’s kinda like those rankings people do for anime episodes per week, which I admit I enjoy watching quite a bit, but this almost makes me feel guilty for ranking anime (which is a weird sentiment to have, I know, I know).

Well, there’s something new. I guess it’s only natural for All Might to be Quirkless beforehand, that’s how this show works.

Physics 101: When an unstoppable force hits an immovable object…[fill in the blanks].

I see. The best offence is a good defence and vice versa, which is why the two are so evenly matched.

The girls are wearing summer uniform shirts in the ED now. Were they like this last time? I don’t remember.